He feels like…

One thought flashed through Dauma’s head as he watched the man who had called himself Claine do a small curtsy after his dramatic introduction before skipping over to him with an interested look.

“Wow, guess they weren’t kidding,” he heard him laugh, “where did they drag you out of, huh? I would say hell, but that’s the obvious answer.”

Instinctively looking back at the utterly disgraced Kara who had already picked herself up from the floor and had silently retreated into the corner, the thought immediately clicked.

He feels like her.

It made sense, considering he had mentioned something about a ‘teacher’, and the dubious air created by his exaggerated actions and tone.

So, there’s more of her, good to know.

“Hello? Anyone there?”

Claine was now jumping and waving his hands in front of him, trying to get his attention.

“…”

I don’t know what to say.

“That is enough,” Aleby’s voice boomed, “do not disturb our guests, dear brother.”

“Tch, alrightttttttt.”

Dragging out a loud groan, Claine stopped jumping and dragged his feet over to the table, completely ignoring Anten and Yuu on his way, and slammed down onto the now-vacant armchair, crossing his legs and arms.

…so childish.

Aleby did not comment on it. Instead, he put on his glasses, which gleamed in the sunlight and covered his eyes, and put his hands together on the table.

“So, what is your purpose in being here?”

“Pshhhhh,” Claine blew a raspberry and remarked, “do you believe I came here because I wanted to see you?”

“No.”

“That hurts. We’ve been apart for so long.”

“We met two days ago.”

“Ah, you know what they say, ‘two days without love is a love lost forever’. Surely you don’t intend for us to drift apart, do you?”

Aleby paused for a second before replying.

“No.”

“Well, I don’t too, so you can say we’re at a stalemate.”

Claine uncrossed his arms and leaned back in the armchair, looking up at the ceiling and heaving a deep sigh.

“Anyway, I need more Foxes.”

“I am sorry?”

“I need more Foxes,” he repeated as he tilted his head back towards Aleby, “for my mission, in case that wasn’t clear.”

This time, Aleby was the one to sigh as he leaned back and rubbed his temples.

“Why?”

“I would say why,” Claine stopped as he looked at Dauma suspiciously, “but I would rather share it with the people I trust. I want the beasts to leave the room.”

“They are on our side, dear brother,” Aleby reassured him, “they are fighting the same fight as us, so I trust them.”

“You’re always so trusting. Did you forget who we are fighting?”

“I know, but… I have a good hunch about this group. Now, please tell me your reason.”

“Alright,” after a long pause, Claine conceded, though he still kept his voice low, “as expected, we’ve run into some problems with the mission. A lot of our good forces have been spent. Some are injured, some are dying, and a few… you get the idea.”

“What?”

As she overheard them, Anten reacted angrily at the statement, but both brothers ignored her as they continued their discussion.

“Have you obtained fruitful results despite the high cost?”

Claine paused and looked away guiltily.

“No,” he admitted, “we’re close to a breakthrough, but we can’t reach it. We’re stuck and we are trying our best to fix the situation.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“In that case,” Aleby raised his hands and rested his chin on them, “I think the better course of action now… is to abandon this mission entirely.”

“I can’t accept that.”

As soon as he had given his suggestion, Claine had immediately responded bluntly and strongly.

“Excuse me?”

“I won’t let this mission go,” he fervently explained, “This has been our chance, brother. Our chance to turn the board in our favor. If we let this go, we will lose.”

“I am sorry, but losing our forces is not a good strat—”

“I am aware, but…”

Claine sat back and threw his arms wide open as his tone became more excited.

“…if this mission succeeds, all the losses we have had so far would be worth it! Think about that!”

“Claine.”

Aleby closed his eyes and replied in a calm, yet slightly frustrated tone.

“How many times do we have to go through this conversation?”

Claine stopped. His face went dark, and he looked away as though he had just been caught.

“This is not a rejection of your request,” Aleby slowly continued, “but rather a suggestion. You cannot dwell on the prospect of winning. I want to win as well, but… this just cannot do.”

“I… of course I know that…” Claine muttered in frustration as he clenched his fists.

“That is why… I have to say no. And you have to drop this mission, for good.”

“But…”

“That is my suggestion. I suggest you take it,” Aleby concluded with finality before opening his eyes again and looking at his brother with a stern gaze.

“I…”

Claine opened and closed his mouth, but no words could come out. He had been soundly beaten.

“Hm, now that’s what I’m talking about,” Anten remarked to herself as she approvingly nodded at the decision.

“…”

As he watched Claine sulk in the chair, Dauma cleared his throat and entered the discussion.

“If I may speak, Chief Aleby…”

“You may.”

All eyes were on him now. Even Kara, who had been moping in the corner, was now sidling up to him with an interested expression.

“If,” he looked at Claine as he spoke, “if what… your brother is saying is true, I don’t think we should let this go as well. Everyone could certainly use a useful asset, after all.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m suggesting that I can help with the mission. That might make it easier.”

“…”

There was silence in the room, before Claine suddenly and angrily leapt out of his chair and stormed towards him.

“Brother…” Aleby started, but he was already in front of him, with his finger directly pointing up towards his face.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to, devil,” he warned, “I don’t know who you think you are. You may have fooled my bro, but don’t think for a second that I will trust you. So, you can drop your stupid nice guy routine and go fuck around somewhere else, because there’s no way I will accept your help. And if you ever think about hurting my bro, I don’t care how powerful you are, you don’t want to mess with me.”

“What?”

“Trying to play dumb with me? I know what your kind can do. You’re a devil, and that’s what you’ll ever be. There’s no changing things.”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“…no…”

“Ah?!?!”

Yuu suddenly and softly chimed in, causing Claine to turn his head towards her and shout, causing her to quickly hide behind her bangs again.

“Dear brother, I think you need to stop. Right now.”

Aleby had stood up and was now walking slowly but determinedly towards them.

“Not now, bro. This devil needs to learn.”

“I said that’s enough.”

“Grk…”

Once again, Claine stopped talking, but this time he seemed scared, and it was clear why.

Aleby’s order had maintained the same voice register as before, but everyone who heard it could hear the authority that was coming from it, cold and seeping.

“This isn’t over, devil.”

Hesitantly, Claine backed away from Dauma.

Thank goodness. If he had continued, I might have…

“Chief.”

Suddenly, a small voice came out of nowhere, startling everyone in the room who had already been tensed up.

It had come from the other dark corner of the room, and now that all of them were silent, it was easy to hear it.

“Hoo…”

Claine took a deep breath before very quickly walking towards the corner, where the mysterious person slowly stepped out of the shadows and made themselves known.

“What is the update, Matty?”

“This...”

Anten stepped back in shock as soon as she saw him.

It was a small boy, about nine or ten years old. His hair was dirty and ruffled, and the brown cloak he had on him was several times larger than he was, stretching all the way down to his feet.

However, what really stuck out the most about him was his eyes.

They were a striking golden, much like hers.

He did not blink even once as he began talking to Claine, who had knelt in front of him, maintaining a grave expression on his face.

“Trouble.”

“What kind?” Claine immediately followed up.

“Birds.”

“…tsk.”

He stood up and began running towards the door.

“What’s wrong?”

“I wasted too much time here for nothing,” he responded hurriedly as he opened the door, “and now my troops are in trouble. Come along, Matty.”

As soon as he heard it, Dauma quickly glanced back towards Anten and Yuu, who both nodded in unison.

“We’re coming along too.”

Claine froze with his hand on the door handle for a moment before he closed his eyes and took another deep breath.

“…fine, but we have to hurry.”

“Be safe, my dears.”

Aleby’s voice rang out from behind them as they quickly exited the room and rushed back out into the city.

**********************

After running down several more alleys and passing more skyscrapers, they came to an unusual area.

It was a wide dirt clearing with no buildings occupying it.

They had passed by similar looking areas on their way through the city, such as a park where the plants had all withered away, leaving a large patch of dirt with a few facility structures left standing, but this clearing was different, as there was nothing in the middle of it except for one thing.

An opening, carved into the ground, surrounded by tracks and marks that indicated recent movements of things going in and out, going down into a black space with the help of a staircase.

Without stopping, Claine went down the stairs, followed by Dauma and the rest who had come along.

We’re going… underground?

For a likely once-bustling city, it was not surprising for there to be underground areas, especially for malls and carparks. However, given the unorthodox entrance, it was very likely that the place that it was leading down to would be strange as well.

And as the underground darkness soon became lighter, and the walls suddenly opened up to reveal the area it was hiding, it was most definitely the case.

“What the—”

Even as they descended further using the stairs that were now etched onto a wall, the ones who had come down before looked to the left and gazed in amazement at the massive space that had opened up in front of their eyes.

Below them was another city, packed with buildings and structures that stretched all the way to the edges of the underground space.

A city under a city.

However, unlike the city above, the buildings were less taller and more smaller, and were mostly made from stone and wood materials instead of the normal concrete and glass. There were also a lot more strange structures such as monuments, statues, and temples, including one that rose above the rest, right in the center of the underground city.

“Cool, huh?”

Kara, who had also come along with them and was now at the back, began to explain.

“We found this area through some digging. We don’t know how long it has been around, or why it is underground, but either way, this is exciting, isn’t it? Ue he he.”

“Less talking, more moving,” Claine responded.

“Tsk. Well, I figured since you are all serious and not jokey now, I should take up the mantle.”

“You’re not taking this seriously?”

“We’re not there yet. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, you know? Might as well liven your moods up on the way.”

“…I think I need to give you another lesson soon.”

“Can’t wait, Teach.”

The stairs ended as they arrived at the city, with Claine immediately making his way towards the large temple in the center.

“We’re getting close,” he warned, “stay sharp. Matty, give me an update.”

The small boy, who he had been piggybacking to keep up with their pace, nodded and stared in the direction of the temple.

“Hiding.”

“Who’s hiding?”

“Fox. General.”

“Where?”

Matty pointed in the distance towards a house right next to the temple.

“Thanks.”

**********************

“Took you long enough. Where were you, chief?”

As soon as the group entered the house, they were quickly assaulted by a loud voice.

A man, who looked to be in his early 50s, was standing by the window facing the temple. He was wearing a military uniform stained with sweat and blood, and he looked incredibly agitated.

Beside him were a number of wounded men and women, all in the same uniform but in various states of undress, being carefully tended to by uninjured ones.

“…I got held up,” Claine panted as he took Matty off his back and set him on the ground.

As soon as she spotted the wounded people, Anten immediately marched towards them.

“Stand aside,” she ordered coldly to the attending personnel, who hurriedly moved away.

They did not know who she was, but the strong tone of her voice seemed to bring a sense of reassurance to them as she got to work healing the injuries.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

“It’s alright, Masse,” Kara spoke up, “she’s a pro at fixing wounds, I’ve seen it.”

“And who is that standing beside you?”

“That is Mister Dauma, and he’s with us as well,” she coolly replied.

“He’s a… devil!” he shouted as he laid his hand on the rifle beside him, ready to pull it up.

“Yes, yes, but he’s safe. Look, this isn’t the first time we’ve been through this conversation, so can we move past it now?”

Masse grumbled as he stared daggers at Dauma. However, unlike the stare that Claine had given him, this one felt much more personal and with more hatred, as if he wanted him dead almost immediately as soon as he saw him.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t trust him either,” Claine added, “but that’s enough stalling. What’s the situation now?”

Slowly and bitterly tearing his gaze off Dauma, Masse gestured with his thumb towards the temple outside. It was then that they noticed the entrance had been blocked off by a stone slab, sealing it completely.

“Just some mockingbeasts,” he answered, “we disturbed a nest, but we’ve isolated them to the temple itself and aside from the affected, we’ve managed to evacuate the safe ones. Now, we just have to wait for them to finish each other off and we can continue.”

“I see.”

Claine answered calmly and directly, and did not ask any more questions. It seemed as though there was nothing left that Masse needed to elaborate to him, and that the problem had been resolved as soon as it was brought to his attention.

“Hold on, affected? What does that mean?”

Anten, who was still busy sealing up wounds, was the one to inquire about it.

“What? You don’t know what mockingbeasts do? What kind of person doesn’t know? Then again, you’re not a person anyway. You’re a filthy angel. Masse scoffed and looked disdainfully at her despite her current assistance.

"..."

Needless to say, everyone, save for a few Foxes who silently nodded, did not approve of his response. Kara grimaced, Claine covered his face in disappointment, and Dauma was slightly shocked.

“Excuse me?” Anten replied with frustration as her healing slowed down.

“You heard me, filthy angel. Go back to your Paradise hell with your boyfriend.”

“Now, now, let’s all relax, shall we? No one has to fight.”

Kara quickly stepped into the argument and began to calm them down.

“Yes, good call, Kara,” Claine ordered as he backed her up, “why not you explain to her what mockingbeasts are? And general? Don’t step in unless I tell you to.”

“…yes, chief.”

“Yes, Teach!” Kara readily agreed before she began pacing in a circle with her finger pointing up at the ceiling.

“Mockingbeasts. Very dangerous beasts you can find. You wouldn’t want to stumble upon a nest of them if you’re alone.”

She spread her arms wide and mimicked flapping wings, elicting a raised eyebrow from Anten.

“You see, Miss An, mockingbeasts are—”

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Masse suddenly shouted, catching her off guard in the middle of her movements and causing her to stumble a little.

“General!”

Claine quickly barked at him, but he was not listening. In fact, he had already jumped out of the window with his rifle and was running towards the temple at full speed.

“Goddamn it, who does she think she is?!”

The others quickly looked out of the window as well, and they immediately spotted her.

Yuu had, for some reason, walked up to the temple entrance when they were talking and had placed her hand on the stone slab covering it.

“Oh dear.”

Without hesitation, Kara and Claine rushed out of the house and towards her as well, with Dauma following suit soon after, understandably confused.

In front of them, Masse was running with all he had, rifle in his hand and an angry yet terrified look in his eyes. He had almost caught up to her.

“If she does anything…”

“Bang!”

But all of them were too late, as the slab burst open, sending her tumbling to the side.

The temple was open now, and what was hiding within it quickly rushed out.

The first things that came out flew out into the sky, and both Masse and Claine readied their rifles and began to fire at them.

“They’ll track your breathing! Hold your breath!”

One of the things swooped down towards Dauma as he quickly did so, and as it barely missed him and flew up again, he could see what it looked like.

It had no eyes or torso of any kind. It just had a beak connected to a pair of wings, and that was it. In short, it was a flying mouth.

Is that… a mockingbeast? It looks… funny.

“Don’t get too distracted!” Claine yelled as he uncovered his mouth for a second to breathe and talk as soon as he confirmed none of the things were near him, “they are not the biggest issue right now!”

As soon as he said it, the other things emerged from the temple, shuffling and crawling.

“Help…”

“Help me…”

“Please…”

When Dauma noticed them, he took a step back in horror.

They were normal Foxes, for the most part. However, their faces had been covered by the mockingbeasts, with the wings wrapped around their heads, and the beaks had replaced their mouths, almost like how one would wear a surgical mask.

And for some of them, that was the least unnatural part.

As they continued to stumble forward, their ‘mouths’ continually shouting for help, bony masses were growing out of their back, and their hands and feet were slowly being covered by a rough, scaly material.

They’re turning into… birds?

“…”

At this time, both Claine and Masse had already shot the last flying mockingbeasts out of the sky. Without even a single word, they pointed their rifles at the shuffling group of ‘Foxes’.

“W-wait!”

They did not.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

They fired shot after shot at them, and as more and more bullets were pumped into one, they slowly keeled over and soon lay dead, black blood pouring out of them.

The mockingbeasts wrapped around their heads that had miraculously not been caught in the crossfire detached themselves from the dead Foxes as soon as they could, but with another shot, they also fell to the ground.

“H-H…”

The scene was unfolding in front of him at breakneck speed without stopping. He could register what was happening, but he did not want to believe it.

They’re… still alive… they’re killing…

He stood there frozen, even as one of the ‘Foxes’ was quickly approaching him, having avoided all the bullets fired.

“Mister Dau!”

“Oi, devil! What the fuck are you doing? Move!”

Can they… be saved?

The ‘Fox’ opened its beak, revealing multiple sets of razor-sharp, pointed teeth, and it lunged towards him, ready to bite.

“MISTER DAU!!!” Kara yelled as she ran towards him.

“A…”

But suddenly, it collapsed to the ground.

“Huh?”

There were no bullet wounds in either of them, yet both the ‘Fox’ and the mockingbeast had died.

“…”

Standing behind them, with her hand outstretched, was Yuu. The orb in her chest, along with her eyes, were both glowing with a green hue.

“You?”

She put down her hand and nodded.

“But… how?”

She shrugged as the green light left her eyes, returning them to their usual brown shade.

Both of them did not say anything else as the other three, who had finished killing the rest of the ‘Foxes’, began to walk towards them.

“What the hell just happened here?” Masse loudly remarked.

Kara knelt down and placed two fingers on the dead Fox’s neck.

“Yup, both of them are dead,” she confirmed after a while, and she promptly turned to face Yuu.

“Perhaps… she manipulated their souls and destroyed them?”

“…”

She neither nodded nor shook her head. She just stood awkwardly, unsure of how to respond.

“Interesting. Souls, huh?”

Claine, who had been staring at the corpse with a hand covering his mouth in contemplation, suddenly tilted his head to look at her. His initial frustration at her was seemingly gone.

“Chief?”

Instead, there was an unusually wide smile on his face, just like when he introduced himself earlier.

“That is very interesting, indeed.”