’Wow, that tonic must have been something huh?’ Osho thought as he saw Gale already flying around the room, occasionally letting out triumphant chirps as he seemed as healthy as ever. It seemed like he’d recovered quite quickly.
’Well, if guess that was the point of the high-quality beast food, its nutritional contents probably enhanced the effects of the tonic and allowed it to be even more effective. Nice.’ With that thought, Osho turned to look at the doctor who was observing Gale fly around the room with a small smile on his face, looking amused.
"Your beast is quite lively." He commented and Osho was silent for a moment before asking.
"So, what now?" At this, the doctor sighed, his smile slowly fading as his amusement was replaced with something more serious.
"There is a plan in place that is to take place in a few days, the preparations are already underway, but you are a key aspect in this plan." He said and faced Gale once more, his expression a little sympathetic.
"The effects of his bloodline are substantial, but for the plan that’s being set, he’ll need to hold down the Harbinger for a significantly longer time than before. As such, we are to train the two of you, specifically Gale, and have him be able to manifest his bloodline for as long as possible." He sighed.
"For that to be possible, we’re gonna do the same thing one would do with muscles, continuously use his bloodline manifestation until he gets spent, let him recover, rinse and repeat, constantly building up his strength to ensure he can sustain it longer. It’s safer to let him grow stronger naturally, but alas, we have to make do with what we have. Using my analogy from before, we’ll have to... ’strengthen the bottle’, so to speak." Hearing this, Osho stared at Alex for a while longer before saying.
"You seem strangely sympathetic." At that, the man stared at him strangely.
"Well, YOU seem strangely calm. Doesn’t the idea of putting your beast through so much bother you? What’s more, you’re just a kid. Sure, you’re more mature than most your age, but you aren’t of legal age yet, the idea of delegating such a task to a child doesn’t sit right with me, and I don’t say that to demean your ability, om saying it because you’re the one we’re meant to be protecting, yet here we are, about to send a child who hatched his beast barely more than a week ago to the frontlines to fight a creature that probably isn’t even naturally occurring and is of the Elite rank!" Osho was startled by the man’s outburst. He’d been calm so far, albeit slightly humorous, so to see him suddenly so passionate caught even him off-guard.
Then again, it wasn’t hard to guess the reason why.
"First of all, I’m an adolescent, not a child. Secondly, I’m assuming you have such a strong opinion on this because you either lost someone or saw something that most likely scarred you. Whatever the case, I’m sorry for that. Thirdly and finally, you don’t have to worry about me or my beast. If I’m being honest, I’ve been holding back on his training for a while now." He smiled slightly.
"Even if it’s only for a few days, I’m gonna get the chance to train him in something I didn’t even know was there initially, but is incredibly important, and it’s from the military no less. So to be frank, I intend to milk you guys as much as I can in these few days. As for my safety..." He said in a tone so calm, yet so confident that the doctor was taken aback.
"I will be fine." It wasn’t a simple declaration or a naive statement made by a young individual who was too proud. It was absolute surety, complete certainty that when the plan was carried out and he did his part, he would be fine.
Alex pressed his lips together, his fists clenched by his sides slightly. He was frustrated. He wanted to tell Osho that he didn’t know what he was talking about, that he didn’t grasp the true horrors that one would face on the battlefield, and that confidence was nothing when you were getting ripped to shreds. He wanted to shake him and make him realize. But he didn’t.
’Heh, a kid has more confidence in himself than I have in myself.’ He thought with begrudging respect. A part of him said he’d regret it, that he was gonna watch another young ember die out before turning into a roaring flame. But another part, one that rarely showed itself these days, dared to hope.
’What if he does succeed and come back?’ How glorious would that be? What’s more, isn’t that what he’s always wanted? For the younger generation to do better than the older generation?
How many of his peers could claim that they played a key role in stopping a beast tide capable of drowning an entire Citadel? How many could claim they managed to suppress an Aboriginal Elite-ranked beast at the Novice rank?
It seemed outlandish, like a pipe dream, and yet, and yet...
’Still no response...’ Ellie thought with a somber expression. She’d sent Osho messages both from her watch and phone. She’d called him multiple times as soon as they returned to the city, yet she couldn’t get a hold of him no matter what she did.
She was sure he was safe, but even then, she couldn’t help but worry. Why had they taken him away? With Mrs Jane for that matter? Is it because of what Gale did to that creature they call the Skyblight Harbinger? Is that what Mrs Jane meant by him becoming an Asset? Did that mean they wanted to make him fight it?? What if-
A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts and she turned to see Kurt with a somewhat strained smile on his face, Irene and Same standing by his sides and looking at her.
"He will be fine." He said simply, and Ellie sighed, her nerves easing slightly.
"I-I know... it’s just... I’m worried." She exhaled, and Sugil who was wrapped around her neck flicked her tongue out with what seemed to be concern.
The others looked at each other before Sam said encouragingly.
"Well, I can understand why, but think about it. If they personally escorted Osho with Mrs Jane, then they certainly value him, right? And they will do everything they can to protect what they value. So maybe him becoming an asset might put him in danger, but they’ll make sure that he stays alive to do what they want him to do and afterward, right?" It was a very logical explanation, one that seemed to calm Ellie further.
"Yeah... yeah! You’re right. Moreover, Osho is reliable, if nothing else. If they are preparing him in one way or the other, then he’s going to make sure to make the most of the opportunity to improve himself as much as possible." She said and clenched her fist, and the others smiled in return.
’She’s pretty optimistic.’ They all thought.
Meanwhile, Ellie took a few deep breaths and her expression hardened.
Right now, the buses had returned to their school where they would stay in the meantime. Many of the students found it dumb that they couldn’t just go home directly, but orders were orders, so they were hankering down in the school, whether they liked it or not.
Well, except for a certain rich girl who was being comforted, but that wasn’t important right now.
’Dammit! How did HE of all people become an Expert?!’ On the Eastern Wall, the battle was still as intense as ever.
By now, the beasts had truly begun to pour in, and their sheer number was starting to prove to be an issue. The turrets were struggling to take them out now, and while the snipers were performing their tasks dutifully, it was inevitable that some stronger beasts would manage to avoid being eliminated immediately and get close.
As such, the melee beast tamers finally had something to do, unfortunately, or not.
This truly gave Fredrick a chance to shine, as Hydro was able to show off his true capabilities. Right now, the Octopus seemed to be having a field day.
It was clear that Fredrick had no interest in making Hydro spend too much energy, so right now he was limiting the creature’s attacks to water jets and the occasional tentacle swipe, but even that made them a force to be reckoned with and pretty much any beast which was on the receiving end of one of those attacks died immediately. It was honestly impressive, but also infuriating.
’How do they expect us to kill him now?!’ One of the Beast Tamers, who in reality was just an assassin sent by the Williams family, resisted the urge to rip his hair out as him and his beast killed a wild beast. Their job had just become far more difficult.