Chapter 54: Leaving Ren Behind (2)
The battle was indeed challenging.
Alarms rang out from every corner of the palace. All the metal-headed soldiers paced nervously and angrily around the building and garden.
They were not merely mindless monsters, but intelligent, thinking warriors with powerful bodies and aggressive attack abilities, making each one incredibly formidable.
"Thieves. Find the thieves!"
"Find them! Dirty thieves!"
Everywhere were glaring red eyes, the clashing sound of metal, and the hurricane-like noise of rushing footsteps.
Ren stood firmly on a balcony, catching Kestrel as she jumped from above. Then, he hung upside down, carefully setting Kestrel down on the corridor below.
Almost at the same time, a group of metal soldiers with glowing red eyes emerged from both ends of the corridor. They carried weapons and moved silently like ghosts. They were so fast that they could walk on walls.
Ren moved quickly, pulling himself back before the enemies’ eyes turned red. His fingers and toes clung to the cracks on the edge of the balcony, much like a gecko clinging to the side of window.
Monsters zoomed past along the corridor, only one or two meters away from Ren’s hiding spot. If any monster poked its head out, it could see Ren hanging there.
Ren held his breath, suppressing his feelings, clinging motionless to the wall. His black suit made him blend into the night.
A whole squad of mutants went by him. Among them, one giant mutant, dragging heavy chains, slowed down as it passed the wall where Ren was hidden.
"I... I think... I sensed something," the hexagonal-headed monster said uncertainly.
"No, you didn’t sense anything," a voice echoed in his mind.
The hexagonal-headed mutant paused, "Ah, right... there’s nothing." Then he continued walking with his squad.
On the other side of the corridor, the search team was about to vanish at the end of the corridor. However, the last mutant suddenly stopped. His single eye on the pyramid head blinked, revealing a hint of confusion.
"I feel like I’ve sensed something," he turned back, the color in his single eye slowly changing to blood-red. His gloved finger gently touched the wall beside him, easily turning the sturdy structure into dust with his slender fingers.
Mr. Pyramid dusted off his hands, straightened the tie on his suit, and with a casual attitude, started to approach Ren’s hiding spot.
"There’s nothing, you’ve sensed nothing," a strong and direct command echoed in his mind.
For a moment, Mr. Pyramid seemed confused, but then clarity returned. A deep red hue of anger emerged in his eyes as though he had been tricked, but confusion soon took over again. This cycle repeated several times.
"Go back, you’ve sensed nothing."
"Turn around and go back, now!" In the darkness, he heard a commanding voice, coming from nowhere, reverberating one after the other. It was deep, commanding, and impossible to disobey. It felt like the presence of some enormous being lurking in the dark, too vast and mysterious to describe, just like the queen.
Mr. Pyramid felt his consciousness fading. Something, a powerful and irresistible will, was dismantling his metallic brain, invading his unstable mental world.
His mental world couldn’t withstand this intense, focused intrusion and started to dissolve and collapse. He felt dizzy, gradually losing control of his body.
In front of these indescribable, gigantic presences, he suddenly felt extremely helpless. He had always considered himself to be powerful. With his robust body and a thinking brain, he felt superior to his companions who were still confused and ignorant. But today, he realized he was still immature, fragile, and completely defenseless.
Just one more moment, and that entity would tear him apart, destroy the small core in his mind that had taken so much effort to form, and return him to a world of confused ignorance.
Mr. Pyramid felt an emotion known as fear. His heart was contracting, body shaking, and even his shirt was soaked with sweat. He wanted to beg but couldn’t find the words. All he could do was stare with his single eye, waiting for the end.
Just then, a soft sigh echoed.
"Ah, even you know how to fear," a voice gently said.
The intrusive entities retreated like the tide, disappearing as they had come, into nothingness.
Mr. Pyramid collapsed on the ground, touching his cold, corroded head. He knew he had been spared. And he knew who that sigh had come from - a woman whose voice he had heard twice, a voice he had come to recognize.
But he also knew he could not speak about what had happened, nor could he call any companions, not if he wanted to survive.
Mr. Pyramid leaned on the wall to stand up, bowed slightly, and wordlessly followed his squad.
From then on, he possessed something his companions did not - he had learned selfishness.
The corridor grew quiet. Ren moved silently along the outer wall, dropping down to the base of the building, and signaled a sign of approval to Kestrel, who was hidden there.
They stealthily moved forward, engaging in several unavoidable fights. Ren’s blood-soaked mystical blade emerged, cutting his own palm to drink his blood, and the red blade shattered numerous monsters that charged at them.
"This is a weapon I picked up from Polluted Zone 100. It’s useful, but kind of creepy," he showed the blade to Kestrel.
The blade seemed to be alive. Fresh blood dripped from the blade, the handle absorbed Ren’s blood, swelling with twisted veins. It even spoke when held in his darkened hand.
"Hello, it’s rare to see a Kraken," the blade greeted Kestrel in a peculiar voice as Ren displayed it.
Kestrel asked, "Hi, why do you need him to bleed?"
"Without blood, I can’t use my power. That’s our deal," the voice from the blade replied, "This kid’s blood is sweet. You should try it if you get a chance."
Keeping a straight face. Ren pinched the handle of the blade and put it away.
"There are many useful things to be found in the Polluted Zone. They’re strange but effective in battle," Ren told Kestrel. "If there ever comes a day..."
"If there’s a day I find a suitable blade for you, I’ll bring it to you"--he swallowed the rest of the sentence, not speaking it out loud, because saying it would seem too personal.
Kestrel wanted to show Ren something of her own in return but she realized that she didn’t seem to have anything remarkable besides her somewhat unruly psychic incarnations.
Ren’s psychic incarnation took the form of an orca. The black and white whale floated in the air, accompanying them, taking on essential tasks like lookout and rear guard. Kestrel’s psychic incarnations, due to their large number, often became unruly when she was focused on fighting.
Once in a while, one or two tendrils would sneak away to attach itself to the floating orca.
"I’m tired, I need to recharge. Let me feel the smooth orca."
One particularly bold tendril took the initiative.
"Is it wrong to rest for a bit?"
"Ah, you’re complaining."
"I didn’t do anything rude."
"He’s strong, he won’t mind carrying me for a while."
"The big fish actually likes it."
"Listen to his pleasant call."
