Chapter 26
"My Lord!" Zuna, the commander of the Betas, called out as she hastened her way up the hill to the Alpha. Her voice was flooded with concern. "What happened? I suspected things didn't go as planned, but I can't figure out how it could've happened. For a moment, I feared the worst."
"It is quite perplexing isn't it?" He responded, his eyes were fixed on the ground. He stood with his arms crossed as he thought about the outcome of the battle. "I expected those guys to have more surprises, but this...," he stopped and looked up at her. "And, that kid! I didn't see that coming."
"Wait, I don't understand, My Lord. What are you saying? The kid is the one who is responsible for their escape?"
"No, not exactly. He came out of the portal with the big guy, and he had a hole through his chest. I'm assuming that either Chisei has the worst aim of anyone I have ever met, or the kid I ignored on account of his immense weakness just traded his life for one of their strongest soldiers. I honestly hope it's the first one so I could eliminate the problem by simply killing Chisei. But, I have a sneaky feeling that it won't be so simple. He's on his way now, we'll get the story soon...if he can even talk, that is."
Zuna seemed a little less confused after his explanation, then she furrowed her eyebrows even more. "So, it was the big one, Ignis, he was the surprise? Did they somehow use his ability to escape?"
The Alpha shook his head and looked at her with a sincere look in his eyes. She was shocked. Zuna felt like she knew him very well, but she had rarely seen this look in his eyes. It was like he suddenly became a real person instead of a monster with ice in his veins which was his usual demeanor. She admired his usual persona, unlike everyone else, it didn't bother her at all. She had grown attached to him and his personality. However, this new look disarmed her immediately. It was as if he was trusting her with his weakness. She realized that it wasn't just admiration she felt for him, it was a different feeling. Something she had never felt before.
"It was my fault they got away," he said, bringing her back to reality. "I made mistakes. I underestimated them, and I even let myself get carried away in the excitement of the fight. It was my arrogance that allowed their escape. I knew all of their strengths. I could've ended the fight in just a few attacks, but instead, I got over-confident, and they got away. I mean...I had no idea about the wolf thing either."
"Wolf thing," Zuna questioned, a slight look of disbelief on her face.
"Yeah. Whoosh," He motioned with his hands. "Just like that, their soft leader went and turned into a wolf. I suspect he's not so soft in his wolf-form, but I didn't get a chance to find out. He was fast!"
"How?" Zuna asked the only question she could.
"I have my theories now that I've seen it, but I'm not ready to share them just yet. I honestly should've seen it coming. I can't count how many times they've said something about revering or protecting wolves. I just chalked it up to superstitious nonsense. I've overlooked far too much in my arrogance. It will never happen again."
"I believe you," Zuna said. Her eyes met his to return his sincerity. "What is the next phase of the plan, My Lord?"
"Well, we know that they'll come back because they won't risk us invading their land. Now that I have the means of entering through their portal, I'm a threat that must be dealt with. He'll be back soon, he told me as much. But, if he thinks I'm going to wait around for him to come back, he has no idea who he's dealing with. I have a plan that I will need to accomplish alone, but for the moment, we will track down the traitors. After that, we will fortify our ranks to prepare for war."
As the Alpha finished speaking, the portal began glowing. Chisei stumbled through and fell into the snow. His face dripped with blood, and smoke still drifted upward from his charred clothes. He looked like he had been in the fight of his life.
"Ah, you made it," the Alpha said, regaining his icy, yet cheery tone.
"He took me by surprise," Chisei mumbled, his jaw was broken.
"That appears to be the theme of the day," he answered. Then, he turned to Zuna and directed her with his eyes as his hands returned to their respective pockets.
Zuna walked over and knelt down beside Chisei's broken body. She knew exactly what the Alpha was asking her to do. She referred to her ability as Overload. She could charge herself and others with an excess of nature energy. This ability manifested strange side effects for the Imperials she had charged beyond their natural limit. One such side effect was that it would cause their bodies to ignore their injuries and heal themselves. It wasn't as effective or comfortable as a healing ability would be, but it served their purposes quite well.
She clasped her hands together, and they began to take on a dark aura. When the aura had expanded to a certain size, she slammed her hands into Chisei's crystal. All of the energy she had gathered forced its way directly into his core. Chisei screamed in pain and writhed around for a short while. He hadn't imagined it could be so painful. It felt like he was burning alive. Then, when he was finally able to gain control of himself, he sat up slowly. He suddenly felt stronger than ever.
"What happened, Chisei? You're my chief scientist. You should've known better than to fail so miserably. If I wanted a disaster, I would've sent Yukann."
Chisei stood to his feet and bowed. "Forgive me this failure, Master. I had no idea the kid had followed him in to retrieve the girl. After I attacked, he jumped out and willingly took the damage from the spear. Even if I had seen him, I wouldn't have viewed him as a threat. I thought he was a useless coward."
"So the situation is as I feared," the Alpha said. "It seems I am the one who failed. I miscalculated concerning him. What happened with the big guy, Ignis? Did I miscalculate his power as well?"
"No, Master," Chisei answered. "I'm convinced your information was accurate. He seems to have more brute strength and explosive power than the others, but those seem to be the extent of his abilities. In an open battle between us, I would defeat him easily. His power surprised me, and I made the mistake of trying to match his strength. The floor was also coming apart so it was impossible to mount a real defense. He tore the place apart when he exploded with that lava ability of his. By the way, he destroyed the entire entrance to the Sky Palace. I only managed to make it back by using almost all of my energy."
"Very well, Chisei. Since, I didn't properly predict the whelp's behavior, I will allow you to retain the life you have fought so hard to keep. After the war, your task will be to rebuild the section of the Sky Palace you failed to protect."
He turned to walk down the mountain and motioned for his two betas to follow. He moved toward the area where the skriodyr had been sleeping, but he was nowhere in sight. He engaged his watcher ability to see the giant reptile moving at top speed away from their location.
"I see the coward fled his punishment." the Alpha said. "He won't get away, everyone must take responsibility eventually. We will deal with him later. First, we will go judge the traitorous former Gammas who made the mistake of giving information to our enemy. Let's move."