Time passed slowly, until, an hour later, the sound of helicopters and vehicles began to echo in the distance.

Kay opened his eyes, blinking slowly before standing up.

"Thank you..." he said, with a lighter tone, although still tired. "I'm awake now."

Thais let out a sigh of relief, but soon complained, with a smile playing on her lips:

"That's great! But my leg is asleep now!"

Kay smiled slightly, finally relaxing for a moment and picked her up, supporting her in his arms.

"I need to distract myself... Call me to play tonight!" Kay said, trying to ease the tension.

"I'll go!" Thais replied, with an encouraging smile.

Kay activated the wings of the suit, rising easily, and took Thais safely close to her team.

"What are we going to do with him?" Kratos exclaimed, pointing to the mini ghoul.

— So he couldn't eat the top part... Leave that to the institute to make more weapons. As for the mini ghoul, let's leave him as part of the army! — Kay replied, analyzing the situation.

— I believe that will be impossible, after what happened to the captain... — Kratos replied, with a serious expression.

Kay sighed and crossed his arms, thoughtful.

— I understand... Leaving him locked in a cage would be a waste. But for now, let's go with this. — Kay replied, although his voice carried an evident weight.

— And now? What will it be like without the captain? — Kratos asked, breaking the silence that hung over the group.

— There were civilians at that time, so soon all this will be revealed to the public. Tell me exactly what happened before I arrived. — Kay ordered, adjusting her posture.

While the team members began to report what they had witnessed during the attack, the institute's workers collected the bodies of the ghouls. Fernanda approached, interested in what the group was discussing.

“They used people as hostages... Those ghouls were dangerous,” Kay commented, her expression darkening into a mix of anger and reflection.

“We couldn’t do anything... They were going to kill the…” Slayer hesitated before lowering his head. “No! That’s an excuse. Actually, we were scared and couldn’t move!” he admitted, with bitterness in his voice.

“If we had moved, would it have been different?” Dan asked, trying to make sense of everything.

“Maybe... But instead of the captain, it would have been the civilians, the guards, the soldiers... There would have been a lot of deaths,” San replied, trying to ease the weight on the group’s conscience.

“It’s frustrating!” Fiona exclaimed, clenching her fists.

Kay took a deep breath and, after a moment, turned to Fernanda.

— Fernanda, the mini ghoul will stay in Mineforde for the week. Reinforcements from the other divisions will protect the people in the kingdom. — Kay stated firmly.

— I don't think the people at the institute will approve. They took a while to give him permission to come here. — Fernanda said, frowning.

— It's not an option! — Kay retorted, her tone harder. — I'm saying the mini ghoul will stay here for the week. Or would they rather Mineforde run the risk of being overrun with ghouls?

Fernanda hesitated for a moment, but nodded.

— I'll pass on the message. — she said, removing the radio from her waistband.

Kay turned to the team, watching the helicopters and vehicles in the distance.

— Our team should arrive after the reinforcements. We'll return to the base as soon as the institute collects all the bodies. — Kay announced.

Thais, who had remained silent until then, raised an eyebrow and asked, in a somewhat playful tone:

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

"So, Kay, when are you going to put me down?"

Kay looked at her, confused.

"Is your leg okay?" he asked, worried.

Thais crossed her arms, her face a little red.

"It's been a while! I even warned you, but it seems you didn't listen," she said, clearly embarrassed.

"Sorry!" Kay said quickly, helping her to stand up carefully.

Thais straightened up, shaking her legs to relieve the numbness. Then, she pointed at Kay with a provocative smile.

"You have to pay more attention right now!" she said, with a defiant air.

Kay laughed lightly, letting the tension of the battle dissipate for a moment and petted her.

"Spending that time with you did me good, thank you!" Kay said, with a small smile.

— I think that's what partners are for, right? To support each other in these moments! — Thais replied, boasting a little.

— Every moment I can understand what Rem and Mira wanted for me. In fact, there are so many emotions... — Kay commented, still smiling, but with a reflective look.

— I don't know if I understand... But it's a good thing, right? — Thais asked, a little confused.

— It's wonderful. — Kay looked straight into her eyes, the intensity of her voice carrying significant weight.

Before the mood could get any worse, Fernanda interrupted abruptly:

— Enough of you two flirting. What's the situation with your suit? — she exclaimed, crossing her arms.

— The limit break burned the circuitry of the internal plates. I've already noticed that the suit is absorbing something from the ghouls... I just need to change the internal circuitry and it will be ready to use. — Kay explained.

— I'll take advantage of the fact that the institute staff is here and prioritize your repairs. So... Take off your suit! — Fernanda ordered.

Kay seemed to hesitate for a moment, but quickly changed the subject:

— There's something I want to ask you... About the general's upper body. Is it possible to turn this into a suit? — he asked.

— The mini ghoul only ate the bottom part, but the problem is that you cut too much. Still, it is possible, yes! — Fernanda replied.

— It seems like good material for a costume. Since the mini ghoul himself couldn't cut it, let that be on record. When you create the costume, give it to someone who has never worn a costume before, but who has a high percentage right from the start. — Kay said, with conviction.

— What level of percentage are we talking about? — Fernanda asked.

— The same as Kratos and Raven at the beginning. Or, if possible, someone higher! — Kay stated.

— It's not every month that people like this appear, but I'll keep everyone informed. — Fernanda replied.

Kay took a deep breath and then added:

— And finally, announce Takemichi's death, the existence of monarchs and generals, and possibly other positions among the ghouls. They went from an irrational threat to something much more worrying. And given their abilities, let them know that they may have different powers than we are used to!

“Okay!” Fernanda nodded.

“Make an appointment with the king. I’ll go there before I go to the base,” Kay said, already getting ready to leave.

“Are you going to fight with him?” Fernanda asked, suspicious.

“I’m just going to tell you how it’s going to be this week. I don’t have the heart to argue anymore,” Kay replied, tired.

“Then it would be better if you make an appointment yourself, since you have the contact information of someone in the royal family,” Fernanda replied.

“I get it! I’ll go back first.” Kay turned to leave.

“I told you to take off your suit!” Fernanda insisted.

Kay ignored the request and continued:

“The others have already arrived in the kingdom, but they may not have informed you yet about what happened here. I’ll probably arrive when they’re explaining things in the castle. I’ll leave my suit with some scientist from the castle for him to take to the institute.”

“You give me so much trouble, boy!” Fernanda complained.

Kay just smiled before approaching the mini ghoul, who was still sleeping.

"It seems he's evolving. I never thought I'd say this, but he's going to be a good ally," Kay commented.

"Evolving so fast?" Fernanda exclaimed, surprised.

"Eating stronger ghouls has a better effect on him. Anyway..." Kay said, before emanating her aura towards the mini ghoul. "The humans are returning home, so you're going to take care of this place until I tell you to return. Kill all the ghouls that come near and you can eat them. Run away only if you don't have the ability to kill them! That's an order!" Kay declared, with authority.

After giving the order, she hid her aura and took out her cell phone.

"Did he understand? He's still sleeping," Thais asked, a little suspicious.

"He can tell the difference in my voice, even through a cell phone call. So, in person, he must understand my orders even when he's unconscious." — Kay explained, while typing on her cell phone.

— I think that makes sense. — Thais said.

Kay received a message and quickly checked it.

— I see. It seems that they are already in an audience with the king. Except for Lena, all the leaders are there. I'll take the opportunity to go too, to support them. Then, return to base and await our arrival! — Kay ordered.

— Okay! — the team replied.

Kay put on her mask and got ready.

"Good luck!" said Thais.

Manifesting her wings, Kay replied with a smile before taking off.

"Aren't they bigger than before?" asked Dan, surprised.

"I see... They've evolved," commented Kay, more to himself.

"So you're stronger! When you get there, let me know," asked Thais.

"Okay, I'm going," replied Kay.

A strong wind took over the place, making everyone hold on.

"You're kidding!" said Kratos, impressed.

Fernanda watched with wide eyes. "That's the general's power... What will happen to whoever tames this suit?" she thought, perplexed.

As the air returned to normal, Thais's cell phone began to ring with notifications.

"That ringtone... It's not possible, right?" said Thais, looking at the device.

"I'm here," said Kay's message.

— How many seconds was that?! — Thais exclaimed, incredulous.

— Very little. — San replied, still processing what had happened.

— It's an hour by helicopter and it barely left and it's already there! — Thais said.

— That's the level of threat that intelligent ghouls pose. You need to evolve too! — Fernanda stated.

— You're right. — Fiona said, with determination.

The scene cuts to the castle.