CHAPTER 28
[THE AGENTS OF S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S — FIRST CONTACT]
A strange voice cut through the darkness, both a warning and a threat.
"You may proceed no further."
The three agents froze instantly. There was something deeply unnatural about the voice. It carried a disturbing buffer effect, as if two contrasting tones were overlapping — one coarse and eerily deep, the other disturbingly human. The sound felt simultaneously too loud and too close, as though the speaker's lips were mere inches from their ears, yet also distant. The unsettling effect pierced them to the bone.
Their eyes widened. For a brief moment, all three stared at the ground, expressions tense with unease.
These were elite soldiers of S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S, professionally trained to hunt and neutralize users of the Arts. They had faced many practitioners in their careers, but nothing compared to the overwhelming presence they felt now. They kept their gazes locked downward, avoiding any sudden movements after the initial warning. Quietly, they scanned their surroundings using their peripherals.
Even Agent Wraith's high-perception field, still active, could only pick up faint traces of the presence. It failed to pinpoint the exact location.
They began making subtle hand signs, discreetly preparing to activate their Arts in case of a sudden strike. Ahead of them stood the abandoned building, the suspected ritual site used by the group of six. The voice had seemed to originate from that direction. The entrance was pitch black, the front yard swallowed in complete darkness. With the limited light available, it was nearly impossible to tell if anything or anyone stood on the porch.
The Behemoth of the Seventh, Agent Wraith, stepped forward boldly, ignoring the earlier warning. His voice was edged with steel as he demanded:
"Who are you?! And what business do you have in Notash?"
Suddenly, the careless winds that had been rustling the trees ceased completely. An unnatural silence fell over the woods.
The Behemoth of the Fifth and Third noticed the shift immediately and began scanning for any sign of movement.
"Are you the one responsible for the destruction of the city?!" Agent Wraith pressed when the voice offered no reply.
"For some reason, you seem to bypass my high perception field. Quite impressive for a user of the Arts… but you're no ordinary user, are you?"
As he spoke, he continued searching for any trace of movement or sound. The silence was absolute. The crickets had gone quiet. The leaves on the trees hung completely still, as if the entire forest had been frozen in time. Yet Agent Wraith refused to back down.
"Let it be known," he continued, "your fate was sealed the moment we were sent here. There is no use in hiding. I'd advise you to—"
A loud noise erupted from the abandoned building, snapping the trio's attention forward. They immediately shifted into battle stances, bodies tense and ready for a surprise attack. The ominous presence still lingered heavily in the air. The three agents exchanged quick glances and nodded. Cautiously, they began advancing toward the building.
But then they felt it.
Just behind them — an extremely dense concentration of divine energy, far higher than any ordinary user of the Arts should possess. Someone, or something, was standing directly behind them.
The agents froze in place.
Agent Lynx's face showed clear concern. It was rare for any user to completely evade S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S agents, especially when a high perception radius had been deployed by a Seventh-ranked Behemoth. Agent Wraith struggled to process how this entity had bypassed all their senses. His pride as a high-ranking agent was bruised, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.
Immediately, the trio sensed that something or someone stood behind them. They quickly turned around to confront whatever it was.
Lo and behold, it was a kid no older than thirteen years of age. He was in a crouched position, using his index finger to scribble words in the sand, or perhaps just playing around with it right where he stood.
"It's... It's a kid!!" Agent Lynx muttered, left completely dumbfounded by the sight of a child in the middle of the woods.
"This kid... Could he be a lost child?" Agent Lynx asked. He thought the kid must have been one of the survivors of the chaos that befell the city and had wandered off into the woods.
"You don't seem very bright... Agent Lynx!!" BrimJaws replied.
"There's nothing about that kid that seems natural," Agent BrimJaws added.
"BrimJaws is right. Do you two feel that as well?... That divine energy?" Agent Wraith asked the two.
"Yeah... it's dense," Agent Lynx muttered in response.
As the trio conversed amongst themselves, the kid - who was a boy - hadn't glanced at them even once. His attention was completely bought by the meaningless scribbles he was making on the sand. He seemed not even bothered by the idle chatter of the three Agents standing before him. His features were strange. Although he had on simple clothing, his gaze was locked towards the ground, which meant much of his face couldn't be seen. But his hair was one of the most striking features. It was black mid-long wavy hair that flowed against gravity. The hair seemed to constantly wave at an upward trend against gravity. Not only that, the hair possessed a unique wavy movement pattern that didn't seem to align with or follow natural head or body movements. As if the hair was alive or something.
The boy's hair motion effect seemed to replicate the exact motion of an individual's hair that had been completely submerged into the depths of water, causing the hair to flow upwards and freely move in any direction opposed to the head or body's movement. Strapped behind his back was a beautifully decorated katana, horizontally strapped close to his waistline. He eventually grabbed his katana by the hilt using his right arm as he nonchalantly continued to scribble away at the soil before him with his left. Eventually, when he got bored of it and the three individuals that stood there assessing him, he slowly lifted up the arm he used in playing around in the sand, up in the air with all five fingers stretched out. He held it up for a few seconds, while still in a crouched position and not sparing a glance at the three men.
Moments later, the cold night wind that had ceased earlier began to pick up speed again. Every tree seemed to come back to life at once, their leaves hissing and rattling in the chilly breeze. The woods writhed as the wind tore through them, pulsing once more with the restless sounds of crickets. Everything returned to life all at once.
The trio stood there, dumbfounded by the level of mastery the young child displayed over the Arts. That is… if what he had just done could even be called an Art or an aspect of it. Not to mention how abnormally dense his divine energy was. What unsettled them most was how the boy had not glanced at them even once, despite standing before three powerful ranked agents of S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S. It was as if he was reminding them that he held complete control of the situation.
The agents had their target crouched right in front of them, yet they hesitated to engage. They had already established that the boy was extremely dangerous, and their orders were clear: neutralize any threat to the Solarian government and the country of Solaria. But what they failed to realize was that the boy was a special case. They hoped he would make the first move so they could properly assess his abilities before committing. Unfortunately for them, the boy was already several steps ahead.
He slowly lowered his left arm and continued scribbling in the earth as he spoke.
"So… The government decided to send its dogs!! Interesting," he said softly, still not sparing them a single glance.
"What was it they called you guys again?"
"Let's see… ah yes, I remember now… S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S!"
"You three must be Agents of S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S, am I right?" the boy asked, his gaze still fixed on the ground.
What truly threw them off was the fact that the boy somehow knew about S.C.U.L.A.A.R.S — a highly classified elite group created by the Solarian government. How could a child no older than thirteen identify them so easily? The situation had taken a dangerous new turn. They were no longer dealing with just a speculated user of the Arts, but a strange child who possessed classified information about the Solarian government and a unit that wasn't supposed to exist on paper.