Chapter 92: Ch131. Friends - 2
Kurt covered his eyes until the explosion of light finally dissipated.
When he looked at Evellyn again, her eyes radiated the same golden light that had enveloped Kurt’s hand a few moments before.
Evellyn was still lying on the gray floor of that abandoned underground parking lot, but she seemed to be regaining her strength, slowly getting up and coming to her senses.
’It’s now or never.’ Kurt thought to himself. "Eve?" He called out, almost stuttering.
But Evellyn didn’t utter a single word.
Instead, her eyes kept emanating that vibrant golden light as her body slowly rose.
Kurt remembered all the times he had witnessed something similar.
It was as if Evellyn’s eyes were scrutinizing everything in the universe.
From the past, through the present, and into the future.
If Kurt was right, this could as well as be the true birth of the Red Oracle.
But if not...
He didn’t even want to think about the possibility.
Kurt gritted his teeth and prepared for anything, his senses sharpened to the limit.
Until the girl screamed so loudly that Kurt almost went deaf.
And after another violent burst of energy, Evellyn fell back, unconscious.
Kurt ran towards her, parrying her fall before she hit the ground.
He patted her cheeks, calling Evellyn’s name over and over, until she finally opened her eyes.
"I knew you’d come back, Kurt..." Evellyn gasped, slowly getting up. "I’m... Glad you... Conquered the... Shadow world."
Kurt’s eyes widened.
"How do you know that?"
"You brought back my abilities, and thanks to how you were able to do that, I can now see not only this world. But also all the others." Evellyn smiled, still slightly weak.
"So you mean..."
Kurt didn’t know how to phrase the question that had formed in his mind, but Evellyn let him be uncomfortable with the thought for a long time.
"I know about the other Evellyns, about K, about your starting world, and about our starting world." She looked slightly down at the floor, letting out a chuckle. "Sorry for finding out your secret before you could tell me."
Kurt looked up at the ceiling of that parking lot, lit with those shades of gray, black, and white, thinking.
"You know I couldn’t tell you until I was sure you wouldn’t be in danger simply for knowing, don’t you?"
"Sometimes I think you underestimate us a little. Me, and Nikita."
Kurt tilted his head, looking at Evellyn.
"What do you mean?"
Evellyn swallowed, breathing in and out slowly.
"We had a rough time when we were captured, but not long ago Octavius finally managed to break our will, and take control of our minds.
Without my abilities, I had no way of knowing where you had gone, whether you were alive or dead. But both Nikita and I believed that you would return.
Even more so when Groth told him that you had gone to stop the Bubble from bursting, and the beasts from invading our world."
Kurt tilted his head, frowning.
"Wait a minute... Groth spoke to Nikolai?"
"I was surprised too when I found out. Nikita has an innate ability as a tamer, which allows him to communicate with some beast species. But it works best when they’re already tamed, or someone’s familiar."
Kurt laughed.
"Who would’ve thought we’d have so many unique abilities in one place..."
"Right?" Evellyn laughed. "But... Days passed and turned into weeks. The weeks became months, and after a year or two, we... We weren’t so sure anymore... whether you’d really come back or not... Especially since Groth... He started to... Wither away...
He kept saying things about how the bond seemed to be getting more and more scattered. About how his energy no longer seemed to be flowing into him... So..."
"So you started to believe that I was... Dead..."
Evellyn just nodded.
"I... I’m sorry." It was the only thing Kurt managed to say.
"You can make up for it with not leaving anymore." Evellyn retorted. "Now, we need to get back. Nikita won’t be able to withstand your father’s influence for long, and we need every irregular there if we’re going to put a stop to the New Dawn guild’s plans."
"Right." Kurt replied, holding Evellyn’s hand, and preparing to activate [SHADOW TRAVEL], when she interrupted him. "Eve?" Kurt raised a brow, interrupting the skill activation.
"Rodrick fled to Japan, so I think we can go there to plan our comeback, and gather allies. The president of the association, during one of the... Interrogations... said that Japan is still one of the few countries that are still quite resistant to the Ishir advance. Maybe we can... I don’t know. It’s just the outline of an idea."
Kurt felt a chill down his spine at how Evellyn mentioned the word interrogation.
But Kurt had already thought of something like this a few times.
He had been putting together contingency and damage containment plans in his mind, just in case, if everything went wrong, he could still have a chance not to give up.
Then he smiled, as shadows emerged from the floor, the walls and the ceiling, enveloping them both.
"Don’t worry, I have a plan for this."
And everything turned to darkness around Evellyn.
***
She didn’t know how Kurt’s skill, [SHADOW TRAVEL], worked.
But thanks to having recovered her abilities like that, it was as if the intensity of her powers had been amplified.
Or, as Kurt used to say, they had leveled up.
To such an extent, that she was able to witness the sensation of time between the point of departure and the point of arrival of the [SHADOW TRAVEL].
And when she felt the place they were passing, before arriving at her home world, Evellyn felt countless presences around her, so powerful and hostile that their mere presence seemed to want to crush her body, mind and spirit.
’I need to tell Kurt...’
But the world around her immediately regained its brightness and color, and in less than an instant, everything exploded into chaos, as not only Nikolai, but everyone else in that underground parking lot went after Kurt, incited by Cinthia’s voice.
***
Kurt wanted to use his [SHADOW GRASP] on them, but he felt exhausted, so he relied solely on his physical abilities, dodging everyone there as best he could, until he was able to get close enough to Nikolai.
’Damn... I can’t worry about them looking. I have to do this anyway!’
Kurt gritted his teeth, letting Nikolai pierce his shoulder with the knife.
The glint of Octavius’ macabre smile in Nikolai’s eyes only made the whole situation more irritating for Kurt.
So he summoned that small dimensional opening.
[HIDDEN INVENTORY]
And immediately pulled out a small vial containing the red liquid that was Nikolai’s blood from K’s world.
Kurt crushed the vial in his right hand, and it was soon enveloped in a bluish, iridescent aura.
With his free hand, Kurt grabbed Nikolai’s hand, which was still pressing the knife deep into his shoulder, so that Nikolai couldn’t pull away.
And in a fluid, direct blow with his right hand, Kurt touched his best friend’s chest, causing the energy surrounding his hand to be transferred to him.
Nikolai’s eyes went blank instantly, his body lost all mobility, and he fell to his knees on the cold concrete floor.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO NIKITA?!" Cinthia roared, charging furiously against him.
Kurt didn’t respond.
The hail of blows and energy projectiles coming at him was too great for him to think of anything other than dodging, parrying, or defending himself.
He realized at that moment, that he still wouldn’t be able to face a very large group of wielders when he was out of energy.
But the naked truth was that he simply didn’t want to attack those irregulars.
Because no matter how strong they were as a group, each of them was still weak individually.
’Too weak...’ Kurt thought, sighing in defeat.
Immediately, before Cinthia could hit him with her powerful fists, Kurt used his speed, combined with his dexterity and agility, in a movement that he had trained for so long in those three years he had spent in K’s world...
That he didn’t even know if it could still be called a skill.
[GHOST STEPS OF A THOUSAND FEET]
Everyone was surrounded by countless afterimages of Kurt, and for a moment, everyone froze, frightened, not knowing what to do.
"How is he doing that?" Someone asked.
The next moment, the person who asked fell to the ground, unconscious.
Then another.
Another one.
Another.
And another one.
And finally, Cinthia, who could only stare, dumbfounded, as she tried to protect herself, spinning around, felt a powerful impact on the back of her head.
And everything around her turned to darkness.
Evellyn stared in amazement as Kurt’s afterimages disappeared and he ran towards a slowly rising, dizzy Nikolai.
"Are you all right, Nikolai?"
BAM!
Nikolai’s fist hit Kurt with such tremendous intensity that even he couldn’t believe it.
Kurt spat some blood, while Nikolai glared at him.
