Two months had passed since the meeting. During those two months, everyone had focused on improving themselves.
Magni had now fully mastered his power; Sol could create illusions using light, Neptune could collect moisture from the air and obtain a small amount of water, and Han could fight without his sword.
Aurora had improved her resilience. She could now produce shields that could withstand heavier attacks. Amor, Urania, and Hekate had begun learning magic.
Luna could make herself nearly invisible using the moon's pale light. Diana hadn't been idle either; she had learned to recognize all her opponent's weaknesses the moment she saw them. The class was now ready for their mission. Opportunity would soon knock on their door.
On Monday morning, Aidoneus arrived at the classroom before the Combat Training lesson began.
"Good morning, class. You won't have class today. Instead, you will go on your first mission. We have received two different calls for help nearby. There are Chimeras on the western side. Three of them. On the eastern side, there are eight Centaurs. Although there are many Centaurs, they are quite intelligent creatures, and we hope you can communicate with them verbally. We have organized the teams accordingly. Magni, Han, Neptune, and Aurora. You will go west. The rest of you will go east. If anything goes wrong, you can call for support using the call devices we will give you. These devices will be with you at all times from now on. Be ready to be called at any moment. Good luck on your missions."
Finally, they were going on their first mission. Magni was very excited. Things were getting serious now. They couldn't fail. They had been trained for missions like this. Now it was time to put their training into action. They immediately changed their clothes.
There was an atmosphere of excitement in the men's locker room. Perhaps it was because they were men, but they all wanted to get into action as soon as possible.
In the women's locker room, however, doubt prevailed. Everyone had the same thought in mind: "Will we be able to do it?"
This situation stemmed partly from the requirements of their missions. The mission on the western side involved only hunting Chimeras. On the other hand, the mission on the eastern side was more complicated. They had to interact with a species they had never encountered before, known only from what they had been taught in class, and reach an agreement through peaceful means as much as possible.
As these questions and feelings swirled around in their heads, Magni spoke up,
"What do you think we should do?"
Han: "Whatever you say, Captain. I'll just give my opinion. You're the toughest among us. While you attack from the front, Neptune and I will support you. Aurora will protect the people around us. Does that work for you, Neptune?"
Neptune: "Sounds good to me. If there's no water near where we're going to fight, we need to lure them to the water. These are Chimeras, and one of their weaknesses is water."
Magni: "We'll see when we get there. If you're ready, let's go."
As Sol left the room, he touched Magni's shoulder.
"Good luck, Magni."
"You too, Sol."
Han and Neptune followed Magni, saying, "Let's go."
As they walked toward the vehicle that would take them on their mission, they explained their plan to Aurora. Aurora was a little upset that she would be the only one left out of the action, but she tried not to show it too much. With these three by her side, there was little need for her to fight. After getting into the four-seater vehicle, they set off for the location of the alert.
In another vehicle were Sol, Luna, Urania, Amor, Hecate, and Diana. They were also heading east. Sol had waited until they set off to make a plan. Their plan was actually simple: the others would lie in wait in a hidden location. Meanwhile, Urania and Amor would try to persuade the Centaurs using their Cosmyths.
If the plan backfired, those lying in wait would attack to support them. They hoped it wouldn't be necessary. Sol explained his plan to the team. Amor accepted the plan, though a little hesitant, because it seemed like the most logical course of action. The two of them would be bait, in a way.
Sol's team was the first to arrive at the mission site. They talked to the people there to understand what was going on. The reason for all this commotion was that a technology company had bought the wooded area by the sea and wanted to build a factory there.
There were large, noisy tree-cutting machines, bulldozers, and other construction vehicles around. Fifty years ago, the Sentors had obtained state permission to use this area together with humans, on the condition that they would not attack them. Now, however, the state had sold this area for the sake of technological development, and the Sentors had revolted and had begun to chase away the people who came.
Urania couldn't take it anymore and asked the company representative who was there,
"Did you know this was the Sentors' living space when you bought it?"
The representative said, "Ah, you must be the team from Cosmo. Yes, we were thinking of relocating them to another forest area, but they refuse. If necessary, fight them, but construction must begin today. We'd appreciate it if you hurry."
Urania couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only were they forcing the Centaurs here to relocate, but they were also willing to turn a blind eye to their deaths if necessary. She understood this; after all, it was the state's fault, not the company's.
The others had taken their places, and Urania and Amor were about to enter the forest to talk to the Centaurs. Three Centaurs emerged from among the trees. The one whose human half was relatively older stepped forward. He was probably around 80 years old. In a calm tone of voice,
"Hello, representatives of the human race. I am Asbolus, grandson of the Wise Chiron. I am in favor of discussing this matter with me. I do not want war; there are young ones in the depths of the forest that have not been born long. Would you kindly come with me?"
Urania said, "Can't we talk here? After all, the forest means vulnerability for us, and we know how skilled your race is in tactics."
Amor said, "My friend is right, it would be better to talk here or in a neutral area."
Asbolus said, "Unfortunately, I cannot agree to talk here either. We are aware that your other friends have taken their positions, and if they wish, they can join us. It will help you feel safer."
Urania and Amor looked at each other. Talking in a neutral area would be beneficial for both sides. Urania informed the others, and together they made their way through the forest to the seashore.
For the team that had reached the western alert, things were not going well. The Chimeras, reported to be three in number, were not three but twelve. The others had hidden, not coming out into the open because they were protecting their young. Chimera communities that did not normally live here had, for some reason, started coming to the city more frequently.
But this problem was the last thing they needed to worry about. There were too many civilians around, and they didn't have time to evacuate everyone. Aurora was doing her best, but it wasn't enough. There were hundreds of people to protect and more than 12 Chimeras to kill.
As luck would have it, there was no large water source nearby. Magni suggested using the water flowing through the pipes by smashing the concrete on the ground, but Neptune said this would narrow the area they could fight in.
Because of the people around, Han couldn't make wide-ranging cutting attacks. Until the area was cleared, they had no choice but to stall the Chimeras. Han and Neptune were pushing back the approaching Chimeras to help Aurora. Magni was killing them as carefully as possible. He was covered in blood. What they hadn't accounted for was that the Kimera's blood contained a small amount of poison from the snake in its tail.
Magni, though unaware of the poison's effect, was slowly losing strength. After the humans were evacuated, they began fighting the remaining 8 Kimera. Now they could fight more comfortably. Aurora protected the others from fire attacks. Han cut two Chimeras in half with his sword. Neptune and Aurora approached three of them and killed them. The creatures' blood and bodies stained the building's white marble.
Magni was far from the others. There were three Chimeras on his head. One of them was larger than the others. While these creatures were generally between 3 and 3.5 meters tall, the large one was almost 5 meters tall. It must have been the alpha of the pack. The large one charged at Magni. It reared up on its front legs and struck him with the goat head on its back. Magni was thrown back by the impact but quickly recovered and got back on his feet. Had a normal human taken that same blow, their body would have been torn to pieces.