Promise

The Red Forest. Chernobyl.

The bushes block the road. The trees grow tall, reaching for the sky with their deep red trunks like blood, yet barren without a single leaf. People call it the Red Forest, but the place is actually just an area that has been exposed to radioactive waste due to the nuclear reactor explosion that occurred in April 1986.

Amidst the dense bushes and branches of trees left to grow wild, the Romanov twins appeared to be engrossed in conversation while smoking cigarettes. They seemed indifferent to the exposure to radioactive waste that still enveloped the area, even after several decades had passed.

"Ugh… you're cheating!" Zirael said while handing a black-skinned frog to his sibling. "That was supposed to be mine, right?!" he complained. Because he felt dissatisfied with Kael's decision.

"Hey…Who is older here? I am your older brother!" said Kael curtly.

The Romanov twins are fighting over the frog they caught. It seems that the poisoning they experienced a few days ago did not deter the Romanov twins from consuming dangerous food.

"Alyosha...!!" Zirael shouted while smiling so innocently, lifting the leg of one of the frogs he had just caught.

"Later, we'll cook this, okay?" He said enthusiastically.

Alyosha and Louie, who had just finished their task of evacuating the corpse of a young sorcerer near the reactor core, could only stare at the twins with an annoyed expression.

"Boss…our finances are running low. If the twins end up in the hospital again, we have to ask for a loan from the headquarters of Division III first!" whispered Louie while carrying a body bag over his shoulder.

Alyosha hissed in annoyance. He swung his sword, and in that instant, all the black-skinned frogs in the basket they had collected for hours were burned to ashes.

"LOOK AT THIS…!" shouted Alyosha, who had lost his patience. "I was told you to guard the corpse earlier, but you went frog hunting instead. Haven't you been alive for hundreds of years? You should know that the frogs in this area cannot be eaten because they are exposed to radiation!!"

Ziareal fell silent. His body trembled upon hearing Alyosha's scream, which coincided with a flash of fire that nearly burned his hand, while Kael instead mimicked Alyosha's way of speaking when he was scolding them.

"What are we supposed to do with it?!" Kael asked. "Look… the body is already in pieces!" he added while pointing at the body bag filled with a foul-smelling red liquid.

"The body is decomposing very quickly. The crystal we found is an antimatter shield. You should have asked us to stay away from it, because that crystal might also have an effect on elves like us," Kael replied.

Alyosha stared at Louie. "That too?" Alyosha is asking Louie.

Alyosha watched the red liquid continuously dripping from the body bag, and it seemed that what Kael had just said was indeed a true fact.

Louie threw the body bag he was carrying; he felt his shoulder wet. Sure enough, a pungent rotten smell wafted from Louie's body. The young man immediately started vomiting because the decaying corpse released a fluid that had covered half of his body.

"I will ask for help!" said Zirael, but the elf froze in place.

The sound of footsteps filled The Red Forest. Breaking the silence and, in an instant, transforming the place into a crowded space filled with hundreds, or even thousands, of transparent bodies resembling human figures.

They all fell silent, their heads tilted as if they were staring at Alyosha's group and the Romanov twins, who were looking back at them all with confused expressions.

"Shadow-Man?" Kael whispered as he turned, looking at Alyosha with a confused expression. "This place isn't even on Terra, and... it's too far from Breeze Swamp," he added.

Alyosha asked the Romanov twins not to attack. "Shhh... retreat!" Alyosha commanded in a hushed voice.

Zirael and Kael followed Alyosha's orders, and they also asked Louie to hide.

While his team was hiding behind the bushes, Alyosha instead walked closer to one of the Shadow Men. Carefully, Alyosha touched the body of the creature, while the Shadow Man he touched remained silent, followed by the others who followed Alyosha's steps as he approached one of them.

"Go back home…!" Alyosha commanded the Shadow Man.

The Shadow-Man remained silent, not giving any response at all. Alyosha, who realized this, began to feel anxious and confused. Shadow-Man might be one of the most passive creatures, but with their current numbers, clearly fighting back is not an option.

Alyosha tried not to stir up trouble, especially since 2 members of his crew had just been discharged from the hospital, and Louie reminded him that their finances were running low. Alyosha must avoid a fight that could be fatal for his team.

1 minute, 2 minutes, until the 5th minute, there was no change at all. Feeling that danger was imminent, Alyosha stepped back a few paces and created a shield for defense. Just as his magic shield formed perfectly, the Shadow Men suddenly retreated. Alyosha and the others, who were confused, could only watch as the creatures began to walk away with their slow steps, their bodies slightly hunched, and leaning forward.

Alyosha stood frozen in place; the way the Shadow-Man walked reminded him of the banshee-like creature that had attacked him a few days ago. Alyosha didn't even take his eyes off the Shadow-Men who were now starting to move away.

"What are you observing?" asked Zirael, noticing that Alyosha remained vigilant, even though the Shadow-Man was now quite far from them.

Alyosha remained silent, not shifting his gaze from the Shadow-Men even for a moment. Alyosha even ignored Zirael's question, and Kael, who was so curious about why Alyosha wouldn't take his eyes off the Shadow-Men.

"Why?" Kael asked curiously.

Alyosha was reluctant to share his assumptions; instead, he changed the subject by asking the twins to immediately bring the bodies of the young witches they had just found and take them to Akarmara, the headquarters of Division III.

…

"I asked you to come to my office a month ago; was that order unclear?!" Anthonius asked Alyosha, who had just arrived in Akarmara, to meet him immediately in the meeting room of the Division III headquarters.

Alyosha pulled out a chair, then sat down. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "We just got back; I'm sorry for being late," said Alyosha.

Anthonius fell silent; he observed Alyosha for a moment before shifting his gaze to the row of one-handed swords lined up in the room. Anthonius knew that all of it belonged to the previous leader who had fallen or been replaced by the new one.

"I won't beat around the bush, because I still have to go to Filanesia to meet other members," said Anthonius. "Meuz asked you to join the main investigation team, which will work directly under his command. In the return, Division III will be led by your junior, Gistara. I hope you remember her!"

Alyosha fell silent, staring at Anthonius as if in disbelief.

"Me?" Alyosha asked, trying to confirm.

"Are you sure?" Alyosha said as if he couldn't believe it, thinking what Anthonius had just said was a joke.

"I'm too old; in less than 10 years I might even be retired," said Alyosha.

Anthonius stared at Alyosha in silence, then handed over the order written by Meuz in front of Alyosha. "It wasn't me who chose you, but this is a direct order from Meuz!" Anthonius asserted.

Alyosha, who was now silent, when he saw the royal seal on the letter in front of him. Alyosha looked flustered and confused. In his entire life, Alyosha had never once received an order directly from Meuz, yet now his name was clearly written on a piece of royal order paper, written directly by Meuz.

"Me?" Alyosha asked again, still not believing it.

"There will be 5 persons chosen directly by Meuz, but for now, only 2 names have been mentioned. The members come from Crimson Knight and Lazuardy Sword, and I even heard that one of them is a royal special soldier. Because the members come from different backgrounds, as the leader of the Crimson Knight, I truly hope that you can work as a team, regardless of status, so that this issue can find a resolution soon. Besides that, even though you will be working under my supervision, all orders will come entirely from Meuz. Simply, I will only be the supervisor and messenger for you," Anthonius explained.

"Your first task is to investigate the ruins of the City of Winnei. That task will be carried out at the end of autumn, as we still need access to cross the lake at the city's border."

"I only have specialized defensive magic, and I barely have a good grasp of offensive magic. Can I have an archer on my team? If that's possible," Alyosha whispered hopefully.

Anthonius smiled. "You've got it. Javier was the first person Meuz chose for this task," said Anthonius.

Alyosha's smile widened. "Is that Javier Mareq?" Alyosha asked hopefully, and Anthonius answered with a nod.

"Javier has already accepted. He is currently in Euhron; maybe Javier will join our first meeting soon." After stating everything, Anthonius walked out of the room as if ignoring Alyosha.

Something caught his attention; it was the Romanov twins who were waiting outside the room. Even for an Athonius, he had forgotten the last time he could meet another Elf besides his brother. Their kind has become very few. A massive massacre once occurred, and now only a small fraction of the wandering elves remain, who must live mingled with humans. This is certainly very different from their past life, where they lived in groups and were distinguished based on caste and race.

Anthonius was about to greet both of them, but he refrained from doing so. He chose to leave silently, ignoring the Romanov twins, and acted as if they weren't there.