Chapter 18. A Scary Intel: Revisiting the Beluas

As far as Raii Shin was in the industry, this was the only month where they had lots of meetings.

"First of all, we welcome back the eighth man of Aspida Class, Magnus. But as much as we want you to have a break since you just endured a mission of three months alone, we need to rush things."

"I understand, sir," Minus said, who was seated beside Raii Shin. Dressed normally in a shirt and jeans, one wouldn't think that this twenty-one-year-old young man was their ace. On the surface, he was a man with a gentle spirit but he was different when he held his weapon. He was unforgiving and unlike Raii Shin who had a soft heart, Minus didn't hesitate to kill if it was to win the battle completely.

Minus was a man of different caliber than the rest of the Aspida class. Despite entering Orion almost at the same time as Raii Shin, he was immediately recommended to do full time in missions that require a one-man army. His talent in fighting was way more experienced than the rest of them to the point that Sir Tanori ordered that he didn't need lessons in fighting. 

He was a natural, a rare, one-of-a-kind moonmage Orion has ever seen. It wasn't obvious in his lean build. But any beast would cower in fear when he wields his big sword–a terrifying weapon bigger than him but he swung it with expertise like the broadsword was made just for him. 

But at the moment, he was a sleep-driven college student. Minus was tired but he was fighting his droopy eyes. It was already midnight and Raii Shin couldn't even begin to imagine how he would wake up tomorrow for class, especially since he was away for three months at school. He would have to do double time to chase his grade and requirements.

"We would like to hear things from you, then," Sir Tanori said.

Minus walked in front and faced the other moonmages, Sir Tanori, and Amethyst. He could tell that they were prepared to hear whatever he was about to say. If only he knew how to sugarcoat but he had to do his duty. He had to tell the truth that he had no good news and that they had no reason to be hopeful. 

"The kidnapping is just the start. I heard you've already encountered the Beluas?"

"Just one. It's the first time that we encountered it. All we know is that they are a rare breed of talking nightspawns," Artemis said, sipping her coffee. She was indeed admirable. She should have left the meeting to the young ones but here she was as the most lively in their midnight meeting despite her being the oldest.

"There are two kinds of Beluas as written in our historical books. The one you captured was a pseudo-Belua. It was still immature. The second is what I will be telling you about. The real Beluas have perfect forms. Like humans, they have a body but not in any beastly or monster-like form. Since they are aliens that come from the farther depths of our galaxy, their bodies are a little bit too striking than us who are here on Earth. In our vocabulary, they are like angels, having no scars or blemishes."

Anyone would automatically think angels are good. Angels are heavenly beings but when Magnus used it as an illustration to describe the Beluas, a race of monsters formed under the light of the moon, it certainly didn't produce any heavenly vibe.

"Unfortunately, I have not seen one myself but since I cannot go back empty handed, I stayed a little longer than I intended to. With Sir Tanori's approval, I ventured from city to another city, connecting with other moonmages. My search has led me to a certain historical place that is a preserved hot spot that has stood the changing times–the Carvas Daymun or the Cave To Another Dimension. It was there where I found the scribbles of our ancestors. Like here," Minus pointed at the screen behind him.

Carvas Daymun was one of the eleven wonders of the Earth. It was one of the largest caves ever to be found with the most unique structure as it sported lots of inner chambers. Each chamber had different styles of cave writings. No visitors are allowed and even archaeologists are limited due to the Moonmages Association's interventions. Humanity is getting advanced with each generation. It will only take one click for the whole world to know the existence of their association.

In the picture that Minus took, it showed a section of the wall carved with colorful petroglyphs. On one side was a collection of men and women with their hands full with weapons. On the other side were figures that were larger. They also had the forms of humans but with longer hair, bigger limbs, and they were carved in white. The humans were colored in different shades but these were depicted to be a different group. Another interesting thing is that the humans seemed to number like a hundred but on the other side, there were only four of them who were huddled in a circle. Raii Shin realized that the four were in a ritual.

"These are not the only petroglyphs that we had seen. Take a look at these pictures as well," Minus pressed a file. There was a compilation of pictures shot on different places based on their captions but they had one similarity. All of the petroglyphs contained a group of humans and another group of four white big beings who were enclosed in a circle.

"I think we can safely assume that these four are the Beluas then. But if so, what are they after?" asked Sophos. Everybody seems to have woken up. Even a newbie can feel that talking about the Beluas was something no one can be able to sleep peacefully.

"As for your question, I'm sorry I don't have a concrete answer. I can only present to you some theories. One is the reason why they were kidnapping young people. During my mission, I came upon a Belua that was prepping the children it had kidnapped in another city."

"Prepping?" Rex asked, his head resting on one of his hands.

"I was cooperating with that city's moonmages so I didn't act on my own. We were told to observe first and so we did. At first, we were confused on why the pseudo-Beluas were distributing the children on the ground. We were slow to process that it was arranging the unconscious children for a ritual. They waited for the full moon to appear at midnight and started to light a fire. It was only then did we move. That ritual is called Shaishi meaning 'for their coming', written in a book that was popular more than twenty centuries ago when moonlings and earthlings walked together hand-in-hand. Shaishi was meant to open a portal to a dark world where Beluas originated. Meaning, the children were sacrifices to invite the Beluas in their true form to come. That's why in the pictures that we have seen, the white beings are in a circle and the people are pointing weapons at them because their children had already been devoured."

Raii Shin couldn't take it and put one of her hands over her mouth. Only Minus noticed it because everybody else was focused on the screen. Raii Shin gave him the look, silently communicating with her eyes to go on and pretend he didn't see anything. Showing any signs of weakness was her insecurity. She was already a moonmage. Raii Shin should be strong enough to handle such information or else she will bring shame to those who had her codename before.

"So we didn't actually just save kidnapped children. We prevented murder," Amethyst softly said in the corner.

"Mass murders, actually," Sir Tanori corrected.

"The emergence of the pseudo-Beluas is a sure indicator that the full Beluas are coming to Earth. We'll have to prepare ourselves for the worst since we will engage monsters that we have little to no data about," Minus said. 

They allowed a few seconds of silence to take over. Everybody was letting everything sink in. 

"All right, people, I think we have been loaded for tonight," Sir Tanori said and clapped his hands once, as if to dissipate the heavy atmosphere and shift their focus to him. "Thank you for your time. We will try to sift through the data and we will update you as soon as possible on what are the next steps that we should take. We will first discuss this with the higher-ups. That's all. Dismissed."

Sophos and Rex were the first to stand up. Omega waited for Artemis before going out. They were like mother and son. Shandian and Lei, two male best friends whom everybody thought were brothers, exited the room as silent as they came in. They were quiet shadows who disliked being seen.

"Magnus, wait," Amethyst called out to him who was about to go in Raii Shin's direction. Sir Tanori, Amethyst, and Minus chatted for a while. Raii Shin fixed the chairs while waiting. When they were done for like after two to three minutes, Minus nodded at her. Finally, they can now go home to their own apartments and get rest. 

The empty streets of Jazel were before them. Minus drove past streetlights and the black sea. In the morning, it will turn blue once again. Even the waters had their own mood and Raii Shin noticed that Minus was having his own set of expressions. 

"You don't seem tired anymore," Raii Shin said.

"Oh yeah?" he said. Whatever the three of them talked about earlier, it certainly didn't help him.

"You're not going to ask what Sir Tanori and Amethyst said to me?"

"I don't meddle in things that I'm not supposed to know of. Although you can share it if you think I can share some of your worries," Raii Shin replied.

Minus slightly smiled at that, Raii Shin saw through her peripheral vision.

"Hah. Now I feel tired. I will gladly share it but let's save it for tomorrow," he said.

"Later," Raii Shin corrected.

Both of them laughed.

"All right, later it is then."