Chapter 16: The Fastest Being Alive

The light of the full moon seeped through the gaps between branches and leaves, punctuating the profound darkness of the forest. This night, like any other, was dominated by a silence so pervasive that even the rustling of swift winds failed to make an audible mark against the colossal trees. Bereft of life and fraught with an eerie sense of desolation, this forest was a terrifying spectacle. Its trees towered as high as mountains, their sheer size exceeding any terrestrial norms. This was the Forest of Ro, nestled deep within Denmen territory.

The Forest of Ro served as a refuge for trees that had graced Earth ten thousand years ago. This ancient arboreal sanctuary had been diligently preserved by the Denmen people for protective purposes. However, following the catastrophic aftermath of the Great Wardoks War, the forest had been rendered desolate as most of its denizens were wiped out. This event ushered in an era of tranquility and silence that had gripped the forest for years... until now.

Nestled in the heart of the forest, amid the towering trees and shrouded in darkness, a faint light flickered, casting a subtle, reddish glow onto the nearby trunks. It was barely visible but unmistakable - the mesmerizing dance of a small campfire, kindled by two Wardokian soldiers.

"Do you think this spot is secure enough?" One soldier, cloaked in a black coat and donning a silver helmet, glanced nervously around, his gaze darting in response to imagined threats. His slow, tentative steps echoed his heightened state of apprehension. It was as though he anticipated some unseen danger to emerge from the void-like surroundings. "I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched!" He turned to his comrade, his voice taut with concern.

The other soldier, seemingly oblivious to the potential dangers around them, reclined nonchalantly against a tree near the campfire. He was combating his own enemies - the encroaching chill and unending boredom. His yawning was incessant.

"Cando, we're deep within enemy territory! Doesn't that worry you?" The cautious soldier's query pierced the silence once more, his tone layered with disquiet.

Cando was playing with his dagger. He was trying to balance it on top of his index. When he succeeded, he smoothly tossed it in the air and rapidly caught it. He then grabbed it from its point, pulled his hand back, and threw it into a tree several meters away until it pierced it and got stuck.

The cautious soldier was watching him all along, he followed the dagger with his eyes until it hit the tree. He immediately noticed that It made a large crack in the trunk, it was a strong throw. While he was looking at the dagger for a moment, it suddenly vanished! And out of surprise, he quickly turned his head towards his comrade Cando to find that he has already spawned the dagger right into his hand again.

Cando made a long sigh, then leaned forward and said. "If you are this much worried, then you are underestimating me, Ukke!". His eyes weren't hiding his disappointment.

"Ah!..No! haha!" Ukke responded with a fake laugh of embarrassment, "Actually, I was a little bit underestimating him". He thought.

Cando kept throwing his dagger into the tree and respawning it into his hand. It was his way of killing time. "My mission is to guard you until Captain Loopy comes back from the human world, and I'm planning to fulfill it!" He said while continuing the throwing. He wasn't looking at Ukke while speaking to him. "Why don't you sit down, and keep quiet!" He shouted.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry..." Ukke responded as he sat down near the campfire as well. " It's just that as a jumper, I don't have any skills in battle! Actually, I've never engaged someone in a fight my whole life." Ukke explained shamefully.

Cando exhaled a strong breath indicating his annoyance about this small talk, but he replied anyway. "What about the basic training we all get at the academy?"

"I didn't pass it!" Ukke admitted, his head bowed in shame.

Cando clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Tsk! Then you're as weak as humans! Maybe even weaker," he spat with contempt. "Are all jumpers like this? Basic combat skill is a fundamental requirement!" he probed, but Ukke remained silent, seated in a seiza position by the fire. Cando continued his barrage of belittling questions about Ukke's deficiencies. Jumpers might not be fighters, but in his mind, they shouldn't be weak.

Ukke's head dipped lower as he clenched his fists atop his knees. Cando's condescension stung, but despite how accustomed he was to it, the look of frustration on his face was unmistakable. As much as he loathed his own weakness, he couldn't escape the truth of his shortcomings.

Cando's relentless mockery was his way of passing the time, embodying the archetypal mean-spirited nature of the Wardokians. "How can someone as weak as you still be part of the army?" he asked. Ukke remained silent.

Cando's grumblings filled the quiet forest until he abruptly fell silent. He shot up to his feet, his senses alert as he strained to listen. "You!" he barked at Ukke, "Get the transporter and follow me!"

In a hurry, Cando doused the campfire, gathered his belongings, and darted off to the south. As for Ukke, he whistled a peculiar note with his fingers in his mouth.

Instantly, a levitating vehicle descended from the treetops. Its interior was boat-shaped, with a standing platform and a steering system. Instead of wheels, it hovered just above the ground. Ukke boarded the vehicle and steered it south, in pursuit of Cando.

Cando bounded atop the trees with incredible agility, with Ukke trailing him on the transporter. The trees were challenging obstacles, but Ukke navigated through them deftly, keeping both an eye on the path ahead and on Cando. After approximately thirty minutes of maneuvering through the trees, Cando finally halted on a tree branch. He scanned the surroundings until he spotted his target.

"Captain Loopy!" Cando hollered.

Leaping down from the tree, Cando approached Captain Loopy. As he neared, his typically bluish face turned pale, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "Captain... How..?" he stammered, seeing the Captain heavily wounded and missing an arm, barely conscious.

"That last jump was tough..." Loopy muttered with considerable effort.

By this time, Ukke had caught up with them. Noticing the severely injured Captain, he hastily parked the transporter and rushed over with his medical kit. "Oh my God... Captain Loopy! What happened to you?" he exclaimed, beginning to treat the Captain.

Cando retrieved a water bottle from Ukke's bag and tried to get the Captain to drink, but Loopy was unresponsive. "He's still dizzy from the jump," Cando remarked. As Ukke attended to the Captain's wounds, Cando tried to revive him by splashing water on his face.

Regaining some strength, the Captain hastily dismissed their aid, shouting, "Both of you, enough of me!" Adjusting his position, he gravely explained, "Listen carefully, two of our squadron leaders, Squala and Caditz, have died in battle. The first priority is to retrieve Squala's body from the human world! It's just lying there as we speak." He turned his gaze to Ukke and ordered, "You, jumper! Squala's body is at our current location within the human world. Go and bring it back now!"

Ukke was stunned by the news, but quickly complied with his Captain's orders. "Yes, Sir!" he affirmed. He stepped away from Cando and the Captain, took a deep breath, adjusted his clothing, and crossed his arms over his chest, concentrating.

Meanwhile, Cando was lost in thought, speculating on who could have inflicted such harm. Did Ruster do all this? Could he have killed two squadron leaders and caused severe injuries to Captain Loopy? He remembered Ruster from the academy—Ruster was neither the weakest nor the strongest or brightest student. They had fought side by side many times, and Ruster's power level was, if anything, average. "How could Ruster have become so powerful in such a short amount of time?" Cando pondered. Before he could arrive at a conclusion, his musings were interrupted by a question from Captain Loopy.

"You! Do we have some ice?" Loopy asked.

"Uhm... Yes, Sir, I think we do have some on the transporter..." Cando replied.

"Then stop daydreaming and bring it to me!" Loopy commanded through gritted teeth.

Cando approached the transporter, eyeing a large container among various other items. He pulled it out and brought it to the Captain. Loopy, using his ability, spawned his missing arm and tossed it to Cando. "Put that in there," he ordered.

Opening the container filled to the brim with ice cubes, Cando submerged the arm deep inside, then closed the container. Carefully, he stored it back in the transporter. As he was returning to assist with the Captain's wound, Ukke interjected, "Captain, I'm afraid I can't jump to the human world!"

Surprised, both Loopy and Cando turned to Ukke. "And why is that?" questioned the Captain.

Ukke stepped forward to explain. "I sensed a large gathering of humans at this exact location within the human world. If I were to jump now, there's a high risk of being spotted!"

Loopy's shock was palpable. His face reddened as blood surged through his veins. As he stood, blood began to gush from his chest and stump like a waterfall. "This is unacceptable!" he roared in fury, "I can't allow this, I'll go there and kill them all myself! Humans shall not know of our existence!"

"Captain, please, calm down, you're losing so much blood!" pleaded Cando, attempting to restrain the furious Captain.

"Let go of me, I have strict orders, and I'm going to bring them back even if it costs... me... it costs me... my... " Loopy's words faded as his strength waned.

Ukke, seeing the Captain about to collapse, quickly moved in to assist Cando in holding him up. "Captain Loopy, are you okay?" Cando inquired. But the Captain was unresponsive. He had lost so much blood that he passed out.

As they worked to treat Loopy's wounds and stem the flow of blood, Ukke and Cando struggled to control the bleeding from his chest. "There must be some sort of poison in this wound, it won't stop bleeding," said Cando, the stress apparent in his voice.

They did their best to stabilize him before lifting him onto the transporter. "He's not going to make it..." Cando murmured, "It's more than an eight-hour ride to the nearest military hospital... he's going to die on us..."

Ukke busied himself with organizing their gear on the transporter, ensuring everything was secure. He carefully checked the restraints on the Captain, making sure he was securely fastened to the transporter. "What are you doing? It's helpless, there's no point in transporting him now..." Cando asked his comrade.

Ukke, looking serious and focused on his task, removed his upper clothing and donned his goggles. "Cando, please get on board, and try not to fall, okay?"

Cando wore a perplexed expression. "What do you mean?" he queried.

"You asked me earlier how someone like me is still part of the army?" Ukke replied, "Well now, you're about to find out!"

With a resonating cry, Ukke clenched the steering wheel with such ferocity that it seemed to bend under his grip. Almost instantly, an overwhelming surge of energy enveloped him, tangible and crackling, as though electricity hung in the air. The atmosphere twisted and churned in a wild dance, generating a fierce turbulence that rattled the transporter.

"That's... immense!" Cando whispered to himself, captivated and terrified by the spectacle. Recollections of hushed whispers echoing in the barracks began to surface in his mind - tales of a legendary jumper capable of traversing the breadth of the country in the span of a single minute. He had dismissed such stories as mere exaggerations, but now, as he beheld the scene unfolding before him, a chilling doubt took root. Could that jumper be Ukke?

"Hold on tight!" Ukke's voice thundered above the cacophony of swirling winds as the transporter began to quiver with anticipation. "Go!" he roared, a declaration of defiance against the natural laws of time and space.

The transporter blasted forth, propelled by an unseen force. Its speed was staggering, a blur against the fabric of reality. The immense velocity bore against Cando, who struggled to keep his eyes open, the biting winds threatening to blind him. Yet, amidst the tumult, he caught a glimpse of the world streaking past them in a surreal blur of colors.

"Cando! Are you holding up?" Ukke's voice pierced through the howling wind, steady as a rock amidst a storm.

Barely able to articulate his response over the roar of their velocity, Cando choked out, "I'm...holding tight..."

"Hang in there! We'll be at the hospital in just 30 minutes!" Ukke assured, his voice filled with determination.

As Cando continued his struggle to secure himself and maintain a vigil on the unconscious Captain, a burning question tore through his thoughts. "Who are you, Ukke?"

Turning his face to meet Cando's bewildered gaze, Ukke's lips stretched into a wide, confident grin. His eyes sparkled with a thrilling mixture of excitement and resolve as he declared, "I'm Ukke, son of Thorvald, and I am the fastest being alive!"

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Back at the junkyard...

Police swarmed the area, a hive of activity as they attempted to piece together the enigmatic events that had transpired. One man, separated from the chaos, stood in stark contrast to the rest. His gaze was fixed on the lifeless body of Squala, an enigmatic smile spreading across his face.

"After all these years..." he murmured, savoring the anticipation. His voice was a quiet whisper, barely audible above the frenzied din of the crime scene, but brimming with an ominous excitement. "I've finally found it."

Suddenly, he raised his head, his eyes gleaming with an unspoken promise of coming chaos. "Lisa!" he called out into the void, his voice echoing through the night sky.