BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM

The bickering went on for some time.

"At least buy me dinner first before stripping me like that," Gwen said, picking up her gym bag.

Floyd chuckled. "Sorry, wasn't Allan the only one allowed to do that?"

"You're impossible." Gwen shook her head, but a slight smile crossed her face. "See you in thirty."

After taking quick showers in the Red Palace's locker rooms and changing into their standard-issue uniforms, Gwen and Floyd made their way through the bustling streets toward Frant's center of power, the Koma.

The flying car journey took them 15 minutes. Years ago, before the parasite attacks, the same trip would have taken at least an hour due to heavy aerial traffic. But New Alexandria's population had dwindled after everything they'd endured, leaving its skies nearly empty of both vehicles and people.

The Koma towered like a fortress of glass and steel against the afternoon sky, its windows ablaze with the setting sun. Giving it the appearance of a giant tower made of light.

The ten-story building featured a unique spiral design of offset hexagonal sections. Smart-glass walls regulated temperature, while granite pillars supported the base. Three spires crowned the top, reaching skyward.

But that wasn't the best part about it.

Situated in New Alexandria's western district, the building rested on deep bedrock foundations. Its perimeter windows offered panoramic city views, while marble floors adorned the interior.

The top floor had a large meeting room where the government leaders met. This made the Koma both a beautiful building and an essential part of New Alexandria's center of power.

The security personnel nodded as the two, Gwen and Floyd, passed. Everyone knew who they were—they were war heroes, but most people associated them with Erik, who was… a demon, at least for the citizens, and a weapon of mass destruction for everyone else aside from a few.

Since no one in Frant wanted to antagonize Erik, people treated his friends, including Gwen and Floyd, with the utmost respect. The elevator took them to the upper floor, where familiar faces waited for them.

"Look who finally showed up!" Mikey said.

Ben and Martha sat at the briefing table, their heads close together as they reviewed something on a tablet. Aaron leaned against the wall. However, there was an addition to the group, Allan.

Gwen smiled when she saw Allan. He got up from his chair and walked over to her. They shared a quick kiss, both looking happy to see each other.

"How was training?"

"Floyd cheated like usual."

"I didn't!" Floyd said, albeit he knew he went too far, ruining the purpose of the spar. "Energy negation is a perfectly valid strategy."

"Valid or not, you're supposed to be training, not showing off," Martha said, not bothering to look up from her tablet.

"Says the one who wants to train inside forests and gardens where the advantage is greater. The gardeners have to clean your messes for weeks each time you train," Mikey said.

"That is different," Martha said, finally looking up. "I—"

"Yeah, yeah," Allan said. "You were simply training, right? You already said that."

"Many times at that."

Floyd's grin was a mischievous one, the kind that always made people wonder what kind of trouble he was planning.

The joking stopped when Ben cleared his throat. They had won the war, but now they faced a new problem.

Erik and his team had gone dark some days before, the clones' last transmission cutting off mid-sentence.

The signal traced to somewhere in the sea, but knowing Erik and the Chimaeric Demons, they didn't believe he was dead—just that he needed their help.

Everyone decided to go, but the point was, would their help really achieve something? Or would they just die a useless death?

"General Becker approved the mission," Ben said. "We're the only ones with the neural link count to stand a chance out there."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

In truth, it wasn't just them who got Erik's training technique. The problem was that none of the others had the grace to offer themselves for the mission, and Becker couldn't send many people to begin with. The war ended, but this didn't mean the danger did. If Frant didn't fortify its borders, new attacks might come.

The blackguards had been eradicated from Mannard by Erik, but agents were still present, even if the clones were actively searching for them.

Aside from that, people and governments held grudges. No one could say they wouldn't try to attack again when they got their forces fully operational again.

Becker didn't know that, but Erik's clones were working to take over all the governments. In some countries it worked already, but not in Etrium, where the blackguards' presence had been massive. Hin fell to him just because he went there in person.

Aside from that, there was also the matter of reconstruction.

The war had left a lot of damage in multiple cities, which weren't many to begin with because of the thaids. There was destroyed infrastructure, collapsed buildings, damaged power grids, and barriers half functioning.

Especially, these needed urgent repairs. All of this meant resources were stretched thin between maintaining security and rebuilding the city's defenses. Many construction crews were already working around the clock to restore housing and facilities, but money and people were few.

So Erik's friends were the only ones Becker could spare for the mission. All of them focused on training since they got Erik's neural link training technique, and all of them reached the 54th neural link mark. However, they had no information about Mur.

They knew that if Erik lost communication with them, then the situation must have been more complex than they assumed, but not knowing the true extent of the situation Erik was in strengthened their resolve to go.

"Are we really, really sure we want to do this?"

Ben asked, drumming his fingers on the table. His usual eagerness for combat tuned down more than a couple of notches, despite Mur offering plenty of chances and strong opponents.

He was a battle freak, not a suicidal one.

"Erik always said the blackguards needed thousands of people at our level just to survive there," he added with a serious expression. "We are just seven."

"Well, maybe the thaids will die laughing at Floyd's jokes," Gwen said, giving his friend a dirty look.

Floyd grinned. "Hey, what are you implying? My jokes are fantastic." Yet, even he had a serious expression. "But seriously, if what Erik said about Mur is true, we might be in over our heads."

"Things would be simpler if Erik gave us more information."

"I think he did it on purpose," Mikey said. "He likely wanted us to stay away from there… Or he simply didn't think we would have been crazy enough to decide to go there."

"We've gotten stronger," Aaron said, leaning forward. "Erik's technique pushed us past what we thought was possible. I could take on twice the opponents I could before."

"But we don't know if that's enough. Erik made it clear Mur is much worse than what we assumed. Since there wasn't much information about the place to begin with, his situation only makes the place look more dangerous."

"And he wasn't likely exaggerating," Allan said. "I don't know Erik well—most of what I know comes from you guys—but I'm sure Erik wouldn't say something so specific and ominous without reason. You always say that when he considers something beneath him, he has a confident attitude. But if he said those words, it means he wasn't even confident about his own survival."

The room remained silent.

"But anyway," he added, "that's not the point for us going there. We're not going there to fight." Everyone turned to look at him. "Becker's providing us with a plane. The plan is simple—we fly over, locate Erik and his team, and provide the support he needs. There is no need to even touch the ground if Erik wants to leave."

"Unless something goes wrong, or he is already dead," Gwen said.

"Something always goes wrong," Floyd quipped, but his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Look," Allan said, "we're not trying to conquer Mur. We're not even trying to fight. We're just going to find our friends and get them out of trouble."

Ben nodded. "A quick insertion and extraction. Our new strength should at least give us a fighting chance if things go south."

"If we even get the chance to fight back," Martha said.

Floyd opened his mouth, probably to crack another joke, but the door swung open. General Becker strode in, his presence demanding everyone's attention.

All of them gave him the salute.

The group had come a long way since their early days of training at school. They were much stronger now - stronger than their teachers had ever been.

But General Becker could see the doubt in their eyes. They were all wondering the same thing: would their strength be enough for this mission?