‘First things first: it is crucial to confirm whether or not our immediate surroundings are safe and secure. It’s been a long time since I’ve done any recon missions, so, how should I go about this?’

I contemplated the issue to myself while walking forwards through the underbrush. I suppose taking a three pronged approach wouldn’t be so bad. Walk for half an hour, return, then walk for another half an hour at a thirty degree angle from the previous path.

Having decided on a plan, I took short but confident strides through the lush forest. Leaving the clearing behind, I stepped into a single shadow casted by the sheer density of the overarching branches and their leaves.

The sudden darkness and unfamiliarity assured me that letting my guard slip could very well be lethal. While keeping track of the number of trees passed, I noticed a small section of a thicket flattened and some small twigs snapped. Taking careful steps I approached the thicket, leaned down and inspected it in greater detail. These were tracks, very reminiscent of human ones except the shoe didn’t have any pattern on it, just a flat surface. The mud was fresh enough to stick to my fingers. We’re not alone.

Glancing around I spotted more snapped twigs and footprints a couple of paces to my left. Completely tuned in with my surroundings I resumed taking careful steps forward. The entire forest’s atmosphere turned bleak, the droning of bugs died out and trees with claw marks gouged out of them became more numerous.

At first I assumed the marks to be left by a dominant bear, but as I passed more and more of them, what grabbed my attention was their size.

‘Those aren’t ordinary claw marks, no way in hell!’

My heart lurched as I put my arm next to one of the marks for comparison. It ran as deep as my out stretched hand, fingers included, as wide as my curled fist and spanned from one side of the tree’s bark to the other.

‘These aren’t markings that a normal animal leaves behind. Just what could it be?’

My heart rate increased as an ominous aura crept down a path from my left. The trail of destruction that could only be accomplished by a miniature hurricane. Branches were thrown everywhere, patches of dirt and grass splattered all over. Trees, both young and old, uprooted.

‘What kind of creature could’ve caused this?’ I wracked my brain trying to remember the details of the mission briefing…

[Flashback]

“The meeting will now begin” announced Ignatius.

Immediately the murmur died down and all attention became fixated on the speaker. There were several men seated around the table, each head of their respective sections in the agency. Ignatius continued,

“A small time gang leader has managed to recruit several dozen fully armed men in order to take control of his own town. We have already sent a rookie reconnaissance squad to infiltrate their hideout and report back their findings- Hey, are you listening!?” Ignatius raised his voice sharply.

CRASH!

‘Tch… My nap got interrupted’.

Slowly, I raised myself and scanned the room. Everyone's gazes were now focused on me, some sneering, others showing complete anger. However, no one spoke a word against me. Looking down, I picked up the chair that I was previously attempting to balance on with three legs off of the marble ground.

“Yea, yea, I’m listening”, I responded while sitting down and doing my best not to fall asleep again.

I looked up at the fluorescent lighting on the ceiling,

‘Why am I even here?’

To take out a handful of men was no more than a practice mission for even our most novice members.

“As I was saying, our the reconnaissance squad was sent out, of which, only three returned.” Ignatius continued and let the last word hung in the air.

“Excuse me sir, could we know the name of the squad who carried out this order? Just as a confirmation.” An unknown voice spoke out.

“It was the Umbra squad’s leader along with new recruits.” Ignatius replied.

I could hear gasps along with the large quantity of air being sucked in surprise, and for a good reason. While I do not bother with the other branches of the organization, there were rumours of that guy’s accomplishments. Ranging from turning completely invisible to infiltrating the personal offices of most, if not every, major nation leaders around the world.

“Now that everyone understands the importance of this meeting, I will point out the major intel the survivors managed to obtain.” Ignatius went on,

“There were no traps, security cameras or any other sort of devices that can be used to alert of an approaching enemy, only soldiers stationed around the perimeter of the building.”

As Ignatius spoke, I could hear the silent whirring sound as a motor turned to expose a square segment in the middle of the three by two meter desk which we were seated around. A hologram flickered to life and began displaying a video feed.

“This is a recording of Umbra’s leader, James, during his mission. This footage has been edited to display what words cannot convey.”

Ignatius finished and gestured for us to look at the men creeping forward.

With my interest piqued at the mention of James, I watched as the squad slowly approached the building. Seeing no danger, they pushed forward through the darkness with their night vision goggles. They took cover behind the final row of trees which surrounded the large two story building. Giving a few hand signals, they emerged out of the trees’ cover and stuck to the shadows created by the few spotlights in order to conceal their approach.

Just as I was about to voice my concerns of the stale footage, I noticed a lone sentry looking, no, rather staring, straight into the camera from the top of the building. It was covered in metal plates bent in a trapezoid pattern. The distance was roughly 25 metres between the scout squad and the sentry, there was no way he could see them in the pitch-black darkness that encompassed the surroundings.

“Now I want every single one of you to pay close attention to what is about to happen, for it is of utmost importance, Cato, you especially.” Ignatius said in a stern voice while staring straight at me.

Everyone’s eyes were now focused on the footage before them with renewed interest. The sentry raised his arms, both of which were perpendicular to the rest of his body. Nothing. Nothing happened. The Umbra squad leader decided to continue approaching their destination at a slower pace to avoid attracting attention.

Just as the camera turned towards the window located on the second floor, a flash of light could be seen flying across the video feed. A blur of motion, James rolled forward to avoid the incoming projectile, as he turned his head to see where it came from-

“Aghhghh!”

A scream could be heard before it was quickly muffled, then silenced. James frantically spun his head backwards to see the source of the noise. What the hologram failed to convey was the searing heat of the inferno that was engulfing a man behind James.

“No way.”

“How is that even possible?!”

Everyone at the conference was shocked from the sight before them. I continued to watch the recording.

POP!

The burning man was mercilessly and quickly taken out by a fellow member to avoid information leakage as he could no longer be saved and their discovered. James, realizing that their location had been compromised, began to motion with his hands to the rest of the squad to retreat. As they were about to turn and run, James glanced at the rooftop where the projectile came from and saw the lone sentry slumped over the short wall, two more men were standing next to him.

Realizing the imminent threat, he raised his silenced gun and shot at one of the sentries. The man’s head was violently jerked back and his body could be seen collapsing out of sight. Just as the squad leader was about to take out the other man, another projectile was shot, this time clearly originating from the remaining sentry.

Its trajectory was completely off from colliding with James and so he fired one more bullet straight into the man’s forehead. He too collapsed in a similar motion. The camera abruptly jerked around only to freeze.

“H-h-how?” I heard someone stutter under their breath.

There was a bewildered look plastered across multiple faces. Another member was now shaking and clenching his teeth as his feet were frozen to the ground, frostbite seeping into his skin. The ice was rapidly spreading upwards through his body. It was only a short time before he was completely engulfed in it.

“They’re over there!” A booming shout could be heard, the group was now being pursued.

The man that was being turned into an icicle looked straight at James and gave a final salute. He knew that the end was before him. The man had the option of cracking open the cyanide pill attached to his tooth and taking his own life. However, it was an unspoken code of honour to painlessly kill members of the organisation instead of having them resort to suicide should an opportunity arise.

As such, James took it upon himself to carry out the task of silently shooting his squadmate. The man began to collapse but the ice, now having made its way past his knees, prevented him from toppling over. Instead his back fell onto the thick grass while his legs remained perfectly stationary. The squad leader looked around and made brief eye contact with the survivors of his squad before breaking off a piece of ice, storing it in his pocket and sprinted towards the forest. The rest followed him.

[End of Flashback]

‘There was no mention of the recon team encountering a wild beast. Perhaps the sentries from our target’s location are hunting the animals around here…’

‘No that doesn’t explain the markings.’

Shaking my head I decided against returning early and instead pushed on with the investigation.

Several minutes passed as I jogged through the devastated path, taking care to step over fallen trees, branches and other debris.

Ouch! A sharp pain shifted my attention to an object threatening to pierce the sole of my foot. Not hesitating for even a second I jumped back and scanned my surroundings.

Nothing. I looked down to find some dark object protruding from the ground. Taking a step forward I picked up the object that almost led to an injury and possible infection. Rolling the object in my hand I inspected it. It was large, curved, almost thirty cm in length and a dark, nasty mix of brown and black.

Its shape and overall was that of a claw, but its size made me hesitate. Yet when I thought of the giant claw marks in the trees, the possibility of a huge creature became more and more realistic.

My stomach was violently shaken as an ear splitting roar passed through the forest. The deepness and sheer volume of the roar eliminated any doubt in my mind of a creature possessing claws three times a tigers’. It was immediately followed by a noise reminiscent of metal striking another metal with unbelievable force. I started sprinting down the desolate path that led towards the source of the noise, the wind rushed past me.

The trees began to spread further apart letting rays of light pierce into the single shadow-enveloped interior of the forest. A clearing was up ahead.

Taking care to step over exposed roots and stray branches to avoid making noise I crouched down and took cover behind a thick tree. Peering out into the clearing, its size and shape was the same as the one Eagle and I woke up in.

I searched for our gear but instead spot toppled and shattered trees littering patches of lush grass.

A tree devoid of any leaves and leaning at an odd angle caught my eye, I realized that it had fallen into a deep hole. It wasn’t the only one. There were countless such impressions in the ground, like a minefield that had every bomb in it explode, leaving the entire ground desecrated.

Moving my eyes to the left, a large ash covered creature caught my attention. It must be at least three times my height, with a body etched with bulging muscles. It would easily tower over me with its hunched back and bulky arms that swayed back and forth, reaching just below its knees. On the end of its feet and arms were claws similar to the one I found on the path here.

‘What the fuck is that?’’

My heart rate started to climb. Despite being completely baffled, I looked over the remaining section of the clearing and saw two people, a knight in full plate armour that was heavily dented in certain spots, a kite-shield and bastard sword in hand.

‘Is this some kind of dress up act...No, that monster is as real is it gets, a new bioweapon? But then why are the people outfitted with melee weapons -’

‘No, were the super soldiers finally created?!’

The situation grew dire, I need to relay this back to the organisation.

‘I’m not one for jumping to conclusions, but it's either that, or I’m no longer on Earth.’

I squinted to inspect the knight’s and could make out countless nicks in his blade, to the point of calling it a saw seemed more fitting. There were also strange enigmas and sigils ingrained into the armour, each glowing in a different colour.

‘The noise from before must have been them clashing…’

The second man was wearing a blue cloth that covered his entire body except for his head. He had straight black hair, slightly wrinkled skin, several scars on his cheek and neck, and out-stretched...ears?

Intrigued, I decided to watch the scene play out before me.

”!htomeheB eht fo wonk dliug eht tel dna taerter ot evah eW.“

”.detalihinna eb lliw woleb egalliv eht neht taht od ew fI.“

They’re shouting in a strange language, not one I have heard before yet strangely familiar. The men were standing about a dozen paces from the creature that was now cradling side to side.

”-taerter ew setunim owt ni nwod ti ekat t’nac ew fi ,setunim owT .deyortsed era stnemtnahcne ruomra ym fo tsom ,regnol hcum tsal ot elba eb t'now eW !gnimoc s’ti ,tihS“

’They’re going to fight that thing with only a sword?’

The knight tensed up and lowered his stance. I changed my focus to the creature, it stopped moving, its arms hanging limply in front of its legs. Suddenly it vanished into thin air.

FBOOM!

Not just my stomach, but every organ in my body was shaken by the sudden noise that erupted from the clearing. From the faint cloud, I could only guess that something just broke the sound barrier!

‘It couldn’t be the knight or monster...but then what else?’’

A reminiscent pressure built inside me while my mouth was engulfed by a metallic taste.

Spitting out some blood, a dull pain started accumulating all over my body. I had seen my share of the unbelievable, but this was just too much.

I refocused myself and realized that the knight had also disappeared alongside the monster.

‘Was the clothed man carrying out secret weapon field tests? No, the organisation would have known…’

My trail of thought was interrupted by randomly appearing sparks, popping into existence all over the clearing.

The clothed man continued to stand in the same spot, the centre of my attention. Despite remaining motionless, every hair on my body stood on its end, as if there truly was a concealed weapon.

However, that focus did not last before my ears screamed in pain from the sheer volume that my brain failed to register earlier. It was as if a switch suddenly got flipped and the sound of metal striking another metal, amplified by a hundredfold started battering my eardrums. I lost track of how long I clasped my ears before the pain subsided enough for me to recover. This was just not right, every organ in my body was just screaming for me to run for my life. Yet I fought back the urge, I needed to figure out what was truly happening.

I shut out the pain from my ears and body and focused on the clearing. Slowly, I noticed a pattern, the sparks followed a slight curve around the long-eared man, as if they were trying to approach him but instead collided with an invisible wall.

Straining my eyes in the approximate area where I predicted the next spark would appear, I managed to make out rapidly moving blurs, no. Even saying that I could make out the blurs of two objects would be giving myself too much credit.

‘Shit, it’s as I thought.’’

‘But if that’s true...then they were moving far faster than a person could perceive. They were fighting at Mach speed… In fact, the only reason I could tell that something was even there was due to my grueling training and their momentary loss of speed due to collisions.’

My eyes began tearing up from the continuous strain.

Fear

A feeling I hadn’t experienced in years suddenly gripped my body and mind. There wasn’t anything I could do, not when I can’t even follow their movements. I had to go back and warn Eagle.

Raising myself from a crouching position with my eyes glued to the battlefield, I was about to turn and head for safety when a lightning fast object crashed into a tree and caused it to topple over. The tree went down with countless cracking noises that pierced the lull of the momentary quiet.

With curiosity overpowering my fear, I decided to watch for a while longer. My heart was racing, threatening to break free of my chest at a moment's notice. It’s the man in armour, armour that had three claw marks going through the chest piece which was rapidly being coloured red.

The creature stopped in the middle of the clearing and looked straight at my face. My stomach lurched, knees gave out and my pain forgotten. Never had I felt such monstrous killing intent. I killed thousands upon thousands of men and accumulated a personal killing intent that will rob a man of his breath. Yet its power was like that of a candle compared to the burning inferno called the Sun. Insignificant. A seeming eternity passed and the ash coloured monster looked up to the sky, now painted an array of orange, red and violet.

I spotted the clothed man bringing his arms in over his head and jerking them forward, towards the still body. I could just make out a dim, green glow seeping out from the armour’s cracks. The creature suddenly looked at the green glow and charged forward, only a fraction of its previous speed. With its left elbow bent behind itself, it was ready to outstretch it and deal a finishing blow. Something clicked in my mind, and my body stirred into action.

Aiming down the iron sight, I took aim and shot straight towards the head of the monster with the silenced pistol. Any expectations of a sure kill are brutally dashed as the creature took a quick sidestep, dodged the bullet and looked straight at me again. Once more, I was submerged in its overwhelming killing intent, frozen in place as a mouse would be before a lion.

It dropped its arms again and like a pendulum on a clock, swayed them several times before stopping and disappearing again.

‘Shit.’

I scanned the clearing for a sign of the monster but it was nowhere to be found. A vomiting sensation built up in my throat as a vile stench entered my nostrils. Not even a second later my eardrums were violently vibrated by an ear splitting roar that originated from right next to me.

Immediately turning towards the source of the noise my heart skipped a few beats as I saw the monster’s face mere inches from my own. Its charcoal red eyes gleamed at me and it's obnoxious breath reeking from a mouth that resembled a cavern filled with stalagmites on both the top and bottom. I covered my mouth but an even greater amount of blood streaked down the corner of my lips.

My body couldn’t handle much more blood loss.

I became lightheaded, my grasp on consciousness started slipping, and the creature leapt a short distance back sensing the weakness. It swung its claws towards me leaving no room to dodge, I brought my arms up in a feeble attempt to block the incoming swing and tightened my muscles, expecting the impact.

FFSSHHWKK!

Instead of a life-threatening hit, a sound reminiscent of knife piercing flesh attracted my attention and I looked up. The knight was crouched in front of me, leaning on his left knee for support. He gagged and vomited a stream of blood,

‘How did he get here so fast?’

There was just no way a man whose body was used to topple a tree and clawed open could recover within minutes.

‘Did they give them an immense recovery as well?’

Switching my gaze to the monster's lump of an arm that was about to kill me, I saw that it was now pierced through its center by the bastard sword. A dark liquid started flowing out, streaming down the oddly shining sword.

As if empowered by the flow of blood, the knight suddenly jumped upwards and somersaulted over the creature. By strategically using his weight and momentum he forced a blood-freezing howl by forcing its wrist backwards. Finding its left arm in a deadlock, the creature made vain attempts of swinging its arm at the knight with monstrous power. The shaking knight narrowly dodged by crouching leaving the trees behind him to be uprooted by the wind pressure of the swing.

‘Why doesn’t the monster just try to distance itself, instead of solely relying on its free arm to save itself?’

Still unable to move, my eyes wandered down to its feet and saw that they were stuck in the ground, semi-spheres of mud formed around its legs.

There were cracks rapidly forming along the edges but they managed to hold the beast down. I breathed out in relief knowing the creature was immobile if even for a moment and felt something warm flow down my ears and pondered the cause.

‘Just what is going on…’ I coughed out more blood, my vision beginning to blur.

‘I need to find a place to recover’. Swirling my head around in search of an escape route, something solid smashed into my skull, shaking my brain like jello.

Wincing from the pain I turned my head in the direction the rock came from.

‘Shit’

The beast was about to break free, countless cracks have made a spider-web formation across the semi spheres and the previous projectile was a small chunk broken off.

Deciding this will be the best, and possibly the only opportunity, I reached for my pistol with trembling hands. The creature brought its arm and body down to the ground, preparing for a final jump to free itself. The knight noticed its intention and threw himself on the monster’s back, forcing one of the creature's arms further behind its back in a lock, the sword acting as the key. A low, pained growl escaped from the monster's throat.

Despite the warrior’s attempt to restrain the creature, it continued to ready itself and finally flexed its muscles for a powerful jump. The pain was too much, causing me to fumble with my gun, pushing the trigger too soon and dropping it. The knight abandoned his sword and jumped to the safety of the ground. With a loud roar and a burst of motion, the creature shot into the air.

‘There has to be something else we can do!’

Not done yet, I looked upwards as a blur collided with the creature and sent it flying sideways. I couldn’t quite make out the source of impact but the monster started spasming with all of its limbs jerking in random directions.

The creature’s altitude began dropping at a quick pace and once it collided with the ground a giant explosion engulfed the monster. Closing my eyes and covering my head I braced for impact, but nothing came. Instead, there was a rush of heat but no shockwave.

Opening my eyes, I observed the visible outline of the shock wave being sucked back in and replaced by an ensuing fire that spanned a height far greater than the nearby trees, consuming them in the process.

The ash coloured figure disappeared from sight, turning into a wisp inside a dark, ash coloured flame similar to its own fur coat. Slowly, the fire faded out of existence leaving behind a crater with dust blown around by a breeze and a charred body in the middle.