Chapter 51:1st Year-Reinforcement 6

Chapter 51

POV: Jacob

The sounds of hurried footsteps echoed outside my office as I rubbed my head in frustration, staring at the report of the attack against the 1st Company at the fortress.

"They won't survive this battle. Even with the 2nd Company helping, it won't change their fate."

I muttered in frustration. Knowing the doom my men faced, a curse sank deep into me. Suddenly, someone knocked on my door.

"Huu, come in."

I calmed myself and called out to the person outside. The door opened—and my eyes widened in shock as Varn rushed into my office with a serious expression.

"Varn, where have you been? You've been gone for days—we've been trying to find you—"

I asked sternly, but I stopped mid-sentence as I noticed something different about him. His eyes had turned purple, crosshairs in his pupils, with purple veins sticking out from his eye sockets.

Shocked and worried about his transformation—as well as cautious—I slowly laid my hand on a las-pistol beneath my desk.

"Sorry, boss. I've been trying to find Leon these past couple of days, but I can't find him—as if something is hiding him from me."

He spoke in frustration, as though it should have been obvious that he could locate Leon. Curious about his confidence, I asked:

"What do you mean, 'hidden'? How are you so sure about this?"

Hearing my question, he simply sighed. Then, he suddenly held out his hand, making me look at him strangely. Suddenly—

*Buzz* *Crackling*

Purple lightning surged around his hand. The veins around his eye sockets pulsed as the energy traveled through his veins and into his hand. His palm turned purple.

Then, a purple liquid slowly seeped out of his hand, causing me to draw my las-pistol and cautiously aim it at him—hesitant to shoot, but prepared if he posed a threat.

Seeing me take out a weapon, he didn't react—he simply nodded and continued what he was doing.

After a minute, the purple liquid stopped seeping out and floated mid-air. Then, unnaturally, it began to move—shaping itself into the form of a las-rifle.

Within seconds, it solidified—becoming a weapon with pulsing purple veins along its exterior. A dangerous aura emanated from it.

After a moment, Varn took hold of the las-rifle and presented it to me.

"This is Ghost—my partner and weapon. We are one, and together, we are weapons for Leon to use."

He spoke with conviction. But I was still in shock—I hadn't known that he, too, had been blessed by Leon's power.

"I know you're one of us as well. It seems you're more knowledgeable about our current predicament... but I feel—no, I *know*—that I am the first of Leon's blessed. I can feel that I'm stronger than you."

He said it confidently. And though I could feel that he *was* stronger than me, deep in the back of my mind, a small spark of anger stirred—anger at being weaker. But I kept it to myself as I asked:

"So, what do you want?"

He sighed and pulled out a communicator. He then told me about Jole's request for help—mentioning that Jole was also one of the few he had told about his predicament, besides Merah.

"Jole asked me for help, so I came back from searching for Leon to assist him. But..."

He sighed again, continuing:

"After I heard about the situation at the fortress... I don't think I'll have any chance to continue my search for a while."

He spoke in annoyance—when suddenly, his las-rifle shook. On one of its purple veins, a mouth manifested—startling me—as a voice echoed out:

"Hey brat, would you hurry up your chat? I smell a ton of souls where that Jole guy you were talking about was heading."

The weapon spoke in a bored tone, causing Varn to look even more annoyed.

"Would you *please* shut up? You're already annoying enough when talking inside my head—now this, ugh."

He said, then turned his gaze back to me with a smile.

"Anyways, don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Just make sure to prepare a bed for me—I won't be able to walk for a while."

And with that, he turned and left my office, carrying his somewhat chatty weapon. The last thought lingering in my mind was a mix of relief—and worry. I hadn't forgotten his words—that something, or someone, was hiding Leon.

"Argh... Leon, where are you, kid?"

I sighed, leaning back in my chair and returning to review the reports—finally somewhat relaxed about the situation at Frag's battle.

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