Chapter 263 Strategizing
As Mako recounted his harrowing encounter with the shadowy mist and the nightmarish creatures, his friends listened in shocked silence. His detailed description of the events sent shivers down their spines, and they exchanged worried glances as they tried to make sense of the situation.
Erin's brow furrowed as she processed the information. "This doesn't make any sense. The information that Commander Sable had given us didn't mention anything like this."
Bill nodded in agreement. "And there have been no reports of such incidents from the villagers either. It's as if this thing specifically targeted you, Mako."
"I think so too..." Mako replied." Before the shadow appeared in front of me and those creatures started spawning, I was assaulted by an intense mental attack that I was barely able to overcome it with all of my strength, but it rendered me almost unconscious."
Mako also explained what he had been doing before the shadowy mist appeared and how he was initially attacked.
The group listened with a worried expression once again as Mako narrated the extreme feeling he experienced during the mental attack.
"It was only after I had survived that attack that the shadowy mist appeared and began spawning those creatures," Mako stated.
Nathan chimed in, his voice filled with more curiosity than concern. "Do you think it's connected to the shadowy mist?"
Mako nodded slowly, his expression grave. "It's possible. The timing is too coincidental. I think that whoever or whatever initially attacked me didn't know who I was and just viewed me as a curious outsider."
"Afraid that I might find a clue or something, it wanted to get rid of me, but after I survived the initial attack, it was able to gauge my strength and identified me as a threat which is why the shadow was summoned soon after to finish me off, but it didn't account for me to be able to endure the onslaught of nightmares and survive," Mako added.
"Given that the shadow slowly tired out and slowed down its production of more creatures like you mentioned, it is most likely that this was the doing of an ability user." Nathan theorized.
"I agree, but what type of ability can do all that?" Mako responded. "The shadowy mist was supposed to be localized to the village's perimeter, but it seems to have more techniques and abilities than what we were previously aware of, and those creatures... they were unlike anything I've ever seen."
Iris, who had been quietly listening, spoke up with a worried tone. "We still don't have the complete picture. It is also possible that this is done by the combined work of several ability users. We need to find out more about how this shadow operates and put a stop to it. Mako, can you provide us with any more information about the mist or any other clue you may have found?"
Mako pondered for a moment, recalling the nightmarish entities. "The creatures... they seemed to be born from the mist like it was giving them life. They had glowing, yellow malevolent eyes, and their appearances were... horrific."
"As for the mist itself, it felt like it was able to mentally assault me even before revealing itself," Mako added.
"What about the campsite? Were you able to find any clues before you got attacked?" Iris asked.
Thinking back to everything that Mako had seen, nothing really jumped out to him that had a strong connection with the shadow or the creatures that attacked him, but there were a lot of odd things that just didn't make sense and Mako strongly believed that there was a hidden connection between them and the shadow.
Mako explained to the group all the little weird details that he had observed all over the campsite.
Firstly, because of the sudden shadow mist attack that had taken place on this campsite a few days ago, a lot of people had left behind their belongings as they ran for their lives away from the shadow that slowly crept over the entire place.
However, the shocking thing was none of the valuable items such as wallets or purses were touched which would be quite odd considering if this whole thing was done by rogue ability users whose whole goal would have been to try and make money from stealing and scaring people away.
Secondly, Mako had noticed that all life inside the central pond of the starlight campground was dead which was also quite odd as the pond was its own natural eco-system so the fishes and other life inside the pond could have continued to flourish for years to come, and yet they were all dead and afloat on top of the surface of the water.
Lastly, the biggest clue that Mako found was when he entered the main office located right next to the pond. Just like all the tech he had found laying on the campgrounds, all the computers, monitoring equipment, and even the backup storage were broken and completely fried from the inside with no sign of temperament from the outside which was extremely out of place considering technological devices of today were quite resilient and hard to destroy.
As the group absorbed all of Mako's findings, they also agreed that so many weird coincidences to happen at the same time was impossible and that all of this had to be linked in some way that they just didn't know yet.
The group huddled together, deep in thought, trying to make sense of the puzzle laid before them. Mako's recounting of the strange occurrences at the campsite had provided them with crucial clues, but they still lacked a complete understanding of the shadowy mist and the nightmarish creatures it spawned.
Nathan broke the contemplative silence with a determined look in his eyes. "We need to investigate the campsite further, especially the main office. If we can assess what type of damage was done to the devices, we can know what could have been the cause."
Leon nodded in agreement. "We can do that in the daytime. The campsite is on lockdown anyway so there won't be many eyes, but we would still have to do it discreetly. We can't let anyone know about our involvement. If this is the work of ability users or some sinister group, we don't want to tip them off."
Mako was about to say something but suddenly felt a wave of pain and exhaustion causing him to grunt as his body was still being affected by the heavy fatigue.
Iris spoke, her voice filled with concern. "Mako, you need more time to recover. You can't fight at your full potential for at least a day or two. It would be best if you just hold back and keep a low profile."
Mako nodded to Iris' recommendation, "For the time being, I think all of us should keep a low profile and act like tourists to not raise too much suspicion."
"I think the enemies already know about me and there is a high chance they are keeping tabs on the village so they would also know that Bill, Iris, and Erin who are affiliated with me and could also be strong and a potential threat to their plans," Mako speculated
The group nodded at Mako's speculation because it was in fact true. Since Mako was targeted, it means that the enemy is aware of their presence and would also know of their tourist group; however, Nathan and Leon should still be off their radar.
"Meanwhile, Nathan and Leon, you guys will be our eyes and ears. Our enemies don't know that you two are also here, and I would like to keep it that way. We don't want to reveal all our cards when the enemy hasn't shown all of theirs yet." Mako commanded as he strategized their next moves.
"We will purposefully do nothing and uphold our tourist persona to waste the enemy's time if they end up spying on us while you guys carry out our next moves," Mako stated.
Erin added, "I think we should also reach out to Commander Sable. He might have information or resources that could help us understand what we're dealing with and even help us identify what kind of damage had been done to those computers."
Mako nodded, appreciating the support of his friends. "Yes, that is an excellent suggestion"
Leon chimed in, "I'll contact Commander Sable and let him know about the situation. He would probably be able to help us out with the computer situation and probably give us more insight into what kind of abilities could create those nightmarish creatures."
The group collectively decided on their course of action. Mako would rest and regain his strength, while the rest of the team would accompany him and resort back to their roles of just some rich kids having a relaxing vacation.
Meanwhile, Nathan and Leon would conduct a thorough investigation of the campsite in the daytime under the supervision of Commander Sable.
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