The Magician of Sound

Inside the meeting room, Baran stood in front of the room, right beside the projector.

"I am going to start, Sir Kai." Baran smiled as he pointed his finger at the map. 

"Go ahead." Kai nodded while looking at the Ross River map. 

"First of all, we have spotted the mutated magical beasts on the east side of this river, specifically around this area. We only have five scouts, so I apologize since it took so long to locate them. Besides me, General Brad, and the scouts, there should be no other people who know it." Baran began his explanation. He said mutated magical beasts because that was the term the Government released not long ago. 

Kai narrowed his eyes. There was another reason why he dared to take on this mission despite being so dangerous. He simply knew that only a few people had talked about it before the Government's highest command was released. No information leaked for this mission, so it would be unlikely for the Protector to know about this. Hence, the danger level was lowered a little bit. 

The mutated magical beasts themselves were far different from Ra and Eric, especially Eric. Most of the Zodiacs were known for one thing; they were weak children at the start. Due to the high risk, the Government only enhanced those who were weak and bullied because they might have gotten used to pain and were easy to be controlled. 

Kai didn't care about it. He only knew that the fact they were far weaker than Eric because they didn't have the help of the Protector. Without all of this to assure his heart, he wouldn't take it even if Nathan begged him. He would only go for it with enough men, power, and soldiers… Or even a General like Nathan to participate.

Yet, Michelle and the others should be enough to deal with them since their strength might not be comparable to those S rank magical beasts. Even if they could train their strength in this short amount of time, they would still only be a B rank magician with some power behind their fist. It just showed how low they were previously. 

Kai kept listening to Baran while checking whether his plan would work or not. 

"They are hiding inside a village surrounded by around three hundred magical beasts. As for their conditions, I can say they are not really in good condition due to exhaustion after fleeing so long from the Government. That's why this will be a perfect time if we want to strike them."

"By the way, how many are they?"

"Three people." 

Kai pondered for a moment. "Theoretically speaking, my group and Eagle Group can take these three on ourselves. If the soldiers can buy us time from those magical beasts, I am sure we can win this fight. I think we should call the others first before continuing this." 

"I understand. I will call them first." Baran quickly left the room while Kai continued his planning. 

Fifteen minutes later, everyone came and sat down, listening to Baran's report.

"… Thus the end of my explanation." Baran finished the report with a nod. 

Kai thought for a moment and looked at the others. "Ten of us need to handle the three SS rank magical beasts… Or you can say Zodiacs. Luckily, they are not really fit for combat, so we can kill them as long as we are careful. Hence, I am going to separate you into four teams.

"The first three teams will handle them. The first team is me and Ayaka. The second team is Michelle and Tasha. The third team is the twins and Tommy. The fourth team is a support team."

"Hmm… I'm not in the killing team?" Isabelle furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I am planning to have you and Evan together this time. Evan's job is to heal our comrades, including the soldiers, so it will be crucial. Your job is to support the three teams and the soldiers, so it will be a hard job for you as well. And there is also a risk being targeted. You can somehow fight in close combat, right? That's why I am putting you in the same group as Evan. With Nicholas as the vanguard, everything will be resolved."

Isabelle was astonished by the amount of trust Kai put on her. She never thought she had so many jobs this time. Although she got slightly annoyed to be paired up with Evan, thinking she needed to babysit this guy, she nodded her head nonetheless. "I understand. I will obey the leader's arrangement."

"How about you guys? Do you have any problem?" Kai looked at the others, especially Tommy and the twins. He was afraid that they would make a fuss with this arrangement because their ego would be hurt to know that they needed three people to kill a single person.

Surprisingly, they only shook their heads without any comment or malicious remark.

Kai thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, one of us will be enough to handle one Zodiac with their current condition. However, we are still in the wilderness. The fact that there are around three hundred magical beasts around the area means there is a high possibility of those inviting more helpers from their surroundings.

"I am planning to utilize Space Magic this time to teleport all of you and the soldiers back to the base after we finish our objective. That's why I want to make a small mission, or you can say it's a target for all of you. You need to finish your respective tasks within ten minutes and regroup inside the city.

"Ayaka will go around and create a time bomb while I create a Sound Insulation Room to prevent the sound from being leaked out. I don't know how big I can make, but I will do my best." Kai looked at his sister and said with a serious expression. "I need the magic power to complete this mission."

"Sure. We can do it later." Tasha nodded.

"If possible, I don't want any casualties… but is it possible?" Kai looked at Baran.

"Our team right now is composed of at least corporals. We should be able to hold on for fifteen minutes with this number. It will be a bit different if we are outnumbered." Baran nodded. The soldiers had at least one year, so they should know what they were doing and stayed alive within that time. 

"Hmm… That's good enough for me." Kai thought for a moment. "There are some arrangements left, but it's not confirmed if I can use it or not. I will explain it later… probably."

Baran nodded, knowing he was talking about the matter he discussed earlier with General Brad. "I understand."

"For now, you can arrange the soldiers to have them stand by. We will depart at dawn." 

"I understand. I will prepare everything for you. Just pass me the message if you need anything." Baran nodded before leaving the room. "I will be in hangar number three with the others."

Kai looked at the door for a while before glancing at his comrades for this mission. "Now… I am going to tell you guys something about my plan. This will look reckless, but I have calculated everything…" 

He began his explanation about his plan from start to finish, including the one that Brad rejected. After that, he told them about the risk of this plan and how they would react if there were an emergency. He didn't forget about the part where they might alarm all enemies nearby. 

Kai's group had gotten used to this as they took mental notes of what they needed to do. On the other hand, the Eagle group finally realized why Kai became the leader of this operation and the acting general of the previous mission. 

They were stunned and finally felt that their loss was justified. 

"If possible, I want you to go according to my command tomorrow. The mission itself isn't that dangerous, but the after effect might be a little dangerous." Kai looked at the Eagle Group.

Isabelle looked at her comrades and nodded their heads. "We will follow your order tomorrow. And I am wondering whether you are aiming for group ranking this time?"

"I don't care about those things as long as I get a private helicopter." Kai shrugged before rising from his seat. "If you have no other questions, we will end this meeting right now. See you tomorrow."

They nodded and returned to their respective room.

…

The next day, Kai woke up and prepared himself. The others were also the same and quickly left the room. Tasha stayed for a while because she still had another important thing to do. 

Kai walked slowly toward her and smiled while Tasha also smiled, tiptoed to raise at his face level, and kissed him in the mouth. A magic circle appeared beneath their feet as magic power gradually moved from her body to Kai's body.

Kai twitched his eyebrows. This magic power surely caused him trouble since his ears' sensitivity was enhanced at this point. 

After around a minute, she released him and smiled. "It's done. You have your magic power back and my Space Magic."

"Can you still fight?" Kai furrowed his eyebrows, worried about her. "I mean, I can move Tommy to help Michelle while you go to the Support Team and help us like Isabelle."

"Don't worry about me. Even with my Lightning Magic alone, I am still a B rank magician. I can still protect myself. Besides, we are fighting inside a building without electricity, so it should be pretty dark despite the sun being up there, allowing Michelle to get a boost on her strength. That's why I am good." Tasha nodded and patted her shoulders. 

Kai looked at her eyes for a minute before nodding his head. He decided to finish his battle as soon as possible and helped Tasha. 

"Let's go."

"Sure."

They then stepped outside, walking toward the meeting place.