Chapter 958: When do we leave?
Dark smoke was still spiraling slowly up from the debris scattered across the plain when the group finally returned to the makeshift command center. The silence accompanying that walk was vastly different from the quiet that usually existed between them. It wasn’t a comfortable silence, nor the kind of pause used to gather one’s thoughts before a crucial decision. It was a heavy silence—a direct result of what they had all just witnessed.
The creature hadn’t merely survived.
It had learned.
And that completely changed the nature of the war.
As soon as they passed through the great gates of Asgard, Monica was waiting for them, with dozens of maps spread across a massive stone table temporarily set up in the main courtyard. Officers were rushing back and forth, carrying reports, updating positions, and organizing messages from the watchtowers scattered along the border.
The administrator looked up as Strax entered.
There was no smile.
There wasn’t even a greeting.
She simply asked:
"Casualties?"
"Zero."
Monica quietly closed her eyes.
It was likely the best news possible.
"And the enemy?"
Strax stared at the map for a few seconds.
"We know enough now to say that thing isn’t a beast."
Everyone turned their attention to him.
"Then what is it?" Cassandra asked.
Strax crossed his arms.
"A weapon."
Silence fell again immediately.
Samira frowned.
"A weapon?"
"Yes."
He rested one hand on the table.
"It doesn’t exhibit animal behavior."
"Nor does it show demonic behavior."
"Or draconic behavior."
"It reacts like something built specifically for war."
Monica immediately began taking notes.
"Go on."
Strax took a slow breath.
"The regeneration isn’t natural."
"The growth isn’t natural." "The adaptation is completely absurd."
"It analyzes attacks."
"It learns."
"And modifies its own body."
Daniela remembered immediately.
"It grew another jaw."
"Yes."
"And altered its shell."
"That too."
"And strengthened its muscles."
"Correct."
Silence returned.
Because everyone had seen it happen.
It was impossible to deny.
Monica then raised another question.
"Is there a limit?"
Strax remained motionless.
"We don’t know."
"And that is precisely the problem."
She took a slow breath.
"So we have to assume the worst-case scenario."
Strax nodded.
"Always."
The administrator began moving small wooden pieces across the map.
"If it keeps learning..."
"...each battle makes the next one harder."
"Exactly."
She spent a few seconds studying the marked positions.
Then she asked:
"Can it fly?"
"Not yet."
"Yet?"
"Yet."
Samira let out a sigh.
"I hate it when you use that word."
"Me too."
Because both knew exactly what it meant.
If that creature really learned through observation...
Flying would only be a matter of time.
Monica then picked up another piece.
"And what if two of them show up?"
No one answered immediately.
Not even Strax.
That was enough.
The administrator’s expression grew even more serious.
"I see."
She turned the page.
"And what if fifty show up?"
Now the silence was even heavier.
Beatrice rested both hands on the table.
"Is there any possibility of that?"
Strax answered immediately.
"There is."
"What is it?"
"We don’t know where it came from."
"And that means we don’t know if it’s the only one."
Daniela ran her hand through her hair.
"Wonderful..."
Scarlett kept studying the entire map.
Then she spoke calmly. "So our priority has changed."
Everyone looked at her.
"Before, we wanted to kill the creature."
"Now, we need to find out who created it."
Strax smiled faintly.
"Finally, someone said it."
Monica agreed as well.
"She’s right."
"The creature is a consequence."
"The cause remains hidden."
Cassandra then asked:
"And how do we find someone no one knows?"
Strax thought for a few seconds.
Then he answered.
"By following the food."
Everyone was confused.
"Food?" Daniela asked.
He nodded.
"That thing needs to consume matter."
"A lot of matter."
"Much more than we’ve found."
Samira understood first.
"The beasts."
"Exactly."
He pointed to the map.
"The herds were fleeing."
"Never attacking."
Monica immediately drew several arrows.
"The desert."
"That’s it."
"The creatures were abandoning the desert."
"Not migrating into it."
Strax placed his finger exactly on that region.
"So there’s something there."
"Something big."
"Big enough to drive out entire ecosystems."
Daniela swallowed hard.
"That explains those tracks."
Scarlett added:
"And it explains why we found so many mixed species."
Monica finished another note.
"So our plan changes completely."
She turned the page.
"First objective."
"Evacuate villages near the desert."
"Second."
"Establish outposts."
"Third."
"Constant reconnaissance."
"Fourth."
"No one fights alone."
She looked directly at everyone.
"No one."
Samira crossed her arms.
"Not even Strax?"
"Especially him."
Everyone looked at Monica.
She remained calm.
"We’ve just discovered that it learns."
"If Strax faces it alone repeatedly..."
"...it will learn specifically how to kill dragons."
The reasoning made perfect sense.
Strax remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he nodded.
"I agree."
Beatrice smiled.
"A miracle."
He shrugged.
"She’s right."
Monica continued.
"Every battle needs to be different."
"Every team."
"Every formation."
"Every magic combination."
Scarlett added.
"Never repeat strategies."
"Exactly."
Daniela added.
"It can’t establish patterns."
"Precisely."
The administrator took a slow breath.
"It seems we finally have a real war on our hands."
No one answered.
Because it didn’t seem like an exaggeration.
It just seemed like reality.
At that moment, a young messenger hurried across the courtyard.
She looked out of breath.
"The South Tower sent a report."
Monica immediately took the document.
She opened it.
Read it.
Then read it again.
Her expression changed.
"Strax."
He looked up.
"What is it?"
She handed him the paper.
"They found another one."
Silence froze the room once more.
Samira was the first to ask.
"Where?"
Monica answered.
"It’s not near the desert."
A chill ran down everyone’s spine.
"The West Coast."
Daniela’s eyes widened. "How?"
"We don’t know."
Strax finished reading the report.
Then he asked calmly:
"Description."
The messenger replied immediately.
"Smaller."
"Faster."
"Almost completely white."
"Covered in bony plates."
Scarlett stood completely still.
"Another species..."
Strax slowly shook his head.
"No."
"Another stage."
No one liked that answer.
Absolutely no one.
Because it meant only one thing.
That wasn’t just an individual.
It was a population.
Or worse.
An entire evolutionary chain.
Monica immediately tore off half of the old map.
She grabbed another one.
A larger one.
"Expand our entire surveillance area."
She began issuing orders rapidly.
"Double the patrols."
"Mobilize the *torujas*."
"I want aerial reconnaissance twenty-four hours a day."
"Temporarily close all roads to the southwest."
"Reinforce the outer walls."
The officers rushed off.
Strax watched it all in silence.
Then he spoke just one sentence.
"It won’t be enough."
Everyone looked at him.
"So what do we do?"
He stared at the horizon for a few seconds.
Then he answered.
"We find the nest."
The word made everyone shudder.
"Nest?"
"If this really works the way I imagine..."
"...there is a point of origin."
"And as long as that place exists..."
"...we will keep fighting forever."
Samira gripped the hilt of her sword tightly.
"Then we destroy it."
"Yes."
Strax looked out at the distant desert again.
But his eyes no longer saw sand.
They saw questions.
Too many questions.
Who created that?
Why?
How?
How many were there?
And, above all...
Why now of all times? The wind swept through Asgard again at that moment, stirring flags, cloaks, and the long hair of those present. Somewhere far off—almost imperceptibly—a deep roar echoed across the horizon.
None of them could pinpoint where it came from.
And perhaps that was precisely the most terrifying part.
Because, for the first time since Asgard’s founding, Strax had the distinct feeling that they weren’t the ones hunting an enemy.
It was the enemy that was watching their every move.
The meeting room remained silent after the reports concluded.
There was no undue tension among those present. There was concern, naturally, but also a trait Asgard had cultivated since its inception: when a problem arose, no one wasted energy panicking. Everyone sought to understand the situation first.
Monica stood before the large map of the continent’s central region. Various wooden markers indicated cities, fortresses, railway lines, military outposts, and the last confirmed positions of the creatures that had emerged from the desert.
She did not speak.
She simply observed.
Her gaze slowly swept over each marker as she mentally reorganized dozens of pieces of information simultaneously.
Strax stood a few paces behind, his arms crossed.
Samira, Cassandra, Daniela, Frieren, Mercedes, Rogue, Kali, and several other key figures waited.
After nearly a full minute of silence, Monica finally took a breath.
"First, we need to separate facts from hypotheses."
She picked up a small piece representing the desert.
"Fact number one."
She placed another piece a few centimeters away.
"The creatures are indeed migrating."
Another piece.
"Fact number two."
She drew a line.
"The migration isn’t random."
Frieren gave a subtle nod of agreement.
"They have a direction."
"Exactly."
Monica continued.
"Fact number three."
She picked up a small block representing Asgard.
"The creatures aren’t just attacking our city."
She looked at Mercedes.
"Your kingdom has seen an increase, too."
Mercedes nodded.
"Though in much smaller numbers."
"So, we aren’t specifically the target."
Monica turned her gaze back to the map.
"They are crossing through our territory."
She tapped the table lightly.
"The question is..."
Her finger slid slowly toward the desert.
"...what is causing hundreds of species to abandon their habitats?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
Then, Frieren spoke calmly.
"Animals don’t abandon their territories like that."
"I agree."
"And magical beasts even less so."
Mercedes crossed her arms.
"Especially predators."
Samira rested both hands on the table.
"They’re fleeing."
Everyone looked at her.
Samira continued.
"No matter how much I think about it..."
She slowly shook her head.
"...what we saw looked like a flight for survival."
Daniela nodded.
"They weren’t even trying to fight each other."
"The species were all mixed together."
Cassandra added.
"Something completely abnormal."
Monica reflected for a few seconds.
Then, she drew a small circle over the desert.
"So, let’s take that as our primary hypothesis."
She wrote quickly.
Something in the desert is displacing all the local wildlife. Frieren stepped a little closer.
"There is another possibility."
Everyone turned toward her.
"Mana."
She touched the map.
"A sudden shift in mana density."
Strax finally spoke.
"I thought of that, too."
Frieren nodded.
"When large concentrations of mana appear naturally..."
She looked at everyone.
"...animals tend to draw near."
She paused briefly.
"When the mana is unstable..."
Another pause.
"They flee."
Mercedes frowned slightly.
"Like an explosion about to happen."
"Exactly."
Monica jotted down another note.
Possible environmental mana shift.
She began walking slowly in front of the map again.
"The problem..."
She took a breath.
"...is that we don’t have enough information."
Rogue let out a soft sigh.
"So we’re back to square one."
"No."
Monica answered immediately.
"Now we know what to look for."
She pointed to the desert again.
"Until now, we were investigating monsters."
"Now, we’ll investigate the cause."
Strax kept watching.
She was right.
That was exactly it.
Everyone had been reacting to the symptoms.
No one had found the disease yet.
Monica turned to the group.
"So, our plan changes completely."
She held up three fingers.
"Step one."
"Containment."
She quickly drew some circular lines around Asgard.
"No creature can cross our walls."
Samira nodded immediately.
"Patrols continue."
"But their objective changes."
Monica replied.
"We won’t chase down isolated groups."
She looked directly at Samira.
"Conserve energy."
"Eliminate only those that threaten civilians."
Samira smiled.
"Finally, someone speaking my language."
Monica ignored the comment.
"Step two."
She moved another piece.
"Preventive evacuation." Mercedes raised an eyebrow.
"Evacuate?"
"Small settlements."
Monica explained.
"The villages closest to the desert border."
She looked at Strax.
"Even if they aren’t ours."
Strax agreed without hesitation.
"Right."
"If they’re hit first, we’ll have less time to react."
"Plus,"
Frieren added,
"fewer deaths."
Monica nodded.
"Exactly."
She made a few more notes.
"Third stage."
Now she pointed directly at Strax.
"Investigation."
The dragon simply replied,
"I expected as much."
"You, me, Frieren, and Mercedes."
She paused briefly.
"We’re the four most likely to survive if we run into something truly dangerous."
Mercedes raised no objection.
"I agree."
Frieren did too.
"Me too."
Strax simply crossed his arms again.
"When do we leave?"
Monica looked at him.
"Tomorrow."
"Not today."
Samira looked surprised.
"Why?"
Monica walked over to the window.
Outside, the city was carrying on as usual.
People were still working.
Trains were still running on the tracks.
Children were still playing in the snow.
She answered without taking her eyes off the city.
"Because decisions made immediately are usually bad."