[Right on time! Please provide additional cover fire while Tomino gets her sword!] I ordered and this seemingly snapped Tomino into action.

She dashed to my left as the Kilopede recovered from the shot.

[Aye, aye! Although I must inform you that I am holding the experimental Deus Vult – a rail gun which takes about a whole minute to charge between each of its five rounds.] Bane said.

[Got it! We’ll try and buy you some time-]

The Kilopede let out a silent screech before rushing directly towards Bane.

I bit my teeth before readying myself to tackle the damned thing but, after seemingly seeing that I was about to do, Jenette yelled in protest.

“If you do that, we’ll be crushed!”

[Dammit!] I spat as the Kilopede rushed past us.

“Wait! Chocolate is typing something!” Bulkkoch announced.

I remained silent and waited for our C-con to respond.

“He says that we can eject a large amount of Glass through our hand and create an explosion that should be strong enough to shove the Kilopede a little.” Bulkkoch relayed.

“Does he seriously think a machine can cast a spell or something? This isn’t like the cartoons, Chocolate!” Jenette cried but we had no other choice.

[Alright. Chocolate, send 40% of our Glass Energy to the right arm!] I instructed while reaching towards the monster.

“Chocolate says everything is ready!”

I nodded before ejecting the Glass Energy through my hand but while it shot forwards, I willed it to spontaneously explode and it did so at an exponential rate to create a large ball of energy.

I was able to do this thanks to one of the six laws of Glass.

The Law of Erippu to be specific and it stated that Glass held within it embers of the fire that birthed all things.

It was made of the very primordial energies that drove creation and this is why it allowed us to exert our will onto matter to am extent.

I was also able to make it explode and it did so spectacularly, destroying my right forearm and sending me tumbling backwards.

The fireball we created was strong enough to knock the Kilopede to the side a little and a large chunk of its exoskeleton had been shattered, revealing the soft flesh within.

[Fire in the hole!] Bane yelled as I limped onto my feet.

A massive shockwave then nearly knocked me off my feet as one of Bane's rounds struck the Kilopede’s head.

Tomino, who returned to my side with sword in hand, took advantage of its dazed state and jumped straight into the hole we’d made where she began hacking away at the flesh of the creature’s midpoint.

[Finish it off, Bane!] I cried while raising my arm as high as it could go and, as soon his gun cooled off, Bane shot off another round, hitting the Kilopede right in the center of the mouth and this was enough to go straight through its head.

The monster then fell to the ocean floor just as a blood covered Tomino exited it’s corpse.

She walked up to me before cockily resting her katana on her shoulder.

[We did it, sir.] She breathed.

[Again with the formalities.] I chuckled.

[It is only right for her to do so.]

I turned around to see an approaching Bane who looked at us through his eagle shaped head.

[I heard your comms during the whole thing and it would be disrespectful to treat you any lesser because it’s your first day on the field.] Bane commended but he wouldn’t let my feeling of pride last for too long.

[That said, please refer to Commander Tomino as Weasel when she’s inside her Sayaad because there are three other people in there and they deserve acknowledgement and respect as well.]

[Yes, sir.] I stood as attentively as possible.

[At ease, Ghoul. It’s just some advice from a war buddy.] Bane nodded prompting me to do the same.

[Now I must admit that I’m a little confused as to why this monstrosity isn’t blowing up.] He said while leading us towards the Kilopede’s head.

[Yeah, maybe only a select few have adapted to explode although I recommend caution even now because you never know.] I cautioned as we walked up to the creature’s maw.

[Oh, well. Either way, we need to get you two back to the Nest. You look like hell.] Bane said and I couldn’t help but deflate with a sigh.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

[You can say that again-]

[[[Wait!]]]

What sounded like a thousand screams and whispers suddenly spoke from what felt like the center of my brain.

We all turned to the Hayulâ because that’s where it felt like the voice was sent from.

A voice we all heard.

[Did anyone else hear that just now?] Bane asked while readying his weapon.

[Yeah.] I answered while Weasel nodded.

[[[We wish to speak to you.]]]

Weasel raised her katana as the Kilopede’s mouth shifted.

It looked as though something was moving inside it.

Whatever was inside slithered out of the maw, revealing itself to be a two meter long, slimy creature.

It looked like a jellyfish only its head was smaller and held within its somewhat transparent skull held countless eyes.

It had four arm-like limbs which had three long fingers and seven tendrils for legs.

It was covered in what looked like bruises and baked from several scars.

[What in the world is that?] Bane muttered.

[7-Bane, 44-Ghoul and 112-Weasel, come in. Give me your sit reps.] Mama Bird called out.

[Not sure if you can see this but… I think the Kilopede’s skull wasn’t empty. We have what appears to be a Hayulâ pilot in sight. It just crawled out of the Kilopede’s mouth.] Bane detailed.

[Oh, I can see it alright. Just wanna make sure it’s not an error in the footage. Ghoul, Weasel, please confirm Bane’s findings.]

[Yeah- an unidentified organism just crawled out of the Kilopede’s corpse and it just attempted communication with us via means that are possibly Glass related.] I concurred.

[I can confirm Bane and Weasel’s initial reports.] Weasel said as we all stared at the dying thing beneath us.

[And what did our unsightly guest have to say?] Mama Bird asked.

[It said that it wants to talk to us.]

[About damn time we did some talking. Alright, sit tight. We’re sending a team to pick it up and only after then will you be able to return to the Nest] Mama Bird instructed.

[Copy that.] I sighed while keeping a weary eye on the creature on the ocean floor.

It said it wanted to speak to us.

And even though almost a billion people had died since the Ring War began, we were all ears for whatever it had to say.

Perhaps we would finally get answers.

.

..

Standing on my own two feet in the shower felt unreal.

It felt like I was puppeting a small toy when in fact it was my real body.

While outside the Ghoul I was just a man. Soft flesh, bones and blood.

I couldn’t survive the crushing depths of the sea nor could I walk the storm.

I weighed about as much as a leaf in the face of its winds and could run no faster than even my trained legs allowed.

This was what it was like to be human.

To be vulnerable… and yet I stood.

I eventually left the shower and, after getting changed, I joined my crew in the living room where they were busy with various things.

Chocolate was watching TV, as usual. Bulkkoch was reading a comic book and Jenette was making herself lunch.

“Good morning.” I greeted while sitting next to Chocolate who eyed me curiously.

“Mornin’ Cap’n.” Bulkkoch droned.

“Hey.” Jenette sounded as uninterested as ever but Chocolate responded differently.

He gently placed his right hand above his heart.

I tilted my head I’in confusion which was doubled as Chocolate used his thumb to make a slitting throat gesture.

“Umm… anyone care to decipher Chocolate’s little message?”

“Mmm?” Bulkkoch tore his eyes away from his book to look at Chocolate who repeated his two movements.

“He’s talking about the captain. He must have seen some of the old dog in you when you synced up with the Ghoul.”

“Oh. Tell me more about him. Everyone knows the legend about the Dead Four but I guess it’d be all the better to hear it from the horses mouth.” I leaned back prompting Bulkkoch to close his comic and sigh as Jenette sat next to him, plate in hand.

“You wanna know they call us the Dead Four? It’s simple, really. We all died during Operation Abyssal Deluge.”

A moment passed after Bulkkoch spoke and since I wasn’t sure what I heard was true, I allowed another moment to pass to see if I understood what he said.

“What?” I eventually winced in confusion.

“Ugh, you think these scars are just for decoration? The professor sent us down to the ocean depths with a nuke in hand to blow up the gateway the Hayulâ were using- this was back when we thought they were using some kind of gateway to travel between worlds. Ten Alsayaadin were sent down and none returned. No gateway was found and the nuke is still somewhere on the ocean floor. The operation was deemed a complete failure. That is until our captain dragged us out from hell and crawled back to this world, as mortally wounded as we all were. After it was discovered that we were somehow alive, we were recovered and taken to the Nest’s med Bay where we each experienced death in one way or another. But, in what would be described as a miracle, we were saved from the brink. Although we didn’t return whole. Everything has a price and Chocolate paid with his eyes, I lost my jaw and Jenette almost lost the top half of her head because she was too stubborn to wear her helmet.” Bulkkoch laughed with wistful eyes.

“You don’t like wearing your helmet either!” Jenette elbowed Bulkkoch which made him retaliate.

The two poked and nudged each other for a bit and while this was amusing there was something I was still curious about.

“And what about your commander. What price did he pay?”

Bulkkoch and Jenette stopped fighting to stare at each other for a bit.

“No one knows. It’s one of the biggest mysteries in the Sayaad Corps. A secret which the Commander kept close to his heart.” Bulkkoch sighed.

[Sayaad Commander Mudziyo and company, please report to the principle's office.] Mama Bird snickered and, after letting out an amused chuckle, I stood up.

“Alright, let’s see what our friend had to say.” I said before leading my crew to General Shahid’s office where we stood attentively next to two other Sayaad crews.

The first crew was that of 7-Bane, headed by a man named Alex. He was tall. Had short blond hair and sharp blue eyes.

He stood wide and with a raised nose, giving him a very obvious presence.

The second was Tomino’s and she was about a head shorter than me. Her pitch black hair and eyes, coupled with her pale skin and soft features made her appear almost mannequin like. She stood closely with her crew when compared to Alex’s crew who each stood a bit apart.

“Before anything else, I would like to congratulate each of you for your bravery and Valor. While we don’t exactly give patches or badges in the Sayaad Corps, I still want to do something to show my appreciation and, by extension, that of all mankind.” Shahid spoke and we all withheld any responses.

“Specifically regarding the crew of 44-Ghoul, I feel the need to remind three of you that you more than within your rights to retire. You have walked into hell more than twenty times and no one now or ever will judge you for putting the sword aside.”

I glanced at my crew who all stood tall.

“Permission to speak, sir.”

“I’m surprised you even asked, Hawk, but go ahead.” Shahid smiled.

“I will not rest until the very end!”

“Same here. To sit idly by while the war raged would be the cruelest of punishments.” Jenette and Bulkkoch declared while Chocolate nodded but this just made the Professor sigh.

“I don’t know why I even bothered asking. But with that out of the way, we can discuss the matter at hand although I suppose it’s time to inform you all that this isn’t the first time the Hayulâ tried to make contact.”