'Protectors?' They had the same thought, but Sebastian immediately corrected them. "Nope. It's not like what you all are thinking about."

"Then, what was it?" Kai frowned. "Who met the dolphin?"

"We were not very sure too, but according to our scouts, the one the dolphin waiting for had a big shadow, so we knew its size was big. Before we could proceed even further, the scouts said they got taken out by a series of attacks that launched them without any hints. They couldn't recognize what the attack was." He shook his head.

"Then, the magical beast…Came from the forest itself?"

"I believe so." He nodded. "However, we don't know anything else. That's why I can't venture too deep inside the forest without a huge army. From what my soldiers said, the magical beast didn't even release its magic power, but somehow the power it had was transmitted to them. When I showed my strength to my soldiers, they told me without hesitation that I would die if I faced the magical beast." Sebastian smiled.

"What? Die? Can't you escape? I mean—" Tommy was shocked. S Rank Magicians were the dream of people since they were kids, so it was hard to believe that they would easily die. But before he finished his words, Sebastian already nodded his head, shutting him up.

'That shadow… Don't tell me…' Kai frowned and thought of something. He then asked. "Was there anything else?"

"Yes. The shadow told my soldiers one last thing. Go back, you are not qualified to meet me." Sebastian nodded.

"!!!" This proved Kai's doubt. His expression was darkened as he recognized who the shadow was. 'There is no doubt that the shadow is a real Protector. However, I don't know which species it belongs to.'

"You look like you know something." Sebastian narrowed his eyes, finding something from Kai's expression.

"Did the message get transmitted in human language?" Kai asked.

"Yes." Sebastian nodded.

Kai closed his eyes and felt the gazes from his teammates. Ultimately, he shook his head.

"No? I feel like you are telling me it's a secret. Is it something that I shouldn't know? Even for someone like me?" Sebastian asked again.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I can't tell you anything about this." Kai shook his head.

"I see. Then, do you have a suggestion of what we should do?"

"I don't know. Do you have the location of their meeting?"

"Yes. Are you going to meet the shadow? Are you someone qualified? What are the requirements?" Sebastian became even more curious.

Kai only shook his head. "Someone will meet him. Unfortunately, his identity still can't be disclosed. And my ears will be the guide."

Sebastian pondered what he said. 'Someone will meet that shadow? A human will meet the shadow that has the power to even kill me? Is that shadow an S Rank Beast? That might be possible, but there is something weird in this matter…But all I know is the man before I have the ability to reach that place.'

Despite Kai saying no, he still tried to join this operation by asking another question. "Can I join you?"

"No. Whatever you do, you can't meet that shadow because the consequences will be tremendous." Kai shook his head.

He didn't lie this whole time. That someone was him, and he told specifically that "his" ears would be the guide. The consequence was him knowing the truth about Kai's identity as a protector from the Human Race, so it was big, considering it would influence the entire race.

"I see. In that case, I won't talk about this anymore. We are in the military, and there is always the term of state's secret. You need to keep advancing your military rank to know more and more secrets, but it seems this one is out of my league. I mean, even in the past, there are some secrets that only the president can know like the nuclear launch code or some secret treasures." Sebastian shrugged. "I have gotten used to it."

"Thank you for your understanding." Kai nodded.

"I want to end this talk with one last question. Will it be a threat to humanity?" Sebastian asked. If it were more secretive than an S Rank Magical Beasts or the Protectors, it would mean the scale was bigger than them, so he needed to ask this, or he couldn't sleep during the night.

"Threat or not, I am not very sure," Kai paused and took a deep breath before continuing, "But I know it will affect mankind as a whole."

Everyone drew a gasp, including Michelle and the others. They never thought Kai knew something like this and had been hiding the fact that he bore such a burden on his shoulders.

Little did they know, Kai just knew about it not long ago, specifically after meeting with the Lion King.

"Let's go to our main topic then. Since you have thought about that shadow, I will continue about the risk you will face during the mission. For the time being, I want you to not venture that deep inside the forest because that's where most magical beasts lie.

"And you might not know this, but you will face Rank A magical beasts twice or thrice as many, so keep in mind that you need to watch out for an ambush."

"I understand. May I know what happened to those beasts that attacked you during that particular mission?"

"I don't know if the timing is right, but they retreated not long after you defeated the S Rank Spider."

"I see." Kai nodded. It indicated the possibility of a protector even more. Someone indeed informed that shadow that looked like controlling the army. "In that case, we will heed your words and change our strategy. At first, we are going a bit deeper, but we will only fight around the perimeter."

"Yes. That's much better." Sebastian nodded with a solemn expression. "In that case, you may rest now and start your mission tomorrow."

"No. We will probably go to the forest first and camp there." Kai shook his head.

"Is that so? I will lend you two trucks since I feel like you will need it." Sebastian nodded. "Do any of you know how to drive?"

Kai, Michelle, Tasha, Isabelle, Tommy, and Nicholas raised their hands.

"Alright then," Sebastian confirmed that they could drive a truck and glanced at Leona. "Bring them two keys, water and food supplies that will last them a month, and five tents, including the spare."

"I understand." Leona immediately left the room and did her job.

Meanwhile, Sebastian rose from his seat and looked at the map. "Can you tell me your base of operation?"

Kai narrowed his eyes but still pointed to a certain area.

"I see. I don't know what you want to do, but I will take my own preventive measures. I will halt the progress of cleaning up Peru for a moment and station my soldiers around your perimeter, which is around here…Probably ten kilometers from your area.

"Of course, I will be the one handling this matter. And do you think I should let the other bases know about this and ask them to prepare?" Sebastian glanced at Kai.

Kai didn't know this answer. He planned to meet the shadow, but he didn't know much about protectors, so he couldn't say for sure whether they would attack him at any moment's notice or talk to him first.

However, he did know from the Lion King that the protector was not unreasonable, so it increased the possibility of negotiation. It seemed he needed to bring Michelle and Tasha as support. Michelle could enter his body to give him a power boost, so he wouldn't get one hit by the shadow and Tasha could teleport them away.

Fortunately, the protectors usually had no intention of fighting unless they were threatened at first, so after some thought, Kai made his final decision to meet the shadow.

"I am not sure. I think it's better to inform them, but not tell them everything about this until the moment. I will also bring a radio to give you information to update if something goes wrong." Kai nodded.

"Alright." Sebastian nodded and printed a file for him. "This is the report about the shadow and pink dolphin. You may want to read it on the way."

"Thank you for the support." Kai slightly bowed his head.

"Don't worry. My US Base needs someone talented like you, so I will try to support you as much as possible. Just know that even though we have pride as someone who has experienced many things in life, many of us still believe in the strength of the younger generation. Of course, there are some that believe you all are still too green, but you will meet two in ten people of the same rank."

Kai nodded and shook his hand.

Leona then came back with two keys and handed them to Kai. "This is the key. I have asked the soldiers to bring the resources to your truck, so you will know which one you will use as soon as you go outside."

"Thanks."

"Oh right. Does your Teacher know about this?" Sebastian asked again, still feeling curious.

"Yes, she knows." Kai smiled mysteriously before turning around and beginning to walk to the door. "We shall take our leave then."

Michelle and the others immediately followed him even though they had yet to absorb all the information he just gave.

Sebastian let out a long sigh and leaned on his chair. "Haiz. The kids around him…I don't know whether they know about how dangerous it is to go together with Kai Carter. Luckily, the one who knows this is me. If he went to the Base in Brazil and let that guy know, he would report it and might want to know what he talked about even if he needed to do something crazy. Well, Ria Ross will surely kill that guy though. Anyway, let's keep this information secret for the time being. Something big might happen soon."

"Ria Ross might have told him about your reputation though." Leona smirked.

Sebastian closed his eyes and smiled. "Fair enough. Else, she won't send him here."