THE SG'S OFFICE, WAS HQ, HAZEN.
"The damage accessment and combat log from our last communication showed an increase of 0.04% per second, and that was an hour ago. So far, there have been 300 casualties, including 154 sorcerers and the rest - civilians. We've also lost about 11 personnels from the surveillance team. But surprisingly, most of their deaths were from anti-tenzen poisoning, and not battles."
The sun shone brightly into the room, partially blocked by the curtains on either sides of the large glass window.
Opposite the window sat Sir Zelazny Zoldrak, upon his imposing black leather chair.
The wind blew softly against the curtains, as Sir Zoldrak rotated his chair slightly.
Beside him was Arthur Smith, who held a notepad in his hand. The sun's rays reflected off his glasses, as he raised his fingers to adjust it.
"This is getting worse," Sir Zoldrak sighed, his brows furrowing.
Arthur continued. "Tenzometer readings also shows that the A.T density in the area is reaching implosion threshold, and that means..."
"We might be calling a disaster upon ourselves," Sir Zoldrak completed the statement.
He shook his head grimly.
"You mean even after our last raid, we still can't supress the Anti-tenzen density?" Sir Zoldrak asked.
"Sadly," Arthur replied with a nod. "After every annihilation-class raid, the anti-tenzen density still remains unchanged. And that's also the reason why demons are multiplying rapidly in the area," he explained.
"Without dealing with the source of the anti-tenzen surge, we might not be able to suppress the demonic activities in Blackthorn forest," Arthur added, as he adjusted his glasses again.
Sir Zoldrak's chair creaked slightly, as he adjusted his posture.
"The source?" He repeated, his brows furrowing in confusion.
"This is too much for an old man like me to think about," he sighed, bowing his head.
Then he raised his head again.
"How about the Teron Forest incident?" He asked, turning to face Arthur.
"Yes," Arthur nodded. "So far, we haven't received any reports from the surveillance team concerning the demon's fortitude, but we've some records concerning the sorcerers, or I'd say, illegal personnels involved."
"What do you mean?" Sir Zoldrak asked, his brows furrowing.
"A group of 10, consisting of a sorcerer and 9 other people took and embarked on the mission illegally. They had no certification or pass," Glock said, as he adjusted his glasses again.
Sir Zoldrak's gaze fixed on him, his eyes narrowing.
"And last night, eight of the ten who ventured were confirmed dead," Arthur dropped the bombshell.
"Dead?" Sir Zoldrak repeated, his eyes widening in terror.
"Yes," Arthur replied. His voice was grim, emotionless and his eyes were indifferent. "Their tenzen signatures have erased from our tenzometer readings," he said.
"Shit!" Sir Zoldrak clenched his fist. "What about the other two?" He asked, his eyes asking for a favorable answer.
"As for the other two..." Arthur paused for a second before speaking again.
"...they are alive."
"Arrrgh," Sir Zoldrak sighed in relief. "Finally, some news."
"Yes, but however..." Arthur's tone turned dark, as he adjusted his glasses again.
"Huh?" Sir Zoldrak muttered, his gaze shifting to Arthur.
"They never existed," Arthur dropped another bombshell.
"What? How's that possible?" Sir Zoldrak exclaimed in disbelief.
"What this simply means is that these two did not have any tenzen signatures at all," Arthur replied.
"But tenzen signatures are proofs that we're alive, how can an human exist without tenzen?" Sir Zoldrak argued, furrowing his brows.
"In truth, these two originally had tenzen signatures, according to the tenzometer record at exactly 2:11PM. However, at about 02:40AM the next day, there were no longer any records of their existence.
When we tried to trace their past records, the tenzometer showed "unknown entity", and even their last record, taken at exactly 2:39AM were untraceable, and only led to a null," Arthur explained.
"Woah, that's deep," Sir Zoldrak whispered, turning back to face the sun.
Arthur took a step forward. "It could either mean these two are falsifying their signatures, which is impossible, or..." Arthur said.
"I don't want to believe the other possibility," Sir Zoldrak muttered in a mix of disbelief and terror.
Arthur lifted his hand to his glasses. "That's right, sir. It's should be our last conclusion. One of the greatest fears of humanity -"
Sir Zoldrak gulped.
"A Zero."
'A being that possesses less than 0.5% Tenzen signature is a Zero.'
Before Sir Zoldrak could process the thought...
BLAM!!
The door flung open with a loud and alarming bang.
Sir Zoldrak and Arthur immediately spun, their eyes widened in alarm.
"Arrgh, what a long day it has been," Glock Harbinger sighed, as he walked to the golden sofa, closing the door behind him with a louder bang that made the room shiver.
"Harbinger," Sir Zoldrak's brows arched. "What happened to knocking?" He exclaimed.
Glock's gaze rolled from Sir Zoldrak's cross face to the door, to Arthur's indifferent eyes, and back to Sir Zoldrak.
"My bad," he replied, blinking, as he settled into the sofa.
"Good grief," Sir Zoldrak sighed, easing his tendons.
"I thought you weren't arriving until next month," Glock asked, as his eyes moved all over the room in one sec.
"Yeah, that was the plan," Sir Zoldrak replied, as he shook his head. "But work never lets me have time for myself," he explained.
"If only you could retire," Glock said, his tone laced with sarcasm.
Glock's gaze shifted to Arthur's, who as usual, never betrays any emotions, only indifference.
Glock's lips curled into a friendly smile, but Arthur only shoved it away with an adjustment of his glasses.
"Arrgh," Glock sighed, as his gaze went back to Sir Zoldrak's.
"I've got news," he said, as his eyes narrowed, and his tone turned serious.
"Hmm, I see... Which is it? Blackthorn or the recent Teron Forest incident?" Sir Zoldrak asked, as he placed his chin over his hands.
"Why don't we start with the latter?" Glock replied, a grin slowly creeping up to his lips.
***
To Be Continued...