The transport rumbled steadily along the long, empty road. Inside, the cadets sat in silence, the soft hum of the engine rocking them gently.
Then—
A sharp chime echoed in Kael’s mind.
[SYSTEM ALERT — ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD DETECTED]
?? CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE DETECTED IN AIR ??
Atmospheric sensors activated — abnormal particulate/volatile signature logged.
Kael blinked, straightening in his seat. “Huh…?”
He glanced around.
Kyle slumped forward.
Takeshi’s chin dropped to his chest.
Natalia, Serafina, Anya—already unconscious.
Their spirit creatures were sprawled beside them, twitching as if resisting something unseen.
Kael’s eyes widened.
“Kylon…? Kawa…? Zatz…?”
Kylon managed to lift his head halfway before thumping against Kael’s arm.
Kawa wobbled, feathers drooping.
Zatz tried to spark—but fizzled out midair.
“What’s… going… on…?” Kael muttered, fighting the weight dragging his eyelids down.
He turned toward the front of the vehicle—
And froze.
General Ryker.
Captain Cain.
The driver.
All three wore gas masks.
Cain exhaled heavily, his voice muffled through the filter.
“Sorry, Kael… the location of the headquarters cannot be leaked to the public.”
The world blurred.
The cabin tilted.
And Kael collapsed into unconsciousness.
A few hours later, Kael’s vision swam back into focus.
Someone tapped his shoulder.
“Kael. Hey. Wake up.”
Captain Cain knelt beside him, mask now removed. His voice held a hint of guilt.
“Sorry I had to do it. Orders are orders. The headquarters’ whereabouts must remain off-record.”
Kael groaned softly, pushing himself upright. Cain moved on, shaking the others awake one by one.
Around him, his spirit creatures stirred back to life.
Zatz shot straight up, half-coherent, half-delighted.
“W-wow—!” he yawned mid-spark. “That was the longest, most comfortable sleep I’ve had in millennias! I think I drooled. Did I drool? Kylon, did I drool?”
Kylon stretched his wings with a deep inhale. “I never imagined I could fall asleep that long. Is this what luxury feels like?”
Kawa preened his feathers dramatically. “That rest was fit for a PRIME. Truly, I awakened refreshed… yet strangely violated.”
Kael smirked, rubbing the back of his neck.
Yeah… I should probably not tell them what actually happened. If they find out it was sleeping gas… especially Kawa… Cain might not survive the day.
He chuckled quietly as Kawa puffed his chest with pride, blissfully unaware.
It’s better this way.
Cain stepped out first, boots hitting the concrete with a solid thud.
The cadets followed, and froze.
Battle Infantry HQ sprawled before them like a living, breathing war machine.
Massive hangars roared with aircraft and spacecraft being refitted.
Engineers sprinted between mech suits and armored transports.
Medics rushed crates of supplies across the yard.
Rows of spirit creature users guided everything from elemental beasts to winged guardians.
Overhead, drones and spirit-sensing sentinels swept the skies in rigid patrol loops.
And towering above it all—
A colossal central command tower with giant screens mounted on every side.
Each screen flickered with real-time global abberation activity.
Red zones blinked across continents, some pulsing urgently.
Others expanding.
Another screen showed battles in space: clusters of spirit users fighting on orbital debris fields and distant moons.
Then the cadets saw the flag.
A black field.
At its center, a stark white sword.
On each side of the blade, a perfectly balanced scale.
All enclosed within a perfect circle.
The symbol of the Battle Infantry.
Kyle swallowed hard.
Serafina clung to her bag.
Takeshi’s jaw tightened.
Natalia’s eyes widened in awe.
Anya shivered, half from fear, half from excitement.
Their hearts pounded.
This was real.
The world they trained for.
The war they were now part of.
General Ryker stepped forward, voice booming across the courtyard.
“CADETS!”
They snapped to attention.
Ryker gestured toward the vast compound.
“Welcome to the Battle Infantry Headquarters. The core of our planet’s defense. Here, you will receive your assignments, deployment locations, and daily updates.”
He pointed to the space-battle screens.
“Not only concerning Earth, but also conflicts far beyond it. Deep in space, spirit users like you are fighting abberants on distant planets and stations. This war is not isolated. It is universal.”
A low murmur rippled through the cadets.
Kael felt his stomach twist.
This was bigger, far bigger, than any of them had trained for.
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Ryker’s voice hardened.
“From this moment onward, you are no longer students. No longer trainees. You are soldiers of the Battle Infantry.”
The wind whipped the flag behind him.
Then a woman approached with the silence of falling snow, light footsteps, composed posture, not a single motion wasted.
Her presence alone cooled the air.
Slim.
Sharp.
Deadly.
Her hair, long enough that it touches her fingers, white as untouched frost, shimmered under the sun like crystallized light.
Kael barely had time to blink before his system reacted, faster than his thoughts.
[SYSTEM SCAN: SUBJECT – Winter Tremblay]
?? Initiating Full Spirit Scan…
…
…
Scan Complete.
[SUBJECT PROFILE]
Name: Winter Tremblay
Rank: Spirit User – General
Affiliation: Battle Infantry
[COMBAT READINGS]
Level: 120
EXP: 720 / 10080
HP: 15000 / 15000
Spirit Energy: 14090 / 15020
Status: Stable
Kael’s breath hitched.
Level 120.
That was far more than Cain.
His spirit creatures stiffened.
Kylon’s scales bristled instinctively.
Kawa’s feathers flattened.
Zatz whispered, “Holder… that woman is terrifying and gorgeous and terrifying, mostly terrifying.”
Winter’s icy blue eyes scanned Squad Prime one by one.
Not judging, measuring.
General Ryker stepped forward, greeting her with a nod.
“General Tremblay. Good to see you back from the Northern Front.”
Winter’s lips curved, barely a smile, more like the brief thaw of frost.
“General Ryker,” she said softly, her voice cold but not unkind. “I heard your squad delivered exceptional results this cycle.”
Ryker placed a hand on Cain’s shoulder, then gestured to the rest.
“This is Squad Prime, my son’s most well-trained unit.”
Cain straightened.
Winter glanced toward him and offered a curt nod of approval.
“You trained them well, Captain,” she said.
Cain cleared his throat, ears slightly pink. “Just doing my job, ma’am.”
Winter stepped closer, close enough Kael felt the cold aura surrounding her, like standing near a blizzard.
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
“A promising squad,” she said. “The others are waiting inside. Come.”
She turned sharply, coat swaying like drifting snow, and walked toward the main command building.
General Ryker motioned after her.
“Move out, cadets.”
Squad Prime followed, hearts racing, spirits alert.
The cadets stepped into the operations hall, and immediately straightened.
Four other squads stood in perfect formation, uniforms crisp, spirit creatures silent at their sides. Screens covered the walls, each flashing live map data, spirit signatures, abberant nests, and ongoing battles across the globe. Officers rushed between stations, calling out coordinates, deploying forces, issuing commands with rapid precision.
General Winter and General Ryker sat at the far corner of the room, observing with unreadable expressions, two titans of the infantry watching the future walk in.
Squad Prime quickly moved into formation beside the others, aligning themselves with practiced discipline.
Cain approached his assigned command station. With a focused look, he reviewed mission feeds, tactical charts, and spirit energy scans, flipping through pages on his clipboard with growing intensity.
Finally, he turned.
His voice came out sharp and commanding, loud enough to cut through the noise of the headquarters.
“Cadets!”
Five squads snapped to attention.
Cain raised the clipboard.
“Your mission has been finalized. You will be deployed to the Philippines, Mindanao region. Specifically: South Cotabato.”
A shift rippled through the room.
Kael’s heart pounded.
Natalia inhaled sharply.
Anya’s fingers tensed near Mischa’s fur.
Cain continued.
“In the center of South Cotabato is a university now overrun by abberants. Inside that university is Doctor Rose Campo, and a revolutionary device she developed that may turn the tide of this war.”
He paused, letting the gravity sink in.
“She is trapped. The device is compromised. And the abberants are converging.”
A heavy silence followed.
Cain lifted his chin.
“Squads Prime, Regal, Alpha, Striker, and Action—this extraction falls to you.”
Five squads.
Dozens of cadets.
Hundreds of spirit creatures.
A single objective.
“Eliminate the abberants surrounding the campus. Secure Dr. Campo. Retrieve the device. These are your top priorities.”
He inhaled, eyes fierce.
“Is that understood?”
The answer thundered through the command hall:
“SIR, YES, SIR!”
Cain nodded once.
“You deploy at 1800 hours. Prepare yourselves.”
At the same moment, a chime then went into Kael’s mind.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
?? OPERATION: EXTRACTION ??
Status: FINALIZED & LOCKED
DEPLOYMENT LOCATION:
?? Philippines — Mindanao Region
?? South Cotabato — University Complex (Red-Zone)
MISSION BRIEF:
An academic institution in the center of South Cotabato has been overrun by Abberants.
Inside the compromised structure is:
TARGET VIP:
?? Doctor Rose Campo — Lead researcher, primary asset
?? Asset of Interest: Prototype Spirit-Resonance Device
Potential to alter the course of the war.
CURRENT STATUS:
? Dr. Campo: Trapped
? Device: Unstable / Partially compromised
? Abberant Presence: Heavy Convergence Detected
Kael then understood the gravity of this mission.
Around them, the screens continued flashing red danger markers over South Cotabato.
Cain gathered the squad leaders at the center of the war room, the pressure in the air tightening around them like an invisible coil.
The hologram map of the university flared to life, blueprints rotating in three dimensions, every building, hallway, entryway, and danger zone marked in stark detail. Red points pulsed across the map like angry wounds.
Cain’s expression hardened.
“Squad leaders,” he began, voice low but unshakably firm, “your first priority is making sure this extraction goes smoothly. Watch your members closely.”
He tapped the map, zooming in on clusters of red.
“The abberants infesting this university aren’t the basic types you’ve faced in training. These are both beast and semi-human abberants, faster, smarter, more coordinated. Treat them like you would a trained enemy soldier.”
The leaders exchanged tense glances.
Cain continued.
“I will remain here at headquarters, monitoring your movements in real time.”
A swipe of his hand shifted the hologram’s perspective.
“Squad Alpha, you take the north building.”
“Squad Striker, you secure the east building.”
“Squad Regal and Squad Action, you take the main academic building together.”
“the first 4 squads will look for the device.”
“And finally—” Cain’s gaze landed on Kael, steady and deliberate.
“Squad Prime will handle the center research building. That is likely where Dr. Campo is being held.”
Kael inhaled slowly, nodding.
Cain reached into a case and pulled out several sleek, silver earpieces. He placed one into each leader’s hand.
“These will keep you all in constant contact, with me, and with your squads. No interference. No signal delay.”
His eyes sharpened.
“Once you enter the perimeter, you move as one. No breaking formation unless absolutely necessary.”
He stepped back, folding his arms.
“This mission is high-risk. But it is also high?priority. Lives and global strategy depend on what you retrieve.”
Cain’s final words were spoken not as a mentor, but as a Captain.
“Make no mistakes. Bring everyone home.”
The leaders nodded, determination etched into their faces, before turning to prepare their squads for deployment.
The roar of the infantry copters thundered across the skies of South Cotabato as each squad loaded in, helmets on, spirit cards ready, nerves high and hearts set.
Cain’s voice crackled through the comms, steady, controlled, commanding.
“Squad leaders, prepare for descent. On my mark… jump.”
One by one, the copters passed over their designated drop points.
Squad Alpha leapt first, their silhouettes vanishing into the rush of wind.
“Spirit Drive!”
A flare of blue light exploded below.
Squad Striker followed.
“Spirit Drive!”
Shapes encased in steel-horned armor slammed onto the east building.
Squad Regal and Squad Action dove next in synchronized formation, twin bursts of violet and crimson spiraling through the air like falling stars.
Then—
It was Squad Prime’s turn.
The copter angled lower, rotors whipping the air as it hovered over a patch of clear ground near the central research building.
Kael stood at the open ramp, the wind tearing at his jacket. His squad gathered behind him—Serafina, Natalia, Takeshi, Kyle, Anya, each gripping their spirit cards tightly.
Kael’s voice carried over the wind:
“Remember, our mission is to rescue Dr. Rose Campo and get her out alive. We stay together. We move fast. We do not get caught surrounded.”
They nodded in unison, the weight of the mission settling on their shoulders.
Cain’s voice echoed through Kael’s earpiece:
“Squad Prime, GO.”
Kael didn’t hesitate.
“Hold your cards,” he commanded.
Six hands rose, clutching their spirits’ essence.
They jumped.
The air roared around them, the world spinning in a blur of sky and shattered campus.
Then—
“SPIRIT DRIVE!”
Their voices collided in the air like thunder.
Light erupted Blue for Kael, Crimson for Natalia, Gold for Serafina, Teal for Takeshi, Grey for Kyle, Pink for Anya.
Armors formed around their bodies mid?fall, weapons sparking to life, sword, gauntlets, spear, Rifle, kusarigama…
And Kael, draped in his light armor, Kylon’s aura swirling like a radiance around him.
They hit the ground in perfect formation.
The shockwave rippled outward, dust lifting in a circle around them.
Squad Prime stood ready.
Clad in their full armors—
At the heart of a university overrun by abberants.
Their mission had begun.
