'Is what you've been telling me honest and sincere?' Moby asked, heavily imposing his dark aura, and the reaction from Elizabeth was more than apparent.

'Y-yes! All that I've said right now is the truth! I would never try to lie in this situation!'

'Good…' Moby sighed and revoked his tense aura and killing intent, and the sudden darkness shrowding them faded away as though it were never there.

'Well, I hope you keep all that was talked here in mind…' He took a deep breath and stood up out of his seat.

'Wh-where are you going lord?' She asked, looking up at him from her chair, only for him to turn around and respond.

'Our conversation is over here. You've proven yourself useful to me, so I expect great things. For now, you should go train with all the others, I bet you're gonna need the help controlling your demon energy, I'm gonna go do my own training… Farewell, and don't disappoint.' He simply walked away from the table without saying another word, and Elizabeth, who was frightened out of her wits was left alone, her hand on her heavily beating heart taking deep breaths.

'That was pretty well done you know.' He heard a voice in his head.

'Well, I picked some of that up from seeing how you talked to your own subordinates.' He inwardly smiled. 'Face to face has much more impact than a simple mind-link, I bet what's happened today is soldered in her mind, a brand that haunts her and keeps her loyal to me lest she be the unwanted weed plucked out of the ground…'

♦️ ♦️ ♦️

In a muted, metallic room lit up by several blue lights beaming through slits of the gray walls, twenty men and women sat in a circle around a long table spanning from edge to edge.

It was silent, and the tension in the room was so evident that it could be sliced with a knife. Sweat covered the clasped hands of many of the people sat, their eyes trained on a single empty seat towards the edge and at the door handle as though it was imminently going to be opened.

This was especially the case for one woman who stood out considerably from her peers, sat opposite to that empty seat.

Her wavy, pitch-black hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, and there was just enough makeup on her already gorgeous face to beautify it yet not overwhelm her natural allure. Her blood-red eyes were firm, and her hands were clasped on the table nervously.

Unlike her usual carefree, enjoyable demeanour, she was tame, and completely professional, if not nervous, which was exemplified by her attire being a complete, elegant suit and tie.

She took a deep breath to calm her mind, and that was when a sudden sound came from the door, and the noise of its swinging filled the room, allowing a single man to walk in.

His hair was gray and neat, his skin was wrinkled, yet his dominance immediately enveloped the room upon entry as he looked around with a glint in his slightly glowing emerald eyes and a shine upon the ten stars on his attire.

And as though it was out of instinct, the entire room shot up straight as an arrow, all in perfect sync as they spoke in a steady voice.

"Greetings Supreme General! We are truly honoured to be in your presence!"

"Greetings to you too…" He smiled, casually strolling to his seat looking around at the saluting soldiers, and only when he took his rightful seat did everyone else take theirs.

"So, I take that all of this is important right? Miss Rayna Davis, you've called me here for matters of absolute urgency… Please, I allow you to speak…"

"Yes sir!" She replied with the pride of a lion, and she immediately spoke there after being given permission.

"Sir, for the past few days, me and my troops underwent a mission of great surprise! On an exam given to them by staff, a group of students encountered shalkers on a planet, powerful ones at that. They managed to defeat all three examiners tasked to protect them! It was a planet we had already explored and deemed quite safe, the inhabitants were weak and had no abilities, only exhibiting oddities in behaviour which could be chalked up to a different culture. So I was led to believe there was no possibility for such an attack."

"Ho… I see why you called me now… War is nearer than even I anticipated... I take that the students are dead then… no? This will complicate things…" He sighed.

"Negative sir! Every single student made it out alive sir!" She shook her head and replied, and the supreme general's eyes grew wide in disbelief.

"Go on miss Rayna, I'm listening…"

"Sir! I too was surprised to hear about their survival! Because not only did they survive, but they were the ones who took out all the shalkers! Had it not been for the extensive lie detector tests conducted, I would have not believed it either. But their explanations made perfect sense, that the instructors had gravely injured and nearly killed the shalkers, and all they did was finish the job."

"Yes…" He nodded. "That does make perfect sense… But maybe it makes too much sense no?"

"S-sir, what do you mean by that? Are you saying—"

"Yes, maybe these lie detector tests are not completely accurate. I was never a big fan of them. In my time, I have seen them bypassed…"

"Y-you have sir?" She could not hide the surprise on her face.

"Well yes, but actually no… Call it a gut instinct. Think of it like this... It may not be that the lie detectors are faulty, but the person being interrogated has the ability to control their memories and mind, making them useless. In the past hundred years, we've seen many abilities, yet none of that kind. But, it doesn't mean that they may not exist out there out public and military knowledge... The world is bigger and deeper than you think..."

"I— I see sir… But, the evidence from the investigation and the autopsy proves everything they had said… Which made me more inclined to believe them. What I saw would be nearly impossible to fake, I doubt that we, the military would be able to fake it the way they did. As for the shalker corpses, I had it transferred to Airi Prison on earth where that one shalker is still being kept since the year prior, and he still refuses to speak no matter the torture. At this point, I am inclined to believe that he is unable to speak at all…"

"Hmmmm…" The Supreme General furrowed his eyebrows and took his time to ponder, rubbing his small beard. "This is far more intricate than I thought. Part of me thinks we've been caught up in a web of events beyond our scope and we're being played for fools…" He took a deep breath, to calm his mind before he continued. "I need to know, who exactly are these students who embarked on this exam?"

"Five students sir! The first-place team from the exam, team Artorias. The team was: Team leader, Artorias Kalameet, Healer, Elizabeth Elianora, The Flame brothers, Regrit Oswald and Kai Fatebringer, and finally, last but not least, the person who I feel ended up being the true leader of this group… Moby Kane, the famed hero."

"Moby Kane?" The Supreme General's eyes grew wide at the mention of his name. "The same Moby Kane who halted the advances of that shalker last year… And the same Moby Kane, son of Havel Kane, and Serena Kane… That Moby Kane?"

"Yes sir… The very same…" Rayna replied, a mixture of emotions embracing her face upon hearing the Supreme General's voice.