THAT DAY I BECAME A STAR

After my light spar with Willhem, we all head back to the cave and sit around the table. I left K'nor outside so I hope he won't wander around too much. Eduard is the only one standing up as he will be the one to tell us the details of our mission here. I don't know why, but it is only now that I remember I didn't tell anybody I was leaving. Oh well, surely Frankher will find an excuse for me. The most important is to find Tatiana and restore my draconic power.

"I would have like to talk about this yesterday but I guess a little delay won't hurt."

"Relax, old man. Nobody can do this kind of work without a bit of time to relax."

"He is right. You should release some steam or you are going to explode."

"I am not that old but oh well…" Eduard and the guys are already hitting it off. They won't get along easily, it seems. Especially Hendrick. The seems-to-be second leader of the group. He is the most talkative and after Willhem, he is the most respected.

"Guys, let listen and finish this quickly." Let's put some order into all this mess.

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Captain?" Why are you calling me captain?

"Yeah, you are our captain, right?"

I look at Willhem and he just winks at me while smiling. I read his mind and it seems that since I defeated him, I am the official leader of their group for now. So that's how they go, the strongest of the pack just leads until another one comes. I like that. It forces you to stay strong or else you will be left behind.

"Okay. In any case, let's listen. Eduard, please continue."

"Ahem. Our current orders are to investigate, localize and capture those involved in the Longinus transformation here in Oregon. Unlike the other cities and villages further inside Titanium, this village is relatively unaffected by the war on the surface."

"And how can we recognize those, old man? The guys masking this whole mess, I mean."

"That's up to you guys to handle. Plan a survey of the area, try to sneak in the village somehow and talk to people. There must be plenty of methods. Just know that the deadline is in two weeks. If you haven't found anything conclusive in two weeks, half of your payment will be withdrawn."

"Two weeks. Yeah, should be easy-peasy." Willhem scratches his chin a bit then looks at his guys. They all smile like they understood something.

"There is no need for a slaughter, guys." I read his mind and what he is thinking about is a bit over the top.

"W-what? How?"

"I know the kind of guy you are so…"

"I see. But hey, don't you think it is better that way. We just start killing and eventually, those responsible will show up or try to flee. It's simple and sure to work."

"That's true but I don't want to kill innocent people."

"Oh come on, even though you have done it before."

"W-what?" How does he know?

"Don't be surprised. Your eyes and your smell can't lie. You are like us. The only difference is that you still have that ounce of regret that separates you from the perfect killing machine."

"And you got rid of that?"

"I don't know when but yeah, I did. We all did."

I look at all the others and indeed, their eyes are shining with that simple and yet intense desire to fight and kill. What you can see isn't rage, hatred, or anything of the sort, it is simply to desire to kill. Those guys got rid of all unnecessary feelings and focused on one simple thing: KILL OR BE KILLED. I am not surprised their hierarchy is based on the strongest then. In fact, it only makes more sense.

"Even so, let's make this a quiet mission. I will go and investigate tonight. If I find anything, I will come back and then we will devise a plan."

"Whatever you say, boss. Just don't forget we have only two weeks. And I want my money on this. Speaking of which, we weren't informed n much we will receive. The guy who recruited us only said the pay was good and we should see all details with the church's representative."

"Yes, indeed. Each of you will receive 200.000 wellis once the mission is accomplished and a bonus of 25.000 wellis if you can do it in one week."

"That's a bit cheap, old man. What if their army comes here while we are on site. You want us to fight dozens of knights for only mere hundred thousands?"

"Should anything of the sort occurs, You are to retreat immediately. None of the eternal army's forces or Nivalneilhm's army is currently present on the border after all."

"Damn. And here I was hoping for a raise." Hendrick doesn't seem to be afraid of fighting against an army. He really is mad.

"With that said, I will be staying here and awaits your report."

"Right."

I stand up and leave first. The others continue to discuss whatever. I find K'nor outside and we go for a run. It has been a while since I ran around with him.

***

The night has fallen and I prepare to go to the village. Since I said I would be going alone. The others are drinking downstairs. They are making so much noise you can hear them even though the trap door is locked already.

"They really like drinking."

Frankher gave me a new bracelet as a parting gift so let's see what is inside. I activate it and my armor pops out, followed by another one similar to our secret's mission suit. There is an armor for K'nor as well. It looks gigantic and is even divided into five parts. I will look at it later. My raizen that they found when I was kidnapped and another one, with an emerald color. There is a small purse as well. But it isn't important for now. Lastly, a knife that is relatively long.

I bring everything back inside the bracelet except the suit and the knife. The bracelet I have received from the church doesn't have anything important so I won't use it, for now.

"Okay, K'nor. Sleep well. I will see you tomorrow morning." K'nor licks my face a bit then goes below a tree and lies down. I put a black cloth on my face and fly towards the village.

***

Oregon is big. It is as big as Tatradum. Which makes me wonder why those are considered village when there are so many people and houses around. Shouldn't it be a city instead?

I land in the darkness of a roof. The moon is only half tonight so visibility isn't very good. Which is to my advantage. There are guards patrolling here and there with torches. All of them are working in pairs. I also feel two or three crystals' presence around my current position. Let's start with those.

One of them is inside a house near me so I jump to the roof of that house. Now, I will have a problem. If I kill any of those guys. This could alert the others and they will flee before we accomplish anything. Capturing one might also have the same result. I really didn't think this through. Maybe Willhem was right. It would probably be better to slaughter all of them...or not.

"HYAAA!!!!"

Suddenly, the scream of a woman resounds. The guards all rapidly move to the origin of the scream. Meanwhile, I suddenly see two people appearing on a roof. One of them is carrying a body. And the two of them seem to have crystals in them. Good, that's unexpected and really good for me.

I try to make myself even more invisible and the two figures pass by without noticing me. At least, I hope they didn't. They continue jumping around, almost like they are trying to make a circle around the village. Did they notice me in the end? I try to read their mind from behind but I don't see anything. Suddenly, I feel the presence of a lot of crystals nearby. Where is it?

They stop by a house that looks like any others. I can feel at least six other crystals inside that house. This must be their den. They knock on the roof three times, then two times and a trap door opens.

A man comes out and the two figures, covered by some sort of foggy black clothes, retake their human shapes. So they can even use Regas that way now. Impressive. It looks a bit like the armor Borgas had on.

"Were you followed?" The man who came out of the trap door asks while carrying the body the other two brought.

"Of course not. Who can follow us with our speed? Plus we always do the circle trick as you told us. There is no way we can ever be followed."

"Yeah, I wonder why you still want us to do that."

"Just in case. Also, there are new orders. We have to send five young children in three days."

"Five?! Come on, you know it is not easy to abduct children."

"Yeah, even with our enhancement, we can't just enter houses and get out without being noticed completely."

"Still, those are our orders. You know what they will do if we don't follow…"

Suddenly, the leader of those three looks in my direction. I got to see all of their faces so I can go now. But I would like to hear what they talking about until the end.

"What is it, Theodore?" The leader is called Theodore, then. Good. I have a name as well.

"It's nothing. You can both go back. I will feed this to the failure and wait for you tomorrow night for the first shipment."

"Okay." The two other guys leave with a jump and while in mid-air, their bodies get covered by the weird fog. Theodore meanwhile looks around one last time then enters the house again.