Chapter 21: Stimuleigh (FEC)
The convoy rolled back into Manswill as the sun dipped low behind the rooftops.
The town reacted immediately.
Children ran toward the streets.
Merchants stepped outside their shops.
Soldiers straightened their posture.
And then, cheers erupted.
"THE HAVE RETURNED!"
"THEY'RE BACK!"
"SAFE!"
People waved.
Some clapped.
Some stared in awe, still amazed that the border mission ended so quickly.
Wei-Wan Lou stepped forward first as the group entered the square.
He spoke loudly enough for the crowd to hear.
"Only one of us fought."
He pointed casually behind him.
Everyone followed his finger.
There stood Daito Greyhell, hands tucked inside his coat pockets, walking with his usual quiet swagger.
The crowd murmured in admiration.
Some whispered.
"King Killer."
"Border Sword."
"Freaker Reaper."
Daito ignored it.
He was used to it.
At the town square entrance, two familiar figures waited.
Aerin walked forward first.
Behind her was Champaign.
Aerin spoke immediately.
"We may have found a clue to the Chancellor's base."
Wasabi stepped forward beside them.
"I recovered data during the scan."
Her small drone hovered quietly beside her shoulder.
"We should explain everything at the Sheriff's office."
The group didn't waste time.
They moved through the cheering town toward the central government building.
* * *
Inside waited Sheriff Marcus Camberley.
He was already standing near the map table.
The Sheriff's office was quiet except for the faint ticking of the wall clock.
Everyone gathered around the large strategy table.
The smell of dust, sweat, and battlefield blood still clung to their clothes.
Sheriff Marcus spoke first.
"Report."
The Freakers and the Destroyed Base
Fah-jin stepped forward.
"We found the laboratory."
Her voice was steady.
"It was destroyed."
She paused slightly.
"The Freaker storage chambers were shattered."
"Pods broken."
"Subjects removed."
She gestured slightly toward the map.
"Someone moved everything about a week ago."
Brandon continued.
"We found transport traces."
"Multiple heavy cargo routes heading northeast."
He crossed his arms.
"The Chancellor didn't abandon the research."
"He relocated it."
Humm....
Wasabi Yuko placed her drone tablet on the table.
"I extracted partial data."
"Not everything."
"But enough."
She adjusted the display.
"The base destruction was intentional."
"Explosion patterns show controlled demolition."
"Someone wanted the site to look abandoned."
Aerin added:
"The holographic scan showed pod movement."
"Freakers were transported alive in suspension."
"Meaning the Chancellor didn't kill them."
"He relocated his assets."
Brandon muttered quietly behind them.
"Psychopath scientist logistics."
Wasabi spoke again.
"I also found biochemical references."
She paused.
Her expression became serious.
"Blueprint fragments for a compound."
Everyone turned toward her.
The room grew silent.
"The drug is called…"
She tapped the screen.
"…Stimuleigh."
The name hung in the air.
The same substance used by the General who fought Daito Greyhell during the rescue of his mother.
The one that transformed him into a Frevage hybrid state.
Sheriff Marcus' jaw tightened.
Wasabi continued.
"Stimuleigh enhances Savage mutation response."
"It destabilizes neural suppression."
"Basically…"
She exhaled slowly.
"…it creates controlled monster soldiers."
The room felt colder.
Champagne and Aerin's Investigation Results
Champaign spoke next.
"We traced possible supply patterns."
"The Chancellor has at least three potential hidden facilities."
"But we don't know which one is active."
Aerin added:
"There is movement in the northern mountain network."
"Signals were faint but consistent."
"Something is operating underground."
Wasabi's Promise
She adjusted her glasses.
"I need about six hours to decode the remaining data."
Everyone checked the clock.
It was already approaching midnight.
Six hours meant morning.
The town would be sleeping while they worked.
But nobody complained.
They all nodded.
They were determined.
* * *
Chancellor's Base
Far away, deep underground inside a hidden complex…
The laboratory systems were dark.
Emergency lights flickered faintly.
Someone was inside.
An intruder.
Silently moving through encrypted corridors.
The figure worked carefully at a terminal console.
Trying to breach the Chancellor's database.
The hacking attempt failed.
Security countermeasures activated.
Red warning symbols flashed.
The intruder cursed quietly.
But before leaving they succeeded in extracting something.
Blue holographic files.
Blueprints.
The file label appeared clearly.
"Stimuleigh – Frevage Enhancement Compound"
The same substance that transformed a human into a half Savage, half Freaker combat entity.
The intruder transferred the blueprint data to a secure storage chip.
Then vanished into the darkness of the base corridors.
In the silent laboratory control room…
A hidden camera flickered.
Then turned off.
Somewhere deep in the mountains…
The Chancellor smiled.
Because he knew someone had entered his domain.
And he was waiting.
Back in Manswill the clock ticked closer to midnight.
Six hours remained.
The war was about to move again.
* * *
Morning arrived over the valley like the calm before a storm.
Inside the Sheriff's office, the team gathered around the strategy table while screens flickered with newly decoded information.
Wasabi Yuko placed the final data chip into the projector.
A map illuminated the room.
"There," she said.
A red point blinked on the far eastern edge of the territory.
"The Chancellor's primary base… Drawn Sphere."
It was a forgotten town.
So remote that many official maps barely acknowledged its existence.
Wei-Wan Lou leaned forward.
"That distance makes no sense."
He traced the map with his finger.
"To reach Drawn Sphere from the destroyed lab…"
"You must pass through four or five border gates."
"Five different towns."
"That journey alone should take at least a day."
Daito Greyhell crossed his arms.
"So how did he move everything in less than a week?"
No one answered.
The logistics were impossible.
Unless…
The Chancellor had routes no one else knew about.
Or something far more dangerous.
Despite the mystery, the situation was clear.
It was already morning.
And according to everything they knew…
Chancellor Virell planned to attack that same day.
Fortunately, the town had already evacuated most civilians to neighboring settlements.
But they could only stay refugees for so long.
If Virell attacked tonight…
Everything would end.
Wei-Wan finally spoke the truth none of them wanted to hear.
"If he attacks today…"
"…we end it today."
"Or we end today."
The words erased any remaining exhaustion.
Warriors immediately began preparing weapons.
Armor.
Supplies.
There would be no retreat.
* * *
By evening, the gates of the town stood guarded by soldiers and Savages alike.
FWOOSH!
The wind carried dust across the empty streets.
Then something massive approached.
A monstrous Frevage beast emerged from the horizon.
Riding atop it…
was the Chancellor.
Chancellor Vannian stopped directly in front of the town gate.
The Frevage snarled beside him.
Waiting.
The Sheriff stepped forward.
Sheriff Marcus faced his old friend.
Vannian smiled.
"Marcus."
"How are your wife and children?"
The Sheriff answered coldly.
"They're alive."
"Now cut the crap."
"You didn't come here for conversation."
"You came to destroy this town."
The Chancellor chuckled.
"Correct."
"But things could go better for everyone."
He raised three fingers.
"If the three individuals I requested last night…"
"…come willingly."
Everyone looked at each other.
The tension was suffocating.
The Sheriff slowly spoke.
"If it keeps the town safe…"
"…I see no other choice."
He turned.
Looking directly at them.
"Daito."
"Champagne."
"Aerin."
"Step forward."
FWOO!
Without hesitation, the three walked toward the Chancellor.
Aerin walked calmly.
Champagne remained silent.
Daito Greyhell walked with his usual cold expression.
The Chancellor smiled wider.
"I knew someday you would see the bigger picture."
"Now the city lives to see another da—"
SWOOSH!
Before the sentence finished, Daito vanished.
A blur of motion.
Even the Savages barely saw it.
In the next instant…
Daito stood behind the Chancellor.
His blade already unsheathed.
The Chancellor froze.
Confused.
Unable to finish his sentence.
Then—
SLIDE!
His head slid from his shoulders.
Fall...
The body remained standing for a second.
Before collapsing.
Daito spoke calmly.
"Your weakness…"
"…is that you talk too much."
PSSSH!
Blood sprayed from the severed neck.
Everyone's eyes widened.
Even the monstrous Frevage beside him seemed stunned.
Then suddenly—
"UAARGH!"
The creature clutched its chest.
Collapsed.
And died beside its master.
Exactly 23 seconds later, its body evaporated into ash.
* * *
Shock...
One of the Outsiders stepped forward.
"That wasn't part of the plan."
"We were supposed to follow him back to the base."
"So we could find where it was."
Daito shrugged slightly.
"When someone sees an opportunity…"
"…they take it."
Aerin burst out laughing.
"Well…"
"That's Daito for you."
She stretched her arms.
"It's done."
"The Chancellor is dead."
Wei-Wan Lou looked at his team thoughtfully.
"Interesting."
The warriors slowly returned to town.
Messengers were sent.
The citizens hiding in neighboring settlements were called back.
Celebrations would soon begin.
The nightmare seemed over.
Only one person remained behind.
Standing beside the body of the Chancellor.
His son.
Champagne.
He stared at the corpse silently.
Then spoke softly.
"Goodbye… father."
"I hope you find mother."
"In heaven…"
"…or in hell."
He looked at the severed head one last time.
"Your days of terror ended here."
Then he turned.
And walked back toward the town.
Toward the others.
The war against the Chancellor…
was finally over.
Or so everyone believed.
The celebration in town was short.
Everyone knew one thing.
Even though the Chancellor was dead…
the war was not over.
* * *
Inside the Sheriff's office the mood had turned serious again.
Maps covered the table.
Recovered files from the destroyed lab flickered on the screens.
Wasabi Yuko pointed to several highlighted regions.
"We still have a major problem."
"The Chancellor had thousands of Freakers."
She zoomed the projection out.
"But the lab we destroyed could only hold a few hundred."
"And the army we fought earlier was barely half that."
Silence filled the room.
Aerin frowned.
"So you're saying…"
"There are still thousands out there?"
Wasabi nodded.
"And without the Chancellor controlling them…"
"They could spread everywhere."
Wei-Wan Lou stepped forward.
"This time we move carefully."
"No rushing."
"No lone attacks."
He placed three markers on the map.
"Freakers need three things to remain stable."
1. Containment pods
2. Energy supply
3. Transport routes
"If we find any of those…"
"We find the nests."
Champagne studied the files recovered from the lab.
"There's something else."
"My father was obsessed with backup systems."
"If he had one lab…"
"He probably had four more."
The room went quiet again.
Daito Greyhell leaned against the wall.
"So we hunt them."
One by one.
No hesitation.
Wasabi brought up a new projection.
A triangular network appeared across the eastern territories.
"From the data we recovered…"
"These routes were used by supply trucks."
"But they don't lead to towns."
"They lead to abandoned industrial zones."
Underground tunnels.
Old mining shafts.
Collapsed cities.
Perfect hiding places.
Wei-Wan divided the operation.
Three search teams.
• Team One — Scout the eastern mountain tunnels
• Team Two — Investigate abandoned mines
• Team Three — Track Freaker movement patterns
Daito Greyhell would lead the most dangerous search.
The underground routes.
Places where Freakers could gather in massive numbers.
Before the meeting ended, Champagne spoke quietly.
Champagne looked at the map again.
"If my father prepared these bases…"
"Then they're not just storage."
"They're breeding grounds."
Everyone understood what that meant.
More Freakers could still be growing.
Aerin suddenly asked something unexpected.
"What if someone else takes control?"
The room went silent.
Because everyone had the same thought.
The Chancellor might be dead…
But his research, his weapons, and his army still existed.
Daito pushed away from the wall.
CLING!
He grabbed his sword.
"We destroy everything."
"Labs."
"Pods."
"Research."
"Every Freaker left."
He walked toward the door.
"No one gets to use this world-ending power again."
Outside the town walls…
The wind howled across the empty land.
And somewhere far beneath the earth…
Something moved.
Thousands of Freakers waiting in the darkness.
Unaware that the hunters…
were already coming.
* * *
Far from the borders…
far from the towns that still remembered the war…
In a forgotten settlement that barely appeared on any map, a small underground laboratory slowly came to life.
Dim lights flickered.
Machines powered on one by one.
The room was strange.
Not like the sterile scientific halls of Chancellor Vannian.
This place looked more like a weapons workshop.
Metal racks covered the walls.
Experimental gauntlets.
Bladed arm attachments.
Mechanical exoskeleton frames.
Modified firearms.
Every tool looked handmade and brutally practical.
At the center of the room stood a single figure.
A person wearing a long dark hooded coat.
The figure walked to the control console and activated the main lights.
The room illuminated completely.
The hooded person removed a small data chip from their pocket and inserted it into a reader.
GLOW!
A holographic screen appeared.
Data fragments.
Chemical formulas.
Blueprints.
Incomplete files.
The hooded figure spoke quietly.
"So this… is all I could get."
Their voice was calm, calculating.
"I was hoping to breach the full database."
They leaned back slightly.
"But the security was impressive."
They chuckled softly.
"Even after his death… Chancellor Vannian still protects his secrets."
They tapped the screen again.
A particular file expanded.
A compound formula appeared.
Stimuleigh – Frevage Enhancement Compound
The hooded figure smiled beneath the shadow.
"If only I had ten more minutes…"
"I could have taken everything."
But then they shrugged.
"No matter."
CLATTER! CLANG!
They lifted one of the gauntlets from a nearby workbench.
Heavy.
Reinforced.
Weaponized.
"Because what I did steal…"
"…is already priceless."
They stared at the blueprint again.
"With this…"
"I can build something greater."
"Something that will make the world remember my name."
Their voice grew colder.
"Fame."
"Respect."
"Power."
SHINE! BRIGHT!
The lab lights glowed brighter.
"Now… the real work begins."
* * *
Back at Manswill
Morning had returned to the town of Manswill.
The streets were calm again.
Refugees had returned.
Homes were reopening.
But near the town gates, the warriors were preparing to leave.
Weapons were secured.
Vehicles loaded.
Supplies packed.
This was no longer a defensive mission.
This was a hunt.
The team gathered near the gate.
Wei-Wan Lou shook hands with Sheriff Marcus.
"You've done enough for us already."
The Sheriff smiled tiredly.
"You saved this town."
"The least we could do was give you a place to rest."
Nearby, townspeople thanked them again.
Some offered food.
Others simply bowed.
Gracefully.
But away from the crowd—
Two people stood near the outer wall.
Daito Greyhell and Champagne.
For once, neither of them spoke immediately.
They just looked out toward the distant plains.
Finally Daito spoke.
"This may have affected you."
Champagne didn't pretend not to understand.
"My father."
Daito nodded slightly.
"If you choose to stay here…"
"I won't force you to come."
Champagne leaned against the wall quietly.
He thought about everything.
His childhood.
His exile.
His mother.
His father's crimes.
The battle yesterday.
The moment his father died.
A long silence passed.
Then he sighed.
"…you know something?"
Daito looked at him.
Champagne smiled faintly.
"My life has always been running from that man."
"But now…"
"He's gone."
He pushed himself off the wall.
"So I have a choice for the first time."
He extended his hand.
"I'm joining your journey."
Daito looked at the hand for a moment.
Then shook it.
"Fine."
Champagne laughed slightly.
"That's it?"
"No speech?"
Daito shrugged.
"You already decided."
Champagne shook his head.
"You're unbelievable."
The others called from the gate.
"Hey!"
"Are you two coming or not?"
VRRMM!
The convoy engines started.
Dust began rising behind the vehicles.
Daito and Champagne walked toward the group together.
The journey was beginning again.
to be continued.....