6 A Horrible Human(1)

Taylor's report on demons:

The origin of demonic creatures is unknown. Archaeological evidence proves demons existed even about 1000 years ago, and so did the art of Kai. Since history lies tattered, the present society hasn't been able to piece it together.

About two decades ago, demons did not exist in vast numbers so they were a sight for tourists. There is no specific appearance of a demon and a wide diversity has been discovered among them. There are three characteristics found among demons of all kinds namely Kai, decomposition upon death, and hunger for human flesh. These three make demons extremely hard to research and experiment upon.

Following this research, demons have been declared a threat to humankind, and any demon if not being researched shall be executed immediately. Their classification is based on their threat level. Tiers 1 to 8 from weakest to strongest.

12 years ago, in the demon surge, 10 million people on earth died on a single day. The governments took drastic steps to kill them and things have been the same since then. To this day, demon terror and smuggling remain the biggest problems.

Each country has its special forces trained in Kai to combat demons. While a developing nation like Asnad struggles to keep mages in control, some countries are known to show off their strength in sorcery. The methods used to keep mages in control are unknown to the public at this point.

The government has installed demon detectors that sense Kai in form of radiation and raise an alarm if a demon's presence is known. These are better known as Kai Identification Mechanisms.

"That's a fine job, Taylor. While I have heard names like Mason, Jennifer, and Kyle who work at the department of defense, I did not know they were so few. We did not know about demon detectors too," said Ichika, praising his performance.

"This information is useful indeed," added Alex.

The four of us are going to school together. It isn't a regular occurrence. I can tell why Alex was here, he and Taylor are teammates and he wanted to discuss the reports he had given us. But why was Ichika here? I had no explanation for that.

We had our discussion on demons yesterday and I honestly am fine with the progress we have made in such a short time. Getting to know how different nations tackle their demon sightings is crucial to figuring out possible patterns of demon smuggling. To catch a thief, you must think like one.

"Ehehehe," a wide grin appeared on Taylor's face as he scratched the back of his head. Alex took a look at him for a second, I couldn't tell what he was thinking but then, "I don't think this is something you need to be happy about," he said in all seriousness.

"It is good but we still have a long way to go," I said to Taylor in an attempt to correct the sour mood.

"How did you get shot?" Ichika asks me. She seems to be worried about me.

"The police responded faster than expected. No one was on overwatch duty, and I was busy with a demon," I replied.

"That's bad. I mean you might have been caught if you got surrounded," said Taylor.

Every time this thought appears in my head, I try to push it away. I don't need to tell them what was the primary cause of this.

"Colin seems to have his own Ideas," said Ichika. To put it mildly, my team leader does not believe in working together. He puts no effort into knowing or planning about the situation when on a mission.

Taylor seems to be wondering about something else, I tried to ask.

"Demons by nature are not intelligent, right?" He asks me, "then how do they even reach the innermost cities and towns?"

The answer seems obvious at first but you think one more step ahead and you become uncertain of it.

"Demon smuggling, what else could it be?" Says Alex.

"I think he is referring to something else," said Ichika, "Even if you smuggle a demon, it should be detected by the mechanisms he mentioned in his report," said Ichika.

That's correct. If I bring in a demon from outside the borders, the K.I.M(Kai Identification Mechanisms) would surely detect it. How is it done, then?

"There are so many methods which can be put to use, it is impossible to narrow down to one without any information at hand," I said, "hence we worry about it when we finally have some info."

"I couldn't think of that," said Alex.

Sabotaging the mechanism, avoiding it, bribing the government officials, and whatnot.

"We have not acquired enough information on demons or kai. When we know more, we will speculate better than we can now," said Ichika putting an end to this discussion.

I was looking straight ahead when I heard the sound of my bag slowly being opened. Without anyone noticing, Ichika took a small cute pink box, which looked like lunch, out of her bag and put it in mine. Our eyes met for a second but then, she looked away as if nothing had happened.

Since our discussion had ended, Alex thought it was best to separate and started walking at a different pace than others. No one seemed to mind that though.

"What is his problem?" Taylor said, clearly not happy about Alex's comments before.

* * *

Since I had been injured during the mission, I had to make an excuse to not be able to come to the track and field club, of which I had become a part. I can't exactly tell them, oh this? I got this while fighting demons and the police...aren't I cool? That sounded like a response Kelan would give if he had the choice.

Mr. Gary is also a teacher who heads one of the sports clubs, namely volleyball. However, the content of the conversation I'm having doesn't nearly come close to my thoughts.

"Isn't your teacher super hot?" The girl beside me expressed her attraction toward a man who was twice her age without hesitating.

"Mr. Gary is top class when it comes to looks," I went along with her.

He is tall, has red hair and eyes like jewels.

I am not the type to feel jealous about someone's looks, but damn.

"I wish he was my homeroom teacher," said Keika as she rested her head on her palm, her long hair tied into a ponytail swaying behind it. She was in the same year as me but a different class 1B.

We were currently in the gym warming up for our activities.

"If you like him that much why don't you join the volleyball club?" offered her an option. She is capable of joining if she wanted to.

"Eh! no way. If I get too close to him then I would just faint," she said, panicking.

So she likes him so much that at the mere sight of him she starts drooling but when she's given the option to approach him she will reject it outright.

Sometimes I don't understand teenage girls. They are wired differently.

It was too difficult for me to understand so I changed the topic of our conversation.

"Isn't your sister a third-year student?" I asked her.

"Yeah. She's also a part of our club and like you, she doesn't show much," Keika replied.

Understandable. The third years might just have more on their plate than we do. But I was not asking without a reason.

"I heard she is set to join ADN news after she graduates this year," I pointed out my research.

"Yeah. But how'd you know about that?" She asked back.

For a second I thought about my answer, but lying might result in her labeling me as a creep. That would suck.

"Well, I do have an interest in journalism, so I just got curious about her, who I knew is joining a major media outlet in the country," I say to her.

"What kind of journalist is she seeking to become?" I asked her.

"I do know that she wants to become an Investigative journalist. I don't know much about them," she said.

Investigative journalists devote a lot of time to their research. Her work doesn't seem to be easy. But what I am after is a solid news network. ADN is a strong media ecosystem, which has had a great reputation for decades in this country.

If we are to proceed with this assignment, then we need to have a reliable source of information. One such method proposed in the discussion was to have someone from our team of survivors become a part of the Department of Defense, where they could get us information not available to the general public.

But a step such as that would raise questions. First of all, we cannot go as students because our disguises will be discovered. So we would have to create another fake identity with our original appearance.

We do not know about our identities before the screening. And by coincidence, if one of us originally belonged to this country, then their identity before and the one we prepared for them will not match. This would be a red flag indeed.

"Heh...so you're the type who worries about these things from the beginning," she speculated after seeing me thinking about this for a long time. Of course, she had no idea of what I was thinking.

"What's wrong with that?"

"You need to be a bit carefree...We're in our first year you know," she said.

"Rather than that, shouldn't you be focusing on your studies? I saw you the other day getting a scolding from your teacher for not getting a simple question correct."

As soon as I said that she panicked.

"Okay that," she goes, "was a silly mistake. I'm not as dumb as you think."

"Whatever you say,"

"I'm going to report to our teacher of your absences," she says smirking.

"The two matters have nothing in common, why would you do that?"

"I want to see you getting scolded."

Does she enjoy seeing me getting humiliated? Well, two can play this game.

"I'll report you for taking pictures of Mr. Gary without him knowing," I placed my card on the table, "let's destroy both of our reputations in friendly fire," I clap my hands with a smile.

"Just wait for the day I get better blackmail material on you," she said, walking away, determined.

"Can I meet your sister? I want to have a proper chat with her," I said.

"I don't know. She seems pretty busy nowadays. She doesn't even spend that much time at home, either," she replied.

I followed her, and we together began running laps around the field. When she could not keep up with me, she would rest and come back again. Other students in the club were part of the competition. I took a good look at every one of them, understanding their strengths. After all, I cannot sit idle and wait for an opportunity. I have to create one.

* * *