Kicking the ground in anger, Major Erinster stared at the cold remains of a firepit. This was the third one they had found in two days, but there was still no sign of the Taurons. He felt like the lowly Barbarians were toying with him. They knew his military expedition was slow with all the cannons and ammunition, so they stayed just out of reach.

"Major, sir! Someone is coming!"

Curious, the major followed the corporal to the top of a small hill, from where he saw a lone figure riding towards them. He frowned. It was unlikely that the Barbarians would come to them, even more send a single person. He would admit he was surprised and disappointed by how cowardly Tauron River was behaving. He had expected that all the tricks and provocations would be enough to make the chieftain lead his people against the Menoraz Army - upon which he would have real reasons to consider them a threat, and exterminate them. However, all that aside, just one person wasn't enough even to lure them into an ambush. Besides, whoever it was, they seemed to be coming from Ricker.

"What do the Cobaks say?"

"Their Sixth Sense didn't go off, sir. Maybe something happened in Ricker or the outpost, and they sent a messenger after us?"

The soldier gestured to the creatures next to him, and shook his head. Common spirit-type Iferes, Cobaks resembled a black cylinder with legs. Their round and long body gave a jelly-like feeling, and a gentle luster. About one meter long, they used their many legs to crawl around at fast speeds, and their huge compound eyes were able to see at a two hundred and seventy degrees angle.

Cobaks only possed two skills. The first one was called Sixth Sense, and allowed them to perceive anyone or anything that had murderous intentions towards them or their companions. However, the skill wasn't all-knowing, and needed the Ifere to have the target into it's line of sight. It also had the disadvantage that the Cobaks would only sense danger if it was directed at them. If the man wanted, per se, to hurt Major Erinster, but no one else, the skill wouldn't go off.

As for their second skill, Burrow, it was a pretty simple one. In fact, it could barely be counted as a skill. Burrow allowed them to hide underground, leaving only their eyes and part of their head on the surface, and thus they were able to search for enemies without being seen.

Both skills were incredibly useful for scouts or lookouts, making Cobaks a remarkably famous Ifere in the military. The fact that their intellect was pretty simple, and they signed Spirit Contracts easily was a plus.

"Uhmm... Let's wait for him to arrive. Make camp here for tonight."

"Understood, sir."

Major Erinster waited on the hill, hands behind his back, for the person to arrive. It was already night, but the many campfires and lamps lit up the area bright as day. Soon, the officer saw a burly man wearing a suit, with a Zaplin flying around his head. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"A Null? Why..."

Without waiting for the man to say anything, Major Erinster stepped forward, and started questioning him. The sentries on the surroundings all faced the other way, but were listening carefully.

"May I help you? This is a military operation, so unless the Secret Service has a good reason, I regret to say we can't allow you inside our camp. What's your business here?"

"I'm looking for a Major Erinster. Is that you?"

Kendrick's tone was neither humble nor disrespectful. He was just calm, like someone who was used to talking to those who occupied high positions in society. If Drake was there, he would've seen that although most of the investigation team didn't have field experience, they were all top-notch when dealing with delicate matters such as this.

"Yes, I am. What is it?"

"My name is Martin Kendrick, of the Secret Service, major. I'm part of a team that was sent to investigate and resolve the situation here in Kinton Valley. We have reason to believe that someone is fomenting the hatred between normal people and Barbarians, which could potentially lead to a conflict. As such, I have to ask that you kindly return to the outpost, so we can take care of this without bloodshed."

Major Erinster was slightly agape, unsure of what to say. He had expected anything but that, especially because he knew who was that 'someone'.

"You... This... We are in the middle of a military operation, to bring to justice the culprits that massacred many innocent people in Ricker. I can't... I won't go back just because you arrived here and said so!"

"I was afraid you would say that, major. Unfortunately, we have very strict orders from above to suppress any conflicts before they even start."

"Orders from who?"

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Kendrick sighed, apparently bored, and fished out two pieces of paper from his bag. His Zaplin helpfully picked them up, and dropped them in the officer's hands. As Major Erinster read the papers, his eyes widened, and his mouth opened in shock. He started trembling in fear, although he did his best to hide it.

"T-This... I... I didn't... W-Why? It's not that important... Just some Barbarian scum..."

"The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Internal Affairs don't think so, major. I would have preferred not to have to show this, but... You didn't give me much of an option, really. Now, what will you do?"

Major Erinster was too shocked to answer. His mind was racing through all possibilities and reasons for these letters, but he couldn't find a reasonable one. There was absolutely no way that two of the most important ministries of the kingdom took notice of such a small conflict and so fast. So, the only explanation was that there was a bigger problem, to the point where they didn't want to waste resources with Ricker and Kinton Valley.

"A-Are we... I mean, is Menoraz..."

"Yeah. But I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. Chances are you won't be a major anymore by the time that happens."

Letting his words sink in, Kendrick grabbed the two pieces of paper from Major Erinster's hands, and turned his Yscalent around. Even though it was already night, he didn't want to spend a single second more in Kinton Valley. There were too many variables, from the officer going crazy with despair, and shooting him, to the Taurons suddenly deciding to attack the group.

One of the things the agent enjoyed the most in his job was to see the high and haughty fall from their thrones when their crimes caught up to them. His lips curved upwards when he imagined the despairing expression Major Erinster must have.

------------------------------

Later that night, on the Velvet, Scarlet and Drake were sharing a table. It had become routine for them to go there have a drink every night. Both enjoyed it, Drake because he would have someone to talk to, and Scarlet because he was one of the few who didn't care about her identity as police chief. That being said, they didn't go to bed again, mainly because they knew Drake's stay in Ricker was temporary, and soon to end.

"Woah... They really said that?"

"Yep. Not Allure, the leader, though. She is a fighter, so she knows better than to talk sh*t to me. Or to you, from what I heard."

Drake raised his hands jokingly when accused, making Scarlet laugh loudly. The Null team had gone to her office straight after they talked to him, and from what she was saying, they had been overly arrogant and full of themselves. If it wasn't for the fact that the police chief was tired from dealing with the aftermath of the Barbarian attack, she would probably have exploded on them.

"Well, you can't really blame them. Of the five, Allure is the only one who ever got her hands dirty. The others are just seat warmers used to solving problems through diplomacy. Heck, I was probably like that before I met Ben."

"You think so? For some reason, I really doubt you liked to use diplomacy. Hahaha..."

"Guilty as charged."

"Haha!"

"You know it's not polite to talk about others behind their backs, right?"

The two were still laughing when someone interrupted them. Surprised, and more than a little embarrassed, they both turned to see Allure standing behind them. Although her words might seem like she was reprimanding them, her tone was warm, and she had a grin on her face.

"Oh, hello there!"

"Err... Hi?"

Giggling, the Secret Service agent sat next to them, and a Zaplin appeared from inside her coat, to lay down next to Frainer and Kniivar. Scarlet and Drake exchanged glances, unsure of how to dissolve the awkwardness they were feeling.

"Uhmm... How long were you listening?"

"Long enough. But don't worry, you are right about most of it. The only person in my team who has field experience other than me is Kendrick, but he is not a killer."

"Oh!"

"As I said, don't worry about it. Someone doesn't need to have blood in their hands to be a good agent. But that's not what I wanted to say. I have to ask, who is this Ben you talked about? Just out of curiosity..."

One didn't need to be a genius to catch the subtle hints of mockery and reprimand in Allure's words, but in all honesty, they deserved it. Especially Drake. He shouldn't judge others by how many people they killed. Some of the people he respected and admired the most were innocent and harmless.

"Sorry about all that, Allure. As for Ben, he is a ranger. Ben Higler. I was traveling with him when we met Anna Holliday and Alex Freer in Park. It was through Anna that I was able to get the news about the Taurons so fast to the Secret Service."

"I see... Well, that proves I was right in coming to find you. Kendrick just returned, and he relayed my words to Major Erinster. By his reactions, he is almost certain the major is behind everything."

Drake frowned, and then winced when Scarlet pinched his arm under the table. He had already told her about how the Nulls took him out of the investigation, and she said they had done something similar to her. So, why was Allure now telling them what should, by all means, be classified information?

"Haha... Don't be so stunned, Drake. After we met, I did some digging, and discovered that without you, a lot more people would have died in the attack. Of those reckless Barbarians, six were killed by you or your companions. That's more than half of their total casualties. Color me impressed."

Her compliments didn't make Drake proud. Instead, he felt sad again, for forcing his companions to kill. However, he quickly shook his head, and pushed those thoughts away. What happened, happened. He couldn't change the past, so he just would have to be more careful in the future.

"Uhum... So what?"

"I have two tasks I think you are suitable for. Earlier, you said the Taurons relocated their village, right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Think you can find them?"

"Probably. Or rather, they will find me, as soon as I enter Kinton Valley. Question is, why should I? Tauron River and his tribesmen are probably better off the fewer people to know about their location. At least for now."

Drake would only go look for Tauron River after Major Erinster was stripped from his post, or transferred to somewhere else. The Barbarians trusted him, so he wouldn't give any chance for the trust to be broken, no matter how slim. Allure must have noticed he was adamant on his decision, because she didn't insist.

"All right, then. Then, regarding my second request... I have the authority to arrest Erinster, which is what I'm going to do tomorrow, as soon as he returns. Wait before you ask anything."

Scarlet and Drake both had their mouths open, not having thought that the whole matter would be resolved so quickly. However, they obediently shut up.

"I had my team interrogate the Barbarian, Broken Eagle, and after some... Persuasion, he agreed to testify against Erinster. I saw the marks of your... Questioning, by the way. Don't think too much of it, Secret Service can make it look like child's play, so no one is going to hold it over your head."

"I know, I've seen it firsthand..."

"Oh? Really? Curious... Anyways, I want you to be there when I notify him that he will be judged for his crimes, and so on..."

"Err... Why?"

"Because odds are that he will go mental, blame you for his fall, and try to kill you there and then. That will solidify his arrest."

Drake's mouth opened in an 'o' shape, but he didn't know what to say. In fact, what was he supposed to say to that?

"Oh!"