Not long after her conversation with the warrior she found herself on board one of the sleek black helicopters.
Charm thought the helicopter would take her to another island but to her surprise the helicopter landed on a large warship.
"This is your base?" she asked incredulously.
After getting the approval to land, the helicopter slowly descended on to the platform.
Only when the engine was turned off were the passengers aboard allowed to disembark.
A warrior came up to them and said, "Welcome to the base. Before you can be allowed to step any further on the ship this machine in my hand will scan your body for any contamination or potential threats."
He indicated that Charm should go first.
"Raise your hands," the warrior added.
Charm nervously did as she was told.
He scanned her body with a small machine that remained silent as he waved it.
Other helicopters were landing on other helipads at the same time.
They all got the same cold treatment as the other warrior guards were doing the same thing to the occupants of those helicopters.
Charm got an eyeful of what happened if the scanner went off.
It was another female like Charm.
Naturally the poor girl was frightened but before Charm could ask, "what's wrong?"
She heard shouts of "danger!" "locust larvae!" "exterminate!" "remove the threat immediately!"
Next thing she knew, something that resembled a more advanced version of a flamethrower was used on the poor defenseless girl and she was burnt alive on the spot.
A cleaning crew came to cleanse the remains as if it was just another ordinary task like scrubbing the toilets.
The warriors had an easier time getting the 'new recruits' to conform and not struggle against their authority after such a sight.
Apparently the scanner did more than just scan for demon activity it also told the guard warrior what nutrients their bodies were lacking.
He handed them a cup with a clear liquid and said, "drink this."
All around them others were downing the liquid and quenching their thirst with what seemed like little to no side effects.
Charm hesitated but then she closed her eyes and swallowed the clear, odorless liquid.
Nothing happened at first but then she began to feel something cursing through her veins.
A similar feeling to drinking vodka but after the initial high she felt revitalized and in good spirits.
Since Charm had been knocked out on arrival at Isla Serpiente.
Only Zinc was able to recognize a few other familiar faces and all of them were from C campus.
In his mind he thought it couldn't be a coincidence but he didn't want to scare Charm either.
"Miguel! Miguel! Bro wait up!" shouted a young man with similar wiry black hair and brown eyes as the bronzed warrior in charge of them ran up to his side. "Are these the new recruits?"
The warrior whose name was being called rolled his eyes.
"What a relief," said Charm. "I thought the warrior was only impolite to us but it seems he's that way with family as well. He is your younger brother, isn't he?"
No answer.
"Oh, it's just his temperament, my older brother is rude to everyone," replied Leon breezily while answering on behalf of his brother.
"Leon what did I tell you about talking to strangers much less putting words in my mouth," came the harsh rebuke from his older brother.
Leon had the gall to look chastised for a few minutes before he became animated again.
Leon nudged Charm, "Can you tell me what happened on Isla Serpiente? It's been three hours since my brothers and the others have been gone."
Miguel went over to the side to give a report to his commander and was in deep conversation with a few others.
He wasn't worried about leaving Leon with the newcomers.
Since Leon had a lot of spirit power of his own and knew how to use it if his life was at risk.
The nine year old was surprisingly crafty and not to be taken lightly.
Surprisingly it was Zinc who spoke up, "Since you have no reservations about talking with strangers, I'll summarize what happened today. Many people lost their lives."
Leon looked at Zinc expectantly, waiting on him to say more; it took a few minutes for the realization to sink in that those words were all Zinc had to say.
"That's it. I guess normal people die very easily, don't you think?"
Miguel happened to return at that moment and said, "Leon don't you know it's inconsiderate to speak like that of the dead. Better yet don't you have chores to complete? I can give you more if you have free time."
"I guess that's my cue to leave, see you around peeps," Leon said before disappearing.
Charm blinked again, one minute Leon was standing in front of them and the next minute he was gone without a trace.
Miguel gave her a look that said don't question it before clearing his throat.
"Let me properly introduce myself. I'm Miguel Cortez, by the way, this is the base and I'm going to be your guide until told otherwise."
"Thanks for the Intro, I'm Charm. Charm Alysham. I still don't understand why you brought us here."
"I know your names already. The silent, broody one beside you is Zinc Fearon. I know everything there's to know about your background."
Charm shivered.
His words sent an alarm through her body that was telling her to run but where would they run to?
They were stuck on a warship, floating on the sea in the middle of nowhere.
"Even I was mildly surprised that there were so many potential recruits at Isla Serpiente this year." Miguel observed Zinc more narrowly. "I heard you struck the killing blow on the Locust General and had the strength to take on his lieutenant demon afterwards.
His voice reeked with admiration but it brought back an ugly picture of the Locust General to Charm's mind and she shuddered unaware that she inched closer to Zinc's side.
Zinc responded grimly, "I suppose I did."
"Since both of you aren't in the mood to chat, I'll take you to our leader," said Miguel and with a crook of his fingers he indicated that they should go with him.