Chapter 38

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- What are those things?!!! - shouted one of the soldiers, not stopping firing his automatic rifle.

When Leon's group was driving along the road and it was only a couple of hours away from the Capital City, unknown monsters ran out of the forest and overturned one of the armoured vehicles. The convoy came to a halt and the soldiers, jumping out of the truck and getting out of the armoured vehicles, opened fire on the enemies.

The unknown monsters looked very much like humans in structure, but they were at least five times larger, and their bodies were badly deformed. Fortunately, they died in the same way as humans: a shot to the heart or head was fatal to them - this gave the operatives a significant advantage due to the fact that everyone was armed with long-range weapons.

Seriu and Mia, as owners of the teigu, took on most of the monsters: Koro tore and chewed them up like teddies, while Mia exterminated them from Callandor. Leon was keeping up with them too, and had already killed over four individuals.

- I think that was the last one. - Nero said, reloading his machine gun.

- What are those things? It's the first time I've seen them..." exhaled one of the fighters.

Leon scrutinised and counted the number of corpses: there were fourteen monsters, and they all came from the forest. Looking into the forest, the young man did not see anything unusual and decided to find out what happened to the soldiers from the overturned armoured vehicle. Luckily, they were bruised and only one had a bad bump on his head; the vehicle itself was dented, but otherwise it was still drivable.

- Nero!

- Yes, General!

- Order the soldiers to load the most whole corpse into the lorry. Let the scientists find out what kind of creature it is. If you're not sure it's dead, put a bullet in its head.

- Are you sure--

- Do you know what they are?

- I don't.

- Neither do I. So let the scientists answer that question for us.

- Roger that.

Nero left to give orders while Leon continued to study the corpse of the unknown monster. He already had a hunch that these monsters were artificially created, which was strongly hinted at by the bandages some of them were tied with and the iron shoulder pad with tubes implanted in the body.

"Are you... humans?" - Leon wondered internally.

- Commander, is everything alright? - A worried Seru asked.

- Everything's fine. Just thinking.

- Okay! We've already put the monster in the truck and we're ready to move on.

- In that case, let's move out. We need to report the new monsters as soon as possible.

- Yes, sir!

After getting into the trucks, the convoy moved off, leaving the corpses of the other monsters lying on the road.

- So these are the men of the Secret Imperial Police. And they are strong...'' came the quiet voice of an unknown individual standing by a tree, smirking. - But compared to my squad, they are nothing!

***

The new monsters caused quite a stir. They were first reported to the Imperium when they appeared in the mines and then in the forests near the wagon roads. Anna was ordered by Budo himself to find out where the monsters came from and the Yeageri were to eliminate them.

The investigators, guarded by soldiers, discovered a hidden laboratory while exploring the mine where these monsters first appeared. All records and equipment from there were taken out and studied. Later on, the nature of these monsters, or rather humans, was also revealed. Whoever owned the lab, according to the records, the owner was eager to create the perfect weapon that would eclipse the Teigu, and the best option for this was genetically modified humans.

Anna together with Alec and Ghost, guided by the reports of the soldiers and scouts, marked on the map the places where the monsters appeared, thus building a route and making assumptions about where these monsters would appear next, and then sent this information to the Huntsmen.

When Leon returned to the Imperial headquarters, he first went to Anna to find out the details of what had happened. Having passed into her office, the young man found a haze of cigarette smoke and the girl herself.

- Anna, you could at least open a window.

- Leon, are you back already?

- Yes. - answered the boy, opening the window to air the room. - I have completed the report on the events in the garrison, and Seriu will give it to you shortly. Now, may I ask what's going on?

- Well, let me explain...

Anna, having put out her cigarette, began to tell about what had happened, starting from the appearance of new types of monsters and ending with the discovery of hidden laboratories. Leon also told about the meeting with these monsters, and Anna, thanking for the sample, in passing noted the new appearance of monsters on the map.

- The raid has left the base. - Anna reported. - The ghost says that they left their fortress about a week ago. Where they are now is unknown.

- What exactly made them leave their old hideout?

- I wonder... By the way, you're the one who gave Ghost the maps, right?

- Yes, why?

Anna, smiling, walked up to the guy and adjusted his uniform.

- For such a gift, a simple 'thank you' will, alas, not be enough. - Anna said, and before Leon could reply, she kissed him quickly on the cheek. - Not a word about this to Esdeath..." said the slightly embarrassed girl.

- Uh-huh. - Leon agreed, stunned by such an unexpected action of his superior.

- One more thing... can you check one place? Alec thinks that the monsters might appear here. - pointing to a point on the map, the girl said.

- In the mountains, so... Why not send the Huntsmen there?

- I feel that Onest is interested in these creatures, and therefore will order Esdeath, contrary to Budo's order, to capture them alive.

- So I'm there to destroy them?

- And find out where they came from. Can you do that?

- Don't worry. I'll do it clean.

- Thank you. - thanked the girl, and as the young man left, she remembered one important thing. - The letter!

***

Leon had no trouble getting from the capital to the mountains. On the spot, he used his hearing to track monsters, but all he found were dangerous beasts that he had to deal with.

In an hour he had killed more dangerous beasts than he had on the hunt with Esdeath, which was ironic to Leon. Leon didn't find any new monsters - there was a thought of widening his search, but he was stopped by the sounds of voices coming from the top of the mountain.

Deciding to check it out, Leon began to climb the mountain with all the speed he could muster. Once at the top, he met his eyes with a familiar brown-haired man.

- Long time no see... Tatsumi.

- Leon! - exclaimed the brown-haired man.

Tatsumi was in a panic. He was trying to figure out inside himself: how was it that on this mountain, out of all the people on the planet, he was the one to meet him? The young man was trying to think of an escape plan, and seeing this thought process on the young brown man's face, Leon asked:

- What are you doing here?

- I'm... hunting.

- Alone?" Leon asked with an arched eyebrow.

- Y-yes!

- You're a bad liar. You have your mate from the Night Raid with you, right?

This time the brown-haired man chose to remain silent, but that only confirmed Leon's assumption.

- I understand you're also here to eliminate unknown monsters. Did you find any? And don't try to play the silent treatment, it won't help you.

- No, we haven't found any.

- So you're empty too... You know, Tatsumi, I should've taken you to the Imperial headquarters where you were pulled from instead of talking to you. And you want to know why I haven't done that yet?

The man nodded apprehensively.

- I feel sorry for you, Tatsumi. Answer me, do you still believe that revolution will make this country a better place?

- But it will! Don't you see how the people are suffering?! How much longer will you order them to endure?!

- Dementia, that's your diagnosis. You think you're a hero protecting the weak just because you're killing the rotten government? Or have you grown so attached to the members of the Raid?

- I'm doing this to build a world where people are happy!

- There's no such world, Tatsumi! Do you think people will be happy after the revolution happens? The Empire isn't the only country that's had a revolution, and I'm well aware of the consequences. I've already told you what happens when the revolutionaries win. Or have you forgotten?

- I haven't forgotten anything.

- Then why do you continue to believe that the revolution will lead this country to prosperity?

Tatsumi didn't answer anything, but just continued to stand there, glaring menacingly at Leon.

- I'll let you go this time, Tatsumi. But here's my advice to you: leave the Revolutionary Army and return to your village. Sayo is waiting for you.

- Sayo.

- This is not your war, Tatsumi... It's not for you to know who's definitely bad and who's good. So I'll say it again: leave the Revolutionary Army and just go home. But if you don't, the next time we meet, I'll kill you.

Tatsumi, hearing the warning, nodded nervously and ran down the mountain. Leon watched the fleeing brown-haired man, and then sat down on a rock to rest.

Leon didn't find any monsters in the mountain, only one escaped kid. Apparently, there were no unknown monsters here, so there was no point in continuing to look for them.

Standing up and adjusting his uniform, Leon was about to leave, but a rumbling noise behind him made him stop. He drew his weapon and pointed the blade of his sword at the unknown guest. The dust raised in the air began to disperse, revealing the figure of a girl.

- ''I am your opponent. I'm using a new method of dust on you... - once the dust had completely dissipated, Esdeath's gaze met Leon's. - Le... Leon?! - the girl exclaimed in disbelief.

- Esdeath?! - The young man was also greatly surprised by such an encounter. When he looked up to see where Esdeath had fallen from, he saw the flying beast, and the question fell away by itself.

Further conversation was interrupted by a growl from the guy's right. The unknown monsters appeared as if out of nowhere, and Leon and Esdeath quickly came to the same thoughts. The pair killed all the enemies instantly with ice and inhuman speed.

Once again, silence formed. Leon and Esdeath stood opposite each other and looked into each other's eyes.

- I... - Esdeath didn't let him finish, pulling the young man against her chest.

- It's really you... The real you... Why didn't you tell me you were back? I was lonely, you know. - Esdeath said, sniffing the boy's hair.

- Sorry... I had to get busy looking for monsters and there was no time to inform. What are you doing here?

- I'm a monster hunter like you.

- I see. Can't you let me go?

- No," Esdeath replied, pulling the boy tighter against her. - I've been waiting for you for a long time.

It is not known how long the girl would have hugged the boy if they both hadn't sensed the presence of someone else. The two generals pulled away from each other and pointed their weapons at the unknown man who was hiding behind a rock.

- We know you're here. Come out or we will attack! - Esdeath commanded.

- And I thought I hid well, but... you did well. You're the strongest in the Empire for a reason. - spoke a stranger in a cloak whose face was hidden by a hood. - However, now that I've met you... this time the time for games is over.

- And you know a lot. I'll take you to the torture room.

- Hehe... Since this is a special occasion... I'll let you finish off the big toy! - Taking out a pendant from his sleeve, he shouted out. - Shambala! Activation!

A glowing seal depicting Yin and Yang appeared under his feet. Realising what was going on, Leon grabbed his gun and wanted to shoot the pendant, but he shot the unknown man's hand off.

In a bright flash, Leon and Esdeath disappeared. Shura, who had arranged the whole spectacle, grabbed his arm and began to swear at the "one-eyed fucker" who had shot off his hand. The man began to search for his hand and teigu with his only arm intact, and only then did he realise where they had gone.

- Bitch! No, no, no, no!!! - Shura was in a panic; if his father found out that he had lost his teigu, he would forever fall in his eyes.

Shura desperately continued to search the ground for his teigu, and at that moment someone kicked him in the face sending him into the nearest rock.

- What the hell?! - Shura roared.

The next blow came on his stomach, then on his neck and finally right on his face. The blows were fast and so strong that they left blood-stained cracks in the stone. Shura, unconscious, fell to the ground, and a figure in dark clothes stood over his body.