n

n

n

n“Arnold, Sansa, you’ll listen to me at all times”. Christensen addressed the 2 Grade D warriors that were assigned to his team.

n“Do not talk and keep your ears peeled open, I or Brutus may whisper commands at times, you need to be silent to be able to hear”.

n“Also, learn these signs, it may be needed for me to communicate with them since we are deep inside Titan territory you know”.

nChristensen demonstrated some random signs that he made up during his island training session with his master to communicate with Leo.

n“Also, no side gossiping”.

n“So noisy”. Arnold complained with a sigh.

n“…” Christensen glared at him without a word.

n“Arnold, Sansa, obey his orders, this mission is important to fulfilling our main mission and is also paramount to our survival”.

nSeeing the attitude of his warriors, Commander Knock butted in.

nOnce they were ready to set out, he blessed them. “May the peace and protection of the 8 Ancient gods follow you and guide your paths”.

nThese 2 warriors from the remaining warriors of the Vanguard Squad were selected to follow and support Christensen as the scouting squad.

nNot only were both of them rare Pugilists with shadow affinity, but they were Grade D superhuman experts, a perfect fit for Christensen’s squad.

nOnce they were ready, Christensen gave the order and Brutus did the deed, changing their identity and scent with those of 2 dead Titans that were nearby.

nUnlike when Brutus used the Identity Merge on Legolas, Sansa and Arnold resonated with the ability completely as they disappeared and coexisted between Planet Darvis and the shadow plane perfectly.

nTheir perfect coexistence seemed to affect Christensen like Brutus predicted as like them, Christensen also became completely invisible.

nWithout hesitation, they sneaked out of the tower.

nJust before they went outside the tower, Christensen stopped them. “Another important fact to know between ourselves, our strengths and abilities”.

n“To cooperate perfectly, we need to know each other”.

nChristensen started first as an example by telling everything about himself. “I have a Frost Wolf who I already sent to the beast plane and Brutus, I can summon the Frost Wolf anytime”.

n“Also, I have the agent subclass”.

nSansa followed. “I am a Pugilist who specializes in close combat using 2 short daggers, Needle and Poke”. She showed her 2 daggers. “Also, I have the archery subclass, I’m good with my bow and arrow”.

n“Thanks”. Christensen patted her back before turning to face Arnold.

n“I am a Pugilist who specializes in…” Arnold paused. “Ugh…, I’m a sneaky Pugilist, that’s all. I am very sneaky and slippery, like a snake”.

n“I hate head-on battles, they’re too noisy, I love sneaky ones instead”.

n“Also, I have the stealth subclass that allows me to walk silently like a ghost and to also hide my shadow”.

n“Good”. Christensen nodded.

n“Now, this is my plan…”

nHaving spent a lot of time listening to his master making plans all the time, Christensen already got a hang of it, now was the time to prove it.

n…

nThud! Thud!

nThe Civilian Titans roamed aimlessly around the streets of the ruined city.

nUnknown to them, 3 humans and a Shadow Hound were sneaking right under their nose. After crossing 3 streets, Christensen and his companions arrived before a street that was completely blocked by the Civilian Titans.

nThey could take the longer way around another street but they didn’t have the time for it, their invisible state constantly drained Brutus’ mana.

nThey were on a time limit.

nChristensen turned to face Sansa. “Do it!”

nWithout hesitation, she pulled her bow, aimed and shot.

nWhoosh!

nAs soon as the arrow hit the head of one of the Civilian Titans, it detonated. The explosion killed 2 Titans and attracted even more of them.

nRoar!

nThe spooked and angry Titans scattered in search of the intruder.

nAmid the chaos, they finally found the intruder, a single warrior clad in brown desert clothes who was at the roof of a nearby building.

nRoar!

nThey charged towards Arnold while making a lot of noise.

n“So noisy”. Arnold frowned as he blocked his ears with makeshift earmuffs.

nIn a fair battle, he stood no chance against these Civilian Titans but in a game of hide and seek, they were nowhere near his level.

nIn the legendary game of hide and seek, Arnold believed that no one was near his level, he believed that he was the best.

nHe jumped down from the building and the game started.

nWhile he attracted all the attention, toying with the Civilian Titans, Christensen and Sansa continued their journey to the Ancient Titan palace.

nAlong the way, they encountered other obstacles but Christensen, Brutus, and Sansa were able to move through it all. After another 20 minutes of hiding and moving, Arnold regrouped with them and they finally arrived.

nThey were now just a street away from the Ancient Titan palace.

nOn getting here though, they felt the ground vibrating.

nThe ground vibrating was not the only anomaly though, at the roof of a nearby building stood humans who seemed to be on guard duty.

n“The Clown Society!” Christensen whispered hatefully.

nThe 5 guards on top the roof where supposed to be on guard duty but for some reason, they were distracted as they looked at the direction of the palace with fanatical looks in their eyes where the vibration came from.

n“What are they looking at?” Sansa asked.

n“We’ll have to get closer to find out”.

nIt put them at much more risk but they still did it.

nSneaking even closer to the palace in their invisible state, they encountered more psychopaths of the Clown Society and more Warrior Titans.

nThe danger was greater than ever before but Christensen’s curiosity pushed him to keep on moving closer as the vibration from the ground increased.

nThis was when Brutus spoke. “My mana is recovering faster”.

n“Huh? Not that you say it, I think I’m experiencing it too”.

n“Not only that, I think my mana is more potent now. For some reason, I feel that my attacks will be far stronger than normal if used here”.

nTheir whispers almost alerted the Titans but they barely escaped. They did not move further though as they turned to look at Brutus who seemed to know something, the Shadow Hound’s eyes narrowed as he looked ahead.

n“I have only experienced this feeling once, when I went to the center of Darvis where the planet’s core is located”.

n“Only a planet core can induce this effect”.

n“But this is not where our planet’s core is located”. Sansa argued.

n“Yes, I know, that is why I didn’t say it with a finality tone”. Brutus snapped.

nWhile they argued through whispers, without their notice, Arnold already sneaked ahead. When Christensen noticed, he felt his heart leap out of his throat as he saw Arnold already at the other end of the street.

nThrough a small hole in a building, Arnold peaked to the other side. His eyes widened as he finally saw the cause of the vibration.

nAlmost immediately after he looked and saw it though, a pair of massive blue eyes turned to look at him. “You, come here”.

n“…” Goosebumps filled his skin.𝒪𝗏𝐞𝗅xt.𝗇𝓔t

n

n