"Safest place to put something you don't want to world to easily come across. Dead bodies, or a bunker. Every single building in Corosta, commercial or otherwise comes packet with one." Tiki explained.

"Yeah, Dad took a page out of your book when making the underground safehouse for me to transmit my messages in Delpha." Terna looked down.

"But if someone finds the code that's not...well, you?" Anya pointed out.

"These bunkers were made to protect us from bombing attacks or ion cannon firings, considering the business model of war and mercenaries we chose to go with. You coming down to face a demon that has known how to fight with Obsulyte melee and ranged weapons, war tactics and hand to hand combat from the age of 12 is not the best idea if you wish to breathe right after. Had it not been for Izuko constantly pumping out his powered up monsters, you'd get exactly what I mean." Tiki placed her axe on her back and began climbing down.

Once Tiki turned on the lights, they were greeted by a big, wide open room similar to that of a normal apartment, only with way more beds on the right side and a bunch of other large areas around them. A big common area, a kitchen, bathrooms and what looked like a locked away, very heavily maintained and cared for arsenal room, requiring a keycard to get through. The kitchen itself looked like it also had a massive pile of foods, mostly canned and preserved, while the common area in the middle was filled with multiple tables, a lot of TVs as well as what looked like a practice range shoved at the back of it. To their surprise, there was even what looked like a lab on their left side, sticking out like a sore thumb as it looked like nothing crafted in the same way as the other areas, looking more state of the art and placed not during, but after construction with the same style areas in the bunker. A lot of items, carefully stacked and organized to their right side could be seen as soon as they walked in, giving the generally alright size of the bunker a much more open feel to it as they were no longer meaninglessly placed around it.

"This is the place." Tiki sat down, by the lab, "Treat yourselves quickly, because we have a killing to do."

Anya went up at the fridge and grabbed a beer, "Don't mind if I do.", she went up to Tiki, "That's an awful lot of stuff you got here. Build this yourself?"

"The lab, you mean? Yes. After the new Shadowers came along, I had to study my enemy to know exactly what they are about. Found a lot of things that eventually routed back to me mastering heavy weapons like this axe here. However, I lack proper weapon crafting equipment, so it's a crude version of older weapons from the 2300s like this that I'm stuck with. Unless I want to completely forthfit using Obsulyte, since the others are not Obsulyte conductive."

"You know, you actually do have some equipment I could use to make weapons with, but I'm not sure about Obsulyte conductive ones, since that requires very specific gear to do so.", Lass pointed out.

Tiki dropped her axe on the lab's table, "Screw it then. If I can't have a conductive one, even like this old wreck here, then I'd rather use my bare hands. And how do you know what to do in terms of that?"

"I used to get gigs like twice a day for Obsulyte conductive weapons back home. Had my own lab and everything to do so, with equipment I'd both classify as insanely specific and state of the art."

"Interesting...maybe I'll commission you one day, to help me make a weapon catered to me," Tiki opened up a few files on her computer.

"I'd also like to see the results of it. You were so insanely strong even without a powerful weapon at hand!" Terna applauded her.

"It's literally biology, giving me a direct advantage and of course, information. You don't all look like you're seasoned at war, so let me give you a friendly piece of advice. Information conquers all. Any information related to the subject at hand."

"Hah, you tell me. My ongoing siege in the war of economics going on today depends on it," Anya sipped her beer, "Doesn't always have to be a physical conflict to need information about you know."

"Of course I do. When I told you that demons are war experts, I meant it. All forms of war. Economical, physical...recently, before destruction, also technological."

"Wait, demon demi humans are...technology experts?" Ikarisa curiously asked.

"Up until recent times, before I studied abroad, there was no such thing as colleges, universities or higher education than senior high in Corosta. However, when I finished college at the age of 12, coming back, I started passing along the message of how I had studied that prompted people to ask how exactly they could do the same, without requiring the help of outsiders. We were never war hungry as you were told. We were extremely, unhealthily competitive, which is something I only came to realize after I returned home from one of the then top Larrusian universities. So competitive, that within the first year of my return, they literally took an empty plot of land within Corosta, raised a massive campus and introduced our very first university and the day after, it was immediately maxed out from all the applications sent. Within 2 years, with how crazy stupid the progression and need to be the best from each applicant was, we had people actually graduating minor courses, and 2 years after that, even during actual war times, we had graduations on major courses."

"Did you just say you completed college at 12?" Yuno was surprised.

"That I did. From the age of 8, I was...I knew stuff. Normally, by 12 we are enlisted in the army and not really anyone ever got the chance to complete higher education before I came along and used my contacts within the monarchy at the time to do so. You see, Izuko, he was a good king, sure, but...how his family for centuries led our people...there were some cracks. Leaving people uneducated in times like this was but a stupid decision that unfortunately he was brainwashed with. The only reason why I was allowed to finish my studies abroad was to collect more information on how everything was, especially war based technological advancements. After all that, Corosta rapidly began researching only one thing, war technologies, which I believe was the tipping point for how everyone wanted us dead. And dead they got us...well, most of us. I remember a girl for example, who went abroad and started a business, so I'm sure there are more examples like that from demon demis. However...the rest of Sandaco? Wiped."

"Hang on, what does 'the rest of Sandaco got wiped mean?'" Terna asked with a frightened look on her face.

"You didn't see the village ruins and everything? Maybe even small town ruins like Almachen? Corosta, Sandaco's capital was screwed and the forces of our enemies were pushed back. So what they did instead was that they traversed the entirety of Sandaco, slaughtered every single demon demi human that breathed, and left the entire country to ruin, before Izuko put the nail in the coffin shortly after he saw a chapter in the Genealogy Of Genocide labelled 'Sandaco-Demon Demi-Humans'. Historians really rushed that one chapter out before they watched the flames coming closer."

"Yay. War crimes." Lass facepalmed, visibly ashamed.

"This honestly makes the question, Lass. Who or what the hell are we fighting for?" Anya asked.

"As in?" Lass wondered.

"Think about it. Thaddeus being the very last monarch on the planet, all other monarchies falling once again ever since their reestablishment in the late 2100s, his throne is still firmly grasped upon and that's not accounting for the fact that...well, it's public knowledge that he managed to somehow turn Obsulyte into his own sort of personal fountain of youth, or I guess fountain of not ageing."

"So you're hinting at the fact that Thaddeus might be the bad guy?" Lass asked.

Ikarisa stepped in, "He was definitely old enough to be alive before all of us, meaning that if he also did have his throne and grasp on the geopolitical landscape of Insinia during the Great War and a bit before the demon demi human chapter of Genealogy Of Genocide...it could be." Ikarisa thought out loud.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Insinian forces were one hundred percent based outside the city that day. I remember how they all screeched like little bitches with every blow I landed on their heads. Some just suffered concussions instead, making for a quittered experience."

"Wasn't Izuko under the same thing though? If I remember correctly, ever since Sandaco was established, it was led by Izuko, and never once had another of his lineage rake over." Yuno pointed out.

"Izuko and Thaddeus never saw eye to eye, to begin with. Numerous exchanges were done over the years, especially when I was becoming closer to Izuko, and he took me along with him as a bodyguard once I was promoted to general in the army. While speaking with Thaddeus, later down the line, they became more and more insulting and way more aggressive towards each other, leading up to the whole murder campaign in Sandaco. Now what they actually did say, I didn't quite know, there than Izuko venting to me and Neker when we were in the escort car or plane." Tiki explained.

"I wonder, actually...does Izuko also have something to do with this?" Terna thought out loud.

"Hmm? As in what?"

"His aggressive behavior. We've seen those infected with that corrupted Obsulyte growing ever so angrier and eventually consumed by madness. This in turn means that Izuko, where he stands, might have something to do with what's happening in Insinia and specifically, those sightings of the KoK tournament and later on Neviro at Delpha. I looked into it once everyone started rumors about it, and it actually somewhat checked out. Maybe...that's what Izuko was consumed by." Terna pointed out.

"Corrupted Obsulyte is definitely at play, but I'm not sure where you're getting at. You mean that he was consumed by madness? Maybe vengeance, because he despised Thaddeus?" Tiki asked her back.

"Maybe..." Terna struggled to put things together.

"To...manifest destiny." Ikarisa realized, "That brute at the KoK, Neviro, Izuko all had one goal in common. Their own good and securing the future based on what they thought was best."

"So you're suggesting there's a method in the madness? I mean, sure, but whatever, doesn't change the fact that they went completely insane." Anya shrugged.

"No, wait. She's onto something. Noticed it yet? The so-called 'Corrupted' Obsulyte works both ways in that regard. It's almost as if it's a...punisher of humanity. While those who reached the top of the food chain, like Neker and Izuko, through time and conquering other creatures, eventually even becoming one with them, they went mad, and the way lesser beings, like Shadowers, did not. Instead, they used it and their intelligence just spiked completely, along with their physical attributes." Lass realized.

"So you're saying that Shadowers might have a plan? A plan like...replacing humanity and human type entities as the top of the food chain?" Tiki thought.

"That's complete speculation based on as little evidence as possible, which is what we have right now. To me, this 'Corrupted' Obsulyte feels more like...water in a pot, I suppose? Thinking that humans already almost have the pot full, the Corrupted Obsulyte is more water poured in, which makes the entire thing overflow. Shadowers on the other hand had way less water in their pot...and Corrupted Obsulyte fills it up. As in, perfectly tops it off."

Tiki looked something up on her computer, "Now that you said that, here." she pulled up a few images, "I found a little portable camera inside the police station that I looted and used to gather footage and study things after, so..." she pulled up an image, "I think that dismisses your 'Pot Theory'."

Tiki showed them an image of what looked like a much enlarged form of the previous general Shadowers they had just come into contact with. This time, the massive brute had a mule and teeth, with its hands even larger than them, like the titan they faced before, looking extremely vicious. As she played the video, the monster began to move around in an almost janky manner, recorded doing awkward movements, almost as if it was not accustomed to its own body yet, moving around aimlessly. Tiki, inside the video, didn't speak a single word as she tried her best to keep her distance while observing it, recording its horrifying breathing and sounds of its growls, heard even from the distance. The video then stopped as Tiki began to descend back off the high ground she had gotten herself into, ending the survey quickly before being caught.

"To me, this doesn't look normal." Tiki said, "I wasn't even going to bother with this thing. It looks like too much of a hustle, especially when backed up with more of its kind, because you can be sure, there's more. And getting to Izuko will surely get all of this thing's friends to show up too."

"So this also raised the bar for what their upper evolutionary limit is?" Yuno asked.

"The same dew of life humanity was based on, water, for them is that Obsulyte." Ikarisa realized.

"Except we had to discover fire. Anyway, I'm not talking shit, since I'm not an evolution biologist." Tiki shrugged.

"I'm actually lost as to what you really are, to be honest. Soldier, scientist, a brat?" Lass looked at Tiki.

"Your mother." she whispered back at him while clicking away on her computer.

"What was that?" he heard her.

"Your mother.", she repeated herself without an inch of hesitation, "What, you thought I'd play the polite game of whispering mean shit, then go like 'Oopsie, it's nothing, nothing at all!', kind of deal? Welcome to Sandaco, bitch. Steel made everything from our weapons to our balls." she got off her computer, "That being said, follow me to the war room real quick. We've got a plan I made long ago to go over."

Without daring to reply with utmost anger in his voice, Lass instead kept it to himself, as those around him, especially Tiki very well knew that he was boiling inside to an unfathomable degree. Trying his best to get deep breaths, he followed Tiki to the middle of the bunker, along with everyone else, before a massive holographic table. On it, a lot of X marks were scattered everywhere, with a bunch of statistics made for each individual area, ranging from 'Danger Level' to 'Corrupted Obsulyte Level' to even subcategories of what enemies, from Shadowers to Enmities and their enhanced forms they were likely to encounter the most. An astounding project that filed all sorts of information, it was clear that Tiki had long gotten a firm grasp on information warfare from within the city.

Anya was left in awe, "Ok, now that's even more impressive."

Tiki scoffed, "Every time you say that, I just get even more pissed at the prospect of you thinking that we were all brawns over brains. The first classes in War School were all about scouting, information storing and major critical thinking and tactical acumen courses. Do you think I became general because I wished upon a star or some shit? No. To be a leader, have souls under your command that have their own pasts, their own stories to tell, you have to earn it. This is one of those ways to earn it, because the more you know, the better your chances of making everyone get out of there alive." Tiki proudly spoke.

"So...you were part of a team before? Like a squad?" Terna asked.

"Of course. We were all divided into individual units with each posing one lieutenant. Had the lieutenant earned enough merit through their actions, their rank would increase to 4-star, with O-5 becoming O-10 and they would be eligible to take command of other squads or units, should they wish to. I was second lieutenant, or second in command...before my first lieutenant died, and I took charge instead. Promoted to general after some battles, and I could've probably reached all the way up until Vorgesetzeter General."

"What the hell is that?" Lass got weirded out.

"Stands for Superior General, based on old demon demi human language, before today's standard global language. Highest rank to ever be achieved, only by men, throughout history. To even come close as a woman to achieving that, it's an accomplishment in itself. It was what I thought to be the end all be all...but then everything else happened, so there's no rank for me to achieve anymore. Granted, you required deployment in 15 battles, 5 of which were to be on a battlefield or situation class 0, the most dangerous one, and prior service of 10 years while also having acknowledgement of your own superior, having your squad interrogated to the breaking point until they say the truth about their respect and everything about you and lastly, a written, publicly announced and advertised letter of the current standing monarch, along with their own speak acknowledging it, a signature of course included."

"So this is the result of your resolve then?" Ikarisa looked at the detailed map.

"Years of training and culture injecting itself into my brain. We are the most definitively competitive, uh, were, the most definitively competitive people out there. My drive to be the best under any circumstance, lead me to making that decision. Although...I do wish I'd have the same treatment as other women did." Tiki sighed.

"What, you were treated badly or something?"

"Oh, they laid a hand or word on me, they were dead. But no, nothing like that...wasn't worshipped either. Back in the good times, women were gods here, and I wished I'd get a piece of that pie while it happened. Looked all too lavish to ignore."

"The demi humans that slaughtered willy-dilly worshipped women?"

"Of course they did, dumbass. They were life givers. After every campaign, who do you think was administered that fertility drug we hold at the treasury? With or without it, they were still miracle producers. As such, even though allowed to fight alongside others in the army, the highest rank to ever be achieved by them was lieutenant because they could be replaced by others during absence, which happened a ton, since they were banned from ever going to war, had they had at least one child registered."

"And you never had a child or something?"

"I wouldn't be as high as I was if I did. I was personally excluded from the administration of the drug after campaigns, unlike others who were forcibly given the thing and had children. And before you ask, no, we weren't as vile as you'd think. Only registered husbands could do that with their drugged wives. Could they choose to stay single and avoid the drug administration via that? Sure. But to safeguard that loophole, they'd simply be banned from registering in the army in the first place. Our competitiveness, our need for expansion, and our culture thrived from our tales of military glory. But equally so, inside the borders, we would have the life givers who made it possible in the first place stand up to equal, if not more glory."

"So you were never married or anything to get there? You were a total loophole?" Lass folded his arms.