Code Collector

A hooded figure was sitting on tree, holding a phone in their hand as they captured a photo of Allen communicating with Kenneth and Dennis.

"Hey!" Kenneth yelled, pointing at the figure.

"D rankers getting help. Unauthentic," he said, swinging both his legs on the trunk. Their voice seemed to be distorted by a device that they placed behind thier goblin mask. "Kenneth, being linked to a communications mogul. This is hot. Goodbye!"

The person waved their hand and was about to jump when Kenneth activated his skill. The person froze midair, landing on the ground with a loud thud with his phone breaking from the fall.

"This is a power of a Primordial Beast Bearer," Allen said in his mind. It was instantaneous how Kenneth blocked the movement of the person. It was as if a split second decision that the person froze midair and fell.

Kenneth and Dennis appeared on either side of the figure as it tried to reach for their phone. Kenneth sighed and stomped his foot on the phone, shattering it to pieces.

"No!" the person yelled. Kenneth only smirked at this and leaned into the person who laid flat on the ground. "That was my phone!"

"You brat," Kenneth growled. He forcefully took of the mask and the hood of the figure and found that it was a girl. "Demi Poodle. What are you even doing here?"

"I just wanted to know who my brother is hanging out with and what their intentions are with him," Demi replied as Dennis helped her up. "Brother, I think this Kenneth is going to kill me. He even destroyed my phone!"

Demi hugged Dennis and showed her tongue to Kenneth, making the Bunny Bearer scoff and cross his arms. "Dennis, I think your sister has brain problems. You need to take her to an orphanage, quick."

"The both of you should behave," Dennis said. "Demi, what you showed was not good. You should feel bad about what you did."

The girl only scoffed and crossed her arms, following Kenneth's expression. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then I won't be replacing your phone," Dennis grinned. "It's basically that simple."

As the three of them interacted, Allen and his friends were looking at them as if they were watching a TV show. Their eyes would follow on either one of them, waiting for that person to do something.

"I feel like I'm watching a soap opera," Gwen snorted. Her words made the three remember their presence. "But in those operas, they never break the fourth wall."

"Everyone, do not worry about her," Dennis said. "This little girl is my younger sister, Demi. She followed me here because she thinks I'm hanging out with bad guys."

"Your brother runs a business that spies on people," Jeremy leaned in close to Allen to whisper. "Little girl, he is the bad guy."

Allen couldn't help but snort. When Dennis turned to them to ask what was going on, he shook his head and denied it. "Nothing happened, don't worry."

They talked more for a couple more minutes until they decided that it was time to go. Kenneth, Dennis, and Demi left the four in the forest, leaving another thumb drive for them.

"I think it's good that we have another ally," Gwen said. "And it's Louis. He's a man who has tons of connections. I feel like we could be in a better position because of him."

Allen wanted to say otherwise, but he didn't want to discourage his friends. His instincts were kicking in as he thought about Louis. The man who has the Primordial Rat Code.

From what he could remember, Louis was the most controversial Bearer. A Hunter beside his unit in Haven was supposed to have the Code of the Rat but he was brutally murdered. Louis came to the rescue and the man gave him the Code before he died.

This was why Louis was a second generation Bearer. The culprit too was eventually caught, but he denied the said motive of the crime. He said that he murdered the person because he tried to steal the culprit's wife.

This angered the culprit so much that he snuck into the victim's apartment in the middle of the night and slaughtered him. The only regret he had was he left the scene too early without thinking that the victim used a Code to extend his life.

Whenever the scene was mentioned, Louis would be emotional about it. He said that he was still traumatized by what happened. He saw too much blood that now, even when he was a combatant, he couldn't fight another Hunter.

The culprit was found guilty and the wife was charged as an accessory to the crime since she was the one who gave the culprit the key to the apartment. There was no other relative of the victim, that was why Louis got the Code.

His role is a warrior but he often fights on the backside like an assassin. The Rat gave him the ability to blend into the darkness and sneak into this opponent, taking down the kill almost instantaneously.

Apart from this issue, Louis has a clean track record. He is a known philanthropist and is also known as a businessman. Apart from being a Hunter, he also adopts animals in shelters, helping them and giving people jobs.

Among all the Bearers, Louis had a halo above his head. Drake Nelson was respected because of his power and leadership while Louis was celebrated for his kindness. These two were always together too, which often made people call Louis the second chairman.

"I think Lin is jealous of Louis," Gwen said after Allen finished Louis's biography. "The three of them are trinity of power, right? They are often together even when they could handle things alone, but Lin was always behind the two."

"True," Gary seconded. "Drake and Louis are always celebrated while Lin felt like she only existed to add femininity to the group. I think this would also be a motive for her."

"Lin," Allen hummed. "I read about her biography too. But it's much complicated."

Lin Wen is a child prodigy in her school. In her early days, she could memorize even medical terms that none of the ones in her school knew. Lin was always sent to competitions because of this.

As she grew up, Lin was found to be caring for others. She had always wanted to become a doctor to help the people in need and sure enough, at the age of thirteen, she earned her medical degree.

Although she was not allowed to practice medicine yet, Lin had studied more degrees as she waited. That was until she discovered being a Hunter. When she was in the hospital observing the doctors, she found a Hunter that was heavily injured.

A beast broke out of the portal and attacked the nearby houses, the Hunter responded but failed. Lin watched the healing Hunters mend the man, thus inspiring her to become one herself.

With the power of her father who was a billionaire, Lin found her Primordial Beast Code which gave her the ability to support her teammates well. Lin was happy until she came to Eternity and get closer to Drake and Louis.

It was said that the three encountered a powerful Serrata. This Serrata was the one who paved the way for their friendship and bond to grow. As they attacked the creature, they found their powers to be compatible. The three was never separated since.

"The three of them has a bond that's not easily severed," Allen said. "These two couldn't have done it. They've been working together for almost five years. How could they just kill their friend like that?"

"What other Bearers could have their motive?" Gwen asked. "Monkey? Rooster? Sheep?"

"I don't know anymore," Allen laid himself on the ground. "It gets too complicated the more we get deeper, it's hurting my brain."

"That simply means that we're getting closer to finding out the truth," Jeremy said. "You don't have to worry. Sooner or later, we will finish this and finally flip the power imbalance. Peg this hierarchy."

"Yeah," Allen sat up and grinned. He placed her hand forward, looking at his friends and waited for them to do the same. "Come on. Let's do this."

They stacked their hands on top of each other, everyone grinning at themselves.

"Peg the hierarchy!"

Right before they could raise their hand in the air, a beam of light flashes through the trees above them. There was silence for a couple of secondd before the path where the beam was exploded, creating a blast.

"That was in the direction of the camp," Allen said. The four of them rose from the ground and climbed the trees where the beam did not reach. The ones that it did pass through were already burning.

As they rose, Allen felt nervous. He took a peak above the trees and saw the camp getting a huge part of it destroyed by the beam. Allen felt a terrifying aura above them. He looked up and saw a Serrata hover over them.

It was coming for the camp.