Intermission 2

The other canid doesn't appear to have a sane head on his shoulder, sadly. "What about Cain? He spoke all crypt about the sword." Another mystery for another day, they are not a gang nor teenagers to go prying every open secret out there.

"For now, it is under control. We will deal with it when the time comes." And hope they manage to get it under control again if it becomes a type of bomb or weapon of destruction. 'Only if we got someone with useful abilities for this type of situation…'

While many got powers out of the batch, most powers are useless for the emergency they are in and even more useless for killing monsters. 'How did four young adults and a teenager get powers enough to kill monsters on their own is another question…'

"Hey, you guys are going to grab food without poor me?" A feminine voice calls from behind them. A brunette ran towards them.

"We thought you would want to hang out with other girls, Mary." While the brunette ruffled, starting to walk beside them, a frown on her face. Maybe, just maybe, they should've waited a little bit for her…

"So, what were you guys talking about?" A mischievous and sharp smile appeared on her face. There is no wrong in continuing their previous topic.

Before he can fill her in, Mark steals the spotlight. "The boys from earlier today, the ones with superpowers. Some of us are uneasy with their powers, like, the one with the sword swings it like a broomstick!"

While a funny mental image, it still is painfully close to the truth. It should be humanly impossible for a thin boy like Kyrie to swing a sword almost his height and probably heavier than him.

Yet those impossibilities and more are happening one after another… "Oh, the boy with the sword? He is a cutie, and appears to be polite too." Mary chirps. Oh wait, she was the one beside him, wasn't she?

Something is wrong… "Aren't you, like, twenty-five, Mary? That boy appears to have just turned eighteen." For a moment, all expression flees her face, leaving a blank void before returning all at once, leaving an embarrassed mass in their wake.

"Hey, it is not like that. He must be what? Twenty? His face is a little girl and that artificial red hair doesn't help either, but he isn't that young, Anthony. He can't be." Smirking, Anthony shakes his head.

She is right, the boy is indeed a twenty-year-old. "He may be, he may not. Why don't you ask the "cutie"? Doubt he has anything to do right now." His fellow soldier just let out a small shriek.

With his luck, she may be a banshee— can elves be banshees? Better not risk it. "Hey, hey. Calm down, he is twenty-year-old, but don't you think you are a little too old for him?" While the prospect of a strong young man with a great sense of duty would be appealing even for him, age boundaries should be respected too.

Mary just scoffs, shrugging off his words. "Don't worry, you guys like older women." They grunt, an unfair point but one nonetheless. However, it isn't applicable in all scenarios, thankfully.

Smirking, Anthony retorts: "What if he doesn't like older women?" Looking at her face, all emotion had faded, neutral like a paper sheet. "So, I got you with this one, didn't I?" She remains silent, looking ahead blankly.

"Meh, I just met him, still have to see if he is a good catch or not. Hm, his uncle is in the military too or something like that, no?" The thought of Lieutenant Colonel Jensen makes him grunt.

While not bad as a military, that asshole was lacking regarding how to be a person. 'How do peeps like him even get that high?' Haunting thoughts without answers. "He is. He is an asshole too."

For a moment, both Mark and Mary widened their eyes in surprise, for some reason. "Wow? You, of all people, to call a superior that? That guy must be a piece of work then." So this is the reason for their surprise.

It shouldn't be that surprising, he is a human being too. "Some pieces of work like him appear from time to time. Took his family and went to safety before hell broke loose. At least We still have Lieutenant Colonel Marcus with us."

His friends just laugh, as if he had told them the joke of the century… However, his mind wanders back to Kyrie Jensen. 'It is strange that someone like Kyrie is a relative of John. Sometimes the apple does fall away from the tree, hm?'

If anything, that Spencer boy is more in line with what anyone who knows John Jensen would expect of his nephew… not a clumsy young man trying to play hero with a giant sword. "Wish you good luck with the boy, Mary. If anything, his heart must be big. Now, if he has the wallet to keep up with your eating habits…"

With a grimace, Mary gives a weak punch to his shoulder. "Hey! This was mean, you know?" Feeling hurt, Anthony puts a hand on his chest, putting fake disbelief and betrayal on display.

"Me! Mean? What would you do if you broke my shoulder with your punch? Poor old me would never recover!" Mary just growls while Mark holds his mouth, hiding the laughter. Despite everything that has happened, unity remains.

While unity and order survive, things should become okay eventually. 'Good or bad, people will be people, be it the apocalypse or the most peaceful day on earth.' They are not excluded, and this is good. They can still have good moments despite the chaos going on.

Soon, they reach the mess hall. Still fuller as ever. 'Are we still rescuing people from the nearby cities and towns?' Or, they are just that full. 'There are just too many people here. Even without the dragon roaming around, going back to the city would still be hard with monsters popping out of nowhere…'

Including a hound who just makes people disappear… He chose to not inquire earlier about how Kyrie could just command the wolves into fleeing or paralysis, it would become too problematic, but if one of those appeared, confronting the boy would be needed… 

From what Cain said, it has to do with the "wolf prince", Skoll. 'Wolves work in packs, if he is the prince, it is natural for them to bow down and obey him…' he screamed for them to run, yet only a few ran.

'Maybe he is too young… or not strong enough?' It would make sense, he got his powers just a day ago. Too many variables coming out of nowhere. Can they afford to slow down and catch their breath?

No, it wouldn't be possible for now. They have to play it smart and fast, otherwise, the game will be lost. "It is quite sad to see this place so full. How many of them lost their homes?" Mutters Mark. In retrospect, this place being full means they did a good job.

It also means every one of them needed to be rescued and taken here because their homes are no longer safe… such a sad happening, in their own country, no, in the whole world. 'Insurance companies will break if the world doesn't break before them.'

Who knows what more can appear, if dragons appeared, sea serpents may as well be real too. "Should get to rethink that beach vacation. Becoming food for sea monsters wouldn't be a good experience."

Walking forward, they make their way through the crowd. Despite the hall being full, it feels rightfully hollow. However, a question coughs him off-guard: "How much time do you think before we have to move them out to somewhere else?"

Mary asks the grim question. They can't keep them here forever. One day they will have to move them out… "In two weeks, I think." Other teams are still rescuing people, those who can still save others, and those who can be saved.

"Our generation, the next one, and one of our grandsons will have a lot of rebuilding to do," Anthony notes grimly. 

"Something puzzled me. The guy with the sword and his friend said something about smelling a forest…" Mark whispers, only for them to hear it. Indeed, they have talked about a forest, but there are no forests near the base…

"Dogs have a better sense of smell than us, keep that in mind." They could be smelling a forest miles away, improbably? Most likely, impossible? No. It would be the most mundane thing regarding them thus far. 

Mary holds her chin, as they get in the line for food. "If they get a dog's smell, then what can they get more? Well, I got an elf. This means I will be hot like those filthy rich actresses, no?" For a moment, Anthony has to hold back his laugh.

Things won't work like that, probably. What are the chances of these powers altering the body's structure? "No way. Those powers are supernatural but don't make outright miracles, yet."

Mary growls again, preferring to stay in silence to not get bullied a little more. "Oh man, it is good to have peep talk after missions." may the young men helping them also have a moment's respite. 

God knows they all will need once the truly bleak things start to appear, they are only at the start of this war, and the path of who may end as the winner is unclear as ever.