"Are you sure about that?!" Paolo and Erica dropped their jaws as soon as they listened to Kai's report.

After finishing their mission, they decided to camp outside first to check the movement from the magical beasts before returning to the best the next morning. Luckily, the magical beasts had no drastic change, and the humans could proceed according to the plan.

However, when they heard about the magical beasts becoming smarter, they were completely shocked, especially with the part where Kai specified their true aim.

They would never expect that magical beasts could make a suicide attack. And they were the so-called leaders of magical beasts to boot.

Have they evolved into something like a suicide squad? This question lingered in their minds for a long time.

Even Kai couldn't make any conclusion due to how random it was. Paolo and Erica understood that as well and told him good work. After all, Kai almost died a few times already.

Fortunately, he managed to turn around all the situations with his current ability. If he didn't have any improvement after this vacation, he would be in a dangerous situation.

They were still in the middle of the report as Kai was sitting in front of a round table, facing Erica and Paolo.

Erica suddenly asked a question that might be too obvious for everyone else. "Did they make an attack pattern like that just for you?"

From the information alone, it was easy how different they were between fighting him and Evan. When Evan helped Kai to grab the attention of the fox, it never used any suicide attacks. It kept sticking to the basics as if everything had been programmed that way.

However, it changed drastically when Kai appeared on the battlefield. It tried to injure or kill Kai with whatever he got, even if it meant sacrificing its own life.

That was why Kai also drew the same conclusion as her regarding this pattern. "I believe yes. As expected, there is only one suspect, huh."

"Yes. Without a doubt, it must be the works of the protectors. Still, I can't believe how they are actually using the magical beasts to make such an attack." Erica pinched the bridge of her nose, thinking this hard matter.

"But there is a possibility of them using the same tactic against normal soldiers after I leave, so please be careful about it," Kai warned her.

"I understand. All the soldiers will be notified by tomorrow."

"Hmm. Although it's pretty obvious that the protectors are the ones behind this, is there still a possibility that a third party is the real perpetrator?" Paolo asked, wanting to take this into account as well.

"There is indeed a possibility, but it's too low for our current situation. There are only two possibilities that the humans can teach Magical Beasts. They are either a special case like having the ability to talk to an animal or a Zodiac, one that fails and turns into a partial Magical Beast instead. These two are the ones having the possibility of teaching them." Erica shook her head.

"I don't know about the former, but I have personally slain the latter. And it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth… As much as I am ruthless to the enemies, I have realized from that day the fact that I have forsaken humanity in my heart. Instead of thinking of saving them first, I thought it would be better to kill them to end their misery." Kai let out a long sigh as he closed his eyes.

"Don't beat yourself like that. There is simply no medicine to cure them at the moment. Even your teacher might not be able to produce such a thing in at least one or two decades. After all, it's easy to fuse genetics, but it's hard to separate them. Or at least, that is the case for the current evolved genetics. That's what your teacher told me in the past." Erica shook her head and put on a gentle smile.

"Uh." Alex looked down.

"Anyway, we have no information about the former case. If we know there is a person that can talk to an animal or, in this case, a magical beast, he or she will surely become famous. And the government won't sit still," Erica added.

"In that case, the only possibility is the protectors. Unfortunately, I didn't hear a single indication about them coming to the battlefield, so I guess they have trained them even before this fight?" Kai narrowed his eyes.

Little did he know that the protectors indeed came, but they stayed outside his hearing range. If Kai knew it, he might immediately call back up and pursue the magical beasts with Erica and Paolo.

"That's the only possibility." Erica arrived at the same conclusion. "The magical beasts have been terrorizing us with their strong physical abilities. Although we have grown accustomed to their attack patterns and other things, the mortality rate is still above thirty percent. And there are still heavy injuries and disabilities… It boosts up to fifty percent in total. That's why we give them a huge compensation for their service."

"Haiz. Many people come and go every single year. From the military academy alone, we have around fifty thousand people joining every single year. If we add the three thousand elites from the magical academy, it's still too low for the current rate."

"But don't we have civilians that apply for the positions?" Kai asked.

"Yes. It's indeed a case like that. However, only a few of them are actually able to rise in power. A famous example of this will be Brad Matthew. He is the current highest power that rose in power despite starting from a mere soldier that had no knowledge or specialty at the start." Paolo nodded. "Even I started as a Military Academy's graduate while Erica hailed from the Sacred Magical Academy."

Kai widened his eyes when he heard Brad Matthew's name from his mouth. Never in his wildest dream that Brad would be someone like that.

But now that he thought about it, the reason why he was always so upset was due to his experience that raised from his rank because he knew how hard it was to raise from the very bottom that he wanted to deny Kai's existence.

And Kai believed that he had lost many comrades in arms in the past, so Brad didn't want him to experience something similar.

'I see.' Kai's view of the man called Brad Matthew had changed when he realized all this. And he didn't want to make the former student council president reliant on his prestige because he must know that it would prove to be fatal when one charged against the enemies without having any real experiences.

"Anyway, is that all you notice?"

"I guess." Kai hesitated for a few seconds, trying to recall every scene he found during the fight before nodding his head. "They are trying to make such an attack. Well, there is one more thing. I met three intelligent beasts simultaneously, and they even attacked another intelligent beast just to kill me, so I assume the sacrifice is not limited to a normal beast. At the same time, their movement is a bit weird. I think it's better to see their movement again and check whether the current plan is still plausible."

"Alright. We will take that into account and check their entire movement. If that's all, I think you can go home."

"Yes, thank you. By the way, I will inform my teacher about this as well." Kai nodded and rose from his seat.

"Sure. We will be the one dealing with the government side." Paolo nodded.

"You can go rest now and return after having lunch here. If you don't mind, you can even stay here for a little longer." Erica smiled.

"Ahaha… They are waiting for me, so I need to go back. Besides, I have a feeling that you will meet a few of the girls soon." Kai shook his head.

The girls hadn't shown their plans for the upcoming training, but he guessed a few of them were trying to get enough real experience on the battlefield to increase their strength and efficiency. Some were going to strengthen their magic or invent new magic. And some were going to polish and consolidate their strength.

As for the specific person who followed one of the three courses of action, he had no idea. He could only put the trust in the girls and met them again in three months to show their strength.

"I see. We are looking forward to meeting them." Erica nodded with a smile. "Don't worry. They won't regret choosing this base for their training."

"With the current situation, I am hesitating whether to accept it or not…" Kai let out a sigh.

"Well, there is still a week before anyone can join this base. I believe it's enough time to see whether the magical beasts have become smarter or not. Suppose you were their target. In that case, we would know the reason behind their change."

"You are going to use them to prove that?" Kai slightly frowned, didn't like the idea.

"Don't worry. Their safety will be our priority. In fact, if I am mobilizing them like that, this guy will be the leader of that operation." Erica smiled while patting Paolo's shoulder.

When he felt her tap, he immediately pumped his fist. "Of course. I will ensure that."

"…" Although he still didn't like it, he knew it would be best to trust them in this matter. "I understand. Please help whoever comes here."

"Sure."

Kai then left the room, heading back to their room to meet Evan.

After talking about the necessity they needed to do and had lunch there, they finally flew back toward the US Base, specifically their school.