Regarding the data collected on HOUMs, they were classified into four categories based on their strength: low class, medium class, high class, and royalty. Each of these classes was further divided into three levels: A, B, and C. Occasionally, HOUMs of a particular class would surpass all others of the same level and class – the exceptions.
The exceptions were incredibly tough to defeat, possessing exceptional abilities that even the strongest CREDHOS struggled to comprehend.
One could recognize a HOUM's class by its appearance. Low-class HOUMs looked less human-like, and the strongest of this class (level A) had very distinct and thick white markings on their dark gray skin. Level B had visible white markings here and there but were less pronounced than level A. The weakest ones were often small in size with no distinctive features.
Medium-class HOUMs were of a lighter gray color and had a morphology much closer to humans. Level C of this class was just light gray, level B had one or more incomplete bestial features, such as a severed horn or scales in some places on their bodies, and level A had one of these traits in its entirety.
Medium-class level-A HOUMs were challenging even for experienced teams. While it was almost impossible to experience losses in these battles, it took several minutes to defeat them.
The HOUM from earlier had a horn on its forehead and was of a light gray color, indicating that it was likely a level A medium-class HOUM.
Rei and Rush had killed this monster in an instant, without even using their affinities, and the HOUM hadn't had the chance to use its cursed energy.
Moreover, they showed no signs of having just engaged in battle, as if this HOUM meant nothing to them. They gave the impression that HOUMs of this class were not a real problem, not to be feared.
'These guys are way too strong!' Jaden thought.
Once their adversary was dead, Rei and Rush returned to Jaden, entering through the same window they had exited from.
Back in the room, instead of congratulating them on their performance, Jaden asked something else.
"Excuse me, but this HOUM... the organization surely knew its level, so why are you here? I mean, there might have been a much stronger HOUM somewhere else."
HOUMs were the primary focus of all research. Several years after their appearance on Earth, scientists had managed to develop machines capable of approximately predicting the arrival of these creatures long before they appeared in the white to gray zones. In the other zones, they could only be detected once they had arrived.
Over time and with the acquired data, the machines became accurate enough to know where HOUMs would appear within a few meters, as well as their classes.
Jaden was right to ask this question. These guys were so strong that high-class HOUMs were likely needed to provide them with a challenge. And the organization probably had several teams on standby, so why bring one of the strongest teams for a medium-class HOUM?
"Intuition." this time the voice that responded to him was just as imposing, but it lacked the touch of brutality and was incredibly calm, like a serene river. It was Rei's voice.
"Intuition?" Jaden raised his eyebrows in astonishment.
'So, it's really impossible to understand these super-strong people.' Jaden thought, feeling both amused and a bit disheartened.
"Never underestimate intuition, kid. It's what makes us human." Rush said after seeing Jaden's expression.
"And this intuition?" Jaden wanted to know if it was really worth it because, from his point of view, there was nothing extraordinary about it.
'Except, perhaps, the fact that it convinced me that the CREDHOS were very strong. Am I that important?' Jaden looked at his body strangely after this "analysis."
"Haha, you're a bit slow on the uptake, kid! What don't you understand when I say not to doubt intuition?" Rush said while shaking his head at the end of his sentence, as if he couldn't comprehend how someone could doubt intuition.
"By the way, you don't look... bad at all." Rush said, looking at Jaden as if analyzing him, before adding. "So what are you doing here? Are you squatting in the hospital? Haha! If I were you, I'd do the same. Have you seen this food, this bed? No wonder!"
'Squatting in the hospital? And besides, it's my mother who made this food. I could just stay at home if I wanted to eat it.' Jaden was so surprised that he didn't know what to say for a moment.
"No, I'm not squatting at all. The doctor wanted me to stay here today." Jaden replied.
"Yeah, right, sure!" Rush said mockingly, as if Jaden's "false reason" couldn't possibly pass. He saw that one coming from miles away.
Jaden was a bit irritated that Rush refused to believe him, even though he was telling the truth. However, he would have preferred if that were the end of it.
"So how many times a day is the good food? And what do you tell the doctor? Fever?" Rush put his hand on Jaden's forehead to check his temperature, but the young man's temperature was perfectly normal.
Rei was just there, witnessing the warm conversation between his colleague and this young squatter. His expression didn't reveal what he was thinking, but his presence was imposing and reassuring at the same time.
"A stomach ache, then? Or a headache?" Rush added thoughtfully. He was determined to solve this mystery.
"None of those things!" Jaden exclaimed, with frustration visible on his forehead, before hastily adding. "I fought HOUMs, was on death's doorstep, and now, miraculously, I'm as good as new."
"Yeah, right... Wait, what?" Rush asked, thinking that the squatter was going to give him a multitude of reasons he already knew too well. But this...
"Wow!!! So that's what you tell the doctor?" Rush was genuinely surprised. This was the best one. The guy had truly exceeded his expectations. Where did he come up with this inspiration?
Jaden, on the other hand, could only turn his head in embarrassment.
Just at that moment, someone who seemed unconcerned with the conversation asked a question. It was Rei, who had been following the discussion without really participating. He couldn't plug his ears, so he was obliged to listen to his colleague and the squatter, he didn't sense any variation in the latter's voice. Unless he was an exceptionally trained liar, he probably couldn't lie to a superhuman trained CREDHOS.
If this young man had really survived encounters with HOUMs when he wasn't even a CREDHOS aspirant, it was a story worth hearing.
Jaden was delighted to explain everything after seeing that there was at least one sensible CREDHOS in the room. But once he had finished his explanation, something came to his mind, so he asked the two CREDHOS.
"Normally, such things shouldn't happen with the organization's machines." Jaden remarked. His fight had been quite long, and while it's true that the precision of the machines might have been an issue, there were multiple HOUMs involved.
Besides, the machines were often very accurate, give or take a few meters, according to what the public knew. What's more, he was in a gray-white zone, an area where HOUM arrivals could be predicted.
"In these zones, surveillance is top-notch, so it's quite unusual for us to be left without CREDHOS intervention." Jaden added.
"While we can indeed predict HOUM arrivals with precision, it's still a matter of computer science related to natural sciences. Nature remains something that humans don't yet have total control over." Rei explained.
"It could also be the work of an exception. Some of these HOUMs are capable of appearing in all zones without exception for a certain duration without being detected by the association's machines. We call them chameleons." Rei added immediately after.
From his words, one could understand that encountering such a situation in a gray or even white zone was not impossible.
"However, it's very rare for chameleons to land in a place with people when they're in white, gray-white, or gray zones. And since this blending ability is only temporary and appears only in HOUMs of low and medium classes for reasons we don't understand, teams often arrive before there's too much damage." Rush explained before adding with a lot of enthusiasm.
"Hahaha! I like you more and more, kid! You killed three of them barehanded and fought an exception. Very interesting!"
Jaden on his bed looked deep in thought. He was digesting everything he had just heard but also thinking about the future. If this kind of HOUM appeared from time to time, many people's lives would be in danger because they would be defenseless in such cases. What should he do, and what would be the solution to all of this?
'Intuition... What if?' Jaden pondered.
What if the intuition of these two CREDHOS was about the fact that they would encounter him, not to make him have a better opinion of CREDHOS, but rather to find a solution to his problem – his curse?
'Speaking of intuition, I believe I shouldn't be the one to doubt it. I think it's thanks to it that I wasn't killed in less than two seconds during the fight against the HOUMs.' Jaden considered. There were instances during his fight where his intuition warned him of potential danger, and it wasn't just against the HOUMs that he noticed it.
'In my boxing classes, I could dodge punches just based on intuition too.'
Even after reassuring himself that intuition should not be underestimated, there was still doubt, confusion, and a bit of panic in Jaden. What would their reaction be? What would happen if he didn't tell anyone?
'Their reaction? Why am I still only thinking about myself?' Jaden wondered.
'Yet, regardless of their reaction, I don't believe anything worse could happen to me than losing loved ones in the event of my death at the hands of the HOUMs.'
'Why did my life have to take this turn?' Jaden thought with a tired sigh.
"I haven't told you everything." Jaden began, taking a deep breath. He had made his decision: the lives of his loved ones were far more important than his own.
"Oh?" was Rush's reaction, but Rei, on the other hand, simply had his face fixed on Jaden without any obvious reaction, but his gaze said, 'I'm listening, spill everything this time.'
After Jaden took a deep breath and made his decision, he began his explanation starting with his encounter with the presumed devil, who was actually the Supreme HOUM. He left out no detail, and as he spoke, the faces of both CREDHOS grew more and more serious.
'So, it's crucial to prevent a HOUM from killing him at all costs.' the two CREDHOS thought simultaneously, wearing concerned expressions as Jaden recounted the part of his death leading to the deaths of others.
The story continued.
However, as soon as Jaden finished his tale, an unexpected scene unfolded. Rei had his right dagger in his heart, which directly caused Jaden's death.