A gloved hand knocked on a partially opened door, before a voice called out from the other side. "Come in."

With permission, the hand pushed open the door to reveal who it belonged to. The butler bowed before his master before stating his business. "The scouts have returned."

Sebastian was reading a book about ancient war tactics invented by the eastern countries. He looked up from his book, interest seemingly piqued. "What and how bad is the news?" HIs hands slapped the book shut with a soft 'thud' before placing the book on the table and taking their host's monocle off.

"Worse than estimated. The troops seemed to have been transformed into senseless humans," The butler reached for a nearby tea set. "Would you like some tea, sir?"

Sebastian was rubbing his chin and looked to be thoughtful when he was asked. "Ah, no. No, thank you. I've had enough tea for one day."

He then dusted his book before resuming the inquiry. "Elaborate on these 'creatures'." The word left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was not one to swear nor name others, because he had been taught not to. But in this kind of situation, it would be perfectly fine to refer to those unknown beings as 'creatures', or so he thought...

The butler stood straight and took in a breath before starting. "Based on the scouts' reports, the creatures are human shaped, suggesting your troops have been transformed mentally. They have insatiable lust and hunger from the scouts' observations, and they seem to wander around endlessly without concern for safety nor protection."

"The scouts have confirmed that these creatures were previously your men," the butler continued. "The creatures have been proven to be quite hostile to the environment and other animals, suggesting they are not native to the land. Their senses seemed to be better than humans as well, and it has made the scouts hard to investigate further."

Stolen novel; please report.

Sebastian had many thoughts regarding the creatures, but kept them to himself since he wasn't sure yet. "Casualties?"

"Nine."

"But that's almost almost all of them!" Sebastian exclaimed, before asking again. "Did the scouts bring back the bodies?"

The butler looked a little sorrowful, but continued debriefing. "All casualties have been from the creatures. The surviving members reported the bitten bodies starting moving on themselves and acted similar to those creatures."

Sebastian looked to be in shock, but tried regaining composure. "Could it be... from the kingdom next to us?" Cold sweat seemed to be flowing now, and he smiled even though it was shaky.

"No sir," that seemed to have been good news since Sebastian calmed a little at the sound of that. "The creatures are definitely from our land, unsure where."

Sebastian clicked his tongue in thought. It would have been better if the next kingdom was attacking, then they would've just been able to retaliate to protect themselves. But right now, they were in unfamiliar territory. It was hard enough that he was a kid, even harder now that he was facing unknown enemies from enigmatic origins.

After some contemplation, Sebastian ordered what he thought was the best choice of action.

"Send out four battalions consisting of Disposers, Burners and Hounds. Mobilize the Recon team to survey and minimize damage," He thought this was the last straw, but also the best choice.

"We cannot allow these filthy creatures to take one step on our land." Sebastian's voice, though quiet, boomed throughout the room, the echoes it left still carrying his presence even as the butler bowed and left the room.

Sebastian once again tasted something bitter in his mouth, but for once, he didn't mind. Adrenaline pumped through his blood, clearing his thoughts, as a grimace found its place on his lips.

War was coming, and he couldn't be happier to teach those creatures a lesson not to trespass his boundaries.