Chapter 6
1073 Words
Just as Redina had planned, Shidow was promoted to become the leader of Squad Five.
ACA had been reorganized into five squads, each consisting of five members.
Squad One was led by Kunika Rèvia'le Shev'en.
Squad Two was led by Anika Jolyne Cartiner.
Squad Three was led by Kasipin Kol McCflurry.
Squad Four was led by Samiten Giz Jordan.
And Squad Five was led by Shidow Cloy Samount.
Each leader was responsible for training their squad before the next battle.
Their enemy was a creature known as a Tama.
A Tama was a monstrous being with four heads and an enormous body. Its appearance was nearly impossible to describe. It slaughtered humans relentlessly, yet it never devoured them. It simply killed anyone it sensed.
At that moment, the creatures were roaming throughout the United States, massacring countless residents.
As members of the Curse Army, it was their duty to exterminate every Tama and protect humanity.
Now that ACA had been fully reorganized, preparations for the coming battle had begun.
They had five months to train.
---
After the meeting ended, everyone returned to their rooms.
Shidow and Kunika remained behind to discuss their next course of action.
Shidow still couldn't believe how quickly everything had changed.
A man suddenly approached him with a cheerful smile.
"Hi, I'm Kevin Solijor. Nice to meet you, Shidow."
Shidow answered with nothing more than a cold stare.
Kevin rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well... I'm in your squad now."
Still, Shidow remained silent.
Kunika sighed.
"That's Kevin. He's been flirting with my Anika, so I transferred him to your squad."
Kevin folded his arms and rested one foot on a chair.
"So that's why you moved me!" he complained. "You like her, Kunika. You pedophile!"
Kunika immediately frowned.
"I'm only one year older than her! Besides, you're from Florida. I can't trust you."
Kevin raised an eyebrow.
"And why is that, you racist whale-man?"
"I live in France," Kunika replied with a scoff. "And after hearing about that burglar who shaved a cat, I refuse to trust anyone from Florida. Seriously, who does that? Only Florida."
Kevin pointed toward one of the girls nearby.
"Well, Eyana is from Alabama. Isn't that even more suspicious?"
The moment Shidow heard that name, he instinctively turned around.
Eyana.
The girl Kevin had pointed at blushed.
"What's wrong with Alabama?" she asked innocently.
Every man in the room suddenly fell silent.
Their awkward expressions only made her more confused.
Camille, another member of Shidow's squad, finally lost her patience.
"Stop corrupting my teammates with your disgusting nonsense."
Kevin grinned.
"So... you've watched it?"
Before he could finish, Camille ignited a small flame on top of his head.
"I did not watch it!" she shouted. "I only overheard you idiots talking about it in your man cave!"
Kevin calmly extinguished the flames with his water magic.
"Oh... so you were eavesdropping."
Camille's eye twitched.
Without another word, she grabbed his arm and hurled him toward the door.
At that exact moment, the door swung open.
Anika walked inside.
Kevin flew straight toward her.
She casually sidestepped him.
"Woosh! Good thing I'm an amazing dodger."
Kevin crashed into the wall behind her.
Despite the impact, he lifted a hand with a smile.
"Hi, Anika."
She blinked.
"What happened to him?"
"He annoyed Camille," Kunika answered casually while sipping his wine. "Everyone knows that's a terrible idea."
Anika slowly walked over to him.
"I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne..."
Kunika smiled.
"Yes?"
She raised an eyebrow expectantly.
Kunika's smile disappeared.
"No."
Without hesitation, Anika snatched the wine glass from his hand, grabbed the bottle from the table, and threw both out the window.
"So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodbye! I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye!"
Shidow lazily waved at the flying bottle.
"Goodbye," he muttered.
Kunika looked utterly horrified.
"Why would you do that?"
Anika folded her arms.
"If I can't be happy, then no one can."
Kunika stood dramatically and answered in song.
"I'm glad to go! I cannot tell a lie! I flit, I float! I hope I really die! Goodnight!"
He stormed out before slamming his bedroom door.
Shidow stared at the closed door for a moment before looking back at Anika.
"The Sound of Music is wonderful," he admitted. "But do you always communicate like that?"
Anika calmly dragged a chair over and sat where Kunika had been.
"No."
She smiled.
"Just today."
---
Later that night, everyone returned to their rooms.
Shidow, however, couldn't sleep.
He lay quietly on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
"How strange... someone on my team also has the name Eyana."
The memory of her explosion resurfaced.
Then another memory followed.
His younger siblings.
"They're using people as bombs..."
He frowned.
"But how do they place spells across every part of a person's body? How is that even possible?"
Without realizing it, he had been thinking aloud through telepathy.
Several groans echoed throughout the room.
"Shut up."
Shidow blinked.
"What do you mean, shut up? I didn't even—"
Then realization struck him.
Everyone here possessed the same abilities.
Kent let out an exhausted sigh.
"We can hear your thoughts, Captain."
Hero sat up and smiled awkwardly.
"You just need to focus on something simple. For example... magnesium."
He closed his eyes.
"I'm thinking about magnesium right now, so everyone can hear it."
He paused proudly.
"But if I think about magnesium while using four percent of my power to build a wall around my mind, nobody can hear it anymore."
He smiled confidently.
"And tada! Magnesium disappears."
Shidow stared at him for a second.
"That's because you're thinking about calcium now."
Hero's face immediately turned bright red.
"Well..." he coughed awkwardly. "Maybe use eight or nine percent of your power instead."
He scratched his cheek.
"I don't usually bother, though. It wastes energy."
Eventually, the room fell silent again.
Shidow lay back down, but his thoughts drifted toward Krone and Eyana.
"Then why couldn't I hear their thoughts?"
He frowned.
"Could Krone hear mine all along? Is that how he always knew what I liked and disliked?"
His eyes slowly narrowed.
"But Eyana..."
Something didn't make sense.
"No... that's impossible."
"If two curses meet, they should automatically be able to hear each other's thoughts. It's instinctive. It isn't something you have to learn."
He stared into the darkness.
"So why couldn't she do it?"
- Writer
