Rain was falling down heavily on New Alexandria. The water fell over the buildings and the people walking down the streets, soaking them through in an instant. It seemed to fall as if there were a storm within the city that no one could escape.

The water trickled down from the windows of a grandiose building known as the Koma, situated in the middle of the western district.

It ran along the marble flooring into pools that formed on the sides of the walls and disappeared into the drainage system.

Multiple cars arrived in front of the building in a column until they stopped when a particular blue car arrived in front of the building’s main entrance.

Countless men jumped off the vehicles and made a small corridor from the blue car to the entrance. They all wore dark suits with red ties, their faces hidden behind masks or visors for protection against the weather outside.

A single man emerged from a car: he had a tall stature and red hair tied up at his neckline while wearing sunglasses, a bizarre sight given the bad weather.

He walked forward slowly, followed by two bodyguards who stood close to him without showing any tint of emotion and without concern about getting wet by the rain. His face showed indifference toward anyone else around him, not even his own guards.

He walked towards the door without making any sound at all. When he finally approached the door, a man opened it to let the man enter the building. .

A woman dressed in a military attire, with her hair tied back came rushing in front of the man. She put both hands together and bowed deeply, leaving the other person unimpressed. “General Becker,” said the young woman with respect in her voice.

The man looked at the woman but didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to as he was the leader of Frant, General Armand Becker.

This man was a powerful individual for many reasons. Not only he had a mighty brain crystal power in the AIOTA2A rank that allowed him to control air, but he was also the leader of a whole militaristic nation. His power was vast enough to make others fear his presence.

The man then went forward with a slow stride. He entered the building elevator and went to the tenth floor, a giant meeting room where he usually met with other important military people to discuss national security matters. This day too, he came for that exact reason.

Once the silent elevator brought him there and the door opened, he saw multiple people waiting for him inside.

Some sat on chairs arranged around the table, while some stood in a line in front of it. One man alone stood near the window wall, looking out over the view of the city below. The man turned his head slightly to look at the general approaching the table.

There were multiple important people in that room: Zayan Calvert, New Alexandria’s mayor, and Colonel Stephan Middleton tasked to manage the city’s defenses. Leslie Sparks, the ministry of war, and Jena Rose, the ministry of defense.

Becker organized this meeting to discuss the war and the thaid situation in the east, which was becoming increasingly alarming. If things continued like that, New Alexandria would face a huge crisis.

“Welcome, everyone.” As soon as he stepped into the room, Becker gave a quick salute before sitting down at the table.

The man looked at the people inside the room and said, “I want updates regarding the war.”

Minister Spark nodded in response and smiled politely. “We’ve been informed that the first army has fallen to the Hininan forces,” she said calmly.

“That means we are losing ground?” asked Zayan.

Minister Spark nodded. “It does mean that, yes. But don’t worry. We still hold our positions well, despite the losses. That being said, Hin isn’t going to be able to fight this war alone anymore.”

“What do you need to defeat them?”

Minister Spark then replied, “More troops. Our current numbers aren’t sufficient. There is another issue, though, I’m afraid.

So far, the enemy hasn’t attacked any of our cities, but they will eventually try. And if that happens, we will be forced to call our troops back.”

Becker stared at the minister for several moments after hearing those words. Finally, he sighed heavily and shook his head. Then he faced the minister and said, “I want you to prepare the best defenses, and send more troops to the Hinian shores.”

“It will be done,” the minister of war replied.

“Ok, now. Any news regarding the recent thaid behavior near New Alexandria? I got a report stating that a group of Densoph attacked one of the entrances to the barrier. Why did no one figure it out before it happened?”

Colonel Middleton answered immediately. “According to the reports, there must be some particularly powerful thaids driving the weaker ones west. It doesn’t often happen, but there have been cases in the past.”

“Why did you do nothing to stop this phenomenon?” Becker asked.

“Because we couldn’t find the source of the mass migration. We need more than small squads for this task since the city’s forests are full of thaids,” the minister of defense, Jena Rose, said.

“So what kind of strategy should we use against these beasts?” asked the mayor. “Are we supposed to stay here and defend the city, or should we attack them?”

“Both,” replied Minister Rose. “Our main priority right now is keeping the thaid threat away from the citizens. So, we can’t stop supplying troops to the city’s defenses. At the same time, it would be good to send a platoon to search for the source of the disturbance.”

“If the beast causing their migration could be found quickly, it might help us figure out how to deal with the problem better.” added the colonel.

“How long do you think it’ll take?” asked Zayan.

Jena raised her hand and replied, “About a week to get a good squad ready. But the mission’s outcome depends on them. So to find the beast, a minimum of three weeks are required.”

“And what about the thaid that entered the city?” Mayor Zayan asked.

“We are organizing a team to go search for it. They should depart this morning.” Colonel Middleton responded.

Everyone glanced at each other silently. No one knew anything else except the fact that there had been a thaid entering New Alexandria recently. They all hoped that whatever the creature was doing in the city didn’t cause much harm.

“All right. But first things first. Send a platoon to search for the cause of the migration as soon as possible. Am I clear?” General Becker said.

“Yes, sir!” All the attendees agreed. They all knew that this wasn’t an easy thing to accomplish. Especially when dealing with the thaids, and the meeting ended shortly after.

***

Roma and four other people were preparing themselves to head out in search of the creature that escaped inside the city. Luckily, there had been no reports of accidents in the surroundings, but this also meant that searching for the creature was bound to be more complicated than expected.

“Is everything set?” Roma asked. She stood next to a grey flying car, which was parked nearby. The vehicle was equipped with two guns mounted over the roof.

One gun was pointing forward while the other pointed backward. Each weapon fired laser capable of cutting through almost any material. If necessary, the lasers could even pierce thick steel plates.

“Yep! Ready to roll whenever you are,” replied Private McBride. He opened the door of the vehicle and hopped in.

A few seconds later, the rest followed suit: Private Rennie climbed in through the driver’s side; Private Smith took up position behind him while Private Williams sat beside the sergeant.

The sun was already high above the horizon by the time they departed.

Roma was going to follow the Thaid traces, leading toward the north of the city, meaning that the beast was directed toward some farms.

“Luckily, this creature didn’t go toward the city center,” Roma said. The last thing they needed was a bunch of thaids running around the streets.

“That sounds familiar…”

Roma nodded slowly, “Yeah. I remember reading about such a case once. A group of thaid went past the barrier and killed countless people.”

“How were they able to enter the barrier?” Private Rennie asked.

“It has never been fully explained,” Roma replied.

The group then started their search by following the trails that the beast left. As the day progressed, they encountered several dead animals along the way. Most of the victims were cattle that the farmers left roaming around. They all showed signs of Densoph bites. The densoph didn’t even eat the creatures; it looked like its only aim was to kill everything on sight. Thaids were vicious creatures, after all.

After a short distance, the tracks stopped in front of a vast wheat field stretched across several kilometers.

“This isn’t good,” muttered the private who drove the flying car, “The traces ends here.”

“Don’t panic. Let’s search the surroundings,” Roma said. They parked the car, and the team started searching for traces on the ground.