Dark grey clouds loomed over Pandora, the second largest city of Soteria Kingdom. An enormous and prosperous superpower that has lasted the ravages of time through any means necessary—manly battling against forces that sought out to destroy it. Upholding its image as one of the seven most powerful countries in the world of Salome.

Or at least that’s how it was supposed to be. If the country has learned one thing through its years of expansion and survival—it’s that peace never lasts for long.

That fact became evident in the commercial district of the city; a young man stood in front of a large pile of burnt rubble that was once a well-established restaurant.

The cool, Alsus breeze that drifted by brought the scent of burning wood and a foul, nauseating stench. One that was also regrettably nostalgic for the man.

Corpses.

The smell of death was all too familiar to him. It clung to him, no matter how many times he tried to avoid it.

Underneath the burnt pile of rubble were bodies—corpses of people that he was supposed to protect. The putrid smell of burnt flesh taunted him—continually reminding him of his failure to safeguard the people of his country once more.

“I’m sorry.” He sincerely apologized to the corpses from the bottom of his heart; as if it would’ve done him any good. They couldn’t hear him. They couldn’t feel the sincerity in his voice—or anything else for that matter.

Their time in the world was over.

“Captain Aleister, sir!” One of the man’s subordinates, Private Argus, addressed him.

The man slowly drew his attention away from the rubble then faced his subordinate, “What do you have to report?” He sternly demanded with a militaristic tone.

"Sir! This incident was the result of a battle between an Exousia and a two-man team of Hunters!" Argus reported.

The Captain clicked his tongue in annoyance then continued, “An Exousia, huh? Any information concerning its whereabouts?”

A grimace crossed the Private’s face before he shook his head, "All we've been able to gather was that it managed to escape from the Hunters by causing the explosion that destroyed the restaurant. Other than that, we have nothing to go on."

"I find that very hard to believe.” The Captain stepped forward, getting in Argus’ face. “So, you’re telling me that there aren’t any witnesses? No other leads that can help us locate and capture it?”

"The people that we've questioned about the incident are still in shock. All they can remember up to is the explosion. All of them are now on their way to the hospital."

"So, we may have to give it some time before we question them again, right?" The Captain took a step back and took a moment to weigh his options. The situation was disastrous. No toleration for mistakes. “Okay, we’ll just have to visit those witnesses then. We can’t let this Exousia run free any longer.” He brushed past his subordinate then wandered over to the Nemean—a high military-grade vehicle known for its near indestructibility.

The eleven remaining members of the Captain’s unit were conversing with the civilians and police officers behind the barricades. When they noticed their superior officer approaching, they broke away and gave him a salute.

"Captain, are we moving out?" Private Bion inquired.

"Yes. We’re heading to Pandora Hospital,” The Captain confirmed. “We need to question the witnesses a bit more regarding the Exousia.”

The man stepped on the back of one of the three Nemean’s lined up on the road. The unit split off into three groups of four. Once everyone was situated, the Captain gave the order to move out. All three vehicles took off down the road.

Their destination—Pandora Hospital.

"Captain, are you sure it's a good idea for us to continue with this search? Wouldn't it be wise for us to get in contact with General Amos' army?" Argus inquired.

"Yeah, Captain. The War Dogs are far more suited for search and capture missions than we are." Bion mentioned.

"Our initial mission concerned nothing more than information gathering. I don't think that we're prepared for this." Another subordinate, Sergeant Homer, added.

"An Exousia is not something that we expected to come across today, Captain. We should call for reinforcements." Argus suggested.

Over time, their words no longer registered in the Captain’s mind. Their constant pleas for reinforcements irked him. Had they forgotten that he was the Captain of the unit? He had pride in his status and rank.

Besides, it wasn't his first time encountering an Exousia.

However, he couldn’t refute them. After all, their words held merit. Soldiers serving in General Amos' army, the War Dogs, were far more suited for commando-type missions.

The Captain’s unit, the Night Owls, served under General Zofia’s army. They specialized in stealth, reconnaissance, and information gathering. Combat wasn’t necessary but encouraged.

But, the Captain refused to allow that simple fact to deter him in the slightest. He refused to waver. Flashes of the destroyed restaurant raced through his mind. He grimaced at the remembrance of the burnt and charred corpses, the smells they gave off.

He didn’t care if his unit was not meant to hunt down the Exousia. He was going to see to it that he did it anyway. If reinforcements were called to assist, he wouldn’t mind. The more, the merrier.

It never hurt to have more allies in battle. However, the Captain wouldn't condone sitting on the sidelines while people of the country suffered at the hands of the wicked.

"Go ahead and request for reinforcements from Headquarters. It will take them some time before they get here." The Captain stated. "So, it’ll be okay for us to continue our search in the meantime."

Although reluctant, his subordinates nodded their heads in unison. Argus grabbed the radio then requested for reinforcements from Headquarters. Meanwhile, the others remained silent—mentally preparing themselves for what was eventually to come.

Battle.

As soldiers in the Soterian Military, they had their fair share of combat experience. However, a fight against an Exousia was an entirely different story compared to their usual opponents.

Exousia were beings that possessed supernatural powers and abilities. The potential to grow and tower over mountains, disintegrate anything they touched, topple entire nations—whatever crazy ability one thought of; there were people out there in the world of Salome that could perform such acts.

It was seven years ago when they first appeared. Many cities and small countries were laid to waste because of them. They brought a new meaning to the term massacre.

Those short seven years felt more like seven decades to the planet’s inhabitants.

Fighting against an Exousia was no easy feat, let alone defeating them. But, it wasn’t impossible. Unlike his subordinates, the Captain had experience.

Unfortunately, even with him at their side, the mood inside of the vehicle wasn’t the most ideal. Their doubt and uneasiness hung in the air.

"Tell me something men. If you had the power to change history, no, the world even, what would you do with that said power?" The Captain suddenly asked to break the tension.

Confused glances traded around the vehicle. The first one that spoke was Argus.

"Well since you asked, if I had the power to change the world, I would go about exacting justice on every criminal that I come across. The Exousia for example, Captain."

"That seems like a waste of time considering that you do that anyway. And you're not even that good at it," Homer mocked him, immediately earning a sharp glare from Argus, "If I had the power to change the world, I would certainly make it a better place."

"Make it a better place? Care to elaborate on how you would do that?" asked the Captain.

"I would start off by first ridding the world of corruption, oppression, terrorism, and racism." He answered.

"Indeed, the world would be better off without those things. But unfortunately, obtaining such power is impossible for us mere mortals." Bion complained.

"The Exousia, on the other hand, have all the luck. Blessed with such catastrophic power that rivals even the Goddess herself," mentioned Argus as he stared out the window. "If I were an Exousia, I would do so many great things, like to use my powers to help people."

"Same here. Being an Exousia would be great. We could help so many people, solve most if not all of the world's problems." Bion added.

"I know what you mean. I wish I were an Exousia too." Homer announced.

“Stop spouting nonsense!” The Captain demanded. With a slam of his foot, the entire place fell silent. “None of you want to be an Exousia. Be proud of being what you are. Besides, you’re all aware of how the public view them.”

When the threat of reality dawned on the men, their faces turned grim.

"That's true. If people learned that we were Exousia, we'd be hunted down and executed." Homer mentioned, his face went pale at the mere thought of it.

"None of us want that. That's for sure." Argus said.

"Thanks for setting us straight, Captain. By the way, you need to answer your question as well. I'd like to hear it,” requested Bion.

"Yeah! I'd like to hear your answer, Captain!" Argus said.

"Don't try and avoid the question now. If you had the power to change the world, what would you do with it?" Homer inquired.

Bion and Homer affixed their gazes onto the Captain. Their eyes shined intensely with anticipation and expectancy. Just when he opened his mouth to answer, the Nemean came to an abrupt halt.

"Why did you suddenly stop, Argus?" Homer exclaimed as he pressed his hand against the wall to support himself.

"There's a problem outside the hospital! Something must have happened!" Argus alerted us.

All four men left the vehicle in a hurry. The entire unit soon stood in front of the hospital building.

Their bodies stiffened at the sound of screaming civilians. The screams tore through their bodies as if they were made of paper.

Scrambling outside of the large building in front of them were dozens of medical personnel and patients. Those that were mortally wounded or unable to walk were carried out on stretchers.

Trails of their blood painted the pavement.

If the outside of the building was so chaotic, the soldiers could only imagine how it was like on the inside. Regardless of the situation, the chaos had to get remedied immediately. All the panic couldn’t be allowed to continue for much longer—unless the people wanted an even greater tragedy to befall them.

The Captain immediately approached the nearest authority figure he could find. Fortunately, it was a police officer.

“What happened here?” He placed his hand on the officer’s shoulder.

"That was faster than expected. I figured it would have been at least twenty minutes for you to arrive." The officer said.

"We just so happened to be in the area," said the Captain as he pointed to the medallion attached to the blue sash going diagonally across his torso. It displayed the symbol of his General. It depicted curved owl wings behind it with the letter ‘Z’ placed above it. “I’m Kyros Aleister. Captain of the Fifth Recon unit serving under General Zofia’s army.”

"Aleister?" The police officer harshly repeated. Other authority figures that heard the Captain's name turned their eyes of disdain at him. Even in the most disastrous situations, the people of his country always found the time to send those god-awful glares his way.

"Now isn’t the time for this,” Kyros leaked a sigh, knowing exactly the reason behind the sudden change in the man’s behavior. “Tell me what happened here."

"…Okay, there's an Exousia inside of the hospital. He showed up here a while ago to receive some treatment for an injury. He was refused service, and we were called to arrest him when he started to make a scene." The officer started.

Kyros didn’t bother to hear the rest. A clear line had been drawn inside of his head at that moment. The Exousia refused to get arrested and then used his powers to defend himself.

"What should we do, Captain?" asked Argus.

"We’ll split up into two separate teams. One team will remain out here and help the police establish a perimeter around the hospital," Kyros started, turning around to face his subordinates, "the second team will be joining me inside the hospital where we’ll deal with the capture of the Exousia ourselves. Any complaints?"

"Captain, shouldn't we all head inside together? There's strength in numbers, right?" Bion inquired.

"Not in this case," Kyros shook my head, "that would be a mistake on our part. The power of the Exousia is unknown to us. The fewer men we have, the better. Any more questions?"

"None!" They responded in unison.

"Excellent. You five are with me," Kyros pointed to the first five men, "the others will remain out here and help the police."

With that, everyone had their assignments. Kyros, leading the second team, rushed inside of the hospital—expecting the fight of their lives. To their immediate horror, they entered the lobby and found it completely trashed. It appeared as if a hurricane had gone through and destroyed everything in its path.

Anything not bolted down was flipped upside down and scattered across the area. Among those things were dozens of mangled bodies. Limbs and innards of former living beings were scattered.

The wretched stench of fresh blood overwhelmed the noses of the soldiers. Crimson liquid drenched nearly every inch of the room.

"My goddess. This is horrible." Argus lamented, turning his head away from the mangled bodies spread across the floor.

"What kind of sick power must that Exousia have to do something like this to innocent people?" Bion angrily asked.

Kyros closed his eyes and curled his hands into fists, activating the bracelets on his wrists. They expanded and enveloped his fists, creating his weapons of choice—his trusty gauntlets.

"Search around every single floor for any survivors. Should you find any, make sure that you help them escape in one piece,” Kyros proceeded onward.

"Captain, what are you going to be doing?" Sergeant First Class Jason called out to him.

The Captain stopped abruptly, "I’m going to put an end to this."

The man continued onward, leaving his subordinates to their assignment. He moved on to the next floor in search of the Exousia.