" They should be attacking any day now."
With her eyes glued to her desk, Nichole tapped her pen against the spread out map. Left, right… up, down… she surveyed the landscape once more. With one gradual movement, she shifted a set of pawns closer to a main street. More movements like this continued till Nichole took a step back from her masterful creation.
With a pleased look on her face, she let out a sigh of relief. " Alright"
' That should be it for organizing the Preventive Services Squad. I should leave the decision of reinforcements to Liam.'
[ Madam Nichole… we may have an issue on our horizon.]
Nichole jumped. [ Elder Joshua? Haven't you been sent out for trade negotiations-]
Joshua- [ Yes, but that's beside the point. Remember our Pre-Seasonal Shift conference, the one we attended last time to acquire business partners. I've just received an invitation. ]
[ What?! But why? Isn't it too early to start those types of business arrangements? Something is off. ]
[ That's why I called it an issue on the horizon. The letter just reached me. Considering the distances, it could take another two, maybe even three more weeks before yours and the rest of the other elder's letters arrive. ]
[ Ughh, Well if you have gotten yours, then Ezekiel should have long since received his. Even at this moment, he could be dealing with its ramifications. Feather?... Feather, you better get the hell over here!]
Feather's brain was forcefully ripped into their conversation. Static-like brain fog and over stimulation filled the channel, muffling all sound.
Nichole- [ Feather! Where's my report? How's the situation over their?]
Feather- [ UGHH…. Now is… Really! Not the RIGHT… Time! They're here, B.T finally ATTACKED! Damn! What's with the exploding BUILDINGS! CAN YOU HURRY UP AND SEND THE TROOPS! I'M FIGHTING FOR MORE THAN MY LIFE OVER HERE! ]
Nichole sat up from her chair, facing forward as sounds of heavy footsteps quickly picked up the pace to her office. Incoherent words soon turned into loud, angry yellings of her name. "NICHOLE!!!"
[I've already sent the orders and Liam should be already on his way. Y'all are dismissed!]
Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from a distance- "And don't you dare close the network with the other elders! I can feel the network preventing my entrance!"
"That's because the meeting does not concern you, Melinda."
Untamed winds burst through the beige door as Melinda marched into the room. She slammed her hands on the desk, looking into the eyes of Nichole, who was peacefully watching Melinda's temper tantrum.
Silence flooded the room as the waves of anger died down.
Nichole paused the spinning of her pen and pointed at Melinda with it. "Whatever you want to say, Save it! If you're just here to complain then we can deal with that later. Right now, I have more pressing issues to resolve."
Nichole casually moved from around her desk, passing Melinda while making no eye contact. She stopped at her open door as she turned to look behind her. " Aren't you coming?"
Nichole meekly smiled as she rested her hand on Melinda's shoulder, soothing Melinda's overly anxious face. " Remember, the responsibility of protecting this nation falls on the Elders. So there's no need for you to rush the process."
Nichole released her hand from Melinda's shoulder, converting her meek smile into the face of a strong ruler. "Alright… let's clean up this mess."
…
The roads were busy, people ran from one place to another trying their best to get everything done on time.
" That will be four silver slides."
The fellow reached into his pocket.
A flash of light filled the room long before the sound. Trailing behind the smoke and the overwhelming veil of light, the entire building ignited into flames.
Screams of terror and cries of help traveled through the air as citizens marched through the densely populated shopping district of Precast. A hidden suitcase quickly erupted, bursting from its seals. Homes, stores, and all forms of buildings were being destroyed. Windows were smashed as furniture was thrown into the street.
Ash, soot, and other dark, unbreathable, gassy subjects covered the sky, blocking the sun rays from entering the city. Crowds rushed for cover as hundreds of people pushed and shoved their ways through the main roads of Precast City. Piles of human corpses littered the streets, making it impossible to run without tripping over their severed limbs.
Within those crowds of people were tiny skirmishes that seemed to spark and instantly extinguish the moment they appeared.
At the heart of the destruction was the strange man whose eyes were dull but giving off the color of gray and red. His body was firm, confidently bracing against the library of Enlightenment's fountain. Rows of guards surrounded him, firmly wielding their weapons, armed and ready to attack.
Completely unfazed by the situation, Breeze confidently smiled and waited for their first move.
"How long are you bastards going to keep me waiting here. You got a hundred guys already lined up. Was this your grand plan? Your prepared trap? If you already knew I was going to be here, then you should have sent more than just some small fries to take care of me."
One lone Insight guard stepped forward from behind the waves of soldiers. He quietly stared for a moment as Breeze taunted them. With a grin on his face, Breeze looked up into the sky, unbothered by the soldier's appearance.
"HOW DARE YOU LOOK AWAY FROM ME!"
The soldier charged forward, commanding a handful of men to join in the attack. Breeze giggled. Despite hearing the charging footsteps steamrolling their way toward him, he stood perfectly still. The group of ten swiftly closed the distance, shielding the rest of the army from a safe range. Forty yards quickly turned to thirty. In seconds, the Insight soldiers swiftly approached the ten yards.
Somewhat sensing their approach to that range, Breeze looked down from the sky. With a smile, he closed his eyes, and said. "Red light… green light… 1, 2."
The man paused for a little longer as he waited for their murderous aura to enter his five feet range.
Suddenly, the man opened his eyes and spoke the number three. Instantly, three guards ceased to exist, leaving nothing but the severed, cleanly cut joints piled up at Breeze's foot. The rest of the guards paused, paralyzed in fear of death. One of which fell to his knees, failing to accept the reality of the situation at hand. The others hopelessly watched as the man walked over the chunks of meat that soaked the concrete red.
Without much thought, Breeze stepped forward, snapping one of the six arm appendages with the soles of his shoes. He lowered his head toward the kneeling Insight soldiers and whispered into his ear. " You should have started running."
Breeze rested his hands on the pitiful guard. Without saying another word to him, Breeze spoke openly, addressing the other two soldiers who dared approach him. " Why aren't you attacking?"
He laughed, struggling to speak through his amusement. " Did you really think we were playing that child's game?! You bunch of idiots!"
Within milliseconds of saying those words, all three soldiers burst into an explosion of blood, leaving nothing but their meatless bones and their cleanly severed heads. With no remorse for the fallen soldiers that lay at his feet, the man quickly reached for the head of the grieving soldier, picking him up from the hair on his head.
He held the soldier's head high into the sky, like some trophy or a grueling task that only he could have accomplished. The mannerless foe gave no second thought as he tossed the decapitated head from the soldiers into the sky like a rubber ball.
Bitterness, revenge, and unrelenting rage filled the hearts of all those who watched from afar. The soldiers struggled and fought the turmoil within them, fending off the seething fury building up inside. They all mindlessly watched as the foe that stood in front of them tossed around the fallen soldier's head. Their passion wavered, weakening over time. They listened to the connection broadcasted in their minds, anxiously tightening their grip, ready for the words to fight.
Liam- [ Send in the backup. We have located the ring leader. He is a wind Sickle user! His abilities require chanting a nursery rhyme, then counting the number of enemies approaching him. Once he reaches that number, the wind slices everyone in his range into one-inch-sized meat chunks.]
A familiar voice played over the connection and replied to the soldiers' plea.
Nichole- [ Are you sure he is a wind sickle user?]
[ Yea… He has proved to resemble the traits of a classic wind user. He seems to have constant control over his breath. Combined with the fact he is standing perfectly still, not wasting energy. I might be mistaken but, if his attacks aren't capable of being seen, shouldn't we treat him like he is a wind user either way.]
[ Well, Do you at least know his attack range.]
[ Once the soldiers entered five feet of the user... They were all killed.]
[ Only five feet?! Are you sure that is his maximum range?]
[ We have been standing twenty feet away and sending out men one at a time for further research. So far, nothing has occurred beyond that five feet range.]
[ Have you tested projectiles within his roughly estimated five feet range.]
[ We have no armory available at the current moment.]
[Liam, you should be more clever than this. Inform one of your men to chuck a solid object toward the opponent.]
With that, Liam sent the command. Immediately, a soldier handed off a solid brick to the closest soldier.
The man looked down from the sky while still throwing a soldier's head around like a toy. 'Seems like they are finally going to make a- What the hell!'
With lightning speed, the man raised his left hand into the air. The brick quickly came charging toward him. Desperately trying to hold the terror in their hearts, the man's hand violently started to shake, showing off his true self through his actions.
His once calm and boastful attitude suddenly shifted. In mere seconds of almost making contact with the man's torso, he yanked the severed head from out the sky, shielding himself from the thrown projectile.
Scrambling to put his brash and unfazed persona back together, Breeze picked up one on the many bones from the ground. " Hurry up and send another one! This time make it a home run."
He then tossed the soldier's head into the air with all his might. With a mighty bang, he slammed the bone he held in its head, launching it into the crowd.
Nichole- [ Liam, the signal is shaking. What the hell did he do! What was his response?]
The connection went dead silent. After a moment, the link was cut, completely unable to be reconnected to the previous user.
With Melinda by her side, Nichole's eyes widened as other unknown individuals entered the room. Despite the political meeting that was on its way, Nichole's mind could only wonder if attending was the right decision.
' That reaction…. I knew I should have turned this into a learning opportunity. Even with the trap, the lack of information on enemies themselves was too great.'
' Well, from what has been gathered they're definitely not dealing with a wind-sickle user. Liam will figure that out on his own. And if this guy is a Suppressor, He'll recognize that it's not untouchable soon enough…'
"But why do I still feel so uneased?" Nichole muttered.
'... I guess the concealed weapon isn't what I should be worried about. It's figuring out his true CC ( Core Concept).'
Once coming to that conclusion, Nichole issued a global command, reporting everything. With her mind at ease, Nichole looked to Melinda's face with a smile.
" It's going to be fine. You can't be involved in every altercation. Just focus on this meeting and learn as much as you can. You'll be replacing me soon enough so that's where all your focus should lie."
With her worries silenced, Melinda relaxed her shoulders and nodded.