On the road, approaching the next city to visit and investigate, Campo Verde, Koji, Saik, and Spherea were in a fast-moving military vehicle.
"Despite doing nothing, the military has some great cars," said Koji, sitting in the passenger seat and fiddling with the glove compartment.
"That's called money! The Tower's military loves to play with their firepower. For them, this is paradise," Saik responded as he drove.
"Your demon disappeared again, Koji?"
"Yeah... that bastard always shows up and vanishes!" Koji replied, slightly distracted by the map of the region. Just then, Spherea materialized in the back seat and mockingly said, "I feel a painful lack of gratitude. I should be celebrated every day for saving your life so many times."
"It's not that big of a deal, Spherea..."
Seeing a gas station along the highway, Saik decided to pull in for fuel. "Got any money?" he asked Koji, who casually replied, "The Tower still hasn't paid our salaries, and payday isn't even close."
Saik parked the vehicle, and both he and Koji noticed the station was almost deserted. There was only one other car being fueled, and a motorcycle parked in front of the convenience store.
"We're broke. How are we going to fill the tank?" Koji commented as he noticed the attendants wandering around aimlessly. "Why aren't they coming over? Are they blind?"
"Maybe they saw the writing on the car... 'Tower Special Forces'... after what happened in Dynami, people must hate the Tower. That's my guess."
Suddenly, the vehicle's communication device crackled. Bbrrzz! A voice came through — "Koji! Saik! Are you there? Can you hear me?" The two recognized the voice; it was Commander Ava.
Koji grabbed the radio and responded with restrained enthusiasm, "We're here! We hear you loud and clear!"
"We've located you via the vehicle tracker. We're monitoring your route to the next city, but I want to inform you that agents Nahome and Tovah will be heading to the state capital, depending on your progress."
"So, they'll only move if we move forward?" Koji asked, intrigued.
"Exactly. We don't know the number of portadores (power holders) the Conclave has or their goal. But we suspect they're connected to the Foundation, based on intel from Central Intelligence."
"The Foundation… that's the same group that devastated Dynami, right?"
"Yes. The Foundation is an organization made up of the most feared and dangerous portadores in the world. They are superior to most other power holders, which is why they are so feared."
"That's exactly what Alaric said, wasn't it?" Koji asked Saik, who calmly replied, "Yeah… he said the people above him are way above us."
"So, you need to move fast. If the Conclave is indeed tied to the Foundation, our problem grows larger. It won't just be a mission against a random group, but against the most dangerous group on the planet. Proceed with maximum caution and neutralize any enemies. If there's no other option, eliminate them, understood?"
The commander ended the communication, and just then, one of the attendants approached the car window on Koji's side. Koji, surprised, leaned closer and waved with his left hand, "Oh, hey! Hello?"
But the attendant didn't respond. He just stared straight ahead, head held high.
"What's with these guys? Are they blind and deaf?" Koji muttered.
"Maybe they're waiting for Koji to lose his virginity, right?" Spherea teased, laughing and slapping his portador on the shoulder.
"Shut up, Spherea!" Koji yelled, turning to swat away Spherea's hands, while Saik, in genuine curiosity, asked, "Wait… are you a virgin?"
"Of course not! Are you really gonna believe this demon?"
"Open the door then! If we don't do something, we'll be stuck here till nightfall," Saik commented, unwrapping a piece of candy from the dashboard.
Following Saik's advice, Koji carefully opened his door, as the attendant was standing close. The man stepped back, allowing Koji to fully exit the vehicle.
"Hey, good afternoon... is it noon yet or still morning? We need to fill the tank, but my colleague and I are short on cash... think you can help us out?" Koji asked, trying to be friendly with a slightly forced, nervous smile.
"Oh no..." Saik muttered, facepalming.
The attendant shifted his gaze from the horizon to Koji, speaking in a somewhat threatening tone, "You want free gas? Free?"
Glancing between Saik and the man, Koji tried to de-escalate the tension he sensed rising. "Not exactly free..."
"Just grab the damn gas, Koji!" Saik snapped impatiently, gesturing for him to act.
"What do you want me to do?" Koji replied, stepping back toward the car door.
"We're Tower portadores! If he doesn't want to give us the gas, just take it!"
Koji turned to the attendant, but before he could react, the man punched him square in the face. However, Koji didn't flinch, nor did he feel any pain.
Instead of retaliating aggressively, Koji and Saik started laughing. Koji casually rubbed his face as if wiping away an invisible smudge.
"You clearly don't know, but I'm a portador. Haven't you seen the news about how power holders can't be harmed by humans?"
"This guy's gotta be drunk. Just grab the pump and fill the tank," Saik chuckled, stretching lazily.
Portadores like Koji and Saik couldn't be harmed by normal human attacks. Their bodies were adapted to withstand physical impacts from humans or human-made objects; the only things that could hurt them were other portadores, special artifacts, and Gyakus. Mundane forces had no effect on them.
Koji stepped forward, grabbed the attendant by the collar, and effortlessly lifted him into the air before tossing him against a concrete pillar.
The impact knocked the man out cold, his body collapsing like a sack of potatoes.
As Koji was about to grab the fuel pump, two more attendants and a man who had been fueling his car rushed toward him. "Guys, it's no use trying to fight me, okay?" he tried to calm them down.
The first attendant threw a punch, but Koji dodged it with superhuman speed. He countered with a precise right hook, knocking the man out instantly.
The second attendant came from the side, but Koji swiftly neutralized him with a quick strike to the neck, causing him to lose consciousness. "Oh no... damn it! Did I kill him?"
The man at the pump didn't fare any better; before he could attack, Koji kicked him in the chest so hard that he flew back into his own car, denting the metal.
Saik stepped out of the military vehicle and calmly approached one of the unconscious attendants. He noticed something strange, bending down to pull aside the man's collar and reveal a peculiar mark on his neck.
"Koji, take a look at this," Saik called, pointing to the mark.
Koji checked the other two men on the ground and found the same mark on their necks. "They've got it too. All three of them."
The two portadores exchanged glances before beginning to speculate.
"These marks… could they be connected to that fake portador we saw earlier with a borrowed technique?" Saik suggested, recalling what Spherea had mentioned about the fake portador, Lyanna.
Koji frowned, thinking. "Maybe, but these guys are just regular humans. They don't have any techniques."
Sitting in the back seat, Spherea opened the door and explained, "The mark usually means one of two things: either it's a fake portador using a borrowed technique from a real power holder, or... it's a human under the control of a technique that induces a trance-like state."
Koji scratched his head, looking at the unconscious attendants. "A mind-controlling trance… that would explain their weird behavior."
"If that's the case, we've got another problem. Someone around here is manipulating these people," Saik concluded, glancing at the green road sign that indicated Campo Verde was just 10km away.