Notebooks were out, computer screens were lit, and the last slide of Mia's PowerPoint was up. Each person in the room sat in awe at the numbers Eric read out. Four hundred Llrathels. That number was more than the amount of systems 6-8 had faced the entirety of the operation. Mia stood off to the side of Eric, trying to hide her disbelief, but failing. Her tail twitched sporadically.

Milano had put his glasses back on. His lips were pursed as he looked at the map.

"And that is just for one city." Eric finished. He looked up from the report, a grim expression on his face to match Milano's angry scowl. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Sir, we can't fight those numbers. The second we show up with a battalion of tanks, the Brios or Mumat systems could tear our ranks apart. Even without that, the shear number of Llrathels could most likely wipe out our entire task force on it's lonesome. And that..."

Eric shook his head

"Is just for one city."

Milano took the paper from Eric's hand. "And this is from Ricky and the rest of the team?" He asked quietly, murmuring to himself as he reviewed the numbers himself.

Eric nodded.

"Yes sir. They haven't made it to the other cities, but the team has confirmed these numbers through ISR and visual confirmation."

Suddenly, Eric felt as if there was something wrong with the very air in the room. The temperature felt both too hot, and too cold. His eyes narrowed, and he stood up. The feeling worsened, and the regular civilians and soldiers without mana began to collapse one after the other.

Tryasche saved Nieto before the president hit his head on the table. Eric and Tryasche looked around the room for the culprit, but Eric was having a hard time keeping focus. It was as if someone was sucking the air and mana both from the atmosphere.

Tryasche growled at Eric. "Cover yourself in a thin layer of mana, fool!" The Dragon King yelled.

Eric looked around, seeing the Dwarves and Elves standing there like nothing was going wrong. He closed his eyes and visualized mana covering his body like a shield.

After doing so, he gasped for air. The feeling of being suffocated and burned at the same time dissappeared.

Tryasche continued to look around the room.

"Someone is using the spell 'mana invenction'." He growled. "We need to find them, and quickly. Otherwise, these people will die. I can't believe the Empire was able to send spies out here this quickly!"

Eric yelled out in English. "If you don't want to die, get down!"

Everyone who was still conscious dropped to the ground immediately, and Eric grabbed an M4 from one of the guards that had collapsed. He aimed for corners and spots in the ceiling.

Tryasche watched each bullet, his dragon eyes following their trajectory. When Eric pointed the gun in his direction, the bullet seemed to bounce right off the Dragon Kings skin.

Eric panicked. "I apologize, your majesty!" Eric yelled hurriedly.

The Dragon King shook his head. "Do not worry, child. Keep shooting! We must find this culprit quickly."

Eric kept shooting. But it was of no use. He ran out of ammo, and threw the gun aside.

Those with mana were now starting to collapse. Mia stood shakily, her eyes glowing in an amber hue. "This must be the work of one of the shadows." She gasped, her eyes flickering as she tried to remain standing. "He must have snuck in with the refugees!"

She too, fell unconscious.

Eric held her and continued to frantically search for the culprit. Around them, he could see the flow of mana being sucked in to a single...

"There!" Eric and Tryasche seemed to say at the same time. Eric reached for his sidearm and aimed the pistol at a spot near Milano, while Tryasche seemed to grab the air near the General. Milano gasped, but Eric didn't hesitate. A few shots, and the room went still. Light returned to normal as a man seemed to materialize in Tryasche's grasp. There was a bullet wound in the man's shoulder, and Tryasche smirked. "We have some questions for you, whimsical fool. Do your best not to die."

People around the room began to stir as the Elven Queen cast a spell. Quickly, shackles of mana wrapped themselves around the man. Tryasche had released the Shadow, and she approached the man, pressing her heel into the wound.

"Your Empire will fall, useless fool." She growled. Her usual calm and collected demeanor was gone, replaced by a look of pure hatred.

Tryasche wrapped his arms around her, pulling her away. "Queen Lisaeth, I understand your people have suffered, but I cannot allow you to torture him at this moment."

She thrashed against the Dragon Queen. "Let me go, Dragon King. These shadows are some of the men that abused my people the most!" She growled.

Tryasche hugged her even firmer. "I know. Trust me. I know. But, we must retrieve information from him. You must realize that."

As the people around the room began to stir, they watched the scene with somber, cold eyes. The guards began to gather around the prisoner as he thrashed around.

Finally, the prisoners spoke.

He laughed, a vile sound filled with mirth and poison. His cackling sounded like if someone was yelling against a shattered glass window.

"You will all fall to the Empire." He said as he looked around. His gaze focused on Lisaeth. "We should have exterminated you Elves and the Demi-humans when we had the chance. His majesty thought your labor would assist us. No. Your kind is nothing but a blight on humanity. Only humans should exist in this world."

Lisaeth narrowed her eyes, but Eric walked over before she could do anything and slammed the butt of a rifle into the side of the man's head, knocking him out.

"You won't talk about my wife like that, arrogant scum." Eric growled, his eyes glowing with fury. Mana leaked off of him, and Mia ran over, taking the rifle from him and hugging him tightly. "Babe. I know you are mad, but please calm down. We need him alive."

After feeling Mia's touch, Eric dropped the rifle. His body shook and he turned around to kiss her. His fingers ran through her hair. "I was worried. I'm sorry."

Tryasche looked at Eric. "You are a demigod, Eric Dryer. I had my doubts before after hearing of a mortal that fought a Brios solo, but now I know that those rumors were not exaggerated."

"Yes, your majesty. The Cardinal Dreha seems interested in me because of it."

Tryasche sighed and looked up. "That is a matter to discuss some other time. For now."

He watched as the guards took the Shadow away.

"General Milano. I propose setting up some Magic barriers around the building. This will allow me to verify the mana signatures of anyone coming in or out. That way, if we have spies that try to infiltrate through magic again, I can notice them."

Milano was still catching his breath as he took a seat. "Very well. Thank you, your majesty."

Lisaeth began hitting Tryasche's chest. "How long will you assist in holding me like this, you overgrown lizard?" She muttered.

Tryasche looked down and realized his hand placement wasn't where he thought it was. He let go. "I apologize, Lisaeth. I had no intention of placing my hands around that area."

The leaders took their spots once more, and the room went silent. Once everyone had caught their breath, a team of medics and healers checked the conditions of all those who had been effected.

Trephania nodded to Milano. "Everyone is good, General." She said, putting her stethoscope away.

"Thank you, Lady Trephania." Milano said.

He clasped his hands in front of him, his eyes dark with anger.

"Alright, I don't care how, who, or what forced their way in here. It's a fact that they were able to do so. As of this moment, Fort Hood will be locked completely down. No one in or out. Tell all units that they are to conduct accountability every three hours. If anyone is missing, I want to know within the hour. For any soldiers missing, get their picture and name out. Furthermore, I want MP's patrolling every nook and cranny. Close all the shoppettes, the PX, and every store on base. We need to verify that no more of these rats are scurrying around our base."

He turned to Tryasche. "Your majesty, how many mana barriers can you produce?"

The Dragon King looked at Lisaeth. She smiled. "I can produce some as well, General. My people and I are good with mana, much better than the lizards who are good at destruction."

Milano nodded. "Then I will entrust the critical areas we need protecting to you two. We will have a list later. Can I borrow some of your people to man the barriers? I'm afraid not many in my task force have awakened to mana."

Both rulers nodded. "Yes, that will be fine."

Milano then sighed, rubbing his throat.

"Lastly, what is a shadow? And what is that spell they were using?"