Night had fallen and the stars covered the skies of Elidia. What should be the calmest moment of the day ended up being quite chaotic. A squad of soldiers had deployed in a secluded region of the kingdom. A bloodbath was about to begin.

"We've arrived at our destination," Said Liam Mercer, the squad leader for this operation. He was charismatic and had a calming —maybe slightly high on its pitch— voice, reasons which made it clear why Theo had chosen him to lead in the field. His dark brown hair, muscular body, and fiery eyes were a clear sign that he also was strong enough to fight on his own, but he preferred to be accompanied by someone else on his missions. "How should we proceed now?" He asked the commander, using his communicator.

"The Ripper Bees' hive is about 300 meters in front of you. No guards can be seen on the radar. The squad should encircle the nest before engaging in combat. You're free to choose who should come from each flank, Liam." Instructed Theo from the COMET's headquarters. "Liam, please tell Cassius to adjust his chip, the image is getting distorted and I can't see shit!"

"Chip?" I asked, intrigued by the commander's order.

"All of us have a special chip implanted in," Ordell answered eagerly. "They transmit the wavelengths of our essence and allow the radar to detect us and other things on the battlefield." And he was talking about essence once again. When would I finally know what it was and why it mattered that much?

"That's right," Theo continued explaining calmly. "That's how we can see this blurry, but at least distinguishable, black-and-white image on the screen. It's a real-time transmission!" He was excited to show off his tech.

"Did you invent it?" I questioned him, letting my curiosity win again.

"Haha, if only... This is a creation of the Council of Sages. We only took it and adapted it into something we call the Shooting Star System."

I guess acquiring something like this from the military made sense. It was efficient and allowed for a more advanced control of the terrain.

"So, what do you think of this, Chryssa?" Ordell asked me as I curiously wandered my eyes through the place. It was a small building, secluded enough from the bustling city, but with all the commodities the soldiers could ever need, which was practical as they all lived together.

"It's... quite impressive. I guess it makes sense how precise you can be during your operations, considering the level of technology this place has. Not even in Arcadis did I ever see something like this." I replied as I directed my glance towards him. "Oh, and thank you for accepting my request to allow me to spend the night here... I didn't have the money to afford shelter for the night."

"You're welcome... Just remember that all of this is highly confidential, so nothing that happens here can get outside. Got it?"

"Yes. Don't worry, Ordell."

That's right, I had somehow convinced Ordell and Theo to allow me to stay with them for the time being. I honestly thought that was a pretty smart idea considering that, well, who knows what could happen to a lonely woman in a city like this, right?

After such a chaotic afternoon for me, dealing with the Devilcat and then with the thieves, being inside a building felt like paradise. When I left my country, my mind was set on trying to live in a place like this... Well, not literally like this, but I decided that I wouldn't go to a foster home. I hated that idea.

I sat down on a couch, far enough from the computer where the leader was giving directions to the team, trying to process everything that happened thus far. Ordell sat down next to me and, with a serious look, he addressed me once again.

"So, Chryssa. What are you planning on doing after this? Will you go to a refuge?"

"Not in a million years," I answered slightly upset. "That sort of place would be hell to a young lady like me, you know? I would hate receiving charity out of pity, and, of course, that would be only a temporary solution. They'll throw you out to the street after just a month!" I felt sad because, as harsh as it may sound, that's the reality of those sorts of places.

"That figures. But please remember that you don't get to stay here for free, okay? If you want to live here, you need to work for us." He paused for a second to assess my reaction to what he just said. "Are you fine with that?"

"Yeah, I expected that. Please don't worry about me." I tried my best to look neutral, but I was kinda glad that I got a job opportunity this fast.

"Well, Ordell..." Theo interrupted. "Keep in mind that we might have to deploy you to the battlefield if anything were to go wrong. But, for the moment, just stand by. Prepare the Es-Bike, just in case."

"Got it, commander," Ordell answered pretty cordially. This was weird considering their previous exchanges, which were more informal. Friendly, even.

Ordell got up and started preparing his Es-Bike. At the time, I didn't understand how it worked, but I was amazed by that level of technology. It looked like your typical bicycle. But it had an engine that made it move without the need for pedals. I wondered how that thing even worked. Was it powered by essence?

Theo was paying constant attention to the screen on his desk, ready to answer if Liam needed to, but apparently, everything was going smoothly.

They had explained the mission to me previously: It was supposed to be a simple Monster Extermination Request, solicited by some farmers in one of the provinces closest to Olimpia. However, what they didn't tell the COMETs was that the beasts that needed extermination were Ripper Bees, a type of giant insect resembling a regular honeybee, but the size of a human toddler, with venom three times as toxic as that of a jellyfish, and a stinger with a sharp edge that looked quite similar to a rapier. On top of all that, those beasts are pretty territorial, so their aggressiveness arises when approached by bigger creatures. Of course, that includes humans.

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Yeah, while that may sound scary, these guys weren't afraid to engage in combat with that type of enemy. I suppose they had experience killing creatures similar to these. Although I guess that makes sense, considering how easily Ordell killed the Devilcat. I wondered if that was the reason why Theo only sent what could be considered a small team, with only 5 soldiers in action.

"We're ready to attack. Waiting for permission!" Liam said via the communicator.

"You have permission," Theo replied.

Liam and his men started walking towards the nest, as we could see via the Shooting Star System. Their movement was slow but steady, with each step getting them closer to their objective.

When they were about 50 meters from the objective. The silence of the night was interrupted by a buzzing sound emerging from the hive. A guard came out of its home and noticed one of the troopers. It started flying towards him, buzzing constantly and moving its head erratically. That soldier, whose name was Cassius Vale, noticed the monster coming at him. He reacted fast and swiftly used his knife to cut one of its fragile wings, killing it in the blink of an eye. Thankfully, these species of insects are mute, so the beast didn't cry to its pain or had any way of alerting the rest of the colony.

More guards started coming out of the nest, but they were rapidly dispatched by other soldiers of the squad, avoiding making any loud sound. However, it was pretty clear by now that the Empress Bee had already suspected something might be going on, as a bigger insect came from the den and launched an attack against Liam, pointing its stinger against the leader's thorax, but before the attack could hit its target, the monsterwas killed by another of the soldiers: Matthew Banshee. If not for his intervention, who knows what would've happened to the mission?

But as the giant Ripper Bee died, it released a mysterious smoke from its body. Pheromones? He was warning the colony!

One after another, tens of swarmed out of the hive, making a defensive stance around it. They pointed their stingers towards the COMETs and as more of them began coming out, they expanded the radius between them and their home, forcing the humans to slowly take some steps back.

"Dammit, what do we do now?" Cassius inquired, addressing their leader and hoping he would think fast.

"Well, I believe we'll each need to take down about thirty, considering how many of these monsters are starting to come out..." Liam replied, considering all possible options they might have.

Back in the headquarters, we kept all our attention on the battlefield, monitoring all the movements of both the soldiers and the guards. Ordell started getting anxious and his stress was showing off by the way he started raising the tone of his voice.

"We have to do something, Theo!" He shouted, pretty clear he was trying to get his commander to deploy him.

"Not yet," He answered. "At least not until the bees start getting aggressive."

That decision was rational. After all, the bees were only protecting their home and not attacking the COMETs. But I understood Ordell's concern. What if his friends were to be killed and he couldn't do anything about it?

On the battlefield, the squad started moving backward at a faster pace. Now the amount of guards protecting the nest was reaching about two hundred, and more of them kept coming out of their home. Was it even possible for the squad to actually do something?

"Commander! Requesting for permission to use incendiary weaponry." Liam said via the communicator.

"Permission granted." Theo immediately replied.

Not wasting a second, one of the soldiers, Xander Giannis prepared a flamethrower and started approaching the monsters. He took the big gun and started launching waves of fire against the Ripper Bees. They didn't know how to react against the new threat, making them retreat to the hive.

As soon as the rippers started their withdrawals, Liam shouted, a signal for his men to run again towards the den and shoot at it, making thousands of holes in its shielded surface in a matter of seconds. It was pretty clear that the insects inside died. When it was clear no other guard would come out again, Xander ran and set on fire the nest, apparently killing the remaining monsters of its interior.

Ordell let out a sigh of relief after seeing his friends' apparent victory. Theo gave them their deserved congratulations for another successful mission. However, things weren't even close to ending yet...

Suddenly, a few guards started coming leaving the hive followed by the Empress. She was pretty much the size of a human adult, had a double-edged stinger and its maws were strong and sharp enough that it could easily take your head off with a bite.

Liam let out a cry of war, asking his men to go ahead and fight against the giant beast. Contrary to her offspring, the skin of the Empress was nearly immune to bullets, so they had to resort to close-combat options. Daggers, knives, swords, whatever they had with them. Matthew stayed behind, using his rifle to take down the remaining guards who tried to defend their queen.

The Empress moved aggressively, trying to stab the COMETs with her stinger and agitating her arms and legs to try and hurt the soldiers. They had to be cautious as she could launch herself against one of them.

In a flurry of hits, Cassius used his knife to scratch one of the legs of the monster, having special care to not get closer to the stinger. When he saw himself overwhelmed by the Empress' movements, he switched his position with Xander, who launched defensive flames that would take aback the creature. Liam lunged forward, using his battle axe to get closer and inflict damage on the crystalline wings of his target and, when he got the chance, used it to slash one of the eyes of the enormous insect.

The Empress moved erratically and tumbled down from her wound. That was the signal for the squad to launch one final attack. They started hitting with all their might in a brutal carnage, cutting flesh, limbs, wings, eyes... After that raid, there was no way to tell how the creature looked before her painful demise.

"We did it, guys!" Cassius shouted as he raised his arms. Everyone started celebrating their victory, hugging and giving each other a high-five. In the HQ, We all finally put aside our stress and anxiety.

As we celebrated, though, one final thing surprised me. Troy Harper, the fifth member of the squad, started acting suspiciously as he stopped celebrating out of nowhere. He stood quiet and raised his gun against Liam. What was going on? I needed to scream and warn Theo about this!

But before I could even move a muscle, Troy pulled the trigger and sent a bullet flying, hitting his target: One remaining guard, trying to avenge its queen. I was shocked and felt like I almost passed out, but I relaxed after Liam voiced his words of gratitude to his colleague.

"See, Ordell? They can handle it on their own. You don't need to save their asses every single time." Theo spoke with a joyful sound in his voice.

"I guess you're kinda right," Ordell replied. Their dynamic was clear enough for me now. Their bonds and camaraderie made them closer to simply being partners in a militia. They were like family to each other.

About half an hour later, the squad returned to the base. Their armor was all covered in a green ooze, no need to be an expert to know that was the blood of their enemies. They took off their helmets and gear and I could finally take a look at the soldiers who valiantly fought to bring peace back to the countryside... But there was something weird. Shocking, even. They were just kids—Some even younger than Ordell!

I decided not to pry on that fact for a moment. We were about to have dinner, after all. But just after we all had our celebratory meal, I went and took Ordell to the terrace.

I needed to know the truth about the COMETs.