《A technomancer's journey in an apocalyptic world》


 Chapter 1: The Day the Earth changed (Part-1)

    Chapter 1: The Day the Earth changed (Part-1)


    ''tch'', Ryan O''Cahill scoffed in indignation not to mention he was getting incredibly angry and frustrated as each moment past, he was grounded again for breaking a prized vase of his mother when he was not even present at the house during the time, he looked his sisters and suppressed a groan, ''who would need a enemy when you have such wonderful sisters they are always doing stuffs ming it on me and my dear ''beloved'' parents always believing them over me, after all how could their angels be wrong.'' From the look of things he understood clearly what had happened they did something and he was being med again.


    His sisters no not sisters he refuse to call the two of them as such were his sisters, ''They always do something I am their scapegoat and it has always been like this for as long as I can remember not to mention my parents who always taking their side no matter what even if I bring the evidence the best could happen, ''Please they are children they are always mischievous, yup and I who is younger than by over 2 years is not, and the worst ''How dare you frame your darling sisters'' followed by a p or two. To be frank I am irritated at them there was a time like every other children I loved them and adored them, then it turned to hate for them but then I realized what would I get for hating them will get I money for that? Unfortunately a bug fat no otherwise I would already have be the richest human ever.''


    ''Then my ''wonderful beloved angelic'' sisters, the bane of my existence even if I was in school they would always find ways to put me down or bully me, not to mention their so called friends always bullying trying to demean me under their encouragement, but will they do that to their own siblings? Of course not why would they after the end of the day they love their siblings unlike mine.''


    ''It is getting so frustrating I have half a mind to curb stomp them.''


    "Why can''t you be more like.h .h.h....", ''ugh my head is swimming.''


    "Ryan are you LISTENING TO ME?", screamed out the woman who brought me to this world.


    Something snapped in him as he spoke, "No I tend not to listen to craps."


    "WHAT HOW DA." Only for Ryan to angrily shout, "SHUT THE F**K UP. Who the hell do you think you are?"


    "Always ming me for things I have not done is this kind of perverse sick enjoyment do you get by ming me. Did you even try to find out if I did or not? Of course not after all I am your favorite punch bag FOR YOU MONGRELS."


    "Now young man calm down and do not raise your voice against your father or else"


    "Or else what?"


    "How dare you speak to me using such a crass manner I never raised you to be"


    Only for Ryan to howl inughter as he spoke, "Oh my God, this must be the best joke of the year you raised me, hahahahaha.", Ryan howled inughter at that as he clutched his belly at that everyone was stunned into silence including the servants who were nearby heposed himself as he spoke, "Well then my dearest ''Mother''", he spat out the word mother as if the most vilest thing as he spoke, "when is my day birth with the year included."


    The woman spoke haughtily, "It is 4th of January, 2005.", but she finished unsurely at the end.


    Ryan smiled as he spoke, "I see but ording to my birth certificate & my school certificate it was 29th of June, 2005. Oh well must be the government is wrong after all you im to raise me right?"


    The woman was stunned silence as Ryuu kept speaking, "Well if I go by those then 2 days ago I turned 15 years old and I can tell many many things but it is waste of both of our time so I will cut the chase, well today I had graduation ceremony I graduated from high school with not only with full honors but apparently it seems I scored the highest marks in the entire country, unfortunately the reporter took some of my time while taking my interview for having the highest score in thest 7 years, and do you know the best part I think in the entire history of my school it seems that I am the first person whose parents were absent during my graduation. So may inquire what you might have been doing?"


    Ryan''s father Marcel looked flushed in embarrassment as he spoke with righteous anger at that as he spoke, "Stop spouting nonsense, what graduations? Stop lying you are only 15 years old."


    Ryan sighed as he switched the TV on as he put on a NEWS channel as he spoke, "Oh look over there don''t I look nice, but of course once again the cruel world who despises your family and conspired against you right? Yes yes that must be it, am I not right Mr. and Mrs. O''Cahill."


    Ryan: "So let me ask you again why were you absent during my graduation ceremony?"


    Eleanora Ryan''s mother spoke with a squeak, "Well your sisters wanted to go to shopping so we thought. But but you are at fault at this why did you not tell us before." she finished sharply as Ryan gave her an understanding smile.


    Ryan: "Yes, yes it is my fault after all who knows what apocalypse I might bring to the world by speaking to you directly after all that is why I have to schedule an appointment for just speaking to your secretary''s secretary''s secretary so that they may judge whether it is important enough for you two to hear, and as for the invitation letter for the Graduation Ceremony if I know them well then it is already lying in some gutter after all it would look bad on their resume if the world came to an end if their boss read a few words from one they im as their son right."


    Marcel sighed as he spoke, "Well I understand you are upset but please calm down and we can talk like a couple of gentleman, as for the graduation I am sorry but next time"


    Ryan: "Mr. O''Cahill, I never knew you went to school and graduated from it twice, I understand that a shop full of clothes is very rare sight yes yes I understand and as for ''Sorry next time'', well I lost count of such promise after your 50th one and till today, and best part none of which you have fulfilled any promises you have made to me till date."


    At that the duo winced as Eleanor spoke, "Well I know we have made some mistakes but pleasee down son, why don''t you go to your room and freshen up we can talk aboutter plus today is your birthday right so we can get ready for your birthday party."


    Ryan looked confused at that as he spoke, "What birthday party?"


    One of Ryan''s sisters Catherine snarled as she spoke, "Enough stop it, there is a limit of your jealousy."


    Ryan turned to Catherine as he spoke, "Jealous of what Miss Catherine? Jealous of what? My grades are way better than both of you, you two are still stuck in school where as I have not only skipped grades toplete mine but I am our countries topper, during my school days I have won the ''National level School Ser Tournament'' twice as a striker and ace of my team as well as I am a ''National Level Fencing Champion'' who has been invited in a camp to prepare for international tournament even ser clubs are trying to get me to sign contract with them , and do you know that yesterday I got confirmation for admission with full schrship from one of the top Universities of the World, and after I pass out from that I do not doubt that if I pick any of the options I will easily get a nice paying job and lead avish lifestyle, as a matter of fact I will be leaving at the end of this week to confirm my college admission, a college which millions can dream of joining. So please tell me Miss Catherine what would I be jealous of?"


    Ileana one of his other older sisters spoke hurriedly, "Brother why don''t you go to your room and freshen up we know we did wrong but please I hope we can talk about thister brother.", she did not know why but her brother seemed too calm while speaking much much more calmer than before, she did not know why but she suddenly felt nervous


    Ryan: "Well I came to your house and you are sending me out so soon what a bad host you have be."


    Marcel: "What do you mean this is your house as well."


    Ryan smiled as he spoke, "Well your darling daughter does not wish for me to be under the same roof as such I left over a year ago, when she had the servants of your house throw all my stuff out."


    The couple were stunned upon hearing that, how much did they neglect their son that they did not notice he was not even living with them anymore.


    Ileana gave a nervousugh as she spoke, "It was a joke nothing more nothing less brother please.", Ryan simply chose to ignore her as both the parents red at her.


    Catherine growled as she spoke, "So what are you going to cry like some jealous crybaby now."


    Ryan: "Jealous yes I was once jealous, jealous of how no matter what anyone does wrong I would be singled out every time and even if I was nowhere near that ce I was still punished harshly, I used to be jealous then it to hatred for all of you but and fortunately I understood why you all acted like that until I had an epiphany."


    The word send a chill down their spine as even the servants felt a bit unease at that specially as Ryan smiled brightly as he spoke, "Mr. and Mrs. O''Cahill, I finally understood how much agony you have to endure day after day for thest 15 years you have to tolerate my presence, for that I feel sorry for you all, but today I am happy to tell you that I finally found a solution to this little problem of yours."


    Eleanora stood up as she shouted out in distress, "What are you saying you are our child my baby boy why are saying this please we know we made some mistakes so please do not say such sphemous thing Ryan."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Please Mrs. O''Cahill please stop this nonsense even a blind man can see how much pain and anguish you have to suffer in order to say those words, so please there is no need to lie, here I brought this for you.", he handed a file to his father with a serene smile.


    As his father took it in his hands he spoke, "What is this son?"


    Ryan: "Well congrattions to the O''Cahill family, I am with great happiness can now announce to you that you no longer have to begrudgingly include me into your family by referring to me as your son, as of this moment we strangers, thank you for everything and Goodbye! And have a happy life.", with that Ryan turned on his heels as he started walking towards the door.


    Everyone was stunned silent before Eleanora screamed as she chased after him, Ryan simply stepped outside as he walked towards the door, as Eleanora tried to grab him he simply side stepped as he spoke calmly, "Please ma''am you shouldn''t try to grab another male in front of your husband that is extremely bad for someone of your stature and reputation.", before his widen as he spoke, "Oh I understand why you are panicking do not worry I have not touched even a single iota of your money since I was in the final year of my middle school, in fact I would have already left a long ago but unfortunately our countriesws prevents me from getting emancipated before my 15th birthday as such sorry for the dy, oh and if you are worrying about money you wasted on my upkeep then I have left a check with the amount you have wasted on me since the day of my birth, I hope the amount left is eptable.", the file dropped form a wide eyed Marcel whose hands were shaking as he spoke with his eyes bloodshot from grief, "How did you get our signature on the emancipation form? How?"


    Ryan smiled as he spoke, "Well your secretary was very helpful, when I spoke to your secretary she was extremely ted at that she was so happy she even told me that, ''Finally the taint guing my boss''s family will be gone, trash should be left as trash not beside the true elite of the society, I hope after this my boss''s family will be in a much happily and not in misery because of you.'', then she got your signatures and vo."


    Marcel: "Where will you stay? How will you pay your bills?"


    Ryan spoke with a soft smile as he tried to keep his crying ex-mother off of him, "Ah about that you do not have to worry, a certain someone has been taking care me for thest few years, someone I wish was my real parent, after all because of some archaicws I am now considered an orphan and the stae would have appointed me a guardian to check on me until my 18th birthday, as such she is adopting me thus bypassing thews."


    That stopped a sobbing Eleanora on her tracks as she spoke with horror, "You are recing me?"


    Ryan: "Recing? What are you talking about? How can I rece something that never belonged to me in the first ce?"


    Marcel: "Please son forgive us, please give us a chance.", the once proud man who always walked with his chin high looked broken at that.


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Really and why? Why should I? I gave you enough chance for thest 15 years, but you let me down time and time again, every time someoneins about me you do not even give the benefit of doubt you would straight out punish me slowly and surely teaching others to use me as a scapegoat for their misdeeds, not to mention whenever I required of you, you would never be there for me, treating me like a leper, so please stop acting like you care after you are simply wasting both of our time after all ''Time is money'' is that not right Mr. O''Cahill.", he gave him an innocent smile as he continued speaking, "Well now you can say that there is at least something I learned from you."


    Ileana stepped forward as she spoke, "Brother please, please forgive us please give us a chance."


    Ryan sighed hard he wished how he should have had listened to his adopted mother and brought someone from his new family as he was getting annoyed with every passing second, "Miss Ileana ''brother'' wow, I never thought that you would call me something aside from ''freak'', ''abomination'', ''failed abortion''?"


    Eleanora screeched at her as she spoke, "WHAT?????? HOW DARE"


    Ryan: "Mrs. O''Cahill please be silent, after all you yourself had once confessed to it, when you gave away my trophies which I won at annual sports meet at my school to someone who can''t even walk two steps without kneeling over and die fromck of oxygen and the best part the person never went to my school yet he imed he won them and I had stolen it from him. Yet you believed him and what did you say to me, oh yes ''how wish I had used contraceptive on the night I conceived you.'', and now you are creating a drama using her about something she learn from you."


    Eleanora looked down as she stuttered out, "I-I-I am so so-sorry please Ryan I.."


    Ryan: "Save it for someone who cares, and you know what my feelings is mutual how I wished I was born from ''MY MOM'' instead of the likes of you."


    A few hourster Ryan sighed as he exited an ice cream store it was very tiring for him his ex-family clinging to him trying to stop him from leaving, he never understood why they acted like that, every day, every minute and every second he had spent with them they belittled him, punished him or trying to make his life hell but now when he was leaving their life for good all of a sudden they are acting like the cared and what not.


    Catherine and Ileana birthday party was always a huge one and him well it would be a cold day in hell before they wish him let alone they had a party for him after all ''delinquents do not deserve such honor'', and then their annual vacation trip well a trip without him, or how he did not to receive a single Christmas presents did he care about it, may be when he was younger but as he grew older he learned how people many people in the world did not have one, and for how many getting chance to eat something is a great strugglepare to them he felt ashamed that he once threw a tantrum for not getting any present how nave he was.


    If he had to even talk to his parents he had to take an appointment to get an appointment, and when they themselves talk to him it was simply to punish him for something he never did, and now they had the gall to say that ''we are sorry, give us another chance'' and then those two twins who always tried to make my life hell along with their friends, did her friends have younger siblings yes some of them did, will they hurt their siblings of course not they did rather die than do such a thing. But oh well it was a thing of the past now he looked forward to a new dawn with his new family, just the thought about them brought smile to his face.


    As he licked the ice cream he passed he nced at his watch as he sighed, ''Damn, it is already 8 o''clock, dinner will start soon maybe I should hire a taxi it is gettingte and mom would be getting worried.''


    As he was about to book a taxi using his phone to pickup him up from his location when amotion drew his attention as he looked up and he saw a tiny moon like object growing bigger over time, wait a minute a moon like object suddenly it glowed as brightly as the sun it felt as if it was day time already before when all of a sudden an ear deafeningrge screech was heard as the object exploded.


    Aghhhhh", Ryan covered his ears as he dropped on the ground dropping his cell phone from his hand as did almost everyone the sound was too much for everyone as they dropped on the ground, the ss shattered everywhere and then it stopped, as everyone looked up their eyes widened at what they saw the moon. No the entire sky seemed to have an ominous red light emanating from it, Ryan squinted as he looked to what seemed to be a small firefly moving towards him at a great speed, "S**t.", was all he could say before it hit him causing his whole body to feel as if it was burning from the inside causing him to lose consciousness from the pain.

 Chapter 2: The Day the Earth changed (Part-2)

    Chapter 2: The Day the Earth changed (Part-2)


    Ryan felt a small headache as he tried to sit up suddenly a mechanical voice came to his ears, [Binding with hostplete.]


    [HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 0 (0/50)


    VITALITY TIER: 0 (30/50)


    STRENGTH TIER: 0 (38/50)


    AGILITY TIER: 0 (42/50)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 0 (48/50)]


    Ryan: "Ha what happened what is happening I am hearing voices in my head, don''t tell me I am getting crazy after all hearing voice is the first step to madness then I will end up in some mental facility."


    Only for his attention to be drawn by a screech as he looked up he was stunned to silence as he mumbled out, "What is this? Why is the sky is violet instead of blue and ", he winced hard as he felt the rays of the sun hit him, he looked up as he gawked, "Since when is the Sun bluish and why is it so much hotter."


    His attention was drawn by another screech as he ducked while a bird passed by emanating a rotten smell, he turned towards the bird as his heart almost leaped out of his throat ''what kind of bird is that'', he watched a bird with its red eyes with one of them dangling out of the socket not to mention as its bones were visible and as rotten smell emanated from it, Ryan cursed at that as he ducked once again.


    He tried to run as his eyes widen as he looked the scene in front of him, it looked like a scene from some post apocalyptic movie, the building have all toppled over as smokes could be seen at the distant indicating raging fire, even the ground looked broken a reminiscent of a very strong earthquake, what kind of earth quake would cause this thing? Where is the rescue corps? Is the rescue of people even possible and what of his ''mom'' is she alright?


    But he would have to worryter on as he saw something that caused him to pale, the ce where he wasying unconscious was raised up to at least a good few meters above the ground as the bird came again to attack him, he ducked he had no weapon and he cannot get away from it, as he gritted his teeth before he quickly took off his jacket getting ready for the next course of action as soon as the bird came into view he quickly threw his jacked over the strange but nightmarish bird''s head, as it squeaked and screeched trying to get out of it Ryan rained blows after blow on it before long the bird''s head was a paste along with his perfectly nice jacket getting ruined making him grumbled at that.


    Suddenly a mechanical voice came to his ears, [Host killed a Tier 0 Life-form, gained absorbed 10 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    [Do you wish spend your blood points to upgrade your attributes or spend it further your organism tier from 0 to tier 1?]


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "10 points on agility."


    [Error: Host is Tier 0 as such attributes cannot be upgraded any further than threshold, please redistribute it again.]


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well than 2 to Intelligence and 8 to Agility."


    [Intelligence can be upgraded to Tier 1]


    [Agility can be upgraded to Tier 1]


    Ryan: "Well then the voice in my head, what exactly are your?"


    He asked the question and waited and waited but he did not receive any reply as such he sighed before he started climbing down to reach what he assumed to be a ground level, as he reached the ground Ryan nced at his hands as he thought, ''Cool it was much more easier to climb down than I had thought it to be, but if this means then soon I will be grow insanely stronger then I will defeat those ''big sisters'' from the barracks they always manage to defeat me on the obstacle course but now with my secret weapon I will definitely defeat them and avenge all those ice creams they unjustly took as their spoils of war after my defeat.''


    He still remembers the day when he first met his ''mom'',


    9 years ago Ryan was sitting alone under a tree, with his downcast eyes his sisters had said any kid that anyone who dares to talk with him they well be an outcast all the kids in the park listened to them, it has been a few days since they went on a vacation leaving him alone again as a punishment for leaving scratching marks on his dad''s car no matter how he protested no one listened to him as usual, and as for the servants in their house they already knew he was not important because at the end of the day Ryan might not even receive an iota of money as an inheritance unlike his sisters as such they do not even bother to feed him, why waste time on someone unimportant well except one but unfortunately she was not here as such Ryan''s stomach grumbled with hunger he had not eaten since yesterday, as he tried to stand up suddenly his head spun as he was about to fall only to be grabbed by a woman who spoke, "Hey kid are you alright?"


    He still remembered the day how he met his mother Major Ciara O''Doherty previously known as Ciara O''Cahill, yes the same surname as that of his ex-family, but here was the real kicker she turned out to be his blood rted aunt, well like him, she had left the family because of Ryan''s Grandmother, well a real piece of work a not only a total control freak but believes she is always right, and someone Ryan hated the most in the world.


    But now the current priority for him to find out what has happened and make his way to his mother''s house at least that ce is the safest one in the entire world at least for him.


    He picked a broken rebar from the pile of broken buildings he swung it as he practiced with it and found it useful and easy to use, ''Well better than nothing at least I will have a weapon at the very least if some creep pops out all of a sudden I can smash them to pulp with it, but I need some real weapon very quickly or else I will be in trouble if something dangerous pops up, when I killed it the mechanical voice said it was a tier 0 being so what if a higher tiered one appears and I fail to kill it, but first.''


    He made a bee line towards a store which he just spotted, it was easy to enter as it was broken because of the rubble falling on it, ''hmm why is there still so many stuff here after such tragedy I expected at least a few scoundrels looting the ce, but it was left untouched'', suddenly a smell of blood entered his nose he gripped his weapon as he cautiously made his way to the stench as he neared it he found a bit of rotten smell but a small groan as well, as he neared he saw a person sitting behind a rubble as he readied the rebar in his hand he had yed enough games and movies to see what woulde up next an incredibly powerful enemy the situation stunk of such but still he had to make sure if it was some poor injured human well he will try his best to help him.


    "Hey are you alright?", Ryan asked the man but he did not move, ''yup a trap'', so he turned towards the nearest rack where he found a box full of item as he threw it hard towards the person with loud snarl a person with grey pupil stood up as his intestine dangling out of his body, as the person lunged towards him Ryan simply side stepped as the rod in his hand pierced through the skull of what looked like a zombie to him.


    [Host killed a Tier 0 Life-form, gained absorbed 10 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    [Do you wish spend your blood points to upgrade your attributes or spend it further your organism tier from 0 to tier 1?]


    Ryan: "Add 10 blood points to strength.", he felt the rod held in his hands much lighter than before.


    ''What is happening to me? Why am I so calm, I should be freaked out currently yet why I am so calm?''


    He huffed there was no need to cry over spilt milk, he searched through the rubble of the store as he gathered a bottle of water and a few packets of food, putting them inside a bag which he graciously borrowed before he went towards the hardware section as well as the sports section of the store.


    ''tch, what a waste the entire section is under tons of rubble, well I managed to get a hammer at least, let me scour around maybe I will get something from digging near the outskirts of the rubble.''


    A few minutester,'' Jackpot! A nail gun.'' he was in cloud nine as he tore the packaging before putting the battery that came along with it, reloading a nail he pulled the trigger but it did not work, ''What is going on? tch, those manufactures really put worthless batteries, hmm I will have to remember the name because sure as hell I am not going to buy it ever again.''


    He grumbled as he went on a battery hunt, and half an hourter he stood with a pile of batteries in front of him as he spoke in disbelief, "What is going on why is none of the batteries working as if they all are dead, damn I wanted a shlight too for when it would be dark. Bute to think about it, I also did not see any form of electricity, might have been the earthquake had knocked it off but there is a possibility that such devastating earthquake might have. Oh no do not tell me some form of nuclear disaster created this situation."


    As he stepped out he saw a badly injured woman staring at him while blood and saliva dripped from her mouth.


    Meanwhile a woman dressed in a military garb stood tall with a cigar in her mouth, her eyes were a little unfocused as her mind was busy with various things, she watched as her soldiers burned the bodies of their recently deceasedrades, it was painful to watch the death of herrades, her fellow sisters in arms, her families tragic death but it could not be helped after the recent apocalyptic natural disaster caused by the meteorite that had appeared out of nowhere and it detonated then everything went to hell, the atmosphere changed, the earth shook like it had been put in a washer. The ce where her unit resides is named Fort Rose, although she would like to think about it as secret base even if it was not for her unit of 500 strong woman from soldiers to technicians to cooks and others, it was the home of a special unitprised of female only, every woman in this ce were battle hardened soldiers belonging to specialmando taskforce ''The ck Wolves''.


    Ciara sighed as she exhaled smoke, the apocalypse tore down the entiremunication system not only that anything rted to electrical or electronics had stopped working. They somehow managed to clear the debris as they rescued those trapped by the earthquake which was at least a level 10 in Richter scale as well as the bodies of the dead who were trapped under the debris, then the unthinkable happened the dead suddenly woke up and then all went to hell, they fought back and won yet it was not meant everyone who were bitten turned as such she was having the bodies being cremated for good measure, her proud unit of 500 is now only less than a 150 strong.


    "Major that was thest of the bodies.", a red skinned woman with horn on her head gave her report to her.


    Ciara winced inwardly at that as the incident seems to have mutated some of her sisters, even if they acted tough she new inwardly they were not doing well after all who would if you get changed from human to something else entirely because of things out of your control.


    Ciara: "Good work, what is the scout report?"


    The red skin woman spoke in a monotone, "Well scout team one came back, and ording to them ''we should throw our maps andpass away.''


    Ciara frowned at that as she spoke, "What do they mean by that, Captain Zhan?"


    Zhan grimaced as she spoke, "Major, the entire topography had changed, the Macway city situated 15 Km at the west of the Fort Rose has shifted as such it is currently about over 50Km away from here, not only that but the maic south and north have interchanged.


    Ciara grimaced at that as she spoke, "What of scout 2 and 3?"


    Zhan: "They are continuing with their mission."


    Ciara: "But"


    Zhan stopped hermanding officer as she spoke, "Major, please this disaster I think might even be global, and who knows what horrors is urring out there and withmunication down we are all alone, Ryan is not only your ''son'' but he is like our little brother to some of us, or nephew to others and he is like a family to all of us, as such we only wish to rescue what little of our family is left."


    Ciara nodded at that when her soldiers had heard about her adopting him they were very happy, they had even arranged a weing party for him but now everything waspletely ruined, most of the women that made up her unit had tragic pasts with little to no family left even if someone still has any rtives alive they are all estranged from each other, to them their unit was their home and family and the Government picked them as such purposefully called it a way to give meaning to life for some people but to Ciara it was all propaganda putting people whom are ostracized and undesired and using them for the so called glory of their country, the girls here could not be thrown to prison but this unit was an alternative means to work and die for the country so that others might get praised for it.


    Ciara looked towards the violet sky as her face scrunched up into a frown, ''What the hell was that object in the sky, it screeched so hard that I thought I would go deaf not to mention since when does an exploding object screech, it should have made a loud ''boom'', not screech like some banshee. I do not think it was created by some rival nation, but then again those super powers create fascinating weapons from time to time even then I doubt it.'', she let out a sigh as she rubbed her forehead in exasperation as her shoulder sagged tiredly, ''I just hope my baby boy is safe.''

 Chapter 3: Good Doggy

    Chapter 3: Good Doggy


    Ryan stabbed at the angry snarling drooling group of zombies, he stood on the other side of the fence which separated them from him, taking that into consideration he did not waste any time, he quickly stabbed into those zombies head killing them effectively as fast as possible.


    [Host killed a Tier 0 Life-form, gained absorbed 10 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    [Host killed a Tier 0 Life-form, gained absorbed 10 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    .


    .


    .


    .


    .


    [Host killed a Tier 0 Life-form, gained absorbed 10 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    Ryan had managed to kill at least 10 zombies including that thrice damned woman, oh how he hated that woman zombie she suddenly screamed so loudly that it made him want to tear his ear drums off but then it also managed to attract a small horde towards him but after killing them he had gained about a 110 Blood Points as well as 11 soul points, he was happy with the amount he had he could easily be tier 1 anytime he wanted to but he decided to find a ce where he could hide for a little bit before trying anything as a precaution.


    As he took a step he froze as a chill ran down his spine before he suddenly jumped to the side as the ground where he was standing turned into a crater, a humongous beast with red at him baring fangs it snarled at him hungrily with as drool fell from its mouth.


    Ryan gave a nervous smile as he spoke, "Good Doggy.", only for the dog look alike creature bigger than a SUV snarled at him staring at him like he was some juicy steak.


    Ryan slowly stepped back as he spoke, "I am not tasty doggy, shoo shoo move over there are some tasty juicy meat and bones."


    Only for the creature to howl loudly as a screaming Ryan did not have to be told as he bolted on his legs, as the creature chased after it, he dodged and weaved through the flurry of attacks, he dodged the attack as a car lying on the road was torn by it, the snarling beast tried to catch him as it jumped into a narrow alley getting stuck.


    Ryan felt as if his heart would leap out of his throat he snarled at the beast as he spoke, "Add 2 blood points to Strength, 20 to Vitality and rest add it to Life-Form Tier."


    [Strength can be upgraded to Tier 1]


    [Vitality can be upgraded to Tier 1]


    [Life-Form Tier can be upgraded from Tier 0 to Tier 1]


    Ryan growled as he spoke, "You damn monster I kill you for trying to eat me.", the beast howled at him as its lower jaw parted into two, Ryna jumped up on top of the beast before positioning himslef top of its head as he used the hammer raining blows after blows as he caved the cranium of the beast, which died after letting lose an agonizing howl.


    [Host killed a Tier 1 Life-form, gained absorbed 30 blood points and gained 1 soul]


    Ryan, ''So currently I have, 58 blood points and 12 souls. But to think I had to face a Tier 1 beast, hmmm I think I should increase my Tier as soon as possible but I do not know what will happen when I increase it if they attract creatures I am doomed.''


    His attention was drawn by a crystal like thing present inside the brain, he picked up but his attention was drawn by a snarling as he saw arge group of zombies at the end of the alley, ''Damn it.''


    "Up here", a shout came as a rope dropped from the top of a building Ryan quickly caught it as he was hauled up fast as the zombies appeared underneath them.


    A hand came as it pulled him up as Ryan spoke, "Thank. Eh Ang is that you?"


    The person who stood in front of him was someone he knew very well one of the soldiers under his mom''smand Ang, but she looked a bit different becausest time he checked, "Ang what happened to you?"


    The smile on her face changed to a scowl as she snapped at him, "tch, I mutated happy now."


    Ryan studied her intently for a few seconds the Ang he knew had fair skin and blonde hair with blue eyes but the person in front of him had pointed ear, purple skin and blue hair that ended with green tips and blue glowing eyes as such he spoke unconsciously, "Beautiful."


    Ang turned towards him as she eximed with disbelief, "What!!!!"


    Ryan coughed in his hands as he spoke, "I meant exotic, yes you look exotic."


    "Oh my seems like someone is having hots for an elf wannabe.", came a voice to his ears which almost seemed like a purr to him.


    Ryan huffed as he spoke, "Sister Kara stop teasing me, but you have to agree she looks nice isn''t she?"


    Ang huffed at that as she turned her head as she spoke heatedly, "Well you can tter me as much as you like but you will never understand what it feels like."


    Ryan winced at that as he spoke, "Sorry, but I still think you look exceptionally gorgeous."


    But before anyone could say anything Kara shouted out, "Hey look is that not the emergency re, it means we have to leave move now, move fast."


    The trio moved as fast as they could a sound of explosion was heard not far from them as Ryan cursed, "Too much noise they will attract wrong kind of crowd, if only we could move faster.", only for his eyes to widen at what he saw as a grin etched his face, "Hey girls over there we can use those."


    Ang grunted as she spoke, "There is no time to be fooling around Ryan, wha"


    Only for her eyes widen as a grin formed in her face, a ''Cycle Store'', truly it was a blessing in disguise since they were in the suburbs of the city where unlike the city itself a normal shop like this could be found.


    The shop lookedpletely empty from outside and normally they would check it thoroughly but today there was neither time nor do they have the chance to be cautious as such hey quickly broke into the shop by breaking the shop window, where they quickly grabbed the nearest cycles they could get there hand on to.


    Kara sighed as she spoke, "I never thought I would be stealing cycles like this."


    Ryan spoke in a confused tone as he spoke, "What are you saying we are simplymandeering the vehicle because of an emergency."


    The trio quickly paddled the bike at the same time both Kara and Ang held the handle of another two for the second group, they were moving at slow pace and they did not have to wait much longer as two women appeared soon after with arge horde hot on their heels, they were running for their lives.


    Ang: "Ryan, start pedaling hard, we will catch up with them move forward drop the useless items it will make you go faster."


    Ryan nodded as he started pedaling fast, and soon after a couple of bangster the remaining girls caught up to Ryan and his group who immediately lend the two neers cycles which they quickly rode, and as they started to pedal harder as their lives depending upon it and soon they were out of sight of thest zombie horde.


    A couple of hours of pedaling and panting madnesster the tired group of 4 scouts and one high school graduate finally saw the familiar visage of ''Fort Rose'', well what was left of ''Fort Rose'' anyway, as there arge part of ity broken upon seeing the home of the proud ''ck Wolves'' lying in such a condition Ryan winced as well as a fear rose in his heart, ''Such devastation are my big sisters and aunties all right?''.


    As they entered the fort a panting Ryan was speaking with a tired Chloe the leader of the scout team that had ventured into the city, and one of those who risked their lives for him and had rescued him.


    "Ryan", a beautiful soothing voice came to his ears drawing his attention to the speaker his eyes became a bit misty at the sight of the person as he spoke with a tired but yet a happy smile, "Hi Mom! Sorry for beingte."

 Chapter 4: Fort Rose

    Chapter 4: Fort Rose


    No words were spoken between them but Ryan feel how relieved she felt upon seeing him as if a burden had lifted off of her shoulders, and unspoken words were exchanged between them, ''Are you alright?''.


    ''Yup, I am fine though a little bit tired.''


    She then turned towards her subordinates as she spoke, "Report."


    Chloe went took a bit more attentive stance as she began her report, "Upon entering we decided it would be best if we broke into two groups to investigate and from what evidence we scouts have so far managed to gather, the 41st Garrison was the one who had helped to evacuate the city, although the bunkers constructed as a means of shelter for the civilians seems to have sessfully with stood the terrible earthquake but unfortunately we were unable to enter as it seems to have been overrun by the undead, although we would also like to report to state that animals have heavily mutated, we killed a big four legged creature not only that it required a couple of grenades to kill it, upon finding Ryan we had to make run from the city as we had unfortunately run afoul of dangerous creatures and upon suggestion of Ryan wemandeered a few cycles from a nearby shop to make our retreat unfortunately we had to discard a few of our possessions."


    Ryan who was standing nearby raised his hand drawing attention towards himself as he spoke mimicking Chloe as much as possible, "Well I would like to add that the big dog like creature can be easily killed if you can immobilize it and then if you hit it on top of its head, in my case I used hammer and rebar rod that I had managed to acquire though I lost them during our retreat."


    Ciara eyes widen as she spoke, "You fought against one such creature?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yup, and by big I mean a SUV size big, it tried to kill me but got stuck in a narrow alley and I took full advantage of the situation to kill it."


    Chloe than began giving out the rest of the report, "Themotion drew Ang and Kiara''s attention who promptly pulled him up through a window using a rope and as such saved him from a horde that was attracted by the noise."


    Ryuu as if had sudden realization as he spoke hurriedly, "Mom there is something I should make you aware of about those creatures.", he took a deep breath as Ciara encouraged him to speak, "Well I believe the creatures are constantly evolving as such their mutations will be more and more deadly."


    Chloe eyes narrowed at that before she had a look of rm on her face as she spoke, "Major I think whatever Ryan said has some merit on it."


    Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she ordered, "Exin?"


    By then many of her subordinates had gathered around them as Chloe spoke, "Well when Fiona and I had ventured near the bunker we had unfortunately we had ended up poking into a ho nest, one of the Zombies was ordering the rest of its brethren, and even if most were a bit sluggish a few of them were more agile than the rest and in order to outrun them we had to drop most of our provisions."


    "They could have mutated like that.", a retort came their side as Ryan bit his lips as he continued speaking, "Mom I have mutated as well."


    Ciara had a momentarily a look of concern and panic before she steeled herself as she spoke, "Exin."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Yesterday, I was on my way back to the fort when that incident urred and I lost my consciousness, today when I woke up I was immediately attacked by what looked like a rotting undead bird from some horror movie, I managed to kill it at the cost of my jacket, after I killed it I was forced to fight at least near dozen creatures and every time I kill I absorb a red colored thing from them, and an electronic voice chimes in my head stating I have absorbed some blood points and soul."


    Others looked at him curiously as he continued, "But herees the real kicker I can use this blood point to upgrade myself."


    Ciara''s brow furrowed as shemanded him, "Define upgrade Ryan."


    Ryan nodded at his mother''smands he continued, "Well I can move faster, stronger, more agile and I can think much more clearly."


    Chloe looked at Ryan briefly before she spoke, "Major I can attest to that, well not the part about blood points, soul and specially the voice in his head but about the growth of his physical abilities, well I can definitely say that he is better than before by not so much but still noticeable, current him can give some of our sisters who could easily out gun a run for their money."


    Ciara mulled over the entire situation for a minute and spoke with sigh, "Well then everyone take some rest before the debriefing begins at an hour time and by then I hope the remaining scouts would have arrived."


    The others simply saluted and left the mother son duo alone, as they moved a few distance away from the meeting area Ciara gave Ryan a bone crushing hug which he returned with a smile, "I was so worried I thought I would never see you again."


    Ryan whispered back to her, "Me too mom, it was so scary the entire thing was scary, for a moment I thought I have gone crazy."


    Ciara let go of Ryan as she studied him intently before speaking with a smile, "I am happy that you are safe and unhurt, and to tell you the truth it feels like the whole world has be crazy, but enough of that how did they take the news?"


    Ryan began with a sigh, "Well."


    Meanwhile with the O''Cahill family, things have gone from worse to hell first they lose their only son, their youngest then the apocalypse struck, even if they were saved by the military they are at lost.


    Eleanora''s mother-inw Beth simply scoffed and waved it off telling it was simply a jealous and worthless child''s tantrum and after everything went to hell that insufferable woman even had the gall to im it was karma punishing him for it, Marcel got angry and had pped her mother hard, since then they did not even speak with her mother or her father-inw, not to mention they were the reason behind her sister-inw breaking any and all form of contact with the family, and from the looks of it the apple does not fall far from the tree.


    Ileana had been crying since then whereas Catherine had been incredibly furious with Ryan, but at the end of the day Eleanora was unable trust her own daughters anymore ''what if they are lying again? What if they are once again trying to dupe her?'' was what ran through her mind.


    Back at fort Rose, all the residents have gathered around a camp fire, as most of the scouts have already arrived by then as they started reporting everything as they saw today.


    "I see so we have to avoid this ce.", a woman with a couple of white stands on her head spoke as she made a marking on a map.


    "Why are you marking on the map Captain.", everything has changed a squeaky voice came to everyone''s ear as the woman spoke with a sigh, "Well may be but at least this map is the best think we have around until another is created and who knows how long it will take.


    As everyone were discussing about the various creatures as one of them spoke, "meh, I have seen enough a good bullet to the weak spot will easily y them."


    Ryan decided to voice his concern as he spoke, "Big sister as much as I would like to say you are right, but for how long will you be able to do such a thing, sooner andter the ammunition would run out and seeing that the creatures out there are of different tiers each stronger than other I fear we might fear we might run into one who is un-kible, with the current level of fire power."


    Ciara: "What makes you say such?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well if we can mutate and in my case evolve what is stopping them from doing so and big sis Chloe had already found evidence that suggest that they are evolving so why should we not prepare for a situation that such creatures mighte out, also speaking of evolving it seems my power is ready to evolve and mutate to the next level."


    One of the people who were listening to him spoke curiously as she spoke, "So when are you going to try evolving."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Right now."


    One of the people spoke, "Absolutely not, who knows what might happen."


    Ryan smirked as he spoke, "Toote, I have already waited for too long and I am starting now.", Ciara''s eyes widen at horror at that but before she could speak Ryan spoke in amanding, "Upgrade Life-form Tier 0 to Tier 1."


    Ciara spoke angrily, "What in the nine hells are doing Ryan?"


    Ryan stood still as he spoke, "Eh noth", before he could speak anything he copsed on the ground like a puppet whose string has been cut off, while the others ran to pick him up.


    [Host Reached Optimal Level for Basic Functions to be Unlocked]


    [Remodeling Body]


    [Rebooting System]


    [Awakening Host]


    Ryan opened his as he took huge gulp of air, "Move aside give him some space.", he felt a slight migraine as an electronic voice came to his ears.


    [HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 1 (0/200)


    VITALITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    STRENGTH TIER: 1 (0/200)


    AGILITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 1 (0/200)


    Blood Points: 38


    Soul: 15]


    As he opened his eyes as he blinked, a couple of binary numbers floated in front of his eyes before it faded as the unnatural color of their current word appeared in front of him as he was greeted by a familiar visage staring at him and as he looked around he saw others looking at him worriedly but unlike before each of them had a red bar on top of them along with ''Tier'' being mentioned above their head he idly noticed many were on Tier 0, but few of them were on Tier 1including his Mom.


    Ciara: "Are you all right Ryan? Ryan, focus on me."


    Ryan looked at the Ciara groggily before he shook his head as he spoke, "I am fine mom I am fine."


    One of the subordinates of Ciara Lieutenant Ruby, one of the medic of the ''ck Wolves'', checked him as she spoke, "Well except for the bluish glow in his eyes which goes nicely with his reddish hair and the obvious tattoos on the palm of his hands there is no significant change., he was already used to her being blunt but the unusual glimmer in her eyes disturbed him a lot he felt as if he was a guinea pig waiting to be experimented on.


    ''Tattoos? What tattoos is she talking about?'', as Ryan looked at the palm of his hands he was stunned at what he saw on his right hand had a depiction of what looked like a ''Yggdrasil''. "Wow this one is Tree of Life Yggdrasil'' of Norse Mythology not to mention the color white with a golden border to it seems like it depicts purity", but the left one looked to him like a circle and triangle intersecting each other with the Greek alphabet ''Eta'' at the middle the entire thing was colored ck with reddish border.


    Lieutenant Ruby rubbed her chin as she spoke, "hmmm, so ''Life'' and ''Death'' huh."


    Ryan turned towards Ciara as he spoke. "Mom how long was I unconscious?"


    Ciara gave a kind smile as she spoke, "Well about an hour."


    As he turned to his side he saw a few of the soldiers throwing many electronics parts mainly battery and what not away made him sigh as he spoke, "What a waste so many batteries destroyed because of the EMP."


    Ciara: "About that an EMP cannot destroy any form of alkaline battery unless and until they are being under use, but this one did so I do not know if we should ssify it as an EMP st anymore."


    Ryan spoke with a sigh, "What of other ce? Do you have any orders?"


    Ciara shrugged as he spoke, "We do not know anything about other ces neither do we have any orders of rescue and what not after all my soldiers are simply attack dogs and are not trained or equipped with the means for any form of rescue but from whatever reports our country the ''Republic of onia'' is in shambles after such an apocalyptic event, as such we will see what happens from now on and act ordingly."

 Chapter 5: Flying to the unknown

    Chapter 5: Flying to the unknown


    Ryan huffed as he sat inside the big basket which was carried by one of the soldiers of the ''ck Wolves'' regiment. Although the ''cks Wolves'' are normally referred to as the regiment they are less than half the size of a normal regiment after all the soldiers of the said regiment were all special, they were all woman from various branches of military each of them ruthless and skilled exceptionally enabling them to fight and dominate any form ofbats whether they be air, water ornd. But what made them unique is that most if not all were people who had little to no family left, well except their colleagues from the same regiment, they were a tight knit group and he always felt greatly honored being weed by them with open arms, he might not have seen many facets of their lives or military secrets but he knew most of them and even had the chance to sometimes apany them in their light physical training from time to time and he had always seen them as family.


    But now he simply sat in a basket with 3 others as they were being flown by another who had wings spouting from her back, and in a distance another 3 such basket could be seen, he sat quietly not knowing what to say because of the mutations in some of his family members have undergone changing their physical appearancespletely. As he sat there quietly upying a corner with in the basket his mind went back to the meeting held a few hours ago,


    Ciara closed her eyes as she pondered on the information she had received from her ''aerial'' scouts who had been using their mutation to scout much further away, from what they have reported about 200 miles to the east was ins with grasnd scattered around, on to their south was the city and from what she had learned a veryrge horde of zombies was slowly making their way towards their fort and they were already 40 miles away from them not to mention the garrison on the other side is empty and her scouts were unable to locate the other survivors, on the north is arge forest where the trees are growing at rapid pace and who knows what the creature have spawned because of mutation and to the west there is a small forest, river and a nuclear power nt that was supposed to be dmissioned as it had designed ws which got exposed by certain concerned super powers and as such international pressure was forcing the country to dismantle the nt only half a year ago, and as such by now she was sure that it would be leaking dangerous level of radiation and as a result it would be a no go zone, the city itself has been divided into two by a gorge that had formed as a parting gift of the quake and the military base at the south is abandoned, ''We can only move towards the east or else we will die, but move to where?''


    Suddenly a loud exmation followed by some cackling ofughter drew her attention as she saw her son ying with a couple of shlights, Ciara as such spoke in a stern voice, "Son, where did you get a working shlight?"


    Ryan gave a smug look as he spoke, "I made it."


    At that everyone looked at him as if he had grown a second head as one of them spoke, "What do you mean by that Ryan?"


    Ryan sighed before he stretched out his right hand and vo blue holographic form of the shlight appeared on top of it and before long it slowly changed into a fully functional shlight, as the others watched in amazement at that as one of them spoke, "So your power is to create shlight?"


    Ryan almost stumbled upon hearing that from his seat as he spoke with righteous indignation, "No my power is to create, like this shlight I can create many things like for example this.", he threw a pistol round towards them which they inspected as he continued to speak in a smug tone, "One of the many things I can make for now."


    Ciara studied the pistol round before she passed it to someone as she spoke, "What other type of ammunition can you make? And how fast can you make?"


    Ryan scratched his head as he spoke, "Well I can at present only craft pistol rounds only and as for how fast I take to make one round well I can make 5 rounds from one copper ingot and 5 nitrocellulose, it takes about 5 seconds for it to be made, now I can make 20 nitrocellulose from a single nt fiber every 3 seconds, nt fiber is from nt or wood at the rate of 20 nt fibers per 3 seconds, then the copper ingots takes 8 seconds to form other copper substances including ore."


    Ruby''s eyes glowed as her face had a look of some cartoonish mad scientist waiting for chance to dissect Ryan making him scoot away from her as she spoke with barely hidden glee, "Well we can roughly say it takes nearly about 1.5 second to make a single round."


    Ryan coughed into his hand getting his emotions under control as he spoke, "Well also I cannot craft multiple items simultaneously only one at a time."


    Ang sighed as she spoke, "Well it is pretty useless than it is too slow."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Well it evolves and from what I can see I can make machines that will easily let me create hundreds of rounds within mere seconds."


    Ruby would have already dragged him up to dissect him if it were not for Ciara''s re as she spoke, "Oh and what do you need to evolve yourself?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well I need to kill various creatures like zombies for example."


    Chloe: "How many Ryan?"


    Ryan: "At least about a 100, but there is also something I would like to point out that creation of the initialpounds like ingots or nitrocellulose consumes energy and if reaches zero I do not think I can produce.", many let out a tired and unhappy sigh upon hearing that.


    Ryan was jolted awake from the memory by one of his co passengers a soldier named ''Donna'', a blue haired woman with wine red eyes, well she used to be blonde with purple eyes previously she was seating right across him, she spoke with a smile, "Ryan did you finish you day dream?"


    Ryan blushed as he spoke, "Well I was simply thinking about what problematic situation we might face because the entire ce has gone to hell and if we are not mistaken even the world itself but most importantly how and why did it happen."


    Donna shrugged as she spoke, "Well we can think about troublesome thingster currently we have to focus on building and whatnot since your mutation is technology rted and mine is earth based we are the most suitable for construction from what we have seen more importantly we have to make sure your level or tier or whatever is increased fast faster than anybody, at same time remember you are not allowed to fall."


    Nobody said anything after that as the groupnded, on the ground, the people who were flying them copsed on the ground shortly after that grasping for breath as few of their sisters in arms tended them.


    Ryan sighed upon seeing that his mother had send an advance party of 15 in total along with resources to setup a suitable base for them but not only that Ryan he had to prepare for anything who knows in what condition they will arrive and judging from the distance it would take almost a week for them to arrive he sighed thinking about the dangers they had to face.


    Ryan once again opened his, what he called his stats page something only he could view as he nced at it.


    [HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 1 (0/200)


    VITALITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    STRENGTH TIER: 1 (0/200)


    AGILITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 1 (0/200)


    Blood Points: 38


    Soul: 15


    Perks:


    A) REGENERATION


    B) UNRELENTING STRENGTH


    C) ZEPHYR


    D) PARTITION OF MIND


    ]


    When he ascended to Tier 1 in each of his stats he managed to get something known as perks and if he had to summarize them then he got regeneration, increase in strength, increase in agility and multi tasking made easy.


    As for the souls Ryan had finally found what they are used for, it was very simple they were actually research points to unlock something know as modules unfortunately for him he would have to be at least at Tier2 to ess it as such he would have to work extra hard to reach the said Tier, as he looked up to see the person who was carrying them he could not help but fill amazed at the strength she was showing yet a small part of him was iming it as futile and useless after all a couple of days ago he would have called anyone a delusional madman if he or she imed about the apocalypse taking ce but know he did not know what would happen, as he watched themselves fly off towards an uncertain and perilous future.

 Chapter 6: A new home(Part-1)

    Chapter 6: A new home(Part-1)


    Boom ratatatata boom, was heard all around as the group was forced to face arge horde of zombies, Ryan bit back a curse, "How did a horde of all thing appear all of a sudden?"


    Donna gritted her teeth as she shouted back to Ryan, "I do not know, now shut up and keep firing, aim for the head and blow it to bits they fall faster."


    Ang: "I bet it is that creep''s fault, he suddenly appeared and told us to submit to him and when we scared him off with our guns he swore revenge.. ugh how many are still there."


    Chloe who was nearby simply snorted as she fired from her gun as she spoke, "That is a sucker''s bet, we scared him off and all of a sudden a horde appeared from the direction he ran off to swearing revenge and what not should have put him down before letting him retreat."


    Meanwhile a hooded figure stood up from behind a boulder with a binocr in his hands as heughed, "hahaha serve those harlots right, they should have chosen to be the part of my harem but NOOOOOO, I will make them understand they travesty of defying a God of the new world, and after I capture and break them like good little whores they are, then my dream of having Army Girl Waifu and Bird Girl Waifu will beplete, huehuehue.", a lewd grin spread on his face as he drooled a bit, only for his head to be blown to bits courtesy of a rather high powered sniper rifle.


    "I got him", cheerful reply came from Donna''s side as she nodded at that as she spoke, "Good work, now the zombies are disorganized we can easily deal with them now."


    Ryan nced at the Zombie horde as he sighed, initially under the creep''s influence the Zombie''s were using their fallen brethren as meat shield as they stepped forward in an orderly manner and because of that they were very difficult to kill but now it was different, after that creepy person''s death they had not only dropped the dead bodies they were using as a shield but their movement became haphazard and soon the entire horde was no more.


    Ryan sighed as he checked his stats,


    [HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 1 (0/200)


    VITALITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    STRENGTH TIER: 1 (0/200)


    AGILITY TIER: 1 (0/200)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 1 (0/200)


    Blood Points: 388


    Soul: 60


    Perks:


    A) REGENERATION


    B) UNRELENTING STRENGTH


    C) ZEPHYR


    D) PARTITION OF MIND


    ]


    Ryan smiled at his gain before he spoke "Well girls I am evolving to Tier2 watch over me. Upgrade Life form to Tier2."


    Ryan''s felt a slight tingling in his scalp nothing else, Ryan blinked a couple of times as the others watched him with a twitch on their eyes, as he turned towards Donna she mmed her fist hard on his head as she spoke, "You colossal idiot, why are you trying to upgrade before we reached a safe ce, what if we were attacked while you had fainted it would be hard to keep you safe."


    Ryan gave a sheepish smile as he mumbled out "Sorry", to an enraged Donna before he spoke again, "Distribute 46 Blood Points in Agility and strength, and 8 Blood Points in Vitality and Intelligence."


    Chloe sighed as she shook her head in exasperation before she turned towards others as she spoke, "Well everyone good work but unfortunately we have bodies to dispose of.", she then turned towards Ryan as she spoke with a smile, "So Ryan be a dear and please do the honors."


    Ryan groaned at that as he slouched forward slowly making his way to the nearest body before gagging at the rotten smell even after his face was covered by a cloth it was so unbearable he wanted to hurl he turned towards his elder sisters with a leading look on to receive a re from Chloe as the others smirked from behind her, ''Why did not wait to upgrade'', he picked the nearest corpse by its arm as he began to drag it.


    Ciara waspletely mentally and physically exhausted, she and the remnants of her battalion had been trekking towards the East for a few days, a decision she did not regret after all they had been under constant attack from various mutated animals and nts, their supplies were running low as more and more became injured with only a couple dead and if they had stayed back at their home base the broken ''Fort Rose'' then eventually they would all have perished, she looked to the sky only for her to her view to be obstructed by the canopy as she silently mourned the death of two members of her ''family''


    A few hourster much to their internal joy and relief they found themselves leaving the dreadful and dark forest behind with sounds of different beastsing to their ears, arge in with tall grasses like that of savannah was in front of them as they looked at that, Ciara frowned, ''tch it is a heaven for predators I do not know what kind of beings live here now, thest I remember this ce was ins yet now it has not only it has tall grass but from the looks of it tall hills present.'', sheposed herself before barking out an order to her subordinates, "With nonbatants and those injured in the center form a close knit ring, do not spread out, we are almost there, and remember by injured I mean those who cannot even lift their guns."


    As they ventured through the tall grass every now and then they heard a growl and sometimes they felt as if someone or something was stalking them, when all of a sudden a dark figure jumped from behind the grass only for arge bang to be heard as it copsed on the ground in front of them, "Wee Major, wee to our new home.", a voice came from above as they looked up to see a woman with wings outstretched behind her back smiling down at them.


    Seeing her many let out a visible sigh of relief as Ciara spoke, "How far is the base?"


    The person replied back, "A couple of hours walk at least from here though I would request you to move from this ce fast as I saw a herd of beast moving towards you all, one of our sisters is distracting them."


    A couple of minutester arge wall stood in front of them, at least a 5 meters in height with a few soldiers patrolling on top of it, as they approached a sound of bell ringing was heard as the door was swung open as most of the people who were send to construct the base stood waiting for their arrival.


    Ang: "It is good to see you Major, wee to our new home."


    Ciara nodded as she spoke with a smile, "It is good to be here.", as she turned her head she was greeted with small houses that had been setup in front of her, but what gave her a shock was multiple container that was ced near the small mound as she got near to the conatiner she was greeted by a Ryan who looked as if he was taking a dip in the mud, who upon seeing her send her a small smile full of relief towards her.


    Before Ciara could speak with him, Ryan found himself in a bone breaking hug courtesy of red haired woman, Ryan had a small smile on her face as he gave her a small pat on her back while he felt his bone creaking under the hug as he spoke with a grunt, "I am so relieved to see you as well big sister, but I think you would not like getting dirty because of me."


    Michalina Kohanska O''Doherty, daughter of Ciara and Ryan''s older sister, she was not only a member of ck Wolves but also one of the most respected and feared members of the unit, she was actually adopted by Ciara after her parents had passed away in an ident and was about 8 years older than Ryan.


    Michalina sniffed the air before she made a gagging noise, "Eww Ryan you smell like a wet dog which had a swim in the sewer."


    Ryan red at her as he spoke, "Try working nonstop without having chance for a bath and then tell me how you smell", before he broke into a smile as he spoke, "Sis where have you been? When I had arrived in Fort Rose you were not there and when I inquired about you I was told you were out scouting and yet you were not returned back even when I was leaving towards our new base I was afraid."


    Michalina smiled as she replied to Ryan with a pat on his head, "I was scouting dear and you should fear big badass sister can deal with anything but enough of that what is this that I hear about you, my fellow sisters were telling me that somehow you have gained the powers to create new things."


    Ryan beamed towards her as he spoke, "Nothing but the truth I can create many things with my powers and as they grow may be some more stuffs but big sis did you also develop some special powers as well?"


    Michalina smiled seeing the expectant look on his face she adored how her baby brother always looked at her with eyes shining she then send a jolt from her hand causing Ryan to yelp as the small lightning bolt hit him as Ang who was nearby spoke with a smile, "That''s it finally we have our battery and now we are saved.", only to receive a small yful punch in retaliation as others smiled at their interaction.


    Ciara cleared her throat as everyone''s attention fell on her as they stood in attentive position while she began to speak, "So advance troops report everything that has happened here after your arrival."


    Chloe nodded at that as she began to present her verbal report, Upon reaching a suitable site for our new home base we were forced to withstand a small siege by a single person who hadunched an attack on us by controlling zombies and was disposed as such of.", as Ciara nodded at that as Chloe continued, "We then found the ruins of a nearby town which we investigated and found around 30 females of varying ages who had been sexually abused by the man."


    Ciara rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she spoke, "Only a few days and humanity is on verge of extinction and people are falling into their depravation."


    Ang snarled as she spoke with intense hatred, "Scum would not even be appropriate for that worm."


    Seeing her speak like that made Ciara to raise one of her brows as she spoke, "Is there any problem private, if there is then please feel free to enlighten all of us."


    Ang felt a bit embarrassed for speaking out of turn before sheposed herself as she began speaking, "Sorry for speaking out of turn major but after learning what that fuc."


    "Angnguage please.", a sickeningly sweet voice made a shiver run down her spine as she turned slowly to look towards Michalina who was smiling like a demon out of hell as she spoke, "I do not wish to pollute my baby brother''s head with such a crassnguage."


    Ang visibly gulped at that as Ryan spoke with a huff of indignation, "Sorry big sister but there are plenty of people out in the world who uses crassnguage and as for sister Ang''s words well I can say there is nonguage that had any words to call that mongrel of a sick psycho shithead.", Ryan''s face darkened as he spat out his word making many who knew him gain a surprised look on their face as they had never seen him speak like that but the look of those who were present with Ryan had gained the same dark look.


    Ciara looked towards Ang who began to speak with anger in her voice, "When we rescued those poor women who had been taken as his sex ve using his zombie brigade we came across his mother."


    Ciara gawked at her as did many others as she spoke with disbelief, "His own mother?"


    Ang nodded as she spoke with a tired sigh, "Yes his own mother, he had turned his own step-father into a zombie and then he had his younger step-siblings barely 6 years old held captive by the zombies and forced his own mother to have sex with him while threatening her that her refusal would cause her two youngest death, he then proceeded to **** her in front of his siblings then after deed was done he had them killed, now the poor woman her mind is broken from the ordeal she is hallucinating and is acting as if her family is still alive and she is acting her day to day life as if it was normal, she is such a nice woman she did not deserve her fate."


    "Neither did the others do you know the youngest girl we rescued was only 7 what kind of deranged and depraved person would do that, I regret killing him and granting mercy.", said the sniper that had killed him during the zombie siege.


    The others who were with her gave her small pat on her back tofort her although all of them had shared the same feeling the person received a very merciful death for his crimes.


    Ryan looked at her with warm eyes as he spoke, "Sister I know you wanted for him to suffer, but by ending his life you not only freed the people he had taken into captivity but also have managed to save our life remember how we were being pinned down by their formation and it was only because of sister''s Donna''s impromptu bunker creation we survived and you lessened the pressure by taking out that whatever abomination it was."


    Michalina looked a bit worried at that as she spoke, "Brother even so I do not wish for you to speak in such an unsightly way it is not proper decorum."


    Ryan looked at her a bit crossed as he spoke, "Decorum what is rules and regtions when the civilization itself has fallen apart and why should a few curse words cause any trouble."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke with a small sigh, "I do not wish for my baby brother to grow up with as much innocence as possible."


    Ryan''s gained a zed look as he spoke with a hollow chuckle, "Sister since the apocalypse started I am responsible for the deaths of over a hundred zombies, each of them were a former humans if it were any other time I would be an internationally famous deranged mass murder and now I have to kill just to live so please do not tell me about my innocence I discarded and lost it a long time ago."


    Michalina looked as if she was physically pped where as Ciara simply pinched the bridge of her nose as she ordered her subordinates, "Please finish the report.", while inwardly sighing with a heavy heart, she knew that no matter what kind of training no matter what kind of conditioning a person went through a human being will always feel the burden of taking another human''s life. The soldiers not matter how glorified they are portrayed by the silver screen at the end of the day all of them not matter whatever reason they fought for will feel the burden the veteran''s might have found way to suppress is but at the end of the day it was still trying to cover an open can of surstromming with a silk, only anyone truly depraved and had forgone their humanity would feel nothing, she knew that the anger at being exposed to the harsh reality was making them want to torture and kill the person who had enved the woman of the vige normally they would never speak like that.


    Chloe went on with the report for a few minutes and if it were not the presence of others he would have left he did not like the look his over protective and border line obsessive elder sister was giving him, to him it look like she was contemting and cing him in vault inside a fortress on a remote isalnd and keep him isted from the real world, you it was totally it as he came into realization he slowly began to move towards his mother.


    Ciara nodded at her report before she spoke with a frown, "Good work though how many woman have you rescued and how have you ced them."


    Chloe gave a short sigh at her question as she continued, "Well we have rescued 15 woman and we have them a little bit isted from us especially our weapons, who knows how those women would react if they got near any weapons as a couple showed signs of ''Stockholm syndrome'' not to mention a few of them are having trust issues near any male as such Ryan is staking as far away from them as possible though we are not taking chances as they couple of them might attack him, their town is ruined as such we are using any and all resources that we can find from there and also Donna has made them some temporary shelter using her power to control earth which they are upying currently."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "I see well all of you take a break and then we can see what we can do about our base, also who made the wall."


    Donna step forward as she spoke, "I did Major though I want to point out that it is made up of dirt even if it is thick it might not hold for real threat, also I would like to mention the door was created from scrap metal by Ryan."


    Ciara nodded as Michalina spoke with a smile, "I want to see Ryan creating something."


    Ryan gave her a small smile as he spoke, "Sure", then he turned towards his mother as he spoke, "Mom I am working on something and if it works we might have much more sturdier walls than before."


    Ciara nodded at that before she spotted at couple of woman peeking from mud huts at the distance as she spoke towards her weing party, "Well I hope one of you would escort me and introduce with those woman, Ruby, Michalina both of you follow me."


    The sniper by the name of Nige stepped forward as their guide as the trio left alongside her as Ryan stretched as he returned to his work post with a sigh, ''Back to mud pit back to mud pit under the scorching sun.''

 Chapter 7: A new home(Part-2)

    Chapter 7: A new home(Part-2)


    "My back.", Ryan moaned in pain as he fell on the ground with a huff from the sudden pain that red up, Nikita who was the newest members of the Wolves having joined a few weeks prior to event, her specialty being a field medic handed him a bottle with a worried look on her face.


    "Are you alright, Ryan?"


    Ryan groaned as he spoke, "No I am not, as my back is killing me now."


    Nikita gave him a small smile as she helped him to turn around making him lie on the ground face first as she began massaging his back a bit as she spoke in a soothing voice, "I am d you have already finished your work, and also thanks for your hard work."


    Ryan turned his head a little before greeting Nikita with a blissful smile as he spoke, "I have so much to do but at least we will have power for the time being no matter how little it may seem to be, also damn sister you should have opened a massage parlor your hands are heavenly."


    Nikita gave a mock salute at hispliment before offering a small smile to Ryan as she spoke, "So how does it look."


    Ryan turned his head as he casually looked at the group of 10 wind turbines he had managed to put up as he scanned them using his powers, Nikita noted Ryan''s eyes glow briefly with slight bluish hue something she added to report to her superior about Ryan''s mutation, that is all she was doing nowadays gathering as much data from all who have mutated andpiling a report to her superior Ruby who had the mad scientist vibe going on hard nowadays making her shiver in fright.


    Name: Wind Turbine


    Tier: 1


    Output: 100KW


    Range: 10-75Kmph


    Durability: 250/250


    Ryan sighed at that as he spoke, "Well it is nice and all but the durability is too low and it will be worn out sooner thanter not to mention a good explosion will take them out."


    Nikita looked up as she squinted her eyes as she spoke contemting about everything Ryan had informed her, "Well but it works for now at the very least."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Well they work as long as the wind blows although I do not in way posses the means to regte the electricity it produces nor do I have the ability to store the it, so the voltage will rise and fall unregted and worst of all if the wind blows at much higher speed it will tear the windmill apart."


    Nikita gave him a sympathetic squeeze as she spoke with aforting smile, "But if you have already said that if you keep on evolving yourself then you might create a better way to create and store right?"


    Ryan grinned back at her as he spoke, "Yup I hope so but I already have another way unfortunately it uses fuel and now I am going to put a few of them up, if when the wind turbine fails we can power them up and they can generate power for sometime before they run out of fuel but running them is akin to feeding a herd of elephant."


    Nikita simply patted him on his back when all of a sudden they heard a loud rumble of thunder, it was so loud that it almost deafened them as they looked up they were greeted by the sight of acidic green looking cloud with lightning shes that made it look extremely dangerous, Nikita gulped as look towards the menacing cloud as she spoke with a twinge of fear in her voice, "I believe it is time for us to take shelter I do not wish to be guinea and test what those clouds could do."


    Their so called shelter consisted of small shacks that looked like they have been hastily put together, as he entered the ce he was greeted by others as the rumble of thunder grew closer as many were forced to cover their ears to decrease the noise, he quickly took a seat near his older sister who beckoned him towards her with a smile as more and more soldiers took shelter in it.


    The shelter had been build in such a way that they were not only clustered together they were interconnected, the soldiers had worked alongside the members of small town to erect them under Ryan''s guidance, as such now most of the civilian woman were huddled together with the younger girls in the center, soon the storm was over them, Ryan bit his lips as he looked a bit tensed as the light from the bulb flickered now and then.


    Ciara looked at him as she spoke, "Is something the matter son?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Nothing mother just that I fear that the windmills that I have made will not be able to hold under the storm."


    Ciara simply smiled at him as she spoke while tousling his hair affectionately, "Well you yourself have said that as you grow stronger so will your creation as such stop feeling inadequate you are already helping us a lot with your power, today your structure might not stand but tomorrow the storm itself will bow in defeat to you."


    Ryan cracked an embarrassed smile at her at his mother''s word''s only for another loud thunder boom to be heard extremely close, it was so close that the group of shacks shook from it as the civilians shouted out in fear, one of the soldiers grinned as she spoke, "Rain water damn I haven''t had a good bath.", her words made many of them grin with happiness, as Zhan spoke in an urgent manner, "Stop we do not know if the rain has changed or not look at the cloud can you say that the rain water might not be different."


    In spite of the warning the soldier did not heed it and no sooner did she stepped outside she screamed from the pain as she jumped back into the shelter, every ce over her skin that hade into contact with the rain water looked as if it were scalded badly by boiling water as painful looking boils appeared soon after, Ruby had her immediately lying on a the ground as she began checking her with Ryan approved shlight.


    Zhan grunted in frustration at that as she rebuked the injured soldier, "I ordered you not to yet you defied my order do not forget you are still part of this family and this family has some rules and I will enforce it private."


    Donna frowned at the scene that had urred in front of her as she spoke, "If the rain water is dangerous now then what would happen to the drinking water?"


    Everyone froze at that water was a very very vital resource that was needed by all living beings and the dangerous rain water would definitely pollute it and such they would lose any and all form of drinkable water, as such chaos erupted only to be silent by the crisp voice of Ciara, "Silent everyone", her voice manage to make everyone quite as she spoke while looking everyone directly into their eyes, "We will discuss this like civilized members of the society and I believe we will surely reach a solution to our problem.


    Ryan closed his eyes for a moment as he searched through the ever increasing pile of blueprints that has popped inside his head before he nodded with a smile, "Mom I believe I might have found something interesting that would be of great help."


    Michalina looked at her brother spoke curiously, "What is it brother?"


    Ryan''s face lit up as the lightning shed and the power went out, he quickly took out his shlight that he lit under his face making him look like someic book viin as he spoke, "What do you say about creation of a headquarter with much better facility and sturdy walls surrounding it that can protect us better."


    At that everyone''s eyes widen as Ciara spoke, "You can build something of that scale already?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke with grin, "Of course I can I stumbled upon its blueprint while searching for the solution for the drinking water."


    Ciara shook her head in exasperation as she spoke, "The more I hear about your power the more headache inducing it bes.", Ryan gave her a small smile which she returned before sending a nce towards Ruby who simply gave her a small nod, Ciara was extremely worried about Ryan she did not know what to think of his power specially when he imed that every time he meditated he would find himself in a room full of blueprints and he was following them to create various things but where did the knowledge of the said blueprintse to his mind? How did he know things he was not supposed to know? But more importantly who and how is the knowledge being provided to him, this questions hammered her like a battering ram with no answers inside and that made her frustrated and at the same time scared for her son nothing is this world is free so what will the price he will have to pay for such a power that seemed even more oundish than the other mutations she had seen so far and it made her afraid for her child as such she had asked her friendan all too eager Ruby for help though sometime she thought it was a very bad idea for her to get involved.


    It had been few hours since the thunderstorm and Ryan had just finished creating a water purifier from the salvaged metal parts, ceramic, rubber amongst many other things the process had been painfully slow taking near about three-quarter of an hour and then he had to somehow had to managed to walk trying hard not to idently step into any acidic puddle that had formed as a result of the thunderstorm the windmills were already ruined and he knew that he had to repair or in some cases might have to rebuild them but his current focus at the moment was the drinking water. The acidic puddles were making it difficult for him to move as he feared for his shoes, well his only pair of good shoes that he had until and unless he could create it.


    Michalina decided to follow his brother in his quest for clean water as they were nearing their source for drinking water Michalina noticed that his brother was bit glum as such she could not help but ask him, "is something wrong dear brother of mine?"


    Ryan looked at her before he spoke with a sigh, "I was just worried about my ssmates and school mates, I am worried about them this apocalypse this disaster how many of them are alive, how many of them are safe and how many are suffering like those were in that thrice damned town, I feel so helpless, it is true there were some whom I did not get along with and there were many whom I never know another nameless face in the crowd but I cannot help but wonder about their fate."


    Michalina frowned hard before she ced her hand over his shoulder as she spoke, "Do you remember brother when we were younger and there was an incident and mom was dispatched for months there was no news of her."


    Ryan nodded it was an extremely difficult time for them, their mother had been deployed to some ce and they had no news of her, and it was the scariest period for them each day they would wake up waiting for some news any news of their mother as Michalina continued as she gained a nostalgic smile on her face as she began to reminiscence those days for a moment before she spoke, "Think of it like that, we might not know what happened to them and at present there is no way of knowing but we can hope that they are well and health and have faith in their ability to survive, and may be one day in the not too distant future you will meet them again."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke in a mncholic tone, "Hope and Faith can move mountains."


    Michalina parroted his words as she added, "Father Joseph was such a nice person it was a damn same he died."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Well no one can beat old age and even if his passing was a bit abrupt one day he went to sleep and never woke up."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "So true he was a nice person way better than his recement."


    Ryan scrunched his face as he spoke, "Well anyone can be better than father ''I-look-like-this-because-I-am-constipated-for-three-thousand-years.''"


    Michalina giggled at his brother''s antics before she spoke in a serious manner, "Well we are here so what do you need to do?"


    Ryan looked towards an earthen tform made courtesy of Donna as he spoke, "Well I will simply have to put them there and then supply them with power from the poles that have already been connected, nothing more."


    Michalina looked at the smallke they were using for water, but now it has a greenish hue on the surface making her frown as she spoke, "Brother please be careful the water does not look friendly."


    Ryan bit her lips as he spoke, "I know", before he turned towards her as he gave her a small smile, "But I also know that you will be watching over me."


    Michalina gave him an encouraging pat on his back as he stepped forward towards the edge of the tform with the intent of setting the water purifier and a ce to gather water along with it.

 Chapter 8: A new home(Part-3)

    Chapter 8: A new home(Part-3)


    Ciara looked at the creature that her subordinates had hauled into the camp it was bigger than a truck and resembled a moose, as one of her subordinates spoke with eagerness a question stuck in her mind is it edible? As such she cleared her throat drawing attention towards her the happy chattering of her subordinates stopped seeing the serious look on her face as she spoke, "I understand that we are facing shortage of food and as such you all did a good job getting something for us to eat but let me ask you the question is it edible?"


    Eimile the mastermind behind the capture spoke with a smile, "Ma''am I can vouch on my life that Moose is edible I have seen about in the television."


    Ciara nodded at her as she spoke in a calm manner apparently her subordinates have over looked a rather vital point, "I know it is edible but tell me did you not notice something off about it."


    Eimile''s face scrunched for moment before she spoke, "Is it bigger than normal?"


    Ciara rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she spoke, "Are you asking or answering to me."


    Eimile was about to speak only to be stopped by Ciara who spoke with tired sigh, "My dear soldier, Moose is indeed edible and it is a bit disconcerting seeing such a big one but the most important fact is that the moose has never existed in our country so my question is how did one resembling like a Moose has appeared? Is it really Moose and if you argue about using the zoo as the excuse I can assure you that I recently had an outing with a few of you when I took my son to the local zoo and if I remember there was no such thing as a moose in the zoo."


    Eimile opened her mouth to speak before she hung her head in shame after all she and her group had wasted over 30 rounds to kill the creature, Ruby who was already poking and prodding the creature turned her head towardsmander as she spoke, "Well if you want I can test it and see whether if it is safe to eat or not."


    Ciara looked at Ruby who was trying to put up a sad kicked puppy eyes to make her agree to her proposal only to send shivers of disgust down Ciara''s spine, ''ugh the woman should stop it, her face resembles a B-grade horror movie reject'', Ciara quickly spoke in order to stop her from making any more faces that would definitely give her subordinates nightmare, "Well please do whatever you need to Ruby in order to test it although I expressly forbid you from using any of your colleagues, or civilians that are under our protection."


    Ruby whined like a puppy before she spoke again, "Well although I might need some help moving it to my ce."


    Ciara nodded at that as she simply waved her hand a few of her subordinates saluted her as they began to drag the carcass to Ruby''s ''Laboratory''."


    Suddenly all of a sudden loud ringing of the bell was heard, the bell they had scavenged from the destroyed town was ced on top of the wall, it was ced there so that the sentries on top of the wall could inform or warn about various urrences that they could spot without having to move too much from their position, Ciara had a smile on her face thinking it was announcing of the arrival of either of her children who were out gathering resource her smile changed into frown as a dread rose in her heart as the bell tolled for 5th time indicating one of the team was under attack and needed immediate help.


    Ciara did not waste any time as she quickly barked out order, "Ladies to arms one of our team needs backup, move move."


    The members of ck Rose group quickly under the order of their leader quickly sprung into action as Ciara herself was coordinating everything barking out orders before she moved no ran towards the wall as she climbed it she spoke in a harsh tone, "Report!!"


    The soldier quickly saluted hermander as she began, "Team Beta send a red re just now asking for reinforcement and immediate help."


    Hearing the name her blood froze Ryan was in danger, Ciara never wanted any of her child to join the army, no matter what anyone would have said she wanted both of them to stay safe but her eldest literally forced her hands and when it came to Ryan the mother and daughter duo managed to make not only dissuade him from it but also made sure to point his interest elsewhere, Michalina was personally trained by her she had put her through hell and she trusted her to stay alive and safe even in the worst but Ryan was different Ciara never trained her only gave him a few exercise to cate him in the name of the training and never in her life she thought that there woulde a day that she would regret her decision.


    She turned took the binocr from her subordinates hands, a normal grade as the military grade with advance technology had malfunctioned, as she looked through it she could here faint sound of gun firing at a distance, as she looked through it she could she her son''s group fighting somethingrge and they were fighting hard not to mention they seemed to be trying to flee from it, she cursed the binocr as the distance made it incredibly ineffective, but she was able to discern that her son''s team were in dire need of help.


    She turned towards a few of her subordinates who had the power of flight as she spoke, "You all are perfect for distraction keep the distance and distract the creature so that the others can escape and if possible kill it."


    The group of five nodded in acknowledgement as they took to the skies, she then turned to others as she spoke, "What are you waiting for move out but remember to keep distance from whatever the creature is, and you over there send re up in the sky to recall other groups and Zhan you are in charge till I am back.", with that she dashed with the rest of her troops to save her son and his team.


    A few minutes ago Ryan looked up at the sky with a re as he took a sip from his bottle, as one of the soldiers giggled at his antics making him pout as she spoke, "Little brother no matter how much you re at us it would not make the Sun less dreadful."


    Ryan''s shoulder shagged a bit as he spoke, "Hey you cannot me me from dreaming right, aunt Lena."


    Lena simply smiled before she gained a tired look on her face that made her look more than her age as she spoke, "Well that is the only thing left for us to do, dream and only dream."


    As the mood fell another quickly diverted the topic as she spoke, "Hey Ryan how much would you need for your project."


    Ryan squinted his eyes as he spoke, "I do not think I need much a few more logs would be enough, I believe we should have a little surplus after all we might be suddenly be need of such."


    Whatever they were going to say was stopped as the nearest tree fell making them jump from their seat, what appeared in front of them was a creature that looked like a lion but was way too big to be one easily as big as a three storey house, making the group to be deathly afraid of it as it circled themzily, where as the group already had taken out their ready for a fight, but the giant cat did not even view them as a threat in fact it seemed greatly amused by their antics.


    Lena gulped hard as she prayed before sending out orders to her subordinates, "We will draw its attention while Ryan you make a run for the fort, we will distract it remember not to sto", she looked towards Ryan who was looking at it with fear in his eyes, "It is tier 5 creature we cannot win it is too strong."


    "RYAN!!", A shout came from his side as he looked towards the smiling face of Lena as she spoke soothingly, "We are the ''ck Wolves'', and ''We are Invincible'' so follow the n as soon as we start try to sneak off and run ok we will do the rest."


    Lena bit her lips drawing blood she knew there are only five of them well six if you count Ryan but he was just a civilian with hand gun nothing more and from what the creature looked like with its glowing purple eyes a very strong one she could feel her hairs stand up with fear but she would not fall here she trusted her sisters and her guns she turned kept her eyes on the beast as she gave out an order, "On my count use the emergency re, at the same time we would open fire against it."


    "Roger", was the only sound that was heard from the other four, where as Ryan was already shivering with fear the creature was too strong for the current them, may be if they had the others he wanted to scream at them to run but he knew that he would not only distract them but would up insulting them his family as such he bit his lips to calm himself down.


    "Okay three, two,.One NOW!!!!!", a re went up to the sky as Ryan did exactly that he ran, he ran like a coward, he did not look back as he ran and ran he could hear the sound of gun the scream the loud explosion of grenades, but he ran only for a loud thud to appear in front of him he looked at the giant figure of the cat in front of him looking slightly ruffled but what drew his attention was a blood soaked figure dangling from his mouth.


    "Hello! Who are you child?", a kind voice came to his ears as a six years old Ryan looked up to see a woman with a kind smile on her face looking at him, his aunty ced her encouraging hand on her shoulder as she spoke with a smile, "Ryan thisdy is ''Lena Maguire'' one of my oldest friend."


    Ryan''s eyes widen before he spoke with wonder in his voice, "You work with aunty in the army."


    As woman nodded Ryan gave her the brightest smile as he spoke, "Hello madam my name is Ryan, and I am going to be a soldier just like you.", while mimicking the way he had seen soldiers standing in attention


    Lena simply gave him a small pat on her head as she spoke, "Well Ryan my brave soldier call me aunty from now on and may your dreams alle true."


    "Oh my! What a wonderful painting is that me?"


    "Yes aunty", came a reply from a proud Ryan.


    "Shshhh it is okay Ryan, we are with you and what if the punish you like that we believe you, I know my nephew is a good boy."


    All those memories and words were yed by one by one in front of his eyes like some video all those memories of hisughter, happiness, sadness that he had shared with his aunt Lena was ying in front of her eyes one by one.


    Ryan''s vision was focused on the figure that was covered in blood looking worst for wear she vomited blood as she tried to speak with the same smile he had seen all those years ago, "Sorry nephew its seems like aun.", whatever she was going to say was stopped as they lion simply flung the body high up in the air as it swallowed it whole, Ryan got feel the smug grin on its face and something broke within him.


    "YOU DAMN FUR COAT OF A BASTARD!!!!", his fear was overridden as intense anger took hold of him as he took out his handgun as he began empty an entire clip, the lion looked bored as the gun clicked for a few times signifying that it was empty an angry Ryan threw his gun towards the creature and it hit the creature''s nose, and then the lion simply swapped its paws towards Ryan.


    Ryan felt as if it was hit by a truck as he copsed on the ground he could hear someone shouting his name from a distance and more sounds of gun firing as he opened his eyes groggily he found the lion pouncing on him he tried to raise his hand at the futile attempt to protect himself the time seemed to have stopped for a moment as a familiar mechanical voice came to his ears.


    Host''s life in imminent Danger Detected.


    Chances of survival None


    Activating protocol 654


    Life preserving maneuver activated


    That was all he managed to hear before he felt a skull splitting headache as he lost his consciousness.

 Chapter 9: A new home (Part-4)

    Chapter 9: A new home (Part-4)


    15 minutes that was the time it took for Ciara to reach Ryan, 15 minutes that seemed to be an eternity and the distance was like a never ending road never in her life had she felt so much fear, never had she felt so much helplessness that it was maddening her heart hammered like a war drum she could make out the silhouette of creature well more like its back, what are my soldiers doing why are they not tearing it apart already they should have enough fire power to do so, when all of a sudden a figure appeared from the sky.


    Ciara did not even acknowledge her as her soldier began to speak, "Major the threat has been neutralized though our sisters are either dead or are dying and brother Ryan is unreachable as such his condition is unknown not to mention he is unconscious is trapped in some sort of cage that we are unable to break it off."


    Ciara bit her lips heard she wanted to ask more but she knew every second is precious as such spoke while pointing to one of her subordinates, "Nikitae over here, Ellie you carry her to the injured asap and then go and grab Ruby from the camp."


    Upon hearing her orders the winged woman saluted promptly saluted her as she took to the sky with Nikita firmly in her grasp, as she left Ciara for the first time felt jealous of her if only she had some mutation that could enable her to move fast enough to reach her son in time.


    Michalina had rushed from her site of work as fast as she could run, her elemental affinity had yed a great role in making her fast enough to reach much ahead of her group who were still a quarter of the way here though now she regretted it the friction created between the fabric and her skin was making it burn like some bad case of sunburn and she disliked it, she grumbled as she located the nearest soldier upon entering the base as she spoke in an annoyed manner, "Why was there an emergency re send for us to regroup?"


    The soldier looked at her before she spoke in an urgent manner, "Sister Michalina your brother''s team was attacked and they send emergency re, Major left with half of our troops."


    Michalina''s blood ran cold upon hearing that, when all of a suddenly she heard the pping of wings as she looked up she saw one of her closest friend Elliending near them as she shouted, "Captain Ruby you are needed immediately."


    Ruby who had given up on testing the beast as soon as she heard about the crisis was standing there with her field equipment as she spoke with a grunt, "How bad?"


    Ellie''s face gained a pained look as she spoke, "Two missing one dead, other two seriously injured and another condition unknown."


    Ruby raised her hand as Ellie swooped from behind her as she was about to leave another Michalina intervened, "Take me with you.", she knew she was fast by her friend was faster.


    "Excuse me!", another voice intervened them as one of the civilians approached them, "I am a general surgeon by profession and I had a clinic in town I can help."


    Ellie looked at Ruby who nodded before she turned towards her friend as she gained an apologetic look on her face as she spoke, "Sorry Micha, I ."


    Micahlina raised her hand as she spoke, "I understand see you there.", with that she once again started to run towards where the incident took ce as Ruby was lifted off with the other woman she shouted off towards the soldier, "Sister inform the actingmander of the base, Captain Zhan, I am needed in the field."


    "No need I am already here and God Speed.", was the words she received before she was whisked off by Ellie.


    Michalina gritted her teeth as she caught up to her mother as they had just reached the carcass of the beast, the beast had its back turned towards their base and looked to be standing on its hind legs, as they reached it they could see spikes protruding out of it head, its warm blood piling around it but the mother and daughter duo did not pay any heed to it their main focus was Ryan, as they came face to face with the beast they saw multiple spikes had risen from the ground which had prated the beast through its mouth and eye killing it and since it was in midst of it jump it looked as if it was standing from behind.


    The spikes looked like a bunch of spear that had been ced between the three storey tall lion like creature had jumped on the group of spears, and in midst of the spearsy Ryan resting on of thempletely drenched in blood, and the spears looked like flower petals which was surrounding a sleeping Ryan, unfortunately for them the spears were so tightly grouped together that all they could do is view Ryan from a small cracks in between two separate spears, the gap was so small that only a hand might pass and there was no space near Ryan so that they could reach him, as such his condition was unknown.


    Both Ciara and Michalina were on verge of panic but somehow managed to reign in their emotions as Ellie approached them, "We tried everything but the spears are too strong as such we are unable to break it."


    Ciara nodded at her answer before she looked at the woman on whom the trio of doctors was working with great fervor, Ellie gave her a sad sigh as she spoke, "Tessa passed away a few seconds ago and Evelyn is touch and go, I hope they will be able to pull pure miracle here, Nadia is dead her body ispletely mangled, Poppy is missing and we saw Lena getting eaten by the beast before it pounced on Ryan when all of a sudden this spikes appeared and the beast died."


    Ciara frowned hard for a moment her temper red upon hearing Lena''s death before she looked directly into Ellie''s eyes as she spoke, "You had a high caliber sniper if I remember correctly."


    Ellied balled her fist as she nodded in confirmation as she replied to her superior, "Yes ma''am I do but it was useless the sniper only gave it a scratch and normal rifles did not work, hell even grenade simply gave its skin ck marks."


    Hearing that those who were nearby had their eyes widen in rm as they began to whisper fearfully Ciara quickly barked out an order in order to stop the fear from spreading, "You heard thedy one of our sisters is missing I want Poppy found yesterday."


    Seeing theirmander in bad mood quickly send the soldiers scampering off in search for Poppy as Michalina touched the ck spears that held the carcass of the beast inspecting it closely as she spoke with a frown, "Major is this iron?"


    Ciara frowned before joining her daughter''s side inspecting the spears as Ellie nodded in confirmation, "I also think it is indeed iron but how did it appear and why I cannot exin but if it is indeed iron I do not think it will be easy for us to break Ryan out of his prison."


    Ciara nodded as she made her way towards her fallen sisters, they were staring into the sky into the sky she kneeled in front of them as she closed their eyes while offering a small prayer, she could remember theirughter, their joy but now they would never wake up.


    Michalina stood by her mother''s side as she spoke, "Should we cremate them or should we bury them."


    Ciara frowned before she spoke with a sigh, "We would cremate them, as we do not know if they would rise as a zombie and I do not wish to find it at the expense of our sisters.", she was lost in thought for a moment before her attention turned towards Michalina who let out a gasp of pain as she rubbed her thighs, she looked at her curiously as she spoke, "Is there something wrong lieutenant?"


    Michalina gave her a pained look as she spoke, "I used my powers to increase my speed and the result of which my skin kept on rubbing against my clothes and it is now burning."


    Ciara frowned at that as she spoke, "Try to avoid jeans from now on then, when you raid the town find something that does not cause too much friction with your skin and also try and keep yourself from getting unnecessarily injured I do not want to lose you because you were careless."


    Michalina sighed but before she could speak again a couple of her soldiers returned with one of them carrying a severed hand along with broken rifle as Ciara looked at them one of them stepped forward as she spoke, "Ma''am we found out Poppy''s hand, that wristlet on this severed hand belonged to Poppy we can assume that she might be dead as well, others are searching for her body."


    Ciara gave a sad sigh as Ruby came covered in blood as she spoke with a sad look on her face, "Evelyn is out of woods for now though I will need her to be carried back immediately.", she hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Major she will never be able to walk again."


    Ciara nodded before she turned towards Ellie as she spoke, "Ellie can you and others make a harness using that cart over there and a few ropes and then carry her to the base, make sure four of you do so together to provide bnce also take the civilian doctor and Ruby with you, Nikita will stay here at the moment and back at base if you see Donna one of you bring her here."


    Ellie nodded as she quickly left to gather her flying friends then emptying the still undamaged and intact cart, before tying it with rope and preparing a make shift harness, Evelyn was ced on the cart along with the two doctors before they were flown off towards their base.


    A few more minutester Donna was brought near Ryan''s prison by then most of the soldiers have been recalled from their search for Poppy, while the deceased soldiers were lifted off and send back to their base by their winged sisters with the instruction of having guard stationed near them and keeping them bound tightly Ciara did not wish to risk another zombie outbreak in her base.


    Donna stood in front of Ryan''s prison as she touched the spears surrounding it, before speaking with a grimace, "I will try my best Major but I do not know if it would work."


    Ciara simply nodded as she extended her hand give her the permission to go ahead, Donna nodded towards her as she touched one of the spears as she focused on it with her eyes closed, a few minutes had already passed since then and Michalina was getting impatient when all of a sudden with small groan one of the spear seemed to be slowly pulled back into the ground, and half an hourter Donna had removed enough spear for Nikta to slip past her inside the ''prison'' to check on Ryan.


    Nikita checked quickly checked his pulse and sighed with relief finding him alive but the narrow space which smelt of blood was not the best ce for any diagnosis but form whatever she managed to gather from preliminary examination it was not good Ryan was burning up bad as such she quickly checked for any injuries that made it difficult for her to move him upon finding none at the moment she turned towards hermanding officer as she spoke, "Major Ryan is alive though he is running a pretty bad fever and my preliminary investigations suggests that he can be moved this ce albeit carefully."


    Ciara nodded as she stepped inside holding his legs as Nikita moved towards his head lifting it up high, as they pulled Ryan out Michalina and Ellie stepped forward as they supported his body carrying it andying him on top of the cart, Ryan seemed to have taken a dip in a river of blood as many send a concerned look towards him both Ciara and Nikita climbed on the cart as the Major turned and spoke to Michalina, "Get that ugly thing down and make sure it does not rise up again."


    Michalina nodded her head in acknowledgement of the order as she watched the group flying off towards the base she then turned to look at therge carcass as she spoke, "Now how do we dismember something that even bullets cannot prate, does anyone have any idea."


    One of them spoke in a bit unsure tone, "Well we can stuff its face with explosive and blow it sky high I hope it would not zombify if its brain is missing."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes in deep thought while looking at the giant carcass before she spoke, "Well let us do as she says but before that Donna lower it making the aforementioned person groan as she send an annoying re towards a smiling Michalina.


    Meanwhile as the groupnded Ryan was carried off and ced inside a hut and a bucket of water was brought shortly after, Ciara removed any clothes off of his body as Nikita began to clean it with a rug, a couple of soldiers who were nearby lend a hand as they cleaned of the blood of his body, when suddenly Nikita noticed something that made her frown, "This"


    Ciara raised her brow as she spoke, "Is something wrong?", while inwardly she was panicking whenever any doctor speaks like that it was never a good thing.


    Nikita brows furrowed as she picked Ryan''s hand pointing towards his finger as she spoke, "Ryan''s fingers are showing sign of mild to severe necrosis.", Ciara''s eyes widen upon hearing that as Nikita continued, "We might have to surgically remove part of his fingers."

 Chapter 10: Sudden Changes (Part-1)

    Chapter 10: Sudden Changes (Part-1)


    Pain so much pain that was all Ryan knew, his entire body was screaming from agonizing pain to him it felt as if someone had seemed to lit him in fire and at the same time used a hammer to break his bones, he gasped as he tried to open his eyes, only to find himself being held tightly by something or someone he could barely make out someone calling his name out in spite of the fierce headache with great difficulty he somehow managed to open his eyes and was greeted with worried and concerned face of his mother he tried to speak but no words or sound came from his mouth as a bout of dizziness and nausea hit him.


    Cool water washed down his throat that felt akin to desert receiving rain in a very very long time, "Ryan look at me can you see how many fingers I am holding in front of you."


    Ryan tried to look up but the fierce headache was making it difficult as he somehow managed to open his eyes he spoke groggily, "Six.", before he closed his eyes again.


    Nikita frowned at that as she spoke, That is not good, he is not seeing clearly that is not good, there is a chance he might have hit his head or the fever affecting him."


    Ciara frowned at that as Nikita grumbled aboutck of proper medical facilities, one of her soldier had brought a bucket and some rags, as Nikita began to dip the rags in water before applying it on his forehead in order to control the fever that was running rampart in his body.


    It took at least half an hour for his temperature to lower to eptable level along with that the headache subsided to mere annoyance as Ryan opened his eyes to look around his eyes fell on his mother as he tried to sit up only to wince in pain as he immediately fell back with a whimper, Ciara quickly held him as she spoke, "Ryan calm down, you are injured do not try to sit up so abruptly."


    Ryan was confused for a moment before he remembered as he started to shake in fear and grief as tears began to fall from his eyes as he tried to speak but his were incoherent like a drunk making it difficult to understand his speech but Ciara was able to make the name ''Lena'', as such she understood what had happened Ryan had witness her death and was in shock as such she quickly hugged him tightly as she began to whisper sweet consoling words in order to lessen his grief, when all of sudden Ryan stiffened before he went limp.


    Ciara was taken aback by that before she turned towards Nikita, who was already checking on Ryan as she spoke, "He must have gone unconscious again, I rmend trying to keep him from anything that is too exciting for a while."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "Did you recognize anything from the symptoms?"


    Nikita a bit her lips as she spoke, "There are plenty of different reasons that this symptoms indicate but without proper diagnostic instruments I cannot be sure, except rmend plenty of rest as for medicines as you know until absolutely necessary I am not going to give him we are in severe shortage."


    Ciara nodded at that acquiescing in her decision, as a mother she wanted to scream at her for not using some medicine on her child but as the major who was responsible for over a hundred lives she understood her burden as she spoke, "I understand if there is any instructions in regards to Ryan that I have to follow then please convey it to me and if there is nothing else you may leave I believe Ruby might find some use for you."


    Nikata nodded at that as she spoke, "Keep him warm andfortable, at the same time if he starts to run fever use the wet rag and ce it on his forehead it will help and if he starts showing difort or something like that send someone to fetch me and as for his necrosis well we will deal with it when he is more lucid and is not suffering from fever anymore.", Ciara nodded as Nikita left shortly after.


    She gently caressed Ryan''s hair as the rest left her alone with him a few minutester Captain Zhan entered the hut where Ryan was sleeping as she took a seat beside her, "Ciara about the dead"


    Ciara sighed as she spoke, We will do what we have done to the rest of our sisters who have recently fallen, we will creamte them, how long has it been since they were brought here?"


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "It had been over an hour since they were brought here, do you think that the zombification was an isted incident and they would not be one after all the rest turned into one within an hour after their death."


    Ciara shook her head as she spoke, "No I am not taking any chances, it can be isted but at the same time we know that everything is evolving so what says the evolution would not cause the zombification to be dyed, prepare to have them cremated as soon as possible."


    Zhan nodded slowly at that making Ciara frown as she spoke, "I know our church does not condone cremation but the situation is such that we have to, after all any other alternatives are much more immoral, I do not want to have to put them down after they turned to a zombie."


    Zhan nodded at that she herself did not wish to do so for herrades she looked at the sleeping figure of Ryan as she spoke, "Are you going to train him?"


    Ciara nodded at that as she spoke, "I will or else I will never be able to forgive myself if my child died because I coddled him, I will have to teach him many things."


    Zhan ced aforting hand on her shoulder as she spoke, "Please stop ming yourself you did what every mother wants for their child, to be safe and you raised him well how many mother can boast that their child is being scouted for joining the team that would represent their country in International sphere, you did a great job."


    Ciara gave a small appreciative smile as she spoke, "Thank you."


    Zhan smiled at that before her face gained a sorrowful look, "So Lena is gone."


    Ciara nodded wordlessly at that as Zhan looked out towards the door and sat for a moment in silence as she spoke, her voice quivering in grief, "So it is you and me now."


    Ciara almost choked a sob before she spoke, "Yes it is Zhan though if you kick the bucket anytime soon I will never forgive you."


    Zhan gave a small punch to her shoulder as she stood up with a grin her eyes red and tears glistening in them as she spoke, "That goes double for you.", with her piece said she left the hut while rubbing her eyes leaving Ciara to cry in silence for the loss of her best friend.


    Host Life Safe: Confirmed


    Protocol 654: Deactivated


    Host Status: Mana: NIL


    Health: LOW


    Initializing Files...


    Rebooting System....


    Awakening Host...


    Ryan opened his eyes with a gasp as he found himself into a familiar ce, the ce where various blue prints are dumped in a pile but unlike before a screen was disyed in front of him, disying various data on it.


    HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    HEALTH: 30/600 (Caution: Low)


    MANA: 0/400 (Caution: Danger)


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 2 (0/300)


    VITALITY TIER: 1 (48/200)


    STRENGTH TIER: 1 (46/200)


    AGILITY TIER: 1 (46/200)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 1 (48/200)


    Blood Points: 225


    Soul: 61


    Perks Avable:


    A) REGENERATION


    B) UNRELENTING STRENGTH


    C) ZEPHYR


    D) PARTITION OF MIND


    He fell on his back staring at it soullessly, ''What is the point in all this when I could not even protect anyone.'', he gathered his legs near his chest as he began to cry.


    When all of a sudden he heard a voice as he turned to look he saw someone he knew very much his coach for fencing, he was towering over him as he spoke, "Child did you think you could be the best of the best in just a month, people have been fencing for years yet they are nowhere near the peak and you what just a month over here and already sulking."


    "But I am the weakest there is.", a childish voice came from somewhere making look around but there was no one else but him present there.


    "So what? I myself was called the most hopeless case in fencing my peers used to always used to taunt me, demean me calling me names in fact my coach used to say the only reason I was even allowed there was because I pay for it, hell he even once said that he always feared I might impale my send with my own de, such was my condition when I had been practicing for four whole years and yet here I am teaching people who make it to our national team where as you just want to give up within a month of practice, shame on you I never thought to see the nephew of an army personnel such a coward, might be something he inherited from her."


    Ryan watched the vision shifted from what seemed to be a person''s feet to the face of his coach as the same childish voice shouted at him with anger he could see a tiny finger pointing at him as he spoke, "You take that back."


    The coach folded his arms as he looked at him with bored tone, "Or what will you do little boy, no what can you do, you who is running away afraid."


    The same voice growled in anger as he spoke, "I will show you what I can do, I will not only defeat them and then make you swallow your words."


    It was an extremely familiar scene that he remembered to well and he also remembered by the end of sixth month Ryan had defeated everyone not only of his age group but even a few years older as well, how could he forget about his coach Mr. Sullivan''s words, "You have got two very functional hands and legs, a nice brain more than most can say they posses, so stop moping stand up move forward."


    He gained a nostalgic smile on his face, ''He is right I cannot mope and feel self pity I will have to move forward go stronger for my mother, for my sisters and my aunts.'', he stood up with determination when all of a sudden he realized something, ''Wait a minute how did I view my memory like that, why did it happen and just what is my power, it always refers to me as ''host'' so is it my power or am I simply having a symbiotic rtion with something? Then who is it and what do they want with me.''


    Ryan felt a headacheing because of it but he at present he could do nothing he desperately needed the power he knew it would make difference between life and death greatly, as he looked at the words floating in front of him he frowned so how should I upgrade myself, I do not have enough to move to the next tier but I can definitely increase my other stats and may be grab a perk or may be hold on to the points decisions decisions.''


    Ryan frowned at that, ''The creatures are strong so I believe I should try to increase both my strength and my agility, it would help me hit harder as well as move fast, I have to find a way increase my tier fast but at the same time neglecting this might prove deadly as I would fail to hunt dangerous beasts and eventually it would all for naught.''


    He closed his eyes in deep thought before he spoke with a sigh, "Add 120 to strength and rest to agility."


    He watched as the numbers changed with 120 in strength he was at 166 out 200 for strength and 151 out of 200 in agility, his eyes then fell on the perks as he looked at them with narrowed eyes as he whispered to himself, "Well most of the things are except ''Partition of Brain'' are in white color, except ''Partition of Brain'', it is blue in color but why? Not to mention it sound ominous."


    He looked at it hard as he raised his hand and was surprised to see that he was able to touch the as he moved his hand over the ''Partition of Brain'', the entire screen disappeared leaving a dumbstruck Ryan, ''Huh what happened?'' when all of a sudden the mechanical voice came to his ears, "Perk ''Partition of Brain'' selected installing of perk in progress."


    Ryan was stunned for a moment before he shouted out, "Cancel, Sto", a horrific pain erupted once again from his head as he curled up in fetal postion.


    Ciara who was nearby had just returned from the funeral, her long time friend of over 25 years went up in mes it was an emotionally taxing moment for her, she entered her son''s resting ce along with Michalina it was never easy to see one of their own die, as they entered the room they saw Ryan was having what seemed to be a seizure making them dash towards him, as blood began to flow out of his nose and eyes, "Michalina get Ruby NOW!"


    Michalina did not have to be told twice as she dashed off to get Ruby, Ciara held Ryan down on the bed and by then a few more had entered the room as they helped theirmander to hold Ryuu down, Ruby entered the room a few minutester with Nikita in tow and by then more and more soldiers had appeared as such she bellowed out in anger, "Get lost give me some space.", the others promptly stepped aside as Ruby began to check Ryan with a frown on her face.


    Ciara looked worriedly at her as she spoke, "Ruby what is happening with him."


    Ruby frowned hard as she spoke , "Nothing nothing is wrong with him per se, I have checked everything that could caused it his pulse is erratic like he has been exercising but nothing else even his blood pressure seems normal."


    Michalina gritted her teeth as she spoke, "May be because you are not looking properly."


    Ruby sneered at her as she spoke, "How right you are so why don''t you get me a MRI or CT Scan machine."


    Ciara snarled in anger as she spoke, "Ladies focus here."


    Ruby had a troubled look on her face as she spoke, "Sorry Commander but I have no idea what is happening to him."


    Nikita who also had a troubled look on her face noticed something that made her mind boggled as she spoke in disbelief, "Captain Ruby please look over here.", that drew Ruby''s as well others attention to the ce Nikita was pointing at.

 Chapter 11: Sudden Changes (Part-2)

    Chapter 11: Sudden Changes (Part-2)


    Ryan opened his eyes as he looked around before he could process what was happening another group of words were floating in front of him making his heart beat to sky rocket as he quickly blinked his eyes as his vision cleared he found himself staring at the words with dread.


    Sessful instation of Umon Tier Perk ''Partition of Brain'' CONFIRMED.


    Host has triggered hidden conditions


    1) Installing First Perk at Tier 2


    2) Instation of First Perk being Higher than Common Tier


    3) Installing of ''Partition of Brain'' (Umon Tier)


    Conditions for Instation of Rare Tier ''Parallel Procession'', has been reached ahead of Tier Requirement


    Installing in 3..2..1..0


    As he watched those words his face morphed into a look of horror, ''NO no no not another one, please stop.'', his desperate plea went unanswered as he felt a small ping on his head followed by a slight headache.


    Sessful instation of Rare Tier Perk ''Parallel Procession'' CONFIRMED.


    Presence of both Perks has triggered the Evolution into ''Quantum Brain'' (Tier 1) (Rare)


    Ryan looked at the words with a fearful look on his face as if waiting for another horrendous pain he waited for a moment but nothing happened then all of a sudden the ground seemed to shake and cracks began to form around the floor and in front of his eyes the floor seemed to fall apart, he could not help but shout out in rm as he lunged at the glowing letters left behind by thest message in order to save himself only for them to break apart like ss as he plummeted into the dark abyss, then all of a sudden as if light and color came tearing through the darkness and he found himself looking directly into a well polished floor as he hovered above it, he blinked owlishly at that before he copsed on the cold floor, he winced in pain, "Ow my nose."


    The cold floor made his naked body severe as he quickly sat up, as he looked around he was greeted by rows and rows of bookshelf with what seemed to be parchment ced within them, each of the aisle was divided by letters handing above them and under each individual shelf letters were written underneath it, but most of them were empty, he looked around as he saw himself standing near the aisle that had the letter ''B'' on it as he entered he took out a parchment from the self with the words ''BA'' engraved underneath it, he unfurled the parchment as he saw it a blue print of a base, ''Huh it is the blueprint of the base I wanted to create.'', so does that mean the other parchment are blue prints as well, he then opened the rest as he found another blueprint for another type of base making his eyes widen.


    ''Damn there are six different types to chose with their pros and cons'', as he looked at the blueprints he squinted as he tried to read the words written on it properly as he studied them he noticed a small symbol of the button, ''Whose symbol is it? the person who made it'', he touched it and then the blueprint glowed making drop it, then something happened that made his eyes go wide, ''No way an holographic projectioning out of the blue print.'', the picture on the blue print as well as the words written were many times bigger as he looked at it he was bbergasted at what he saw, ''It is amazing.''


    He disregarded the coldness of the floor as he studied each and every one of them intently as he mused, ''Well this one is much nicer and the living conditions are more humane but the cost is a bit higher oh well I will change my ns ordingly.''


    He ced the blueprints back into the shelves before shivering again from the cold, ''Damn this ce could use a heater and why am I naked? It is so cold.''


    He moved through the aisle as he looked around the ce with curiosity, as he neared the end of the aisle arge machine was visible as he moved near it a jolt went down his skull momentarily making him grimace for a split second, ''Ancient Quantum Stochasts'' words came to his mind along with instructions on how to use the machine, he shook his head before staring at his hand with a hint of fear, ''What is happening to me? With each passing moment I am getting weirder and weirder.''


    He then noticed something that made his eyes widen, a chair not just any chair but one that seemed to be covered by furs, warm and cozy looking fur he dashed and took a seat on it, the chair was a bit weird the back rest went way above his head and the seat ended with an upward curve which made in ufortable to seat until they decided to seat with their legs folded like they were doing some yoga exercise, and most importantly there was no arm rest, but at the very least the chair was warm and cozy for a shivering Ryan.


    As he rxed on the chair another thought propped up in his mind, ''Why am I being so rxed as if nothing has happened? Should I not try to leave this ce? So strange I do not know what to think of it.''


    The chair suddenly swiveled as it brought him towards the ''Ancient Quantum Stochasts'' as it near the machine it suddenly switched on itsrge 40 inch screen booted on with a greenish hue, various option were disyed on, as numerous panels, knows and levers appeared as such he know understood why the chair was designed as such to offer better and smoother usage of the machine by the user, he could see faint glow in the multiple wire jungle that was protruding out of its back that seemed to disappear somewhere, the keyboard looked like that of a type writer, and from the knowledge he had gained, there were two wheels on either side to control the movement of the pointer with a push button beneath it for right and left clicking, the enter system was ced on the two sides of the type writer keyboard but in between those two were a set of levers, the lever on the right ced and removed the cursor and the one on the left was like redo and undo button.


    As he looked through the machine what he found was list under the banner ''Augmented Module Research'', they needed to be researched and he finally found the uses of soul, as each research consumed soul some like night vision that needed 5 souls, to lower the blood points requirement for stats upgrade to 75% of normal, which needed around 30 souls.


    ''Hmmm I know what to take for now, if I can save blood points more and more it would be great no not great amazing with each tire I need to gain more and more blood points like moving from Tier 2 to 3 would need 200 blood points and at the same time each stat needs a 200 each making it a total of 1000 blood points but if I lower it to 75% of the original just based on stats it would lower it to 150 each that means in order to move from Tier 2 to 3 I would not need 800 blood points.''


    With a hiss and groan he began to operate machine as he selected a particr Module to be researched which was dubbed as Blood Points cost cut(Tier 1), as soon as he selected it his screen disyed a few more information about it, but what drew his attention was the time required for the research to bepleted which was infinity.


    "What the hell Infinity does it mean that I cannot get it?"


    "No wait a minute what is this..''Brain Allocation!''"


    "Hmmm interesting so I can allocate part of brain and it would work on the research if I use full that is both brains, which got created by the perks I can get it twice as faster or I can do different research simultaneously at the same time hmmm.. it would need 3 days with my all my brain allocation otherwise 6 days well let''s do it."


    With that he started the research a small cold wave passed through his body as he watched his soul collection plummet to 31, as he watched he frowned as he whispered to himself, "Is it not weird that I got such nice upgrades almost idently as if something or someone is trying to set me up with something but why? And most importantly who is it?"


    "Getting this partition of brains and parallel processing might not be as idently or am I thinking too much.", he rubbed his temple for a moment before he let out a tired sigh as he spoke, "I think I should try to get out of here, so how do I get out.. hmmm, aha.", he quickly closed his eyes as he tried to meditate and soon found himself waking up to look at what seemed to be a mud ceiling.


    As he tried to sit up he winced, ''Damn my body feels so tired and week.''


    "Son, easy there.", a soothing voice came to his ears as he turned right to see his mother sitting beside him with a concerned look on her face.


    Ryan winced as he send a weak smile to his mother as he spoke, "Mom,.I", he treid hard but no words came from his mouth he did not know what to say a ss of water promptly found its way into his mouth which he did not waste time to drink withrge gulp after all he was thirsty.


    As Ciara took the empty ss of water he spoke in a hurried tone, "Mom the creature it was attacking us and aunt Lena died trying to save me and then who killed it."


    Ciara narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Don''t you remember anything about it? When I reached there I found you surrounded by spearsing out of earth with the creature skewered on the other end of it as such we deduced I had something to do with your powers."


    Ryan knew that from therge increase in his blood points he had killed it no not him his powers had killed it and what his mother had said simply confirmed it, he felt numb at that as he spoke in a soft voice, "SO aunt Lena is really gone."


    Ciara simply ced a hand on his head as she gently caressed him as she spoke, "So how are you holding up?"


    Ryan gave her a week smile as he spoke, "Well like I went on a marathon while carrying an elephant on my back.", his smile then turned to a frown as he spoke, "I am sorry mom it all happened all of sudden and I was so scared mom aunt Lena told me not to look back and run I did what she said but it did not work it the guns the grenades nothing worked it tore them apart then it attacked me and I lost consciousness, maybe instead of getting scared if I had stayed with them and fought may be"


    Ciara looked squarely into his eyes as she spoke, "Stop do not dwell on the past and what ifs and it is alright to feel scared son you did exactly like she had told you and you are safe now."


    Ryan balled his fist as he spoke, "I will not let that happen I will grow stronger and create weapons so that the same does not get repeated."


    Whatever Ciara was about to say stayed in her throat as Ruby came in followed by Michalina who smiled at him as she spoke, "Brother you gave us all quite the heart attack you have been asleep for three days."


    Ryan gawked at her as he spoke, "Three days you are joking?"


    Michalina gave him a small smile as Ruby was busy giving him a check up as she spoke, "No brother not at all you were sleeping here for three days."


    Ryan eyes fell upon hearing that as he spoke, "So I missed there funeral."


    Hearing that both Michalina and Ciara winced as Ruby spoke in a blunt manner, "Yes you did but care to enlighten me what happened during the time you were sleeping, I have never seen someone recovering from necrosis like you or the fact your broken ribs healed itself."


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "Can your interrogation not wait he just awoke from such an ordeal."


    Ruby did not look at her as she responded to her, "No it cannot wait, everything since the Goddamn apocalypse urred is new to me and I do not wish to be ignorant and cause death of my patient due to my ignorance.", then as if he remember something as she spoke, "Oh why don''t you leave us two alone it would be better."


    Michalina face scrunched up in anger as she spoke, "I refuse."


    Ruby looked at her as she spoke with a serene smile on her face, "I understand that I am the doctor here as such I am entitled to certain rights and one of them having to speak with my patient uninterrupted."


    Michalina was about to explode in anger but Ryan sighed as he began to speak, "So from where should I begin doctor."


    Ruby beamed at him as she spoke, "Well as soon as they leave you may.", Ciara stood up as she patted her son''s head before she lowered her head near Ruby''s as she whispered lowly, "If you regret making me leave him with you alone I will not care if you are thest doctor on this I.Will.Break.You", he entuated each word with great emphasis as she gave a small loving kiss on Ryan''s forehead before dragging Michalina out of the room.


    Ruby looked a bit shaken as Ryan spoke again, "So Doctor, what do you wish to know."


    Ruby gave a small smile trying to hide her nervousness as she spoke, "Start from the moment you were attacked."


    An hourter an emotionally drained Ryan finished encountering everything because of Ruby''s various questions as she finished writing up on the note pad a cough came from behind her as Ciara spoke, "Well since you have finished questioning him I think it is time for him to rest, Michalina you were so worried so why don''t you spend some quality time with him."


    Michalina nodded with a small smile on her face as Ciara turned towards Ruby as she spoke with a sweet tone that made Ruby sweat visibly in fear, "Well since you have already gathered various information from Ryan I believe we should have a little chat on a certain topic.", with that she ced a hand on her shoulder and literally dragged a whimpering Ruby out of the room."


    As they left Michalina pulled him into a hug as she spoke, "I was so scared that I would lose you brother."

 Chapter 12: Creation of Home Base (Part-1) (Fixed)

    Chapter 12: Creation of Home Base (Part-1) (Fixed)


    Ciara looked at the prone form of Ryan as she kicked him hard, "If you have time to lie down there you have time to stand up and fight."


    Ryan groaned as he picked himself up he was caked in dirt and had bruised all about his body as he shakily stood up he spoke with anger, "That was dirty."


    CIara tilted her head as she spoke, "So what I am teaching to stay alive and in real world there is no referee there are no rules there are only two oues either you are the winner or you are the loser and you know full well what would happen if you are the loser."


    Ryan had a grim look on his face as he spoke, "I understand but", whatever he was going to say was cut off courtesy of a kick by his mother as she spoke with a mocking edge in her tone, "Did I tell the poor little no good babymb that the training session was over."


    Ryan for the first time hated his mother, they way she was treating him was infuriated to him not to mention the dirty tricks she was employing while fighting him and Ryan hated they way she was doing such, she was taunting him, tricking and every time slipped up she pounded him to the ground mercilessly and then forced him to stand up and fight again.


    If his coach Mr. Sullivan was definition of elegance and being gentleman during his fight his mother was like a rabid wolf that tore through her enemy mercilessly, fitting for the woman who led the pack of wolves, Ryanid on the ground without moving and as his mother approach his left hand suddenly moved as he threw fist full of dust at her face, making Ciara cover her eyes as Ryan jumped up at her only for her dodge him nad move in a surprising show of agility as she held him down by twisting his right behind his back and holding his neck in a vice grip, she then pulled his left leg back with her left one making him fall to the ground face first as she ced her knee over his throat and soonck of oxygen made him pass out.


    Ciara picked him up flinging him over her shoulder as she walked towards the camp, during the entire time the rest of her squad did not even bat an eyelid as she sauntered in back into their base while the few civilians watched him looked at her fearfully they had never seen someone being so violent in the name of training, as she entered one of them could not help but ask, "Are you not his mother then why are you being so hard with him?"


    Ciara merely spared a nce before she spoke in a bored tone, "I am being hard on him because I am his mother, he might bleed a little now and save himself bleeding a lotter.", with that she moved past as a small frown appeared on her brow, ''I am now even providing answers for my actions to civilians I might really be bored to do so.''


    She then went and deposited Ryan in what was being dubbed as the medic hut as Nikita quickly went over Ryan checking for his injuries as she looked over him for a minute before she spoke, "Well the bruise would take some time but otherwise he is fine."


    Ciara nodded at that as she left the hut, as she stepped outside she was greeted by Zhan, "Major all the stuff needed by Ryan has been brought here."


    Ciara looked at therge pile as she nodded at that as she spoke, "Good work, make sure the teams get enough rest and food for their excellent work."


    Zhan nodded as she spoke, "So how was Ryan''s training?"


    Ciara raised her hand as she made a so-so motion as she spoke with a sigh, "Fencing although has taught him to be well bnced it has also made him a bit concerned about rules and regtion to point as if he was waiting for some invisible referee to get in between when he has the opponent down, it is mess."


    Zhan snorted at that as she spoke, "Well we were like him at first at least he knows how to throw a punch or two."


    Ciara nodded at that as spoke with a sigh, "That might be but that is not enough it is not the world we know about as everything and anything has changed for the worse, gone are the days when a bullet to the head would kill anyone, hell nowadays bullets are useless."


    Zhan sighed at that as she spoke, "So true.", they both looked forward towards the rest of their soldier who were busy patrolling on top of the wall or gossiping with each other, Ciara could see Michalina talking with her fellow sister-in-arms well more like gossiping about one thing or another.


    As Zhan''s eyes swept passed them she could not help but ask, "Ciara do you think the fort that Ryan would be building would protect us?"


    Ciara snorted at that as she spoke, "No"


    Zhan was taken aback as could not help but exim with a bewildered look on her face, "What?!"


    Ciara smiled at her as she spoke, "Is there any ce on our that could absolutely boastplete protection, you saw what happened a few weeks ago."


    Zhan rolled her eyes at that as she spoke, "I so do not wish for an argument in philosophy."


    Ciara smiled at her tiredly as she spoke, "Ryan''s creation has much much better chance at keeping us alive for the time being but the way things are going sooner rather thanter we would need even more stronger more sturdier shelter to survive."


    Zhan nodded at that as she spoke, "Well thetest blueprint looked a lot promising than the previous one, and speaking of blueprints did you see Ruby''s face when Ryan pulled the one that was meant for scientific research and had rejected it, it was so hrious."


    Ciara snorted at that as she spoke, "Normally I would not tolerate gossiping about someone behind their back but in this case, it is different even before the apocalypse she had the mad scientist vibe going on about her and now it seemed as if Christmas came early for her.", Zhan nodded at thatpletely in agreement with her assessment as Ciara continued, "If it were not for her ability I would have thrown her into prison and tossed the keys into a volcano, for her everyone is a guinea pig born to satisfy her need for scientific studies."


    A few hourster Ryan looked down at the map spread in front of him, even if the maic North and South have flipped the east and west are still the same and the map has been drawn ordingly, with the only entrance of their base in the west, to the North or the current South is good few hundred meters ofnd which than drops into a deep gorge that has a roaring stream in it, to the South or the current North thend slopes into ocean, to the North-East was the smallke that was a bitrger than a pond that was used to supply water, on the far east side was the town which was situated on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.


    His mother wanted the base to be build at their current location as such after studying the map intently he stood straight as he spoke, "With you permission may I begin."


    Ciara nodded at that as Ryan raised his hands as his eyes glowed with electric blue color, when all of a sudden a giant holographic projection ghosted itself into existence as others took a step back unconsciously seeing themselves being surrounded by the holographic projection the little civilian girl looked as if she was about to cry.


    WARNING: Base 200 meter away from Leyline.


    Current Maximum Efficiency of Base upon Completion 51%


    Current Maximum Performance of Base upon Completion 51%


    It was something knew that Ryan had noticed since waking up, the words seemed to appear in front of his eyes along with the voice in his head in a way it was much better than before at the very least he would now not miss anything vital.


    He turned towards his mother as he spoke, "Mother ording to my powers if I were to construct the base at this spot it would run around at 51% percent efficiency at its peak but if I were to move 200 meters from here I would get something call a Leyline and the efficiency would increase."


    Ciara frowned at that as she spoke, "I see you have my permission to achieve maximum efficiency."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Okay but it would take some time to for me to pin point it."


    Ciara nodded at that as she spoke, "Go ahead."


    Ryan nodded as he began to run around with the giant holographic position moving along with him as he ran various messages appeared in front of his eyes.


    WARNING: Base 250 meter away from Leyline.


    Current Maximum Efficiency of Base upon Completion 51%


    Current Maximum Performance of Base upon Completion 51%


    .


    .


    .


    WARNING: Base 50 meter away from Leyline.


    Current Maximum Efficiency of Base upon Completion 51%


    Current Maximum Performance of Base upon Completion 51%


    .


    .


    .


    .


    WARNING: Base directly above Leyline.


    Current Maximum Efficiency of Base upon Completion 51%


    Current Maximum Performance of Base upon Completion 51%


    Ryan was standing at a position 200 meters to the northwest side of his initial location and was disappointed the maximum he managed was still 51% making him sigh only for additional words to prop up in front of his eyes, words that were like always since its first appearance only visible to him.


    Scanning of Leyline....


    Leyline Junction detected.


    Nexus Confirmed


    Grade 5 Nexus Confirmed


    Calcting New Parameters...


    Current Maximum Efficiency of Base upon Completion 120% (+20% Due to being Junction of 5 Leylines)


    Current Maximum Performance of Base upon Completion 120% (+20% Due to being Junction of 5 Leylines)


    Use Nexus to supply Energy to Construct the Base (Yes/No)


    Ryan''s eyes widen at that as his face broke into a glee, not only it was 100% but it was further enhanced by 20% due to it being a junction of Leylines or as it was aptly called Grade 5 Junction not to mention he could use its power to create base and here he was worrying on how to create with his paltry energy.


    Ryan did not waste any time as he quickly agreed with the notion of using the Leyline as a mean to supplement for energy.


    Construction Site for Base selected Construction Commencing........


    The holographic image changed from light blue to Green before a warning shed in front of his eyes.


    WARNING: No Construction Resource Found Construction Paused.


    Ryan eyes widen slightly as he turned to look at others who were looking at him with expectantly as he shouted toward, "Hurry we need to carry the resources to the base location or it will not begin to form."


    Ryan noticed a few of them had their face gained a sour look on their face as they were soon ordered to follow Ryan''s words as they all quickly made their way towards the rubble they had gathered from breaking almost clearing out the entire town, Ryan himself seeing that the holographic image still green and in ce decided to offer his help to those who were carrying the rubbles that they had procured.


    The first load came and to their utter amazement it was simply snatched from their hands crossed the ghostly walls stated shining and morphing into something that was then went underneath the surface, the duo who carried it looked at each other as others arrived shortly thereafter and soon to their amazement simr situation took ce and a few minutester it had changed to a game of sorts for them as theyughed and giggled while flinging and doing all sorts of things with the rubbles in their hands, even the civilians seemed to join in that.


    Ryan had a small smile in his face as he flung a pan that went straight across the wall transforming into a metal sheet before it joined with the small structure that peeked from the ground below, but unknown to others he could see something that they could not and that was the rate ofpletion they were already at 79% percent mark.


    A few hours and lots ofughter and joyter a giant fort stood in front of them in all glory, the exterior of the base seemed to have been painted by ''Desert Tigerstripe Camouge Pattern'' its tall walls spanning around it was as high as 15 meters and in the midst of it was a building that was at the very least 20 meters in height, the wall itself had towers present on it, as it formed a circle of radius of 150 meters with the central building itself being a cylinder of over 50 meters, the top of which seemed to be hold radar andmunication towers and antennas.


    Two giant sliding doors of 10 meters height were present on east and west side, with a small covered structure directly on top of it as present Ryan knew it was the gate control, Ryan turned towards his mother as he spoke with a grin, "So did you like it?"


    Ciara tilted her head slightly as she spoke with a smile, "From the outside it looks sturdy not to mention the 3 meters thick wall that surrounded the forts is a nice addition, though I will hold on to my remarks till I have had better view of the inside."


    Ryan nodded at that before he got a serious look in his face, "Well but the most important part is step is still left for us to aplish."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "And what is that Ryan?"


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "Why of course we have to name our new home."


    Upon hearing that many people had their eyes widen slightly as a grin formed in their face, after so many weeks of struggle they would finally step into what would be a shelter for them, a ce where they could at least stay safe for the time being and truly such a ce needed a new name.


    Ciara closed her eyes and mulled over it for a moment before she spoke with a smile, "It is the day for a new beginning for all of us, a day that our lives will turn for the better as such Genesis, Fort Genesis, how does it sound?"


    Ryan frowned for a moment before he spoke with a smile, "I like it Name Base as ''Genesis.''", his words seemed to send some form of ripple through the air as the words suddenly appeared as the words Genesis seemed to form in bright white letters just at the right side of the door.


    As Ryan looked at it he smiled excitedly as he spoke, "I think we should go and inspect the inside of our new home."

 Chapter 13: Creation of Home Base (Part-2)

    Chapter 13: Creation of Home Base (Part-2)


    Ryan was the first to step inside their new base ''Fort Genesis'', as soon as he passed through the threshold of the gate he felt a small jolt and a slight prick in his brain making him falter momentarily as Ciara caught him by his shoulder a she spoke with concern, "Are you alright son?"


    Ryan gave her a smile as he spoke, "Yes I am alright mother.", as they entered they saw a concrete road making its way from the central building from entrance which was over 4 meters wide, as they stepped inside Ryan pointed towards what seemed to be a scaffolding with stairs that led up to the wall, Ryan looked up to his mother as he spoke, "Shall we start with the wall then?"


    Ciara nodded at that as Ryan took them up by the stairs leading to top of the wall, Ryan stood in front of the battlement as he spoke, "Well we have a nice battlement that can be used for cover and I believe that sisters can work their magic and making more defensive, there are 16 towers if I am remember correctly waiting for weapons to be mounted on them they are big and can support something equivalent to howitzer easily I will be working on something of the likes soon, although it is currently empty space you all may go and visit, now let us move on to the gatehouse, situated on top of the gate and currently it is to my left", with that Ryan moved towards door that lead inside the gatehouse, it was a slightly heavy door made of iron, Ryan turned the lever handle door knob as the door swung open as the group stepped inside with his mother, his aunt Zhan and his sister following closely after.


    Ryan moved to center of the room as turned to face others he spoke again, "To my right are the arrow holes or slits or gun holes or whatever with searchlight and to my left is the opening overlooking the courtyard again along with the searchlight and those particr levers are meant to control the opening and closing of the gates, yes gates in plural as therge gate has a smaller one build within it that allows a single person to enter without the need of opening therge one every time, if you have any questions you know where to find me regarding them."


    Ciara looked a bit amused at that her son was clearly enjoying giving a tour like some real estate agents, she could see the pride and happiness in his eyes upon creation of the base she knew deep in his heart that he did not want the repeat of what happened with Lena and thepletion of the base was a big boon to him as such.


    One of the soldier stood in front of the leavers which were linked with the disy of some short that were not working at the moment she tried the lever a few times as she spoke, "The lever is easy to use, does the base have any power?"


    One of the soldiers who standing nearby to her spoke with a snort, "Where would you get some bloody power, Ryan has yet to build any wind turbines to generate some."


    Ryan simply listened to their argument but did not say anything he had onest part toplete before he could say the base was trulyplete as such he turned towards his mother as he spoke, "Mom there is a tiny thing that I need to do before I can say the base isplete as I need to do something on the deep bowels of the base."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "And what do you have to do?"


    Ryan gave her a mischievous smile as he spoke, "Well you will see."


    Ciara rose one of her elegant eyebrow as she spoke, "Bring some shlight."


    A soldier saluted as she left fast and after a few minutes she arrived with half a dozen shlight, at the beginning Ryan had created normal shlight but they need for batteries he was forced to find an alternative which was a hand crank shlight.


    As the shlight were brought Ryan, Michalina, Zhan along with three others were the first to step inside the base, their shlight showing them the way inside the dark unknown, as they moved inside Michalina gave a low whistle as she spoke, "You know we just need some kind of creepy murderous creatures popping out and we would have a nice horror movie with the atmosphere.


    Ryan simply red at her as he spoke, "Sister I would be grateful if you do not make suchments I would not want to suffer nightmare because of you."


    Michalina simplyughed uproariously at that as Zhan send her a disapproving look, as they entered they walked over well polished floors passed some desks that stood in the dark the wall had Level 0 written on it, they then went past a couple of elevators with Ryan as their guide as he opened a door and a flight of stairs was seen in front of him, "Be careful the stairs are steep.", with his piece said Ryan began took the one that took him down as he began his descend.


    It took them sometime to descend to what was dubbed as Level -11, the group reached the ce as by then most of them were panting hard Ryuu gave them an uneasy smile as he spoke, "Sorry it seems that the air so deep down is not breathable, not to mention how hot and humid this ce feels like."


    Michalina grimaced at that as she spoke, "Go do whatever you came here to do and then we will leave, I feel light headed already."


    Ryan gave an apologetic look as he spoke, "Sorry but you will have to stay for a bit more after this process I will deal proper air intake."


    Zhan frowned at that as she spoke, "Well hurry up child I do not wish for a trip the infirmary."


    Ryan nodded he could hear one of the soldiers wheezing and coughing because of the quality of air, he went towards arge red door, ''Energy Production and Control/ Nexus Anchorage'' were written in white bold letters, ''So this is the room from where the base taps into the nexus and draws power from it.''


    He moved to the door where two small levers were ced horizontally on the door facing each other, Ryan pulled them by their handle as a small click was heard from other part of the door, he then went towards a specific part of the door where a panel had opened showing another pair of handles muchrger than the other two, he pulled them one by one with a hiss the door opened, as the door swung opened to the inside Ryan entered the room followed closely by the others their shlight showed various contraptions and machines Ryan walked through them as he spoke, "We need to start the machines, that big handle over there I need to turn it but I believe it would be too much for me so a helping hand will be appreciated."


    Michalina volunteered herself as she and Ryan both began to turn the handle whose speed slowly started to climb and soon with a shake and hiss a machine seemed to start as its dial stated to glow with flickering light as it showed it slowly moving from its initial position to the red zone, Ryan frowned as he shouted out, "Sister Jessica substitute for me."


    One of the soldiers sitting nearby promptly sprang up as she substituted for Ryan as he began to move to a certain direction while he shouted back, "If any of you feel tired feel free to substitute."


    He climbed a steeldder used a catwalk as he moved to another section of the room, in front of him was arge wheel which he spun fast and soon another dial moved, he kept turning it until the needle of the dial was in green colored zone making him smile, he pulled a lever before he ran back through the catwalk to another part, meanwhile Michalina had substituted with Zhan and was heaving on the ground he could hear the sound of Ryan running around.


    Ryan found himself standing in front of yet another dial one which was slowly climbing he was waiting for the appropriate pressure to start the machine with a push of a button truly it was a novel experience for him, after all how many can im that they are producing electricity by tapping into the energy from the bosom of Earth itself without having to use any need of any form of inputs not even water.


    As the appropriate pressure was reached Ryan turned on a knob pressed a couple of buttons to make sure the pressure was maintained before he pulled the lever switch as a loud roar was heard multiple machines sprung into motion.


    With his part aplished Ryan dashed towards hispanions only for him to stumble and fall as his vision began to swim, the excitement from getting the energy was good but he had underestimated the poor quality of air which cause his vision to swim as he fell on the ground hard, luckily his fall was noticed by the others as Michalina ran fast towards him as Ryan tried to stand up, "Brother are you all right?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I will be when we can get the air working properly, Sister go and tell others there is no need for them to make move the crank the machine is working the only thing left is to flip the switch."


    Michalina was helping Ryan to stand Jessica had already informed others as a tired Zhan arrived shortly with her fellow sister-in-arms, Ryan smiled at them as he spoke, "Let us move to the control area and flip the switch."


    Zhan smiled tiredly as she spoke, "Then let us go there theck of proper air is making me dizzy."


    Ryan stood up shakily as he walked with help of Michalina to small room to the side which had a green light and red light blinking, Ryan ced his hand on arge lever switch as he flipped it as the red light turned green he pressed a button as soon as he did multiple red lights lit up in a column, he flipped the cover and held a switch as the light turned green and he closed the covers back, a few secondster the entire room was flooded by light making others smile at each other, only under the light was the tiredness of each of them visible as well as their sweat covered bodies.


    Jessica coughed as Ryan frowned, "Well we have switched on power now let us take care of the air, the elevator will take us there fast enough."


    The group nodded as a few of them groaned as they moved to the elevator which was luckily already on the ground floor, each of them big enough to carry at least around twenty people without the fear of being over crowded, even then the elevator felt a bit ustrophobic, as they left the elevator another door but this one was a simple door that slid open as soon as they entered it, Ryan did not waste any time as he quickly flipped a few switches and turned a few knobs and a tell a tale sign of fans working as a fresh cool air hit them and their breathing difficulties slowly disappeared, as Ryan grinned at them he spoke, "Well tomorrow I will try to work on water and maybe by evening we will have working and running water supply and sewage system."


    Meanwhile Ciara looked at the structure with a smile as she mused, ''So that was what he was nning to do turning on the power well we will have something less to worry about now.''

 Chapter 14: Creation of Home Base (Part-3)

    Chapter 14: Creation of Home Base (Part-3)


    An excited group of soldiers had entered the base as they looked at the ce with wide eyes taking into the sight of their new home, as they were inspecting the Level 0 floor or what was identified by the name, ''Emergency/Reception'', a chime was heard as the elevator opened up as the group who went down first came out of it, their clothes bearing wet marks because of their sweat.


    Ryan simply greeted his mother by running and embracing him, Ciara was taken aback as her daughter joined as well then it hit her nose the terrible odor wafting off their clothes making her gag at that as she quickly pushed them off her as she chided them, "Get off you filthy heathens you stink what have you all been doing to make yourself like that."


    Michalina grinned at her as she spoke, "But it was so dark and scary we simply wanted to hug you mom after returning from the dark depths."


    Ciara red at her not at all amused as Ryan simply smiled at her when Zhan strolled in, "Major please cut them some ck the underground was really dreary."


    Ciara frowned at her as she spoke, "What happened?"


    "Ryan led us down the stairs to turn on the power and girl it was scary as we descended into the darkness through those long winding steep stairs, the upper part is nothing the lower floors must be at the very least twice as deep as the upper part not to mention the underground was not only hot but air was not suitable for breathing as we had to some difficulty with breathing and then we worked together in order to turn the generator to power up this ce and Ryan was running around flipping this switch and that switch and then theck of proper oxygen hit him making him copse on the floor, after the power was turned we went to another room directly above it and switched on the air intake and after that we came up."


    Ciara''s eyes widen at the summarized verbal report of Zhan as she looked at her children especially at Ryan with concern in her eyes as Ryan waved it off as he spoke, "Meh we are all safe and sound that is all that matters."


    Ciara rounded him as she spoke, "That is not a small matter you cannot act so carefree Ryan what if something had happened to you all down there, you wanted to venture down there alone saying it was a surprise did you think what would have happened if something had happened with no one to help you."


    Michalina quickly ced between the duo as she spoke, "Mom pleasey off him a little there are many things to learn about the ce you can scold himter after we are done seeing everything."


    CIara sighed at that as she spoke, "Well you do have a point.", before she narrowed her eyes towards Ryan as she spoke, "But that does not mean you are off the hook."


    Ryan was simply busy staring at his shoes as Michalina ced a hand on her shoulder as she spoke, "Bro show me the rest of the base will you."


    Ryan seemed to perk up at that as he took her along with others on a tour through the base, it was decided on demand the upper floors to be shown first as such Ryan led them to their future dorm , that had the capacity to hold around 200 people, as they stepped inside they were stunned to see except the lights there was nothing else inside the room not even a bed as such one of them could help but proim out loud, "Beds where are the beds."


    Ryan shrugged at that as he replied back to her, "Well I ran out of materials while creating the base so beds will have to be formed a little bitter."


    The same person looked aghast upon hearing that when suddenly she remembered the rest of the materials that are still present inside their temporary base as she spoke, "But but we have enough to make some there are plenty amongst the rubble that you can morph into bed."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "I can but I will not those are vital resources that are needed for other stuffs without them the production of other items in this base would be incredibly difficult and if you cannot wait for a couple of days well the town still has some houses standing that you can use."


    Nikita who was nearby spoke with a frown, "What other things that you need to build? I believe we have enough."


    Ryan looked at her incredulously as he spoke, "Really we have everything?", as Nikita nodded at that Ryan spoke with a huff, "What about water? Don''t tell me you all are okay with the paltry amount that can be gathered from that pond that is already on the verge of drying up."


    Nikita''s eyes widen at that as she spoke, "You can get running water?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Not only that but we need resources for other things like clothes, weapons and ammunition if I use the resource willy-nilly I fear that those projects will be pushed back at least a few weeks."


    Nikita raised her hand indicating Ryan to stop as she began to speak, "Do whatever you need to do to get us proper water and other necessary resources Ryan, beds can wait."


    Ryan nodded at that as he resumed the tour, the base was mostly bare except for the vital machines that were necessary for it to work, after the tour was over under Ciara''s orders the soldiers began to haul their stuff back to the base as Ryan began to work on his next project.


    A few minutes of tinkering and using his powers Ryan finally managed to create 4 machines from the rest of the rubbles, he ced them against the walls each a little over 4 meters tall as others looked at it curiously Ryan went up toplete the setup by attaching them with inlets that down deep inside the earth to the production area, he had originally wanted to conveyor belt but then he though the problems that might arise because of things like rain and what not as such he conveniently used a cover on top of them as well and thus officially and unofficially running out of any materials they had including most of the pots and pans for cooking.


    Ang the ''Elf Maiden'', as she was being called much to her ire stood by Ryan''s side watching at the contraptions that he had ced near the western side of the wall, she could see a few of her fellow soldiers looking down at them from the top of the wall, "Ryan what are this weird machines?"


    Ryan wiped the sweat off his brows as he spoke, "Well they are Tier 1 ''Resource Harvester'' they gather various resources from deep within the bowels of the Earth."


    Ang looked at the tall tower like structures with various rotating part on the outside, he could see adder going to the top and near the lower part were many buttons and knobs, "So this also need power to run."


    Ryan nodded as Ang continued with a frown on her face, "But you have to hook it up right."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Nah I do not need to do so, any machine that I create will automatically get power as long as they are inside the boundaries of the base."


    Ang looked confused as she spoke, "How?"


    Ryan smiled at her as he spoke, "Magic.", seeing the dubious look on her face Ryan spoke, "Really ''Elf Maiden'' Ang you forgot how our world is now a days."


    Ang growled at that as she spoke, "Shut up! Do not call me that I hate it."


    Ryan looked at her with a frown, since the change had urred Ang had not taken her change of looks well she looked like some exotic night elf beauty form fiction, and to speak the truth she looked better than some of the models yet the long eyes and slight purple color skin of the night elves made her feel overly conscious of her looks and bitter as well, "Ang look around us you are not the only one who had changed look at aunty Zhan look at her and tell me is she moping around in self pity like we all are changing some like you have changed overnight others are slow, aunty Zhan''s changes have granted her enormous strength but what about you, you are not the only one who no longer look like human what about sister Ellie she has wings out of her back not to mention the horn on her head, was she upset I bet she was but she learned to cope with them and they both are using their strength and where as you are drowning in self pit no one knows if this changes are permanent or not or they can be reversed in the future you can at the very least try to work with them make sure that you find your gifts and I do not think they are only rted to looks and help others.


    Ang balled her fist as she spoke, "You would never understand the pain of changing."


    Her words seemed to as if had pped Ryan, who stood up from his kneeling position as he rounded up her as he literally shouted at her face, "Look in to my eyes, LOOK AT IT YOU GODDAMNED WOMAN!!"


    Ang was taken aback before she felt a strong grip on her chin as she was forced to look into Ryan''s eyes, it wasplete different than it normally used to be, Ryan was ginger haired blue eyed who was considered handsome by many, but now as Ang looked at his eyes which even though had retained the color waspletely different than before it looked inhumane like, "Your eyes they look like a robot.", that was the only thing that came out of her mouth as she looked at the blue iris that had miniature mechanical contraptions moving and the sclera it was another story, normal human eyes had blood vessels visible on them running haphazardly but Ryan''s eyes were more like lines formed by circuit.


    "Bionic the correct term is bionic, the more I use my powers the more I will be the farthest thing from a normal human that is the curse I have to bare for using my power yet I do not care why? Because I refuse to let others die and suffer when my powers could have saved them, my eyes are not the only thing that is changing there are many but unfortunately they are not visible, so do not tell me that I would not understand, my changes took ce in the morning you have seen I was carried off to the infirmary with tears of blood flowing from my eyes, and pain what would you know of it, it took 1 minutes and for that duration it felt someone was poking and prodding my eyes with a hot knife."


    He released her with a push but before he could continue a voice stopped her, "Brother Ryan enough I will speak with her."


    Ryan looked at speaker and saw Ellie standing and ring at Ang as she spoke, "Brother Ryan if I were to believe you have a tight schedule and as such even after great protest you left the infirmary, not to mention you were ordered not to mention you were ordered not to take any form of stress."


    Ryan nodded at that as he let out a deep breath as he spoke, "You are right sister I have many things to aplish by today, and I will get on with it."


    Ellie send a small smile before she dragged off Ang with her as Chloe who was nearby took over Ang''s spot their orders were simply, assist Ryan in any way he needed and to make sure he did nothing stupid and Ang caused him to get angry as such as she was dragged off Chloe volunteered herself.


    She watched curiously as Ryan opened a case which contained what looked to be a typewriter wired to a screen along with various buttons on its side she watched as Ryan brought out a long wire as he opened a part of the panel and plugged the wire running from the machine to his newly build ''Resource Harvesters'', then he turned on the resource harvester which began to let out a small beep every now and then as Ryan went towards the case, Chloe noticed the multiple words had formed on the screen and finally her patient ran out as she asked, "Ryan what is this?"


    Ryan looked up to her as he spoke with a grin as he gestured dramatically towards the machine as he spoke, "This, my dear Chloe is a ''Portable Ancient Quantum Stochasts''."


    Chloe looked at him with a clueless expression for a moment before she spoke, "A what? Stoke??"


    Ryan shook his head as he corrected her, "No no Stochasts, a Portable Ancient Quantum Stochasts."


    Chloe was dumbfounded for a moment before realization bleed into her as she spoke, "So it is aputer, aptop perhaps."


    Ryan looked physically struck before he nodded tiredly at that as he spoke, "Yes sister yes it is aputer."


    He then turned towards it as he operated it, before he ran to the ''Resource Harvester as he turned on a lever and with a groan certain parts began to rotate, he then followed the actions with the other four as Chloe asked him once again, "So what are you doing with this machines."


    As Ryan was gathering his stuff he spoke without looking up, "This resource harvester gather resource from the I was simply setting them up properly feeding them with instruction on what they should do and what not well more like prioritizing what is to be gathered and what not to be, if I had allowed them all to gather the same thing it would be taxing and the stuff might not be in great quantity and quality."


    Chloe''s eyes narrowed the more he spoke the more questions arose in her mind, "Gather what?"


    Ryan looked at her as he stood up while he began to speak, "Why Copper, Iron, and Coal those types of things."


    Chloe''s eyes widen as she spoke, "There are those resource beneath us?"


    Ryan gave her a smile as he shook his head as he replied, "I do not know not do I think there is, it simply harvest the resources more like it is like exchanging the resources with the soil beneath it continuously as for how it works well I canunch into theories and what not that has mysteriously appeared in my brain but that I do not understand even a percent of so do not ask me how."


    Chloe shook her head as she spoke, "You powers are on different level it is as if it is sentient.", she stopped walking seeing the grimace on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "That is something I also wonder often, now let us move I have to create a solution for the water problems."


    Chloe looked at him as she spoke, "Will we move out of the base."


    Ryan nodded at that as Chloe sighed as she spoke, "Well then wait here for a moment I will have to arrange an escort you know the drill."


    Ryan nodded tiredly before he spoke up quickly, "Ah before you leave I want you get at least one of the fliers toe with us I might need them.", Chloe nodded as she left with a brief nod as Ryan looked up towards the sky his mind whirling with various thoughts.

 Chapter 15: Confrontation

    Chapter 15: Confrontation


    "It is slightly over 93 meters from here to the water surface and with the water approximated 12 meters deep in some of the parts you can say safely say that the gorge is 10 meters deep and exactly 40 meters wide."


    Ryan looked at awe at the person who was helping her, sister Maeve''s ability was extremely useful from flying using her bat like wings to using echolocation to measure the distance in terrifying uracy as such he could not help by remark, "Your ability is extremely useful like a living breathing RADAR."


    Maeve simply gave an exaggerated bow as Ryan could not help but speak out loud, "I have been thinking for a few days now.", his words drew everyone''s attention as he continued to speak, "We all are exhibiting some form of powers so should we not make code names for us."


    Donna who was nearby mulled over his suggestion as she spoke, "Like in thoseic books you like."


    Ryan nodded eagerly as Maeve spoke, "So what do you think my name should be rted to Bats?"


    Ryan''s face scrunched up as he spoke, "Nah itcks originality people will im you as a copy cat."


    "Oh I know.", a voice came from the side making everyone turn towards her as she spoke, "How about ''~Screamer~''?", the person finished in a seductive tone sending shiver down everyone''s spine.


    Maeve gave a shriek as she felt someone touching her and draping over her in a rather sensuous manner specially her sensitive wings as the person spoke with a half lidded tone, "See how wonderful her voice is"


    Chloe had a vein throbbing on her forehead as she spoke, "Corporal Amelia, you will cease such foolishness."


    Amelia grinned at her as she spoke, "Please Chloe I was just teasing them no harm done she how flustered she looks and look at Ryan his face is as red is tomato."


    Chloe gained an evil look on her face as she spoke, "Amelia enough Ryan is 15 year old minor have you no shame and if you do not stop.", she let the threat hang a little as Amelia send a challenging look to her as she spoke, "You will what, there is no country no order, no army so what will you do."


    Chloe''s face hardened as everyone paled at the sudden implication a junior ranked personnel was challenging her senior but at the same time she was right there is now and order whatever semnce was left was being held together in a rather piteous manner, Ryan did not wish for a conflict to break as he stepped forward only for Amelia to leer at him as she spoke, "A the virgin boy stepped forward let this big sister teach a thi.....ack.", a strong hand gripped her neck so hard it almost broke seeing the neer everyone including Ryan took a step back.


    "Baby Brother she did not touch you inappropriately now did she.", Michalina asked her brother with a deranged smile on her face making Ryan gulp, Ryan had seen her big sister getting angry before but today was a bit different the electricity flowing through her and her normal brown eyes glowing in pale blue color made her more menacing.


    Ryan simply shook his head as he spoke, "No big sis."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "Well good then I will not prolong her suffering too much.", her eyes then fell on Amelia as she spoke, "You should know that my brother is off limits yet you leered at him did many indecent acts in front of him and molested your sister for that I will make you pay.", her voice was dripping with so much venom and hatred that it made Ryan shake a bit with fear, then Amelia screamed as current flowed through her body.


    Michalina turned towards Ryan as she cooed at him, "Baby Brother let Big Sis deal with this despicable pervert while you finish your work.", with that she turned and began to a drag a still screaming and begging Amelia away from them.


    A stunned silence descended before Chloe spoke to Donna, "Damn she is going to kill her, Donna with me and Maeve go and get the major fast, others stay with Ryan.", with her piece said she ran after Michalina along with Donna to run interference as Donna hurriedly took to the skies.


    It did not take long for Ciara to arrive and by then a group had formed, she could hear them shouting and arguing, as she neared she saw Ellie and Jessica standing by her daughter''s side arguing with Chloe and Donna with their weapons ready to be drawn in a moment notice, a scream came from the figure under her daughters boots as electricity was running all over her body then a loud pop was heard followed by a scream from Chloe, "Michalina STOP TORTURING HER!"


    Ciara had seen enough as she bellowed in anger, "WHAT IS GOING ON?!!!"


    An ufortable silence descended as she spoke angrily, "Care to exin, why one of my soldier is torturing one of her sisters?"


    Michalina let go of the whimpering Amelia''s arms which was bend at an odd angle as she spoke, "Major, this degenerate pervert had not only challenged the authority of his superior officer, she had the audacity to molest her fellow sister iming since there is now and order we are free to act like uncivilized mongrels but also had the audacity to set her sights on my baby brother and sexually harass him, so I decided to punish her ordingly and make an example of her."


    Ciara''s eyes hardened at that whether she was angry at Michalina or Amelia, Ryan could not tell, Chloe immediately saluted to her superior as she spoke, "Major what Lieutenant Michalina said is absolutely correct, she began to molest one of our soldiers I ordered her to stop but she challenge my authority and then she sexually harassed Ryan, then Lieutenant Michalina arrived and caught her with full intent of harming her, I was afraid she might kill her with the way she was acting as such I asked Maeve to inform you, Ellie and Jessica soon joined preventing us from stopping the torture."


    Michalina had a hurt look on her face as she spoke, "You misunderstood me Chloe I did not intent on killing her just make her beg for her death."


    "Lieutenant Michalina as you so well pointed out we are not uncivilized mongrels then why, why DID YOU THINK IT WAS NICE TO TORTURE SOMEONE.", Ciara was towering at her soldiers, she was not the mother of Michalina at the moment but her superior.


    Her voice made everyone stand ramrod something that Ryan had heard stories about the legendarymander mode of hers and now he was about to witness it, "Since when did I gave you the permission to discipline others Lieutenant Michalina, I so do not remember do you?"


    Michalina shook her head as she began to speak, "But I"


    Only for Ciara to thunder at her, "But nothing as long as you are members of the ck Wolves you will obey the proper rules and regtion, what Amelia did was wrong and she will face disciplinary sanctions but you also broke the rules as such as of now you three are suspended I want you three to report to my office without dy where I will decide on your punishment now move."


    Michalina and her group saluted her as they started jogging back towards the base as Ciara turned her eyes as she spoke, "2nd Lieutenant Chloe and Sergeant Donna carry Corporal Amelia to the infirmary I will decide her fate in the tribunal as I will not tolerate any misdeeds from soldiers."


    Both the soldiers saluted to her as they picked the now slightly whimpering Amelia, as they were about to leave Ryan decided to speak, "Mom about sister she."


    Ciara looked at him directly into his eyes, eyes that made her wince, she used to like her son''s eyes but now it is so inhumane that it made her sad as she spoke, "Ryan I know what you are about to say but I am sorry I cannot alter the rules for one, I am so sorry."


    Ryan nodded as he let out a sigh before he spoke quickly, "Mom there is something else I need Sister Donna''s help toplete my current project."


    Ciara raised one of her eyebrows before she substituted Donna with another as Amelia was carried off to the infirmary, as soon as they were no longer visible Donna sighed as she spoke, "I am sorry Ryan you had to see something so disgraceful."


    Ryan gave her a weal smile as he spoke, "It is fine though big sister did over react, I hope she will not be punished harshly."


    Donna simply sighed as she spoke, "She is extremely lucky that we are in need of proper soldiers as well as the chain ofmand is in tatters otherwise she would have faced jail time."


    Ryan winced at that as much as their mother loved them at the same time she was an honest woman just because Michalina is rted to her she would not try to shield her but she would punish her ording to thew.


    Ryan shoulders shagged a bit as he spoke, "I do not know why Amelia acted as such in such a degenerate manner, it just does not make any sense."


    Donna frowned as sheposed her thoughts for a moment, "We no matter what at the end of the day are humans, and every people has a breaking point no matter how well trained they are, Amelia acted like this because she is breaking apart, how much interaction did you have with the civilians from the town."


    Ryan bit her lips thinking about his interactions for a moment with them before his eyes widen as Donna continued with a sad smile on her face, "It seems you have finally noticed huh, no one not even the doctor they might stare at you from afar, they might even question when everyone was present but no they never spoke with you one on one like us, even the doctor avoided you like gue do you know why?"


    Ryuu''s brain ran a thousand mile per second at that before his eyes widen as he spoke in disbelief, "Is it because I am a male?"


    Donna gave aforting squeeze to Ryan''s shoulder as she spoke, "You are extremely intelligent Ryan, yes it is because you are a male they seemed to have developed androphobia, of all the women we rescued three of them are locked up."


    Ryan was stunned this was something he never knew as he spoke, "But why?"


    Donna looked towards their base with somber look on her face, "One has attempted suicide thrice, another well her mind is broken to the point she thinks anything that moves wants to have sex with her and she is an obedient sex ve and the third well when you wereatose she tried to kill you because you are a man."


    Ryan''s jaw dropped at that as he spoke in disbelief, "What?!"


    Donna nodded with a grim look on her face, "Yes it is true, Ruby took the knife on her shoulder in order to save your life, Major was extremely furious but the youngest of them all pleaded for the life of her mother as such she was spared but she is now imprisoned, Amelia was tasked with to look after them and I think the stress had affected her."


    Ryan felt a headache forming because of it as Donna continued, "Amelia was the one who volunteered for the job, she was the one broke protocol to beg for that woman''s life along with her child, but by doing so she earned Michalina''s ire, your sister fought tooth and nail to have that woman executed and today''s incident urred because of it. The woman who tried to murder you was adamant and unrepentant of her action and only the heartfelt begging of her daughter and Amelia saved her life and when Amelia acted in such a way I believe Michalina lost control."


    Ryan looked down for a moment as he spoke, "So what should I do?"


    Donna looked at him directly in the eye as her eyes widen slightly for a brief moment, ''So this are the changes they were talking about it is really like he is bing part machine I hope his humanity never dies'', she gave him a smile as she spoke, "Avoid interacting with them at all cost, they have suffered a terrifying ordeal and in normal scenario they would have received counseling and what not but we are not able to provide those necessary help as such Ryan I request you to avoid them at all cost, if you are forced to stay in the same room or speak with them try to have as many of us with you specially your mother or aunts present okay."


    Ryan nodded as Donna spoke with a smile, "I believe we have wasted enough time so now what do you wish for me to do Ryan."

 Chapter 16: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-1)

    Chapter 16: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-1)


    "Donna I need a trench a little over four meters deep and at least three meters wide at the very least, and please start from this section of the wall to the gorge.", Ryan spoke as he tapped a portion of the wall with his hand.


    Donna nodded at that as she looked towards the gorge as she spoke, "So little over 70 meters long well I will be done in a jiffy."


    She then kneeled and ced her had on the ground as it shook slightly as the earth parted itself as a trench formed on the ground from the wall to the gorge shortly after.


    She then stood up with a huff as she spoke, "It that alright with you?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Perfect though I will trouble you after I am done by asking you to fill it up again."


    Donna waved her hand off as she spoke, "No problem.", as she looked towards the wall she saw a small portion of a pipe jutting out with a red colored end cap covering it making her frown before she spoke, "So you will pump water through this part of the base?"


    "Yes but not only water see over there it is kind of like a pair of sockets with which I will have to connect the structure I am about to build."


    With that Ryan jogged to the edge as a few others were lounging on the ground keeping an eye on him, a few of the became more alert as he began to look over the edge as if studying it thoroughly before he turned towards Donna as he spoke, "Can you make a few more trenches that would go down to the bottom make them in the form of semicircle with about two meters diameters this time around and ce them apart by at least two meters and oh make four of them."


    Donna nodded at that as she quickly dug the trenches out well more like she ced her hand on the ground as they earth fell to the gorge and the narrow but not so gentle river carried it away shortly.


    Ryan nodded at that as he then walked at least a good five meters from the gorge as he then he marked a ten by eleven plot as he spoke, "Sister Donna I need you to remove as much earth as possible from within this marked plot so as to make it at least 4 meters deep."


    Donna raised one of her bows as she followed Ryan''s instruction to the letter and this was what Chloe and Jessica saw when they had arrive making them a bit confusion at all the digging that Ryan was forcing Donna to do.


    A minutester Donna had finished her work looking a bit tired as sweat glistened over her face as Ryan spoke to her with smile, "That was excellent work sister Donna you may sit and recuperate I have little something for you to do but that is after you have rested enough and here take this canteen of water."


    Donna simply nodded as she took the canteen of water from Ryan''s hands she took a swig as she made her way to where others were sitting before she promptly copsed on the ground as she spoke, "Damn this takes a lot out of me."


    Chloe kept an eye on Ryan like a hawk as she watched him touch the wall of the base as a small ripple went on the wall, she then watched him run towards therge pit as heid on the ground with his upper part of his body dangling from the edge of the pit making her run and to hold his legs Ryan turned towards her she chided him a little, "Ryan you are leaning too much and too dangerously at that, let me hold your legs lest you fall into the pit, next time you do something simr I willin to your mother that you are disregarding your safety.", as she spoke another soldier had arrived as she helped Chloe to hold Ryan by his legs while Ryan gave a sheepishly smile before mouthing off ''Sorry'' and ''Thank you'' to Chloe.


    Ryan then raised his right hand towards the ground as it gained a bluish glow and soon blocks of wet concrete seemed to appear and within a few minutes had filled it to the brim of the pit as he did others joined as they peered down to look at the spectacle that was urring as one of them whistled lowly by the time thest of the blocks had been ced Ryan was already standing on his two legs.


    "Is that concrete?"


    "Yes a 440 blocks of quick drying concrete blocks that would harden within a few minutes.", Ryan gave a small nod as he answered the question, before he ran towards the base he touched it again and Chloe again noticed the ripples forming as Ryan touched it, he then jumped down into the trench and he began toy down concrete flooring and in regr intervals cing supports that ended up in a semicircr form that went up to therge concrete rectangle as he neared the end he was pulled up from the trench as heid thest part of the trench he nodded in satisfaction upon seeing the trench lining up perfectly at the middle of the concrete rectangle.


    Chloe looked at him as she spoke, "Can you exin what you are trying to aplish here."


    Ryan looked at her as he spoke with a smile, "Of course, I will be cing a water tower here and pumps the water will be pulled up from the river below and ced inside this tower, then the water will flow from this tower to the water and sewage treatment floor get purified and then stored in reservoir to be used."


    Ryan''s face gained an apologetic smile as he spoke, "Sister Donna I wish to apologize but I need you to bring those four trenches up to this rectangle and you may bury the other one also once again sorry for making you work so much."


    Donna simply waved it off before she spoke, "There is nothing to apologize for Ryan, you are giving me good practice for my powers", with that she within a minutepleted her task as Ryan began his.


    Ryan this time simply changed his design he literally extended the rectangr t form towards the edge of the cliff at the same time he made sure to ce half ring blocks inside each of the trenches with the open part pointing towards the sky.


    He then turned to Maeve as he spoke, "The next part I need your help, I need you to carry me as I finish the construction for concrete part before Iy the pipes down, it would be slow and painful for you."


    Maeve nodded at that as she spoke, "Well when you are ready we will proceed."


    Ryan gave her a small smile as he dashed towards the base to refill his stocks of concrete, during thest few days he had gotten another upgrade that was inventory space, an extra dimensional space where he had six slots for carrying six types of items and it would stack at a hundred each as such he would be able to carry up to six hundred items at a go.


    Ryan looked down as he began to formte a n in his mind, "Sister Maeve I need you to go as close to the water but try to stay as close this side as possible at the same time."


    Chloe frowned at that as she spoke, "Absolutely not we do not know what kind of creature lurks under those waters it can prove fatal."


    Ryan huffed at her as he spoke, "Then how do you propose Iplete my job without getting close to water."


    Chloe frowned at that as she spoke, "What is your maximum range you need to get in order to ce the blocks?"


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "Three and a half meters, the blocks I ced earlier I simply had throw it down at the same time you saw how I slowly covered the entire area bit by bit."


    Chloe frowned at that for a moment as she glossed over her options before she began to bark out orders, "Donna create the strongest earthen barricade you possible can in the area needed by Ryan and as he finished up with his job you have also to lower it, can you do it."


    Donna looked at the flow of water as she spoke with a determined look on her face, "Well I can try."


    Chloe nodded at that as she spoke to Maeve, "Go back to base and get the rest of the fliers with you with Major''s permission upon exining the entire situation to her."


    Ryan pouted as he promptly sat down on the ground with his hands folded and his legs dangling over the edge, only to be pulled back by the cor as Chloe spoke in a stern voice, "What part of be careful did you not understand you will not sit near the edge."


    Ryan spluttered in indignation at that as he spoke, "Let me go."


    Chloe''s narrowed as she spoke, Never, I told you to be careful yet you went and sat near the edge like that wait till I see your mother."


    As Ciara arrived with additional personnel she saw Ryan sitting indignantly in the center of the circle as she approached them the soldiers greeted her with a salute as she spoke, "2nd Lieutenant Chloe is there a reason why you are so zealously guarding Ryan?"


    "Yes ma''am we are preventing him from sitting at the edge."


    Ciara narrowed her eyes at Ryan who suddenly felt the ground so interesting while inwardly he fumed at Chloe ''so what he was sitting at the edge he was not going to jump or do something like that.''


    "Ryan we will talk about your behaviorter but first we have a job to do."


    Ryan peered down from the edge standing by Ciara''s side as he watched Donna slowly raise the earth blocking the flow of water she gritted her teeth as she shouted out, "Five minutes! Five minutes is the maximum I can hold out."


    Ciara simply made a gesture with her hand as Ryan was plucked from the shore as he descended near her with great speed, Rayn did not waste any time as she quickly began to create tforms needed for the piping system, what he created was a form of pier that went a few meters into the river, he then proceeded to put concrete on the wall within limited amount of time.


    "Major I am unable to any longer.", as she spoke Donna stumbled back as she was about o fall one of her sisters picked her up as she was flown off the wall copsed shortly after as Ryan was picked up as well, as he looked at the pier he felt d that the concrete was a quick drying one as well as the level at which the pier was created was such that a little over a quarter of the total length of each pir was over water and he was d for it.


    As Donna was brought up to the surface she took heaved and coughed as Nikita who was brought here as the doctor patted her back as she handed her a canteen full of water, it was just yesterday that she had pulled down half of their previous base down after she was full of excitement and as such she was incredibly, after all even if she was the one who created the walls she did so in the span of a five days not to mention the small huts she made slowly but she made a mistake of removing half of them in a single day out of excitement and now she was paying the price.


    Nikita frowned as she looked at Donna''s fingers, ''Her fingers are awfully pale and shrunken as if she had ced then in water for a very long time.''


    Ryan soon followed after her as hended Ciara quickly caught up to him as she spoke, "How much work is left for you?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well frankly speaking a lot, I will have to put concrete up the wall to the edge of the gorge otherwise the pipe might fall over easily during some flooding and what not as such I am doing a bit of future proofing here."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "I see then when Donna"


    Whatever she was going to stay was prevented by Nikita, "I do not think Major Donna is showing signs of necrosis and from what we know it would be sometime since she regains her energy."


    "Mom I do not think that for the time being we need sister Donna she has helped us so much and I think she should rest, whatever is left can easily be aplished by myself with a few protection she has already helped me in the most important part and that was cing the pier while she held the wall at the same time, the next part would take time and with her five minutes window it would be impossible for me toply, but I assure you I would not be going down to the pier at the moment I have many other things to aplish namely putting pipes and pumps anddders."


    Ciara frowned at that as Zhan spoke to her, "Major if it helps you I would like to volunteer while he is down there, not to mention with so many of our sisters present here we can protect him to the best of our abilities when he is working down there."


    Ciara looked at Zhan before she spoke to Ryan with a sigh, "I still believe we should wait for Donna to recover and then we would proceed slowly."


    Ryan shook his head as he argued back, "No mom we cannot await as there is no time, the water purifiers that are present in that pond extracts anything that is should not be present in water but where would those impurities go? Straight back into the pond and with each cycle the toxicity of the water would increase and you should have noticed the water is starting to smell and taste bad already and it would not be long we would fall sick because of it as such I cannot wait."


    A few hourster Ryan was standing on the U-shaped pier, he had it made purposefully so that he could ce the filters in such a way that they would be protected from physical damage courtesy of the pier that would act as the buffers, he looked up to see the wall of concrete with indention in them for him to ce the pipes, and run the necessary wires and most importantly ce a couple of pumps in between so as to such the water in properly, he had then proceeded to cedders and tform as well so as to make it easier to climb down and service the machines, if and when necessary all that was left for him was to ce the filters, pipes and pumps then wire them up, then he would have to create the tank and link everything to base, the thought of the task made him sigh in depression as his shoulder slouched forward, ''And here I was mouthing off yesterday that by tomorrow evening the base would have fresh water.''


    "Impressive work over there nephew, truly impressive after seeing you create such structures calling your power as only suitable or creating and restoring technology is so wrong yours is to re-forge and recreate our civilization."


    Seeing the proud look on her aunty Zhan''s face made Ryan blush but before he could say anything a shout came from above as well as sound gunfire and before either could react Ryan cried out in pain as he found something digging into his left shoulder hard he then found the entire world spin as tremendous bone breaking pressure exerted on his body as air was forcefully exerted out of his lungs, his vision grew dim he could no longer stand against thebined weight and pressure as he slowly started to fall towards the river.

 Chapter 17: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-2)

    Chapter 17: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-2)


    Ciara was looking down from above as she watched Ryan finishying thest bit ofdder that reached the U-shaped pier underneath, his powers was beyond wonderful, he had ced the pipes, the pumps and the only thing left was the filter and then half the work would be over, it was already nearing lunch as such she would call them back up and let him continue after the lunch and hopefully they did not have to work after the Sun had set.


    She looked as her son was looking up and admiring his work with her friend by his side when all of a sudden one of her soldiers shouted out in rm as she opened fire and following her example as did the others but it was all for naught the creature which turned out to be a giant snake jumped out of the water grabbed Ryan by his shoulder and had tightly wrapped around him, the sheer size of it gave her a miniature heart attack it was too big, the biggest snake she had seen and could bet her life that so did anyone in the whole wide world, she could hear Ryan''s scream of pain as she watched him slowly fall into the murky depths of the water.


    Zhan was stunned for a moment before she sprang into action with the herculean strength she managed to stop the snake from not only dragging Ryan into the water by dragging it by its tail but also to drag her more into the solidnds, normally she would have fired her gun but that would also release the snake from her grasp and even if she managed to somehow free Ryan a simply breaking of his neck would do the trick.


    Zhan with her enormous strength managed to pull the snake off of Ryan, only for it to wound around her tightly, so tight that it made it difficult not only to breath but to held the jaw off her as she stumbled on the ground dangerously close to the edge, by then the others had stopped firing seeing their allies too close to the target as such the fliers decided tond nearby as the others on the shore began their descend suing the newly constructeddder.


    Ryan was disoriented for a moment as he grasped for air his left shoulder ached badly as his hand felt a bit numb, as his vision returned he was greeted by the horrific sight of Zhan struggling against the biggest snake he had ever seen, as he looked at that seen dumbfounded for a brief moment as his mind went back to another scene a few days ago, another person who was like an aunt to him, a family had died simrly and he did not want it again, whenever he closed his eyes he saw a half eaten Lena using him of not saving her and he did not want another death on his hands when he could have saved her.


    Ryan stood up as his right hand seemed to suddenly disappeared into the air as ripples formed around it for a moment anyone who watched him was stunned at that then he pulled out a rapier out of thin air, Maeve who was nearby shouted at him to stop but he did not pay any heed to her as the only thing that was in front of him was creature that was hurting another of his family member, he lunged towards it with great speed.


    Zhan tried to breath but the grasp was too strong for her, she tried to keep the head at bay with her left hand as with her right she tried to push the coiling serpent off of her, she knew after the apocalypse took ce her strength had grown up by leaps and bounds and any normal snake no matter how big they were would have been torn to shreds by her bare hands but the one she was wrestling with was no ordinary snake she could feel her bone creaking and the gun pressing badly against her body, when all of a sudden she found herself staring at the tip of the sword a few drops of blood fell on her face, before it disappeared and in a swift and motion full of great fluidity Ryan pulled the sword before he swung it again beheading the beast.


    The in a flurry of motion he cut down the beast into many pieces, Zhan pushed the dead body parts off of her as she sat up covered in blood, seeing her rtively unharmed Ryan send her a smile full of relief before he flicked his sword get the blood off of it as he then once again send it back into the inventory.


    "Ryan, Ryan are you alright.", a voice came to his ears as he winced from pain and his earlier strength granted by adrenaline seemed to be wearing off, as Zhan quickly stood up from her position and while she looked over him Maeve approached her as she spoke with concern in her voice, "Captain let us carry you two to safety first before we can give you treatment who knows what else is lurking here."


    Zhan nodded as Ryan and she were both lifted to the banks of the gorge as theynded Nikita went towards the person who was nearest to her and that happened to be Zhan who shouted at her, "I ampletely fine and uninjured I am simply covered by the beast''s blood so go and check on Ryan."


    Nikita nodded as she quickly went after Ryan as she barked at the one carrying him, "ce him on the concrete floor."


    As Ryan was ced on top of the concrete he let out a moan of pain as Nikita was checking him over as others surrounded him, with the help of Ciara she quickly removed Ryan''s clothes as a few of them winced upon seeing his wounds, the beast when it hadtched to Ryan had dug its teeth deep leaving serrated marking all over the left side of his torso and the swelling near his cor bone mean that it was broken for sure, Nikita quickly opened her bag as she pulled out a ck bottle from her bag and dipped a small swab of cotton in the liquid before she started to clean him she looked towards Ciara as she spoke, "Keep him in seated position."


    She then proceeded to rub the blood and grime of his body, as a dizzy Ryan winced at her touch, "Easy easy there hold still and let me ess the injury.", came the soothing voice of Nikita as she gentle touched the cor bone area Ryan gave a grunt of pain as Nikita spoke with a sigh, "Yup definitely broken.", she then had him lean forward a little as she cleaned the back area the blood had yet to stop flowing as Chloe and one of her subordinates quickly applied thebat gauze that was handed to them by Nikita holding them over the area where the wounds were much grievous as did Ciara with Nikita''s help.


    Meanwhile the guards manning the walls were a bit restless as one of them spoke, "What has happened? I think I heard shots being fired for a moment."


    The other with binocr fixed on her eyes spoke with a grimace on her face, "I can see that something did indeed has happened with the water supply team Captain Zhan is covered in copious amount of blood but otherwise looked fine whereas someone is being tended but my view is blocked as such I do not know who, do you think we should alert our medical team."


    The other frowned as she spoke with a nod, "Of course I will go and alert them they might receive someone badly injured.", with that she ran towards thest known location of their residential doctors while inwardly cursing theck of goodmunication devices.


    A few minutester the group had sessfully managed to stop his bleeding the gauzes were red with blood, as Nikita took out a roll of bandage and started applying over his torso carefully as well as tightly she then turned towards one of them and spoke, "Get him on the portable stretcher we are carrying him back to base fast and then it will be easier for me to heal him."


    Normally Ciara despised others who tried to take control of her soldiers like that but she knew not to hinder the medic from doing her job properly, she helped them to ce Ryan on the portable stretcher as she watched the fliers carry him back to their base, while they decided to move into the safe confines of their bed only for one of them to cry out in rm, "Major most of the carcass is gone."


    That made everyone who was present dash towards the edge only to see the blood covered pier with most of the snake body part strangely missing as Ciara spoke with a frown, "I do not want anyone to venture near the water for the foreseeable future."


    Zhan frowned at that as she spoke, "But Major we have the water supply to deal with."


    Ciara nodded at that as she spoke in amanding tone, "I know that but at the same time I also know that the person responsible for it is injured and as such we have no means to aplish that without his presence so till we have the proper means to aplish the rest of the work safely I want everyone to stay clear of this ce.", Unknown to them as they left towards the base a pair of eyes appeared above water as it feasted on the snake carcass before diving into the depths of the water.


    Michalina was dead tired her mother made her and her friends stand under the sun with buckets full of sand in them held by their outstretched hands with their knees bend, she was sweating profusely from the heat, ''At least baby bro will have the shower ready for me by evening, but still getting suspended for doing the right thing well feels bad.''


    She then heard a shouting andmotion as she turned towards the nearest soldier as she spoke, "Oi what is thismotion about?"


    The soldier turned towards the speaker as she spoke hurriedly, "An ident has urred in the water supply site.", the mention of it made Michalina''s blood turn cold as her fellow sister-in-arms continued, "They are bringing in the injured."


    Michalina spoke hurriedly at that, "Do you know who was injured?"


    The soldier shook her head as she spoke, "No idea though Captain Zhan was seen coated in blood, if I hear anything I will let you know."


    Michalina deted at that as she whispered, "There goes our evening shower."


    Ellie who was nearby spoke with a tired dejected sigh, "So true."


    Marcel looked at the small window of the room that had been given to him and his family a room that was smaller than his bathroom, he had just arrived with food for them well what little the military was giving out to everyone, people with strange powers seemed to crop up and their numbers would increase day by day, ''Evolvers'' they were called, the ''Future of Humanity'' and what not, because of their powers they were given better lodgings and better food, he then looked at his family with hope that one day one of them evolved and at least by then they would not have to live like that his entire family including his father huddled together.


    He had given a part of his food to his daughters as did his wife it seemed that they would have to spend another hunger filled day then his thoughts went to his mother as his face darkened a bit, it seemed that one of the higher-ups in the army was an ''old friend'' of hers and she had abandoned them to enjoy the life offort, the thought of her so called friend made his blood boil the look that lecherous old man gave to his daughters made him simply bash his skulls but it seemed that God simply enjoyed making his life a misery after all that old man was the first ones to evolve.


    Thinking about his children made him want to weep, his wife would cry every now and then thinking about his son, who he knew was probably dead but it was something that his wife vehemently refused to believe in but he knew how dangerous the world is and as such he knew he was not only dead but he might be a rotting zombie roaming in the city.

 Chapter 18: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-3)

    Chapter 18: Danger lurking in the depths (Part-3)


    Ryan felt his head pounding hard as he opened his eyes, the light around him was a bit dim as he tried to shit up he winced his body swore from his lovely encounter with the snake, ''At least the critter is dead and if only my pain would decrease a bit.''


    "Easy there.", a rather unfamiliar voice came to his ears as he looked up to see an unfamiliar face making him a bit startled as he spoke in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?", his body tensed up as he red at her.


    The woman raised her hand in order to make herself look harmless as she spoke, "Easy there Ryan I am a civilian doctor and currently I am working with you all and my name is..."


    "Nadia Murphy, her name is Nadia Murphy and you are currently in our care Ryan.", came the all too familiar voice of Ruby as he turned towards her he winced upon seeing the familiar glint in her eyes, if anyone would ask how a mad scientist should look like Ryan would describe her without missing a beat, but at the same time Ryan was extremely grateful to her after all she took a knife in order to save his life, but that was it no matter of gratitude would ever make him her guinea pig that was something he swore on his life inwardly.


    "I think he should have some water his throat should be parched.", Nadia spoke as she was about to lift the ss of water but she was stopped by the arrival of Michalina, "You do not need to worry I have brought my canteen along with me I will help him drink from it.", her words made Ryan rx a bit the words of warning from Donna still fresh in his mind and he so did not wish to be mur no not murdered but assassinated yes the word seemed much more regal than murdered, he mentally gave a appreciative nod at that.


    Nadia as she went and stood a good few meters away, as Ruby began her inspection while Michalina held her canteen against his lips the cool water entered his throat only for him to grimace as he drank a mouthful from it, "The water does not taste good at all."


    Michalina sighed at that as she spoke, "I know bro, there was slight drizzle when you were sleeping and thetest batch of water from the purifier is like this."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "I have to finish mytest project fast."


    Ruby frowned at him as she spoke, "You are not finishing anything Ryan for the foreseeable future it would take at least near about two months for your cor bone to be healed properly until then your left hand will be in a sling, not to mention you have lost a good amount of blood as such you would temporary reside in my infirmary."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "That is not non negotiable you should know better about the water borne diseases better than anyone else what kind of problem we might haveter on if we continue to drink this polluted water."


    Nadia who was standing a bit away from them spoke intervening Ruby from speaking, "Ryan, well may I call you Ryan.", Ryan send a small nod granting her permission to speak, "Ryan you are injured so instead of working on something strenuous why don''t you try to fix the purifier it would work for some time until you get well."


    Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose as he spoke, "Doctor Murphy but I am sorry there is nothing for me to fix there, those purifier are at best a temporary solution, with the amount of water needed by the residents of Fort Genesis the water of the pond is decreasing at an rming rate, at the same time the purifier purifies the water and then it would dump the pollutants back into the pond as such the toxicity would increase as such my current project is very important."


    Nadia frowned for a moment before her eyes widen as she spoke, "What about the sea?"


    Ryan shook his head dismissing the idea as he spoke, "The purifiers are not made to work with sea water so the only thing left is the river."


    MIchalina sighed at that as she spoke, "The same river where you were attacked."


    Ryan winced at that before he spoke again, "Well it was so fast that I could not react, I heard a shout of warning then gunfire and then the next thing was that I was in its coils as it tried to squeeze me to death so how big was it."


    Michalina smiled upon seeing his eyes sparkling at least it was a good sign that he did not break down suffering yet another near death experience but unfortunately she will have to be the bearer of the bad news, "Sorry bro but after you were brought to the shore something decided to steal the carcass and whatever remained mom forbid anyone from going down so I guess it is still lying there."


    "So what Tier was it?", a question that Ruby wanted to ask him from the beginning after all Ryan had the ability to urately predict the strength of a beast and so far he had not been wrong.


    Ryan raised one of his brows as he spoke, "It was Tier 2 why?"


    Ruby simply smiled at him, which made him even more wary of her as she spoke, "Nothing I was just curious it managed to leave bruise marks on Captain Zhan and considering her strength...", she did notplete her sentence but it was enough for Ryan to understand her intent.


    Ruby eyes were unfocused as she was in deep thought for a moment before she spoke as if remembering something with the familiar spark in her eyes, "Ah by the way Ryan what did you use to kill the beast, can I see it."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well then may I bring it out.", as Ruby nodded like a kid in candy store waiting for the shopkeeper to hand his favorite candy which everyone except Ruby a bit ufortable.


    Ryan stretched his right hand as it disappeared into thin air, to the viewers it looked as if he had ced his hand in water as the air rippled around his hand he pulled out the same sword that he had used to y the giant snake.


    The trio of lookers studied the sword which was a rapier, its de glistened under the light like a jewel, although the rest of the sword looked a bit ordinary but what set it apart was the guard looked like it began from the pommel itself and ended at the crossbar of the sword.


    "Nice sword.", Rubyplimented it as she gave a few practice swing before Michalina decided to try it on with a smile on her face as Ruby spoke again, "What tier is this sword for it to cut the creature like that it must be a higher tiered one."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes it is of Tier three."


    Ruby frowned at that as she spoke, "So you can already make weapons of higher tier?"


    Ryan nodded at that before he spoke with a tired sigh, "Yes I can though my chances of sess is greatly diminished with the increase in tier like Tier 3 weapons have sixty-six percent chance of being made by me whereas for Tier 5 it has only 8% chance not to mention I have blueprint of only baseball bat of that level."


    Ruby frowned at that as she messaged her temples before she spoke, "So currently you can supply us with Tier 2 easily right?"


    Ryuu nodded at that before he spoke with a frown, "Well I can but each Tier of weapons has some form of requirement like strength agility and what not until and unless you meet the minimum requirement you may be able to use it but it would be under great risk to your own health for example let say gun its recoil might be so high that it might tear your arms off."


    Ruby nodded at that as she abruptly stood up only to stop at the inquisitive look on Nadia''s as she spoke, "There is something I wish to ask you.", under the encouraging nod of the brother and sister duo she began again, "What is this tier thing? Is this some form of military term? Sorry if I am asking about something extremely confidential."


    MIchalina decided to reply on behalf of Ryan, "No Doctor Murphy it is not any secret military code or something it is what our world has be now, every creature is evolving and tier only shows the strength level of the creature the more higher the tier the more dangerous the creatures are, some of them are so strong that weapons that were known to the most lethal and the most hi-tech does not even put a scratch on some of them and I believe you have already seen one."


    Nadia''s eyes widen at that as she spoke in disbelief, "So if you mean all creatures does that include humans."


    Ryan smirked at her as he spoke, "We humans are not only the most adaptable but the one on top of the food chain no matter what happens we will always be at the top, the more each creature evolves the higher will its tier be.", Nadia was astounded upon hearing that from them she had been hearing many things this past few days specially since the lion incident and as such and this tier thing she heard made her more confused she wanted answers and finally she managed to get some.


    Ruby pped her hand as she spoke, "Well enough of that it is 2:00 a.m. currently and I want my patient to have something to eat before he takes some much needed sleep, and I will be back soon from the kitchen.", with that she left leaving Nadia along with them, as an ufortable silence descended a few minutester she left the in order to visit another of their patient Amelia who was sound asleep.


    "So how are you feeling brother.", the simple question of Michalina made Ryan wince with pain as he spoke, "What do you expect I am sore and my cor bone hurts like crazy."


    MIchalina nodded before she took a from her pockets a small bag and from which she produced a strip of couple of pills as she spoke in a whisper, "Brother I have some pills stored for rainy day you can have one now it would help you subside the pain.", Ryan was about to speak something only to stop when Michalina ced her hand over his mouth as she whispered again, "Listen brother no one knows about them and I want to keep this in between us and do not protest I know how much in pain are you and this pills are pain killers, rather powerful ones as such please do not hesitate and take it before anyone sees it and remember sometimes it is okay to be a bit selfish you are in pain so you need it and I know Ruby is a sadistic cheapskate who will not give anyone a single pill even if they die this is the only way for you to receive some form of relief from pain."


    Ryan nodded at that as a pill was promptly shoved in his mouth and the canteen touched his lips, as he finished drinking from it he gave a small thanks to her as he began to speak, "So mom prevented anyone from going down there."


    Michalina nodded at that before she spoke with a frown, "Yes and I agree with her who knows what is down there so for the time being staying away from it is the best thing we should do for now."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "Yes she is right the current me is handicapped enough that it would be difficult for me to work down there, though I would prefer toplete the rest of the things above th shore so that the only thing left would be putting the filters down and skedaddle out of that ce."


    As Michalina nodded Ryan continued with a frown, "I think I should also put a cage around the pier itself."


    Michalina frowned for a moment before it widen in understatement, "Ah I understand you wish to make sure that the filters would stay protected as well as maintenance will be safer, am I right?"


    Ryan smiled at her as he spoke, "Absolutely big sister you are right, though I think I should also focus on the green house as well."


    "For food supply.", to which Ryan nodded with a frown, "Well I can hook them all up but for it to work the water system should work as well, and time is what I do not have, if only I"


    Only to be stopped by Michalina with a stern look on her face, "Bro what have I told you aboutmenting."


    Ryan looked directly into her eyes as he recited it back to her word for word, "Lamenting is for losers."


    Michalina nodded at that as she continued, "That is right and what happened to you could have happened to anyone."


    The sat there quietly for a moment waiting for a moment waiting for Ruby''s arrival when Michalina suddenly spoke with a frown, "Brother is there something you are hiding from me."


    Ryan was taken aback by the question as he spoke, "What do you mean by that sis? What would I hide from you?"


    "I know how important those projects are and how much weck the time but you are being too pushy about it why?"


    Ryan sighed at that no matter what he does he cannot get past either his sister''s or his mother''s watchful eyes as he spoke with a tired sigh, "I am nning on leaving the base soon."


    MIchalian was dumbfounded upon hearing that before she let out a scream, "WHAT!!!!!", a scream that made Nadia to arrive running towards them as the other patient was startled awake, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT???", she literally screamed in his ears as he prayed whatever deity of any religion that people followed around the world to give him strength enough to survive the eruption of Mount Michalina.

 Chapter 19: Returning to the Pier (Part-1)

    Chapter 19: Returning to the Pier (Part-1)


    "Chill big sis I think your voice is too low for others to wake.", was the calm reply of Ryan who tried to move but winced at the pain, ''Damn it I hope it starts working soon.''


    "Michalina I do not care what you are what you could do if you disturb my patient and cause them distree I will throw you out and not even Major would stops me.", a voice thundered from near his bed as Ryan looked up he was greeted with the most intense and angry look he had ever witness on Ruby''s face but she was not done, "I am a healer child and you do not anger the person who holds your life in her hands at least once a year."


    Michalina turned red from the embarrassment of being chastised by Ruby who was holding a simmering hot porridge inside a pot and it might not be the best porridge but for Ryan who was famished it smelt just heavenly Ruby took a deep breath as she spoke, "Nadia go and check on the other patient where as I have a chat with the siblings."


    Nadia gave a small nod as she left, Ruby then looked towards the duo with narrowed us only to give slight smile to Ryan as his stomach grumbled as she spoke with a smile, "Sorry Ryan I took some time to make your food.", she then red at Michalina as she spoke, "Make yourself useful and get him a table.", Michalina obeyed without a protest as Ryan gawked at her, ''How did Ruby managed to reign her I never thought I would see a day when Michalina would obey someone other than our mother.''


    Meanwhile Michalina''s mind was running in different direction, ''Damn it that was disgraceful my baby bro is injured and I shouted at him causing him distress Ruby had every right to keep me away from him but that does not excuse her from using that tone on me even if she is right I will get even but not now not before Ryan his healed but at the same time she saved his life a few days ago, damn it what should I do.''


    Ruby ced the bowl in front of Ryan as she began to feed him under protest from Ryan, "Shut up, you are injured and the less movement you make the better for yourself.", she light rebuked him before she turned her attention to Michalina as she spoke, "So why were you screaming your head off and giving Ryan unnecessary stress?"


    Michalina scowled as she spoke, "Ryan is nning to leave."


    Her words caused Ryan to shoot her a betrayed look he wanted to keep it in between them but she went and bbed it to others it was not his intentions to hide they would have known about it eventually."


    Ruby was stunned for a moment before she shot a look of disbelief towards Ryan before she had a look of understanding on her face as she spoke, " Ah I understand there is no need to freak out MIchalina this is hallucination caused by blood loss."


    Ryan was about to protest but then he momentarily gained a mischievous glint in his eyes which disappeared as soon as it came as he stuttered, "I-I am fine and "


    "And nothing", Ruby spoke in a rather forceful manner, "You are injured as such you cannot think properly as such you should spend your time thinking about healing nothing more nothing less and I hope with time the foolish notion disappears.", as she spoke she had a odd gleam in her eyes, that made Ryan agree with her more lest she incurred her wrath.


    Ryan gave a tired sigh as he spoke in an unsure tone, "I suppose."


    Ruby chirped happily at that as she spoke, "Good now eat like a good boy and then you can go back to sleep."


    Michalina''s eyes narrowed at that, ''That no good brother of mine you may convince that idiot Ruby to drop the matter but I will not.''


    A few more minutester Ryan was lying on his bed as Ruby had left to wash the dishes he was trying to sleep but the Michalina''s stare was making him ufortable as he could not keep it up and whispered harshly, "What? Stop staring at me like that I am trying to sleep."


    Michalina gritted her teeth as she replied back, "You may fool that idiot but you will never pull wool over my eyes, so tell me why?"


    Ryan ran his right hand through his hair as he spoke, "Sister as long as I stay inside I cannot go stronger as fast as I want if I cannot keep up my pace then eventually another incident like the lion would happen I do not want that."


    Michalina sighed as she gently touched his hands as she spoke, "Patience one should learn to be patient, no work done in a hurry is perfect if you try it you are bound to fail and you know what the cost of failure would be."


    Ryan nodded as he gained a faraway look on his face as he spoke, "Sister have you wondered about others in this apocalypse how they are living and in what condition they are in, you have seen how the women of that town were."


    Michalina gently caressed his hair as she spoke, "There are limitations to one''s strength dear and there is no one in this world that can save each and every person you have to know your limits not chase after the impossible."


    Ryan gained a sad look on his face as he spoke, "I know my limits, sis I know I cannot save everyone but if by bing strong I can save even one more person I am happy and as for being impossible tell me do you known Darren Jennings?"


    Michalina gave him a deadpanned look as she spoke, "Brother when you have someone chattering about the only person from our country to go to space you generally have the facts and what not shoved into your brain."


    Ryan gave her a sheepish smile as she spoke with a frown, "Do not tell me you wish to go to search for him."


    Ryan gave her a hardened look as he spoke, "You told me about impossibility right?", as Michalina nodded at that he continued, "A week before that disastrous day he went to space what do you think might have happened to him and the others who are up there in the space station?"


    Michalina pursued her lips as Ryan continued, "If they had suffer the same way as us then their power will fail, and without power their life support system would fail soon after just think of it you are in a dark narrow space slowly suffocating."


    Michalina grimaced as she spoke, "I get I get it but no matter what you say I will not allow you to venture out alone sorry about that."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "But ."


    Michalina ced a finger over his lips as she spoke with the sweetest smile she could master on her face, "Ryan you are my family, my brother we may have learned and inherited many things from our mother but there are few things that I have not inherited from her one of them being impartial and another thing that I personally believe is that the ''end justifies the means'', as such brother I unlike my mother would not waste my energy and time to convince you to stay I will simply break every bone of your body and cripple you, you have seen what I have done to Amelia that was just the tip of the iceberg so do not try to work against me if I say I will help you swallow your pride and let me otherwise you will learn firsthand why others call me the ''Feral Wolf'' of the ''ck Wolf'' regiment", Ryan at that moment literally forgot to breath this was the big sister he had learned to fear how did he forgot about the real her so easily as he swallowed hard Michalina gently caressed his cheeks as she spoke, "Now it iste so try to sleep meanwhile I will stay by your side.


    Ryan did not need to be told twice as he quickly closed his eyes as he began to count sheep and do whatever it was necessary to fall asleep he was in no mood to deal with his sister when she was showing her real face and it scared him every single time to the point he always wondered how did she manage to enter the army with such attitude.


    It was difficult for him to fall asleep as such he decided to enter into the deep recess of his mind to look at a few blue prints and maybe he would try to find another upgrade for himself.


    Near about a weekter a grumbling Ruby gave him Ryan a clean bill of health as Ryan smirked at an awed Nikita she could not help but ask out loud, "How? How did you manage to heal so quickly normally a person would need at least a few weeks to heal and you?"


    Ruby looked at her with disbelief as she spoke, "It seems you are not getting any sleep at all dear since when are we in a normal situation in fact if you ask me I am a bit disappointed I thought he would heal even faster."


    Ryan shrugged at that as he spoke, "Well sorry to disappoint you but that would not be sometime in the foreseeable future, Ick the means to upgrade anymore."


    Ciara looked at her son who stood up and faced her she was dreading this conversation for sometime but it was too be done, "Mom I am ready to try again toplete the water collecting system."


    Ciara frowned at that as she spoke, "Are you sure Ryan if I remember correctly you are making my soldiers collect sand for another project have you finished it."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Of course I have finished making the greenhouses but it would not work until the water system begins to work properly."


    Michalina who was standing near them spoke for the first time, "Major I know I am still suspended but you can send me down there along with Captain Zhan I can be extremely useful because of my mutations."


    Ciara nodded at that as she gave her permission and thus within that hour a group muchrger than before was present there, to Ryan it looked as if they had decided to take thest stand here every bit of weapon and ammunition had been piled up as they were ready for a fight with the entire world, and Ryan was only hoping it would be enough.


    Captain Zhan inspected her newest weapon courtesy of Ryan, a double barrel bolt action rifle, a Tier 3 weapon which unfortunately was not only heavy but the recoil was too bad and the only one who managed to use was Zhan, and Ryan would like to give it a try now that his shoulder was healed.


    "So I have decided to tweak the n a bit, the instation of the filters are delicate process not to mention they are delicate themselves and in the future I might have to go down there to repair and every time I do not want to disturb others as such I have devised a simply change in ns, I will be making a cage like structure surrounding I know it would take some time for that I apologize."


    Zhan waved him off as she spoke, "Water is very essential for us as of this morning the pond has been officially dered unfit for consumption without this water we are as good as dead."


    Ryan simply gave her a grateful nod as then with Ciara''smand Zhan, Michalina, Donna and Ryan were both taken down to the pier, Ryan noticed that the it wasplete clean there was not even small mark left from that incident, ''It seems that the rain washed it away.


    He looked up to see the members of the ''ck Wolves'' had upied both the banks of the gorge as their weapons pointed down towards the water, including a high powered sniper in Ciara''s hand.


    "Brother start working.", as Michalina''s words came to his ears Ryan nodded before he moved swiftly in order to set the cage that would house the four filters he had nned from the start he was near about half way down when the world drowned under gunshots as arge crocodile lookalike thrashed up from the water as it dashed itself against aplete part of the cage it was first electrocuted and then Zhan''s gun roared like an artillery gun as the brain of the creature sttered all around, she looked at her new gun pleased.


    "Ryan, do not pay attention the water is now flowing with blood more creatures might be attracted so work fast."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I will be moving too close to the edge please protect me."


    "Baby bro I will be by your side do not worry."


    Ryan shed a small smile towards Michalina as he leaned over the edge as many of them tensed, Zhan gripped her weapon hard, the fence began to appear when all of a sudden Ryan jumped back as Michalina dashed forward and grabbed the snout of another crocodile as massive volts passed through it, Zhan took aim and fired inside the mouth of the creature and soon it was dead.


    Michalina winced at that as she spoke, "Captain please do not fire it near me its sound is horrendous."


    Zhan was in cloud nine as she did not pay nay heed to her but was busy searching for her next victim, Ryan by then had managed to cover lower part of the pier with an iron fence the kind that was normally used in zoo to keep dangerous animals in and in this case the animals out, it took Ryan a little over 15 minutes to not only that but by then the duo had already put down four more creatures, Donna had already exhausted herself from trying to keep the flow of water under control not to mention the number of times they were broken by some creature but even then she manage d to hold it till the 12th minute mark before she copsed and was promptly carried away from the top of the pier.


    Ryan grinned towards his remaining twopanions as he spoke with a sigh, "Well the preparation is done now I need to go and bring the materials for the next so AIR LIFT!", he raised his hand to the air as one of the soldier snooped in and took him to the sky."

 Chapter 20: Returning to the Pier (Part-2)

    Chapter 20: Returning to the Pier (Part-2)


    "The filter is up and I have managed to ce thedders and tforms as well no to mention connected it to the rest of the power grid and control grid, then made sure that the entire filtration system is covered in a cage like structurepletely, the pipes feeding from top of the filters that looked somewhat like that of a space capsule so did I miss anything?", Ryuu spoke with a frown as he peered down at the structure from above.


    Zhan who stood next to him spoke with frown, "Well you forgot to mention the cage you built around thedder to prevent someone from falling as well as the lights you ced down there in case you have to work at night, oh also you have flipped the switches and the only thing needed is power to be supplied to those machines."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Ah yes thank you so I hope there is nothing missing because I cannot remember anything else."


    Ciara looked at him as she spoke, "Well if you cannot remember anything else start with the next part there is no need to waste time as it would eventuallye to your mind."


    Ryan nodded at that as he stood in front of the rectangr concrete block he had made a few days ago, as the most important question ran though his mind, ''How do I make one? Wish there was some kind of blueprint lying around in my head.''


    As everyone looked expectantly Chloe approached him as she spoke, "Is there a problem Ryan?"


    Ryan gave her a sheepish smile as he spoke, "I was just trying to figure out the n to make the structure."


    "Why don''t you discuss with us, who knows we mighte across some ideas.", Chloe gently advised Ryan who nodded in eptance as he took out a small piece of chalk that he had found amongst the ruins of the town.


    He then kneeled on the ground as he began to make a rough sketch of the water tower as he spoke, "Well I have made a rough sketch of the water tower now I would love if some of you would advice me on how to make it."


    The others looked at the sketch as one of them quipped, "Is that really a water tower to me it looks like train wreck that is about to copse."


    Ryan blushed at that as many giggled and he red at them, ''So what if I cannot draw to save my life at least I did something'', then the same woman extended one of her hand in front of him as she spoke, "Lend me your chalk."


    She then kneeled by his side as she began to draw a perfect diagram of a water tower as she spoke, "This is a water tower the pipe over here is meant for the water to be poured into it make sure it is at the very top otherwise."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "It would cause the water to be stopped by the contents of the water tower."


    Anna gave a small nod of acknowledgment as she spoke, "Now this part you ha."


    Like this the ss ''How to make a Water Tank 101'' went without a hitch as Anna spoke with a smile, "So you now know what to do?"


    Ryan nodded at that as another quipped in a surprised tone, "You can create so manyplicated stuff yet you are asking how to create a water tank?"


    "Hey it is not my fault I can only make things that I have blueprints of without even knowing anything about them, ask me how this all works I cannot answer you how."


    Anna looked at him as she shook her head, "Your ability does not make any sense at all it is as if you are borrowing someone else''s power to do so."


    Ryan stiffened momentarily but it was enough for a few of the keen eyes soldiers to notice as their eyes narrowed at that as many thoughts buzzed in their mind.


    It never bored them seeing Ryan work, the materials all appearing from magically as they took shape as hemanded them to, the metallicdder that formed in front of their eyes slowly took shape as more and more parts melded together without even the need of being welded together it was simply breathtaking for them and within the next couple of hour the entire structure stood in front of them as Ryan looked down from the very top as he waved at them, which was returned back with a smile and an Airlift back to the ground.


    Ciara looked at up to the sky as she judged the time of the day she spoke to Ryan, "How much of your work is left to be done."


    Ryan looked at her as he spoke, "Wellpleting the pump house by cing the twin pumps and then connecting everything, if I am not wrong at least another couple of hours, why?"


    Ciara looked up towards the sky as she spoke, "Well I believe it is time for lunch so lunch break we will be back here within an hour."


    At that Ryan groaned neither lunch or dinner were his favorite time of the day he preferred to wait till he could no longer withstand the hunger, due to deficit of proper food item they were mostly either having soups or some strange meat without any form of seasoning as such Ryan preferred to be ravenously hungry so that he would eat anything to quench his hunger.


    ''Meat and soup wonderful simply wonderful.'', he took a bite from it and grimaced but the soup waspletely different matter all together it tasted, nd, bad and most importantly it carried a hint of chemicals he so did not want to eat it anymore.


    "Is something wrong with the food?"


    Ryan wanted to scream to her mother after all he wanted to ask her back what was right with the food, sensing it his mother sighed as she spoke, "Sorry Ryan but there is nothing can be done as of now the soup might improve with fresh supply of clean water, as for others the vegetables that grow in the greenhouse and the salt well being near to sea might help but I do not see them happening soon, as such eat them up do you see anyone elseining because they know that our body needs sustenance and the current situation what we are able to afford is already a luxurypared to many others.", Ryan may not like it but he did not waste nor did hein anymore as he ate his food without anyin.


    A few hourster a tired Ryan leaned against the wall he had ced thest of the pipes and the entire water collecting system was ready to be turned on, he grinned at them before he went to the pump house as he closed the door as well as the door on the fence as he spoke, "The system has been created and now the only thing needed to do is turn it on, oh by the way the fence surrounding is electrified please convey it to others as well not to touch it after I power them up."


    With his piece said he began to walk towards the base as the zing heat of the sun as others soon followed after the excitement was visible amongst them as they cannot wait for proper water and most importantly a proper bath after so long as such Ryan felt himself almost carried to the base.


    Level-08 Water/Sewage Treatment


    Michalina had a dj vu as she followed after Ryan who opened the door to enter into what seemed to be room full of machines that were currently asleep but unlike the room where he turned on the power for the entire base this room had it already on he made his way to giantputer like machine which he called as ''Stoke..'' something and began to work with it, various data shed in his screen as he selected a few different button then he decided to turn and sh a smile towards his sister only to freeze as it seemed the entire base had decided to venture and watch him work as such he could not help but speak out, "What are you all doing here?"


    Michalina was taken aback for a moment but seeing his brother looking behind her she turned her head to see almost as if the entire base was down there looking and checking the various machines that were waiting to be turned on.


    The person simply gave a sheepish smile as she spoke, "Well we were curious so"


    Michalina deadpanned at her as she spoke, "Major is going to be royally pissed at you."


    The person send her a challenging look as she spoke, "Oh yeah and what about you?"


    Michalina grinned at her as she spoke, "I am still suspended dear not to mention I asked her permission as such I am exempted from many things."


    Ryan simply shook his head as he concentrated on his works he watched as the various data showed the status of the filters, the eight pumps that were responsible for bringing up water from the filter to another set of two which then filled the tank and then from the tank it flowed down the reservoir down there for purification.


    He waited for the Tank to fill up and it was a long wait, seconds turned to minutes and minutes to near about an hour when he powered the next phase of the operation, the machines groaned as moved the water trickled through the pipes as it slowly began to fill up the reservoir, he then programmed the system to fill up the tank whenever it is 60% full and the reservoir when it is half he then gave a tired sigh as he stood up and spoke, "Well within half an hour the taps will have water flowing through them whoever wants to have a bath can go now."


    Everyone cheered at that and soon their cheering devolved into argument on who would be the lucky person to have the first rights to the bath as they were arguing back and forth and it was slowly turning a bit hostile Ryan watched at that with his eyes widen, ''This won''t do a fight here would be disastrous they machines would get damaged and then it would stop working.''


    He knew there were at least 70 of the soldiers down there and their voice would drown his as such he did the most sensible thing he pulled the lever for the rm which started to re with all its might stunning everyone into silence at that, then the rm stopped as soon as it came.


    "Are you all done?", a sharp tone cut through the silence like a sharp knife through butter Ryan did the best imitation of his mother as he continued his tirade, "The machine in this room are very sensitive even a slightest damage could break them and it would take me days to repair them so please fill free to wreck havoc here and forget about getting even a tiny drop of water."


    That calmed themotion down a bit, after all thest thing they want is for the water to be dyed another few more days when suddenly one of them spoke out loud, "Hey Ryan worked so hard for us even got himself badly injured a few days ago I say we give him the first slot what do you all say?"


    The others were quite for a moment before slowly they all gave a nod of agreement as they all decided to allow Ryan to have the first try on showers to say he was touched at the gesture only to freeze upon seeing his mother''s face from behind the group he slowly turned his back on the them as he tried to hide behind his chair, Michalina gulped hard looking with a horror towards the door way not only her mother was here but Zhan as well and they do not look so pleased.


    The soldiers were slightly confused at theck of reaction from Ryan then they were further confused by him trying to hide even Michalina was a bit more pale than usual when a voice came to their ears, a voice that seemed to suddenly silence and triumph over every other sound present in the room, "For some time now I have been searching for my soldiers who have decided that dereliction of duty is not punishable byw have you seen them?"


    This time soldiers went ramrod as a few of them sweated a bit, as another shout followed, "YOU SHITHEADS TURN AROUND WHEN THE MAJOR IS SPEAKING."


    As if in a sync they all turned around and stood in attention as Ciara spoke calm tone but her eyes were zing with fury, "I am waiting to be pointed towards them do you know where they are? ANSWER ME MAGGOTS!!!"


    No one dared to speak as she continued, "RYAN!!!!!!"


    "YES MOM!!!!", a slightly scared Ryan jumped from his sit as he stood ramrod as Ciara looked directly into his eyes for a moment he felt as if he was standing in front of a ferocious beast even the lion felt tame inparison to her he had seen his mother getting angry before but this was something else this was not his mother but the Head of the Fort Genesis who had been infuriated even Zhan was extremely angry.


    "Ryan how many of them did you need for your work to be finished?"


    Ryan gulped as he spoke, "No one I could have done everything alone."


    "I see Michalina what about you, when you asked for my permission did it include all of them."


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke, "No Major."


    Ciara tilted her head as she spoke, "I see", she then pointed towards her back with her thumb as she spoke, "Ladies make way for them and you two leave."


    Like the red sea they parted and the duo moved with Ryan leading in them, he tried to walk with a grace befitting a gentleman unfortunately the traitorous floor beneath him moved so fast that to onlookers it looked as if he was running with Hounds of Hell after him.


    "Do not worry your machines would be safe now move out of earshot."


    Was the words that floated to his ears as he disappeared he went to the elevator and with a chime as it opened the siblings hurriedly entered it and as the door close under Ryan''s desperate tapping of button he heard the loud shout of Mount Ciara erupting, "YOU USELES.."


    As Ryan stepped out of the elevator he ced his hand over his still drumming heart as he looked at an amused Michalina his brows twitched as he spoke, "You know what Michalina.", making her confused enough to ask out loud, "What???"


    "Compared to mom you are a puppy and I am not afraid of your threats."

 Chapter 21: Departure (Part-1)

    Chapter 21: Departure (Part-1)


    Ciara sat on a chair across the newly made desk, she was receiving verbal reports from her subordinates, she missed her chair and desk from the previous base though she did not miss the paperwork that she had to do while sitting on it.


    "Good work with this we have achieved self sustainability all because of Ryan''s hard work, not to mention the walls have enough heavy machine guns nted on them with enough ammunitions that it could easily take on a horde thousand string easily, we have mortars as well as a couple of anti-air guns, is there anything that I have missed?"


    The others shook their head as Zhan spoke with an amused look on her face, "If he were in an army I would have rmended him for promotion."


    Ciara had a proud look in her eyes before her face darkened considerably seeing the look many of them were tensed specially those who had been on the receiving end of being chastised and berated badly a few days ago as Zhan could not help but speak out loud, "Major is something wrong you seemed a bit tensed."


    CIara huffed at that as she spoke, "Nothing can get passed your eyes Zhan, can it?"


    Zhan snorted at that as she spoke, "You are not being discreet everyone in this room can see that something is bothering you."


    Zhan sighed as she rubbed her temples in frustration as she spoke, "Michalina and Ryan are both plotting something."


    Zhan frowned as Ciara borated further, "Thest time they plotted they had to spend time in the hospital with broken arms and legs I fear they would so something stupid again."


    "How about we keep an eye on them and report to you if we find something suspicious.", a suggestion came from one of her soldiers who shrank a bit as her gaze fell on her.


    Ciara nodded at that as she spoke, "You may though make sure not tell others as well as take heed not to be found out by them."


    It was the time for lunch and many of them were present including Ciara, Ryan looked over towards others as they chatting and gossiping amongst themselves even with all those hardships and heartbreaks they still managed to smile, the civilians had managed to mix with them properly, the greenhouses and water supply system worked fine and not to mention the strange crystal that was brought in a few days ago, his mind went back to the moment when couple of members of the ck Wolves dragged in a red floating crystal that was 6 feet tall and 2 feet wide at the widest part.


    Ciara was about to shout at them for bringing an unknown when the Fort absorbed it before anyone even Ryan could react and now in middle of the Reception/Emergency area otherwise known as the ground floor or Level 0 they had the crystal enshrined with circr guards ced around it, otherwise known as the ''Vige Heart Crystal'', it spread the area of influence of the base by at least three kilometer radius thus making the use of wire and what not redundant, ''At least the ''Salt nt'', no longer needs any electricity'', his ''Salt nt'' another of his creation supplied salt to the base as such the food was no longer nd.


    But the major changes that came with it was the ability to ''Level Up'', as it was called by the them as such now there were plenty of Tier 1 and Tier 2 people including his mother who was unsurprisingly Tier 2, he had then managed to upgrade the arsenal and was surprised to see quite a few managed to hold a Tier 3 guns, he like the base even more as after a good few baths no one smelt like rotten dead rat.


    "Mom", he called his mother who gave him her undivided attention from the corner of her eyes she noticed Michalina straighten up slightly making her frown inwardly, ''So whatever they were nning is about to take ce, God please give me strength.'', she nodded in acknowledgement giving Ryan permission to speak.


    Ryan was nervous wreck inwardly as he began to speak, "Mom, I am leaving tomorrow."


    An instant silence descended as those nearby stopped eating, their actions being noticed by others made them look at Ciara''s direction whose face went frigid as she spoke slowly, "What do you mean by leaving?"


    Ryan gulped as he spoke, "Well by leaving I meant I will be going out of the fort tomorrow and probably return back sometime around next month."


    Ciara looked down toward her food as she yed with it while speaking, "Why do you need to leave the base?"


    "Well I need to upgrade myself and if I stay in base it is not only difficult but it is nigh impossible, there also the matter that I want to help others."


    "borate."


    "As you have seen that many of you have since then evolved after getting into contact with the ''Vige Heart Crystal'', but the same is not for me I have to kill in order to evolve and more I evolve the more I have to kill preferably beings within the same or higher tier than mine."


    Ciara looked at him as she spoke, "Your blood points?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes because of blood points anything that is lower Tier than me gives me less and less like if I were to kill a Tier 0 Creature I would get only one blood point whereas the lion that died gave me over two hundred blood points, and the reason I need because every time I upgrade from one tier to next I need more and more blood points like currently I need over six hundred to move to the Tier 3.", he took a deep breath as he continued, "As for saving others well you know what kind of condition the world has plunged into so many people suffering from them and if I can help them even a little bit, not to mention we would need more people to survive, I do not believe we are the only ones who are evolving there might be people out there who have formed bigger numbers than us by many times what if they decide to attack us, as such we need more people."


    MIchalina sneered at Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan that is the something that Major should think about not you, not to mention th."


    "Michalina Enough!"


    Ciara''s voice cut her off as she spoke with a frown, "Michalina did you think that you are fooling me?", her words made Michalina look like dear caught in headlight as she continued, "I raised you two as such I can read you two with my eyes close, do you think you could make a fool out of me? You are thousands year early for this young woman."


    Michalina looked towards her te as she spoke, "I do not know what you are talking about."


    Ciara sneered as even Ryan suddenly found the te to be interesting as she spoke, "You think that by trying to y the bad and good cop you would manage to make agree with you."


    A few hourster a sullen Ryan looked at Michalina as he spoke, "Told you it would not work but no I know what is best, I regret letting you figure out my n."


    Michalina growled in anger as she spoke, "Really so wise one what was your n that I managed to derail."


    Ryan puffed up his chest as he replied back with a smug look on her face, "Why I would simply leave a letter and slip out under the darkness of the night."


    Michalina looked at him with her mouth open wide before she spoke with sadness in her voice, "Ruby was right the loss of blood has destabilized your thought process, going out in the dark."


    Ryan pouted at that as he spoke with slight indignation, "Hey I have the night vision upgrade as such I can see no matter how dark it is.", as he spoke he pointed towards his eyes.


    Seeing his eyes like that made Michalina''s heart squeeze in sadness she missed her brother''s eyes not mention she dreaded that one day her brother mightpletely lose humanity and be a robot she mped down those nightmarish thoughts as she spoke, "Brother Night Vision does not work in theplete absence of light as such please do not say such impossible things."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "I see I did not know that."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "You have so many things to learn and by running off on your own you would simply get yourself killed, but most importantly why did I agree to help you I will never know."


    Ryuu grinned at her as he spoke, "You decided because I am adorable."


    Michalina rolled her eyes as her lips twitched into a small smile but before she could speak they were summoned into Ciara''s office as they entered they found Zhan leaning against the wall with a serious look on her face as Ciara looked directly into their eyes.


    No one spoke for a minute, then Ciara began with a deep sigh, "You made some ratherpelling arguments Ryan, ratherpelling indeed and since you have decided to leave along with Michalina I hope you have done some type of preparations."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes I have everything needed to survive in the wilderness."


    "I see I need you to make another three sets by dinner or else I will not permit you to leave."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke, "You are kidding right."


    Ciara shook her head as she spoke with a smile, "Of course not but remember by dinner or I will not permit."


    Ryan nodded with enthusiasm as he ran out from the room only for Michalina to narrow her eyes as she spoke, "What are you nning mom?"


    Ciara cocked her head as she spoke, "What do you mean I am nning?"


    Michalina mmed on her desk as she spoke with a snarl, "I yed along with him because I knew you would not permit him to leave so brazenly not to mention the danger out there we almost lost him if you do not remember yet here you are allowing him to leave like that out of the confines of the safety of the base, there soldiers who are more experienced for this stuff and as for his leveling up it can be done under controlled environment so why?"


    Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Lieutenant Michalina who gave you the permission to behave in such a manner, if you wish to apany your brother you would help him prepare and obey orders without question is that understood soldier."


    Michalina almost choked at that as Ciara''s voice came to her ears once again, "Is that understood soldier?"


    Michalina gritted her teeth as she spoke, "Yes ma''am! Am I dismissed?"


    Ciara nodded as Michalina stormed towards the door as Ciara spoke once again, "He is an invaluable asset keep him safe, I do not want to hear about another of your failure."


    Michalina mmed the door close so hard that the room seemed to shake as soon as she was sure that she was alone with Zhan she broke down as Zhan moved to console her, "You did well sister you did well by acting as such you made sure that Michalina would be more fired to keep him safe."


    "But at what cost she would now hate me now and calling Ryan an ''asset''."


    "You acted like any goodmander would do in this situation sometimes you have to put aside your feelings you know it too well, amander does not have the luxury of such feelings, I know it was harsh but by having Ryan upgraded he would not only be more useful but his chances of survival would increase greatly."

 Chapter 22: Departure (Part-2)

    Chapter 22: Departure (Part-2)


    Ryan ced a total of five sets of gears in front of Ciara who inspected them like a hawk searching for any imperfection she could find.


    "I have got abat body armor,bat shirt with built in elbow guard and shoulder pads,bat pants with build in knee pads, tacticalbat boots with leg guards, thigh and groin guard, forearm guard, hard knuckle globes,bat belt, tactical bva andst but not the leastbat helmet with build in gas mask, sh light and headphone and microphone so this concludes the armor aspect of the gears."


    Ciara nodded at that as Ryan continued to speak, "Now apart from that I have createdbat knife based on the design of machete its spine can be used as a baton, radio with a range of around 30 kilometers, wristpass that can be worn like a watch, water canteen, the lower part can be removed and used as a pan as well as it has a long line that can be inserted from one side of the mask and can be used to drink water without removing it, aside from that emergency fire starter, a couple of tents and cooking pots, ropes and hooks are included along with them."


    "Why are you including the bva when you already have such a nice helmet?", a question came from his side.


    Ryan turned towards to the speaker as he spoke, "Well I am making sure that not even a tiny part of skin will be visible otherwise the acidic rain would be a problem."


    "Is that upper arm protector attached with the body armor?", another asked to which Ryan simply nodded.


    Ciara picked and turned a few as she spoke for the first time since the disy began, "How much does this weight in total."


    Ryan frowned for a moment before he spoke, "A little less than 15 kilos without carrying any ammunitions and guns and any other items."


    Ciara nodded at that as she spoke with a sigh, "An average soldier is tasked with carrying 30 to 5 kilos duringbat.", Ryan nodded at that.


    "Rayn wear it in front of us and model it."


    As he heard his mother''s words Ryan spoke red in embarrassment, "Mom I have to wear it in front of everyone?"


    Ciara nodded as she spoke, "Yes you are and I hope you are wearing your undergarments?"


    Ryuu spoke in indignation at that, "Of course I am."


    Ciara titled her head slightly as she spoke, "Well then what are you waiting for? Your enemies would not care for your state of dress will they so strip and wear them."


    Ryan nodded as he began to undress in front of almost all the female soldiers of Fort Genesis as his torso went bare he could practically feel their eyes roaming over every inch of his body, ''Is that what women feel when they are moving through the streets it is disgusting.'', then he froze as a cat call came to his ears.


    "The next person who whistles and makes such rude gesture I will make sure that for the rest of their miserable life that is the only way they would be able tomunicate, I introduced Ryan to you all saying tyou are all like his family and you all epted him as such make sure you keep the honor and prestige behind the word ''family'' intact, now Ryan do not stop."


    Ryan gulped as he stripped down to his underwear before he quickly picked up thebat shirt he wore it by pulling it over his head then he pulled up the zipper, he then went after his pants as he wore them, never in his life did he wear his clothes so fast, the armors went next and within five minutes Ryan was fully dressed in thebat gear, Ciara nodded in approval the armor looked intimidating before she spoke with a frown, "You took five minutes Ryan try to lower it to less than a couple of minutes next time, now that you have worn your armor please model it by doing a couple ofps and make sure to run as fast as you can then jump up and across any obstacle, climb on the wall then give me a fullp there and you may return."


    Seeing Ryan did not move an inch she let out smirk as she spoke in faux happy tone, "Oh my someone is eager to have more training done I see then.", she did not get to finish as Ryan ran like hounds of hell was after him, as many broke intoughter.


    A quarter of an hourter a huffing and puffing Ryan made his way back to where the rest of the group sat, he watched his mother in furious discussion with Zhan and Ruby while they looked at him every now and then while Ruby had managed to procure some form of paper and pen and was furiously writing on it.


    As Ryan came back Ciara spoke with a smirk, "You may change your clothes Ryan."


    Ryan huffed at that as he removed his helmet as he spoke, "So what is your review on this."


    Ciara looked at him with one of her brow raised as she spoke, "How could I give a review when I myself did not try it out."


    Ryan spluttered at that as he spoke, "But I modeled it for you."


    Ciara shrugged as she replied back to him nonchntly while peering over what was written on the paper held on Ruby''s hands, "Yes and you looked nice, see I gave you the review."


    Ryan''s cheeks puffed up in anger as he quickly changed his dress and he was thankful that no one was looking at him like that as soon as he was full dressed he picked up his gear and ced them on the table.


    As soon as he finished cing them CIara began, "Normally such a gear I would have not allowed for where speed and mobility is required as they would have proved to be hindrance well part of it but not all but the world you are venturing into will be not only unknown but dangerous as well there will be no backup and you have to solve everything by yourself yet the weight and all this is bothering me but it cannot be helped."


    Ryan looked at hisbat shirt and pants as he spoke with a huff, "Now I will have to wash them, I so do not want them to stink even before we leave."


    "Were you not going to leave tomorrow early morning if you wash them now I do not thing it would be dry by then?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with a tired sigh, "Normally I would but things have changed, originally I was nning on venturing out alone, then Michalina figured it out and now Mom is forcing me to take another three with me, along with so much equipment I so do not want to walk anymore as such I will have to modify it a bit and I think I will be ready within a few days."


    At his words everyone rounded him Michalina being the loudest, "What do you mean by that you do not wish to walk unless", she was stunned for a moment before she spoke with her eyes wide, "You have means to create vehicles?"


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "I have means to create a single car, and the car if it gets damaged I will not even have the resource to repair."


    Ciara growled in anger as she spoke, "And how did you decided to leave the base alone?"


    Ryan turned pale at that his mother heard the one thing that slipped out of his mouth and the one thing that he did not wish for her to hear at all, he gulped hard as his mother looked towards him with her eyes narrowed he did not want to get scolded again as such he quickly decided to steer the conversation, "I need to salvage as much parts from the damaged cars from the town and then I would be able to build from the recycled materials."


    Jessica frowned at his words as she spoke with a sigh, "So now we will have to haul cars."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Not necessary I will dismantle them and bring back the scrap parts though I would appreciate if some of you guard me."


    Michalina smiled at that as she spoke, "You do not have to worry brother we will protect you."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Well I think it is gettingte and we should all head towards our dinner after all I would like to get some sleep and start preparing for tomorrow."


    "Yes you are right everyone you are dismissed Ryan stay."


    Ciara''s words felt like nail on coffin making Ryan wince as she moved towards him with her eyes narrowed she then looked over his shoulder as she spoke, "Lieutenant I told everyone to leave why you are here?"


    Michalina scowled as she spoke, "I was here with my brother Major if you do not mind."


    "Yes I do mind now leave us alone.", but Michalina did not move making Ciara scowl in return as she spoke, "Now do not make me pull rank or you might miss you chance to apany Ryan."


    Michalina let out a huff and she stomped her way back making Ryan confused at that he was about to ask only to grimace Ciara''s words came to his ears, "SO what is this I hear about you leaving by yourself?", Ryan swore inwardly at that, ''Me and my damn big mouth.''


    Next day the group along with Ryan made their way into the deste and abandoned town, whenever Ryan entered the town he felt shivers travel down his spine, he knew a few days from today he would be forced into towns that would be even more scary and dangerous for a moment he felt scared, for a moment he did not to leave the safety of the base but he knew he had to push forward or they would perish one day.


    "This ce is so creepy.", He could not help butin out aloud as Michalina simply patted on his back as she spoke, "Me too brother me too."


    Ryan gave her a small smile of appreciation before he could not help but ask out loud, "Hey sis did you have a fight with mom?"


    Michalina stiffened slightly before she spoke with a small smile, "Why are you asking that Ryan?"


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "Well I saw you two acting cold and indifferent towards each other."


    Michalina simplyughed loud at that as she spoke, "Silly brother no we did not just dealing with some female problems."


    Ryan looked skeptical at her reply before he gave a small shrug, ''Well if they were having some problems they would surely tell me as well, o do not see any reason for them to lie to me.''


    "So Ryan did mom tell you who she is sending alongside us?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No I do not know I was hoping she would say something yesterday, I just hope we make it through and return in one piece."


    Before Michalina could say anything a shout of rm came as they looked to the sky to see some birds, he was very familiar with he had killed one after waking up in the newly transformed world, he smirked seeing the birds as he shouted out, "Hey let me do it I am so itching to try on my new gun."


    The soldiers apanying them simply giggled seeing an excited Ryan who was literally bouncing on his feet even Michalina had a smile on her face as she spoke, "Brother calm down or else you would miss."


    Ryan huffed at that before he turned his attention towards those birds flying in the sky, he took aim with his left eye closed as he looked down at his prey, and the world suddenly seemed to vanish as the only thing that existed was his prey.


    Michalina looked at Ryan especially his eyes she watched as the mechanical structures inside his bionic eye moved making her shiver slightly at that every times she looked at those eyes her heart clenched in sadness and fear, fear that her brother would one day be a machine.

 Chapter 23: Departure (Part-3)

    Chapter 23: Departure (Part-3)


    Two short burstter the birds were dead as Ryan heard a few pping he pulled back the bolt as the empty cartridges flew out of it and new rounds took it its ce, he turned towards them as he gave a mock bow.


    [Host Killed Tier 0 life form gained 1 blood point and 1 soul.]


    [Host Killed Tier 0 life form gained 1 blood point and 1 soul.]


    Ryan''s brow twitched at that as Michalina spoke curiously, "Is something wrong brother?"


    "Nothing just that those two only gave a single blood points each it is so frustrating."


    "How many do you need?", a question came from his side making Ryan even more depressed.


    "I need approximately six hundred blood points."


    "Ouch you have my sympathies.", only for Ryan to re at her as she continued nonchntly, "So what is the highest you have received so far?"


    Ryan frowned at the question as he replied with a sigh, "The highest I have I received so far was Two hundred and Twenty Five courtesy of the Lion creature."


    Michalina''s jaws tighten as she spoke, "I hope you are not nning on trying to kill some dangerous enemies?"


    Ryan waved of her concern as he spoke, "Of course not why would I act like a suicidal fool, I know my limits."


    Lieutenant Grace smiled at that as she spoke, "Michalina you do not have to worry about him about dying from some dangerous creature though seeing him not using the safety of his weapon it is a different story."


    Ryan flushed red in embarrassment as everyone within earshot giggled at that even his sister he quickly turned the safety on.


    "Hey Ryan I have a question to ask of you.", as theughter subsided, Lieutenant Grace spoke again drawing Ryan''s attention who at first send a re before he gave a small nod of confirmation making her continue, "I have noticed that the weapon carried by both Captain Zhan and you has a star is there any reason for that."


    "Those stars are there for a reason, the more number of stars a weapon has the better would its quality be, it starts from zero stars to all the way to five stars, but as it increases so does the requirement for it to be used as well as the resource needed for it also increases slightly not to mention the chances of creating one is also much lower as such I have avoided creating starred weapon too much though I believe it might change in the future."


    Grace nodded in understanding as more questions came to her mind, "What would happen if you fail to create an item?"


    "I will lose the resource that was needed to create them."


    Grace nodded in understanding before afortable silence descended amongst them as they toured through the vige while Ryan went from one car to next as he studied them as if he was looking for something he spend a few extra minutes in front of a truck and a bus as if he was contemting something with his eyes closed for a moment.


    "So many marvels of the modern society and all of them are gone for good.", one of them remarked making others sad for a moment before Ryuu replied back with a smile, "They might be gone for the moment but like a phoenix they would rise from their ashes of the civilization anew."


    "Well I have decided on how to proceed to with it, though we might not have to haul all the cars I will have to make multiple trips to carry the parts that I have broken apart and then re-forge them into something new."


    "So brother which one do you want to take apart first."


    "I will start with the one nearest to our base and slowly move to the one further away with the truck and the buster on, and if I am not wrong except those two I will have to dismantle around four cars that are still intact."


    It had taken Ryan three whole days and lots of traveling to finally tear down the four cars as well as a couple that was nothing more than scrap but still they would provide him with some form of resource for him to work with, but now he was left staring at therge semi truck and the bus, looking at them he inwardly let out a small chuckled at that, ''It seems that I would be working with the favorite vehicles of apocalypse fan it would have been even more better if it were a school bus but still how interesting, "


    The ck color semi truck was parked without any trailer attached to it while the front of the semi was a bit nting which worked well for him, ''I will have to remove the electronic parts, the lights among many things and specially the engine as it would be useless to me, I have no way of getting any form of use from them after all who would provide me with any kind of fossil fuel.''


    Grace looked at Ryan as he once again raised his hand a soft yellowish glow came from it as the engine broke apart and seemed to be sucked into his hands, he had done this to the others that he took apart and it was fascinating to watch she had approached him wanting to know more and still remembered how the dejected Ryan hadined that he could only harvest a quarter of the resources even at the very best using the method the rest was lost.


    Grace watched as he ran towards the bus and did the same her sisters have started calling the ability of Ryan, ''Eating'' and she whole heartedly agreed with it as it was exactly what it looked like Ryan simply hovered his hands on top of any material and they broke and disappeared in blink of an eye.


    Ryan nodded at it with a satisfied smile on his face he had finished gathering the engines and after depositing them he would have ''Mana Syllktis'', ''Mana Metatropas'', ''Mana Docheo'' andstly an engine for the entire thing to move it would take some time to craft them even with the use of the production power of the base but it would give him some time to go over his n and iron out any wrinkles in them.


    The cabin of a semi-truck had been stripped apart, it was missing any and all form of sses the doors were lying on the ground, the entire dashboard had also been ripped apart that was what Ciara found as she arrived to check on what his son was making he was a bit tight lipped at that and no matter what no one had been able to pry it off from him, to her the semi truck looked akin to a skeleton bereft of its flesh.


    "Mom what are you doing here?", a surprised Ryan asked Ciara with a smile on his face.


    "Just came to see you work, so what are you going to do."


    Ryan simply smiled at her as he removed the wires and other things before he ced an engine inside it, to CIara the new engine looked as if someone had taken apart variety of other engines and put them back together by picking out the best parts, she watched as the holographic image floated in front of Ryan which he ced inside the truck as the real engine seemed to have been printed out, the car shook upon the weight of the engine slightly ced, her eyes narrowed as she watched Ryan install the engine, ''Interesting so now he knows how to install an engine, very very interesting.''


    She watched as Ryan tore apart the back of the cabin as even more wires were ripped apart, he then went towards the fuel tank he tore it and reced with something different, inside of the cabin he dug out small openings just behind the chairs and he installed two tall looking machines that seemed to fuse with the cabin seamlessly, the machines had vents that were exposed through the openings that Ryan created, a couple of pipes went from them to the rectangr tanks that had reced the cylindrical ones from before.


    A few hourster Ryan let out a huff as he stood in front of his creation which looked like a heavily damaged vehicle appreciating his handiwork as he spoke, "Well I am done for now though I think I will move it near the base along with the bus in tow, it will be better than moving up and down a few kilometers for even the smallest of things."


    Ciara nodded in agreement before she spoke with a frown, "I saw you use many normal instruments like spanner and screwdrivers but why not your powers."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "My power ces things permanently as such if I were to ce something and have to move itter on I would have to break the thing and in doing so I would lose it as I can only salvage a quarter of anything that I break."


    "I see", Ciara was quite for a moment before she spoke with a smile, "Do you mind if I drive it to near the base."


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "No mom I would not though I would want to drag the bus along as well."


    Ciara nodded as she barked out new orders towards her subordinates and a few minutester she was sitting on a chair that Ryan had hastily got for her, along with Ryan a couple of her subordinates stood behind her as she tried to start the engine but no matter what she was unable to as she turned look back she was greeted by the sight of a blushing Ryan, "I think there is something that I need mom for it to start.", he finished with augh full of embarrassment.


    Michalina stood in front of her overexcited brother, she had been flown here suddenly all she was told that an emergency had urred and she was needed post haste upon arrival she was greeted by her overexcited brother who was standing holding a pair of wires, "What happened Ryan I heard there was an emergency."


    Ryan gained a serious look as he spoke with a nod, "Of course sis there is a very dangerous emergency I need you to hold this pair of wires and send the strongest jolt."


    Michalina quickly took the pair as she send as much electricity as she could master and soon with a roar the truck started, as Ciara''s voice came to everyone''s ears, "Get up all of you or I will leave you behind."


    Ryan took the wires off of Michalina''s hands as he climbed on the truck as it began to move forward, he then turned and frown seeing Michalina not moving from her spot stunned as she shouted out, "Big sis climb on I know you are stunned upon seeing my creation but it is not itplete,e on do not be shy climb on."


    His words jolted her awake as she was brought out of her shocked state as she shouted out at the top of her lungs, "I AM NOT YOUR GODDAMNED BATTERY!!!!!"


    Before she began to chase after the moving caravan as she let out a few swear words, she had thought many things when she heard about the emergency but not this, not the fact that they need someone to send a jolt to start a truck she felt cheated by a prank and from the looks it was her brother behind all this a smug faced Ryan came to her mind, ''When I get my hands on him I will make him suffer.''


    It was time for the sun to set when the weird caravan of a partially destroyed truck with an equally devastated former civilian travel bus meant for long distance travel was towed near the base, the gigantic door of the base was swung open as it entered slowly into the base before it was parked waiting for the next set of operations done on it courtesy of Ryan.

 Chapter 24: Departure (part-4)

    Chapter 24: Departure (part-4)


    Ciara prided herself for her ability to wake up early morning as the sun would rise, without the help of any rm bell, a habit that has yet to change even after so many years had passed and today was no different as she rose she found her dorm mates, yes their sleeping area were a giant dorm with full of three tier bunk beds, she took the lowest rung where as Ryan took the one at the top as she woke up she found Ryan to be missing from his bed making her brows to furrow momentarily before they rxed again, ''Ahh he must have gone to the washroom, I warned him not to drink too much water before going to sleep.''


    She got ready as she left for her morning jog on her way out she found Zhan was already awake sitting on her bed ready to apany her as many others began to stir, as the two friends climbed on top of the wall they were greeted by the soldiers who had the dawn shift, "Is there anything to report soldier?"


    The person in question shook her head as she spoke, "Negative ma''am", before she continued with a frown, "Though ma''am your son is awake and working on the truck you brought yesterday for quite some time now."


    Ciara frowned at that her son loved to sleep a bit was wake and working for sometime this was not something she thought she would ever hear as such she decided to see what his son was up to and made her way to greet him.


    What greeted her was a mesh of wires with Ryan working with them connected them with various devices that he had installed at the cabin of the truck, upon noticing her arrival he shed her a smile before returning to work while he greeted her, "Good Morning Mom, good morning Aunty."


    Both Ciara and Zhan greeted him back as Ciara continued, "When did you wake up Ryan?"


    Ryan''s face scrunched up as he spoke with a shrug, "A few hours ago I believe sorry I got lost working on my project."


    Zhan had a bemused look on her face before she whispered back to Ciara, "I think we should make sure to limit his contact with Ruby it seems he has caught ''Rubititis''.", Ciara snorted at that before she send a yful punch on Zhan''s shoulder.


    "So nephew what kind of protection are you going to install on her vehicle."


    Ryan''s face scrunched up as he spoke with a sigh, "There are many ideas that are swimming inside my head that I would like to try but I have to also keep in mind that if use too many stuff I might increase its weight to the point it will be incredibly slow.


    Both Ciara and Zhan nodded in understanding after all sometime fast vehicles are needed for quick escape and all that by the time they had finished speaking Ryan had finished speaking with them as he jumped down from the cabin as Ciara noticed something odd, "Ryan are you removing the driver and the passenger''s door from the cabin to which Ryan nodded with a smile on his face, "In a way from what I have nned the doors would not be useful until you want to jump down from the driver seat every time and get adder to climb up."


    The wheels are missing are you going to change them?"


    "Yes aunty, the wheels as well as the tires, I will change them enough to make them more suitable to move through rough terrain without any form of problem, I have seen a documentary on experimental technology that I will use to base the design on."


    "Good thing there is no one to sue you for intellectual theft."


    Making Ryan grin back at her as Ciara spoke, "Well then we will leave you to your own devices and do not hesitate to ask for anything that you might need.", with her piece said she simply tousled his hair as she was about to leave only to be stopped by Ryan.


    "Hey mom there is something that I need."


    Ciara looked at him as she nodded him to continue.


    "I need some paper and some form of writing utensils, I have so many ideas that are swimming in my head and I am afraid I might miss something not to mention I would like to note a few facts so as to create the vehicle as wless as possible."


    "I will see what I can do.", with that the duo left leaving Ryan alone.


    ''Now what to do should Iplete the entire cabin before I move on to the others, no let us move on to the others I will do the finishing touchester on.''


    He entered the bus which seemed more like a tourist one and an articted one at that which was a bonus as it would work well for his brilliant ns he just need to figure how to ce every kind of machinery and equipment that had been swirling inside his head.


    A few hourster Michalina arrived to check on Ryan who had apparently missed his breakfast and found him putting back thest of the wheels on the ten wheeler semi truck, she was intrigued upon seeing a peculiar design on the tire that looked like a honeb not to mention the scythed wheels that he used, ''Someone is going to lose their legs if theye too close.


    "Hey Ryan you missed your breakfast I brought some for you."


    Ryan did not even turn to look at her as he spoke, "Thanks a lot sis, do you want to try driving this?"


    Michalina''s eyes widen slightly as she spoke, "Can I?"


    Ryan shed Michalina a small smile as he finished inspecting and confirming that thest of the tires were ced as he spoke, "Of course you can sis, also by doing so I can test it."


    "But before any of that I want you to finish your breakfast."


    Ryan slouched at the dreaded breakfast which was still piping hot that Michalina had brought it along with her the food was deplorable but ''better than nothing'', as he took it from her hand and dug into it.


    "So why did you make it a honeb design."


    "It removes the need for air as such lower risk of t tires not to mention it is much better for rough usage."


    "But something might getting stuck in it and cause trouble."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "I know that is why I am using prototype wheels I will have them covered, not mention better protecting system by covering the threads with a thinyer of small bits of steel, and putting steel wires in the groves, it will be done after our test drive so are you up for it?"


    Michalina shrugged at that as she spoke with a smile, "Sure why not let us take this creation for yours on a test drive."


    Ryan gave a satisfied hum before lowering the truck after he had somehow managed to shove down the dreadful breakfast down his throat, as they were being watched like a hawk by Ciara and Ruby, "So what do you think of this?"


    "Fascinating Major simply fascinating for someone who has never seen how an engine looks like he is making a full customized truck simply fascinating."


    "I just hope his powers would not harm him in the long run."


    Ruby snorted at that as she spoke, "Of all the powers everyone is exhibiting his is the most intriguing as he himself has mentioned that his power spoke to him referring as a host in other words sentience not to mention the knowledge where did ite from as such my conclusion is that there will be some kind of toll that he will have to pay one day just hope it is not too steep, knowledge is never free and current him has free ess to it."


    Half an hourter a pair of ted siblings stepped down from the vehicle, the driver and passenger chair were superfortable not to mention the steering was simple and fluid not to mention the unique look of the steering wheel, well to her it looked as if Ryan had used the yoke of an airne as such to her it was an amazing experience.


    "I like it brother it was felt nice driving it, I cannot wait for it to bepleted."


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "Me too sister me too."


    It was around the time of lunch when Ryan had substituted the prototype tires with the original design that was the safe inparison to the prototype due to the honeb structure being covered and thus it prevented its damage by not having something that was not good for its health to enter idently.


    The only thing that the articted bus had was the wheels and the coach otherwise itid bare well even the front part was missing along with the wheels as Ryan had the entire thing lifted using a series of jacks the then truck backed into position as it fit exactly into ce like a jigsaw puzzle.


    It was during the evening that Ciara came to visit him to see him work on his project during the entire day Michalina had arrived once again with his lunch but she was not alone as many others did visit every now and then only a few asking some questions where as others looked at him working hard with a small grateful smile on their faces.


    What greeted Ciara was an articted bus that was somehow had a bit of its front part removed and now was fused with a semi truck not to mention it seemed to be a good few inches above the ground than it previously was and Ryan working on rewiring and other stuffs.


    "How is it going on Ryan?"


    "Well mom I hope to finish it by tomorrow at thetest most of the stuff is done, like linking power, the drive shaft and what not the only thing is left to make it more secure and lethal and oh ce a few things that would make staying inside it a bit morefortable."


    "I see and if I am not mistaken it seems you have raised the vehicles a bit."


    Ryan nodded with looking back at her as he spoke, "Yes I thought a bit of height would not hurt as the gap between the road and the bus was normally low and we are not going through proper roads if I am not wrong as such I have not only reworked the height but also made sure to tweak with the suspension system it would not be good if no one could walk inside while the vehicle is in motion."


    "But the center of Gravity would change."


    "I know mom as such I made the chassis a bit heavier effectively lowering the center of Gravity then it would not topple so easily."


    Ciara nodded at that slightly amazed seeing him customize the vehicle so fast, ''I doubt even the best factories in the world would be as fast as he is.''


    "Well I think you have done enough for todaye one son I think it is time for you to rest.", seeing Ryan trying to protest Ciara narrowed her eyes making Ryan slouch forward as she spoke in a stern tone, "I allowed you to work since before dawn, let you have your breakfast and lunch here I will not tolerate anything more so stop your work and go wash yourself and rest."


    Ryan pouted at that before he dragged himself back towards the dorm slowly and eventually to the shower room as the cool water fell on his body he let out a sigh o satisfaction, ''Another day went by I hope we will have a nice and not too perilous journey when we leave.''

 Chapter 25: Departure (part-5)

    Chapter 25: Departure (part-5)


    ''nk nk nk'' was the only sound that came from inside the vehicle that stood within the confines of Fort Genesis. Anyone who would have peaked inside therge articted trailer would have caught sight of a shirtless but sweating Ryan.


    Ryan had just finished installing another piece of vital equipment inside the vehicle, which was none other than a toilet and a separate shower towards the end of the second part of the articted bus. As he gave the screw onest turn before he let out a satisfied nod, "The shower, as well as the toilet and the sink, along with the instation of the respective pipes leading the dirty water from them to the storage area."


    He picked up a piece of paper on which he had made a list. He then proceeded to cross out the shower and toilet he had been working on his vehicle for some time now and had finished with most of the interior and the only thing left for him to work on was the exterior.


    "Ryan, can we enter?" a voice came to his ears that made him plop on the floor as he spoke with a tired voice, "Come in,e in."


    As Ryan granted Michalina permission to enter she climbed into the trailer using the stairs but she was not alone as along with her was a group of curious soldiers their eyes were wandering taking into the sights of the inside of the trailer.


    Michalina did not pay too much attention to the interior as her eyes fell on Ryan as she neared him she gagged a little at the smell of sweat as she spoke while pinching her nose, "E Ryan you smell like a dead rotten rat."


    Ryan red at her as he spoke with a low growl, "I have been working here for who knows how long, of course, I would get sweaty, and if you have any problem, I might introduce you to my spanner."


    "Brother Ryan would mind giving a tour to us.", one of the soldiers politely asked Ryan with a smile on her face.


    Ryan looked at another who had taken an elf-like look except for her skin unlike Ang was as fair as milk, Ryan shed her a small smile as he spoke, "Sorry sister ke but I will only give you a tour when I have finished it."


    ke pouted at that as one of them spoke with a frown, "So what else is left?"


    Ryan looked towards her as he spread his hands while still sitting on the ground as he spoke, "The entire exterior and the lights are left you do not think I would leave with such an exposed vehicle and without any lights."


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "I understand brother, but you need some rest desperately you look a zombie."


    Ryan waved her off as he spoke, "As you can see that I am fine, and as for the matter of resting, I believe I am doing it while currently speaking with you all."


    Ciara had just stepped out of the building as the sound of shouting came to her ears. Ciara decided to jog towards the source of themotion as she reached there she found what happened to be a group of her soldiers.


    As Ciara neared them, she heard them arguing back and forth about something, ''Pink Pony'', ''No Venomous Anaconda'', amongst many other things that came to her ears making her confused, ''What are they arguing about?''


    Do I have to intervene?'', as the thought entered her mind she could not help but let out a groan, after all her highly trained and specialized from time to time had the problem of forgetting their age and act like children.


    She took a couple of steps before turning her head slightly to the right and saw Ryan cing a rather thick iron sheet at least a centimetre thick on what was once the window of the former articted bus. Having located her son, she decided that it would be best to avoid her soldiers and thereby spare herself from severe headache, and as such Ciara made a beeline towards Ryan.


    "Ryan, how goes your work?"


    Ryan perked upon hearing his mother''s voice as he spoke, "Fine mom just working on the exterior of the trailer, putting up additional defences, so why don''t you hop inside otherwise you might get dragged into their nonsensical fight."


    Ciara nodded with a smile as she climbed into the trailer using thedder as she stepped inside her eyes wandered around, taking into the sight of the interior.


    "So why are they arguing against each other."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Since they were annoying me, I decided to have a little fun at their expanse as such they were requested by me toe up with a suitable name for the trailer."


    Ciara snorted in amusement as Ryan decided to give his mother a small tour of the trailer.


    "You have done an amazing job. Ryan, I am so proud of you."


    Ryan blushed at the praise as he spoke, "Well then you should wait for the finished product it would be a thousand times better than the one I have now, after all, I have exterior lights and the system for defence left toplete."


    "Did you eat your breakfast and lunch?"


    Ryan nodded at his mother''s question as he spoke, "Yes, I received both of them big sis brought them for me."


    "I just wish you did not have to partake in such a dangerous endeavour."


    "Me too, mother but unfortunately we do not have the luxury of such choices."


    "Then promise me you will not try to be careless and try being a hero."


    "Of course mom, I promise that I will not be careless at the same time I will not try to y the part of being a hero."


    "Oh, Ryan I have a small request that I would like to make."


    "What is it, mom?"


    "I want you to take one more person with you for your trip as such I hope you will make another set of equipment for her."


    "Who will be joining us, mom?"


    "Well, you will know when I will disclose the identity of others as well.", making Ryan pout at that.


    Ciara while touring had noticed adder in each of the separatepartment as such she could not help but ask Ryan, "Son, is thisdders meant for roof ess?"


    Ryan''s eyes widen slightly as if he Ciara''s word had made him remembered something as he spoke with a gasp, "Yes mom Ipletely forgot about that, let me take you to the roof."


    Ryan quickly climbed up with the help of thedder, and after opening the roof hatch, he soon found himself standing outside on the roof of the trailer along with Ciara who soon followed after him.


    The mother and son duo stood there side by side without speaking basking in the sight for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "It seems I have to intervene, those children are on the verge of breaking into a fistfight."


    Ryan smirked at Ciara as she climbed down and made her way towards the arguing group, Ryan decided to sit on the roof as he watched his mother take control of the situation and disperse the arguing ''children''.


    It was well past dinner time when Ryan ced thest of the items on his list manned turrets, and thus finishing the construction of his trailer.


    Ryan did not wait any longer as he went towards the shower, and after a long cold one, heid his tired body on top of his bed and fell asleep shortly after.


    It would around the time for lunch that a very hungry Ryan would wake up and make his way to the cafeteria.


    "Hey, Bro d to see you awake I wanted to wake you up for breakfast, but mom told me to let you sleep for the time being, so I hope you had a nice sleep."


    Ryan shed her a smile before his stomach grumbled signifying his hunger, but at the same time it managed to make him blush a bit, as he replied to Michalina, "I had a rather pleasant sleep since forever, and now I am hungry."


    "So what will you do today, brother?"


    "Testing, I wish to test if it is working properly or not, and if it is then we will leave by tomorrow at the earliest."


    "I see then I better get ready."


    Ryan nodded at that as he looked at the food that was on his te, ''fish''.


    Seeing the curious look on his face Michalina decided to reply to his unasked question, "Donna and Chloe caught them, and it does feel great to have something other than the cheap slop that we have been eating for thest few days."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "It sure feels nice to eat something ptable for once in a very long time."


    "I hope we get some canned food out there."


    "I hope the canned goods will not be rotten. Though considering the world we are currently living do not get your hopes too high sis."


    Michalina sighed at that as she spoke, "One can only hope."


    "Hey, sis, do you know who all are going to apany us?"


    Michalina shrugged at that as she spoke, "Well Major is keeping it close to her chest as such I do not know who else will be joining us."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "Why are referring to mom as Major even when you are off duty and spending your free time alone with me."


    Michalina gave him a faux smile as she spoke, "Sorry, mom is keeping it close to her chest, so happy now?"


    Ryan narrowed his eyes at that but chose not toment, ''Something is wrong, I wish I could pry it off from their mouth.''


    "Mom asked me to make another set of gears."


    "For whom?"


    "For the sixth member of the expedition."


    Michalina snarled as she spoke, "What is that women thinking?"


    Ryan red at her with a look full of disapproval as he spoke, "''That woman'' as you so eloquently called our mother provided us with anotherpanion, and frankly speaking I do not see any harm in that."


    "Why is that?"


    "From one we became two, then from two we became five and now six but unlike before I know that at the group will be a bit bnced we can form a proper group of twos and not an unbnced group."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "I see I think that I am finally able to understand what she was thinking, and I have no problem with that."


    Ciara looked at the trailer that stood in front of her, with a great sense of pride.


    The articted trailer made up by fusing a semi-truck with the front part of the articte bus, and it did not end there as the trailer covered by iron sheets to increase the defensive capabilities.


    The trailer had a wedge snowplough at its helm, and the roof had barbed wire fencing to prevent anyone from climbing, it made it look like a crown on top of the trailer.


    Four turrets, one at the front, one at the back along with two others that each upied a particrpartment but facing the opposite direction to each other.


    Multiple lights ced on the trailer looked akin to precious jewels on the crown.


    Any windows that were present had bulletproof sses on them, with railings as well and that included the windshield.


    Overall the trailer looked menacing to her, and the firstpartment held the driver''s cabin along with the radio operator''s workce. It also contained unique machines that Ciara was unable to make head or tell then turret control, workbench, equipment locker, gun locker, ammunition locker, as such basically it was amand unit.


    The second part was the living space with beds, kitchen, storage area, fieldboratory, medicinal cab,vatory and shower.


    Eachpartment had two doors one on the left and the other on the right, and as the engine came to life Ciara left a tired sigh, ''So tomorrow at the crack of dawn both my children will leave the safety of the fort and venture into thends unknown.''

 Chapter 26: The Village (Part-1)

    Chapter 26: The Vige (Part-1)


    "Tomorrow at dawn, a group of brave residents of Fort Genesis would venture forth into the new world, a world that has changed to an unforgiving and cruel one. The world we know nothing about, they will have no maps, no means of help and rescue, as such we apud them for their bravery and raise our cups praying for their health and safe return."


    Upon hearing Ciara''s words, all of them raised their cups as they cheered loudly, Ciara waited for a moment before she continued, "Now I am going to call upon those who are participating aside from Michalina and Ryan."


    Upon hearing her announcement, both Michalina and Ryan leaned forward, eager to learn the name of theirpanions.


    "Jessica, Nige, Nikita and Ang please step forward."


    At her announcement, the four stood up and took their ce beside Ciara who gave them a nod before she spoke again, "Ang wishes yo say something, Ang if you please.", Ciara gave her a small smile full of encouragement as she stepped forward.


    Ang cleared her throat as she began, "First of all I would like to apologize to all of you for the insulting you all and how childish I had acted at the same time, I would like to thank you for putting up with my tantrum."


    Her speech was greeted by thunderous apuse as she stepped back, Ciara herself was proud at the disy of Ang''s maturity as well as the willingness to forgive, at the same time she caught the brief sh of annoyance that passed through Michalina''s face.


    It was at the crack of dawn, and the entire base was already awake and had gathered around the vehicle as the final preparations were taking ce.


    "Ryan remember my words and listen to everymand that your older sisters give to you."


    Ryan nodded at that as Ciara''s eyes went towards Michalina as she spoke, "Lieutenant Michalina, as themander of the mission make the ck Wolves proud."


    Michalina gave a salute before Ciara''s eyes soften a bit as she spoke, "Take care."


    Michalina gave a small smile as the crew boarded the trailer.


    Ryan took the driver''s seat as Michalina upied the passenger''s which was coincidently the radio operator''s seat as well, she turned on the radio thereby establishing contact as she spoke, "This is Commander of ''Alpha Raven'', Lieutenant Michalina requesting to departure, over."


    The radio crackled softly as a voice spoke from the other side, "Request to Leave granted. Stay safe out there ''Alpha Raven'', over and out."


    Michalina grinned at that as Ryan disengaged the breaks as the trailer slowly began to move forward.


    Jessica who was standing behind them spoke with a hint of amazement to her voice, "Ryan you know how to drive a truck."


    Her words brought everyone back to reality as they finally noticed the person who was their driver for the day.


    Even Michalina was taken aback at that, "Bro you know how to drive."


    Ryan gave them a grin that seemed to stretch his face as he spoke, "There is no car, truck, ne or any other vehicle that has been created or thought of by man that I have not driven."


    Taken aback by his promation they were momentarily stunned before Nikita quickly spoke with a hint of fear in her voice, "Where did you drive them?"


    Ryan scoffed at her with a look that screamed, ''Are you stupid?'', as he spoke, "Of course ''GTA'' where else would I have learnt", with that, he stepped on the elerator hard as the trailer lurched forward with enough force that those who were standing promptly found themselves on the ground.


    Zhan lowered her binocrs as her hands shook she looked at her old friend Ciara as she spoke with a voice filled with fear, "You taught him how to drive."


    Ciara beamed at her as she spoke with pride in her voice, "I tried to teach Michalina how to drive properly but I failed but Ryan he learned everything I knew.", she wiped out a nonexistent tear of joy from her eyes.


    "I see I think I should prepare a eulogy, they were some of the bravest people I know of.", Zhan looked at the trailer with sad eyes.


    "Hey, I taught him well."


    "That ising from someone who was banned for nearly a decade because of reckless driving, the very person when she is on driver''s seat her passengers pray to the God to put them out of misery, the very same person whose driving is ssified by torture by superiors, I do not think so."


    The trailer followed the river as it moves west, they passed through thend with thick tall grass, so big that the grass reached the roof of their trailer but what ced the cherry on top of the cake was that many a time they heard growling and howling hidden behind those tall grasses, the turrets moved to keep a close look for anything dangerous as from time to time the sound of the collision came from the front.


    He might not have reacted much on the outside but he was scared he did not know what kind of creatures hid behind those grasses and he was in no hurry to get acquainted with them.


    The asional shots from the turret were like a hammered on his heart he wished that they would be able to leave the grasnd behind as soon as possible and if possible he would be able to get himself free from the bindings, he glowered towards Michalina who was driving without a care of the world around them whereas he was tied up to the passenger chair, they had tied his hands in such a way that he was unable to destroy the rope without destroying his clothes and he so did not wish to be naked.


    Soon the grasnd was left behind as they stepped into the ins again, "Micha look to your left the jungle ising to an end and if we move forward we will soon reach the dmissioned nuclear power nt with an hour."


    "I know Jessica but fortunately the river is moving towards the North from here as such I believe we can avoid that ce, I show do not wish t know what kind of mutated monstrosity is roaming around that ce.", her eyes fell on a glowering and growling Ryan who was sitting beside her as she spoke with barely concealed mirth, "Is there something you want to say, Ryan? I know you are enchanted by my beauty but please stop looking at me like that while I am driving.", she batted her eyelids for a minute as Jessica tried to hold back herughter.


    "Shut up! How dare you lead a mutiny against me and not only prevented me from driving but kept me as a prisoner."


    Jessica snorted at that as she spoke, "You call that driving? If it were any other time not only you would have been locked up but also banned from driving until you are a hundred years old."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "I know you idolize mom but let me tell a tidbit that you do not know about her, her driving is ssified as torture and she is banned from driving on open roads for a decade, so please do not follow her example if you want we could teach you to drive like a civilized person."


    Ryan huffed at that as he spoke, "Well sorry but I like her style better and it earned me a lot of praises in GTA, though can you untie me my limbs are falling asleep."


    Both Jessica and Michalina exchanged a nce at his words as Jessica untied him as she spoke, "How about you go and check the outside through the turret cameras maybe you might find something you could hunt."


    Ryan gave a brief nod before he stomped away from them and as soon as he was out of earshot Jessica ced aforting hand on Michalina''s shoulder as she spoke, "Do not worry we will teach him how to drive like a human and not some suicidal maniac that belongs in an asylum."


    Ryan drank from a ss of water as he took a seat on the bed that was folded into a pair of seats like those from a train, he looked through the small but sturdy one way ss window as he says the stones and trees pass by swiftly as they trailer moved with asional swaying and rumbling of the trailer.


    Small signs of civilization well more like ruins of civilization started to appear in the form of broken and demolished buildings as an rm sounded, Ryan knew what it meant and was further confirmed when Michalina''s voice came out through speakers, "Battle stations, Horde ahead!"


    Ryan did not waste any time as he punched a button as shutters began to move to cover the window Ryan dashed towards the turret seats.


    As he took his seat, Jessica shouted at him, "Ryan you wanted to gain some blood points so, take control of the front turret and earn them."


    Ryan gave her a dazzling smile as he jumped to his seat as he looked through the screen and saw a small group of zombies.


    The trailer had stopped a good few meters away from them, and it seemed that the zombies had yet to take notice of them, he then notices a couple of zombies kneeling and feeding on someone which made him feel a pang of sadness, ''If I were driving we would have been here ages ago and may have saved the poor soul.''


    He disregarded the other zombies loitering around as the turret camera zoomed in to the group of feeding zombies, it was when he received a shock, "Everyonee quick."


    At his shout, everyone gathered around as they all looked at his screen, "Look at that and tell me what you all can see."


    "Zombies are feeding on the unfortunate person, what is.", Nikita''s eyes widen in disbelief as she spoke, "That is a zombie, not a person, but a zombie feeding on a zombie?"


    "Some form of Cannibalism?"


    Nige''s brow scrunched at that as she spoke with a shake of her head, "No Ang I think ''Zombiebalism'' is the right word?"


    Everyone looked at her as if she had grown a second head before returning to the screen, as Nikita continued while pointing towards the screen, "See that zombie is a few weeks old at the very least seeing the rot on its body as do the duo feeding on it."


    Michalina did not know why, but she did not like the sound of it as she spoke, "Ryan zoom out and show me the other zombies."


    The turret controller was like a fighter ne screen with a TV screen in front for the operator to see through it, along with various buttons by its side, apanied by two joysticks for controlling its upward and sidewise movements.


    The turrets even had two pedals like structure near the foot area to control the zooming function of the camera andst but not the least the seat belts for safety. The controllers are then arranged on single rows on either side of the trailer.


    Michalina frowned as she whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, "Those Zombies while at a nce looks like they are loitering but in reality, they are protecting the feeding duo."


    All of a sudden the duo that was feeding copsed as if they were puppets whose strings had been cut then they began to convulse as an unearthly scream tore through their throat as they began to shift as they all looked at them with their eyes wide, one of the zombies began to sprout spikes which came out of its back and hands while the other began to grow more muscr as another set of hands began to grow.


    "Michalina had seen enough, "RYAN KILL THEM!!!", she all but shouted as she dashed to the driver''s seat with Jessica following after her, the others did not waste any time as they quicklymandeered the rest of the turrets.


    The front turret that looked like twin M2 Browning swung towards the one with the spike as it opened fire drawing attention from the rest, but it was toote it had already destroyed the head of the zombie and then it focused on the one that was still growing another hand, Michalina tied her seat belt before she red the horn drawing the attention of the group and soon more joined them hearing the sound of the horn and gunfire, she did not wait any longer as she stepped on the elerator and the trailer lurched forward with the intent to ram the horde hard.

 Chapter 27: The Village (Part-2)

    Chapter 27: The Vige (Part-2)


    The trailer finally came to a halt, as all those noises from gun firing and horn ring out loud had drawn out arge number of zombies, nearing about a fifty strong, and Michalina had a g time driving over them.


    "So did you get a good haul, Ryan?"


    Ryan beamed towards Nikita as he spoke, "I did, I got about ten Tier 2 zombies and those two evolved that I killed before were tier 3 as such I earned a hundred and sixty blood points in total and twelve souls."


    "But at the same time, we learned something new."


    Nikita nodded at that as Ryan continued to speak, "The evolution of zombies through cannibalism, I never thought I would see something like that."


    Nikita frowned at that as she helped Ryan tie up his chest armour before speaking, "Our ideas of zombiese from various novels, movies and many other things, of course, something is bound to be different."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Well I will try to see if I could get you some paper or notebooks as well writing utensils since you are cataloguing everything new we find."


    "Thank you and much appreciated Ryan."


    "Okay everyone circle around and listen carefully, as I go over the ns."


    "There will be two teams for this mission, the first team would consist of Ang and Nikita.", Michalina then looked towards Ang as she spoke, "Your job is to guard Nikita while she collects the samples, we might have killed the zombies, but we have no way of discerning if there are other threats out there or not as such be vignt."


    "The second group will be made by Jessica and Ryan they would go house to house searching, and gathering for various necessary items and I believe that you will be extra careful for while I can keep an eye out for Ang and Nikita you two will not have the same courtesy while inside a house."


    The door was swung open as Jessica jumped out followed by Ang as they promptly kneeled on the ground checking for any creature that might be taking shelter, as they signalled Nikita followed by Ryan descended as they then left towards their objective.


    Nikita began to perform an autopsy on the spot as Ang stood guard whereas the other two went towards the house the farthest away from their current location, their n was simplyplete house to house inspection from the furthest one at first and the nearest thest.


    "Ryan, follow me and do not disobey mymand okay."


    Ryan nodded at that as he followed after her while Michalina was listening through the radio various updates her team was giving them, and she was incredibly tensed as was Nige who was manning the turrets keeping an eye out for any potential dangers.


    Since the arrival of the ''Vige Heart Crystal'', all of them had gained the use of inventory and just like Ryan they were happy to use it to fullest not to mention how incredibly helpful it was.


    "Ryan, cover me."


    Jessica slowly turned the doorknob as she entered the house with Ryan following closely after her like her shadow, the quake had broken and toppled most of the house, and even those that were still standing were not unharmed as they had to navigate through broken pieces of furniture or walls.


    It took them a few minutes, but after it was deemed that they were alone Jessica spoke with a huff, "Start looting."


    Their radio crackled as Michalina''s voice came to their ears, "We are not looting but requisitioning items vital for our operations."


    Jessica snorted at that as she took out her hatchet as she started to cut down curtains and tear of mattresses to gather cloth while Ryan made his way to the bathroom to find something useful whether they be medicines or toiletries.


    "I have finished the bedroom grabbed sheets and clothes."


    "I have gathered all toiletries, medicinal items and broken of woods and metal parts, dismantle various electronic units though the only food left is rotten."


    "Well, maybe we will find some food that is still edible let us move on to the next house, Ryan."


    It had been a few hours since they had begun their work, and Ang had joined the duo as Nikita had stepped inside the trailer as she had finished her work.


    "Only a couple of houses left and then we can have lunch I am starving."


    "Me too Ang, me too though I hope the lunch will be better than that of the base after all we found some good canned food that is still edible."


    "Damn, Nikita can cook so well such a wonderful smell yum!", with a crackle their radio brought in Michalina''s voice.


    "Hey, sis that is so not cool.", Ryan shouted out in anger.


    "Michalina enough this is not the time for jokes we are doing some rather serious work so stop distracting us.", Jessica spoke in a stern voice before she rounded Ryan as she spoke again, "And you pay attention to do not get distracted as it could prove fatal."


    Ryan replied in a subdued manner, "Yes, Ma''am"


    "Good now I will take front Ang you are in the middle, and Ryan watches our back."


    Jessica once again opened the door as she stepped inside and then she stopped seeing her stopping so abruptly the other two tensed, "This ce has a carcass and the blood on the floor indicates that something was dragged inside, so keep your eyes peeled and avoid making sounds as such no radio only hand contact, ''Alpha Raven'' be advised we are entering radio silence."


    "Ryan, do not worry, we are here."


    Jessica''s words alleviated some of his fears as he simply nodded as Jessica continued, "You remember the hand signals don''t you?"


    "I do."


    "Then y close attention to any I give and be extra vignt."


    As they stepped inside Ryan found the entire room containing various carcasses, and floor seemed to have blood marks on them, he was sure if it were not for the mask the horrendous smell of death and decay would have assaulted them.


    The wooden floor creaked a little making Ryan wince at that as they slowly moved through the drawing-room into a hallway when all of a sudden a pair of hands burst out of the floor as it grabbed Ryan''s legs before pulling him down to what seemed to be the basement before anyone could react.


    Michalina was sat tensed as she listening to the soft crackle of the radio because there was a radio silence she had decided to turn off her mike as not to cause idental problems but her speakers were working at full throttle as she sat on the chair with her fullbat gear ready to move at a moment''s notice.


    "RYAN!!NO!!!!!", the shout from the speaker followed by massive gunfire made her blood cold, she jumped from her seat as she dashed towards the door, "NIKITA, you are in charge."


    With that, she jumped out of the trailer almost tearing the door off its hinges as she ran with electricity arcing around her covering her bodypletely.


    Ryan was stunned for a moment as he fell on the hard floor only for his vision to be filled with world''s worst unhygienic teeth he had seen not to mention the drooling mouth with red eyes ring at him it took a moment that the being was a zombie that was about to take a bite off him, he jammed the muzzle of his gun into its mouth and pulled the trigger as it brain flew all around him.


    Jessica did not waste any time as she jumped on atop of a zombiending on its head hard killing him as she began to fire at the others making sure that Ryan would be free as Ang followed soon after as she pulled a few off him as she fired her gun to kill them.


    With the zombies off of him Ryan jumped up as he hit another with the butt of his rifle before firing it again, ''Damn it there are so many of them, the bolt action is making it slow.''


    He gritted his teeth as he shoved the rifle into the inventory as he fired his revolver, with the corner of his eyes he saw Ang struggling, whereas Jessica was fighting with all he had with dual hatchets.


    Ryan swung his rapier as he cut off the head of one as he kicked another away before his revolver roared again, ''This is much better if my revolver runs out I still have a hatchet and knife to use, I have to go into automatic or semi-automatic bolt action is not good.''


    Ryan never felt so d about the fact that he was wearing the protective armour as he was sure that without them, he would be dead, he would have given a pat on his back, but unfortunately, his hands were too busy, ''Damn my revolver ran out, so hatchet time.''


    The next few seconds were a blur as he became ''tornado of des'' as he hacked, shed and pierced anything that came in front of him.


    Lightning strike descended upon the group electrocuting the remaining zombies turning them into ash.


    "Ryan, are you alright?"


    Michalina''s voice came to his ears as Ryan looked groggily at her, as Ryan spoke with a tiredly, "You arete to the party it is over."


    Jessica let out an amused snort before she leaned on the wall as did Ang sat on the floor as she spoke with a pain-filled voice, "I sprained my ankle."


    "Well I will help you to move but first let me catch my breath."


    Ryan looked at Michalina as he spoke, "Big sis, can you find a way out of here."


    "Do not worry, I will find a way out, and then I will help to carry Ang to the trailer."


    "Ten I killed ten zombies here most of Tier two with a couple of Tier three."


    "Same for me, I am d the armour you created is good otherwise we would have be food already."


    "Thank you, Ang, though the weapons did not seem to work well if only I had automatic or semi-automatic then it would have been great."


    "It would have killed us, Ryan, the basement is narrow as well there is no light here as such if you had used automatic or semi-auto we would die from friendly fire, melee was the best option."


    Ang decided to chime in as she spoke, "Jessica is right Ryan, every time you fired the gun I was afraid, I would identally get shot."


    "Well Jessica if you say melee was the best option here, then I do not wish to suffer a simr situation ever again for a long long time."


    Jessica snorted at that as she spoke, "Me too Ryan, me too."


    Ryan opened the chamber of his revolver as he reloaded the bullets before putting it back into his holster as he patiently waited for his sister to return.


    ''Attaching the water straw with the mask was the best idea I had, otherwise I would have to wait until I waspletely cleaned.''


    "The rest of the building is cleared, we can leave."


    "I believe since Ang is hurt we should let her retreat in the meantime Ryan and I would finish up with this and thest building, I so do not wish to venture forth again and dirty myself up."


    "Negative we are all returning."


    "Sister as much as I would like to return, I support Jessica''s idea we do not know what we might find and if you are worried so much why don''t you leave Ang in Nikita''s capable hands and return, we will wait for you, after all just another house and this vige will be over and we can leave or stay and put up camp."


    "Micha please let usplete our mission and then we would retire, every bit of resource is vital."


    Michalina sagged a bit before she spoke, "Well I will be carrying Ang back, but if you two decide to move on without me I will make sure that you will not be doing simr mission anytime soon."


    Ryan raised his hand drawing attention towards him as he spoke, "I so do not want to participate in any mission anytime soon, I have had my fill with zombies."


    "I thought you liked killing zombies."


    "Big sis, I like to kill zombies when I am sitting on the other side of the screen of my PC, not like this."

 Chapter 28: The Village (Part-3)

    Chapter 28: The Vige (Part-3)


    Ryan hummed a tune as he came out of the shower drying his hair with the towel, a shower after the ordeal seemed nice, their clothes and armour had been washed and nowpletely clean without any form of zombie body parts and blood, they had left them on the rooftop to dry off.


    "A nice bath after a tiring day is so nice.", he eximed before he began to drool.


    "Stop drooling and grab a te, Ryan."


    Ryan nodded at his sister''s words as she bounced towards Chef Nikita who handed him a te full of instant noodles, seeing the bed which had been converted into seats already upied he quickly climbed up to the upper birth as he took a bite, and spoke with bliss on his face, "So Yummy!!"


    Michalina looked at him as he had grown another head as she spoke, "''Yummy?!'',st I checked you were not so fan of the instant noodle especially not this particr brand."


    Ryan shrugged as he ate his portion before he spoke between bites, "No idea maybe Nikita used some kind of super-secret recipe that has been passed down through time immemorial in some very secret cult."


    Nikita snorted at that as she spoke, "Well aside from your extremely oundish imagination no I have not, it is simple instant noodles that take three minutes to cook and I have added nothing to it except maybe the spices provided along with it."


    "But it is so good.", his words seemed to be agreeable to others as well making Nikita smile at that.


    "Well thank you for thepliment but I believe the real reason behind it is that you all are getting to eat proper food after such a long time."


    "So are you going to call base?"


    Michalina looked down on her te before she spoke with a sigh, "I will try but it seems we are already nearing the range of the radio a few more minutes and we will not be able to send them any message."


    Ang cringed at that as she spoke, "Then how will we call for reinforcement."


    Others gaped at her as Ryan almost fell from the upper bunk as he tried to reign in hisughter which he somehow managed upon being red at by Michalina.


    "Ang, what did Major tell you?"


    Ang looked unsure before she spoke, "Well nothing I learned from others and volunteered myself."


    Jessica shared a discreet look with Michalina as she spoke, "You should have checked Ang you should have approached either Michalina or Ryan and should have asked them instead of learning from secondary sources."


    Ryan leaned from his seat at the topmost bunk as he spoke with a tired sigh, "We are scouting, trying to gather intellect, rescue some if possible but more importantly to grow strong."


    "As mom said we are venturing into the unknown, we will not know what is out there waiting for us, like today''s incident it might be just a warm-up nothing more."


    He yed with his noodles a bit before he continued, "As we move we will face challenges much difficult than today, some of them we might triumph others we will not and might die this is the risk we are taking and the reason mom is letting us take such a risk is simply the profit if it seeds is enormous not to mention necessary and if you have any problems with that, I am sorry but the time forining is over."


    With his piece being said Ryan gave his undivided attention to his noodles with a blissful smile on his face.


    "So how long will this tripst?"


    Everyone looked at each other than to Ryan who was eating with a smile as Michalina decided to speak on his behalf, "Well until and unless he feels that he is sufficiently strong."


    "That means you have no idea how long we will be away?"


    "Not too long Ang, my intention is getting stronger to help others and as such, I cannot waste too much time and let something dastardly happen while we are not there."


    "Hey, Ryan there is something I wish to ask of you?"


    "What is it big sis Jessica."


    "Well about fuelling this trailer, how and what are you going to do about it?"


    "There is no need to worry about fuel, I have joined the fuel tanks of the truck with the bus provided a muchrger capacity not to mention there are machines in ce that are drawing energy from the surrounding area and storing it inside the tank in a liquefied form that I am using it to drive the trailer and power every machine inside it."


    "It would take eight hours for it to refill the tank if we do not use the engine but have every other machine is turned on so as I said you do not need to worry about the fuel."


    Everyone looked impressed at that as Nige spoke with awe, "If the civilization was still alive you would have be a billionaire."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Like this technology would have worked."


    "But you said your machine is converting energy."


    Ryan picked up his te as he drank the soup then licking his lips cleaned as he spoke, "The energy we are using to power our abilities well I do not know what to call them except they draw the same energy from the air and then stored them in liquefied state inside the tank, though I would warn you that the liquid contained inside the tank are at an extremely low temperature about negative twenty."


    It was near dawn that he was awakened by someone shaking him as he sat up with a disgruntled look on his face he was greeted by Nige who let out a small yawn as she spoke, "Get up and wash your face, it is time for your watch and my chance to sleep."


    Ryan let out a groan as he climbed down from his bed as he walked like a zombie towards the sink before he let out a jaw splitting yawn.


    "No sleeping during your job, Ryan.", upon hearing that Ryan simply waved his handzily.


    "You arete Ryan.", Jessica narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ryan who stood in front of her with a sheepish smile on his face as he handed her a cup of hot tea.


    Jessica took it from his hand with a smile on her face as she spoke, "Well I can overlook the fact you are dead."


    Ryan took the passenger seat at the front of the trailer as he spoke, "What are you reading?"


    "Oh nothing, it is just the Logbook."


    "Log Book?"


    "Yes, it is the Log Book that our dear Captain maintains."


    "Is it not against the rule for you to read it then?"


    "No, nothing is preventing me from reading it, though if I remember you would get a Log Book of your own, after all, you are also our technician, mechanic amongst many things as such you have to maintain a log when you do some repairs or major update."


    Jessica took a sip of tea before she scowled looking at the liquor in her cup.


    "Why does this taste a bit awkward?"


    "Well the tea leaves for this blend were meant to be used with milk but since I do not have ess to any we are having tea without milk as well as sugar."


    "If I remember correctly we got powdered milk did we not."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes we did but it was spoiled, but there is something I wish to ask you."


    "What is it, Ryan?"


    "Why do I need to write a log?"


    Jessica raised her head from the log as she spoke, "After our mission is over we have to give reports to Major and it would be useful."


    A loud squeal was heard followed by another with the stomping of hoofs that made the duos blood ran cold.


    The trailer bathed its surrounding with enough light to make it look as bright as a day, as they peered through the windows they saw tworge boars almost as high as the trailers fighting dangerously close to the trailer.


    "Damn it, wake others I will man the turrets"


    Ryan dashed towards the bunks and upon locating his sister he shook her hard to wake her up.


    Michalina floundered for a moment before she sat up giving undivided attention to Ryan, her questions were answered as another loud squeal was heard, by then the others had already awoken as well.


    Nige dropped from the top of the bunk as she spoke, "What is happening outside."


    "Shhhh! Do not shout tworge boars nearly as high as the trailer are fighting each other, and please keep your voice down we do not want their attention to fall on us."


    Michalina simply waved them with their hands as they made their way to the turret room where Jessica was already sitting her eyes glued to her screen as Michalina neared her she whispered to her, "How bad is it?"


    "If even one of them collides we are done for."


    "Can we move?"


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke, "If we try to move now we would end up drawing their attention to us and the trailer needs a few seconds to reach a respectable speed if they are far enough we may try."


    "Do you think your trailer would survive a direct hit?"


    "Sis I am confident that my trailer has as much chance of survival as an egg against a wrecking ball."


    Hearing that everyone''s breath hitched as Ryan continued to speak nonchntly, "Oh before I forget these creatures are Tier Seven."


    Michalina''s eyes narrowed as she looked at Ryan as she spoke, "How are you so chill right now do you know something that we are unaware of."


    Ryan opened his mouth to reply only to frown as he spoke, "I do not know how I can keep myselfposed, but what I know is that there may be some more defensive and attacking options in the distant future."


    "I see."


    "Shhh, everyone is silent and listen carefully."


    Upon hearing Ang''s words everyone was silent for a moment but the only thing they heard was the stomping of hooves and loud squealing.


    Jessica frowned as she spoke, "I do not hear anything out of ordinary."


    "Wait I hear distant chirping.", Nige spoke and from the looks of it, even Michalina had heard it.


    As the chirping became loud the two giant mountain-sized stopped their fight as they tensed before they tried to run only to be swarmed by a flock of flying creatures.


    The two boars did not stand any chance against them swarm as they were torn to shreds by the strange bat-like creatures, Ryan did not know whether he should be thankful for the trailer lights or not, seeing something like that was truly grotesque, but he did not know why but his sixth sense told him to get ready to run.


    Nikita whistled lowly as she spoke, "Damn that is a gore-fest I am d that I am safely tucked inside the trailer."


    Michalina nodded in agreement as she spoke, "And a certain someone wanted to leave alone.", She turned to look at Ryan only to find him missing.


    "Where is Ryan?"


    "Hey, they stopped moving."


    With her words, Nige drew everyone''s attention to the swarm as Jessica zoomed in on them to get a better look as she spoke with a frown, "Are they looking at us?"


    It seems as if her words were the trigger as swarmed screeched before they attacked the trailer.


    "Damn it, someone go and get us out of here."


    Michalina turned to move towards the driver''s cabin only to fall back along with anyone who was standing as Jessica gripped her seat hard.


    "Get that suicidal moron off the driver''s seat."


    Michalina sends a re towards Jessica as she spoke, "I will do it as soon as I can stand."


    Only for them to topple over again as Michalina shouted out, "Hold onto anything you can get, I will try and reach him."


    With great difficulty, the rest of the soldiers managed to climb on to the turret control seats as they tied the seatbelts.


    Ryan gritted his teeth as tried to look at the front, ''Damn these creatures they are trying to obstruct my vision, it is so difficult to see."


    Trailer jumped as Michalina came flying into the cabin as she promptly hit the roof and fell on the passenger chair, normally she would have argued and scolded him but her sixth senses were on overdrive as such she quickly strapped herself firmly to her seat courtesy of the seat belt and in time too as Ryan took a sharp turn, so sharp that the trailer was leaning on the right as the wheels on the left dangled on the air.


    No words came to her mouth as she did not even think anyone could drive the trailer in such horrendous manner, normally she would have yelled but she did not wish to break Ryan''s concentration but that did not mean she was incensed she red balefully at him as she tried to set her broken nose.

 Chapter 29: The Village (Part-4)

    Chapter 29: The Vige (Part-4)


    "Come in Roost, Come in, code Whiskey Alfa Romeo November, Come in Roost, Come in, code Whiskey Alfa Romeo November."


    The radio crackled as a voice came from the other side, "Roost here, confirm Alpha Raven."


    "Roost be advised to stay out of the dark, unknown swarm took out a couple of Tier seven during night time."


    ~crackle~ ~~crackle~


    "Alpha Raven please repeat."


    "Bat like creatures took out a couple of Tier Seven creatures, and are active only during night time."


    ~crackle~ ~~crackle~


    "Alpha wolf here, message received loud and clear, Alpha Raven ready for flight."


    "Alpha Raven ready for flight, over and out, be advised we will be out of range."


    "Alpha Raven, have a safe and cautious flight, over and out."


    Michalina ced down her microphone before she stood up and made her way towards her tied up a prisoner who looked at her with a pleading look on his face.


    "I hope you will behave now Ryan."


    Ryan nodded furiously as Jessica untied the ropes and removed the gag from his mouth.


    Upon being freed, Ryan did not waste any time as he made a mad dash towards the bathroom.


    As he relieved himself his mind went back to how he was put into such a position,


    The entire trailer seemed to have been covered by the bat-like creatures their chirping was driving him mad, he knew he had to make a run for it, as he had no wish to test the power of the teeth that tore the hide of a Tier seven beast against his trailer.


    He changed the gear as his foot stepped on the elerator, his trailer shot forward like a cheetah.


    The light shone the way as the speed rose fast and soon it was reaching the hundred and thirtieth mark, the highest speed achievable by the trailer.


    ''Damn it if I had proper road it would have run much smoother.''


    The trailer took a small jump as he heard someone fall with a groan and lot of cursing, but he did not pay any heed to him, as he looked through the side view mirror he saw the swarm trying to catch up to the trailer hard.


    ''Maybe I should try to make a me thrower, after all, any creature could be dealt with mes and I hope that is something that has not changed at all, though what are these creatures they could...shit''


    He was distracted by them and as such failed to see another creature that looked like a cow running and he had almost hit it but he saved his trailer by turning it to the right slightly, his mother had taught him that it was okay to curse the hell out of their forefathers up to the hundredth generation for not looking at the road anding in front of the vehicle but it was not to time.


    What he failed to realize that his slight turn had caused the trailer to have its left side of the wheel dangling up in the air.


    While he drove the trailer under the guidance of Ryan did various acrobatic stance the passengers were of a different mind, Ang and Nikita had decided to simply sp their hand and pray to any god that would listen to them and rescue even Cthulhu was not spared from their prayers.


    Jason Keevan was a man of forty years, he had a happy life with his beloved wife of ten years and two lovely daughters of five years of age, he had a roof on his head, a stable ie and ording to him what else a man would want, unfortunately, that his happy life came to an end when the world changed and his daughter died squashed under the very rubble, that day he felt as if a part of him had died with his daughter, when all of a sudden she came to life, he was astonished and ted, only for it to turn into horror as she took a bite off him.


    Now Jason Keevan, a zombie part of the horde that unfortunately stood in Ryan''s path, a roar of the engine drew the horde''s attention than a sh of light, and that was all Zombie Jason saw before he collided head-on with the snowplough.


    The swarm had long since given up on trying to feed on the trailer since they had begun chasing it they had received an overabundance of food because of the trailer and the only reason they followed it was because of the food.


    It had been a little over an hour when Ryan had begun driving his trailer and sun was seen rising beyond the horizon, the swarm did not like sunlight even a little as it was a bane to its existence as such with a heavy heart it left the trailer.


    Even if the swarm retreated Ryan did not stop he drove for another quarter of an hour more and only when he was sure that the swarm was no longer following them did he applied the brakes if the trailer, every upant of the trailer whose name was not Ryan felt as if their skeleton would live their body.


    As the trailer screeched to halt as Ryan applied the brake with a frown on his face, "I made a mistake I should have gone with normal steering wheels, thus making the trailer diff.ack."


    Ryan''s monologue was cut off when he found himself held in a chokehold hard as his vision turned ck.


    "Wakey wakey.", a voice came to his ears as he groggily awoke and found himself bound and gagged on a chair.


    "Now since the sleeping beauty has wakened what does want to say? I expressly forbid you to drive so why did you disobey me, hmmm.", the gag was then removed from his mouth.


    Ryan scowled at her as he spoke with a snarl, "I saved all of your lives and this is how you all repay me."


    Smoke seemed to have appeared from their noses as their anger rose zenith, ''Must not kill, must not kill.'', was the mantra that the group repeated in their head trying to reign in their anger.


    "I see baby brother I failed to appreciate how great of help you had been as such I think we should reward as such.", the smile on her face sent chills down his spine, he looked around to see the anger in everyone''s eyes and ''Eehh, Jessica''s left cheek is swollen did she put a potato inside her mouth.''


    "Hey, Jessica why have you stuffed a potato inside your mouth, are you alright."


    It was the quick action of others that saved him from getting mauled at by frothing and foaming Jessica, as Michalina glowered at him, "Since you have performed so excellently I believe you should be awarded as such until and unless we allow you to, you would be tied up to this chair and gagged as well."


    It had been a few hours since then and it had been a torturous affair for Ryan he was hungry and tired and they finished their breakfast and lunch in front of him, yet he was tied up like some criminal, ''And I bothered to save them, I doubt they could have driven like me, we are retracing back to our previous campsite so that they can contact the base but they are driving for hours and they have yet to reach.''


    ''Hmm, I would like to see them drive in such poor road at such a high speed, idiots the lot of them.''


    Seeing Michalina acting like that made him sad, it was like she had reverted to her old self when she had first met her she thought he would take Ciara away from her and was incredibly hostile to him until his aunt intervened.


    He still remembered how she once told him she preferred death than epting him as her brother, it had been many years since then, her outlooks have changed and he had hoped so but today''s incident nted a seed of doubt in him.


    ''Damn the hunger is making me depressed, oh well like I care as soon as I hit the Tier Four I will be gone, only because of my mom I decided to humour them but they are already getting on my nerves.''


    ''Hmm, maybe I should start working on some project.''


    "Hmmm, Michalina is he sleeping?"


    Michalina looked at Ryan as she went and checked him before speaking with a shrug, "It seems so, please pass the cup for me.", with that, she went back to ying cards while the trailer rumbled on slowly.


    Unknown to any of them Ryan was not sleeping, during his stay within the Fort he learned something that made his mind spin for a bit, he could control his creations as long as he was within a certain distance of it, the base, the trailer, everything that was created by him was controble to him to the point, the trailer would not move, it would not open its doors without his permission.


    Ryan had closed his eyes as he interacted with his trailer, putting every bit of scraps to good use as the outer part of the trailer repaired itself from any damage that was dealt during the assault of the swarm.


    As he finished with the repairs he went into the deep recess of his mind as he began to work on the design of his new vehicle that he nned to use sometime in the future.


    Soft crackling of radio was what came to his ears as he opened his eyes he heard the message that was being sent back to the base.


    ''So they finally came back to yesterday''s campsite and if I am not wrong it is nearing the time for the sun to set if today we get swarmed I swear I will not drive consequences to be damned.''


    Ryan came out of the bathroom after he had finished relieving himself as he swore inwardly, ''Next time I will pee on their belongings if they try something simr I thought my dder would burst.''


    ''Well since the pantry is under lock and key and even if I can open them I will refrain, I so do not wish to alert them of my powers to control.''


    ''So, what should I do now? I feel so hungry, but I would die before asking them to give me something to eat.''


    ''Maybe I should check the top, the more I spend time with the likes of them the chances of losing myself to anger is even more.''


    With that, he swiftly climbed up using thedder and found himself standing on top of the trailer that has begun to move.


    He then closed the hatch as hey down on top of the trailer as he watched the clouds passingzily as his stomach growled.


    ''tch annoying, I feel so annoyed if only I did not have to feel the pangs of hunger anymore it would have been nice.''


    The chirping of the bird drew his attention as his face broke into a smile.


    "Hey, where is Ryan?"


    Jessica spoke curiously as she searched the trailer high and low for Ryan as Nikita frowned as she spoke, "What are you saying?"


    "He should be here, where else he would go, search for him I made something for him to eat he has not eaten anything since yesterday."


    Nige frowned before she perked up and quickly sat in the control seat of the turret, "He is eating something."


    A few minutes ago Ryan''s attention fell on a flying bird that has chosen him as its prey and had attacked him.


    The chirping bird in question was a giant bird which looked like a cross between a turkey and a chicken that could fly, not to mention it was ugly, seeing Ryan it had attacked him and promptly ended up bing wingless.


    "You should have tried not to attack me like a fool now, and you will be my dummy and then my food."


    The bird was a Tier 2 creature as such it failed to withstand the onught and promptly ended up dead in his hand.


    Ryan did not hesitate skin it and then remove its innards, he then ced his hand on top of the roof of the trailer as the bird meat disappeared, he waited for a moment as it reappeared in front of him, on top of a te, in its perfectly roasted form.

 Chapter 30: The Village (Part-5)

    Chapter 30: The Vige (Part-5)


    ''Thump'' ''Thump'' ''thump'', the sound of hitting of the hatch door came to his ears making him snarl in anger, ''What are those idiots doing now?''


    ''Damn it if I leave it as such, my trailer would be damaged because of this Neanderthal savages.''


    He snapped his finger as the hatch finally opened allowing Michalina''s head to pop up as Ryan spoke with a scowl on his face, "Why were you banging at the hatch door, it was not locked or anything and could have been opened with a simple push, so why were you banging the hatch door so hard."


    Michalina was taken aback by that, she had never heard such a tone from her brother before.


    "What are you trying to pull Ryan?"


    "What do you mean Michalina?"


    The warmth associated whenever he called her ''Sis'' was missing and that sent warning bells in her head as she spoke with a frown, "I mean what are doing here, on top of the trailer alone."


    "Eating Michalina, I am hungry."


    "And where did you get meat from."


    "I hunted it from a creature that got too close, so what do you want?"


    "You are eating an unknown creature they could be toxic and poisonous, you could die."


    "So, people die every day that is nothing new."


    Michalina was taken aback by his callous attitude to his own life as she snarled at him, "You will drop that piece of meat and get down from the roof this instance so help me."


    Ryan looked at her before giving out a snort as he proceeded to dig into his food only for Micahlina to grab it and throw it away.


    Ryan looked at his food as it fell on the ground as the trailer drove away, he starred at it longing he steel felt the pangs of hunger as anger, hatred and sadness welled up his chest he looked up at Michalina before closing his eyes as he spoke, "I see.", with that he stood up and went down the hatch.


    The others looked at him with curious eyes but Ryan did not pay any heed to them, he went straight to the workbench and began tinkering with something that they could not make head or tails about except it was arge box with various parts lying about.


    Michalina took the te full of food that Nikita had prepared for him and ced it near Ryan.


    It had been a couple of hours since then and Nikita frowned as she watched Ryan had not only touched it but he was busy meditating, "Damn it, he has not eaten anything since yesterday."


    "And whose fault is that, Nikita."


    "Well, I did not hear you protesting when we all discussed his punishment Nige."


    Michalina frowned at that as she watched trees passing by before she looked as if certain realization had struck her hard, "Shit, I forgot that once time his biological sisters had once tied him up and left him inside a room for a day just for fun and I might have triggered that mental trauma.", she finished with a sheepish smile.


    Nikita gawked at her as she spoke, "Michalina you are hopeless, what if he stops eating altogether then what."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Of course he would."


    Nikita snorted at that as she spoke, "He is stubborn as a bull as such the only way I could see not is if you pry his mouth open and pour the food."


    "Tch, troublesome well when hees out of his meditation we will talk."


    It had been a few hours and Ryan had finished making a blueprint for his new vehicle, ''Now the only thing I need it to make it, but unfortunately I do not have a ce where I can work safely without any distraction, well this is a rough blueprint and it would be a while before I make theplete one maybe after a couple of more levels I will be easily able to create a vehicle and leave, I gave Michalina chances many times but she blew it all up.''


    ''Oh well whatever I no longer care about you all, I only became your acquaintance because of my aunt and I have no longer have any problem of not being acquainted with you all, now about my second project.''


    "You have to admit that Ryan is an excellent driver."


    Ang nodded at Jessica''s words as she spoke, "It took us over ten hours to go back and return to the point where Ryan had stopped his trailer if you look it in another way he is a hell of a driver, he covered the distance in just a couple of hours, not to mention the carnage he left behind."


    Nige nodded as she spoke, "Yes, you are correct, I was angry at that time but if he would have driven a bit more carefully I would have been not been so angry with him, the way he drove it made me suffer heart attacks more often than not."


    She then looked at Ryan and frowned he had not moved from his position for some time now as he was in deep meditation and that worried her, they had reacted badly and had acting in a way that made them feel guilty, they just hoped Ryan that would be forgiving to them.


    A few hourster an angry Michalina growled as she red at meditating Ryan, thend had been plunged into darkness as night had descended upon them, it had been a while since then and Ang was the one who had prepared the dinner and every one of them were waiting for Ryan to wake up from his meditation.


    Michalina was feeling pangs of hunger yet she kept quiet, today she had not only prevented him, brother, from eating but also snatched the food from his mouth, ''I know it was wrong but he could have fallen ill.''


    ''I feel hungry yet my baby brother did not eat anything sincest night, I am the worst sister he could have.''


    "Do you think we should wake him up from his meditation, Michalina?"


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Let us wait for a few more minutes before I will wake him up."


    Seeing her upset Jessica gave her aforting squeeze as she spoke, "Do not worry everything would be fine."


    Michalina just gave her a small smile as she looked at her brother when she first met him she was enraged, she thought he was taking her only lifeline in the world, her adopted mother and sheshed out towards him, but slowly and surely Ciara helped her to realize how wrong she was and thus she gained her precious baby, whom she swore to protect with her life and now she hurt him, and that was inexcusable.


    Her inner ranting was stopped when he saw Ryan opened his eyes for a moment, she gained a small smile on her face as she stood up from her chair only to be reced by one of horror.


    Ryan opened his eyes before his face morphed into a grimace before it turned blue as he fell from his chair, but before his head could hit the floor Michalina was already cradling him as Nikita stood by her side.


    "Put him on the bed."


    Jessica quickly prepared the bed as theyid Ryan on top of the bed.


    From the looks of it, he was struggling to breathe, as the strange wheezing noise came from his throat, while he was jumping like fish out of water gasping from the air.


    "Hold him down, he is moving too much."


    "What is happening to him?"


    Nikita bit her lips as she spoke, "I do not kno.huh.", her face morphed into confusion as she ran her stethoscope over Ryan''s chest for a moment.


    "He is upgrading himself again, I will bet my life on it, and for some reasons, his lungs are acting in a rather funny manner.", her brows furrowed as she spoke, "Quickly turn him to the right, Ang bring the waste bin fast."


    As soon as Ang brought the bin near Ryan he began to vomit blood that looked more like tar than blood into the bin.


    A few minutester Ryanid on his back as Nikita gently massaged his chest, he looked a bit more healthy than before, she looked up to Michalina as she spoke, "Mix a couple of spoonful of sugar and a pinch of salt in a ss full of water and bring it to me, it will help him a lot then for food I will fix something when he is well enough."


    "How are you feeling now?"


    Ryan replied with a wince, "Not good, I feel awful."


    Seeing his raspy voice made Nikita frown as Michalina brought the ss to Nikita, who took it before supporting Ryan by cing her hand behind his head, she helped him to drink it.


    As the cool concoction touched his lips Ryan felt relieved, he had not eaten or drunk anything for a long time and the getting the sweet substance down his parched throat felt great.


    "I will prepare something for you to eat and you will eat that otherwise I will shove it down your throat now rest."


    Ryan gave a small nod since the introduction of liquid into his system most of the anger, frustration, disappointment and hatred seemed to be melting away at an incredible speed, ''I like the sweet stuff, hmm, they are not bad, I had missed sweets for such a long time maybe if I y my cards right and manage to wrangle something like this..hmmm, time to n.''


    As the others moved a bit away from them Michalina spoke with her face full of shame, "Brother I am sorry."


    "Your driving style harmed us, frightened us but at the same time it saved us, yet we all forgot that and we punished you unjustly for that I am sorry, I do not know how and when you would be once again be able to forgive me but I will try my best to earn yours at whatever cost it might be."


    Ryan just cracked open an eye as he looked at a Michalina who sat with a defeated look on her face as she continued, "The way you drove was remarkable but you did without warning us as such we had to suffer bodily harm not to mention there are objects in this trailer that are lost and when you drove it bounced off from its ce and hit us, Jessica was hit by the kettle on her face if it were a bit higher her eyes would have been destroyed."


    Ryan wanted to speak but was stopped by Michalina who ced a figure over his lips as she spoke, "Do not speak brother you are tired, hungry and injured, now where was I, oh yes, Ryan mom taught you well extremely well if I were in your ce I would have caused an ident, but you should warn us before pulling another such stunt as so that we can be prepared not to get caught up in such a manner."


    "Was your punishment needed? Yes, was it excessively cruel? Yes, we went too far with it and caused emotional distress to you so, I once again apologize, now you rest while Nikita brings something for you to eat, and once again thank you for saving our lives."


    With that Michalina stood up and left leaving Ryan to ponder on her words as he closed his eyes to rest, normally he was incensed and would have not listened to her at all but the sweet drink worked wondered for him and his anger melted awaypletely.


    As Michalina made her way to the front of the trailer, Jessica who was sitting on the passenger seat spoke with a curious tone in her voice, "So how did the talk go."


    Michalina''s'' shoulder slouched as she spoke in a depressed voice, "I am a monster."


    Jessica simply patted her back as she spoke in an amused voice, "There, there, but you were able to convey your message, right?"


    "Well I prepared his drink with eight spoonfuls of sugar, hell he will even sell his soul to the devil for sweet and if ites to worse I will simply wear him down with sweets."


    Jessica gawked at her as she spoke with a tired sigh, "You are a monster."

 Chapter 31: ????? (Part-1)

    Chapter 31: ????? (Part-1)


    Ryan gently hummed as he assembled a gun as Michalina watched over his shoulder, "Good Ryan, you assembled the gun fast, maybe not fast enough for a veteran but still it was a good attempt."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Please stop giving me false praises, the entire ''ck Wolves'' regiment could easily beat me with their eyes closed."


    "But baby brother you are not dealing with firearms every day as much as we do, give it some time and you could give us the run for the money."


    Ryan simply smiled at her as he caressed the gun while Jessica spoke in a whining tone, "So not fair I wanted a semi-automatic too."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Well then you should have tried to level up more."


    Jessica simply stuck her tongue towards him as Ryan let out a smallugh at her antics.


    "So is everyone ready?"


    At Ryan''s question the duo simply wore their helmet as their face hid behind their gas masks, an action Ryan soon followed his new gun strapped to his body using a sling.


    "You know Ryan your gun kind of reminds me of X95."


    Ryan grinned at that as he replied to back to Ang, "Well of course it would look like that after all, I designed it based on it."


    When he nced down at his weapon he saw something that was otherwise not visible to anyone else other than him.


    Name: T4SAR1


    Type: Bullpup (Assault Rifle)


    Tier: 4


    Damage: A


    Reliability: A+


    uracy: B+


    Range: A


    Rate of Fire: F+


    Overall Rating: B


    Weight: 3.27 Kg


    Ammo: 5.56x45/5.56x30/5.45x3


    Requirement: Minimum Tier 3


    "We will move in pairs, Ryan with me and Jessica with Nikita, we will move in quietly use radio as seldom as possible and try not to move away from each other too much."


    At Michalina''s words, everyone gave her a sharp nod as they moved out of the trailer, with Jessica taking the front again with Michalina following after her as Nikita taking the rear.


    It had been a day since Ryan had managed to reach the Tier 3 level and had created a gun for himself and thus cannibalized his previous gun in the process.


    It had been a few hours they had entered what was once a restricted area reserved for their Air Force, but now it was in ruins, when they entered the base they found it was not only empty but a certain part of the base was badly damaged beyond salvation and the group was depressed upon seeing the armoury had ceased to exist as the only thing left behind was arge crater.


    They had searched the base, and everywhere they went they only found more and more destruction, from the earthquake and the fire that had soon started thereafter.


    Even the residential area was not spared, and as they did not have means to clear the rubbles they were forced to leave behind precious resources with a heavy heart, and it was then all of a sudden they stumbled upon a hospital, that looked as if it had seen better days but was still standing as such they decided to move in and take as many resources as they could carry.


    The group entered the building where they could see blood marks on the ground and the surrounding area, the sight of which made Ryan a bit nervous as the basement incident came to his mind.


    They slowly made their way with their shlight showing them the way as they tried to find their way through the hospital.


    "It is so quiet and empty, I believe someone had beaten us and has stolen everything."


    "Michalina frowned at Ryan''s words as she spoke, "We will search beforeing into any form of conclusion, after all, we are only at the ground floor who knows what we might find."


    "Zombies, for sure.", Jessica quipped as Michalina red at her from behind her mask.


    Jessica shrugged as she spoke, "What we are at a hospital, who knows how many dead are kept here, just thinking about it gives me chills."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "Big Sis Jessica if you are afraid of this think about ''Hart Ind''."


    Jessica tilted her head as she spoke, "''Heart Ind''?"


    "No no ''Hart Ind'', it is spelt as ''H-A-R-T'', ''Hart Ind'' is located near New York in the USA and is rumoured to be resting ce of over a million dead."


    Everyone looked at him with disbelief as Nikita could help but speak out loud, "Why do you know all this?"


    "Well since I was nning on going to MIT I was researching about the USA and learned lots of stuff."


    "But still a million-strong zombie horde, I so do not want to face them.", Jessica spoke as she felt a cold shiver down her spine.


    As Nikita spoke with a snort, "And you forgot about the eight million-strong residents that live in the city just think what would have happened to them with so many zombies and mutated creatures roaming around."


    "What about Tokyo? It has near about Forty Million strong poptions."


    A shiver ran down Ryan''s spine at that thought, "A city with suchrge poption will be like all you can eat buffet for these creatures.."


    Nikita shook her head as she spoke, "You cannot say that withplete certainty, there will be many who would escape, there might be a chance that the zombies will be dealt with because of superior numbers of the living or they might all be dead."


    Michalina turned and looked at them as she spoke in a monotone, "Neither New York nor Tokyo is in our country, and most importantly we are not going to visit anytime soon so why are you all so busy discussing when we have a mission toplete where silence is needed."


    As the others let out a small chuckle at that they continued moving from door to door for anything that they could find, but unfortunately, every room was empty until Michalina came across a room, where the head of the zombies was hung from the ceiling tied with ropes.


    As they stepped inside the room all zombies'' heads became agitated as their teeth gnashed, while their mouth opened in a silent snarl.


    As Ryan could help but scrunch his face with disgust, "Ugh, this is sick I do not like this."


    The other members of his group did not pay any heed to it as Michalina spoke, "Ryan, Jessica stay near the door and watch our back."


    "Nikita you are with me, we are going to search the room and be careful do not touch anything especially the heads keep them hanging like this."


    As Ryan watched his sister and Nikita crawl on the floor while the heads hung above them Jessica poked his shoulder as she spoke, "You watch the left while I watch the right."


    Ryan nodded as aimed his gun towards the left side of the door towards the long dark corridor while Jessica looked over the direction they came in.


    Meanwhile, Nikita and Michalina looked at what seemed to be a stash of beer and a few cigarette packs that were ced along with it.


    "It seems that someone has been to this ce very recently.", Michalina whispered to herpanion as she pointed towards theck of dust that was otherwise present in the entire room.


    Ryan meanwhile peered down towards dark as his eyes narrowed, ''Is there something moving in the dark.'', the parts inside his bionic eye moved as his vision zoomed as he tried to find what was amiss.


    What greeted him was the muzzle of a gun, "Enemy contact at 12.", was all he was able to shout as all hell broke loose.


    Jessica had jumped back into the room as did Ryan when all of a sudden a hail of bullets hit their location as Michalina and Nikita made their way towards the door, "Ryan do it."


    That was all Ryan needed to hear as his gun poked its muzzle out of the cover as he pulled the trigger, what came next was nowhere deafening as the roar of the of the assants gun but it did its job as the guard was torn apart like tap water through tissue.


    A shout of pain came along with a gasp followed by something copsing was heard, Jessica meanwhile brought out a mirror that she had fixed with a stick as she extended it to view the assant for a moment before she let out a small whistle of appreciation as she spoke, "Damn Ryan that is some sick gun you have, the entire wall behind the assant has copsed."


    "Good work", Ryan''s sisterplimented him with a pat on his back.


    Ryan simply nodded as the group moved cautiously as they looked moved towards the dead body and upon reaching it Ryan had the sudden urge to throw up.


    The man like the wall behind him was torn to shreds courtesy of Ryan it was a grisly sight that made the bile rise his throat, Jessica who nearby gave him a small pat on his shoulder when all of a sudden Ryaan felt a child down his spine he turned to look a man shabbily dressed with bones and skulls covering his body just like the deceased person, he had aimed his gun at Jessica''s back, Ryan did not wait any longer as he shoved him away but before he could speak a loud bang was heard, as he felt himself floating in the air before all went ck.


    Michalina looked down from the broken piece of the wall, as she peered down she was greeted by the sight of a three-storey drop on the hard concrete floor, she turned her head just in time to watch the shotgun firing and her brother falling from the broken piece of the wall.


    The attacker had a smug smile on his face as he watches one of the armoured people take a tumble off the broken wall, ''Well boss would award me handsomely when I bring him the news and with one of them dead it would be easier.'', with that thought he began to teleport with his telltale yellowish glow.


    Michalina saw red as she dashed towards the already fading man her normal blue lightning had changed colour to blood red as she grabbed the throat of the person with inhumane strength before mming him to the wall, which broke as they fell into an almost empty room.


    With his throatpletely copsed and an incredible pain flowed as he felt his bone break and then the current that flowed through him, he did not feel much as Michalina punched him so hard that the floor copsed under them as they fell on the one beneath them and by then the man''s head was nothing but paste.


    Jessica jumped down beside her as she shouted out, "Michalina stop he is dead, stop it.", she would have loved to stop her by grabbing her hand but she was not fond of getting electrocuted.


    Jessica''s radio crackled as a voice came from the other side as her eyes widen, "Michalina there is time to dawdle multiple creatures are making their way to Ryan, and he is not moving."


    Her shout finally brought Michalina out of her trance as she dashed out of her room as sounds of gunfire came to her ears, she tried to contact the trailer but the radio seemed to have been fried from her outburst, "Damn it my Coms are fried, Jessica tell Ang to move the trailer so that Nige has a better shot and where is Nikita?"


    "She is keeping an eye on Ryan."


    "Tell her to move as soon as the trailer has sight of Ryan I do not want her to get caught in something unsavoury, and inform Raven not to open doors until we are there and I need two turrets keeping an eye on us."


    "On it Boss."


    With that, the duo dashed towards Ryan while Jessica was barking out orders to her fellow teammates.


    As they reached Ryan, Michalina found him sprawled on the floor unmoving, Michalina dashed towards her brother as she checked him as she spoke, "Ryan can you hear me, Ryan.", by then she had started to hyperventte as Nikita shouted out from the top, "Jessica catch."


    She threw something down towards them as she disappeared into the building as Jessica caught it her eyes widen slightly, "Michalina, Nikita gave me a foldable stretcher we are going to carry Ryan to safety."


    Michalina nodded as Jessica swiftly moved to the unfold it before the duoid Ryan on top of it as by then Nikita joined them, "Boss I will watch our six while we carry him back."


    The duo nodded as they practically ran to the trailer as fast as they could with Ryan in tow, and Nikita covering their back, the quickly boarded the trailer as Michalina spoke, "Ang steps on the gas and get us moving fast, Jessica and Nige keep an eye out for anything dangerous."


    As Ryan wasid on the bed, Michalina helped Nikita to strip him off his clothes as she checked him over.

 Chapter 32: The Kingdom of Slaves(Part-2)

    Chapter 32: The Kingdom of ves(Part-2)


    "How are you feeling Ryan?"


    A voice came to his ears as Ryan opened his eyes and was greeted by an anxious-looking Nikita as he tried to sit up he was pushed back on a bed as she spoke, "Easy there you took a nasty hit, so tell me how are you feeling, is there any part of your body that is hurting badly?"


    "A bit sore all over my body, and my head hurt a bit otherwise I am fine."


    "There is no need to show false bravado bro, you took a hit from a shotgun and fell from a three-storey high building if you have any problem feel free to speak."


    Nikita rolled her eyes as she began to speak, "Michalina, Ryan is a responsible boy and he knows if he had some problem he would speak out now give him some space."


    "How long was I unconscious?"


    "Five hours Ryan."


    "So what happened?"


    Nikita smiled at him as she spoke, "Well after you fell your older sister went berserk and pounded your assant to paste with her bare hands."


    Ryan let out a whistle of appreciation as Michalina simply turned her head with a huff, as Ryan spoke with a small smile on his face, "Thank you, sis."


    Michalina simply blushed at that as she tousled Ryan''s hair as Nikita spoke in a strict voice, "I will bring something for you to eat and then you can sleep."


    As Nikita went to make something for him Michalina took her position by his side when all of a sudden Ryan covered his face with his hands as he let out an anguished gasp as he spoke, "Shit I killed someone.", and soon he began to hyperventte.


    Michalina quickly held his hands as she spoke, "Ryan look at me, just look at me and open your eyes.", she could see her brother crying as tears from his eyes.


    By then others had already moved in but waited for Michalina to speak andfort him before they would join in as well.


    "Ryan looks at me, please look at me."


    As a red-eyed Ryan looked at her Michalina spoke with a grim look on her face, "Ryan I cannot tell you to forget about the incident, I cannot tell you how the death does not matter but I will tell you how you saved our lives. The person who attacked us would have killed us if you had not noticed it, we are good but we are at present severely handicapped and trying to kill him with only our present guns would have been difficult, I never wanted for you to deal with this I never wanted you to take a life, but it was necessary, if not for you we would have died, do you know we found charges primed and ready to blow us sky-high, you prevented him from using that on us."


    Nikita was now wishing her mother was here to give Ryan the pep talk, at the same time she understood why her mother referred Ryan as an ''asset'', it was her way of telling her to prepare herself from when she will have to force Ryan to act as such, and it did happen a few hours ago she forced Ryan to lose thest bit of innocence.


    A few hours ago Ryan was asleep when all of a sudden he woke up with a start upon hearing sounds of gunfire, as he sat up with a jump he hit his head on the top bunk heard before he fell on the floor of the trailer with a wince as he held his head for a minute cursing aloud he stood shakily.


    He could hear shouts and curse from outside, he could hear his sister''s voice as well as others, a fight was raging on outside.


    He closed his eyes for a moment gathering himself before he moved towards the turret part of the trailer when all of a sudden the door was opened as two unknown adults stepped inside with a girl.


    "LOOK OUT!" a shout came as a figure barreled inside his trailer grabbing the adult female as he stood out and spoke with a smirk, "Surrender or she dies."


    The smug look on his face did notst as his head was removed from his shoulder courtesy of Ryan who stood with his sword drawn, a Molotov hit the side as it lit the side of the trailer as Michalina and Ang stepped inside fast.


    As a hail of bullet hit them as they closed the door, as Michalina stepped inside Ryan could see cuts and bruises as she spoke, "You three go into the rear section sit down on the bed and hold it with your life we are getting out of here now move fast.", she raised her hand as she pointed towards them to the second half of the trailer before she turned her attention towards Ryan as she spoke with a soft look on her face, "Ryan go with them and help them, there a few of this mongrels left and I would be done dealing with them soon enough, and sorry for waking you up."


    Ryan waved his hand as he spoke in a gloomy tone, "No problems are, just take care not to get hurt."


    As he went towards the family of three, the little girl she assumed as a daughter shrieked in fear as the man stood protectively making Ryan stunned for a moment before his eyes fell on a mirror and he blushed, he was covered with sshes of blood and his sword was still drawn and in the low light, he looked like some deranged serial killer.


    He gave an uneasy smile as he stored his sword back as he spoke, "Well I will switch on the lights if you do not mind, so please take a seat big sis and her friends will deal with them easily."


    Ryan then quickly switched on the light before he made his way to the washroom after all who knows what someone else''s blood might carry after the mutations started who knows how the diseases themselves have mutated.


    He returned from the washroom only to find Michalina, Jessica sitting on the opposite side of the trio while Nikita working on them, checking their injuries as the trailer moved on towards their new destination.


    "Brother let me introduce you to the Gagher family.", as she pointed towards the family of three Ryan simply gave a curt nod, as Michalina continued, "Doctor Harrison Gagher along with his wife Doctor Florence Gagher and their daughter Annie Gagher."


    "Nice to meet you.", he smiled at his sister as he spoke, "Well I hope you would join us, after the apocalypse every bit of help is appreciated."


    Harrison nodded before he frowned as he spoke, "I was told that you all are members of the army."


    Michalina quickly realizing amended her words with a slight blush, "I am sorry but as Ryan has been helping us since that dreaded day he is more or less a member of the regiment, although if this apocalypse would not have taken ce he would have already moved to another country to pursue higher studies. He is only fifteen yet he was offered a schrship in some of the prestigious universities in the world."


    The doctor husband and wife duo looked at him with favoured light upon hearing that from Michalina.


    Nikita looked at Ryan as she frowned, "Where did you get the gash in your head?"


    Ryan winced at that as he spoke, "Well the sound of gun firing woke me up with a start and I ended up colliding my head with the upper bunk."


    Ryan found himself on the bed blinking owlishly, as Nikita fussed over him.


    "Is something wrong with him?"


    Hearing Florence''s words Michalina spoke with a grimace, "We were searching for resources and we got attacked in the army hospital and my brother ended my falling from a three-storey building."


    Florence gasped as she stood up as she spoke, "Is he alright? If you want I can do a quick check."


    "I am alright they are fussing too much.", Ryan tried to sit up only to be pushed back by a ring Michalina, "You will rest Ryan."


    Ryan simply pouted as heid back on the bed as he spoke, "I am alright okay, there is nothing wrong.", his eyes then fell on Florence as he spoke with a frown, "Now can you tell me what happened? Why and who were fighting against?"


    Michalina sighed as she began to speak, "They were trying to kidnap the family of three and when we approached them, they tried to kidnap us again and rest is history.", her eyes then fell on Florence as she spoke, "So do you know who they are and what they want."


    Florence took her seat pulling her daughter close to her as her husband ced aforting arm on his wife as he spoke, "The people who were trying to kidnap us work for a local tyrant, and he calls himself ''The King''."


    "He and his group at the first announced shelter and food for people and when they reached him he using his powers enved them and are making them work for him, the men are mostly for working till they die and the females and children are treated as sex ves, the elderly are all killed as they useless."


    "Big Sis, what are we going to do?"


    Michalina did not reply to Ryan as she spoke with a frown on her face, "How does he enve them?"


    Harrison bit his lips as he spoke, "I do not know but he somehow uses his power to enve people, once enved they are forced to obey his orders, no matter how they do not want to their body will obey him not to mention he can cause the insane pain, pain enough to cause death."


    "Does he have any range?"


    "Ryan lie down on the bed, now!"


    "I will big sis, just a couple of harmless questions please, pretty please."


    Michalina huffed as she turned her head as she spoke, "Whatever."


    Jessica simply shook her head in exasperation, as Ryan looked expectantly at the Harrison who was silent for a moment before he spoke with a tired sigh, "Yes he has a range at least a couple of kilometres from what we have deduced."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "I see that is why you are running with your daughter."


    His words made them look like a dear caught in headlights as their daughter shook from fear as Harrison spoke, "I do not know what you mean?"


    "Those tattoos on her wrist are they just for some show? I think not, the look like handcuffs to me not to mention why would someone so young have tattoos I believe it is illegal for someone of her age to have as such."


    Both Harrison and Florence gained a heartbroken look on their face as Florence spoke as she spoke, "Ourmunity was attacked by his followers, we were not there at that time and most of us were taken in that attack."


    "The survivors of the attack decided to rescue the members of themunity but when we reached there they were all marked, it took us some time and we freed them but it was all a trap, one of us was a spy, and the King was allowing us to stage a rescue out of sheer amusement, but we seeded in free our daughter and now we are in the run from them."


    Michalina''s brow furrowed as she spoke with a sigh, "I see."


    Jessica frowned as she spoke, "Your orders."


    "We will move far away from them and set up a temporary base, Ryan can you do something about."


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I will try."


    "Good we will scout them and rate their danger level before proceeding with necessary ns, but I will say here and now, if they are too much for us I will not endanger my soldiers and my family, I hope you understand."


    The doctors nodded solemnly at that, while Ryan narrowed his eyes at them, ''I hope they are genuine not some fraud that would trap us, for now, I will keep an eye on them as would the rest of us would.''

 Chapter 33: The Kingdom of Slaves(Part-3)

    Chapter 33: The Kingdom of ves(Part-3)


    The trailer lumbered into a stop as the residents stepped out of it, Ryan looked to the side as he let out a stream curses that made Michalina bop him on his head as she chastised him, "Language."


    Ryan rubbed his head as he grumbled for a bit before pointing out towards the damage that had been to his trailer especially from the Molotov as he spoke, "Why could I not curse have you seen the damage down to it, especially the fire."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she spoke in a stern voice, "Even then you will not curse because you are underage."


    Ryan spluttered at that as Michalina continued, "If you disagree I willin to mom and then you will have the first-hand experience with soap inside your mouth."


    Ryan sulked at that as a rather amused Jessica simply patted his back.


    Harrison looked at the trailer from the outside,st night under such tension and everything he had failed to properly see the exterior of the trailer but now the trailer was presented in all its glory to him and he winced upon seeing the damage done to it, it was true it protected its upants and the armour surrounding the trailer did not allow even a single bullet to pass, but that did not mean it did not have bullet marks nor did it hide the ck scorching mark on to the seconds part of the trailer.


    "Your trailer seemed to have held off pretty well."


    Ryan beamed at Harrison''s praise as Harrison continued, "If I remember correctly they were using grenades as well."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a frown, "Yes you can see the dent on certain parts of the trailer, but nothing that I cannot fix."


    With his piece being said Ryan decided to scout the area along with Ang, to check for better hiding spots, water area and most importantly vantage points to fight back if necessary.


    "So what do you think of the family of three that has joined us?"


    Ryan frowned at Ang''s question as he spoke with a sigh, "Well they tried to hide about the fact that their daughter was enved, but I can understand why they tried to do so."


    "Congrattions for spotting that, we all missed it because of low light and long sleeves that the girl wore."


    Ryan gave a small smile to her as he began to speak as his eyes harden, "They did not speak in great detail how they managed to rescue her, or more importantly if they have powers or not."


    "You think they have powers."


    "They should, did you not see the person I beheaded, I do not think the King would be the only person with power, he would have others and they fought against them there is arge chance that they might have some form of power."


    Ang nodded at his reasoning as she spoke, "You are right Ryan, they have some powers and as such Michalina has told us not to lower our guard around them, and you did well not to lower yours though remember not to be alone with them no matter what."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a frown, "How do you know that they have powers?"


    Ang looked at him confused before she looked around to spot any eavesdropper before beckoning him closer to her as she began to whisper in his ears, "Ryan what I am going to say is military secret make sure you do not mention where others outside our group could hear you."


    Ryan nodded at that as he whispered back, "You have nothing to worry about my lips are sealed."


    "Good, from what you just said I believe that Major might have forgotten to brief you as such you might not know, but the truth is I can feel the energy emanating from all of you, like in your case you have the strongest energy output, whereas there are others who have none, like Nikita, Jessica and Nige neither of them had any energy signature previously."


    Ryan listened to her words carefully before he whispered back rather furiously to Ang, "Wait for a second, does that mean that they do now so that means they have powers?"


    "Well it is yes in the first case that they do now but as for the powers well they have yet to find out what they could do."


    "I see, so is there a range for your powers?"


    Ang slummed at that as she spoke sulkily, "Only a meter at best if it wererger then it would have been better."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Maybe when you are much more powerful it would increase its range, though I understand it would be an effective skill to have no one would be able to hide from you."


    Ang nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes, but unlike in your case you know how we need of a certain item to move up in level."


    "I know and I believe by the time we return you all would easily move to a much higher level than you are now, also there is a chance we might stumble upon another such stone and you can use it to level up."


    Ang nodded with a smile on her face as Ryan began to speak with a frown, "Sis since I have heard about the range of the king there is something that has been bothering me for some time."


    "What is it, Ryan?"


    "They said that the King can control someone within a certain range but does it only extend to that since he can control within a certain area then he surely would have means to detect them as well, just think of it, how will you control something which you have no idea where and how it is."


    Ang bit her lips before her eyes widen in rm as she spoke, "You are right even in the military when we use drones, no matter how unmanned and what not they are imed to be at the end of the day for them to work properly we have to know their position, and from what they had said it can mean that the King does not have to stay in one ce but can move freely as such it can only mean that he has the means to locate the ve and"


    Duo looked at each other with their eyes open wide before Ang let out a stream of curses, "They will bring the attention of the wrong kind towards us, and I do not think we are in a position to fight against them just see the damage caused by only six of his men yesterday, it is true that we won but even an elephant will fall before an army of ants."


    Ryan nodded at that before he spoke with a sigh, "We will have to share our concerns with Michalina, a part of me wants to stand up and shout out that no matter what happened we will protect them but the reality is we are facing an unknown enemy of unknown strength to protect strangers who are hiding many things from us."


    Ang nodded at that but before she could speak anything both of them was headfirst into the ground as they felt something or someone stepping over them as they immobilized.


    Michalina frowned as she looked up to see the position of the sun, it had been some time since his younger brother had left with Ang but they have yet to return and that worried her she knew that Ang would not be foolish enough to harm his brother, but there is also the chance that they ran afoul of some creature or might have run into some problem and that worried her greatly.


    "Move!", an unknown female voice came to her ears as she turned she was greeted by the sight of her brother as well as Ang bound tightly and was being dragged in front of the trailer by women who looked like slightly taller versions of Ang.


    Seeing Ryan manhandle like that made Michalina''s blood boil, "Who the hell are you lot?"


    They did not say anything as one of the kicked Ang hard to make her fall on her knees as Ang gritted her teeth as she spoke, "Just release me and I will beat you to a bloody pulp."


    Only to be backhanded hard by her captor who snarled at her as she spoke, "Shut it, traitor."


    By then Jessica had joiner as both of them had trained their gun on them, the turrets courtesy of the other two was pointing at the neer who was keeping Ryan and Ang hostage.


    Jessica looked at the three women that had managed to take their teammates as hostages, they were of the same species as Ang, seeing they had the simr colour and long ears though Ang was a head shorter than them what separated them from them was their armour which seemed to be from the medieval age, they had bows and quiver along with sword by their side, ''Where the hell did these cosyers pop up, did changing into an elf-like being scrambled their heads.''


    Michalina looked at Ryan and saw a bruise at his cheek and that made her mad enough to skin those hostage takers alive, ''No one touches my brother like that and live.''


    Seeing the electricity sparking off of her Jessica stepped away from her, she so did not wish to get caught in the crossfire when mount Michalina would erupt.


    Seeing the re from Ang the person who held her hostage spoke with a snarl, "Don''t you dare re at me you oath-breaking traitorous scum."


    Ang was red with anger, ''How dare this purple idiot to call her a traitor, and act high and might when she captured me like a coward.''


    Ryan meanwhile suddenly gained a smile on his face as he suddenly jumped back hitting her nose breaking it, he then swept back at her leg making her fall back on her back as he then moved back towards the trailer leaning against it.


    The cord that held him in ce was cut off as he did not waste any time as his weapon was already in his hand which he pointed towards the trio as he moved slowly towards his sister, "Do not make any move or I will kill you."


    "Sister Ang, are you alright?"


    "No, I am not I so want to punch their teeth out."


    "I understand and sorry for keeping you tied up for the moment, I will have them release you soon, enough"


    "YOU STINKING EMPIRE SCOUNDREL I WILL HAVE YOUR HEAT.", the woman whose nose was broken courtesy of Ryan stood up with rage in her eyes.


    "Shut up, you elf cosyer you make a move and I will make sure that not even a shard of you will be left, now release ourrade."


    "Like hell, we will."


    They stared at each other like some serious stand no one wanted to give anyone even an inch when all of a sudden the trailer''s door closed as it to lurch forward.


    Ryan''s veins pulsed over his forehead as hemanded with anger in his voice, "STOP!"


    With a screech, the trailer stopped itself, as Ryan looked at his sister and Jessica as he spoke, "Do you mind if I quickly check it."

 Chapter 34: The Kingdom of Slaves(Part-4)

    Chapter 34: The Kingdom of ves(Part-4)


    "Ryan, how did you manage to stop the trailer?"


    "Not now Jessica, TURRETS!!!"


    With Ryan''s words, the turrets of Raven swivelled as they aimed for the elf look alike as Michalina spoke, "Ryan go and check inside, I want my getaway vehicle outside of any foreign control."


    "Thanks, Sis, but are you going to be alright?"


    "Yes now go."


    Ryan red at the kidnappers as he made his way inside the trailer, as he stepped inside he found both Nikita and Nige were sitting on their chair limp, seeing them like that his heart hammered out loudly, ''Are they dead?'', a thought that chilled him down to his bones as he gulped while moving towards them.


    ''If they are dead then I swear on my name those three are going to die no matter how much they plead, ''The ck Wolves'' are like my family and no one harms my family.''


    He aimed his gun towards the driver cabin as he crouched low, he turned his head towards his back as he slowly made his way towards the cabin on his way there he made sure to check for a pulse and found Nikita grunting a bit.


    "Nikita are you alright?", but no matter how much Ryan called her Nikita could not move at all nor could she even open her eyes properly all she could do was grunt and as did Nige.


    Ryan did not like what he was seeing then all of a sudden with a cry a small girl jumped on him, he simply caught her by her throat before flinging him to the side of the trailer, as the metallic part of the trailer seemed to move like cloth as it wrapped around the girl''s arms tying her to a ce, despite how much she struggled.


    Ryan red at the girl whose eyes had taken a zed look before he made his way to the driver cabin his gun raised to turn the transgressor into a pincushion.


    As he neared the driver seat, Florence who was upying the driver seat snarled as she jumped towards him, he raised his leg to kick her away from him, but as soon as his foot connected with her his vision fizzled as it went nk momentarily.


    ~ERROR~


    ~ERROR~


    ~REBOOTING IN 32.10~


    He opened his eyes as his vision swam while his head throbbed hard, ''One of these days I will die because of headache.''


    "Ryan I got you.", a familiar voice came to his ears as he looked up blearily he was greeted by the sight of Nikita who helped him to stand up.


    "I think I need to wear a helmet all the time, my head is killing me."


    Nikita gave him a weak smile as she spoke, "These few days have been hectic for you." before her eyes fell on the prone form of Florence as her eyes harden.


    "That bitch paralyzed us."


    "Please I beg of you, please do not harm my wife and daughter."


    As Harrison''s voice came to their ears Nige spoke with barely concealed anger in her voice, "Shut up! We rescued you and this is how you repay us, your wife paralyzed us and then tried to steal our vehicle."


    "I am sorry, I am so sorry, I am so sorry for the way they acted, they are not in control, so please show mercy."


    This time Ryan spoke with anger, "Shut up, yesterday when I pointed out your daughter''s case, why did you not mention that your wife was also enved, because of you, our lives were in danger."


    "I am sorry but please understand we were afraid as well as ashamed to confess to you all, so please show some mercy."


    Nige looked at the man directly into his eyes as he began to speak, "Doctor Harrison, where were you during all this chaos."


    Harrison suddenly found the ground interesting as he spoke, "Well she paralyzed me."


    Nige frowned at his reply as she spoke, "Then carry her towards the living area, and Ryan tie her up."


    Ryan nodded at that as Harrison protested against it, "It is inhuman what you are all trying to do, and tying up another human is against human rights."


    Nikita growled at that as she spoke, "So you are telling us to let her lose so that she can paralyze us again.", at her words he tried to speak again only to stop as she raised her hand as she spoke, "Enough I am more than lenient than any other military personnel as if there was anyone else in my shoes they would have asked shot her first before asking any questions, now either youply or get lost, we will not allow someone who would attack us at random and paralyze us lose."


    "But, she is not under control, the King is influencing her."


    The trio had their eyes wide open as Nige spoke in a worried tone in her voice, "Damn it, if the information you gave is correct then he is nearby and is influencing them, you better cooperate or we are dumping you, we have to leave fast."


    Harrison quickly nodded as he picked up Florence as he took her with him to the living area, where she was promptly put up in chains by Ryan, whereas Nige dragged the struggling and screaming daughter who was sentenced the same way as her mother to be tied to the trailer with chains.


    "If I find anything amiss Doctor Harrison, I will kill you and I hope you wille clean today if you know what is good for you.", the bionic eye of the speaker made Harrison a bit unnerved as he nodded in eptance.


    With his piece being said he dashed towards his sister''s location, ''Damn it, I took a lot of time, who knows what is happening outside.''


    As Ryan stepped outside he was greeted by the sight of at least ten strong men armed, who had appeared in front of them, as one of them stepped forward as he spoke, "Greetings fellow survivors, I am a humble emissary of our King, we want nothing from you but the dangerous fugitives that you are harbouring, and in return, we would wee you as our guest as well as deal with those creatures that are befouling you with their presence."


    The leering of the group grated on Michalina''s nerves and she knew that even a blind person could see that these people have less than noble intentions, and her hunch was proven correct as Ryan approached her and whispered to her, "The wife is a ve and the King took control of her, he is lurking around here somewhere and was controlling them, the wife paralyzed everyone except her daughter and tried to flee."


    Michalina gave a small nod as Ryan went and stood by her side waiting for orders whereas the Elves, who stood near holding Ang as hostage had their bows trained towards them as they watched with stoic visage but Ryan could see the fear and uncertainty in their eyes.


    Ang meanwhile slowly crept away from them while her captors were otherwise upied by the presence of the newly arrived enemy, the tension was so thick that it could be cut by a knife and once she was near enough Jessica grabbed her and cut off the rope tying her, and for the first time, the trio of elves had fear on their face.


    "You will never take us alive you vile human.", one of them spoke with a snarl.


    As one of the spoke, "Shut up creature no one is talking to you.", only for his foot to be stamped by hispanion who hissed at him, "Shut up or they will catch the ruse."


    Ang deadpanned at that as she spoke loud enough for herpanions to hear her perfectly, "Are they idiot or what? They are practically announcing to the whole world that they have some kind of nefarious ideas in their head."


    "Your King tried to control one of his so-called ves to steal our trailer and now you are saying to ept his invitation."


    The person who spoke had his eyes harden when all of a sudden there were sounds of popping as a group of balls letting out wisps of yellowish smoke appeared as it neared to their spot.


    "RUN!!!", a word that uttered from Michalina''s throat as Ryan looked at a trio of Elves looking helpless at as the canister descended upon them, while he jumped inside the trailer.


    "What are you three gawking at? Enter NOW!!!!", Michalina shouted out as she stood near the door, and it was all the three needed to as they ran like the wind as the balls exploded oning with contact with the ground as they exploded while a yellowish cloud of smoke spread around the area.


    ''If we were like the normal people before the apocalypse took ce we would have died but now it is different, we dodged them easily.'', his eyes then fell on the neers as he stared at them warily while Ang red at them.


    "Brother go and upy the driver''s seat, and engage anything that is needed for us to breathe clean air, othersmander the turrets.", at her words everyone dashed to their respective position.


    "Now you three, to be frank, I do not know why I save you when you have harmed my sister-in-arms and my brother, but looking out I see amon enemy and I hope like civilized beings, for the time being, we would work together or do I have to throw you out."


    The trio looked at each other as whom Michalina presumed to be the leader gave a tired nod, as Michalina spoke with a smile, "Excellent, now hold on to something, my brother would be driving and I think you would appreciate not getting hurt, so please move to the rear part of the trailer and I believe you would find something to hold on to.", with that she pointed to the living area as the trio left swiftly.


    A look of confusion spread throws the trios face as they gave a nod, while Michalina moved towards the driver cabin as she took the passenger seat she winced upon seeing the broken radio as she spoke, "On my mark start driving."


    Ryan nodded as Michalina quickly tookmand, as she pressed the switch the microphone and speaker system activate inside the trailer.


    "ughter them.", was themand she gave to her subordinates as she sends a nod to Ryan.


    Raven jumped into action as it snaked its way through the area, while the turrets roared before he found himself staring at the open ground as the trailer sped off.


    Bobby Geary or as he called himself nowadays as the ''King of Humanity'', cried out in pain he had at first thought of stealing the trailer but when he failed he tried to lower the guard and capture them, in a way it had worked but then it all fell apart the two groups joined hands together and with guns zing they left, and while doing so the trailer ran over him and now heid on the ground with incredible pain as his legs were broken.


    ''I should not have listened to that idiot, I should have attacked first and spokenter.'', he cried in pain as he cursed his subordinates while waiting for rescue.


    He had arrived here with over twenty strong men and now he would be lucky to have about five of them left, not to mention he doubted any of them would be intact, while hey on the ground on the ground he stewed with anger and pain swearing revenge on Ryan and his group.


    Meanwhile, Ryan drove like a crazy psychopath as he made his way to a spot at least a few dozen kilometres away from the spot that they were staying temporarily, to set up camp for the day and stay out of trouble for the time being.

 Chapter 35: Building Forces(Part-1)

    Chapter 35: Building Forces(Part-1)


    ''Screech''


    With a loud screech and groan the trailer finally came to a halt, the door seemed to have been torn from the hinges as its upants bar a few fell on the ground with tears in their eyes.


    Harrison kissed the ground and holding onto it like a lifeline as he spoke with disbelief in his voice, "What was that? Who was that maniac that drove in such a way? That person should be locked in a mental asylum."


    "How rude of you, instead ofining you should praise me for driving in such a manner that saved your life."


    Ryan''s voice full of condescending tone came to his ears, as another voice entered the conversation, "I do not know why you all are acting as such but the boy here moved this metal cart fast and well I enjoyed it."


    Ryan looked at the speaker as he beamed at her only for his face to form a scowl as he spoke, "Oh it is you my kidnapper."


    The person in question blushed slightly as she spoke with a bow an action the other two imitated, "I apologize for our rude behaviour, as we thought you were working for that ver and we acted without thinking too much, also we would like to convey our gratitude for saving our lives."


    Ryan''s eyes narrowed as he spoke, "You should show gratitude towards ourmander, she was the reason you are alive and unharmed."


    The woman nodded as Michalina arrived at the scene as the woman once again bowed as did the other two as she spoke, "I would like to apologize for acting and harming your charge, and words cannot convey how ashamed I am for acting as such."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "I understand and as long as you do not harm any of us I have no problem with you."


    The woman nodded before her eyes fell on Ang as she looked at her with a re as she spoke, "I am sorry to offend you so soon but could you please hand us that traitor over there."


    Ang''s brow twitched and if it were not for both Jessica and Nikita she would have plummeted the Elven woman to the ground as she bellowed out in anger, "HOW DARE YOU CALL ME TRAITOR? HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BEING A TRAITOR? I HAVE EARNED MY RIGHT TO WEAR MY UN...", she was promptly shut up as Nige had ced her hands preventing her from shouting any longer.


    Michalina looked infuriated at that as she let out a growl as she spoke, "I do not know who you are, but I am going to have a serious problem with you if you do not stop SLANDERING MY SISTER-IN-ARMS."


    As she thundered at the Elven woman, who simply snorted at that as she spoke, "The mandate of our Holy Lady Ylerias Luvenari apostle of the Goddess of Moon and Hunt Oena, supersedes any oath of allegiance that she had sworn herself to others."


    Michalina rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she spoke, "Your fantasy is gone on for too long she is a resident of the ''Republic of onia'', and a proud member of the ''ck Wolves Regiment'', I will not tolerate you besmirching her honour."


    "How dare you use us of lying I am her Holiness proud soldier and I will not stand for your nder either.", with that she had aimed her bow towards Michalina who had already electricity flowing through her body, while the others aimed their guns at the trio.


    It was tense standoff from such a distance it would be very difficult for her to miss, yet she would not survive the encounter as the guns trained against her would make short work of her.


    Harrison gulped seeing the standoff, he knew that if a fight breaks more than one would die and he was sure that with his luck a stray arrow or bullet would kill him as such he tried to think of a n to get him out of this mess and suddenly his eyes widen as he remembered something from the conversation he had just heard as she quickly spoke, "Excuse me, instead of trying to kill each other I think we shoulde down and try to speak as I believe we are making some kind of mistake here please calm down."


    "Harrison shut up, and get lost."


    Harrison gulped as he looked at Jessica who was ring at him as he quickly spoke, "I do not know why but I think some kind of misunderstanding is urring here, so please calm down and let us speak and clear any form of misunderstanding."


    He winced as the owner of the bionic eye looked at him before the said owner of the eyes spoke with a sigh, "In a way he is right, even if they get killed, we would suffer serious injuries if not death on our side as well as such I propose, why don''t we seat and discuss calmly like civilized beings and clear the misunderstandings."


    Michalina looked at her brother before she spoke after taking a deep breath, "I concur with my brother, why don''t we all calm down and speak like a civilized person."


    The trio slowly lowered their bow as their leader gave a small nod as she spoke, "Yes I agree with you."


    A few hourster Ryan sat on top of the trailer as his mind was reeling with the hard facts that had been shoved down his throat no matter how much he wanted he could not disagree with the fact that their newly acquainted Elven friends had presented them with, in other words, they were genuine and the real deal, unlike Ang who they have now started calling as fake.


    A sound of footsteps drew his attention towards the neer as he winced upon seeing the distraught Ang standing looking a bit lost with her eyes unfocused and red.


    ''It is so not fair she had to suffer so much, firstly she was not too enthused with the thought of taking such a shape and now, she thought herself to be an abomination and when she finally got used to it, these people came up using her of being traitor at first and now fake, I feel sorry for her and I do not know what I should do.''


    "Ang, please take a seat.", Ryan''s words brought her out of her dazed state as she looked down at him, Ryan simply patted on the ground next to him as he spoke, "Seat down."


    Ang sat down wordlessly by his side as they sat in silence for a long time when after a great internal battle Ryan began to speak with a nostalgic look on his face, "Do you remember how we first met?"


    Ang suddenly gained a small smile on her face as she spoke, "Yes I remember I thought you were an intruder."


    "And you chased me through the entire base."


    "NO matter how much I shouted, ''I am not an intruder'', you did not believe me."


    Ang blushed at that as she spoke with indignation, "Hey it was not my fault, the superiors not only did not say anything to me about you but they were egging me to catch you, but why should have stopped and exined it to me."


    "I believe my memories of the events were a bit different, I remember a trigger happy woman with paint gun chasing after me firing paintballs and screaming for my head."


    Ang spluttered as she spoke, "Hey it was not my fault and I was even told to chase and capture you by my superiors."


    Ryan huffed at that as he spoke, "Again I remember differently your so-called superiors were lounging and watching the chase with barely concealed humour and the only thing that they were missing was a bowl of popcorn and did you forget they told you, ''Go and catch him if you want to.'', nowhere did they ordered you to catch me."


    Ang suddenly found the surrounding to be interesting as before she spoke with a wide eye, "Ha well your mother was also present and she did not seem to have been enjoying herself and did not intervene and I distinctly remember someone shouting out ''Save me Save me'' to her."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke with a mncholic look on his face, "Yes I remember that too, shouting out to my mother, ''Save me Save me Save me from this trigger happy homicidal maniac'', and upon hearing that mom double over inughter."


    "Why you insolent brat", with that she pounced on Ryan, who quickly moved from his position as he moved towards the hatch, with Ang behind him in hot pursuit.


    The door of the trailer was almost torn open as Ryan jumped out of it, stumbling on the ground before he took off fast, so fast that even the most aplished Olympic runner would be green with envy and he was not alone as Ang appeared soon after roaring like a dragon, "GET BACK HERE YOU BRAT!!!!"


    Her shout was answered by Ryan''sughter as he taunted her, "Come and catch me if you can." while turning his head to briefly make a mocking face, that managed to anger her more.


    Michalina snorted at that as she watched Ang was losing slowly as Ryan was slowly and surely getting further and further away from her, "You two do not wander too far away.", she shouted at them as Ryan turned and dodged when Ang lunged at him.


    Michalina shook her head with a small smile on her face, as Florence who was nearby spoke with a small smile on her face, "They make a cute coup", only to get showered by freshwater from the bottle that was in Michalina''s hand.


    "I am so sorry, my hand slipped.", Florence gulped seeing the crushed bottle and murderous look which was apanied by a deranged smile on Michalina''s face.


    "No no it is alright, you do not need to apologize."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "My baby brother is too young maybe in a couple of decades he would be ready to pursue rtion but not now."


    Ang fell on the ground panting hard as Ryan stood a few feet away from her grinning as he spoke, "Tsk, tsk this is unbing of a soldier to be outdone by mere civilians."


    "Calm back here and say that to my face."


    "Breakfast is ready for everyone."


    As Nikita''s voice came to their ears Ryan went and helped Ang to her feet as he ended up getting rewarded with a punch from her.


    "I hope you all like the food, as we have limited resources as such I was only able to make some noodles."


    Harrison waved off her concern as he spoke, "Please you do not have to worry about it, what you have presented is already heavenly.", Florence nodded in agreement with her husband at that.


    The leader of the Elven trio who identified herself as Delimira of House Luvenari, she was one of the guards of their Holy Lady and as such, she had discarded her previous family name and is now known as a member of House Luvenari and would stay as such until she is dead or hasmitted treason and is stripped of her title.


    The trio took the noodles as they poked and prodded as Delimira spoke with a frown, "Why are you not foraging for fruits, vegetables and herbs?"


    Ryan took a bite of his food as he spoke, "Well since most things have mutated and many unknown fruits and vegetables have started to grow we are hesitant to consume something that might cause harm to us."


    Delimira nodded at that as she spoke, "Well if you allow us we might find something edible as well various herbs that can be used for healing amongst many other things."


    Nikita''s eyes widen before she looked at Michalina who nodded at her as she spoke, "Very well you may and thank you."


    Delimira shook her head as she spoke, "There is no need to thank after everything suddenly went bizarre we can ovee this situation only through working together, also if possible I would like for your friend Ang to apany us, it would be good for her to learn something useful."


    Michalina looked at Ang as she spoke with a sigh, "Well only if she wants to I will not force her and she will not be alone."


    Delimira tilted her head as she spoke, "That is eptable, she may not be born as one of us but circumstances made her like us as such more she learns to be like us and the more it would benefit her in the long run, though I have a request to make of you."


    Michalina gave a small nod of affirmation as she began to speak, "We wish to learn more about you and your culture like the carriage that brought us here among many things."


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "No problem."


    "Sis there is something I would like to mention."


    "What is it, Ryan?"


    "While on our way to this site I found what seemed to be a junkyard, I wish to visit it, repair the trailer and if possible upgrade it, but unfortunately I do not know the danger that might be lurking in that ce so I would like for some help."


    Michalina simply smiled at that as she spoke, "No problem brother I will help you with anything you want."

 Chapter 36: Building Forces (Part-2)

    Chapter 36: Building Forces (Part-2)


    "It must be tough for you all after suddenly losing all of your strength like that?"


    Dasyra sighed as she spoke with a sad smile on her face, "It was and that was how that pig was able to capture us, except us three we should have died than let him capture her holiness, we betrayed her."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No you did not betray her and you three not dying is a boon to her and your capturedrades, you have now the chance to rescue them, will it be easy? No, will it take time? Yes, and that is you three have done, now that you have met us we would try to help you all as best as we could."


    Dasyra nodded as Ryan continued with a serious look on her face, "What we have here is a very unique and dangerous situation, I do not know what happened to our worlds, but I know that different groups of people have been brought together for reasons unknown, and because of ourck of knowledge about each other we are bound to have some problems but the world is now extremely dangerous as such no matter the differences we have to work together to stay alive."


    Dasyra nodded at that as she spoke, "You are a wise child."


    Ryan simply blushed at that before he spoke with a frown, "There is something that I wished to request of you and yourpanions."


    "What is it, Ryan?"


    Ryan bit his lips as he slowly began to formte his request in his head before he began to speak, "Ang was born a human in a world where magic is just fantasy, yet suddenly after the apocalyptic event she changed into your race, she became a night elf, think how would you react if you were one day suddenly without any warning changed it to a human."


    Dasyra''s brow scrunched in deep thought before she spoke with a slight hint of fear, "I do not mean to sound rude but it is disturbing, just the thought of my race being changed is making me shiver with fear."


    Ryan nodded at that as he continued, "When she finally came to terms with her changes she met you and not to sound rude but you attacked her called her traitor and now you all are calling her fake as such I request you to please go easy on her."


    Dasyra sighed as she nodded as she spoke, "I understand child where you areing from and no matter how many excuses I give you are right, I know that Delimira is already trying to atone by offering her some advice as such I would along with myrade also like to extend help in making her learn to live like an elf, no one knows if she will ever change or not but I will help her to be a respectable elf."


    Ryan gave her a short bow as he spoke, "Thank you."


    "So Ryan I hope you do not mind teaching me more about these things from your world."


    Ryan beamed back at her as he spoke, "I would be happy to teach you."


    A few minutester the group consisting of Dasyra, Ryan and Nige stood in front of what seemed to be arge junkyard full of broken and discarded vehicles.


    "So these things are cars?"


    "Yes they are of various same and sizes, and the big blue one over there is a bus, it is a bitrger and meant to carry arge number of people."


    Nige who was nearby stifled augh as she looked at Dasyra who was looking at the cars with the same look a child in a candy shop, it was refreshing to watch an adult look at them in such a manner especially when the cars present here was already ced in the junkyard long before the apocalypse hit them.


    "So Dasyra are there different types of magic in your world?"


    Dasyra frowned at Nige as she decided how to answer her question before she spoke with a sigh, "There are so many types of magic that if I were to list it would take days but if I were to generalize them then there are only two types that you need to know, internal and external."


    "Internal magic are those that will work inside one''s body for example spells that increase your speed or strength whereas there spells like a fireball that is counted as external types."


    Ryan was interested in her lecture as he spoke, "Really can everyone learn magic."


    "Well they could but now I do not know if it is the same as before, why do you wish to learn?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Of course I wish to."


    Dasyra smiled at his enthusiasm as she spoke, "Well then worry not we will teach you, though you might have to work hard since you were suddenly bestowed with the gift of magic and it could prove difficult for you to understand learn things which might be as easy as breathing for us."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I understand I will work hard."


    Nige suddenly remembered something that she had heard yesterday as she could not help but ask Dasyra out loud, "Hey Dasyra there is something I would like to ask you if you do not mind."


    "What is it Nige? You said Her Holiness as an Apostle of Goddess what does it mean? Does she have something different kind of magic than others?"


    Dasyra''s jaw hardened before she spoke with a sigh, "I am sorry but that is something I cannot answer."


    Nige raised her hand in surrender as she spoke hurriedly, "No no there is no need to apologize Ipletely understand there are times we also have to be discreet and avoid answering to prevent National Security Breach."


    Dasyra nodded at that as she spoke, "Thank you for understanding, but since you asked I will tell you one secret Her Holiness''s power derives from Goddess herself as such her magic is a bit different."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "I see, I hope to meet her then one day."


    Nige frowned at that as she spoke, "Ryan, Her Holiness is a busy person she might not have time for us."


    Dasyra shook her head as she replied urgently, "Please our Holiness always says that children are the future, of course, she would like to meet someone who has helped her."


    Ryan beamed back at her extremely pleased at her words, ''It would be d to know to meet a leader of great standing and if I have heard correctly she might be like ''Pope'', and I always wanted to meet the Pope it was in my list of ''Ten thousand things I need to do before I die'', at least I will fulfil one of them, but most importantly why did I even make the list, meh a thought for another time.''


    "So what are you going to do here, Ryan?"


    "Well, I will take parts from here and try to reuse them again?"


    Dasyra narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Why are you taking parts off of them can they not be used?"


    Ryan shook her head as he spoke with a sad smile, "No they cannot be, this ce is known as a junkyard, here various cars, vehicles amongst many other things that no longer work are thrown here and from here they are turned into scraps and them the metals are extracted and are used to make other things, sometimes you can find other things here that can be extremely useful when repaired but after that day, almost everything had stopped workingpletely."


    Dasyra frowned as she spoke, "What do you mean by that?"


    Ryan simply ced his hand on the nearest car as he spoke with a sigh, "We do not know what happened but every bit of progression our civilization had made, everything that had defined us was no more, they had stopped working all of a sudden without any warning, you will find simr cars lying on the roadside but will never move again."


    "It might have been a great problematic situation for your people."


    Ryan sends a grim nod towards her as he spoke, "Yes it was just thing, every achievement that you have made, everything thing that your ancestors worked hard to achieve and advance your civilization to the current state gone in a matter of minutes and the entire progress of civilization pushed back a few thousand years into the past."


    Dasyra shivered at his words it was inconceivable and scary to think of before she spoke to Ryan with a frown as a sudden realization struck her, "So then how does your car works?"


    Ryan smiles back at her as she winced slightly seeing what they were calling ''freaky eyes'', behind his back, as he spoke, "Well the correct term would be an ''Articted Trailer'', and it works because I use my powers to do so."


    Dasyra eyes widen at that as she spoke, "So you can make things work again?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes to simply put it yes, though because of the unique nature of my powers I was able to create it and make it work."


    Dasyra slightly narrowed her eyes momentarily but she did not say anything when all of a sudden she went ramrod, "Enemy ahead."


    Ryan''s gun was already raised as with a roar a group of zombies appeared from behind various vehicles already deformed and various appendages growing on them.


    "By Oena, we are facing lesser demons."


    Nige simply spared a nced at Oena as she pulled the trigger of her gun, meanwhile, Ryan who was firing at the closest zombie to him was taken aback as multiple arrows rained down on them fast and true to its aim towards the zombie as if it was being fired from the gun, he watched with wide eyes as the Dasyra dashed as she danced amongst the zombies, gathering the arrows, then firing them, using her bow to push back or stab them when required."


    Nige clicked her tongue as she spoke with slight annoyance, "She is too close for you to fire Ryan."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "I think I will engage in melee, what about you?"


    "I am good sniper and I will provide range support, but be careful."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Well same to you too, keep an eye out.", with that Ryan dashed towards Dasyra with his sword drawn.


    Meanwhile with Dashyra although she was busy killing the zombies she did not forget to pay attention to her surroundings, as such she suddenly noticed that one of the weapons called ''gun'' had stopped ''firing'', ''Did they got attack? While I was busy dealing with them? But why was there no.'', her thoughts came to a halt as she heard the sound of footsteps as a sword took the head of one of the lesser demons that got too close forfort.


    ''So he is decent with sword and the type he uses is meant for the swift and precise strike he could do great to apprentice under one of my fellow sisters.''


    A few minutester they had finished dealing with those that should not have been moving even after their death, while Ryan put his sword back into his inventory as he tiredly grinned back at her as he spoke, "Well since we have finished dealing with them we are going to move on with my mission."


    "Not so fast we have not finished dealing with them, yet."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "What do you mean by that? We have already killed them."


    Dasyra shook her head as she spoke with a sigh, "This corpse has not only risen from dead but have turned into lesser demons, if we do not deal with them, an abomination may rise from their corpse, not to mention any who eats them might end up bing a demonic being."


    Nige frowned at her exnation as she spoke, "But we killed simr beings and let their corpse to rot"


    "Well they take time to change, you might not have been neared one for a long time and dealing with abominations is not only difficult but they are deadly as well."


    Ryan frowned at that, ''What is she saying? If that were the case, then how does my power work, I get blood points and souls from killing them, should I ask her then, no not yet.''


    Nige looked at her as she spoke, "So how do you deal with them?"


    "Well, we offer a prayer for their salvation, absolving of their sins when they had be the undead and safe journey to the afterlife, then we burn their bodies."


    Hearing that Nige rxed as she spoke, "When the apocalypse happened many of my sister-in-arms had fallen, our leader had their bodies cremated we cremate any dead whether they be animals or humans as soon as they are dead to prevent them from bing undead."


    Dasyra nodded in appreciation as she spoke, "Your leader is a wise one.", she paused for a moment before she spoke again, "Will you help me to gather the bodies."


    Ryan nodded at that as Nige stopped him as she spoke, "Ryan why don''t you keep an eye out while I help her."


    Dasyra mulled for a moment before she spoke with a nod, "A wise choice though I might be able to detect enemies there is nothing known as overly cautious."


    Ryan watched with rapt attention as the two women quickly gathered the bodies together andid it on top of one another, he then watched Dasyra stand straight with her head bowed and the two fingers of her right hand touching her forehead.


    "May Goddess of Death, carry them to beyond,


    May they be cleansed of the taint of the corrupt,


    May God of Justice, judge them fair,


    May they find peace and salvation."


    As she finished the hymn she dragged her fingers down to her chin like a small yellowish glow formed over her face, before she threw a small ball of fire that lit the corpse ame.

 Chapter 37: Building Forces (Part-3)

    Chapter 37: Building Forces (Part-3)


    Delimira looked as she saw a part of the wall appear and formed before her eyes, a wall that was the part of muchrger construction that would be their fortress which they would take shelter.


    "Dasyra what do you think of him?"


    "Well he is curious, has a good head and overall nice until you threaten someone he cares, but most importantly he is a kid and you know how kids are though I believe sister Ilrune would like him as his apprentice."


    Delimira looked sceptical at her as she spoke, "Her taking him as an apprentice, please she barely tolerates anything that is not an Elf."


    Dasyra shrugged at that as she spoke, "Well it is her bad luck then we have to share this world with them."


    Ilorva thest one of the trio who was sitting by their side was looking intently at Ryan for a moment before she felt a shiver down her spine she turned to find the source of her dread but finding none she turned her attention to the conversation between the other two.


    "So did you find anything about this weird ''traders'' we were riding?"


    Dasyra gained an amused look on her face as she spoke, "It is not ''trader'' but ''trailers'', well what I learned about them was that there are simr things like that, and theye in all shapes and sizes."


    Ilorva''s eyes shone at that as she spoke, "I would love to see more of them."


    Dasyra simply shook her head as she spoke with a sigh, "The only working you will find in the whole world is this one when the Great Change took ce, their civilization got pushed back a thousand years at the very least and everything that held their civilizations their advancement made by the hard work of their ancestors fell apart and stopped working."


    Both Delimira and Ilorva eyes widen at that, just the thought of their entire civilization pushed back so many years in the blink of the eye was scary.


    Ilorva narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ryan before she spoke with a sigh, "Then how does this trailer work, is it rted to that boy over there?"


    Dasyra nodded as she spoke, "Yes it is, his magic enables to recreate and make various things of his civilization."


    Delimira tilted her head as she spoke, "Interesting, then he would be in great trouble if others learn of his talent, I can already see people trying to capture him and use him for his powers, he is very vital if someone wants to restore their civilization before the Great the Change to ce."


    Ilorva sighed as she spoke, "That means he is also the target of people who do not wantw and order, I can very well doubt people like that pig king would have him killed if he cannot get hold of him."


    Dasyra frowned for a moment as she spoke, "There is also something that I would like to mention."


    Both Delimira and Ilorva gave her their undivided attention as Ilorva spoke with a frown of her own, "What is it Dasyra?"


    "Delimira you have been with her Holiness for a long time as such you should remember how it felt to be around her when she killed someone."


    Both Delimira and Ilorva''s eyes widen as they Delimira spoke with disbelief in her voice, "You do not mean"


    Ryan wiped his brow as he ced thest of the wall, <em>''I am d that I have that portable constructor installed inside my trailer, though unfortunately, I cannot use it while the trailer is moving otherwise it would drain the tanks too fast, but it helped me set up the portable base, for us to rest properly as well as take shelter if suddenly we are under attack.''</em>


    "Did you finish everything Ryan?", as Michalina''s voice came to his ears a small smile blossomed on his face as he spoke, "Yes big sis."


    "Well, you better go and take your bath you stink."


    Ryan frowned for a moment before he spoke with a frown, "Hey I was working hard, really really hard."


    Michalina rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Yes I know and now go take a bath."


    A few minutes and a bathter Ryan found himself present in a meeting, the topic was simply how to deal with the ''King''.


    "We have to scout the area, have general directions, try to find their weakness and most importantly make sure to find their real strength.", everyone hung onto Jessica''s words as she continued, "But most importantly we have to find a means to aplish as such our trailer is big and is not meant for a swift retreat.", everyone nodded except Ryan who let out an indignant "Oi."


    Jessica looked at him as she smirked as she spoke, "Well it seems that I made a mistake.", a small smile blossomed on the scowling face of Ryan which soon turned into a fully-fledged scowl as Jessica spoke the next words, "A trailer that is not made for swift retreat if not driven by a maniac driver."


    As Ryan huffed while Michalina took over the meeting as she spoke, "Now that would require us to move a lot as such we need means of travel.", her eyes fell on Ryan as she spoke, "I hope you can have something for us to use."


    Ryan rubbed his chin as he spoke, "Well I can but you have to give me specifics like how many are you going and what type of vehicle would like to use."


    Upon hearing that Ang''s eyes widen as she spoke, "Then can we have something that can fly?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I can make a Gyrocopter that would look as if it was created during World War I era, well it might fail during mid-flight and it would alert them of your arrival miles before you are even near their base."


    Ang grumbled at that as Nige spoke, "What about bikes? Can you make them?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes I can but it will be a bit noisy."


    "Just like your trailer?"


    Ryan''s head swivelled towards Nikita as he spoke with a frown, "Yes it will be noisy and yes just like the trailerpared to its counterparts it will be silent but you should not forget about the fact that, we are in wilderness so the sound even if it is low will be dangerous."


    Michalina waved off his concern as she spoke, "There is no need for you to worry about it, Ryan, it would be fine.", her eyes then focused on the husband and wife duo as she spoke, "I hope for your good you have not hidden anything from us."


    The duo shook their head while Florence scowled since the incident the other day she and her daughter were treated like prisoners and she did not like it, but all she could do was swallow her pride and keep her head down after all the only other option was getting thrown out of the group and were forced to fend out in the wild, where they would not survive.


    Delimira cleared her throat as she spoke drawing attention towards her, "We are exceptional scouts and are good at going behind enemies unseen, as your charges can confirm as such if possible I wish to lend one of us to help you."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "That all depends on what Ryan makes, the Terrain is much more suited for bikes and when Ryan finishes making them, you can check and see if you arefortable with them."


    Delimira nodded while both Dasyra and Ilorva looked like kids who have just been told they will be going to Disnend on vacation.


    Ryan simply smiled back as he spoke, "Well then I will better go and start my work.", with that he left towards an empty seat which he promptly upied as he went to check his ''Inner Blueprint Library.''


    Dasyra narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "What is he doing?"


    Michalina looked at her with narrowed eyes as she spoke, "He is mentally preparing himself to create those bikes if he has a clear image of the thing that he is about to make it bes easier for him to make it."


    Meanwhile, Ryan was back was searching from the pile of ''blueprints'' for the perfect bike for them, there were various from sports, tobat, long drive and many other types but he discarded them what he needed was one that was fast, having great agility and mobility in difficult terrain, and after some searching, he found one that made him smile, <em>''Let''s see what I can make of you now.''</em>

 Chapter 38: I spy with my little eye(Part-1)

    Chapter 38: I spy with my little eye(Part-1)


    "Okay riding a bike is all about bnce and, remembering a few simple things, like the clutch, the gear, the throttle, if you ."


    As Ryan gave the two downtrodden elves a crash course on how to ride a bike, a group of threeprising of Nige, Ang and Ilorva were making their way towards their destination, and the fact that Ilorva had won the chance to participate in the mission had made them incredibly sad as they missed their chance to ride a motorcycle, as such under the urgings of the Michalina Ryan had begun teaching them how to ride a motorcycle by using a broken motorcycle that they have gathered the junkyard.


    Meanwhile, the trio using the only two that Ryan had created, managed to reach as much near to the enemy base as possible, Ilorva had taken to be a pillion rider sitting behind Nige, whereas Ang had the radio equipment necessary to maintain contact with the base behind her.


    "Ilorva if you have any problem with yourbat suit please do not hesitate to tell us.", a soft crackle of radio brought Nige''s voice to her ears.


    "Well I have never worn such things as such it would take a moment for me to get used to otherwise it is fine."


    Upon hearing her reply Ilorva could not help but join their conversation, "I understand you all are not ustomed to wearing armour as such it might be difficult."


    Ilorva shook her head as she replied, "No you misunderstand the clothes we are of slightly different types than you not to mention the armour I have worn till date are of different design so I need some time to adjust, and as for wearing armour, when our powers we were reduced suddenly we lost the ability to put on our armour, they have certain requirements which need to fulfilled in order to wear them and as such we were forced to discard them."


    Nige nodded as she spoke, "Well nothing can be done, for now, we will get your armourter on.", she then looked up trying to see the canopy, as she continued to speak, "Find the tallest tree please."


    Ilorva looked around before she pointed towards a tree I think that tree would be better, the trio pushed their two-wheelers near the tree as Ang handed them three grappling guns.


    Then they helped Ilorva to attach the gun with her belt as Nige spoke to her, "Well you have seen how we fire our guns.", Ilorva nodded as Nige continued to speak, "Well it is simr just aim it towards the canopy and then push this lever and it would do the rest here let me show you."


    She aimed her grappling gun and then fired towards the canopy where the hook caught the branches a good few tugter she was sure that the hook firmly attached and as she pulled up fast with a flick of the lever.


    "So did you observe carefully how she did it.", Ilorva nodded at Ang''s question and she soon found herself rocket towards the canopy, she would have shouted out in glee but thest thing they would want is her shouts of joy drawing unwanted attention.


    As the other two joined beside Nige they found her staring through a binocr which she promptly handed to Ilorva who took it with an eager look behind her mask as she looked through it she let out a small whistle of appreciation, "This contraption is amazing, you people might not have been blessed by magic before but your brilliance shows no bound, the more I see the more I am amazed."


    Nige simply nodded as Ang spoke while leaning against the tree trunk, "''Necessity is the mother of invention'' since we never had any magical solution to our problems well we had to find simple ones at that, Nige you have brought the pencil and paper right?"


    Nige nodded at that as she took out the pencil and paper as she spoke, "Will you do the honours, Ilorva."


    Ilorva lowered the binocrs as she let out an eager nod as she spoke, "I would love to."


    "So we would start from this side of the fort and then we would circle around it, is it eptable.", Ilorva spoke as she sketched the side of the wall with the various strategic position that she saw.


    As she was busy sketching Ang had taken up the binocr as she looked over the walls if the fort before she spoke with a frown, "The walls and everything has been created with wood, well it is a given as they might not be blessed by someone of Ryuu''s calibre but why do they have so many shades, is it not a bit excessive, they should try to burrow themselves underground then."


    Ilorva looked up from her parchment with a frown as she spoke, "Did Delimira not mention to you about the most dangerous creature in these parts?"


    Both shook their heads as Ilorva bit back a swear as she spoke with a sigh, "I will never understand how that scatterbrain is my superior, there is a creature that roams this part, it is a Roc, big enough to carry an adult male easily, you have to be careful as to not let it catch you off guard."


    "Thank you for your advice.", Ilorva simply nodded as she went back on creating their map.


    Meanwhile back with Ryan and his group, Ryan had managed to create an oval-shaped building that held the trailer within its bowels, the two-storey building had camouge pattern covering it hiding it from in sights especially the forested area proved to be a boon to it.


    The building had very little windows though it had a balcony running around the second floor, even though the opening was narrow at the balcony, it had enough points to deploy manned turrets at a moment notice that can be used to kill any unwanted beings that made the mistake of encroaching their temporary base and to make it further intruder proof he had ced various surveince devices around the base that would alert them for the possible arrival of any creatures.


    Ryan was lunging on a chair as he stared into the sky through the narrow slit of the balcony, his eyes twitched as he saw Anne the daughter of the doctor couple look at him from a distance with uncertainty in her eyes, by her side the two doctors had upied the chairs, which was manufactured by what Jessica had dubbed as ''Ryan Inc.''.


    "Hey, Ryan there is something that I wish to ask you.", as Jessica''s voice came to his ears he spoke with azy look on his face, "What is it Jessica?"


    "Well, Ryan you never exined to me how you managed to make the trailer stop."


    Ryan sighed at that, ''<em>And there goes my most important secret.</em>'', "Well the thing is pretty simple, anything that I make will only work if I allow it, in other words, if I order the trailer not to move it will not, no matter how much you try to."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Why did you not tell us about such a nifty skill of yours?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I never found any reason to inform you."


    "Is there any range for your abilities?"


    Ryan looked at Florence inwardly growling at her, he knew that at the end of the day she and her daughter were a liability who would turn traitors as soon as the so-called ''King'' was nearby he watched as Michalina was about to stop him from speaking but he would not let her as such he spoke with a smile, "It does not matter where you are in this world, I can not only detect your direction urately, but I can control any machinery created by me."


    Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, while he snickered inwardly, ''<em>I can only control any creation of mine within a few dozen meters but that was it and as for direction nope I have no clue, but let them be shocked after hearing my about over-inted abilities</em>.''


    Michalina looked at him with wide eyes as Nikita spoke with awe, "So that means you can turn off and turn on anything from inside our new home while we are hundreds of miles away from it."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke with a smug look on his voice, "Of course I can", he knew that he could as long as he stood inside ''Fort Genesis'', he can control anything and everything made by him within the confines of its walls as such it was party correct.


    Dasyra spoke with a look of respect in her eyes, "Impressive that means your enemies cannot use what you make against you."


    Ryan nodded only to wince at the narrowed look that he received from Michalina, ''<em>Yup she caught on to the lies I just spoke and I hope she does not blurt it out in front of others that I just lied about it.</em>''


    He sat on his chair and soon he found his himself unable to keep his eyes open any longer, the chirping of insects and birds in thezy afternoon made it difficult to keep him awake as he soon sumbed to sleep.


    He did not know what time it was when all of a sudden he jolted awake, as he opened his eyes he was greeted by a snickering Nikita and Dasyra as he could not help but ask out, "What?"


    "You are drooling all over your cheek.", Dasyra''s answer made Ryan blush with embarrassment when he suddenly stood up in rm, the reason his nap was disturbed was that he detects multiple signatures near their base.


    He quickly looked out of the balcony in hurry only for his brow to twitch, a small flock of birds had intruded into their territory and as a result, they had managed to trigger the rm.


    "Huh, just birds, big birds that had triggered the rm nothing more."


    As he spoke Michalina dashed towards the balcony as she spoke urgently, "The intruder rm just went off, did something appears near the vicinity?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with a sigh, "Nothing spectacr just some big birds."


    Dasyra spoke as she almost drooled at the sight as she spoke, "They are not mere birds, get everyone here who can kill from the distance and do so quietly, today I will treat you to something incredibly delicious."


    Michalina looked at her with curiosity as she soon gathered others and as they gathered at the balcony Dasyra looked towards Delimira as she spoke with a smirk, "Look over there."


    Delimira''s eyes widen before she with a hungry look on her face, "Sister there are seven of them, between us six we can easily take them, just pick which you want to kill and then start firing, they are fast as well as cowards of the highest degree and with the death of one of them the rest will turn tail and run."


    Ryan looked at the birds that looked like a big dove and yet its feathers were extremely long, long enough to long like they had long tails, not to mention it was red.


    They each aimed as Dasyra spoke, "On the count of threetwoone".


    It was already near night when Ang and others had returned to the base, they stood back as the entrance slowly swung open, as the stepped inside they were greeted by what seemed to be a festival of some sorts.


    "What took you so long? Quickly change into your normal clothes we are starving.", that was what greeted them when they came face to face with others.


    Both Ang and Nige gawked at Nikita from behind their mask, they could have understood and epted it as some weird quirk of Ryan but they were not mentally prepared for Nikita to act as such.


    Ilorva removed her mask as her mouth water as she spoke with excitement in her voice, "Is that Qhien bird that I am smelling?"


    As Nikita nodded Ilorva literally vanished from their sight as she dashed towards the changing room to quickly get out of her armour, the report could wait as they have a Qhien bird to feat on.

 Chapter 39: I spy with my little eye(Part-2)

    Chapter 39: I spy with my little eye(Part-2)


    Ryan had never tasted something so tasty in his entire life, it was marvellous and simply otherworldly there were no words for him to describe something so horribly good, that he doubted that the modern dictionary has any word that can be used to describe it.


    As he eagerly chewed at his food, Ryan spoke with a smile towards Dasyra, "I wish to thank you in my entire life I have never eaten such a slice of delicious meat."


    Dasyra simply smiled back at him as she spoke, "Worry not Ryan, just stick with us and we will treat you to much more appetizing and delicious foods."


    Michalina shook her head as she took a bit of her piece of meat as she spoke, "Really it was extremely delicious and thank you, with your knowledge the people of our base will not have to suffer too much."


    Jessica nodded at that as she spoke, "So true, our base might be protected but we have a serious problem with food."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "So true the food back base was simply yucky."


    As the small talks progressed for sometime before Michalina looked towards Ang as she spoke, "Well start with your report."


    Ang pouted as she began to speak, "Well, we had.."


    A few hours ago Ang and her group had just finished mapping the entire enemy base as Ang looked towards Nige as she spoke, "So what now? Do we return back?"


    Nige bit her lips as she spoke, "Well I wanted to know a bit more about their base, like their strength, how many of them have any special abilities, any hidden entry and exit points, the location of the hostages, what methods these people use to neutralize them, things like that."


    Ilorva tapped the filter of her mask before her voice carried over to their ears through the soft crackle of their radio, "I can deal with that, I just need to capture one of his minions and a few minutes and he will spill everything that we want to know."


    Ang looked at her as she spoke, "Meh we were going to capture one and interrogate, Nige is an expert in that but it would be great to learn from how you interrogate as well."


    Ilorva simply nodded as Nige spoke, "Well then we can capture those two over there.", as she spoke she indicated towards a certain direction with a small tilt of her head.


    The other two followed towards where Nige had pointed them as a small but vicious smile grace their face.


    Hugo and Brody had joined their boss for the simple reason, he was their boss before the apocalypse and he was their boss after the apocalypse and he had yet to steer them wrong before the apocalypse their boss Bobby was the not only the leader of the union but was also a very understanding person as such he helped them earned extra by selling a few products from the factory, they would never forget his words when they first joined him in his sales operation, ''<em>That fast bastard of an owner earns a rather fat paycheck by selling the goods that we produce as such he should not whine when we take our share.''</em>


    Those were the words that had brought tears in the duo''s eyes as such they had decided to follow him, the respect for him even increased when they nted the proof of their selling the stuff in what their boss eloquently dubbed as the ''owner''s dog'', and now the same boss is going to rule the world, the thought of being the helper of such a great man, made their hearts swell with pride, but then it changed to anger at the thought of the injuries their ''King'' had to suffer swearing vengeance the duo had ventured forth into the forest their objective is to get hold of some healing berries that they had identally found that can be used for healing.


    "Hey Hugo, since Bradley has died do you think we could get the promotion?"


    Brody picked his nose as he spoke, "Hmm, should be after all who else boss can ", before he could say anything something heavy fell on him effectively knocking him out as it did Hugo as well.


    As Ang stood up from the top of her victim she spoke with a sigh, "Well you two both work on your magic then."


    A few minutester Nige looked at Ilorva with awe, she had just witnessed Ilorva ced her hands on her victim''s temple and with a brief period of shouting and screaming of pain, followed by the trickle of blood from his nose Ilorva new every secret about the people as well as the base itself, it nearly moved her to tears.


    Ryan looked at the near reverence that Nige was showing towards someone that had virtually torn the information out of a now brain dead person, he watched at Ilorva smiled at her as she spoke, "Tell you what if her Holiness allows it, I will personally teach you the skill."


    Ryan frowned at that slightly but he chose not to say anything as he focused on his meals.


    A few hourster the moon was high up in the sky, various critters were chirping around, both Michalina and Ryan were awake and on guard duty.


    They sat quietly for a long time listening to the sound of the critters around their base when all of a sudden Ryan spoke with a frown, "I do not like this."


    Michalina raised one of her brows as she questioned him, "What is it that you not like, brother?"


    Ryan spread his hands as he spoke in a heated tone, "This, I do not like how we are all cosying up with someone unknown people what if they"


    "They betray us and kill us, right?''ck Wolves'' are not the ''Elite Unit'' we are ''The Elite'', and we are trained in various forms of psychological warfare I know that things might seem to be a bit ridiculous and worrying for you, but trust us when we say that we know what we are doing, just like them we are also trying to make them lower their guard., but promise me something Ryan please promise me."


    Ryan was taken aback at seeing the urgency in his sister''s voice as he replied back with a nod, "Of course sister what do you want me to promise you."


    "Always have someone to back you up never be in their presence when you are alone, Nige told me how horrible it was to witness that healthy person reduced to brain dead state in a matter of minutes, I do not know what I would do if you were forced into a simr situation."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke in a sombre tone, "I will sister, though promise me you all will follow the same."


    Michalina nodded at that before she spoke again, "So now spill Ryan, how much lie about your abilities you were spouting to them."


    Ryan smirked at her as he spoke, "Well I can only make either work or make it stop working at least when it is within a range of a few feet."


    Michalina''s eyes widen at that as she spoke, "That means everything was a lie."


    Ryan shrugged at that as he spoke, "Of course it was." before he gained an annoyed look on his face as he spoke, "You can me everything on Jessica who told her to question me in front of others."


    Michalina wiped out some false tears as she spoke with a sniff, "I am so proud of you, my baby brother is growing up."


    Ryan simply huffed at that before he went ramrod as he spoke, "Intruders, arge number of them."


    Michalina''s eyes widen at that as Ryan simply went and peered down from the balcony his eyes peering through the darkness as he looked down and watched with horror as he whispered back to his sister, "It is a horde, arge one, wake up others."


    As if hearing his words a loud howl tore through the night sky as the horde began to run towards the temporary base as the rm red inside the base, waking everyone up.

 Chapter 40: I spy with my little eye(Part-3)

    Chapter 40: I spy with my little eye(Part-3)


    The base or as Michalina was calling it as a cross between blockhouse and pillbox bunker, which Ryan vehemently denied as theycked the oval shape that his creation possessed, the structure created by Eyan had only two openings one was the path which the trailer took to enter, which was sealed shut, and the second was the balcony which now sported a plethora of mounted heavy machine guns that resembled M2A1 heavy machine guns, each apanied by enough explosive and incendiary rounds.


    "Ryan open fire at them, whereas I will wake everyone up."


    Ryan nodded at his sister''smand, as hemandeered the nearby heavy machine gun, as he squeezed the trigger heard, it spat out bullets at whatever it was aimed at, whether it was trees or zombies, everything was torn to shreds as the explosive rounds hit them.


    Ryan gagged upon seeing the result of the bullets hitting the mutated Zombie, <em>''I can see now why explosive rounds are banned, ugh I feel sick.''</em>


    Each bullet was like a miniature grenade which exploded upon contact and with each explosion the blood and guts of his opponents showered over those who were nearby, and those who could still move could be seen feasting on the remains of their fellow zombie while marching forward.


    Ryan fired more and more but it seemed to be an endless sea of zombies, each faster than the other, not to mention some were extremely agile, while a few of them were incredibly sturdy, to the point that it took quite a few rounds to deal with them.


    "Ryan what is t..", Jessica appeared soon, along with others before she sucked a deep breath seeing the sea of such creatures before she ran and took hold of another by Ryan''s side, as she pressed the trigger she shouted back towards Michalina, "This ispletely FUBAR, this is a sea of enemies, not a horde."


    As more and more guns came online, for a moment it looked as if they would turn the tide, when all of a sudden one of them lunged with a roar towards them and slowly many of them followed that particr zombie''s example.


    The trees began fell apart as an extremelyrge creature appeared, it then let out a loud howl, so loud that they felt their bones rattle, as the trio of elves looked at that creature with fear in their eyes, as Dasyra whispered lowly, "An abomination."


    Harrison had decided to wait inside the trailer along with his family, the sound of screams and howls filled the air, along with gunfire as he held his wife and his daughter close.


    "Shh, it is alright Anne everything is going to be alright."


    Although he was trying to calm his crying daughter, he himself was greatly afraid, afraid of the what would their future be, whether they will be alive and see the next dawn or perish as zombie food, then all of sudden a loud roar was heard, so loud that he felt his bones shake, his wife cast a fearful look towards him as he held them close, he had already given on the fact that they might be alive to see the next dawn.


    Ryan looked at the creature and gagged, it looked as various creatures had been semi-melted before they were fused together to create the creature, as its rancid smell entered their noise, they could not help but gag at the smell, as they with great difficulty managed to push the bile down their throat.


    "Dasyra how do we kill it?", Michalina''s voice cut through the tension like a hot knife through butter.


    As Dasyra spoke in a fearful tone, "They are tough to kill, and if we had ess to our powers we would have taken it out easily but now"


    Michalina bit her lips as she spoke, "What are its weakness? And how does it attack?"


    Ilorva looked at the abomination as she spoke with a slight quiver in his voice, "It had basically no weakness, it is greatly strong but slow, not to mention it has poisonous breath."


    At her words a couple of sharp breath was heard as none of them were wearing their masks as such they were in a great vulnerable position.


    "So what do we do now, Michalina?", Nikita could not help but ask out loud at themander of their scouting mission, while Michalina was staring at the creature who had all the other zombies cowering in front of him.


    Meanwhile, Ryan''s eyes saw a different story, ''A level 6 creature'', he forcibly pushed back the memory of the incident with the lion as he spoke, "Sis you take someone and get the masks, whereas I will prepare something special for it, also make it first, its appearance might have stopped the assault but it is temporary so please hurry."


    At his words they hurriedly put the n into action as Ilorva, Dasyra and Nige followed after them while Ryan looked towards the enemy for a moment before he spoke with a sigh, "Girls I will be taking a break, I will preparing the ultimate weapon against it, but remember do not attack until it attacks you, I want as much time as you can provide me."


    With his said he went back and sat down in a meditative position, as another guttural roar ripped through the air, followed by more howls and roars of zombies as the assault resumed again.


    It lifted its gigantic hand up before bringing it down on the building hard, Jessica swore out loud at that as she spoke, "Damn it, it feels as if it is raining mortars."


    Another hit came as a bit more dustnded on her shoulder, while Michalina appeared soon dressed inplete gear, as did the other four, "Quickly step out and wear them, we will hold the line and where is Ryan?"


    "I am here, Ryan stood up shakily as he wiped the sweat off his brow as he spoke with a huff, "I am ready, give me my gear and I will deploy my weapon against it."


    It took them a couple of minutes before they had changed into their gear and it seemed to be the right thing to do, as the ''abomination'', opened its mouth and let out a purplish gas that covered the entire base.


    "Move.", Ryan''s voice came to their ears as he forced Nikita and Ang out of his way before he removed their heavy machine gun as well part of the railing leaving himself exposed, but he did not stop there as he ced a giant gun in its ce, with its eight foot long barrel pointing out, he turned towards Ang as he spoke, "Help me feed my gun."


    Michalina looked at the gun with a wide eye as she spoke, "Is that an M242 Bushmaster?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yup it is, though I wiped out every extra resource I had just to make this and its rounds, also I do not think I can fire it for more than a couple of minutes as I could make ammo for only that period time."


    Michalina bit her lips as she concentrated on firing on the zombies as she spoke, "it better work Ryan or else we all are toast."


    Ryan aimed his big gun towards the head as he spoke, "If I were to blow its head will it work?"


    Delimira shook her head as she spoke, "No it would not, as it has something in it called the core, as long as the body has the core inside it, it would not die but slowly regenerate."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "Oh well then I hope I hit the mark.", with that he pulls the trigger.


    The gun roared into action as it bombarded the creatures head with the 25mm round, which was made in such a way that some were expulsive, some explosive and others incendiary, and they worked well extremely well, as it began to tear the creature apart.


    ''If it were before the apocalypse I would have earned a one-way ticket to jail for creating those highly illegal and banned rounds.''


    Ang did not pay any attention as she solely focused on feeding the gun as Ryan kept on firing and then within a span of a couple of minutes he had turned the abomination into a pile of twisted putrid flesh that was now burning with a vengeance and he was about to run out of ammunition but unfortunately, he had yet to kill the still moving mass if flesh.


    <strong>"How much do I have to fire at it to kill it?</strong>", a frustrated Ryan could not help but shout out.


    In the other front, the situation of others was not that well, they were facing the horde in the darkness of the night, the incendiary had managed to make the forest surrounding them go up in mes and thus it had managed to improve their visibility, which was further enhanced due to presence of the full moon, as its gentle blue light bathed the surrounding as well.


    But what made them anxious and fearful was the pile of zombie bodies that was slowly beginning to grow up at the side of the bunker and any second it would reach the top and they would be able to reach them, although they were confident that a few had already jumped up and had managed to reach the top and were searching for ways to climb down as such they could only hope that Ryan''s building was tough enough to prevent them from breaking and dropping from the ceiling.


    A small explosion was heard from the abomination as it lit up in bluish mes making the trio of elves sigh with relief as Delimira congratted Ryan, "Good work, you managed to kill it I never thought your guns could be this powerful."


    Ryan simply gave her a small bow as Ang turned towards Nikita who had hauled a couple of crates, as Ang went towards her to pick up a couple of Molotov cocktails that they had been made during spare time, Ryan had morphed the ce back into the familiar balcony with the two guns mounted back into their ce, he loaded the ammunition for the gun as a couple of Molotov Cocktails flew above his head andnded on the ground as arge boom was heard before it went up in arge fireball.


    Everyone turned to look at Ang who herself was stunned momentarily, as she spoke with disbelief, "What just happened?"


    The trio of elves looked at the stunned group as Delimira shouted out, "What are you all doing keep killing those things."


    Her shouts brought them out of their stunned state as Michalina shouted towards Ang, "We can debate why a Molotov is acting as a bomb and why it was much more dangerouster, for now, aim them and use them wisely."


    Ang nodded as she flung a few of them around, Dasyra briefly looked at her before she focused on the enemies in front of her with a disturbing grin on her face, she was in sugar high as she used the ''Gun'' that she was using with glee, she was having the time of her life as killed more and more zombies with the help of the gun.


    "I am out.", Jessica''s voice was the first one that came to their ears as Michalina spoke to her with urgency in her voice, "The trailer had some for its turrets bring them, fast I do not think others will be able to hold the horde for too long."


    Then it happened just like Jessica Dasyra''s gun was the first to die out because ofck of ammo, and zombie went past her as it jumped on her trying to take out her head with a bite but was saved by the timely intervention of Ang, who killed it with her gun.


    "Use the guns you have, until Jessica brings the ammo, hold and do not give in.", Ang shouted as she kept on firing her gun, while Dasyra took upon herself the task of flinging the Molotov towards the zombie.

 Chapter 41: I spy with my little eye(Part-4)

    Chapter 41: I spy with my little eye(Part-4)


    "I am out.", Ryan shouted out as thest of the bullets had been consumed, neither the machine guns nor their guns had any left, the trio of elves was in a much better position as their quiver had auto summoning feature as such they were able to get their arrows back after a few seconds, but they''re still over a dozen of those creatures.


    Normally the trio would have dealt with most of those creatures, but unfortunately, they were at a severe disadvantage, the filters of their mask had been working some time, for now, filtering out the poisonous substances from the air had taken its toll as it was now practically useless making it difficult to breathe.


    <em>''I am d that I have managed to upgrade my lungs otherwise I would have been in serious difficulty by now.''</em>


    "Draw melee weapons, get ready!", Michalina bellowed out as they all brought out their respective weapons, which ranged from a rapier to hatchet as they got ready to meet the zombies head-on.


    <em>''Damn it if each of us had more bullets then this would not have taken ce, but what should I do now.'',</em> as Ryan''s grip on his weapon hardened he was suddenly reminded of one of his more unique abilities.


    <em>''How could I forget about it, I am an idiot!''</em>, as such whispered out loud, "Status!"


    His words drew the attention of Delimira who looked at him curiously trying to discern his next move, as being the closest to Ryan she could feel his aura fluctuate a bit.


    Meanwhile, Ryan could see a familiar holographic projection in front of his eyes, which he did not waste time to go through him.


    HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL


    HEALTH: 900/900


    MANA: 150/600


    LIFE-FORM TIER: 3 (0/400)


    VITALITY TIER: 3 (17/300)


    STRENGTH TIER: 3 (20/300)


    AGILITY TIER: 3 (20/300)


    INTELLIGENCE TIER: 3 (18/300)


    Blood Points: 2065


    Soul: 119


    Perks:1) Quantum Brain (Tier 1)(Rare)


    2) Eye of the blessed (Umon)


    3) Angeloid Lungs (Umon)


    4) Quantum Nerves Connectivity(Tier 1)(Rare)


    5) Blood Point Reduction (Tier 1)(Common)


    "Remove the screen and add blood points to all up to the maximum level.", he promptly said out loud, and except the Elves, no one paid him much attention, while Delimira gawked at him from behind her mask.


    <em>''How did his aura suddenly be stronger than before?''</em>, but before she could say anything with teeth bare and jaws open wide, a group of zombies dashed towards the opening at the balcony climbing through the hill of their fallen brethren''s corpses, without paying heed to the fire burning bright.


    The first one to enter had its head sliced into pieces by Ryan, as he turned he was greeted by the rest of hispanions in a serious battle against the zombies, he knew that his sisters were skilled incredibly so, but the zombies were above their level not to mention they were stronger, faster as such it was only matter of time they would sumb.


    A familiar visage floated in front of his eyes, the blood drippy.he shook his head as he focused on the threats before him, he lunged at the nearest as it was about to bite off Nikita''s head skewering it destroying its brain before kicking it off Nikita, who simply bashed the head to a pulp as they joined together to help Ang, but before they could reach her a pair of arrows made a short work of the zombies and soon thereafter every other zombie were dealt with extreme prejudice.


    A few minutester the huffing and puffing dog tired group looked at the still-burning forests as Ryan shakily went towards the opening of the bunker, he raised his hands as the ghostly images of the wall appeared which slowly formed into the solid wall thereby cutting any ess to the outside.


    The group then slowly trudged down the stairs as the failed filter had done a number on them, they were wheezing and coughing as they reached the trailer, they entered the trailer and soon copsed as the fresh and cool air inside the trailer hit them, refreshing their lungs as their masks were promptly abandoned on the floor.


    Harrison stood up as he and his wife quickly brought them cups filled with water that the group drank up as if it were their lifeline, while Ryan made his way to the ''Portable Quantum Stochasts'' as he furiously began to work on it.


    "Ryan stop working and rest you all have suffered so much because of the smoke and whatnot, please lie down and rest.", Florence''s voice came to his ears but he did not pay any heed to her, "Ryan, please."


    With a frustrated sigh, Ryan began to speak, "Sorry but there is stuff to be done that are incredibly important than my health alsopared to them I am more tolerant to some poisonous smoke."


    Florence rubbed the bridge of her nose as she spoke, "And what important task you need to aplish?"


    "Well for starters I had already created air cleaning and detoxifying system with adequate filters that I need to start and make sure they are working properly as such the air outside the trailer bes breathable, then I have to make sure we have enough filters so that we can venture out soon, not to mention I need to create ammo for our guns and they are badly needed as we arepletely out of it."


    Florence narrowed her eyes at his answer as she spoke, "Why do you need to get out there?"


    "The zombies may have been dead for now but their bodies join together to spawn something known as an abomination as such we have to dispose of their bodies as fast as possible and there are quite arge number of bodies out there."


    His words seemed to have reached the ears of others as they let out a tired groan as Michalina could not help but ask out, "How long before we get the ammo and other stuff."


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "It would take time, I do not have the processing power of the base and even at full power the current process is incredibly slow it would take me an entire day for our stocks to be full, and I do not wish to face another ''abomination'' so soon."


    Delimira sighed as she spoke, "Is it possible for us to begin at dawn?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Well you all experts on ''Abomination'', so you tell us if it possible for us to wait for dawn."


    Delimira nodded looking incredibly tired as she spoke, "Well we have time, and as such, I propose that we deal with them tomorrow morning."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Fair enough but let me finish ordering my stuff."


    With his piece said he began to order the various machines that were present inside and outside of the trailer to begin their work of gathering various resources from the and then processing them into various items.


    Next day, a tired group stepped out of their base, the fire had stopped though smoke could be seen still rising from a few ces, what was worst was that most of the forest was missing letting the base stuck like a sore thumb, part of it was ckened after getting scorched by the intense fire, and in the morning light it looked like the scar of a veteran that has survived many wars.


    "So what is the n, Michalina?", Jessica spoke her voice sounding a bit hoarse from coughing.


    "Well big sis I have a n.", his words drew the attention of everyone, as Michalina nodded for him to continue.


    "I believe we have around two hundred litres of petrol, in storage and we have no need of so much as such we drag the bodies in a pile, douse them petrol and lit them ame, and because we are using petrol it would be easier and faster to deal with them."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as he looked up towards the sky as she spoke, "Well it seems we think alike brother, welldies start gathering them up, Ryan and Ang go and bring the fuel we are going to burn them to ash."


    Ryan simply nodded as he and Ang ran back inside the base to gather the fuel, as they moved towards the tank of fuel that was stored at the furthest corner of the base, Ang could not help but ask him out loud, "Ryan how did you manage to create the M242 as well as all those rounds for it, should it not strain your mana as well take more time to make all of them."


    Ryan looked back at her as he spoke with slight mirth in his voice, "Well I kind of cheated."


    Ang tilted her head in confusion as she could not help but ask out loud, "What do you mean by cheated?"


    "Well, Ibined the five of the machine gun rounds to create single for that big gun."


    At Ryan''s words, Ang''s eyes widen as she spoke, "That was why we ran out of ammo so fast."


    Ryan shrugged at that as he spoke, "Well I cannot help, we needed something powerful and that was the result after we are done I would like to gather the empty shells that are still lying around it would make the creation of newer rounds faster."


    Ang shook her head as she spoke, "I just hope we do not have to face simr dangerous enemies in the future."


    Ryan snorted at that as he spoke, "That is one thing that will never happen, the more the passes by the more it would be difficult."


    Ang slouched forwards as she let out a tired groan as Ryan continued, "Do you thing back home they are alright?"


    Ang simply gave him a small pat as she spoke, "Of course why would they not be, Major is with them and she will keep them safe, not to mention the different gadgets that you have made for them."


    Ryan let out a tired sigh as he spoke, "I hope Ang, I hope they are okay."

 Chapter 42: Regicide (Part-1)

    Chapter 42: Regicide (Part-1)


    "So how are we going to proceed?"


    Nikita''s words added to the already boiling tension, her discreet nces towards the doctor and his family was enough to tell anyone what was running through her mind.


    Harrison stepped forward as he spoke anger in his voice, "Ma''am with all due respect please stop treating my family as a criminal."


    Michalina simply send him a bored look as she spoke, "So what do you think would happen if the king pops up in front of you now and orders your beloved wife and daughter to kill you will they be able to resist?"


    That shut Harrison up as Michalina rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she spoke, "Sorry doctor, for the time being, they are a liability, one that I cannot allow in good conscious to be free."


    "But Anne is a little girl, she."


    "Would like your daughter to live the rest of her life to live with the memory of her father dying spilling all his blood and guts as she held the bloodied de that took his life.", came Michalina''s immediate retort as soon as he began to speak.


    Harrison became visible ill as he sat back on a stool while Ryanshed out at his sister, "Enough Michalina, enough you do not have to traumatize Doctor Harrison like that, it is so not cool."


    Michalina simply pouted at that making Ryan roll his eyes, ''<em>Why does she acts immature sometimes I will never know.''</em>


    Ryan looked at Harrison as he spoke in a kind voice, "Doctor Harrison I understand your plight, I do but we cannot let your wife and daughter get caught by that bastard and used as such we request of you to please do not resist, it will be temporary and after we have dealt with the pig your family will be free and you can do whatever you wish to but till then please bear with us a bit."


    Harrison sighed as Florence ced aforting hand on his shoulder with a small smile on her face, before she looked up towards Michalina as she spoke, "I am willing to listen and obey any and everything you are about to do to my daughter and me, but please promise me you will put that rabid dog down."


    Michalina stared at the face filled with desperation and fear as she spoke with a sigh, "I will you have nothing to worry about."


    A small smile blossomed on her face as her daughter who was peeking from inside the trailer gave them a small smile that made the soldiers steel their hearts vow to protect that smile at whatever the cost.


    Harrison excused himself as he spoke, "I am sorry but I would like to spend some time alone with my family if you all do not mind."


    With that, he gathered his wife as they both joined their daughter inside the trailer out of their earshot as Ryan rounded his sister as he spoke, "What were you thinking? You should have been a bit gentle instead of speaking in such an uncouth and unrefined manner."


    Michalina huffed at that as she spoke, "Ryan, there was no better way to deal with someone when they are still lying and trying to hide something."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke with confusion as he spoke, "What do you mean?"


    Michalina sent a small nod towards Nige who began to speak in a voice barely above a whisper but enough for everyone else to hear loud and clear, "Whenever we prodded them and asked questions they would try to deflect us."


    Ilorva bit her lips as she spoke, "While searching for various information about the base I stumbled upon a piece of information that suggested that the mother and daughter duo were rted somehow to the ''King'', how they are I have no idea, the prisoner became shattered before I could learn more."


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I see, so what are we going to do about them?"


    "Nothing dear brother, nothing for now because we are busy dealing with the ''King'', and if you are thinking about them falsifying the fact that the ''King'' is after them well to tell you the truth, he really is after them but why that I do not know."


    Jessica nodded at Michalina''s words as she spoke, "So true but that does not mean we should not be cautious, but rather we should also try to deal with the King as fast as possible when he is still badly injured."


    Delimira nodded at that before her eyes fell on Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan there is something that I want to ask you."


    Ryan nodded as Delimira continued, "You do not have a core, yet how are you using magic?"


    Both Dasyra and Ilorva were taken aback as Dasyra spoke with disbelief in her voice, "Are you sure? No one can perform any magic without it."


    Delimira nodded with a grave look on her face as she spoke, "I am his sister has one, Ang has one, the others are showing signs of development, but he has nothing, he ispletely nk, yet he is wielding magic."


    At her words Dasyra and Ilorva looked at Ryan as if he was some form of exotic animal, Jessica pushed Ryan back with her hand as she stood guard in front of him as the others tensed a bit.


    Ryan looked at them with his eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Miss Delimira would you please exin this core business to us."


    Delimir nodded at his question as she began to speak, "Certainly, the core is an essential part of us, it is because of the core that we can use our magic, magic that is present around us is raw and unrefined, and unrefined magic getting into our body is quite painful, the core processes the unrefined magic and stores, as such it is very vital for us to have a core. Kind of like a pitcher full of water, how will you store the water if you do not have the pitcher to store it?"


    At her answer, more and more questions arose within their minds as Ryuu frowned, ''How do I then use mana, if what she said is true then it is virtually impossible for me to really use any of my abilities but how am I using any of it, hmmm, maybe I should install the ''Core'' perk and then I would not arouse any questions in the future.''


    Ryan rubbed his chin for a minute before Ang spoke with a frown, "Wait a minute if that is true then why am I not able to use any magic? Michalina seemed to be using hers really fine."


    Ilorva looked at her as she replied back, "Well first of all Michalina seems to be an elemental that is someone who is an elemental, something that is not the same for you, plus you do not know how to use a spell, and if you are still unsure then how about the fact you were able to detect the fact that they who has mana in them and who does not and before you say no you are not detecting their cores, but the unrefined or wild mana entering their body.", her eyes then fell on Ryan as she spoke, "But still it is strange how Ryan is using mana."


    Ryan shrugged at that as he spoke, "Maybe I have a different kind of core."


    Dasyra shook her head as she spoke, "There are only eight kinds of cores, with the lowest being the White, then Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and ending with the highest tier the Violet core, and you have none."


    Ryan face scrunched up in deep thought before he spoke, "How does having different cores affect you?"


    "Everyone when they are born, they have the white core, and as they grow up through various means like meditation then slowly increase the level of their core and with each increase, the core colour also changes."


    Ryan hung on to every word that came from Ilorva''s mouth before he spoke with a sigh, "Since we are not getting anywhere because we do not know the reason as such I hope we can look at the nning for the time being."


    Michalina nodded at his brother''s words as she spoke, "Well I agree with him, instead of focusing on something we have no answers for now let us focus on something that we can do."


    The trio frowned for a moment before nodding as they acquiesce at the sibling''s suggestion, while Ryan let out a sigh of relief,<em> ''I will have to get the core during my time to keep watch, and I would prefer to have Michalina with me during that time.''</em>


    Michalina turned towards her brother as she spoke, "Brother how much time do we need to wait for you to fully stock our resources."


    "If there is no intervention tonight then by tomorrow afternoon I will bepletely ready."


    Michalina nodded in eptance as she spoke, "Good, then we would like to proceed from this position and then.."


    Later near midnight, Ryan had upied a familiar seat the very same seat that he had upied the previous night, eagerly waiting for his sister''s arrival, he did not have to wait very long for his sister.


    "Hey sis, I was thinking about something."


    "What is it, brother?"


    "Well ording to them everyone has a core and if we rescue their friends more and more questions would be asked as such I am going to install the ''core'' perk now."


    Michalina gained a worried look on her face as she began, "But brother", only to stop as Ryan raised his hand to stop her from speaking.


    "Sister I understand your concern, but this is something that I need to do, you heard the advantages of having a core right?", as Michalina nodded Ryan gained a serious face as he continued, "Well upon saying that most if not all my perks have been a bit painful, as such I would request you to please keep an eye on me and please do not call others I do not wish for others to know especially those three."


    Michalina nodded with slight hesitation as Ryan shed her a smile as she helped him tie a ball gag over his mouth to prevent him screaming, as his vision faded and he found himself standing in front of an extremely familiar machine.

 Chapter 43: Regicide (Part-2)

    Chapter 43: Regicide (Part-2)


    Ryan looked around what he dubbed at his ''inner world'', whenever he entered he was always naked and he always had to walk over the ice-cold stone floor towards the ''Ancient Quantum Stochasts'' for instation of the new perk.


    A shiver went down his spine as he dashed towards the ''Ancient Quantum Stochasts'', as fast as he could.


    <em>''When I first found it was not this cold, I do not think that I will be able to use all this if it bes colder than this.''</em>


    He jumped on to his chair, before letting out a sigh of satisfaction,<em> ''At least the chair is warm and cosy.'',</em> his eyes then fell on to his machine and then with a few push of buttons he began to upgrade himself.


    <em>''With that goes my hundred souls, taken as payment for the perk.''</em>


    <em><strong>''Core'' Perk instation in Progress</strong>...</em>


    <strong><em>Core install at Tier 2, (</em></strong><em>Failed</em><strong><em>)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Tier </em></strong><em>''Orange Core''</em><strong><em>, Condition not met</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Status: </em></strong><em>Lost</em><strong><em>.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Core install at Tier 3, (</em></strong><em>Failed</em><strong><em>)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Unable to qualify for an additional reward.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Tier </em></strong><em>''Red Core''</em><strong><em>, condition not met.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Status: </em></strong><em>Lost.</em>


    <strong><em>Tier </em></strong><em>''White''</em><strong><em> instation in progress.. (</em></strong>0% <em>Complete</em><strong><em>)</em></strong>


    Ryan gawked at that as he spoke barely above a whisper, "You got to have been kidding me I would have gained a bit more powerful core if only I had installed the core perk earlier, damn it, such a great loss."


    Ryan was extremely put off thinking about missing such a great opportunity, but before he could further mourn his loss the room shook violently causing him to nearly fall off his chair.


    "What the he", his shout was stopped as he a part of the floor caved in and various metallic structures rose from underneath the floor.


    Ryan looked at awe, as the structure that slowly began to take shape in front of his eyes and it was simply breathtaking to watch it unfold before his very eyes.


    He watched as the metallic beams twisted, into what seemed to form a cage of some sort as the ss began to grow inside it.


    <em>''It looks some kind ofrge cool looking</em><em> </em><em>Gothic</em><em>ntern coupled with the pure white paint it simply looks marvellous.''</em>


    A small pulse went out of it making Ryan to tense when all of a sudden a colourless liquid seemed to fill thergentern, as thentern began to fill, the chilliness of the air and room began to decrease asfortable warmth slowly began to spread around.


    Ryan gained a sour look on his face as he spoke, "If I had known the effects of the core beforehand then I would have installed it long ago if nothing else but to make this ce a bit warmer."


    Ryan opened his eyes with a groan, as he looked up he was greeted by the concerned eyes of Michalina who helped him to sit up properly despite his protest.


    "I am fine Sis I feel greatly energized enough to take on an army, but how long was I unconscious?"


    Michalina looked sceptical at that as she spoke with a sigh, "If you say so, Ryan and as for how long you were out, well a few minutes at most, but I believe it was by far the calmest upgrade you had till date."


    Her sceptical look turned into anger as she spoke, "That was rather callous of you, you do remember the number of times you were knocked out for hours what would you have done if simr situation took ce."


    Ryan pouted at that as he spoke, "But it worked out in the end as such there is nothing to worry about."


    Michalina simply sends him a stink eye at that but she did not say anything else to him.


    An unknown amount of timeter, Michalina stood up as she spoke, "Well I believe that it is time for the next shift to take their ce on the watch."


    Ryan stood up as he stretched himself as he spoke with a yawn, "About time if you ask me."


    They made their way into the trailer, as they stepped inside they were greeted with the sight of Jessica who was preparing some tea for her and herpanion who was none other than Ilorva, who opened her mouth and screamed towards Ryan, "<strong>How </strong>did you manage to get a <strong>core</strong> all of a sudden what are <strong>you</strong>?"


    Her shout seemed to jolt everyone awake as Ryan simply deadpanned at her as he spoke, "I think your voice was not loud enough to rouse the people on the other side of the."


    "Is something wrong, Ilorva?", Delimira who had been awakened by her scream asked her with barely concealed anxiousness in her voice, while the others were getting ready for another invasion.


    Ryan rubbed his forehead as he spoke tiredly, "Well there is nothing wrong, and I would like to get some sleep if you all do not mind."


    With that Ryan was about to leave but Ilorva stopped him as she spoke, "Hold it, Ryan, how did you gain a core, something you did not seem to possess a few hours ago."


    At her words, the other two elves narrowed their eyes as they looked at Ryan before they gasped in disbelief as Dasyra spoke, "How is it possible that you have a core?"


    Ryan put up a look of confusion on his face, "What are you talking about? First, you are saying I have no core and now you are saying I do please make your mind."


    Ilorva''s eyes narrowed as she began to speak with a re, "Do not lie to me Boy! I want to know how you got a core all of a sudden within the span of a few hours, and do remember you cannot lie to me."


    Ryan narrowed his eyes as he red back with full force as he spoke, "Make me."


    Michalina stepped in between them as she spoke, "Wah stop, we are going on a mission a few hours from now, stop fighting against each other."


    Ryan turned his head with a huff, as Ilorva kept on ring only to turn her attention as Michalina cleared her throat.


    "Ilorva your people and you have some secrets, secrets that we are not trying to pry out of you, as such we hope you will bestow the same courtesy."


    Ilorva wanted to protest only to stop as Delimira ced her hand over her shoulder as she spoke, "Ilorva leave it.", she then turned towards Michalina as she spoke, "I apologize for her outburst as you can see your brother did something that blew ourmon sense apart and as such she reacted poorly."


    Michalina waved her off before she dragged Ryan off to a corner as she spoke barely above a whisper but still in a heated tone, "Why are you acting in such a way?There are so many ways the situation could have been handled but you chose to anger her why?"


    Ryan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "Sorry, I let my temper get the best of me."


    Michalina simply gave him a small smile as she spoke, "Try to rein it a bit more dear brother, for we have to live with them from now on and getting on their wrong side would be extremely unwise."


    Meanwhile, Jessica grabbed Ilorva''s cup as she carried it towards a fuming Jessica, upon seeing her in an enraged state she grimaced, <em>''Great because of Ryan''s temper tantrum I will now have to spend my watch with an angry partner.''</em>


    "Sorry about that Ilorva here have some tea.", with that she extended the cup of tea towards her.


    Ilorva sighed as she took her cup of tea from Jessica''s hand before she took a sip from it which was followed shortly by a content sigh.


    "Sorry, I overreacted as well, a few hours ago he was like asking everything there was to know about core, and then all of sudden he had a core inside of him, I was taken aback at that."


    Jessica gave a small smile before she spoke, "Well strange things happen around him, you see his powers are a bit special, maybe one day you will be able to trust us and vice versa and you will learn more about his powers."


    Ilorva nodded at that as she spoke with a slight yawn, "Maybe one day, till then well thank you for the nice tea."


    "Mention not", with that the duo stood in silence staring into the forest with the cup of piping hot beverage on the hand.

 Chapter 44: Regicide (Part-3)

    Chapter 44: Regicide (Part-3)


    Ryan rapped his fingers on the dashboard while Nikita sat by the radio waiting for any news of theirpanions.


    "Ryan I know you are worried but will you stop that, it is getting annoying."


    Ryan simply grumbled as he spoke, "Hey I so wanted to go with them, I am strong and I could have helped them."


    Nikita shook her head as she spoke, "Ryan I understand that you are strong, but you are nowhere near as experienced and well trained for such a difficult mission, not to mention did you forget the mission that had been entrusted to us."


    Ryan huffed at that as he spoke, "Of course not why would I forget such a boring mission, where I just have to drive around."


    Nikita had a bemused look on her face as she spoke, "Correction, one where you will have to act as a decoy to lure the guards out acting as bait while theymence their mission."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "What if they do not take the bait then what?"


    Nikita simply smiled at that as she spoke, "Well your sister''s mission would be incredibly dangerous."


    "So true, I just hope that they would return safe and sound."


    Ryan looked towards Dasyra as he gave her a small nod when the radio crackled as Michalina''s voice came from the other side, "Team alpha in position, team raven you have the go, over"


    Ryan sighed as he took his seat, starting the engine as he spoke, "Nikita warn Harrison and Dasyra, take a seat."


    Dasyra need not be told as she ran towards the nearest turret control seat, which she promptly took control of, a few hours of coaching can do wonders to someone who had never even seen or heard about the electric kettle.


    With a screech the trailer moved forward as Harrison wearing a helmet and vest held on to the side of the bed praying to God, while his wife and daughter were not only asleep because of the elf trio, they were tightly bound as well so that they might not cause any problem for them.


    Bobby Geary''s eyes shot open as he tried to sit up only for a blinding pain to shoot through his body making him scream out loud at that.


    "Oh no not again, I am getting tired of his shouting and moaning and cursing, can we not kill the cripple already boss?"


    A person wearing leather jacket spoke with a scowl as the person who was referred to as the boss simplyughed at that as he spoke, "Billy the cripple still has his uses, he can still control his ves and that is why we need him until we can find some other way to control this many people, and secondly many are still loyal to him after all if nothing else his silvery tongue was great."


    Billy nodded as his ''boss'' continued to speak, "Well let us go and see what that bloated buffoon wants now."


    As soon as he entered the room Jake ducked as a tin can hit Billy on his head, as Bobby bellowed out loud, "What was taking you so long you ipetent whelp, I had been shouting myself hoarse for hours."


    Jake''s eyes twitched at that but he managed to gain a sheepish look on his face as he spoke, "Sorry boss I was making around at the other side of the base, so."


    "Save your excuses.", Bobby snarled at him as he spoke, "The wench is only a few kilometres away from my base, you take as many men as you can, and go get them alive, and take as many as you want I want them captured, you might find a few goods looking girls with them including those pointy ears you were so fascinated with, well do as you want with them."


    Jake''s eyes widen at that Bobby just gave him the chance to curry favour with others and maybe sway him to his cause, after all as long as Bobby wasfortable and the way he was now with everything waist down not working, he doubted that he would step out of his room anytime soon and as long as he could maintain the illusion that Bobby was in charge and he could rule them from behind the scene.


    Meanwhile, a few minutes Michalina was crouching in front of a metallic gate as she signalled Jessica, she took a torch-like substance, which she ced against the gate, and with a fizz like sound bright white-hot sparks came out of it, as she swiftly melted the bars of the gate, before removing them one by one.


    Michalina took the front, followed by Ilorva, Ang, and then it was Dlimira''s turn with Nige followed her with Jessica bringing the rear.


    Ilorva gagged behind her mask as she spoke, "So this is your grand idea of entrance it is so disgusting."


    Michalina simply shrugged as she spoke, "As long as it works it is fine for me."


    "I will never be able to look at corn anymore.", the mournful voice of Delimira came to their ears as Ang snickered at that.


    "Everyone focus we have work to do.", Michalina spoke in an annoyed tone as she continued, "And the faster weplete our mission, the faster we can leave the sewage."


    A few more minutester they found themselves directly below the stairs that lead them towards their target''s room, but there were too many guards as such she radioed back to theirmand vehicle.


    "Team alpha in position, team raven you have the go, over."


    "Acknowledged over.", Nikita''s voice came from over the soft crackle of the radio.


    "Well, now we have to wait.", Jessica spoke with a sigh.


    But fortunately for them, the wait was not too long as a few minutes after Michalina had given out her orders to themand vehicle a shout was heard followed by many more which was apanied by rapidly fading steps of a great number of people.


    "Delimira you are up."


    Upon hearing her name escape from Michalina''s lips Delimira closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke with excitement in her voice, "Three are in that room, if the one inside is the ''Pig King'', then the two outside are the guards, and as for the people who were held there are four of them guarding them, and five are on the wall and the rest are moving away towards a certain direction must be the trailer."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "Jessica you along with Ilorva proceed as nned, you are to kill him whereas the rest of us are going to free the people, but do remember to move fast, I do not wish to wait too long to rescue them, we have to set up defences for their eventual return and a cornered rat is extremely deadly."


    Jessica smirked at her from behind her mask as she spoke, "Well I will be done before you could blink,e on Ilorva we have the honour of killing a ''King''."


    Ilorva shook her head in a disapproving manner as she chided her softly, "Jessica, you should use assassinating instead of killing for a King."


    "Oops, my mistake.", with that she jumped out of their hiding ce while Michalina simply shook her head in exasperation.


    Jessica and Ilorva silently moved up the stairs as they reached the top, they saw the two men chatting with each other without any care, they tiptoed behind them, before they both quickly held them by covering their mouth, using their knives to slit their victims'' throats and driving it deep into their hearts effectively killing them.


    "Now to perform the act of regicide, if only he was a King."


    Jessica nodded at that as she whispered back to Ilorva, "So true if only he was the real one, damn it, my name would have been told to people for ages."


    Bobby was not in a great mood, he might not have said it, but he could see the dissension in his ranks miles away, with how he was he doubted that he would be able to change that any time in forever, but his mood would elevate if only the..


    His internal monologue or musings were cut short when all of a sudden the door to his room was swung open as two female donning military equipment stepped inside the room, "Who", was the only thing that he could utter before Jessica''s knife was firmly embedded in his head.


    Jessica did not waste her time as she radioed back to others, "Regicideplete."


    "That is cheating! We were to do it together, not to mention I lost the chance of asking him about his connection with Florence."


    Jessica was about to apologize to Ilorva when all of a sudden her eyes were drawn to a particr photograph as she spoke, "Well now what do we have here."


    Ilorva frowned at Jessica''s behaviour as she spoke, "Is something wrong?"


    Jessica showed him a picture as she spoke, "Well I found out the rtion between the King and Florence."


    Ilorva tilted her head as she spoke, "I do not understand, the woman is wearing a white dress and the man is wearing blue cloths with flowers in Florence''s hands and they are smiling, so what does it mean?"


    "That means they are married if Booby was the King our dear Florence is his wife the ''Queen''."


    "Oh my never thought they would have such a connection."


    Jessica nodded at that as she spoke, "Me too, well we can show it to otherster for now, and we have to help them clear out the mess."


    A distant sound of gunfire reached their ears as Jessica spoke with a sigh, "We better hurry it looks like the party has begun already, I hope they are doing well."


    Meanwhile, Ryan was driving the trailer as he had never driven before, it moved and stalked like a snake, a snake made out of metal that was immune to the various attacks of the attacker, a snake that had turrets mounted on it that were firing and tearing the enemies apart, it was a matter of time before their enemies would try to flee, but for the time being, they would try to lower their number as much as possible.

 Chapter 45: A First class view(Part-1)

    Chapter 45: A First ss view(Part-1)


    Ryan sat on his seat, his hand firmly grabbing on to the steering wheels with his head resting on top of it, waiting for the show to begin, a few months ago he would have been scared, he would not lie he was a bit of coward always trying to steer clear of troublesome situations, yet since that day he seemed to be a bit more reckless, not mention he was not acting clearheaded but what was worse was his ratherck of concern when killing a fellow human, it was true he felt dirty and unclean for a moment but the next moment he was acting as if nothing happened.


    <em>''Did powers arghh....''</em>, a sudden jolt of pain passed through his head as his vision went nk for a moment before he blinked owlishly.


    <em>''Huh, what happened?Do not tell me I fell asleep while waiting for them.'',</em> a panicked Ryan turned his head trying to discern something out of ordinary but upon seeing none he rxed a bit, <em>''Safe, now if only I could get the part done without any problem, it would be fine.</em>


    "Ryan they are here get ready.", Nikita''s voice came to his ears as he gripped the steering wheel hard.


    Jake narrowed his eyes at the trailer, seeing those turrets above it was a bit intimidating but he had more men with him like the previous time, he knew that there was a chance that it might be set up as such he had brought with him IEDs, that they have found and improved from the now-defunct Air force base.


    He turned and nodded at one of his subordinates, who lifted an RPG and was about to pull the trigger when all hell breaks loose, the turrets began to fire, and it tore through their cover, the trees like water through tissue.


    The rocket went and hit the tree behind the trailer as it exploded with arge boom.


    Dasyra eyes widened at that slightly as she spoke, "What was that?"


    Nikita fired at the enemy as she replied to her question, "That my dear is an RPG, an older model as the new models had malfunctioned, it is not so much urate but you can see that it does not have pinpoint uracy to do the damage."


    Ryan stepped on the elerator as the trailer lurched forward, as he drove it through the group of his enemies, they tried to scatter, but it proved futile as they were gunned down.


    Jake was bleeding from his forehead, although the bullet had missed his head, the same could not be said about the wood chip from the recently torn apart tree that he was using for cover.


    An odd mixture of anger, fear and panic rose in his heart as the trailer went past him the only thing he could do was take out the bomb and throw it at the wheels of the trailer, arge explosion rocked the trailer but it did not do much damage.


    Ryan let out a curse as he felt the explosion rock the trailer, he knew that his creation would survive but that did not mean that it was not unpleasant, the explosion was big enough to send an unpleasant jolt up his spine, sounds of gunfire ricocheting upon the trailer''s body came to his ears, like rain falling on some tin shed.


    Another bang was heard from the rear, ''<em>Damn it, focus and drive Ryan, focus and drive, you need to keep it moving at the same time make sure that the two can get as many shots as possible, but what is taking Michalina so damn long, did she finish the mission or not.''</em>


    "Ryan, are you alright?", a soft voice came from his radio.


    "I am fine Nikita, I am fine."


    "I never thought that they would have something that would explode."


    "Me neither Dasyra, but we are safe here as Ryan''s trailer is stronger, so now focus on your enemies."


    Another st was heard from the front followed by a lot of shouting and cursing from the front.


    Nikita''s brow furrowed at that as Dasyra immediately spoke through her radio, "Ryan, are you okay? Ryan, please respond."


    All she received was some crackling of radio, which made them tensed when all of a sudden Ryan''s voice came through the radio, "Sorry the st took out the window I had to repair it, and oh I am fine, I am totally fine you do not need to worry about anything."


    Ryan winced as he spoke, the explosion was huge and the ss was meant for stopping bullets not a powerful explosion an explosion he was sure would have taken out a tank at the very least, his ears were ringing and he was disoriented because of it,


    He quickly came to his senses being a bit grateful towards his armour for saving his life, though he did not escape unscathed his ears were ringing and the right side of his head was hurting bad, a few shots went past his head as he lowered his head, and then he raised his left hand, the ss and the broken ss pieces seemed to disappear, as he now raised his right hand rematerializing the bulletproof window shield back in its ce as good as new.


    As he heard the frantic shouts of hispanions he frowned, <em>''Why am I not able to hear from my right ear, the radio must be damaged from the st, I will repair it after everything is done.''</em>


    As such he quickly replied to the frantic duo, "Sorry the st took out the window I had to repair it, and oh I am fine, I am totally fine you do not need to worry about anything."


    <em>''The n is bad, uber-bad it is like Michalina was banking on the trailer acting as a tank, not to mention from whatever Ilorva had managed to convey the group had used most of their guns and ammunition and had no fallen back to cold weapons, it would have been easy but then they turned the table on us by bringing an RPG, I hope the other group has better luck than us.''</em>


    As time went passed the sounds of enemy guns firing and explosion was cut down drastically,<em> ''Well I kind of worked, though I would have preferred not acting as bait I would like to drive and ram through the gate, but then my trailer would get stuck not to mention the ve pens, innocent would get caught, I wish that the fight would end fast.''</em>


    Jake ran from the carnage as fast as he could, the sun was rising in the sky and the dawn would break, at least back at the base he could regroup with the remainder of his people, a couple of them would bound to survive, and he would then think of a way to deal with them, he was sure that having so many hostages would work in their favour, hostage that would work at theirmand, a small smile graced his lips before his vision went ck.


    Ashera lowered her bow as she watched her enemy fall with a small smirk on her face as Delimira spoke, "So how does it feel to be awake once again?"


    Ashera took a deep breath of air as she spoke with a smile on her face, "Extremely great as if I am reborn again."


    "I see", a voice came to their ears as they turned and immediately bowed to the neer, who was embroiled in deep discussion with Michalina.


    The person was the epitome of breathtaking beauty at the same time graceful as swell she sent a small motherly smile towards them.


    "Raise your heads."


    At her words, the duo raised their head as Delimira spoke with a smile on her face, "Your Holiness, it is great to see you free again."


    Ylerias Luevnari simply stepped forward as she drew Delimira into a hug as she spoke, "I knew you would rescue us, that day when I turned ourselves into stone to prevent us from being harmed I knew you three would help us to be free again."


    Delimira blushed before she spoke, "I am ashamed for taking so long."


    Ylerias simply smiled at her as she spoke, "Nonsense dear, you did plenty well considering the state of our powers it was done extremely well."


    Ylerais looked outside of the base standing on the wall as the first rays of the sunbathed and weed them back he stared at the bodies of the captives that were lying on the ground dead, not to mention the terrible explosive sound had stopped for some time now.


    "Those sounds of the guns had stopped does that mean they would return?"


    "I hope so Your Holiness."


    As Michalina replied to her Ylerais gained a spark of excitement in her voice, "Well then I hope to see the various marvels your world has to offer."


    Michalina offered her a small smile, for the amount of time she had to spend she had taken an instant liking to Ylerias, she was an extremely kind and understanding woman who was genuinely adored by her people, but at the same time, she was also extremely wary of her when the first time when she opened her eyes Michalina felt as if she was standing in front of some ferocious beast that was about to kill her.


    Suddenly the sounds of gunfire began anew as Nikita''s frantic voice came to Michalina''s ears, "Code Red, I repeat Code Red, Raven down, Raven down request back up. I repeatshi<em>.~crackle~ ~crackle~</em>"


    Blood drained from Michalina''s face as Jessica came running towards her while frantically speaking through the radio, "Raven report, Ravene in, Raven Nikita someonee in."


    Fear gripped through Michalina''s heart as she looked up towards the direction of their trailer which was hidden by the trees, the sound of gunfire had stopped but another sound came to her ears a deep guttural roar.


    "Sisters move out.", Michalina bellowed out as she jumped from the ten-foot-tall wall as she took off towards the jungle, with Jessica hotly behind her, and one by one the rest of her team followed.


    "Sisters to arms, we cannot let out our rescuers be harmed.", Ylerias bellowed as an ornate bow appeared in her hands as she followed after Michalina and others but unlike others she seemed to have been running on-ear, a sound of a horn being blown came to her ears as the rest took after their Holydy post haste.

 Chapter 46: A First class view(Part-2)

    Chapter 46: A First ss view(Part-2)


    Ryan had tweaked the turret control in such a way that all they had to flip a switch and they would move from one turret to another, as such while Nikita took control of the right one and the front, Dasyra took control of the other two.


    It was difficult to continuously switch and aim, but the duo had performed wlessly, despite all odds, they knew their n was risky and they knew that acting as bait they would draw out the enemy troops but it worked too sessfully if they were to guess they might have drawn everyone out, and Ryan was d that his trailer was able to stand strong against the onught.


    It had been a few minutes they were unable to spot any enemies, well enemies that were alive and well, while dawn was already upon them letting them get the full view of the carnage they had unleashed, the ground was torn, the trees were shredded by the bullets, it looked like a warzone where bits and pieces of humansy around.


    They had not only been hit by bullets, grenades and cocktails, but a few of them had abilities, like ice, fire and in one case making their body as strong as steel, Ryan knew that the front might have dented a bit from hitting that person.


    A crackle of radio came along with Nikita''s voice, "Did you spot any more enemies."


    "Negative Nikita, I cannot spot any."


    Dasyra sighed she wanted everything to be over with soon, she cannot wait for the good news that their team had seeded, she knew that Her Holiness would be free from herself created stone prison and she could not wait to reunite with her.


    As Dasyra looked through her screen she spotted something that made her eyes narrow before she screamed at that top of her lungs, "<strong>RYAN WATCH OUT ON THE RIGHT."</strong>


    Ryan turned his head to the right, as he watched through the window a giant hulking animal charging at top speed towards him, a beast that was on collision course and there was nothing he could do.


    The time seemed to slow as he watched the beast collide with the cabin, and the trailer broke like a cracker as it barreled his way in destroying everything in its path, ''<em>I am going to die.''</em>


    A small fear erupted in his heart, but that did not mean he would seat idle letting the beast hit him, the part of the cabin on the left side disappeared as he jumped out just in time from being gored to death by the huge tusks.


    Ryan fell on the ground with a roll and as he stood up on his feet, he was greeted by the sight of arge boar, asrge as the duo that was fighting a few nights ago, but it looked even more ferocious, not to mention it looked as if it was wearing its skeleton on the outside.


    As it turned towards the trailer again Ryan came face to face with it, the boar''s eyes were red, and a purple mist escaped from its mouth making Ryan nervous.


    "FIRE!!!", Nikita''s shout came to his ears as the right and read turret opened fire, he was sure that cabin and front part of the trailer was gone from the initial charge, his gulped as his gun came up in his hand and he opened fire.


    A roar came from the beast as the bullets hit it drawing its blood, as Ryan looked at him he grimaced slightly, ''Tier 7*''.


    <em>''What is this star stuff?''</em>, but before he could thing the beast charged again making his eyes wide, <em>''Damn it, it is too fast.''</em>


    Ryan barely managed to jump out of the way and for the first time he managed to catch a glimpse of damage as the boar passed to the other the front waspletely gone the engine itself looking badly damagey a few feet away from him.


    <em>''Damn it, damn it to hell my innocent and beautiful trailer.''</em>


    Nikita looked at the creature through her screen as a shudder went down her spine, the hail of bullets should have killed any other creature yet it was going strong, more and more wounds appeared on its body, her decision was made then and there, she needed some serious backup.


    As such she immediately radioed to Michalina and her group, "Code Red, Raven down, Raven down request back up. I repeat", her eyes widen as she saw the boar charging this time directly towards her, "Shit..", was the only thing that came out of her mouth as she somehow managed to unbuckle her belt and jump out of her sit as did Dasyra.


    The creature once again barreled through the trailer, but this time it ruptured the tank and got drenched in cold liquefied Mana, making it howl in pain as it wobbled on its leg slightly.


    Dasyra eyes widen in fear as she saw the liquefied Mana, the raw unprocessed liquefied Mana was not only cold, cold enough to freeze water, but when applied inrge quantity would cause burn akin to that of fire.


    Dasyra dragged Nikita far away from the liquid that was pouring out, from the ruptured tank, "Get away from it, that thing is dangerous if you get drenched by it."


    Ryan had a look of dismay in his face upon seeing his trailer being torn apart, as he saw the badly mangled seats being thrown apart his heart lurched with fear for hispanions only to be relieved upon seeing them unharmed and inside the trailer.


    <em>''That beast I have to make him stop but how?''</em>, was a million-dor question that was reverberating in his mind.


    Suddenly his eyes widen as a small smirk form on his face, he saw as the boar got ready for another charge, it dug its hooves on the ground before it roared again, a roar that seemed to make his bones rattle, Ryan took a deep breath as he focused towards the beast.


    Nikita stepped out of the destroyed as she shouted out, "Ryan get out of there."


    Ryan did not pay any heed to her words as he fired a couple of rounds as he shouted out, "Oi you a rotten pile of ham shut up and die already, you to rotten to be even eaten, just jump in a bin already."


    What greeted him was a charge which was even faster than before, but Ryan was ready for him as he dashed towards him, his weapon stashed safely inside his inventory.


    As he neared the beast his right hand glowed with white light, he could feel the world slow down, he could hear his breathing, his heartbeat while the only thing that remained in his vision was the beast in front of him.


    The beast looked to be glowing with purple-coloured aura, as it neared Ryan, 15 meters... 10... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1.


    Ryan jumped towards the right at thest moment a chain had appeared in his right hand, the chain was long and it attached to the left front leg one end where the other he tied at the right rear, because of his powers it was incredibly easy for him to do so, he did not have to do much except will it and beasts legs were chained and the reaction was instantaneous.


    The small hill sized boar could not maintain stumbled and fell hard it was like watching arge speeding truck having a high-speed ident.


    The beast fell hard on its face, as because of the entire weight of the body made it turn over and a few loud crunches were heard as it went and hid the trailer or what has left of the front part again before it stopped lying on the pool of liquefied Mana.


    Ryan was fast he did not stop as he jumped and crossed the broken cautiously not to touch the liquefied Mana that looked like a silver-coloured liquid with a pink tint on it.


    He dropped on top of the beast, and was d to see its neck broken from the fall but still alive, <em>''Damn note to self remain to be vignt while running.''</em> his gun in his hand, he aimed at its eyes pulled the trigger.


    Nikita nearly had a heart attack seeing the Ryan run towards the beast then Dasyra and her had to duck to prevent them from getting crushed by the bore that easily weighed a good few tonnes.


    Ryan looked at the beast thaty under his feet with a tired look on his face, <em>''I just received 235 blood points from killing, it was so easy I just had to make it trip, and unload an entire clip, in his eye and at that angle surely its reached the brain.''</em>


    He kicked the beast a few times as he assumed a rxed stance as he then turned towards Nikita waving at her, when all of a sudden he felt as if he was hit by a car at full speed, incredible pain shot through his body along with searing heat as his vision turned ck.


    Nikita looked at the flying body of Ryan as her head snapped towards the direction of the attacker, whose smug smile was still stuck on his face as he fell while being riddled by arrows courtesy of Dasyra.


    Nikita whipped her head towards Ryan as she could help but see him fall in to even more danger as she let out an anguished scream, "<strong>RYAN NO.</strong>"

 Chapter 47: A First class view(Part-3)

    Chapter 47: A First ss view(Part-3)


    Ryan felt like he was floating in the cloud, then a splitting headache hit him along with the distant shouts of "Ryan! Ryan!..", came to his ears the sound was rapidly fading away.


    <em>''Ryan. who is this, Ryan?''</em>


    <em>''Ah, I remember I am Ryan, but I feel so tired let me sleep.''</em>


    <em><strong>Host life in Danger.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Taking preventive measures.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Awakening the Host.</strong></em>


    Ryan woke with a gasp as a shudder went down his spine, as he looked forward he frowned, <em>''Huh why are the trees getting smaller and smaller and are those clouds?''</em>


    His confusion then turned to fear as he could not move at all as if something was holding him down, as he somehow managed to turn his head and gawked at the reason he was a few thousand meters above the ground and was rising at an incredible space, the reason he was held in a way that he could not move at all.


    He was held by a giant ''eagle, giant enough to carry him effortlessly without any problem and it was carrying him further and further away from the ground.


    <em>''Huh, how did I get into such a situation? Which God did I offend to be cursed with such wonderful luck?''</em>


    As he was having a sudden bout of depression pain shot through his body making him wince at that, "Status", he all but whispered lowly, not too eager to draw any attention to the bird.


    <strong><em>HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL</em></strong>


    <strong><em>STATUS: INJURED (HEALING)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>HEALTH: 617/1125(+1%/min REGEN.)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>MANA: 1120/1125(+1%/min REGEN.)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>CORE: WHITE(NO EXTRA BUFF)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>LIFE-FORM TIER: 4 (0/500)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>VITALITY TIER: 4 (200/375)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>STRENGTH TIER: 4 (200/375)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>AGILITY TIER: 4 (212/375)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>INTELLIGENCE TIER: 4 (0/375)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Blood Points: 0</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Soul: 18</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Perks:1) Quantum Brain (Tier 1)(Rare)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>2) Eye of the blessed (Umon)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>3) Angeloid Lungs (Umon)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>4) Quantum Nerves Connectivity(Tier 1)(Rare)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>5) Blood Point Reduction (Tier 1)(Common)</em></strong>


    <em>''At least I am healing, albeit slowly but still healing. From the ache in my body, I know that I might have broken a few of my bones, and if they are all healed as well it would be great.''</em>


    Michalina arrived at the clearing or what looked like a warzone and in the middle of whichy the broken remnants of a trailer, the front part of were destroyed, and by its sidey a giant carcass of a beast, her heartbeat increased unable to spot any of herrades nearby when a sound of gun firing drew her attention.


    Michalina did not waste any time as she dashed towards the location of the sound as she arrived there she stumbled upon seeing the defeated form of Nikita and Dasyra.


    Seeing Michalina in front of her Nikita tore her mask off her face as she looked at her, her eyes full of sorrow, as she spoke in a mournful voice, "Michalina I am sorry, I am so sorry I lost your brother."


    Michalina was stunned for a moment she spoke slowly, "Where is Ryan? Where is my brother?"


    Nikita gulped she could feel Michalina''s anger directed towards her, an unpleasant Michalina was a trigger happy Michalina, even Dasyra gulped feeling the tension in the air.


    Jessica quickly made her way and stood beside Michalina ready to stop her from acting foolishly as she spoke, "Nikita, Doc what happened? We heard your emergency message and came here as soon as possible so what happened? And please start from the very beginning."


    Nikita took a deep breath as she began to speak, "The trailer held against the enemy well, we had managed to deal with them when an all of sudden a strange-looking boar attacked us."


    "A corrupted Erymanthian Piglet.", Dasyra helpfully supplied.


    Nikita looked at her with disbelief on her face as she spoke, "That was a piglet?"


    As Dasyra nodded a voice came to her ears, "How did you kill it Dasyra?"


    The voice was extremely familiar to her making her whip her head towards the speaker as she began, "My Lady"


    Only to stop as Ylerias raised her hand to stop her as she spoke, "Dasyra how did manage to kill it?"


    Dasyraposed herself as she spoke, "My Lady I was not the one who killed it, it was Ryan who managed to deal with it, he tripped the creature by tying its legs in such a manner that it stumbled by tying its legs while it was charging, as a result, the piglet stumbled and broke its neck then Ryan killed it by using weapon by firing it on the beast''s eye."


    Ylerias nodded with an impressed look on her face as Nikita continued, "Ryan killed it but it seemed that we missed one of the enemies, the enemy then fired an RPG at him, the RPG detonated near him causing him to be flung a good distance from the corpse and then", Nikita bit her lips thinking about how to break the news to Michalina.


    Seeing her hesitation Dasyra spoke, after all, there was nothing to gain by stalling the truth, "We dealt with the enemy but there was another creature present that we failed to spot and as a result, Ryan was snatched by a ''Roc''."


    Michalina was speechless as Ylerias bore a face full of sadness as Dasyra spoke with a tired sigh, "We tried, we tried so hard but the ''Roc'' was too fast."


    "Which way did the Roc fly off with Ryan?"


    Michlina''s voice seemed to be devoid of emotion while Jessica balled her fist, as Ylerias intervened quickly, You are not trying to go after him on foot are you?"


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke, "No I am not we have means of travel, and I will go after my brother as soon as possible."


    Meanwhile, Ryan was looking down at the earth below, to him, it was mesmerizing to look at the thick green vegetation, the glistening water bodies was both picturesque as well as something he wished never to forget.


    <em>''I cannot wait to build a ne or a copter, maybe I should try to make that gyrocopter, it might be unreliable but still, such scenery is worth the risk, if it were not a predator that is trying to eat me I would rate it as a fast ss view from a third rate airlines.''</em>


    He had been flying for some time courtesy of what he had dubbed as the ''eagle'' Air'', to Ryan the bird looks like an ''eagle'', a Tier 5 creature, could he kill it of course but unfortunately for him he was suspended in the air a few thousand meters above ground and he was sure that a fall from such a height would kill him.


    <em>''It will try to kill me and if I am not wrong it will put me down on its nest then I will make my move, better get ready.''</em>


    Ryan closed his eyes as he glossed over his inventory as he pursued his lips, <em>''Hmm, I have enough ammunition a few hundred rounds for my rifle and near about a hundred for my revolver, and my sword I will survive my jour..'',</em> his eye widens momentarily as he looked up and down his inventory.


    <em>''Where is my rifle?''</em>, he panicked for a moment before realization struck him like a speeding truck as he could not help but shout out, <strong>"DID I DROP UP RIFLE!!!!!"</strong>


    All his shout did was make the giant ''eagle'' screech as it increased its speed as it climbed up even faster and higher.


    Ryan was hit by about if dizziness as all of sudden his ears hurt a lot because of the sudden increase of altitude and speed as he finally managed to look down, and what greeted him a giant dam and a city by its side.


    Ang made her way towards hermander she approached her she handed her a gun as she spoke, "Michlina I found Ryan''s gun."


    Michalina tensed even more as she took her brother''s weapon in her hand as she spoke with a tinge of fear in her voice, "That means he only has his revolver and sword."


    Ryan looked at the ''eagle'' which had suddenly stopped and then all of a sudden it let Ryan go, Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily at that before he snarled in anger, <em>''This bird is trying to kill him by making him fall to his death like I will let it happen.''</em>


    Ryan flung his right hand as an ethereal looking chain appeared which wrapped itself around the ''eagle'' leg bing solid all of a sudden.


    The creature screeched in surprised as its leg was wrapped by a chain, which was held by a grinning Ryan.


    ''Got you now, let me climb up.'', with that he began to pull himself up the chain only for the ''eagle'' to suddenly screech as it began to move in various ways to shake him off, while Ryan held the chain tightly fearing his life.


    The ''eagle'' took a sudden turn as it tried to take a bite off him, only to sh against Ryan''s sword which enraged it further, then it gave a painful screech as Ryan managed to cut a portion of the right-wing.


    "Take that you overgrown bird.", a shout full of confidence came from Ryan only for his face to morph into terror as his attack hampered with the creature''s ability to fly as it went down towards the ground.


    A second chain appeared as it wrapped around the creature''s neck while Ryan took a seat on its back, as it fell, although it tried hard to stay afloat in the air at the end of the day it only managed to slow its descend, it came down near the city centre, as it hit the tallest building that had somehow managed to keep standing even though it leaned at an angle dangerous and it hit the roof hard, where Ryan decided to abandon it.


    The creature collided on the roof letting out a horrifying and pain-filled screech as its bones broke but it was not enough to stop its momentum as it went down even further towards the street below, Ryan was lucky that he had the chain as it was because of it, he was spared from at least a hundred meters drop.


    <em>''Saved.''</em>, was the thought that came into his head only for his face to gain a look of horror as he gazed at the screeching ''eagle'' was being swarmed by various beasts as it was being torn and eaten out alive, the sheer number and strength of the creatures below made him gulp hard, ''Damn I fell from the frying pan into the fire.''

 Chapter 48: Navalach City (Part-1)

    Chapter 48: Navch City (Part-1)


    ''<em>I have to get out of here fast</em>'', the dangling boy in his armour looked down towards the street swarming with creature quickly made up his mind, as with a soft glow the chain changed into adder which he used to climb up quickly with the intent to disappear from the sights of the residents of the ruined city.


    As hey on his back on top of the roof as he looked towards the sky, ''<em>The dam that I saw, I know it, and if I am not mistaken that dam is the famous ''Navch Dam'', and then this must be the Navch City.</em>''


    ''<em>If I am not wrong ording to previous and outdated information I am at least five hundred kilometres from ''Warzg City'', my original city not to mention it was a metro as well some even called it the technological capital of our nation with a poption of over one million people.</em>''


    Ryan gulped at that, ''<em>So many people that mean it would also have arge number of zombies, and how will I get out?</em>''


    ''<em>Ah the good old Gyrocopter, sometimes I am so smart</em>.'' pleased with his ideas he gave a small pat on his back only to frown at the thought of the giant eagle came to his mind, ''<em>How will I deal with something simr if it attacks midflight.</em>''


    He sighed as he sat up straight as he spoke with a huff, ''<em>But first I have to make the thrice-damned thing, and how will I make than when I do not even have proper resources</em>.'', he wanted to scream out in frustration, but held himself off at thest moment.


    A small smile broke into his lips at the thought of the Dam, ''It was touted as unbreakable and invincible by the Government well at least it stood the test of the apocalypse.'' a sense of pride filled his chest.


    ''<em>Only the work of Devil would cause it to copse, but enough of my pity party and brooding I have work to do.</em>''


    He looked at his revolver as he gained a depressed look on his face.


    <strong><em>Name: PR48T0R1</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Type: Handgun (Pistol)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Tier: 4</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Damage: A</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reliability: A+</em></strong>


    <strong><em>uracy: B+</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Range: C</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Rate of Fire: F+</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Overall Rating: C+</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Weight: 0.96 Kg</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Ammo: .40/.357</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Requirement: Minimum Tier 3</em></strong>


    <em>''Well I have to make do with it what I have for now, but first I need a silencer badly as it would not do any good if my position is leaked because of noise.</em>''


    ced his pistol in the holster as he took out his sword before he walked towards the rood exit door, he touched the knob as he tried to open the door.


    ''<strong>Creeeeeh</strong>'', a loud creaking sound was heard as the door slowly moved to allow him to the entrance inside the building, while Ryan could not help but wince because of it.


    He took a deep breath as he peered into the dark staircase, his body tensed waiting for something to jump out of the shadows, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary he decided to venture forth.


    ''<em>I am d that I wore my entirebat gear, otherwise I would have been screwed, hmm, the lighting may be low but it is still there, I will use my torches and all when it is truly dark out there</em>.''


    He looked at the stairs and winced again, the building was tilted in such a way that winding stairs were practically useless, well if I have to jump I would try by holding on to the railings, at least it would make it a bit more noiseless.


    It took some time for Ryan to lower himself, as he looked around he could see the dust on the floor, with most of the stuff that still managed to stay inside of the tilted building littered around.


    ''<em>I need a few things and my silencer would be ready</em>.''


    He began to forage whatever he could find on the floor, even though it was not much but it was enough for him to create silence, a square block with tapered edges, and it seemed to fit well with his gun, a small smile formed in his face as he looked at his work.


    "Perfect, now I just have to find my way out of this ce."


    He looked at the stairs as he sighed, ''<em>Since I have already finished taking care of my pistol, I should start working for some water and food and if possible another rifle, I am in serious need for one, the pistol is good but it does not have the same punch as a rifle</em>.''


    He cast a look at the stairs before letting out a grimace, ''<em>Ugh not again, I just hope that I will not have to face something extremely dangerous.''</em>


    With the thought in his mind Ryan made his way down to the next level and unlike the floor above that looked like some form of apartments.


    <em>''Maybe I can find some food here</em>.''


    With that thought he went towards the nearest apartment, the door was slightly ajar, he took a peek and closed it quickly, and with a sh, the door was sealed shut, as chattering was heard behind the door.


    The reason for his acting in such a manner was simple the room contained what seemed to bergest cluster of spider eggs he had ever seen in his lives, with a pair of big spiders as big as a dog was present in that room as well as such he decided to cut his losses.


    He moved to the next rooms and he did not have much luck, most of the rooms were covered by cobwebs and he was in no hurry to dive amongst those webs to find necessary resources.


    <em>''The entire floor is of no use to me, I have to search for an alternate ce, though I would love to find something that does not have any spider or spider webs present.</em>''


    <em>''Webs that are extremely sticky and hard to cut, I show do not wish to deal with the...</em>''


    "<strong>Eeek</strong>", a rather unmanly scream erupted from his throat as he jumped a few feet back, the reason a spider as big as a Pomeranian suddenly dangling in front of him.


    Eight beady eyes stared at him before getting cut in half courtesy of Ryan, who then flicked his sword cleaning the greenish blood of it.


    Ryan then frantically looked around spotting no other spiders around he decided to move downwards again, only to stop near the staircase, the entire staircase waspletely covered by cobwebs making him groan at that.


    ''<em>Just the thing I</em>.'', Ryan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the dark and cobwebs covered staircase, ''<em>What was that? I thought I saw some form of movement</em>.''


    He quickly began to move his gun trained towards the direction of the staircase, ''<em>I have to leave this ce fast.</em>''


    As he moved down the lobby he came across what seemed to be an elevator, ''<em>Nope not going to enter an enclosed space.</em>''


    He took a deep breath as he kneeled while keeping his trained towards the direction of the staircase, he then ced his hand on top of the floor which glowed briefly and a part of it disappeared.


    As he looked down his breath hitched, ''<em>What the hell is this? The entire floor is covered with cobwebs, eww just simply eww, so gross.</em>''


    Praying to whatever deity that would listen to his prayers and bless him, he jumped down but he did not wait as repeated the same process and a part of the floor disappeared or as he would like to call the process as ''Deconstruction''.


    Repeating it a couple of times before hended into a floor that was devoid of any cobwebs, he raised his hand as a temporary cover appeared thus sealing the holes that he had made.


    As he looked at the surrounding he frowned, ''<em>What kind of person creates such arge office at the top of a residential building, there is no privacy at all, and the offices should be ced near the bottom, not the top.</em>''


    Ryan took out his gun as he held it with his left hand while the right held his sword, he went to the nearest room, but the door was locked, with a swiped of his hand the lock vanished as he peeked inside the dust-covered room.


    ''Most of the stuff is still here and it was locked from the outside, there might be a chance that the owner was outside when the quake hit.''


    He tried to push the door open but it was stuck because of the sofa that was wedged between the door and the wall.


    A simple ''deconstruction''ter he was inside the apartment, ''Let me see what I can reacquisition from this ce''


    He looked around the room, there were many things that he could get from this ce, but first, he needed a bag, even though the inventory now allowed him about to carry twelve different items, but he needed more space, those twelve item slots can be used to carry others that might be of vital importance and need to be carried in bulk.


    Ryan made a beeline towards the closet as a small smile appeared in his face, <em>''Jackpot! Who knew that this person had so many outdoor camping gears.''</em>


    He quickly sorted through the gears as he found a couple of rucksacks, which he promptly used to create a bag for him, the canteens and kettles were reforged to create one for him.


    A small pipe was used to connect the canteen with his mask, so as for him to drink water without the need to remove his canteen from his hip and bring it to his lips by removing the mask.


    <em>''Well, I have finished taking whatever pasts and pieces that I need from this person, though still, I have yet to find something edible and drinkable, might be the other rooms have something for me.''</em>


    An hourter Ryan had fixed his radio, created a hand crank generator, found at least half a dozen bottles of soft drinks and from thebel they still had sometime before they would spoil, a few biscuits and other packaged food that can be eaten without the need to cook or prepare them in certain ways.


    Ryan removed his helmet and mask as he wiped his brow, as he looked at his newest creation that he had just finished creating a portable hand-crank generator, and that found its ce into his tactical belt.


    <em>''I wish I had some very powerful radio to contact Michalina, she and her group must be worried so much.''</em>


    He once again wore his helmet and mask as he went towards thest apartment on that floor, he tried to open the door and once again it was locked, making him sigh at that, quick removal of the lock he tried to enter, only for the door to not even budge a single millimetre.


    But it was nothing that the kidnapped teen cannot deal with, he simply took apart the door and as the interior of the room came into view he could not help but let out a small whistle of appreciation as he whispered lowly, "What do we have here?"

 Chapter 49: Navalach City (Part-2)

    Chapter 49: Navch City (Part-2)


    Ryan cleared the various chairs and tables that were blocking the door as he stepped inside he was weed into the apartment by a headless corpse that was seating on a sofa with an opened bottle of whiskey by his side.


    A shotguny in front of him, as he looked around he found a good collection of guns, ranging from snipers to assault rifles to revolvers lying around collecting dust.


    <em>''I doubt that most of them would be legal but then again I am not well versed in the Government Arms Act, so thinking someone having an illegal stash of weapons is cool.''</em>


    He looked at the door that was missing making him sigh, <em>''I feel unprotected without something covering my back.'',</em> he closed his eyes for a moment before he opened them with a small sigh,<em> ''Well I have enough for a door, but it would mean I will not be able to make another when I deconstruct it as well as lose a few more points in mana.''</em>


    Ciara sighed as she looked at hustling and bustling on her fort''s ground, it hade as a shock to her when a group of three hundred strong humanoids came asking for shelter and help.


    Yes, humanoid the group consisted of what the imed as elves and dwarves, at first she was sceptical, she thought it as a poorly made joke, iming that they are not human because of their sudden mutations, but as more and more proof was given out she was forced to acquiesce that they were speaking the truth.


    <em>''At least having them amongst us was a great boon, the elves are great with hunting and growing nts, while the dwarves have taken over constructing.''</em>


    Unfortunately, no matter what they tried they were unable to build anything inside the base, as such a small vige had formed on the outside of the base perimeter.


    Ciara sighed as she was looked up towards the sky thinking about her children.


    Michalina meanwhile was feeling the sting of defeat, she had tried hard but unfortunately, all she could do was follow a certain direction and was forced to return empty-handed as the tanks of the bikes were running low to the point they gave out a few kilometres away from the base, she did not know how far Ryan had been taken, nor did she know his current status, all she felt was numb.


    Ryan meanwhile looked at the journal in front of him the journal once belonged to one Captain Frank O''Rorke, the very same Frank that was lying on the sofa and was dead.


    It was nearing noon and Ryan had spent the entire morning inside the apartment, he had made a quick detour back to the neighbouring apartment and now he was the proud owner of a portable stove, he tweaked it a bit as he did not wish to use gas, after all of the gasoline can act so much dangerously who knows what gas was capable of.


    As such the solution was rather simple he used the one that needed fuel in the form of wood and the broken furniture provided plenty.


    He used the guns that the Captain had to craft a new one for him,bined with hybrid sight, which could change from red dot to 4X zoom with a simple flip, but most importantly he had managed to create silence, unlike the traditional suppressor he was more square-shaped and mixed with the gun well enough that it looked as if the gun was slightly extended and without any muzzle.


    <em>''The integrated suppressor sure looked nice.''</em>


    A small smile graced his lips at the thought of his gun before he picked up the journal as he began to read it while waiting for his Mana to fill up again.


    <em>It had been a few days since I have returned from my tour in Afghanistan as a member of the UN Peacekeeping forces, I was only deployed for three months and the bullet that severed my spine made sure that I would never stand let alone walk on my two feet.</em>


    <em>As such, I was discharged from the 5th Airborne troops with Honors and medals and a sizable pension that would take care of me for now at least, when I returned home in my apartment that I got for us, my rtives began treating me as a fragile ss.</em>


    <em>At first, I understood the reason and epting their behaviour but it slowly turned to annoyance, I did not spend so years in the army to be treated as such, but even then the sight of my beloved cheered me up.</em>


    To Ryan, it sounded soothing to read and learn about Captain Frank while he tried to pass his time.


    <em>Ellie had been a bit distant to metely, she had been busy with her worktely, at first I thought nothing of it, but my cousin send some pictures and II cannot believe it, the same Ellie who promised to stay by my side till death do us apart was in another man''s arms and a rather intimate position.</em>


    <em>I understand, being a cripple was not easy but still, at least she should tell me at my face, instead of hiding it behind lies and deceit, to be her happiness was the most important thing in my life and now I do not know what to do, I will confront herter.</em>


    The next date in the journal was a couple of weekster from thest entry,


    <em>I confronted her, we argued and she called me lots of things but what was worst was she called me a murderer, yes that was what she called me.</em>


    <em>''All soldiers only know is how to kill and kill, nothing more than a bunch of savage murdering psychopaths.''</em>


    <em>Over my life, I have been called many things but this, I do not know what to say, I believe a part of me had died when I heard it.</em>


    <em>Since time immemorial every soldier in this world have fought one and one thing only, to keep their loved one safe, they freeze in the cold knowing that by his actions at least his loved ones would have a warm roof over their head, we all swore to protect the weak, shelter the unsheltered and bleed so that the future may be safe from the tyranny of the corrupt and evil.</em>


    <em>I did not choose to be in the army because of money, fame or glory, no if I wanted I could be a movie star or work in some other profession, I joined because of that small grateful smile of the child when I saved him from the burning building, I joined the army because I..</em>


    There was nothing written there he had stopped writing, though Ryan''s heart clenched as he spotted some smudged ink indicating the presence of tears while writing.


    The next entry was once again a few dayster, exactly on the day everything changed.


    <em>A few days after that incident her new boyfriend came to my apartment, with some papers, yes divorce papers, since she was expecting they were getting married soon after the divorce was finalized.</em>


    <em>Before that bastard left she told me with a smug smile on his face,</em>


    <em>"Well before you were a cripple you were a leech that cost the honest hardworking people their money through tax so that you and your group of psychopaths would go on a murdering spree, now you parasite do not expect an invitation I do not want the greatest day of my life to be tainted with likes of you."</em>


    <em>Oh God above how much I wished I had my guns with me, I would have killed that waste of space then and there, for the first time I felt so much hatred in my life that I cannot even begin to say.</em>


    Then the journal had onest entry that was devoid of any dates.


    <em>The earth shook the buildings toppled and I was left inside a nted building those who could run, but I was left behind, how could I move when the stairs are inessible, when the elevator won''t work because there was no power, it was hell, I was forced to let go of my wheelchair as it was proving to be difficult.</em>


    <em>It would have been a bad dream but now it was a nightmare the dead rose and everything went to hell, they were everywhere tearing and eating people.</em>


    <em>I always loved guns, as such I had a collection of them, and I put them to good use.</em>


    <em>Like it mattered, ten became hundred and hundred became thousand and my guns ran out of bullets, and now here I sit, after boarding the door up, I could hear them outside the door, one of them had managed to reach the window and it bit me, even</em> <em>if I had managed to kill it, the damage was done, I could not stop the bleeding I was dying.</em>


    <em>I was always taught that suicide was the way of the coward, but I refuse to let myself change into those undead creatures after death, I was not that good looking and I can bet I would look even more ghastly as such Captain Frank O''Rorke of 5th Airborne troops signing off and goodbye.</em>


    Ryan wiped the tears that fell from his eyes, he felt really sad for him, and he always had a deep respect for people in Uniform, maybe because two of the most important persons in his life wore them.


    "I pray that you found peace in your afterlife Captain, and thanking for all your hard work."


    He put the journal in his backpack as he quickly donned his gears, he then bowed towards the corpse as he spoke with a sad sigh, "Captain Frank I am sorry for not being able to give you a proper burial, I might not know of you during your lifetime, but I will never forget you and sorry for borrowing your journal of private thoughts."


    With his piece being said Ryan stepped out of the apartment leaving behind Captain Frank, as he slowly began to make his way downstairs.

 Chapter 50: Navalach City (Part-3)

    Chapter 50: Navch City (Part-3)


    A person wearing armoured gear fit for the army ran through the streets of Navch, trying to stay as much close to the shadows as possible so as not to make him a target of some unwanted enemy, and thest thing he needed was some kind of hordeing after his head.


    ''<em>I so wished I had those broken sensing abilities of the elves, it would have been so easy to find a safe route and whatnot</em>.''


    He took under a small break under the rubble of arge building while trying to quench his thirst by using soft drinks.


    <em>''Ugh, I so want water now, no matter what one says only water can quench the thirst properly.''</em>


    <em><strong>~bakram~</strong></em>


    A loud noise startled him only for him to groan, <em>''Just great thunder, now it would rain and my only saving grace is my armour.''</em>


    <em>''Well nothing is going to change if I just sit here and waste time, I have to find shelter before nightfall or I will be in danger.''</em>


    Ryan stood up as he once again decided to move, his idea was simple, to gather resources create a vehicle whether it bend or air-based it did not matter as long as he could leave this ce and never look back.


    He took a corner and stopped as a few feet away from him stood a humanoid creature, he could see ''Tier 3'' on top of its head, the creature reared its head as it opened its jaw wide.


    <em>~thap~</em>


    That was the only sound that it was able to hear albeit with great difficulty before its head was destroyed and it fell on its back as it died once again.


    <em>''Damn it, I was spotted by a screamer, it was a good thing that I was able to kill it before it shouted or else I would have the entire city converging here.''</em>


    Small pitter, patter sound came to his ears as rain once fell to the ground, he gave onest look at the dead screamer as he moved on with a sigh,<em> ''I just hope I do not have to face any abomination, I do not have time to lit it ame.''</em>


    He only walked a few spaces when he came across the broken metro, the part of the line was still holding, but the matter of the train was a different matter, as it had fallen from the tracks, he looked at the train as a small broke on his lips.


    <strong>''I AM STILL ALIVE''</strong>


    Was the message that someone had written using a spray can on top of it, though from the looks of it, it had been written for some time, the ruins of the city was slowly being run over by mother nature and now the city looked like as if it was abandoned for decades.


    The message itself looked slightly faded as Ryan gently caressed it,<em> ''It seems that someone was alive long enough for them to leave this message.''</em>


    Another roar of thunder came to his ears as soon it became to rain cats and dogs, making him sigh tiredly, <em>''I have to find shelter immediately.''</em>


    But before he could act one of the still intact walls of a building exploded as a pair of dog-like creatures were fighting against each other trying to tear each other and was slowly moving towards his position.


    As such he decided to enter the derailed train and use it travel,<em> ''Damn it the way up is blocked, I so do not want to enter some underground area.''</em>


    He growled as he used his powers to remove the obstacles as he tried to make his way up only for the creature to hit the train hard.


    A loud groan and creak were hard, as Ryan''s eyes widen behind his mask as he tried to move but everything was in vain as the wagon copsed on the ground, with Ryan still within its bowels.


    Ryan winced at the pain as he tried to bit back a curse, <em>''Damn it, damn it, damn those mutts.''</em>


    Ryan knew he had to move as far away from the duo as possible such amotion is bound to draw some form of attention which he was sure that they would receive lots of it.


    <em>''Where to go, where to go, I cannot go towards the front of the train as such back it is.''</em>


    He quickly went towards the rear, vanishing as much rubble from in front of him, he made a run for it, only for the road to break making him fall into some kind of underground sewage system.


    <em>''Great, just great that is what was missing from my life, an all-expense-paid tour of the sewage system of Navch city.''</em>


    The rain was still pouring hard, and as the water trickled down inside the sewage Ryan decided to move forward, for the time being, leaving behind the already distant sound of fighting.


    The sewage was eerily silent except the sound of rainwater falling from the broken cracks, the sky itself had darkened to the point it was looked as if night had descended already and inside the sewers, it was so dark that even with his enhancements he was unable to even see his hands.


    As such Ryan with great pain was forced to switch on the lights, light on his left shoulder, on the right side of his helmet and one attached to the gun, integrated along with the silencer block.


    <em>''I do wish I knew what to do know, ording to games I should move fast and continuously but unlike games, I cannot jump around nonstop and move fast without stopping, ugh what to do.''</em>


    <em>''I should have yed those games more, just because I used to die within the first second even after learning all kind of strategies that does not mean I should have rage quit the game.''</em>


    <strong>~squeak~</strong><em>~squeak~</em>


    Multiple squeaking sounds came to his ear as he looked towards his right to see a small group of rats racing towards him with great speed.


    <em>''Damn they are big, at least ten times the size of the normal ones and look a bit menacing.''</em>


    He could detect that most of them were of Tier 1 with a couple as Tier 2 except one at the rear, not only was it Tier 2 but it had a star to its name for some unknown reason.


    <em>''Just like the boar, but I am not going to waste my precious bullets on them, my sword will be enough I just have to wait for it to charge and time it right.''</em>


    With his n in ce Ryan took a stance with his sword, the rats were fast and he did not believe it wise for him to run in an unknown area with enemies behind him and the number of rats he was facing was only six in number, and he could take care of them fast and swift.


    But that was not to be the one with the star mark stood up on its hind legs as it opened its mouth wide.


    Blood flowed from Ryan''s ears as his vision suddenly became disoriented momentarily, as the others jumped on him.


    He swung and swatted the rats off of him as they tried to bite and scratch him, as a couple was cut in half while the creature once again got on his hind legs only to meet with a couple of shots from the sidearm and dying shortly after.


    With the leader dead he quickly dispatched the others, as he took a deep breath but he was reminded of how predators are drawn by the scent of blood as such he decided to make himself scarce as fast as possible.


    <em>''My right ear, ugh why is everyone after my right ear, what have I do to deserve my right ear to be harmed, again and again, I am sure my armour is damaged I have to wor''</em>


    His internal musing was cut short when multiple squeaking was heard from behind him, he did not turn to look but ran as fast as he could.


    Ryan was a blur as he ran, his speed was first enough to even make an Olympian green with envy, but even then the squealing wasing closer and closer.


    <em>''They are fast, too fast, and the sewage is too wide for me to create something fast enough to block them.''</em>


    <em>''Jackpot''</em>, his eyes shone with barely hidden glee as his eyes spotted a crack near the wall and beyond it, he spotted another area, he did not waste any time as he dashed through it, stopping momentarily to ce a wall.


    As he turned back his eyes widen at what he saw, it was not a group but rather a rat tide that was following him was stopped by the wall created by him.


    A small smile graced his lips as a panting Ryan looked at his work, he turned to leave only to stop as he tried hard to maintain his bnce, as he found himself standing at the very edge of a chasm a few millimetres and he would have fallen into it, and only the sudden sh which signified the small tform appearing underneath him saved him from falling.


    <em>''That was too close.''</em>


    The chasm was at the very least fifty feet wide and went down to dark depths, though he could make out water at the bottom, once again his attention was brought to a terrifying sound.


    The rats were gnawing through his walls fast and they would be after him soon, seeing no other way except to jump down into the water or cross over to the other side, he used the only idea from the game that he had rage quite into his mind.


    Ryan ran as a tform after tform came to underneath his feet, but in real life, there is a thing called structural integrity and when ites in contact with gravity makes a deadly duo.


    Ryan knew that but he did not have any time to think about it or to make a proper bridge as long as he would manage to get to the other side he knew that he would be safe, maybe temporary but safe for now, especially as he could not see either side of the chasm and as such he had no way of knowing where it began and where it ends and looking up he could see the dark sky that was still raining as such he hoped that they would not be able to follow him for quite some time.


    Ryan was halfway through the already leaning bridge that looked as if it would fall off any moment, a loud crash was heard signifying that the wall broke followed with anger filled squealing.


    The rats tried to follow after him but as the bridge created by Ryan incredibly narrow as such most of them fell to the chasm, while the rest ran up the newly constructed bridge.


    <em>''Damn they are first and I bridge is about to fall off, Damn it.''</em>


    With a curse, Ryan jumped up from the end of the bridge that was about to copse before changed into an ethereal form, and then it vanished making the rat fall to the chasm.


    The rat tide was huge, and every rat wanted a piece of him, as such, they werepeting, trying to overtake each other, gnawing, squealing, pushing the one in the front and without proper visibility, they all managed to push the one in the front sending them into the chasm.


    Ryan jumped as he hoped to reach the other side, but s he miscalcted his jump, he might be able to have reached it if he was running at full speed, but trying to make the unstable bridge to cross the chasm had cost him his speed, as such he was only able to touch desperately trying to hold the ground.


    <em>''No, I was so close.''</em> was the only thought that came to his hands slipped.

 Chapter 51: Stealing from the Police (Part-1)

    Chapter 51: Stealing from the Police (Part-1)


    <em>''Safe, I am safe for now.''</em>, was the only thought that ran through Ryan''s mind as he stood on the tform that he created as soon as his hands had slipped, he turned to look at the rat tide that was falling into the chasm.


    <em>''So this is the fabled ''rat race'' that everyone states, the one that none should get involved yet the reality is such that the only way one can advance is to participate and step on others without knowing what lies ahead.''</em>


    A loud hissing sound came to his years as he peered down only for his eyes to widen.


    What seemed to be an army of ratherrge snakes had been invited into an all you can eat buffet, Ryan did not wait any longer as he pulled himself up to the other side while his temporary tform vanished.


    He sent onest look towards the rat tide which he now dubbed as the ''Rat Fall'', as he could not help wonder, <em>''Is that how the Pied Piper from Hamelin felt?''</em>


    With the thought in mind, he quickly left the ''Rat Fall'' behind as he ventured deep into the sewer while slurping the remnants of the soft drinks from his canteen, <em>''hmm, I need a refill.''</em>


    <em>''I can try to make my way up, but what if I pop out in the middle of an undead horde, not to mention I am so far underneath the ground, who makes sewers so deep inside the earth.'',</em> with that thought in mind he discarded the idea as he tried to find shelter, he was tired, hungry and thirsty for some water.


    <em>''If mom knew I was surviving on soft drinks for so long she would be screaming bloody murder about how too many soft drinks would ruin my health.''</em>


    A small graced his lips at the thought of his family, a family that was worrying for him, and at the thought of his family, it drifted to Michalina, which caused his brows to frown.


    <em>''Mom says she is a bit hot-headed and I do not want her to do something drastic such as charging into this city, if I am not wrong I doubt the bikes had enough fuel to reach here not to mention she could simply walk and either of them is dangerous without the trailer to protect her.''</em>


    He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he did not even notice the change in his surroundings until it hit him hard.


    <em>''Huh, where am I what is this ce, I have do not think that rest of the sewage had simr built, this ce looks like as it had been carved out of wood, rotten wood to be precise.''</em>


    <em>''I doubt someone made the sewage out of woods, but what are these symbols.''</em>


    He looked closely at that but he could find no head or tail about it, as such he sighed, <em>''I wish I had a working camera, this symbol look like strange writing, but I cannot make head or tail out of it, this ce is strange.'',</em> With that thought in his mind, he simply touched the walls.


    He felt a sharp tingle in his head as the ever-present voice in his head chimed.


    <em><strong>Host encountered New Architectural and Technological advancements</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Found traces of New Data type in the system.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Recalibrating System.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Retrieving New Data type.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Installing files.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Updating the Library..Complete.</strong></em>


    The new message would have been weed with open arms if he had not been hit by the sudden bout of incredible headache that made him copsed on the ground.


    The headache left as soon as the entire process ended which was only a couple of breaths long, but it was enough for him to cry out in pain as tears gathered in his eyes.


    <em>''What was that?What did it hurt so much when I came across new stuff?''</em>


    A sudden hoarse scream came to his ears as he was jolted from his prone position, as he looked up he was greeted by the sight of a zombie that looked to be fused with the wall itself, expect one its hand and a part of the torso and head everything seemed to be simply fused with the wall.


    The sound of his scream had awakened the zombie as it was desperately tried toe out of the wall that it was fused with.


    <em>''I do not have time for this.''</em> With a sh of steel, he stabbed the zombie''s brains before decapitating the zombie.


    He did not wait long enough to see the head hit the floor as he skedaddled as fast as he could from the ce.


    Lots of corner and turnster he found himself entering a narrow and small area so small that he could only crouch as he moved through the entire space.


    <em>''What ce is this, with so many pipes and wires running, is this some form of maintenance tunnel?''</em>


    <em>''I hope this leads to somece safe I feel so drained already.''</em>


    Ryan did not how much time had passed but it was difficult for him to move, he simply wanted to at the very least sit-down and rest his tired and aching legs.


    "H. He..e"


    "H. He..e"


    A rather faint woman''s voice came to his ears, making him stop as he strained his ears to hear it.


    <em>''Should I go and check it out, it might be a trap, Nah it is a trap, who would shout in such a condition, who or whatever it is may shout how much they want to I am not going.''</em>


    A few minutester he had his head hanging low, as he moved the sound became clearer and clearer he could distinctly make out the sound now.


    "Help Me, somebody anybody please help me."


    Then it was followed by loud creepyughter of a man.


    "Hahaha, scream all you want by no one will save you, wench."


    Ryan took a deep breath each step was bing more and more difficult, he was right in one instance, that it was a trap, a trap that was set in a loop ying the same words again and again, but it was bing mentally straining to hear the scream of plea followed by theughter over and over again, it was driving him insane.


    <em>''Is that light that is shining up ahead?''</em>


    A mentally and physically drained Ryan slowly made his way to the light, he was still in a crouching position for some time now and as such his back was screaming and protesting with a dull ache.


    His eyes did not fool him, as he neared he found that light was shining, he quickly turned off his light so as not to draw unwanted attention.


    He winced slightly from the sudden brightness as he peered through the opening at the side of the service vent that he was using, what he saw made him stumble a bit.


    A tree, a pure tree that seemed to glow with pure ethereal light, it made him feelpletely calm, it made him feel safe, but most importantly it wanted him to simply lie down and rest.


    He was about to give in when the sound of the woman and man came to his ears and this time he was able to witness the reason behind those sounds.


    Tworge creatures were ying with each other, they had the body of the lion, but the front legs looked like they were eagle talons that the back was that of some kind of cows, and the creature was standing on its two hind legs, but that was not the weirdest part, the most unique was its face.


    It had a face that looked like a human, except the eyes, nose and mouth were upside down, even though they upied the proper space, it felt weird but then he noticed the hairs, well more like a mass of wriggling worms seemed to have been tied and ced together substituting the hair.


    The creatures were ying and tousling with each other trying to bite, if it were not for the atmosphere in that room, it suddenly felt wrong and sphemous to him, like something should not exist, yet he was unable to move or tear his eyes away.


    ''Tier 10**'', was written on top of the creatures, as they sound of the hysterical woman and the deranged psychopathic male''s voice poured out of their mouth.


    <strong><em>Host Life in imminent Danger</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Host is advised to run</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Host Life in imminent Danger</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Host is advised to run</em></strong>


    <strong><em></em></strong>


    The message was ring at his head as Ryan did not wait, with great strength the Ryan tore himself from the scene as he pressed forward, the leaving behind the broken part of the tunnel behind he pressed forward, moving as fast as possible.


    He was only a few feet when the noise stopped as loud footsteps along with the sound of sniffing came to his ears making Ryan move as fast as he could while still being crouched.


    He then made the mistake of turning his head to look back, and his breath hitched as he saw therge face of one of the creatures looking at him with a creepy smile on its face.


    He was thankful of the fact that the space was not big enough for the creature to enter with the rm ring in hard in his head, it was screaming for him to get as far as possible, but he feared that he might not be able to get away from whatever the creature was.


    The service finally opened up to what seemed to be a narrow beam, as Ryan stepped on him he found himself to be at least 30 feet up from the ground of a broken and dpidated bunker, with the help of his torch lights he could still spot the remains of broken remains of people.


    <em>''It must be the bunkers of Navch city.'',</em> as he looked forward he sighed, ''Just my luck the remaining part of the beam is broken.''


    <em>''Well, it is time to put my skill with the monkey bars to test.''</em>


    Ryan did not want to waste the limited resource he had, at the same time he did not wish to create an unstable bridge, but more importantly, he did not look forward to the thirty-foot drop.


    He raised his right hand as an Iron handle appeared which he holds on to quickly, <em>''Ok one handle at a time.''</em>


    Ryan would extend his right hand to create a handle and hold on to it, while he would remove the previous one with his left, before holding on to the newly created handle with both hands before he would create another one.


    And soon he managed to cross the hundred-foot distance as he neared another service tunnel he found it to be bolted shut which was only a minor inconvenience as he swiftly removed it.


    <em>''What a waste of mana and resources, even if I get back the resource that I used, it is less than a half, and not the whole thing, such a waste.''</em>


    As he stepped inside the service tunnel, a faint sound of humming came to his ears, but he did not wait to see the source of the sound as he bolted fast through the service tunnel, if he had waited he could see one of the creatures had followed him there and was sniffing the air to find him, while making a weird humming like noise from its mouth.


    <em>''Why anyone would put a service tunnel here that led to the bunker that makes no sense.''</em>


    A few minutester he came across adder which he climbed up, as he opened the hatch that covered it, he found himself inside a room, decorated with the National g and the proud erged emblem of Navch Police force disyed on the wall.


    <em>''I now see why there is a service tunnel as it leads to the Police station''</em>


    <em>''Wait a minute if I am in the Police station, maybe I should take a peek at the armoury and then maybe search for something that I can use.''</em>


    He left the room which he found to be at the highest part of the four-storey building, as he stepped out of the room, he grimaced, half of the building was nothing but rubble, and the cold air of the night hit him as he looked at the empty streets of the ruined city as it was bathed by the moonlight.


    <em>''I am at the surface again huh.''</em>


    <em>''I hope I will not have to face something incredibly dangerous.''</em>


    With that thought, he slowly moved once again turning off his light so as not to draw attention towards him.

 Chapter 52: Stealing from the Police (Part-2)

    Chapter 52: Stealing from the Police (Part-2)


    Ryan looked up towards the sky as he frowned, <em>''From the position of the moon it is already near midnight, ugh I feel so tired, and I miss my bed.''</em>


    <em>''Now how do I climb down, I could use my powers but I do not want to waste any more of my mana, so the old school way then.''</em>


    Ryan managed to lower himself to the ground by holding on to the broken parts of the building and when he was near enough he let it go, as hended with a huff.


    No sooner did hend a snarl hit his ears, as he turned he was greeted with a dog as big as the semi, and eerily simr to the one he had faced all those weeks ago.


    <em>~thwap~</em>


    Was the only sound it heard before it dropped dead, as Ryan looked at with barely concealed annoyance in his eyes, ''I am tired of dealing with all this stuff I want to go home and rest.''


    Ryan suddenly felt a chill down his spine making him stiffen, as a voice came to his ears, "Help Me, somebody anybody please help me."


    Ryan slowly turned towards the source of the sound as he saw beneath the moonlight stood the strange creature with its lips curled into a rather creepy smile.


    <strong><em>Host Life in imminent Danger</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The host is advised ...</em></strong>


    Ryan did not need to be told twice as he bolted trying to run as fast as possible, but s for him the creature was not only faster but strongerpared to him by a wide margin.


    A loud sound of something crashing came to his ears before he was flung towards the still-standing walls of the police station as something hit him hard.


    The air was forcefully ejected from his lungs as he was flung like a rag doll towards the wall of the police station.


    He was sent flying he was able to see the reason for his pain, ''Damn that beast threw a motorcycle at me, my body hurts so much.'', he noted with a slight hint of fear that the beast did not just stand and watch the motorcycle hit him hard, it had already started to make its way towards him fast.


    Ryan''s right hand glowed as he fell through a newly created hole into what seemed to be a room with one side closed from the rubble and the other had a jail door, he let out a gasp of pain before he stood up with a wince, with intent to run as fast away from it as possible.


    But s the injuries he suffered was great making it difficult to run but he managed to reach and open the door only of the creature to enter by erging the hole that he had recently made.


    The jail door was sealed shut immediately as Ryan turned around to run only to fall face-first to the ground as he felt something holding his left leg.


    The creature had caught him and had begun pulling him towards it, Ryan raised his left hand as he soon found himself tied securely to the ground courtesy of steel chains, while the creature pulled him harder, so hard that he felt his legs would be torn from his body.


    He aimed as he fired his gun, which seemed to annoy the beast more as it squeezed his legs hard enough to crack it, but it did not stop there, its hand glowed as Ryan could not help but let out a scream of pain.


    <em>''This bastard not only broke my leg but now it is boiling my blood.''</em>


    Ryan could only try to fight by firing more and more bullets but it only did superficial damage and made the creature more and more enraged.


    While the pain became more and more unbearable to the point he simply wanted to give up.


    When all of a sudden the creature stopped before letting out a bone-chilling cry it scampered off through the hole that it had made.


    Ryany down on the ground, he simply wanted to lie down on the ground and rest but he knew that something that made the creature flee must be even more dangerous, not to mention he did not want the look at the gift horse in the mouth.


    His left leg was broken and after the ordeal, it was difficult for him to stand up as such he began to crawl away from the jail door.


    He soon found himself lying in front of what seemed to be arge metallic door with an electronic lock, Ryan somehow managed to climb up holding on to the door handle before he began to remove the locks.


    <em>~chirp~ <strong>~chirp~</strong></em>


    A familiar chirping sound came to his ears, a sound he was familiar with, it was the same sound that was emitted by those bat-like creatures that turned two Tier 7 boars to a mere skeleton, but this time the chirping was even louder signifying an evenrger colony of the bat-like creature.


    He quickly entered through the door sealing it shut as he fell on his back he just hoped those creatures would not be able to find him here.


    He quickly turned as he switched on his light to get the better look of his surroundings.


    <em>''No way, I am inside the armoury, lucky!''</em>


    The adrenaline hadpletely worn off, and the full weight of his injuries and his tiredness hit him full force, his stomach churned as he removed his helmet and mask fast before vomiting blood on the ground, blood that was steaming hot.


    Ryan swayed to the side as he tried to stay awake but failed eventually as he fell to the side fainting.


    An unknown timeter Ryan opened his eyes as he was greeted to the dying and dim light of the shoulder torch.


    He immediately winced as the pain hit him full force, his leg was hurting bad, though his blood was no longer boiling anymore.


    <em>''I would have been dead if it were not for the upgrades in my body, the motorcycle itself would have seen me as nothing but smear on the ground, but the blood boiling, it was too much.''</em>


    He ced his hand on the lever of the hand crank generator ced near his hip, as he began to turn it fast, after a lot of turnings and making his hand muscle to feel the burn of pain the torches were fully charged.


    As the light flooded the room, he was greeted by rows of guns and crates of ammunition ced in that room, making a small smile creep upon his face.


    <em>''Well, look at all this loot, here I suddenly feel as if I, a level 1 character had spawned in front of thest boss of a game, andnot only managed to escape but also find some incredible loot.''</em>


    A small rumble of his stomach announced his hunger making him sigh, he opened his backpack as he found a couple of bags of biscuits and a packet of chips and onest bottle of soft drink.


    His head hung low at the revtion, as he whispered to himself, <em>''Well I am done for, a couple of packets of biscuits, a packet of chips and myst bottle of liquid, then what am I going to do.''</em>


    A certain television presenters face floated up in front of his eyes, making him gag at the thought, ''<em>No way am I going to drink my urine.''</em>


    He winced at the pain from his broken leg reared its head,<em> ''I will need a splint for it.''</em>


    Ciara picked the piece of vegetable off her te as she let out a hum of pleasure, as she looked at the expectant eye of the person who grew it she could not help but crack a small smile as she spoke, "It tastes amazing, never in my life have I tasted such wonderful piece of vegetable."


    The person in question simply bowed as she spoke, "Thank you for yourpliment."


    Ciara shook her head as she spoke, "No thank you for your hard work, if it were not for your help we were simply stumbling in the dark, I do not know how I can repay you with all the help we have received from you."


    The Elven woman shook her head as she spoke, "You have already given us shelter and protection, and that was more than we could have asked for this few days since that disaster had been tough but now we have a ce to call home at least."


    Ciara did not speak anymore as she dug into her breakfast before a small frown appeared in her face, noticing the frown Zhan could not help but ask with a sympathetic look on her face, "Are you thinking about your children?"


    Ciara looked at her as she spoke with a nod, "Yes, I cannot help but think about them, I can get warm bed and food but what about them, and in what condition they are in."


    Zhan gave a small squeeze to her arm as she spoke, "Do not worry Ciara, your children would be safe, Michalina is not only strong but has a good head on her shoulder, she would protect her younger brother."


    Ryan took a deep breath as he felt the sting of thirst and pangs of hunger, what would he not do for some good warm meal and a nice soft bed, but he was stuck here with a broken leg and fever, stuck inside the armoury, which was fully stocked with police gears ranging from riot control to anti-terrorist ones.


    He had used them to create a grenadeuncher for his rifle, he had repaired his armour, had a splint, got a few more bullets among many other things but he was unable to defeat the pain and hunger that he was filling.


    He was running a high fever, fever high enough that he lost his conscious for some time, yet there was nothing he could do, the damage from his blood being boiled was so great that he was being continuously being asked to seek medical attention, but where would he find one in this city.


    He wanted to scream and rage on in anger but he did not feel he had the energy to do so and as such he sat in the corner of the darkroom without his armour staring into the distance reminiscing about happier times.


    He pped himself to bring him back his focus as he whispered to himself, "There is nothing you would gain from pity partying stand up and work you have to return home, home where you would get food and a warm bed."


    Donning his armour he piled therge crates which held weapons and other necessary kinds of stuff, as he climbed on top of it to reach the vent, carefully removing it, he managed to climb in it with great difficulty, the ordeal had not only broken his leg but he was sure that he had multiple bones that were at the very least bruised badly if not fractured making his body hurt a lot.


    The vent itself was not that wide, he could only manage to drag himself forward and if something attacked him from behind there was nothing he could do, as there was no way for him to turn at all.


    He crawled through the vent until it led him to a room, a room that made his eyes widen as he saw its contents as a smile appeared for the first time.

 Chapter 53: The Grand Escape (Part-1)

    Chapter 53: The Grand Escape (Part-1)


    Ryan looked at the big six-wheeled vehicle in front of him, a six-wheeled behemoth that was created to transverse through a battlefield at an incredibly high speed carrying troops from one ce to another, while ignoring attacks from variousndmines, RPGs, and bullets.


    Navch city police had been able to get their hands on it from the military, there was a huge protest against weaponizing the police even further because of it, and now it stood in all its glory standing in front of Ryan, it had been delivered a couple of weeks just before the tragedy struck and from the looks of it, it had been stuck here along with the other four police vehicle inside the garage.


    His eyes momentarily went towards the location of the garage door as he let out a sigh of relief seeing them promptly closed, but the ceiling was a different matter, part of it looked as if it would copse under a simple touch, the walls had held off well enough but were not in nest of shape either.


    <em>''I have to finish creating my vehicle fast, the walls are not strong enough to hold back that beast if it returned to hunt me and time is of the essence, not to mention those bats out there.''</em>


    He limped towards the vehicle as he began to inspect it closely. The vehicle was brand new for all intent and purpose.


    <em>''Hmm it is nice though I have to modify it a bit like the turret would have to go, I have to reinforce the windows and work on the engine the fuel tank, fuel umtor, ugh so much work and I have no idea when I may be attacked again, on top of that I am hungry, tired, hurt, thirsty I need a good rest, food and water, damn it.''</em>


    He looked at the vehicle for a moment before he pped his cheeks hard as he mumbled to himself, "Since when did you be a whining idiot, you are a doer so stop your whining and start doing it."


    He limped forward as he thoroughly inspected the other cars, to use them as spare parts to be used for his newest project.


    <em>''I wish I could get my machines roaring but they make noise, lots of noise and as such, they are no good not to mention the problem with powering them up, without Michalina I would need to work a lot just to kick start even a single of those machines, so using my hand it is then.''</em>


    He did not dare remove his armour or any of his belongings at all as he was unsure when he might be attacked again and he was sure by now he smelt so bad that his innerwear had the power tomit mass murder.


    The four other vehicles were quickly dismantled, as their doors, engines and various other parts were quickly removed from them, before arranging them in an orderly manner.


    <em>''Okay so I have four engines and I have yet to touch the one on the ''Behemoth''.''</em>


    Ryan looked at the cross between the South African Marauder and the American MRAP, standing proudly on its six wheels.


    Ryan created adder to climb on it with difficulty as he opened the hood as he peeked inside and was greeted with the sight of a 6 cylinder diesel engine making him whistle in appreciation.


    With great difficulty, he removed the engine and ced it along with the ever-growing pile of engines before he began to take apart its electronics, the lights, fuel tank, using a group of jacks and a lot of pain and hard work he managed to raise it high enough to remove its tires.


    When he suddenly had an epiphany, "Well I could drive and all but my left leg is as good as dead, I cannot fold it from my knee, not with the split that is supporting my broken leg, I have to find an alternative, I can be use the elerator and the break but using the clutch as well would be too much, hmm what to do maybe if I redesign the system a little bit."


    With that thought in mind, he began to work on the tires first, and foremost, he did not wish to test the reliability of using multiple jacks and if by chance the vehicle falls over it would ruin everything.


    To recreate his preferred type of tires like the one that was being used in the trailer, Ryan had to use up all the tires that were avable to him, the six tires of the behemoth, the four police cars, any spare tires he could find in the boot, also the tower of made up of ten normal and the special big tires at one corner of the building.


    He quickly changed the tires and by then he was once again feeling hot and feverish, his body wanted to lie down and rest but he refused he took a small sip from the soft drinks as he pressed forward.


    The voice in his head had been sending warning after warning but he had long since stopped paying any heed to it, his only thought was that he needed to work and go home.


    He took the handle that was connected to multiple jacks as he lowered the vehicle slowly when he managed he finally managed to lower the vehicle he could no longer stand as he copsed on the floor heaving for breath his vision was swimming and he was having difficulty in breathing, with difficulty he tore the mask of his face before losing his consciousness.


    An unknown timeter Ryan opened his eyes once again as he sat up, his throat was burning from thirst as such he once again donned his helmet and he began to drink through the straw to quench it, and then refilling his canteen from what was thest bottle of soft drink that was avable to him.


    <em>''If only I had some water.''</em>, with great difficulty he stood up he had work to do and he was nowhere near aplishing his goals.


    <em>''Now get rid of the turret and seal the turret ess, I think I can use the materials from the other cars to do this easily, but first I believe I have finished making the mana collectors while I was unconscious yet again, I will ce them and finish working on the fuel tank and the rest of the connections.''</em>


    With that thought in mind a limping and wobbling Ryan began his work, the seats behind the driver had been deconstructed as he began to ce recreate a system simr to that of the trailer but unlike it, he was making sure to ce them permanently the reason was simple, he neither had the patience nor did he wanted to waste his already dwindling and precious mana to deal with it more than necessary.


    Ryan like the vehicle that was dubbed as ''Goliath'', he loved it, as it was made in such a way that almost everything could be essed from the inside, he had just finished remaking the entire fuel system, sealing the doors of the ''Goliath'' so that the only entrance was the one that enables to driver to climb in was his door, he had even removed the passenger seat.


    <em>''Now time to deal with the electronics and rest of the stuff with the engine at the very end.''</em>


    He pulled out the wires as he began to rewire the vehiclepletely using the wires from the cars as spares since apocalypse many things have changed and many things may have stopped working but current still flowed through the copper wire.


    He had refitted the lights all around the Goliath six at the front, two in the side and two at the back, he did not see any need to work with the extra lights that were needed in a police vehicle nor did he see the need of any indicators as such they were not touched at all.


    He worked on the consol which now was slightly changed it had different buttons that he was slowly attaching to various functions that he had installed within the vehicle, like the lights the AC...


    His eyes widen as his thoughts halted at the mention of the AC as he spoke with tion in his voice, "Wait a minute AC means condensation, and condensation means water"


    An unholy gleam appeared in his eyes as he began to work fast, he would have his water soon he began to reconstruct his vehicle, the AC was not the only method he had avable to him he had ess to even more wondrous substance by the name of a fuel tank, that stored liquid mana which was cold enough to freeze water, thereby another condensation method.


    As such an hourter he had already erected a rudimentary system, he had a generator that powered the electrical system but most importantly it recharged the battery that can be used to start everything, the generator was albeit a small but powerful one that can be started by hand using a small crank that can be attached to is momentary.


    As such Ryan was working furiously with it, though with each turn a feeling of nausea hit him, "I cannot keep up with this long, just a little bit and I would be done.''


    Then all of a sudden with a small rumble the generator started to work on its own as the liquid mana began to slowly feed it as it powered the electronics, the battery but most importantly the AC.


    The newly created dashboard had a small canteen holder with a pipe attached to it, the pipe was attached with the AC system, the system that was now being used to create water.


    Ryan looked patiently at the nozzle of the pipe when all of a sudden small drops of water began to drop and soon it was filling up one of the empty bottles that he had with him.


    He watched each drop with undivided attention and when the bottle was only half full he picked it and eagerly drank its contents.


    The cool water hit his throat quenching the fire of thirst as a small satisfied moan escaped from his lips as he was able to drink water for the first time in a while.


    The water seemed to reenergize him as well as renewed his hope, "Well I better finish my work and I will be out of this city soon."


    With the bottle filled up and the batter charged Ryan turned off the generator as he had no use for it for now, except in an emergency like when the battery is dead.


    He began to work on the engine as he did numbness began to spread through his fingers as they began to gain a darkish colour making him sigh, ''<em>Well I will have to rest for now otherwise I might suffer necrosis and the worst case being stuck in aa.''</em>


    A quick napter he which was broken by pangs of hunger against which he made the futile attempt to alleviated it by consuming thest few pieces of chips he had and thus making run out of food.


    The engine took him at least an hour to finish, it was now upgraded from 6 to 8 cylinder, both turbo and supercharged which made him redecorate the hood a bit.


    After a quick check of the system Ryan stood in front of his creation with a wide smile on his face as he studied it carefully, <em>''My ticket back home has been finished.''</em>


    With the snowplough in the position it had gained a rather menacing look, though he would have preferred to paint it but s his options were limited.


    A few more minutester he was armed and ready, he slowly made his way to the garage door, as he removed a small part of the door to take a peek on the outside, he grimaced at that as he spoke, "Great from the looks of it, it is night time just great."


    Suddenly, his eyes widen as he spotted a creature looking directly towards him, even after he had made sure to only remove enough for his eyes to look outside he got noticed, but before he could the creature opened its jaws and let out an ear-piercing scream.

 Chapter 54: The Grand Escape (Part-2)

    Chapter 54: The Grand Escape (Part-2)


    To Ryan, it looked as if someone had managed to record the sound of nails being dragged over a chalkboard, and then they had decided to broadcast it with the loudest of loudspeakers that they couldy their hands on.


    <em>~thap~</em>


    With that Ryan had killed the screamer but the damage was done, with a swap of his hand the door of the garage vanished as he limped back towards his vehicle as fast as he could, the growls, the screams the hisses wereing closer and closer and he did not dare to turn back and look.


    He had ced a small set of stairs that let him climb up and reach the driver seat, he had just closed and locked the door when the first of the creature stepped into the police garage snarling as it ran towards Ryan''s car.


    Ryan looked calmly at the creature as he simply tied his belt, and then flipped the switch as the light-flooded making the creatures that had begun to stumble as he ced his foot on the elerator, the clutch was reduced to mere button on the steering wheel, and the gear stick was reced by paddle shifters.


    The eight-cylinder engine roared in fury as the air was sucked in through the blower as the 10 ton Goliath sprang forward, crushing the creatures underneath its wheels.


    As he drove Ryan''s nce fell on to a certain part of a dashboard particrly on a pair of switches, as he pushed them two miniature screens went online broadcasting everything from right side and back of the ''Goliath''.


    Something that he was not only grateful for but also a bit proud of himself when he was able to recreate them, it had been difficult having to climb and travel through the vents with a broken leg but he had managed but the most important thing that he had managed to aplish ording to himself was the creation of a small water tank that now upied the ce where the passenger seat had once upied.


    Ryan had been somewhere near the centre of the city since he had arrived here via ''Air Eagle'', now he had to navigate through the rubble to reach the dam, then cross it.


    It was easier said than done, the roads were broken, the rubbles were piling on the street blocking it, but what made it feel the cold grasp of death was the fact that he had managed to attract a fairlyrge amount of creatures, with the weakest that he had spotted being Tier 3.


    He pressed that clutch button on his steering wheel as he changed the gear, only to take a sharp turn as the Goliath narrowly misses what seemed to be the biggest abomination he had seen, it was over fifty foot tall and he had no wish to see a live demonstration of what happens when you ram your Goliath on a such arge monstrosity.


    <em>''No matter what Michalina and others hadined about I am d that mom taught me how to drive like a decent human.''</em>


    He could not help but shout out at the top of his lungs, <strong>"I AM GLAD, YOU HEAR ME, I AM GLAD."</strong>


    Though, he conveniently overlooked the fact that the right side wheels of the Goliath were dangling on-air as he performed a marvellous wheelie.


    Ryan made a sharp turned towards right as he sped up for a moment before he mmed his breaks hard as because in front of him there was no road for him to drive, the buildings had copsed in such a way that the road waspletely blocked, the sight in front of him made his heart sink into despair.


    "Damn it, Damn it!", he cursed out loud as he pulled the lever setting the car on the reverse before he made aplete 180 turn, before setting it to forward once again.


    The sight in front of him made his hand holding the steering shake for a moment, he closed his eyes as he prayed, "To whoever Goddess or God is listening please keep me safe."


    He put ced his leg firmly on the elerator as Goliath sped forward with renewed vigour, a horde had managed to gather behind him, the first creature was hit hear as it was flung a good few distances away, the second was crushed under the wheels and like a tsunami he broke through their ranks.


    "With the roar of the engine I do not doubt that more of them would be attracted, I just hope I can get to safety fast."


    He whispered to himself as he drove over the creatures, suddenly one of the buildings in front of him crumbled as yet another abomination lumbered in front of him, he was barely able to avoid the rubble head-on but that did not mean it was not that did not get scratched.


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he saw arge car hurtling towards him fast, he somehow managed to move to dodge only for another to follow closely after him, he hastily turned to the right, deciding to the forgo the road as his car took a sharp turn to the right as the tires screeched before headfirst plunging into a broken shop, while the car that thrown towards it fell like a meteor nearly missing it.


    Goliath ploughed through the shop, which turned out to be cake shop of a rather well-known brand that had quite the reputation in that region.


    <em>''Aww, I just destroyed the cake shop of my favourite brand.''</em>


    At the thought of those memories of his time in the cake shop popped into his mind making him drool a bit before he shook his head to clear himself of the thought as his stomach rumbled with hunger.


    <em>''If only I had a nice BGM then it would have been a nice scene from some Hollywood movie.''</em>


    The night air was not only filled by the sound of a car engine but also the screams and howls of many creatures, as more and more were attracted to it, some were so big that they looked like giants dwarfing any creature that Ryan had ever seen in his life.


    The sounds of barking came to his ears as he looked at therge dog-like creatures that had tryst from time to time was nking him.


    <em>''Normal tactics of predators in a pack, they nk and then one of them go for the kill.''</em>, his eyes went towards the screen before a small smirk formed on his lips, ''<em>Bingo found you, so you thought you could deal with me from behind.''</em>


    He increased the speed for a moment before suddenly mming the brakes hard, a loud thud echoed as the rear canine-like creature hit the back of the car hard, denting it while the other two sped forward.


    Ryan backed a bit as a howl of pain came to his ears, before he once again took a turn as he sped forward, <em>''I wish I had ess to SAT-NAV now.''</em>


    Once again the creatures began pursued while one of them stayed behind with broken leg, one of the creatures lunged at him only for goliath to suddenly move to hit him then it took a sharp left turn thereby running over the other once again snapping another pair of legs.


    "Help Me, somebody anybody please help me."


    The voice once again came to his ears as his breath hitch, as he slowly turned his head with a slight shudder as he was greeted with the smiling face of the monster that had broken his legs.


    The smile made him feel vited and sick, and he knew he would have severe nightmares for a long time even if he managed to survive.


    He decided to focus on the front keep his eyes further away from the creature, when another voice came to his ears, "Haha "


    Ryan wanted to bang his head because of his horrible luck, "Not the other one as well."


    <em>''Their smile is so creepy I feel as if I am stuck between two paedophiles.''</em>


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he saw the ground in front of started cracking, making his eyes wide in horror,<em> ''Damn it.''</em>


    He applied every brake that was in his car, as it skids to a halt as Ryan turned the steering wheel hard so that his carry drifted a bit before he pressed on the elerator, the two creatures themselves moved away from the cracking ground.


    Ryan managed to move his car just in time when the ground erupted as he saw the ugliest snake-like thing he had ever see, he thought it to be a snake because of itsrge body size, but what separated it from others was its head, it looked as if two smaller head were fused to a muchrger head.


    It opened its jaws wide before it let out a roar that rattled his bones, a roar that was answered with equal favour by the two creatures.


    <em>''Damn it, what is this about creatures and their loud shouts trying to make me deaf.''</em>


    As more and more roars and screams came to his ears he could not help but let out a tired sigh, <em>''Maybe I should have put up a neon sign with the words, </em>''Juicy live human free for all banquet''<em>, it would have been much better that way.''</em>

 Chapter 55: The Grand Escape (Part-3)

    Chapter 55: The Grand Escape (Part-3)


    Michalina stood on top of the highest branch of the tree as she looked forward towards the unknown with her bloodshot eyes.


    Today was the third night since her brother had been kidnapped, she had quickly gathered a task force to rescue him but s her luck was not on her side, the motorcycles her brother had created ran out of fuel, as such she had to wait for the alternative.


    An alternative that was provided by Ylerias, as Cnna one of her honour guards could tame animals as such with her help they had managed to travel this far.


    Now they had taken shelter atop a tree, just like thest couple of days, the animals were let loose to roam nearby to rest before they would be put to work again sometime tomorrow.


    "Michalina you should rest."


    A voice came to her ears as she turned to look at Dasyra who had volunteered for the mission as she shook her head as she spoke, "Sorry but sleeping is nowhere near my mind now."


    Dasyra sends a sympathetic look towards her as Michalina continued, "How can I sleep when I do not know anything about my brother is not safe."


    Dasyra mentally winced at that, her orders that she had received from her Lady was to simply help Michalina gain a closure, she knew that by now Ryan was already dead.


    As Michalina nced to the night sky for a moment she felt a bit amazed, she always had a thing for the astronomy, the best time of her childhood was when she would go on a camping trip with Ciara and Ryan, they would venture far away from the civilization and spend hours looking at that night sky with a telescope.


    <em>''Brother, are you watching the sky as I am now, it has be so much beautiful without the pollution covering and the lights of the civilization overshadowing it, so many stars are now visible to the naked eye.''</em>


    "What is that?"


    The awe and fear in Dasyra''s voice drew attention towards the horizon which seemed as to be lit ame with an orange glow.


    Michalina herself could not help but whisper out loud, "What is that?"


    Then the ground shook for a moment as Michalina quickly gripped the tree trunk to prevent herself from taking a fifty-foot fall, which was soon followed by arge boom.


    Jessica was awoken by the shaking and therge sound as she could not help but shout out loud, "What the hell was that?"


    Michalina turned towards her sister in arms as she retorted back, "How the hell will I know what was that."


    Nikita bit her lips as she spoke, "Do you think it might be a nuke?"


    Michalina narrowed her eyes for a moment as she spoke, "No idea, though should it not be a mushroom cloud."


    Cnna send a nk look towards the speaker as she spoke, "What do you all mean by that?"


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Well a Nuke "


    Meanwhile, a few minutes back Ryan was at his wit''s end, he was driving in a circle he was sure of it otherwise why would he encounter zombies that looked like roadkill or why did he pass by the same cake shop, and then the broken streets from whence the serpentine creature had slithered out of.


    But that was not the worse the creatures had tried to block him and even if he had the Goliath he was not sure that it could withstand so many assaults from such powerful beasts.


    A few of the lights at the front had stopped ramming through different creatures and sometimes buildings seemed to have taken its toll.


    A ruined structure exploded as Goliath punched through it moving at over a hundred kilometres per hour, ramming through any obstacles in his way he found himself on what seemed to be railway tracks.


    As he raced through it he saw something in a distance that somehow gave him home,<em> ''Those are oil tankers and if I am not wrong they lead straight to the oil terminal, and bingo Navch City Oil terminal, it is by the side of the river, and if follow downstream, the dam will be there and I will be able to get out of the city.''</em>


    As he neared the terminal his hopes were dashed as something collided from the side, he looked with horror as the w of the creature dug deep into the side of the goliath.


    "Not you again!", he could help but shout out in anger as he managed to take control of his car.


    The creatures creepy smiled returned full force making Ryan suddenly feel sick, which turned to horror as the creature''s fingers seemed to pierce through the thick steel door as it began to slowly rip it off.


    The steel door groaned as it was being slowly being bent by the creature, and it then made the mistake of opening its mouth to make a sound, only for Ryan''s rifle to be shoved into its mouth.


    "Bye Bye", with that Ryan pulled the trigger, of histest addition to his rifle, a grenadeuncher.


    ~thuk~, a soft sound came from theuncher as itunched grenade that was inside it directly into the creature''s throat towards its destination the windpipe.


    The creature choked onto the grenade as it let go of the Goliath before it fell back, wing on its throat before it exploded ripping apart a part of its chest as well as its throat in the process.


    "It worked", a smirk appeared on his face as he looked forward it morphed into that of panic as he quickly turned the steering wheel as he narrowly missed an oil tanker.


    <em>''I have to fix the door''</em>, Ryan sighed as he looked at the door that was somewhat still attached to the vehicle.


    He held the steering wheel with his left hand as his right hand glowed as he tried to fix the door, only for him to stop as the second one of the pair came towards him with a snarl.


    Ryan aimed his rifle as he pulled the trigger, his ammunition had a small upgrade, unlike the normal bullets this one was a bit different in the way that it had two stages, first one was when Ryan pulled the trigger the bullet it left the muzzle of the gun flew and hit the creature, and upon hitting it the outer shell broke as the inner content was fired in, and coincidently it was an explosive round.


    No matter how strong a creature might seem to be, it always had a weakness and the weakness came in the way of its eyes, the round hit the eyeball as it pierced and exploded blinding the creature, the pain was so great that it failed to grip on to the Goliath but it did manage to crash and make a dent on to the side not to mention for a split second Ryan thought it might cause the Goliath to simply turnover.


    But what he did not see was that when he fired the bullet a couple of them missed and hit one of the oil tankers that was standing innocently nearby, it hit the tanker puncturing a hole in it before it exploded inside it.


    <em>''Damn I need to get my door fixed ASAP.''</em>


    It was thest thought that passed through his mind, before a terrifying explosion tripped through the tank, setting off a chain reaction as the nearby tankers began to explode.


    Ryan let out a scream of fear as he pressed his foot on the elerator as sounds of explosions came from all around him.


    He took a sharp turn to the right before he let go of the steering wheel as he went on to fix the door of the Goliath.


    Navch City Oil Terminal was so big enough to store enough oil to supply the entire country for a year or two easily by itself and now because of Ryan''s action it had been lit ame.


    Normally if the oil is left around in the open it tends to vaporize but along with the change in the world oil had a change in its properties overnight, it was now sticky, highly mmable, explosive not to mention many more times difficult to extinguish and no longer does it turn to gaseous form under normal temperature.


    Since that day, after the earthquake, many of the tanks had ruptured and its contents had spilt over, but luckily it had yet to find a single spark of fire, and that was the case until Ryan came into the picture.


    The door for a moment turned a bit holographic before it was once again spanking brand new, but Ryan had other things to worry about namely the me and trying to keep the Goliath under control as it slipped on the oil that was lying on the ground.


    As the explosions went on behind him he spotted the exit, the exit that guided him towards the dam, and the road that would take him across.


    It was then it happened one of thergest tanks that were still somehow in shape exploded, in a colossal explosion.


    An explosion that even Michalina who was at least a couple of dozens of kilometres away from the dam heard loud and clear.


    An explosion that lit up the horizon like it was the sun itself, and it was the same explosion that gobbled up the Goliath in its fiery hot jaws, as the sound destroyed Ryan''s eardrums turning him deaf, as Goliath found itself airborne as it somersaulted in the air.

 Chapter 56: The Grand Escape (Part-4)

    Chapter 56: The Grand Escape (Part-4)


    Ryan had a soft spot for a certain hero from theic world, a ''hero'' who others might call an antihero but to him, he was a hero nheless, a hero that had ming skull riding on his extremely cool and as Ryan would eloquently put it as a ''badass'' motorcycle he would have always dreamt of owning, after all, who does not like such a vehicle.


    Ryan''s dream had been fulfilled as well as he was pped by the harsh reality, therge explosion caused by the tank was the only beginning the shockwave and the heat triggered every other tank that had been somewhat intact, even the oil on the ground was not spared.


    Ryan felt as if he had been hit by a sledgehammer, the explosion destroyed his eardrums making him deaf, he threw up the blood inside his mask as the ss had cracked, he felt weightless for a moment as the only thing that kept him on his seat was the seat belt, while the Goliath did a few good somersaults in the air.


    A small touch of his hand made sure that the ss that covered his eyes was repaired as therge explosion had managed to crack it.


    The Goliath came down with a loud thud cracking the already cracked ground even more, as its wheels buckled for a moment before it speeds forward, but unlike before it was not only shaking but it let out rattling noises.


    A dazed Ryan quickly came out of his shocked state as he took control of the steering wheel as the car rushed forward. Ryan winced hard as the impact of the car falling was so great that for a moment he thought his spine would snap.


    But, that was a bit, not the only problem that he had to face, the car''s shock absorbers and spring system had been damaged to the point that it was practically non-existent, as such he could feel every bumps and pothole on the road.


    A copious application of his skillster he had managed to somehow repair the cracked windshield as well as his window, the rear camera had been destroyed and a nce at that side camera view had confirmed his fear, the entire Goliath was ame it gets a nice oil bath courtesy of the exploding tanks.


    There was nothing he could do about it, as the entire outside had taken the looks of hell on earth, the fire was spreading first an explosion had caused what left of the city to copse as well.


    Unknown to Ryan the fire did not stop there, the leaked oil had managed to find an entrance and travel into the sewer mixing with the water, now the oil was set ame with an explosive gusto, thereby causing even more damage to the city.


    The ground cracked and trembled underneath as the ming vehicle ran through the broken streets near the banks of the river.


    Ryan''s grip on the steering wheels hardens as he stared forward, with most of the lights destroyed he had to rely only on his eyes.


    Ryan was frightened beyond belief never had he thought that such a thing would, never would he have thought that one day he would go deaf, he would never again hear all those wondrous sounds, he would never be able to hear anyone speak to him, he would not hear his family''s voice, even if he had to listen to his mother''s terrible luby that was torturous he missed it.


    His vision became hazy as he blinked a few times as it became clear again, <em>''I will deal with everythingter but first I have to get out of here first, the dam is close, I just have to cross it.''</em>


    If Ryan was able to hear he would have heard the sounds and cries of creatures trying to outrun the fire that was gaining more and more strength, if he was able to hear he would have heard how bad his car was damaged to the point it was letting out a rattling sound, if he was able to hear he would have learned about the danger ahead.


    Goliath rammed his way through the broken cars and creatures as it made its way to the dam letting the burning city behind, to onlookers it looked like a burning car from hell, even the tires were lit ame.


    A smile graced on Ryan''s face as he looked at the entrance to the dam, he had to just cross it and he would be far away from the city.


    A loud screech was heard as the car took a sharp turn as it climbed on the top of the dam, the seen in front of him made his breath hitch.


    <em>''How could I forget about the fact that people used to use the dam as a bridge, after that day their cars, buses and trucks might be left behind.''</em>


    Ryan drove over a creature as he tried to bulldoze his way through the various vehicles that were stranded on top of the dam.


    If he had his hearing he would be a bit more cautious about approaching the dam that was groaning and crackling loudly.


    The Navch Dam had been touted as the greatest aplishment for the Republic of Balonia for nothing, as it had held itself strong even after suffering such a devastating quake, holding back the millions of gallons of water.


    But, today the explosion did something that even therge earthquake that shook the city failed to do, it failed topletely break the dam, true it left cracks all around that made it leak water but it still held in one ce, until today that is.


    The explosive shockwave rattled the dam enough so that the cracks spread fast, as more and more water began to leak from it, and then it happened, the Navch Dam the pride of the nation began to copse.


    Ryan was only halfway through when the dam shook rather violently, to the point that it was bing rather difficult for him to drive.


    <em>''What in the hell is this thing? How will I drive now? Why is it shaking so much?''</em>


    His answer came quickly as he watched part of the dam copsed along with the car that was on the side, as he sped up, as more and more cracks became visible to him.


    <em>''Is the dam breaking? How cursed is my luck? Just a bit more and I would have been safe.''</em>


    The Goliath collided with a slipping car as it veered off course as Ryan wrestled control of his car with great difficulty, as he mmed his feet on the elerator as hard as possible.


    It was bing rather difficult for him to see as the inside of the Goliath seemed to be getting filled up with smoke, even his filter was having difficulty filtering properly with each passing second, but Ryan did not have time to pay any heed to it.


    <em>''The end of the dam, I can see it, please let me reach it please! Please! Please!''</em>


    He prayed and pleaded as the part of the dam he currently began to tilt dangerously along with it so did the Goliath.


    <em>''Come on, please climb please climb.''</em>


    Ryan''s heart pounded as he gained a fearful look on his face, he knew that if he fell in the water he would be dead, no matter what kind of vehicle he was driving even if the vehicle could survive a mine st without a scratch he did not have so much confidence about it surviving being buried under so much volume of water, not to mention the various creatures that live in water nowadays.


    As such with all his might he pushed the Goliath to the limit, as he tried to escape from the watery grave.


    It had been a few hours since dawn and Michalina had broken off the camp, and Cnna had gathered their ride, which was coincidentlyrge goats.


    Jessica counted to ten before she hopped on top of it with her eyes closed, as she held on to the horns of the creature like a lifeline.


    Nikita snickered at that as Jessica shot her hate-filled re that made Nikita giggle out loud.


    "I know I might sound like a spoilsport, but we are about to enter a highly-popted area by midday, as such keep your eyes peeled as we are abo."


    Michalina''s words were stopped as Cnna''s gasped filled shout came to her ears, "What is that? Is that some new kind of creature?"


    Michalina looked at the direction as her binocr quickly found its way in front of her eyes, as she looked at the thing at the distance her voice choked with emotion as she spoke, "It is a car, a car that means that must be Ryan."


    She did not wait for others as she pped her goat hard enough to make it run fast, while she clung on to it for her dear life, <em>''Who knew riding an animal without a saddle was so hard.''</em>


    As she neared her eyes narrowed, she could see the ck car that was being driven might not be the fastest one but at the same time it was not steady as well as it was having difficulty staying in a straight line.


    When all of a sudden it took a sharp turn before stopping as it hit a tree, she hit her goat harder as she urged it to pick up speed.


    Each step looked a mile and each second a year for her, her heart was pounding hard, as she neared the car then it stopped seeing the badly damaged condition of it.


    She could hardly recognize the car from the burned and destroyed exterior, only one military vehicle came to her mind, but seeing the damage made to the car her heart as well her to stop.


    Jessica managed to reach by hermander''s side as she spoke, "That vehicle looks like it came from the warzone, burned so badly, look a few parts of it are still burning.


    When all of a sudden the door of the vehicle swung open, and then a figure fell off on the ground from inside if the vehicle, as hey there unmoving.


    Michalina hit her goat so hard that it let out a cry of pain before it sped towards the person who was lying on the ground.


    Michalina jumped off the back of her goat as she scrambled towards a figure lying on the ground were a tactical armour that she was extremely familiar with.


    Her hands shook slightly as she tried to touch the fallen figure only to be stopped by another hand grasping on hers.


    Michalina red at the offending person who in turn gave her a soft smile as she spoke, "You should be cautious while treating an injured person because handling them wrongly might aggravate their condition so why don''t you go and set up a perimeter while I give a check-up on Ryan."


    Michalina gave a hesitant nod as Nikita with the help of another elf by the name of Maralyn came by her side as she helped to turn over Ryan''s unconscious body.


    "Are you sure this is the Ryan person that you are searching for?"


    Nikita nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes I am, not only is he wearing the same clothes but as far as I know only he has the power to make the technology work again.


    She then gently removed his mask and helmet before letting out a gasped shock, as most of Ryan''s face near his mouth was caked with dried blood and the part that was still uncovered by blood was red like a well-cooked lobster.


    Maralyn touched Ryan''s head as she spoke with a frown, "He is running a high fever, and I am going to give him a thorough check-up."


    Maralyn then touched Ryan as her hands glowed for a moment while her brows furrowed before she spoke with a troubling expression in her face, "He is.."

 Chapter 57: The Grand Escape (Part-5)

    Chapter 57: The Grand Escape (Part-5)


    "He is greatly injured from what I found he has multiple broken bones in his body, he is dehydrated and starving, not to mention he is suffering from burns, extreme heat and."


    Maralyn gained a troubled look on her face as she spoke, "His condition is even worse someone or something has boiled his blood harming his internal organs greatly."


    Nikita looked rmed at that as Maralyn continued to speak, "He has some form of toxins."


    Nikita frowned at that as she spoke, "I doubt he might have met some strong people but creatures for sure, do you know any creature that might have to harm him as such."


    Maralyn looked up towards the sky before she spoke with a sigh, "I know many such creatures and none of them is good.", she stopped for a moment before her eyes wandered towards Ryan''s legs especially his left leg.


    "Nikita helps me remove the splint, and inspect his left leg, I am having some bad vibes from it."


    Nikita nodded at that as Maralyn ced her bag under Ryan''s head as a pillow before they moved towards his legs.


    "How is my brother?"


    The concerned voice of Michalina came to their ear as Nikita was about to speak Maralyn beat her to it, "Later Nikita please help me with his legs, it is much more important and Michalina I am sorry but please let us finish our investigation before we can say something so stand back and do not disturb."


    The serious tone of Maralyn''s voice made her stop any further enquires as she gave them some space, while the duo began to slowly remove the splint off his legs.


    "We have to cut his trousers."


    Maralyn nodded as she produced arge knife, as she swiftly began to cut off the trouser from just above his knee, while Nikita removed his boots.


    As they removed the part of his trousers, Maralyn let out a gasp of shock before she ran her hand which had a familiar glow before her face took a look of a grimace.


    Nikita frowned at the condition on Ryan''s legs, it had suffered multiple fractures, not to mention it had an unhealthy purple colour to it, and ''Are those hand mark? It looked as if someone with ming hands had taken hold of his legs hard and had broken it.''


    "It is worst than I thought."


    Nikita looked at the frowning visage of Maralyn as she asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "He''s suffering from having his blood boiled, toxins in his body and this mark that looks like someone had grabbed him ming hand points to one creature, a highly deadly and creepy creature known as ''Soul Eater''."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Deadly and creepy?"


    Maralyn nodded as she spoke, "Yes they are one of the creepiest creatures that would haunt your dreams for a long time.", she stood from her kneeling position as she spoke, "Excuse me, but I need to gather some herbs posthaste for Ryan, until then please keep an eye on him and make himfortable."


    "How should I make himfortable?"


    Maralyn looked towards Nikita in a way that screamed, ''Are you an idiot?'', for a brief moment before she smacked her forehead as she spoke, "Sorry, I forgot you all do not know about it, just make sure he is cool andfortable, and try to have him drink with plenty of water, for now, I will be back as soon as I find those herbs."


    With that, she left them as she shouted towards Dasyra, "Dasyra I need your help to find some herbs fast."


    Dasyra simply sends nod of acknowledgement as she soon followed after her quickly in search of the necessary herbs.


    Nikita looked at Ryan for a moment before she spoke to Michalina, "Help me remove his clothes, he does not any armour for the time being."


    Michalina looked at the sky as she spoke, "Well then we have to move him to the other side of the ''Goliath'' away from the sun."


    Nikita frowned as she could not help but ask out loud, "Goliath?"


    Michalina simply tapped on the car as she replied with a smile on her face, "This is ''Goliath'', a mine-resistant all-terrain vehicle, procured by the Navch City Police, even though it has been modified, and then badly wrecked with its paintpletely gone but I would be able to recognize it very easily."


    Nikita simply snorted at that as she spoke, "Well then help me pick him up and move."


    As she spoke she pulled out the portable stretcher from her bag before picking Ryan up and carrying him to the other side of the carying him under its shade before there began to strip him off most of his clothing.


    Michalina winced seeing the lobster red colour of his skin, as well as the bluish-ck marks along with the swellings in certain areas.


    "He took quite the beating."


    Nikita nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes he did, get me a piece of some cloth and water please."


    As Michalina left Nikita let out a sigh of relief as she spoke, "I am d I found you, Ryan, if you had died I would not have been able to forgive myself for not being able to save you from that Roc''s grip."


    Michalina quickly arrived with the requested item as Nikita spoke, "Why don''t you go and check the car, who knows we might be able to return home using it."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "Excellent idea, I will go and give it a look over."


    Nikita dipped the rag that was provided him in water before she began to remove the bloodstain of his face with the wet cloth.


    <em>''What did you have to go through Ryan, you are so badly scalded and your blood was boiled, and that strange creature that had attacked you, just what horrors did you have to witness.''</em>


    As soon as she finished cleaning up the blood, she brought her canteens to Ryan''s lips as she helped its contents to flow through his lips.


    "I checked the interior, and the only seat that was present there as the driver seat, and by its side was arge stic jar full of some pale yellow liquid, but the worst part is that Ryan had tweaked with the interior and as such one of the pedals is missing, my bet is he had removed the one that was meant to for the clutch, but as a result, I have no idea how to drive it."


    A frown graced Nikita''s visage as she spoke, "The goats are all well and good, but I do not think that they would be good for him though."


    Michalina nodded in agreement as she spoke, "So true."


    What seemed to be almost an hour when the duo of elves returned with their bounty, looking a bit roughed up, but otherwise was perfectly fine.


    "I have managed to find all the herbs, I just have to make some potion and pasted and then apply it to him and all will be fine for now."


    Michalina looked at her for as she spoke, "What do you mean by ''now''?"


    Both Maralyn and Dasyra gained a helpless look on their faces as Dasyra spoke, "One of the herbs is extremely hard to get, I had spotted that nt on our way here, but it is nowpletely underwater as such I could not retrieve."


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "Underwater?"


    Dasyra nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes underwater, for reason unknown to us the entire area is flooded as if a river is flowing through the area and thus I failed to gather it."


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke with a sigh, "Just our luck, how important is that herb."


    Dasyra bit her lips as she replied to her, "Extremely so without it, Ryan cannot heal."


    Seeing the look of fear and panic Maralyn quickly spoke, "Though if I am not wrong Dasyra had spotted simr herb near our base, we can get it when we return but for now with whatever I have been able to gather, it would be enough to at least provide him relief and make sure he is not in danger anymore."


    Michalina grimaced upon hearing that as she requested of them, "Do what you can to save him then."


    "I will please do not worry."


    As Maralyn spoke Dasyra deposited her findings as she spoke, "Maralyn is there anything you need of me."


    Maralyn simply shook her head as she spoke, "No please return to your work and thank you."


    Dasyra simply smiled as she left while Maralyn simply began to work on creating various concoctions to help Ryan.


    It was around midday and a couple of stray zombiester that Maralyn finally finished her work.


    "Well I am done, Nikita helps me feed these potions to him."


    Nikita raised Ryan''s head slightly as Maralyn poured a purple-coloured liquid down his throat, to Nikita the entire process was eye-opening as she gained the first-hand view on potion and salve concoction, but as Maralyn made those items Nikita noticed that with each passing moment how irritated she was bing.


    "Is something wrong Maralyn? You look kind of irritated at the moment."


    Maralyn was taken aback at that before she began to speak with a frown on her face, "Well you see I am a bit irritated, creating these items as well as finding herbs was so easy but all of a sudden all my strength is gone not to mention it feels as if I have regressed to being a toddler once again."


    All Nikita could do was send a sympathetic smile not knowing what else to say to her, as she then went apply all the salve she made all over Ryan''s body.


    As she finished she spoke with a huff, "Well I have finished with my work, he should be waking up soon so please make sure that you have something for him to eat preferably something that he will no problem swallowing."


    Nikita simply gave a small nod as she spoke, "I will see what I can do."


    As Nikita stood up Maralyn looked up to see the sun directly above them as such she spoke again, "Nikita before you go help me move him under therge metal box it would protect him from the ring hot sun."


    A small appeared on Nikita''s face as she heard Maralyn calling the car as arge metallic box as she spoke, "It is called a car Maralyn, not a metallic box."


    Only for Maralyn to shrug as she replied in a bored tone, "Whatever it looks like a box to me, a rather dpidated box."


    Ryan stirred as he tried to open his eyes, he felt tired, drained, and the cool feeling on his skin simply made him wish that he could sleep without being disturbed but s he felt such pangs of hunger that he could no longer withstand him as such he tried to sit up only to wince as pain erupted within his body.


    "Stop, stop, take it easy Ryan."


    A familiar voice of Nikita came to his ears but unfortunately, he had lost his hearing as such he promptly sat up without looking around and with a loud thud, he hit his head hard against the underneath of the Goliath as he fell back with a cry of pain.


    His cry of pain drew everyone''s attention as Michalina dashed towards him as she checked him over, while Ryan finally opened his eyes to look around.


    ''Why am I underneath the Goliath all of a sudden and why do I feel as if I am sitting under an AC.''


    His attention was drawn towards something or somebody touching him as he turned his head he was greeted by the smiling visage of Michalina whose eyes were glistening with tears.


    "I am so d that I found you, brother, I am so d now we can all return home."


    The emotion in Michalina''s voice could have moved Ryan but unfortunately, he could hear no sound as he watched her lips move up and down.


    <em>''I cannot believe I have reached safety, I have found my sister but I am no longer able to hear her voice.''</em>


    As such with heavy heart Ryan decided to speak barely above a whisper about his condition.


    Michalina winced as her injured brother shouted out at the top of his lungs, <strong>"Sorry Sis, I lost my hearing and now I am deaf as such I cannot hear you."</strong>

 Chapter 58: Back to  Chateau du Cochon (part-1)

    Chapter 58: Back to '' Chateau du Cochon'' (part-1)


    A calm and soothing sensation hit Ryan full force, ''<em>Ah this is the life I do not want this to end.''</em>


    The cause of his bliss was because of Maralyn using her powers to heal his eardrums, the reason for her was simple, she would have gone to heal other parts of his body, but letting her patient scream at the top of his lungs every time he tried to speak was detrimental to his health.


    The sound of chatting came to his ears as his eyes widen, ''I can hear, I can hear.''


    A sense of joy enveloped him as he tried to sit up only for him to wince from pain as he pushed back by someone.


    Ryan looked up to see an extremely nice shade of blue eyes looking at him with anger in her voice, "You are injured do not try to move too much, or I will not heal you, Ryan."


    Ryan could simply nod at that, <em>''Damn it I should not have tried to sit up, now the pain has red up even more.''</em>


    "Ryan, how are you feeling?"


    Ryan looked at the concerned face of Michalina as he spoke with pain-filled voice, "I feel as if I have been run over by a lorry, then out through a blender, do you have some painkillers I would love some."


    Nikita who was by his side spoke with a helpless look on her face, "We already gave you some, so sorry but it would dangerous to make you even more."


    Ryan winced as he spoke, "It hurts so badly."


    "As Nikita said we are sorry but we cannot give you more."


    Ryan looked up towards speaker as he spoke, "Sorry but you seem to know me, but I fail to recognize you."


    The person waved off her hand as she spoke, "I would have worried if you knew me, someone you have never met before, my name is Maralyn and I am one the few elves who had ventured out with your sister to help her find you."


    Ryan simply gave a pained filled smile towards her as Maralyn continued, "Understandably, you are in great pain, the soul eater can be bit brutal, though Imend you surviving it."


    Ryan''s frowned at that as he spoke, "'' Soul Eater'', sorry I do not recognize that name."


    Maralyn gained a sheepish look on her face as she spoke, "Ah sorry I once again forgot that you might not know it by its name.", sheposed herself as she spoke while pointing towards his leg, "The creature that not only caught your leg but if I am not wrong it broke it as well."


    Ryan was suddenly reminded of the creature that was actively hunting him, the creature that threw a bike at him, and most importantly that face, the grin, and the voice, making him gain a haunted look as he visibly began to shake.


    "I am sorry, so sorry that I ended up reminding you of that I am so sorry."


    Maralyn quickly grasped his hand while she was speaking in soothing tone towards him, while Michlina red at her as she spoke, "What was that?"


    "Something nightmarish to look at, and unfortunately your brother had a rather close encounter with it."


    "There were two of them."


    Ryan''s voice was shaking slightly as he began to speak, "There were two of those creatures, it was so horrifying to look at, they were mimicking human voices it was so creepy, and its smile it"


    As a shudder went down his spine Maralyn ced aforting hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "It is alright you are with us, you are safe."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with distress in his voice as he tried to sit up, "No no, you do not understand it is a tier ten creature, it is very strong."


    Michalina quickly went by his side, she wanted to hug him and make him feel safe but his injuries prevented her from doing so as such she tried to calm him without manhandling him much.


    "Ryan, look at me."


    As Ryan looked at her she cupped his cheeks with her hands as she spoke, "Brother, I am here, we all are here and soon we would travel to back to our base, safe from any harm okay."


    Ryan only nodded at that as he spoke, "How far are we from the base?"


    Michalina gained a contemtive look on her face as she spoke, "Well we moved as fast as possible so we are three days away from our base."


    Nikita frowned at that as she spoke, "I do not think the return journey would be that much faster with Ryan injured like this, it is not feasible."


    "We could use the ''Goliath'', it can easily do over a hundred per hour."


    Michalina''s face scrunched up for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "I do not know but it is badly damaged."


    Ryan ran his fingers through his hair as he spoke, "It will run, I know it is badly damaged but it would run."


    Nikita''s looked towards Michalina as she spoke, "I do not think riding goats and spending nights on top of trees would be advisable for him in his current condition."


    "I concur with Nikita, we must make our way back as fast as possible, having an injured in such situations would be dangerous."


    Michalina sighed as she looked towards her brother as she spoke, Bother do you know in what condition your car is?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Most of the front lights will not work, and the suspension is all but gone."


    Michalina winced at that as she spoke, "That is going to hurt a lot though I would like to ask you about the interior, it seems that you have customized it heavily and I have a problem recognizing a few things."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Fair enough."


    Maralyn stood up as she spoke, "Then please help me carry him, he needs his sleep, and the faster we get everything done, it would be better."


    Ryan''s stomach rumbled as he spoke with a blush on his face, "Umm, Sis, do you have something to eat? I am starving."


    Michalina''s eyes widen as Nikita immediately left in a hurry to bring him something to eat since Ryan had regained his consciousness they had been busy speaking with him and as such haspletely forgotten that he might need sustenance.


    Michalina smiled as she spoke, "Do not worry she will be bringing you something to eat."


    Ryan gave her a weak smile as he spoke, "I had nothing to eat for thest few days except a packet of chips and biscuit, and forget about water, I survived on soft drinks until I made a way to gather water through condensation using the AC of the car."


    "About that, I believe it is not working, whatever you did is broken, that jar is now filled with pale yellow liquid, not water and I do not think that it is safe to drink."


    Ryan sighed as Michalina brought out her canteen which she then held against his lips as she spoke, "Here have a drink before Nikita brings something for you to eat."


    Ryan simply gobbled up the entire contents of the canteen as he spoke with a content sigh, "Thanks, sis."


    "There is no need to thank me."


    A few minutester Nikita brought him some food, food that he simply inhaled with how fast he ate.


    Nikita looked at him with a smile as she spoke, "You must be starving like crazy to finish it so fast."


    Ryan gave her a small smile as he spoke, "You do not know half of it, though I would like to mention that you make a killer food."


    "Why thank you, Ryan."


    Ryan beamed at her before he spoke in a serious tone, "Well since I have finished eating perhaps I can show you how to drive, and then we can leave, I do not think we should waste the daylight."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "A wise decision, tell us how to drive it and we will leave as soon as possible."


    A few hourster Ryan winced a pained gasped escaped from his mouth, the effect of the pain killers had worn off some time now, and not to with the suspension the car was an exceptionally ufortable ride, especially when the constant rattling sound was driving them insane.


    Jessica had taken over the wheels as others simply sat inside with Ryanying at the middle, Dasyra looked towards Ryan before she winced as she felt jolt travel through her spine as Jessica shouted from the front, "Sorry I missed the pothole, with so little light it is difficult to drive properly."


    Dasyra waved her off before she spoke while looking towards Ryan, "So Ryan what happened after you got kidnapped."


    Ryan took a deep breath as he began, "Well a few minutes after the Eagle kidnapped me I woke up and"


    ".after that I stumbled upon you."


    Everyonelistened to his tale with bated breath, no one stopped him as he regaled his tale of his experience during thest few days, when all of a sudden Jessica shouted out at the top of her lungs, "Wait a minute you destroyed The Dam, <strong>the pride of our nation ''Navch Dam,'', you destroyed it."</strong>


    Her answer came in the form of painful grunts and curses as everyone was flung from their seating position with Ryan shouting out in pain, which then led to Michalina to shout at Jessica, <strong>"Eyes in the front."</strong>


    "Sorry! Sorry! I am so sorry, but still the dam."


    Cnna looked confused at that before she spoke, "Why some of you looked so shocked at that? Was this dam really special?"


    Ryan gained a guilty look on his face as he spoke, "Well the Dam was a big project by our country, and it was big enough to ce it at the top ten biggest dams in the world."


    "And the Dambeing broken would have caused a massive flood that would have disced not only millions of people but causes many to die as well, the property damage would be enormous, not to mention the loss of prestige of our country and you would end up being acknowledged as one of the greatest terrorists till date."


    Ryan visibly wilted at that as the Elves had their eyes open wide as Michalina continued, "But despite all that I do not see any reason for you to be angry, in fact, I was sure that the structure would have copsed after the quake, and most people are either dead so no harm was done and if there is anyone to fault at, it is the government''s fault."


    Nikita nodded as she added her two cents on to the matter, "You are absolutely right, who told them to build the Oil Terminal so close to not only the Dam but the heavily popted area, politics simply politics and nothing more."


    "But I created the explosive rounds and they are kind of illegal."


    Michalina simply snorted at that as she spoke, "Illegal because they would cause disproportionately severe injuries, like grenades and RPGs do not do the same to a certain extent, but I am not going on moral debate though I would like to point out the most important thing in this situation, Ryan, do you know what?"


    As Ryan shook his head Michalina continued, "The point is no Government exist anymore and the entire world is in chaos so who is going to enforce those rules, and at the same time those illegal and hical means are very much necessary to maintain and recreate our safe Heaven, now tell me without those rounds did you have any other good alternative to deal with them."


    Ryan shook his head as Michalina smiled as she spoke, "Remember Ryan the world we are living is only for the fittest, the strongest and the smartest to survive so what you did is beyond miracle and just because at the end of the day you are alive and safe."


    "You know Ryan, despite the poor condition of the car, it is a great one."


    Ryan beamed upon hearing that as he spoke, "Yes, it is and that is why I chose it despite having other options because it is sturdy, even after it had suffered so much it is still moving."


    "I believe it is time for you to rest, I will be giving him some potion that would help him to sleep for tonight."


    Ryan smiled back at Maralyn as he spoke, "Yes please I would love to have some, and at least I will not have to feel the road bumps and the beautiful rattling noise anymore."


    "Damn so lucky."


    Ryan looked towards the speaker and saw Dasyra sporting a look of envy on her face, which made himugh as Dasyra herself cracked a smile.


    A murky turquoise colour liquid entered his mouth as he fell asleep soon after, as Michalina spoke, "What are those potions that you fed him? Are both of those sleeping potions?"


    Maralyn shook her head as she spoke, "No only one of them is sleeping the other I used was to prevent him dreaming, I believe sparing him from nightmares caused because of the Soul Eater is a wise decision."


    Jessica turned her head slightly as she spoke, "Does the soul eater really feed on souls."


    Cnna nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes it does."


    Jessica felt a shiver down her spine as she spoke, "I so do not want to face one."


    The trio of Elves simply smiled at her as they spoke in unison, "Trust me no one does."


    It was around just past noon when the car finally lumbered near a fortress created by wooden poles, as it neared the gate it stopped as Michalina hopped out of the car as she spoke, "Hey open the door we are back."


    But instead of wee all she received was nk look couple with their weapons trained against the car, a few tense secondster Ylerias arrived, but instead of the weing and happy face, hers was full of a frown, not to mention every elf that was inside that fort had arrived on top of the wall with their bows drawn.


    She looked towards Michalina as she spoke, "Why have you brought one of them here, Michalina?"


    Michalina was taken aback at her question for a moment before she spoke with a confused look on her face, "What?"

 Chapter 59: Back to  Chateau du Cochon (part-2)

    Chapter 59: Back to '' Chateau du Cochon'' (part-2)


    Maralyn frowned as she looked towards the door, <em>''Why is her Holiness so angry?What did we do to make her angry?''</em>


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "With all due respect Lady Ylerias, I am unable to understand the reason for your sudden hostility."


    Ylerias pursued her lips as she spoke, "Why have you brought an unknown apostle with you?"


    Michalina lookedpletely confused at that as she spoke, "I am sorry but you must be mistaken the only person I have brought back is my injured brother."


    Ylerias''s eyes narrowed even further as she mulled over the situation for a moment before she shouted out loud, "Open the gates and let them enter."


    Michalina simply gave her a small smile followed by a small bow of an acknowledgement as she climbed back into the Goliath.


    "All of you go and take defensive positions and if they have any untoward intention to finish them."


    Even if they had allowed him inside that does not mean that they were taking any chances, especially if the person was an apostle that might very well harm their Holiness.


    The Goliath lumbered into the fortress making lots of cranking and rattling noise as the wooden doors closed after them, the inside of the car was even more tensed as the trio of elves had their weapons poised to strike down Michalina and her group, only to stop upon feeling the cold muzzle of Ryan''s gun.


    "Please lower those weapons of yours, I had taken a liking to you all and it would be a darn shame if you were to die because of your mistakes."


    "When did you wake up Ryan?"


    "Just now Dasyra just long enough to hear your leader threatening my big sister, and now please lower your weapon and no sudden movements."


    Cnna pursed her lips as she spoke, "You won''t survive."


    Ryan simply smirked at that as he spoke, "So would you and many of your brethren just ask Dasyra what I am capable of and you would know."


    Although Ryan had a smirk on his face, inwardly he was worried and afraid of the oue, a shootout would be the worst possible oue in this case, he was injured and even if he managed to pull a miracle how many would die, he did not wish to be in some kind of Mexican standoff unless it was in a video game.


    Jessica looked towards Michalina who was calm as ice as she spoke, "So what now?"


    "Our priority is Ang and Nikita, we have to rescue them, and maybe fork out the cure for Ryan, after that, we leave in and simple."


    "What about the other humans?"


    Michalina spared a nce towards Nikita as she spoke, "It depends whether they side with us or not."


    Dasyra looked conflicted as she spoke, "Please calm down everyone, some apostles are known to be a bit battle hungry and cause an untold amount of damage to others, she is just cautious and a bit wary if nothing more, after meeting him I doubt she would have as much hostility as before."


    "We shall see."


    Michalina stopped the car, as she stepped out of it, she caught a gawking elderly making her smile inwardly as she spoke out loud, "Yes if you are wondering, yes it really is a car that my brother made to move with his powers and escape from really dangerous creatures, and yes he can bring back and recreate every bit of technology that fueled our civilization."


    Nobody had asked her yet she spoke as if someone was because she knew that her words would make the other humans stand firmly by her side, the lure of returning to their previous life was great.


    Ylerias''s brow twitched at that, <em>''Damn that woman she is making it even harder for me if their brethren decide to help them the odds might tilt against me.''</em>


    "Michalina."


    "Lady Ylerias.", greeted Michalina with a slight nod.


    "Your brother is an apostle?"


    Michalina simply shrugged at that she spoke, "No idea, maybe he is, maybe he is not after all we never had to deal with such things before."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "Well what are waiting for since you have seeded in finding and reuniting with your brother I believe it is time for you to rest, though if you do not mind I wish to speak with him a bit."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Only if I am present as well."


    Ylerias simply shrugged as she spoke, "Fair enough, though I would apologize for acting so rudely, we apostles not all of us are easy to approach most of them are egoistic and some of them are battle-hungry, and feeling the presence of another apostle so close by had set me off."


    Michalina simply shook her head at that as she spoke with a smile, "There is nothing to apologize I understand that you were concerned for your people.", though inwardly she called her every cursed word she could remember, some of them so rude that Ciarra would have used soap bar on her mouth.


    <em>''If you are so sorry, then you should tell your bodyguards to lower you''re their bows and not to shoot at us.''</em>


    The tension was high when Ryan was finally lowered from the car on a stretcher as he came to face to face with Ylerias, he had been sound asleep when suddenly he was awoken, he felt as if something was someone was watching him intently, and when he heard the argument and the rest is history.


    Ryan sat in front of Ylerias trying hard not to squirm under her intense gaze, "Greetings my name is Ylerias Luvenari apostle of the Goddess of Moon and Hunt Oena, it is an honour to meet you, my fellow apostle."


    <em>''If I am not wrong she is simr to Pope or some kind of the religious leader of their race so I should bow, right?''</em>


    Ryan slightly bent his head only to stop as Ylerias quickly stopped him as she spoke, "I do not know how you all greet each other in your species, so please do not bow if possible you are my equal as well as the representation the will of your God."


    Ryan cleared her throat as he began, "Greetings Lady Ylerias, my name is Ryan O''Cahill, and sorry to sound rude but I do not believe I am an apostle and I do not know of any God who makes apostle."


    Ylerias looked directly at Ryan''s eyes as she spoke, "Tell me, Ryan, May call you Ryan?", as Ryan nodded Ylerias continued, "Tell me do you hear a voice whispering in your ears, whenever let us say. you kill someone or you achieve something, not to mention you can increase your strength by simply killing gaining blood points and souls that help you increase your strength, learn new perks that support you greatly."


    Ryan''s eyes widen at what he had just heard, ''<em>Is she speaking the truth or is this some kind of borate prank on her part.''</em>


    "Tell me do I feel different than others?"


    Ryan nodded slowly as he spoke, "Yes you do feel different, I do not know how and why but you do, I do not know how but I have never felt the presence of another before I met you, I do not know why but you feel different, you remind of forest and well a carnivore, a predator."


    Ylerias tilted her head a bit before she spoke, "And you remind of libraries, wars and something that I do not recognize."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "War?"


    "Yes, the warm feeling of bloodlust, the anger, hatred, fear, loss those are the predominant feeling one that is of War give but a couple with the library there is one Goddess thates to my mind but your powers of creation and destruction that I have learned about, well never have there been an apostle of that had such powers."


    Michalina who was nearby spoke with a frown, "Do you mean that the apostle''s gin their powers from their respective Gods."


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Of course, though to tell you the truth neither do we receive the full set nor do ours are as strong as our patron Goddess or Gods."


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "Is there no Gods or Goddesses that you can think of that have apostles with power same as Ryan?"


    Ylerias shook her head at that as she spoke, "No, after all not all God or Goddesses take an apostle, even those who take are not regr, unlike my Lady who chooses a new one as soon as the old one perishes."


    Ryan frowned at that as she spoke, "How are apostles chosen?"


    Ylerias shrugged at that as she spoke, "That is something you will have to ask you, God or Goddess, as it is something that only they might know, like in my case I do not know why was I chosen, but I still remember it like it was just yesterday, our vige had just received the news that my predecessor had fallen in battle, and then during the night as if the star had fallen on my family''s hut, it hit me with incredible pain which caused me to pass out, and then next time I opened my eyes, well I was an apostle and the entire vige including my parents worshipping me."


    "It was incredibly difficult at first as I was suddenly no longer my parent''s beloved daughter but I was Ylerias Luvenari, an apostle of the Goddess of Moon and Hunt Oena, the most important person of my race."


    She stopped for a moment reminiscing before she spoke with a small smile on her face, "You know at first I was scared after all I was only nine when such an honour was bestowed upon me."


    Silence descended for a moment as Ylerias spoke again, "Did any strange markings or tattoos appear on your body."


    Ryan discreetly nced at Michalina as she spoke with a sigh, "Yes it did."


    Ylerias simply smiled at him as she spoke, "That is further proof that you indeed are an apostle."


    Ryan frowned at that his mind going overdrive before he spoke with tiredness in his voice, "What does bing an apostle entail, what do you do?"


    Ylerias frowned for a moment as she spoke, "The Gods and Goddesses are beings of immense power, they are so powerful that if the descended into the mortal realm their presence itself would cause an untold amount of damage to the world, and here is why wee to y, we represent them we enforce their will theirw and defend their worshipers from harm as well as punish those wicked on their behalf."


    She took a deep breath as she continued, "There are various other duties like in my case I am to look after those who have Elven blood, my race, it is my duty to see them prosper and destroy any harm that descends onto them, though that does not mean I will overlook any threat that will befall other races when they are within the borders of the Elven kingdoms."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "So you are like an Empress?"


    Ylerias scrunched her face as she spoke, "In a way mymand is absolute, though there are Kings and Queens who rule over the people and until and unless I mustn''t intervene much with how they rule, though it defers from apostle to apostle, as the apostle of God of Healing is a wandering he wanders from ce to ce helping other people."


    Ryan scrunched his face for a moment taking into the various information that he had just heard before he spoke, "So what are the cons?"


    Ylerias sat straight up as her eyes narrowed while her face darkened with anger as she spoke, "Excuse me!!"


    Michalina quickly came to his brother''s rescue as she spoke, "I am extremely sorry Your Highness, and the entire thing is a bit of a shock as such he misspoke. He did not wish to insult you or your Goddess and faith, but he was worried that hearing all those wonderful things about being an apostle as such he thought there must be something that might cause him harm."


    Ylerias levelled her red at Ryan for a moment before she spoke with a huff, "You should be grateful that I am a bit merciful than any other apostle, who would have killed you for asking such sphemous questions any consequences be damned."


    She took a deep breath as she spoke, "We apostles have many enemies, especially the beasts that have been corrupted are more attracted to us, our scent, our meat are like some form of the drug to them, they would actively seek you out to devour you unless you are much stronger than them."


    Both Michalina and Ryan''s eyes widen a bit as Ylerias spoke with a sad smile, "You remember how I said my predecessor had fallen in battle."


    Ryan nodded as Ylerias continued, "There had been a beast tide near a city, they were being overwhelmed slowly as such my predecessor made herself a decoy and the entire beast tide followed after her, she fell in the battle that ensued between the beasts, she held on four days and nights before she was torn to shreds and eaten alive."


    Both Ryan and Michalina''s eyes widen at that as Ryan''s face became white, the image of him being torn to shred popped up in his head with one of them being the ever-present soul eater, with great forced to suppress his imagination.


    Seeing the condition of the siblings Ylerias spoke with a soothing tone in her voice, "Though you do not have to worry, for the time being, the scent bes more potent as one age and in your case, it has been a few months since then so you do not need to worry, in fact for some reason I myself find that my maturity has been reset to when I was a child.", she looked directly into his eyes as she spoke, "As such I have a proposal for you, since I already know I have to work hard again to regain my peak I suggest we team up and work together, it would not only be safer but beneficial as well for us greatly."


    "I know that I have said a lot of things and you need time to think so I will take my leave for now, and if you wish to ask anything please do not hesitate."


    With her piece being said she promptly left leaving the siblings alone, as Ryan spoke barely above a whisper, "What now Sis?"


    Michalina gave a small as she spoke, "Your job, for now, was to simply rest and get well, and if something bad happens no matter what I will be always by your side."


    Ryan blushed before he mumbled out, "Stop it Sis.", a serious look came over his face as he spoke, Do you believe what she said?"


    Michalina frowned at Ryan''s question as she spoke with a serious look on her face, "I do not know but she gave us a lot of convincing argument including a few things that she should not know."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "That could have been easily ripped off Ang and Nikita''s head, who knows what special abilities they might have, we have to be cautious against them."


    Michalina nodded with a serious look before she gained a teasing smirk on her face as she spoke, "So my baby brother is some kind of Pope for some God or Goddess, so should I bow and start worshipping you, Your Holiness."


    Ryan scoffed at that before he spoke, "I highly doubt that Pope would charge into battle, and please if possible do not mention it in front of others, thest thing I need is some overly enthused religious person gathering mobs to burn me alive on a stake."


    Michalina giggled at that as Ryan simply rolled his eyes before letting out a yawn as he spoke, "Well I better catch my sleep that had been interrupted."


    With that he went back to sleep only to find himself standing in a familiar part of his mindscape, he wandered down towards the machine which was showing his stats, he took a single look at it as a look of disbelief entered his face.


    "How is this possible? It must be a glitch."

 Chapter 60: Back to  Chateau du Cochon (part-3)

    Chapter 60: Back to '' Chateau du Cochon'' (part-3)


    A warning bell rang making every resident of Fort Genesis tense up, as Ciara quickly ran towards her guards as she spoke, "Report!"


    One of the soldiers simply saluted her as she spoke, "Ma''am there has been an incident, the water inside the gorge has been increasing at an rming rate, we fear there might be a spillover soon and various creatures might climb out and attack, not to mention the force of water flow has increased tremendously we fear the pipes and pumps might not hold."


    Ciara looked towards the gorge as her eyes widen, the water was already spilling over the banks, "Move everyone to the Fort now and then close the gates, fast I want it all done by <strong>Yesterday</strong>.", as she howled out hermand everyone sprung into actions.


    The smaller vige that had begun to form in front of Fort Genesis was quickly evacuated just in time for the water to arrive knocking on the now firmly shut doors of the base, Ciara looked down at the water as one of her subordinates arrived to report to her the unfortunate news, the pumps and pipes of the water system have gone offline and seeing the force of the water she doubted whether those pipes and pumps existed.


    "Is everyone ounted for?"


    "Yes Ma''am"


    "Good I want to round the clock patrols, I want extra hands on the walls, the water level is rising and we do not know what might lie inside lying inside those waters."


    Ciara looked over the wall as a headache began to form as the water began to rise slowly she turned back upon hearing some noise and found Zhan standing behind her.


    "Commander, what could have caused this?"


    Ciara shrugged at that as she spoke, "Who knows? So much water it can only be caused by severe flooding or some dam might have given out further ind."


    Zhan''s frowned at that before she spoke, "It really took some time to copse then, I would have thought the devastating earthquake would have done taken care of any dams."


    Ciara shrugged at that as she spoke, "Maybe it was constructed really well and it held out even after the quake and finally it gave out because of the damages it sustained, or something might have broken it."


    Zhan visibly shivered at that as she spoke, "Sorry but I so do not want to face something that can topple a Dam on its mere whim.", a few hundred miles away from their position a certain dam buster sneezed in his sleep.


    Ciara looked at her for a moment as she spoke, "Me too as such it was the natural disaster not some creature, or it can also be a cloud burst, and after all, with the change in weather anything can be possible."


    Zhan nodded at that as she spoke, "You know you are rig.."


    Whatever she was going to say was stuck in her throat as a loud bellow was heard from the gorge, their blood ran cold as they saw thergest and ugliest fish they had ever seen swimming along the water with its bony armour-like protrusions all over its body.


    "What the hell is it?"


    Zhan could not help but shout as out loud as the others quickly trained their weapons towards the gigantic creature.


    "<strong>Don''t shoot, I repeat don''t shoot</strong>", Ciara shouted out loud as the soldiers lifted their fingers off the trigger as she continued, "Shoot only if the creature moves too close to the base forfort otherwise don''t, we do not need its attention and from the looks of it, it is making its way to the sea."


    "What is that creature?"


    Ciara turned towards the speaker, a short heightened person that came up to a little above her waste was looking at the creature with an equal measure of awe and fear.


    "Master Jerbor, from the looks of it, that creature is not a native of your world."


    Jerbor shook his head as Ciara spoke with a sigh, "That''s a shame because neither it is in ours."


    Meanwhile, Ryan rubbed his eyes and then blinked a few times but the words in front of him did not change no matter what he did, "How is this possible?"


    <em><strong>HOST: RYAN O''CAHILL</strong></em>


    <em><strong>STATUS: INJURED (HEALING)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>HEALTH: 1017/1125(+0%/min REGEN.)(Health regeneration negated due to injury)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>MANA: 1125/1125(+1%/min REGEN.)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>CORE: WHITE(NO EXTRA BUFF)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>LIFE-FORM TIER: 4 (0/500)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>VITALITY TIER: 4 (200/375)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>STRENGTH TIER: 4 (200/375)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>AGILITY TIER: 4 (212/375)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>INTELLIGENCE TIER: 4 (0/375)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Blood Points: 21489</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Soul: 154</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Perks:1) Quantum Brain (Tier 1)(Rare)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>2) Eye of the blessed (Umon)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>3) Angeloid Lungs (Umon)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>4) Quantum Nerves Connectivity(Tier 1)(Rare)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>5) Blood Point Reduction (Tier 1)(Common)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Negative Buffs: 1) So...</strong></em>


    He did not pay any mind to rest as at the moment it was irrelevant, but what stuck to him was the number of blood points and souls that he had gathered.


    <em>''How is this possible? It must be some kind of mistake, I do not have any Blood Points previously but now I have suddenly over Twenty Thousand not to mention the number of souls which are over a hundred and fifty, and if I remember I had only eighteen left so where did the additional hundred and thirty-six pop up.''</em>


    His brows furrowed in deep thought as he went over and over trying to discern the meaning of it, ''The only thing I killed was a dog, couple of screamers and spiders, did I manage to kill the soul eater, but even then it should not have that much blood points and neither does the number of souls add up to.''


    <em>''No way the explosion of the Oil Terminal, don''t tell me the creatures that might have died is attributed to that incident, it is surreal if only.''</em>


    He promptly banged his head against the machine as he cursed himself, ''I am such a colossal idiot my kills are stored in the form of logs that are easily avable to me.''


    As such he promptly opened the log of his ''Ancient Stochasts'' as he quickly went through it he let out a sigh of relief seeing his hunch correct as a smile blossomed on his face, "Lucky, the excursion to Navch was not total loss filled with pain at least I managed to gain something from it."


    An even bigger smile graced his face as he spoke with barely concealed excitement, "Well time to upgrade me."


    Maralyn had just finished creating the potion for Ryan, as she entered his room she was hit with a sudden bout of magical energy making her stagger a bit, <em>''Damn it, I am so weak even such a low and pathetic amount is making me stagger.''</em>


    Before she remembered that her patient was in that very room from where therge or rather ''pitiful'' burst of magic ording to Maralyn that came from, as such she dashed towards the room only to find it empty except for a sleeping Ryan.


    The burst seemed to have alerted others as Ylerias herself arrived swiftly before giving a deadpanned stare at the sleeping form of Ryan, she turned towards Maralyn as she spoke, "Keep on with his treatment.", with that she left.


    "Is something wrong Lady Ylerias?"


    Ylerias looked at the anxious form of Michalina as she spoke with a smile, "There is nothing wrong Michalina, Ryan simply moved to much higher Tier.", she vacated the ce she murmured lowly but it was enough for Michalina to hear, "What a troublesome brethren of mine."


    She looked a few of her fellow sisters as she spoke with a smile, "My fellow sisters it seems that my fellow baby apostle just underwent a huge jump in power and you know what it entails."


    A grim look passed through the elves as they quickly dashed away while Michalina felt fish out of the water upon seeing theirs when all of a sudden Ylerias words came to her mind.


    <em>''We apostles have many enemies, especially the beasts that have been corrupted are more attracted to us, our scent, our meat are like some form of the drug to them, they would actively seek you out to devour you unless you are much stronger than them.''</em>


    <em>''Though you do not have to worry, for the time being, the scent bes more potent as one age and in your case, it has only been a few months since then so you do not need to worry''</em>


    Michalina frowned upon remembering her words, ''<em>She meant with time, so that means either she omitted the fact that something happens when Ryan levels up or she has some hidden agenda, either way, no matter what I will protect my brother, even if I have to ughter the entire camp.''</em>, as she vowed she balled her fist her eyes burning with anger before she took a deep breath to rx as she promptly made her way towards Ryan.


    Ryan was gently awoken by Maralyn who apologized for waking him up and then forced him to drink a potion that smelt of socks that hadn''t been washed for decades, and its taste was enough for him to throw up but Maralyn poured it down his despite his protest making him gag at that.


    "Well, I have finished your treatment Your Holiness all you now need is to rest."


    Ryan red at her as he spoke, "Does it have to be foul-tasting."


    Maralyn immediately bowed to him submissively as she spoke, "A thousand pardon your Holiness but unfortunately there is nothing I can do for the taste except offer you this leaves, if you chew on them it would remove any awful feelings of taste that might still be lingering, though I would like to point out that the herb was not so potent as such the taste was somewhat nd."


    Ryan did a double-take at that as he spoke in disbelief, "What!? You must be kidding me."


    "I kid you not your Holiness."


    A frown marred on Ryan''s face before he looked towards Maralyn as he spoke, "Why are you referring me as ''Holiness''?", by then Michalina had already entered the room she simply stood by the door watching the interaction between the duo.


    Maralyn looked confused at that as she spoke, "You are an apostle, Your Holiness, as such how can I address you without using your proper title and on that note please forgive me for insolence for not recognizing the people of your station."


    Ryan was thoroughly crept out at that he was not ustomed being treated with such reverence, he simply wanted to run as fast as he could and get as further away as possible from her, but s his leg was still in the healing phase.


    <em>''I wish my powers were a bit more like the video games, a bit of level up and you are cured of everything with full health.''</em>


    "Maralyn please do not act as such, you are someone who has been helping me selflessly, so please stop apologizing and please stopping speaking with me so reverently."


    "But, it is the correct thing to do, and calling you anything else would be sphemous and would dishonour me and my fellow brethren, especially since you are an ally of Her Holiness."


    Ryan felt a headache approaching as he spoke, "Please I am notfortable with being referred to as such, I learned about being an apostle not too long ago."


    "But,"


    "You said that I am to be honoured right?Then I ask of you to please stop speaking with me so reverently until and unless I am ustomed to such a role and if possible please convey this to you others as well."


    Seeing the hesitation on her face Ryan gave her a small smile as he spoke, "If you still have a problem then I can ask Lady Ylerias to permit you all to honour my request."


    "Brother, I think you should speak with her as soon as possible, the other people must not learn about you being an ''apostle'', they might not take it well."


    Maralyn looked confused at that as she spoke, "Why would they not take it well? Being an apostle is the greatest honour."


    Michalina gave her a small smile as she spoke, "Think of it in this manner, suddenly someone you do not know pops up and ims that they worship a different God or Goddess."


    "Goddess or God whose name I do not know", Ryan supplied with a smile to which Michalina only gave a nod.


    "And think how you would react if you are told to respect him, will you take it kindly."


    Maralyn frowned before she acquiesces as she spoke, "I suppose you are right, I will speak with others."


    Michalina gave a dazzling smile she spoke, "Splendid, and I thank you for helping my brother."


    Maralyn stood up before she gave a small bow towards Ryan before she left soon after.


    As she was out of earshot Ryan quickly spoke to his sister in a hushed tone, "What should I do Sis? If they all start to act as such it is extremely creepy."


    Michalina waved off his concern as she spoke with a small but kind smile on her face, "Let them, we will simply persuade Ylerias to stop them from acting as such, though remember brother I will always stay by your side."

 Chapter 61: Learning from Ylerias(Part-1)

    Chapter 61: Learning from Ylerias(Part-1)


    "We need food, clothing, medicine but most importantly protection, without them we are dead."


    "I understand your concern mister Anndrais but we cannot magically grow food, clothes or medicine, there are over a thousand people in this base, until and unless we work together it would be nigh impossible for us to gather so much, it is simple mathematics how can barely thirty-something can gather so much stuff, as such I am asking you to cooperate with us, it would be faster and easier then."


    Ryan strained his eyes as he listened to the conversation at the other side of the door, he could identify theining voice to be a male but the female one was definitely that of his sister.


    "And the faster we could gather, the faster every one of us especially the young ones would be able to receive food, clothing and medicine, we are not asking you to work for us like the pig from before, but please cooperate so that we can finish everything faster and smoother."


    <em>''That was Ylerias who was speaking just now.''</em>


    A sigh was heard as the male spoke again, "I understand you may have any strong men or women who would want to venture forth."


    "Thank you Professor Anndrais for being so understanding, and I assure you with additional people we would be able to gather the necessities so much faster."


    The person in question simply grunted at that as he spoke, "What about the wife and daughter of that pig?"


    "What about them?"


    Was the quick question by Ylerias, as the person spoke with a sigh, "The people asking for them to be banished from the base, we do not want them."


    "Tell me Professor Anndrais, what is their crime? Have you ever thought what she and her poor daughter had to suffer under that man''s hands, have you ever thought what they had to suffer, they themselves were ves just like you, I understand you are angry with them for their association with the ver, but for a moment please close your eyes, clear your mind and think, just ce yourselves in their shoes and think, being married to that person, trying to shelter your daughter from him, a daughter that is mute, then one day the world changed you and your daughter are nothing but a ve for a very vile man who ironically is also your husband."


    Silence descended in the room, while on the outside Ryan''s jaw hung low, <em>''No way they are his wife and daughter then the husband-wife act was all false, I do not know whether to be angry or not, this is so confusing.''</em>


    A tired sigh was all that came to his ears as the person spoke again, "I understand, I will see what I can do to make others agree to my viewpoint and in the meantime please make sure to keep them away from us as others may not take too kindly to their presence, till then if there is nothing left then I will take my leave."


    Ryan''s eyes widen marily as he quickly moved towards the door knocking it, <em>''Well if I am going to get caught for eavesdropping let me confess it.''</em>


    "I clearly told that we were to be left alone and disturbed during the meeting."


    As Ylerias''s voice came from inside as Ryan quickly spoke, "Sorry, but I have not received any such notice."


    There was a brief moment of silence as Ylerias quickly spoke, "Please Lo Ryan, please enter and take a seat.",


    As he pushed opened the door the sound of a chair being pushed was heard, he looked forwards and saw Ylerias standing up, while Michalina was still seating on a chair, and the other person a man of around fifty standing on the other side of Michalina just across the table looking at Ryan curiously.


    As the person looked at Ryan he saw him looking at him curiously as Michalina spoke, "Let me introduce you to my brother Ryan O''Cahill", she then turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan this is Professor Anndrais Rosser, Professor on Computer Science from National Institute of Science and Technology."


    Ryan gave a small smile as he spoke, "A pleasure to meet you professor.", he slowly began to move towards the professor using his crutch with his hand extended.


    A warm smile came across the face as he stepped forward as they shook each other hands, "A pleasure to meet you too."


    Ryan felt a bit unnerved as Anndrais''s eyes looked deeply into his eyes studying them before he spoke, "Such fascinating eyes you have", which further seemed to increase his grimace but before he could speak anything the professor let go of his hand as he made his way towards the door as he spoke, "Well I have work to do so see youter."


    Ryan gave a small nod as the person left, Ryan then turned towards the other as he went towards a chair before sending a small nod towards Ylerias as he spoke, "Good Evening Lady Ylerias."


    "Good Evening Ryan, I hope you are well."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "I am much better than before and I hope that by day after tomorrow I will not need the crutch anymore."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Then shall we begin our ss.", as Ryan nodded her gaze fell upon Michalina as she spoke, "Well be staying with us?"


    Michalina simply nodded as she spoke, "Yes mydy if you have no problem I would also want to learn something."


    Ylerias simply tilted her head as she spoke, "Fair enough though would like to warn you that I am not sure what has happened to our world as such there is a chance that my knowledge might be useless."


    "Even thendy Ylerias I would like to learn from you, as at the very least I will not have to flounder about in the dark."


    Ylerias acknowledged Ryan''s words with a small smile on her face as she spoke, "Very well then let us begin, let us start our lesson with yourself, first tell me if you have any questions regarding your powers, level or any such thing I believe you should have many after your upgrade."


    "I have plenty actually when I finished my upgrading many changes had taken ce as such I have a mountain load of questions, like after I reached Tier 10, I received a notification that I ascended and a bunch of new stuff popped up like circle and what not. So."


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "I understand, let us speak about ascension first and foremost, there are few Tiers that are known as the threshold, reaching that threshold is known as ascension like you have reached the tenth Tier, there are simr tiers that are of great importance, like 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 650 and 850, with each level you will activate something like a circle, or some skill or perks. So Ryan, tell me do you know what a perk is?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "It is a kind of skill?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No it is a bit crude but no, perks are kind of mutation one undergoes when ced under certain conditions like being forced to endure poisonous substances can cause a normal person to gain the poison resistance perk."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "But I"


    Ylerias stopped him from speaking as she spoke, "I said a normal person, not an apostle, we are different to the point I doubt we can call ourselves normal, as I have mentioned before we are as a champion or avatar of our patron Goddess or Gods, we are different unlike us many would not even gain any perk whereas we, well you know by how many perks we have managed to gain."


    Ryan nodded as Michalina spoke with a frown, "Is there any limit to the number of perks one can have?"


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes, though initially you will only have ten, but in some cases after reaching a threshold a person might gain extras, also if you find that a perk has some form of simrity they tend to fuse to create a single one new one, as such if you are careful you might end up using an extremelyrge number of perks."


    "The best part of a perk is the ease of its use, now for skills or techniques there are three types, external, internal and support, external skills are those that when used causes a change in the environment, by change I mean a fireball flung towards the enemy, healing spell that closes and cures a wound, they are affecting the surrounding as such they are called external, the support simply supports the other skills."


    She took a drink from the ss of water to soothe her throat as she continued, "Now the next is internal, internal simply affect the person who is using it, like for example stone flesh, stone flesh simple hardens the skin of the caster to make them near as strong as stone, so far do you have any questions?"


    "um, can you please give an example of ''Support skill''?"


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Support skills are rare but very useful, the best example I can think of is ''Multi Cast'', just think for a moment you are sitting with five friends who are talking with five different subjects that arepletely unrted to each other, now can you talk with them the same time or can you talk with them one by one?"


    "Of course I will have to speak with them one by one."


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Skills are the same, you cannot invoke two skills at the same time, you may have to invoke them one by one, although they may be active together after the invocation, you can only invoke them one at a time and this is where ''Multi Castes into effect as it enables you to invoke two or more different skills at the same time."


    "So I have given you the basics of the type of skills, are you with me so far?"


    The siblings gave a nod as Ylerias continued, "Now before we move back to ''Circle'', there is something you should know about skills and perks, perks are difficult to gain by normal people, not to mention there is a limit to it, as such people have created skills that mimic the effect of certain perks take for example the perk ''Hawk-Eye'', a perk that enables one to gain not only a sharp vision but also increases their range. Now there exists a skill with a simr name, so Ryan, can you guess what can be the drawback of the skill inparison to the perk?"


    Ryan''s face scrunched up in deep thought for a moment before he spoke, "Well from what I have observed perks do not need Mana to activate, but skills do."


    "Absolutely correct, the skills need mana to activate or in some cases, it requires a constant supply of Mana to keep it activated, but perks do not, another con about skill is that the more you use the better you get and it takes time from a few days to even decades in some cases to master itpletely, again if we go back to the previous example ''Hawk-Eye'', after spending time trying topletely mastering it you will find that you have the same amount of efficiency as someone who had just received the perk ''Hawk-Eye''."


    She took a small breath as she continued again, "Even afterpletely mastering the skill, you might see that the mana requirement, the cast time has been lowered for the ''Hawk-Eye'', but using it continuously will cause you to develop farsightedness, such problems will never ur in case of the perk, because the skill activating every time forces and causes your eye to suffering severe strain. But, that does not mean using a skill is bad in ce of perks in some cases after all perks are limited but skills are not so you will have to think carefully before choosing whether you have to use a skill or a perk of the same nature."


    "I hope you have managed to learn something Ryan?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Of course mydy."


    Ylerias smile sudden disappeared while she gained a frigid cold look on her face as she spoke, "Are my lessons boring Ryan?", her head then swivelled towards Michalina as if she was a horror movie character as she spoke, "Michalina what about you?"


    Both the siblings sat ramrod as they quickly shook their head as Ylerias''s eyes narrowed further, "Then why are you kicking each other, did you think that I would <strong>not</strong> be able to catch you kicking each other instead of paying attention to<strong> me.</strong>"


    Ryan sudden found the table to be rather interesting as Ylerias snapped back at him, "Look at me Ryan when I am speaking to you."


    Ryan sat a bit straighter as she continued, "I teaching you something rather important and<strong> instead you are thinking me screaming my throat hoarse and wasting my time is fun for you</strong>."


    She then looked at the scowling face of Michalina as she spoke, "And you, are you, not the older sibling? Given the fact that Ryan has to deal with truly dangerous stuff soon as he is an apostle, such basic knowledge is extremely vital for him, and yet here you are distracting him, fine kick each other as long as you want, I am leaving."


    With that, she stood up abruptly as her chair as she made her way towards the door swiftly but before she left turned to speak with a sigh, "Ryan, if you decide to act a bit mature and act like your station, dictates you might find me but next time alone, I do not like to be disturbed so make sure you arrive without any distraction."


    As soon as she left Ryan turned towards Michalina as he red at her as he spoke, "That was so your fault, who knows what she is thinking about us now."


    Michalina gave him a sheepish smile as she spoke, "Ohe on bro, her lecture was a bit boring."


    Ryan growled as he stamped on her feet hard a sickening crunch followed along with the sound of pain-filled gasp escaping Michalina''s lips which drained Ryan''s blood from his face as he quickly kneeled by her side profusely apologizing to her,<em> ''Damn it I should check my strength I ended up hurting my sister.''</em>

 Chapter 62: Learning from Ylerias(Part-2)

    Chapter 62: Learning from Ylerias(Part-2)


    "So this is where you all were forced to work Professor Anndrais?"


    Anndrais nodded as he spoke, "Yes these mysterious crystals were what we mined which the ''Pig King'' and his army used them rather extensively to increase their strength."


    "I see", as Ryan touched it he could feel the mana trapped inside it.


    "Mana Crystals extremely low Grade."


    Ryan turned towards the speaker before he spoke, "Mana Crystals? What are they Dasyra?"


    "Sometimes the wild Mana gathers around in ce especially in some caves and forms this Mana Crystals, there are many theories and spections but no one has ever found the real reason, though it is a shame this one is ruined."


    "How so?", Professor Anndrais could not help but ask out as he moved his hand over the crystal.


    "Simple, look over there do you see the ck marks over there, it indicates that the Mana stored inside is being slowly leaking."


    Her eyes full of sympathy fell on Anndrais as she spoke, "There are methods and tools to mine them correctly but since it was not followed the crystal lodes are damaged badly and is leaking, within a month it would be all gone."


    Anndrias sighed at that as he spoke, "We were forced to work so hard to gather them yet hours upon hours spend to even get a small chunk, I will gather others to mine it out so that we can use it.


    Dasyra looked at him confused before she spoke with rm, "Do not tell me you are nning to consume it."


    As Anndrais nodded Dasyra spoke in a hurried tone, "Please don''t this crystals are only meant for created of weapons, armours and in some case certain potion, but if you take it raw you will not only get heavily addicted to it but you will suffer extreme pain and even death is not possible."


    Anndrais looked rmed at that as he spoke, "But, they were using it a lot and they were growing strong upon using it."


    "It is true that by directly using the crystals you grow strong but at the end of the day the harm caused by it is not worth though you should be grateful that it was only low grade otherwise you would have been burying you after you suffered a slow agonizing death."


    Anndrais paled even more as Dasyra continued, "Your females were used so much by this mongrels, yet none of them is pregnant have you ever wondered why?"


    As Anndrais shook his head Dasyra continued to speak, "Simple consuming it turns you sterile.", she frowned for a moment before she spoke, "I think you all should get yourselves checked after all you all were forced to mine, who knows what harm you might have to suffer."


    Anndrais muttered some excuse as he quickly left, Dasyra then bowed in front of Ryan as she spoke, "Sorry Your Holiness for being so familiar with you, Her Holiness has asked me to find an escort you to her."


    Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment before he spoke with a sigh, "Then please escort me to Lady Ylerias''s ce."


    <em>''Ugh do I have to hear His Holiness every day till I die, this was funny for the first few times, but now it is so damn annoying.''</em>


    A few minutester Ryan stood in front of Lady Ylerias he spoke, "I wish humbly convey my heartfelt apologizes for what the incident on behalf of my sister and I."


    Ylerias looked at him for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "Let bygones are bygones but I hope you would pay more attention now, and will not cause simr problems in the future, remember you are no longer a child but an apostle."


    Ryan nodded at that as Ylerias continued, "However that does not mean you should break your sister''s foot."


    Ryan blushed at that as he spoke, "That was an ident I was angry with her and I misjudged my strength when I stomped her foot."


    Ylerias simply shook her head as she spoke, "You have to restrain yourself otherwise in the future you might end up causing some serious problem, always remember you are no longer human anymore."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "What do you mean? Do the humans of your world not have any magic in them?"


    "Of course they have, but you will know more as time progresses, but enough of that I heard that you were about to create some machines so I hope you would not mind if I conduct your lessons while I watch you work."


    Ryan nodded as he began leading Ylerias while limping with the help of his crutch.


    "Yesterday I was teaching you about perks and skills right?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes Lady Ylerias."


    "Well there is something that I learned recently, due to decrease in our tier, we have be incredibly weaker, and with our weakness, many skills that we possessed have be useless, Maralyn who had treated you would have fixed you within seconds has been unable to heal you even after a couple of days, do you understand how much valuable skills are no essible to us because of the loss of our tier."


    "Will regain them after you reach your tier?"


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes we would, but can you guess what happened to our perks?"


    Ryan gained a contemtive look on his face before he spoke, "If I am not wrong you have not lost your perks."


    "Splendid, we have not lost them true some of them are a chore to handle now as our bodies are no longer as strong as they used to be, but they are there without losing even an iota of their strength."


    They walked for a moment without saying any word to each other when suddenly Ryan remembered a question that he needed to ask, "Ah I forgot something, what about the ''Circle''?"


    "'' Circle'' huh, well the first thing you need to know about the Circle is that only a few normal people have the honour of gaining Circles, they are extremely rare for them as they are seen as blessings of the Gods which they receive upon reaching the threshold, even getting one circle is a great honour for them, unlike us who receive one every time we reach a threshold."


    A flicker of a smug smile went passed Ylerias face which was noticed by Ryan, ''<em>Damn that woman has some serious pride, well who wouldn''t be if they are their Goddess''s right hand.''</em>


    "Can you show me?"


    Ylerias face especially when seeing the shiny expectant eyes off Ryan as she spoke with a soft voice, "I wish I could Ryan, but it seems they are locked at the moment, I believe if I were to regain my level I would be able to use them."


    "Aw, I so wanted to see one."


    "Did you not get one when you reached Tier 10."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Well I got a choice but I have yet to pick one, they are all good as such I am taking time to see which one I should pick."


    Ylerias raised one of her elegant eyebrows as she spoke, "Whoever you Goddess or God is, seems to pamper you a lot, most of the times we do not get a choice and getting one upon reaching the first threshold is unheard of."


    Ryan simply smiled as he spoke, "I would not mind getting pampered even more."


    Ylerias snorted at that as the duo walked silently towards the destination which was coincidently at the heart of the Mana Crystal mine.


    Ryan then began to work his magic, while Ylerias sat on a chair that had been brought by one of her subordinates, her eyes narrowed as she watched every movement of Ryan like a hawk after its prey.


    <em>''Interesting very interesting, he is creating machines that even magi-crafters would have to spend ages to learn, he is using runes, alchemy and many esoteric arts yet he knows nothing of them, he is simply moving his hand as a ghostly image is forming which then is solidifying to create the real stuff, very interesting, but still, I cannot think or discern who is his patron God or Goddess is, he has so many different abilities from different Deities it is impossible to discern whose apostle he really is. Maybe if I keep my eye out and I will learn about it eventually.</em>''

 Chapter 63: Planning the way back (part-1)

    Chapter 63: nning the way back (part-1)


    Ryan dumped the various parts that he had needed toplete his next creation it had been a couple of days since he had set up his factory which he had used to procure resources for his next creation while waiting for it, he had created various kinds of lights that managed to keep the camp as bright as a day.


    Even though the presence of the mana crystal mine had increased the efficiency of his machines it was nowhere near that was at his base, as such it took him some time to gather his necessary ingredients to create his new project.


    As time passed many of his fellow humans had taken a shine to him instantly especially when he began to craft bulbs to light to tear apart the darkness of the night, providing them with weapons though mostly swords, spears and clubs as he did not want to waste any time or resources on other things instead of trying to finish the creation of his new project.


    What was his project, well it was simple he was busy making a helicopter, at first he thought making a gyrocopter would be enough it was much easier and required less resource than the helicopter but it required a small runway well it was small enough to have been easily created but at the same time a helicopter was much more reliable and safer, not to mention strongerpared to a Gyrocopter.


    But, that was not the only idea they had mulled over as Nikita had suggested creating an amphibious ne which even Ryan agreed to as it would have greater range and speedpared to the other two, and theke that had now merged with the river had provided excellentnding area and he would have gone along with it if not for the weirdrge creatures that they saw swimming when they went inspect the creature, an unknown creature that even the elves did not know about discouraged him greatly.


    "So this is the nding pad''?"


    As Ylerias asked him a question Ryan simply turned his head as he gave him a nod as he spoke, "Yes, this reinforced roof will be thending pad as it is the highest part of this base not to mention wide as such with only a little bit of fixing it is now usable."


    "Why the highest part though?"


    Ryan simply smiled back at her as he spoke, "The vehicle that I am about to create needs some space and with it being firmly secured than the other side of the gate it was my best choice."


    Ylerias did not say anything as she watched Ryan work, that was all she had been doing for thest couple of days just sit there and watch Ryan work his magic trying to analyze his magic in great details.


    <em>''If the situation was reversed I would only throw him a few crumbs but never allow him to watch and see my performing my magic, he could have copied but upon seeing that I can make no head or tell about what he is doing.''</em>


    She watched as an oval-shaped object was created that stood on iron legs, as certain parts of it were covered with ss, a cross-shaped soon found itself being ced on top, with simr being ced at its tail, she saw him cing weird devices that he called as engines and then with the help of wire attach them to various parts of the vehicle that he referred to a helicopter.


    <em>''How does it work, the wheeled one I can understand by watching it once that it moves on the ground, but this one is different if does not have wheels and I do not see any reason for it to be built so high up from the ground with such short and rigid legs it would not jump or walk, but then..''</em>, as her thoughts trailed for a moment before it came to a halt,<em> ''Do not tell me it can fly!!!''</em>


    As the thoughts crossed her mind she sat up a bit straighter, it was true that by using various animals and spells she had seen people fly, but never even in her wildest imagination did she think that someone could create a vehicle that could fly.


    <em>''Did vehicles that can fly fairlymon in his civilization, maybe I should wait and see how it unfolds.''</em>


    Meanwhile, Ryan was in a world of his own, as he installed the dashboard of his helicopter, ''<em>Hmm, with most of the controls full installed the only thing left is the collective and throttle, then I would have to fill with its tanks and I would be ready, now if only Ylerias would stop looking at me without blinking bestowing upon me her undivided attention I would have been much happier.''</em>


    A few more minutester Ryan wiped the sweat of his brows as he spoke, "I have finished creating it, and the only thing I need to do is to fill up its fuel tank and it is ready to go by.", he then looked up towards the sky for a moment as he spoke, "By tomorrow I guess after all it is well past noon and night time would not do them good so well I believe you will have to wait till tomorrow then to see it work."


    A flicker of annoyance went past her face that secretly brought joy to Ryan, ''<em>Serves her right for stalking me like that, does she have no job other than keeping an eye and to observe me as if I am some sort of exotic animal.''</em>


    Ylerias stood from her seat as she spoke, "Fair enough, so when do you think they would leave?"


    Ryan scratched his chin as a frown marred his face as he spoke, "Well I believe they will leave at the first light of dawn."


    Later on during the evening the group everyone had gathered around to what seemed to be a mess hall, Yleriad had upied a corner with her followers surrounding her as they ate in silence except for the asional whispering, Ryan picked up a couple of bowl of what seemed to be a soup made up of meat and vegetables that had been ced on top of some hot steaming rice, though I was more meat than vegetables or rice, and as for the vegetables it was some nt withrge leaves and nothing else.


    He carried his bowl along with another for his sister, who had effectively upied one that was further from Ylerias he handed her a bowl as he sat beside her, "How are you doing Sis?"


    Michalina simply smiled at him as she spoke, "No harm done brother a few days of rest and I would be alright though I would rmend please refrain from stomping on my feet in the future."


    Ryan looked guilty at that as he spoke, "Sorry Sis I got kind of carried away."


    Michalina waved him off his concern and guilt as she took a bite of her food only to grimace as she spoke, "It needs salt very urgently if I remember correctly did we not have some in our trailer."


    Nikita grimaced at that as she spoke, "We gave them to the people here and it seems all of them had been used up."


    Michalina sighed at that as she spoke, "Damn it, I need salt so badly."


    "Me too Sis, maybe we could venture forth to get some."


    "Maybe we could but what about tomorrow will you be going to, Ryan?"


    "I wish sis, but I would be useless as I do not know how to make a map nor fly a copter, and not to mention I have created only a two-seater so no."


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "Fair enough, Jessica and Nige are you ready for tomorrow."


    Jessica frowned as she spoke, "I am but at the same time I feel a bit unease about the entire matter."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Me too, after all, you two would be extremely vulnerable if you get attacked mid-air."


    Ryan poked his food for a moment before he spoke, "They copter I created may not be able as good as most of the modern attack helicopters but it would definitely give them a good challenge, even if it looks a lot like a civilian, also there are a couple of weapons attached to it that you could use, before dawn you would not only have enough fuel but around three thousand rounds of ammunition."


    Nige smiled at that as she spoke, "That is good, it would be a great help."


    Ang sighed as she spoke, "Maybe so but even then a human-made machine would fall short of natural fliers inparison to agility."


    Ryan nodded at her statement as he spoke, "That may be so but I believe my copter would be faster than the bird that kidnapped me by quite a lot."


    Michalina leaned back on the wall as she spoke, "At least something is reassuring in all this at the very least it increases the chances of survival."


    Jessica nodded at that as she spoke, "You know I would have loved an aerone if not for theck of runway and the dangerous creatures lurking underneath the waters I would have preferred an aerone."


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "Me too."


    Ang looked towards Michalina as she spoke, "Are we going to escort all these people to Genesis?"


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes we are and I am working on the n, and that is why the scouting mission is vital especially because of the flood we might need to change our initial route."


    With the group ate in silence after all a couple of them needed their rest as they would have a tiring task soon, a task that was full of danger yet no hope of help if things went awry.

 Chapter 64: Planning the way back (part-2)

    Chapter 64: nning the way back (part-2)


    "Is the controls familiar to you?"


    Jessica nodded as Ryan continued, "Please finish the pre-flight check and remember if you face any problem no matter how insignificant it might seem to be returned back post-haste."


    Jessica simply tousled his hair as he gained scowl on his face as he spoke, "Be serious we do not have any methods to rescue you."


    "I know Ryan, I know but you should stop worrying so much, nothing will happen I trust in your machine."


    Ryan huffed at that as he spoke, "Thank you for trusting my machine but please do not forget that anything can happen so please be vignt."


    Jessica gave him a small smile as she spoke, "There is no need for you to worry I will be vignt.", she then lowered her voice as she spoke barely above a whisper, "Though I should not speak ill Ylerias is getting on my nerves with how she is staring without blinking.''


    Ryan replied with a simr conspiratorial tone, "Hmm, now do you understand what I had to endure for hours after hours, I can understand her to need to know something new but she feels as if"


    "Sush, she ising this way."


    Ryan immediately became silent as Jessica spoke, "Do not worry Ryan, we will be back before you know it.", she then turned towards Ylerias as she spoke in a respectful tone, "Your Holiness Good Morning."


    Ylerias simply gave a nod as Ryan spoke with a smile, "Good Morning Lady Ylerias."


    "Good Morning Lord Ryan, how have you been?"


    "I am fine and you?"


    "I am fine as well, though is your machine ready to fly."


    Ryan did not show any emotions but inwardly he sighed, ''It was supposed to be a surprise but oh well she is intelligent enough to figure it out.''


    "Do you have simr means of transport?"


    "Of course we might not have something of simr design but we do, the more I see the more I am amazed at how far your civilization has progressed without the use of magic, I hope to see the glimpse of them even more."


    Ryan smiled at her as he spoke, "I will try my very best."


    Michalina simply send a respectful nod towards Ylerias as she turned towards Jessica and Nige as she spoke, "Are you two ready?"


    Jessica and Nige nodded as Nige spoke, "Yesmander."


    Michalina nodded at that as she ushered the group away from the copter as she spoke towards Ylerias, "Your Holiness, staying too close towards the de is not advisable so please let us move towards safety."


    As Ylerias acquiesced at her demand as they moved descended down to safety only for Ryan to be taken aback at the sight of every upant of their base huddled together trying to catch sight of the helicopter.


    "I see unlike me who was simply curious your people seemed to be full of hope seeing the flying machine that you have created."


    Ryan smiled slightly at that as he spoke, "I hope I am able to fulfill their hope, you know we were not ustomed to living like this and all of a sudden losing everything we had might be too much for us."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as she spoke, "So have you finished your nning, on how to ferry these people all the way to your home base, I hope you are not nning to leave them here."


    Ryan shook his head as he replied back, "Of course not, I will ferry them back home, but I do not know how.", he then turned towards Ylerias as he spoke, "Can you fly using magic?"


    Ylerias nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes you can, we even had vehicles that could fly using magic, though I will have to disappoint you because neither my guards nor I know how to enchant one."


    "I hope that one day we meet one of those who could create such marvels and see one in action."


    Soon the sound of helicopter''s rotors moving at high speed was heard, as a small storm was unleashed and soon it was up in air climbing fast but surely up into the sky.


    Ylerias send an appreciative look towards it as she spoke, "That was a wonderful disy."


    "My Lady all preparations have beenpleted."


    Ylerias looked at the kneeling elven guard as she spoke, "Then tell others to gather near the entrance I will meet them there, now leave."


    As the guard left Ryan could not help but ask out loud, "Are you leaving?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "I am heading out on a hunt we will be back in a few days time after all it is high time we begin to regain our strength."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Excuse me, Your Holiness, there is something that I want to ask of you."


    As Ylerias gave her nod of consent Michalina continued, "You said ''Our Strength'' does that mean you have a way to increase your people and your strength."


    Ylerias nodded as she confirmed her question as she spoke, "Of course if you hunt down creatures you will gain an increase in your level, in fact after you are healed you should try it out."


    Michalina frowned at that as she spoke, "I see though how will your people level up without the use of special stone."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "They will not but that does not mean you should stop trying to level up, because I know that most of my guards would gain many more levels when they finally get a chance to level up.", she sends a discreet nce towards others who were listening as she spoke, "How about this after I return we will have a discussion on it, I do not wish to waste daylight so it is high time for me to leave."


    "Lady Ylerias if I may have a small request."


    Ylerias looked at Ryan as she spoke, "What is it Lo... Ryan?"


    ''How long will I have to adhere to his request, of not calling him as his station dictates, it is getting rather ridiculous.''


    "Lady Ylerias you are going to hunt a lot of creatures so if possible please bring as many hides as possible I wish to convert them into clothes as well as other things that we need desperately."


    Ylearias nodded at that as she spoke, "Of course you are correct I will try my best to bring as much hide and meat as possible you have nothing to worry."


    A few minutester Ryan watched as the group of elves disappeared amongst the sea of trees as he turned towards his sister as he spoke, "So what now sis?"


    "You can go and work on some project or retire with the rest of us to the radio room, and monitor the scouting mission."


    Jessica looked down from the helicopter as Nige spoke with a grimace, "It was just our luck that we were on higher grounds or else the camp would have been underwater, just look at that area where the broken trailer was, it is at the banks of the river."


    Jessica smiled at Nige as she pointed towards a certain direction drawing Nige''s attention, who looked towards it with her eyes narrowed before she spoke, "What are you pointing at, it looks ..", her jaw detached for a moment before she spoke with disbelief, "No way that was our temporary base, the same base where we faced the abomination and it is halfway underwater, I cannot believe it."


    "Hey, Nige I have a question for you."


    "What is it?"


    "Well hypothetically speaking if the apocalypse had not taken ce, what do you think Ryan''s bounty for destroying the oil terminal and copsing the dam would be?"


    Nige gained a contemtive look on her face as she spoke, "Hypothetically speaking if the apocalypse had not taken ce he would have been in the US to further his studies, so I do not see him blowing the Oil terminal and copsing the Dam, not to mention the damage the explosion on the oil terminal would cause Navch city, the flood which would have affected millions of people and thousands would have died."


    "Just humor me Nige."


    Nige sighed as she spoke while peering down towards the flooded region, "You must be really bored for thinking such hypothetical scenarios, but I would not be surprised if he had at least a hundred million dors as his bounty."


    "Nah I believe he would have even more."


    Nige snorted at that as she spoke, "Like our Government would pay that much."


    Jessica wagged her fingers as she spoke, "Uh uh you forgot about taxes, they would have taxed you so heavily that you would have received peanuts even that would take decades for you to receive bypassing all the red tapes."


    Nige smirked back at her as she spoke, "You forgot the ssic excuse, ''There are too much and too many expenses due to the disaster but do not worry we will pay you soon.''"


    Jessica broke into a giggle as Ryan''s voice came through the crackling of the radio, "Jessica, Nige you know I can hear you and can feel the love."


    His voice was followed by eh stern voice of Michalina, "Instead of engaging in useless banter you should focus on your mission and by the way Nige I will say a little over five hundred million Kuwait Dinar at the bare minimum."


    A stunned silence descended as the duo could only hear the thunderous sound of the copter only for Ryan''s voice to shatter the silence, "How could you Michalina, why are you encouraging them."


    "What I have done nothing, except state the obvious my brother is too good for a measly hundred million dors bounty, it should be much more."


    "That is not the point you want me to gain infamy as a terrorist."


    Michalina tilted her head as she spoke, "But did you not like that anime where the more infamy the person had the higher the bounty and they would perceive as incredibly cool and awesome so I do not see why are you protesting."


    An anguished cry was heard before Nikita''s voice came to their ears, "I can now understand why Ryan broke your toes, healing you was a mistake."


    The duo riding the helicopter could not help butugh out loud only for their helicopter to shake as Jessica momentarily lost her control.


    "Wah easy Jessica, Control be advised not to joke around too much, we are getting distracted."


    Ang looked at Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan have you decided on what you are going to use."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I have some but ideas but I need to consult you all."


    Michalina winced as she lifted her leg to rest on a chair as she spoke, "What is it Ryan?"


    Ryan collected his thoughts at the moment as she spoke, "I have run various scenarios in my mind since we have arrived by following the river we know that the somehow the river has shifted and if we are to follow the water then we would reach the fort, but herein lies the problem, we are ind as such the usage of the sea is discarded and even after that the river is overflowing because of the flood, but in normal case some parts of it are knee-deep only not to mention the wonderful creatures so using the river to travel is out of the question, as the floodwater might subside and the flow may return to original and a ship that can carry over a thousand people is big and time-consuming to make."


    As others nodded as Ryan continued, "The second case is by road now there are two problems I should like to point out one is we can have separate cars and the other is bynd trai"


    "Land Train?!", an overexcited Ang interrupted Ryan, as she nearly gushed with happiness, "Of course and train it would be cool."


    Only for her happiness to simmer down as both Michalina and Nikita looked at her with their brows raised in confusion except Ryan who nodded at her as she spoke, "Yes I have thought of that."


    "Can anyone exin to me what is a ''Land Train'', it seems that both Nikita and I are clueless about it as the only thing thates to my mind is a train and given the state of affairs I doubt we have any rails left for the train to move."


    "No, big sis I am not talking about railways but a truck dragging enough trailers behind it that it is like a small train, and in fact, if I am not quite wrong it is also known as ''Road Train'' and it is quite famous in Australia."


    "I see bro so why don''t you present before us its pros and cons, and then we will be able to decide which one to use."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Fair enough."

 Chapter 65: Planning the way back (part-3)

    Chapter 65: nning the way back (part-3)


    "Is this axe to your liking?"


    Cai Bai held the axe in his hand as he inspected it before giving it a few mock swings as he spoke, "Yes this is perfectly well bnced I like it."


    Ryan smiled towards him as he spoke, "Well I am d that you liked my creation."


    "Well, Ryan there is something that I want to ask you?"


    "Yes, what is it?"


    "Can you make guns for us, it would be useful."


    Ryan grimaced inwardly his sister had told him to stall as much when it came to the matter of guns as much as possible, after all, they are unsure of the people present and thest thing that they would want is to handover some guns over to some homicidal maniac.


    As such with a fake apologetic look on his face he spoke, "I am really sorry but at the moment I am working on the defence of the base as such guns for individuals would be a problem, not to mention the guns I make you would not be able to use."


    Cai Bai frowned seeing the look on his face Ryan simply brought out his gun and presented it to him as he spoke, "Try lifting it."


    Cai Bai looked curiously at the offered weapon as he tried to lift only for him to drop it on the ground as he jumped back to avoid it from crushing his toes as he looked it with a surprised look on his face, "This weapon is too he", whatever he was about to say was lost as he looked at Ryuu with his eyes wide as he watched him carelessly juggle the weapon with his right hand as if it was nothing.


    "Heavy, I know and this is also one of the reasons that I am not putting the rest of my work to hand you guns, the world has changed and for the better or worse so have we, this weapon is only a Tier 4 weapon, yet no one is strong to wield it except for myself even then this weapon is kind of obsolete for me and is not strong enough for some creatures that are roaming around, I can create even more low tiered weapons but it will be akin to using water gun against a tank, and since the resources are already strained and it would be a waste to create something for you that you will not be of much use except to kill each other."


    He waited for a moment before he spoke, "I can prioritize making guns and weapons over setting up proper defences but how will it work when you cannot even cut to wield it, how will it help if it cannot defend against the beast, because at the end of the day it would be useless at the end of the day, nothing more nothing less as such I am focusing on setting up better defences at the moment."


    Cai Bai bit his lips as he spoke, "Are the creatures really that dangerous out there?"


    Ryan sighed at his question as he spoke, "Have you heard about our trailer that we used toe here."


    Cai Bai frowned at that as he spoke, "Yes I have tidbits about it, heard it was destroyed."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I hope you know what an RPG is?", as Cai Bai nodded in confirmation a small smile formed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "The trailer that I created was hit by multiple RPGs, bullets, Molotov and nothing happened to it, not even a scratch and yet one creature rammed the same trailer and tore it pieces in one hit, a creature that shrugged off our bullets and only died because I was able t outwit it, do you now understand what we had to deal with.


    Cai Bai simply nodded with a pained look on his face before he left with a tired sigh, while Ryan slouched forward tiredly, ''How long will I have to give excuses such as this, I am not good at giving excuses, but still what I said was not a lie even then a few might get angry and hostile.''


    He looked up and winced as he saw another personing towards him, ''Well get ready to deal with another, I should not have shown my powers.''


    "Err... I need a kitchen you see I kin.. Thank you, Thank you so much."


    As the woman left Ryuu left out a sigh, ''<em>I hate it, I wanted to be an astronaut not a salesman of cutlery and knives, even weapon dealer was much better than this, I want to go back home.''</em>


    "Hey Ryan, how is your shop running?"


    Ryan looked towards Jessica as he gave her the stink eye before he spoke with a grumble, "Please stop calling it shop."


    Jessica shrugged at that as she spoke, "So what you are creating stuff and selling it, as such it is a shop."


    "I am not getting paid."


    Jessica waved it off as she spoke, "Meh small stuff not worthy of attention."


    Her statement made Ryan double-take at that, ''How is she disregarding one of the most important parts of a shop the money, just how bored is she that she is trying so hard to make fun of me in such boorish manner.''


    "So how was yourtest trip?"


    "It was fine and finally we have a map of the entire region, and I would like to add that we found something that you might find useful."


    Ryan could not keep hold of his enthusiasm as he spoke out, "What is it?"


    Jessica smirked at him as she replied, "A rail yard, we have flown towards the general direction of the Fort Genesis as such we missed it, but there is arge rail yard to be found if you move towards the direction of Navch, it is so hidden because of the trees that are difficult to spot even if it is only a few of kilometres from our current base."


    Ryan gained a contemtive look on his face before he replied with a nod, "Does it have any trains?"


    "Plenty of trains for days, I do not think you will have any shortages of it for some time and the best part almost all of them are passenger wagons as well as a good few engines, though many are wrecked."


    "No problem, it would be faster to gather them up and create the Land Train, than creating from scratch, at best I will be done within a couple of weeks at most instead of months, it is difficult to gather resources from this ce."


    Jessica nodded before she spoke with a frown, "So when are we leaving?"


    Ryan''s face scrunched up for a moment in deep thought, "Let me ask big sis, it would be arge undertaking, not to mention time-consuming as such we need sufficient amount of protection along with us."


    A loud horn bellowing out loud drew their attention as the duo ran up towards the wall of their base as fast as they could. Gone were the rickety wooden walls as in their ce was grey coloured concrete blocks that made up the walls protecting the base.


    As the duo stood atop the wall they were soon joined by others as Ryan spoke with a frown, "Hey did their numbers increase."


    Jessica nodded at that as she spoke, "It seems so they had been absent for near about a week and now they are back with even more, including some children, impressive."


    As the door opened wide Ylerias stepped inside like Queen without paying attention to the ''peasants''around her then her eyes fell on Ryan as a small smile graced her face as she greeted him with a small nod of her head.


    Ryan simply jumped down from the wall as he made his way towards Ylerias as he greeted her back, "Wee back Lady Ylerias have your journey been safe and fruitful."


    Meanwhile back with the rest of the humans, Anndrais simply narrowed his eyes as he looked at the interaction between the two as one of his fellow former ves spoke, "Something is going on between the two."


    Anndrais nodded in agreement as he spoke, "That woman is like some kind of Holy woman of theirs as such they revere her and in a way worship her, her guards her polite and when we approach, that is if her guards allow us and even then we have to be extremely respectful to her, but that Ryan fellow is not only treated with respect by her guards, he is also treated as if he is her peer for reasons unknown."


    The person standing near him frowned for a moment before he spoke, "Is it because he has some magical powers."


    Anndrais shook his head as he spoke, "I do not think so, some of us including his own sister have magical powers yet they are treated like the rest of us but he is different why?"


    "I once overheard some of them referring to him as ''Lord Ryan''."


    Anndrais looked towards the speaker who was a woman in her mid-fifties with a few strands of grey hairs standing by his side looking intently at Ryan as she continued to speak, "Something is going one, something they are hiding from us, if you listen intently you might catch the Guards calling him as Lord and then the fiasco when he arrived here for the first time, something fishy is going on, and as for his sister I doubt she is really his sister they look nothing alike, nothing at all."


    Anndrais hummed in thought as he spoke, "We have to keep an eye on them, thest thing we want is the repeat of the Pig king or something worse."


    "It was fine Ryan and extremely fruitful as I found some more of my brethren whom I brought along with me."


    Ryan gave her a small smile as he spoke, "That is extremely good news, I will not waste your time you all must be tired so please take some rest."


    Ylerias nodded before her eyes travelled to the walls as she spoke, "Before I leave to take my rest there is something I wish to ask you, Ryan."


    As Ryan nodded in agreement Ylerias spoke with a curious look on her face, "I noticed that the walls are made up of some weird grey coloured stones what are they, they are so smooth."


    Ryan looked at the walls briefly as he spoke with a smile, "That is no stone mydy but a substance known as concrete which we use to create our houses and various infrastructures, they are quite sturdy and much easier to use than stones."


    "I see.", she looked at it briefly before she spoke again with a sigh, "Well I am taking my leave for the moment, but before that could you please get someone to help my people settle down."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Of course, I will have no problem with that, I just know the correct person for that."

 Chapter 66: Planning the way back (part-4)

    Chapter 66: nning the way back (part-4)


    Lily has always been a good girl, she had always listened to her parents and they loved her very much, except the time when those mean men had held them as ves it was so horrifying that she still had nightmares but her parents chased them away.


    But, now she was in corundum, her new friends had wanted to climb down and explore the area under a trap door that they had stumbled upon, she was vehemently against it but the threat of never letting her y with them tore apart any resistance as such she along with four others climbed down the trap door.


    It had been some time since their departure had been noticed and it was a long time before others stumbled upon the hidden trap door, a quick search through the unknown territory quickly led them outside the base where another trap doorter they encountered small footprints on the mud.


    Cai Bai who was leading the search let loose a string of curses in his native tongue, curses that would have effectively made him a shoo-in for the ''Worst Mouth of the Year Award'' before they all left as fast as they could to search for their missing children.


    Ryan wiped the bead of sweat off his temple as he put thest of the herbs inside his bag, with a groan he stood up as he looked towards Dasyra''a direction as he spoke, "So have we managed to fulfil our quota?"


    Dasyra nodded as she replied, "Yes Your Holiness, for the time being, we have finished gathering everything we need."


    Ryan simply gave a small nod as he looked towards the direction of the base before letting out a jaw ripping as he spoke tiredly, "Well since we have finished I think I would go back and take a nap."


    "As you wish Your Holiness, though if I may be rude and ask you something?"


    Ryan looked at her before he spoke with a shrug, "You may."


    "Why have you apanied me?"


    Ryan blushed at her question as he spoke with an embarrassed look on his face, "The people were always asking me to make this and that not to mention some of them wereining too much about various things I needed a breather."


    "I see then shall we make our way to the base Your Holiness."


    Ryan nodded towards her as the duo began to make their way towards their base silently and soon they could see therge concrete walls surrounding the base with Elven archers manning the walls keeping a vignt eye on the surrounding when suddenly picked up a horn and bellowed it out loud as every archer froze before they dashed towards the source of the sound.


    Ryan tilted his head slightly as he spoke, "Dasyra what does the blowing of the horn mean?"


    As he looked towards her he was taken aback at the hardening of her eyes as she replied to him in an urgent tone, "Your Holiness we have to move a beast tide has been spotted."


    Ryan''s eyes had widened considerably as he began to move towards the base entrance as fast as he could, more like Dasyra ran as fast as she could while Ryan simply jogged by her side.


    For the first time I am d of my stats.'', a thought formed in his mind for a hundredth time, only for him to freeze at the sight of the horde.


    For the horde had humans who were desperately trying to outrun it, humans who were carrying children and the horde was gaining on them, the Elven archers were doing a rather fantastic job of killing the creatures but he knew that it would be not enough as a single swipe would kill them and they still had quite a few distances to cover, ''<em>Me and my bleeding heart</em>.''


    "Dasyra make post haste towards the gate make sure that you help them enter while I stall the horde, as soon as they enter no matter what close the gates."


    "But"


    "<strong>GO!!</strong>", Ryan shouted back towards her as he stopped her from protesting before he dashed towards the horde at full speed, while he whispered lowly, "Circle Activate."


    Cai Bai''s face was drained of all blood as he ran as fast as he could, his muscles groaned and burned yet he pushed forward with the child in his arms, he could have dropped the whimpering and scared child and then he would have run even faster but what descend human would leave behind a child to save themselves, no one.


    Ryan took out his gun and aimed only to grimace, <em>''Damn it they are in the way of my shot.</em>'', his gun vanished as he dashed forward like an arrow released from the bow towards the iing horde.


    Ylerias was taking a nap when all of a sudden the sound of horn jolt her awake, <em>''Why are they making so much ruckus? I simply want to sleep.</em>'', it took a few seconds before her thoughts were cleared as she jumped up from her bed, ''<em>That pattern of the horn means we are under attack, <strong>ATTACK</strong></em><strong>!</strong>'', she screamed mentally before rushing out of her room almost tearing the door off the hinges.


    Jessica was ying a game of cards along with herrades and one Maralyn, who was quite intrigued with the new game but as the sound came she jumped up as she shouted towards them, "Hurry we are under .", with that she dashed off.


    Michalina simply shared a brief look with Jessica before they followed after her hot on her heels while a small look of panic passed her face,<em> ''Ryan was outside, did hee back, don''t tell me he got caught in something bad</em>.''


    A small rock tripped Cai Bai who fell hard on the ground as Lily was flung further away, he heard a snarl only to look back to see a horrid looking red-eyed zombie with drool leaking from its scarred mouth just a few inches from him, time seemed to slow down for him his entire life shed before his eyes, <em>''Am I going to die here? Without returning to my country, my family, my kids, the love of my life just like this.''</em>


    His thoughts were interrupted when a gust of wind followed by a loud crack was all he heard before a voice came to his ears, "Get up and run I will buy time and now move!"


    Ryan grimaced as he saw Cai Bai stumble and fall, and along with him the child he was carrying in his arms, he saw the Tier 4 Zombie was already upon him, but he was faster with his entire might he kicked the zombie hard, so hard that it flew back towards the horde and like a bowling pin knocked down quite a few, as he shouted to Cai Bai to run.


    His gun once again appeared in his hand as he squeezed the trigger hard releasing a torrential downpour of the bullets on the horde, the very same horde that had given up on chasing the fleeing group and focusedpletely on Ryan.


    Ylerias looked at the fight that was raging on as her jaw clenched, a bow without string appeared in her hand, she took aim and as she pulled the air three ethereal silver-white arrows along with string appeared before she let loose, Michalina looked at awe at not only her weapon but at her speed of firing the arrows.


    "Stop gawking at me, your brother needs you more."


    Michalina was brought back to her senses only to be horrified upon seeing the entire horde concentrated on her brother who was fighting while carrying the rifle of his in his left hand and sword in his right.


    Ryan ducked before bisecting a lunging zombie at him which exploded with a bang making Michalina cry out in fear, "Ryan!!"


    "Shut up Michalina and keep firing, Ryan is alright that his circle at work."


    And indeed she was right as Ryan stood without even a scratch whereas the rest of the zombies that were nearby were lit ame from the st as an agonizing unearthly scream ripped from their throat making Ylerias smirk as she spoke, "My my that is a rather nice circle."


    Ryan was in a frenzy he had all he saw was snarling drooling face, all he heard was only snarl, all he could smell of rancid decayed flesh and it was overwhelming to the point he wanted to hurl, <em>''Damn it, I miss my gear, ugh they smell so bad but still, my circle power is cool, and it would be cooler if the smell of burning bodies would not be surrounding me.''</em>


    Ryan looked from the corner of his eyes thest of the person had already entered through the door as such he did not waste any moment as he made a mad dash towards the entrance which was being guarded by Dasyra, he ran as fast as he could to the point that his legs were beginning to burn but he did not care.


    Dasyra looked at the Ryan who was making quick work of the undead creatures, but he was being slowly overwhelmed, even if he was being helped by others from the fort walls, they had to be careful not to identally injure him and as such, they were limited in the options especially when the creatures only died if their brain was destroyed, she looked at the fight as she bit her lips she desperately wanted to help but she knew that the current her would be a burden to him, as such with the bated breath she waited, waited for thest of the humans to enter into the safety of their base, when she watched Ryan break into a run, running way to fast before jumping inside the safety while she mmed the door shut as other quickly helped her to bolt it.


    "Open fire will kill them."


    Ylerias''s voice thundered around base followed by shes of magic while Dasyra helped Ryan to stand up before the duo ran up to the top of the wall.


    Michalina suddenly felt a feeling of warmth pass through her body, it felt like the warm rays of the sun after a rather cold night, and then it happened one of her bullets caused the creature to blowup and ignite the rest near it.


    "What are doing sis don''t stop firing?"


    "But I."


    "But nothing that was because of the effect of my circle though you are extremely lucky to trigger something with just a couple of shots, for now, focus after all we have a horde to deci"


    Ryan stooped speaking as he deadpanned upon seeing the sight in front of him, between his run and his climb up to the top of the wall the Elven archers along with Ylerias had decimated the horde, and it seemed as if they were waiting for him to get a bit away from the horde for them to work their magic.


    Ryan could only pout while Ylerias send smirk towards him as she spoke, "I hope you had a nice brawl out there."


    Ryan''s face scrunched up as he spoke, "What was nice about that? I am now covered head to toe with putrid flesh and blood and I stink."


    "Cai Bai, thank you thank you for saving our Lilly."


    Cai Bai simply waved his hand off as he spoke, "There is no need to thank me, I only did what any decent human should.", he then looked towards Ryan as he spoke with a smile, "If you wish to thank someone than thank the young man who saved our lives."


    Cai Bai did not understand but when Ryan had told him to run he just did that a part of him was ashamed on leaving him behind to face those horrifying creature but, the confidence in his voice made, he knew in his heart that Ryan would prevail."


    "As expected from an Apostle, always helping and caring for others even at the cost of their life, His Holiness is truly praiseworthy."


    They all turned towards the speaker and saw an Elf who had arrived a day before looking at Ryan reverently and as such Cai Bai could not help but ask out loud, "What are you talking about? Why are you calling Ryan as ''His Holiness'' and also what is an apostle?"


    The moment he asked the question Cai Bai suddenly felt as if he had asked a rather stupid question seeing the look on the Elf''s face which quickly turned to anger as the Elf spoke with disbelief, "What are asking about? Are you people Godless Heretics?Do you not have GODs? What kind of cursednd is this?"

 Chapter 67: Railyard(Part-1)

    Chapter 67: Railyard(Part-1)


    Ryan climbed out of his car as he looked around taking into sight of the rail yard.


    "Will this be enough, brother?"


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I hope so, but first we need to scout and eliminate any threats and establish a temporary base of operation."


    Michalina gave a small nod of agreement before she spoke with a frown, "Brother you seemed to be in deep thought since we have left the fort."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Did you see perceive anything different amongst the people in the fort."


    "If you mean the distrust, fear and uncertainty then it is plenty, even a blind person could spot it, though I wonder why?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I have no idea, though I fear someone might be spreading some rumours, they were mostly neutral a few of them were even friendly especially after I made them various stuffs, they were extremely grateful after I saved that man and the child but now all of a sudden it changed why I do not know.


    Michalina nodded at that as she spoke, "You are Right Ryan, there can be various possibilities ranging from mind control to rumour as such I would suggest against staying here, make sure you can move to and fro from this ce, spend most of the day working but from evening to early morning you should be there act friendly it would cause two things firstly it might enable you to present yourself favourably and secondly you might be able to discern the cause of this problem."


    "What are you two sibling talking about, in such a hush conspiratorial tone?"


    Michalina rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Jessica you could hear us well and if you have hearing problems then we were discussing the sudden change in the mood of the people back in the fort."


    Jessica gained a troubled look on her face as she spoke with a grunt, "I know I also have noticed but why?There are too many questions, too many suspects and no answers all we could do is to keep an eye out though I have noticed that all of these are mainly directed towards him, though we also are receiving those stares the bulk is on Ryan."


    Michalina bit her lips as she spoke, "I do not like this."


    "Me too Michalina is that why you had Nige stay behind, it could be dangerous for her."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she looked back towards the base as she spoke with a tired sigh, "I know, I know it could be dangerous but I believe she is expert in intelligence gathering and I hope by the time we return she would have our answers."


    "Contact at Three."


    Ang''s shout drew their attention as they were greeted by a pair of hobbling and wobbling zombies, "Deal with it, Ang."


    Ang need not be told twice as the pair died soon after as she spoke with a grin, "This silencer is a work of art, it barely made any noise."


    Ryan simply gave them a mock bow as he spoke, "I d you like it, mademoiselle."


    Ang simply snorted at his antics as she spoke, "Though I grateful for getting us proper assault rifles."


    Ryan waved his hand as he spoke, "I was lucky that upon reaching Tier 10, I had ess to even more new weapons and on the topic of weapon what should we do about the Elven archers they are showing interest on them, including Ylerias herself."


    "Give them a few so that they can have a feel for it, but nothing too extravagant, though I believe we will have to teach them how to use guns properly."


    Ryan shrugged at as he spoke, "You can think about teaching themter on Sis, for now, let us scout and clear, and then I can get on with my job."


    Michalina nodded as she looked around before she spoke, "We will from here then move towards that red-coloured engine standing over there and then slowly circle around and move to the ruins of the buildings, we will find a suitable ce for the base so that Ryan may set up his workshop."


    Meanwhile back at the base, Ylerias was busy meditating when one of her subordinates arrived and kneeled in front of her, they stayed like this for a moment before Ylerias slowly opened her eyes as she spoke with a small smile, "Siora what have I told you to bow in front of me, you are my oldest friend not to mention we were raised together so please as I have said before when we are alone I want my oldest friend with me not my Honor Guard."


    Siora smiled at her as she spoke while taking a seat in front of Ylerias, "Very well."


    "So what news do you bring?"


    Siora sighed as she spoke, "There is something going on with those humans, it seems that they are conspiring something."


    Ylerias sat straight up as she spoke, "Really? I never thought he would be the conspiring one."


    Siora frowned before she spoke with a shake of her head, "I do not think that it is him who is behind the unrest, as most of it is aimed towards him and his group, I also noticed that mistrust and wariness that they had against us has increased many folds."


    Ylerias frowned at that as she spoke, "That is strange he just saved a girl yesterday, it had not been even a whole day and yet he managed to garner such emotions from his people, so strange."


    Siora nodded at that as she spoke, "That is why I am having Ilorva to snoop in and find out if there is someone from behind the scene pulling strings once again brainwashing and putting the people as their thralls and it seems I am not the only one, one of Ryan''s Honor Guard is also snooping around."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No not his Honor Guard, if I am right he has none, those girls are in their army and the leader of their small group is Michalina."


    "I see though they are a tad bit protective of him."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes and they see him as their little brother, and from what I know the Leader of the Army unit is both Michalina and Ryan''s mother, though either Ryan or Michalina or maybe both areadopted."


    "So what are we going to do Ylerias?"


    Nothing, we are to do nothing, it is Ryan''s headache he will have to learn to deal with problems until and unless I see that it is also affecting us I will not offer my hand for help, but the moment those humans harm even a single hair of my people I will tear them to pieces."


    "Achoo"


    "Bless you, Ryan."


    Only for Ryan to re toward Jessica who had an amused look on his face while driving the newly improved Goliath, that looked more like a vehicle fit for a battlefield, its passenger shook a bit as a snarling came from outside followed by a sickening crunch as Jessica drove the car over a group of zombies.


    Ryan gained a bored look on his face as he leaned on the door while upying the passenger seat, he saw the zombies trying hard to catch them only to be crushed by the Goliath, ''She is having too much fun causing so many roadkills, so boring I think I would like to take nap, it would take years for them to clear the railyard, if we continue to go on such speeds.'', Ryan let out a loud yawn as he promptly tried to fall asleep.


    But s when he had such wonderfulpanions he was prevented from falling asleep when the car came to a screeching halt forcing him to wake up making him grumble even more.


    "Stop grumbling brother, it does not look good on you."


    Ryan simply snorted as he climbed out of the car as he spoke with another yawn, "I am not going to seat at the front anymore, the back of the car has so much more space in fact I can lie down and sleep there."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "You are always tired for some reason nowadays, why?"


    Ryan simply shrugged as he spoke, "No idea, I feel a bit tired and lethargic, hey sis there are quite a few wagons lying around, can we check them, maybe we can find some clothes, thest one was destroyed by the guts and blood and now I only have a single short and tee-shirt."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "I doubt we would be that lucky but there is nothing against trying who knows we might be able to it."


    As Michalina and Ang stood by Ryan side she looked towards Jessica as she spoke, "Jessica keep on driving and scout the area while killing any stragglers along with Nikita, the rest of us will look into the ruins of the building."


    "Ang, take point."


    Ang gave a small nod as she moved forward with Ryan following shortly after her and Michalina bringing the rear, they moved towards what seemed to be a ratherrge shed which was connected to office and warehouses.


    "Most of it is rubble."


    "I know brother, as such maintain vignce who knows what is lurking in those rubbles."


    Ryan puffed up his chest as he spoke, "Please I am extra careful and cautious."


    "Really, then remind me who was kidnapped by a giant bird."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "That is a " ~bang ~ "low" ~bang~ "blow sis."


    He spoke while firing at a zombie before Ang snapped back at them with a snarl, "Focus I have a bad feeling about this ce, I do not know why but I feel extremely unease here."


    Ryan narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "You know now that you mention it this ce definitely feels odd and dangerous, everyone please be on your guard."

 Chapter 68: Railyard(Part-2)

    Chapter 68: Railyard(Part-2)


    "What is this ce? Ugh, the floor is so sticky.", as Angined she forcibly managed to free her feet that was stuck to the ground.


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I do not like this ce can we retreat?"


    "Negative brother we will once we have essed the true nature of the threat, till try to keep your voice low."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Then allow me to take the front I have better eyes."


    "Negative just stay behind me Ryan, and if I get stuck too much then use your strength to free me."


    "Do as Ang says just stay in the middle and support us from there."


    Ryan simply grumbled a bit but followed the orders nevertheless, he took a couple of steps before he whispered back while looking down with barely concealed disgust in his voice, "This stick substance I bet we would stumble upon something dangerous and grotesque."


    Michalina spoke with a snort, "It is given but we have to ess the threat and n ordingly otherwise"


    "Otherwise if we would be caught tfooted if we left a dangerous creature in our backyard while we work.", with a sigh Ryan continued, "I understand but that does not mean I have to like it."


    <strong>"Stop!!!"</strong>''


    The duo behind Ang came to an abrupt halt as Ang stood tensed pointing her gun to a certain direction, peering over her shoulder Ryan was greeted to the sight of a group of zombies tied up in what seemed to be cobwebs, zombies seemed to be docile at the moment as while the hung from the ceiling.


    When all of a sudden a zombie opened its eyes as it looked at them as it opened its mouth but no sound came out of it, but its restless movements seemed to have awoken the rest who tried to move as well soundlessly, when one of them simply fell off, more like half of its body fell on the floor and what popped out of it would haunt them for a long time, multiple small spiders poured out of the body of the torn zombie.


    "Molotov!", Was all Ryan shouted before he flung a lit bottle towards the zombies followed by another unlit bottle.


    <em><strong>~boom~</strong></em>


    <em><strong>~boom~</strong></em>


    "You idiot!", Michalina could not help but swat him hard on his head as she spoke, "Now you will draw the attention of others, we have to move now fast.", she cast a nce at the floor that was catching fire fast as she spoke hurriedly, "Damn this thing is mmable we have to move now."


    The trio moved as fast as they could while trying to free their legs from the sticky substance on the floor which was being consumed by fire fast, and as they ran various screeching and screaming came to their ears but they did not stop as they ran with the fire hot on their heels.


    A couple of minutester the group watched as the ruins were surrounded by a zing inferno, which earned him scathing res from Michalina and Ang, as such he could not help but speak out loud, "Awwe on sis it worked out perfectly."


    "Perfectly my a.."


    "Language."


    "Stop correcting me, if you had not carried both of us out, then we would have died in the towering inferno, brother you are too callous."


    Ryan pouted behind the mask that covered his face as Michalina continued, "I do not know why but even with all of your intelligence, that helped you to make to the top premier Universities in the world, youckmon sense."


    Now Ryan was a bit miffed as he immediately protested, "Hey I do notckmon sense."


    Ang snorted at that as she spoke, "No you do, you not onlyckmon sense but you are also reckless always making poor decisions."


    "I do not."


    "Yes you do brother, you do a lot, and I just hope in the future you make your decisions after careful considerations."


    "I always do."


    "Really, our life is now like some kind of badly scripted game and you are like an RPG character, with your stats and all those jazz, I fear you might make a bad decision and screw yourself up because I do not think there is anything like reset nor respawns avable to you like in a game."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Hey I am not bad you know, I might not be the best but still I am good."


    Ang could not help but let out a giggle which turned into full-blownughter while Michalina herself was shaking from mirth as Ryan could not help but speak out in anger, "Hey stop making fun of me, whatever did I say wrong."


    Michalina controlled herself as she spoke with mirth shining in her voice, "Did you forget ''The Might of Sword and Magic''? The RPG that came outst year, the one that you were hyped, did you forget all about it brother?"


    Ryan blushed heavily at that, a dark chapter of his life as he would often say, an extremely hyped game which his mother got for him, he had created a nifty character after spending hours on customization, a character that had warrior base, and yet he went heavily on increasing its Mana making it so that he could use various techniques many times easily, and it worked for a moment as he was basically the best yer who did not have to tear their hair trying to ration out the Mana like others, but then the main problem arose.


    At the lower level with low-level weapons, he could spam techniques and win but as the level increased he learned a big w about his ns, he could not use better weapons and armour as such he was unable to keep up, after all, what good is spamming techniques would do when you are either not able to hit or unable to do decent damage, but you would die in a single hit, as such he was forced to swallow his pride and restart again by deleting the character and in doing so losing the Premium purchase pass and thus any item and skins he had received by doing preorder purchase were lost.


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Brother, I know you mean well but please next time think before you do, you cannot afford to be reckless as there would be no second chance here."


    "I know sis."


    "The reason I am telling you this because you thoughtlessly used fire against something that you have no idea what it might be, the whole ce caught fire in a blink of an eye, if it were not for your strength and speed we would have died, not to mention if I had brought the other two then some of us would have died."


    A screech was heard as a burning spider somehow managed to escape from the building before it fell on the ground turning into a ball as it died letting out a screech, the spider as big as a car made them gulp in fear but seeing it die made them let out a sigh of relief.


    "I hope you understand what I am saying, brother?"


    Ryan simply nodded his eyes never leaving the still burning carcass as he spoke with a sigh, "I understand I have to think about the consequences of my actions."


    Michalina nodded as Ang continued, "Exactly Ryan, you are a genius boy you made it to a ce where countless people can only hope to see it in their dreams, yet because of your bad decisions you might have ended up in a wrong situation and everything would have gone up in smoke, as such try and think before you do anything."


    Ryan could only nod as the radio crackled as Jessica''s frantic voice came to their ears.


    "Somethingrge is moving towards your location fast from the East you have to run, and is your location on fire, I can see the smoke from my ce."


    Michalina''s eyes widen behind her mask as she shouted out, "Move, we have to move fast."


    The group of three ran fast only for arge creature to suddenly appear screeching hard as it looked over at the burning in building they could feel the rage and despair in its voice.


    "This way that thing is huge we will use the wagons to hide from its sight as we make our escape."


    As Ang and Ryan followed Michalina''s suggestion, she quickly radioed back the other two riding the ''Goliath'', "Jessica whatever you do stay away from this ce until we call you, we are making our way towards your location, I do not want to fight a thirty-foot tall spider monster."


    The radio crackled as Jessica''s voice came to their ears, "Understood, but be careful."


    Ryan jumped into the wagon with its door opened before he helped the dup to enter as he spoke, "Should I make a tunnel through them so we can move freely."


    "Does it require mana?"


    Ryan nodded as Michalina spoke with a sigh, "Negative, do not waste not to mention we have no idea what is inside the wagons for all we know we might intrude into one of its nest."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "The drain is not too bad and I can safely say that I can makethe way and it would be better", Ryan stopped speaking as his shoulder slouched as he spoke in a tired voice, "It seems we have been caught."


    Michalina looked surprised for a moment as she along with Ang turned back and were greeted with the ugliest spider they had ever seen especially the eyes, it had at least a hundred beady eyes that looked at them with fury.


    It let out a screech as it mmed on the wagon hard shaking it as the trio tried to maintain their bnce, Ryan did not need to be told as he fired his gun towards its direction, he did not need to aim as the bullets hit one of the many eyes making a greenish goop to flow out as with another loud screech it moved away from the door, as Michalina spoke, "Ryan make way."


    Ryan quickly opened a whole to the front as the group dashed to the next wagon through it, they could feel their heart hammer as the screeching was getting worse as well as the scratching and sound of breaking that came from around them, Ryan removed a wall as he came to halt, apparently it was thest boxcar wagon.


    "Damn it, we will be in the open."


    As Ryan cursed their luck the roof gave out as it finally managed to tear it off, its hate-filled eyes gazed at them especially towards Ryan as its drool leaked from its mouth, that was thest thing it saw before it was lit ame by Ryan.


    "Run!"


    With that, the trio jumped out of the wagon as they ran towards the distance where they could see the Goliath standing waiting for them, Ryan because of his superior speed was soon able to create a good distance between himself and creature, when he turned aiming he released a hail of bullets towards the spider, he watched as hispanions went past him while the damaged creature made its way wobbling towards them when it was near enough Ryan switched and fired the grenade from the grenadeuncher.


    <em><strong>~Boom~</strong></em>


    Followed by arge screech as the spider suddenly hunched before it jumped flying high up and above Ryan who dashed after it, before itnded in front of Michalina and Ang who opened fire only for the bullets to do minimal damage as Ryan''s voice came to their ears, "The Eyes aim for the eyes the rest of its body is tough, its eyes are its weakness, and the fire still burning on it use it."


    The duo need not be told as they not only attacked with their new guns but tossed few Molotov on the creature that was now burning from head to toe, running and jumping forgetting tits prey only to fall over as the Goliath rammed one of its legs hard toppling it, the group did not wait as they pelted it with quite a few Molotov making it look like a towering raging inferno in the form of a spider, it ran stumbled on obstacles and then once again stood up to run before finally falling overturning into an oversized spider barbecue.


    "Damn Molotovs are OP; it took down the Tier 6 so fast."


    "Maybe for the time being but what if we run across something immune to fire."


    "True enough Ang but for the time being I would love a truckload of fiery and savoury Molotov."


    Ang snorted at that as she replied with a smile on her face, "Me too Ryan, me too."

 Chapter 69: Railyard(Part-3)

    Chapter 69: Railyard(Part-3)


    A tired Ryan took his seat which was adjacent to his fellow apostle, who simply sat there in silence watching every move of others, as they sat there in silence for a moment before she spoke, "So how was your day?"


    Ryan looked at him for a moment before he began to speak, "It was fine mostly until the moment we stumbled upon a nest of weird spider then all of a sudden a gigantic spider attacked us it was huge and hundreds of eyes it was scary", Ryan trailed out seeing the weird eyed expression on Ylerias''s face who was towering over him with a mixture of fright, panic and other emotions he could not identify.


    "Did you kill it answer Ryan?"


    The heat in her voice made Ryan a bit taken aback as he spoke, "What!? Why"


    "Yes or No, answer me."


    Ryan huffed as he spoke, "Yes we killed it as well as burned its nest down."


    "Did any escape?"


    "Not that I know off, but why are you so tensed?"


    Ylerias copsed on her seat as she spoke with a soft sigh, "That is a very dangerous spider known as the ''Hundred Eyed Queen'', with an annoying habit ofying eggs on anything that has a flesh, a very dangerous creature how did you deal with its children, normally it uses them to attack."


    Ryan simply scratched his chin as he spoke, "Well we stumbled upon its nest first so we set it up on fire."


    Ylerias looked at him before she spoke with disbelief, "And it did not attack you while you were setting its nest ame?"


    "Well, it was not present there at that time so we were able to not only sneak in but lit it ame fairly easily."


    Yelrias copsed into her chair as she looked at him with disbelief before she spoke with a shake of her head, "In all my years never have I seen someone as lucky as you, the ''<em>Hundred Eyed Queen</em>'', rarely leaves its nest, most of the time it uses its children to attack, highly poisonous to the point it is difficult to counteract."


    "The poison upon reaching the blood paralyzes the foes within seconds and starts dissolving the insides of its victim, then itys eggs inside the victim which hatches soon after, the children then grows inside consuming the still living and moving creature."


    Ryan gulped at that as he spoke, "There were a few zombies hanging from the thread, they had small spiders inside them."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "They were poor people who got caught and died though, and since they were already ensnared in the web they might have burned off rather easily.", as she spoke food was brought andid in front of them as Ylerias spoke, "Well enough of that the food is here and it would be a terrible waste to let it grow cold."


    Ryan shed a small smile as he dipped his spoon into his bowl that was full of hot steaming soup as he let out a small sigh, <em>''This is our life now, faster I would get back the faster I will not have to eat this travesty they are calling soup, pieces of boiled meat with few extra ingredients swimming in the water is not soup.''</em>, he looked around as his heart ached, <em>''Damn they gave us the best portion it seems at least ours have more meat on them.''</em>, with that thought in mind he brought the contents of the bowl to his lips with the help of a spoon.


    <strong>"YOUR HOLINESS DO NOT EAT THAT, IT IS POISONED."</strong>


    A shout came from Ryan''s side as he was literally tackled off of his seat, as the bowl was snatched from him he blinked owlishly as Ylerias looked at her subordinate with the look of rm on her face, as she herself dropped her spoon.


    "I am sorry Your Holiness but the bowl had poison in it."


    Ryan gained a look of rm on his face as one of the people who was serving them tried to make a dash only to be taken down by Jessica who had proceeded to hold the woman down by bending her hands while cing her leg over her prisoner''s spine preventing her from moving.


    Ang ced a chair near the captured person as Jessica forced her to seat on it, while Michalina looked at others while pulling her pistol as she spoke, "Any of you tries to run I will shoot you.", her eyes then fell on Ryan as she spoke, "Brother are you alright?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes I am thanks to the wonderfuldy who saved me."


    Michalina sent a grateful smile towards the Elven woman who had saved Ryan before she spoke, "Brother, can you lend me something that I could use to tie her up."


    "Sure", Ryan closed his eyes for a second as a handcuff appeared in his hand which he handed to his sister as he spoke with a frown, "I hope this work."


    The woman was tied to a chair as she tried to put up a brave front but her shaking gave away her feeling of fear as Michalian looked at her as she spoke with a sigh, "Look, I will ask you this once who else are involved and why?"


    The woman simply spitted on her face as a resigned sigh escaped Michalina''s face as herbat knife appeared in her hand and then she used the handle to hit the woman hard a couple of times before holding her hair which made her prisoner cry out in pain as she spoke, "So, are you willing to answer?"


    "There is no need to waste time, just let Ilorva work on her and we would know everything."


    Michalina sent a confused look towards Ylerias before her eyes widen as she spoke with a gasp, "Ah, I forgot about her, excellent suggestion Lady Ylerias, using her powers we can easily find everything that she is trying to hide."


    Jessica nodded at that as she spoke with excitement, "Yes it would be great her powers are great, though our prisoner would end up bing a drooling vegetable though it is no great loss since she tried to harm one of ours."


    The casual way she spoke made their prison shiver with fright, as she turned deathly pale, and her fear increased many folds as the one called Ilorva appeared in front of her with a creepy deranged smile on her face her fear increased many folds, she looked at others and saw the other three women who had brought food with them were restrained as well, which made her whimper in fright.


    Ilorva bowed before Ylerias before she turned towards the prisoner as she cooed to her, "Aww, did you think you could simply waltz in and poison His Holiness in front of us, but do not worry you will only feel the worst pain imaginable until your mind breaks upon pain and you are left a drooling mess."


    The woman shook with fear as tears began to drip from her eyes as Ilorva ced her hands on the prisoner''s temple, "Please, please I am sorry, I am so sorry, I was only doing God''s work please forgive please."


    As a strange smell spread through the air that made many to gag, Ryan managed to control himself as he spoke, "God''s work, really? when did God arrive to give you instructions to kill me."


    "No, No I mean.."


    "SHUT AND SPEAK THE TRUTH", Michalina bellowed with anger before she turned towards Ilorva as she spoke, "That woman is simply wasting our time, Ilorva I think you should tear the information out of her brain, and the more we wait the chances of capturing the criminals would dwindle."


    "NO PLEASE NO I WILL TELL YOU EVERYTHING.", the woman shrieked out in rm as arge puddle was forming underneath her which was mixed with brown substances and Ilorva at the same time wanted to stay as far away from her and as such as Ylerias nodded to her to move she practically ran to the furthest part of the room as fast as possible.


    And as such the woman began to spill everything she knew, the names of those involved, but what astounded Ryan was the reason, they did not want to be forced to be converted into another religion.


    Hearing her reason Ryan could not help but facepalm himself as he spoke, "Why do you think that I follow another religion and more importantly how in your petty illogically feeble mind did you conjure the thought that I would convert you?"


    The woman looked down towards the floor as she mumbled something incoherent making Ylerias sigh, "We have to deal with it so how do you propose we deal with it Lord Ryan, after all, the cat is out of the bag and there is no way or need to hide it anymore."


    Ryan was suddenly stunned for a moment before his eyes fell on Michalina silently asking for help only to be stopped by Ylerias, "Lord Ryan, you are an Apostle not her, if you rely on her too much then others might lose their respect on you."


    Ryan closed his eyes for a moment before he spoke with a sigh, "First we gather them and we speak with them maybe we can reach something that does not require us to fight."


    Yelrias simply nodded as the women were released with the word that they should go and gather everyone especially those that were involved in the assassination attempt.


    "Do you people have problems with religion?"


    Ryan frowned at Ylerias''s question as he mused inwardly<em>, ''This woman is a religious leader and as such, I have to say in such a way that she does notbel us as a barbarian because from what I know they have only one unlike us.''</em>


    With a tired sigh, Ryan began, "Our world has many religions, and sometimes there are a few religious leaders who every now and then just happen to shout out that their religion is the true one as such the burn the heretics."


    Ylerias winced as her face gained a look of distaste for a moment before it disappeared but it was long enough for Ryan to notice it, <em>''Damn I might have caused her to gain a bad view on my people.''</em>


    "What is your view on religion, Ryan?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "A wise man from the east had once said, <em>''Those who love all on this Earth are truly serving Almighty''</em>, I believe it to be true, we might look different, we might speak differentnguages, and we might wear different clothes follow different culture but we bleed the same blood as such we are not different so why fight, we can all share this beautiful and grow up together."


    Ylerias tilted her head as she spoke with a smile, "Interesting." before her eyes fell on the group that was moving towards them as she spoke with a sigh, "Well let us meet and greet them and see where we can go from here on."


    With that, the duo moved to meet the leader of the group along with the others to find amon ground where they will not have to watch their back constantly.

 Chapter 70: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-1)

    Chapter 70: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-1)


    "Michalina are you sure letting Ryan handle this?"


    Michalina simply shrugged at Jessica''s question before replying, "Well betterte than never, he has to learn to negotiate."


    Jessica nodded before she narrowed her eyes as he looked at the iing crowd more like the shabbily dressed, tall andnky looking person full of arrogance leading them.


    "That man seems like to be the leader of those who was instigating the entire thing."


    "Should we kill him then Michalina?"


    "Maybe when the negotiation breaks down and they attack us, make sure to fire at him first maybe then others would be more willing to listen and cooperate."


    Jessica simply gave a small nod as she spoke, "Understoodmander, shall I pass on the word."


    "Yes please do so, but be discreet, also if you spot Nige please let her know I am displeased at her for not finding out anything useful at all, maybe the entire fiasco with the poison would be avoided, but more importantly where is she?"


    "I am here and I am sorry for not spotting something useful."


    Michalina looked at the distressed look on Nige''s face as she spoke, "Calm yourself the next few minutes would be extremely crucial if I am not wrong those Elves see it as an affront to their culture and might retaliate badly with Ryan caught in the middle it would quickly escte into a bloodbath, a bloodbath where no matter what we have to make sure he survives you should understand how much important his powers are."


    Nige nodded at that as Jessica spoke, "He is more important than all of usbined if we are to rebuild our civilization as such even if it kills us we have to make sure he is returned safe and sound to Genesis.


    Nige nodded fully agreeing to her, it was really unfortunate that Ryan needed to kill creatures to increase in strength otherwise he would still be living inside the fort safe and sound.


    Ryan looked over to the mob of people that were approaching him, ''It seems that every people except the children are here.'', his eyes fell on to the samenky person that Michalina had taken notice of, and he could not help but whisper out loud, "Damn looking at him strutting like a peacock."


    Ylerias gained a confused look on her face as she spoke, "What is a peacock? What do you mean by that?"


    Ryan sighed upon realizing that Ylerais was not familiar with either the phrase or the animal as such he quickly provided her with an exnation, "Peacock is an animal and as for why I said such a phrase well it meant to tell that the person is arrogant as well as vain."


    As he spoke he used his chin to make subtle indication towards the object of his discussion as Ylerias looked at him, she gave a small nod as she whispered back with a small twitch of her lips, "So true."


    "Circle Activate.", a small whisper that Ylerias nearly missed if not for the tell-a-tale feeling of it activating the circle which made her send him a look of approval.


    <em>''Interesting so he grasped the use of Circle so easily, with it he can detect who is his friend and who is his enemy after all only his friends and allies can use them.''</em>


    The person looked down at both Ryan and Ylerias as he spoke with disdain, "What is this I heard not only are you lording over us but you even hurt one of us how long will"


    "Just <strong>shut up</strong> already."


    Michalina almost fell over, ''<em>What the hell is he doing this is not how one speaks in a meeting, I have to intervene soon before it esctes to something dangerous.''</em>


    As Michalina''sRyan continued with a hard tone, "<strong>Shut up</strong> coward, you try to have your woman kill me using poison in my food, food which is a preciousmodity nowadays was wasted and you now try to act arrogant shameless you are."


    The person spluttered as he replied, "<strong>How dare you</strong> I am a pious man, who follow Gods words and "


    "And God told you to poison me."


    "How dare you inte"


    "Your woman when we caught confessed to us that God sent her to poison me, so ergo you im to be God or God speaks with you and said to kill me so which one is it."


    The man turned an interesting shade of colour as the one by his side shouted back to him, "<strong>Shut up</strong> you heathen no matter what you are not going to make us follow some heretical bastard you worship."


    "<strong>How dare you?</strong>", as Ylerias snarled in anger Ryan quickly held her hand as he spoke, "Please calm down mydy."


    Ryan then looked at the person preening like a peacock, who was looking incredibly happy at the outburst as the person continued, "I knew the moment Iid my eyes on you, you unholy spawn of Satan how dare you use and torture my wife what kind filthy degenerate spawned you."


    By then both Michalina and Ryan''s anger was reaching the zenith with great difficulty Ryan reigned in his anger as well as the sudden urge to bash the smugnky person standing near him.


    "Such confidence on your wife, it is admirable so why don''t you prove that I am lying, and why don''t you eat the soup that I was offered to prove that I am lying to you all."


    Thenky person suddenly panicked as he shouted out, "Shut up I knew it, it was your n a trap, now you heinous beast is trying to kill my good brother by feeding him poison."


    His words were soon supported by the roar of approval from a few, as Ryan could see that a few of them were flickering between being his allies and enemy.


    "God is testing us with this apocalyptic event, we should stay strong and help each other to ovee this test, yet because of some people like him we are bound to fail, him and his heretic God."


    As the person was speaking Ryan inched away from Ylerias who was bing angrier by the second, his eyes fell on the group that was actively agreeing to him, <em>''Damn that is quite the number, this people no sheep are following the leader and into their doom, at first I wanted to make sure to reach an understanding but now no I will make the crawl to me and beg for my forgiveness, how dare they raise their voice against me against an apostle.''</em>


    Ylerias anger simmered a bit as she looked to the agitated apostle beside her, Ryan''s eyes were glowing making it even more menacing to look at, <em>''This mongrels should be lucky that I am being more than merciful to them if it were my world they would have been burning alive on a stake already and from the looks of it my fellow apostle is about to lose his calm as well, he is too agitated to calm down anymore.''</em>


    "Are you all done?"


    A new voice appeared amongst the group, seeing the person Ryan''s eyes widen slightly, <em>''Is that not the person who was running with the child, whom I saved.''</em> Ryan then noticed something that made his heart warm up a bit.


    <em>''At least he is taking our side and not theirs, these people should show a little gratefulness we saved them, then I created this base and yet.''</em>, his heart was suddenly filled with bitterness as he looked back at thenky person he scowled, <em>''That fellow is harping about God this and God that but I doubt he even knows what a church is, I would not be surprised he is doing this to for some nefarious purpose maybe try to control me or maybe eliminate e thinking that with my absence he could consolidate his power.''</em>


    "I do not understand why you are all fighting? It started with the assassinating incident, right?You said your wife was abused right?", as the person nodded he continued, "And they imed that she was trying to poison him so why don''t you prove them wrong and eat from the bowl."


    "Shut up you damn foreigner you do not have any ce amongst us, go eat your pet dog you no nose narrow-eyed heathen."


    Once again a certainnky bastard opened his mouth as Cai Bai scowled, only for Ryan to speak with a smallugh, "Please mister Cai Bai, you are suggesting to the wrong person, they are nothing but low-level scammers when the world was right and even after it has gone to hell, a thief, liar, and a murderess will never change now they are even using God as an excuse pathetic, just what kind of people brought them to our world, just thinking about it makes me want to hurl."


    Cai Bai sent a small smile of his own towards Ryan as he spoke, "So true, you saved us from very, you provided us a haven, you provided us with light, and then recently you even bet your life to save a few strangers where many who are present simply sat and watched, and now they are trying to nder you and take advantage of you for that I apologize."


    Cai Bai tried to bow only to be stopped by Ryan who quickly went by his side and stopped him as he spoke, "There is no need to apologize, mister, you have done no wrong by me, so please you don''t have to apologize for some conman, hell-bent on trying to endanger not only themselves and others."


    "How dare you he.."


    "<strong>Shut up!</strong> I am tired of you incessant whining n."


    Thenky person was dumbfounded as he looked at a shouting Andraais whose face was red with anger as thenk person retorted back, "Who are you calling n? My name is.."


    Andraais scowled even more as he spat out, "I am not senile not to remember the only student who was arrested for defecating and stealing from the Church, and here he is once again acting as a not only as a conman but even acting as a murderer."


    Ryan noticed a noticeable shift amongst the people once again as thenky person bellowed out in anger, "<strong>How dare tell lie!</strong> My name is not n but Philip I am a pastor, how dare you tell such lies God will not forgive for you such travesty."


    "So ording to you God is okay with murdering yet he has a problem when Truth is being spoken interesting show me where it is written n because I do not remember reading it in the bible."


    "My name is not n heathen and someone like you is not worthy enough to hold the bible."


    A chorus of few ''So true'', and ''Correct'' rang through the air, but it was much lower in number but Ryan was running out of patience and he had long since abandoned trying to help them any longer.


    "You know what I am tired of these childish squabbles so what do you want?"


    Instead of the ''n'', the husband of the murderess spoke out with a sneer while jabbing his finger towards, "What we want is that you the unholy spawn of Satan and back-alley whore"


    That was all he managed to say as his eyes bulged out as Ryan drove his knee into the person''s stomach hard, he had moved so fast that to most it looked as if he teleported, and as for the person his vision went nk as horrible pain erupted from his stomach, but Ryan did not stop there as he casually threw him, using his superior strength, towards Michalina as he spoke, "Hey Sis, I think someone should teach why one should not nder Our mother, the Major of ck Wolves division, the receiver of Medal of Valour, the person who selflessly sacrificed her blood for Our Nation so that parasitic cretins can <em>''live''</em>."


    He practically spat out the word ''live'', as a sadistic smiled blossomed on Michalina''s face as she spoke, "You are right brother, absolutely correct."


    The man somehow regained his consciousness as he tried to seat up while shouting out, "You son of....<strong>Aggghhhhhhhhh</strong>."


    An unearthly scream tore through his throat courtesy of Michalina mming her lightning incased boots over his chest not only breaking his ribs but electrocuting him badly.


    Jessica frowned as she spoke, "Micha that is not nice, we should pour the soup, which the slut mister pimp ims to be his wife made, down his throat."


    Michalina beamed back at her as she spoke, "An excellent idea, please be a dear and bring that bowl that the distinguished gentleman over there is carrying."


    As Jessica nodded and made her way towards Cai Bai, Ryan''s would-be assassin broke through the rank as she ran and quickly prostrated in front of Michin as she spoke out loud, "Please please forgive my husband I confess, I confess I tried to poison Ryan because Philip told me to, he told us he would force us to change our religion and as such he should be killed, God would want that, we were afraid of falling out of God''s grace. Please release him I will do anything for you, I will be your ve."


    Michalina growled at her as she spoke, "Shut up, you tried to kill my brother even after everything we had done for you, it was a mistake to save you and your husband you should still be used as a relief and your husband working in the mines, we saved you offered you protection and what did you do try to kill my brother and why because a no-name mongrel told you so, so tell me why should I spare your husband."


    The woman shivered in fright as Michalina glowered over her as she meekly spoke, "I was just doing the God''s"


    "Shut up I am tired of listening to ''I am doing God''s work over and over again'', did God tell you personally or is that idiot bamboo shoot over there is God, and we did not receive the memo."


    ''n'' would have shouted and spoken if it were not for Ryan''s rapier resting over his shoulder with its de closely acquainted with his neck as such he kept quiet especially when the glowing inhuman eye stared directly into his soul.


    "Sis I think that idiot has enough, so leave him we are not like this filthy murderers."


    Michalina looked at him before sending a kick towards the prone form of his electrocuted victim who was quickly embraced by his now crying wife.


    ''n'' gulped as he felt the cold rapier on his neck, he had underestimated Ryan''s speed and was now hostage and he was at Ryan''s mercy as such he spoke with a nervous stutter, "N-Now le-let us not be hasty, if you do so you will doom your soul to eternal torments in the pits of hell, you should not kill a human."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "Really so if I kill you a xenophobic, lying, opportunistic, narrow-minded, conniving bastard I will receive eternal torment yet someone who is essory to murder in cold blood will go to heaven, interesting thought where did you hear that I wonder."


    "Please don''t put words into my mouth....aiiiiieeee", an unmanly scream originated from his throat as a small smile appeared in Ryan''s face.


    "I am going to ask you a few things and I hope you would be kind enough to answer otherwise."


    As Ryan let the threat hang ''n'' somehow managed to stutter a ''Yes'', which made Ryan''s smile widen as he continued, "Good now tell me why are you all using me as a heretic, trying to force you to follow a different religion."


    "Y-you are an apostle of some being iming as God.", as Ryan''s eyes narrowed he hastily changed his words as he continued, "I mean a foreign God and as such, we thought you would force us to follow your religion, but I see it was a misunderstanding we can all work together right? Hahaha, right?"


    Ryan could not help but snort at his words as Ylerias spoke out loud, "Ryan when you said some religious leaders of your world who are a bit fanatical and cause deaths is he like them?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke still staring towards n, "You are right Lady Ylerias he is just like them trying to oppress and exploit others by using the excuse of religion though he is still has a way to go before he would use toddlers as suicide bombers I have high hopes for him that he would achieve it one day."


    ''n'' and his follower looked as if they were physically struck making them recoil a bit, but Ryan did not let them react as he continued, "Within the next four days I would be leaving along with those who chose to follow back to our home base, where they would have ess to clean baths, toilets, food that are being grown in fields, but above of safety and security of being protected by one of the most elite fighting forces of our country, but now I have to thank you do you know why?"


    ''n'' choked out a ''No'' as Ryan carried with a smile on his face, "The reason is simple I was having trouble thinking of how to create something that might help me in bringing you all to safety and security but now I will have so much fewer people to bring back with me, thank you for that."


    Most if not all of ''n''s'' supporters were caught t-footed when they saw Ryan move not to mention the extremely scary and dangerous vibe he was extruding made wary of him to the point none made any move against him, but his words made one of them blurt out, "But what about us?"


    Ryan looked at him incredulously as he spoke, "How should I know? You are not my headache and more importantly, are you sure you wish to speak with a heretical heathen like me won''t you receive God''s ire?"


    The mocking edge in his tone made many bristles with anger as Ryan continued to speak, "You all had a problem with my powers being a blessing from some foreign God right?Well let me tell you all a secret, I do not even know the name of the God who had blessed me with this powers, hell it might even be some Goddess who blessed me, but do you know what I know.", he paused for dramatic effect as he continued, "I know that I will be forever grateful to whoever blessed me with powers to keep my loved oneself during this trying times and if that makes me a viin and heretic then so be it, my mother has taught me that no price is too high to protect and keep your loved one safe and if it requires me to jump into hell itself I would do so without a heartbeat."


    He pushed ''n'' away who fell on his back as Ryan shouted out, "Those who wish to follow me I promise you this, I will never convert you to a different religion but I will lead you to safety and grant you a piece of the civilization that I will resurrect by my own two hands, and even after seeing and hearing everything that transpired today hear and now if you do not wish to follow then good luck and goodbye."


    His eyes washed over every person who was present as he began to speak again, "For those who wish to follow get ready we are leaving this very moment towards our new temporary home, which is a few kilometres from here, and from there we would move forward to a better future within the next few days."

 Chapter 71: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-2)

    Chapter 71: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-2)


    Ryan stood atop the Goliath as he shouted out at the top of his voice, "Is everyone ready?"


    A chorus of ''Yes'' was sounded as a small smile graced on Ryan''s lips as he spoke, "Okay everyone then moves forward."


    <strong>"Stop!!!"</strong>


    A familiar voice screamed as Ryanzily looked back towards ''n'', as he spoke out loud, "Why are you all wasting your time if we wait too long the night will descend even before you manage to make to the new camp, so move."


    ''n'' looked at Ryan with clear distress and fear in his face as he spoke, "What are you doing? Why are you doing this to us?"


    Ryan sent a confused look towards ''n'' as he spoke, "What do you mean, we are simply leaving I do not see any problem with that, after all, we both agreed it was for the best, so what is your problem now."


    ''n'' jabbed his finger towards Ryan as he spoke, "My problem is that you removed the lights, the generator and the fans how could you."


    Ryan looked at him with a look akin to the feeling of pity and sorrow when one meets a child with mental deficiency as he spoke slowly, "You imed I am a spawn of Satan, how I was corrupting and trying to force you to give up your faith, your religion follow some foreign heretical Gods, you see my powers are derived from those very Gods, some being the nice person thought why torment your fellow humans in this trying times as such I removed them."


    The dazzling smile did nothing to ''n'', as he shouted back, "How could you, you will kill us."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke with confusion in his voice, "Huh, what are you talking about how will I kill you when I am leaving."


    ''n''s'' face took an interesting shade of purple as he shouted out, "You are taking the means for us to survive, without that generator we will not have electricity we will be in the dark.", a fearful look appeared on his face as he spoke with a stutter, "Did you remove the water gathering system as well?"


    His question was answered by a nod which promptly made him stumble as he spoke his voice shaking with an odd mixture of fear and anger, "You monster, how could you!!"


    Ryan red back at him as he spoke with a snarl, "Really that is riching from a person who tried to murder me, then tried to rouse a mob to lynch me citing how I was corrupting them with my powers and yet you are now calling me a monster because you will not be able to use things that are made using the heretical powers that you imed to be corrupting you all, are you not a hypocrite not being able to use my items creating using the very same power you abhor so much."


    Before ''n'' could say anything Michalina''s head appeared through the turret hatch as she spoke with a knowing look on her face, "Ryan did you not say something about him bing terrorist who would use toddlers as suicide bombers."


    As Ryan nodded Michalina continued with an enlightened smile that was fit for someone who had solved the very mysteries that gues our universe, "Then being a hypocrite who denounces others because of race, sex, religion amongst many things but does not hesitate to use weapons made by the same group whom that person gives hate message out for is the very first step."


    As a look on understanding appeared on Ryan''s face Michalina continued, "Then they would cry how much their people are suffering then take donations and using those donations procure more weapons from their enemies at the same time prosecuting anyone who even things their enemies are fellow human, and at the end of the day they would strap bombs on toddlers and kill them for no one knows what they misguided idiotic attempt on bing their God''s favourite."


    Ryan red back at ''n'' as he sat on top of the Goliath with his right hand supporting his chin as he spoke, "I do not condone terrorist as such I will not entertain your cabal of terrorists by providing you with help so get lost.", he used his left hand to bang the roof of the ''Goliath'' as it lurched forward leaving behind a distressed and frightened ''n'', as a few from his group ran after the car pleading asking for mercy and help, but the Goliath did not stop nor did Ryan even bother sent a nce at them.


    Ryan''s n was simple he would move forward and start working on the camp while the others will start their march, as soon as the Goliath would drop them and the resources that it was towing in five small trailers behind it, the ''Goliath'' would return pick a few more people preferably children, old and then woman, and it would continue to do so until none are left behind with Ylerias''s guards bringing the rear.


    Could have made them wait patiently back in the confines of their previous base but he wanted to avoid any incident since the fight between ''n'', tensions were high and he did not wish for a fight to break out, or the peer pressure making a few to back out.


    Ryan climbed down inside the car and was greeted by a meditating Ylerias who simply began to speak after giving him a small nod of acknowledgement, "So why would you do with these heretics?"


    Ryan simply gave a sheepish smile as he spoke, "Well, first of all, I would like to apologize to you on their behalf for mocking your religion, they did not mean to mock your religion in any manner, Your Holiness, they are in shock and you know how a drowning man will cling to whatever they can get their hands on to survive, simr is their case they are clinging to their faith and religion while forgetting one of the very important tenants that we are taught in our younger days, <em>''God only helps those that help themselves.''."</em>


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "What do those words mean?"


    "It means God only help those that stand on their own two feet and use their own hands to solve their problem, not someone who has never done anything yet is waiting for salvation, those people in that fort are doing simply that they are waiting for salvation without working, they might indeed have to work alongside those who follow different religion or culture but they failed to cooperate."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "I understand what you mean but I hope their insolence would not be unpunished.", her eyes harden as she continued, "Back in my world such insolence would have caused them to be burned alive on a stake, so what you do."


    Ryan grimaced at that as he spoke, "Burning and ughtering because they do not follow our religious view is barbaric and uncultured, life has so many possibilities and simply killing them when not needed is simply a waste, after all, life has such possibilities and I would love to see the fruit of such possibilities."


    Ylerias snorted as she spoke, "Now you are being a hypocrite, you did kill the Pig King''s men, or is it deep down you agree with them.", as she spoke she narrowed her eyes giving a scathing re to Ryan.


    Ryan immediately raised his hand as he spoke, "Wah, wah stop, stop I am on your side remember, and as for being a hypocrite I told you I do not like unneeded bloodshed, those people were scum cancerous elements that needed to be culled but these people are simply lost we can bring them back, after all, eye for an eye makes the world blind."


    Ylerias did not decrease her re as she continued, "So we forgive them just like that?"


    Ryan shook his head as replied to her with a smile on his face, "Of course what I want I to kill is their pride, I want them to crawl on their knees and beg for forgiveness, some of the words spoken was too much especially that n fellow, his pimp and slut, I will never help them, they can die here and I said I would leave within five days, well I will make it four and if in the meantime theye and crawl for forgiveness I will help them otherwise their fate is in the hands of higher powers."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "Fair enough."


    A silence descended amongst the group as Jessica gave her undivided attention to the road ahead while Nikita shared a troubled expression along with Michalina though they managed to hide it from the two apostles.


    <em>''Something is not right, I have to consult with Michalina about this, Ryan I knew would not speak as such, and he would not view fellow humans in such a callous manner, something is seriously wrong and from the looks of it both Michalina and Jessica noticed it.''</em>

 Chapter 72: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-3)

    Chapter 72: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-3)


    Ylerias looked at the railyard especially at the wagons standing on the track with wonder in her eyes, but she quickly managed to control herself before she spoke again in her royal, regal and posh manner, "Lord Ryan what do you wish for me to help you with."


    Ryan rubbed his chin as he spoke, "Well I will ce the holographic projection of the base, and then you can dig ordingly."


    Ylerias looked confused as she spoke, "What is this hollow traffic projection?"


    "Holographic and you will see it soon."


    "Ryan", upon being called by his name Ryan looked towards Michalina who spoke with a frown, "I understand that you are about to construct your base here but what about water."


    Ryan was dumbstruck for a moment before he spoke with a blush, "Sorry it slipped my mind."


    Ylerias simply snorted as she spoke, "I can check if there is a water source underground or we can dig a well, with such fertilend it would not have much problem to fill up, though for the sheer size of the poption we have we might need multiple."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "If we can have an underground source it would be great after all the nearest surface source is a few kilometres away, and we might not need it for much longer but it would be great nheless, at the end of the day a nice clean shower can work wonders."


    "Well while Lady Ylerias checks for the perfect spot I believe you should unload your stuff and let Jessica leave, she has some hauling to do."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke hurriedly, "Of course I will start working on it."


    Cai Baiid down on the ground as he looked towards the sky as Andraais let out a moan of pain making Cai bai look at him as he spoke with a teasing smirk, "What is it old man was the walk too much for you?"


    Andraais tore up some grass which he promptly threw at Cai Bai''s direction who shielded against it with his hand whileughing out loud.


    Andraais simply harrumphed at him as he began to speak, "Just wait till you get arthritis I willugh when you feel the pain."


    Cai Bai simply snorted as he looked up his eyes widen in fear as he shouted out, "Ryan watch out!"


    His shout drew everyone''s attention towards Ryan who seemed to have taken a stumble off the edge of the roof and was now falling but suddenly a chain appeared from his hand which seemed to have stopped his fall, Ryan looked down sheepishly as he shouted back, "Sorry I slipped hehe.", with an awkwardugh he began to climb up using the chains.


    A few minutes ago, Ryan was working on thest part of his little over a five-storey tall building, the roof, the fifth floor was the smallest inparison to the others as in reality it was just arge tank meant to hold arge amount of water for their day to day use, the two floors beneath him were dormitories with bathrooms and toilets at the ends, and then beneath it was the kitchen and pantry, and again underneath them was a giant workce that took space of two whole stories by itself, the building was wide enough that it looked like arge cube, arge cube made up of concrete.


    Ryan looked at his handiwork with pride in his eyes, ''I doubt anyone could have erected such arge building within a few hours, I am d about my powers, and Ylerias had been a great help because of her I was able to dugout to create foundation create an undergroundwork to gather resources from and dumb waste within the confines of the earth, appreciating his handiwork he took a step and felt something amiss, a shout of ''Ryan Watch out!'', was all he heard when gravity yanked him off towards the, he hastily used his chains, which was easily stuck to the side as such prevented his fall, he looked down to see most were looking at him with a horrified look on their face, as such with a nervous smile he shouted out, "Sorry I slipped hehe."


    "Ryan O''Cahill", Ryan winced as his sister bellowed out his full name, but he was a brave boy as such he did not deny her any response neither did he looked down as Michalina continued to shout out, "You get down this very instance, I will not suffer another heart attack because of your carelessness now get down here fast."


    Ryan climbed up on top of the roof as fast as he could, "That part is still left a bit, after cing it and I would have finished my work, and then I would face Michalina."


    A quarter of an hourter, Ryan stood nervously in front of a ring Michalina as he spoke in a nervous tone, "Sorry big sister I kind of slipped and fell."


    Michalina''s re did not lessen for a moment before she finally shook her head as she spoke with a sigh, "You should have prepared a harness a fall from such a height would have killed you, and if you are unlucky you would have still be alive but with most of your bones broken, without any means to heal them."


    "Well, Maralyn can heal me."


    Only for her re to intensify once again as Jessica spoke with a small chuckle. "Michalina please stop ring at him, he made a mistake and I hope he learned from it."


    Ryan nodded so fast that many thought his head would fall off his shoulder and as Michalina''s re disappeared he spoke with a smile, "I have finished making the base the only thing it now needs is a quick jot to start it, so sis please do the honours."


    Michalina huffed as she took the pair of wires in her hand before sending the strongest jolt of electricity, with a hum was heard for a moment before it was joined by various noises as the base lit up with all its glory, and with that, a loud cheer followed it courtesy of the people around.


    Both Ryana and Ylerias shouted at the top of their lungs, "Be silent."


    As silence descended damping their mood Ryan quickly spoke, "We are still outside of the base and I do not think you all would like some beast being drawn because of the sound."


    His words drew many guilty faces as he himself lowered his voice slightly as he spoke, "Now form a line and use these stairs to get up in an orderly fashion the children and woman being first then the old and then the able-bodied people, the first floor is the kitchen with the next two being dormitory and bathroom area, male and female are separate now please move first, I believe it is near about midnight and the children need their sleep."


    Ryan was greeted by more than enough grateful and relived faces to uplift his mood, the children though had a look of awe with a slight bit of hero worship only when they were able to fight off the sleep that was threatening to make them unable to keep their eyes open for long.


    As the people climbed through thedder Ryan quickly spoke out, "Oh I forgot to mention since I have just started the base the water tank is currently empty, and it would take a couple of hours to feel."


    "Thanks for the heads up, Ryan."


    "No problem, and thank you again."


    Ryan simply nodded as Ylerias walked by his side as she spoke in an impressed tone, "That was amazing Ryan, your powers are not only unheard of but truly amazing."


    Ryan simply gave her a smile as he spoke, "Thank you for yourpliment though if we had leyline we could have done it much faster and easier manner."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "How do you know about nexus?"


    "Our home base is created on top of a nexus and using its powers it was nearly instantaneous."


    Ylerias''s frown deepened as she spoke, "Leyline are channels, through which the mana of the flows, and nexus is formed when a group of leyline joins together, using them is extremely dangerous, back in our world a kingdom performed an experiment using a nexus and it went horrible, every water source dried up overnight and severe drought gued thends, and it took over a century for the nexus to stabilize but by then the prosperous kingdom with its lush jungles had transferred into the sandy desert, so please do not handle either nexus or leyline carelessly or it would be disastrous."


    Ryan could only gulp as he watched Ylerias move up to the higher part of the building using stairs, as he watched thest of the people including the Goliath enter the confines of the base he pulled the leaver and then with a groanrge doors began to move slowly ad within a minute the entire base was secured.


    As he climbed up he found that the lower dormitorypletely filled with people who even though tired looked as if they had received a fresh bout of energy injected in them, a small smile graced his face as he moved to the higher floor, upon reaching there he noticed a small section of the floor was being taken over my Ylerias, and upon seeing him she beckoned to her side as she spoke, "I saved you some space, you should take some rest after all you worked hard today."


    Ryan gave her a small smile as he spoke, "Thank you Lady Ylerias."


    Ryan let out a yawn before heid on the hard ground, he was feeling incredibly tired as such he closed his eyes and fell asleep very quickly, and as did the other upants of the base, as soon as they managed to settle down, except the guards who were forced to patrol around the base.


    A loud scream woke up the upants of the base, many of them jumped up fearing they were under attack while the guards who were patrolling immediately made their way to the dormitory especially the one upied by Ryan and Ylerias.


    Jessica ran towards the source and found Ylerias holding down Michalina while Ryan was basically floating in the air, his back arched back at an impossible degree, his arms were pulled to the back as multiple lines were glowing all over his body whereas his eyes looked as if someone had ced light bulbs inside his eyes.


    Jessica aimed his gun towards Ylerias as her guards aimed their bow towards her, everyone in the room was tensed as Michalina shouted out, "You will let me go this instance Ylerias or I will"


    "You will shut up and will not disturb Ryan, he is being possessed by a Divine being, and if you disturb him Ryan will face severe problems so do not DISTURB HIM."


    Ylerias winced as Michalina''s body started sprouting electricity shocking her making her release Michalina from her hold, who dashed towards Ryan but as she soon as she touched him she was flung over by an unseen force as she let out a cry of pain.


    Ylerias stood up and stopped her subordinates from turning Michalina into a pincushion before she spoke with a huff, "Are you done now? Or do you wish to be given another jolt of pain?", hse let out a growl, before she looked towards Maralyn as she ordered her, "Maralyn go and check on her, and if she makes any more fuss knock her out."


    Maralyn simply nodded as she was soon joined by Nikita who was looking at Michalina''s badly burned hand, while the other residents of that floor had decided to move away to give them some space, although a few like Cai Bai had stepped forward with an equal measure of fear and uncertainty reflecting on his face.


    He could help but approach Ylerias as he spoke with a fearful voice, "Excuse your Holiness, but may I ask what is happening to Ryan?"


    Ylerias looked at the person who was extremely supportive of Ryan like a hawk for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "That is the result of himing in contact with his patron God, I had suffered simrly when I first met her but from what I was told mine was not as much violent and painful as his, for reasons I do not know."


    Ylerias then turned towards others as she spoke, "He is releasing too much mana and it might attract the wrong kind of attraction so some of you please apany those doing patrols and keep an eye out."


    Her words had an instant effect as some of her guards along with most of those who were patrolling were ready to leave the ce when Ryan suddenly copsed back on the floor like some puppet whose strings had been cut off, and the only indication that he was alive was the subtle twitch and his chest moving slowly.


    Ylerias, as well as her guards, moved out of the way of a concerned Nikita and Michalina who were by his side immediately along with Maralyning in tow with them while shouting out towards Michalina trying to calm her down and to let her heal her, meanwhile, Jessica simply stood by their side as Nikita quickly checked Ryan only to shout out in confusion, "What the hell is this?"

 Chapter 73: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-4)

    Chapter 73: Alpha Raven 2.0 (Part-4)


    Ryan opened his eyes as he found himself in a simr ce as he looked around what he has begun calling his ''Mental Sanctum'', as he wandered through his ''Mental Sanctum'' a scowl slowly managed to form on his face.


    <em>''This is frustrating why am I here again, I should be able to choose when I can enter this ce and when I cannot, I wanted to have a good nights sleeps with good dreams but now I will be stuck here, so not fai.eh?!''</em>


    His scowl disappeared as a look of surprise appeared on his face, as a look of shock appeared which quickly turned to panic, <em>''Why am I sinking through the floor? But more importantly, why did the floor liquefy? ''</em>


    Before he could react he went drowned, many things shed through his minds about the horrible fate from drowning but what greeted him was not water or anything butplete and utter dark void.


    Ryan could not help but panic, <em>''Where am I? Where is this ce?''</em>


    He tried desperately to wake up but failed, he tried to move and failed again and then all of a sudden he saw a light, he once again tried to move towards it but failed yet again, but then all of sudden the light started to slowly move towards him before it suddenly began moving towards him at a fast pace.


    <em>''What is this light? And why is it moving towards me so fast, please do not tell me it is some sort of creature.''</em>


    His hunch proved to be right as a huge gigantic angler fish lookalike appeared in front of him, but no matter how much he all he could do was watch out with fear and helplessness at the creature as its opened its mouth wide, itsrge glistening teeth which were taller than him which swallowed him promptly.


    <em>''So this is how I die.''</em>, with the thought in mind, he closed his eyes as the jaw closed swallowing him whole.


    "Hahaha, the look on your face is hrious."


    A mocking voice came to his ears as he opened his eyes he was surprised to see a campfire burning brightly with a couple of empty chairs surrounding it, except one which he himself upied, arge tree was by his side, as he looked up his eyes widen with amazement as he gawked at the sight, "Wow.", was all he said at the scenic beauty in front of him, never had he ever seen such a vibrant night sky so full of stars, even with his naked eyes he could spot a few gxies and nebs.


    His thoughts came to a screeching halt as he realized something, <em>''Wait a minute where am I? What is this ce? I know for sure that such a ce does not appear on earth, so am I dreaming? But it felt so real! Do not tell me am I going insane?''</em>


    "Ahem", a coughing sound drew his attention as he searched around for a moment for any sign of any person present only to fail spectacrly as such could not help but shout out loud, "Where are you hiding you bastard?"


    "My how rude of you, I am sitting right in front of you yet you not only fail to spot me but also has the audacity to call me a bastard."


    Ryan finally found the source of the voice, a small flickering me that seemed to float atop the chair.


    "Are you the small flickering me?"


    "'' A small flickering me'' you say?!", the voice suddenly seemed disappointed as it continued to speak, "I waited till you reach the Tier 10, yet you still perceive me as a ''small flickering me '', such a disappointment."


    Ryan growled towards the me as he spoke with anger in his tone, "Who are you?And what gives you the right to judge, but most importantly, how did you bring me to this ce and where is this ce?"


    "Ah forgive me for not introducing myself, I was distracted upon meeting such a rude child after all.", Ryan glowered at the flickering mes, which continued to speak nonchnt manner, "My name is Avtis the God of Creation and Destruction, and you, my dear Ryan is my Apostle."


    Ryan gained a dumbfounded look on his face as he began to speak slowly, "So why was I brought to this ce in such a manner, first drowning me and then feeding me to a fish only to wake up in this ce, but I will say the sky is nice."


    "So true the sky is nice, and it can be even better."


    With an eager look Ryan looked up only for his vision to be assaulted by a myriad of colours making him suffer from a bout of nausea, he somehow managed to push the bile rising down his throat as he spoke, "The hell is this better it is nausea-inducing and horrendous."


    "Tch, like a plebian uncultured child would ever understand the joys of modern art."


    Ryan glowered at him as he spoke, "Oh then oh so great master please enlighten me on why you thought it would be great to drown me and feed me to a fish."


    "Is that not how the hackers of your world work, send something to steal information from someone, what is that called again? Ah, yes phishing is it not? I used simr tactics."


    Ryan''s brow twitched as he spoke, "First of all phishing is like luring the victim into the trap, and when the victim is taken the bait the hacker simply reels in the information from the victim, nowhere does he actively attacks like what you did, instead of baiting me you attacked me directly so no it is not phishing."


    "Meh, semantics since my goal was to bring you here and to have a pleasant chat with you, though the chat portion is sorelycking due because of you, otherwise I am quite sessful."


    Ryan took a deep breath to calm him down before he spoke, "So why do you want to speak with me."


    Avtis was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "You are stand in front of a God yet you are, <em>~sigh~</em> I have no words for such insolence, for example, should you not kneel before me."


    No sooner did those words escaped his mouth Ryan found himself headfirst on the ground as Avtis kept on speaking, "There was it so difficult, there are a few decorums that you have to know, like asking for permission before speaking and the likes of those, clearly youck manners, the first few minutes I can forgive for being in shock but you should have reigned in yourself but now."


    Ryan tried to speak but no words escaped his mouth nor could he move a muscle, <em>''The hell is this, how dare he force me to bend my knee.''</em>


    "Ah I see you do not like being forced, hmm how troublesome I am oldest amongst all the Deities of my pantheon yet I never had any Apostle until now, and I am stuck with you until you die."


    Ryan glowered in anger as hey in that position without Avtis saying anything for a moment, although Ryan did not stop cursing inside his head.


    "Wow, I never knew your mind was such a gutter what would your mother Ciara say if she heard you speaking suchnguage."


    Ryan''s thoughts came to a grinding halt at his words, ''No way, he cannot hear what I am thinking.''


    A snorting sound came from the flickering me as Avtis spoke with mirth in his voice, "Please reading your thoughts is as easy for me as it is breathing for you, now raise your head and speak with your mouth."


    Ryan looked up with a scowl as he spoke, "I do not like being forced to do something against my wish."


    "As you should, my Apostle should not be someone that can be forced to do someone else''s bidding except mine."


    "I do not wish to be your Apostle."


    "Why?"


    "You are forcing me against my will secondly I follow a different religion."


    "So what you are now mine and if you are so against it slit your throat and die choking in your blood, and as for religion I never asked you to worship me, never asked anyone to do so even before and I will not start it now, but you will not worship anyone else anymore."


    Ryan growled visibly upon hearing he wanted to give a piece of his mind to Avtis but he knew at the end of the day he was at Avtis''s mercy.


    "Why me, why am I your apostle, there are billions of people on my but why me?"


    "Well, you got hit by a part of the asteroid they send to your."


    Ryan narrowed his eyes as he spoke with disbelief, "For someone who is the oldest in the pantheon selecting someone so randomly I do not believe you."


    Avtis did not reply to his words as Ryan began to speak after a minute, "Wait a minute, about that asteroid, who was it that send it to our and what happened to our world?"


    "Something like that you do not need to know for now as it will not help you, but what I can say is that it was not good."


    Ryan''s frown deepened as he spoke, "I was hit by its part and at the end of the day if it was bad then why did you choose someone who was tainted by something that is not good, you are lying."


    "Why do you think so?"


    "Because it ismon sense if the asteroid was bad and if I had a part of that in me I would be under its influence, and it does not make any sense."


    "Hahaha, so true no you were not hit by the asteroid but a part of the weapon of yours truly, the asteroid was meant to do something awful but I intervened on behest of a friend though I was stillte, and that thing still managed to explode and you know the rest, and then a part of my weapon broke and hit you."


    So many questions swam in Ryan''s head he could not think of what to ask, for a moment the duo was silent before Ryan spoke again, "But why me?"


    "A part of my weapon merged with you and as such, it was easier to im you as my Apostle."


    "You said you never had an Apostle before so why now? And most importantly why did our world merge."


    "Why I needed an Apostle now or why our world merged is something you will learn muchter along with the identity of who send you the asteroid."


    Ryan sighed at that as he mused inwardly, <em>''Maybe I should consult with Ylerias.''</em>


    "Consulting with your fellow Apostle will yield nothing as she knows nothing but tells you what when you reach the fifth circle we will talk."


    Ryan nodded before he spoke with a frown, "I see though I wanted to know since Ylerias and I would be running around in the world am I going to have problem with Gods of our world."


    "How are you sure that Gods really exist in your world?"


    "If Gods were not present how would miracles work in our world, but more importantly you said you were doing work for a friend of yours and if I am not wrong that person must be a God as well."


    "Hahaha, you are right child Gods do exist in your world though you will not have any problem with them until and unless you try to pick a fight with them so you have nothing to worry, as for why and how I told you to reach the fifth circle you will many things."


    "So what should I do now?"


    "What else other than trying to reach the fifth circle as fast as possible though I would also advise you to make advance your world as much as possible beyond the technological achievements your world had reached, after all a pesky meteor of that size could have been easily dealt by the various military forces of your world, yet they failed to detect its presence let alone deal with it."


    Ryan gulped hard upon hearing that as Avtis continued, "But enough of that, I am busy and next time we meet I hope you will be strong enough to see a simple flicker as well as more manner but now for the real reason I wanted to meet you."


    "I hope you have seen Ylerias''s bow?"


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes I have seen it, a bow without string that also does not need any arrows."


    "Cool is it not?"


    Ryan nodded as he replied, "Yes it is, as a weapon with an unlimited number of arrows is always cool."


    "A God or Goddess is required by ourw to arm their respective Apostles with weapons, armours or any other items that they would require while serving their respective deities, just like your fellow Apostle she had been armed with a bow by her patron Goddess. But, no God or Goddess just hand them over for free, Ylerias had to make a pilgrimage to her patron Goddess''s temple while trying to ovee various tests thrown against her."


    "Unfortunately for us, the current you have no means to reach my temple when you do not know its location, and"


    "But you said you have not asked anyone to worship you then howe you have a temple."


    "Did no one teach you not to interrupt someone who is speaking, such insolence and as for my temple, even if I told there is no need for anyone to worship me, people built my temple to honour me, and not shut up and listen."


    With a small pause, Avtis began again, "It would be foolishly wasting precious time by making you wander throughout the world as such I will grant you your weapon here and now."


    As he spoke those words the campfire suddenly red up as two tinum rings appeared, as Avtis spoke again, "Now go and wear those tow and you will know everything there is to know about them."


    Ryan cast a wary nce towards Avtis as he went towards the campfire as raised his right hand Avtis spoke again, "Wear them on each of your hands or it will not work."


    With a nod Ryan raised his hands as he fingers approached the rings it suddenly moved while increasing in size bing big enough that his hand could pass though it, then it multiplied as two became four, Ryan watched as one of the rings stopped just below the wrist whereas other stopped just below the elbow.


    "Well since you have received the weapon I will take my leave, and next time learn to be a bit polite and courteous and so that you do not forget, the bonding process with your weapon will be your incentive to remember to learn manners before meeting with me again."


    A bright sh of light forced Ryan''s eyes to close and as he opened them he found himself standing inside his ''Mental Sanctum''.


    The rings might have yet to shrunk in size and waszily rotating on their respective ces, <em>''Why would he give me rings? But more importantly, what will I do with these rings?''</em>


    As the thought passed his mind the rings suddenly stopped rotating and it shrunk suddenly, a searing pain erupted in his hands to him it felt as if someone was drilling holes through his bones, as well as setting his hands on fire, and it did not just stop there as the agonizing feeling of bones being drilled while being burned alive spread throughout his entire body, every inch of his body screamed from pain as such he opened his mouth while he screaming out aloud at the top of his lungs.


    Nikita looked at the various tattoos adorning Ryan''s hands which were disappearing fast, but what drew her attention were the rings that were on his hands, one of the pair beneath his elbow and another just above his wrist, but what really drew her attention and concern was the fact the rings seemed to have been growing from his hands, as such she could not help but shout out at the top of her voice drawing everyone''s attention, "What the hell is this?"

 Chapter 74: The Gift (part-1)

    Chapter 74: The Gift (part-1)


    "So that is what ''Holy Lord'' Avtis told me?"


    Ryan spoke while putting extra emphasis on the word ''Holy Lord'', which made Ylerias re up her nostrils as she spoke with anger, "Lord Ryan I understand that you have some issues with him, but please can you put aside your anger and think carefully what would have happened if you had not received his blessings, but more importantly I do not think you have forgotten your punishment have you?"


    Ryan shivered at being reminded of the punishment he received as he replied back, "Please do not remind me, I am in no hurry to meet Him again."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke with disbelief, "It is a great honour to have an audience with Holy Lord and yet you are wary to meet him, I do not know what I should think about you."


    "Definitely something good Lady Ylerias, though what should we do about the information Ryan gave us, Holy Lord Avtis warned us about some unknown enemy, so how do we deal with them?"


    Ylerias''s brow scrunched up in deep thought as she replied back to Michalina, "If we knew the identity it would have been better."


    Ryuu simply stretched before he spoke with a tired sigh, "We do not know the identity and either I will learn after I end up getting my fifth circle or we will stumble upon them but since there is no way of knowing it, as such I propose that we should focus at our current goal."


    Michalina looked at her with confusion written in her face as she spoke, "And what would that be?"


    Ryan shed a brilliant smile as he replied back, "Why of course we are going to get strong while I will try to reach my fifth circle as soon as possible, also at the same time I will try to uplift the technology level of our world as much as possible."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as did Michalina, they would have to grow stronger and in case of Michalina she vowed to help Ryan to evolve the technological level of their world.


    "It would be a tedious and slow process."


    Ryan nodded at Ylerias''s words as he spoke, "Yes it would be, but it would be better than nothing and from what I learn from Holy Lord Avtis''s words our enemy is extremely dangerous."


    Yelrias nodded as she gained a contemtive look on her face as she spoke, "True if only we can get hold of other Apostles it would have been great but as of this moment I do not know their location nor do I know about their conditions for all I know they could be dead."


    "Lady Ylerias I hope we will meet our fellow Apostles, having a unified front it would be great."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as Michalina decided to change the subject, "Lady Ylerias during Ryan''s bonding with his gift, and you said you had received yours in a simr manner so does your lie dormant in another shape as well."


    "Yes it does, my weapon when not in used looks like a small metal te on my back.", her eyes then fell on Ryan as she spoke, "So, what does your weapon look like?"


    Ryan suddenly felt ufortable upon being asked the question he was a bit embarrassed about his weapon''s looks, but Ylerias thought that Ryan was simply hesitating on showing him his weapon which made her feel slightly disappointed at Ryan.


    "It is okay, I understand that you wish to keep it a secret trump card, as"


    Ryan hurriedly raised his hand to prevent her from speaking as he spoke quickly, "Forgive mydy, it was not my wish to hide my gift from you, it is just the gift I received is kind of embarrassing."


    Jessica who was sitting by their side listening to their conversation spoke for the first time, "Show it, Ryan, you are amongst your friends and family, so there is nothing to be ashamed of, we are all here for you."


    Her words were followed by an encouraging nod from Michalina making Ryan sigh reluctantly as he raised his hand, then with a sh, the rings disappeared followed by a stunned silence before Jessica burst out intoughter.


    Michalina looked at his brother''s hands which seemed to be wrapped by dirty bandages, making it look as if he was wearing a fingerless glove made up of dirty bandages.


    Michalina growled upon seeing the gloves while Ryan sent a stink eye towards Jessica, before Michalina erupted with anger, "After going through all that pain my brother received some dirty unwashed bandages."


    "Michalina please behave.", as Ylerias spoke in a stern tone Michalina gave her a slight re as Ylerias continued, "When I received my weapon it looked like someone had broken off a curved branch broken off of a tree, but look at it now.", as she spoke she produced her beautiful bow something there were having impossible difficult to corrte with a broken branch from a tree.


    "As such Ryan would not have to worry, as long as he can keep on upgrading it, his gloves would evolve and change as well."


    Ryan looked at his glove as a small smile graced his face as he spoke, "I am d to know that its looks would change, even though I know it would upgrade but for a moment I was afraid that I will have to use this forever, after all, I am allowed this glove only."


    Michalina looked up towards him her face nk, "What do you mean you can only use that glove?"


    Ylerias nodded in understanding as she spoke with a sigh, "Like in my case the only weapon allowed to me is my bow, as any other weapon that I use bespletely useless."


    Michalina''s head swivelled towards her as she spoke in a stern voice, "Please define ''useless'' to me."


    Ylerias gave an uneasy smile as she replied to her, "Well as you can see any arrow that Is not released by my bow bes useless if it is used by me, take for example a creature that can be brought down by an arrow using a certain bow, now if I were to use it then I would need more than a hundred just to kill the very same creature."


    "So in other words any weapon that you use other than yours has its strength lower greatly."


    "It is as you have perceived Jessica, at first it was not much of a difference but as my level increased the difference became more and more pronounced."


    Michalina grimaced at that as she spoke, "That means sometimes you might have to face severe problems when you do not have ess to your weapon."


    Ylerais smiled as she replied back, "I will never face such a situation, no matter what happens my weapon is tied to my soul as such I will always have ess to it, no one can separate me from my weapon and I believe it is same in case of Ryan, no one will be able to separate him from his weapon."


    Jessica looked at Ryan as she spoke, "That is nice but seeing it he has gloves on his hands that means that he can only be fought using punching and kicking?"


    She then sent a pitying nce towards Ryan as she spoke, "Do not worry I will use all yourtest weapons and use them to the fullest on your behalf, while you practice using your hand and feet."


    Ryan growled as he spoke, "You know Jessica, you are standing on a structure created by yours truly and if you annoy me too much I can"


    Jessica let out a yelp as she found herself suddenly hanging upside down courtesy of power cables.


    "Put me down this instant Ryan."


    Only for Ryan smirked back at her as he spoke, "Huh, why should I? Since you were having fun at my misfortune why don''t I have some fun on yours for a change?"


    Jessica growled hard as she shouted back, "Put me down and I will not rearrange your face."


    Ryan simply shrugged at that as he replied back, "Statement like this makes me want to keep you hanging like that."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Please stop you two, and Ryan put her down if she starts something as she superior I will discipline."


    "If you say so sister.", with that he gently put down Jessica as the wires disappeared from where it came.


    Michalina looked at the polished surface of the roof of their newest base, and it was as good as new without any sign of the previous of wires erupting being present as such she could not help but ask out loud, "Where did those wirese from Ryan?"


    Ryan simple smiled mysteriously as he replied back, "From ces."


    Ylerias who was looking at their interactions with a frown on her face before she spoke, "Lord Ryan, you said wanted to meet and form a united front with rest of our brethren right?"


    As Ryan nodded Ylerias continued with a sigh as she looked up to the sky, "Then I advise you to cease being so friendly and familiar with yourpanions even if they are your family."


    "And why is that Lady Ylerias, why should my brother cease being familiar with his family."


    With a sad chuckle, Ylerias spoke, "Other Apostles may not be as understanding as us, to them the moment you be an Apostle you stop being a normal person, even your no longer belong to your race, and sadly it is true, like in my case or in Ryan''s case he is no longer a human, we have to do perform various duties for our patron Gods and Goddess and as such emotional attachments can form hindrance and as such greatly frowned upon and discouraged."


    A tensed silence descended amongst them before Ylerias spoke with a weak smile in an attempt to change the subject of their discussion, "So, what do your gloves do?"


    Ryan appreciated the change in the subject as he spoke in an excited manner, "Well for starters my gloves."

 Chapter 75: The Gift (Part-2)

    Chapter 75: The Gift (Part-2)


    <em><strong>Item:</strong> The Gauntlet of Eternal Forge [Soul bound to Apostle Ryan O''Cahill]</em>


    <em><strong>Rank:</strong> Unranked [Downgraded from World Eater Tier]</em>


    <em><strong>Stats:</strong> Locked [Upgrade to Common Tier to Unlock]</em>


    <em><strong>Special Perks</strong>: N/A [Upgrade to Common Tier to unlock]</em>


    <em><strong>Weapon Slot:</strong> Locked[Upgrade to Common Tier to unlock]</em>


    <em><strong>Evolve:</strong> 0/10 Material Fragments</em>


    Ylerias frowned as she looked at the status report that Ryan had written down for her with deep concentration before she raised her head as she spoke, "Ryan have you written everything correctly."


    Ryan replied with a nod, "Yes I have written down everything correctly, why is there something wrong?"


    Ylerias pursued her lips as she turned back to speak to one of herpanions, "Siora, do you know what this ''World Eater'' thing is?"


    Siora simply shook her head before she replied, "My sincerest apologies Your Holiness but I do not have any knowledge about it."


    Ylerias nodded before she continued, "The thing is we know do not know what the ''World Eater'' thing is, next time you meet you will have to Holy Lord Avtis you have to ask about it."


    Ryan sighed before for a moment before he spoke, "Lady Ylerias can you please teach me about this ranks."


    "Of course Lord Ryan, in our world there are there are three ranking systems first one is the level, and thenes the rank or as some calls type, and finally the lord ss."


    "In case of level or tier it is self-exnatory as you have already seen it.", Ryan nodded as Ylerias continued, "Then the rank or type is slightly different, its categorization of the quality of an object, it starts from the lowest rank otherwise known as the Unranked, then Common, Umon, Rare, Unique, Legendary, Mythic, Saint Destroyer, Abyssal, Celestial, but nowhere in that rank is something known as ''World Eater'', as such you will have to consult Holy Lord Avtis about it."


    Ryan once again nodded as Ylerias continued, "Now Lord ss is slightly different in their case they have only five ranks, Knight, Lord, General, King and Emperor, for those who have appraisal skill you will be able to notice some of the monsters have a star to their name."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke, "Ah, now that you mention when I look at others I can see their name floating on top of their head as well their Tiers or levels, and some of the creatures that I have faced had stars against their names."


    Ylerias raised one of her elegant brows as she spoke curiously, "You can see them, interesting, very interesting, but do remember that those stars only appear in case of monsters, weapons, armours and other various items, so those creatures with multiple stars what do you think of them."


    Ryan spoke with a frown on his face, "They are strong crazily stronger than those of the same tier but without a star."


    Ylerias continued with a brief nod, "Yes they are, with every rank their power almost doubles that of those that are lower than them, as do their rarity."


    Ryan frowned in thought while Ylerias continued, "The rtion between three systems are a bit unique, even a Tier 1 weapon can be of Legendary Rank and Five Star variety, while a Tier five hundred can be of Unranked and no star variety."


    Ryan did the only thing that he could do was to ce his hand over his face as he spoke, "The system of your world is tooplicated the more I hear the more my head spins."


    Ylerias simply smiled at that before her face turned serious, "That may be, but this material fragment thing I think we can solve it now if I remember correctly you did burn the spider nest here."


    Ryan nodded before he pointed towards certain direction as he spoke, "That burned down building over there was the nest."


    Ylerias looked towards the direction as her eyes widen slightly as she spoke, "Oh my, it seems I have been a bit careless and missed such arge structure over there, and is that the ce where the creature died."


    Ryan nodded at that as he spoke, "Yes you can see from therge lump and ckened area over there."


    "Interesting, the Hundred Eyed Queen''s web when lit on fire shrinks up and lives a type of resins which when processed can be expensive silk clothes, I think we can use it."


    A look of excitement shed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "That is excellent, I can use it and if it works I will not have dirty bandages anymore."


    With that he promptly dashed down through the hatch only to stop for a moment before he spoke out, "Lady Ylerias will you being along?"


    Ylerias sighed before nodding, "Yes I would."


    An otherworldly handsome figure skipped while humming a tune, his eyes closed oblivious to the world, his surroundings were adorned with architectural marvels, along with natural beauty, yet he paid no mind to it, any who came across him would soon move from his path while some bowing low enough to touch the ground, but the person did not pay any heed to his surroundings.


    He took a few steps before he stopped taking a U-turn he made his way towards a rather breathtaking woman as he spoke with a smile but without opening his eyes, "Ah Oena how have you been."


    Oena gave a small bow as she spoke, "I am fine my Lord."


    Avtis''s brow scrunched as he spoke with a pout, "Please Oena, I do not like my family being so formal to me, I have always told you to call me Grandpa, yet every time you revert to Lord.", his face then turned serious as he spoke, "Now do you have any news on my friend."


    Oena replied with a nod, "Yes my Lo.. Grandpa, he is much stable now, it will be only a matter of time before he wakes up."


    A smile formed on his face as he spoke, "The sooner he wakes up the better, Earth has so many good musicians especially that band names after an insect, there are so good, I wish to negotiate for their souls."


    They were quiet for a moment as various thoughts passed through Avtis''s head while Oena simply stood by waiting to be dismissed before Avtis broke the silence, "Dear is there anything wrong? You seemed a bit tense."


    Oena was brought out of her deep thought as she spoke with a sad frown, "There is no need for you to worry grandpa."


    Avtis simply smiled as he spoke, "Please Granddaughter, tell me what is troubling you and who knows maybe I can help."


    Oena bit her lips as she continued, "It is about my apostle Grandpa."


    Avtis curiously tilted his head as he spoke, "What about her?"


    "Well I spoke with others and since the merger, the people of our seemed to have lost their previous strength, even the apostles and they seemed to be gaining now, but..", Avtis gave her an encouraging nod as she continued, "But unlike others, I cannot contact my Apostle nor can I find her, all I know she is alive."


    Avtis brow scrunched in deep thought before he spoke, "Your Apostle if I remember correctly her name is Illicus, no icterus.."


    "Ylerias, Grandpa, her name is Ylerias."


    Avtis snapped his finger as he replied it back, "Ah yes Ylerias, yes nice and kind Apostle you have, she busy educating my Apostle, I did not even have to say anything to her yet she took the responsibility on her shoulder to help my rude uneducated weak idiot of an Apostle."


    Oena was stunned for a moment before she shouted out in wonder and amazement, "Grandpa you took an Apostle?"


    Her words drew everyone''s attention at thetest gossip; after all, it was not every day that someone of Avtis''s stature took an Apostle.


    Avtis, on the other hand, did not pay any heed to the murmurs around him as he gave a dazzling smile while he spoke, "Yes I took one.", his smile then turned to a frown, "Though his smile changed to a frown as he spoke, "Though he turned out to be weak, even after reaching Tier ten he still could not see me, but only a small flicker of me, not to mention hecks humour as well."


    Oena sweet dropped at his statement as she spoke, "With all due respect Grandpa, but Tier ten is low for any Apostle to see more than a flicker of me, and for someone with your power anyone whom you would have taken as an apostle would have died, but still to even see a flicker is amazing."


    Avtis scratched his chin in deep thought before he spoke, "Is that so?"


    "Yes Grandpa"


    "Well then I better not say something like this otherwise he might get a big head."


    Oena''s eyes widen for a moment before she spoke, "Grandpa since your apostle is nearby is it possible for you to help me to connect to her."


    Avtis tilted his head as he spoke, "Why would I do that when I was the one who blocked you from contacting her, she is busy and when the time is right you will meet her again."


    Oena''s eyes widen before she spoke with righteous anger, "<strong>How dare you? Who permitted you to"</strong>


    Not only Oena but every one near her choked, her anger vaporized as it was reced by fear, Avtis had opened his eyes, more like a half-opened as Oena was greeted by an unending pool of dark abyss and madness behind the eyelids.


    As the other gods and goddess desperately tried to escape, Oean feltpletely sapped off her strength and the only reason she was standing was that Avtis supported her by holding her chin.


    "Youngdy that is quite rude of you to take that tone to your ancestors, where are your manners.", as he spoke his surrounding started to decay the beautiful architectural columns suddenly looked like thousands of years old before they began to copse, the trees rotted away, and Oena herself was not unaffected.


    Gone was her beauty, she looked nothing more than a rotten corpse that did not know that it had died as Avtis continued, "You are not too old for me to not bend you over my knees and spank you to death, even if you are my family I will not tolerate such disrespect do you understand."


    The rotten corpse was almost a skeleton by then, but still, it somehow managed to make a small noise, as smile blossomed on Avtis''s face as he spoke with a smile, "It was nice to meet, but do not worry your Apostle is in good hands for now.", with that he simply tousled her hair as he left while dropping her on the ground.


    The corpseid on the ground for a moment before it slowly began to return to her normal previous self, <em>''What was I thinking, I might have gone mad to take that tone with him, ''</em>Grandpa<em>'', yeah right beneath all that gentlemanly faade is an old monster, I am sorry Ylerias but your Goddess is too weak and too cowardly to stand against him.''</em>


    Avtis continued on his path with his eyes closed whistling a tune when all of a sudden something in his pocket vibrated, he took the item which turned to be a mirror which showed a variety ofimages, a smile formed his face stretching his lips from ear to ear, as he whispered, "Nice very nice, I said you will not have to go on a pilgrimage full of trials but I did not say that I will not bring those trials to you, after all, a sword not used in battle is a dull and useless piece of metal, now grow my little one grow like I want you to be."

 Chapter 76: The Gift (Part-3)

    Chapter 76: The Gift (Part-3)


    Marcel huffed as he let out a pained groan, gone was his clean and shaved aristocratic looks he looked more like some homeless beggar by that point.


    "Mother, please eat something if you continue like this you will not survive."


    Beth opened her eyes as she spoke, "Son have you eaten anything."


    "I will eatter on."


    Beth tiredly shook her head as she spoke, "No son, you have to eat first, this old fool has done too many mistakes because me your father"


    Marcel simply gave her mother a one-armed hug, as he spoke, "Please mother we have escaped from that ce we can now find a ce to settle down and hide and maybe we can find my sister as well as my son, Ciara is in the army she will definitely survive with the garrison, and as for Ryan, he will and he has to survive, so please till we find them we will have to survive."


    "Father is right, grandma, after all, grandpa did not sacrifice his life so that you would die in such a manner, not only because of him my honour but because of him we were able to escape from that ursed ce, I always thought army should look after the civilian and help us, but this"


    Beth looked at her Ileana as she spoke with a smile, "No, that is not an army but a group of thugs, murderers and degenerates who have banded together to fulfil their sick desires nothing more."


    Her face gained a pained expression as she spoke, "I thought I knew him, he was like my brother and yet he betrayed me like that, my husband died because of him, then he tried to vite my granddaughters, I..I.."


    Marcel simply rubbed her back as his eyes hardened, while his thoughts were not so soothing, <em>''The only reason I am even looking after you is that I promised father, I never knew why even after all this he loved you unconditionally, brother yeah right you cannot deceive me, but then the fruit doesn''t fall too far after all because of me my son is lost.''</em>


    Ryan sneezed hard as he spoke, Seems like I caught a cold."


    "But what did you get to show it, show it."


    Ryan rolled his eyes as he spoke, "You are like a kid on sugar high."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Like a certain someone did not dash all the way here to get his gauntlets to evolve."


    Ryan''s gauntlet''s reappeared, but unlike before it was like a glove that covered every part of his hands up to his elbows.


    Jessica poked and prodded his gloves before she spoke with a frown, "This glove kind of looks likedies gloves, which went out of fashion somewhere a couple of centuries ago, though the design is nice."


    Ryan simply pouted at her words as Ylerias spoke with a smile, "But even then your gauntlets looks much better than before, who knows with time it would end up bing something that others will envy."


    Michalina nodded with a smile on her face as she spoke, "It is as Lady Ylerias had said the gauntlet of yours will surely be the object of envy over time, but for now be happy it does not have some frills."


    Ryan''s happy smile disappeared as he let out a groan as he spoke, "Is this pick on Ryan day."


    Jessica smirked at him as she spoke, "Of course every day is ''Pick on Ryan day''."


    "Why You"


    With a slight smile on her face, Ylerias decided to intervene, "Lord Ryan about your new gauntlet, can we see what improvements it has now."


    "Of course, Lady Ylerias, let me write down the new status of my gauntlet."


    *********


    <strong>Item: </strong><em>The Gauntlet of Eternal Forge </em><strong>[</strong><em>Soul bound to Apostle Ryan Von Ruinesca</em><strong>]</strong>


    <strong>Rank:</strong><em> UnCommon Tier </em><strong>[</strong><em>Downgraded from World Eater Tier</em><strong>]</strong>


    <strong>Stats:</strong>


    <strong>[ </strong><em>Durability: Unbreakable</em><strong>]</strong>


    <strong>Special Perks:</strong>


    <strong>[</strong> <em>0 Mana required for creation and destruction when equipped</em>


    <em>Duality</em><strong> ]</strong>


    <strong>Weapon Slot:</strong>


    <strong>[</strong> <em>1. Pistol{Tier - 10} {Umon}</em>


    <em>2. Sword {Tier - 10} {Umon}</em><strong>]</strong>


    <em>Evolve: 0/20 Material Fragments</em>


    ************


    Ryan gawked at it for a moment before he eximed, "Wait a minute who is this Ryan Von Ruinesca?? Why is my gauntlet bonded to him?"


    "Lord Ryan may be you should write it down so that all of us can pool our minds and discuss in great details."


    Ryan''s sister, as well as Jessica, looked at the piece of paper that contained the details of the gauntlet especially the part rted to the ownership of the gauntlet.


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Is this some type of mistake."


    "There is no mistake about it, as that is Ryan''s name from now, the name granted by the Holy Lord Avtis."


    Ryan looked at Ylerias before he spoke with a pout, "I would have preferred Doherty instead of Cahill."


    Jessica looked at Ylerias as she spoke with a frown, "Gods give names to others?"


    Ylerias simply smiled as she spoke, "No only their apostles they do so, did you really think that Ylerias Lunaveria was my birth name.", as Ryan and his group nodded she spoke with a smile, "Of course not, it was the name that my Goddess granted me."


    Ryan''s eyes then fell on Ylerias''spanion Siora, "Was it the same for you? Did you also change your name?"


    Siora bowed as she replied back, "Of course Your Holiness, when we pledged ourselves to serve My Lady, I gave away my birth name and since then I was known as Siora Ylerias."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "Ylerias?, is that not Lady Ylerias''s name."


    Siora nodded at that as she spoke, "Yes, we all use the name of the Apostle, whose humble servants we are, as our surname."


    Ryan simply scratched his chin with a deep thought as Ylerias spoke, "By the way Ryan, I have been something to ask you?"


    "What is it Lady Ylerias?"


    "I do not want to sound too rude, but your sister and you look nothing alike, there is nothing inmon with your looks, there are rare chances that siblings look different but then again you look happy when your surname changed yet at the same time it did not change into something you wanted to."


    The siblings looked at each other before Michalina began with a smile, "We do not look like each other remotely because we are not blood-rted."


    Ryan continued with a nod, "Both of us are adopted actually and our mother''s surname is Doherty."


    "My parents were a soldier for our country and they both died in the line of duty, I was so young that I do not have any memories of them it was then mother adopted me."


    As Michalina spoke with a small smile and proud look on her face,Ylerias looked at Ryan who began with a smallugh, "Oh my is not as heroic and special as Big Sis, my parents forgot to use contraceptive as such I was born, and as such I was unwanted."


    "You are a bastard."


    "<strong>Siora apologize to Lord Ryan this instant!!</strong>"


    Siora quickly dropped on her knees only to stop by Ryan, "Please please stand up and there is nothing to apologize for something that you did not know, as for me being a bastard, well my birth parents were happily married with their two beloved children and I was the unwanted fifth wheel of their perfect family, so there is nothing to apologize, as far as I am concerned they are strangers who I had the misfortune to know, nothing more nothing less."


    Michalina slung her hand over Ryan''s shoulder before bringing him to a one-arm hug as she spoke with a smile, "Who cares of those pathetic wastes of spaces you are my brother, my family and nothing can change that."


    Ryan simply shed Michalina a smile before he spoke, "Though the Unbreakable part is nice maybe I can use it to block some attacks when necessary."


    Ylerias nodded at his words as she spoke, "Yes you may block attacks using your new gauntlet, but I am afraid, only Physical attacks because Magical attacks would bypass it easily. Why I had heard a story of a certain King donning a meproof unbreakable armour challenging a Dragon, the battlested for a moment, neither the Dragon nor the Armor had a simple scratch on them but the King died can you guess why?"


    Ryan''s face scrunched up for a moment in deep thought before he spoke up with a dazzling smile on his face, "The heat the armour was not heatproof so the King might have..", his face gained a slight sickly greenish tint on his face as he came to a realization.


    Ylerias continued from where Ryan left off in a bored tone, "Yes the King was cooked because of the heat as such being unbreakable might not be as great so, do not rely on it too much."


    Ryan nodded solemnly before his eyes sparkled with great joy, "You said Dragons, your world had Dragons!"


    Ylerias was taken aback seeing such excitement in his voice as such she simply nodded in confirmation.


    With a whoop of joy Ryan literally, danced on the spot as he spoke with unhidden glee in his voice, "Can we find them? Can we find them?"


    Michalina somehow managed to m her brother from his sudden bout of overexcitement as she spoke, "Calm down brother why do you wish to find a Dragon."


    "They are cool."


    "Yes Lord Ryan I can agree to that they are majestic and how you put it, ah cool, but at the end of the day they are not only strong to the point that a few of their brethren can go toe to toe with gods but at the same time they are arrogant, vain and territorial I do not see why you would wish to find one."


    Ryan looked at Ylerias with his eyes sparkling which made her take a step back as he proimed with his fist raised high up in the air, "Why you ask? It is simple I want to ride one."


    Ylerias gawked at him for a moment before her eyes fell on Michalina who promptly gave a small bow as she spoke, "Please forgive your Holiness, from time to time he suffers from a bout of madness."


    Ylerias gained a sympathetic look on her face as she spoke, "There is no need to apologize for him, I understand."


    "Oi, what is that look you are giving me."


    At his antics, even the ever stoic Siora had a twitch on her lips while Jessica simply giggled as she spoke, "Well Ryan I believe it is time for you to show us your weapons."


    Ryan nodded at her as he spoke, "Sure why not here let me show you."


    With that, he pulled out a generic-looking pistol, which he then showed it to others.


    "Hmm, Micha does this weapon not resemble the Desert Eagle? It has quite the recoil if I remember correctly."


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "If it works like Desert Eagle it would be great."


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke, "No brother despite having great firepower it is too slowpared to other 9mm such it is only popr with gun enthusiast."


    "What do you mean by too slow, sis?"


    "Well the desert Eagle you cannot fire as fast as a normal 9mm, by the time you would have put 3-4 shots a normal 9mm would easily shot 10 rounds."


    "You forgot about the recoil."


    Michalina gave a small nod of acknowledgement towards Jessica as she spoke, "Ah thank you for reminding about the recoil, the normal 9mm used by the forces are suitable for us to use even when we are moving but such is not the case for Desert Eagle, if you are not holding it steadfast it can hurt you greatly as such you cannot shoot it urately while running not to mention its ghastly weight."


    Michalina then looked at the gun as she spoke with a frown, "Curious there are a fewponents missing, and may I take a look."


    Ryan was about to hand his weapon to his sister only to be stopped by Ylerias, "Stop, what are you doing? Lord Ryan I told you before weapon of an Apostle is only meant for the hands of the said apostle anyone else touching it would suffer severe consequences."


    Ryan gave a sheepish smile as he spoke, "Sorry I forgot."


    With a disapproving re, Ylerias spoke, "Forgetting such vital things is beneath your station Lord Ryan."


    Ryan looked severely chastised as Jessica quickly diffuse the situation, "Ryan don''t you have another weapon to show."


    Ryan nodded before a sword took the ce of his pistol which disappeared, as he looked at his sword that appeared in his hand he could not let out a startled gasp.


    Meanwhile, a certain God was thumbing through a book whileughing uproariously scaring any God that dared to venture to close to him, "I hope the brat likes the gifts, I am so inspired by this literary marvel known as Manga, I based most of his stuff on that, nowhuh"


    "<strong>HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? WHY IS IT THE LAST ISSUE BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE HIT? I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MIATA.</strong>"


    As everyone ran away from fear, Avtis closed the manga as he let out a low chuckle, "No one can prevent me from knowing the next part, no one, and I will then have that author''s soul and make him finish the manga for me, hahaha I am such a genius."


    He spread his hands with his head held highughing and scaring the deities even more before he stopped with annoyance in his face, "<em>Tsk</em>, that annoying idiotic brat screaming andining about something small, he should learn his ce soon in the pecking order."


    Back with Ryan as his group, Ryan held up his sword high up in the air as he shouted out, "What the hell is this, give me a rapier, a sword that I can use you not this you idi.."


    As Ryan shouted the injustice towards the heavens, while Ylerias was trying in vain to shut Ryan up, a bolt of lightning appeared out of blew without even a cloud present before it hit Ryan.


    A figure fell on the ground twitching a bit as Ylerias let out a mournful cry, "Why do I have to deal with him, why does he not listen he might just be the first apostle that was killed by their patron God, why do I have to mentor such rascal, My Goddess please save me!!!"

 Chapter 77: The Journey Back Home(Part-1)

    Chapter 77: The Journey Back Home(Part-1)


    Cai Bai looked at awe at the sudden appearance of thunder without any cloud, which soon turned into a wince as the recipient of the said thunder was none other than Ryan who was now twitching on the ground.


    "If this bes a normal urrence I doubt the kid will survive."


    Cai Bai looked towards Anndrais as he spoke with a sigh, "So true, he should exercise caution, Ylerias told him to be always polite and yet he might have done something stupid again."


    Anndrais nodded with a solemnly look on his face, "You are right brother, absolutely right though still hearing that Gods are real in their world is surreal, but why do think it was a God that sent down that thunder, it could very well be an unknown enemy."


    Cai Bai looked back towards Ryan before he replied with a shrug, "Well seeing how he was shouting about unfairness and all when he was struck down by lightning, and look at the sky do you see even a speck of cloud, and then that woman Ylerias having a minor breakdown, as such I concluded it might be an act of God."


    They sat for a moment in silence before Cai Bai spoke with a curious look on his face, "Are you an atheist?"


    Anndrais simply smiled as he spoke, "Well calling myself an atheist would be too much, why I remember praying to God during my student life, just before the exams as well as before the results hoping that I would pass."


    Cai Bai snorted at that as he spoke, "So true nowadays people only remember God when they want something or want to me someone, and any other time they would not even care, only a few pray and worship God without any ulterior motives."


    As Anndrais gave a nod of agreement Cai Bai kept on speaking, "Just look at your ex-student, how he was trying to profit using religion as an excuse, this is the state of the world, and now foreign unknown Gods have shown up but why?"


    With a confused look on his Anndrais spoke, "What ex-student are you talking about?"


    Now it was Cai Bai''s turn to be confused as he spoke, "The religion fanatic that you identified him as your student, the person that was trying to turn everyone against Ryan, I am talking about him."


    Anndrais simply smiled brightly as he spoke, "I lied, as I have never seen or met that person before in my entire life."


    Cai Bai choked at Anndrais''s words as his head whipped towards his direction as he spoke with a tone full of disbelief, "Are you serious?", at his question Anndrais simply nodded as Cai Bai kept on speaking, "But, why?"


    Anndrais looked towards Cai Bai as he spoke with a sigh, "To protect our way of life and resurrect our civilization he is needed, not to mention the merger of two different worlds I do not know why but I feel as if something big is going to happen."


    Anndrais eyes then wandered off towards Ryan''s location as he spoke with a smile, "Oh seems like he is alright for the moment."


    Ryan managed to sit up with the help of his sister, as he sat up he felt a shiver down his spine, while his muscles twitched badly making his body shake.


    "I have got you Ryan, help will be here soon.", Michalina''s voice came his ears, who was trying hard to make himfortable.


    "Jessica, get Nikita or someone else who specializes medicine here, and do so fast."


    Ylerias by then had managed to control herself as she was promptly by Ryan''s side helping him with the help of her magic.


    She checked him for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "He is injured, but nothing a couple of hours with the Healers cannot fix, though I think I would need to hammer the fact that he should not antagonize his patron God anymore, it is rude to say but Gods are not the most patient being, once maybe okay twice is fine but if it keeps on getting sooner orter Holy Lord Avtis might simply dismiss him."


    Michalina growled as she spoke, "If that is the case then I am all for it, I am not going to let my brother suffer so much just because someone has problems because of his behaviour, no sane being would"


    Ylerias eyes went cold as she red at Michalina her mana manifesting like a blue halo beside her, the small stones and pebbles began to float around making Michalina gain startled look on her face, she did not know why but for some reason she felt scared of Ylerias, the look on her face scared her, even the world seemed to darken.


    Meanwhile Cai Bai and Anndrais where sitting stood up seeing the disy, "Did something happen? It feels like I am standing near a static discharge area, making my body tingle, but why is that woman glowing?"


    "<strong>Dasyra stop!!!</strong>", a shout drew their attention as they looked one of the guards of Ylerias stopping others from acting.


    "Why are stopping me her Holiness is exuding her mana in a threatening manner, that means something has happened."


    The other guard simply looked at Dasyra with a bored look on her face as she spoke, "Did Siora move?"


    Dasyra looked towards Siora who was sitting by Ylerias side without even moving a muscle as the other person continued, "So do not worry it would be fine, though if I were to guess it might be some technique she is utilizing to heal Lord Ryan."


    Their attention was soon drawn towards Ylerias direction as she shouted at Michalina, her voice was loud enough to have reached the vicinity of the base.


    <strong>"Michalina I will say this once so get it into the thick skull of yours, Ryan Von Ruinesca is no longer your brother, he is an Apostle of Holy Lord Avtis, by his order he will live by his order he will die from the moment he was chosen as an Apostle as such his life, his soul is being dedicated to serving Lord Avtis."</strong>


    Michalina''s face reddened with anger as she pointed her gun towards Ylerias who quickly brought out her bow aiming towards Michalina, Siora did not waste any time as her daggers appeared in her hand but before she could react a voice came to their ears, "Would you three please stop this? Nothing good wille from infighting."


    Michalina''s anger vanished as she looked down towards Ryan who continued to speak in a serious tone, "You know when you are supporting someone injured, helping them to sit up, you should not jump away from that person, it hurts them."


    Both Ylerias and Michalina looked a bit ashamed at his words as Ryan let out a tired sigh before speaking, "Sister even though I might have some problem with my patron God, in a way I also greatly appreciate his help for giving me this powers, upon saying that I am also greatly miffed about the fact that he does not listen to my problems, otherwise I would not have any problem with him whatsoever."


    Ylerias did not look too happy at his words as Ryan continued to speak, "I do not know much about your culture as such we might have a sh of ideals sometimes one of them being that my family will always will be my family no matter what, and as for being disrespectful tell me Lady Ylerias, in an army let say a group of archers are given sword and shield to wield and swordsman bow and arrow will they be able to fight in a war properly?"


    Ylerias was stunned at his words for a moment before she spoke in a quiet voice, "They would be ineffective in a battle."


    Ryan ran his fingers through his hair as he replied with a small smile, "No see why I amining, I am used to using Rapier, but this sword ispletely not only different but also quite heavy and bigpared to a rapier, I will have to learn how to use it properly, which is a waste of time, don''t you agree."


    Ylerias grimaced but nodded in acknowledgement as Ryan pressed forward, "So here is my problem I have no way tomunicate with my patron God, nor can I ask for a change that is suitable for me, yes I will give that I overreacted but zapping me is not going to work at all, because at the end of the day it is I who will have to suffer to work hard to master a new weapon from scratch."


    Ylerias with a sigh banished her bow, while Siora put away her daggers, but before anyone could speak anything both Nikita and Maralyn had arrived while being apanied by Jessica.


    "Seems to be you are in another pickle, Ryan."


    Ryan simply gave a weak smile as he spoke, "It seems so please fix me up both of you since I have a busy schedule to follow and lots of work toplete."


    Nikita''s brow furrowed as she spoke, "You are hurt and you need rest."


    But Maralyn''s response waspletely different from Nikita as she simply spoke before speaking, "As you wish Your Holiness, though it will cause you immense strainter on."


    Ryan looked at her seriously before he spoke, "I want to finish building my vehicle within three days, I wish to return home posthaste will that be a problem."


    Maralyn closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke, "Your Holiness, I will have to examine you closely before I can say anything properly."


    With a sigh, Ryan spoke as he closed his eyes, "Do what you must, but I remember that I wish toplete my goal."


    Maralyn gave a small bow before she kneeled by his side as she began to work her magic, Nikita tried to protest only to be stopped by Michalina who spoke with a serious look on her face, "Do not protest just help her Nikita."


    Jessica meanwhile stared at the group trying to discern the cause of the tension without any sess, ''Huh, why are they so tensed and why did Micha agree to have Ryan treated posthaste, and even stop him from resting, but why?''


    "Your Holiness, I can treat youplete, the damage was not as much as I had expected, though by night time you will be extremely fatigued as such you need uninterrupted sleep as much as possible otherwise there will be no problem."


    Ryan looked at her as he spoke, "Then please continue with my treatment."


    "Then please pardon me I am leaving."


    With her piece said Ylerias left with Siora in tow, while Michalina simply kept watching over Ryan as Maralyn''s hand glowed while hovering over him.


    <em>''Brother what s happening to you, you are changing so much so fast that I feel scared.''</em>

 Chapter 78: The Journey Back Home(Part-2)

    Chapter 78: The Journey Back Home(Part-2)


    <em>''Hmm, from what I am nning I can only provide minimumfort during the journey but life is more precious, for increasing the speed and security I will have to provide only the bare necessity, though I can do something for the shock absorbers, hmm, it could work though I will have to recheck the calctions and see how many I can shove inside a wagon without much problem.''</em>


    As Ryan was busy with his calctions and finalizing his current ns a figure approached him and as the figure was sufficiently near him Ryan acknowledged the figure with a smile as he spoke, "Hey Ang did you finish your scouting."


    Ang gave a small nod as she replied to him, "Yes I have just finished my scouting so will you want to hear my report now."


    "Yes please, Ang."


    "Ryan, we have finished cataloguing the contents of the wagons, some of them contain food, some clothes, and then there are useless items like toys and various other electronic devices."


    Ryan frowned at Ang''s words as he replied to her, "There is nothing useless as long as I can recycle it, everything of the fallen civilization is useful."


    Ang with a small nod continued her report, "Now on the east side there is goods train carrying oil tanker and it seems they are full, and then", Ang trailed off seeing the frightened look on Ryan''s face, who was looking at the particr with fear in his eyes.


    Ang grabbed his hand drawing his attention towards her as she spoke with a worried look on her face, "Ryan are you alright?"


    Ryan took a deep breath before he spoke with a look of fear on his face, "No I am not, I was just reminded of the incident with the Oil depot in Navch city, and that is something that I do not wish to remember it."


    Ang simply squished his shoulder as she spoke with a caring tone, "I do not wish to pretend that I can understand what you went through there, but I am here, we all are here, you can always trust us and lean us whenever you need to if you wish to confide about something I am all ears."


    Ryan was silent for a moment before he spoke with a bright smile, "It is nothing but hearing about Oil tankers suddenly brought back some bad memories, being roasted alive is not fun, I am fine for now you do not need to worry."


    Ang simply gave him a small smile while inwardly she was greatly worried, <em>''I have to inform Michalina, about Ryan''s problem.''</em>


    "Well thank you for your hard work though I might call you now and then to guide me to specific stuff, for now, please report back to big sister."


    Ang simply nodded as she left, while Ryan went back to his work on the finalizing the design for the vehicle.


    Ylerias looked down from the top of the base she could see all the people beneath her scurrying around gathering resources from food, to wood, amongst various other things, she could see that Ryan had finally made his move as he was tearing down one wagon after another with great gusto.


    <em>''Dismantle and store, dismantle and store, this is what I will be working for some time, but it was a good thing that there was a goods train with cars in it, the tires would be greatly appreciated, otherwise I would have to deal with a whole lot of trouble.''</em>


    <em><strong>********</strong></em>


    While Ryan was happily working on his project on another part of the country Ileanaid on the ground with tears streaming down her face, one of her eyes was ckened shut, her nose broken, she was having a hard time to breath as her chest hurt, blood dripped from her broken nose, even her hands had been broken, sheid on the ground with her blood dripping from her nose while staring at the smirking person with terror.


    The person looked down at her, he had already torn most of her clothes beaten her into submission as he undid his pants he could hear the whimper of the girl in front of him which greatly aroused him.


    "Basile, I never understood how you never had done the deed with her, she is quite the looker."


    The person named Basile replied with a dejected sigh, "Hey do not me me, despite everything that girl is not only high maintenance but a prude saving herself up for her wedding day, ugh such a bore."


    "Then why did you even waste time after her."


    Basile looked towards one of the people as he spoke with a shrug, "Huh, I never wasted any time my true girlfriend and I used to poke fun behind her back, after all, I went after her was so that I could hurt her holier than thou brother, he saw through me and my intention but the foolish girl jumped into my arms because his brother tried to protect her, even then all I got out of the deal was a few kisses, such a boring woman."


    "<strong>You bastard.</strong>", a person shouted out from under Basile, only for him to stomp the person hard making the person let out a cry of pain.


    The other would-be rapist had already removed his pants as he looked back towards Basile who was standing on top of Marcel as he spoke with a knowing look on his face, "Brother Basil why are you being so harsh on him, maybe he is jealous of us, do not worry you will allow you to have some fun after we finish with your daughters and wife."


    Hearing his words hispanions allughed out loud, jeering and taunting Marcel who closed his eyes with intense grief, <em>''If only I were powerful then my family would not have to have suffered, why did God gave filth like them power whereas we are deprived of any, why?''</em>


    <em></em>


    As he drowned in grief his mind went back to the events a few minutes ago, it was mid-morning they were about to have their morning breakfast of some rabbit-like creature that they had managed to hunt, the hundred-strong group had no idea where they would go, wherever they would look only danger lie, but all they knew was to move forward.


    Marcel looked at his fellow escapees as he let out a tired sigh, <em>''I would have ended up bing the CEO of mypany but now because of the apocalypse I could not even feed my children properly, how long has it been that they had eaten something proper, zombies and creatures roaming thend but the most dangerous creature is humans ourselves.''</em>


    "Marcel, you looked worried."


    Hearing his wife Eleanora''s voice brought joy to his heart making his aged face gain a small smile before seeing the aged look on her face, truly how the environment could change someone, before the apocalypse Marcel and Eleanora can easily pass for someone who was in their early thirties, with their good and smart looks they were subject of awe and envy of others, but now with their white hair and hollowed out cheek, they look nearing their seventies.


    Marcel''s shoulder dropped as he spoke with a tired sigh, "I was just thinking about our future, we cannot live like nomads on this dangerousnds, we do not even have a proper destination, with food and other resources being nonexistent I do not know what we should do."


    Eleanora embraced her husband as she spoke in a soothing voice, "There is nothing to worry, we are all together in this, and did you not forget what is our end goal is."


    Marcel nodded as he replied, "Find Ryan and fix everything, but what if he is already de ouch"


    Marcel let out a yelp of pain as her wife''s nails dug his back as she spoke in a furious tone, "Please Marcle do not say something ominous, that is my only reason to move forward please do not take it for me."


    Marcel caressed his wife gently as he spoke in a soft voice, "Forgive me for even uttering such words."


    They stayed silent for a moment before Eleanora broke the silence, "Why did we do something to him? He was our child our only beloved son why did we do it?"


    Marcel looked towards the sky as he gained a look of sorrow before he spoke, "When Ryan was born do you remember how and why it happened?"


    Eleanora nodded as she replied, "It was an extremely bad time for our carrier, we had hit rock bottom in our career everything looked bleak the only thing that kept us going was our daughters, don''t you remember when we even though ofmitting suicide."


    Eleanora nodded as she spoke, "Yes, it was really the darkest time of our life and when I got pregnant with Ryan, it was like another mouth to feed, if mother had not put her foot down we would have even aborted him and when he was born thepany we were working wentpletely bankrupt and we were jobless, while the Global recession hit full force."


    Eleanora''s eyes widen while reminiscing about such tumultuous time of their life, as she gasped in disbelief, "Do you tell me we began to me Ryan and then resent him."


    Marcel nodded at her words as before he spoke, "Yes, I believe so, do you remember how frustrated we were with him, more often than not we had taken out our anger on him, even to the point of hitting a small babe, our baby and that is the only thing that came to mind, even after our life took a turn for the better we subconsciously resented him, when the twins were born we had received the best offer of our life and career."


    A look of horror settled on Eleanora''s face as she spoke, "What have we done? We have harmed him for some stupid reason, what did we be?"


    Marcel whispered lowly at her words so low that Eleanora could barely make out, "Monster, we have be monster, there was a time when", whatever he was about to say came to a halt as shouts of the enemy attacking came to his ears, but before they could organize they were soundly defeated and taken into custody, leading to their current situation.


    <em><strong>************</strong></em>


    Isabe shook with her fear as the person touched her, she was shaking with fear as she prayed to every God she knew, hoping for a miracle.


    The person had a lecherous smile on her face as he spoke, "Do not worry I will train you to be a willing slut".

 Chapter 79: The Journey Back Home(Part-3)

    Chapter 79: The Journey Back Home(Part-3)


    <em>''Please anyone someone please save me.''</em>, was Isab''s thought as she closed her eyes when all of a sudden she felt something warm covering her, followed by the smell and taste of blood, she opened her eyes and was shocked to see her would rapist was cleaved in half and slowly falling apart while spraying his guts and blood all over her.


    "<strong>Enemy atta<em>ugh</em></strong><em>"</em>, another person copsed with an arrow in his throat, choking on his blood, and his otherpanions were not far behind.


    Catherine''s captivators gripped loosened under the enemy attack and that was all she needed, she mmed her hand as hard as she could on her captor''s crotch making the person cry in pain releasing her.


    <strong>"You bitch!"</strong>, his captor screamed out in anger and that was thest word he could say as Catherine''s adrenaline wore out her fear as anger took its ce, she picked up thergest stone thaty near her.


    <strong>Die! Just Die Already!"</strong>, she screamed at the top of her lungs before bringing the stone over and over again turning her captor''s head to paste.


    "<strong>Enough!</strong> Catherine enough.", a pair of wizened hands caught hold of her bringing her back to her senses before screaming as she shakily looked at her hands, as Beth gathered her granddaughter into a tight hug.


    Their attention was drawn towards someone shouting as the battlefield had suddenly gone silent.


    Basile was bored really bored his uncle hade up with an insane n to not only weed out the rebellious elements but break their hope permanently, and as such they allowed the people to escape and then send people after them to reel them back in.


    To prove his worth to the society he decided to participate, the thrill of hunting down the rebellious people and teaching them their proper ce was exhrating more than he could imagine, and then they decided to wrap up, they had let their prey too much freedom and it was high time they reeled them in.


    The only regret in the entire situation for Basile was that he was not the first one to sleep with Isabelle he wanted to sleep with her take pictures and then humiliate Ryan, who despite being younger than him had managed to outdo him in every turn, yet now it was a pipe dream, all he could do was take sce in the matter that Ryan was dead already turned to poop by some creature.


    Then everything went wrong hismander was cur into two as well aspanions were killed and now stood in front of Basile a monstrous being.


    The simple presence of the being sent shivers down his spine, he could not help but shake under the beings re, and as such he raised his hand and shouted out, "Stay back or I will kill you."


    "<strong>STAY BACKKK!!!!!</strong>!", he shouted at the top of his lungs as fire appeared at the end of his hand but the figure was not dissuaded from the fire as the figure send a powerful kick that forcefully ejected the air from his lungs.


    Basile coughed up blood as he looked shouted out in fear, "My uncle will kill you if you harm me he will kill you not even God can save you from his wrath."


    The figure stopped upon hearing that and for the first time ise noticed the person''s looks, an epitome of beauty was what she could be described as even the supermodels looked ndpared to her looks, long blue hair cascaded like waterfall reached her knees, with red cherry lips, and taut cheek, not to mention skin that looked as if it was carved from purest of marbles, her eyes were blue but with reptilian slits.


    For moment ise was entranced by the buxom beauty, ''<em>no Goddess''</em>, he quickly corrected in his head, he looked at the fur-covered buxom beauty as a hint of lust passed through his eyes before they were drawn towards the fact that the woman had horns on her head like some form of a crown.


    A sadistic smile blossomed on her face that sent shivers down everyone''s spine, before her melodious voice rang, "My! My! What abination, a heretic as well as a rapist scum, just the type I like to squish like a bug."


    Before Basile could speak the person was stomping hard for his ribs to break, as he vomited blood, Basile raised his head in a futile attempt to burn her only for the person to break his hands, before grabbing him by the neck.


    "Please please let me go if you do my uncle will"


    "Ssh ssh, a dead man should not talk.", the person purred in a seductive tone as she ced her hand over his mouth before she began to tug his head hard and with a loud shout followed by a crunching and wet squelch she tore Basile''s head off of his still thrashing body, before casually throwing to her side.


    A stunned silence descended on the as the figure dusted her head with a scowl on her face as if she had touched something rather nasty, she then turned as her eyes fell on Marcel making him freeze from fear then it went to Isabe who was curled up by her mother''s side, who was tending to her.


    "Shakidra, tend that young girl over there, her hands has been broken."


    Another person with horns stepped forward bowing towards the speaker as she spoke, "As you wish My Lady.", with that she went towards the frightened mother and daughter duo.


    As Shakidra went to heal Isab, the blue-haired beauty turned towards her subordinates as shemanded again, "These people look almost starved to death, prepare something for them eat and some water for them to quench their thirst, while one amongst you all please go, and tell others to prepare the camp."


    At her words a couple left after bowing towards her, she then looked at the deceased people, those killed by her and her subordinates before she barked another order, "Cut off the head and then put them on the pike for the world to see and then burn their bodies."


    Another couple left as the person''s eyes then fell on Marcel, who shook with fear from her gaze, and it did not help the fact that she was easily touching six and a half feet mark thus towering over Marcel making him even more intimidating.


    "You sprawled on the floor, speak who are these people, where we are and why were they attacking you, and do not lie or else"


    Marcel gulped at her words involuntarily shaking as he blurted out everything he knew as well as an answering a few questions she had.


    Meanwhile back with Ryan, he let out a sigh of satisfaction, as he looked at his creation even some of the residents of their base had gathered to look at therge structure.


    Cai Bai whistled in appreciation at seeing therge structure forming in front of his eyes as such he could not help but approach Ryan who was busy checking over his creation.


    "Impressive as always Ryan, no matter how many times I look at it, it always manages to amaze me."


    Ryan looked up towards Cai Bai as he offered him a small smile as he spoke, "Please this is nothing as there are so many things I have to work on, this just the basic chassis."


    "Even still to create something sorge would take weeks if not months to aplish, from mining raw ore, then converting them to various products which are further used to create this neenrge chassis, I do not think it is something that one can create within a few hours even at the height of our technology."


    The duo became quiet for a moment before Cai Bai spoke, "So what do you wish to do in the future?"


    Ryan frowned in deep thought for a moment before he spoke, "Future, huh well before everything went out of control I wanted to one day be an astronaut."


    As he spoke he looked up towards the now sky that was more purple than blue, as it was slowly returning to normal with each passing day, arge smile broke out on his face as his eyes were lit by an unholy fire as he spoke, "But now I will not only be an astronaut I will make my own rocket to travel to space."


    Cai Bai smiled at his enthusiasm as Ryan went back to work when one of a sudden one of the residents spoke with a frown on his face, "Hey Ryan why are you crying?"


    His words drew everyone''s attention towards Ryan who was looking at the speaker with confusion on his face, "What are saying?"


    Cai Bai looked at Ryan as he moved towards his side before gently wiping out the tears streaming over his cheeks showing it to him while he spoke, "You are crying rather profusely."


    "Wha..", was the only sound he could make before his voice choked as a gut-wrenching sadness and anger hit him full force.


    Seeing his behaviour many were worried only to be shoved to the side as a red-eyed Ylerias bulldozed her way towards Ryan.


    "Move out of the way."


    As the people moved out of the way Ylerias finally managed to reach Ryan, she quickly held his hand before dragging him away from the crowd.


    As she left Cai Bai spoke with confusion, "Did anyone noticed thedy''s eyes I thought they were as if she was also crying."


    One of the residents with a nod replied to him, "You are right I also noticed her eyes were red as if she was crying what happened?"


    But all Cai Bai could do was shrug as did many others they werepletely clueless about the incident, one moment Ryan was happily chatting with them then all of a sudden he broke down in tears even Ryan himself was taken aback when it was pointed out to him.


    Cai Bai suddenly spoke out loud, "Hey did anyone see his older sister.", as a couple of shook their heads making Cai Bai speak with a frown, "Then it is imperative that we either find his sister, or her group and inform them about him something is fishy."


    Meanwhile, Ylerias had dragged Rayn with her to the top of the base, where she was trying to console Ryan from his sudden unsuspected and unexined breakdown, while she herself tried to pull herself up.

 Chapter 80: The Journey Back Home(Part-4)

    Chapter 80: The Journey Back Home(Part-4)


    "Are you all right Ryan?"


    As Ylerias soft and caring voice came to his ears, Ryan somehow managed to nod as Michalina stormed near them, as Ylerias released a still hupping Ryan from her hug.


    "Brother what happened I heard you had a breakdown."


    "Water"


    Hearing the hoarse voice of her brother Michalina felt a pang in her heart, before holding her canteen at his lips, having finished drinking Ryan spoke with a small sigh, "I do not know, why but I just felt an intense sense of loss and sadness, as if I lost someone very close to me forever, it was so overwhelming that I could not control myself and I broke down, now I feel intense rage like I want to burn everything down."


    Michalina gently patted on her brother''s back as she spoke, "You must be tired that is why you had a breakdown, see I am here, and our friends are here not to mention mom will be fine and waiting for us back home safe and sound so there is nothing for you to worry, and if anyone is bullying you just tell your big sister I will break them."


    Ryan nodded with slight hesitation as Ylerias spoke with a humourless chuckle, "Michalina that was not some breakdown, Ryan did not have a sudden breakdown."


    Michalina for the first time paid attention towards Ylerias''s direction, unlike the normal times Ylerias''s eyes were red just like Ryan, and her face reflected a mixture of anger and sadness.


    "My Lady."


    Ylerias was silent for a moment before she stood up, "Siora wake up the girl, I want to hunt something bad, you have enough time till I am done with speaking with my brethren otherwise I will leave alone."


    Siora did not need to be told twice as she left as fast she could, Ylerias looked towards her retreating figure before her eyes fell on Michalina as she spoke, "Are you nning on going out on patrol tonight?"


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Maybe why are you asking?"


    "Don''t go out on patrol tonight will be tough on him, you need to be on his side."


    Michalina''s frown deepened as she could not help but ask out loud, "What do you mean by that?"


    "You will know when he falls asleep tonight.", Ylerias looked towards Ryan as she spoke, "And Ryan that feeling you felt was actually one of the Apostle dying.", as both the siblings'' eyes opened wide Ylerias continued, "A few minutes ago one of our brethren fell, that pain, sadness and rage was because of it, because one of our own died, sorry you had to feel it so soon after bing one of us."


    A stunned silence descended amongst them, as Ryan could not help but blurt out, "You mean to say those feelings I felt, it felt as if someone closed to me died as such I was sad and angry, do you mean to tell every time dies we will feel it?"


    Ylerias simply nodded as Ryan closed his eyes momentarily with a sigh before he spoke again, "Did you know the apostle well?"


    "Of course I knew him; He was a good and caring man."


    Once again silence descended as Ylerias slowly began to leave to stop as she turned and made her way towards Ryan, kneeling in front of him she spoke with a dazzling smile, "Oh I forgot to say this.", with that he suddenly gave him a hug and a small peck on his cheek startling him before she spoke again with her dazzling smile, "Ryan, wee to the family."


    She then left from the ce fast leaving behind the pair of siblings, which included a blushing Ryan and an angered Michalina.


    "How dare she kiss my baby brother?"


    Seeing her sister getting enraged Ryan quickly intervened, "Chill Sis it is was friendly greeting nothing more."


    Michalina''s eyes then fell on Ryan as they softened instantly as she spoke, "How are you holding up Ryan?"


    Ryan bit his lips as he replied back, "I do not know what to think of this, I do not wish to feel something like this for a very long time."


    He stood up from his sitting position before offering his hand to Michalina as he spoke, "Let us go, sis, we have work to do."


    *******


    Meanwhile, Catherine looked with bewilderment mixed with uncertainty and fear at the object of her Hero worship, the horned woman who had saved her sister and her, was tearing a group of creatures with her bare hands.


    "Shakidra may I ask why Lady um... I mean Her Holiness suddenly became sad and then went after those creatures and is now attacking them with her bare hands with so much rage."


    Shakidra looked incredibly sad as she replied to her after a moment, "My Lady just lost one of her family."


    Catherine''s eyes widen as her head swivelled to locate the dead person but she found none, all she found were most of her saviour''s followers standing at the side with their head bowed.


    "You will not find her family here, they are all scattered across thend, and the one who fell is not amongst us.", with that she closed her eyes and started praying.


    Catherine slowly stepped back as she made her way towards her family, and upon reaching them she was pulled into a fierce hug by Eleanora.


    "Where have you been to Catherine?"


    "I was watching Her Holiness.", as she answered her eyes fell on her twin making her wince since the incident she was much more withdrawn even flinching when her father came too close to her.


    <em>''Sister, I do not know how I will be able to help you, but I promise I will, we have always been together and no matter what I will help you sister.''</em>


    "You have been following after that deranged woman, but most importantly why are you calling her as <em>''Her Holiness''</em>."


    Catherine sent a slight re towards Beth as she spoke, "Be that maybe but she saved us please do not call her something like that when she is grieving and as for calling her that, well everyone is calling her that so what else would we call her, it is not like any of us know her name."


    "Actually there is a reason she is called as such."


    Another voice drew her attention as a small smile formed on her face as she spoke, "Father."


    Marcel simply acknowledged her with a nod as he spoke, "She is like a pope of her people."


    Beth sent alook of disbelief as she spoke, "Really her a ''Pope'', becausest time I checked a pope wore white clothes and did not ughter enemies with a giant sword."


    Marcel simply shrugged as he spoke, "Different culture and religion mother, but for the time being please remember we are simply staying with them for the foreseeable future so keep of your surrounding when you are speaking.


    Beth simply nodded as Eleanora spoke while caressing her sleeping daughter''s hair, "So Isabe you said that she was grieving, is that why she screamed and cried and now is chasing and ughtering any creature her eyes fall upon."


    Isabe gained a sad look on her face as he spoke, "Yes, from what I learned from others her family died."


    Marcel took a seat a few distances away from her sleeping daughter as thest thing he wanted was to have her suffer panic attack upon seeing a male near him, as he spoke, "Family? Did someone from their group died?"


    Isabe shook her head as she replied, "Apparently her family is scattered throughout the world and she felt one of them pass away."


    Hearing her words Eleanora could not help but ask out loud, "She felt her family passed away? How is this possible?"


    "Magic", everyone''s attention was drawn towards Marcel who began to speak, "Apparently people of their worlds can use magic, and those abilities that we thought was mutation was nothing but their core-forming and then got ess to magic and if they are not wrong so will us in a few days."


    Hearing that others eyes widen as Marcel kept on speaking, "She is called an Apostle by her people, a chosen one of one of their Gods with whose blessings she works on his behalf."


    Eleanora sighed as she spoke, "I hope she will not be a religious fanatic forcing us to do something against our will."


    Marcel nodded in agreement before he spoke with a tired sigh, "That may be true but at the end of the day we need to align with her to stay alive."


    *************


    Ryan had just finished a hearty meal of roasted meat and fish unlike the previous days, they had stumbled upon a wagon full of various food items, most of them had perished but a few like salts was still usable.


    ''At least the roasted meat and fish had salt on them, I hope in the future I can have a barbeque and maybe I should try and steal the recipes for various barbeque sauces, yep so going to do it especially since copyright no longer exists in this world.''


    He let out a yawn as he went towards his bed only for him to stop as Ylerias''s warning came to his mind.


    "Is there anything wrong brother? I thought you were tired and were about to fall asleep."


    "Yes, I was then reminded of Ylerias''s warning."


    "Do not worry brother, I am here along with you, we will face everything together."


    With a small smile, Ryan closed his eyes as he slowly drifted off to sleep.


    As Michalina watched her brother fall asleep Jessica approached her, she gave her a small smile before she spoke,"The patrols are all set."


    "Good, though you do not have to waste time with me here."


    "Nonsense, though want a cigarette?"


    Michalina''s head swivelled all around before she spoke with a shake of her head, "Not here maybeter, there are too many people and not many for everyone."


    Jessica''s shoulder slouched as she replied back, "You are right, well better luck next time."


    ********


    "My Lord the people have managed to escape."


    Ryan looked towards the speaker, <em>''Who is he? I do not know him yet he is calling me My Lord.''</em>, but before he could mull over the issue he heard someone speak.


    "Really then what the hell are you idiots doing here."


    The man simply puffed up his chest as he spoke, "Ha what are talking about bossman we go where you are, we used to be slum rats and from there you took us to where we are, a home, a warm meal you gave us everything, and now you tell us to not to stay by your side and leave you here well screw your order."


    "Yeah screw it."


    "Yeah stuff it, Lord Nash."


    As everyone shouted in agreement one of his men approached him, unlike others his movement was elegant and refined he snorted loudly enough to draw everyone''s attention as he began, "Our duty is to obey everymand of our Lord Apostle, to go against is sphemy something I as the former Crown Prince of Kathar cannot tolerate.", his words stunned many before he began again with a smirk, "Upon saying that screw those rules if you want us to leave you here then you will have to break our bones and carry us from here."


    The silence was broken as loud guffaw ofughter followed as one of them shouted out, "Oh my never thought a day woulde where the rule-abiding Prince would say something like that my life is fulfilled."


    Only for the said Prince to hold him down in a mocking chokehold while trying to look angry but the bright smile on his ruined his anger-filled face.


    Ryan suddenly found his eyes misty, <em>''huh I am crying.''</em>


    Suddenly the familiar voice was heard, "You idiots you know this is a one-way trip I am acting as bait and once the barrier falls I will be swarm over, you all will die by my side, your future your present and your past will all be gone."


    "So what, if hell is where you are going then we would dly follow you, in life or death we will always be by your side after all our future past and present all lie with you."


    A burst of loudughter was what Ryan heard as the spoke again, "I am blessed truly blessed with friends no family like you, even in life and death you have stayed together with me, for that, I thank you as I cannot fathom abetter family than you.


    He was greeted with arge smile on everyone''s face before the person spoke again in a curious tone, "By the way where is our resident pipsqueak."


    The Prince replied back to him, "My Lord knocked her unconscious and send her out with the escapees, there is no need for her to go down with us, she is barely a teenager and there is so much in the world for her to see."


    The person nodded in agreement when a loud crack was heard, Ryan found himself looking towards what seemed to be a cave entrance, he could see a bright yellowish light preventing the creatures from entering but it was cracking and would copse any second now.


    "Are the charges ready?"


    "Yes my Lord."


    "Good as soon as the shield copses blow them and cause the cave-in behind us, and that should prevent the beast tide from following them."


    "If only you were at your prime, this new world sapped our strengths preventing you to even move for as long as the barrier is active."


    The apostle simply grunted in response as he took a few calming breaths trying to calm his nerves, the barrier shattered with a sound akin to that of ss breaking.


    A halberd appeared in Ryan''s hands only for him to finally realize what was going on, <em>''No way I am seeing what that person saw and from what that person spoke I know he is my fellow apostle.''</em>


    Suddenly person released his aura as he shouted out while pointing his halberd towards the Heavens, "My God, my Lord who rules upon the skies bringing rain and thunder, the one who bathes thends with your generous rain please us and watch our final stand, and a thousand pardon for this servant failed to carry your g much further in this strangends."


    For a moment there was silence, even the beasts had yet to attack them, then a loud booming thunder was heard as Nashughed out loud, "Hear than my family, our God our Lord is watching over us, he gave us his blessings, so let us start our next journey a bit shy, eh?"


    His words were followed by cheering of his men before he bellowed out loud, "<strong>FOR OUR LORD!!!!!!</strong>", while charging forward.


    He let out a roar that was followed by the roar of others before the two groups shed, blood flying all around, as he curved his way out of the cave.


    <em>''What is he doing the cave had a narrow entrance, he could have stayed there and</em>'', Ryan''s thought came to halt as he watched as one of the creatures sprayed something liquid towards the group, one of Nash''s people caught it he saw as the person began to melt in front of his eyes, even then person killed the beast as he shouted out in a pain, "Brothers I will wait for you se..", the person dropped dead soon after without even able to finish his words slowly melting away.


    Ryan could smell the blood, the lust for more blood, he could hear the shouting and cursing, he could feel the despair and sadness even a small amount of joy as well.


    But, it made him feel sick seeing gore and death all around him, <em>''What are all these things? Is this thingmon in their world?''</em>


    The size of the beast tide made his heart tremble in fear, it was endless as far as his eyes could see there was no end to it, ''The size is truly impossible, truly impossible to defeat so many creatures.''


    He watched as one by one Nash''s subordinates fell the thirty strong dwindled to only four including him, Nash looked to his subordinates looking worse for wear.


    "Boss this is it for me, sorry but the poison was too much."


    With a small chuckle, Nash spoke while trying to catch his breath, "It is fine brother you did well, now go and rest tell others not to start the party without me."


    "Right b.."


    Nash closed his eyes as he tried to prevent the tears trying to fall off his eyes, as he heard another one of his subordinate falls, ''<em>Damn those bastards using poison and acid-based attacks.''</em>


    He watched with bates breath as trio soon became a duo as the Prince was gored by the horns of one the creature, the Princeughed out loud as he shouted out,<strong> "FOR MY LORD!!</strong> Burning Immtion.", with that the Prince''s body turned into a zing furnace as the beasts than came in contact with him were soon caught ame as they turned to ash, as did the Prince himself.


    "Did you see that Bossman that rule-abiding prince did one-up me, something that I cannot condone, it is my turn though if you take too long you might not have enough to satiate your thirst."


    Nash looked at the person he suppressed the grimace as he saw the smiling face of his precious family member, half of whose face had been gnawed off by some creature, yet he stood resolute with the smile on his face till thest.


    A brilliant disy of magic was what he saw as thest of his people turned to ice and shattered like a fragile piece of ss while taking down as many as dozen down with him, he deep sense of sadness erupted from within, <em>''Now I am alone.''</em>


    That momentarypse of concentration was all the beasts needed as one of the pounced on his biting into his hands hard, flinging him to the side.


    A sharp pain arose as he found his left hand missing sprouting out a fountain of blood, <em>''Damn he took my hand that is forgivable</em>.''


    "<strong>Die!!!</strong>", with another shout he dashed towards the beast, a beast that looked like as big as an Elephant, with his halberd sparking with electricity he cleaved the beast in half.


    "<strong>Die! Die! Die!</strong>", he was like a berserker ughtering as many of the beasts as he could, a sudden swipe of w took out his right eye, but a piercing attack took the skull took care of the offending beast, he took another step the ground exploded as a creature bit on to his right leg tearing it from his body, a quick thrust dealt with the offending beast but without his right leg, he finally copsed thus ending his charge.


    He felt the sky darken as a few drops of rain fell on his cheeks as such with a hoarse throat he spoke, "My Lord forgive me for not being able carrying your banner any longer.", he stood up shakily while relying on his halberd as he spoke, "But before I leave I wish to thank you for everything, for giving a bastard unwanted child a ce to stay, a chance to shine, and a wonderful family so please do not shed your tears, and thank your everything."


    A deep growl drew his attention as his eyes fell on to arge beast, that was stalking towards him whereas the others formed a circle around him, he simply smirked towards the beast as he spoke, "A chimaera huh, the beast that caused the beast tide, a coward that hid until its subordinates wore us down with their life, a filthy cretin."


    He spat towards the beast which trembled in rage before it lunged towards Nash with his jaws open wide, only for Nash tough out loud as he shouted out, "Toote idiot."


    He suddenly raised his halberd to the sky as lightning went towards the cloud itself, as the jaws of the beast drew near, he could fell the warmth rancid breath when all of a sudden a bright sh and everything evolved into tremendous pain before the world went ck.


    *********


    Ryan jumped up from his bed gasping for breath, checking his limbs when all of sudden a face appeared near him, his sword appeared in his hand as he swung it towards the face, a loud ng was heard as someone called out his name, "Ryan! Ryan, please stop, it is me your sister."


    The voice finally managed to draw his attention as he looked around to see Jessica lying on her back with her gun cut in two, whereas Michalina was frantically trying to draw his attention towards her, trying to bring him out of his stupor, the others in that ce had retreated further to the back with a mixture of fear and uncertainty on their faces.


    "Ryan it is me Michalina, please calm down focus on me calm down."


    Ryan''s gauntlet and sword disappeared as he copsed on the ground shaking controbly while Michalina was quickly by his side holding him in a hug, as she whispered soothing words in his ears.


    <em>''I died, no that was Nash, my arms are okay Nash was, no it was me I lost my arms it was so painful.''</em>


    Jessica quickly went by the sibling''s side as she also quickly held Ryan in her arms as she spoke, "Shit he is having a panic attack and seizure, damn it.


    <em><strong>Host suffering seizure due to panic attack..</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Searching for cause.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Searching for remedies.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Removal of emotions rmended.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Temporary removal of emotionsmencing in 3</strong></em>


    <em><strong>2</strong></em>


    <em><strong>1.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>0.</strong></em>


    A jolt of pain passed through Ryan''s head before he calmed down, Michalina made him look directly into her face and was taken aback at what she witnessed, even after his eyes had changed Ryan''s eyes were filled with incredible liveliness but the current Ryan looked more machine than human.


    "Ryan, are you alright?"


    Michalina''s voice quivered as she asked her brother who simply tilted his head and spoke in a monotone, "I am fine."


    Jessica frowned as she discreetly nced at a distraught Michalina before she spoke, "Ryan can you tell us what happened."


    Ryan looked towards Jessica without any emotion in his face as he spoke, "I think I destroyed your gun, I apologize for that, I will make you one soon."


    Jessica shook her head as she spoke, "You willter on but first tell me what happened."


    "Nash died."


    "I see so who is Nash."


    "Nash is my fellow Apostle he died today, I saw him die, I felt his dying moment, I felt his joy his desperation his sadness, I saw his subordinates no his family getting wiped out in front of my eyes, I felt his pain when he was torn apart, his pain when he took down the leader of the horde in a suicide attempt, I felt myself dying."


    As Ryan spoke more and more a horrifying expression appeared on both Michalina and Jessica not only because of the ordeal but the way he spoke in a monotone, like a machine.


    "Ryan, are you alright?"


    As Michalina asked once again Ryan simply replied like he had a moment ago, "I am fine."


    Jessica closed her eyes for a second before she spoke, "Ryan what do you feel."


    "Nothing I feel nothing.", the quick answer send an rm in their heads as Jessica could not help but ask out, "Why are you no feeling anything?"


    "My powers decided that feeling emotional was detrimental to my health as such my emotions have been removed."


    Both Michalina and Jessica had their jaw loosened as Mcihalina quickly spoke, "Brother why don''t try sleeping again, it is midnight you should have your rest you have lots of work to do."


    Ryan simplyid back and fell asleep soon after leaving behind a distraught Michalina as well as an equally worried Jessica awake after such an episode.


    Meanwhile, a good few distances away from them residents of their temporary base were chatting amongst them discussing their resident builder.


    "The boy is unstable this is two days I a row something like this happening I fear for our safety and sanity now."


    Cai Bai scowled as he spoke, "Would shut up, just put yourself in his shoes and think."


    Andraais sighed as he spoke, "What a pitiful child even with all the powers he is at the whim of his God, being tortured and punished then forced to feel the death of someone unrted, his powers with all the drawbacks that he had to suffer is it even worth it anymore?"

 Chapter 81: The Journey Back Home(Part-5)

    Chapter 81: The Journey Back Home(Part-5)


    "That is impressive Ryan, such a big carriage."


    Ryan looked towards Ylerias as she spoke with a sigh, "It is road train, not carriage and did you finish unloading your anger on some creature, after all, you had vanished for nearly over a day."


    Ylerias looked towards the sky as she spoke, "I did, and how was your night?"


    Ryan sent a stink eye towards Ylerias as he spoke with a grumble, "You should have warned me before."


    Ylerias nodded as she replied back to him, "Yes I could but what would you have done, not slept for a day or two or a week at most but eventually you would have fallen asleep and then you would have to witness it."


    Ryan grunted at her words before he spoke, "Does it get easier."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No never seeing and experiencing your family''s death never gets easy as the feeling of dying is horrible."


    Ryan bit his lips as he could not help but ask out a rather insensitive question, "Have you felt something simr before."


    Ylerias was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Thrice I had felt something like that, the first was after I had finished my pilgrimage, I received with the vision of my predecessor''s death, though one of them was unique, one of ours fell in love and betrayed and then murdered."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Why do these visionse to us?"


    "Simply for us to know who harmed our family, we Apostles may fight with each other may curse each other but at the end of the day, we are a closed knit group. The woman that killed our family was a Queen of a certain nation, we Apostle have more power and respect of themon people than a mere King or Queen because of the nature of our work, there are certain tenants that Gods wants us to follow and as long as they are met we do not interfere with the working of Kingdoms or Empires but time to time there are some egotistical bastards that do not like that status quo."


    "So that is why the Queen killed him to spite you all."


    Ylerias nodded at his words as she spoke, "Yes to not only spite us but the Gods we represent, she had gathered enough manpower to attack any of us but she underestimated our anger, we stormed in and within three days the entire Empire fell, their vast armies routed and the Queen in."


    Ryan whistled lowly as he spoke, "I think many did not take kindly o the Queen being killed."


    Ylerias grimaced at his words as she spoke, "You are right there were many disgruntled whispers around as many especially the ruling ss was disgruntled but themon people the so-called the peasants who formed the backbone of our civilization would have revolted they had seen what happened to the Empire which had earned the ire of Gods."


    "Couldn''t the Gods warn him beforehand about the betrayal?"


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "Gods are all busy Ryan, they have to watch and run the entire world they do not have time to focus on a single individual, the Apostle was told to find out about a certain organization that was causing problems and breaking one of the tenants by Gods, as such he tracked the source and asked help from his childhood friend, the Queen of the Empire but he trusted the wrong person."


    Ylerias took a deep breath as she continued, "He loved the Queen, like forever and by the time of his death he knew she had betrayed him, even knowing that he graciously epted the poison and died, because the alternative was something he could not do, he could not kill her. In a way he betrayed his God and us as well, we were infuriated at him before we took action against the Queen."


    Ryan was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "That means you all had to suffer those feelings."


    A look of revulsion passed through her face as she spoke, "It was disgusting to feel the feeling of love and pity for that scum even when he died, it was disgusting, and in a way that idiot had shown dereliction of his duty andmitted suicide, and it felt great when Xuelian took her head off, it was so annoying because of her pleading and crying."


    Ryan gulped as he turned his head towards histest creation the look of satisfaction on Ylerias''s face on recounting someone else''s murder was bone-chilling for him, but at the same time, it was as good a time to know more about them as such he pressed forward.


    "What about his subordinates?"


    "They were all ughtered alongside him, so please do not tell others about his fate, all the world knows that he was betrayed and poisoned not that he knew he was about to be killed but chose to do so."


    Ryan nodded at her words as he sat in silence only for Ylerias to speak again, "The feelings you had to suffer might cause you some problems, the feeling of losing your hand and feet not to mention dying is troublesome, like in our case after that idiot''s suicide we had a feeling of distrust with everyone, things like that happen."


    Ryan sighed as he replied back, "I do not want to feel something like that again, and those feelings are horrible."


    "Then you must be grateful that your sister was here to help you."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "About that, well I had a severe panic attack and my powers took away my feelings and it is only an hour before you arrived that I could feel again."


    Ylerias gawked at him before she replied back with a sigh, "The more I hear the more I am astonished about your powers having such useful powers could be useful in certain situations."


    Her answer was made with a re as Ylerias spoke in a confused tone, "What?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Nothing.", with that once again silence descended amongst them when all of a sudden Ryan spoke, "Xuelin is she a fellow Apostle?"


    Ylerias nodded with a smile on her face as she spoke, "Yes, we are best of friends, she is an excellent swordswoman and extremely dependable person, though a bit of battle maniac."


    "That is troublesome."


    Ylerias smiled towards Ryan before she replied n a serious tone, "Though I would advise you that if you meet her she mighte strongly against you but do not falter because the moment you do, she will lose interest on you and might not wish to do anything with you until forced."


    "So is the one who would only help me if I manage to win against her."


    Ylerias simply smiled as she spoke, "Winning against her at the battle of strength might be difficult she is extremely strong though even if you lose if you manage to impress her she might acknowledge you."


    "Ho and I would need her acknowledgement why?"


    Ylerias gained a deadpanned at him as she spoke, "I do not understand why sometimes you ask stupid questions, after all, why else, but to have fellow family members have your back on her own free will, why else?"


    Ryan scowled at that as he spoke, "So I will have to curry favour from them so that my fellow brethren might help them."


    "Not exactly currying favour but proving them through your actions that you are not a deadweight that we will have to carry around, after all, we take on missions or stumble upon situations where a single mistake can cause our death, if you are unreliable then you would end up bing the cousin that no one wants to associate but is forced to."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a sigh, "I see, I understand where you areing from you want me to show that I am as reliable as any of them so if we are to work in the future we can at least know that we have each other''s back."


    "Indeed."


    Once again silence descended between them as Ylerias spoke, "Is your creationpletely finished?"


    Ryan shook his head as he replied back, "No I need to finish making and installing the engine."


    "Engine, what is it?"


    "You must have seen a horse or an animal pull a carriage before right?"


    As Ylerias nodded Ryan spoke with a smile on his face, "It is something simr but instead of animals I will build a machine that would do the same."


    "Ho, that is something that I need to see."


    "Of course though theponents for it is taking some time for me to build so I do not think it will be ready anytime soon."


    "Where is Michalina? I thought she would be near you."


    "She was but her constant babying me and worrying over me got on my nerves as such I chased her away but knowing her she should be lurking somewhere nearby keeping an eye on me."


    Ylerias could not help but giggle as an image of Michalina stalking Ryan came to her mind, making a confused Ryan ask her out loud, "Is there something wrong? You are giggling."


    Ylerias quicklyposed herself as she spoke, "Nothing I was just reminiscing something else, so there is no need for you to worry."


    Ryan simply shrugged as Ylerias spoke with a sigh, "Well I will leave you to your devices then, and see youter on."


    Ryan simply nodded as Ylerias left while Ryan let out a yawn as he kneeled back on the wheel of the Land train patiently waiting for the parts of the Engine to finish construction.


    ******


    Meanwhile, a certain horned woman looked at the shrivelled up corpse of an Elven Male, with a stoic visage on her face.


    As she heard one of her subordinates approach her the woman raised her head as she spoke,"How many bodies did you find, Shakidra?"


    "Fifteen of them till now Your Holiness, they have all died in the same way, though from what we have noticed the group seemed to be at least thirty strong and seeing their campfire still hot and smoking, we deduced there might still be survivors."


    "I see."


    "Your Holiness, I found some footprints, it seemed whatever the creature might be, and it seems that the creature had chased after the survivors."


    The horned woman stood tall as she spoke, "Every bit of their blood has been drained not to mention their brains are missing do you have any idea what that creature is?"


    Shakidra frowned as she spoke, "Some kind of creature that feeds on blood."


    The other person shook his head as he spoke, "No idea but it is different than any creature that feeds on blood, here look at the corpses they lookedpletely dried like dried fish, and they have not died a long time ago otherwise we would have an undead problem in our hands, and then the footprints of the creature is troubling."


    The horned woman frowned as she spoke, "Show me and are the rescue squads ready."


    The person bowed as he spoke, "This way Your Holiness and yes they are ready like you wish for it to be."


    The woman nodded as she was soon guided towards the track marks of the beast, and she understood perfectly why her subordinates had called it strange because unlike any footprints of some beasts or some humanoids, the creature looked as if it stood on a stick.


    "This is strange, very strange the creature whatever it is seems to be standing on some kind of stick."


    Shakidra nodded with a frown as she spoke, "Yes the ground has the same imprint as a walking stick, how curious as to if the attacker was using them to walk."


    "Change the squads, instead of two they will go with a group of four and only five squads are admissible and no matter what happens the maximum distance between them should not exceed fifty meters, also remember to make sure that the remaining should guard our charges."


    Jivim nodded as he spoke, "Of course Your Holiness, will you be joining as well."


    The horned woman simply raised one of her elegant brows as she spoke, "Of course that is given now quickly arrange the squads.", her eyes then feel on Shakidra as she spoke, "Shakidra until I return you will be in charge."


    Shakidra simply bowed as she spoke, "As you wish Your Holiness, Godspeed and safe hunting."


    The Apostle simply gave a curt nod before she went to join with the other hunting parties and soon left to hunt the unknown foe.

 Chapter 82: The Journey Back Home(Part-6)

    Chapter 82: The Journey Back Home(Part-6)


    ~Vroooooommmm~


    ~Da da da da ~


    The sound of the engine almost brought Ryan to tears as he heard the sound of the giant machine parts moving, he looked at his creation with a proud smile on his face.


    "It is working", he whispered with a proud smile on his face as he looked up he saw the dark sky with numerous stars on them, but a frown quickly formed on his face as he mused inwardly, ''Those stars, those constetions I do not recognize them.''


    He pped his face to clear his head before he turned a knob which then turned the engine off.


    "Brother so you have finished making everything?"


    Ryan looked back towards Michalina as a small smile formed on his lips as he replied to her, "Yes sis I have finished creating everything just covering up the engine is all that is left for me to do."


    As he spoke he let out a yawn as Michalina spoke, "Brother you have been working hard you should go and rest."


    Ryan shook his head as he replied back, "No can do sis, these machines are very delicate even a bit of damage I might have to redo it so until and unless I cover it fully I cannot rest at all."


    Michalina sighed as she replied back, "I was afraid you would say something simr, as such I brought you some tea."


    Ryan epted the hot piping tea with a smile on his face as he spoke, "Thank you sis, you are a lifesaver."


    Michalina simply smiled before she spoke with a frown, "Brother so many things have changed around us do you think that even the weather has changed."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "What change do you expect?"


    "Well for starters what if it starts to snow."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "You are right, even if in a normal case during winter snow does not fall in this part of the country but we do not know what will be the result, secondly how do we not know the weather pattern has not changed at all, maybe instead of summer we will have winter and during winter we will have summer.


    Michalina rubbed her head as she spoke, "You are right brother, it could simply flip not to mention we have no way of judging the days, it is all so messed up, do we still have three hundred and sixty-five days in a year."


    Ryan rubbed his head before he spoke with a sigh, "Well we can think about itter on, but first let me finish my tea and then I will have to ."


    His words came to a halt as another jaw ripping yawn escaped from his lips, seeing him yawning even Michalina could not help out as she yawned as well.


    "You should rest brother you are overworking."


    "I know but I will rest after everything is over, I hope we could leave before noon, I cannot wait to return home.


    "Me too brother, but sacrificing your health is not the answer."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Sorry sister you know how I am, as long as the feeling of unease exists I cannot stop.", seeing Michalina started to frown even harder he quickly spoke, "But, I get where you areing from as soon as the vehicle begins to move I will be taking some much-needed rest."


    Michalina sighed before she spoke, "If you say so brother, but please do not push yourself too much."


    Ryan simply puffed his chest as he spoke, "You are underestimating the power of students preparing for their finals and trying tond a good college, for hours on end we toil, and whether it is day or night it does not matter because at the end sess with great result is all we want."


    "pfft, ha ha ha ha ha ha."


    Michalina broke intoughter while clutching her stomach and if it were not for Ryan''s quick thinking she would have dropped her cup if it were not for Ryan quickly lending her a hand.


    "Sis you were about to drop your tea."


    Michalina somehow managed to calm herself as she spoke while wiping out the tear that had appeared in her eyes as she spoke, "Sorry but suddenly I had an image of you standing heroically with arge cape billowing in the wind, with a pen as your sword and book as your shield."


    Ryan gained a contemted look on his face before he spoke, "You know sister you are not wrong anyway, for students the pen and books are our weapons, with that we y the dangerous questions that those demonic teachers send in order to fail us."


    Michalina could not help but facepalm as she spoke, "You know what I give up, brother your imagination is otherworldly."


    Ryan scowled at Michalina as he jabbed his cup towards her as he spoke, "Oh that is riching from someone who put the idea of a heroic-looking student in my head, as such the culprit here is you."


    Michalina huffed as she took her cup from Ryan''s hand before they stood there in silence while drinking their tea.


    A few minutester Ryan spoke with a smile, "Well it seems my tea break is over, nice tea though, well getting back to work now."


    Michalina sighed as Ryan left to gather parts in order topletely cover the engine that he had put together, she looked towards the engine as she marvelled in amazement,<em> ''This is thergest engine I have seen with my own eyes, muchrger than a simple tank engine, in fact, I believe it would give even some ships a run for their money because of their sheer size.''</em>


    She took a seat a bit away from the engine as she looked up to the top of the base to see a few torch lights flickering from the patrol standing guard on top of the base.


    ''Saving as much energy as possible before diverting it towards construction area, otherwise, with the amount of energy this ce is using, it could easily support enough lights to make even the night time look as bright as a day.''


    Michalina watched as Ryan quickly covered the entire engine area, as the shape of the engine car came to realization Michalina snorted as she saw Ryan installing a snowplough at the front, ''A post-apocalypse vehicle without a snowplough is meaningless.'', those words came to her mind though she could not refute as the raven did wonders with that plough it had.


    <em>''Wait a minute where would the driver go, inside the entire casings there is no room for the driver, what is he making?''</em>


    A few minutester Ryan stood with a proud smile on his face as Michalina approached him as she spoke, "Um, there is something I would like to point out brother."


    "What is it, sis?"


    "Where would the driver sit in order to drive this vehicle?"


    Ryan had a dumbfounded look on his face before he spoke with a look of embarrassment on his face, "I forgot all about the driver, hehe."


    Michalina''s brow twitched in anger as she shouted out, "You damn brat, that is why I am telling you to rest now you will", Michalina''s eyes narrowed as she noticed Ryan trying to stifle hisughter before she spoke with barely concealed anger, "You are ying a prank on me, right?"


    That was too much for Ryan as he could not help butugh out loud making her scream in range as she dashed after a now fleeing Ryan.


    A few hourster the upants of the base stood in front of the newly christened Alpha Raven 2.0, with Ryan standing on top of it with arge smile on his face.


    "Everyone it is time for us to depart, please form a line and enter one by one there is ample room for everyone.", his face then was filled with regret as he spoke, "Though for various reasons I am unable to provide you all with most of the modernfort that the railways provide, for that I apologize."


    One of them shouted out towards him, "Does the road train not have any washrooms or running water."


    Ryan looked visibly struck as he spoke, "What kind of being do you think I am, if itcked those amenities, even I would not step in a ce where itcked those."


    A few chuckled at his antics as Jessica shouted out, "Then power it up, we are waiting."


    Ryan nodded as he jumped down from the top with a smile on his face, ''If it were previously I would have injured my foot from jumping down from the top of a double-decker wagon, but now it is so easy that I barely felt anything.''


    "Well then Michalina please follow after me, I will show you how to drive the road train."


    A small group quickly followed after Ryan though others would have followed leaving behind the rest, Ryan led them to the secondpartment after the engine as he spoke with a small smile, "I am sorry but the one before us does not have any ess like this, also watch your steps."


    The door was at least five feet above from the ground level as such with the help of thedders they climbed into the car, which was then followed by the trip to the second floor and then a trip through the vestibule let them to the carriage in front of them.


    As they looked around they were greeted by the sights of numerous seats and screens, and at the other end was a high back wing chair, with what seemed to be a giant screen on his back.


    Ryan went towards a chair to the right of the high back wing chair, in front of it was monitor with a key slot by its side, Ryan inserted a key that was hanging from a chain that he was wearing as a ne, as he turned it a red coloured button glowed, which he then pressed it.


    A low gentle hum was heard as the entire carriage lit up from the lights, as the monitors began to disy various figures and numbers.


    Ryan looked at hispanions as he spoke, "This machine requires three people to drive in a sense, except the driver I need two mores, they might not have to stick around too much but keep an eye on two vital monitors, this is one is for the power distribution, you see the numbers, everything is now in green and zero, except this one which is by the letter D, and the Engine by E."


    He took a breather as he continued, "Now pay attention to this, all the rooms are glowing green, which is a good sign, if it stops glowing means a major fault has urred and current is not flowing, a small warning will sh as well, you can use this button to check in about the fault in much greater detail."


    With that Ryan began to teach them the workings of power monitoring area as he finished, he spoke with a huff, "Is there any question?"


    The others shook their head as Ryan quickly moved towards the left side, before he spoke with a smile, "Like the power monitoring system we have another system that is equally important and that is the fluid intake, this one needs an extremelyrge engine to move, it needs a good amount of fuel at a constant rate, this one will monitor the intake of the fuel, now see here carefully if this part turns red it would be dangerous, we have to keep it always in yellow and preferably green, but red is a big no-no, a bit of red for a couple of minutes is tolerable but if it goes too much or states in the red for some time it would be dangerous, as the engine might blow."


    Ylerias narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "What would happen if the engine blows?"


    Ryan looked at her as he replied with a bright smile, "Every people in this room would die."


    One of the Elven guards could not help but gasp out in shock, "What?!"


    Ryan simply looked at her as he replied while tapping his feet on the metallic floor as he spoke, "Well we are standing on top of liquefied mana, and since the explosion of the engine will definitely start a chain reaction, and I believe we would die."


    Ylerias looked around as she spoke barely above a whisper, "Scary, this is incredibly scary."


    Ryan simply waved off her concern before he went and took a seat on the driver''s seat as Michalina spoke with a smile, "So you put this chair to a good use."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I always wanted a chair like this, so I decided why not put it here with some additional benefits, now sis please check if the safety precautions are in ce so I can turn this thing on."


    Michalina nodded as a quick check of every systemter, Ryan used another key followed by a button, deep growl akin to an ancient beast was heard as the engine was turned on.


    Meanwhile, on the outside others waited patiently for Ryan to start the vehicle they would have boarded the vehicle but they wanted to watch Ryan start the vehicle when all of a sudden they heard a loud roar of the engine, as many parts of the engines shifted like some beast releasing its kinks after waking up from a nap.


    Anndrais whistled with appreciation as he whispered lowly, "Damn this is brat really makes wonder, I wonder how fast it would go."


    "I do not know how fast it is, but it definitely looks like a mobile fortress with all those guns on top."


    Another nodded in agreement as he spoke with a grin on his face, "Definitely it looks like a fortress from some zombie apocalypse movie.", only for that grin to disappear as he spoke in a defeated tone, "I loved them so much and now I wish every day when I wake up that I was still on the other side of the screen.", his words earned him a reward of a fewforting pats on his backs.


    Meanwhile, inside the driver space, the wall of monitors in front of the driver''s seat that was upied by Ryan had shifted to a more concave form as it nearly surrounded Ryan, when all of a sudden they lit up with various numerical data which passed extremely fast for anyone to follow, before the clear view of the front.


    Michalina looked at it awestruck as she spoke, "What is this? How can you create something as cool as this, even the floor near your foot is made up of some kind of TV?"


    Ryan only offered a smug smile as Jessica could not help but speak with a shake of her head, "I cannot understand how you can create something that would be difficult with the realm and scope of our world''s technology within a few hours and cannot create a decent flying vehicle."


    Ryan pouted as he spoke, "How should I know I make what my powers allow me to.", his pout then changed to a smirk as he spoke, "But, I believe it is high time for others to board as well right."


    As Michalina nodded with a sigh, Ryan spoke with a bright smile, "Well then please make sure everyone is boarded safely and the doors are locked shut, also the car can be loaded through the rear door of thest wagon."

 Chapter 83: A small pit stop (Part-1)

    Chapter 83: A small pit stop (Part-1)


    Finley ran as hard as his legs could carry, he could feel the rancid breath of the creature behind him,<em> ''Just a bit more, just a bit more and I would reach their base, I would be safe, what a fool I was trying to oppose him, screw the Gods what good did they do to me, at least I will live even if I have to change my religion.''</em>


    Arge crash came to his ears as he pressed forward the constant hum of engines greeted him making his to widen in shock,<em> ''That sound there is no mistaking it is the sound of a machine, an engine a rather big one, I am saved I am saved.''</em>


    He broke through the foliage stumbled into the clearing his head moved left and right before he spotted the back end of a big vehicle that was moving further and further away, <em>''Are they leaving?''</em>


    The mere thought of it made a cold pit to develop in his stomach as he watched the vehicle already disappearing from view, as such he could not help but shout out as he chased after it, <strong>"Stop stop please wait for me."</strong>


    But s he failed to see the branch that was lying on the ground causing him to trip on the ground hard, he spat out the mud from his mouth as he looked up he let out a heart-wrenching cry as he watched the vehicle disappear behind the thick foliage.


    "Did they leave, no no it might be a scouting party or something like that, yes yes, after all, why would they leave so fast, they have to try to convince rest of us to join them, yeah that is what should have happened."


    His loud monologue came to an end as he froze upon hearing a growl from behind him, Finley did not even have the chance to turn his head as he suddenly felt a bone-crushing weight on top of him which was followed by unimaginable pain as the creature bit his shoulder hard.


    Ryan meanwhile frowned as he looked at a particr part of the giant screen surrounding him, seeing him frown Michalina could not help but speak with a frown on her face, "Is something wrong?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "I think I saw something appear behind us, just as I took the turn I think something stumbled out of the bush."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Must be some beast, drawn here because of themotion."


    Ryan nodded before he spoke with his eyes narrowed while leaning forward, "Hey sis if I remember correctly that part of the rail was too close to the pig fort, so if we follow it there is a chance that they might see us."


    Michalina smirked as she spoke, "Why don''t you draw their attention then after all it is bad manners to simply leave without waving our neighbours goodbye."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "You are right sis, you are absolutely right."


    He slowed the vehicle, before pressing a button which caused the rather loud horn to st out in all its glory drawing the attention of the citizens of the fort towards them before Ryan sped up leaving them behind.


    One of the citizens of the fort snarled as he red at the ratherrge vehicle as he shouted out, "<strong>That bastard he, he, how dare he mock us like this.</strong>"


    One of the citizens could help but cry out as another snapped at him, "<strong>Shut up and pay attention to the surrounding</strong> he might have just drawn the attention of every creature in the vicinity to us, that bastard."


    Meanwhile, Ryan drove away without care as Michalina looked at the screen in front of them as she spoke, "Ryan can you exin to me what is what."


    "Of course sister, I hope that I do not have to exin those numbers that are continuously changing, they are showing the speed of the vehicle.", as Michalina simply gave a nod Ryan continued, "Now those line at the left and right as long as they are green, it means that the vehicle can safely move forward, but if it turns red collision is imminent on whichever side it is red, and the one below shows that ground in front is safe if it turns red it means the ground in front is hollow and is not strong enough to support out the weight."


    Michalina could not help but let out a small whistle of appreciation at that as she spoke, "Impressive and now I wish to repeat what Jessica said before, ''Could you not make something that could fly better.''"


    Ryan''s only response was to roll his eyes as he pressed on the elerator hard making the vehicle to sprint forward at a steady pace.


    ********


    Meanwhile back in Fort Genesis, a closed-eyed Ciara had a look of intense frown on her face as one of her new acquaintances, who was busy teaching them how to wield magic.


    "Can you feel the energy that is swirling in yourbody? Now pull out that energy surrounds yourself in it, feel it, embrace it, and then be one with it."


    Ciara felt her mana rushing through her veins, a refreshing feeling that felt to her as if a part that has been missing is now being fulfilled.


    "<strong>Stop stop</strong> Ciara control yourself, you are pushing too much out, it would cause mana deficiency which might even kill you, so stop."


    Ciara was brought out of her mana induced euphoria as she blinked before suddenly rolling back but before she could hit the floor a pair of hands held her as the person spoke with a sigh, "Rx, easy I got you."


    Ciara sighed as she looked into the eyes of her ''teacher'' as she spoke with a sigh, "It was so euphoric never have I felt something so pleasantly addictive."


    The person simply smiled as she spoke while helping Ciara to seat up, "I simply taught you to effectively draw your mana nothing more, and if you already feel so euphoric I do not know what you might do when you begin to learn higher level spells."


    Ciara sheepishly smiled at her as she spoke, "Sorry, it was so overwhelming that I ended up losing me."


    The person simply smiled at her as she spoke, "Of course it would be to you because unlike us who are ustomed to such feelings it is somethingpletely new to you."


    Ciara nodded in agreement as she spoke, "So, what is the verdict?"


    Lierin smiled as she spoke, "Sorry but it seems that you are a general type."


    "Excuse me, but what is a general type?"


    Their attention was drawn towards Zhan as Lierin spoke, "Ah, I remember sister you were patrolling and as such you missed the lecture but do not worry I will repeat it for you, but please tell me do you know about the core?"


    Zhan nodded as she spoke, "Yes I do."


    "Excellent, now when a person first harnesses their mana, two things will happen, first of all, the person either shows sign of an element or the person does not, in case a person does not show any particr any element like any of you, then that person is called a general type, whereas those that showed some elemental magic may be either a savant or general type."


    She took a breath as she continued, "Careful tests are conducted to see if they are either a savant or a simple general type, now general types can be said that they are the jack of all trades but master of none, that is they have an aptitude for every kind of magic, whereas a savant will have an aptitude for one type, and that one type no general can no matter how much they try at the end of the day a savant is the true master."


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "You have seen a few of us exhibiting elemental magic, what of them?"


    Lierin frowned as she replied to her, "Except Donna, the rest are general, they are slightly more inclined towards a particr element, as such they are using that element, but when I made them use different elements they did struggle a bit, but they finally managed to except Donna."


    "So, Donna will never be able to control anything other than earth."


    Lierin smiled as she replied back to Zhan, "Well sorry it seems I chose my words poorly, she will be able to use another type if she trains like a madwoman for the next couple of decades then maybe she might be with great difficulty produce a small spark or a spoonful of water."


    Zhan nodded as she spoke with a sigh, "I see, but what about others like those ''Beast Masters'' out there."


    Lierin''s eyes widen as she spoke with a gasp, "There is a Beast Master here."


    Zhan tilted her head as she spoke with a frown, "Yes that Virion person was telling us how he is a Beast Master."


    Lierin deadpanned towards her before she spoke in a serious tone, "If ever that braggart even tells you that he is a Beast Master kick him in his nuts and tell him that I told you to do so, he is simply trying to take advantage of your ignorance."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "Is there a difference between them?"


    Lierin nodded as he spoke, "Yes there is arge one, anyone who learns the taming skill is a called a Beast Tamer and anyone can learn it so there is nothing spectacr about it, but Beast Master''s, on the other hand, are very rare and you can say they are savant on taming beasts and are on another level."


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "Please borate."


    "Well, there are many differences like a Beast Master, can not only tame a beast but can utilize the beast''s abilities inbat, in fact, can take the form of the beasts amongst many other things, on the other hand, a tamer cannot do so, they are vastly inferior to them in every sense."


    "I see.", with that Zhan submerged herself in deep thought as Ciara spoke, "How do you know that none of us is Beast Masters?"


    Lierin simply pointed towards a bucket containing a small fish, "It did not react towards you, and animals are much friendlier to a Beast Master than others."


    "I see."


    "Excuse me Lierin.", as Lierin paid attention towards Ciara she spoke with a frown, "I just remembered something what about those that can control the zombies."


    Lierin looked as if she teleported directly on Ciara''s face as she spoke with a panicked look on her face, "Where have you seen such ability, do you know someone with that sphemous ability."


    Ciara pushed her away from her as she spoke with a frown, "Please move from my private space and as for the ability user, there was one whom we had killed."


    Lierin let out a sigh as her panicked look disappeared before she spoke, "They are called necromancers and are the heretics of the highest order, once it is known that someone is practising such vile art they are immediately put to death by thews of every kingdom, in fact, they are so much despised that the sooner orter even Apostles woulde after them to dispose of them."


    Zhan frowned at that as she spoke, "They would kill children, it is not their fault that they awakened such powers."


    For a moment Lierin was confused before her eyes widen with understanding as she spoke, "No no, you misunderstand, necromantic powers awaken in only the vilest and twisted of beings that use their magic for such nefarious purposes, and no way someone as innocent and pure as children would ever awaken such vile power."


    Zhan rxed at her words as Ciara spoke, "Lierin you mentioned the Apostle, who are they?"


    After a long and lengthy exnation about them, Ciara spoke with a sigh, "I see, I hope one day we might be lucky enough to meet them, but for them to arrive in this ce in the near future is unlikely."


    Zhan nodded in consent as Lierin spoke, "So true, it is not like an Apostle would suddenly waltz in this ce."


    A long-distance away a certain someone whose name was Ryan sneezed hard before he rubbed his red eyes as Michalina spoke in a stern tone, "Brother if I remember it is time for your rest."


    Ryan nodded as he let out a yawn as the vehicle slowed down considerably as he spoke, "You are right it is getting difficult for me to stay awake anymore, so please excuse me I would like my sleep very much.", with that he left his seat to Jessica as he left to upy his sleeping area.

 Chapter 84: A small pit stop (Part-2)

    Chapter 84: A small pit stop (Part-2)


    <em><strong>~boom~</strong></em>


    <em><strong>~Ratatatata~</strong></em>


    Was the sound that made Ryan jump up from his sleeping position, as he looked around he found himself to be inside histest creation, he felt a small bout of headache from being wakened suddenly but then he was pped by the harsh reality.


    <em>''Those guns are firing like crazy. Did we run into some problem? Damn it all I wanted was a good nap.''</em>


    As such he stormed into the control room to find the control seats for the guns upied, there were over eighteen guns that he had managed to ce on top of the vehicle, and the control for them was ced at the driverpartment, was it wise for him to create it as such, maybe not but at least it would be outside the reach of someone truly despicable who would turn the guns on them or at worst sabotaged them, as such Ryan had ced it all at the driverpartment making it the most crowded area of the entire vehicle.


    As he entered the driverpartment using the ess codes, he was greeted by the sound of turret operators busy with manning their weapons.


    <em>''Damn, Ylerias and her group are incredible they are manning the turret-like they have been doing for ages, but what are they firing at so much.''</em>


    Ryan had ced the guns eighteen guns in total including, except on top of a fewpartments, not to mention they spread in such a way that the half of them were on the right the other half were on the left, he could have ced more but then he would have had to ce even more control stations, not to mention ammunition needed for it, at the time Ryan had managed to acquire only around thirty thousand rounds before their departure.


    <em>''Not that I would not like to have some more but the harvest of resources needed for the ammunition was low, that was the only amount I could acquire within the stipted time period, not to mention how could I wait when I had already thrown the challenge and said I would leave within three days.''</em>


    He then looked over the shoulder of one of the operators as a scowl formed over his face, <em>''What is this? A bunch of undead and they are firing the guns like we are facing a horde.''</em>, as his eyes then fell on the counter at the bottom of the screen it showed that the counter had reached five hundred and was steadily rising.


    <em>''Damn them are they going to empty everything by the first day of the journey.''</em>


    He pulsed his power as the guns suddenly stopped firing, making everyone taken aback by it as Ylerias who had upied one of the seats stared at it in a dumbfounded expression, before pressing a couple of buttons as she spoke in a sad tone, "Did the machine break."


    "It would seem so Your Holiness, none of them is working."


    As such an aura of sadness engulfed them, only to be brought out of it upon hearing the sound of a throat being cleared.


    Upon looking back they were greeted by the sight of a scowling Ryan, Yleiras could not help but speak out quickly, "Brother Ryan there has been some problem with the machine, they are not working."


    <em>''Brother Ryan, huh, I do not know why but that is what Ylerias has taken to calling me, all of a sudden I feel like some wuxia hero, ahem maybe I should not be too harsh on her, Nah, being tough would bear fruitter.''</em>


    "There is no problem with this machine, I stopped you from firing."


    "You can do that?"


    Ryan looked at the speaker as he spoke, "Yes I can, I can control every part of this vehicle without touching it because I made it."


    Ylerias frowned as she quickly spoke, "May I know the reason."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, Lady Ylerias, firstly I would apud you all for learning how to operate them so fast, but here is the problem with how you are using them.", he took a breath before continuing, "Tell me there is a number on your screen and if I am not wrong all of you have just nearing five hundred right?"


    As everyone nodded Ryan spoke with a smile, "You have only been firing for two minutes, and in that time all of you managed to use four thousand, five hundred and thirty-seven rounds out of the thirty thousand avable to us at the moment, and today is day one not to mention only a few hours since we began our journey, a journey that would take over a week at least toplete."


    One of Ylerias subordinates quickly spoke, "But, what are we to do, we need it to kill those creatures."


    "Yes, I know but please can you tell me how many arrows one of you would take in your current level of strength need to kill them."


    "One"


    "Two"


    As the answers came one after another Ryan stopped them by raising his hand as he spoke, "See and how many creatures did you sessfully kill by firing all those rounds."


    "None"


    "One"


    "I think two."


    "Okay okay, now do you understand where I aming from?"


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "We are wasting them, but you are gathering themter on right? So what is the problem we can use it again and again."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No you misunderstand, I am not gathering the bullets only the empty casings, think of the casing as a quiver and the bullets as the arrows, but unlike arrows, once it has been fired it is gone for good, as such", Ryan snapped his fingers as a click was heard before he spoke, "Change the way you are firing from burst to single shot."


    He then closed his eyes as the turrets aimed and then a couple of the fired instantly blowing off the heads of a couple of creatures.


    "Seeing in this mode you will not waste too many bullets just aim and fire, unlike before where you were simply pointing the gun while firing and hoping that it would hit you will have to aim carefully and remember each press of the button would fire the gun once only."


    He looked at everyone listening carefully to him as he continued, "There are two ways to fire at an opponent, the American way or the British way. The former method consists of overwhelming your enemy with a hail of bullets useful for crowd control, as well as a method where an amateur can easily work with, but it is a waste for dealing with a single enemy unless it takes lots of firepowers to deal with it not to mention that tactics work only when you have tons of rounds, which weck currently."


    He took a breather as he continued, "Thetter one is to take aim and then fire, it requires more skill and for the current, use is the most viable seeing theck of resources, please remember to use the rounds with caution, and please carry on, on providing them with fire support, though I would request please help them when it is required to only."


    As their attention returned to their stations, Ryan sighed inwardly,<em> ''I hope my lecture would make them understand their folly, though I do not know if the idea that I had used from the movie is right or wrong, sometimes movies are way off, though even if the movie was not that extraordinary I hope I can make a submarine-like that, just the thought of that splendid machine sends goosebumps on my body.''</em>


    Ryan stood there looking at his sister working from behind the monitor before he whispered with a frown on his face, "What am I doing here? I got to get acquainted with my weapons a bit better if I join them not to mention the harvesting of resources."


    With that thought in mind, he hastily left and soon found himself leaving the safety confines of the vehicle amidst the curious look of others.


    As he stepped out of the vehicle the door looked itself automatically courtesy of his powers, he looked around for a moment which followed by a deep breath and a bit of stretching before long his new gauntlets appeared which was followed by his pistol, with that he began to jog towards Michalina and others.


    "Lady Ylerias!"


    "Is something wrong?"


    "Lord Ryan left the vehicle and is making his way towards others."


    "What?!", Ylerias could not help but shout out as she did a double-take as she noticed Ryan happily jogging towards the resource collecting group.


    Michalina''s raid chirped as she turned from her initial position before making her way towards Ryan, who had just arrived without any boy armour, just with a pistol in his hand, before she could reprimand him he shouted out, "Watch out behind you."


    Michalina heard a snarl from behind her followed by a sound, a sound any sci-fi movie lovers could easily identify.


    Meanwhile, Ryan''s hand shook as he looked down at his gun his eyes welled up with tears as he whispered with an equal amount of shock and joy, "It is a freakingser pistol.", he stood silent for a moment before he looked up towards the sky before he shouted out loud, "Lord Avtis you are the best God ever."

 Chapter 85: A small pit stop (Part-3)

    Chapter 85: A small pit stop (Part-3)


    No human is perfect and Michalina knew that from her personal experience as she herself is not perfect, something her mother helped her realize she remembered how her mother imed that imperfection makes us normal and adorable not a weird creature, after all, nothing in this world is perfect.


    One man''s perfection is another man''s imperfection and she knew her faults very well when she had first met Ryan she was jealous her mother was paying more attention to him, always showering him with hugs and kisses, her mother who she had gained after losing her original parents, parents whom she only remembers because of their photos, and then she learned the meaning of jealousy.


    Michalina remembered when she firstshed out at him, and the first time her mother was angry no infuriated, that day she learned what was fear for the first time, but at the same time she also gained a younger brother, and that was when she learned one of her other w, possessiveness.


    Today upon seeing theser pistol in Ryan''s hands a surge of jealousy appeared in her heart,<em> ''I want one too.''</em>


    Ryan meanwhile checked his weapon before he spoke with a pout, "You know sis I wish I could let you use it, but don''t worry I will make you one for sure, after all, we siblings share and car right?"


    Seeing the bright smile removed the jealous beast as she smiled back at him,<em> ''Such foolishness, how can I feel jealous of my baby brother, I am a grown-up woman now.''</em>


    Michalina smiled as she spoke, "You think you can replicate it."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Maybe not today but one day I will be able to, our enemy came from outer space as such surely one day I will have the technological prowess to replicate it."


    Michalina simply smiled before her hand found its way to his ears which she pulled hard making Ryan to cry out in pain.


    "How dare you wake up ande here? It is dangerous out here not to mention, where is your protective gear?"


    "Ouch ouch sis, let my poor abused ear go, ouch you ripping it apart."


    With a huff, Michalina let go of his ear as Ryan spoke with a sound akin to whining, "Why are you abusing the innocent poor me, what did I do?"


    Michalina''s eyes narrowed as she spoke in a heated tone, "You know what you did. I told you to sleep but here you are without wearing your protective gear such callousness."


    Ryan gained a look of embarrassment on his face as he spoke, "Well my kind of broke."


    "Broke?"


    "Yes, I received so much damage during Navch incident and now parts of it are falling off and I did not have any time repair so hehe hehe."


    As Ryan gave a nervousugh Michalina''s eyes hardened as she spoke, "Brother the first thing you will do is repair or else I will force you to wear ours and you know ours are built for the female body right?", Ryan nodded fearfully he felt Michalina put her hand on his shoulder hard as she spoke, "I do not think you would like being called a cross-dressing pervert now.", as he shook his head negatively Michalina spoke with a cheery tone, "Then good, now go and make your gear now."


    Ryan did not wait any longer as the first thing he did was to make a mad dash towards the vehicle especially towards the crafting area, to repair his armour.


    Jessica looked towards Michalina as she spoke with a snort, "Really now are you not being a bit of a hypocrite, where is your armour, Michalina?"


    Michalina scoffed at her question as she replied, "Okay, I might not be wearing every part of the armour but I have most of my vitals covered, at the very least it is better than nothing."


    Ryan meanwhile had back into the vehicle as he made a beeline to his workspace where he quickly began to repair his armour.


    Michalina in the meantime began to instruct the people that had followed with her to find essential resources namely food, as well as a few other things that might be useful for Ryan, she had taken her fellow soldiers to guard them, in case some very dangerous creature decides to harm them.


    It took Ryan a couple of minutes to finish his armour and then to wear it, from time to time a shot from therge guns could be heard, and each of them felt as if a stake was being driven into his heart.


    <em>''Ugh, I wish they would stop firing at all, I never seen such trigger happy people outside of movies, do they think the bullet grows on trees from where I can easily pluck it from.''</em>


    His musing was cut short when suddenly the rate of fire had a momentous increase, making his heart to bleed even further as tears began to form in his eyes only for him to be brought out of his misery at the shrieks and shout of others.


    Ryan did not wait any moment as he looked out through the window before he nched hard, <em>''That is a horde! No, the word horde would not do justice to it, it is as if an entire city worth of zombies have suddenly appeared, but why are they still firing a single shot, they should use burst.''</em>


    With that thought in mind, Ryuu quickly checked the condition of Ylerias and her fellow turret operators and had the sudden urge to bash his head hard.


    Ylerias was getting frustrated as she continuously pressed the buttons while she gritted her teeth hard from anger and frustration, <em>''Damn it, what was that button to change the rate of ire, like this it won''t do, even if we waste a lot more firepower is needed, and what was the button that is needed to change the firing mode, damn it.''</em>


    She was about to leave her station and step out with her bow only for a familiar click to be heard as all of a sudden from a single shot the turrets had entered into a burst fire mode, ripping the creatures apart.


    Michalina grunted in frustration as she shouted out, "Move move."


    She did not have to tell them twice as everyone dropped whatever items they could not carry easily as they ran as fast their legs could carry them.


    Meanwhile, Ryan did not stay still he dashed through the vehicle as fast his legs could carry him as he moved towards the driver''spartment, but it was not easy he soon found the greatest obstruction he could find, ''people'', people that were scared and were crowding his way towards his destination.


    <em>''tch, the annoyance of the highest calibre.''</em>


    He could help but let out a frustrated growl before he jumped and caught a portion of the ceiling, then using the emergency exit that had opened up, allowing Ryan who with a great feat of agility to simply climb out of, and soon he was on the top of the road train, while the exit closed by itself.


    <em>''If I cannot go through or around it, I will go on top of it.''</em>


    As such he dashed towards the driver''spartment while cursing himself out loud, "I should not have made my working station near the end, but whatever has been done cannot be changed, ENGINE START."


    As he roared out the road train engine powered up while Ryan''s pistol appeared in his hand, which he aimed and began to fire he knew that he might not even hit by randomly firing but he did not even care, as even the thought that he might have managed to lend a small help greatly eased him.


    Jessica greeted her teeth as she stood by the vehicle as she fired her gun,<em> ''Damn them, they are slow''</em>, "<strong>Hurry hurry</strong>.", She could not help but shout out loud as the group climbed the vehicle but the height was proving a chore for them.


    Meanwhile back with Ylerias she had enough, ''Damn this guns, they are nice but I can work better with my bow.''


    Suddenly a sound was heard from the ceiling as the upants of the room aimed the weapons towards the opening as Ryan quickly spoke in a panicked state, "Wait it is me."


    Ylerias eyes widen as she shouted out with glee, "<em>One of you takemand of this station the rest follow me on top, we can help them better from there</em>."


    Ryan climbed down from the top as he spoke, "Wah, wait I am going to move the vehicle from there, the horde is huge and I do not wish to pit my creation against something unnecessarily if you climb up it would be difficult for you to stand up while it would move."


    Ylerias smiled as she spoke, "Do not worry we will stay only as long as thest person has not entered and as for movement trust in us, we can fight while standing on moving objects, now do your job."


    Ryan nodded as he quickly upied the driver seat, the screen of the vehicle surrounded him as he watched with great trepidation the people who were still boarding the vehicle.


    <em>''I have to limit the number of people who had left to gather stuff, not only they had to throw away most of their stuff but at the end because of the height difference between the vehicle and the ground they are boarding it extremely slow, not good.''</em>


    Michalina bit her lips as she fired at the horde that was rushing towards them as a giant fireball smashed at the horde exploding in a giant inferno, a few of the people stopped to marvel at the scene only for her to snap at them, "Climb or we will leave you behind."


    With each second Ryan''s heartbeat sped as a look of worry began to form on his face,<em> ''Hurry sis, hurry you and Jessica are worth more than all of these people that we are ferrying, I do not want to lose either of you, especially you sis.''</em>


    Ryan watched as everyone had boarded safely as he turned on the speaker to cause a road train wide announcement, "Everyone please hold on to something tightly, I am going to move at full speed and the journey will be rough."


    No sooner did he announced it Ylerias reentered the vehicle along with her subordinates as the opening which was actually an emergency exit shut itself tightly after them.


    Meanwhile, Michalina had just managed to close the door of the Alpha Raven 2.0, when the first of the horde had managed to reach the vehicle.


    The entire vehicle was soon filled by screams and shouts of its upants as the creatures began to bang on the outside trying to tear apart the armour to enter the vehicle, her heart hammered as she heard their screams and roars.


    Then it came, the announcement, an announcement that made her feel as if her heart leapt out of her throat as soon as she heard the announcement, it was true that after the chastisement he had mellowed out a bit, and today in the morning he was dead tired as such he left the wheel after some time but now he was refreshed and from the looks of it Micahlina was sure the others would get a glimpse of heaven even much before their time.


    As such she bellowed out loud, "Get out of my way, that idiot is about to drive.", but even if others moved away from her, she was toote as the road train sprung into action like a leopard after its prey.


    Ylerias held on to the back of Ryan''s chair as she looked at the front with her eye narrowed, "The horde is big, there even some at the front."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a smirk, "Yes there are.", he then patted the steering wheel as he spoke with a smile, "But that is something that baby can easily handle, though I would like to warn you."


    "Warn me about what?"


    Arge smile formed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "I do not drive as slow as Michalina.", with that he ced his foot on the elerator, as the vehicle began to move while crushing the creatures underneath its wheels.

 Chapter 86: A small pit stop (Part-4)

    Chapter 86: A small pit stop (Part-4)


    Ylerias had fallen in love, never in her life, she had evere to face with such feelings, her heart was beating furiously as her face gained a health flush she began to daydream, of one day owning a vehicle simr to the current one, and then travelling and exploring the new world while exposing the many secrets that it held in its bosom.


    Her daydream came to an end when her attention was grabbed by Ryan who spoke with a voice full of concern, "Is something wrong you have suddenly be quite, I hope the way I drive is not making you feel uneasy."


    Ylerias hurriedly waved off his concern as she spoke with a smirk, "There is nothing for you to worry about Brother Ryan, you drive splendidly to the point I enjoyed it immensely and judging from the looks on my subordinates faces they do so."


    Ryan simply gave a small smile as he spoke, "I d you enjoyed my driving.", his smile vanished as he spoke in a sad tone, "Not many do so."


    A faint gasp was heard as Ylerias spoke with a serious look on her face, "It is criminal for them not to like, I might not have seen too many people driving butpared to them you are driving is excellent."


    A bright smile formed on her face as Ryan spoke, "Thank you but wait till you see my mother''s driving her driving is a world apart than mine, one day I hope I can drive as good as her."


    "Lord Ryan if I may ask you something?"


    Ryuu took a sharp turn before he spoke with a shrug, "Feel free to ask anything."


    The Elven subordinate spoke in an unsure tone, "Lord Ryan in the morning when you were driving you were quite slow as well as you did not drive in such an exhrating manner why?"


    "Oh, that was because I was tired and it is dangerous to drive in such conditions as a momentarypse of attention could cause an ident as such I drove like a slug."


    Ylerias frowned in deep thought as she spoke, "Brother Ryan I have a favour to ask."


    Ryan raised one of his brows as he inquired with a curious tone in his voice, "What is it Lady Ylerias?"


    "Can you teach me how to drive?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "of course I would be happy to, though I would advise you to wait till we reach our destination, then I can teach you using smaller vehicles."


    "I see learning to walk before trying to run."


    Ryan nodded before he spoke with a sigh, "In a way, yes, but most importantly because within the next few hours I am going to yell again."


    Ylerias''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Oh and why would anyone do so."


    With a dejected sigh, Ryan began to speak, "Even before everything went to hell, the way I drive would not only be counted as reckless but it would have gotten me banned from driving just like my mother."


    "Then how do people drive in your world."


    ''That voice was that Dasyra asking me.''


    He cleared his voice while he replied to whom he presumed to have asked the question, "Well did you all enjoy Jessica or my sister''s driving?"


    A few of them gained a constipated look as Ylerias summarized their thoughts, "Compare to you, it was boring as hell they drove too slow, now if only we could stand out for a bit and feel the breeze."


    "My Lady you took the words of my mouth."


    "So true if only we could feel the breeze as well."


    As one by one the elves agreed with Ylerias, Ryan gained a small smile on his face as he spoke, "Tell you what, when I will be teaching you, I will make sure the car does not have any roof, and I know where you areing from, you would absolutely love it."


    As Ylerias smiled at his words, Dasyra spoke again, "Your Holiness, please do not forget about those motorcycles things, they might have only two wheels but they are equally amazing."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes I have seen them, and they also seem to be nice so maybe I will try to learn them as well."


    Dasyra smiled towards her as she continued, "Your Holiness, learning to ride them is very easy just you have to maintain your bnce."


    A wave of excited chatter rose amongst them as Ylerias simply smiled towards her excited subordinates before she spoke to Ryan, "Brother Ryan, you were saying something about your sister''s driving style."


    "Ah yes, in my previous world the way she drove would be considered as going very fast and reckless."


    Pin drop silence descended as Ylerias spoke in disbelief, "You are joking right? Their driving is considered fast!!!"


    With a sad sigh Ryan began to speak, "Yes, it is true as such people like us are forced to either give up driving or put our head down and obey the rules."


    "That is not fair."


    "Ryan nodded as he spoke, "That was why I told you I would be yelled at by my sister for not following proper protocols and speed limits and whatnot, I am afraid after today she will force me not to drive."


    Ylerias shook her head "That is so not nice.", a resolute look form on her face as she spoke, "Do not worry Brother Ryan I will support you and we will reach apromise."


    Ryan gave her a small helpless smile as he replied to her with his voice full of gratitude, "Thank you."


    Although Ryan''s face showed a hint of helplessness inwardly it was a different matter as he wasughing uproariously, <em>''Hehehe now Michalina how will you act when a portion of the people would exclusively want me to drive, now you cannot force me from the driver''s chair.''</em>


    As Ryan was scheming Ylerias simply looked at him as a small smile formed on her lips, <em>''I do not know how many lies you have told me, but you are a hundred years too early to fool my subordinates and me, though I will have to teach you that next time you are scheming does not show that smirk on your face, I will pretend that I did not catch on to it and see where this leads on to.''</em>, as that thought passed through her mind she simply gave a discreet nod towards her subordinates who returned her one in kind.


    Meanwhile back with the other passengers, Andraais had a look of awe as he found himself floating in the air, <em>''Is this Zero-G feels like? The feeling of floating like this in the air I like it.''</em>


    His serene smile disappeared in an instant as he was mmed hard on the floor by the cruel mistress known as gravity.


    Tears formed in his eyes from the pain as he mumbled out, "My back.", but that was not the end as he soon found himself kissing the side of the vehicle as multiple bodies suddenly mmed on him, ''I should have let those zombies eat me, this is madness.''


    Michalina stood up trembling, getting mmed hard was not fun, not to mention the inside of the Alpha Raven 2.0, was like that of a washing machine with the passengers being treated like clothes,<em> ''Enough is enough his actions are hurting others I have to control him if he wants to help these people he needs to understand that he cannot hurt them, especially the children as their parents might go to any length to protect them and I do not want him to run afoul of them.''</em>


    As such with great difficulty Michalina made her way to the driverpartment or as some of them were dubbing as the cockpit, she mmed the door open before she bellowed out loud, "<em>Ryan, stop driving immediately so recklessly are you trying to kill us all.</em>"


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I told you all to hold on to something, and given the circumstances, we needed to move fast so what is wrong with my way of driving."


    Michalina growled and she would love to stomp up towards her brother but the shaking of thepartments prevented her from doing so, in fact even standing was a great deal difficult for her.


    "<strong>Ryan now!!!</strong>", as she shouted once again the others present in the cockpit beside the siblings frowned at that.


    Meanwhile, Ylerias finally realized the reason behind Ryan''s scheming,<em> ''He loves to drive and drive in a fast pace yet others restrict him, no others restrict his freedom as such he wanted us to intervene on his behalf and help him out as a third party since he is not confident enough to go against his sister, even if the current him is stronger.''</em>


    As such she promptly turned and then peering from behind his seat Ylerias spoke to Ryan, "Brother instead of arguing like this I think you should stop the vehicle so that all of us can agree.", and as Ryan looked like he was about to protest, Ylerias raised her hand to prevent him speaking as she continued, "You yourself said you need to pay attention to the road while driving so please stop it."


    With a grunt, Ryan slowed down the vehicle until it came to a stop before he stepped out of the driver seat, then folding arms he spoke in a stern tone, "I stopped the vehicle now what do you want to speak about."


    Michalina growled as she spoke, "What have I told you about your driving, there are children with us they would have been injured."


    "And did they not hear me telling them to hold on to something, I might not be able to provide them with a proper bed but I have surely provided them with enough safety harnesses so why did they not use it, it is not my fault."


    Michalina rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she spoke, "That may be but you have to have some consideration about them, they have never seen or faced something such intense so you should have toned down your driving."


    As they spoke the sibling slowly moved towards the centre as they red at each other with an equal intensity none of them trying to back out.


    "I did what was needed Sis, did you even see the horde properly? Did you not notice anything different about the horde?"


    "Oh, and what would that be."


    "Plenty even excluding the fact the sheer number of normal Tier 1 zombie I spotted no less than three Tier 8 hidden amongst them, maybe more as such I drove so earnestly so that we could shake them off."


    He took a deep breath as he continued, "Now do you understand why I drove so earnestly, and if someone has a problem with it, we are not too far from the horde they can try their luck at zombification."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke in support, "It is true, what he said is absolutely true there were some incredibly powerful ones not to mention a few abominations so I support his actions and if I am not wrong we are not that far from the horde as such I suggest we move on."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "I will try to speak with them and "


    Whatever she was going to say came to an abrupt halt as Ryan suddenly grabbed the nearest elf flinging her away while kicking Michalina as far away from him as possible stunning everyone, but before any of them could react, arge figure suddenly broke through the right side mming him hard before barreling out of the cockpit.


    "<strong>RYAN!!!!!!</strong>"


    A horrified scream tore throw Michalina''s throat before she dashed towards the hole on the wall as did Ylerias only to see a horrific sight of the creature with its long sword-like finger piercing through Ryan''s body lifting his lifeless body from the ground while his life fluid slowly began to coat its rather long metallic arm.

 Chapter 87: A small pit stop (Part-5)

    Chapter 87: A small pit stop (Part-5)


    Pain, pain, was all he knew, Ryan coughed up copious amount blood as his vision began to swim,<em> ''Am I going to die?''</em>


    As the thought of death crossed his mind the world seemed to slow as he was reminded of his time with his adopted mother, his adopted sister, the ck Wolves, even the face of his birth parents, his sisters, his grandparents, his teachers, his friends everyone''s face shed passed his eyes.


    He could see his adopted family getting heartbroken and crying because of his death, as he slowly lulled into the cold embrace of death, <em>''I don''t want to die.''</em>, as the thought passed his mind, a familiar voice came to his ears.


    <strong><em>Host in critical condition.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Death is imminent.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>essing Logs for proper life prevention method.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Data missing..</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Error.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Error.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Life Prevention method for host FAILED</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Death in 1 minute.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>59 seconds.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>58 seconds.</em></strong>


    Hearing those words made his desire to live increase even more, <em>''I don''t want to die, I don''t want to die.''</em>, chanted Ryan in his mind as he desperately tried to cling to his life.


    "Kikikiki"


    The sound ofughter drew his attention towards the creature as he looked at it with disbelief in his face, <em>''Is itughing at my plight, mocking me!''</em>


    Intense anger rose in his heart at the sound as such he could not help but shout out loud, <strong>"If I die then you will apany me to my death."</strong>


    The creature was something that none had seen before, it was tall at least eight feet tall but at the same time it was hunched, with its legs ending up like a stick just below its knees, and its face looked like that of a gue doctor with its long snout that could open into rows of teeth, but what made it unique was the fact that the entire body was made up of metal.


    With the left hand, he grabbed the arm that had pierced his body and with his right he held the snout and with a snarl he gave a tug as the part he was touching simply disappeared making the creature scream in rage as Ryan fell to the ground, but the creature did not have time to react as its back was soon bombarded by a hail of bullets, arrows and various magical attacks.


    It tried to run only for Ryan to once again catch hold of its right leg as everything below its knee disappeared making the creature fall.


    Ylerias did not waste any time as she dashed towards Ryan, walking on air as if she was on the ground and she was fast that Michalina only saw a blur, and in a blink of her eye he was already kneeling by his side.


    "Brother Ryan I got you, you will be alright."


    <strong>"Ylerias move!!!!"</strong>


    A familiar voice came to her ears making her eyes widen before she returned to the vehicle as fast as she possibly could while carrying Ryan with her.


    <strong>"STOP FIRING!"</strong>


    Her shout stopped the assault on the creature as a person came down hard on it, causing the ground surrounding the creature to explode flooding the area with dust and dirt.


    Ylerias did not pay any attention towards the neer as she shouted out towards her subordinates, "Start emergency healing procedure now, I refuse to lose another of my family."


    At her words they quickly took Ryan off of her arms as Maralyn began to heal Ryan, she looked at his injuries as her eyes widen,<em> ''It is good that the sword-like fingers are stuck inside his body acting as a plug, defective but at least it will somewhat buy me a few precious extra seconds but''</em>


    She winced at the injury on Ryan''s body before she turned to look at Ylerias as she spoke in a regretful tone, "Mydy I cannot heal him alone."


    Ylerias bit her lips as she spoke, "Take Nikita with you, and try to work as much as you can I believe you will receive some helping hand soon, till then extend his life by any means."


    "Your wish is mymand My Lady."


    Ylerias eyes then fell on Michalina who looked as if she would breakdown any moment seeing and hearing Ryan''s condition but maintained her professional face with her great will power.


    <em>''Though it seems that she is angry at being denied the chance of getting her revenge.''</em>, Ylerias note it idly before she spoke, "Michalina if you wish to be by Ryan''s side please go, the creature has been dealt with, also you might want Nikita to be here as it seems Maralyn would appreciate another hand helping her."


    Michalina did not need to be told twice as she dashed out of the cockpit in search for Nikita, while Ylerias spared a nce towards Ryan as Maralyn worked on him before her gaze travelled towards the dust cloud that was beginning to settle down.


    "Is Shakidra here?"


    "What! Instead of greeting your sister properly, you are directly going after my subordinates, did you forget your manners sister."


    Ylerias''s jaw hardens as she replied, "I would love to exchange pleasantry with you but our family is dying we need the help of an extra healer."


    The dust settled revealing the other speaker, who was none other than Xuelong, an apostle of Vahmjir, God of War and Victory.


    Xuelong looked towards Ylerias as she spoke, "Are you serious?"


    "Deadly but please hurry time is of the essence."


    Xuelong took a deep breath before she bellowed out loud, "<strong>SHAKIDRA ATTEND ME!!!!"</strong>


    Her roar seemed to shake the sky itself as the upants of the Alpha Raven 2.0 were startled by it, a few minutes ago the vehicle had stopped and then a loud sound followed by guns firing and magical attacks being used was heard by them and now someone shouting out so loud made them fearful and anxious and it did not help to see a clearly distressed Michalina barging into thepartment.


    "Nikita where is she?"


    Jessica who was in thatpartment frowned upon seeing the distressed look on Michalina''s face as she spoke, "Micha is something wrong?"


    But Michalina was in no mood to answer her as she barked at her, "<strong>Where is Nikita? God damn it."</strong>


    As Electricity arced around her a fearful Nikita approached her, "I am here, how may I serve?"


    Michalina''s eyes fell on her as she calmed down considerably as she almost shouted at her, "<strong>Hurry and go to the driverpartment and help Maralyn.</strong>", with a deep breath she continued, "Ryan is severely injured, please hurry."


    Nikita did not need to be told again as she dashed off towards the cockpit as Jessica promptly pulled Michalina into a hug as she spoke in a concerned tone, "Micha, what happened?"


    Michalina slightly shook as she spoke, "I messed up, I messed up bad, I tried to stop his rash driving by making him stop the vehicle, and then we were attacked and Ryan paid the price."


    "Shhh shhh, it is going to be alright he is tough and with Maralyn and Nikita working together they might pull through."


    *****


    Meanwhile back with Marcel and his family they were tired and annoyed since that day when one of Xuelong''s subordinates had died she had been chasing after the creature like crazy and was forcing all of them to move along with her, even if they did not wish to but all thebatants and healers belonged to her side and they followed her blindly, thus they were forced to follow her on pain of being abandoned powerlessly to the mercy of the new dangers of the world.


    Marcel sighed as the group stopped moving, the distant sound of gun firing drew their attention as his wife Eleanora spoke with a frown, "Did we encounter another group of humans?"


    Marcel nodded as he spoke, "It seems so, let us see what happens either they would join us or we will join them."


    Before any of them could say anything the sound of gun firing came to a halt as Xuelong''s loud bellow came to their ears startling them.


    Marcel let out a whistle of appreciation as he spoke in an impressed tone, "Damn that woman has some pair of lungs."


    Only to be swatted by his ring mother who spoke with a stern voice, "No swearing."


    While Eleanora''s attention went towards a certain Shakidra who ran so fast that it seemed as if the hounds of hell were after her.


    A few minutester they were once again made to move as Isabe could not help but groan out loud, "Again, can I not have some much-needed rest."


    Eleanora frowned as she spoke, "Isabe is right, this is too much dragging us like this from one ce to another is too much."


    A small strip of treester theirints disappeared as they came face to face with arge train look-alike on wheels, as Catherine spoke with disbelief, "Father there is a train on wheels with people inside it right?"


    As Marcel nodded wordlessly Catherine continued to speak, "And there is electricity running inside it."


    "It would seem so daughter from therge hole I can clearly see the lights but how? Did the apocalypse not destroy everything electronics."


    "Isabe shook her head as she spoke, "I do not know father, I do not know but they are all boarding it so should we."


    Beth frowned as she spoke, "We should if they have technology still working then the chances of finding Ryan would increase."


    Eleanora nodded as she spoke, "You are right mother, let us go and meet them."

 Chapter 88: A small pit stop (Part-6)

    Chapter 88: A small pit stop (Part-6)


    Ryan felt a nudge or two as if someone trying to wake him up, but he did not want to, he felt as if he was under a warm nket on a particrly cold day and he was in no hurry to wake up when all of a sudden he felt as if someone has closed his nose and mouth as such gasping for air he sat up opening his eyes.


    His breathing became normal as his eyes looked around the ce, ''<em>This ce looks familiar.''</em>


    "Ahem"


    A loud clearing of throat drew his attention towards a familiar chair with a familiar me on top of the chair, while the soft crackle of campfire could be the only sound that Ryan could hear.


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily widen as he gave a deep bow towards the me as he spoke, "Greetings Holy Lord Avtis, I am "


    "Cut the false worship you and I both know you are not the type to suddenly start worshipping me so stop it, it is so gross."


    Ryan stood erect as he spoke with a shy, "Okay then can I say thank you to you."


    "And for what exactly are you thanking me?"


    "The gun I liked it very much."


    "Of course who would not love what I give and I hope the same is for the sword right?"


    Ryan scratched his cheek as he spoke with an embarrassed tone, "Well about that I am not sure but I use a rapier so"


    "Minor inconvenience, but do you know why you are here?"


    Ryan shook his head as the me moved from its sitting position before it began to move in a peculiar pattern, a pattern Ryan was incredibly familiar with after seeing his ''mother'' do so in deep thought.


    <em>''Why is pacing so much, am I going to get scolded for something?''</em>


    "Do you know what my position in our pantheon is?"


    "Umm You are the progenitor."


    "Yes not only that I am the strongest of them and you are my Apostle, who performed in a rather <strong>pathetic</strong> way, so pathetic that I hoped that you would die so that I could have a new one."


    Ryan was dumbfounded at his words before he spoke slowly, "I died, how?"


    He heard the sound of snapping of fingers as memories of confrontation came to his mind causing him to panic only to stop as Avtis began to speak, "<strong>Disgusting</strong>, simply disgusting crying and whimpering in front of death, don''t worry thatpanion of yours managed to save your pathetic life."


    His words brought relief to him only for an intense pressure fell on his shoulder making him kneel.


    "<strong>Relief! Relief!</strong> Is that what you are feeling?<em> ''I don''t want to die''</em>, for crying loud this was the most pathetic I have seen anyone act while facing death, your own brethren died a few days ago did you hear him cry and whimper, simply <strong>pathetic.</strong>"


    Ryan wanted to retort but held his tongue not because he was afraid of the being in front of him but because he could not even move a single muscle.


    "I hope you remember about the threat I told you about, that creature was the lowest of low, a low-level scout that could be counted as defective with no value whatsoever but it killed you, it almost killed you, and you were not even able to keep your promise to drag it down with you."


    A tensed silence descended amongst them as the me kept on pacing furiously before Avtis began to speak, "I had hopes, very high hopes for you to even gift my strongest abilities to you, my ability to create and destroy yet you performed so pathetically."


    Ryan growled inwardly in anger as heined out loud inwardly, ''How the hell am I going to fight back when I was getting skewered trying to save mypanions.''


    A growl was heard as the mes suddenly appeared in front of him what followed was the feeling of someone twisting his ears hard but even if felt pain his muscles could not even twitch a bit as Avtis continued, "The Gauntlet I gave you enables you to freely use either destruction or creation from either of your hands, you did not even have to fight it simply block it and your powers would have done the rest, after all, it is made up of metals, such a puny and simple enemy you could have dealt easily."


    Ryan felt Avtis release his ears as his winced hard, <em>''Damn it, no one treats me like this.''</em>


    "Oh get used to it, since I am stuck with likes of you I believe I am allowed somepromises, now do you wish to ask something then <strong>speak</strong>."


    The word ''speak'' was in a rather forceful way and suddenly Ryan could once again speak again many thoughts swirled in his mind only toe to a halt as Avtis spoke again, "Speak fast I do not have an eternity for you."


    "About the enemy"


    "Ah yes the weakling that almost killed you is one of the minions of the enemy you will have to fight for, they are the lowest of low, weak as hell but deadly for normal humans, their work is to gather intelligence and they do so by sucking the brain out of the victim while recharging themselves with the life force, but as I said before they are weak a group of ten to fifteen armed civilians could deal with it, and by civilians, I mean people of your world before the great merger took ce."


    Ryan listened to his words as his mind worked furiously he might not know much about his enemies but he then remembered his chat with his adopted mother Ciara.


    ******


    <em>''Every member of the army has some role that it has to fulfil, you said scout is not to so glorious as those who fight in the frontline but I beg to differ, it is true they might not have the shiest of weapons but their work is equally important maybe more so in some cases because they without any help dive deep into enemy territory to acquire intelligence and then have to return shape and sound from there, and do you know what is the most important duty of a scout when they are inside enemy territory.''</em>


    <em>As Ryan shook his head Ciara continued with a smile, ''To survive at all cost.</em>''


    ***********


    Back in the present Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily as he spoke, "Wait a minute if that creature was a scout that could be dealt with such only ten to fifteen civilian then why did it attack us not to mention it tore through the vehicle so easily something is fishy."


    A snort came from Avtis as he began to speak again, "There is nothing fishy, I made sure it would stumble upon your group, I made sure it would attack and I made sure that it would tear through the body of our vehicle."


    Ryan''s jaw dropped at his words as he spoke, "Why?"


    "Why not, after all, I do not need a blunt de, but a rather sharp one and unfortunately you are nothing more than a lump of iron at the moment, a rather poor quality even then.", he stopped for a moment before he continued, "I do not care about the rtionship between other apostles and their Gods, mine is simple I need you as my weapon and if you work splendidly I will reward and if you fail I will punish you."


    Ryan bit his lips at Avtis''s words who continued to speak after a moment, "You have yet to truly grasped the severity of the situation, in front of the enemy you people are not even qualified to call yourself a snack if you fail everything that you love and care would face a future where even death would not provide you relief, and you have the power to change that."


    "The power of yours is very vital for the survival of many and you should know why I am saying that and if you fail to even perceive that then think of what you have managed to do so far, in fact inside your vehicle the only people who are worthy of surviving just after you are the apostles that are currently present with you, while the rest are irrelevant, as such no matter what you have to survive and grow at all cost do you understand."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "I understand but"


    Whatever he was about to say came to a halt as once again the pressure fell on him with a much greater force than before, "<strong>No buts</strong> you are weak as a newborn <strong>worm</strong> and after seeing your rather spectacr performance I concluded that you do not even have the luxury to look after anyone who a small breeze could kill you."


    Ryan could not help but glower at him as Avtis spoke with a chuckle, "Good eyes you got but save your hatred for the enemies, if you were not so weak I would not be here lecturing you but do not worry I will make sure you will remember our talk, now <strong>get out of my sight</strong>."


    As Avtis spoke thest words Ryan felt as if he was swatted by a giant hand which made him send tumbling down in the dark abyss.


    A few minutester the prone form of Ryan woke up gasping and coughing for air as Nikita was by his side immediately, "Ryan calm down do not get up, damn it Maralyn he is bleeding again."


    "I healed him yet the wounds are reopening, there is no poison so that means he is cursed, I need an expert on curses, Shakidra goes and finds someone."


    As Maralyn ordered Shakidra to find a curse breaker Ryan bit back a groan and lots of swearing as a familiar electronic voice chimed in.


    ***********


    <em><strong>Negative De-Buff gained by host..</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Primary curse: Open wound curse</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Source: Divine</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Duration: 5 days 23 Hours 59 Minutes 59 Seconds</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Dispel Cost: 9999999 Souls</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Note: The curse would make the host''s injuries received within thest ten hours to rupture and bleed from time to time during the duration of the curse.</strong></em>


    ***********


    Upon hearing that Ryan wanted to simply curl up and cry, ''What have I done to get punished like this?''


    Meanwhile, a certain God cackled as he cracked open another manga as he gave a mental pat on his back, ''Great these ideas are great for training if only I could physically interact with my disciple I would have covered him with tuna and thrown him a pit full of hungry cats.", his happy expression then vanished as he gained a contemtive look on his face as he mused out loud, "hmm, who says I am not a bad teacher though I have to give him the carrot this time otherwise I might turn him rebellious if I beat him with the stick, so what should I do next, decisions, decisions."

 Chapter 89: Getting reacquainted (part-1)

    Chapter 89: Getting reacquainted (part-1)


    Ryan opened his eyes as he looked at Nikita and Maralyn fretting over him trying to heal his injuries while an unknown woman was assisting them in trying to heal his wounds.


    "Brother Ryan, are you alright?"


    With a weak smile on his face, Ryan spoke, "I am feeling a bit dizzy but otherwise I am alright, was the creature killed?


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes it was killed.", her eyes then gained a hard look as she spoke, "Though the creaturecked any organic parts, it looked like some kind of puppet made out of iron, as such we took the carcass with us to study."


    Ryan coughed as small spittle of blood came out of his mouth as his breathing becameboured again while the trio mainly Maralyn and Shakidra worked their magic while Nikita tried to make him asfortable as possible.


    Nikita''s brow furrowed as she spoke, "That does not make any sense, we healed him yet why did his injuries appear."


    As Maralyn bit her lips, Shakidra spoke with a frown on her face, "This indeed does not make any sense, there was nothing foreign in His Holiness''s body, nor was there any sign of curses."


    "I am cursed for the next six days with open wounds curse, so what can you tell me about it."


    Shakidra looked at Ryan with a confused look on her face as she replied to him, "Your Holiness that causes your wounds to reopen and bleed from time to time."


    Nikita''s eyes widen at that as she spoke, "What something like that exists!!"


    Maralyn could not help but nod with a wary look on her face as she spoke, "Yes and it is a troublesome curse and I will go and get help to dispel it till then just try to keep His Holiness wounds closed till then."


    As Maralyn was about to stand up only to be stopped by Ryan who spoke with a tired sigh, "I am not trying to look down on your expert on curses but can he dispel the curseid by my patron God on me."


    "Exin"


    An unknown voice drew his attention as he looked at a rather tall woman with horns, his eyes narrowed as he spoke, "Who are you?"


    The woman''s eyes narrowed as a scowl formed on her face but before she could speak Ylerias spoke on her behalf, "Brother Ryan this is Xuelong Victorum, Apostle of Holy Lord Vahmjir, God of War and Victory"


    Xuelong gave a curt nod as Ylerias spoke, "And this is Ryan Von Ruinesca, Apostle of Holy Lord Avtis, God of Creation and Destruction."


    Ryan send a weak smile at Xuelong as Ylerias continued to speak, "Why did Holy Lord Avtis decide to punish you?", her eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I hope you did not do anything stupid."


    "I got injured and failed to kill the enemy."


    Ylerias gawked at him while Xuelong spoke with her brows furrowed in deep thought, "From what I learned you pushed them away from harm, and took the brunt of the attack, if it were not for you they would have died, did Lord Avtis not take that into consideration."


    Ryan was silent for a moment before he spoke with a tired sigh, "No he did not, as ording to him we three especially have to survive by any means necessary whereas others are expendable."


    The other two apostles'' frown disappeared as they gained a stony visage on their face as Ryan continued, "There is something else that I wished to discuss with you."


    Ylerias frowned as she watched his wounds disappear under the onught of haling magic used by Shakidra and Maralyn, as she spoke, "Is it extremely important."


    Ryan nodded weakly as he replied, "Yes it is.", his eyes then fell on Nikita as he spoke, "Nikita tell my sister to be present here as well I want her to hear everything."


    Nikita nodded as she quickly left while Xuelong pursed her lips as she spoke, "Sister? You still maintain a connection with your family."


    "Of course I do, and I will in the future."


    Xuelong did not say anything except she shrugged at his words while waiting patiently for her subordinate to finish her work.


    Meanwhile, Nikita quickly made her way towards Michalina who sat in a corner with a downtrodden look on her face as she approached her, Michalina quickly stood up as she spoke, "How is he? How is my brother?"


    Nikita shook her head as she spoke, "Not good, although we managed to stop his blood and heal him, Ryan lost a lot of blood in the process not to mention, he is now cursed."


    Ang who was nearby hermander spoke with a startled look on his face as she spoke, "What? What do you mean by cursed?"


    Nikita balled her fist as she spoke with a snarl, "Exactly what I said, as he is cursed now to have his wounds reopen again and again despite being healed."


    A gasp of shock ran through the surrounding area specially the eavesdroppers who were patiently waiting for some news about Ryan''s heath, they had ventured out with him simply because of his powers and now if he dies everything would be meaningless.


    "He is asking for you."


    Hearing those words Michalina turned a bit pale as she hesitated upon hearing her words only for Nikita to re at her as she spoke, "Your brother needs you so stop moping and start marching."


    Meanwhile, back with Ryan he had been properly healed again and both Shakidra and Maralyn had taken leave after getting permission from their respective leaders, while the two Apostles waited for the arrival of Ryan''s sister, and they did not have to wait for too long as Michalina arrived soon following after Nikita.


    As the duo arrived Nikita spoke with a smile, "Well I will leave you here.", with that she left.


    Ryan opened his eyes as he gave a weak smile towards his sister as he spoke, "Hey Micha, are you alright?"


    Michalina''s heart broke as she spoke, "You are asking me if I am alright, please speak for yourself."


    With that, she quickly went by his side as Ryan let out a loose chuckle only for their moment to be disturbed by a slight cough from Xuelong.


    "I know we are being rude and preventing in your tender moment but I believe you were advised to rest as such if we finish our work you can go back to rest while your sister can spend some time with you."


    Ryan shed Xuelong a smile as he spoke, "An excellent idea Sister Xuelong."


    Ryan then cleared his throat as he began to speak, "The reason for the merger from what I have learned from my patron God is because of some unknown enemy."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "Yes my patron God said the same but at the same time he refused to borate much, just telling me to reach my previous level."


    "I was told that he would borate after I gain my fifth circle."


    Ylerias meanwhile shrugged as she spoke, "I cannot say anything in that regard as I have been unable to contact my patron Goddess."


    Xuelong did a double-take as she spoke with disbelief, "Are you serious?"


    Ylerias nodded with a sad look on her face as Ryan spoke with a growl, "I bet it is something to do with my patron God."


    Xuelong narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Why do you think so?"


    "Let me finish my tale and then you would realize, why?", he let out a sigh before he began to speak, "Now from what I know there is an unknown enemy and the creature out there is the weakest of its minions not to mention a scout suitable only for gathering intelligence."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "But, that does not make any sense a scout does not attack like that, they try to gather intelligence and then try to survive for as long as possible so that they can get the enemy intelligence back home."


    Xuelong nodded as he spoke, "I agree with your sister, an enemy unit that is scouting should not act like that, I was already hot on its heels and it should have run off not changed course and attacked you."


    "I know but ording to my patron God he made the creature do it as a test of some sort that I failed spectacrly and as such I am cursed now."


    Michalina let out a cry of dismay as she spoke, "What nonsense is this? Nobody could have been able to react in such a manner it attacked us out of blue."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No I was able to perceive an iing attack as such I was able to push you and one of Ylerias''s subordinate out of harm, but ording to Him, if I had not done so I would not have been injured, in fact, I should have used you to stop the creature before killing it."


    Ylerias''s fists tighten while Xuelong''s face did not betray any emotion while Ryan continued to speak, "ording to him I am his tool, a sword to wield and use against his foes, and ording to him I am blunt with dire need of sharpening."


    His words caused Michalina to gasp again as Ylerias spoke with a tired sigh, "I get it why you said that he might be responsible."


    Xuelong''s face gained a frown as she spoke, "This is troubling I will have to consult patron God over this, why is he acting as such, normally any God treats his apostle as their disciple and in some cases even as their children, I know it because my patron God treats me as his daughter, but then," ~Sigh~," I do not know what to think except ask my patron God for advice."


    Ylerias bit her lips as she spoke, "Xuelong I have a favour to ask.", as Xullong nodded her to continue Ylerias began to speak again, "If possible until I can contact my patron Goddess I want to send message to her with your patron God''s help, please I wish to send a message that I am doing well to her, so if possible."


    "I will see what I can do", with that her eyes fell on Ryan as she spoke, "I hope it is time for you to rest and if you do not have anything else we would take our leave so that you might take some rest."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "No there is none but I need some help to stand up and..."


    "You wish to go to the toilet then let me help you.", was the quick retort of Michalina making Ryan blush from embarrassment.


    "Nothing like that sis, I have repairing work to do."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "There is no need to overwork yourself, Ryan, our subordinates are keeping a lookout."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Ylerias, I am not looking down on either of your subordinates but I am feeling extremely unease about it, not to mention some of the finer workings have been hampered as such it is imperative that I repair the vehicle."


    Ylerias bit her lips as she spoke, "Okay, I understand."


    Ryan was about to stand up only to be stopped by Michalina as she spoke quickly, "Ryan wait a couple of minutes, I am going to bring Nikita here, and since both of us are near your height it would be easier to support you.", Ryan simply nodded in eptance as he closed his eyes waiting patiently for the Michalina to arrive with help.


    A few minutester Ryan found himself standing in front of therge holes that were present in the driverpartment while being supported by Michalina and Nikita.


    Jessica was busy driving the vehicle, while Xuelong stood by her side watching Ryan work like a hawk, she watched as Ryan touched the side of the vehicle for a moment with his eyes closed as his gauntlets reappeared covering his hands.


    A few secondster Ryan reopened his eyes and then he raised his right hand in front of him as the walls appeared and soon after it the seats and the turret control reappeared, he then followed the same procedure on the other side.


    "Please, someone do a check to see if everything is alright."


    One of Ylerias''s subordinates quickly checked the turrets before speaking with a smile, "Your Holiness they are working fine."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Since my work is done I will take my leave and if any issue arises please do not hesitate to inform Me.", with his piece said Ryan left thepartment with Michalina and Nikita''s help.


    And as they were out of earshot Xuelong approached Ylerias as she spoke, "His powers are interesting."


    Ylerias smiled as she spoke with a nod, "So what do you think about him?"


    "I do not much about him, so I will refrain my judgment, though seeing his work ethics, even after getting injured he is still thinking about others, I can say he is nice though, but as I said before since I do not know much about him I will refrain my judgment for now."


    "Fair enough Sister Xuelong, though I will have to ask you, what your thoughts on his patron God."


    Xuelong bit her lips as she spoke, "It is very troubling so I will have to consult with mine before I can say something.", then a small smile formed on her lips as she spoke, "Though please do not fret too much I am going to ask my patron God to send a message to your Goddess on your behalf."


    Ylerias gave a small bow as she spoke, "Thank you, sister."

 Chapter 90: Getting reacquainted (part-2)

    Chapter 90: Getting reacquainted (part-2)


    Thest couple of days had been trying for him, the continuous bout of the curse at random times had taken a toll on him, gone was his healthy look whaty in its ce was a sickly pale look, not to mention the severe fever that was tormenting him.


    As such he was forced to lie down and sleep most of the time while being kept at constant watch by either of the healers present but unfortunately his current sleep was being interrupted by shouts from the otherpartment where a loud argument was taking ce.


    <em>''Tch, this is getting ridiculous, how can I rest under such ruckus? I can hear Jessica shouting along with two other male voices, but enough is enough.''</em>


    Ryan raised his hand as a small handle morphed up from the wall of the vehicle which enabled him to pull himself up in a sitting position.


    Shakidra who was keeping an eye on him was instantly by his side as she spoke, "Your Holiness do you need something."


    With a grunt Ryan began to speak, "Yes I would need to silence some ruffian."


    "Please Your Holiness there is no need for you to exert yourself, I will send someone to deal with the ruckus, so please lie down."


    "No, I will deal with it, all this shouting is making me annoyed and I need to vent some anger, now please help me to stand up or I will find another way."


    Shakidra sighed as she helped Ryan to stand on his feet,pared to her species Ryan was short by a foot at least as such she could not lend him her shoulders as such she grabbed onto his hand as she helped him to walk slowly towards the centre of themotion.


    "Your Holiness if you feel ill please, do not hesitate to inform me, there is no need to exert yourself."


    Ryan smiled at his concern as he spoke, "Thank you Shakidra and sorry for making you do all the work."


    "Please Your Holiness there is no need to thank me or apologize to me, after all, it is an honour to serve someone of your stature."


    "Even so Maralyn and you are overworked, while Nikita is still learning from you, looking over a thousand person is too much when there are only two of you who can heal using magic, not to mention you are keeping an eye on me, I feel so guilty on making you work too much."


    "Please Your Holiness there is no need to feel guilty we exist to serve yourmand."


    Ryan was silent for a moment before he spoke with a frown, "Hey Shakidra is it possible to increase the number of healers, and with only two of you for a thousand people I think it is a great burden for you and Maralyn."


    "Your Highness training a healer takes time, Nikita is doing well and I hope that soon we will have another healer amongst us."


    As Ryan stepped in thepartment with Shakidra''s help he was greeted by the sight of two people arguing well more like the two people trying to tear each other''s throat apart while Jessica tried to mediate between them, but from the looks of it, her word''s fell on deaf ears.


    Ryan activated his circle before he shouted out, <strong>"What the hell is going one?"</strong>


    His presence seemed to have drawn everyone''s attention as Jessica spoke with a concerned look on her face, "Ryan, what are you doing here please go and rest you are not well."


    "I would as soon as the current source of disturbance is no longer present", with that his eyes fell on the duo who were arguing as he spoke in a rather calm tone, "So why are you all shouting so much."


    One of them person snarled as he began to speak, "Why else, this fellow dirties the toilet every time he uses it, never bothering to use the flush, and he had the gall to argue about it."


    The other man gained a bored look on his face as he spoke, "So what this is a free country now, and I can do everything I want."


    Ryan gawked at the duo fighting and arguing to the point they were a hair away from using their fists yet the cause of their argument was something that should be fit for children.


    Ryan raised his hand drawing their attention as he spoke, "Wait a minute, all this shouting because someone is not flushing the toilet, this is ridiculous.", he then looked at the used as he spoke, "Were you not potty trained?"


    The person in question flushed red from anger as he spoke, "<strong>Shut up</strong>, you halfway dead idiot, go and die, I will see who makes me clean the toilet, it is something that is beneath me."


    Ryan''s jaws hardened as he spoke, "Please stop this foolishness, you are an adult act like one, none of us is your servant, so stop acting so selfishly."


    "You shut the hell up, you, who do you think you are to tell me what I can or I cannot do, I will do whatever I want and if you have a problem and get out of this goddamn prison of a vehicle, what are we cattle, where is the TV, the lounge, the bar, nothing there is nothing, I want a private room with a shower where is the idiot who made it I will have to p the idiot hard on his face and then teach him about making something proper for someone of my stature."


    Shakidra growled as she whispered out loud, "That idiot, instead of taking pity I should have let him and his gang of five rot, we met them a day before we met you, they are so annoying I should not have saved them."


    Ryan smiled at her as he whispered back, "That only shows how kind you are.", his smile then turned to a scowl as he spoke, "But sadly sometimes kindness is wasted on some creatures."


    "Are you human or a chimpanzee that became human after the apocalypse?"


    "What?", was the ever eloquent answer of the idiot as Ryan began to speak as if he was speaking to an extremely slow person.


    "You see some time ago I went to the Zoo, and there I saw a chimpanzee who loved to through poop at others, unfortunately, I do not know if a chimpanzee acts like that in the wild but that was the only exposure to a chimp I had so who knows.", pausing for a breath he continued to speak, "You know you kind of remind me about that chimp,pletely unhygienic and ill-mannered throwing its poop all around."


    The man suddenly turned red as he spoke, "<strong>How dare you peasant</strong>, my father is the Minister of Oil and gas, he is next in line to be President, one word from me will have you thrown out of this vehicle, I know the creator of the vehicle and he is a good brother of mine, one word to him and he will throw you out."


    Ryan jaw hardened as he spoke, "Oh really the maker is you friend."


    "Yes, he is my friend, I know him since we were children."


    "Ho, is that so?"


    The man spoke with a triumphant look on his face as he spoke, "Yes so stop trying to anger me if you know what is good for you."


    "Ho, that is riching from someone who imed he would p the creator silly for not getting you a private room with a shower."


    "Shut up, you half-dead brat, Mathew beat him for me."


    Anky looking man wearing sunsses stepped forward making Ryan double-take upon seeing the person, <em>''Who wears sunsses indoors and why does he have so many chains hanging from his neck, what is its purpose, ugh, the entire situation is juvenile, no it is something fit for toddlers, I should have tried to sleep and pretend that this never happened.''</em>


    His thoughts turned serious soon after as Mathew pulled put a pistol, holding it sideways with only his thumb and index finger supporting.


    <em>''They had guns, and that idiot pulled it out casually.'' the momentary look of rm on his face disappeared as it was reced by a look of relief, ''That idiot has yet to disengage the safety.''</em>


    Mathew opened his mouth but whatever he was about to say was stopped as Jessica quickly hold of his wrist with a quick tug had secured the pistol, then bending Mathew''s hand he forced him to kneel on the ground, she then pointed the gun towards the original troublemaker as she spoke, "Now do you have anything to add."


    The person simply shook as he began to sweat profusely as he raised his hand in surrender before speaking with a whimper, "Please do not shoot me."


    "Then get any of ourrades out in the open now!", as Jessica barked out her orders the remaining three of her group stumbled forward, meanwhile Ryan stared at the person who was underneath Jessica''s boots when Jessica had disarmed him thee sunss had fallen off and now Ryan could perfectly see the eyes hidden behind the sunss.


    <em>''I see why he hid them, poor bastard, I do not know if it is because of some mutation, but it is an eye that even a mother could not love''</em>, a thought many shared with Ryan.


    One of them opened his mouth as he spoke, "Listen,dy, my good brother''s father is one of the important ministers not to mention he is a good friend with the creator of the fine.", Ryan had enough as the floor underneath them moved to make the trio stumble and as soon as they were on the ground, floor wrapped themselves around them immobilizing them.


    Ryan stepped up by Jessica''s side who quickly spoke with concern in her voice, "Ryan please go and rest, I have everything under control."


    But, Ryan did not put any mind to her words as he looked at the self-proimed son of the minister as he began to spoke, "Oi, Minister''s son look at me and tell me do you know me?"


    The person looked at Ryan before shaking his head as Ryan gained a predatory smirk on his face as he spoke, "Then how dare you im to be my childhood friend and then use my good name to con others.", he stopped for a moment as he spoke, "Tell me how many have you conned using my name till now, hmm, one, two, three, I am waiting.", he paused again for a brief moment before he shouted back at him with full force, "<strong>TELL ME!!!!</strong>"


    Ryan snarled out loud as the mechanical parts of his bionic eyes moved to scare the person enough to soil himself.


    Ryan face scrunched up in disgust as he spoke, "Pathetic.", he then looked towards Jessica as he spoke, "Can you please see that they do not have any weapons with them, I do not think these idiots should carry any form of weapons, who knows what they might end up doing."


    Jessica nodded with an amused smirk on her face as Ryan could not help but ask out loud, "Why are you smiling?"


    "Nothing Ryan you remind me Major too much, I had once seen her make someone lose control their bowels just like you did today."


    Ryan slight blushed but he quickly controlled himself before he stood up straight as he spoke out loud, "For those who do not know me my name is Ryan, and I am the creator of this vehicle my power lets me create things such as this and no I do not favour anyone in this vehicle, we all are the same, we eat the same food, we drink the same water, and we definitely sleep simrly no one is to be given preferential treatment."


    He paused for a brief moment seeing words sinking into the minds of those that joined him after they had left their initial base before he continued with a stern look on his face, "I know these are trying times where we all are trying our best to survive as such please try to be as civilized as possible, after all, we are not animals are we?"


    As a couple of heads shook negatively Ryan spoke with arge smile on his face as he began to speak, "Now I will take my leave and if you people further wish to decide on this idiot''s punishment then feel free to do so but try not to be violent, there are children on this vehicle and I would love if you all be a proper role model for them during this trying times."


    With his piece being said Ryan slowly moved back with Shakidra''s help, but unknown to him a figure was standing in the crowd looking at him with wide eyes as she watched him leave she could not help but whisper out loud, "Brother"

 Chapter 91: Getting reacquainted (part-3)

    Chapter 91: Getting reacquainted (part-3)


    Catherine darted back towards his parents'' location only to stop when she came across her sister, whom she dragged along with her.


    "Catherine, stop what happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"


    Catherine simply looked back as she spoke hastily, "Sis, it is an emergency we need a family meeting now."


    As such within a few minutester their entire familyprising of her father, mother, grandmother, her sister and of course her was present, since they were having a family meeting theymandeered a corner, even then they had as much privacy as a crowded room offered which meant none.


    Marcel leaned back on the wall as he spoke, "So, what is the emergency, Catherine? I was busy helping in the kitchen area."


    Catherine lowered her head slightly as she spoke, "Sorry father for interrupting your work."


    Marcel simply waved his head as he spoke with a small smile on his face, "No need to worry about the small stuff.", his face then gained a serious look as he spoke, "What is the emergency, Catherine?"


    Catherine bit her lips as she spoke, "Father I found him."


    At her words, Eleanora gained a confused look on her face as she spoke, "Found whom?"


    "Brother, I found my brother, he is travelling with us."


    A stunning expression descended on Catherine''s audience only for Eleanora to jump up but before she could leave, she was stopped by Beth who firmly grasped hold of her hand as she spoke, "Where are you going? Do you even know whichpartment he is? Not to mention thest time you spoke it was a huge argument after which he left, so do you think that something would be different if you suddenly barge in front of him."


    Eleanora looked down with an uncertain look on her face as her husband pulled her down by his side as Marcel spoke, "So what do you suggest we do mother."


    Beth looked towards Catherine as she spoke with a frown, "So how is he?"


    Catherine sighed as she began to speak, "Ryan is the one who created the vehicle we are riding."


    Once again a stunning silence descended as Isabe suddenly broke out into a small giggle before she spoke, "Please sister even if the joke was funny, I do not think today was first of April."


    Catherine scowled at her as she spoke, "I am not joking."


    Both Beth and Eleanora on the other hand suddenly gained an excited on their faces as Beth spoke, "That grandson of mine really outdid us all, he is such a kind helpful boy who is helping others with his powers."


    If Ryan was present he would have vomited blood upon hearing words of praise from someone who before the apocalypse always thought him to be a disappointment, the reason was simple she was and even after mellowing a bit still is a bit of controlling person, the person who would love to chalk out the whole life of their child and whose hobby was showing a great amount of disappointment if even a single tiny mistake was done while falling the path.


    Beth was the type that of a parent who was utterly disappointed if their child would have ended up bing an Emperor instead of a doctor like she had nned for him just after birth.


    Ciara had been an utter disappointment to her because instead of being an obedient housewife who would have a lovely family of four with one daughter and son, chose to serve in the military, as such Ryan would be extremely shocked upon seeing her reaction.


    While the duo was rejoicing Marcel''s mind went in a different direction, he looked towards Catherine as he spoke with a barely concealed concern on his face, "Catherine, how is he? Was the news that the creator of thisnd train severely injured true?"


    At his words, Catherine gave a nod confirming his fears as she began with a soft sigh, "Yes, it is true dad, he could barely walk without help and his entire torso was covered with bandages, not to mention how pale he and weak he seemed."


    A gasp was heard from her female audiences while her father''s hand balled into a fist as Catherine continued, "But, what threw me back were his eyes."


    Her words only managed to add more fuel to the fire as her twin could not help but ask out loud, "What do you mean by his eyes? Did his eyes get injured as well?"


    Catherine held back a shudder as she spoke, "No I do not know, but his eyes had changed so much, before everything happened his eyes were full of spark, full of life but now it is dead as if some machine is wearing his skin, his eyes look like those movie robots,pletely inorganic and mechanical."


    Beth tilted her head as she spoke, "Sorry but I failed to understand your talk about robots and whatnot."


    Catherine sighed in exasperation before she spoke in a sombre tone, "You will understand, when you see him, grandma, you will understand."


    *******


    Back with Ryan, the apostle of Avtis, just after he had returned from his quick chastisement of some troublemakers a now he was nning to take a small nap only for his most dreaded enemy to appear.


    Ryan gulped as he was greeted by the sight of a smiling Nikita with a ss in her hands, Ryan was not afraid of Nikita, but he was deadly afraid of the concoction of that she held in her hand, the concoction tasted had an extreme bitter metallic taste, not to mention the pungent foul stink that it emanated, Ryan dread it because of that.


    Ryan tried to crawl away from Nikita and her foul creation only to find his back against the wall, as Nikita smile widen as she spoke, "Oh my look how eager he is to drink it, he is already trying to sit up by himself."


    Shakidra stifled a giggle as she spoke, "It would seem so, now Your Holiness, please drink it."


    "I refuse.", Was his immediate retort.


    Shakidra simply shook her head as she spoke, "I am afraid, Your Holiness this is for your own good."


    A look of horror crept up on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "Am I not an apostle? So why are you going against me, support me Shakidra against this dreadful transgression."


    Shakidra simply shook her head as she spoke, "You are indeed an Apostle, but you forgot my true loyalties lie with my Her Holiness and she has instructed me to nurse you back to health as such I will follow her orders."


    Ryan looked like a cornered cat, which fought back with as much intensity as he could muster under his weakened condition and that was what Xuelong who had just arrived stumbled into.


    "What is going on here?"


    Her stern voice drew the attention of the trio, as Xuelong spoke while looking towards Shakidra, "What is going on Shakidra?"


    Shakidra gulped as she spoke while bowing, "Your Holiness, we were trying to feed the blood replenishing draught to His Holiness but he is refusing on ount of the smell and taste."


    Xuelong sighed as she spoke, "I see, but that does not excuse you to manhandle an Apostle like that.", Shakidra could only bow upon being chastised as Xuelong shed a small smile towards Ryan who returned one to her.


    <em>''Ylerias was right we always look after each other.''</em>


    As the thought passed through his mind, he suddenly found himself bound tightly, tight enough that he could not move, not to mention he felt something hit his throat making his jaw open wide as a familiar voice came to his ears, "What are you two waiting for, start to pour it inside his mouth."


    As the foul concoction was poured into his mouth Ryan gagged and he would have vomited it out if not for a hand to sp over his mouth preventing him from vomiting it, as such Ryan had no choice but to gulp it down, and as soon had he finished drinking it, he was free again.


    As Ryan was freed he hastily turned towards his captor only for his face to gain a look of horror as he came face to face with his captor who was none other than Xuelong, who simply patted his head with a smile as she spoke, "See that was not so hard now, I hope next time I will not have to get involve."


    Ryan simply grumbled while Nikita simply looked with barely concealed appreciation towards Xuelong, she really marvelled the way Xuelong lowered Ryan''s guard, before springing into action, she watched how Xulong with a great feat of agility and strength got hold of Ryan, who was sleeping pulling him over her as she shelf him down from the back,pletely immobilizing him and rest was history.


    Xuelong then looked towards Nikita and Shakidra as she spoke, "No matter what you have to be firm with him, this medicine is absolutely necessary.", she then frowned in thought before she spoke towards Ryan, "Ryan, I understand you do not like to drink this but this is only for a few days before you no longer have to suffer the effects of the terrible curse, so please bear with it little."


    Ryan''s face had taken an unhealthy greenish shade as he red at her making Xuelong speak with a soft sigh, "I am sorry for forcing you to drink that sludge, but it was necessary for you, this is the strongest blood replenishing potion that is avable to us and the gatherers failed to find anything that would make it bearable for you, also in the meantime except for sleeping do you have anything to do?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "I have nothing else to do."


    "Then how about it, while you are resting I will ask some of our more experienced gatherers a quick course on herbs."


    Ryan frowned in deep thought before he spoke with a nod, "I would appreciate it."


    Xuelong ced aforting hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "I am sorry you had to drink this foul stuff, and I know how it feels when you finally after hours of anguishing for the aftertaste to disappear from your tongue, the second dose of it arrives, but please bear with it for a few days, your blood levels are dangerously low."


    "You look like some B-rated movie vampire reject-with how pale you are looking like.", was Nikita''s helpful addition making Ryan grown.


    "It would be helpful if you were not enjoying my suffering."


    Xuelong snorted as she spoke, "Pease Ryan they seem to bask in their patients suffering from time immemorial as such there is no use arguing with one who is putting back your body, after all, they could do worse."


    Ryan could not help but let out a loose chuckle as he spoke, "So true, so true."

 Chapter 92: Getting reacquainted (part-4)

    Chapter 92: Getting reacquainted (part-4)


    Ylerias opened her eyes as she found herself in familiar scenery, she could feel the soft breeze gently caressing her, the soft sound of water flowing couple with the rustling of leaves, she missed this ce greatly.


    "It has been a while child."


    A voice she had heard so many times, a voice that she missed the most, a voice she longed to hear, and it finally came to her ears, making her stunned for a moment before her eyes found the speaker and then she promptly prostrated in front of a glowing blue orb as she spoke, "Mydy it is an honour to be in your presence."


    The blue orb moved from its position as it neared Ylerias, she suddenly felt as if someone was holding her near her shoulders as she looked up she heard Oena speak again, "Here let me see you, my child, it has been so long since I saw your face."


    Ylerias smiled before she spoke frown, "I wish I could see you in your glory once again, but my powers have decreased so much."


    "I know but there is nothing to feel sorry about, because I haveplete trust in you as such I know that you will regain your initial strength soon."


    Ylerias nodded with a small before it once again changed back to a frown, "I tried so hard to contact you my Lady but I failed every time, my Lady did do something to displease you."


    "<strong>NO</strong>", was the immediate and forceful retort of Oena, who continued to speak, "No, my child you are like a daughter to me, and what kind of mother would I be if I did not speak with my daughter in need and if you wish to me someone then me Lord Avtis, this mother of yours was too weak to go against him."


    Ylerias smiled inwardly the feeling of being referred to as a daughter by her patron Goddess always made her happy, she was a small child when she became an apostle, it had been so long, so long since her own family began to worship her and refused to view her as their daughter, and it had been long enough that she would barely remember any of them, but her patron Goddess has been there for her always, looking after her, calming her during her nightmare when she was younger, as such their rtion was somewhat like a mother and daughter.


    But, the next words of Oena made her freeze up as she spoke with a gasp, "So, Holy Lord Avtis was behind this."


    "Yes, my child."


    Ylerias visibly scowled as she spoke, "My Lady why would he do something, why is he like that? Have you seen how he treats his apostle?"


    "No, this is the first time I was able to locate you, as such I established the contact as soon as it was possible for me, but the looks of it you have another with you."


    A small smile graced Ylerias''s lips as she spoke, "Yes my Lady, I have Xuelong travelling with me."


    "Now, what do you think of the newer addition to the group."


    Ylerias bit her lips gathering her thoughts for a moment before she began to speak, "Ryan was the citizen of the otherworld, from what I know his mother and older sister are both in the army, while he was just a student a schr, at first he was a bit sceptical about the whole apostle business but he managed to look into the bigger picture and epted his role."


    Ylerias paused for a moment before she began again, "He is helpful and does not hesitate to ask a question when in doubt, and overall I can say that he is a nice person, even if hecks any military training, from what I know he has the training to wield a rapier, but mainly forpetition, as such even if theck of proper training hampers with his work he has a good head in his shoulder and willing to work to cover his shorings, not to mention he is a survivor."


    "What do you mean by survivor?"


    "My Lady, when I first met their group Ryan had been kidnap by arge Roc, and he was carried to its nest in arge city, his sister had been persistent on going after him and I relented because they had helped me, but I did not hold much into the belief that Ryan would be alive, yet he returned albeit injured, but he managed returned even when he was being chased by powerful creatures like soul eater."


    "Impressive, it seems like I will have to keep an eye on him."


    Ylerias grimaced as she spoke, "There is something that I want to inform you of mydy."


    "What is it, my child?"


    "A few days ago a scout from the enemy attacked us."


    "Enemy? What enemy?"


    "The one, because of whom the worlds were forced to be merged."


    "Ah them, but how is that possible, the scouts are very timid", Oena trailed off in deep thought before she spoke in a stern voice, "How do you know they were scouts and they belong to the enemy?"


    "It was actually Holy Lord Avtis who informed Ryan about it before punishing him."


    "And why was he punished, also child do not use His name so often, names have power and there is no need to draw his attention towards us."


    Ylerias''s eyes widen slightly as she spoke, "But how is that possible as the meeting between an apostle and their patron God is sacred and cannot be spied upon."


    a snorting sound came from the blue orb as Oena spoke, "Please do not underestimate Him, andpare to Him my powers are nothing, now why was he punished? Did he do anything sacrilegious that earned him His wrath?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she replied to back to her, "Nothing like that, ording to what Ryan told his patron God made the scout attack us, Ryan was able to perceive the attack a couple of seconds ago, he was perfectly out of harm, yet he pushed away his sister and one of my subordinates out of harm''s way and ended up getting mortally injured, and his patron God did not like it, He called Ryan His weapon nothing more and nothing less, not only that He told him that he was a blunt weapon and as such He would sharpen him by any means, and to remind him not to fail again He has cursed him."


    "What kind of curse?"


    "The wounds Ryan had received would open up randomly and he would bleed, it is bing quite taxing on his mind and body."


    The blue orb moved away from Ylerias as it began to pace while silence descended between them, "I knew he was cruel, but this is going beyond as to many of us our apostles are like our own children, but to tell someone that they are only a weapon, and now this is, is He trying to kill His Apostle."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke with a sombre look on her face as she spoke, "Yes it is my Lady, as He in fact told him that he has no need of a blunt weapon and it was better for Ryan to die so that he could choose another."


    A low growl was heard from the blue orb''s direction as Oena spoke again, "This is too much, this is too much."


    The blue orb stopped its pacing as Oena''s voice came to Ylerias''s ears once again, "Tell me how you all are helping him."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "We can do nothing except feed him some blood replenishing draught, and hope that it can keep up with the loss he is suffering."


    "Hmm, that could work but at the same time it is not the ideal solution, hmm okay done."


    Ylerias looked at the orb with a look of confusion on her face as she spoke, "Excuse me, my Lady but what did you do?"


    "Nothing dear I just blessed the vehicle you are riding so that effect of any medicine created inside it would be triple, and I hope this will help the poor boy since I directly cannot help him because of somews preventing me with interfering with an Apostle''s punishment no matter how unjust it is."


    Ylerias eyes widen as arge smile broke on her face as she spoke, "Thank you, mydy, it would greatly help him."


    <strong>******</strong>


    Meanwhile back inside Alpha Raven 2.0, a certain apostle had morphed the area he was lying down into a zaisu, which he had upied while resting his left hand over the armrest which then went on to support his chin while he spoke with a drawl, "It would be a lie if I said I am happy to see you, nheless, I am surprised to see you all here, now the bigger question is what do you want."


    As Ryan spoke he would not ever confess it out loud nor would he ept the fact that he felt a strange sense of relief upon seeing them alive.


    But all he received was odd squirming and silence as his guests looked at him like he was some form of an exotic animal which irked him a lot especially his gawking Grandmother.


    As Beth gawked at Ryan a single thought ran through her mind, ''Catherine was right looking at his eyes it seems as if a machine is wearing his skin, is Ryan even a human anymore?''


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I do not know why you all here, but let me tell you things first, firstly I am not cruel enough to throw you out of MY ROAD TRAIN, and secondly I will not give you any preferential treatment, now do you have anything to say."


    Eleanora was about to open her mouth wide only to be stopped by Michalina who spoke with stoic visage, "My brother is not well so if you aggravate him I will be your worst nightmare, upon saying that please choose your next words carefully."


    Isabe''s head wheeled towards Michalina as she spoke with a snarl, "How dare you call him your brother? He is mine."


    Michalina gained a mocking look on her face as she spoke, "Ho and what will you do about it little girl."


    Isabe glowered at her as Ryan spoke with an annoyed look on his face, "Big sis Micha enough, there is no need topete with something meaningless.", hearing his words Isabe gained a hurt look while Ryan continued to speak, "Now what do you want? And please speak fast I am busy."


    Marcel gulped as he spoke, "How have you been?"


    "Fine mostly, and what about you all."


    Marcel gained a soft smile on his face as he spoke, "Us too mostly."


    As Ryan looked at the faces of his ex-family he could not help but speak out loud with a frown, "It seems one of you is not here."


    At his words, a sombre look appeared on everyone''s face as Beth choked a sob as she spoke, "He died trying to protect us."


    Ryan''s jaw hardens upon hearing the news, amongst his ex-family the only one he was at least a bit close to was his Grandfather, even his mother Ciara liked her father more but what disappointed them was that he always let Beth always get her way which she abused it to the extreme."


    "I see.", was all Ryan said before be continued again, "You all have my condolences, but please borate what do you mean by sacrifice."


    At his question, Marcel began to tell him their tale about misfortune, and when he went to the part of his daughter being almost raped Michalina noticed balled that Ryan balled his fist strong enough to draw blood.


    ''I am proud of him, after all, no matter how much he hates his ex-sister at least he did not condone such fate befalling her, this only means he is better than countless others who do not even care of their hated person suffers a fate worse than death.''


    Silence once again descended between them Eleanora spoke, "Ryan may I ask you something."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes go ahead, but I reserve the right to choose whether to answer or not."


    Marcel spoke with a nod, "Fair enough."


    Eleanora bit her lisp as she spoke, "Ryan, your eyes what happened to them?"


    Ryan raised one of his eyebrows as he spoke, "What about them? Everyone and everything is changing all around us, it is a simple mutation just like that of others."


    Catherine immediately spoke drawing attention towards her, "Ryan, unlike others your look a bit mechanical that is why we are a bit curious, and since you can create such big vehicles so we thought that you did something to yourself."


    Ryan shook his head as he replied, "My eyes changed because of my power nothing more nothing less."


    Eleanora gave a small nod before she spoke with a sad smile on her face, "I see, but your normal eyes were much better looking."


    Ryan shifted on his seat as he spoke with a slight grimace, "Maybe but function wise this one is better and now since I do feel well, so argh."


    Rayn suddenly vomited a copious amount of blood, while multiple wounds reappeared on his torso, as rivers of blood began to flow out of it, as Michalina cried out with barely concealed worry in her voice, "Medic, I need a medic now."


    No sooner did Michalina shout out Maralyn who was nearby sprung into action, as she began to close Ryan''s wounds.


    Meanwhile, Ryan''s ex-family was stunned upon seeing the scene, one moment he was all right and the next he vomited blood as multiple wounds appeared all over his body as he began to bleed heavily from them.


    Isabe let out a scream which jolted them awake as they tried to move towards Ryan only to be stopped by Michalina.


    Marcel growled as he spoke, "What are doing?"


    Michalina''s face did not show any hint of her emotion as she spoke, "Can you heal him?"


    "What?", was the eloquent reply of Marcel.


    Hearing Marcel''s words Michalina''s jaws tighten as she repeated her earlier statement, "Can you heal him."


    Marcel shook his head as he spoke, "No but"


    "Then I believe it is time for you to leave." as if to prevent them from arguing Michalina flexed her power as electricity began to arc all over her body, making the group take a step back.


    "Commander why don''t you stay here while I will escort them out.", came the ever-helpful voice of Ang, who approached the group with a smile.


    She then turned towards Ryan''s ex-family as she spoke, "Please give Ryan some space, he needs to recuperate and heal, you can visit himter and in the meantime, if you have any queries I can answer them, so please follow me.", with that she escorted the group out of thepartment.

 Chapter 93: Getting reacquainted (part-5)

    Chapter 93: Getting reacquainted (part-5)


    Eleanora clung to Marcel as if he was her lifeline as she spoke, "What is happening with him? He looked so sick and then he suddenly started to bleed all over."


    Marcel hugged his wife as he spoke, "I know, I know.", he then looked towards Ang as he pleaded to her, "Lady please tell us what is going on with him."


    Ang sighed as she spoke, "Sir, you arrived with the group led by Lady Xulong, were you not?"


    Marcel nodded as he replied to her, "Yes I did."


    "Then do you know what an Apostle is?"


    Marcel once again nodded as Isabe spoke, "Yes, I have heard she is like the right hand of God of war and she works on his behalf."


    Ang nodded as she spoke, "Yes you are right, and what do you think about it, and please be honest."


    Beth scoffed as she spoke, "There is only one true God and he is mentioned in the bible."


    Hearing her words Ang grimaced inwardly,<em> ''Ugh, considering the way she spoke she is one of those types who believe in a particr God and considers others'' belief as trash.''</em>


    Ang sent a pleasant smile towards Beth as she spoke, "Ma''am I would highly advise you to not say such a thing in front of them, they can bit violent and merciless."


    Beth simply huffed at that as Catherine spoke with a frown, "What is being an apostle to do with my brother?", before her eyes widen as she spoke, "Do not tell me an apostle was the reason my brother is like this."


    Ang quickly shook her head as she spoke, "Ryan, or as his station dictate, His Holiness, is the current Apostle of God Avtis, God of Creation and Destruction."


    Ryan''s ex-family gawked at her words before Marcel spoke with a snarl, "What nonsense is this?"


    Beth frowned as she spoke, "My grandson is a devout Christian, he is not some cultist, as such youngdy mind your words."


    Ang gritted her teeth as her smile became forced as she continued, "With due respect ma''am, I know Ryan for a couple of years, and I can safely say that at the end of the day Ryan changes his religion ording to festivals, not because of his belief and faith, but because of food as such please do not tell me he is a devout Christian."


    Eleanora frowned as she spoke, "You know him, how? And why is he referring to that woman as his big sister."


    Ang gained a smug look on her face as she spoke, "That is something you will learn eventually within a few days but most importantly a word of advice, mymander whom Ryan referred to as his older sister tends to be incredibly violent if she thinks her brother is being manhandled so please be careful around her, after all, she has a mean sadistic streak and loves to cripple people for life."


    Hearing that group gulped as Ang continued, "Now I know you all are sceptical about the presence of their Gods, and I am not going to enter a debate on whether ours are real or merely imaginary since I am a proud atheist, but there are things that I have seen that makes me believe their Gods are very real and very active."


    Beth growled as she was about to retort back, Ang raised her hand stopping her as she spoke, "I know it is very difficult to believe me ma''am, but I ask you to observe and then make your judgment, and also please do so without being bias."


    Beth growled before she spoke with a huff, "When and what did Ryan do to get into this cult business."


    Ang inwardly rolled her eyes as she spoke, "The reasons the Apostle''s are chosen is known only to their respective patron Gods, and as for when he became the Apostle, well it was the very day the Earth changed."


    Hearing about that day always reminded him about the day his family broke apart, and it brought him immense pain making him as he spoke, "Why did he be one?"


    "Ryan was never given the choice on the matter, he was near to the ground zero when the meteorite went off knocking him out, only to awaken the next day, and since that day he had exhibited those powers."


    Eleanora let out a gasp as she spoke covered her mouth with her hand as she spoke, "He was there."


    Ang continued with a nod, "Yes ma''am he was there all alone, when my scouting party came across him, he was running from a group of undead."


    "It must have been quite scary."


    Ang looked towards Beth as she replied with a nod, "It really had been, since on this side of the chasm, except us the only person present was Ryan, and since that day his powers began to evolve more and more, and once day he received an audience with his patron God, where he learned of his position."


    "So you are telling me that my brother ended up bing an Apostle without being given a choice."


    Ang sent a nod of confirmation towards Isabe as Marcel spoke with a frown on his face, "That is not right at all, why did he not resign for the position then, he has no reason to work for a foreign God."


    Catherine bit her lips as she spoke, "Father I think he chooses to remain because of the powers he is receiving, by serving the God he can receive the powers to create things like this vehicle."


    Beth scowled as she spoke with intense distaste, "That creature is no God, but a simple creature with a delusion of grandeur."


    Ang wisely did not pay any attention while she saw a few of the native people of the otherworld gained a thunderous look on their faces, something that both Marcel and Eleanora did not miss.


    "Mother please, there is no need to keep insulting others faith and religion, please try to keep it to yourself."


    Marcel all but pleaded to her mother, who was about to argue but stopped upon being pointed towards the disgruntled people of the otherworld.


    ''How is she Major''s mother I will never understand, but now I know, why she detests this woman, such narrow mindedness.''


    Isabe quickly tried to change the attention as such she hastily spoke, "Excuse me miss, but in which way is my brother being an Apostle rtes to his current condition."


    "The day you had joined us, you have seen that there was an attack on the vehicle."


    Marcel nodded as he spoke, "Yes I do remember it clearly."


    "The attack was too sudden, but Ryan was able to move others from the harm''s way, all though he himself was not so lucky, the creature had gored through Ryan with the help of its long sword-like finger."


    Another gasp followed as Eleanora spoke with concern in her voice, "Is those injuries that suddenly appeared on him was because of that."


    Ang nodded as she spoke, "Yes, it was because of that, it is a curse that is reopening the wounds now and then, but there is no need to worry as he is not only under professional care but would also be healed within the next few days."


    Marcel frowned as he spoke, "Next few days if he keeps on bleeding then it would be difficult for him to stay alive no matter how much help he receives."


    "I want to be by his side, that amount of blood is too much."


    "Of course not", was the immediate reply by Ang as she rejected Eleanora''s plea, before continuing, "Ryan needsplete rest without worrying too much, and thest interaction before that day was not too kind between you all as such it would unwise to aggravate him."


    Marcel''s grip on his wife''s shoulder tighten as he spoke, "I believe she is right, if it were any other time I would have allowed you to barge into there but not at the moment when he needs healing."


    "But, I can care for him."


    Ang looked at the crying visage of Eleanora as she spoke, "I know you can but what if the patient does not want to be anywhere near you, then would your presence not be aggravating the situation, I agree the amount of blood he is losing is too much and in a normal situation, he would have died already, but he is a tough guy, not to mention all the help he is getting whether they be magical or mundane."


    Beth sighed as she spoke, "I know where you areing from, I understand such we will not force ourselves but can you give us some updates when you have some time."


    Ang nodded as she spoke, "Of course I would be happy to, he is a dear friend of mine and I hate to see him suffer in such a manner."


    After she finished talking with the group she made her way back to Ryan''s location and by the time she had reached there, Ryan was fast asleep with Maralyn just finishing dealing with his wounds.


    "Did you have a nice chat with that group of scoundrels?"


    Ang sighed as she spoke, "That woman how she is Major''s mother is beyond my understanding, I have never heard or seen someone so narrow-minded, and sooner orter because of her words a riot may break out."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "It is troubling then, I do not know why they are showing concern all of a sudden but we have to keep an eye on them."


    Ang nodded before she spoke with a smirk, "That is why I said I will give them update on Ryan from time to time, and in turn, it will help me to keep an eye on them."

 Chapter 94: A new quest (Part-1)

    Chapter 94: A new quest (Part-1)


    The gentle rocking of thepartment always managed to lull Ryan into sleep, to him it felt as if he was lying inside a cradle that was swaying gently making him fall asleep, and he was grateful for his ability to fall asleep while dealing with the curse.


    But, his beauty sleep was broken when he felt an itch at the back of his neck waking him from his sleep, and as he fully opened his eyes he received a new notification that made his eyes wide.


    <em><strong>******</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Blessing Received</strong></em>


    <em><strong>An unknown entity has blessed Alpha Raven 2.0</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Any medicine created inside Alpha Raven 2.0, will be 3X effective</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Time Limit: 3 days</strong></em>


    <em><strong>******</strong></em>


    Ryan was stunned for a moment before he let out a loudugh, "Wonderful truly wonderful, it seems my luck has yet to run out."


    Hearing his exmation Michalina who was by his side quickly held his hand as she spoke with concern in her voice, "Is something wrong brother, are you feeling ill?"


    Ryan sent a bright smile towards her as he spoke, "Never have I felt so great."


    Michalina tilted her head as she spoke, "Are sure you are alright?", she then turned towards Maralyn as she spoke, "I think the blood loss is making him hallucinate."


    Maralyn bit her lips as she spoke with a nod, "I think so too, the curse has yet to recede and he isughing iming to be alright, you might be right, he is hallucinating."


    Ryan huffed as he spoke, "I just received a notification just now, a rather nice one."


    Michalina send a curious look on her face as she spoke, "What did you receive Ryan?"


    Arge smile blossomed on his face as he spoke with an excited tone, "Someone just blessed us, and as such from now on any medicine made within thest three days will be thrice as effective."


    His words brought arge smile to Michalina''s face as Maralyn let out a content sigh before she spoke, "Your Holiness, do you know who blessed you?"


    Ryan simply shook his head as he spoke, "I do not know who blessed us, all I know an unknown entity had blessed us and I am extremely grateful to whoever the entity is."


    Maralyn nodded as she spoke, "The medicine you are being fed is barely keeping up, if it were normal wounds it would not have been much of a problem but the cursed wound bleeds too much before we can deal with it, not to mention drinking too much of the same type of medicine in a short span of time can lead to immunity thus lowering the effectiveness of the medicine drastically."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "What of the side effects? Will there be an increase in the effectiveness of the medicine also increase the side effect as well?"


    Maralyn sighed as she spoke, "In normal case, a medicine is less efficient because of the presence of impurities or the quality of the product, I will tell you before that we have mixed bag actually some of the ingredients are passable whereas the others are bad, and we are using them to make the medicine to our utmost ability trying to make it as efficient as possible, and now this blessing will help us greatly, though whether it would decrease the side effects that I know not."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Exin."


    "You see the normal side effects of drinking too much of this medicine is nausea, stomach pain, and dysentery in some with the blood thickening in some rare cases, their chances of showing up can be decreased by increasing the efficiency which can be done by using better techniques and better ingredients, s those are unavable for us at the moment, and as for the blessing all I can hope that it decreases the chances of side effect showing up."


    Ryan simply frowned before he spoke with a shrug, "As long as it increases the effectiveness of the medicine then I guess it is okay."


    "You all seem to be in a good mood."


    Ryan looked towards the speaker as he was greeted her with a smile, "So were you able to contact your patron God."


    Ylerias let out a bright smile as if every worry and burden that she had, had been lifted off of her shoulder as Xuelong who arrived on the scene spoke with a snort, "You can practically feel the happiness radiating off of her, the skipping of her steps what else."


    Ylerias huffed before she spoke with a small eager smile, "So is everything fine? Nothing unexpected has taken ce."


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "A few minutes ago our vehicle was blessed by someone who made it so that any medicine made would be three times as effective, but from the looks on your face My Lady, shall I hazard a guess and say that you know blessed the vehicle."


    With a slight triumphant look on her face, Ylerias spoke, "My patron Goddess had blessed us, as she did not like how Ryan was being treated."


    Ryan beamed towards her as he spoke with a bright smile, "If possible please convey my gratitude and thanks to her, and it seems she just became my favourite Goddess."


    Ylerias simply gave a nod as she spoke with arge smile on her face, "I will certainly convey your words."


    But before anyone could speak another notification chimed in as Ryan visibly pale upon reading it.


    <em><strong>******</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Curse Received</strong></em>


    <em><strong>God Avtis has cursed Alpha Raven 2.0</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Any medicine created inside Alpha Raven 2.0, will taste and smell 3X more disgusting</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Time Limit: 3 days</strong></em>


    <em><strong>******</strong></em>


    Ryan''s eyes rolled back as he felt a bit faint while his mouth almost began to froth.


    Michalina was once again by his side with her face full of concern as Maralyn quickly checked him but a frown began to form on her face as she spoke out loud, "I do not know there has nothing wrong with him, except the usual but why is he acting as such."


    As Mralyn checked him over the two Apostles exchanged a worried nce as Xuelong kneeled by his side as she spoke, "Ryan get hold of yourself, and tell us what is wrong Ryan."


    With an even palerplexion and a slight shudder he spoke, "He that bas", he was about to call Avtis names but stopped in thest second as his will to live triumphed, he then began to speak as tears welled up in his eyes, "My patron cursed the Alpha, for the next six days any medicine made would smell and taste thrice more disgusting."


    Xuelong simply blinked before she let out a bark ofughter as she spoke, "I see that is why my patron God even after being sympathetic to your plight refused to help to state it would be troublesome."


    Ryan red at her before he spoke with a groan, "That is noughing matter, now I will have to eat even more disgusting stuff."


    Xuelong simply patted his arms as she spoke, "Buckle up, no pain no gain."


    A tired groan was Ryan''s reply to her, as Ylerias stood in shock as she nkly stared at Ryan.


    <em>''Oh no I made it worse for him, not good.''</em>


    As the thought passed through her mind the Alpha Raven began to slow as one of the personnel from the cockpit arrived as he spoke with a bow, "Your Holiness, a town is in front of us and it looks deserted, should we try and forage for necessary items also ake has been spotted nearby."


    Xuelong frowned before she spoke, "I think we should after all the resources are getting low."


    "So true not to mention we are in dire need of water, the tanks are almost empty are they not?"


    As Ryan asked the person who happened to be Xuelong''s subordinate the person simply spoke with a nod, "You are right Your Holiness we do not have enough water."


    Ryan rubbed his chin as he spoke, "We should then park somewhere near theke, though the ce needs to be scouted first after all who knows what is hiding in the town and inside theke."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "I concur with Ryan, Ylerias if you please."


    Yelrias sighed as she spoke, "I will have it scouted within half an hour.", that she left.


    Michalina then looked down towards Ryan as he spoke with a smile, "Well then why don''t you take a nap brother, all this excitement had awakened you up from your earlier attempt."


    Ryan gave a small nod as he spoke, "I will do so then, and please be careful and stay safe."


    With his piece being said Ryan closed his eyes, but only to open as he sat up with his eyes wide open at the next notification he had received.


    <em><strong>*******</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Quest System Online</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Quest Received</strong></em>


    <em><strong>The most handsome, merciful, kind, benevolent, loving, understanding and humble being in the Universe, God Avtis has issued you a quest.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Quest: Find hidden stash in the town (0/5 found).</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Time limit: 36:00:00</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Reward: ????</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Penalty:</strong></em>


    <em><strong>1) Extension of any previously received curse by two months.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>2) Anything that Hosts feeds on will taste extremely disgusting for 2 months.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>(P.S. Ten times most disgusting than the most disgusting thing host has ever eaten.)</strong></em>


    <em></em>


    <em><strong>********</strong></em>


    Ryan did not need any incentive as he sprung up from his sleeping position only to fall headfirst towards the ground.


    His fall was stopped as both Xuelong and Michalina quickly caught hold of him as Michalina spoke with a frown, "What are you doing Ryan, you should be resting."


    Ryan simply shook his head as he spoke, "I got a quest, a quest that requires me to find hidden stashes in the town within 36 hours.", he began to slightly hyperventte as Michalina quickly forced him to look at her eyes as she spoke, "Take a deep breath and calm down and now tell me, Ryan, what has happened."


    "My patron gave me a quest, within the next 36 hours I have to search the entire town and find five hidden stashes, and failure would cause my curse to extend to two months, while another would be added which would make everything that I eat ten times more disgusting that the most disgusting thing that I have ever eaten for the next two months."


    A pin-drop silence descended as Ylerias could not help but speak out loud, "Do you have any other information on what those hidden stashes are?"


    Ryan shook his head as Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "Perfect simply perfect, with such low amount of information even I would not be able to find those stashes we have to at least know something."


    Xuelong sent a pitying nce towards Ryan who immediately bristled at the looks being sent towards her, ''How dare she sent that look towards me I hate it.''


    Ryan took a couple of deep breaths trying to calm him down before he raised his left hand as his gauntlet appeared which soon glowed as a metallic crutch appeared, standing with its help Ryan looked directly into Michalina''s eyes as he spoke, "Micha tell Nige to park the vehicle near theke, make sure it is safe and then start refilling, I will take the Goliath out in the meantime, oh also tell her to engage reacquisition protocol, it would replenish some of the bullets lost."


    With that, he began to walk towards his destination as Michalina called out to him, "Ryan where are you going?"


    Ryan looked over his shoulder as he replied with a heat in his voice as his mechanical eyes whirled making a few of them be taken aback at the sudden intensity, "Where else but to get this farce over with."


    With his piece being said he promptly left thepartment as the tell-a-tale sound of metallic thump caused by his crutch fading in the cacophony of various other noises.

 Chapter 95: A new quest (Part-2)

    Chapter 95: A new quest (Part-2)


    "Ryan, Ryan, Ryan stop."


    A shout came from behind him stopping him in his path as Michalina joined him followed by Xuelong and Ylerias.


    "Yes, sister what is it?"


    "Your armour, you will have to wear it."


    Ryan rolled his eyes before he spoke with a sigh, "Of course I will."


    "And stay close to me."


    "But sis"


    "But nothing you are injured as such stay close we will support."


    Ryan gained a soft smile on his face as he spoke, "Yes, yes I will wear my armour stay close to you, but there is a tiny little problem."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "What is it brother?"


    "Who was the quest issued to?"


    Hearing his words his listeners frowned when Ylerias suddenly gasped as she spoke, "It was issued to you and asked you to find out the stash if someone does before you, He can count it as a failure and you will be penalized."


    Both Xuelong and Michalina''s head snapped towards Ylerias as their eyes widen with horror as Ryan spoke with a sigh, "Though I would still need you to watch my back, at my current form even a Tier 1 creature can kill me easily."


    "I know, I know but this time I will have your back brother.", With that Michalina took Ryan''s other arm over her shoulder as she helped him to walk.


    While the two Apostles began to discuss their approach, "I know that there is a chance of failure even then I vote for Ylerias to scout the area."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "You know Xuelong you are right, having her scout would at least an idea on what we might face out there."


    Ylerias raised one of her delicate eyebrows as she spoke, "I will get to work then, and will I be expecting you all shortly?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Of course, the only things are left for the vehicle to stop and us getting reading and then following after you on Goliath."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Fair enough.", and upon finishing speaking that she hastily left to gather her forces to scout the area, but not before turning towards Maralyn as she ordered to her, "You will follow Ryan and make sure he is alright, but remember to follow his exact orders."


    As Maralyn simply gave a bow towards Ylerias Xuelong followed after Ryan as she spoke with a yawn, "I hope you do not mind me tagging along, I am more of a front line fighter."


    Ryan managed to shrug as he spoke, "I am fine with it, and with your strength, it would be easier if we are in a pickle."


    ******


    Isabe stared out of the window, which was more like a porthole with lots of meshes on top, not to mention shutters that were being actively used by others, she wanted to feel the cool breeze as the vehicle moved s it was not possible for various reasons, even if the cool air flowed inside the vehicle it was not enough for her.


    She watched as the vehicle came to a stop near ake, which she watched as its waters creating gentle waves, losing herself in it, trying to forget all her worries only to be brought back at a sudden gasp from her sister Catherine.


    "We are near a town, again."


    That exmation made her look out of the window on the left side of the road train as she let out a gasp, they had made a couple of pit stop since boarding the road train, and none of them was a nice and peaceful experience.


    Isabe let out a tired sigh as she spoke, "Again, why do we have to stop?"


    With a small smile on her face, Eleanora spoke, "Why else but to gather food and other necessary items."


    Isab grimaced as she spoke, "And again there will be another incident.", she sighed as she spoke, "I do not like this, not to mention we are on the lower, if we had ce for the upper floor I would have felt much better."


    Eleanora sighed at her words while grimacing inwardly, ''To be true I myself would have preferred if we were on the second level of the road train, it would have been much safer than the lower level where enemies could easily reach us.''


    "I know child but unfortunately the entire upper floor is overcrowded and there is no space."


    Isabe could not help but let out a dejected sigh before Marcel eximed out loud, "This ce I know it."


    As his families attention fell towards him he began to speak, "This ce was named as ''Eco Vige'', a futuristic dwelling which was eco friendly in nature, a very costly ce."


    Eleanora''s eyes widen as she spoke, "Yes I remember, you wanted to purchase a house, but the backed out for some reason."


    Marcel sneered as he spoke, "The whole thing had fallen apart, most of the houses at prime locations had already been delivered and then they ran into some legal problems as such the rest of the work was stopped, though the neighbourhood had some rather rich and posh people."


    Catherine frowned as she, "Dad, is that not Eliris or whatever her name is? She is moving towards the town."


    Marcel narrowed his eyes as he watched the figure disappear within the bushes and the concrete buildings along with a dozen of her subordinates as he spoke, "Yes, I think it is, and her name I think is Ylerias, not Eliris, but I think she is going to scout before the resource gathering can begin."


    A soft sigh escaped from Beth before her attention was drawn towards a particr sound as she watched Goliath lumbered near them and then the next scene made her heart stop, as she eximed out loud, "What is Ryan doing out there?"


    Her words brought everyone''s attention to a fully geared up Ryan who was chatting amicably with Xuelong, who was inspecting his gears.


    Catherine looked at Ryan who was standing with the help of a crutch as she spoke, "Those dress of his resembles that of the army right?"


    Marcel nodded as he spoke, "Yes, more like some special forces.", he then began to move as he spoke, "You all stay here, I will be here in a moment.", With his piece being said he dashed towards the door while Eleanora held being her remaining children.


    As Marcel tried to open the door to step outside only to be stopped by one of his fellow passengers who spoke with a frown, "Where are you going buddy?"


    With a sense of urgency, Marcel quickly spoke, "I need to speak with my son Ryan fast, I am sorry.", as such he pushed his fellow passenger before he jumped out of the vehicle, falling on the ground bruising his hand before he took of shouting for the car to stop.


    Ryan took his seat as he climbed up with difficulty, as Xuelong followed after him, with Michalina already at the helm, and Maralyn sitting directly across him, with Ang by her side.


    A distant shout of ''Ryan stop'', came to their ears as Michalina saw Marcel running towards them, only for Michalina to step on the elerator hard as the car shot forward.


    Marcel panted hard as he watched the car move fast increasing the distance between him and the car increase dramatically, making him sigh as he turned back and returned to thend train with a dejected look on his face.


    The person who Marcel had pushed off to run after Ryan was preparing to give a piece of his mind but stop seeing the grief on his face as he spoke, "Is there any problem buddy? I do not know if I might be of any help but feel free to share who knows something mighte out of it."


    A tired smile appeared on his face as he spoke, "Thank you for your kind words and once again sorry for the atrocious behaviour of mine."


    The person simply waved off as he spoke, "There is no need to apologize, I understand."


    Marcel simply gave a grateful nod to him as he spoke, "Also, thank you for your offer though I am afraid as it is kind of private so."


    "No problem, but if you need me my doors are always open."


    Marcel gave him a grateful nod before he made his way towards his family before he spoke with a sad sigh, "Sorry I failed."


    Beth sighed as she pulled him close to her side before she began to clean the fresh scratches that had appeared on her son''s hand.


    Isabe looked towards the direction where Ryan vanished off as she slouched forward for a moment before she perked up as she spoke with a grin, "We might not know why he left, or where he went off to but we can easily ask someone and figure it out."


    Beth nodded as she spoke with a frown, "You are right child, let us go and hunt down someone who knows.


    Meanwhile, back with Ryan, he sat quietly as Michalina drove the car towards the centre of the town, seeing therge letters spelling out the word Eco-Vige in green letters that looked worn out made him snort.


    <em>''A ce for the rich to spend their money without any cause, as if only making a beautiful town with a few trees made it environment friendly, I can easily spot a few vehicles that are lying around that ate more oil in a minute than a hungry heard of Elephant in a month, not to mention the forest that used to be here but was cleared to make this concrete jungle, simply hypocritical.''</em>


    He suddenly went ramrod drawing attention of others as he spoke with arge smile on his face, "I know, I now know the approximate location of the stashes, and now it would be very easy."

 Chapter 96: A new quest (part-3)

    Chapter 96: A new quest (part-3)


    Michalina turned her head as she spoke with a frown, "What do you mean by that you now know there location?"


    Ryan shrugged as he replied, "I have no idea, as it seems that I have suddenly seemed to have gained approximate knowledge of their location."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "Must be your patron God''s blessings."


    Ryan nodded as Michalina slowed the car before parking it as she spoke, "Then I think we should recall the scouting team."


    As she received nods from others, she picked up her radio as she tried to establish contact with the scouting group.


    Ylerias looked at the sight of her as she let out a tired sigh, arge building full of undeady in front of her when all of a sudden the device she had received from Ryan began to vibrate.


    She quickly left her initial scouting position lest she somehow manages to draw the attention of the undead roaming around.


    <em>''Now how to responds, ah yes I have to hold this one to speak.''</em>


    She pressed the button as the radio in her hand crackled, while Michalina''s voice came from the other side, "This is Alpha Charlie One-One how copy."


    Ylerias tilted her head as a confused look appeared on her face as she spoke while pressing another button, "Um I am Ylerias, and are you Michalina?"


    Her words were greeted by a bout ofughter as a male voice came from the other side, "Sis, she was not in the army with you as such she is unfamiliar with the proper call signs so please talk normally and be discreet, who knows what position she is in."


    A loud huff was heard as Michalina''s voice came from the other side, "Lady Ylerias, my brother just received approximate locations of the stashes as such we are requesting your presence at our ce."


    "Tell Xuelong to send a silent marker up in the sky."


    "Okay, over and out.", with that the radio went silent.


    Ylerias simply looked at the device in her hand as one of her subordinates spoke, "Such a wonderful device."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes something that can be used by anyone is incredibly wonderful, even back in our world there was no portable magical device like this."


    The same speaker nodded as she continued, "Even the magic that could replicate this could only be wielded by only a handful."


    Ylerias nodded before spotting a red re going up in the sky while leaving behind smoking trails, she simply signalled her subordinates to move.


    Ryan watched Xuelong, who was sitting with her legs dangling outside of the vehicle, she had just sent a red signal re using magic and was now waiting for Ylerias''s arrival.


    "From what I have seen so far, do the two of you often work together."


    Xuelong looked towards Ryan as she spoke with a nod, "We do in fact, though we have worked with others from our brethren but how should I put.", she squinted for a moment before speaking with a smile, "I guess I am morefortable working with her, unlike others we can work seamlessly together."


    Michalina who was listening to her spoke with a nod, "I understand where you are going Your Holiness, in fact, I myself have encountered others who can work with you so seamlessly that you do not even need to speak with them yet both of you know what each other wants."


    "So true, so true.", she then turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan, I hope one day you can meet the rest of our small family as well."


    "So did I, Xuelong."


    He then closed his eyes for a moment as his thoughts went to his fellow brethren who were scattered out in the world, ''What kind of people are they, Ylerias looks like an Elf from video games, so does Xuelong, who looks like a Beast kin, a Dragon-type Beast kin, what other races are there I want to know but at the same time I fear I might end up unknowingly insult them as such I held my tongue, more importantly, I wonder what kind of person they all are.''


    The group did not have to wait too long as a few momentster, Ylerias, as well as the rest of her group, had arrived shortly surrounding the Goliath whose upants promptly climbed out of it."


    Ylerias looked at Ryan as she spoke, "So you now know their location."


    Ryan nodded as she replied to her, "Yes I do now, well at least their approximate location."


    "I see, we have covered a ratherrge area, as such if you can point us to their location we might be able to tell you if you have to face immediate danger."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "If only we had a proper map."


    "Excuse memander.", Ang''s voice interrupted them and as she gained their undivided attention she pointed towards a certain direction, and upon gazing towards it both Michalina and Ryan''s eyes widen.


    With an excited tone, Michalina spoke, "That is the administrative office of this ce, there is bound to be a map or two.", she then turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Brother you stay here I will be back soon."


    As Michalina was about to venture forth Xuelong joined her, "I hope you do not mind me joining you, it would not be bad to have another hand not to mention I am bored."


    Michalina shed her smile as she spoke, "Please Your Holiness, feel free to follow me."


    As the duo left towards the building Ryan turned towards the administrative building Ryan looked towards Ylerias as he spoke, "How is the situation?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "Not good, too many undead in this ce, though from what I have seen undead are mostly concentrated on few ces, mainly the bigger buildings."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "That might be troublesome especially if we somehow manage to attract their attention."


    Ylerias nodded at his words as she spoke, "Yes it would be as most were of Tier four and a scant few were of Tier five."


    A silence descended amongst them for a moment before Ryan spoke with a frown, "I have a question for you Ylerias."


    As Ylerias simply gave a nod as Ryan began to speak, "During my travels, I have seen an undead cannibalizing one another thus increasing its strength and evolving, so if there are so many undead here should they not try and evolve?"


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes, it is true they try to unless something is making them not, mainly something even stronger is forcing them not to evolve so that they may not challenge its lead."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke, "No way, an undead act in such a way."


    "It is the show a peculiar type of hive mentality with the strongest leading them, the one that is strongest often decided who to evolve and who not to, as itmands the will of the other undead."


    "Wow, I did not think that even the dead would have such aplex hierarchical structure, so how strong is the strongest."


    Ylerias shrugged as she spoke, "There is no way of knowing until you can perceive its Tier, it can range from a single Tier six to tier hundred, though seeing the size of undead around, it should be easily above Tier ten, as I doubt anything less than a Tier ten canmand so many of them."


    Ryan felt a headache forming as he spoke, "Troublesome, truly troublesome, an enemy with an unknown strength."


    "Are we going to light the bodies up in a fire? Because from what I remember from Dasyra''s lecture that if I leave undead bodies in a ce for a long time then they might turn to an abomination."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes it is true, though we might not have the luxury to give them proper burial because of various reasons."


    "Which means more and more abominations would spawn."


    Ylerias simply smiled as she spoke, "Brother Ryan did you forget that we gain souls by killing any living, as such anything killed by us can never resurrect by any means."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke, "So that means once we kill them, they cannot be an abomination."


    Ylerias simply nodded in confirmation as Ryan gave a dazzling smile as he spoke, "That is so great."


    Only for his excitement to be doused by Ylerias''s next words, "I am afraid, brother, it is might not be that simple because there are only three of us and they are in thousands at least."


    Ryan''s shoulder dropped as his sister and Xuelong arrived shortly with the map of the area in her hand, which she then spread on top of the hood before she spoke, "Brother, can you now tell us which way we should move."


    Ryan nodded before he spoke after studying the map for a little, "First of all I know the approximate location as such I cannot tell you the exact location of the stashes, saying that", he looked up from the map as his head swivelled around before he spoke, "That, that, that, and that, and then towards that direction."


    Michalina quickly marked the directions on the map as Ryan continued while now pointing towards the map, "Micha give your pen."


    With the pen in his hand, he quickly assigned the marks numbers before he spoke again, "The numbers that I wrote represents the distance from our current location with the closest having the lowest number and the farthest having the highest number."


    Xuelong narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Define close."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "About a couple of hundred meters."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "I see.", she then turned towards Ylerias as she spoke, "What can you tell about our enemy positions now."


    Ylerias frowned before she spoke, "It is good that the location is almost within the area we have counted, as such I suggest that we deal with the first, second and fifth first, leaving the other twoter they are dangerously close to a ratherrge group."


    Xuelong gave a nod before she spoke, "Though keep a few of your subordinates posted so that they might notice any change, after all, I do not think we should attempt all of them at once given Ryan''s condition as fresh blood would attract them."


    Ylerias nodded before her eyes fell on Ryan as she spoke, "True, but at the end of the day it is Ryan''s quest as such it is his call."


    Ryan ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "Every time after my wound is closed I have sometime before it reopens again so thest third and fourth I will attempt after my wound reopens at least once, but before that, I wish to at least deal with the nearest one, and by putting them at thest, if worsees to pass at least we can skedaddle easily as by that time the water tanks would have been filled as well."


    Michalina gave a nod of acknowledgement as she spoke, "Fair enough brother."


    Ryan''s face then frowned as he spoke, "Although how is the pantry doing, will the food be enough."


    "There is no need to worry about food, we have hunted many animals as well as gathered many wild vegetables, though I believe that a few extra condiments would not hurt."


    Michalina looked towards Ylerias as she spoke, "Your right Your Holiness, an extra few condiments would not hurt."


    Xuelong stretched her limbs as she spoke, "Since the meeting is over, shall we move."


    Ryan nodded as his gun appeared in his hand while Michalina looked towards Ang as she spoke, "You stay inside the car, but be vignt if any problem arises I want you to reach our location post haste."


    Ang simply nodded as the group quickly moved towards their next destination, Ryan could have easily moved there with his car but he did not wish to draw out enemies needlessly because of the sound of his vehicle.

 Chapter 97: A new quest (part-4)

    Chapter 97: A new quest (part-4)


    "Brother anytime you feel ufortable you should voice it out without hesitation."


    As Michalina spoke those words an umpteenth time, Ryan''s brow twitched as he spoke with a grunt, "I will big sis, I will."


    "Ah, stop."


    A sudden urgent shout from Xuelong stopped them on their steps as she spoke, "The Undead are drawn by the smell of blood, as such in your current state it will be like sending out an invitation to all you can eat buffet."


    Ylerias palmed her face hard as she spoke, "I had a feeling that I forgot something, thank you, Xuelong for reminding Me.", she then proceeded to take out a couple of herbs from her inventory which she rolled into one before lighting them ame, making the herbs let out a good amount greyish smoke.


    "Ryan please close your eyes, it can be a bit pungent."


    Ryan did not need to be told twice as he had shut his eyes as soon as the herbs were lit as they badly stung his eyes.


    Ylerias then covering her face with her hand began to wave the bundle all around Ryan while using her mana to push as much smoke towards Ryan trying to coat every inch of his body.


    A couple of minutester Ylerias stood straight as she spoke, "Well now no one will be able to smell the blood on you."


    Ryan coughed as he replied back, "Thest time I bleed was some time ago not to mention I have a fresh set of bandages on me."


    Xuelong snorted as she spoke while pointing at her nose, "Please Ryan, do not underestimate the power of a predator''s nose, and you reek of blood."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I need a good bath."


    "You need more than a good bath Ryan, the smell of blood does not wash away so easily, what Ylerias did to you is a very effective method of removal of masking one''s scent especially in your case."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "What about sweat or any other body fluids, will they not attract the undead?"


    Xuelong shook her head as she spoke, "No only blood, the fresher it is the more enticing it is to them."


    "This herb is still exuding smoke does anyone wants to use it."


    Hearing Ylerias''s words Michalina stepped towards her as she spoke, "I was near Ryan all the time and was helping him as such I believe I might have gotten myself covered by a good amount of blood."


    Ylerias handed her the still smoking bundle which Michalina quickly waved all over her body though itcked the finesse it managed toplete its job.


    The group consisting of Michalina, Ryan, Xulong and Ylerias decided to walk towards the destination while the rest had surrounded them from different vantage points, seeing their agility Ryan could not help but feel a bit jealous.


    "Ylerias there is something I want to ask you about?"


    "What is it, Ryan?"


    "I have been observing people of your race, are you all very agile, I mean if it were only your subordinates and you then I would have understood but the normal civilians that you had managed to rescue are more agile than others."


    Ylerias gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes wepared to other races mine is a bit more agile than others, you can say it is one of our racial traits, just in case of Xuelong she is exceptionally strong with sharper senses and abnormal magical ability, evenpared to others of her kind she is exceptional as you can say she was bred for war."


    Xuelong simply stuck out her chest as she spoke with a proud smirk on her face, "Of course I am otherwise I would not be an apostle of war."


    Ylerias nodded as she continued to speak, "Yes, so true her race is very strong yet at the same time they are very peaceful beings except for Xuelong otherwise they might have already conquered the other races as well."


    Xuelong snorted as she spoke, "Please sister you are giving my race too much credit we may be strong but not by a lot not to mention our poption is low, waging war on the entire would be pointless, and Ylerias please leave that topic I do not like it."


    Ylerias simply gave a nod as the group began to move towards their destination when all of a sudden one of Ylerias''s subordinate approached her as she spoke with a bow, "Your Holiness, we have finished scouting the area as well as have dealt with any undead within the vicinity."


    Ylerias gave a nod as she spoke, "Good work I hope you have not entered any building."


    "No, Your Holiness."


    "Good now make sure to keep an eye out for any undead that approaches us especially those screaming types, kill them as fast as you can or they will summon a horde."


    "By your will, Your Holiness.", with that her subordinate returned to her post with haste.


    "Ryan what have you thought about forming a group."


    Ryan looked towards Xuelong as he spoke with a frown, "What do you mean by a group? From what Ylerias told me some of us do not have one."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "Yes, some don''t but our situation is different this time working solo is inadvisable in such conditions."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I know but for the time being, I have no such n, maybe in the future but at present, I am fine with Michalina and her colleagues helping me out."


    As Ryan walked towards his destination he could feel the general location slowly shrinking form the previous vast area it had shrunk to only a single two-storey building, the building was somehow standing erect but had massive cracks on it, looking as if it would fall any moment.


    Ryan raised his finger as he pointed towards the building as he spoke, "The more I moved through the streets the more I became certain that our destination is that building over there."


    Michalina grimaced as she spoke, "A single gust of wind will topple it, as it looks so unstable."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes that is why it would be difficult thest thing I would want is being under buried several tons of rubble not to mention the sound is bound to draw the attention of the residents."


    "So how do we proceed?"


    Ryan looked towards the building as he replied back to Xuelong, "I will go in alone."


    "That is crazy brother you are in no shape and form to do so alone."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "The only entrance is through the door and if we try to force through it, then it might copse this part of the building, the windows are closed shut ad forcing through them might be problematic, so the only way in is the balcony, I can enter easily and if in any way and form the building starts to copse you know I can easily clear any debris."


    Xuelong and Ylerias looked at each other before Xuelong spoke with a shrug, "Well then please be careful and if you face any problem shout out."


    Ryan simply nodded as his crutch disappeared before he touched the side of the building as part of it hollowed out forming rungs that he used to climb up to the balcony, but as soon as he stepped on top of the balcony a loud crack was heard as a small part broke out of it and fell on the ground.


    "<strong>Ryan!!!!</strong>", a frantic shout came from Michalina as the duo of female apostles shushed her, before Ylerias spoke in an urgent tone, "Michalina keep your voice down, or else you might attract the undead."


    Ryan simply looked at her as he gave her a reassuring smile, but inwardly his heart was hammering he could feel the floor protesting against his weight as such he with great caution moved towards the door before entering inside posthaste only to stop in rm.


    <em>''Damn it, a good portion of the floor is missing.''</em>


    He looked to the side as he touched the wall and just like thedder, parts of the wall hollowed out letting him use them to move, while others looked at him with various states of emotions from intrigue to worry.


    Ryan was only a few halfway across when he was suddenly hit by a bought of nausea and dizziness, with great effort he pushed down the bile rising up his throat while he pressed himself against the wall.


    With a couple of deep breaths Ryan continued to move,<em> ''This room, there is nothing to search for as the floor itself is missing and whatever should have been present in this room is now lying on the lower floor.''</em>


    He steeled himself as he began to move again, while his body protested against the strenuous exercise that he was doing, <em>''A bit more, just a bit.''</em>, after a rather small Ryan stood with a small on his face.


    His gun appeared in his hand as he went to check a nearby room, just because the building looked unstable that did not mean he could rx and decide that no creature was upying it.


    As he opened the door which swung with a loud creek, he was greeted with a dust-covered room, he slowly stepped inside the room as the floor creaked underneath him, when all of a sudden a wailing sound came from his side, and without hesitation, he fired his gun towards the direction as fast as he could.


    As Ryan got a proper look at his victim his eyes widen in rm as his hand shook, <em>''I killed a child.''</em>

 Chapter 98: A new quest (Part-5)

    Chapter 98: A new quest (Part-5)


    Michalina looked towards the door through which her brother disappeared with barely concealed concern on her face, as she looked towards his brother''s so-called fellow Apostles who were busy gossiping about mundane things without a care of the world she balled her fists hard.


    <em>''Family, yeah right the duo has yet to show any concern over my brother, and are now gossiping like some bored housewives, ugh this idiots dragging my poor brother into their mess and not at all sympathetic to him.''</em>


    Her musing was cut short when she felt someone snapping their fingers in front of her eyes and as she came back to her senses she heard Xuelong speak in an amused tone, "Did youe back to your senses? I hope you were not thinking something bad about us with the amount of ill intent you were exuding, people tend to die when they focus their ill intent on us and I would hate to inform of your idental demise to Ryan."


    Michalina quickly raised her hand in surrender as she spoke with a slight smile on her face, "I humbly apologize Your Holiness, as it seems that my mind had wandered off to some unpleasant memories, I did not mean to disrespect you."


    Xuelong simply turned her head towards the building with a bored look on her face head as she spoke with a drawl, "How cute."


    Ylerias meanwhile simply rolled her eyes before she spoke, "I do not mean to be too nosy or rude but there is a group iming Ryan as their son and Ryan did not seem to be toofortable to be in their presence."


    Michalina was silent for a moment contemting whether or not to reply before she spoke with a sigh, "They are really his birth parents, parents who neglected him treated him, no matter hard he tried he was always their afterthought, his blood-rted sisters used him as a scapegoat and now after he had cut ties with them they are trying to mend the bridges."


    Xuelong narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "So they are opportunistic?"


    As Michalina nodded in confirmation as Xuelong continued, "Then what is your rtion with him."


    "In a sense, we are both orphans with mine dying when I was a very young child and after that, we were adopted by the same person."


    Xuelong gave a nod as she spoke, "I see as for his previous family I brought them with me as such they are my responsibility and if they pester Ryan too much just say the word and I will personally through them out."


    Michalina simply gave a small bow to her but before she could speak the window at the side disappeared and then Ryan climbed out through.


    As he stepped outside he took a deep breath before steadying himself with the help of his crutch, but he did not have to wait too long as Michalina was by his side supporting him as he stood.


    "Did you manage to aplish your work?"


    Ryan looked towards Ylerias as he spoke with a nod, "Yes I did."


    But Michalina''s mind was moving towards another direction she had immediately noticed the slightly haggard look on Ryan''s face as she spoke, "Brother are you alright? You look extremely unwell do you need to lie down?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No sister I am fine and I want to finish with the second one as soon as possible."


    Michalina red at him as she spoke, "No brother you are not fine at all, tell me what happened inside there."


    As Michalina spoke Ylerias chimed in, "Yes brother Ryan, I heard your gunfire and I was worried for you."


    Michalina''s head swivelled towards Ylerias as Xuelong chimed in, "Was there any kind of creature inside the building."


    But, before Ryan could speak Michalina spoke with disbelief, "You could hear him."


    Xuelong gained a look that seemed that she was deeply insulted by Michalina''s words as she spoke, "Of course I could hear him as both Ylerias and I have better hearing than a human."


    Michalina brows twitched upon hearing about that as Ylerias continued to speak, "We also heard you vomited all of a sudden, are you really well."


    All thoughts of anger vanished from Michalina as she looked over Ryan with a look of concern as he began to speak with a sigh, "It was nothing there was barely any light and when I stepped inside the room I heard a wail and without looking properly I fired my gun killing the reason for the wailing, which turned out to be a baby, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an undead baby, I was already feeling a bit nauseated and the thought I might have killed a living baby caused me to vomit."


    Michalina simply patted him on his back as she spoke, "You are not alright Ryan we should postpone your quest for a moment."


    Only for Ryuu to shake his head as he spoke, "No, I do not want to waste time with the easier ones too much, the third and fourth would take lots of time, but if possible I would like some water."


    "You did not bring your canteen."


    A sheepish look passed through his face as Ryan spoke, "I left it behind inside the car."


    Michalina took her canteen before handing it to Ryaan as she spoke, "Here, have some water from my canteen."


    The group began to slowly make their way towards the second position as Ryan drank from the canteen before handing it back to Michalina.


    "So, what was the hidden stash that you had to find?"


    Ryan cast a nce towards Ylerias before he pulled out a piece of paper from his inventory before handing it to her.


    The trio apanying him closely looked at the piece of paper that Ryan handed them as they looked at it with intense scrutiny.


    A few momentster Michalina spoke with a frown, "This looks like a part of some kind of picture that has been torn from a muchrger piece do you have any idea what it is?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No I do not, as the part of the picture I have, shows the blue sky so it can be anything, but referring to a piece of paper that was torn out of arger picture as a hidden stash is too much."


    A silence descended between them as they reached their second destination when all of a sudden Ryan copsed on the ground breathing heavily.


    "Brother let us leave you have done enough, for now, a bit of rest would do wonders to you."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No, I set a goal and I willplete it no matter what."


    Michalina growled as she spoke, "You and your stubborn pride, here climb on my back I will carry you."


    Ryan let out a tired chuckle as he spoke, "Sorry big sis but I might end up vomiting all over you as such I would like to pass."


    Michalina looked ready to protest only to be stopped by Ryan who spoke with a sigh, "Sorry sister but please let me finish it and the faster I deal with it the quicker I can take some much-needed rest."


    Michalina simply sighed as she helped Ryan back to his feet before she used her radio to contact Ang and bring the car closer towards their second destination.


    Unlike the previous house, this one upied a muchrger space though the house itself was only a storey high.


    As such Ryan could not help but exim out loud, "What a waste of space."


    Michalina simply snorted as she spoke, "If you have the money you can even get a toilet made out of solid gold, a bit ofnd is nothing to the rich."


    Ryan simply scowled as another subordinate of Ylerias approached them, who promptly kneeled as she spoke, "Your Holiness we did not detect any living creature near the house but we detected a few movements inside the house, but because of various reasons we are unsure of the exact number."


    Ylerias gave a nod as her subordinate left promptly, while Ryan scowled as he spoke, "So we have an undead problem.", he then turned towards Ylerias as he spoke, "I have a small question, how did your subordinate detect living beings, they could be hiding."


    "Well, we have spells that can detect the life force of the living as such when it was used by my people they detected that there was no living in the immediate vicinity but unfortunately the spell does not work on the undead."


    "I see."


    "So, how we should proceed Ryan."


    Ryan frowned at that as he spoke, "Unlike the previous one, this one has not suffered too much damage and is only a single storey building as such we can easily enter this ce, I want Xuelong in the front followed by Michalina and Ylerias bringing the rear."


    Michalina was d at the arrangement since from the words and action of Ryan''s fellow Apostle''s they did not seem to care too much about him as such being close to him would enable her to help him.


    Xuelong taking charge slowly opened the door as the peered inside the room, the stench of death and decay hit their nose making Ryan gag a bit.


    <em>''Ugh this house smells even worse than the previous one, is it because of undead present inside, must be but that also means that their number would be arge one, what a nuisance.''</em>


    They walked through the narrow hallway with Xuelong taking the lead, as the floor creaked under their boots Ryan winced, <em>''A few months has passed yet these uninhabited buildings now resemble haunted house from some horror movie, a haunted house that has been uninhabited for centuries.''</em>


    When they neared the end of the hallway a hand suddenly erupted as it tried to grab Xuelong who casually caught it dragging the creature out before punching it hard enough to destroy its headpletely, and thus effectively killing it.


    A second one appeared but the Ryan shot it and killed it before he stepped into the room, while keeping a vignt eye on the surrounding, the windows were covered with thick drapes preventing the light from entering but the torches lit the room as if it was flooded with daylight, a quick checkter it was deemed to be safe as there were no other danger in that room, but also the search area had decreased as well.


    Xuelong looked at the area with a bored look on her face as she spoke, "I have to learn the ''Detect Undead'' spell soon."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Me too, the undead have thergest poption currently we have to learn it as fast possible otherwise thest thing we want is getting swarmed by the undead before we could even react."


    While they discussed amongst themselves their future Ryan meanwhile had a deep frown on his face as they managed to reach the centre of the house.


    Xuelong looked around the house before she spoke with a haughty sniff, "I have no idea on how you design your houses but if this is the prime example then I have to say you fail considerably."


    Ryan simply spared a nce towards her as he spoke, "I might not have any idea about designing a house but even I have to say this is design very poorly."


    Michalina gave a nod in support before she spoke, "Yes however designed is either aplete idiot or mad it is designed rather poorly.", she then looked at Ryan as she spoke with a frown, "Is there something wrong brother you looked troubled."


    Ryan looked back at her before he spoke with a sigh, "I can feel the location of the stash and I believe it is directly under us."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Are you sure."


    Her question was answered with a nod as Ryan continued, "So now we have to find a basement door."


    With that, the group simply separated from each other trying to find the door only for Xuelong to shout out in frustration after near about an hourter, "Where is the God-forsaken freaking door?"


    Even after all their attempts, they had yet to find the door and their patients were running out first as such Ylerias looked towards Ryan as she spoke, "Can you destroy the floor and create a path?"


    Ryann simply nodded before he ced his hand on the floor which quickly started to disappear and they soon found themselves a nice hole and the basement exposed to them.


    Ryan looked at the depth before he spoke with a sigh, "It is a long way down."

 Chapter 99: A new quest (Part-6)

    Chapter 99: A new quest (Part-6)


    "The basement is quite big though it looks like it is flooded as well."


    Ryan let out a sigh upon hearing Michalina''s words as he spoke, "So how do we deal with it."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "I will send light down there so everyone please try not to look directly onto my hands for a moment."


    "Are you going to use magic?"


    Ylerias nodded at Ryan''s question before she spoke with her eyes wide, "You know Ryan, maybe I can teach you something."


    Ryan could not help but send an eager look towards her as Michalina kept a close look at her lesson.


    "Now stretch your dominant hand forward with your palm facing upwards, now close your eyes then begin to visualize a ball, a round ball, visualize it feel it, try thinking of the ball big enough to fit your palm, now think of it like it was made up of light and then channel your mana to it."


    A few minutester Ylerias gave a small p as she spoke, "Good, you are doing well now invoke its name, the name of the spell is ''Light ball'' remember it and if you have a problem with it, you can even create a chant that will help you to visualize it."


    Ryan shouted out at the top of his voice, "Light Ball.", which was followed by a snort from Xuelong and another shout from Michalina.


    "There is no need for you to shout out so loud Ryan, now open your eyes and see the result of your work."


    As Xuleong''s words reached his ears Ryan opened his eyes and was greeted by a small egg-shaped object that was glowing with as much intensity as a zero watt bulb does.


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "That is a bit underwhelming."


    Ylerias smiled as she spoke, "This is the first time you are using this spell of course you need practice."


    While Xuleong simply stared at Michalina who had a depressed look on her face as she kept on looking at her hand.


    "My my seems like someone failed at using a Tier 0 spell."


    Ylerias send a disapproving look towards Xuelong as she spoke, "From what I have noticed it is highly likely that she is a savant, as such spells like this must be very hard for her to use."


    But, before anyone could say anything another notification shed before his eyes.


    *****


    <strong><em>Spell: Light Ball (Tier-0)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Fragments acquired: (1/100)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Cost: Variable</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Note: Use the spell many more times to learn to use it properly</em></strong>


    <strong><em> </em></strong>


    <strong><em>Light Affinity Gained (1%)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Light Resistance Gained (1%)</em></strong>


    <strong><em> </em></strong>


    *****


    "Wah, it seems that I have to use a hundred times before I can safely say that I have managed to learn it, though it seems that I have gained Light affinity and resistance.", he looked towards Ylerias as he spoke, "What does that mean?"


    "The higher the light affinity is the better your spells with light affinity will be, simrly the higher the resistance a person has the less damage he or she will receive from a particr elemental attack."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I see."


    Ylerias looked down towards the basement as she spoke, "Though I would have to warn you that increasing the affinity as well as the resistance takes time and hard work, so you have to be patient and work diligently, now watch how I perform the spell."


    She then extended than her right hand as she spoke, "Now I will give a demonstration on the spell, remember that for a spell to work we need good focus and perfect visualization for a spell to work with enough practice you be so acquainted that a spell can be used without even thinking too much as well as a much lower mana cost."


    Ylerias took a deep breath as she spoke, "Light Ball"


    A ball of light almost as big as a ser ball appeared in her hand which she dropped through the hole in the ground, butpared to Ryan''s it was many times brighter than his ''Light Ball'', it was likeparing a zero watt bulb with a Halogenmp.


    The intensity was so great that Ryan was forced to cover his face with his hand to protect his eyes, Ylerias then dropped the ball as she spoke, "Light Ball is only used for illuminating an area, though in some cases to scare away some light-sensitive creature."


    The ball reached the water level before it waspletely submerged but it managed to illuminate the entire basement area giving them a nice view.


    Suddenly a scraping sound was heard as an undead with bony protrusion all over its body peeked through the hole while it tried to grab the nearest person which happened to be Xuelong, who simply caught the undead''s hand and pulled it upwards before Ylerias shot through its head killing it swiftly.


    Xuelong looked at the creature before she spoke, "If there are more of them down there it would be troublesome."


    Ylerias nodded as Xuleong suddenly stood up as she spoke, "But, no risk no gain.", that she jumped down through the hole as arge ssh urred.


    Meanwhile, Ylerias simply looked at her with a slight look of disdain as she spoke out loud, "Such crass manner something that would never change always charging head first.", she then looked at the sibling as she spoke, "I hope you two would follow after us.", with that she followed after Xuelong.


    Meanwhile, Ryan looked towards the Light Ball he had created, with a couple of weak splutter it vanished.


    "Let us join them, sis."


    With that, he touched the floor as a longdder made up of chain appeared attached to it as Michalina spoke with an amused look on her face, "You are still carrying it."


    Ryan simply nodded as he spoke, "It saved my life so many times, so how could I not carry it?"


    By the time he had managed to climb down the other two apostles had already checked and found the basement to be empty.


    Ylerias snooped around a bit before she spoke, "There were at least eight of them here, but it seems the one we had faced had killed and eaten them."


    Michalina''s eyes had been drawn towards a certain white powdery substance thaty on the table, he approached it and after taking a whip she spoke with distaste, "Drugs, the basement had drugs."


    Ryan looked at the stuff with a curious look on his face before he spoke with awe, "We have stumbled upon a drug den."


    He then went to touch the substance but was stopped by Michalina firmly grasping his hand as she spoke with a re, "Touch it and I willin mother, and I am no doubt she would love to tan your hide."


    Ryan pouted as he spoke, "Hey I was just curious.", his face then morphed into a scowl as he spoke, "Let me finish this and then we can leave, I do not wish to stay with near my hip submerged in dirty water."


    "Then try to find your next hidden stash fast."


    "I know sister I know."


    With that Ryan wade through the dirty water, his eyes moving and searching for any unusual movement, as he moved towards a darker part of the basement a Light Ball was chucked towards his direction by Ylerias.


    Ryan had the sudden urge to turn towards Ylerias but he held himself, <em>''Do not turn, do not turn if I have learned something from all those horror movies is that the one who turns is the one who dies first.''</em>


    He moved towards a corner of the room where the door was kept slightly ajar, he raised his gun as he slowly pushed the door open, when all of a sudden a third Light Ball found its way into the room.


    Ryan quickly took a look around inside the room, it was filled with few racks that seemed to have fallen over, a couple of small bags, that managed to speak out of the water and a few guns as well, but what drew his attention was the furthest corner of the room.


    As he studied the room Michalina''s voice came to his ears, "I am positive this is ''Star Dust'', a very dangerous drug that boosts once performance to the extreme temporarily but then it slowly degrades the mental and physical capabilities, not to mention it is highly addictive because of the sense of euphoria it gives, long term consumption would leave you brain dead or cause death after excruciating pain because of multiple organ failure."


    Xuelong looked towards Michalina as she spoke, "Never thought you to be the one who knew about drugs."


    A humourless chuckle rose through Michalina''s throat as she spoke, "When I had recently joined I had identally busted some high ranking ministers rtive, which ended up having me gain a permanent back mark in my career, being tossed in unsavoury situations it was hell for me, the first year of my service was hell for me, if it were not for my Mother calling in some favours I would have died a long time ago."


    "The country where we reside is a corrupt one, every country has a bit of corruption in them some small and some great, and our country leans towards the greater side, but enough of thate and take a look at this."


    Ryan''s words drew their attention as they stepped into the room as Michalina took a nce as she spoke with a huff, "This is a genuine drug dealers den."


    Arge smile formed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "Yup, it is and one of the items from my bucket list isplete."


    Michalina sent a look of disbelief towards him as she spoke, "You wanted to visit a Drug Dealer''s den."


    As Ryan nodded with a smile Michalina palmed her face hard as she spoke, "I me the media, I should not have let you watch those movies, or anime, as the real-life smugglers are nothing but filthy criminals that should be put down, not like their romanticized fictional counterparts."


    Ryan simply raised his hand in surrender as he spoke, "Okay I understand, but can anyone tell me, what that thing over there is?"


    Everyone''s attention was drawn towards the corner of the room where Ryan had pointed off to, as Ylerias spoke with a gasp, "This is a nest, a God-forsaken nest."


    Both the siblings gained a confused look on their faces as Ryan sent a question towards Ylerias''s direction, "Sorry but can you borate on what is a nest?"


    Xuelong''s jaw tightens as she spoke, "Sometimes an undead gains enough intelligence that they start to form a nest, which is not unlike any other intelligent species, in other words, you can call it it''s home."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Also from the looks of it, the undead we killed was not the only one that has ess down here, as bigger the nest therger the number of undead that usually reside in it, and that thing is something akin to their stool that marks their territory."


    Ryan froze his mouth open in horror as he whispered loud enough for anyone to hear him, "The thing I am searching is inside thatrge piece of E, I have to search through it eww."


    Xuelong ced aforting hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "There is no need to worry Ryan we are here for you."


    With an equally reassuring look Ylerias spoke with a nod, "Of course thick or thin we will have your back."


    Ryan did not know why but those words had managed to move him almost to tears as he spoke with his eyes shining with unending gratitude, "You guys"


    Michalina simply patted him as she spoke, "Go ahead brother dive into the zombie poop mountain while we cheer from the side."


    Ylerias gained a look of sorrow as she spoke, "We would have loved to help you directly but s our hands are tied we would not want to identally fail you because we helped you."


    As Michalina nodded Xuelong spoke, "While you deal with it, we will sure to find the exit out of this ce, after all, it has to enter and exit from somewhere."


    Ryan simply gawked at them before he spoke with his fist clenched and his body shaking with anger, "I hate you all give back my feelings of gratitude."


    Michalina scowled towards him as she spoke, "Brother you asked us,dies, to apany you through this dirty water and now you want us to touch that filth.", she shook her head as she spoke with a disappointed tone, "Where did I go wrong in raising you? I thought I would be the perfect role model for you."


    Ryan could take no longer as he flipped Michalina the bird before stomping towards the giant zombie poop, <em>''So, who should I deal with this.'',</em> as he neared the pile he choked from the smell when all of a sudden a bubble appeared covering his face, as he turned he was greeted by thumbs up from the Xuelong.


    Ryan grumbled as he looked at the pile in front of him before his eyes widen wide, <em>''My sword, I can use it to poke through the pile and find the stash.''</em>


    With that thought in mind, he willed for his sword to appear in his hand, only for it to disappear as a new notification appeared.


    *****


    <em><strong>Warning: Host cannot use weapons granted by Divinity in such an atrocious manner.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Penalty: Gauntlets of Eternal forge sealed until the second stash has been recovered.</strong></em>


    <em><strong> </strong></em>


    ******


    Ryan stared at the notification and did the only thing that his sensible mind could do, he shouted at the top of his voice, "<strong>Screw you Avtis."</strong>

 Chapter 100: A new quest (Part-7)

    Chapter 100: A new quest (Part-7)


    Xuelong chuckled nervously as she looked around searching for signs of the basement copsing burying them under the rubble while drowning them in some very vile putrid water and upon seeing no such signs urring she spoke, "Ylerias I think w should try and find the creatures entrance out of this ce."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "I concur.", with that the two left swiftly while Michalina kept an eye on Ryan.


    Michalina wanted to help her brother but the revolting smell and sight made her feel a bit squishy and the im of his brother that he wanted to see a drug dealers den when she herself had a big hatred for them because of a certain episode in her life did not earn him any brownie points, as such she stood a fair distance away watching Ryan work.


    Ryan meanwhile had finished cursing up a storm before the more rational part of his brain reminded him of the consequences of angering his patron God, which made him sweat, maybe want to cry a bit at the unfairness before bashing his head for being so stupid but he held himself off at thest minute.


    His eyes then fell on one of the racks which he promptly tore a part of off using his powers, which he then used to poke in the zombie poop.


    <em>''This is like some grotesque rotten pile of red-coloured biomass, with asional pieces of bones in it, I am thankful for the spell that removes the smell, though I would have loved some help in this it would have been great if I had some help but I understand if they had touched the stash then I might have failed.''</em>


    A good few pokester he was able to find a piece of what seemed to be a piece of paper, which unlike the one he had managed to find, was bigger but at the same time being buried inside therge pile of biomass had taken its toll on it.


    <em>''How is it still intact I will never know, the only thing that has happened is that its colour had faded but still, it is impossible for it is still in one piece.''</em>


    Normally he would have taken the paper and stored it directly inside his inventory but he decided against it, as he gave it a quick dip in the water before storing it within his inventory.


    A familiar notification chimes in front of his eyes along with the ever-familiar voice.


    *****


    <em><strong>Quest Update: (2/5) Hidden stashes acquired</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Time Remaining: 34 Hrs...</strong></em>


    <em><strong>''Gauntlet of Eternal Forge'' avable to the host</strong></em>


    <em><strong>All normal functions Restored</strong></em>


    *****


    With a sigh, he moved towards his sister while flinging the rod as far as away from him as possible, before he spoke, "I have finished collecting the second one, shall we move."


    Michalina nodded and soon the other two appeared as Ylerias spoke, "I found a hatch near that corner, and from the blood marks the creature might be using it to enter and leave, though it might not be possible for us to leave without your help as thedder had given out."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Okay but first let me gather my chaindder, it has served me well and I do not wish to lose it."


    A few more minutester Ryan was lying down inside the Goliath, they had managed to get some bedrolls from nearby houses and he knew it would be a big lie if he imed that it wasfortable but it was better than the solid cold floor of Goliath.


    He was not feeling well, in fact, he was the furthest thing from being well, and the adventure had taken a toll on his body as such he force himself to lie down while trying to force down the asional bouts of nausea.


    Maralyn appeared with a ss of violet coloured liquid something he was very familiar with, something that was fed to him from time to time so that he could sleep without any problem.


    "Your Holiness, I have diluted the potion enough so that you will only sleep for an hour at most.", Ryan nodded as he was soon drifted off to sleep as soon as the potion hit his lips.


    Xuelong looked towards Michalina as she spoke, "So should we return, for now, we can begin after we have our lunch."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes, we should Your Holiness, though since the fifth destination is in a different direction we should approach it from a different angle."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "The third and fourth we should attempt tomorrow morning, the undead prefer nighttime more than a day."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "You are right Your Holiness, until and unless something else arises I think your n is sound."


    "Good, oh and Michalina there is something you should know, you thought that Ylerias and I did not care about him, but it is untrue, the reason we are keeping a distance from him is that this is a quest granted to him only, and our presence might cause it to fail, upon saying that he is not in any condition to fulfil the said quest as such I will helping him while keeping the distance."


    Michalina simply bowed as she spoke, "Your Holiness, your help has been more than enough."


    A few minutester Ryan was carried back into the Alpha Raven 2.0, and while he was still asleep, though during the way another attack of the curse took ce which was dealt off fast.


    The scene of the O''Cahill family was a bit sombre one Marcel had arrived empty-handed with a few additional scars and bruises, and that had been in the morning and it as the time for the lunch.


    Food, or what counted as the food was more like soup with a scant few solid floating every now and then, but that was their life for now.


    Isabe meanwhile was grasping her te hard, the reason for her doing so was the constant cursing andining of a person who imed to be a vegan and was forced to eat meat.


    ''If you are having a problem then why are you eating, there are plenty who would love to have your share disgusting.''


    As she thought that she was reminded of a chat that she had with her younger brother a few years back.


    ********


    <em>"You know sister you should not waste any food, there are plenty who could not get to eat even the simplest of food."</em>


    <em>Isabe simply snorted as she spoke, "There are toozy to work as such they cannot eat, it is that simple, and now stop bothering me."</em>


    <em>Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Don''t be so naive, there are so many of out there because of various reasons ranging from geography to socio-economic ones that prevent them from getting a good meal and here you are wasting yours, without a care of the world."</em>


    <em>As he spoke Isabe re grew as she spoke, "This is a free country and as such I will do what I want to."</em>


    <em>Ryan shook his head as he spoke with a sigh, "Yes, you have the right to as long as those are permitted by thews of the society but you are forgetting something vitally important here, others do not have such."</em>


    <em>"As people grew up they learned to cultivate, to rear animals but at the end of the day they ended up depended upon the climate for their food, and because of the climate and nature of the region some ces had be more inclined towards a certain food type, but in our age, it is possible for anyone to be a vegan, or vegetarian or meat eater easily because of the advance in our technology but even then there are parts of this world where people do not get to eat even a stale piece of bread, it would be much easier if we could share with them as we tend to waste more than we need."</em>


    <em>Isabe''s nostril''s red with anger before she spoke with anger in her voice, "Are you doing nerd? Giving me a headache through your preaching.", with her piece being said she grabbed Ryan''s te as she stood up.</em>


    <em>"What are you doing I have yet to eat?"</em>


    <em>She did not listen to his protest as she threw Ryan''s food into the bin as she spoke with a cruel smirk, "Oh dear seems like my hand has slipped, I hope you would not waste it, Ryan, all thosezy good for nothingyabouts are waiting for you their Hero to prevent the hardworking people from enjoying their well-earned lunch, I hope you will eat it and not let it go to waste."</em>


    <em>Her words gained a bout ofughter</em> <em>and apuse from her twin while Ryan red at her before he left the table, thenter on a slightly twisted version of the tale caused Ryan to be debarred from eating his dinner by her parents.</em>


    *****


    As she brought her bowl to her lips to drink its contents she could not help but let out a pained sigh,<em> ''How foolish I was, I understand now what pangs of hunger are, and if possible I wish to give a mind or two to my foolish idiotic self.''</em>


    Her musings were cut short when a familiar car appeared, the upants of the car stepped outside before one of them carried Ryan on a stretcher.


    Eleanora looked at the stretcher as she spoke, "Why is he on a stretcher?"


    Marcel frowned as he spoke, "You remember the effect of the curse that we saw on him, it might be because of that.", he stood up from his seat as he spoke, "I will go and check on him."


    Eleanora stopped him as she spoke, "Wait for a minute dear I would also apany you."


    Only for the duo to be stopped by Beth who spoke with a re, "You will only go after you have finished eating your lunch, you have to take better care of yourself, otherwise who will look after your children if you fall ill."


    The husband and wife looked at each other before swallowing their food as fast as possible, and then the duo moved as fast they could to meet with Ryan, and a few minutester they were stopped from entering Ryan''spartment by Ang who stood blocking their path.


    "Please we want to meet with our son."


    Ang raised her hand in a cating motion before she spoke, "Ryan is sleeping currently."


    Marcel growled as he spoke, "Thest time we met he was very sick so why did he need to go out there, and why did he need to be brought in on a stretcher, something does not add up, is he injured even more."


    "No he is not, he is indeed sleeping because he is tired, but what is he to you?"


    The neer''s voice came to their ears as they looked and was surprised to see the towering figure of Xuelong looking down at them with a frown on her face.


    Marcel looked at Xuelong her stare unnerved him but with mustering great courage he spoke, "He is my son, it is my right to know and be by his side."


    Xuelong''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "It is true that you might have brought him to this world, but I also know something happened between him and your family that made him estrange but in the greater scheme of things that is irrelevant because Ryan is my fellow brethren, an Apostle as such his life, his soul, his present, his future all belongs to his patron God, you are of no consequences to him, take pride in giving birth to such a pious and blessed person and then forget you even have a son, now leave."


    With that, she turned to leave leaving behind a pair of gobsmacked parents, when Eleanora spoke out loud drawing attention to her, "How dare you say such a thing? He is, was and will always be my son, I do not care what a God wishes I will never give him up."


    Xuelong half turned her head as she spoke with a mocking sneer in her voice, "Give him, please Ryan already belongs to his patron God he lives by His will and will die by His will, now stop creating ruckus he needs his rest, and a friendly warning to you two, my brethren is like my family and mess with him and you will have to face thebined wrath of two apostles, and I do not believe you would like it considering your other children mighte to harm."


    With her words being said she left while Ang stopped Ryan''s ex-parents from further arguing with Xuelong.

 Chapter 101: The new quest (part-8)

    Chapter 101: The new quest (part-8)


    "Please stop arguing, if what I know about any Apostle they are not known for their patience, if you argue she will kill you so please stop."


    Eleanora looked at Ang with disbelief on her face as she spoke, "Surely she will not."


    Only for Ang to speak with a frown as she spoke, "I have spent more time with them than both of you as such I can hazard a guess on their next course of action and now how can I help you?"


    But before they could speak they were interrupted by Ang who spoke with a frown, "Upon saying that I will have to warn you that, Ryan is sleeping and he needs his rest, currently there is arge amount of tension between Ryan and your group and aggravating him when he is sick will cause problems, so you may not visit him."


    Eleanora looked at Marcel who bit his lips before he began to speak, "Why? Why did he have to go, he is sick so why did he have to go out instead of resting, and being brought back in a stretcher indicates that he is not well so why is he overstraining himself."


    Ang was silent trying to gather her thoughts while she witnessed a good chunk of people paying undivided attention to them waiting for her to speak, as such with a tired sigh she began, "Ryan had received a quest from his patron God that required for him to leave."


    "Quest?"


    "Yes, quest or task or whatever you wish to say, he has received one and it is currently an ongoing task but, unfortunately, his current condition is too much for him to handle the strain as such he fell asleep, when he will wake up he will venture forth again."


    Both Marcel and Eleanora were aghast upon hearing that as Marcel spoke in a frustrated voice, "Why? Why would he do such a thing? You yourself said he is not well so why is he pushing so hard and what about the God who gave him the quest? Why is He forcing Ryan so much?"


    Ang looked at them directly into his eyes as she spoke, "That is no need for you to know, but know this that Ryan has a ratherrge heart, sorge that he would walk onva if it means helping someone as such even with such curse wreaking havoc he is still walking, he is still pushing himself hard so that this fellow humans can have a much better and safe life, so please do not insult his sacrifice and dedication."


    Marcel balled his fist as he spoke, "Then, please let one of us apany you, so that"


    "What can you give him that we cannot, we have terrifying drivers who can skedaddle fast if require, we have healers who can close any wounds within seconds, but most importantly we have soldiers who have fought in the war, what do you have to offer?"


    As the duo was stunned to silence Ang pressed forward, "That is the truth you have nothing to offer, in no way you can help us except bing an unwanted luggage that we will have to haul around, even when he is having a problem standing Ryan is pushing himself to walk, jump, and climb for the rest of us do not add yourself to his burden, now if there is nothing left you may leave as we need our rest.", her eyes softened as she spoke, "I know you are worried for him and as I have told you before if you need any news on him to feel free to approach me though this offer would expire if you barge in or cause a ruckus or try to harass Ryan."


    Marcel gave a small before he spoke, "I understand.", that he caught his wife''s hand as the couple left slowly disappearing from her side.


    As soon as the duo had made themselves scarce Ang let out a huff before she returned back to and walked inside thepartment.


    <em>''Why could I not get a calm and undisturbed meal, and why do I have to deal with them upon returning? It is so annoying.''</em>


    Nikita looked at the annoyed Ang as she forwarded her a bowl before she spoke with a smile, "Here have some."


    Ang shed her small smile as she spoke, "Thank you, so how did the water collection go?"


    Nikita took a sip from her bowl as she spoke, "It went well I hope."


    "Yeah right that Xuelong threatened them and I had to run damage control with a few lies here and there."


    "Like?"


    "How Ryan is doing this because of his self-sacrificing attitude, how he is selfless, something on the likes I did not say anything about the source of his dreadful curse though, there was plenty of eavesdroppers and I thought I might make Ryan look like a Hero, in their eyes."


    Nikita nodded as she spoke, "You did a good work out there."


    Ang took a sip of her soup before she spoke with a sigh, "We need a good load of peppers and salt."


    "I agree though it would be difficult, please try to keep an eye open when you go out."


    A few more minutester Ryan opened his eyes as he looked around, and found himself staring at a familiar ceiling.


    "Ah, Brother you are awake."


    His attention was brought towards the speaker who was none other than Michalina, who then helped him to sit up by cing her hand under his back, before helping him with his bowl.


    "Here is your soup."


    Ryan took a sip of the soup as he let out a sigh of content as he spoke, "It tastes nice."


    Michalina smiled at him while inwardly she frowned hard at his words, ''A few weeks ago he would grimace and would be thrilled to even touch it but he has managed to adapt to such conditions I wish he did not need to feed on such filth.''


    As Ryan finished his lunch he spoke with a yawn, "So is everyone ready?"


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes, they are, and we are now nning to hit the fifth spot that you have marked on the map, while the third and fourth will have to wait their turn till tomorrow morning."


    "Fair enough so how should we proceed?"


    "We will move as close as possible towards the fifth spot on a car then we would do a grab and dash kind of deal."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Okay, then help me to stand up and then we will leave."


    A few minutester the group had once again left the confines of the Alpha Raven as they made their way towards the fifth spot, on the way their Ryan noticed a shopping mall and from the vibes, he was getting from it, one of the hidden stashes was located within it, but he also knew that the shopping mall would be the fourth ce where they would venture into the very next day.


    They came across another cluster of houses before his pull towards the stash intensified to a new level while the search radius decreased by quite arge number.


    "Stop, stop thatrge building over there is the one we have to enter."


    Ang looked towards the building as she read out loud the name written on top of it, "Natural Swimming Center, huh, what a weird name."


    The car came to a halt as the Elves went on to check the building from outside, trying to see if they could spot any undead.


    Once again an Elven scout came forward as she spoke with a bow, "Your Holiness, there is a couple of undead on the top floor may we have permission to engage."


    Ylerias waved off her hand as she spoke in a bored tone, "Granted.", and as the Elf left she then turned towards Rayn as she spoke, "Since they are dealing with them let us leave."


    Ryan nodded and with the help of his crutch they made inside the building, the swimming pool was arge one easily reaching over seventy meters mark and was equipped with various modern amenities.


    Ryan''s eyes roamed around as he took into the sight searching for anything unusual he could spot and within a few minutes he had managed to get the general location of the stash, and it was sadly located in a ce where neither he would like to venture into nor has he approached it yet.


    "The pool, the stash is inside the pool."


    His words made Michalina scowl as she spoke, "Pool water must be crystal clear, but it is so murky ck in colour that we cannot see anything, something must be the cause of its unnatural colour."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "My thoughts exactly though even if something is not lurking around I have no wish to venture into such dark and dirty water at all."


    Ylerias grunted as she spoke, "Me neither, just looking at the pool water makes me feel sick, and if we dive in it we would surely get a few deadly diseases."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Exactly but here is where we stumble upon a corundum.", he paused for a moment before continuing, "It would be great if we could drain it, but how? Most pools have an either manual or automatic drainage system and since the disaster electronics are useless as suchtter option is not avable through manual would cause us to jump into the pool something not advisable so what should we do?"


    Xuelong stroked her chin as she spoke, "We need water to be drained right?"


    "Yes, we do Your Holiness."


    "Hmm, then leave the draining part to me."


    With that she left the building swiftly making her way towards the back where the pool was nearest to it, she then willed her sword to appear in her hand before she closed her eyes focusing on the task ahead.


    As she opened her eyes she started invoking her spells, ''Draconic Strength''.


    A bright red light shed through her body while a bloodthirsty grin appeared n her face, she then raised her weapon before sending a strike as she bellowed out loud, "Land Cleaver."


    True to its name the attacked cleaved through the ground as it made its way breaking through the wall before hitting the pool on the other side of the wall with a loud bang, while the others retreated trying to prevent themselves identally getting drenched in foul murky water.


    The crack was loud enough and now finding its path the water flowed out with tremendous pressure, while the cause of the crack dashed towards Ryan to meet up with him.


    It took them a few minutes but the contents of the pool became clear for inside the deepest partid two abominations, the two creatures were looking at them snarling in anger while it barely managed to control the flow of drool that dripped from its mouth.


    Ryan looked towards the abomination as he let a low whistle of appreciation before he spoke, "They look bigger than any I have seen so far."


    Ylerias nodded knocking an arrow into her bow as she spoke, "More work and less talking please."


    Ryan brought out his gun as did Michalina, while Ryan spoke in an authoritative tone, "With the count of three we drop them."


    A couple of nods came towards his direction as he began to count out loud, "Three Two One Fire!"


    As he bellowed out loud, a rain of arrows apanied by gunshots followed after it as it collided with the creature that was on the left, it faltered upon being hit, and then it became angry as it tried to carve its way towards Ryan and his group, but was unable to reach them as such it along with its brethren was stuck in the deepest part of the pool with no way out it in their sight.


    "<strong>Fire! Fire</strong>! Keep on firing on the one that is located at the left side, only after its fault we would deal with the other."


    Soon after they had managed to clear both the undead that were present before he climbed down into the pool as he picked up the third stash, while the notification once again chimed in.


    ******


    <strong><em>Quest Update: (3/5) Hidden stashes acquired</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Time Remaining: 30.5 Hrs...</em></strong>


    ******

 Chapter 102: The Reward (part-1)

    Chapter 102: The Reward (part-1)


    Ryan sipped from the warm bowl of soup that was given to him, the warm bowl had managed to quench his hunger though he did not know if it was because of the taste that was so unappetizing that he lost his appetite or it really was because it managed to really satisfy his hunger.


    <em>''Well I should at leastpliment and say my thanks to those who have worked hard to get us something to eat no matter how untteringly unappetizing it might seem to be.''</em>


    "Are you ready brother?"


    Ryan looked up towards his sister as he spoke, "I am as ready as I can be, if we finish our work fast we can begin our journey fast and return home quickly as well."


    Michalina nodded in agreement before she spoke with a frown, "Today will be a long day."


    Ryan grimaced at her words before he spoke with a frown of his own, "I was thinking about what my fellow apostle''s were talking about the other day, the thought that a very powerful monster is stopping the others from evolving is a very worrisome thought and the scouting parties have yet to locate any such monster."


    Michalina''s frown deepen even more as she spoke, <em>"So, what do you suggest?"</em>


    Ryan patted the vehicle as he spoke, "Tell Jessica to be ready and make a run for it if things go south, thest thing I want is the passengers of the road train bing zombies it would be troublesome to deal with."


    Michalina nodded with a sigh before she spoke, "Ryan do you think that he could cause some problem."


    Ryan''s face darkened upon being reminded of his patron God as he spoke with anger in his voice, "I havepletely confident with the fact that he would do something bad so we have to be cautious, I do not wish to be cursed yet again."


    Michalina nodded before she spoke again, "You know Ryan about the thing that those two were saying about, about forming a personal group under you."


    Ryan nodded as Michalina continued, "If in the future you wish to do so, I will happily support you and join."


    Ryan smiled at her as he spoke, "Thank you Sis, for having my back."


    "Mention not, now let us get ready the day light is burning away."


    A few minutester the group looked at the next destination, the third and fourth signal wasing from a building, a ratherrge building which happened to be arge hospital, ''Eco Vige Super-specialty Hospital''.


    "So this is a hospital of your world?"


    Ryan nodded towards Xuelong as he spoke, "Yes, though this one is a bit special, Super-Speciality Hospital''s are a bit special with various kinds of treatment styles, diagnostic machines, various doctors specializing on various different ailments, as such they are good but at the same type this kind of hospitals are few in number as well."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Why so if they are so good then why are they so few in numbers."


    Michalina spoke with a grunt, "Money, simply money running suchrge establishment require arge amount of money and as such getting treatment in this facilities are costly not everyone can afford one."


    Ylerias simply gave a nod of understanding as she spoke, "I understand even in our world there are some illnesses which can be cured by some specific potion but the ingredients are so costly and rare that most cannot afford."


    Ryan simply nodded at her words before he spoke with a serious look on his face, "So how should we deal with it, there are hundreds of them."


    Xuelong frowned before she spoke, "We can bring that giant vehicle of yours and use those guns to mow them down."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Well we can do that but I am afraid about what kind of creature is leading them, as such I cannot knowingly put others in danger."


    Xuelong gave him a nod of understanding as she spoke, "Fair enough so what do we do then?"


    Ryan bit his lips for a moment before he spoke, "I can create a temporary fort and put some of the bigger guns around this ce, we can draw the creatures out here and ughter them, well then I should get to work then and in the meantime keep an eye on them.", his gaze then fell on Michalina as he spoke, "Raven should be stocking up some materials that is being converted to bullets ask Ang to bring sizable some enough for four mounted machine guns."


    With that Ryan quickly made his way to the nearest house as he began to dismantle it with a touch under the fascinated eyes of his fellow Apostles.


    "His abilities are wonderful."


    "So, true Xuelong and since his gauntlets now prevent the loss of materials when dismantling as well as loss of mana when creating and destroying he can really work without any restrictions, oh by the way Xue have you heard of ''Word Eater'' level after all the highest I know is Celestial?"


    As Xuelong shook her head negatively Ylerias spoke with a frown, "The Gauntlet that is on Ryan''s hand is a ''World Eater'' rank but at present it is lowered to umon tier, and I forgot to ask my Goddess about it."


    Xuelong simply patted her as she spoke, "Well better luck next time."


    Ryan quickly constructed a towering tower that seemed to over look the Hospital, Ryan then went on to ced the four heavy machine guns on top of it along with ammo caches nearby.


    The entire process took Ryan the entire morning and it was nearing their time for lunch, as he finished the finishing touches he looked towards his fellowpanions as he spoke, "Everything is finished but I fear it would be loud."


    Xuelong looked down from the top of the structure as she spoke, "This is nice, they will have a hard to time for them to reach up here, making it easier for us to deal with them, but what have you thought about the escape route."


    Ryan blinked owlishly at her as Xuleong spoke with a sigh, "We know there are an around two hundred undead here andbined with the fact that the noise of your guns more would arrive here how do you n to escape."


    Ryan had the sudden urge to bash his head for forgetting the obvious while Michalina spoke with a frown, "We can use ziplines to escape, Ryan could ce one at the back, and in case of emergency we can escape from it."


    Ryan nodded with a smile on his face as he spoke, "I can work with it.", and it took him a few more minutes for him to get ready to execute the n.


    Xuelong looked at others as she spoke, "Are you all ready?", and as her fellow apostles gave their consent she raised her hand as she cast her spell, "Sound bomb"


    A light turquoise colored ball fell on the ground before exploding with a loud noise making everyone wince but the sound managed to do its job as multiple roar was heard from inside the hospital as Xuelong spoke with a smirk, "Shakidra hand me the bait."


    A bundle of bloodied bandages found its way onto her hand as she once again casted another spell, "Water Ball."


    The bloodied bandages was now covered by a ball of water that was clearly unstable from the wobbling of the ball trying to maintain its shape and was turning into red due to the presence of the blood within the bandages, as Ryan looked at it intently, <em>''The water is covering the bandages that are drenched with my blood, but it is unstable for some reason.''</em>


    He then watched Ylerias ce her hand on top of the ball as she spoke, "Wind ball."


    This time another shell formed on top of the already unstable sphere, a turquoise colored sphere that was deeper in color to the previous one, but it did managed to increase the instability even more, the duo then aimed their creation towards the hospital letting it.


    The unstable orb dashed towards the hospital with as much grace a drunk person does while walking on a straight line, but it moved fast enough to almost reach the hospital before exploding in to a shower of red mist that was soon carried into the hospital.


    A moment of silence descended before various noises erupted from inside the hospital.


    <em><strong>~keugh ~</strong></em>


    <em><strong>~krrgh~</strong></em>


    <em><strong>~khwa~</strong></em>


    Ylerias gripped her bow hard as she spoke, "Get ready everyone."


    Meanwhile, back with Alpha Raven Ryan''s ex-family were curious seeing the car returning back a few times with Ryaning along once as well though they did not wait very long as they left soon afterwards.


    They were waiting anxiously when all of a sudden an announcement came to board the vehicle which was followed by another frantic check to see if anyone was loitering around against their better judgment when all of a sudden the road train began to move.


    Isabe gained a look of rm on her face as she spoke, "Wait a minute the car did not return, where is brother?"


    Her questioned send reignited the tension amongst the group as both Catherine and she ran towards the cockpit only to be stopped by Nikita.


    "What are you two doing? This is a restricted area."


    By then the rest of Ryan''s ex-family had managed to reach as well, as such Marcel spoke in a pleading tone, "Please we cannot leave Ryan is not back."


    "I know Lord Ryan is not back yet, but it was hismand for us to move from our position."


    Beth looked towards the speaker as she spoke, "You went out with Ryan yesterday, were you not a doctor."


    Maralyn gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes, I am but Shakidra went out today in my stead so", whatever she was going to say came to a halt as loud sound like distant sound of firecrackers came to her ears as she spoke with a grim look on her face, "Ah, so the battle has begun."

 Chapter 103: The Reward (- 2)

    Chapter 103: The Reward (- 2)


    Ryan pressed the trigger of hisser pistol as he watched one of the undead copsed, the guns were roaring away tearing the enemies to shreds but it was not enough as such he brought out the ever reliant Molotov lighting it on fire with the help of a lighter he then tossed it into the midst of the horde as it exploded in a brilliant shower of mes.


    Xuelong whistled as she watched at the destruction wrought by the ss bottle filled with strange liquid before she spoke with a giddy look on her face, "Can I have some."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Please help yourself though remember to lit it on fire, and throw it immediately do not hold it too long or else we would all be roasted alive."


    Xuleong nodded as she picked up the bottle and had the first experience of using a Molotov with arge smile on her face as Ylerias scowled as she spoke, "Xuelong focus there is no need to get giddy on things that a normal fireball can aplish."


    Xuelong rolled her eyes as she replied back to her, "I know but this is done without magic but by using some form of liquid, does it not make you excited about what else this world has to offer."


    "It does, but please focus on the task at hand."


    The undead ran out in droves towards them and soon made their demise by thebined efforts of the group as Michalina spoke with a frown, "The recently turned are slower and are not that intelligent but the more they evolve the more they be dangerous."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes they are as the undead can be dangerous foes especially if they form a Necropolis."


    Ryan looked at her with a frown on his face as he spoke, "Necropolis."


    At his question, a look of disgust and ear passed through many of his listeners as Xuelong spoke with a haunted look on her face, "Pray that you do not have to face something simr in your lifetime."


    At her words more question arose within Ryan as Ylerias spoke with a sigh, "You can say it is like a city of the undead, the dead rule over the city and it is very difficult to deal with, one such incident had taken ce a long time ago, a necropolis had formed and had taken abined force of fifteen apostles and their subordinates to deal with it, even then only three of those apostles had survived, a necropolis is very dangerous."


    Michalina''s grip on the gun tightens as she spoke, "Considering the chances of undead roaming around what are the chances that a necropolis could form."


    Ylerias grimaced at her question as she replied back, "Very high, I would not be surprised if in some corner of the one has already started to form after all there is no shortage of dead."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Troublesome but how will you know if a necropolis is forming or not."


    Xuelong threw another Molotov before she replied back to him, "From what I have read the area where the necropolis is forming is extremely unsuitable for life, the ground would not only be barren deste but decaying as well, the air extremely stale to the point just being in that ce for some time would make you feel sick, the water poisonous, and to sum up everything the ce detests life but that is not the best part."


    Ylerias gave a nod as she spoke with a smirk, "Yes that is not the best part, any creature dies with in the area of effect of a necropolis revives instantly as an undead, now just think for a moment you are fighting alongside someone who is very close to you, then the next moment they are dead and then the very they are reborn as undead and your enemy, what would you do?"


    Ryan simply shuddered at the thought, the thought that his own sister or his mother being reborn as undead and he would be then forced to fight against them was a very disconcerting thought.


    He took a deep breath as he spoke, "That is enough for some morbid thoughts let us focus on the task at hand, and we will be done soon.", And true to his words thest of the undead fell soon after as they let out a sigh of relief.


    Ylerias then looked towards one of her subordinates as she spoke, "Scout out and see if there are any stragglers that are still left."


    The scout left fast and a few moreter returned with the news that there were none and as such within a few breaths Ryan had removed the guns before they all returned to the ground.


    The hospital for theck of a better word smelled terrible enough to the point that more than once they had to force down their bile as Xuelong could not help but speak out loud, "Yuck what is this smell the air here is so stale that I feel sick, I hope the hospital''s in your world does not smell like this."


    Ryan red at her as he replied back with a huff, "Of course not the only smell you can get from a hospital is that of medicines not this ugh I want to throw up, why did I not bring my gas mask? This is terrible."


    Michalina would have offered her brother some support andfort if it were not for the fact she herself was struggling hard not to redecorate the floor with the contents of her stomach.


    Ylerias meanwhile growled as she spoke, "Ryan move fast the faster we are done with this the better it would be."


    "I know I know."


    With that Ryan decided to forego the concept of walls as he barreled through them with care of the world, normally he would have thought twice about doing something that would damage the structural integrity but the smell was driving him insane.


    He soon found himself standing in what seemed to be a maternity ward as his brow twitched, ''You have got to be kidding me a few days ago I had to face a zombie baby and now I will have to be in the only ce babies were kept.'', he looked around only to spot a few of the cribs broken or having dried up blood and a few with smaller bone, his body shook as he closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself, ''Do not look around too much, do not look around too much.''


    "Ryan is there a problem?"


    Even though Xuelong''s voice came to his ears it was Michalina who answered with a gasp, "This is the maternity ward and from the looks of it those poor babies were eaten by the undead."


    A look of disgust shed through the two apostle''s face upon hearing that while Ryan quickly moved to the corner of the room where he found the fourth piece of paper thus bringing his quest closer towards the end.


    "Let us move thest part and finish the quest fast, I do not wish to stay here any longer than necessary."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Were you able to pinpoint the location of thest part?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes unlike before where it felt as if the piece of paper was located somewhere in the building I now know for sure that it is present somewhere in the basement."


    Michalina grimaced as she spoke, "The basement?"


    Ryan gave a tired nod as Ylerias spoke with a frown, "What is so bad about the basement?"


    Michalina began to speak with a sigh upon hearing her question, "Normally in a hospital such as this, the ground floor is the reception and the emergency ward, the upper floors are meant for patient wards, operation theatres, doctor chambers and wards but the basement usually holds things that the hospital does not want others not to get exposed willy-nilly and the worst of all underground areas will not have any windows so no fresh air and in the current condition."


    Her words made the group visibly shivered at the thought of being exposed to smell in an even more dreadful situation, since at least at their current ce they had something known as windows by their side, windows that allowed the stale air to escape while fresh air was weed into the bosom of the building.


    With torches lit the group slowly descended to the broken stairs as the pungent smell increased its intensity but Ryan hadmandeered a set of oxygen masks and had tinkered with them to create gasmasks for the group.


    As they went down through the stairs Xuelong noticed something that made her stop she looked at the wall for a moment before she spoke, "Hey what is this ck gunk on the wall."


    Her words drew the attention of the other three members of her group as the siblings simply shrugged as Michalina spoke, "No idea, what this thing is and I think we should not touch it."


    Ylerias nodded in consent before she spoke with a frown while looking down towards the dark corridor, "Although I agree with you Michalina the touching part might not be unavoidable."


    Ryan groaned as he spoke, "One thing after another just my luck."


    The ck gunk was extremely sticky as it was evident by the way their shoes got stuck to the ground making it difficult for them to move.


    Xuelong growled as she spoke, "Hey Ylerias do you not have the air walking spell."


    Ylerias rolled her eyes as she spoke, "It is not called ''air walking'' but Cloud Dash but why?"


    "You can carry Ryan with you as it would be faster not to mention you will not have to walk over this gunk whatever it is."


    Ylerias eyes widen before she looked towards Ryan who spoke with a frown, "Although her idea has some merit what if Ylerias being present triggers the failure condition."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "What if she carries you to as close to it as possible while having her eyes closed and you directing her."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "You know your idea might just work."


    Ylerias nodded before quickly picking up a slightly blushing Ryan by his shoulder as she spoke with her eyes closed, "You better remember this I am doing so much for you."


    With a smile, Ryan replied back to her, "of course you have done so much for me I will try my best to repay you someday."


    As the duo disappeared further into the darkness of the basement under Ryan''s verbal guidance Xuelong turned towards Michalina as she spoke, "You know this ce especially the basement is giving me creeps."


    Michalina grimaced as she spoke, "So I was not the only one having such a feeling."


    Meanwhile back with Ryan and Ylerias a couple of turns and a few walls that were conveniently vanished from his path Ryan came upon thest piece but then something drew his attention something that was located quite close to thest piece of paper.


    "Hey, Ylerias I have collected the piece of paper so you can open your eyes though what is that green crystal thing, it is giving me creeps."


    Ylerias opened her eyes as she looked at the strange thumb-size crystal for a moment before her eyes went wide with fear while her face lost all its colour as she shouted out towards herpanion, "<strong>Ryan destroy it now!</strong> This thing is the heart of Necropolis."


    Ryan did not need to be told as he quickly fired at it using his gun shattering the crystal into dust that disappeared into nothingness as Ylerias let out a sigh of relief, a relief that was not appreciated by Ryan as a new notification appeared for him.


    *****


    <strong><em>Emergency Quest: Escape from this ce</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Objective: Escape and Survive</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reward: ????</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Hidden Objective: ????</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reward: ????</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Failure: Death</em></strong>


    *****


    Ryan''s breath hitched as he shouted out at the top of his lungs, "<strong>We have to get out of this ce now,</strong> I received a new quest it told me to survive or die.", Ylerias needed need to be told twice as she bolted while still carrying Ryan under her arms.

 Chapter 104: The reward (Part-3)

    Chapter 104: The reward (Part-3)


    Ryan looked at the gun in front of him, the gun he had received as a reward from the searching quest a gun that he had received.


    The gun looked a bit like a love child between an X95 and one of the best and deadliest weapons humanity has ever created AK-47.


    <em>''Hmm, the front part well most of the barrel part just looks like a silenced X95 especially that one that makes it look more futuristic, but the rest is in old AK and I hope it has the same punch as an AK though.''</em>


    ******


    <strong><em>Name: HAR-VmA17</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Tier 10</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Rank: Umon</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Type: Projectile</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Damage: 300 (+0)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>RATE OF FIRE: 50</em></strong>


    <strong><em>uracy: 75%</em></strong>


    <strong><em>MOBILITY: 87%</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Range: 850m </em></strong>


    <strong><em>CONTROL: 67%</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Weight: 5.27 Kg </em></strong>


    <strong><em>Ammo: 7.26x39</em></strong>


    <strong><em>[CAUTION: DAMAGE OF THE WEAPON DEPENDS ON THE TIER OF HOST''S STRENGTH AND INTELLIGENCE </em></strong>


    <strong><em>CAUTION: DEPENDING ON AMMO TYPE/TIER DAMAGE WILL INCREASE.]</em></strong>


    ******


    Ryan looked at the gun before he spoke with a smile on his face, "At least I can now understand how much damage I can cause with it, as well as its range amongst many things."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "At least you can know about its capabilities unlike me, I had to learn about it the hard way, what was all those data that were written alphabetically I could not make a head or tail about it."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a sigh, "You are right sis, you are right even if my previous gun was awesome I also had to work hard to understand its capabilities though now I will have to make ammunition for it."


    "726?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes the same ammo calibre as an AK, and I hope it is as good as an AK."


    Michalina gave a small nod towards Ryan before she looked towards Ang as she spoke, "Floor it, the faster we get out here the better.", she then looked back towards her brother as she spoke, "The new quest is still active right?"4


    A loud roar came to their ears, the roar was louder than any creature that they had encountered a roar that seemed to rattle their bones.


    Ryan looked towards his sister as he almost shouted out to her, "There you have your answer."


    Xuelong was sitting inside the car in a meditative pose with her eyes closed but upon hearing the roar she opened her eyes as she spoke, "A rather big creature but I am unfamiliar with the roar so I cannot tell you what it is we are about to face, but be ready to fight with it."


    Ryan could not help but let out a sigh at that as he spoke, "Can we not escape from it."


    Xuelong snorted at his words as she spoke, "n for the best but prepare for the worst, in an ideal situation we could make it out safely but hearing the roar I can safely say it would be very dangerous and big creature, and most of the time shaking them off would be rather difficult."


    Her eyes then travelled to Michalina as she spoke, "Worsee to worse, drop me off as I believe my group along with Ylerias and he group can deal with it or at least bye sometime, Ryan is not well so take him with you."


    Ryan scowled but before he could retort back Xuelong raised her hand stopping him as she spoke, "I know you want to help but your current condition is not ideal so I am sorry.", Ryan could only let out a soft sigh before lowered his eyes as he began to check on his new weapon.


    Meanwhile back with Alpha Raven, Jessica let out awn yawn while she tried to be vignt but she failed spectacrly as she was extremely bored as she could not help but think inwardly, <em>''Ugh, I wish I was out there as well this thing is so boring.''</em>


    "Goliath sighted approaching from the left side, guarded by Lady Ylerias and her entourage."


    Jessica sighed upon hearing Nikita''s words as she spoke, "I see there are back and I hope their work has been finished as well this is getting too boring at least they were having some fun."


    As she spoke her radio chimed in as Michalina''s voice chimed in, "We areing in hot do not stop."


    Jessica tilted her head but before she could speak, a shout came from Nikita, "Goliath down I repeat Goliath down, man the turrets man the turrets."


    Jessica looked in disbelief as she spoke, "What just happened?"


    A scathing reply of Nikita came to her ears, "Well you got your wish now shut up and concentrate."


    A few minutes back with Ryan and his group, Ang took a sharp turn as therge vehicle became immediately visible to her as she let out a sigh of relief as she spoke, "We are nearly there and finally we can leave this ce."


    It was as if her words were some form of the trigger as the house nearest to them exploded as arge creature barreled out of it ramming into the car hard managing to even dent it, but Ang was no novice as she deftly took control while the roaring beast chased after the car, but then something unprecedented happened, the beast''s throat bulged before it sprayed rear half of the car with its putrid green vomit.


    Ryan looked with his eyes wide as the part of the car covered in vomit began to melt fast while Michalina shouted out, "Abandon car abandon it fast."


    Ryan did not waste his time as the side left side of the car vanished immediately as he jumped out followed closely by the ret while Ang jumped out by opening the door, and it was just in time to see the rear of the carpletely fall off along with the destruction of the rear wheels and axle.


    Meanwhile back in Alpha Raven, the passengers were suddenly scared hearing the guns firing while Ryan''s ex-family had a clear view of the destruction of Goliath.


    Eleanora let out a loud gasp as she spoke in a fearful voice, "What is that?"


    The reason for her fear was the creature that the group was facing, a creature taller than most modern two-storey houses even though it was hunchbacked, a creature that had arge beefy left arm whereas it''s right had two thinner arms but both ending into what looked like an overlyrge scythe, but what took the cherry on top of the cake was the head which looked like exactly like a moose with its horns.


    The creature then roared, a roar that made everyone near it wince as they tried to block the ear-shattering sound, but what scared many of them was the fact that unlike any creature its mouth parted four ways as it wagged itsrge vomit-covered tongue as saliva dripped from it, saliva when reaching the ground sizzled letting out smoke.


    Beth grabbed her son''s hand as she spoke with fear in her voice, "Oh my God he is near to that creature it is going to kill him, oh God."


    Meanwhile, Ryan swore up a storm inwardly as he looked at the creature in front of him, taking a jump from a car moving at high speed was not a good idea, though necessary but not good as such he was not filled with cuts and bruises all over his body as was any who were with him.


    <em>''Damn it, I will have to escape from it now I am feeling sick just by trying to walk and now this, this is too much.''</em>


    As his mind thought of various profanities with which he cursed out loud the ever-helpful voice in his head spoke out loud along with the ever-helpful notification.


    ******


    <em><strong>Caution: Host in danger. A creature beyond host capabilities.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Advice: Engage Quantum Brain when battling.</strong></em>


    <em><strong> </strong></em>


    *******


    Ryan''s eyes widen considerably at the hint he had just received as he could help but wonder,<em> ''I have always used my brain separately with one part dealing with normal functions but the rest engaged with the research, but I have nothing to research for now so why not engage everything on this battle.''</em>


    With a single thought he allocated hisplete brainpower and the world seemed to change, Ryan could see the smallest movement, he could see the twitch of the creatures muscle.


    The scythe went passed his head as Ryan crouched he purposely hit the creature''s scythe with his gauntlet as he disintegrating it while he himself decided to dash forward with his sword drawing making a deep cut on the creature''s leg.


    Ryan did not have to look back to know that Xuelong came on hard with her huge sword or the fact that Ylerias bombarded it with her arrows, normally he would have allowed the guns to deal with it but it seemed that the very gun that tore open even Tier seven and eight failed to do any worthwhile damage even after the bombardment as such he had to take the matter into his own hands.


    He looked down to see arge shadow nearing him so immediatelyy t on the ground as the tail of the creature passed above his head, he then proceeded to jump away from his position before turning to look back at the creature.


    Ryan gained a look of confusion on his face as he looked at the creature suddenly looking up with his throat bulging and as such using his enhanced mind he drew a very grim conclusion as he shouted out at the top of his lungs, "Get away from it, the creature is going to puke something dangerous."


    His shout bore fruit as the creature suddenly spun on its uninjured hind leg before puking out showering the entire area near him with a simr noxious putrid green vomit that immediately sizzles on the ground as holes began to form on it.


    But, what made a chill run down Ryan''s back was the fact that the leg that he had almost managed to sever was perfectly alright without even a hint of even a scratch, even the scythe that Ryan had destroyed had begun to reform.


    ''No way, it is healing so fast just what is it?''


    A hand fell on his shoulder as he looked back to see Ylerias standing behind him with a grim look on her face as she spoke, "Ryan you get out of her Xuelong and I will deal with the undead Chimera."


    Ryan did not know why but her words infuriated him as he spoke while standing up, "Get lost we will all go home safe and sound together or none of us will leave, I do not wish to experience your death."


    Hearing his words Xuelong could not help out but let loose a bark ofughter while Michalina frowned hard, she did not approve of her brother facing such a creature.


    Ylerias frowned before letting out a tired sigh as she spoke, "You are not well but if you insist then but please be on your guard and do not fall."


    A scream from the beast drew their attention as its eyes were destroyed in quick session as a couple ofrge cracks akin to thunder came to their ears while Michlina spoke with a slightly smug smile on her face, "That is Nikita for you, with the eyes destroyed at least it would be much easier now."


    To Ryan hitting a moving target a little smaller than a ping pong ball from over eight hundred meters while the creature head was constantly on the move is nothing short of an awe-inspiring act when it was done because Nikita did not have a proper scope though he also noted that others apanying them did not look too impressed.


    Back in Alpha Raven 2.0, the firing of the guns had stopped as Ryan and his group were too close to the target for friendly fire as such the remaining subordinates of the two apostles left to help their mistresses while Jessica was stuck behind the wheels, even Nikita had climbed on top of the cockpit to provide sniper support leaving.


    Therge hand came down exactly on the spot where Ylerias and Ryan were standing, while Ylerias jumped back Ryan simply moved to the side before jumping on top of the creature''s ratherrge and beefy hand as a tform before jumping above the creature''s head as his newest weapon appeared on his hand pulling the charging handle he pressed down the trigger releasing a hail of bullets on it.


    The others were not idle as arrows, weapon strike, as well as various magic, rained on it but the coup de grace came in the form of Xuelong who showing a show of immense strength and agility separated the creature''s right leg from the rest of the body making it copse on the ground.


    The moment the blind beast fell on the ground it spelt its doom suddenly multiple ethereal chains erupted from the ground holding it down tightly, while Ryan idly noted one of Xuelong''s subordinate kneeling on the ground with one his hand mmed on the ground.


    Ylerias did not waste any time as she shouted out, "Tear that chimaera apart."


    Ryan did not know what was going on but from the way others were acting he knew Chimera was serious business, and as such they will have to deal with it as fast possible as such without wasting any time he unloaded every bit of 7.62 calibre rounds he had in his possession at present before attacking with its sword.


    The head was separated from its body yet the creature struggled while the person holding it was showing immense signs of fatigue from the strain of maintaining the chains.


    Xuelong turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Use those damn bottle of Molotov on it and cover every inch of its flesh before we lit it on fire."


    Without wasting his time he took out every bottle in his position before flinging them towards the main body of the creature as well as its dismembered body parts a task that many happily helped him with before Ylerias lit them ame, before shouting out, "Retreat, everyone retreat."


    What followed was a mad dash towards the vehicle with Ryan being promptly carried as the strenuous exercise had taken its toll on him making him copse on the ground.


    The creature struggled and twitched for a moment after being freed from the chains as it tried to heal itself but being torn apart to pieces by thebined might of over a couple of scores of attackers as well as set ame was too much for it as it died with a loud explosion while coating the surrounding with highly acidic fluids.


    The next few minutes were a blur for Ryan as he struggled to keep his eyes open while trying not to vomit and by the time he managed to regain his bearings the Alpha Raven 2.0 putting a good distance between the sight of the battle and itself with a great speed.


    As the vehicle moved Ryan could not help but think back to the fight they just had, <em>''That was not to difficult with thebined might we took it out without much difficulty so why did it say it was beyond my capability was it saying such...''</em>, his thoughts came to a halt as a blinding pain enveloped him on his right cheek, as he could not help but scream out in pain.

 Chapter 105: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-1)

    Chapter 105: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-1)


    Michalina had a helpless look on her face as she watched her brother writhe in agony, she had tried everything to help her but to no avail, and the cause of Ryan''s agony was a small me that seemed to have appeared on his right cheek just below his eyes.


    "Michalina there is no need to fret he is alright."


    Michalina literally wanted to electrocute and if possible fry a rather smiling Xuelong who looked at the scene with an excited look on her face, but the only reason she did not was because of the fact she was outnumbered greatly and she doubted she would be able to harm her before she gets herself killed, as such all she could do was stew in silence while gritting her teeth in anger.


    "Michalina there is nothing to worry about he is fine."


    The jovial tone further enraged her especially the smile on her face as Ylerias spoke in a disapproving tone, "Xuelong behave what part of her being worried about her brother do you not understand so stop taunting her."


    Xuelong pouted as she spoke, "But she makes it so easy, and how long are you going to allow them to y around."


    "For as long as it takes Xuelong they are people from a different culture and believes they are different from us and thus perceive things differently and I am not going to force them apart."


    Ylerias eyes then fell on Michalina as she spoke, "Please do not be rmed, Ryuu is going through a cleansing phase it would be over soon."


    Michalina was so angry that she was unable to even respond to her words as such Jessica stepped into their conversation as she spoke, "If I may be bold enough to ask your Holiness, what is this cleansing thing?"


    "Every child is born precious and pure but over a lifetime we do various kinds of sins, some of which are done knowingly some not so, as such a cleansing ritual is needed for him, for any of us because otherwise, the next part would be extremely dangerous."


    Jessica could not help but question out loud upon hearing her words, "The next part? What do you mean by that Your Holiness?"


    Ylerias looked towards Ryan as arge smile blossomed on her face as a writhing and cursing Ryan went still as if something or someone had held him down on the floor making it hard for him to move, and then it began.


    The me on top of his right cheek spluttered before changing from bright red to hot white, as markings appeared over his skin to those who looked it seemed as if someone was using a knife to cut those markings.


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong seemed extremely pleased at the sight in front of them, even their subordinates seemed extremely ted at the sight, a fact that were not missed by Michalina who was trying hard not to snap, after all, ording to her everyone was relishing in his brother''s pain and anguish something that she could not tolerate.


    And after what seemed to be an eternity to Ryan but in fact, was a couple of minutes in real life the pain vanished along with the mes that were burning over his cheeks, but it did not leave with leaving a mark, a mark which was left behind in the form of a tattoo.


    "Ryan, are you alright?"


    An exhausted Ryan looked towards his sister as he spoke, "I am fine though I would like some water please."


    As Michalina offered him some water Ryan could not help but let out a heavy sigh as he mused inwardly, <em>''Why is this happening, every week I am ending up in a situation that would normally make me admitted to a hospital and by now I would make a world record on the number of times a person was admitted into a hospital in a single year.''</em>


    Suddenly a new set of notification chimed in as Ryan jumped up with joy startling everyone before he drew the closest person, Nikita into a bone-crushing hug as he let out arge whoop of cheer startling everyone.


    Jessica looked towards Ylerias as she spoke with slight hesitation in her voice, "Was this the good thing you were saying about, well I failed to fathom why him going mad is good."


    Her words seemed to him drawn Ryan''s attention who spoke with a scowl, "Hey Jessica, I am not going mad.", his scowl then morphed into arge smile as he spoke, "In fact, I am very happy about the fact that I am now free from the curse."


    A stunned silence descended amongst the group before Michalina gave out a whoop of joy before engulfing Ryan in a bone-crushing hug.


    Michalina would have liked to celebrate before a more pressing matter appeared in front of her as such she held her brother by his chin before studying the tattoo intently for a moment before she spoke while looking towards Ylerias, "Your Holiness, but what is this tattoo on my brother''s face? Also, it seemed to be some sort of writing but I am unable to read it, what is it actually?"


    Ryan frowned as he spoke interrupting Ylerias''s speech, "What tattoo?"


    Xuelong smirked at him as she spoke, "Why don''t you use a mirror and check it out?"


    A mirror appeared in his hand and as he looked at his face he was stunned to see a tattoo that looked like some form of writing on his right cheek just below his right eye, he gaped at it for a moment before he spoke out loud with a slight hint of fear, "Mom will tan my hide if she sees the tattoo, she was greatly upset on seeing the one on hands after the apocalypse took ce but this is too much."


    "Brother she will understand.", Michalina gave him an understanding smile before she looked back towards Ylerias with a look of expectation.


    "That is marking of Holy scripture that appears on anyone who is blessed by Gods to use Holy power, the first thing is that the painful process was cleansing of your body, and the second thing is that the tattoo is a small excerpt from Sacred Scriptures that is written in the tongue of Gods which enable you to use Holy powers though at present it is in a much smaller amount, and with time more markings would be etched on your body as well as the amount of Holy power you could use."


    Ryan''s eyes widened as he spoke with a horrified look on his face, "You mean I have to undergo that horrible pain again."


    Ylerias nodded as she replied back, "Of course we are imperfect beings full of sins unlike Gods as such in order to use the Holy powers we have to undergo cleansing of our body.", seeing the growing look of horror on Ryan''s face Ylerias continued with a small smile on her own, "But, do not worry each cleansing is less painful than the previous one."


    Ryan deadpanned at her as he replied back, "That is not exactlyforting."


    Xuleong titled her head as she spoke in confusion, "Why not you are being cleansed of our sins and knowing about it should beforting enough, also is there not a saying, ''No pain, No gain''."


    Ryan''s brow twitched for a moment as he with great difficulty suppressed his urge to bash his head hard while he screamed and cursed inwardly, <em>''What kind of idiot I am, why am I discussing logic with some religious nut job, why? I should have known they would view these acts as some form of reward.''</em>


    Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself down before he spoke, "So this markings on my face are part of Sacred Scriptures, and I would receive more and more.", as both Xuelong and Ylerias nodded in agreement Ryan pressed forward, "So what do this scriptures mean?"


    Xuelong shrugged as she spoke, "No idea, they are written in tongues of God so that is something a God will only know so we cannot help you there."


    Ryan sighed at her words as he spoke, "Such a shame."


    Meanwhile, Jessica was looking at the scriptures with her eyes narrowed and after studying them for some time she remarked out loud, "I have seen this form of writing somewhere."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong gawked at her before Ylerias spoke with disbelief, "I doubt you would have seen it somewhere after all our Deities have not stepped into your."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No she is right this looks like a cuneiform, a style of writing from ancient Mesopotamia .", seeing the questioning look on the apostles and their subordinates faces Ryan decided to borate, "They were ancient civilizations a few thousand years ago and their writing is simr to the tattoo on my face."


    Jessica''s eyes widen as she spoke, "Ah that is why they looked familiar, I have seen pictures of them in my history book."


    To which Ryan simply nodded while Xuelong frowned hard as she spoke, "Are those sacred scriptures as well."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "As I said they look like cuneiform of our world, though I am no expert in this matter, I have seen pictures of Cuneiform in my history book but as I do not know thenguage itself so I can say to me they look simr but those who are an expert on thenguages can tell us the differences but for now to me, both look simr."


    Ylerias gave a small nod as she spoke, "I understand."


    Their chat was interrupted as one of Xuelong''s subordinate arrived with the news that a group of people were trying to enter iming to be Ryan''s family.


    "Tch, they are here again, what do they want?", Ryan rubbed his temples as he spoke with a heavy sigh, "Well then tell them to get in."


    Michalina looked at Ryan as she spoke, "Are sure you want to meet them?"


    "No, but at the same time I do not want to be hounded by them."


    Marcel stepped with his wife by his side, while his mother and his daughters trailing after him, they were once again greeted by Ryan sitting in a rather familiar position with his left hand resting on a kysoku.


    Ryan watched the nervousness in his ex-parents faces as he sighed inwardly, <em>''What do they want from me? I know they need something from me as such they are approaching me too much, not to mention the nervousness in them, are they afraid I will not grant them their desire, well whatever they are right every person in this road train would be treated the same with no difference.''</em>


    Eleanora was nervous as well as greatly worried, as she sat down in front of Ryan she idly noted two women sitting by his either sides, while the rest of the people were scattered all across the room including Xuelong who had warned them to stay away from Ryan sitting in a corner keeping an eye on the group.


    As tension rose to a great height only to be cut off by Ryan who spoke in a bored tone, "So what do you want?"


    "You have a tattoo!!!"


    Ryan''s eyes briefly drifted towards Isabe as he spoke with a drawl, "I do but more importantly what do you want from me?"

 Chapter 106: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-2)

    Chapter 106: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-2)


    Arge zombie growled as its underlings cowered under its gaze, it was feeling pangs of intense hunger but s it had yet to find any leaving creature to feast on.


    As such it was eyeing its subordinates trying to discern its next meal, and it may not have as much brain function but it knew one thing that it needed to feat on either living or one of its underlings because it felt good.


    It was soon distracted from its thought when the ground below him rumbled and arge noise drew its attention, it then turned towards the source with its jaws open wide only to be mmed by a very fast-moving few thousand tons of vehicle hard, which tore through the horde like a hot knife through butter.


    Meanwhile, inside the road train a very happy Ryan sat while humming a happy tune, he was happy to the point even a blind man can see the happiness dripping out of him and the reason for his happiness was because he was finally able to sit behind the steering wheel of one Alpha Raven 2.0, but at the same time, he was put off by two separate incidents.


    A while after he had finished celebrating his freedom from the dreadful curse, the reality of the situation mmed against him, during the altercation he had lost the Goliath.


    The very goliath that which had saved his life many times, the very Goliath that he had recreated into a mean machine was gone not to mention he had forgotten to salvage whatever part that still remained functional.


    <em>''What a waste if only I was a bit wiser I would have remembered to salvage the Goliath, but oh well I hope in the future I could make something better than the Goliath in the future.''</em>


    Michalina meanwhile stood just behind Ryan with her hands gripping onto his chair as if her life depending upon it, she could hear him humming a tune he could recognize, normally she would be against Ryan driving the road train, but seeing him go through the turmoil of emotions against his better judgment she had allowed him to drive and was now paying the price.


    Ylerias stood nearby she was extremely giddy seeing therge smile on her face, she loved the way Ryan drove the road train, and if it were not for the fact that it was very difficult to stand up on top without falling overboard she would have loved to do so and feel the wind rushing past her, but her current position was not bad not to mention she liked the tune Ryan was humming.


    "Hey, Ryan may I ask you what is this song you are humming about?"


    Ryan gained arge smile as he replied back to Ylerias, "Ah this is the song from one of my favourite bands, I like their songs very much."


    "I like the tune you were humming can you sing it for me."


    Ryan let out a nervous chuckle as he spoke, "I am sorry but humming the tune is the best I can do as the band sings in a foreignnguage that I do not know of."


    Ylerias gave an incredulous look as she spoke, "What do you mean don''t you all speak the samenguage?"


    Ryan snorted as he spoke, "Of course not there are over thousands ofnguage around the world though most of them speak English."


    Ylerias tilted her head as she spoke, "Really that is amazing to know that there is so much diversity in your people, and even though you may not know thenguage the song seems to be beautiful."


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "It really is an awesome song, and I wish I could have arranged for you to listen to their singing it is so nice even though I do not understand what they are singing."


    "Ylerias, do you know what the best part of music is?"


    Ylerias tilted her head slightly as she spoke in a curious voice, "What is it Ryan?"


    Arge smile blossomed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "The best part is that irrespective of gender, caste, race or creed music can link us all together, there is no man or nation strong enough to prevent it, and it makes even better that you do not need to know anynguage to enjoy it, a true Universal Language."


    Meanwhile back with Marcel and his family, theirtest chat had been draining especially since it derailed badly when Isabe had pointed out that Ryan now had a tattoo, which was soon jumped on by Beth who tried to give him a stern talking a notion that was not appreciated by Ryan nor was it by the woman who was sitting on his left side, and they are still feeling the effects of it as Marcel clung to his seat while Catherine screamed seeing the head of a zombie flying past the window its eyes roaming and its teeth chattering.


    Marcel looked towards Catherine as he spoke in a calming voice, "Catherine, Catherine look at me there is nothing to fear, okay, we are safe inside and the zombies cannot reach us, so there is nothing to fear."


    Eleanora held her daughterforting her before she looked at her husband as she spoke with fearced in her voice, "Who the hell drives like this? Never have I experienced such reckless driving before?"


    Marcel gritted his teeth as Beth spoke out loud, "Next time I see him"


    "You will do nothing."


    Beth could not help but gain a shocked look on her face as Marcel spoke with a heat in his voice, she was about to retort but was silenced by Marcel''s re.


    "You will not mother, Ryan did not have any tattoo yesterday yet now he suddenly sported one that means that something must have happened and instead of trying to learn the reason you had suddenly began to scold him, not to mention you forgot how good your rtionship was with him."


    Marcel let out a frustrated sigh as he spoke, "Mother I can understand that Isabe was a bit shocked but there is no excuse for the way you acted, you already know how vtile our rtionship is with us and your actions now angered him greatly, it feels that we had taken a great leap back after taking a step forward."


    Beth''s nostrils red as she spoke, "Like you were making any progress, and I detest the amount of grovelling you were doing, no parent should act like that in front of their child."


    Marcel growled loudly at her words while Eleanora silently pulled her daughter closer to her side as Marcel spoke, "When have I been a parent to him, and I ashamed to say in thest fifteen years I have never been one, and to tell you the truth I do not think I will ever have the rtion of father and son with him, just as my father had one with me, and to my eternal shame and regret I know I will never have it."


    As he spoke his eyes became red with tears Eleanora spoke with a gasp, "Dear, what sphemous things are you talking about, did you not say that we will have our family back."


    Marcel sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "Please calm down and think about it Eleanora, think about it by putting yourself in his shoes, do you think we can just wash away all those years and be happy family.", as Eleanora tried to speak Marcel raised his hand to stop her as he spoke, "I know I want us to be family again, but tell me to do you think we can suddenly be happy family, will he suddenly forgive and forget fifteen years of torment, please be rational, as such the current us can only be an acquaintance and then slowly work towards friendship and maybe God willing we can once again be family."


    Eleanora sighed as she gave a weak nod as Marcel once again began to speak, "Now, mother one more thing that we have to discuss, it is about the religion that Ryan has to follow now."


    Beth''s face turned to a new shade of purple as she shouted out, "We are a proud Christian and I refuse to acknowledge anything else, if he gives up his silly religion and repents I might consider him to be of my blood if not you can forget it."


    Marcel gritted his teeth as he spoke, "Then we are going to have some serious problem Mother, we do not know why he suddenly became a follower of a foreign god but seeing what he can do it can be easily deduced that he might have made some kind of deal."


    Beth scoffed at his words as she spoke, "There is nothing more important than discarding your faith, no matter what the Devil whispers one should always stay true to one faith."


    Isabe winced as she could hear her father grinding his teeth in anger before he spoke with so anger in his voice that even Beth was taken about, "I do not know what Ryan did, but I know because of him we as well as a thousand others are safe because him, because of him we no longer have to die while trying to find even a drop of water, so mother if you have any problem you can get lost from here."


    Beth looked at Marcel with her eyes wide as she spoke with disbelief, "You, how can you say that to me your mother."


    "Very easily, here I am trying to mend my bridges with Ryan and here you trying everything in your power to destroy whatever progress I am making, no wonder big sister cut off us from her life, this was the reason she wants nothing to do with us, you are too stubborn to acknowledge that other people have free will, they have their own wants and needs not your ves."


    Beth looked as if she was pped hard by her son as she spluttered trying to make aeback but Marcel kept on his onught, "I know just like Ciara you do not like Ryan much because of his life choices but please I beg of you to not interfere with us, we are trying to mend the bridges and make our family whole, and if you have problem with him then please forget about him and stay away for him because I do not believe he would mind too much and neither do you."


    A horrified look came over Beth as she spoke barely above a whisper, "You want me to forget about my grandson."


    Marcel shrugged as he spoke, "Of course seeing the situation it is a better option since you already stated that you do not wish to consider him being rted because of your religious fanaticism that is for the best, you will be granted your wish treating him like a total stranger something I do not doubt he will have any problem with, but I am sorry mother since I had let him down once I do not wish to do so again as such against your wants and wished I will never give up on my child again."


    While Beth sat there stunned as did the rest of Marcel''s family, Ylerias was happily chatting with his fellow apostles as well as Michalina about various things, when all of a sudden Ylerias asked a question that was guing her for some time.


    "Ryan, during the battle I noticed your movements became too fluid, not to mention the way you were dodging and attacking how did it happen, I do not mean to sound disrespectful but I do not believe you were that good."


    "There is no need to apologize because you are right normally I am not that good with fighting but I used a very nifty trick, you see since the day I became an apostle many things have changed in my body including my brain which you can say is not equivalent to four."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "What do you mean equivalent to four?"


    "Well it is kind of like I have four separate brains inside my skull instead of one, and when I used it to focus on a single task namely fighting the creature, it drastically increased my skills as well as I could predict its movements properly and react ordingly."


    Ylerias could not help but let out a small whistle of appreciation as she spoke, "The way you are going even amongst us apostles you might just be the strongest, your God really pampers you."


    Ryan''s brow twitched upon hearing that, he did not know what to think of his patron god, who might have given him a few interesting and useful stuff but at the same time is also a very taskmaster whom he sometimes wishes he could throttle with his bare hands, but instead of thinking about his patron God Ryan decided to focus on the road ahead.


    "Ryan can you slow the road train a bit."


    "No, big sister, no I am frustrated and tired of this trip and I want to return home as soon as possible."


    "But, we would be back within three days."


    "And I told you three days is a lifetime and many things can go wrong during the time as such I will try to reach home within two days at thetest, now please let me focus the road is a bit tricky in front of me."

 Chapter 107: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-3)

    Chapter 107: Returning back to Fort Genesis (Part-3)


    Ciara was in a quandary thest few days had been a true testament to her temper, with water running low it was a great problem, another problem that urred was the increasing attacks of the beasts, it was getting tiring for them dealing with the beasts that were slowly increasing in strength not to mention the guns that were made by Ryan was already outdatedpared to the threat they were facing, many were injured but fortunately, none had died.


    The morale was at an all-time low with sporadic fights breaking out every now and then, it was bing very difficult to deal with over six thousand people and as such Ciara could only pray for a miracle.


    Her musings were cut short when one of her subordinates hurried inside her office, "Major, I bring news."


    Hearing her words Ciara''s heart sank as every time news was being brought to her it was always about something bad as such steeling her nerves she spoke, "What is it?"


    The messenger''s eyes sparkled as she spoke, "Arge vehicle is approaching and we received a radio message from it.", those words suddenly lift up her hope as well as cause a burst of joy within her, as the messenger continued, "Ryan and others are back."


    Ciara did not need to be told twice as she jumped up from her seat before dashing out to meet her children, and as she reached the small vige that surrounded Genesis, she found the residents were scared and restless, and she soon found the cause as she stared at therge vehicle that was nearing them.


    "Everyone please calm down, I said calm down they are friends so calm down."


    Her words bared fruit as she managed to quell the restlessness somewhat, but that did not mean the people did not look at therge vehicle with a suspicious look on their faces.


    The vehicle came to a halt a good few feet away from her as one of the doors opened and out of it jumped down a familiar person who then dashed towards Ciara before drawing her into a bone-crushing hug.


    "I missed you mom."


    Arge smile broke out of Ciara''s face as she returned the hug as tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke, "I missed you too son, I missed you too."


    The sight of the mother and son dup washed away any and all lingering doubts as quite a few people smile at the heartwarming scene in front of them.


    Ciara released her son before taking a look at his face before a frown formed on her face as she spoke, "Ryan why do you have a tattoo on your face."


    Ryan let a nervous chuckle escape his lips as he spoke, "Many things happened during the journey, mom but we can discuss itter since we have some refugees to take care of."


    The word made Ciara''s heart sank even more, as more refugees meant even more drain on already dwindling resources though she hoped with Ryan back he can at least fix a part of the problem.


    "So this is your son."


    Ciara turned towards the speaker as she spoke, "Yes Lierin this is my youngest child.", her head then turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Ryan, this is Lierin a good friend as well as my teacher in magic."


    Ryan looked towards Lierin as he gave a small bow to her before he spoke, "I see thank you for helping my mother."


    Lierin simply smiled towards him as she spoke, "There I no need to thank me Ciara helped us a lot by providing her protection and shelter."


    As she spoke Ryan studied Lierin''s face as a small thought passed through his mind, ''It feels as if I have seen this woman somewhere but where I cannot remember.''


    Meanwhile, Lierin''s eyes travelled to fellow travellers of Ryan as her eyes widen before she spoke with a gasp, "No way, I cannot believe my eyes."


    Her gasp drew the mother and son''s attention and soon they followed her vision, Lierin was staring at a certain group of people specifically two of them from the group, although Ciara was confused as to the reason behind her gasp, though Ryan discerned it perfectly as he watched the elves and extremely short people whom he deduced as dwarfs were already on their knees at their sight.


    Ciara was bewildered at the sight,<em> ''Huh, what is happening? Who are they? And why is everyone from the other world acting as such?''</em>


    Her answer came from Lierin who spoke out while quickly kneeling, "I cannot believe not one but two apostles are here, I cannot believe it.", her eyes then went towards Ciara as she spoke, "Ciara whatever you do, please do not anger them or annoy them the result would not be pretty."


    As a frown began to shape ce on Ciara''s face, Ryan spoke with a scowl on his own, "Huh, what are you talking about those two are a very nice person not some kind of tyrannical being, it is true with their position and status they seem unapproachable but at the end of the day they are immensely helpful."


    Lierin growled but she did not say anything, while Ciara simply squeezed Ryan''s hand as she spoke, "Even so Ryan, from what I know they are at a very respectable position so we should respect them, not to mention Lierin knows about her world better than us so please listen to her advice."


    Ryan simply pouted as he spoke, "Fine, but you will soon agree with me I know that, but first let me introduce."


    He then turned towards his fellow apostles as he beckoned them, "Hey Ylerias, Xuelong over here I want to introduce you to my mother also I think there are many people from your world who would be greatly benefitted by your presence."


    The casual way he spoke to them managed to draw various exmations of outrage and disbelief from various listeners to them someone speaking to an apostle the right hand of Gods in such an overly familiar manner is sphemy, but, what shocked them beyond anything as the duo approached Ryan who then began to introduce them to his mother.


    "Mother, the tallerdy with beautiful and deadly horns is Xuelong Victorum, Apostle of God Vahjim, God of War and Victory, and by her side is the ever beautiful yet deadly Ylerias Luvenaria, Apostle of Goddess Oena, Goddess of the moon and hunt.", he then turned towards the duo as she spoke, "This is my mother Ciara Doherty, Major of the ck Wolves Regiment."


    Ylerias looked towards Ciara as she spoke with a smile, "Greetings, Major Doherty you have raised a fine son, whom I am honoured to call as myrade and family."


    Ciara simply as she spoke back, "Thank you for your kind words my Lady, but may I be impudent enough to ask what you meant byrade and family."


    Ryan waved her off as he spoke, "I will fill you with the detailster but to summarize you can say the current me is just like them."


    Ciara''s eyes widen at the implication while Lierin let out a gasp drawing attention as Ylerias spoke with a frown, "You are Lierin, Siora''s younger sister right?"


    Lierin bowed low as she spoke, "Yes, your holiness."


    Ylerias looked back towards Siora as she spoke, "Siora you have a day off, please go and spend some time with your sister."


    Siora simply bowed while Ryan gained a look of epiphany as he spoke, "I see now that is why she looked so familiar."


    Ciara then looked towards the growing mass of people that were still climbing off of the train as she whispered lowly, "So many people."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Is there something wrong mother?"


    Ciara grimaced as she spoke, "Well there are over six thousand people here, but the problem is with resources especially with water, as the nearest source of fresh water is the river flowing through the gorge, but since the water pump is destroyed we have to resort to buckets and ropes, and it is not going well."


    Ryan''s frown deepened as he spoke, "How did it get destroyed I managed to create it good pumping system."


    "A few weeks ago a sh flood appeared out of nowhere which destroyed the entire pumping system."


    Ryan looked rmed as he spoke, "I hope no one was hurt during the flood."


    Ciara shook her head as she spoke, "No though the water spilt on the banks a little though it was nothing rming though the river has risen a little with a more exotic creature, though I wonder how the flood appeared."


    Ryan nodded before his eyes widen with realization as his face became pale a couple of shades as a thought ran through his mind, <em>''Wait a minute was this river not connected to the Navch city dam.''</em>


    Ciara''s eyes narrowed seeing Ryan sudden acting a bit shift and pale spoke with a stern look on her face, "What have you done Ryan?"


    Ryan shook his head as he quickly spoke, "Nothing, nothing at all why don''t you help them to settle down while I will see what I can do for the water."


    Ciara simply sighed at that as she gave a small nod, she knew Ryan was hiding something but she knew that she would force it out of him sooner orter, maybe even coerce Micha to answer to her.


    Xuelong meanwhile had already lost interest in the mother-son duo as she was carefully studying the people who looked worn out and a few of them injured, as such she turned towards Ciara as she spoke, "The people looked too worn out and a few of them injured."


    Ciara grimaced at her question as she spoke, "We have been attacked repeatedly by various beasts which are bing stronger with each day, we are fighting back but we need much better weapons."


    Ryan his finger through his hair as he spoke, "Mom, after helping the refugees to settle down, I believe it is high time I begin my work these people need a ce to stay, with better protection than an earthen wall."


    Ciara nodded as she spoke, "As you say, son.", a small smile formed on her lips as she spoke, "The journey was exhausting so take some rest."


    Ryan nodded but before he could say or move a familiar voice came to his ears as he groaned out loud, "Big sister Ciara is that you?"


    Ryan looked towards his mother as he spoke in an apologetic tone, "Mom, sorry I managed to pick them up on my way here, sorry about that."


    Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "There is no need to apologize I can deal with them."


    Ryan gave a nod before he spoke, "I see but while you entertain them I would like to begin my work."


    "I can help you with that Ryan."


    A familiar voice came to his ears as he was greeted by the smiling visage of Zhan, Ryan immediately went to her side hugging her as he spoke, "I missed you too aunty Zhan."


    Zhan gave him a pat on his back before she spoke with a frown, "Are you sure you wish to start working you look kind of worn out."


    "I want to auntie, the condition of people are not good not to mention I am adding near about two thousand more to it, so yes I will have to at least make sure the basic necessities are taken care of as fast as possible."


    Zhan nodded as she spoke in a serious tone, "Then follow me."


    Ryan quickly left along with Zhan while Ylerias and Xuelong tagged along with him, as they moved the other-worlders all dropped down on their knees at the sight of the apostles.


    Upon reaching the spot where the pumps were situated Ryan peered down to look at the gorge where he found the entire water pumping system to be badly mangled, making him release a sigh of frustration at that.

 Chapter 108: Upgrading (part-1)

    Chapter 108: Upgrading (part-1)


    Ciara was having the worst time of her life, as she suddenly found herself surrounded by people she held an intense dislike for, her frustration increased several-fold when she spotted her daughter having a time of her life while watching her misery.


    <em>''Micha, I will show you whatughing at my misery would yield for you.''</em>


    The stink eye that Michalina received quickly sobered her as she made herself scarce from Ciara''s sight, as Ciara then gave her undivided attention towards the group in front of her.


    Beth eyes moistened upon seeing Ciara as she quickly went to hug her as she eximed out loud, "Ciara my daughter."


    Only to be stopped by Ciara herself who pushed her away from her as she spoke, "We are not that close for you to hug me, now what do you want I am busy."


    Beth grimaced at Ciara''s tone and she could not me her, since the day the apocalypse took ce she was pped by the harsh reality of truth, and now she can clearly see how much important she was to her children, which was not so much but what confused her and saddened her was the fact that both of misunderstood her when all she wanted for her children to live a happy life, as such with her immense experience she managed to point them towards the right direction but first her daughter rebelled and broke off and now her son is rebelling, but she was patient and knew one day they would understand why she did as such.


    Ciara''s eyes travelled over the group before she spoke, "I see one of you is missing."


    With a pained expression, Marcel spoke, "Dad died while trying to help us escape."


    Ciara did not know what to feel about that, on one hand, there was once a time when she adored her father like any other daughter but that feeling soon changed to disgust when she watched her father let her wife run all over him, never had he stood against her wife, never had he supported her except a few circumstances but it was directly and as long as it was away from his wife''s eyes, as such instead of feeling sad she was surprised at the turn of event.


    <em>''Huh, what do you know even a coward can grow a spine sometimes.'' her eyes went towards Beth before she snorted inwardly at that as she mused, ''Nah, never the spineless coward must have been ordered by his owner to sacrifice himself so that she can escape otherwise there is no way that man would sacrifice himself for someone else, sigh, what a pathetic existence, I am d my son has received more of me than any of his blood-rted rtives.''</em>


    Meanwhile, as Ryan''s group made their way towards the water pumping system Xuelong could not help but ask out loud a question that was running in her mind, "Miss Zhan may I ask you something?", as Zhan nodded Xuelong continued, "Are you from Ryan''s world or are you from ours?"


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "I am from Ryan''s world, but why are you asking this question?"


    "Nothing, your race is known as Red Oni, an extinct race, a race that had immense physical strength, as such I was hoping you were from our world."


    "Why so?"


    A feral smirk appeared on Xuelong''s face as she spoke, "Well I always wanted topare my strength with a member of that race though it seems I would be finally able to do so."


    Ryan rolled his eyes as he spoke, "You will get plenty of chances to fight various kinds of creatures now please pay attention, thest time I was down there inside the gorge I ended up bing snake food, so please watch my back."


    Zhan looked stunned as she spoke, "You are going down there now! Wait let me get some of the soldiers to protect you."


    Ryan simply waved his hand as he spoke, "No there is no need for you to worry I can handle myself."


    "Did you forget what happenedst time?"


    "Of course not I remember clearly auntie if it were not for you I would have ended up bing snake food."


    With his words being said he began his climb down which proved to be difficult as most of thedder was missing, as such he was d he went towards the fort to bring enough parts to repair his way down, and by the time he had managed to reach the bottom the flying unit of Fort Genesis were all present having surrounded Ryan''s ce of work, who unlike before was working even faster.


    <em>''Even if the flood had ravaged the pumping system, but it could notpletely destroy it, except all it left in its wake was a damaged and misaligned system, though the same could not be said for thedder that helped me down to the bottom of the gorge, as I had topletely repair and recreate a great part of it, including the electrical system.''</em>


    "Ryan watch out!", a familiar shout of warning followed by a familiar explosion of water was created by an all too familiar creature that was a giant snake, seeing the sight in front of him Ryan had a feeling of dj vu, but unlike before his pistol was jabbed into the creature''s mouth before he pulled the trigger, a loud sound ofser being fired was heard as the creature died as Ryan casually tossed the carcass into the water before resuming his work.


    Zhan let out a low whistle as she spoke, "He has surely grown a lot."


    Ylerias looked towards Zhan as she could not help but ask, "Did he not have any kind ofbat experiences before?"


    Zhan shook her head as she replied back, "No, he never had any prior experience inbat, you can say he was a schr who was studying hard, though he dabbled in sports like fencing which is basically sword fighting and was good at it, such sports were yed with people wearing protective gears and blunt swords so as not to cause any injury let alone a fatal one so no, he did not have any priorbat experience before the apocalypse."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "What about others of his age?"


    Zhan shook her head as she spoke, "Our world never had to fight against deadly and dangerous creatures unlike in yours, as we humans had managed to establish ourselves at the top of the food chain especially at the onset of various scientific discoveries, children in our world never had to fight or face dangers and even joining in the army is voluntary, and as for sports well not all of them has remotely anything to do withbat at all."


    Xuelong sighed as she spoke, "I see."


    A few minutester with the help of one of the flying unit Ryan was safely on the topside as he spoke, "Well there is no need to wait let us start the pumps though and then we can start with the next phase."


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "So what do you wish to do next Ryan."


    Ryan gave her a bright smile as he spoke, "What else but to create arge wall."


    Zhan''s frown deepened as she spoke, "I see a wall surrounding the small vige we have."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No of course not, this part of thend is almost like a penins with a deep gorge to the North, the south being a steep cliff, that suddenly gives rise to a small beach in the middle, with the east being the same, while the west having arge forest, and if I am not wrong the animal attack is from the forest so that means putting up arge wall would at least form some type of sturdy barrier from where we can retaliate."


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "Yes it would work."


    "Splendid aunty, by now surely you already know they of thend well.", as Zhan nodded Ryan continued with arge smile on his face, "Then please make sure to select the narrowest part of the penins and start making at least a ten feet deep and wide trench as fast as possible, while gathering some people to cut down as many tree trunks as possible, I will need them and make it fast."


    Zhan was about to leave only to be stopped once again by Ryan as he spoke with a wide smile, "Also aunty please make everyone leave the fortpletely I am going to upgrade it."


    As Zhan made herself scarce Ryan let out a deep sigh before he spoke, "It would take some time as such I need your help to keep an eye on any creature that mightunch an attack while I would be making the wall."


    The duo simply nodded before they engaged in small talk amongst them while Ryan found himself surrounded by his mother''s subordinates who were not only excited but also happy and relieved upon seeing his safe return.


    Though most were curious about theser gun and the gauntlets that had disappeared as such he was bombarded with various questions though he managed to stave off their questions stating that he would answer them soon he would wait for everyone to be present so that would not have to answer same questions over and over again, he was rescued from their onught by the timely arrival of Donna, who promptly drew him to a bone-crushing hug.


    "Ryan it is good to have you back."


    Ryan simply smiled as he gave a pat on her back before he spoke, "I d to be, so how have you been."


    "I have been fine but what about you, you look a bit worn out."


    Ryan gave a tired smile as he spoke, "Well the journey was long and many things happened in the way don''t worry I will tell youter, I am now waiting for aunty Zhan to finish my request."


    "Ah, about that the fort is empty and you can carry on with your work."


    "Splendid.", that he quickly moved to the side of the fort before he closed his eyes while touching it, at first there was nothing then the entire fort gave ethereal as it glowed with a light blue glow and it in front of everyone''s it began to shift its shape slowly.


    The sight was an awe-inspiring one too many though Ryan suddenly gained a frown on his face, ''It will take fifteen minutes to upgrade, fifteen minutes and during that time it is not essible not to mention every time I upgrade it, not only there will be a sharp increase in materials required to do so with the involvement of many exotic and rare materials but it would also pose arge trouble when the fort would not be avable for a long period of time especially when it is the only source of clean and purified water and power at present, troublesome.''


    Donna smiled at Ryan as she spoke, "Well then Ryan I will be off, after all, I have a trench to dug.", and with a wave, she left behind a slight absent-minded Ryan who was busy nning for the future.

 Chapter 109: Upgrading (part-2)

    Chapter 109: Upgrading (part-2)


    Fort Genesis had undergone a humongous change after being upgraded to Tier 2, it had gained a couple of more floors, not to mention it is now much wider to the point that half of the courtyard within its walls was gone, and size was not the only thing that had changed, it had also suffered an increase in storage, as well as the speed of resource gathering and creation, had taken a huge improvement.


    Ryan meanwhile sat patiently as he waited for others to finish their work namely creating the ratherrge trench as well as to bring a few good amounts of timber needed for the next phase of the n, but as he looked at the trench being dug out a frown began to form on his face.


    "Is something wrong brother?"


    Ryan sighed as he replied to Michalina, "Nothing just this project of mine will be the biggest I have managed to do, and not to mention have you seen the distance between the fort and the wall, it is easily over one and a half kilometres and as such it would be difficult to provide support to the base."


    "An advance barrack would suffice dear brother and I believe a small militia has already started to take shape so we will have enough to protect the small town."


    Ryan sighed before he spoke again, "Not only that but there is also a problem with electrifying the wall."


    "What problem brother?"


    "Since it would be economically a waste to create a separate power grid for it, I will have to supply it from the base so I had to make people cut down and bring as many trees as possible as it would help in making some electric look of disbelief on her face as she spoke, "Brother surely you are not nning to use electric poles, where dangerous wires would dangle form, which a single magical attack would destroy it, surely brother you were not thinking of such a foolish idea."


    Ryan blushed red from embarrassment as he spoke, "Now that you mention it, I seriously did not think about it."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Ryan you are not so careless so what happened?"


    Ryan sighed before hey on his back looking up towards the sky for a moment before he began to speak, "I am tired of all these things, every day I wake hoping that everything was a nightmare and I would wake up from it any moment now."


    Michalina copied Ryan''s action before she spoke, "You know I agree with you, I also want to wake up from this nightmare but at the same time all we can do is pick the pieces and move forward and recreate what we have lost."


    With a heavy sigh Ryan raised his hand towards the sky before he formed a fist as he spoke again, "I know, I also know how that many are not as fortunate as us and I hate it."


    "Me too brother, me too."


    "Brother Ryan, Ylerias has finished digging out the trench."


    Xuelong''s words made Ryan stand up as he spoke, "Then I should start to begin working on the wall post haste.", his shoulder then slouched a bit as he continued with a sigh, "It would be such a big, tiresome and bothersome construction, I wish I could have another helping hand."


    Michalina simply gave a small pat on his back as she spoke, "Do not worry brother we all will be cheering for you."


    Her words only made Ryan scowl at her but before he could leave a loud ringing of the bell was heard making them confused before a sense of dread filled them.


    <em>''Are we under some kind of attack?''</em>


    Their wariness came to end as a few dwarven people began to move towards themunity kitchen eagerly discussing what food they might receive.


    "I see it is time for lunch."


    "So it seems Brother Ryan, should we follow them as well."


    Ryan sent a nod towards Xuelong as he spoke, "Yes, let us have our lunch before I start working on the wall."


    A few minutester the trio stood in front of what seemed to be amunity kitchen, which in reality was arge shack bigger than any other where the rest of the residents were staying but still a shack nheless.


    In front of the shack was a ratherrge line of people standing with bowls in their hands waiting patiently in the queue for their turn.


    Michalina watched them before she sighed as she spoke, "We do not have any bowls."


    Ryan simply waved off her concern as he spoke, "There is nothing to worry about it sister, I will be back with some soon."


    As Ryan left Xuelong found herself surrounded by various people who offered her various things from their position in the queue to their own bowls, their food, as a result, she was slowly bing a bit annoyed but was saved from the timely arrival of both Ylerias and Ryan.


    As Ylerias approached Xuelong she could not help but ask out loud, "Is there any problem?"


    One of the Elven men quickly bowed as he spoke, "Your Holiness please ept the bowl of food as an offering."


    His words seemed to have broken the dam as soon both Ylerias and Ryan were mobbed by the people, and what took the cherry on the cake was the fact that they treated Ryan like some kind of sacred relic as a few even touched him while praying to the Gods asking for their blessings, never in his life has he received such treatment and it was beginning to frighten him.


    A loud p drew everyone''s attention as Xuelong spoke with a frown, "Everyone, calms down.", as the excitement of the mob was subsided Xuelong spoke in a stern voice, "What is this? If you want to speak then do so in a civilized manner but stop acting as such, those who have gathered the food to feed all of us had managed to do so with great difficulty especially during these trying times, food which is considered a gift from Gods, and I will not tolerate such insolence."


    Her words were like a crack of the whip as the mob now resembled a group of children who were caught by their parents doing mischief and were about to be punished.


    Ylerias with a nod continued with a frown, "So true, we are not children and in these times we have to act as responsible adults, I know many of you are ted upon seeing us, but please if you have something to say then please approach us but not like this, especially not while insulting the hard work of the food gatherers and cooks, and especially not insulting the gifts given by the Gods."


    As both Ylerias and Xuelong looked at Ryan with an expectant look on their faces, he gave a small cough before he joined his fellow apostles in their speech, "What my fellow apostles said is right, please do not act as such our worlds are in ruins with terrible foes lurking the dark and if we all do not work together we would meet our untimely demise, but for that to happen we have to maintain proper order and decorum."


    His head turned towards a pregnant woman, a woman who had seemed to have seen better days and was trying to move towards the food shack while waving through the crowd and seeing no one even bothering to help her made his blood boil.


    "Healer Shakidra.", as the sudden shout came to everyone''s ears everyone in the vicinity were taken aback especially the two apostles.


    As Shakidra approached Rya, the apostle of the God of Creation and Destruction turned towards Xuelong as he spoke in an apologetic tone, "I am sorry sister for ordering Shakidra like that when she is your subordinate and I hope you would not mind lending her to me for a couple of moments."


    Xuelong shook her head as she spoke, "No Brother Ryan, I trust you enough to know that it must be something important for you to ask of her like that."


    Ryan gave her a nod before his eyes travelled back towards the pregnant woman before he spoke to Shakidra, "Shakidra that woman over there in lime green can you check her up."


    Shakidra looked at the woman before her eyes widen slightly as she quickly made her way towards her, seeing an unknown upon suddenly approaching her made the woman afraid of Shakidra as she took a step back while cing her hand over her swollen belly.


    Shakidra sent her a friendly smile as she spoke, "Excuse me ma''am please do not be afraid, I am a healer I heal people and from the looks of it you seem to be heavily pregnant may I look at you to see if you are doing well or not."


    The look of fear was somewhat mollified before she acquiesced with a hesitating nod, and upon receiving her permission Shakidra approached her as a greenish glow appeared in her hand which she hovered near her belly while the woman tensed even more.


    "Ma''am please rx, and it seems your twins are very healthy, you have taken good care of them even in these trying times."


    A small smile broke out on her face hearing the prognosis as the woman spoke with a soft voice, "Thank you."


    "Shakidra if you would please guide her to a ce where she could rest."


    The woman looked at Ryan with an anxious look on her face but before she could speak Ryan spoke with a smile on his face, "You are pregnant and if I am not wrong she is in the advance stages of pregnancy right?"


    Shakidra gave a nod as she spoke, "You are correct Your Holiness she is on her seventh month."


    Ryan once again looked at the woman as she spoke, "You should not stand in the crowd where identally someone might hurt your children, so please go and rest."


    "But, I need food and there is no one who will help me."


    "Of course they will, on my honour I promise that you will be taken care of so please go and rest.", Ryan''s eyes then went towards Shakidra as he spoke, "I hope you remember the location of the infirmary.", as Shakidra gave him a now Ryan continued, "Excellent then if you do not have any problem then would you please escort her there."


    As Ryan spoke Shakidra''s eyes travelled towards Xuelong who gave her a nod as Shakidra spoke with a small bow, "As you wish Your Holiness."


    The woman by her side simply gave him a curious and confused stare towards Ryan, while he spoke again to the duo with a smile on his face, "I believe the infirmary ismandeered by a woman by the name of Ruby, she is a good healer but slightly unhinged just tell her I send you and there will be no problem."


    As the duo was out of earshot Ryan''s gaze fell on the crowd surrounding and in an instant his kind helpful smile disappeared as a hateful expression fell on his face as he spoke with a snarl, "Pathetic, simply pathetic."


    His words stunned everyone as he continued with a growl, "A very heavily pregnant had to move through the crowd to get a few morsels of food, a crowd that was happily pushing her like a doll without a care if her children die."


    As both Ylerias and Xuelong learned the reason for Ryan''s outburst their eyes became colder, there were many things they tolerated but this was something they also did not tolerate.


    As Ryan''s eyes roamed over those present as one of the foolishly spoke, "We did not know her and she arrived only a couple of days ago with a band of fugitives, so"


    <strong>"So What!!!!!"</strong>


    Ryan''s scream made a few jump away in fear as his eyes were red while histest tattoo began to smoke as it let out a white glow, as for the foolish person who spoke carelessly and thereby drawing his attention was already on his knees begging for mercy.


    "<em>Silent!</em> Stop your incessant whining and begging, never have I witness such callous disregard for life, and you all call yourselves civilized, you are no better than some undead filth that cannibalizes its brethren."


    "So what if you did not know her, but if you had time to notice her arrival a couple of days ago then you ought to have also noticed that she was pregnant, did evenmon sense also gone along with your morality, pathetic."


    By now seeing his anger the other two apostles were incredibly worried, they had never seen him so much angry, so much angry that he frightened them slightly since his tattoo began to glow and smoke as usual.


    Ryan''s circle came to life while his rather sword appeared in his hand which he stabbed on the ground hard making others scuttle away from him for fear of their life, the people were very afraid, they were afraid of the result of incurring an Apostle''s wrath.


    "Since you cannot function normally hence I, Ryan Von Ruinesca hereby dere that from henceforth as long as anymunal kitchen runs on thisnds, the pregnant women and the children will receive food first, followed by the sick and elderly and then any other would receive food, and if anyone of you has any problem with the edict then I will deal with them, such as the edict that I swear and dere with my right as an Apostle of God Avtis, God of Creation and Destruction."


    Ylerias immediately stepped up by his side as she spoke with a stern tone, "I, Ylerias Luvenari, the Apostle of Goddess Oena, Goddess of Hunt and Moon, standby by my fellow apostle''s edict and offer my bow in support him.", and as she spoke her bow appeared in her hand.


    Xuelong followed after her as she stood by her fellow apostles herrge sword mming into the ground as she spoke, "I, Xuelong Victorum, the Apostle of God Vahmjir, God of War and Victory, standby by my fellow apostle''s edict and offer my sword in support him."


    A thunderous silence fell on the clearing while Michalina looked at Ryan with a great look of concern on her face, never before had she seen such unadulterated anger in her brother and it frightened her.


    With a huff Ryan turned his back as he left the ce while people parted way to give him space, he took a few steps before he spoke without looking back, "I will say this once, I know some of you are angry at what I just said, but if you try to take revenge on defenceless mother and her unborn children, I will find you and then I will carve into your soul why out of countless beings I was chosen by my God to represent me."


    As he left everyone could hear out loud his mutterings of <em>''disgusting''</em> and <em>''deplorable''</em> over and over again, while Michalina chased after him with intention of calming her down.


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong shared a look before Ylerias spoke in a stern voice, "I remember my brother promising food for the woman, so one of you who is working prepare enough portion for her and one of my subordinates will take her food to her, and now form queue ording to the edict, both my sister and I are watching, and any miscreants will be dealt with extreme prejudice."

 Chapter 110: Upgrading (part-3)

    Chapter 110: Upgrading (part-3)


    Lierin pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, "I was having a nice chat with my sister, now what happened? What did you all do to earn apostles'' wrath?"


    The person who brought the news to her looked ashamed and as she recalled the entire event Lierin let out a groan.


    She stood from her seat before she spoke with a frown, "I am going to inform Ciara about it, and hopefully she would deal with her son."


    Siora frowned as she spoke, "How angry was His Holiness?"


    The person shivered as she spoke, "He was very angry, we could feel his killing intent, not to mention his circle was active, his strange eyes were blood red and looked to me as if it were glowing, then the sacred mark on his body began to glow and it was letting out huge amounts of fumes."


    Siora let out a sigh before she rubbed her temples in exasperation before she spoke, "I see, Lierin let us go and meet up with His Holiness''s mother post haste, she must be the only one who can calm him down."


    A few minutester, Ciara listened to the duo with a stoic look on her visage before a small smile broke on her face before she spoke, "So what do you want me to do?"


    "Lady Ciara we would request you to please mollify His Holiness''s anger as the people have be restless thinking about it."


    Ciara looked towards Siora as she spoke, "I see, I will make sure he is calm and as for the people you know what he said is correct."


    Lierin nodded as she spoke, "Absolutely, but people tend to be foolish that is why we have to tie them down with rules and regtions, and upon saying that I wholeheartedly support His Holiness''s decision."


    Ciara looked into the distance her mind ying hosts to various thoughts most of them concerning her son, she stood silently for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "I will speak with my son but know this if you follow his edict then it would calm him down faster, and I know my son he is very friendly, he might be angry at the moment but I know he will open up more with everyone."


    Siora simply gave a small bow as she spoke, "Thank you."


    As the duo left Ciara found herself facing her long time friend, her second inmand Zhan, she smiled at her as she spoke, "Zhan so what do you think of the so-called apostles."


    Zhan sighed as she spoke, "The horned warn seemed a bit bloodthirsty to me, she challenged me to a fight, and the other, the elven one seemed to be more level headed than the other."


    "I see, I will have to speak with Ryan, about this thing."


    "Actually Major I think we should ask hispanions so we can get a clear picture of what happened during his journey."


    Ciara waved her off as she spoke, "I can simply ask him face to face there is no need to go behind him and ask others, as I would like to speak to him face to faceter, but for now, I want to know where he is."


    Zhan simply gave hermander a small smile as she replied back to Ciara, "Ah, about that, the brother and sister"


    ********


    Meanwhile, back with Ryan and Michalina, after Ryan had left themunal kitchen area, Michalina quickly chased after him seeing his apocalyptic anger, she did not wish to leave Ryan alone.


    She winced as she saw the rear door of the Alpha Raven was swung open with enough force that for a moment she thought that the hinges would break off.


    As he stomped onto the vehicle she could hear the road train grown and protest as if it was trying to prevent itself from bursting out of immense anger.


    ''This is amazing to think that even his creations would show their displeasure because of his anger, it is as if the machines created by him is alive and is now growling aloud because of Ryan''s anger.''


    Michalina quickly spotted Ryan removing a bike that was kept fastened to the side, before taking it out through the door, as such she intervened him before he could leave, "Where are you going, brother?"


    Ryan took a deep breath to calm his nerves before he spoke, "I am going to take a small hike, a few hours to clear my mind."


    "I am going with you then."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "There is no need for"


    "Yes, there is an extremely high need for me to follow you, you are not emotionally stable at present as such I need to be by your side so you may not do something nasty."


    With a huff, Ryan climbed on the bike as he spoke, "Do as you please."


    As soon as Michalina climbed behind Ryan the bike sped off towards the forest in the distance, Ryan was grateful for the fact that Ylerias had kept a narrow piece ofnd still attached to the other side of the trench, which acted as a bridge enabling them to cross easily to the other side.


    The duo was silent for a moment before Michalina spoke, "So what happened? Never have I seen you getting so much angry as you were today."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I do not know maybe I exploded because of the irritation I felt, the way they were treating me was too much, it was very annoying, they were treating me like some exotic animal whose attention they were trying to vie for my attention, a few of them who were bold enough to touch me was acting as they have achieved the biggest goal in their lives, it was too much."


    With a deep breath, he continued again, "And then the sight of that pregnant woman being pushed around finally triggered my anger."


    Michalina simply gave him a pat on his back as she spoke, "You did well brother, those edicts were necessary and if they follow it, it is even better."


    "If what I have seen is true then they would surely follow it, but now on the other hand I am very hungry."


    Michalina giggled before she replied to him, "Aww, but after your lecture and edict I believe it would be hypocritical of you to break them."


    Ryan harrumphed out loud before he spoke, "Hmm, something like that is not going to stop moi, I am going to hunt and eat, not to mention the mere thought of going near them makes me lose my appetite."


    Aforting squeeze of his shoulder was the answer he received from Michalina before she spoke, "There is nothing to worry about, as we can simply hunt for food just like that time we went camping with mom."


    Arge smile blossomed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "yes, I remember and I wanted to try something that I had learned since then."


    "What is it, brother?"


    "That is a secret though we have arrived at the beginning of the forest let me park the bike here, and then we would continue on foot."


    "A great idea, I do not fancy myself having a rather bumpy ride through the woods."


    Ryan parked the bike against one of the trees before the duo ventured forward on their foot weaving through the tall trees talking in whispers when all of a sudden Michalina pointed towards a certain direction as she whispered, "Is that not a rabbit?"


    Ryan looked towards direction before replying back with a nod, "Yes it is, and they are tasty."


    "Then what are you waiting for kill it."


    Taking aim Ryan pulled the trigger of his pistol and with a small ''pew'' sound the rabbit fell dead.


    Michalina quickly dashed towards it picking it up she inspected it carefully before she spoke with awe, "Look at its head brother, it has multiple horns and a couple of them are golden in colour."


    Ryan shared her awe before he spoke, "It was a Tier 4 Golden Horn rabbit, but it was a General ss."


    "Cool, it is at least near about as big as an adultmb and weighs a lot."


    "Big sister, why don''t you skin the rabbit and clean it, while I will prepare means to cook it."


    "Hey, brother it would be great if I had a few tools."


    "What kind of tools do you need?"


    "A shovel, and maybe a few things to store the meat and means to clean it."


    Ryan nodded and within a few minutes he had created not only a shovel for her but a pair of buckets for her, he then extended his hand before he used one of his newly learned magic, "Water ball."


    With a couple of tries, the bucket was filled with water, while Michalina had dug out a hole on the ground and with a help of a string and a few sticks she hung the carcass to drain it off the blood which was slowly pooling into the freshly dug hole.


    While Michalina was busy cleaning the carcass Ryan was busing making the stove to cook, a stove which was actually a Swedish torch, which Ryan wanted to make after getting acquainted with it while surfing the inte.


    Ryan looked at therge amount of meat that Michalina bought making him gasp in shock as he spoke with disbelief, "That is too much."


    Michalina simply shrugged as she spoke, "Well it was arge rabbit as such it yielded too much meat, but rest assured I remember you do not like anything that is a bit more exotic, that is why I only brought the meat and maybe the liver but nothing more."


    "You brought the entire thing what else is there to eat except them."


    "We can eat the brains for example."


    A disgusted look passed through Ryan''s face before he spoke with a grimace, "Who eats that stuff, eww."


    Michalina rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Despite your disgust, those are considered delicacies in many parts of the world."


    "Maybe so big sis, anyone who finds them a delicacy can go ahead and eat them but please excuse me."


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "Well you are missing something big time, now let us start cooking this meet I am starving."


    ******


    Zhan simply gave hermander a small smile as she replied back to Ciara, "Ah, about that, the brother and sister duo was spotted near the entrance to the forest, making their lunch."


    "I see, then after he arrives back I will speak with him, and if possible after dinner tonight I will definitely call for a meeting where we can all ask questions about histest experience, there are so many things I want to know."


    Zhan nodded before she spoke with a serious look on her face, "Ciara how was your talk with your mother and your ex-family."


    Ciara''s face soured as she spoke with a snarl, "Please Zhan, please do not mention them in front of me again, especially that decrepit old witch, I had half a mind to throw her into that gorge and let her die."


    "Then why did you not."


    Ciara sent a look of disbelief towards Zhan as she spoke, "And give some poor creature extreme case of food poisoning, sorry but I am not so cruel."

 Chapter 111: Upgrading (part-4)

    Chapter 111: Upgrading (part-4)


    Later that day just after dinner, the entire regiment of the ck wolves had gathered upying one of the newly created floors of Fort Genesis.


    Owing to therge influx of refugees, the soldiers of the ck Wolves regiment did not have to always actively take part in patrolling as there were more than enough people to volunteer for the task.


    As such the entire ck Wolves regiment was now huddled up in the ratherrge room with Ciara at the centre along with those who had ventured out into the expedition.


    Before anyone could begin Ryan spoke out loud, "Wait before the meeting begins I have something for all of you."


    With that, he had produced trays full of roasted meat, the smell of which made those present feel their mouth water.


    Ciara looked at the trays with her eyes wide open as she spoke, "When did you get all this?"


    With a sheepish smile on his face Ryan replied back, "Well today when I was having lunch with big sister, we realized that there was too much meat for us, then we decided to hunt a few more animals so that we could have enough meat for everyone for tonight''s meeting though unfortunately it is only roasted andcks any form condiments."


    Ciara waved off his concern before she spoke with a smile, "I see that is why you were asking for some salt, well do not worry I had already asked Mina to procure some."


    Ryan simply gave a small nod as Ciara spoke with a serious look on her face, "Now I would like to know what happened out there."


    Michalina took a deep breath before she began, "After we left we have learned many things like the undead can evolve by cannibalizing on their brethren, moreover they form Kratocratic society."


    A dumbfounded look passed through everyone''s face before one of them spoke with disbelief, "You are kidding right?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with a sigh, "No, sister is not joking, those undead creatures when they are low level maybe simple dumb creatures but as they grow stronger they be deadlier and intelligent enough to lead their troops, but as sister said it is a Kratocratic society with the strongest leading them, and the strongest would be a very dangerous foe."


    Michalina continued with a nod, "Not to mention when there are arge number of high-level undead gathered in an area they start to form Necropolis, we came across one that had just begun to take ce, and believe me you would not want to venture forth, it is the vilest and sickening ce you will ever venture into, you will feel so sick and week there."


    Her words received a pointed look from Ryan as he spoke, "You stayed outside the area while I had ventured into the deep bowels of the Necropolis."


    "But I am not am I."


    Ryan simply gave a nod of acknowledgement as one of the members spoke out loud, "This Necropolis thing why does it concern us."


    Ryan turned towards her as he replied back, "Think it like a poison that spreads and rots thends, the air, the water making it toxic to any form of life, something that tries to deny the very existence of life, a ce where if you die you will immediately join the ranks of the undead."


    The person who had questioned him frowned as she spoke, "That is troubling and seeing the world''s condition there is no doubt a few Necropolis already forming in some corner of the world."


    Everyone could only grimace at her deduction, especially the Michalina and Ryan who had first had experienced the Necropolis.


    Ruby cleared her throat drawing everyone''s attention towards her while Ryan shivered to see the look that she sent towards him.


    <em>''Damn she is looking at me like ab rat that she would love to dissect and study what makes me tick.''</em>


    Her smile increased seeing Ryan flinch slightly at her stare as she spoke, "You can tell us all about your journey and other stuff but what I want to know how and when you have be an apostle."


    Ryan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "I became an apostle the day the went to hell."


    Ciara''s head whipped towards Ryan as she spoke in a stern voice, "What do you mean by that?"


    "My powers, that I use is from my patron God, God Avtis the God of Creation and Destruction, the first God from the Pantheon of Gods from the otherworld."


    Ryan then raised his hands as everyone watched in fascination as a gauntlet suddenly began to form, first the leather gloves appeared and then the metallic exterior that twisted, turned and joined to form the gauntlet.


    "This is a Divine Weapon known as the Gauntlet of Eternal Forge, a weapon that was given to me by God Avtis, a powerful tool that negates the need of Mana while I build or destroy, but it is not only that it has three other weapons stored in it that I can use when the need arises."


    Ciara sighed before she spoke, "I see and am I to assume that the tattoo on your face is also there for the same reason."


    Ryan nodded as he replied back with a smile, "Yes mom, this is also caused because of that."


    "I see, but first start from the beginning and tell me everything that happened."


    As such upon Ciara''s request, Michalina began to regale their tale only stopping when her teammates had something to add and soon she reached the point where Ryan had escaped from Navch city with the whirlwind of the chaos lying behind him.


    Ryan fidgeted a bit as Ciara stared at him with a stoic visage, telling his mother who happened to be Major of the Republic of Belonia, that due to his action a majorndmark and pride of the nation is now ruined was nerve-racking for him.


    "Why are you fidgeting so much Ryan, if anyone who is to me it is the giant quake that caused the dam to be damaged, it would have eventually copsed and you only hastened the process nothing more so there is no need to worry."


    Ryan would not say out loud, but those words had managed to lower the burden on his shoulder considerably.


    Michalina simply sent a smile towards Ryan while Jessica began to speak, "I agree with Major, and Ryan your life is more important than some stupid dam, even if you had escaped from there did you forget in what condition you were in, you were half dead, that shows how dangerous the ce must have been."


    Ryan gave her a small smile before his face gained a serious look as he spoke, "After that, I met Ylerias for the first time and through her I learned I was an apostle, and it was further confirmed when I finally met with my patron God."


    "How does he look like?"


    Ryan looked towards Zhan as he answered with a shrug, "Apparently I am too weak to see his true face as such all I see is a small flickering me nothing more, and I also learned why this happened, why the apocalypse took ce."


    His words caused a bit ofmotion which immediately subsided as Ciara cleared her throat out loud, Ryan sent her a small nod of appreciation before he continued, "There is a veryrge and dangerous hidden enemy which is lurking in the shadows, an enemy that would have eventually wiped out both the worlds as such in order to save them we were merged together."


    Ciara frowned and as Donna spoke with a frown of her own, "Ryan what about Gods and Goddess of our world surely they do exist?"


    Ryan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "From what I have learned from Him, the Gods and Goddess of our world are unavable, he did not tell me much stating that I am not that strong enough to make a difference but from what I know that even Gods and Goddess are not safe from the hidden enemy, I do not know what has happened but from what he hinted because of the enemy the Gods and Goddess of our world are unavable."


    As Ciara massaged the bridge of her nose Zhan spoke with a sigh, "Have you fought against the enemy."


    Ryan nodded as he began to remove his shirt while he spoke, "Yes, I fought against it, the enemy which I faced was actually the lowest of low, a simple scout with nobat abilities, a scout that can only gather intelligence and are a dime a dozen ording to my patron God, yet it is strong enough to take more than a dozen armed people to deal with it, a scout that ording to my patron God was weak as hell with nobat abilities, yet it tore through my vehicle like a hot knife through butter, an enemy that did this to me."


    By the time he had finished with his speech, Ryan had removed his clothing revealing his torso for the world to see, multiple gasps were heard as they saw the wound marks on his body.


    Ciara''s eyes widen as she was immediately by his side checking him over and her fear and concern increased as she saw simr wound marks on his back in the exact same location as he had on his front.


    "You, you were stabbed by it."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a sigh, "Yes mom, the creature''s fingers were like a short sword and it stabbed me through it, even after my wounds have healed it left a mark on my body, not to mention it was the closest I came to dying, and I would have if it were not for thebined help of the medics."


    A few more minutester and lots of questioningter the group had not only satisfied every query but they had also given out the predetermined edited version of their journey, and as soon as Ciara had made herself scarce along with Zhan the siblings approached her to speak in private.


    Ciara narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "So, are you going to tell me what really happened."


    Michalina simply smirked at her as she spoke, "What makes you think we gave out an edited version."


    Ciara simply deadpanned at her as she spoke, "I am your mother dear, I raised you two so now tell about the part you left out."


    Ryan leaned on the nearest wall as he spoke with a sigh, "Being an Apostle may sound all good to many but there are severe downsides to it, firstly inparison to others, in eyes of those who love to eat our flesh I am like a prime cut of Grade A1 Wagyu beef, whereas you all are normal as such in case of attack they woulde after me more often."


    "The second downside is the one which I hate the most, it is the ability I have dubbed it as the ''Death Feedback''."


    With a frown forming on her face Zhan could not help but ask out loud, "Ryan why have you named something so ominous?"


    "I named it as such because it is exactly what it does, whenever an Apostle passes away we get to relive hisst moments, by reliving I mean I will feel everything he feels until the veryst moment, I", as he was once again reminded of his experience he let out shudder while Michalina ced aforting hand on his shoulder.


    An action that Ryan was grateful for as he took a deep breath before he spoke, "One of my fellow Apostles had died recently, he and his group all died while facing a horde of dangerous beasts, I saw they getting torn apart, I felt his heartache as one by one they all died, and I then felt him, I felt him getting torn apart, the pain everything I felt as if I was the one who was dying it was horrible, I do not like it."


    As he spoke Ryan closed his eyes trying to suppress those memories as much as he could, the feeling of dying in such a violent way was traumatic.


    Hearing his words both Zhan and Ciara''s jaw hardened, during their long service have felt various situations from losing their close friends to nearly dying, they knew that even after so much training, even the most well trained battle-hardened veterans suffer from them, often resulting in PTSD, as such Ciara made the mental note to have Ryan receive some psychological help as soon as possible.


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "Ryan, this apostle thing can you resign."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with another sigh, "No auntie, I will be an apostle until the day I die."


    Zhan''s eyes narrowed at that but she did not say anything, while Ciara spoke with a frown on her face, "Ryan from tomorrow morning I am going to start your training, frombat styles to strategy, get ready because I will not coddle you as your mother but as a military instructor, I will push you to your absolute limit and I won''t stop no matter how much you plead and beg."


    As Ryan beamed at her Zhan spoke with a stern look on her face, "If possible I will also look after your training from time to time, I do not like what I am hearing so far, even after getting so much help the tradeoff for your power I do not like it."


    Ryan looked down towards the floor as he spoke, "Every poweres with a price and in my case, I am the price."


    Ciara grabbed him by his shoulder as she spoke with a smile, "Ryan, do not worry, I am with you, we all are with you, no matter what we will make sure you are not harmed."


    Ryan sent her a small smile as Ciara continued to speak, "Now I believe it is gettingte so why don''t you go and take some rest we have a long day ahead with your training and building."


    Ryan simply gave a nod as he spoke, "Then I will go and upy some of the newly created floors and take some much-needed rest."


    "And I will apany you."


    With that, the siblings left, while both Ciara and Zhan frowned hard as Zhan spoke with a snarl, "I do not like this."


    "Me neither sister, I have so many questions that I need to ask but for now I will give him some breathing space, I still believe that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg not to mention the way he said he is the price has me concerned greatly, there are so many things to know about being an Apostle maybe I should consult Lierin a bit more."


    Zhan gave a nod of agreement as she spoke with a sigh, "I also think there are many things for us to learn, especially seeing the way Ryan spoke it got me concern, every God we have heard about are beings of massive power and he is the progenitor of their pantheon and the way he spoke about the price I believe something bad is going on."


    "You are right sister, maybe it is time we have a heart to heart chat with Jessica and others."


    Meanwhile, a certain apostle who had recently fallen asleep found himself once again standing in a familiar ce, the soft crackle of the bonfire when a rather familiar voice came to his ears.


    "Wee, Ryan I have a task for you."


    Unknown to Ryan another Apostle was having a simr talk with her patron God, a new task for them to fulfil.

 Chapter 112: Upgrading (Part-4)

    Chapter 112: Upgrading (Part-4)


    Ryany on the ground as he gasping for his breath, in front of him stood his mother Ciara who looked a bit worn out but otherwisepletely fine.


    "Get up Ryan, UP!"


    With a groan, Ryan stood up as he spoke with a grumble, "You are nowhere near my level yet you are defeating me like nothing."


    Ciara rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Have you not heard or learned anything that I have said, it is true that you are stronger than me level wise, there is a gap of five levels between us, even then what have I been doing the entire time."


    "You are letting me get near you and then dodging with minimalistic movement while using my strength against me."


    "Good, you are learning."


    Ryan pouted as he spoke, "If you had removed the heavy bag on my bag as well as allow me to engage all of my brains it would have been different."


    "Maybe but then it would not be training now, will it as it would be only stroking your ego, and do you know why I am fighting against you like this?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a sigh, "I am stronger opponent and you are weaker."


    Ciara gave him a nod of acknowledgement as she spoke, "True, just like bullfighting the where the matador instead of going head to head simply dodges and distracts before going for the kill, something that I am doing with you."


    Ryan let out a frustrated sigh as he spoke, "But, still it is frustrating."


    "It would take a long time master my fighting style, and you should know the virtue of being patience."


    Ryan slouched as he spoke, "Yes mom."


    Ciara narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Mom?"


    With a sheepish smile, Ryan replied back, "Ah, sorry instructor ma''am."


    "Good", a smirk formed on her face as she spoke, "Now since we have finished with our break, and since I mock killed you twenty times, as such ording to the rules you are going to do two hundred pushups."


    Ryan gave her a bewildered look as he spoke, "We had a break, when?"


    Ciara gained a dangerous look on her face as she spoke, "Oh so you have problem with two hundred pushups, then you can do four hundred pushups then."


    Ryan hurriedly spoke out, "No Ma''am, sorry Ma''am.", as he quickly fell to the ground and began his pushups.


    As Ryan kept on doing his pushups while his two fellow apostles stumbled upon the scene with an incredulous look on their faces.


    Xuelong smiled towards Ryuu as she spoke, "Good Morning Ryan, it seems you have been busy."


    Ryan grimaced as he spoke between gasps and grunts as he continued with his workout, "Yeah, though I have another favor to ask of you Sister Ylerias."


    Ylerias tilted her head as she spoke, "What do you need Brother Ryan?"


    "I had an audience with my patron God yesterday."


    Seeing that both of his fellow Apostle''s were not showing any reactions he was surprised though it cleared quickly upon hearing Xuelong''s next words.


    "We also had a chat with our patron Gods and Goddess, they told us to cooperate with you and aid in any way that you need."


    Hearing that Ryan gave a nod while Ciara spoke with a sigh, "Ryan, take a breather and finish your talk."


    Upon hearing that Ryan copsed on the floor for a few seconds before getting up while making his protesting and tired bodywork.


    "I see, you have my gratitude."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "There is no need to thank us, at present we are free as such we can provide any help necessary."


    With a nod, Ryan continued, "Last night Holy Lord Avtis instructed me to evolve this ce into a city that would stand as a beacon in these trying times."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong''s eyes widen at that as Xuelong could not help but speak out with disbelief, "That is a momentous task, creating a of that stature city."


    Ryan grimaced as he spoke, "Yes I know and I would need lots of man power, not to mention I will have to somehow establish contact with people scattered across the world in order to make this city into a beacon."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "A very long term project, did he offer any advice on how to proceed."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No just that he had advised me by telling me to evolve and grow stronger, as the stronger I get the easier it would be for me to work on suchrge scale projects."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "I see."


    "Not only that he has another project for me, something about creating a sanctuary, and when I asked what it is he simply told me to ask either of you though he has supplied me with a blueprint."


    Xuelong gave a small nod as she answered back, "Unlike normal temples which are dedicated to any particr God or Goddess and in some cases may be a couple of Gods and Goddesses, the sanctuary is different in the sense that it is not dedicated to any particr Deity but to all as such most of the time there are no statues in ce, not to mention it is often a very peaceful and rxing ce to mediate and pray to Gods."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I see, but the ''Vige Heart Crystal'' is to be ced at the center of it will it cause any problem."


    Ylerias answered this time with a shake of her head, "No, Brother Ryan, it would be not problematic as the ''Vige Heart Crystal'' or as it is often known as the ''God Blood Crystal'', is usually ced at the center of temple or a sanctuary, in fact it is a good thing to as people will no longer have to touch the crystal itself to upgrade themselves but as long as they are inside the sanctuary or temple they can easily do so."


    "I see."


    As Ryan frowned in deep thought Xuelong chimed in, "Also think of these in this way, we are already having problem due to sh of different religious views as such instead of showing your favor and inclination to a particr religion you are make it a religion neutral ce."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "That is something that I would like very much to do, but the construction is huge as such I would start it as soon as the housing arrangement and food is sorted out."


    Ylerias simply gave a nod as she spoke, "Fair enough."


    Ryan grimaced slightly as he spoke his next words, "Although there is the matter of another thing."


    Ylerias gave an encouraging nod as Ryan continued, "He wants me to at least double my level in two months time."


    Xuelong replied back with a frown, "That is not that difficult though seeing how much work you have it would be very hectic schedule for you, but why does he want you to do so."


    Ryan grimaced again as he spoke, "He is nning to give me a quest which would either be solo or with someone, and ording to Him if I fail to reach that level I would die for sure if I attempt that quest."


    Ciara was standing by his side listening to their conversation for the first time, "Ryan you did not tell me about this."


    Ryan sent a sheepish smile towards his mother as he spoke, "Sorry mom, there were so many things going on through my head that I kind of forgot."


    Ciara''s frown deepened as she spoke, "That is highly irresponsible to you, and why do you have to go can you not simply say no.", as an uneasy look pass through Ryan''s face, Ciara pinched the bridge of her nose before she spoke with a sigh, "We will have a heart to heart chat about this matterter on, and this time you will not hide anything and if you do I am not above giving you a spanking in public."


    A shiver ran down through Ryan''s spine at the thought of such humiliating as well as painful punishment as he spoke with a nod, "Of course mother, and once again I am sorry."


    Ryan then once again turned towards Ylerias as he spoke, "My patron God checked the blueprints fr my next creation and he made some changes to it."


    "I see how and since you are telling me it would have to make the trench bigger."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes he wanted it to be four feet wider."


    "I see I will begin working on it and is there anything else."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a frown, "Yes, he pointed me to the fact that there are creatures that could easily scale the walls as such to try and find some means to prevent it I have a few ideas but I wanted to ask you about it since you are more versed in magic, so is there any magical solutions for it."


    Ylerias frowned before she spoke with a nod, "Yes, there are runes that might deal with it but putting runes on such arge creation would be back breaking method, not to mention the resources we would need."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "Resources?"


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "We need blood from magical creature, the more attuned they are to magic the better, then we would have to draw the runes on the wall, and upon being activated they would work wonders, but here is the problem the blood mixed with crushed Mana and Spirit stones from the beast would be needed inrge quantity."


    Xuelong shrugged as she replied, "Not a major problem we can hunt them down since we already need to increase our level it would be better."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "So true though we have to make sure that no corrupted or undead is added to the mix as it would copse the array."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Drawing runes from blood how long will it survive?"


    Ylerias smirked at him as she spoke, "Years, it would take near about half a decade for them topletely fail but regr maintenance would keep it running well for a very long time."


    "I see."


    "Though using Mythril for rune work would make it even better, you could turn a blind eye to it for a century."


    Ylerias rolled her eyes as she spoke with a huff, "Don''t be stupid Xuleong, even if that metal is extremely suitable for the work I do not see any Mythril lying around not to mention the difficulty in processing, not to mention using such a precious metal in such arge quantity is highly foolish and wasteful, even the wealthiest of people in our world would not be able to afford it."


    Xuelong raised her hand in mock surrender as she spoke, "Wah, I was just giving him information which he might find some use in the future, and I am not foolish enough to suggest him something so outrageous."


    Ylerias sighed before she spoke again, "That is the only way I can think of Ryan, and it would take a lot of time."


    Ryan closed his eyes for a moment in deep thought before he spoke, "Ylerias if I create a wall for you could you cover it with the array."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "What would it achieve?"


    Ryan simply smirked towards her direction as he spoke, "Just do it, I have an idea though I do not know if it work or not, so I need to experiment a bit."


    "I see I will do so as soon as you have created one for me, till then I will work on the trench.", Ylerias then turned towards Xuelong as she spoke, "Would be a dear and gather some beast blood and their stones."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "May be you should do so Ylerias while I work on the trench, I may not be the best person for the job but I am decent enough while because of your patron Goddess you excel in hunting."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Fair enough, I will leave immediately."


    As the duo left Ciara turned towards Ryan as she spoke, "Now Ryan, give me two hundred pushups."


    Ryan gawked at her as he spoke, "I clearly did over a seventy before you allowed me to speak with them."


    Ciara raised one of her delicate eyebrows as she spoke, "I see then please give me two hundred and seventy."


    Ryan''s jaw dropped as Ciara spoke with a tilt of her head, "Every second you waste I would add ten more."


    Her words turned to be enough motivation for Ryan as he quickly fell down as he began his pushups.

 Chapter 113: The Wall (part-1)

    Chapter 113: The Wall (part-1)


    Ryan watched intently as Ylerias put up finishing touches on the small piece of the wall he had erected for her to write her runes on top of it.


    Ylerias finished she spoke with a huff, "These are the runes that would cause any creature from trying to climb on the wall unable to do so, and on top of that I have ced an array that would act as a shield to withstand in case of any physical and magical attacks up to a certain level."


    As Ryan paid undivided attention towards her Ylerias continued, "Any rune generally can be divided into four parts, power, storage, controller, and executor, amongst them the power is self exnatory as it supplies power to the rune cluster, storage stores the instructions, controller is the one that makes that the instructions are followed, executor executes it as dictated by the controller."


    Ryan scratched his chin as his face morphed in deep thought as he spoke, "I see, but about the power how do I supply it."


    "About that I added another array that would gather mana from the atmosphere just like the machines of your do, but not as advanced as them."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I see.", he then stood in front of the wall with his hands raised as he spoke out loud, "Scan."


    No sooner did he speak the word a magical circle formed in front of his hands, while the iris of his eyes contracted and returned to normal after a brief moment, while everyone watched as the wall suddenly became transparent he stood there for a moment before the circle disappeared, and as the circle disappeared a new notification popped up in his head.


    *******************


    <em><strong>Host gained knowledge on Rune</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Skill Type: Support</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Host Level: Novice (0%)</strong></em>


    *******************


    Ryan suddenly winced as he felt a brief moment of sharp pain on his head before he turned toward Ylerias with a smug smile on his face as he spoke, "I got it, and I can now recreate those walls with runes on them, and apparently I am a novice now, though I would want to check something."


    With that Ryan quickly closed his eyes as he fell into deep meditation, while Ylerias looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face as Xuelong simply patted on her back as Ylerias spoke with a hint of sorrow in her voice, "You know it took me weeks of studying to reach even the novice level and yet he did so within a few seconds, so unfair."


    Meanwhile, Ryan was busy analyzing the knowledge about runes with a furious expression on his face, when suddenly he stumbled upon a realization that made him m his head hard before letting out a loose chuckle which changed to a burst of derangedughter.


    "Oh my God, runes are nothing but codes, codes that I can easily write."


    Ryan''s joy-filledughter died as he jumped up from suddenly hearing a voice, only to sigh in relief as he immediately recognized it.


    ************


    <strong><em>System essing host''s knowledge on coding.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Knowledge scanned (5%).</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Knowledge scanned (17%).</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Knowledge scanned (58%).</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Knowledge scanned (75%).</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Knowledge scanned (100%).</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reintegrating Knowledge.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Revaluating skill level.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Rune Skill level Apprentice (85%)(Pseudo)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Host gained knowledge on Codes.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Skill Type: Support</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Host Level: Expert (02%)</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Warning: Host knowledge on runguage iplete.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Caution: Iplete knowledge can cause instability in the runic cluster.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Warning: Chances of Rune etching is only 70%.</em></strong>


    *************


    <em>''I see so ording to it I am expert in coding but even then, the thing that this system considers an expert might be different from we normally perceive, and even then I am barely an expert, maybe I should milk Andraais''s brain and sharpen my skills even more.''</em>


    His mind then wandered off to another essential point as he frowned hard,<em> ''My experience as well as my knowledge is rathercking the only thing that I know is from what Ylerias showed me and from the pattern that I deduced from them, they are just like coding and my hunch proved right, now I will have to learn the proper key words.''</em>


    Ryan narrowed his eyes in deep thought before he mused out loud, "But, before that I would have to scan my mana gathering and liquefying system, if Ylerias is right I might gain knowledge on the runes powering them, though I hope it will work, I had tried to open them and learn of their inner workings but no matter what I do they will always deconstruct or go up in mes and turn to g the moment I or anyone tries to pry them open."


    With that n in mind, Ryan opened his eyes before he took a nce at the piece of paper, that was filled with various symbols that Ylerias had handed him over three hundred symbols to be exact.


    <em>''I have tried to memorize them properly but they are too many and it would take some time, hmm, let me see if ''Scan'' works.''</em>


    A few secondster Ryan stared at the paper in his hand as he whispered out loud, "My powers are broken."


    "Yes, they are.", a familiar but dead voice came to his ears as he turned he was greeted by a dejected-looking Ylerias who looked as if her whole world had been devastated while Xuelong was consoling her but from the looks of her face it seemed that Xuelong was enjoying the scene too much.


    The reason for that was because of scanning of the piece of paper he had managed to add what was known as ''Elven Runic Symbols'', into his newly creatednguage library.


    "Is there other any othernguage for runes?"


    Xuelong replied on behalf of a depressed ylerias, "Is there are Dwarven runes, Human runes, in fact every intelligent race had developed their own type, with their own pros and cons."


    "I see, is there a way to learn them."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "I see I will ask around the refugees and see if anyone knows about the symbols correctly, though getting someone who is a rune master would be difficult, as the study of runes is very difficult as such most only know basic knowledge."


    Ryan waved her off as he spoke, "I only need to know about the symbols preferably written in this manner."


    Xuelong nodded as she soon left dragging a pale Ylerias with her, while Ryan quickly made his way towards Alpha Raven 2.0.


    "Hey, Ryan, where are you going?"


    As a familiar voice came to his ears Ryan sun around and was greeted with a familiar face of Donna, Ryan smiled back in return as he spoke, "I am currently gathering any information about runes, and you?"


    Donna frowned as she spoke with a tilt of her head, "What are runes?"


    Ryan beamed at her as he spoke, "Why of course the best form of magic that can be done by coding."


    Donna was even more confused as she thought inwardly, ''Magic that can be done by coding just what he is talking about.''


    By the time her focus returned to Ryan he had already climbed on to engine area having removed the cover he had begun to scan the system, Donna looked at her from afar only for her eyes to widen in horror as she watched Ryan copse like a puppet whose string has been cut off.


    A few seconds ago Ryan had started his scan when everything went haywire, as his first warning came in the form of a sudden glitch in his vision which was soon followed by a severe bout of headache that suddenly spiked to an astronomical level while a familiar voice chimed in.


    ************


    <strong><em>Error</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Error</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Warning: Data processing beyond Host capabilities</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Rerouting and engaging all brains</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Critical Failure</em></strong>


    ************


    With that Ryan''s vision went nk while he copsed on the ground as rivers of bright red life fluid began to flow through his nostrils.


    A familiar crackling sound came to his ears as he sat of straight he was once again greeted to a familiar sight and a familiar me sitting on the chair, but before he could greet Avtis, his patron God spoke with annoyance in his voice, "Are you a masochist Ryan?"


    The sudden question made him dumbfounded for a moment before he replied heatedly, "What kind of question is this? Of course I am not."


    "<strong>Then why do you act like a stupid idiotic child</strong>, I gave you powers that arepletely game breakingpared to others, I gave you everything that sets you apart an edge for survival but then why? <strong>Why do you act like a stupid idiot who gets high thinking about suicide?</strong>"


    "I..I"


    "<strong>Shut up</strong>, just shut up, did you or did you not get a warning that there might beplications if you carried on with your scanning?"


    Ryan frowned as he thought hard as he spoke with a shake of his head as he spoke, "No did not receive any kind of warning."


    A silence descended amongst them as the only sound was crackling of mes, suddenly Ryan''s vision shifted as he was suddenly surrounded by multiple screens, where numerous lines went so fast that he could not make out any head or tail, but before long the screens vanished the ce returned to normal.


    "I see there was a bug in the system that I got rid of, now next time when there is a warning do not proceed."


    As Ryan fully recalled the reason that led him to have a chat with his patron God he could not help but ask out loud, "Why did it happen?"


    "Ah, about that, scanning input knowledge into your brain and the piece of machine was the work of a now extinct group of humanoid beings that had achieved interster travel through magic, and even though the machine would have been thought of as a junk by those as it was a very outdated piece of equipment for them."


    A silence descended for a brief moment as Avtis continued, "Comparing them with the brightest rune masters of Yelrias''s world, would be likeparing Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton''s prowess in mathematics to that of a child that just learned the numbers from one to ten, I hope you are getting where I am going."


    As Ryan nodded Avtis spoke with a sigh, "I hope you remembered what I had said during ourst talk.", as Ryan nodded Avtis continued to speak, "Well then there is nothing for me to say, though except work harder and act smartly and now shoo."


    With that once again Ryan''s vision turned ck but as he tried to open his eyes he was hit by a massive headache so massive that he simply wanted to die, as such with a loud pain-filled groan he curled up into a ball.


    "Ryan, Ryan talk to me, Ryan."


    A familiar voice came to his ears but his heading was too much for him as such he could only groan and speak with a pleading voice, "Please, please be quite the headache is killing me."


    Ruby sighed as she left Ryan alone for the time being until some form of medicine was ready for him, as she moved away from him Ciara could not help but let out a tired sigh as she spoke barely above a whisper, "This is why I am always afraid to live him alone.", her words were supported by Michalina who simply acknowledged her word with a nod.


    An hourter after being force-fed a couple of rather foul and smelly herbal concoction Ryan was free from the headache that was guing him.


    "Are you alright Ryan?"


    "Yes, Ruby thank you the headache was killing me."


    "So how did it happen? Last I heard you were busy working on something."


    "Something I would also like to know, in fact there is many things I would like to know Ryan, things that you were hiding from me apparently."


    Ryan looked towards the speaker, who was none other than Ciara, as his shoulders slouched before he spoke, "Well then please take a seat mom it would be long talk."

 Chapter 114: The Wall (Part-2)

    Chapter 114: The Wall (Part-2)


    Ryan looked at the barrel full of blood that had been gathered as per his request, along with arge sack full of Spirit stones, that would soon be grounded into dust, and also to increase the potency of the concoction under the advisement of others he decided to use copper dust.


    As such a mixture was created in such a way that for every litre of the blood of the magical beast there would be two grams of spirit stone dust and five grams of pure copper dust.


    And with concoction being finished he created his first ever blocks for the wall covered with runes, he then proceeded to create a pane of ss covered with runes which he had ced on top of a rectangr table, that he had created, while on one end of the table was a gun that he had ced on mps, a gun that could be triggered remotely, the reason for that was he wanted to test the working of the runes so as not only to get a better understanding of them but as well as to eliminate any problem that might arise.


    Ryan then proceeded to encase the set up with thick metal sheets and a few minutester he was safely behind a thick concrete wall with Zhan holding the end of a string that would enable them to fire the gun remotely.


    Zhan gave a nod before she shouted out in the top of her lungs, "Fire in the hole." before she gave a tug to the string she was holding and soon a muffled bang was heard.


    The duo quickly went towards the test site and upon opening the containment Zhan let out a whistle of appreciation as soon as she the result of the test.


    She poked the still scorching hot bullet thaty on top of the table, as she spoke with a smile, "It seems your barrier held on well."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke with a smile on his face, "It did work."


    Zhan gave a nod before she touched the pane of ss before quickly withdrawing her hand as she spoke with a wince, "The ss is too hot."


    Ryan let out a tired sigh before he spoke, "I see so my fear came true."


    As Zhan looked at him curiously Ryan began to speak with a sigh, "The barrier stopped the projectile but what about the kic energy that the bullet contained, you cannot destroy an energy so what it does that the moment of impact the energy that has been generated is converted to other form of energy and is dispersed, but the process is generating heat as a byproduct."


    "I see, so if you put it on the wall it would cause problem because of the heat, those who will be on the wall will be suffering it, it could also damage or cause idental ignition of ammunitions."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "So true, but at the wall would berge and I can use it to reduce the heat."


    Zhan''s eyes narrowed for a moment before her eyes widened as she eximed out loud, "I see, I understand where you are going, putting a ss full of water in a scorching desert would take a long time for the water to vaporize whenpared to just throwing the water over a muchrge area, so what now."


    "A few more tests as I would try to check a theory of mine."


    Zhan simply gave a nod as Ryan once again filled the pistol but this time instead of a single bullet he had attached it with a drum magazine capable of holding around fifty rounds, and getting the entire setup ready the duo once again took shelter behind their shelter wall as Zhan once again shouted out, "Fire in the hole."


    ''Ratatatata''


    Was the sound that was heard for a few precious seconds as Zhan spoke with a grin, "The sound of a rather fine gun, but it is a bit more glutton than I would love."


    Ryan simply smiled back but as the duo made their way to the test setup and as they neared it they could see smoke escaping from it and upon opening it they were greeted with the sight of molten ss.


    Zhan immediately inspected the area as well as the bullet markings on the wall, as well as a few thaty near it, from behind ss pane as she spoke with a sigh, "I believe the ss pane gave out on the fifteenth mark as it began to melt, as you see traces of molten ss that stuck to the bullets."


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "That is a catastrophic failure."


    Zhan snorted as she spoke, "So, what caused this ''Catastrophic Failure''?"


    Ryan frowned for a moment as he spoke, "I tried to make it such that it would use to the energy to boost the defensive capabilities of the ss pane but it seems that I had underestimated the heat generated."


    "The word itself does not do the situation any justice, just look at the damage on the table itself, it became so hot that part of it was melted and is now a hair breadth away from melting."


    Ryan closed his eyes in deep thought before he waved his hand repairing every damage as he spoke with a frown, "There is onest test I wish to conduct before we move on."


    Cai Bai wiped the sweat off his brow as he watched others working hard on creating the trench, before the world changed he was a civil engineer who had created his own constructed farm and with lots of blood sweat and tears as well as an insane amount of luck he had managed tond a few contracts that had managed him to touch international level.


    Cai Bai now was overseeing the work of the construction of the trench as he had once again had the fortune of stumbling upon Ryan and having offered him the expertise he had managed to secure his ce as a construction consultant and as such he was giving out finishing touches to the design to make it even more stable.


    As such under thebined hard work of many including Ylerias and Cai Bai, they had managed to dig out a ce for the foundation of the wall and unlike before it was not a single straight line, but it contained a few more extra bits as Ryan had forgotten the fact that the entire tower needs to have its foundation done from dept of the earth just like the other parts of the wall.


    A quick chat with Cai Bai had made Ryan realize his folly without the foundation from deep inside the bosom of the earth the chances of the wall toppling would be incredibly high.


    "Mister Cai Bai, how is the work going on."


    Cai Bai looked towards Ryan as he replied with a smile, "We are just finishing up."


    Ryan simply gave a nod as he spoke, "Then if I begin construction of the wall from this part it would not be a problem?"


    Cai Bai shook his head while replying back to Ryan, "Of course not."


    With a nod, Ryan slowly began the greatest of his creation to date, and as he focused on the creation of the wall, Zhan had returned but this time she had Ciara with her.


    As Ciara arrived she was greeted by what seemed to be arge holographic structure that seemed to show the only the part of the base that would be below the soil level, and through the pale bluish holographic projection Ciara could clearly see her son running around as concrete blocks seem to appear magically behind him.


    "No matter how many times I would see him constructing something I would never seem to get enough of it, magic is such an useful tool, if it were our old world it would take weeks to dig this trench let alone constructing such arge structure and yet here we are with a trench dug properly and now he is already constructing it and from the pace he is going he would be done in a couple of days easily."


    As Ciara looked towards the speaker, the person extended his hand as he introduced himself, "Cai Bai, my name is Cai Bai."


    "Ciara, a pleasure, and I do not think you are from our country."


    "No I am not, I am from China and I was visiting your country on business purpose before the apocalypse."


    "I see, then your family."


    A sad look passed over Cai Bai''s face as he spoke, "They are back in China."


    "I see, I hope one day you will be able to visit them."


    A bright smile formed on Cai Bai''s face as he spoke, "I too hope one day I will see them, at the beginning when everything went to hell I had given up on making my way back but now, now I have a hope that I would one day be able to reach them."


    Ciara looked back towards Ryan as a silence descended amongst them for a moment as they watched Ryan working on creating the wall.


    It would be near sunset that an extremely tired Ryany on the floor grasping for breath, it had taken some time for him toy down the ground work which led to thepletion of the foundation on which the towers and the wall would stand soon.


    "Here brother have some water."


    Ryan opened his eyes before he sat up while shakily taking the canteen full of water before gulping down its contents in a blink of an eye before he spoke with a sigh, "Now that is refreshing no matter what anyone says nothing can beat water, it is the best drink ever.", his eyes then narrowed as he spoke, "Though thanks for the sugar and salt that you have added to it."


    Michalina winked at him as she spoke, "I do not know what you are saying Ryan.", with that she extended her hand towards him.


    Ryan simply snorted at that as he grabbed her hand to stand up before he spoke looking towards the distance, "It is getting dark and we should return, the trench might have prevented some of the animals from crossing over but not anymore, we have to be careful and stay vignt tonight."


    Michalina shook her head as she spoke with a tired sigh, "No brother we have to be careful and stay vignt every night till the day we die."

 Chapter 115: The Wall (part-3)

    Chapter 115: The Wall (part-3)


    Arge heap of toolsy on the ground and behind him stood its creator Ryan as he spoke with a small smile, "So are they up to mark?"


    An elderly looking dwarf picked up an axe as he checked it over before he spoke with a smirk, "It is a wonderful piece of work Your Holiness, it is really marvelous."


    Ryan did not know whether the elderly dwarf was being courteous of him because of his status or he had genuinely made something impressive though from what he had learned about their species he was leaning towards the former since from what he had learned about the dwarven race are made up of narcissistic fastidious grumps.


    "Thank you for your praise though I am only able to do so because of my patron God''s blessings and even then I have much to learn from the true masters of the craft."


    The elderly dwarf simply gave a nod and a grunt while others slowly began to pick their tools of choice, when a few humans appeared as one of them spoke, "Excuse me Ryan but can ask you to make us some weapons for us."


    Ryan looked at the group consisting of six men and four women, a good few years older than him, but before Ryan could speak one of the dwarfs growled as he spoke out loud, "You insolent how dare you speak so casually with His Holiness."


    Ryan quickly turned towards him as he spoke with a small smile, "Please brother do not get angry at them, everything is new to them, so please be patient and upon saying that our world had many different religion and people followed them and I hope you all irrespective of your race, gender or religious believes would be tolerant to each other and respect them, I have no problem with anyone''s believes until they do something immoral."


    He then looked back towards the group as he spoke with a sigh, "Are you with the militia?"


    The person who had spoken earlier shook his head as Ryan spoke with another sigh, "Then I am afraid I cannot provide you with weapons as I do not have time to make them."


    "But"


    "I know what you are going to say but please hear me out, I am extremely busy with various projects as such I do not have enough time to make weapon for every person, upon saying that I understand the dire need of protection, the ck Wolves are excellent guards but theyck in number as such the militia would be formed and they will be armed before anyone else".


    Ryan paused for a moment before he continued, "And if you still wish to fight please try your luck in joining the militia, and if you fail it is not the end of the world there would soon be various other jobs that would be announced and I hope you would fine the one you would befortable with."


    The group looked at each other as one of them spoke with a frown on her face, "How do we apply for it?"


    "Sometime today there will be recruitment drive for people, you will know the details there so be patient and as I said before if you are not fit for being in the militia then there is nothing to worry we have plenty of work and I doubt we would have enough to fill them all."


    With his words being said to the group Ryan turned towards the elder dwarf as he could not help but ask a question that was running through his mind, "I do not wish to sound rude but why do you use normal weapons not magic."


    The elder dwarf instead of being offended looked pleased with his question as he spoke with a huge smile on his face, "Gods created us from the dirt before we learned magic from the Gods when we faced life threatening difficulties, so we try to do work in mundane ways in order to remind ourselves of our humble beginnings, also another reason being that there are certain ores that reacts badly if you use magic on it so we have to work with our hands and even then the ore is very hard to work on as such by doing this simple tasks we can increase our strength."


    "I see, then please carry on with your work and I will be off."


    With that Ryan turned and left while internally he was extremely giddy, <em>''I am finally acting as an arms dealer just like that anime, now if only I had a strong and beautiful female follower with an eye patch on one of her eyes and it would have been perfect.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    A few hourster a tired Ryan looked down from the only portion of the wall he had managed to sessfully raise to its intended height, most of the ck Wolves including both Ciara and Michalina had left the base, as well as the other two apostles, the reason for their departure was simple, it was to gatherbat experience as well as increase their level.


    <em>''I do not know which is better, kill and work hard to increase your stats by various means, or kill and use blood points to increase your stats, why do we apostles so different from norm? At the end of the day, are we simply tools for the patron Gods, tools who exist only to fight in their name.''</em>


    He then nced at therge queue that had formed, with Zhan standing at the front of it, the reason for the queue was to register the newly arrived people, it was also to recruit people for various avable jobs.


    Ryan sighed as he looked towards the forest as he spotted a pack of a rather familiar creature moving fast towards the wall, he extended his hands as a familiar rifle appeared, and then after aiming he pulled the trigger.


    Zhan even amongst the cacophony of noise could easily notice the distinct sound of a gun being discharged in quick session, and she looked towards Ryan''s direction she was greeted by a loud bone-chilling howl.


    "Everyone to the shelters now, the wolves are attacking.", as soon as she shouted those words panic seemed to settle amongst the people making her growl in anger before she discharged her revolver drawing everyone''s attention as she continued, "Move in orderly manner and you will be able to enter the shelter fast and safe but if any of you get any funny ideas you will wish those wolves had eaten you."


    She looked at three of her subordinates as she spoke with a growl, "You three are with me.", that she dashed off towards Ryan''s location.


    Ryan meanwhile had the luxury of sitting on a high vantage point from where he aimed the wolf pack that was fifty strong.


    <em>''They are fast very much so, but not fast enough.''</em>


    As he pulled the trigger his gun roared out raining a hail of bullets on the wolf pack, the one leading it howled as the bullets hit it, while the others simply broke off and at a nce it looks as if they are afraid and were running off now but it turned out to be false as they tried to circle him and then find a way to reach him and which they did.


    Ryan cursed his luck as he watched the wolves using the unfinished parts of the wall as stairs to reach up to him.


    <em>''Damn it, it just became difficult.''</em>, he took aim as he fired his gun as one of the wolves fell with a whine the one behind him suddenly jumped as a cyan glow came from its mouth, Ryan suddenly felt the hair on his neck tingle as hey t against the wall, and his danger senses proved to be right as a gust of air missed him by a hairbreadth.


    <em>''That was close, it was like a air cannon being fired at me, and if I had been hit by it then I would have fallen from such a great height but enough is enough it is high time I be serious.''</em>


    One of the wolves jumped from behind him only to meet headfirst with a conical shaped concrete cocoon that Ryan had hastily created to protect himself and thus ended up volunteering itself for being impromptu test subject of the newest runes of Ryan, which ording to its nature had made the surface of the cone to be slippery to the point that the wolf soon found itself to be taking a stumble from top of the wall.


    Suddenly a part of the conical cocoon opened up as the muzzle of a certain pistol peaked through it, before firing with a familiar sound and one of the wolves copsed on the ground, the heat of theser having cauterized the wound.


    The wolves were suddenly taken aback seeing their brethren fall, but before they could regain their wits part of the conical cocoon would disappear at random with enough space for Ryan''s pistol to peak and then he would fire at the wolves before moving to a different spot.


    The fifty pack wolves had in reality broken off into two groups a group consisting of the lions share making up to four-fifths of their size had attacked Ryan, his scent had caused most of them to attack while the rest had ventured forth towards the base.


    <em>''Wolves this big, they are at least twice the size of the ones I have seen, not to mention their abilities if it were not for the fact that I had such powers I would have been dead, I have to be extra careful about how I create from now on, thest thing I want is a repeat of today''s situation, I am d that even if I have raised it to the required height I have not do so with the width so it funnels them down a bit.''</em>


    It took less than a minute for Ryan to deal with the beasts that were surrounding him, his eyes then fell on the group that was fighting with Zhan, and as such taking his rifle he aimed before pulling the trigger.


    <em>''Aiming from such a distance from the iron sight is difficult, though I am d that this gun has a selection between single and multi shots otherwise it would have been difficult for me to aim from such arge distance.''</em>


    And as thest of the wolves fell everyone let out a sigh of relief only for Ryan to get ramrod as he heard a growling behind him.


    He jumped away from his position as a wolf''s maw missed him by mere inches but seeing the wolf his eyes widen, <em>''It was the one that was leading the group and the one I had fired at first.''</em>


    With great show agility Ryan dodged before punching the wolf''s torso with his right hand, and no sooner did he do so arge beam suddenly appeared bursting out of the wolf caking him on its blood and gut.


    The wolf copsed on the ground whimpering in pain as its life fluid coated the top of the wall while Ryan froze seeing the destruction that his experiment had wrought.


    <em>''No way, no way it worked I just wanted to experiment it a bit but to really work it is as fascinating as well as horrifying, the beam that he had created inside the wolf had torn the wolf apart as it appeared out of it, it is horrible.''</em>


    The pain-filled whimpering drew his attention as he looked at the wolf''s pain-filled eyes begging for mercy, the beam had appeared by tearing its spine out while at the same time perforating the majority of its organs in such a grisly manner that it was not a clean kill and the wolf was suffering from it.


    A pang of immense guilt welled up in Ryan''s heart upon seeing the condition of the wolf, <em>''Damn it, even if it was my enemy I should give it a proper death not torment it.''</em>, as such he quickly put a bullet in the wolf''s head killing it.


    Ryan stared at the spot for a moment as he took deep breaths to calm him down, before suddenly felt as if he was being watched as such he quickly turned towards the direction from where the wolves had appeared, and he spotted something move in the distance but it was too fast and brief for him to register.


    ''What was that? Was something spying from me or was it my imagination?''


    "Ryan, are you alright?"


    Zhan''s shout drew his attention as he peered down before he spoke with a small smile, "I am fine, but what about you all, after all you all fought them head to head."


    Zhan narrowed her eyes towards the blood that was on him as she spoke, "We are fine just a few scratches here and there but nothing extraordinary and now you stay up there we areing up."


    Ryan sighed as he sat down on the floor with the dead carcasses of the wolves surrounding him, he let out a sigh before he waved his hand making the beam disappear while his eyes lingered on the mutted carcass.


    A couple of minutester Zhan stood by his side as she spoke with concern in her voice, "Are you alright Ryan? You are covered in so much blood."


    "I am fine auntie Zhan, this is just wolf blood."


    "How did they reach you?"


    "The wall is kind of like stairs now, I am making in this manner so that it would be easier for me to climb up to the top, and those wolves used them as stairs to reach me."


    "I see each block that you ce is like a cube of a meter long on each side, and they climbed through it to reach you."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, they did and I am d that the wall is not ready at all as it stillcks the width as you climb higher which made it easier for me to deal with them, though you may use me of being paranoid but I do not think the entire thing is a bit weird."


    Zhan frowned as she spoke, "Why do you think so?"


    Ryan brow scrunched up to a frown as he stared hard into the distance as he spoke, "Wolves are one of the finest predators that has graced earth, they are intelligent and as far as I know from my limited knowledge that they know when they are beaten up and as such they also retreat yet they pressed forward rushing to their death without a care for their pack mates, something like this does not feel right to me."


    Zhan bit her lips as she spoke, "You are right, I may not be an expert on wolves but I know that any creature that knows that it is beaten would retreat especially in case of animals but they were different."


    "Aunty there is also something I need to tell you."


    "What is it Ryan?"


    "After I had finished dealing with the wolves I might have spotted something that was watching us from a distance but it is so fast that I was barely able to make out what it was and for all intent purpose it might be my hallucination."


    Zhan stood silently for a moment mulling over what Ryan had just informed her off before she spoke in a stern voice, "Then we have to be prepared even if it turns out to be a hallucination there is nothing for us to lose but if it is not"


    As Zhan trailed off, Ryan continued with a sigh, "It would be dangerous as such the wall is needed ot bepleted fast as such I will be working day and night to make it."


    "I see I will make sure to post some soldiers near you to lend you a hand if needed."


    Ryan gave a small nod before he looked down at his hands before he spoke with a grimace, "I need some shower I do not like being covered with blood and guts."

 Chapter 116: The Wall(Part-4)

    Chapter 116: The Wall(Part-4)


    Marcel red at Ileana, who in turn sent a defiant re at him as she spoke, "I refuse, and why are you not scolding Catherine she had also tried to join the militia."


    "I will speak with herter because unlike you she has failed, what possessed you to join the militia."


    "Why should I not? There is a dire need of fresh young blood like my own for the betterment of our society, after all it is by our hands that new world would be reforged."


    Marcel groaned as he covered his face with his hand as he spoke, "Oh you stupid child of mine, you bought into that propaganda, do you even know what you did?", with a mournful sigh Marcel continued, "Did you not think of the possibility that you would die, in case of a conflict the militia would be at the forefront fighting and die."


    Ileana''s jaw hardens as she spoke, "I know and I understand, but you have to understand that we no longer live in a proper safe society, we live in a world filled with danger and even if I could do a little to help others it is more than enough."


    As Marcel sighed again Ileana continued with her onught, "Did you not see how Ryan fought today?"


    "Yes, yes I saw him returning covered in blood."


    "Ryan is working hard for us all I just want to help him."


    Marcel sighed as he shook his head before he replied to his daughter, "Ileana, the current you will be a hindrance to him, do you honestly belief you could have taken out the pack like he did, and let alone him just tell me could deal with the smaller group like that Zhandy did?"


    Ileana sighed as she replied with a shake of her head, "Of course I cannot I am nowhere near that strong but one day I will be after all they also had to begin somewhere."


    Marcel could only groan in exasperation while Ileana decided to change the topic of their argument, "Dad where is mom and granny?"


    Marcel hearing the question Marcel could not help but let out a groan as he spoke with a sigh, "Your grandmother has made it her personal mission to cause problem for everyone with a few likeminded individuals who are iming to protect the religion and your mother is trying to keep her at bay."


    Catherine looked towards the ground as she spoke with sadness in her voice, "Father I think we should slowly distance ourselves from her, even after so many times we have warned her she is trying to cause problem and do you remember your elder sister''sst warning."


    A shiver ran down Marcel''s spine as he remembered the re he had received from Ciara, not to mention the warning they had received, ''do not hurt Ryan or else'', he let out a soft sigh as he spoke, "Perhaps you are right daughter it is high time we moved away from her, I will speak with your mother about this as soon as she returns, after all what she is trying to do is epitome of not only foolishness but madness as well."


    Ileana sighed as she spoke, "Well dad then I would like to take my leave, my training would begin soon and I would not want to bete."


    Marcel simply drew him to a hug as he spoke in a soft tone, "Take care and please remember do not try to do something that is beyond you."


    Meanwhile, a certain apostle had just ced a block on top of the wall before he stood up with a bright smile on his face.


    ''The wall is nearly finished it took me two days of working even forgoing sleep with the aid of foul tasting concoctions I managed to erect the wall the only part left is the gateway, but before that I need to bring power, I hope by tomorrow it would all be over and I would be able to sleep.''


    "Ah, Ryan just the person I wanted to speak with."


    Ryan turned towards the speaker as he spoke with a tired smile, "Sister Ylerias, how have you been? Was your hunt fruitful?"


    "I have been fine and of course my hunt was fruitful because of My Lady''s blessings, but I am here on a serious matter."


    As Ryan gave her a nod Ylerias continued, "Upon returning I learned about the wolf attack and then I heard that you might have spotted something in the forest, is that true?"


    "Yes, though I am not sure if what I have seen is true or not, it might just be my hallucinations but I did not wish to take any chances."


    Ylerias gave a nod of approval as she spoke, "A very wise decision, there is nothing wrong to be prepared and though can you point me towards where you saw the creature."


    As Ryan pointed towards the direction of the forest Ylerias gave a nod before she spoke, "I will search the area may be I will find something that others have missed."


    With that she left leaving behind a tired Ryan who simply sat on top of the wall for a moment looking at the training drills of the militia that had begun shortly he could see his mother running them to the ground, it brought some fond memory to him, as he watched his eyelids felt heavy and a few secondster he closed his eyes.


    "Ryan!!!!!"


    A shout brought jolted him awake as he soon found himself being held firmly by Jessica, who red at him as she spoke, "What are you doing? You are sleeping while sitting beside the edge of the wall, you could have fallen."


    Ryan gave her a sheepish smile as he spoke, "Sorry I was a bit tired and I kind of dozed off."


    "That is why you need to sleep, you have not rested for three days now, and as such you need proper rest."


    "But"


    "No buts now move."


    A protesting Ryan was being frog-marched back towards the base only to be stopped by Ciara.


    "What is going on here Jessica? Why and where are you frog marching Ryan?"


    "See, she literally frog marching me to."


    "Shut up.", Jessica glowered at Ryan for a moment before she began to speak while looking towards Ciara, "Major, Ryan is very tired and as such he dozed off while he was sitting near the edge of the wall and if I had not been there he would have fallen."


    "What?!", as the anger-filled scream of Ciara escaped her lips Ryan suddenly found the ground very interesting.


    "Carry on then Jessica and make sure he gets ample rest even if you have to knock him out."


    As Ryan was being forced to move he could hear a few of the otherworlders murmuring out loud about how much he cares for them that even after being tired he was working his bones for them.


    A few hourster a bleary-eyed Ryan looked around as a pleasant smell came to his nose.


    "Wake up Ryan it is time for you to eat."


    Ryan rubbed his eyes as he was greeted by the smiling face of Michalina with a hot steaming bowl in her hand.


    "Wee to thend of the living brother, here I brought you your dinner."


    As Ryan took the bowl he noticed that unlike before it contained a few leafy vegetables along with arge piece of what seemed to be a potato.


    Seeing his questioning look Michalina replied with a smile on her face, "We found a lot of herbs and wild vegetables while foraging which has been brought back, also the garden ising along nicely so soon we will have something to go along with fish and meat."


    Ryan took a sip from the bowl as he spoke with a smile, "It tastes way better now."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes it is better enough that it could have been counted as a normal diet before the apocalypse, but more importantly the diet is much more bnced than before."


    Ryan nodded before he poked the potato lookalike as he spoke with a frown, "What is this thing, it kind of looks like a potato but at the same time it does not."


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "No idea it is like some kind of taro or yam like thing."


    A look of disgust passed through Ryan''s face as Michalina spoke with a smirk, "Ryan I hope you will not waste any food that has been gathered and made after so much of hard work."


    Ryan''s face darkened as he spoke with a low growl, "I hate yam like things."


    "But, I remembered you enjoyed eating chips even if they are made from yam."


    "I liked extra thin and crispy ones while anything else made out of either taro or yam is trash I do not like them."


    Michalina snorted as she spoke, "I never thought there woulde a day when I would see you eating them."


    Ryan growled even louder as he spoke, "Under extreme protest I am eating this, I hate it and after the food problem is solved I am going to ban it."


    Michalina giggled seeing her reaction before she spoke in a curious manner, "Brother, Ruby told me to inform you that it is done and it is overwhelmingly sessful."


    A bright smile appeared on Ryan''s face as he raised the bowl to his lips and Michalina looked stunned as Ryan inhaled the contents before wiping his lips as he spoke with a bright smile, "Sis, please get mom we are going to visit Ruby, she has managed to do something incredible."


    The curiosity in Michalina increased several folds as she spoke, "What has she done?"


    Ryan simply smiled back mysteriously as he spoke, "Something that is incredible now go and bring mom to her, the faster you do the faster your curiosity would be satiated while I will make my way to her."


    A few minutester both Ciara and Michalina shuddered as they entered Ruby''sir aka the infirmary, the reason for their shuddering was the fact that both Ruby and Ryan wore matching grins, grins that would fit a mad scientist which was further enhanced by the frazzled look Ruby sported.


    Seeing the look Ciara could not help but whisper out low enough so that only Michalina could hear, "Micha if she turns me into some Frankenstein monster then please kill me."


    "If only you promise to do the same for me mom."


    The next day early morning a rather nervous Catherine had gathered along with fifty other men and women of various ages, while in front of her stood Ruby along with eight other people along with Ryan.


    As Ruby cleared her throat out loud she managed to get undivided attention as she began to speak with a drawl, "We are here to teach you various means of saving lives I know some of you had tried to join the Militia but were send here after rejected from the fighting force but that does not mean we are of any less importance, they are out there protecting everyone''s lives from various dangers while we protect everyone''s life from death, upon saying that does anyone wishes to leave."


    She stood silent for a moment but when no one moved she gave a small nod before she continued again, "Good, during the period of time you learn here, I would not tolerate any tomfoolery, I would not tolerate any cking, if you are unable to understand anything we will answer your questions a thousand times, but if you are callus I will be your worst nightmare, if your ipetence leads to someone''s injury I will kill you myself."


    The venom and anger in Ruby''s tone send shivers down Catherine''s spine making her gulp in fear, while Ruby continued nonchntly, "Now, here with me are fine instructors who will teach you everything you should need to know about potion making, we need potions arge quantity of them but unfortunately we are low in supply for raw ingredients as such there will be low chances of you to practice as such you will have to do your best, and after you all have finished learning how to make potion we will move to the next part."


    Ruby took a deep breath as she spoke, "You will not only learn to identify, gather and process the raw ingredients, but to create potions and if you show enough aptitude you can even branch out to be a healer, now here we will not only be learning how to create potions but may be some of you would be intelligent enough to may be create something new, now here we are going to mix the knowledge and technical knowhow of both the worlds and create something new, something different and something better."


    She then turned and moved towards a machine which was ced behind her, a machine that everyone except Ryan ad Ruby was curious about she stood by its side as she spoke towards Ryan, "Please the stage is yours."


    Ryan gave a nod as he began to speak, "When we first stumbled upon this problem we all tried to find various means and the most easiest one was adding clean and pure water but it had its own problems, like for every percent increase in volume its potency decreases by five, so that means a twenty percent increase in volume would make the potion useless."


    He then turned towards the machine as he spoke with his right hand extended towards it, "The answer to this problem was this machine, this machine made it possible for us to solve our problem."


    Ryan turned to look towards one of the potioneers present as he spoke, "Potion master Folwin would please give a potion for health."


    Folwin handed Ryan an Erlenmeyer sk containing a ruby red liquid which Ryan took with a nod of gratitude before he began to speak again, "This Erlenmeyer sk contain a hundred ml of health potion that is very vital potion that you soon be making now watch."


    Ryan went and poured the contains of the sk into another container which was attached to the machine as he spoke with a smile, "This machine can work with over a liter of health potion at a time, now watch a see what happens."


    A minuteter Folwin stood with his jaw agape as his hands shook, but before he could copse on his knees Ryan caught him as he spoke with arge smile on his face, "This is what the mixture of knowledge and culture from two different worlds can achieve."


    But, before anyone could say anything a distant horn blowing drew his attention as Ryan quickly turned towards Ruby as he spoke with a serious look on his face, "Ruby please take over and continue something hase up and I will have to leave.", with that he dashed out of the room as quickly as he could.

 Chapter 117: The Siege of New Hope (part-1)

    Chapter 117: The Siege of New Hope (part-1)


    Ryan looked towards Ylerias as he frowned seeing her somewhat shabby state, not to mention the news she brought was exceptionally troubling.


    "Sister Ylerias where is Xuelong?"


    "While searching for the creature you saw I met up with Xuleong who informed me about the horde and since I am a bit faster than her as such I arrived as fast I could while she stayed behind to scout a bit more before skedaddling out as it would not do good for her if her scent is detected, so the main question is what should we do?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "There is nothing else to do except fight against the tide, but more importantly how many were there?"


    "Over nine thousand."


    "I see, and when will they reach us?"


    "By tonight they will reach us."


    Ryan closed his eyes in deep thought before he spoke, "Mom, are there any group other than Xuelong who are outside."


    Ciara shook her head as she spoke, "No there is no one beyond the wall except for Lady Xuelong, though some were nning to leave today."


    "Please tell them not to leave and get ready."


    Ylerias send a surprised look towards Ryan as she could not help but ask out loud, "You are nning to fight?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, I am, this is our home if we retreat tonight we will be on the run for the rest of our lives I refuse to do so."


    "There is also a thing known as tactical retreat."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "I know sister Ylerias, the current us we would lose badly but when I finish the construction of the wall as well as set up the defenses I know we will win, though were there any fliers amongst them."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No, there were none."


    "Good, then we will have fighting chance."


    Ciara narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Ryan, are you sure you wish to take that step? So many creatures it will be a very difficult fight."


    "Mom, we have to face such things sooner orter."


    "I see, I will see what I kind do, but before that I will contact Ruby and try to ramp up the medicine production to as much as possible."


    Ylerias looked towards Ciara as she spoke with a serious look on her face, "Then I will try to gather as much medicinal herbs as possible and bring it to you."


    "Actually Ylerias, if possible before you leave I wish to ask a few questions about a beast tide."


    "What is it Ryan?"


    "In case of beast tide urring, how do those beasts act? Will they deploy a proper siege tactics or will they charge and try to ovee and topple every obstacle in their path."


    Ylerias tapped her chin as she spoke, "It depends on the intelligence of the beast leading them and from what I have noticed the intelligence of beasts have fallen along with theirbel so I expect the leader of the tide to throw everything on any obstacle in its path hoping to overpower it."


    "I see and how sure are you if it happening."


    "I am hundred percent sure of it happening, though most of the times a tide might recede if the leader is dead but the chances for happening in this are slim to none."


    A bloodthirsty smirk formed on Ryan''s face that startled Ciara as he spoke, "Ylerias whatever you wish to do please do so fast and if possible I want everyone to be inside before a certain trap will be set."


    Ylerias tilted her head as she spoke, "What trap, Brother Ryan?"


    "A trap that will kill, now it is time I took my leave.", With that Ryan hastily left as fast as he could towards the wall.


    Seeing the frown on Ciara''s face as she looked towards Ryan, Ylerias wanted to ask her about the reason for the frown but she decided otherwise and left soon after.


    Ciara stood for a moment before she closed her eyes with a soft sigh, <em>''Is it wrong for a mother to always wish their children to never grow up to change so much, despite my protest Micha joined the army and had her fair share of problems that changed her, and now my youngest is changing into something I do not recognize at all.''</em>


    <em>''I know my youngest well enough to know he would not suggest to face therge beast tide but to retreat, but now he choose to fight and that look on her face, the smirk of his full of blood lust.''</em>


    The thought of the cruel bloodthirsty smirk of an otherwise docile and helpful Ryan, made Ciara feel shiver travel down her spine, ''I hope that I do not lose my son in this madness.''


    While Ciara was having an internal crisis, Ryan was skipping on his way towards the wall while humming a song he had created on spot.


    "Blood points, my BP O my lovely BPe to me,


    My sweet and lovely BP fill up for me,


    Blood points, my BP O my lovely BPe to me,


    Your soul and BP leave it behind for me."


    A song that was sung with such horrible lyrics and without any hint of tone that it would even make the most tone-deaf person cringe but Ryan did not care he had an invasion to fight and blood points to gather as such he was in high spirits.


    Michalina frowned as she sat on her chair waiting for mother to arrive a few minutes ago her mother had ordered a full assembly of the troops and they were all waiting patiently for her arrival, and only her training had prevented her from running out to inquire about the cause as she had heard Ylerias arriving while blowing her horn.


    The door mmed open as Ciara stalked into therge hall as a pin silence fell across the room, she then turned towards Zhan as she spoke, "Is everyone ounted for?"


    "Yes, Major."


    "Good."


    Ciara took a deep breath as she began to speak, "Girls I bring dire news.", as she noticed her listeners'' jaws harden Ciara continued, "A few minutes ago Apostle Ylerias informed us that arge number of beasts are making their way towards us and they would reach us by night time."


    A low murmur began amongst the members of ck Wolves only to be trampled by a sharp rebuke from Ciara, "<strong>Silence!</strong>"


    As the silence returned Ciara spoke, "Months ago we lost our home, our refuge and today when we are facing with simr situation I made a decision.", she paused for a moment before she spoke with a snarl, "Enough is enough, this is our home and we are not some cowardly bitch that runs with its tail between its legs or are we?"


    At her question a chorus of no was heard, it was so loud that Ciara felt the room shake which caused arge smile to blossom on her face as she spoke, "Good, before those mangy critters appear the wall would be build, the defenses would be set and would rain our vengeance on them like some wrathful God while we make sure that every cretin knows what it means to attack an wolf pack."


    <strong>"Awooo!"</strong>


    <strong>"Awooo!"</strong>


    <strong>"Awooo!"</strong>


    <strong>"Awooo!"</strong>


    That was the sound that filled the room, as Ciara''s subordinates imitated the howl of the wolf as they showed support to their alpha''s decision.


    The sun had set and only a faint light was visible on the horizon, Marcel looked towards the wall that his son has created as he let out a sigh.


    "Is there anything wrong dear?"


    Marcel shook his head as he spoke, "No love, I was just marveling the wall that Ryan has made."


    With a small smile on her face Eleanora gave a small nod before she frowned as she spoke, "Dear, do you know where Ileana and Catherine are?"


    Marcel sighed as he spoke, "Ileana is busy with rest of the militia while Catherine is over there look."


    Eleanora looked towards the direction her husband had pointed towards and was greeted by the sight of one of her daughters handing out arge cardboard box to a member of the ck Wolves.


    "She is working so hard trying to be a healer, I just wish that Ileana had followed her example instead of joining the milita.", as Marcel gave a nod Eleanora pressed forward, "Though what is going on? Why do we have to participate in this drill so forcefully?"


    Marcel looked towards the wall as he spoke with a sigh, "I do not know why and I do not like it.", even if they were a bit wary they soon found themselves within the confines of the crowded fort.


    Xuelong gripped her sword staring at the horizon before she spoke with a growl, "Why are the runes not working? No matter how impressive the walls are without the runes supporting it, the wall would copse."


    "Lady Xuelong my brother is working on it and it would be working within a few minutes."


    While Xuelong stood impatiently for the rune to begin their work, Ryan was busy putting up thest touches for the runes to work.


    Adjacent to therge door that had been named as ''Gateway to New Hope'', was a four-storey building that stood tall while being supported by the wall, the ground floor of which was currently empty, the first contained the control room for the autocannons that were ced on top of the wall, while the second floor contained the gate control and thest being empty for the time being.


    That was what everyone could see but anyone was observant during the making of the building they would have noticed that Ryan had ced a well-hidden entrance to an extremely narrow service vent, a service vent that went passed the other three lower floors, into what might have been a basement if Ryan had made it so and came to a dead end.


    That was what anyone who had managed to stumbled and squeeze through the narrow service vent would find themselves when they had managed to reach the bottom using thedder was a dead end, a dark dead-end nothing more, but if they like Ryan had climbed up a few more steps on thedder high enough that they would be nearer to the ground floor, and then if they somehow manage to turn and stand on the rung of thedder they would get a chance to find a special notch that would help them to open a special door.


    The narrow door led to a cylindrical space, a cylindrical space that was coveredpletely by runes and in its centre stood a cylindrical rod joining the ceiling and the floor of the space, and that was where Ryan currently stood.


    <em>''I have ced the runes well and it is now time to fire up the ward stone and then the entire runic system would start but what possessed me to make it so narrow that I can barely fit and this cylindrical space is even worse.''</em>


    He grabbed hold of the rod as he sent his pulse of magic to activate it, Fort Genesis stood at the nexus of the leylines while one of them passed near the wall Ryan had made albeit much deeper but Ryan was sure that his ward stone would be able to tap into to activate and run the array, and it did so.


    "<strong>Gah</strong>", with a scream Ryan jumped out of the room with his eyes shut as he barely managed to cling to thedder while the door to the ward stone, which itself was covered by a plethora of runes, closed behind him creating a perfectly cylindrical room that housed the ward stone.


    "So much of bright neon colors shing, I feel sick from it, what have I created? Why is it acting as such?"


    He took a deep breath to calm himself as he murmured out loud, "There is no time for me to ponder over the mystery I have to return to the top of the wall."


    Meanwhile, back at the top of the wall a plethora of sounds came to everyone''s ears as a series of ''Kakaka'' came which faded away soon, then a loud ''chew'', which was followed by the sound of multiple logs falling from a height was heard for a few seconds before a semi-transparent lemon coloured barrier formed in front of them, a barrier that covered every inch of the wall protecting it from outside, a barrier that went above their head forming an arch that sheltered them, the barrier was visible for a few seconds before it fades away from their sight.


    Michalina looked around as she spoke, "Is the barrier working."


    Xuelong smirked as she replied to Michalina, "Of course it is, those sights and sounds were that of the barrier beginning to work."

 Chapter 118: The Siege of New Hope (part-2)

    Chapter 118: The Siege of New Hope (part-2)


    "Ileana.", as a familiar voice came to her ears, blood and guts covered Ileana dashed and hugged her mother as if her life depended on it, while her parents even her twin fretted over her.


    Finally Marcel held her daughter''s face in his hands as he spoke, "Ileana what happened? Please tell us."


    With a deep sigh, Ileana began to speak as her mind wandered off to the happenings of the evening and the night, the first of the many battles that she had and will continue to participate in, in the future.


    A few hours ago, it was nearing evening and Ryan was chatting happily with his new friend that he had made.


    "Ah, how I miss the ''Call of Battle'', the new War Pass came out and the new season would begin as well, I had downloaded the update but did not get chance y."


    "Oh you missed the fun then Ryan, it was wonderful the new guns are great though I was only able to use them in the Battle Royal mode but the new Legendary is game breaking I fear it would have been nerfed soon with some hot fix."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Now I really wish I was able to y it."


    Shamir nodded as he continued, "It was great what rank did you achievest season?"


    "I was able to reach Legendary-I and you?"


    Shamir grinned as he replied to him, "I was able to reach Legendary-V."


    "That''s cool the weapon skin on reaching that level looked cool."


    Shamir sighed as he spoke, "It looked cool but at the same time sometimes it would make the gameg while reloading."


    Ryan winced as he spoke, "Ouch, and that is a severe negative point against the skin, and they did not fix it."


    Shamir sighed as he spoke, "There was fix along with the new update for it, now it is much better though."


    "At least they think about us unlike others who release games full of bugs and every fixes for the bugs you have to buy."


    As Shamir gave a solemn nod as one of their listeners scoffed as she spoke, "Can you boys please stop talking about that game."


    Shamir gave a teasing grin towards the person as he spoke, "That is reachinging from a streamer."


    Ravenna huffed as she tucked a strand of her hair as she began to speak, "I streamed base building types mostly I was never too much invested in that genre."


    Ryan smiled at her as she spoke, "But I have seen a few of your streams where you have yed such games and you were amazing."


    Ravenna smiled at Ryan as she spoke, "Have you given the thought of bing a streamer?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke with a sigh, "I did but I was supposed to go to the US for higher studies, and as such I had no n to start streaming for a long time."


    Ravenna nodded but before anyone could say anything one of Ciara''s subordinates appeared as she spoke, "Ryan you needed on the wall."


    Ryan gave a small nod as he spoke, "Well then I will leave it to your capable hands."


    Shamir gave a nod and fist bummed with Ryan as he spoke, "Leave it to me on my honor as a gamer I promise I will ughter them."


    A sentiment that most of the people present shared, and Ryan quickly left towards the top of the wall to meet up with his adopted mother.


    Ciara looked at Ryan as she voiced out her concern, "Are you sure you should let the control of those auto cannons stay in the hands of those people, it is their first day in the militia they not been trained."


    Ryan waved off her concern as he spoke, "There is nothing to worry about, most people of this age group are gamers, to them the cannon controls are nothing more than another console that they can use, not to mention a few of them are professionals and it also freed a few more helping hands who know how to handle a gun."


    Ciara simply sighed as she looked in the distance while Ryan was beckoned by her fellow apostles for a smallst meeting.


    Ryan sat across Xuelong as he spoke, "So how have you nned to fight the horde."


    Ryan looked confused as he spoke, "Please borate what you are asking."


    "I mean that we have our circles that can boost our allies, so what Ylerias and I have decided is to move continuously."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "That is an excellent idea one that I have no problem following but since the creatures are attracted to our blood we have to be careful so that we do not make the horde a bit scattered, not to mention if we move too fast then we might not be able to lend our help to others and on that matter what does your circles do?"


    Ylerias smiled as she spoke, "My first circle provides boost to range weapon users from simply increase in range to damage increase."


    "And mine heals others as long as they are kill enemy using melee attacks or when they are drenched in the freshly spilled blood of my enemies .", Xuelong chimed in with a rather happy smile that sent a shiver down their spine.


    "But that also sometimes sends you and your group into frenzy.", and as Ylerias pointed a w in her circle Xuelong pouted.


    Xuelong pouted as Ryan could not help but ask out loud, "Sister Xuelong I hope you are going to jump down the wall and fight."


    Xuelong smirked at him as she spoke, "Of course not Ryan, did you really think you are the one with multiple weapons, of course we have as well but you have only witnessed to the one we prefer the most."


    Ylerias gave a nod as Ryan spoke with a huff, "And here I thought only I was special."


    Xuelong let loose a bark ofughter before she spoke, "Ryan you are special because of the variety of weapons you have, as you seem to have four."


    A confused Rya could not help but speak out loud, "Four?"


    Ylerias smiled back at him as she spoke, "Of course four, the sword, and then the smaller andrger gun and of course the gauntlet if from what I have learned you used it to defend yourself and kill your enemy."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke with a huff, "You are right in a way I can use that gauntlet to kill others."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "How?"


    Ryan smiled back at her as he spoke, "You have seen how I create things", as Xuelong nodded Ryan''s smile increased as he continued to speak, "now just thing what would happen if arge block of concrete suddenly appeared inside a creature."


    Xuelong frowned in deep thought before she spoke with barely concealed excitement, "It would appear out of the creature tearing it apart."


    Ryan was taken aback at her excitement he still remembered the agonizing death of the wolf but the way Xuelong acted really made him question her sanity.


    The sun had set a long time ago, and Ryan sat quietly while looking up towards the sky, the sky that was lit by a myriad of stars the glittered like uncountable diamonds in the sky, his eyes were then drawn toward the moon that looked a bit bigger since that faithful day.


    "Ryan what are thinking?"


    Jessica''s voice brought him out of his musings as he spoke with a small smile on his face, "Nothing just watching the stars, and from the position of the moon it is well past midnight."


    "You always liked watching the stars."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a yawn, "I do and the sky is so clear now a day though those constetions most of them are unknown to me, and few looked as if they have been flipped."


    Jessica''s frown deepened as she spoke, "I see."


    "One day I will reach those stars."


    A small smile appeared on her face as she spoke, "I am sure you will Ryan."


    "Ryan there is something I wish to ask you but it had slipped my minds."


    Ryan gave a small nod as Xuelong continued, "Those things that you nted on the ground what are they?"


    "Ah, they are something calledndmines, they are extremely dangerous."


    "How do they work?"


    "You step on them and they would explode."


    "I see we have something simr as well but with magic, traps that explode if you step on them."


    "I see."


    A few more minutester a cry of rm was heard informing everyone about the arrival of the horde, seeing the size and the terrible beasts present Ryan could not help but feel a shiver run down his spine as he felt their blood lust.


    "So many."


    He felt a hand on his shoulder and as he turned Ryan faced Ciara who had a grim look on her face as she spoke, "It is good to feel fear but it is not good to be ruled by fear, I am here with you and I will support you so there is no need to doubt about yourself."


    "Ryan before the battle begins we have to seek blessings from our Gods.", Ryan send a questioning look towards her Ylerias continued, "Just follow our lead."


    As Ryan gave a hesitant nod Ylerias closed her eyes as she raised her bow high up in the air as she shouted out, "<strong>I, Ylerias Luvenari, the apostle of the one who is the ultimate Huntress the one who bathes the world with light during the darkest of nights, I call upon my Goddess, Goddess Oena, Goddess of the Hunt and Moon, I pray for blessings so that my hunt be true and my arrows always find their mark</strong>."


    She touched her bow on her forehead for a brief second before lowering it as Xuelong now began to speak out loud with her gigantic sword held high up, "<strong>I, Xuelong Victorum, the apostle of the one who blows the horn of War and trumpet of Victory, I call upon my God, God of War and Victory, God Vahjim to bless us so that we triumph over our foes.</strong>"


    As soon as she finished she lowered her sword before touching her forehead to it with her eyes closed before she looked up sending an expecting look towards Ryan.


    <em>''Is that what Mr. Bald felt when he chased after that group on a taxi, the group that were shouting praises for their God while firing guns and sitting on top of the bo of the running car with sword in hand, is that what he felt when he joined in their shouts, I will never know.''</em>


    Ryan took a deep breath as he raised his sword as shouted out, "<strong>I, Ryan von Ruinesca, the apostle of the one who forged the beginning and struck down as the end, the creator the destroy, I call upon my God, God of Creation and Destruction to bless us so that I can destroy my enemies and forge a new path</strong>."


    And then mimicking the actions of the other two he touched the t side of his sword with his forehead while his eyes were closed.


    As he opened his eyes Ryan was suddenly startled as the group that was with Xuelong and Ylerias were on their knees as they shouted out praises for their respective Gods, while to Ryan it looked like her fellow apostles were giving a sermon, but what drew Ryan''s attention was the fact that the moonlight seemed to coalesce around.


    "I am not kneeling in front of you."


    A voice drew Ryan''s attention as he spoke with a shrug, "I do not expect you to, Michalina."


    "Though I believe we can make some noise for you, my son."


    As Ryan looked towards Ciara, his mother gave him a grin as she shouted out, "Wolves howl!!!!"


    Her order caused the soldiers of her regiment to mimic the howling of wolves, and as they let out loud howls it startled those who have never seen them acting as such.


    A small smile broke on Ryan''s face at the support the ck Wolves showed to him, he was happy to be with his family.


    The smile did notst long as arge guttural roar came to his ears, a roar that surpassed anything he had ever heard as he could not ask out loud, "What is it?"


    Xuelong looked towards the direction of the sound as she spoke out loud with her eyes open wide, "I thought it was the wolf that was leading but roar it is something different something stronger."


    Ylerias, on the other hand, grimaced as she spoke, "I recognize that roar and it is not something good, we are going to take some sever losses today even if we win."


    "What is it Sister Ylerias?"


    Ylerias turned towards Ryan as she answered him amidst the cacophony of various howls, snarls and hisses as the horde charged towards the wall.


    Meanwhile, back in Fort Genesis people were bored, restless and a few of them anxious since they had been brought inside the fort and their restlessness increased even more as the time passed by and slowly most of them had fallen asleep when suddenly arge roar awoke them startling and then it followed by roar of various animals.


    "What was that roar?"


    "Why are there so many animals roaring?"


    "Oh God do not tell me it is my beast tide."


    The person''s words were like pouring oil in a me only to be controlled as one of the people shouted out as he pointed out towards the wall which seemed to lit up as various loud explosive noises came to their ears.


    Eleanora gripped her husband''s arms as if it were her only lifeline as she spoke in a voice filled with fear, "Ryan and Ileana are over there are they not? What are we going to do?"


    Marcel kept looking at the distance as he whispered in a defeated tone, "I do not know."

 Chapter 119: The Siege of New Hope (part-3)

    Chapter 119: The Siege of New Hope (part-3)


    A beast that looked like arge reindeer stepped on a particr spot on the ground which caused a small cylindrical container to jump up from the ground before it exploded taking huge chunks from the creature as well as grievously injuring any and all that stood near it, but before the injured creatures could react they were trampled by those who were behind them as they dashed towards the wall.


    Ciara looked towards the charging beasts as she took aim before she shouted out, "Take aim!", and then after a few seconds she bellowed out again, "FIRE!!!!!"


    Ciara''s shout was apanied by a hail of various kinds of attacks ranging from magical to arrows, and then bullets.


    Ileana winced at therge sound of the autocannon firing so close to her while she made sure the chain of rounds being feed smoothly inside of the autocannon.


    Ryan''s attention was drawn towards another direction as he gaped at Xuelong, especially at the weapon she was running around with.


    <em>''Is that a ballista, is that a freaking ballista she is running around with.''</em>


    The reason for his reaction was caused by the fact that Xuelong was firing at the enemies using a veryrge crossbow, a crossbow sorge that it was for all intents and purpose a handheld ballista.


    Ryan''s gawking came to an end soon as he felt a swat on his head courtesy of Michalina who snarled at her brother as she spoke, "Focus."


    "But"


    "No ''buts'', now look forward and ughter your enemies, or get lost this is not a ce to get distracted."


    Ryan grumbled but he then focused his attacks on his enemies but they were numerous in numbers as such he decided to dual wield, on his right he held the rifle while on his left he held his pistol as he began to fire on his enemies.


    "Ryan, do not stand in a ce for too long keep moving."


    As Ylerias shout came to his ears Ryan let out a snarl as he grumbled inwardly, <em>''Unlike the arrow users I do not have any distinct knowledge nor canI predict the location where my bullets would fall as such moving like that would not work for me.''</em>


    Ryan quickly controlled his annoyance as he began to move to a different ce and this time he came near Zhan''s position.


    Zhan, who was busy firing a heavy machine gun that was attached to the embrasure of the wall without any emotion on her face.


    Ryan winced at the loud sound while Zhan spoke in a calm voice without looking towards Ryan, "Why are you here Ryan?"


    "My powers give a little bit of extra oomph as such I will be moving from ce to ce offering a bit boost."


    As he spoke one of the creatures that were recently in by Zhan burst into a fiery explosion catching those nearby ame making Zhan''s eyes widen as she spoke with a slight twitch of her lips, "I see what you mean by it though I would rmend offering your talents to pockets where they are having some difficulty in dealing with the numbers."


    "I will keep that in mind."


    A few more shotster a very familiar voice chimed in with a new notification.


    ***********


    <strong>The host has managed to kill 50 creatures with headshots using Pistol.</strong>


    <strong>New mode unlocked</strong>


    <strong>Install new mode (Y/N)__</strong>


    ***********


    ''I killed 50 with headshots how oh how silly of me it meant that I have managed to kill that many enemies with headshot since I have received my gun and not just now.''


    Without any hesitation or any second thoughts, he agreed to it only to be mmed by a rather horrifying thought, <em>''What if it takes some time?''</em>


    And in a way that seemed that Universe itself had decided to answer his question, a new notification popped up, while his pistol disappeared like fog under intense sunlight.


    ***********


    <strong>New Mode Installing.</strong>


    <strong>Time remaining: 04:59</strong>


    ***********


    <em>''Ugh, I should not have thought and acted so rashly.''</em>


    As if reading his mind Zhan spoke, "You have done something rash once again, Ryan, but now is not the time to mull over it focus or better yet go more towards the left nk they are having some tough time dealing with the horde."


    As Ryan began to move towards the left nk a deep rumble came from the sky drawing his attention and as he looked up he found arge dark and ominous cloud beginning to form directly above Ylerias, and without a second thought, Ryan dashed towards her direction.


    Ylerias was pleased with her work especially when she had the blessings of her Goddess, and under the said blessing, her attacks were relentless like heavy rain as it poured down on the enemy never missing a mark, when all of a sudden a deep rumbling came to her ears and as she looked up she was greeted by the sight of arge ominous cloud.


    ''<em>Damn the cloud it</em>'', it took her a second to realize her impending doom but before she could react the cloud above her shed but instead of hitting her the thunder seemed to be drawn towards a different direction missing her.


    "Ylerias leave it to me."


    Ylerias looked towards a smiling Ryan who was kneeling on the ground while a long thin iron rod with a pointed tip was extended towards the cloud.


    "Thank you Ryan, though this is an attack by a beast, and until and unless the beast is killed the cloud will not disappear but it would be stronger over time."


    Ryan simply gave her a nod as the bone chilling rain fell from the small cloud while the wind began to pick up, he looked towards the top of the gate, where on top of it a small raised tform on top of which an odd gun was ced and behind was Nige.


    Ryan turned towards Ylerias as she spoke, "Which beast do you think is doing it and what can you tell about it."


    "I believe it was the same beast that you saw spying on you during the wolf attack, it is causing this cloud to form and it requires eye contact but at the same time it cannot move."


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily before quickly used his radio to inform Nige, "Nige a wolf type beast is causing the cloud formation, during the attack it has to keep an eye contact but it cannot move please deal with it immediately."


    Ryan''s radio crackled as Nige''s voice came through it, "Affirmative, shall I use my new toy."


    "Please feel free to do so."


    As Ryan spoke another burst of thunder came but the rod held true as the thunder was once again directed towards it.


    Meanwhile, Nige let out a content sigh she had been very happy upon seeing the gun in front of her, the gun she had Ryan make specifically for her a gun that she knew would be the future of mankind, the gun that was her dreame true.


    She caressed the gun as if it was her lover before kissing it, then all of a sudden her face lost all emotions as she picked up her binocrs as she began to make a quick search for her prey.


    ''Now where would I hide if I were a big bad wolf that cannot move yet can attack those within my sight, where, where, where'', her eyes widen slightly as she spotted a single red eye in the distance only visible from behind therge cover of bushes and branches.


    ''<em>Found ya, I am happy that tonight is full moon.</em>''


    Nige pulled a notch from the side of the gun as the chamber for the bullet swung open, as she inserted a 60 calibre round inside the chamber before locking it and then priming the firing pin as she began her other checks.


    ''Voltage is stable, that means the capacitor is working fine and that is good enough for me as the speech about Jacobdder, converter and the thermo whatnot went above my head, but the rail gun will work for me.''


    As she prepared to fire her gun a few of her fellow soldiers looked at her warily, her sniper rifle wasrger than any they have seen, not to mention arge number of electronic equipment as well as electrical wires that surrounded it.


    Nige aimed at the creature as she pulled the trigger as a small explosive sound was heard as the recoil near toppled the gun but the creature suffered the worst, the gun was a working prototype of a rail gun made using rudimentary knowledge of them coupled with that of magic, and the 60 calibres round when it was struck hard sped through towards the barrel where it received a ratherrge kick from the electromaic force created around the barrel.


    The 60 calibre bullet or as it was called by Ryan as an unstable bullet solely for the fact that the runes he had piled on top of the bullet made it highly unstable as it detonated three seconds after firing or after hitting a target, the bullet cut through the air much faster than any modern firearms could achieve, and it soon pierced through the creatures eye before it hit the skull detonating in a loud andrge explosion.


    Nige sent a smug look towards her victim''s direction while a few of herrades gaped at her gun only for a Ciara stern voice to appear from the radio, "Focus."


    Ryan let out a sigh of relief as the cloud disappeared before he began to move again, while his radio was filled with various chatter from orders to requests.


    Meanwhile, inside a certain control room, the upants were having a time of their life, but none were able to match the enthusiasm of Shamir and Ravenna.


    "Muhahaha, this is great it is like ying space invaders live."


    "Ravenna, please focus."


    Ravenna scoffed as she spoke, "Like you are any different, the weird jaw ripping smile on your face not to mention you are acting like a kid who is sugar high."


    Shamir could not help but blush but who could he me he was living in the moment which could be considered as every gamers'' dreame true.


    *****************


    Ciara reloaded her gun while she watched the auto-cannon working from the corner of her eyes, while two members of the recently created militia made sure the auto-cannons were fed properly.


    <em>''Exploding rounds randomly mixed with Air burst are doing wonders and I can see why Ryan argued vehemently to pick them up, those gamers are good, not to mention the auto-cannons remind me of MK44 30 mm Bushmaster.''</em>


    Ciara then pressed her radio button as gave out her next set of orders, "Begin rain danger close, I repeat danger close."


    No sooner did she gave that order a few of thebatants disengaged from attacking the enemy as they quickly set up mortar before inserting the shell and firing it.


    With a muffled thump the shell wasunched high up in the air before it was brought down towards the ground by gravity, and upon reaching the ground the shell erupted with a loud bang and a shower of bright white-hot mes, that made everyone wince, but the true tragedy urred within the horde as its members died in extreme agony.


    Ileana looked at the white me as her heart shook upon seeing the devastation wrought upon the creatures by it when all of a sudden arge shout rang through the group.


    "<strong>Iing! Mage killers!</strong>"


    Ileana did not have time to understand the meaning of that shout as arge creature that looked like a love child between a Gori and a Baboon dropped in front of her.


    Ileana froze upon seeing the blood-red eyes and she soon cowered as the beast thumped its chest letting loose a blood-curdling howl, the reason for her cowering was simple the roar caused such immense headache that she wanted to dig out her brain from her skull.


    The beast''s eyes then fell on her as Ileana tried to crawl away from it on her and as it neared her Ileana took out her pistol which she aimed and pulled the trigger but no matter what she tried the pistol failed to fire as such she threw it towards the creature but it only managed to anger it.


    She somehow managed to scramble to her feet only for the creature to grab Ileana by the nape of her neck before mming her hard on the ground, so hard that her nose broke while blood began to gush out from her forehead before swinging her in order to throw her towards the horde.


    Ileana''s life shed in front of her eyes as she struggled to let herself loose,<em> ''Mom Dad I am sorry this is it for me, I am sorry brother for everything.</em>'', and with that she closed her eyes for the inevitable, waiting for her to meet with the groundbreaking bones and then eaten alive.


    And as she fell Ileana waspletely flummoxed, ''<em>I did not hurt that much.''</em>, and as that thought went past her mind she felt something warm hit her face and as she opened her eyes she found the creature looking owlishly at what was a stump instead of a hand and then with a sh of steel the creature was not only beheaded but was cut in half.


    The blood and guts of the creature showered her and as it fell on the ground she saw Ryan standing with arge sword in his hand.


    "Ileana, stand up and return back to your station."


    Ileana looked at him only for her eyes to widen with fear as another ape-like creature appeared behind him, only for Ryan to stab the creature without looking back before turning as he pulled back the sword from the creature''s chest before beheading it, his rifle appeared in his hand as he fired it towards Ileana''s direction only for her to jump up as another ape-like creature copsed covered with bullet holes.


    "Ileana, stand up and return back to your post, <strong>now!</strong>"


    As Ryan shouted at her Ileana was jolted awake from her stunned as she quickly dashed towards her position of work that was keeping the autocannons well-fed while Ryan took off towards other ''Mage Killers''.

 Chapter 120: The Siege of New Hope (part-4)

    Chapter 120: The Siege of New Hope (part-4)


    A mage killer thumped its chest before lunging towards Dasyra who was busy dealing with another but before it could even reach her arge sword cleaved the creature in half before taking the head of the one Dasyra was dealing with.


    As Dasyra sat on the ground trying to take a breather Xuelong was busy tearing apart the rest of the creatures that had climbed on top of the wall.


    Michalina reloaded her gun as one of the ape-like creature dashed towards her as a severe headache struck her only for the creature to be cut down by Xuelong who in turn was being attacked by one from behind, Michalina would have warned her if not for the fact that Ryan got to the creature first beheading it, before the two apostles stood back to back as they thrust their sword to the right killing another two apes.


    <em>''That was really cool, specially brother who slid by Xuelong''s side before he dealt with the one approaching from her behind, but how long will I have to deal with this thrice damn creatures, they headache they give makes me want to tear my brains off.''</em>


    Ryan took a deep breath, he was soaking wet from not only the blood but the amount of sweat he was sweating, yes he was physically fit inparison to most, and yes he was way above levelpared to many but still running around through the entire stretch of the wall while trying to make sure not to bump into someone or something thereby disrupting their work, but most importantly he was not confident that he would be able to hit any creature, that has climbed on to the wall, with his gun without hitting his fellowrades.


    As Ryan turned to look towards Xuelong he was stunned speechless at what he saw, most of Xuelong''s body was covered by an armour that seemed to be made up of bright red crystal, and upon closer inspection, he found the ingredient that was used to create the armour.


    <em>''Is that blood? No way, the blood in her immediate surrounding is gathering up to form that wickedly cool looking armor, damn it looks so cool like that kind I would pay money to buy just the chaos such a dangerous terrifying looking armor would cause.''</em>


    Xuelong meanwhile felt someone intently looking at her as she such she quickly turned and came face to face with an almost drooling Ryan whose intent stare send shivers down her spine, as such she snapped at him with much heat in her voice, "What are you gawking at?"


    As Xuelong''s voice snapped out of his thoughts Ryan was by her side in an instant as he spoke in an overly excited manner, "The armor it is so cool."


    An uneasy smile came to Xuelong''s face as she spoke, "I know but it is something I get from being an apostle to my God, but should you not focus on the enemy."


    With a sheepish smile, Ryan spoke again, "Ah you are right, but still your armor is too cool."


    As Ryan dashed away Xuelong could not help but be flummoxed by the entire situation, <em>''What was that Ryan wasplementing and drooling over my partially formed armor, the very same armor that many would call it as nightmarish, and yet Ryan was bouncing with joy upon seeing, huh he confused and crept me enough that I broke out of my semi-lucid berserker state.''</em>


    Meanwhile, back with Ryan, his eyes widen as he suddenly recalled something in the midst of battle,<em> ''Wait a minute did I not receive the notification that my pistol has finished its upgradation and I have yet to see it.''</em>


    As such he quickly willed his pistol back into his hands which promptly appeared but what drew his attention was the small gauge that came attached to it.


    <em>''Interesting the gauge is ced just above the grip, and it is divided into four colors, with slices of white, yellow and red, though the green has the lion''s share bigger than the other threebined with yellowing a close second.''</em>


    As he stared at his gun, Ryan''s mind was slowly being filled with various information regarding histest inquisition and as he went through his newly acquired knowledge a lump formed in his throat, as he saw the needle in the gauge was situated in the yellow region, he pulled the trigger as the needle went into the green territory, he knew the closer to the red zone the great the impact would be but at the same time if he ventured into the red zone his gun would malfunction and would not be avable to use for some time.


    A loud roar came from thergest of the ape-like creature, that he had seen since the battle had begun, drew his attention especially since it seemed as if the creature was about tond on him as such he pointed his newly acquired ''Hand Grenadier'', as he let go of his finger from the trigger, a pale blue orb shot out from the gun as the needle retreated back to the white area.


    The pale orb impacted the ape detonating with such a fury that it vaporized the creature to the point that the only indication of the creature''s presence was a blood-red mist that was dissipating fast.


    <em>''That is so cool, but unfortunately I do not have the time to admire it.''</em>, with that thought Ryan quickly rejoined the fight as he began firing at the creatures.


    Hearing another shot fired from Nige''s gun Ryan quickly spoke through his radio, "Nige the ammo for the special gun is limited not to mention the time it takes to fire another shot so please avoid being trigger happy and use it discreetly."


    A groan was his answer that would have made chuckle if not for another roar of a familiar beast that Ylerias had warned them about but this time it was near and amidst the fire and screams and agony he spotted the creature, which was tall enough to reach the top of the wall easily.


    Ryan''s body trembled under its gaze as his throat dried up, his back was soon coated by his sweat while the weapons seemed to be too heavy on his hands, ''I am going to die, I have to escape, yes escape.''


    His thoughts came to a grinding halt as he suddenly came face to face with Maralyn who held his hands tightly while her hand glowed with a purple colour light as she spoke, "Your Holiness please calm down, the creature is using a magic that is causing fear and panic please calm down."


    The feeling of fear evaporated from Ryan as he blinked owlishly before he spoke with anger, "That thrice damned God forsaken creature how dare he.", he then turned towards Maralyn as he spoke with a smile, "Thank you Maralyn, you have saved something my honor today, I do not know what I would have done without your help."


    "Please Your Holiness I was only doing my job and I am sorry to cut short but others will need my help as well."


    With that Maralyn quickly left to dispel the fear-induced state of others who were present on top of the wall behind an angry Ryan who was cursing the beast in anger.


    Ryan red at the beast with immense hatred in his heart, <em>''How dare it used something that induced fear in someone, it would be embarrassing if I had fled I would have to kill myself to get out of that immense embarrassment, I hate skill like that even back when I used to y various RPGs those skills I would never be able to use properly yet others used to use on me and I would lose the match that was why I yed FPS because there was nothing like that in those games, but for now I have a filthy creature to y.''</em>


    His daydream was cut short as a panic-filled shout came to his ears, "It is breath attack."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he saw the mouth of the beast was glowing with an ominous psychedelic colour glow, he traced the line of sight of the beast and he found it exactly centred on the wall that was on top of the gate, his pulse quickened as he saw many familiar faces on the line of fire.


    <em>''Not good they are in the way.''</em>


    Without even noticing his legs began to move as he ran towards the top of the gate hoping and praying to all deities that he would make it, hoping that he would be able to reach and somehow create something that would at least mitigate a portion of the attack as he knew from the energy gathered in the mouth of the creature, the wall will not survive.


    The world seemed to slow down as Ryan chanted ''<em>Please make it please make it, oh God please let me make it.''</em>, over and over in his head and the reason for it was simple Maralyn was directly in the line of fire and Ryan could not let the woman who had saved his life and honour, also nursed him back to health die, but s no God listened to his request as he was a good few meters away from her when the beast let loose its breath.


    Ryan watched with horror as not only Maralyn but a few including Nige were caught in the st as he felt flung back as his entire body screamed with pain and then his vision went ck.


    Meanwhile, back in Fort Genesis, tension was rising high even if they were a kilometre away from the wall, theck of other lights outside or any form of pollution made it easier for the upants to see the happenings on top of the bridge with a few using their knowledgementing on the happenings on front of them.


    "I know what I saw, that light was from phosphorus being burnt, the mortar round was being used with white phosphorus payload."


    "But, Akhtar it is illegal to use phosphorus in weapons."


    The man named Akhtar shook his head as he spoke, "Smoke grenades used by army contains phosphorus, not to mention it is not illegal per say to use phosphorus based weapons but it is highly frowned upon if used in civilian area because of the nature of damage, but upon saying that who is going to stop them when the world structure has itself copsed."


    Marcel paid half-hearted attention towards the discussion as his attention waspletely spent on the happenings on the wall, his eyes widen he saw guns being fired and magic being used on top of the wall.


    Marcel felt his wife''s grip tighten as she spoke with fear in her voice, "What is happening? Did the beasts managed to climb up on the wall?"


    Marcel did not have time to answer as one of his fellow watchers spoke for him, "Damn it, they have already climbed up the wall we are doomed the militia would be wipe and they"


    As he began to hyperventte a woman standing by her side swatted his arms as she spoke, "Those fighting out there are professional soldiers they will not lose to something like this so have some courage."


    Her words seemed to be true, as with time more and more fights on the wall ceased as they previous momentum as the fight against the beast tide resumed as many let out a sigh of relief though it did notst long as with a giant explosion the top half of the gate along with a part of the wall above it blew apart.


    A silence descended before chaos has again reigned amongst the watchers when suddenly Marcel a weight on his arms turning to look at cause she found Eleanora had fainted in his arms and he could not me her, after all, he himself was feeling faint upon thinking the horrifying fate of his eldest and youngest.


    Ryan blearily opened his eyes as he felt someone pulling him while frantically calling out his name, "Ryan, Ryan open your eyes Ryan."


    A faint echo of someone''s voice drew his attention as he was suddenly reminded of his current location, he was on a battlefield and the creature had just used its breath attack.


    With a gasp, he tried to sit up only for his wounded body to protest making him gasp before he vomited blood.


    "Here eat this.", a pill was shoved in his mouth as a cool sensation travelled down his throat Ryan felt his wounds closing and as he looked towards the speaker he found Xuelong looking at him with a grim look on her face.


    "You were quite close when the attack hit but it was fortunate you fell on top of the wall where I could reach you."


    Ryan gave her a grateful nod before he looked towards the devastation in front of him as he spoke hurriedly, "What about others? Where is healer Maralyn and Nige, there were others present on the wall as well."


    "I am sorry Ryan."


    Those words made a lump form in his throat as he looked at thest spot where he had seen them before an immense anger rose in his heart as the tattoo on his face began to glow as it began to release smoke again.


    *********


    <em><strong>Host emotion is unstable</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Applying Emotional Control Measures in 3</strong></em>


    <em><strong>2.</strong></em>


    ****************


    Ryan took a deep breath to calm himself while the countdown stopped as the control measures disappeared as he had managed to control his emotions without any outside help.


    "Xuelong what is the weakness of a Land Dragon."


    As Ryan stood back up on his feet Xuelong spoke with a sigh, "Actually Ylerias was wrong from the roar it seems like a Land Dragon but in reality it is an Iron Dragon, which is an evolved form of Land Dragon."


    "I see, so what are its weaknesses?"


    "The Iron Dragon''s outer body is covered in an Iron armor that is magically enhanced and any weapon or magical attacks are not working at all, if only it did not have that thrice damned armor on its body."


    Ryan bit his lips as he sent a look that was a mixture of hopelessness and hatred towards the creature before he spoke again, "Can the iron of the beast used for something?"


    "Yes anything made by using its iron is many times better than any normal iron products."


    Ryan gained a malicious smile on his face as he spoke while rotating his shoulder, "I see I think it is time I kill a Dragon.", he then turned towards his fellow apostle who shivered at the maddening look on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "Xuelong I have a n."

 Chapter 121: The Siege of New Hope (part-5)

    Chapter 121: The Siege of New Hope (part-5)


    "Micha focus things like that happens in a battlefield, our first priority is dealing with our enemies."


    Michalina bit her lisp as she spoke back with a growl, "I know major I know."


    Ciara spared a nce towards the destroyed part of the wall before focusing on the enemy.


    <em>''I hope Ryan is alright.''</em>


    She watched at the rampaging beast in front of her, the beast that caused the destruction and she knew in her heart as long as it was alive they would fail as such she quickly ryed her next set of orders.


    "Everyone focus fire on the big bastard, tear it apart at any cost otherwise we might not survive and any one of you turn back and run I will kill you myself."


    The next few minutes turned into despair for everyone as no matter what they used it did not have much effect on the creature because of its iron armour.


    The bullets bounced off no matter what kind it was or what kind of weapon it was fired from, the mortars were useless as were the RPGs that Ciara had Ryan make, and as the second passed a sense of despair began to settle in everyone''s mind.


    While the various attacks rained on it, the Iron Dragon was not bothered by it as itzily strolled taking insight the of various threats on top of the already damaged wall, when one of the threats had dared to harm it came into its view, as such opening its jaw wide it bit into it hard destroying it.


    Ravenna swore out loud as her auto-cannon was destroyed by the creature and with its destruction, she could no longer help those who were fighting hard, when a new set of orders came to everyone''s ears.


    "Focus on the other beasts, do not let them cross over and leave the big dragon to me, oh, and please note danger close so watch your fire."


    The voice was unmistakable Ryan''s and before anyone could react a screaming voice was heard and a few of them felt their heart stomach as they saw as screaming Ryan was being flung hard against the creature hitting it hard while barely being able to hold on to it.


    A few minutes ago Ryan stood by Xuelong''s side as he spoke, "Hey you are pretty strong right?"


    Xuelong looked at him with a frown as she spoke with a nod, "Yes, I am."


    "The creature is almost fifty meters from my position can you throw me at the creature."


    Xuelong gawked at him as she spoke with disbelief, "Are you mad? Or did the explosion addle your brain too much."


    Ryan immediately red back at her as he spoke, "There is nothing of sorts but tell me can you do or not, my powers will be enough to deal with it."


    Xuelong frowned hard as she spoke, "What if your n fails? What if you fail to deal with the armor?"


    With a serene smile on his face, Ryan spoke while pointing towards the sky reverently, "My powers are blessings from my God surely you are not suggesting that his blessings would fail, it is a Heresy."


    Xuelong was stunned upon hearing that while Ryan gave him a mental pat on his back for a job well done, ever since the apostle business began, he had always wanted to say that to someone and now Xuelong provided him with the chance.


    <em>''Damn if only I could y it once more, the manliest game in the Universe, the game that even made women sprout out beards.''</em>


    Xuelong closed her eyes before she spoke in a sombre tone, "I will help you but if you die please make sure you do so quickly I do not wish to suffer another horrible nightmare."


    Ryan snorted at his words as he spoke, "Please like you would survive the horde after I fall, the dragon would tear apart the wall and you all would be overwhelmed."


    Xuelong let loose a loud bark ofughter before she spoke, "Then if it happens that you are about to die take down as many of the bastards surrounding you."


    Ryan gave her a mock salute as he spoke, "Aye aye ma''am."


    Xuelong closed her eyes as she spoke, "It will take a few seconds for me to get ready, if you wish to abandon the idea this is thest chance.", that she let out a deep breath while her body let out an orange glow.


    Ryan looked towards the creature as his face went nk, <em>''This is the only way I can think off, the creature has to die, the weapons are meaningless as long as it has that tough armor and it seems unconcern about any attacks raining on it.''</em>


    Ryan closed his eyes as he offered his prayers to his patron God Avtis, ''<em>My God if you are listening please bless me so that I can fulfill my quest and y the dragon.</em>''


    With his prayer being finished Ryan took a deep breath he could feel his legs shake a bit as he mused with a bitter chuckle in his heart, ''I am stupid so stupid I am using a n where if I miss everything is over, how stupid I am to fight against a beast who is over twice my level.''


    "Are you ready Ryan?"


    Xuelong''s voice came to his ears which sounded a bit gruff as he spoke, "A second please.", that he quickly used his radio to ry his words to everyone.


    "Focus on the other beasts, do not let them cross over and leave the big dragon to me, oh, and please note danger close so watch your fire."


    Ryan took a deep breath as he spoke with a nod his eyes focused on his prey, "Yes I am ready and sister Xuelong please do not miss."


    A grunt was heard as Xuelong gripped Ryan by the belt on his waist before she began to spin with him as an athlete does in the ''Hammer Throw'' event of the Olympics.


    Ryan''s vision turned blur as he mped his hand over his mouth to avoid throwing up, <em>''I made a huge mistake, is that how the hammer in the ''Hammer Throw'' feels like, now I hate the sport.''</em>


    Were hisst thought before he found himself rocketing towards the dragon fast, he barely had time to create a small shield before he mmed onto the beast.


    He then quickly dispersed it as he held on to the many protrusion on the creatures back before he pales considerably as he spotted one of the spikes too close to his bits, so close that if he had move mmed onto the creature even a few millimetres lower than this spot he would have been castrated.


    <em>''I will have some choice words with Xuelong about this.''</em>


    Ryan then noticed something that made him extremely angry, <em>''Did it think I am so low of threat that it is not even bothered by the fact that I am clinging to it.''</em>


    He quickly climbed on top of the beast holding its many protrusions as he stood up on top of it he could clearly see the monster horde from top of the beast, as well as he got a clear view of the damage that the beast was wrecking on the wall.


    <em>''Damn I have to plug that hole on top of the door as well as repair the door itself, a few of the creatures have passed through therge hole by jumping through it.''</em>


    His thoughts came to a halt as one of the bullets came too close to him hitting the creature before breaking off and then embedding into his right shoulder making him nearly lose his grips.


    Ciara had a look of horror on her face as she caught sight of her youngestnding hard on top of the beast, the beast that was currently well in midst of the rest of its godforsaken brethren and then the unthinkable happened Ryan got shot.


    "Focus on the other beasts danger close, I repeat danger close and if I find whosoever shot Ryan I will kill him or her myself."


    Michalina''s anger-filled voice came to her ears as Ciara ryed her orders, "Focus on other creatures ughter them and remember not to fire near therge Godzi lookalike."


    Ryan eyes became teary as the pain hit him full force, ''Damn it the runes on those bullets if only I had worn better armor.''


    He quickly poked his finger through the bullet hole, and then using his power he vanished the shrapnel before ingesting another pill to heal him and within a minute his hand was as good as new, but then another problem arose as he could suddenly feel his hairs rise in a manner akin to that when someone feels they are near a charged piece of metal.


    A horrible realization came to his mind, <em>''Is it going breath again?''</em>


    And his realization came to be spot on as the creature''s mouth began to glow in a rather familiar manner, and Ryan did not waste any more time as he mbered towards the head of the creature as fast as he could.


    Ciara looked at the glow forming in the mouth of the creature, mouth that was directed towards them as she shouted out loud, "<strong>Everyone run</strong>.", but her warnings were in vain as the hellish breath descended upon them for the second time since the starting of the battle.

 Chapter 122: The Seige of New Hope (Part-6)

    Chapter 122: The Seige of New Hope (Part-6)


    Eleanora had managed to regain consciousness when she was pped hard by reality, she opened her eyes to the dreadful truth that a battle was raging on.


    "Marcel, Marcel did you see that? Where are the children?"


    Marcel looked towards his mother as he spoke with a tired look on his face, "Yes I saw mother, and both Ileana and Ryan are on the wall while Catherine is here inside the building somewhere."


    Beth''s eyes opened as she spoke with disbelief, "What? They are there where that terrible battle is going on, why did you not stop them?"


    Marcel snapped at his mother immediately, "I would have done so in a heartbeat if I knew about the iing battle but I was not informed."


    "So what will you do now?"


    "What can I do now, nothing I can do nothing but seat here and pray that "


    His words came to a halt as another dreadful attack happened on the wall but unlike before it seemed to change its directions merely clipping at the wall before vanishing into the sky, the attack that travelled in the form of a beam lit up the moonlight night sky with so much intensity that it dwarfed the ever gentle light of the moon itself before disappearing shortly, and then a bone-chilling roar came to their ears.


    A few seconds ago, Ryan had finally managed to reach the head of the beast, the head which was covered by thick iron tes with many spikes making it look rather intimidating, in normal circumstances Ryan would have stopped to admire what ording to him looked like a slightly spiky version of Godzi on four legs, but now was not the time.


    "Please my God let it work."


    He muttered his prayers out loud as squatted while trying hard not to be poked by some of the protrusions, and then he ced his hand on top of the metal tes that covered its head as he let his magic work.


    A huge joy of tion appeared in his heart at the sight, ''It worked I can strip it off its armor.''


    But he did not have much time to rejoice as the creature was about to release its breath, as such he took out a contraption that he had been fiddling around, which was none other than a Thermite grenade.


    Ryan quickly ced the grenade securing it in, with the help of a small iron rod and it was easy as the hole on the armour was big enough for the grenade to barely fit it, and then he pulled the pin just as the creature let out its breath.


    Ciara watched with fear in her eyes as the creature breathed out directly towards them, <em>''Micha</em>'', the thought of her daughter dying was too much for her as she jumped towards Michalina in the futile attempt to shield her from harm.


    But, it was all for nought as suddenly the direction of the breath changed as the breath clipped on the wall before going high up towards the sky and then disappearing.


    "We are safe."


    As Ciara whispered she received a small pat from Michalina who spoke with a smile, "Thanks mom, I thought I was a goner but why did the attack chance direction, did Ryan do something."


    Her answers were immediately answered by the Iron Dragon itself as it let loose a loud bone-rattling anguished filled roar before it dashed and rammed its head hard on the wall before it reared back as it drove its head on the ground trying to remove the cause of the terrible pain it was feeling.


    Ryan himself was in agony, he had helplessly watched as the beast fire his breath as a cold pit formed in his stomach momentarily before the beast reared back, and then it shook its head while Ryan clung to it for his dear life, while he removed any iron spikes that came too close to him.


    <em> ''What kind of death rodeo is this? I will die.. Oh shit.''</em>


    His cause of the rm was caused by the fact that as he was trying to clings on to his life his came too close to his eyes only for him to block it by using the gauntlet of his left hand as it disappeared uponing into contact.


    He saw the wall approaching towards him at an rming speed, as such he let go of the creature as he jumped back while the creature rammed its head on the wall before dragging it along the wall before once again ramming back hard on the ground in the futile attempt to shake off the painful contraption on its head.


    <em>''This is not good, I have to kill it otherwise I will fall off and I do not wish to fall in the midst of the horde.''</em>


    Gritting his teeth Ryan once again moved and as he reached the hole that he had managed to create on the creatures head, he removed the used up canister, but before he could work further the creature suddenly jerked up its head in such a way that for a scant few seconds Ryan was airborne before falling back on top of its head.


    And as Ryan fell back he created a hook-like structure that he firmly ced inside the skull of the creature while its handle was jutting out of the hole making it an excellent ce for him to hold on to, as such holding onto it Ryan pointed his rifle''s muzzle into it as he pulled the trigger.


    The beast screamed and shook its head while jumping up and down to shake him off but Ryan''s hook not only helped him to hold onto the creature but at the same time dug deeper into its brain as it tried to shake of Ryan.


    Arge growl came from behind him as Ryan''s rifle disappeared as he thrust his sword back without even turning back, he felt himself getting sshed with warm blood.


    Ryan then tilted his head to dodge a w swipe as his sword changed into a pistol which he fired at his anger while he tried to bnce himself on top of the still very alive Iron-Dragon.


    <em>''What kind of creature is this? It is still going so strong and now I have to defend myself from the other beasts, damn it I will die if this goes on.''</em>


    A beast suddenly jumped up with its mouth open wide as it tried to take a bite off his head, but Ryan''s hands were upied with his left holding onto the handle of the hook while his right was busy pointing towards a different direction.


    But before the creature could reach him it head was pierced by a familiar pair of arrows while a familiar voice came to his ears, "Brother Ryan I will keep them off you, while you kill the dragon."


    Took a nce at the speaker who was none other than Ylerias who stood behind him firing arrows at any creature that tried to approach them but what really was amazing ording to Ryan was the fact that no matter how the creature moved or shook, Ylerias even if she was standing on top of the creature moved as if she was fighting on in ground.


    <em>''Damn that is some wicked skills, seems like LOTR was not wrong about the Elven people having some sick agility and bnce, but now is not the time to gawk at her.''</em>


    "Sister Ylerias I will use some special attack but it needs few seconds to prepare."


    Ylerias gritted her teeth as she spoke, "Then make haste."


    As he spoke Ryan''s gun had already morphed into the hand cannon that was already charging and no sooner had he finished charging it he unloaded the first salvo through the hole in the skull.


    Liquefied brain matter gushed out of the hole as the voice of the creature began to distort as a mixture of choking and gurgling was the only noise it could make, the rampage of the beast was getting lower as it began to sway.


    Ryan began charging his next attack as Yelrias shouted out loud, "Are you done?"


    "A couple of seconds.", was the shout she received making her grumble she killed a few of the beasts that were now climbing on the back of the dragon while the rest were killed by weapons from the wall, even if they were told not to fire by Ryan, seeing his condition those who had wicked aims began to defy his wishes and they began to lend him their hands or in this case their bullets and guns.


    A second discharge and a tired and mournful groan came from the snout of the dragon as it swayed and toppled over before falling on the ground hard causing a dust cloud to rise up.


    "Ryan jump up facing towards me now."


    Ryan did not even wait to retrieve therge iron spear like an iron hook as he immediately jumped up while twisting his body in the air to face Ylerias only to find himself tackled by Ylerias who carried him in a fireman''s carry as she ran on air towards the wall while arge group of creature jumped towards her to catch them.


    "Ileana, <strong>ILEANA!</strong>"


    A shout jolted Ileana awake as she looked at her partner who snarled at her as she spoke, "Help me load this rounds in thisrge guns, it would not fill up by itself."


    "But"


    The brown-haired woman grabbed Ileana''s hand tightly forcing Ileana to look at her tired, sweat and blood coated face.


    "Sister, that man out there is giving is all tell me what do you see when you look at him."


    Ileana''s eyes looked towards Ryan''s direction as a lump formed in Ileana''s throat, and as she saw Ryan was clearly fighting hard trying to kill thatrge creature but at the same time he seemed to have suddenly be the main source of attraction for the horde as they abandoned the wall and had focused on Ryan.


    "The guns are keeping the horde away from him, without the bullet it would not work so please if you want to help him work with me."


    That was enough motivation for Ileana who began to work earnestly to keep the cannons working.


    Back with Ylerias and Ryan, Ylerias had managed to reach the top of the wall before copsing alongside Ryan as she took deep breaths to calm herself before speaking with a snarl, "Such pathetic condition of mine, I cannot believe it I am being bullied by some love level trash, if I were at my previous level I would have ughtered the entire horde within seconds."


    <em>''I am still alive.''</em>, a sense of relief passed through Ryan''s mind before he quickly turned towards Ylerias as he spoke, "Sister Ylerias, about Maralyn I"


    "Please be silent Ryan, please this is a battlefield we can talk about it after we have won the war, and I believe that you have a hole to patch up, don''t you?"


    It would be several hourster that the entire horde would be decimated, without therge Iron Dragon it was futile for them to even attempt at breaching the wall especially when a certain someone had already sealed the breach.


    Ileana was finally excused from her duty as such she immediately went to reunite with her family and was able to narrate the entire event that took ce.


    Marcel hugged his blood-covered daughter as he spoke, "I am d that you are alright, I am so relieved and so happy to see you safe and sound."


    As she spoke Eleanora gently caressed her daughter''s hair, while Catherine gave a small pat on her twin sister''s shoulder as she spoke with a smile, "You did great sis."


    Beth meanwhile frowned as she tried to locate both Ciara and Ryan, and when she failed she could not help but ask her granddaughter out loud.


    "Ileana where is your aunt Ciara and your brother?"


    "Aunty is on the wall taking care of various things and as or brother he left with the others who were chasing after the beats who knowing their defeat were trying to flee."


    Marcel growled as he spoke, "That son of mine."


    "It was so scary father to see him ride that creature, trying to kill it, but at the same time he had to fend off those creatures it was nightmarish, it was like he was a small boat in a treacherous sea, I thought he would die, and then those ape like creatures if it were not for brother I would have died, it was so scary."


    Seeing the distraught look on his daughter''s face tugged Marcel''s heartstring as he spoke with a small smile full of reassurance on his face, "Do not worry everything is fine and I am so proud of you my daughter, so very proud of you."


    Meanwhile, back in the jungle the remaining beasts of the horde had scattered they had all been united under the strength of the Iron Dragon and after the fall of it many would have scattered but they caught the scent of not one, not two but three apostles''s the thought of feasting upon them was so heavenly that their greed had overpowered their rationality and at the end, they ended up paying the price.


    Without the help of the Iron Dragon they had no chance of breaching the special wall that they could not even climb onto their only hope was the hole but that was quickly patched up and looked as good as new, but in the end, all they suffered was a crushing annihtion as such a few dozens that were still alive turned tail to flee under their renewed sense of self-preservation but even then it was toote as they were now being hunted down ruthlessly.

 Chapter 123: The deal (part-1)

    Chapter 123: The deal (part-1)


    A figure wearing thinbative clothing ced a table on the ground, the table was ced in the middle of a dpidated square, as he waved his hand on top of the table a gramophone appeared, the person then cranked the handle before cing a record to y, and soon after he had ced the needle in its proper ce a melodious voice singing an opera came from the sound horn.


    But, the person was not done he took out a packet full of blood which he threw high up in the air which then proceeded to hit with his gun turning the contents of the packet into the mist that dispersed shortly after.


    And sooner had he finished doing so, the various cacophony of sounds came to his ears, as he found himself being surrounded by arge group of undead.


    ''Twenty of them, good after I have dealt with them I will be able to get that skill.''


    A sword that looked like a double-edged nodachi appeared in his hand, the figure held the tsuka with his right hand just beneath the tsuba while the shinogi-ji was on his shoulder, he would prefer to rest the nodachi with its mune on his shoulder but unfortunately, it was a double-edged, and pointing a sharp edge towards himself was foolishness.


    He gave a smirk towards the undead as he spoke in an arrogant manner, "Come and eat steal maybe it could care of your bad smell.", his words seemed to be like a trigger as the group pounced on him trying to tear him apart.


    <em>''They are in the level of 18s and 19 and a couple in their 20s, too easy.''</em>


    To the onlookers, it seemed as if he was dancing with his sword drawn, no more like he was figure skating on the hard ground that was covered with mud and snow.


    The figure thrust his sword forward before piercing one of the undead''s heads, before pulling it out and shing the one to his right before swinging it in a wide arc as he beheaded a couple with that move.


    A few hundred meters away from the person, who was fighting the group of undead, was a church that stood heavily leaning towards its right side, and on top of it were two familiar figures, one of them being Michalina and the other being Xuelong.


    Michalina ces a cigarette in her mouth while offering another to Xuelong who immediately declined with a frown on her face, "No thank you Michalina, I do not like the smell."


    Michalina sighed as she returned the cigarette back inside the packet as Xuelong spoke, "Why do you smoke that thing?"


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "What can I say I am kind of addicted to it."


    "Ryan does not like it."


    "I know but I cannot help it."


    Michalina''s grip on his cigarette packet tightened suddenly before she let a sigh as she spoke, "Damn him, always trying to give me a heart attack.", she then turned towards Xuelong as she spoke, "Is there no other way for him to gain that skill."


    Xuelong shook her head as she spoke, "No, if he wants the skill of that level he needs to earn it through blood sweat and tears, after all its alternative is a gimmick mostly, unlike the skill that Ryan is trying to gain the alternative works with undead which are lower level than you, the lower they are the better it is."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Yes, I remember that, I also remember he has to cast healing spells, while trying to fight against the undead in melee and kill them since his healing spells are antithesis of undead, but this is his 6th attempt to gain that skill did you not say that there is over an eighty percent chance to gain the skill."


    Xuelong chuckled as she spoke, "Yes there is but your brother seems a bit unlucky in this matter, in fact I have never heard anyone go over four times, your brother is a bit special."


    A couple of minutester Xuelong leaned forward as she spoke barely above a whisper, "Here ites."


    After killing the entire group of twenty undead, arge guttural roar came to Ryan''s ears, he turned to face his newest enemy only for him to quickly cover his mouth and nose while he tried hard not to vomit.


    <em>''What is this hideous smell? Oh my God it is pure torture, I will die from it.''</em>


    Ryan did the most sensible thing that came to his mind and that was to turn tail as he began to run away from it.


    Meanwhile, both Xuelong and Michalina looked confused for a moment before they both let loose a pearl ofughter before Xuelong took out her handheld ballista which she fired towards Ryan stopping him in his path, while Michalina shouted out at him, "<strong>Shame Ryan, shame on you, as this is your sixth attempt at doing something that has eighty percent sess rate, shame on you</strong>."


    Ryan looked towards the duo as he growled before turning back facing the enemy with his sword, but he knew that he suffers greatly if he stayed in this ce for too long as such he propping the tactical mask he had which provided cut off the smell somewhat, he dashed towards the creature.


    <em>''Damn them and this thrice damned creature, I will have to kill it fast.''</em> with that he dashed towards the creature he used two of the new boosting spells he had learned.


    <em>''Strength Boost (Minor)''</em>


    <em>''Agility Boost (Minor)''</em>


    He intoned them out barely above a whisper, Ryan knew that these skills were quite a low level barely providing a two per cent boost and not worth the mana cost but by grinding them he would have ess to much better skills.


    The creature was easily around eight feet in height looked like a miniature obese abomination, with pus dripping from its body, which was also the source of its horrendous smell, it hadrge beady eyes on its rather small head, with multiple mouths of various sizes on its body with long tongues protruding out it, not to mention the long thin arms of it with extremely sharp nails that were as big as a dagger.


    Ryan''s with his sword imbued with healing magic circled around his prey trying to find an opening when all of a sudden he made his move, with speed many times faster than his previous he struck against the creature.


    Michalina''s eyes widen as she spoke with a gasp, "He is fast, that sword style of his good."


    The reason for his exmation was the fact that Ryan had suddenly vanished from his charging position which happened to be a frontal attack, as he reappeared directly at the back of the creature at an angle from where he could easily cut its neck and behead it he did.


    An ear-piercing scream came to Ryan''s ears making him wince as he kicked himself away from the creature before he created some distance between them, and he was wise enough to do so as the creature began to vomit out a greenish liquid from its mouth, a liquid that amplified the already atrocious smell while poisoning the ground itself.


    "Yes, that sword style given to him by his patron GOD is very good, in fact it can easily rank up to top five amongst all the sword styles that I have ever seen, especially when ites to attacking but defending well as long as he is quick enough not to get hit."


    "In other words a style that has supreme offense and no defense, at the same time it is too tiring."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "Yes, if it means fast, precise strike with overwhelming force then that sword style is great but the user is a ss cannon, not to mention it tires the user very fast, though I do not know why but whenever I look at it, the style looks as if it is missing something."


    Michalina frowned at her as she spoke, "Missing, I mean yes it is missing any moves to use for defensive purposes but I think it is a bit unbnced.", she spoke a small smile formed on her face as she spoke, "Ah there he is, already finished with his task now we have to wait and see if he has seeded or not."


    "If not we can try againter, but for now I wish to take some break, though I can see somewhat what you mean by it since he is already on his knees from the strain."


    Xuelong simply nodded in agreement as she spoke, "A skill that cannot be used willy-nilly if that is the result if there were more enemies they would capitalize on the moment of weakness.", a small smile blossomed on her face as she continued to speak, "Looks like he seeded finally."


    A simr smile blossomed on Michalina''s face as she spoke, "It seems so if his dance of joy is any indication.", before long her smile faded off to a frown as she spoke, "What is he doing?"


    The reason for that was Ryan had created what seemed to be javelin, with the pointed end of which he picked up the severed head of the creature before he dashed towards the location where Xuelong and Michalina sat, and upon reaching suitable distance he let it loose.


    The duo sitting on top of the church were curious as well as confused about his actions, they knew from the trajectory that the javelin would not reach them so they were not worried but at the same time, they were confused.


    <em>''Why is he aiming the javelin towards us?'',</em> a thought passed through both their minds and it took a fraction of a time for them to remember the scene of Ryan trying to keep his lunch inside his stomach while trying to run away from the creature.


    The duo quickly got up on their feet but it was toote the javelin had reached near their position and a rune made sure to burst the head scattering its remains, the duo went ramrod for a second before they retched violently at the smell, when the sound ofughter apanied by a familiar voice came to their ears, "Serves you two right."


    "Ryan you are so dead.", was the warcry that was let out by Xuelong who jumped down from the top of the church, with Michalina hot on her heels to help her deliver some needed justice on Ryan.


    Ryan simply grinned back at them as he shouted out while removing the mask off his head, "<strong>Hahaha, you will never catch me alive.</strong>"


    As he ran away from the murderous duo his mind shed back to the incident that took a couple of months ago just after the siege.


    Ryan stood at the corner with his head low unable to think anything, the cause of such was the reports that were being read, during the fight they had lost a total of eleven people, of which three of them did not have an easy death as they were caught by the ''mage killers'' and were thrown towards the horde, they were eaten alive, while the others had died on the wall being crushed by the apes or when the dragon had attacked.


    Even amongst those that have survived a few of them has sustained life-altering injuries with the ring example being Nige who has lost both of her legs while Maralyn wasatose with no way of knowing when she would regain her consciousness.


    "I am sorry."


    As soon as he mumbled those words all the voices in the stopped as Ylerias spoke with her eyes being shadowed by her bangs as she spoke with a low growl, "Excuse me, what did you say?"


    "I am sorry, becau"


    Arge p resounded in the area as Ylerias spoke with intense hatred in her voice, "<strong>How dare you insult them</strong>.", and as she spoke she grabbed Ryan by his cor making him look into her eyes that seemed to be filled with both sadness and anger, "Do not try to y the role of a tragic hero Boy, they knew what they were signing for, they knew the danger associated with the job, but they did not do so because some snot nosed punk told them, they did so because it was the right thing to do so do not insult them."


    With her piece being said Ylerias pushed him away hard, as Michalina chimed in, "That was not cool bro."


    While Ciara sent a disappointed look towards Ryan as she spoke, "That was not nice thing to say Ryan, I can forgive you since you are distraught but please remember those who died and those who are injured did not stand by your side because you ordered them to, they stood because they believed in a better tomorrow so please next time thing before you speak."


    Ryan sighed tiredly as he recalled that particr incident, the incident that caused Ylerias as well as his mother and sister to get angry at him though the worst ording to him was the punch he received from Xuelong.


    <em>''That punched almost made me lose all my teeth, and even now thinking about makes my jaw ache.''</em>


    Ryan looked up towards the sky as a frown on his formed as he mused out loud, "I am almost out of time."

 Chapter 124: The deal (part-2)

    Chapter 124: The deal (part-2)


    Ryan looked up towards the sky with a wide toothy smile on his face, his hands spread out to greet the falling snow.


    "Ryan stop ying in the snow and get inside the house."


    Upon hearing his sister''s voice Ryan could not help but scowl as he trudged back inside the room with heavy steps.


    Xuelong chuckled as she spoke, "You are acting as if you have never seen snow before."


    "Of course I have never seen snow before as this is my first time viewing snowfall during winter, it has never snowed in our country like forever, yet now it is snowing."


    Michalina shook her head in exasperation as she spoke with a sigh, "Even then you should be careful Ryan, during the period the weather changes like this, there is a high chance of falling sick, and in our condition it could be dangerous."


    "I know sis, but I cannot help it."


    Michalina chuckled as she spoke, "I know the feeling, and Ryan, Jessica found some Blu-ray one of your favorite band."


    Ryuu looked at the disc as he let out a small sigh before cing it away as he spoke, "Sent my thanks to Jessica."


    Xuelong looked towards Ryan with a confused look on her, "I thought you would be even happier to find recordings of your favorite band."


    "I would be if these things were now worthless, in fact having them around would be a constant reminder of what we have lost."


    Upon hearing that Shakidra, who was nearby, could not help but ask out loud, "But can you not y it like that big ck disc from before."


    Ryan looked at her as he spoke, "You mean the recorder?"


    As Shakidra nodded Ryan continued with a sigh, "That recorder is created using a very different method and the technology behind it is not only at least a century old.", he then picked up the blu-ray as he began to speak again, "This thing is way more advance,pared to that recorder, and if you ask about how much it could hold, well think the record yer as a bag that can hold a single rock, then a blu-ray is one that can hold thousands of simr kind of rocks."


    Both Xuelong and Shakidra''s eyes widen as Ryan continued to speak, "Then the quality of the sound,paring the quality of a recorder with a blu-ray, is likeparing a toddler''s painting with a world renowned artist, not to mention you cannot record the video."


    Xuelong gained a confused look on her face as she spoke, "What is a video?"


    "Think it like something you saw, like a dance that you wish to review again in the future that is a video that is yed using a device simr to some I use like those turret controls that people use to see and find the enemies."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "Hey Shakidra this does sound like those ''recording crystals'' right?"


    Shakidra gave a nod as she replied back, "Yes, Your Holiness."


    But, before anyone could say anything Jessica and Donna appeared bringing fresh snow along with them as Jessica spoke with a sigh, "I am sorry but it seems that we would be stuck here for a while the wather is rapidly deteriorating and a storm is at hand."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Have you managed to bring the fire wood?"


    As Jessica nodded as Michalina continued, "We stopped here so that we could have some hot food, so what should we do, we can leave now and hope the storm does not catches us, or we can hanker down and wait for it to pass away."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "The car is not fitted with something that could be used to cook, and since we are all hungry not to mention driving in such condition would be extremely dangerous as such I vote to stay here until the storm withers."


    Xuelong shrugged as she spoke, "Fine by me."


    Donna ced a pile of firewood as she spoke, "Since we are staying here for the time being then let us make the ce of our temporary stay a bit morefortable, the temperature would drop so a bit more firewood will be nice."


    Xuelong stood up as she spoke, "I will lend a hand then, it would faster if you have another pair of hands working."


    Jessica gave a nod as she spoke, "Thank you Your Holiness, and since most of the woods we are using are furniture so if require we can bring it here directly before chopping it off."


    Michalina stood up as well, as she had decided to follow the group to gather more wood, leaving Ryan alone in the single storey house they had decided to take shelter.


    Ryan let out a sigh as he murmured out loud, "Now, what should I make for lunch?"


    With that thought in mind he left the shelter towards therge car parked outside, he ced his hand on it with his eyes closed and a few minutester he had taken out enough ingredients that were stored inside it in a special crate.


    <em>''Magic is like an ultimate cheat, some of this would have taken months to grow in normal situations are being grown within weeks without having to think about soil fertility or weather, really it is cheat though at the same time the farmers are suffering fromck of mana too much more often than not.''</em>


    With that thought in mind as he began to n his dinner, his mind went back to the meeting he had with his patron God a couple of months ago just after the siege.


    *********************


    An incredibly tired Ryan fallen asleep when he found himself in a familiar ce, as a sudden sense of uneasiness and anxiety hit him, the reason for it being his previous experiences.


    He quickly kneeled in front of the ever-present me as he spoke with his head bowed low, "My Lord."


    Ryan waited patiently for God Avtis to acknowledge him, but as time passed by the ufortable silence suffocated him as he felt his heart would give out if Avtis do not speak out in the next second.


    After what seemed like an eternity Avtis spoke, "Ah you are here, it is so difficult to notice when someone so insignificant like you is in front of me."


    Ryan''s brow twitched but he did not say anything as Avtis continued to speak, "I saw your fight, it was reckless yet quite brave, your idea to get out was not that great but would have worked somewhat, but you are lucky that Oena''s apostle was there."


    "Though that dragon you killed.", that he paused for a moment as Ryan''s heart beat sped up, which further increased as Avtis uttered the next words, "I kind of like dragons you know."


    <em>''Oh oh, mom sis it was nice knowing you.''</em>


    As Ryan mentally made his peace with himself knowing he was about to kill he was stunned into silence upon hearing his next words, "Roasted dragon legs of Elder Dragons and above is Heavenly I love them."


    Ryan copsed on the floor from his kneeling position as he could not help but exim out loud, "You like to eat it."


    Another silence descended amongst them as Avtis spoke slowly, "Yes, I like to eat draconic meat, is there any problem with that."


    Ryan shook his head as he replied back hurriedly with an uneasy smile, "No of course there is no problem, it is just I never thought they would be edible."


    "Even though we do not need it, Gods can eat many things, some of them being incredibly delicious though many of them are not meant for mortals, dragons are something that you can eat safely so you might understand why I like it so much, thoughparing the meat of an Iron Dragon to Elder is sphemous."


    Ryan quickly returned to his kneeling position as Avtis continued to speak, "Well the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to rewards you."


    Ryan''s eyes widen slightly as he schooled his features while Avtis in his me form continued to pace in front of him while he continued to speak.


    "You must have seen some of the wonderful skills that your fellow apostle''s uses one that helps her to run on air, one that makes a very strong armor from blood of her enemies."


    Ryan nodded as Avtis continued with what seemed to Ryan was full of pride and happiness from the tone of his voice.


    "Excellent, then you would love what I have in store for you, the skills that those two have are not suitable for you, you would learn to flyter on in your life so giving you the ''air walk'' is a waste, you use guns most of the time so giving you ''armor of blood'' would be another waste as wearing armor on top of armor would only drag you down, as such I came up with something for you, now choose."


    Suddenly a pair of a ming hands appeared in front of him, one held a blue pill and the other a red, as Avtis spoke, "You take the blue pill and learn a skill, and you take the red and learn another skill."


    Ryan suddenly had a feeling of dj-vu as he was reminded of the most famous scene from one of his all-time favourite movies, but he could not help but ask out loud, "What skills will I learn from them?"


    His question earned him a chill down his spine as he quickly blurted out with a shaky smile, "Ahahah, sorry I was kind of excited about learning a new skill."


    Ryan let out a sigh as he selected the red pill before eating it, as Avtis spoke, "Ah so you choose to follow a different path than Neo, choosing the blue pill instead."


    Ryan did a double-take at that as he looked at the ming hand before rubbing his eyes to see the vision unchanging as he spoke out in disbelief, "But but the red one was on your right hand and the blue on your left, I chose the red."


    "Hmm may be you should get your eyes and brain checked."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he stood up as he spoke in an using tone while pointing a finger at the me, "Y<strong>ou switched them at theaaaa</strong>"


    Whatever he was going to say was stopped as he found himself being shoved headfirst into the ground as Avtis spoke nonchntly, "I see so you wish to learn the sword skill instead of learning to teleport wherever and whenever you want with a single thought and without wasting any mana, do not know what to think of you."


    Ryan wanted to curse and scream at Avtis, it was very clear that he would learn what Avtis wanted him to learn and the entire act of giving him a choice was a scam, he never had a choice, to begin with.


    "Now I will impart you the skills.", and as those words came to his ears Ryan found himself seeing on the ground but before he could think about how he came to that position from being shoved headfirst into the ground, a series of movements using nodachi suddenly poured into his mind.


    The feeling was nowherefortable or painless for Ryan, as he felt something drilling in his head and he let heaved a sigh of relief as the process concluded a few seconds after it began.


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily as he was finally able to perceive all the information that had been poured into his mind.


    "Fascinating isn''t it?"


    Those words brought him out of his focused state as Ryan spoke with a nod, "Indeed it is, though I cannot help but feel something is wrong with it."


    "Oh, then please exin what is wrong with it, then?"


    "Well the sword style seems well and good but it would be too tiring on body so using it for a long period would cause severe problem to the user."


    A small p was heard as Avtis spoke with a drawl, "Excellent, it seems my wisdom is finally rubbing onto you my dear disciple, and you are right this style has that severe w with increase in level and efficiency and power of the skill would increase drastically but it would also lead to many unfortunate incidents like your heart giving out while using it."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Then this skill is practically useless, even if I do not manage to reach that level I would be incapacitated upon using that skill."


    "True, that was why a counter was made to it unfortunately it also had a w, the purely defensive style made with no attack whatsoever, and I am going to teach you the skill otherwise known as the ''Yang Sword'', after you reach a certain level with the current one, the ''Yin Sword'', and then maybe you will be able to use theplete version which is known as the ''Yin-Yang Sword''."


    "I see."


    "Oh before you go from now on you will not refer me as God or Holiness or something of that manner, I want to call me as Shisou."


    Ryan had a look of disbelief as he could not help but question out loud, "Shishou?"


    "Yes, why not I was thinking about Sensei for a moment then I thought about Shifu, but ''Shishou'' not only sounded better but I am currently more partial to manga than manhua, though in the future it might change along with what you would call me by, but enough of that do you have anything you wish to ask of me."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "No, at least for now I do not have anything to ask of you."


    "I see, the for now since my business with you has concluded you may leave, though a friendly reminder the time is running short, and remember more you make something you might get a surprise gift rted to that thing and now shoo ."


    ***********************


    As Ryan recalled the memory of histest andst meeting he filled a headache, he did not know what to think about his ''Shishou'', at best he could describe him as Chaotic, and since that day more and more questions seems to pile up in his head but he was unable to contact him so all he could do was to wait patiently for his ''Shishou'' to contact him.


    Ryan let out a sigh as he patiently created his cast-iron stove with chimney, as well as a samovar before he began to make ate lunch.


    <em>''I think I should make gosh it would go well with the bread we have alongside a cup of hot tea would work wonders.''</em>


    Near about two hourster the door of the shelter was open as the group of five trudged while making a strong imitation of snowmen or in their case snowwomen.


    From the sound and the snow that was blowing in Ryan knew that the storm was a vicious one, as soon as they stepped inside the house Michalina shouted out, "Close the door bolt it shut."


    Jessica with the help of Xuelong managed to close the door shut albeit with difficult courtesy of the howling wind.


    "Wee back, the lunch is ready."


    Michalina let out a huff before she spotted the iron stove that would fit in the home of some Victorian age noble as she spoke with a smile, "Hot food."


    Ryan gave a small smile as he spoke, "Yes hot food, with hot tea."

 Chapter 125: The deal (part-3)

    Chapter 125: The deal (part-3)


    Ryan sent an innocent smile towards Michalina with a pair of wires in his hand as he spoke, "Big sis if you would please."


    Michalina huffed as she spoke, "You should have thought about how cold could discharge the batteries, now give it here, it is alreadyte and I do not wish to be reprimanded for it by my mother."


    With that Michalina sent a jolt of electricity as Ryan tried once again to start the vehicle which answered with a roar before giving a low rumble unlike that of a ferocious predator growling out loud.


    With a wave of his hand, the wires disappeared as he changed the gear and the vehicle which weighed a few tons lurched forward with ferocious gusto.


    The vehicle in question looked like a monstrous 6x6 armoured vehicle for transport that had a tad bit of sci-fi vibe to it while at the same time looking like a close cousin of Russian Punisher.


    Michalina held on for dear life as did Jessica while Donna had a smile on her face just as Shakidra but Xuelong was having the time of her life.


    "I love it, and I wish I could drive like you."


    Ryuu shed a smile at her as he spoke, "You are close Xuelong, a few more weeks and I believe you will learn to drive like me."


    As Ryuu spoke the vehicle took a leap, because of uneven terrain, before it crashed into an unsuspecting rabbit-like creature before it moved forward leaving behind a broken carcass.


    As Ryan drove night descended upon them making Ryan turn on the headlights of his car as he spoke with a grimace, "I wish not to make any pit stop as much as possible, and even then we would reach home way past mid night."


    Xuelong waved off his concern as she spoke, "No problem, just try to drive faster."


    A small smile etched on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "nning too."


    With that, the vehicle lurched even faster while Michalina and Jessica had gained a look of horror on their faces.


    Ciara looked out towards the wall, which could still be viewed from atop the newly constructed buildings, buildings that housed most of the thousands of upants of what is being dubbed as the ''City of New Hope''.


    ''<em>A bit of normalcy is good, with proper roof on their head and belly filled with something resembling as food, with works to keep them busy all day long, I hope we are not being lulled into a false sense of security, but more importantly where the hell are those two, they should have arrived sometime during the afternoon, but now it is night time why are they sote, do not tell me something happened with them.</em>'', as the thought about her children ran through her mind she pulled her fur coat even closer because of the sudden chill in the air.


    "Do not worry they will be fine."


    Ciara sent a small smile towards her long time friend as she spoke, "Pot calling the kettle back."


    Zhan smiled back at her before her face turned to a frown, "Will you think low of me if I wish for this peace to continue forever."


    "Not at all for I wish the same, but we both know that the such a wish would not be possible, the attack that happened all those nights ago proved to me how fictitious my wish is."


    Zhan closed her eyes as she recalled the battle they had as she spoke again, "I thought for a moment I was going to lose you, when that creature let loose its breath."


    "Me too, Michalina and I were directly in the path of its attack we should have been dead if not for my son''s recklessness."


    Zhan gained a small smile remembering the incident as she spoke with a nostalgic smile on her face, "What can I say but he is just like his mother."


    Ciara squawked in indignation as she spoke, "Why I never?"


    "Uh huh, I remember a certain squad captain drawing the attention of a squad of enemies and drew them away to save an orphanage, and almost died in the process."


    Ciara huffed as Zhan spoke with a smile on her face, "As I can say an apple does not fall far from the tree."


    Ciara closed her eyes for a moment before she spoke with a sigh, "But even so I never rode a Dragon trying to kill it while being in midst ofrge horde of other beasts."


    "Well what can I say, but the younger generation will always surpass the older one."


    Ciara deadpanned at her as she spoke, "You stole it from that cartoon."


    Zhan shrugged as she spoke, "Of course but you should me Ryan, he made me binge watch them with him, also it is an anime not a cartoon, do not think you would want him to give a lecture about how anime and cartoon are different."


    Ciara grimaced at that as she spoke, "Thanks for the reminder though I never understood why they are different, they are for both meant to entertain children."


    Zhan sighed as she spoke, "Whatever you do, please do not say that to him, I do not wish to suffer that torturous lecture again, boot camp was way simpler."


    Ciara chuckled as her eyes fell on one of the unfinished buildings as she spoke, "The prefab buildings are so easier and faster to build."


    Zhan nodded as she spoke, "That was ingenious idea from Chen, and after Ryan made those machines for the workers he is no free from working single handedly."


    Ciara snorted at that as she spoke, "He was so happy that he was dancing with joy."


    "Of course he would after all, he has a deadline to meet and it ising up very soon, and being involved in all of this would chip away his time."


    Ciara sighed as she spoke, "I do not like whatever this entity that has his attention on my son, I do not like it, forcing him like that not to mention whatever the task he is forcing him to do."


    "So true, Ryan may not show it but he is extremely tensed as the deadline is approaching and the worst part is he does not even know what he will be ordered to do and he was just told to prepare or he will die, what kind of nonsense is this."


    "So true Zhan so true, and from what I have been informed about hisst rendezvous with that God, I can safely say that He is a raving lunatic."


    "You took the words from my mouth Ciara, though please do not say that in front of him, Ryan tends to freak out a lot."


    "I cannot me him for that, after all who would not be afraid about someone, who can spy on them without anyone being the wiser, not to mention can punish others harshly with a single thought, Ryan told me whenever he meets with that God, that God can read his mind like an open book, Ryan can only speak move or do anything else when he is allowed to, so of course any sane person would be afraid."


    Zhan simply shuddered as she spoke, "Just the thought that someone can control even how I move sends shiver down my spine and", she frowned for a moment looking towards the gate before she spoke with a smile, "It seems they are back."


    And true to her words the faint sound of xon ringing came to their ears as Ciara spoke with a sigh, "I have to tell Ryan to tone down the sound a bit, with everything so quite around here I doubt people who are sleeping would mind that much noise."


    Zhan scrunched up her face as she spoke, "Nah, let it be for now it is a problem but I doubt that it remain so after this turns into a bustling city, not to mention it is quite tamer than the warning siren, thest time I was near that thing, it almost turned me deaf."


    "So true it is not a warning siren but a weapon that attacks allies and enemies without care."


    Meanwhile, Ryan drove the car through as he approached Fort Genesis, he could see therge buildings slowly upying the otherwise empty piece ofnd and he was sure that as time would pass by more and more such buildings would grow, even if the buildings were not crafted by his hands he had provided others with the means to do so, an unknown feeling swelled up within him.


    "Is something wrong?"


    Ryan looked towards Xuelong as he replied back with a bright smile on his face, "Nothing just admiring the view."


    Xuelong looked at the buildings as she spoke, "I have seen the ruins of your great cities this are nowhere near as big as them but still impressive how fast they had build them, those machines you have made for them worked miracle."


    "I cannot take the entire credit for it though, as everything was done under Mister Chen''s supervision his idea of using prefab buildings worked well."


    "Those buildings remind me of apartment blocks from the Soviet era."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "So true Sis, and while they might not be as good as modern apartments but they were cheaper and easier to make but highly functional, and at the very least people have something above their head during the winter months."


    Ryan stopped the car near Fort Genesis and as he climbed down from the driver''s seat he was instantly rounded up by his mother.


    "You arete."


    Ryan gave a sheepish smile as he spoke, "Sorry mom, but we got caught in a rather fierce snow storm."


    Ciara gained a look of concern as she spoke, "Are you alright?"


    Ryan gave her a nod as he spoke, "Yes, we are after all we had managed to find shelter where we were able to lit fire and have hot food, so we were fine."


    Ciara gave a nod, as the group slowly began to work their way into deep recesses of Genesis, only to be a stopped by a woman who looked to be in herte twenties.


    "Excuse, Ryan may I speak with you?"


    Ryan looked at the woman as Michalina spoke with a frown, "It was a tiring day and it is already past midnight, so can it not wait till tomorrow morning."


    The woman sent an apologetic look towards Michalina while everyone including Ryan could see the look of fear as she desperately tried to avoid looking directly towards Michalina as she spoke, "Please it will not take more than a minute, I simply wish to apologize and then I will be on my way."


    Ryan gained a confused look on his face as he spoke, "Excuse me but what do you wish to apologize for."


    The woman suddenly looked embarrassed as she spoke, "You saved our lives, yet I tried to kill you even after that.", she bowed low as she spoke, "Please forgive this foolish woman, I do not know what came over me."


    Ryan blinked owlishly before he spoke with a bright smile, "There is nothing to apologize for please raise your head, it happened in the past and from the looks of it you seem to be repentant, and from the red armband you are wearing you seem to be member of the militia right?"


    The woman raised her head and spoke with a nod, "Yes I am."


    "Then if you still feel guilty work hard alongside your new brother and sisters to protect everyone."


    The woman gave him a small bow full of gratitude as she left hurriedly while sending a wary nce towards Michalina for thest time.


    As the woman left, Ryan turned towards Ciara as he spoke with a confused look on his face, "Mom, who was that woman? And when did she try to kill me, also why is she so afraid of Michalina?"


    Everyone from the group looked at him incredulously as Ciara spoke, "You did not recognize her."


    Ryan titled his head as he spoke, "Should I?"


    Ciara pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, "She tried to kill when you were unconscious from mana depletion.", seeing the still confused look on his face Ciara decided to borate even further, "She was from the group of woman you had rescued from the town near the cliff just after arriving in this ce."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke with a gasp, "Ah, now I remember her.", he then frowned as he spoke, "As for not being able to recognize her, well forgive me for not visiting her in her prison.", his eyes then travelled towards Michalina as he spoke with deadpanned look on his face, "Though I can guess why that woman was afraid of you."


    Michalina spoke with a snort, "As she should be."


    Zhan simply smiled towards Michalina as she spoke, "Micha almost killed her for it."


    Ryan chuckled as he spoke, "Big Sis can be a bit overprotective sometimes."


    "That may be but can you please borate on why she acted in such a way, especially when you saved her."


    Ryan looked towards Xuelong as his eyes gained a dangerous glint as he spoke, "The town near the cliff, was the base of operations for a deviant, he could control zombies."


    Xuelong''s eyes widen as she spoke, "You had a necromancer here."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke with a pained look on his face, "That wretch had gathered every surviving female irrespective of their age and forced himself on them with the help of his zombies, even his own mother was not safe from him."


    As he spoke, Ryan noticed the look of intense hatred and anger as well as revulsion in both Xuelong and Shakidra''s face, as Xuelong spoke with intense anger in her voice, "I hope you made his suffering legendary, what kind of degenerate creature even rapes his own mother."


    Ryan gave a nervous chuckle as he spoke, "Well sorry to disappoint you but we did not know about what he had done, when he attacked us Nige took him out with a single shot, so he died fast."


    Xuelong simply growled as Shakidra spoke with a frown on her face, "That woman after being rescued did not take kindly being near some male, and that was what caused her to retaliate against you."


    Ciara gave a nod of agreement before she spoke with a sigh, "Yes, that is what had happened.", Ciara then looked towards Ryan as she spoke, "Also Ryan sometime after you left, the mothermitted suicide by jumping into the gorge."


    Ryan did not say anything except his face hardens for a brief moment before he spoke, "When you are leaving mom."


    "Tomorrow just after breakfast.", Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "I hope you are not nning on following me."


    Ryan waved his hand off as he spoke, "Of course not mom, I have so much work to do so I might not have enough time to escort you."


    Ciara smiled at him as she spoke, "Just take some rest.", she looked towards Michalina as she spoke with a simr warm smile, "Both of you take some rest tomorrow."


    Ryan was about to say something when a familiar chime followed by a familiar voice informed him about an emergency quest that caused him to trip and almost fall.


    Jessica who was nearby quickly held him as she spoke with concern in her voice, "Are you alright Ryan?"


    Ryan simply gave her a fake smile as he spoke, "It seems I am more tired than I originally thought, I would need some good rest."

 Chapter 126: The Deal (part-4)

    Chapter 126: The Deal (part-4)


    Ryan hugged his mother as he spoke with a touch of concern on his face, "Take care mom, and be safe."


    Ciara chuckled as she returned the hug before she spoke with a smile, "Do not worry I will be back and it is not the first time that I have ventured out."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "That maybe so mother, but going to hunt out beasts and going to meet with unknown people are two different things, people are more dangerous than mere beasts after all we are at the very top of the food chain."


    Ciara ced aforting hand on his shoulder as she spoke, "Do not worry I will be fine, I have myrades protecting me."


    Hearing her answer Ryan grouched out loud, "If you say so."


    "Tell you what next time I will bring you with me."


    Ryan gave her a bright smile as he watched his mother Ciara board the car along with a few others including one Michalina as they drove away, but as soon as they made it out of the gate Ryan made his move.


    Ryan dashed towards the location of a previously stashed motorcycle which looked simr to something that a certain caped crusader, a fictional hero yet a hero to millions, would approve of, but it had a certain up-gradation in the sense that set it apart from other bikes that were ced near it as it had a pair of runes that muffled its sound to the point that it made an electric scooter looked noisier inparison.


    "Ryan, where are you going?"


    The voice made Ryan wince inwardly as he turned to face Zhan who was looking at him with her eyes narrowed and a deep frown on her face.


    "Hey aunty Zhan, good morning I thought you would apany mom."


    "Someone has to keep an eye on the fort, but what are doing with the bike."


    "Simply testing and tweaking it."


    Zhan gave a nod as she began to work away, while Ryan gave onest inspection on the bike that he had hastily made and put together for the quest he had received, since the moment he had received the quest he had been barely able to sleep as such he had decided to leave his bed in the wee hours of the morning and begin his work.


    Sabrina looked down from the top of the wall as Ryan left the safety of it, the loud stato of the bike slowly fading into the distance.


    As Ryan road out through the ''Gate of New Hope.'', he spotted quite a few people working had chopping down trees and seeing him many of them bowed deeply which he returned with a small bow and wave of his hand.


    When Ryan was certain he was far away from everyone''s sight and hearing range he quickly changed his dress, instead of the casual three-quarters and t-shirt he was now donning something that was appropriate for someone who was doing a stealth mission in a jungle.


    As soon as he finished changing Ryan quickly rode the bike but this time engaging a certain rune set that made it almost noiseless, and he sped off as soon as he turned on a certain device that was missing from any other vehicle that he had created, a device that enabled him to track the vehicle that Ciara left with.


    Unknown to him a couple of pairs of eyes were looking at him curiously from a distance they were roaming this part of the forest a good few distances from the gate in search of prey and medicinal nts when one of them managed to spot Ryan in the distance.


    They watched with fascination as Ryan seemed to be wearing some dress that looked as if nts were growing on them, and then he donned the helmet and mask before he left.


    "Where did His Holiness go? And what is that dress? And most importantly should that thing not make any noise, it was too silent."


    Her partner frowned as he spoke, "That dress I can say can be used to hide in the forest and grass well and as for his destination or why the otherwise so loud machine was so quite I do not know but let us finish our job and then we will return it is not our job to question His Holiness''s motive.", the woman by his side simply nodded as they returned to their work.


    Zhan had a scowl on her face as she looked at the wall, the reason for that was the fact that it had been a couple of hours since anyone has heard or seen Ryan, thest time anyone had seen him was when he rode his bike and left the safety of the wall, and it was worrying Zhan a lot, and she was not alone as many of the residents including the two apostles were greatly worried for their safety.


    "Your Holiness, I have found two hunters who had spotted His Holiness."


    Ylerias looked towards the man and woman duo that had apanied her subordinate as she spoke with a nod, "When did youst see him?"


    The man and woman bowed low as the man spoke, "We spotted His Holiness a good few distance away from the gate, we had ventured out a bit further than we normally do and then we spotted His Holiness wearing a strange dress before he rode on the strange vehicle with two wheels as he left before we could approach him."


    Zhan''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "What kind of dress was he wearing?"


    The woman looked towards Zhan as she spoke, "His Holiness was wearing something that looked like a dress made up of nts."


    The man nodded in support as he supplied in return, "Yes, with that dress He could easily blend in with the foliage, not to mention that strange vehicle."


    Xuelong narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "You have seen those vehicles at work, so how is the one that he was using any different?"


    "Actually the sound of it had attracted our attention, but when he left it no longer made any sound."


    The woman nodded in agreement as she spoke, "Yes those two wheeled vehicle has no sound at all inparison to when he had arrived on it."


    Zhan closed her eyes in deep thought before she spoke, "Can you two wait for a minute? I have something to show you."


    With that, she quickly dashed towards the fort leaving behind the gushing duo, who were high from being near two apostles, and to the hidden relief of the two apostles, Zhan returned with what looked like a bundle of leaves and grass from a distance.


    "Was he wearing something like this?"


    The woman nodded as she spoke, "Yes, His Holiness was wearing something akin to this."


    Zhan bit back a swear as Xuelong spoke with her eyes narrowed, "Zhan what is this used for? From the looks of it this seems to be some form of camouge."


    Zhan nodded as she replied back to Xuelong, "You are right Your Holiness, this is used in missions where stealth is needed and we are required to hide in foliage, wearing this makes it very difficult to spot someone."


    Ylerias frowned while dismissing the male-female duo as she spoke, "Do you think he went after Ciara?"


    "Maybe but the ce where the meeting is going to be held is barren and there is no foliage to hide so it is useless."


    Hearing her words Ylerias frowned but it soon turned to confusion as Xuelong spoke, "But does he know? Thest few days he had been busy so might not know the location."


    Both Ylerias and Zhan''s jaw dropped at her reasoning as they could not help but agree with Xuelong as she continued, "But hereinid the problem that he could also be going somewhere else but to what purpose?"


    Meanwhile, a certain biker let out a string of curses as he looked at the sight in front of him.


    <em>''How could I forget that it is snowing nowadays, all the greenery outside is just a hoax though how trees that grow in warmer climate are still green I will never know, biology was not my strong suite after all, but more importantly why did I not get a ghillie meant for snow, the one I got was meant for forest and the direction they are moving they will soon be in the grasnd followed by ins, I am an idiot.''</em>


    Without even stopping his bike Ryan waved his hands as the ghillie disappeared for a moment before he reappeared again but it was more suitable on the snow.


    <em>''I am d that my bike is mostly white so there is no need to cover it up.''</em>


    It took him near about an hour of driving when the tracker indicated that his target was slowing down considerably, throughout the journey he had made sure to keep a very healthy distance from the group so as not to be spotted but what made him feel lucky was the fact that halfway along the journey the sky had be overcast and it began to snow.


    <em>''eh, it slowed down and now it is picking up speed once again, but why?</em>'', suddenly the realization hit him on his face like a freight train.


    <em>''They dropped someone who would keep an eye on the from a distance, which means I am closed to their destination as such I will have to make a small detour so as not to get spotted, by either of them.''</em>


    <em> </em>


    The location of the meeting was chosen on a barren piece ofnd, that was covered with snow, which seemed to be on the receiving end of another coating of fresh snow.


    Ryan could easily spot the car from a distance through his visibility was slowly getting impaired from the snowy onught which slowly increased its intensity with the passage of time.


    He hid his bike behind a bush of thorny nt that waspletely white while crawled and hid beside another, and from his position, he had a good view of the meeting as such he decided to move forward with the next part of the n.


    Ryan took out a strange device with a very small antenna as he ced it in front of him, before attaching the single headphone, which was attached to the device, to his ears as he began to listen in to their conversation.


    Michalina looked towards a certain direction with a frown on her face, only to be beckoned by Ciara, "is something wrong Second Lieutenant."


    Michalina turned towards Ciara as she spoke, "Nothing ma''am, I just felt as if someone was watching us from that direction, but the snow is making harder for me to see."


    Ciara looked towards the direction Michalina had spoken about before she spoke in an authoritative tone while using her radio at the same time, "Be vignt it, it can be creature or something even worse so keep your senses sharp, especially you Grace you are further from our location.",


    "Affirmative Major.", came Grace''s voice with a soft crackle.


    Meanwhile, a certain someone felt his heart beating like a war drum as he desperately tried to calm his nerves.


    <em>''I was almost caught, I would have lost if had been caught and the quest would have failed, I do not want to fail the quest.''</em>


    Then to Ryan''s hidden joy, the other party arrived soon after, but unlike Ciara and her group the neers had arrived while walking on their feet, and their arrival seemed to draw Ciara''s attention towards the group making Ryan let out a sigh of relief.


    <em>''Now let see what I can learn from eavesdropping on them, but more importantly I hope the snowfall does not get any worse.''</em>

 Chapter 127: The Rescue(Part-1)

    Chapter 127: The Rescue(Part-1)


    <em>''Good day ma''am and thank you for agreeing to meet with us.''</em>


    <em>''Good day, but who are you?''</em>


    <em>''I am on behalf of our leader Javor Trifonov, he would havee here himself but he was injured greatly by a creature and as such he is no position to travel and he deeply regrets not being able to meet you personally.''</em>


    <em>''I see but you have yet to introduce yourself.''</em>


    <em>*<strong>an embarrassed chuckling sound</strong>*</em> <em>''Ah, I am sorry where are my manner my name is Misa, Misa Jakes.''</em>


    Ryan was already feeling incredibly bored as he eavesdropped on the meeting, as he let out a yawn when all of a sudden the quest updated.


    ********


    <strong><em>Quest Update: Kill the Ambushers.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Penalty: Loss of family.</em></strong>


    *******


    The feeling of boredom instantly evaporated as Ryan''s rifle appeared in his hands, as he looked down through the sight, before switching the mode of firing from burst to single as he aimed at the one who identified himself as Misa.


    <em>''I can kill him now but is he the one who is ambushing or are there any third party who is involved in this.''</em>


    His answer came to him quickly as soon as Ciara extend her hands to shake with Misa, a few canisters dropped from the long coat he was wearing as the area seemed to be filled with smoke obscuring everyone''s view, but before Ryan could react Grace made her move as the person''s head was blown to bits.


    Ryan''s pupils spun and moved as it enabled him to see the thermal image of the group in front of him, even with the smoke obscuring his vision he was able to see them clearly, and as such he made his move.


    Michalina was already ready and inbat mode, as were the rest of her sisters-in-arms, they knew it was a highly likely chance that the meeting might evolve into a fight, yet they decided to reach out to those that have contacted them for a very simple reason of humanity andmon courtesy.


    Since the day Michalina had received the powers she had been experimenting with them, and upon receiving help from the masters of the craft her own creativity and powers soared, as such even if her vision was clouded she was not afraid to face the enemy as she had learned to use her powers to detect others with the help of bioelectricity, it had a smaller range of only a little over fifty meters but it was more than enough to detect her enemies.


    She picked up the person nearest to her and fired her gun, sttering the person''s brain matter all around her, while Michalina was busy dealing with her attacker Donna used her connections to earth to locate and deal with the one near her.


    The entire thing was over as fast as it began with all the attackersy dead only for their attention to be captured by bouts of gunshots in the distance.


    "Blow the smoke away."


    As Ciara shouted out her orders one of her subordinates let out a gust of wind that blew the smoke away only to be greeted by the sight of Grace straddling a person as she slit his throat with her knife before burying it deep on the person''s blood and as she removed it her face was smeared by the life fluid of the person as he died.


    "Check on Grace."


    "Yes Major", with that one of them dashed towards her while Donna kneeled in front of the person whom she had killed.


    "Is something wrong Donna?"


    Donna nodded as she spoke with a frown on her face, "Yes Major, I had used my knife to kill attacker, and since Sanja would be in direct line of fire, but it seems someone else had shot him from the direction Michalina had pointed before, and no one was behind me not to mention the only guns that were fired was from Michalina and Sanja herself."


    Ciara sent a sharp look towards the direction as she spoke, "Micha, you are with me, others secure take point and secure the ce."


    As she was about to take make a move her radio crackled as Grace''s voice came in, "Major, I managed to note a third party being present here but before I could locate the person I was attacked and I am unable to locate the person."


    Ciara sighed as she radioed back, "Secure the bodies and search them before burning them, we do not need any more undead."


    It did not take them much time to reach the ce where Ryan was present a moment ago, even though the snow was slowly piling up on the human-shaped dent it was not fast enough for them not to take notice of it.


    Ciara stared at the human-shaped depression on the ground with a stoic look on her face while Michalina drew her attention towards another depression and set of tyre tracks on the snow.


    "Micha who do you think our third party is?"


    "Major, as far as I know the only modern day vehicles are avable is in our base and the depression is"


    Ciara closed her eyes as she spoke, "I hope he has a damn good reason otherwise I will put him over my knees and tan his hide."


    Meanwhile, back in Fort Genesis, a ss for healers was being held with Shakidra being the instructor who was giving the lecture and was now answering everyone''s questions when one of them raised her hand drawing her attention.


    Shakidra gave a small smile and a nod which made the person continue, "I wanted to ask if there is any way to resurrect someone."


    Shakidra''s smile disappeared as she let loose a bit of her killing intent as she spoke, "Why do you wish to know such a thing?"


    "I-I-I."


    As the girl stammered while the rest of them others shivered with fear while quite a few shot her a look of annoyance as Shakidra spoke, "I repeat again, miss, why do you wish to know such a thing?"


    "I.. I was just curious I thought with the help of magic since we can do so much wonderful things maybe we can even bring people back to life."


    "That is a very dangerous thought you are having youngdy, if you try to break the natural cycle of life you will earn the ire of Goddess of Death and she happens to be one of the most unforgiving person.", hearing her words the one who asked the question let out a small shiver.


    Shakidra gained an amused look on her face as she spoke, "However, there is indeed way to resurrect someone from dying."


    Upon saying that Shakidra managed to garner herself the undivided attention of her listeners, especially the earthlings as Catherine blurted out loud, "There has to be some catch."


    Shakidra beamed at Catherine as she spoke, "You have a good head on your shoulder, yes there are some terrible catches to it, firstly you can only resurrect someone who has died not more than an hour ago, secondly it takes huge amount of mana to do so, thirdly these that are revived are not only greatly weakened but if the cause of death has not been eliminated then everything is moot."


    Another person raised their hand as Shakidra gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes."


    "Ma''am what do you mean by the cause of death."


    Shakidra tapped her chin as she spoke with a frown, "Let us consider the situation, a person died from poison and you resurrected him but you did not flush out the poison from that person so tell me what will happen?"


    The person who had asked her the question paled before he answered back, "The person would die."


    Shakidra gave a nod as she spoke, "Exactly, that person would die and the resurrection spell will not work on him for a long time, as such remember when resurrecting someone make sure whatever ailment the person had is healed."


    "Why is that? Why can we not use the resurrection spell on someone again in quick session?"


    Shakidra looked at Catherine as she spoke, "You are recalling a departed soul that causes a huge strain on the said soul as such you cannot recall it back, the fastest you can do is within seven days but below that it would not work."


    Catherine raised her hand drawing Shakidra''s attention and upon receiving a nod she continued, "You said it takes huge amount of mana to do so, by hug you mean how much."


    "Ah about that sorry but I have to rephrase my sentence, it takes huge amount of mana as well as concentration to pull it off, and by huge I mean I have seen a Tier 100 person dying without being able to resurrect the person he was trying to so it is not something you should try for a very very long time."


    Her eyes roamed over her those who were attending her lectures as she spoke, "I know your instructors have said it before but those who are learning about magic please remember that magic is fuelled by your Mana and when you run out of Mana it is fueled by your vitality, your life force and when you will run out of your life force you will die."


    A familiar girl raised her hand drawing her attention and upon being permitted she spoke again, "Can we resurrect many people at once."


    Shakidra''s eyes narrowed dangerously as she spoke, "Aren''t you quite curious about things regarding resurrection?


    The girl blushed as Shakidra continued with a small smile on her face, "It is good to be curious after all without curiosity how would those great inventors invent.", her smile disappeared as a dark scowl appeared on her face as she spoke, "However if in your pursuit of knowledge you cross the moral boundary you will be dealt with."


    Shakidra took a deep breath as she began to speak again, "Upon saying that, yes it is possible the record for mass resurrection was made a thousand five hundred years ago by a Princess who saw a war, saw deaths of many, she gave away her own life to resurrect as many as she could can anyone guess how many she was able to resurrect at the cost of her life, how many people were brought back to life and which caused a record that has yet to be broken even after a millennia and half."


    She expectedly looked at those she was giving lecture to and soon found herself bombarded with various figures as her smile widened before she raised her hand to stop them as she spoke, "Yes, yes thank for all those numbers but unfortunately the number is very low three men and a horse, even though the horse passed away again from its injuries."


    A stunned silence descended amongst them as Shakidra spoke, "Well I think today I have given enough lecture so I will take my leave, and as for you all, you will be told about what to do next by your trainers.", with that she stood up from her seat as she left.


    Meanwhile back with a certain Apostle he revved up his bike as he dashed throw what now seemed to have evolved into a snowstorm, even with his various enhancement it is was impossible to view correctly not to mention the drop of temperature that made his bones shiver, yet he pressed forward towards his destination, which was further away from the ''Gate of New Hope'', and the reason for that was simple his quest update and he received a new set of instructions.


    *********


    <strong><em>Quest Update: Save the Meet Party</em></strong>


    <strong><em>The people whom your mother was supposed to meet had been captured, save them.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Failure: Extreme Disappointment from God Avtis</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Reach them within stipted time: 5:00 min.</em></strong>


    *********


    As Ryan moved as fast as he could under such extreme weather conditions he could not help but let out a groan if it were any other time such conditions would not have matter but with the rampaging snowstorm, things have changed.


    <em>''Those bastards because of them I have to work here out in the cold when I get my hands on them I will make them cry for their mommy or else my name is not Ryan.''</em>

 Chapter 128: The Rescue (Part-2)

    Chapter 128: The Rescue (Part-2)


    Jarousek took arge bite from therge piece of roasted meat in front of him while his men were busy doing the same along with drinking, when one of them spoke with a burp, "Hey boss, can we not y with those two sluts we have caught, those back in the base are used up diseased bs of meat nothing more, they are fresh meat and I sure many of us would appreciate."


    Jarousek sent a curious look towards his men as he spoke, "I don''t know we were told to capture and bring them unharmed."


    "But leader how cold it is today all because of the snowstorm, and since we were told to bring them unharmed is it not good if they caught cold."


    Jarousek frowned as he spoke, "You know what Viktor you are right, maybe you should go and warm those men that we have captured."


    A burst ofughter came from the rest of the men as Viktor let out a small while and when theughter finally subsided Jarousek spoke with a smirk, "But what you have said has some merit, please escort those lovelydies so that we can warm them up and better yet escort their malepanions I am sure they would appreciate the great sacrifice we make.


    His words send a round of cheers from his men as two women and four men were dragged in, each of them suffering various cases of injuries bereft of their warm clothing shaking from the cold.


    As the group of men and women were dropped on the floor hard Jarousek spoke while mustering a charming smile that could very well be passed as the smirk of a devil.


    "Greetings I see you all are cold but do not worry we are got the perfect solutions for that we are going to sacrifice ourselves to warm up the lovelydies."


    <strong>********** Intense parts ahead, the reader may skip ahead intoter and safe part of the story**********</strong>


    Group quickly realized the horrible fate that was about to befall the girls of the group as they tried to struggle against their bindings as Jarousek grabbed the hair of the nearest woman as one of the men shouted out, "Release my wife or I will butcher you two pieces."


    "Leave me or I will bite my tongue and kill myself."


    Jarousek shrugged as he spoke, "Nobody dies by biting their tongue most importantly I will simply cauterize your wounded tongue."


    The woman''s husband tried to reach them as he shouted out, "Leave her alone.", only to be rewarded with a kick to the jaw.


    As the woman screamed while whatever cloth she was wearing was torn by Jarousek as one of his men spoke out loud, "Boss I think he is jealous of us as such he is screaming so why don''t we be the gracious host and let him clean his wife with his tongue after we are done."


    Jarousek looked at him for a moment as a grin formed on his face as he spoke, "You know what I think you just earned the right to use her mouth first.


    Both the women twisted and struggled but it was for nought their clothes were torn apart while the men got ready to prate them when the sound of something simr to a can dropping on the ground came to their ears, before they could understand their vision went white as their ears began to ring.


    Jarousek shook his head and as his vision came to normal he was greeted by another sh and he knew no more.


    Since the day the Apocalypse took ce, Nina Cerna''s life had gone from good to worse, she had at first felt relieved that the military had stepped forward to help them but then she saw the real face of greed and corruption, after the coup they had managed to flee to preserve their life and dignity, but many of her acquaintances and friends had failed.


    She had seen new sights met with new beings but now everything will end, she was about to be raped by these degenerates, no matter how she struggled she could get herself freed from her strong grasp, she recoiled in disgust as one of them began fondling and licking her breasts, then her eyes widen with horror as another straightened up his genitals to prate her, while another held his near her mouth.


    <em>''I might be raped but I will make sure to make one of them eunuch here and now.''</em>


    She was about to bite off the person''s genital off when the sound of a pair of cans hitting the ground came to her ears before they detonating with a bang, her ears were ringing, while her vision became white, but she came back to senses she found herself covered in the blood of her would-be rapists as theyy dead around her.


    ************ Okay safe to read from here on****************


    Ryan stared briefly at the women who were forcibly stripped of their clothing by rapists, as he mused inwardly, ''I do not have any clothes to cover them up, but for the time being let me free the male members of the group.''


    Teenagers are hormonal, and with puberty hitting them hard they begin to take notice of the fairer gender, even more, Ryan was the same as any normal teen except for the fact he held them in much higher regard especially as he was practically raised by his aunt while being surrounded by the ''ck Wolves'', as such instead of gawking at them he quickly made a beeline towards the bound male members of the group with the intent to free them.


    <em>''I hope being consoled by some friendly faces would do something good for them.''</em>


    As such he quickly freed them as he spoke out loud, "You all seem tock some serious warm clothes especially thedies so please quickly scavenge from the dead what you need and then those who are able to help me carry those bodies out so that I can cremate them."


    Group were suddenly startled by his words not that he could me them had to suffer from such horrifying ordeal and then they were saved by a man who was covered in ghillie, it was intimidating for them.


    "Who are you?"


    Ryan looked towards the one who had questioned him as he spoke, "We can introduce ourselvester on but at the moment, please get dressed properly or you would catch cold and in our situation it could be fatal."


    "But"


    Ryan raised his hand to stop the man from speaking as he spoke, "Mister I do not like being around dead bodies but if you all like then who I am to judge but at least try to dispose them before they turn to zombie."


    His words seemed to draw one of the woman''s attention as she shouted out in panic, "Get off me, get their blood off me."


    While the other quickly held her as she spoke, "Big sister we are safe we are safe, we can clean the blood off of us, please calm sister.", she turned towards her brother-inw as she spoke, "Big brother help me clean my elder sister."


    With that, the woman and his brother-inw quickly left to the privacy of the nearby room while Ryan sent a look of appreciation at the woman.


    <em>''I might not be an expert on psychology but the woman even after such a horrifying experience stood up to help her own sister, that shows immense strength.''</em>


    As his eyes then fell on the remaining three as he cleared his throat drawing their attention while he spoke, "Since they are busy then should you not tidy the ce up, I think those twodies would appreciate."


    A few minutester the bodies of the rapists were thrown outside in a pile, stripped of their clothing and all belonging, and not too gently by the trio as Ryan stood in front of the pile of dead bodies, he then sped his hand in prayer as he began to recite his prayer out loud.


    "The sinners who fell by my hand, I pray for them to be ferried to the Kingdom of the Goddess of Death,


    I pray they be judged and punished for their sins,


    I pray they feel the torment of their victims,


    I pray to the God of Justice to relieve their victims of their pain,


    I pray their loved ones to not cherish them, to hate them and despise them,


    I pray for the eternal torment and damnation,


    Never should they find rest, never should they receive mercy,


    Let them suffer their victims'' agony, their pain, their humiliation,


    I pray their ashes to be scattered in the winds, Fire of Judgment."


    As he finished reciting his prayer he touched his forehead with his middle and index finger before dragging down passing over his nose, while a small circle seemed to form over his forehead and then a bright golden orb of fire formed over his index finger which he threw towards the pile of corpses which immediately burst into me and turned to ash.


    As he turned towards the small house that the group had taken shelter he could easily spot the wariness and distrust in the eyes of the trio and he cannot me it on them, after the ordeal when they had been caught and had been forced to watch helplessly an unknown person barged in ughtering their captors, they might not have seen the fight because of the shbang, but the aftermath was enough to send a shiver down their spine.


    As Ryan entered he closed the door behind him as one of them tossed a few logs at the fire that was lit in the firece, it had be a bit dimmed but the fresh fuel made it roar with intense fury.


    Ryan took a seat at the corner while the farthest was upied by the trio and soon the rest filed in sitting near their group.


    The two groups sat silently while the storm holed mercilessly outside and the temperature fell even more, and as a shiver went down his body Ryan stood up startling others as he changed his position to near that of the firece.


    Upon sitting close to the firece, Ryan quickly removed his ghillie suit as he stored it inside his inventory as well as his tactical helmet and his facemask.


    Nina watched Ryan closely and as she watched his face she was slightly amazed as well as saddened and the reason for it being Ryan''s age.


    <em>''If I am not wrong he should not be more than fifteen years old and he was forced to ughter people what has our world be.''</em>


    Her eyes then travelled towards Ryan''s eyes as she recoiled at the sight, ''Those eyes is he human or a machine they are so cold and without any feeling, like some lifeless machine.'', as the thought passed through her mind she could not help but blurt out loud.


    "Are you human?"


    Ryan did not even look away from the me as he spoke, "No I am a Martian that came to earth to borrow some sugar from my next neighbor."


    Nina blushed at his retort as her brother inw quickly spoke, "I am sorry, Nina can be a bit blunt sometimes seeing your eyes"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "No problem, you are not the first to recoil in fear and disgust because of how my eyes look and you will not be thest."


    Nina''s brother-inw gave a wry smile as he spoke, "A where are my manners my name is Ondrea, the woman on my arms is my wife Olivia, the bald one is Jovan, the one withrge moustache is Eugene, the younger one is Milovan, while the other woman is my sister-inw and you have already heard her name."


    Ryan simply tipped his head slightly as he spoke, "My name is Ryan, and it is nice to meet you all.", and while he spoke his brow twitched slightly as his quest updated, and he received a new set of instructions.

 Chapter 129: The rescue (Part-3)

    Chapter 129: The rescue (Part-3)


    The sun had already sailed down the horizon as Dusk had finally settled in, and the residents of the ''City of New Hope had begun to settle down in their new homes as the day came to an end, but amongst them was a certain person who was pacing furiously like an angry lioness inside a cage.


    The person was none other than Ciara, and the reason she was acting as such was simply because of her son Ryan, even if the storm had hit them full force, they managed to return back so long ago that they had managed to make it during lunchtime, but there was no sign of Ryan and as such her anger had given way to extreme worry.


    And she was not the same many amongst them had been worried about Ryan, who had gone missing especially when the news of his disappearance had spread amongst the popce fear and anxiety had hit them full force, the entire ce of their refuge had been spawned because of Ryan''s power.


    Meanwhile back with Ryan, he was taken aback at thergemunity that was over twelve thousand strong, he watched men women of various ages, races were busy and upon their arrival, they had managed to immediately draw their attention.


    "Wee back I hope the meeting was fruitful.", the person who asked the question frowned as he sent a distrustful look towards Ryan as he spoke, "Where is Misa and who is he?"


    At the question by one of the Elven male Ondrea gained a look full of anger on his face as he spoke, "No we were betrayed by Misa, he sold us out to those degenerates.", he then turned towards Ryan as he spoke, "The younger brother here saved us, and also he is a scout from the other party we had tried to establish contact with."


    "I see."


    "Why don''t you gather others so we can all have a quick discussion about it?"


    As the Elven man left Ryuu let out a sigh of relief and the reason for that being the fact that Elf had yet to recognize who he was and as such was treating him normally and for that, he was incredibly grateful, after being treated as a priceless treasure in New Hope it was a refreshing change for him.


    <em>''I hope they do not realize that for a long time.''</em>


    A few minutester Ryuu found himself sitting inside one of thergest huts made of mud as more and more people filed into the room, from normal humans to dwarfs to elves and a few looking a bit exotic.


    Most of them were simply speaking amongst them while sending a wary look towards Ryan who was bored to death.


    ''Next time I meet My Lord I will have to ask him if there is any magic or power that would allow me to skip an event like this boring meeting, or at least fast forward the entire thing, it is so boring.''


    A few minutester, Ondera began the meeting by reporting the happenings of the day which would include their timely rescue by Ryan''s hands.


    "So you are representing your leader."


    Ryan looked at the speaker as he spoke with a shake of his head, "No I am not I am just a scout."


    As Ryan replied back the same person spoke with distaste in his voice, "Then what good are you in any way."


    Ryan looked at him as if he was an idiot as he spoke, "Hello me scout, I advice on whether there is danger or not, with my words they might wee you or they might not now tell me if I am useful or not."


    The person in question growled as he spoke, "We can simply make you disappear and pretend we never met you."


    Ryan snickered at his words as he spoke with a smirk, "Are sure you wish to proceed into that direction, I know you would easily outnumber me by many times but are sure you all will escape unharmed I am not an easy prey just ask Ondera how dangerous I can be."


    The person turned red but before he could retort arge wooden staff came hard on his head causing him to copse hard on the ground before he shouted at the attacker that was an extremely and dainty olddy who came barely above Ryan''s waist, the woman rained down a few well-aimed blows making the person cowerpletely in front of her.


    "Children always so unruly and impatient.", her words seemed to have an instantaneous effect as the tension that had bled into the roompletely disappeared as everyone found the floor to be incredibly interesting.


    <em>''Damn, that old woman looks so ancient it was as if even the dinosaurs were a baby to her, but even then the strength on her blows and the way shemanded everyone is nothing to scoff at.''</em>


    The woman seemed to be able to hear his words Ryuu suddenly gained her undivided attention as the woman spoke with a bright smile on her face, "Thank you for helpi"


    The old woman''s looked as if she had received a shock as she copsed on the ground prostrating towards Ryan startling everyone as she spoke with deep reverence, "Please forgive this lowly ones insolence, Your Holiness and I also beg of you to forgive this stupid child as he did not know of your true identity."


    The person whom she had brained hard was quickly by her side as he spoke, "Grandma, what are you doing, why are you"


    His question earned him a hard pull to his ears as the woman shouted out, "You idiot watch how you speak in front of His Holiness."


    Ryan spotted those from the other world go ramrod hearing her exmation while those of Earth were greatly confused while Ryan could not help but voice out his question, "How did you know?"


    The old woman gave a bright smile and Ryan noticed quite a few of her teeth missing as she spoke, "This olddy may not be able to see much but even then I would still be able to recognize someone of your stature, Your Holiness, as I have met with many apostles over the year, not to mention I used to be thepanion of one before a very serious injury forced me to retire."


    The olddy seemed to reminisce about the past for a brief moment before she snapped into reality as she spoke, "I saw sorry Your Holiness I ended up reminiscing about the past, oh how rude of me this lowly one''s name is Amentha Stormborne, may I enquire of your true identity your Holiness."


    Ondera had a dumbfounded look on his face as he stared once towards Ryan and then once towards Amentha.


    ''What is going on the people of the otherworld are groveling at Ryan''s feet is he a King or something? But he is from our world so why are they acting like that?''


    Ondera watched closely as Ryan''s posture changed as he suddenly looked dignified, his back straight while a gauntlet suddenly materialized over his hands and the tattoo that was beneath his right eyes began to give a dim glow as Ryan began to speak.


    "My name is Ryan Von Ruinesca, apostle of the God of Creation and Destruction, God Avtis."


    As he spoke Ryan noticed the people of the otherworld prostrating before him while his fellow Earthlings were all dumbfounded.


    Amentha raised her head as she spoke, "It is an honor to have you amongst us Your Holiness."


    "The honor is mine."


    Upon being greeted back Amentha spoke with a smile, "How may we serve you, Your Holiness?"


    Ryan frowned for a moment as he spoke, "Amentha Stormborne may I call you, Amentha?"


    "Please call me whatever you wished to, Your Highness."


    Ryan was silent for a brief moment before he spoke with a smirk, "If you are giving me free reign then what if I call you Granny Ame, is it alright with you?"


    Ametha simply shed him a bright smile as she spoke, "Of course it is Your Holiness."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Actually I am on a quest from my God, he has some task for me to fulfill and while fulfilling those tasks that I met with Ondera and his group, who then led me to you all, so after meeting you all I want to know, how are you all? Do you have any immediate problems?"


    Amentha gave a tired sigh as she spoke, "We have many problems Your Holiness, too many to count from the cold to dangerous beasts, food, clothing we have many problems and a few days ago one of our came across another party, whom I believe you might be acquainted with, we had thought of joining their group as a few members of ourmunity suggested, after seeing her kart, that they must be in a better condition."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "It is true that we are in much better condition that your group and I hope you all will be able to join as well, after negotiating with the leaders of the group."


    "Your Holiness can you not order them to ept us."


    Ryan looked at the speaker as he spoke, "Sure I can but therein lie the problem that it would not only be a serious abuse of power but, because of my position and status most of the time I am away from the camp as such I think it would be better for you all to meet with the leaders of the camp ande to an agreement as it would do good in the long run."


    The man simply gave a nod as Ryan spoke with a smile, "But that does not mean I will not put in good words for you, after all I believe that we can ovee the troubling times but working together."


    A look of relief passed through the face of the people from the otherworld as Ondera voiced out loud, "Excuse me", as he garnered undivided attention Ondera continued, "Can anyone tell me, why are you all bowing in front of Ryan I am confused."


    His words were supported by nods of other Earthling as Ryan spoke with a soft smile, "You know there world has many Gods and Goddess.", as Ondera nodded Ryan continued, "Now Gods and Goddess cannot directly interact with the world because their presence is so great that it would wrap up reality as such they choose people to act on their behalf and those persons are known as Apostle, and I am one of them."


    A hint of disbelief ran through the group of Earthlings as one of them spoke out loud, "You are joking?"


    Ryan had a look of amusement as he spoke, "If I were joking then I would say that a Priest, a Vampire and a Werewolf walked into a bar together."


    "How were you chosen?"


    Ryan simply shrugged as he spoke, "Luck of the draw I guess."


    Ondera frowned as he spoke, "Ryan I want to ask you something but please answer me truthfully."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "You have my word that I will answer truthfully to the best of my abilities, though if I believe that it would jeopardize my loved ones safety I won''t."


    "Fair enough, then Ryan can you tell me why was our world merged? Surely your God has told you something, and what of those Gods that we used to worship what about them."


    Ryan was silent for a moment before he spoke with a serious look on his face, "I am not privy to much as my God told me that I am not ready for such knowledge and has set a bar for me to reach before he would reveal me more."


    Amentha frowned as she spoke, "Your Holiness, but you know something."


    Ryan gave a nod before he spoke, "Yes I do but problem is can I trust you with the revtion, can I trust you not to tell any random Tom, Dick and Harry about what I am going to reveal to you, knowledge can be deadly and sometimes ignorance is bliss."


    Everyone looked at each other before Amentha spoke with a sigh, "This ce is not a good ce for this kind of discussion where we can be eavesdropped easily maybe we should have this talk after we have joined with the other group."


    Ondera nodded as he spoke, "You are right elder Amentha you are right, though I hope you could tell us where or how did you managed to get that bike working."


    Ryan smiled back at Ondera as he spoke, "That works because I created it, and I created it using the powers granted to be by My God."


    "Will you try to convert us to your religion?"


    Ryan''s eyes travelled towards the person as he spoke, "As long as your religion does not require you to kill others, rape others, cannibalize I have no problem what so ever with you, in the camp there are various people who follow religion of some kind or do not follow any religion at all, be respectful to them, and do not try to force your views on them."


    "My God does not like the worshipping part of the religion too much as such I know nothing of that sorts as it is not required by me, upon saying that if for example you anyone wish to convert from Christianity to Im or to any religion or vice-versa please remember the state of the world, we are forced to starve more often than not, there are food items that before the apocalypse I would not touch with ten foot pole but now I might even fight for a small bite of that."


    Ryan took a deep breath as he continued again, "The reason I am saying all this is because every religion has different believes that might sh with one another as such please try to tolerate the person next to you, and that is all I ask."


    Ondera released his breath as he spoke, "Fair enough, I think something like that is okay for everyone."


    Ryan gave a small nod as Amentha spoke, "Your Holiness you said something about a task, is there something we can help you with."


    "Well my task is a solo one so there is nothing you can help me with though it would be a great help if you can tell me about the location of certain ce."


    Amentha gave a nod as she spoke, "Of course Your Holiness please ask us and if we know the location we will surely help you."


    "Do you know the location of ''Whispering grotto''?"


    Hearing his words made everyone extremely pale especially Amentha which made Ryan, in turn, groan inwardly seeing the shocked look nearby, <em>''Ugh another of those chores, I hope I return home alive and in one piece.''</em>


    <em> </em>

 Chapter 130: Whispering Grotto (Part-1)

    Chapter 130: Whispering Grotto (Part-1)


    Xuelong had a huge smile on her face as she gave Amentha a back-breaking hug as she spoke, "Granny Ame it is so nice to see you."


    Amentha returned the hug as she spoke, "It is good to see Your Holiness."


    As Xuelong let go of Amntha, Amntha once again found herself being hugged to death by another apostle who was none other than Ylerias.


    Michalina looked at the scene with her barely concealed curiosity, and to satiate it Michalina approached Dasyra who was nearby as she spoke, "Hey Dasyra may I ask you something?"


    Dasyra gave her a nod of approval as Michalina continued, "Who is this ''Granny Ame'' person?"


    Dasyra had arge smile on her face as she spoke, "Amentha used to bepanion of an Apostle during her youth, ''The Invincible Axe'' was her moniker one of the strongestpanion even strong enough to go against Apostles and win during her prime, we all look up to her, and both Holinesses look up to her as if she is their grandmother, well you can say most Apostles."


    "I see."


    Back with Amentha, she was insanely pleased upon seeing Xuelong and Ylerias together as she spoke, "I am so happy to see that you are safe and sound, though from seeing the strange vehicle you two are riding it must have been done by His Holiness Ryuu?"


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong''s eyes widen as they looked at each other as Ylerias spoke with a look of concern on her face, "Do you know where he is? He suddenly left the base without telling anyone about his whereabouts and he is missing."


    Amentha frowned as she spoke, "Yes he was here yesterday but left very early in the morning, he has gone after ''Whispering Grotto''."


    Xuelong''s eyes widen as she spoke, "Ah I remember before the merger of the world took ce that ce was run over by Trolls and I ventured out towards that ce after meeting you, but since the merger took ce I have been busy and as such I never had the time to take a look."


    Amentha''s face fell as she spoke, "Now it is upied by undead trolls, we offered His Highness our help but he vehemently refused going as far as making use his authority to stop us."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong frowned upon hearing that as Ylerias spoke, "Granny Ame what was he doing there?"


    "His Holiness has informed us that His God has given Him a task."


    Ylerias pinched the bridge of her nose as she spoke, "Of course something like that was bound to happen."


    Seeing the expression on both their faces Amentha knew something was wrong as such she quickly spoke barely above a whisper, "Is this something that you can say in front of others."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No I would prefer if it was done in private setting, though what do you think about Him?"


    Amentha gave a small smile as she spoke, "He is good kid who is calling me ''Granny Ame'' from the beginning."


    Xuelong rolled her eyes as she spoke with a small smile, "Anyone who is calling you ''Granny Ame'', is a good person in your own books."


    Amenthaughed out in good humour before she spoke in a serious tone, "But what are you going to do about Him."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "He may forbid you but he cannot do so with us as such one of us will venture forth."


    Ylerias gave a hesitating nod as she spoke, "We can go there but we should not interact with him until and unless he initiates it and definitely we should avoid entering the grotto itself, after all thest thing we want is for him to get punished."


    As Xuelong nodded at his words Amentha''s curiosity began to grow at an impable rate, but she managed to control herself as certain things cannot be said out loud in the open.


    Meanwhile, Ryan looked at the target with a pensive look on his face, ''<em>So this is the ''Whispering Grotto'', and now I will have to transverse to the deepest part of the grotto, ugh, I hate my life.''</em>


    Aiming at his enemy Ryan pulled the trigger as the first bullet struck the undead troll killing it, he did not stop there as in quick session he quickly dispatched the remaining five trolls that were present outside with one of them bursting into a ball of fire which spread out and consumed the other bodies effectively disposing of them.


    <em>''The only good thing in all this is that if I kill something than it would stay dead and not evolve into something even more vile.''</em>


    Ryan slowly and cautiously moved near the entrance while keeping mind of his surroundings, he had discarded the ghillie suit and was wearing a dark tacticalbat dress fit which was suitable for some spec-ops units, with his mask firmly attached to his to prevent him from inhaling anything dangerous.


    It took a couple of minutes for Ryan''s eyes to adjust and he could easily see clearly even the darkest corner of the room very easily.


    ''I should probably use my pistol thest thing that I want is the park from my rifle causing some form of explosion causing a cave in.''


    With his pistol held firmly in his hand Ryan slowly advanced at a steady yet cautious pace while being ready to unleash hell on his enemies.


    Ryan took a couple of steps only to slip but the timely action of catching a rock prevent his nasty fall, but it did nothing to stop his mood to plummet even further.


    ''Great just great, sometime ago the water might have flowed in and the temperature drop caused the floor to freeze.''


    He swiped his hand over his shoes which now possessed traction cleat, and he then proceeded to add a few runes to prevent noise to be heard from the dent it would make on the ice only to stop as a thought came to his mind.


    ''What if I add runes and then I step on trap, the sound of myself stepping on something would note to my ears and I am not yet that good enough with runes to create something that would enable only for me to hear, not to mention at the end of the day the higher I go up in my understanding about Runes, the difficulty of applying coding principle on them increases exponentially.''


    With a soft crunch under his footsteps Ryan began to travel deep into the Grotto and as he pressed forward the path inside the grotto became steeper than he would have liked but even then he pressed forward.


    A small growl came to Ryan''s ears which were soon followed byrge grunts and moans, and as soon as Ryan took the next turn he came face to face with the group of four trolls feasting on a fifth, a scene he was extremely familiar with.


    Suddenly one of the grunted as it twitched and convulsed and Ryan could see it changing, evolving into something else but he did not wish to face something more evolved as such he dashed forward cutting the head off the first troll and then aiming and pulling the trigger of his pistol, and with each pull of the trigger it gave three sessive short bursts that tore the head of the other creatures.


    "Banish Greater Undead"


    His hand a soft golden glow as a faint foot long wide circr golden runic array formed, the runic array had various words written on them, which ording to Ylerias was the runic form that made the spell work, something that Ryan was finally able to see ever since he had crossed the twenty fifty mark.


    Normally Ryan would have used the spell on the creatures instead of attacking but he would have missed some, then he would have to fight a battle which he did not wish to so he simply took the assassination route.


    <em>''The level gap between us and them is not to big but if I had used the spell I would have gotten at best two of them because the area of effect is low, but then I would have to use much more power to subdue the animated undead than I had to use on the ''dead'' undead, not to mention if I imbue my weapon with the spell I will have a constant drain on my mana, ugh I have to grind the skill and get it to much higher level.''</em>


    The rest of the grotto was a blur to Ryan as he fought various undead creatures and as he went deeper and deeper the creatures had mutated to the point that they bore no resemnce to that of trolls.


    Ryan squeezed through in between a very narrow part of the wall as he found himself inside a slightlyrger space, but as he looked around he found himself inside arge cavern, a cavern that seemed to be covered by white spider webs.


    ''Great just great, I just stumbled upon their of some kind of undead spider.''


    Ryan suddenly felt the hair on his neck stand up as he jumped hard towards the left while the ce where he was standing was now upied by a strange creature.


    ''Huh what kind of creature is this, it looks kind of like an Arachne but with a torso of a headless troll, a troll whose hands look like eyeless head of an wolf, just what kind of bizarre creatures am I facing now a days, but why is it spider? Why is it always a spider? Is it because I have a slight arachnophobia? I hate spiders.''


    As Ryan was busy studying his opponent, the creature opened his multiple eyes on the chest of the torso while the stomach of the troll part of its body opened up showing a set of extrarge teeth with grisly tentacle inside it, the drool of the creature dropped on the spider silk-covered ground as it burned it through like acid, before it let loose a guttural roar.


    As the roar hit Ryan he winced when all of a sudden his vision began to swim as the world suddenly began to distort around him.


    <em>''Huh, what is</em>'', it did not take him much time to put two and two and make four as he perfectly understood the reason, <em>''Damn that thrice damned creature using some kind of sound based attack on me.''</em>


    A quick application of a certain rune took off his hearing just in time for him to dodge therge maw of the wolf head with its putrid drooling tongue lolling out as drool dripped from him, but he was not fast enough for some of the drool to not hit near his thigh as hisbat outfit let out a sizzling sound and smoke.


    Meanwhile back on top, Xuelong had arrived along with Ciara near the entrance of the Grotto, as one of the scouts that had arrived earlier quickly approached them as she spoke, "Your Holiness, we found signature of His Holiness''s magic near the entrance, the ash is from the enemy that had been burned down by fire created from his magic."


    Xuelong gave a nod as she spoke with a tired sigh, "I see all we have to camp up here and wait."


    Ciara could not help but gain a frown on her face upon hearing her words but all she could do was to helplessly wait for Ryan to return.


    "Your Holiness may I ask you a question?"


    As Xuelong nodded towards Ciara spoke, "Your Holiness what is this ''Whispering Grotto'' ce?"


    "A long time ago, and by long I mean a few thousand years ago, there was huge battle between the living and the dead, it was so vicious that it is said our world came to an end under the relentless attack of the dead, but then a person, a Hero saved our world at the cost of his life, and Whispering Grotto is the resting ce of the person."


    Ciara frowned as she spoke, "I thought you all burn your death."


    Xuelong gave a nod as she spoke, "Of course we do, but this resting ces are mostly for the rich, aristocrat or those who have done something great, their belongings and their ashes are kept in crept, the Hero''s ashes are there inside the grotto but it has been so long that even his name has been forgotten because of the ravages of time, except the fact that he was the first and thest Apostle for the Goddess of Death."


    Ciara''s frown deepened as she spoke, "I see."


    Ciara did not say it out loud but her mind was running a thousand miles a minute as she analyzed the information she had received and came to the startling conclusion, ''Did that God sent my son here to gather something that belonged to the Apostle of Goddess of Death?''


    A small cry drew their attention as ck smoke seemed to rise from inside the grotto, as Ciara felt a cold shiver travel down her spine, and as they all dashed near the entrance a sudden gust of exceptionally chilly wind, that suddenly appeared from inside the Grotto, made them take a step back as Ciara''s anxiety reached its zenith.

 Chapter 131: The Whispering Grotto (part-2)

    Chapter 131: The Whispering Grotto (part-2)


    <em>''Jump back, move right, duck towards the left, kick back and fire.''</em>


    That was all that passed through Ryan''s mind as he fought hard against the creature, the creature who was sitting on its many webs with Ryan being the poor fly being trapped in it.


    But unlike the poor fly, Ryan was not as helpless as he fought back vehemently but it was getting difficult to do so.


    <em>''This sticky floor and walls are making it difficult for me to move even, I will show him why I was feared in FortKnight.''</em>


    Ryan dashed forward narrowly missing the swipe from its legs as a tform formed under his feet, as he jumped up on top of the creature, firing from his rifle, as he had already forgone using of his pistol in exchange for something that packed arger punch.


    Two strategically ced beams of iron managed to arrest the creature''s movement only for it to scream again as its rather woolly looking carapace glowed an ominous red as hairs on its carapace straightened up like sharp spike.


    Ryan''s eyes widen in horror as he quickly managed to raise a thick iron shield while curling him into a ball trying to make him a smaller target, but he was not fast enough as one of the numerous spikes managed to hit him near his left cheek just below his eyes, it managed to shatter his mask as it cut a deep scar that went up to his forehead, narrowly missing his eye by a few millimeters, though his eyelids were not spared from it.


    Blood gushed down from his recently opened wound making it very difficult for him to see from his left eye as Ryan bit back a scream, while the creature had managed to free itself.


    Anger rose in his heart and fueled by it the spell ''Banish Greater Undead'' that he had cast over his gauntlets thereby enhancing his weapons as they also suddenly received a damage buff from the spell, but Ryan was feeling tired as well as enraged as such he withdrew his weapon but he dashed forward using his sword style but without using his nodachi.


    To the creature, it looked as Ryan vanished from its sight before it was assaulted by unrestraint pain that seemed to tear its body apart, and the creature was not wrong as its body was being torn apart courtesy of multiple thick beams of steel and iron that were suddenly forming inside its body courtesy of Ryan.


    Being a practitioner in the noble art of fencing, Ryan had faced many fights and even had his name made renown in certain International circles because of his performance, many imed him as a prodigy but he knew he was far from it, he had spent countless hours toiling sacrificing sweat and blood to reach this stage, he had been the worst in his ss constantly mocked by his peers and those after them yet he had proven them wrong and stepped forward and proved them wrong.


    And over time he had gained an intuition on feints and tricks his fellowpetitors had developed which had saved him from facing some rather embarrassing defeats, and it was that intuition that warned him that something was wrong and as such without hesitation he ran as far away from the creature as possible, jumping back he stood back up on the wall on a hastily created ledge.


    Arge farting sound resonated within the giant fishbowl shaped cavern, though having blocked his hearing Ryan was unable to hear the sound, but he was able to see a noxious cloud that emanated from the creature slowly shrouding it as well as therge goo that it had dumped on the ground, but Ryan''s vision was able to quickly discern the contents of the goo that was quickly moving towards him.


    <em>''What that hell is that? The goo is made up of miniature figure of that creature and that cloud is it melting my beams.''</em>


    Ryan was faced by a small tidal wave of countless miniature creatures that were copy of the creature itself that was making a mad dash towards him as such he threw caution at the wind.


    <em>''I do not have anything other than to make a suicidal gambit with my life, I hope I survive.''</em>


    Suddenly a spherical structure started to form around him when all of a sudden he flung a dozen bottles containing highly mmable and explosive mixture towards the creature and its countless spawns, and as it reached them he raised his right hand which mimicked a gun, aiming it at the creature he invoked another spell.


    "Inferno Bomb."


    Ryan winced as he felt the sharp pain coursed through his body at the sudden sharp decline of his mana, as his reserves became empty.


    A Runic circle appeared a few millimetres from his forefinger as a small marble shaped white-hot ball formed which sped forward hitting the creature and exploding, and with the vtile bottle, the explosion evolved into a giant hot and fiery one, couple with the gas released by the creature which itself was highly mmable.


    Arge sh urred as the temperature rose to an unprecedented height as the entire fishbowl shaped cavern seemed to be incinerated.


    Inside his safety cocoon that Ryan had formed as soon as he let his attack loose, he quickly gulped a few aquamarine-coloured pills, a red coloured pill, and then repaired his mask, but he could feel the sudden spike in temperature that seemed to try and bake him, as such he quickly sat down in a meditative stance as his Mana rotated inside his body as he tried to create a Leidenfrost effect by forming a thin mana shield outside of his body.


    <em>''This is bad, the heat is unbearable, the way out should be clear and I can feel it close, so I will have to burst out.''</em>


    Ryan grabbed his pistol morphed it into his second form and waited briefly for it to finish charging and no sooner had his pistol finished charging the spherical cocoon surrounding him had disappeared and the first thing he did was to fire at the general direction of the creature as he took a leap at the direction of the exit.


    The entire room was engulfed in a scorching hot fire, so hot that Ryan immediately regretted leaving the safety of the cocoon.


    <em>''So hot so hot I just jumped from the frying pan into the fire, ugh if this continues I will die for sure, I have to find the exit and hope the other side is fine.''</em>


    With a wince, Ryan created a board that helped him to slide down and as he neared the exit he jumped, even though the raging inferno he could make out the iron door, he extended his hand to deconstruct the door, only for it to m open as a gust of wind threw back which was followed by a death wail.


    A chill ran down Ryan''s spine as hey down on his back with a confused look on his face, <em>''Huh the fire disappeared and enchant near my ear broke as well, what is going on.''</em>


    Ryan did not wait any longer as he quickly stood up, only to be greeted by pitch-ck darkness, it was so dark that even with his special eyes he was not able to perceive what was beyond the door.


    Ryan stared into what seemed to be a ck abyss, before he slouched as he mused out loud, "I have to reach inside that dark abyss, ugh, what a misfortune."


    With a deep breath Ryan cautiously stepped into the darkroom, when all of a sudden the door closed behind him and multiple torches lit up the room, Ryan quickly spun around to spot any threat in the small yet cylindrical room but he failed spectacrly though he was able to spot murals covering the entire wall and at the exact center of the room a pedestal made up of whitest marble he had ever seen, and on top of it was a broken long sword.


    The sword itself looked nothing special yet it exuded an aura that made anyone in presence of it revere the sword.


    Ryan raised his hand to touch it only to hesitate for a brief moment but as soon as he did his vision changed and he found himself standing in a throne room.


    "My my my so this is your Apostle, father."


    "Yes, my beloved daughter this is Ryan Von Ruinesca my Apostle."


    Hearing the familiar voice Ryan was already on his knees as he spoke, "Greetings Shish and Greetings Goddess."


    "What a polite and well mannered child."


    As the feminine voice spoke Avtis simply snorted but did not say anything as an Amethyst coloured me appeared in front of Ryan''s face and for a few moments Ryan felt as if every inch of his body including his soul was being inspected by the Goddess.


    <em>''Is this what a prized horse feels like when it is being inspected by its future owner?''</em>


    "Yes, yes that is what they feel most of the time when they are being inspected."


    Was the quick reply of the Goddess as Ryan thought process came to a halt, ''I forgot my mind can be read by''


    The me suddenly came in front of his face as the voice of the Goddess came to his ears, "Your mind is too active and to chaotic, you should stop thinking too much in front of us as some of us do not like mindless chattering."


    Ryan''s head lowered even further as he spoke, "A thousand apologies."


    "Also remember this child we are not the only one who can read your mind, try learning something to shield your mind, now stay still and do not disturb."


    A minuteter the Amethyst me moved away from Ryan as the Goddess began to speak again, "Before any of us say anything let me introduce myself, I am Brenlena, Goddess of Death, Afterlife, Underworld, Riches and Vengeance."


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily as he spoke quickly, "It is an honor to meet you Goddess Brenlena how may I be of service."


    "Tell me child what do you think of death?"


    Ryan was silent for a moment as his mind shed back to all the death and sorrow he had witnessed especially since the day of the apocalypse as he searched hard for the answer before a realization came to him.


    "Death is fair."


    "How so?"


    "It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, rich or poor death treats everyone equally."


    "Ho so that is the conclusion you came to be, well many would argue with you but we are not here for Philosophical debate but tell me the sword that you were about to touch do you know whose sword it used to be."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes Goddess, that sword belonged to one of my predecessor many eons ago, from what I have learned he was a hero that stopped a great war against the undead."


    Brenlena was silent for a moment before she spoke again, "Five thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty Nine years, and eighty three days and fifteen hours ago my beloved Apostle who was my closest friend, my confidant, someone I viewed as my own baby brother gave away his existence to kill the Undead Emperor."


    "The greed of a pitiful Necromancer brought the world to ruin, he created an army of undead to conquer the world and be its God, but his own creation became too powerful for him to control and was eaten and from amongst those foul creation the ''Emperor'' rose."


    The sheer disgust and hatred in her voice made Ryan shudder, but whether the Goddess noticed Ryan''s difort or no it was hard for Ryan to tell as all he could see was a me that spoke nonchntly.


    "It was the darkest of time in the history of the, only a fifth of the world remained, many strong warriors, creatures and even Apostles had fallen in the hands of the undead, converted into their brethren."


    "But I have heard that Apostle''s cannot be converted into an undead."


    Ryan could not help but speak out loud as Brelena replied back with a bored tone, "The system was different back in those days than it is now, but even then converting an Apostle was very difficult but the unnatural strength of the ''Emperor'' managed to do it, an undead Apostle is very dangerous you know since they retain their original strength and skills even after their death, and because of this reason the new system was implemented but it came with a downside that the resurrection magic does not work your kin any longer."


    "I am the Goddess of Death, someone who is feared by all even my fellow deities, and being my Apostle did not earn him any favor, even if he was not ostracized openly because fear of drawing my ire but he was always kept at an arm''s length even by his peers, he was alone in the entire world."


    "The war did not do any favors to him as he was the one of the two Apostles left by then, and the rumors started to float that my hands was behind the entire mess, they might not be able touch me but it was an open season for my apostle, those wretched mongrels"


    As she spoke the air became unbearably heavy so heavy that Ryan choked from it, as he copsed on his knees Avtis eximed out loud, "Enough Brna, control yourself."


    The pressure disappeared as Brna spoke, "I am sorry father just the thought of those treacherous curs made me angry."


    Brenlena let out a tired sigh as she spoke, "The thing is Ryan, my Apostle no my baby brother Ferrith in spite of all odds fought for my honor and defeated the Emperor and vanquished all undead but at terrible cost, my baby brother sacrificed his entire existence do you know what that mean."


    As Ryan shook his head Brna spoke, "You love your mother and your sister above everything in this world, do you not?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke with a small smile on his face, "Yes I do."


    "And it is the same in case of your mother and sister you are everything for them, but now think of something you did that caused them to forget about youpletely when they look at the picture your face appears to be blurred out, you name is blurred out, every information about is unreadable no one remembers about, such happened with my baby brother, no one remembers his name, how he looks what is his gender, no one any and all proof of his existence had been wiped out including his soul, which also means no afterlife for him, and the broken sword is all that remains as proof of his existence."


    Ryan was horrified upon hearing that, ''To think something like that exists, to have their entire existence erased it is too cruel, it is even worse than death to not even be remembered by .", Ryan''s thought came to a halt as he spoke, "Wait a minute there is something fishy here."


    "Excuse me but how"


    "How do I remember is that what you wish to ask of me right?", as Ryan nodded Brna continued, "Well it is"


    "Daughter I think we are both wasting our time, we are very busy beings so it is prudent for us to finish our business and let him leave."


    Brna sighed as she spoke, "You are right."


    With that, the Amethyst coloured came close to Ryan as Brna spoke, "it is going to hurt you and you will lose your hearing for a minute do not feel scared and try not to move too much."


    For the next few minutes, an indescribable pain erupted from his body as his vision went nk and what seemed to be an eternityter Ryan had copsed on the floor his body letting twitching uncontrobly.


    Avtis looked at his Apostle with his eyes narrowed before he spoke with a satisfied hum, "The experiment worked well so if there is nothing else sent him back."


    A soothing feeling enveloped his body as Ryan''s hearing was restored as Brna spoke, "From here on you will work for me as well and I permit you to use my Apostle''s keepsake see youter."


    With that Ryan found himself standing in front of the pedestal with his hand raised in order to touch the sword.


    Meanwhile back in the throne room of Brenlena, the otherworldly beautiful Goddess of Death looked at the spot that was previously upied by Ryan as she spoke with a solemn tone, "Father may ask you something?"


    "What is it daughter?"


    "When will you stop ying your games?"


    Avtis gained a confused look on his face as he spoke, "What games my dear daughter?"


    Brenlena sighed as she spoke, "Fine do whatever you want, I am busy now leave me be."


    As Brna returned to her work Avtis''s face gained a sad look for a moment before he disappeared from the Goddess of Death''s throne room.

 Chapter 132: The Whispering grotto (Part-3)

    Chapter 132: The Whispering grotto (Part-3)


    Ryan looked at his gauntlet covered hands as the broken sword turned to mist and was absorbed into his gauntlet, he stared at it for a minute only to grow as a familiar sound came to his ears making him groan.


    <em><strong>*************</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Questpleted sessfully..</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Reward: 1) 2nd circle mutated </strong></em>


    <em><strong>          2) Familiar</strong></em>


    <em><strong>*************</strong></em>


    <em>''My second circle has mutated and what is this familiar business? Do not tell me.''</em>


    A feeling of giddiness rushed through him at the thought of gaining a familiar as his mind wandered to all he knew about familiars from various games and novels.


    <em>''But before I do that let me check my status first and see if there is anything different.''</em>


    ********************


    <em><strong>HOST: RYAN VON RUINESCA</strong></em>


    <em><strong>HEALTH: 11200/12800 (Regen: 0.05%/min) (Cursed Wound)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>MANA: 16000/16000(Regen: 3.75%/min)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Race: Human(?)/Apostle (God Avtis)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>LIFE-FORM TIER: 32 (0/39600)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>VITALITY TIER: 32 (1007/26400)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>STRENGTH TIER: 32 (1020/26400)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>AGILITY TIER: 32 (1020/26400)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>INTELLIGENCE TIER: 32 (1008/26400)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Holy Blood: 6% (Devotee) </strong></em>


    <em><strong>Core: Orange Tier(Orange fragments: 1/1000; Red fragments: 12/500; White fragments: 89/100)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Blood Points: 8065 </strong></em>


    <em><strong>Soul: 1079</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Perks:  1) Quantum Brain (Tier 1)(Rare)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        2) Eye of the blessed (Umon)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        3) Angeloid Lungs (Umon)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        4) Quantum Nerves Connectivity(Tier 1)(Rare)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        5) Blood Point Reduction (Tier 2)(Unique)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Circle: 1st Circle(Tier-2): Sacred me.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        2nd Circle(Tier-1): Reflective Shield(Mutated)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>De-buff: </strong></em>


    <em><strong>        1) Cursed wound: Causes a deficit of 1600HP until it is healed, health regeneration reduced to 0.05%.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>        2) Vision impairment: The cursed wound has is making it difficult to see through your left eye.</strong></em>


    ***************


    <em>''Hmm, so many changes had taken ce since I had first received this power, some good some bad, now I have to gather fragments, fragments which can be then used to get a higher tier fragments and eventually a higher tier core, but the one I hate is the hidden buff synergy.''</em>


    At the thought of the buff Ryan balled his fist, the synergy buff forces him to level up every stat even if he wants to or not, if he even failed to level any stat to the next tier along with his life-form tier he would receive a harsh penalty that would lower the effectiveness of any skills of items that were dependant on that particr stat by 25% and would keep on increasing with each tier difference.


    <em>''I like to keep a bnced stat up to a certain level before specializing but this is ridiculous the amount of blood points that I had to spend is too much during the past few months a few updates of the system came and it caused many changes including the price of the perks, in order to buy the tier 2 </em>''Blood Point Reduction'' <em>I had to spend around ten thousand souls, it is such an inefficient system, the next one I would need fifty thousand souls to get it, my fellow apostles do not seem to have such rigid restrictions I will have to have serious talk with Him.''</em>


    At the thought of speaking with his patron God, a tired sigh escaped his lips as he spoke out loud, "Like He will let mein or speak, after all every conversation I had with Him until now is directed by Him."


    Ryan let out a tired sigh as he focused on his Circles, after using it many times the 1st circle became more powerful and its name changed and now his 2nd circle mutated and he wanted to know how much it had changed.


    *****************


    2<em>nd Circle (Tier-1): Reflective Shield (Mutated)</em>


    <em>        Reflect 5% damage dealt with the host</em>


    <em>        1% chance of causing instant death to the attackers up to ten levels above host.</em>


    ****************


    Ryan''s breath hitched upon seeing the new addition to his 2nd circle as he stared at it with disbelief.


    "No way, I got a 1% instant death buff, this is amazing it might not work most of the times but it might be a game changer when I am in a pinch, but now I have to see what kind of familiar did I get, but wait a minute I had 3% Holy blood in me did the pain I felt earlier increased the number of tattoos on me as well as the amount of Holy Blood in me and what is this Devotee thing? I will have to ask others but now it is familiar time."


    Without hesitation, he decided to check on his familiar as he invoked the spell to summon it, a spell that suddenly appeared in his head.


    "From ashes to ashes, from dust to dust,


    I give you words of the bond as you give me yours,


    I give you a reason to exist, to tread along my side,


    I summon you to stand by my side, in times of good and times of bad,


    Your fate in my hand and mine in yours,


    I summon you, my familiars, I summon you and bind you by my side."


    A giant magical circle appeared in front of him as Ryan suddenly felt a sharp drain in his mana reserves making him feel dizzy as such he quickly grabbed a few mana pills as he quickly swallowed them.


    After emptying half the bottle of mana pills the drain in his mana finally came to a halt, making Ryan sigh in relief as he looked at the creature that was about to be a familiar, and as the creature appeared with a blinding light Ryan''s jaw dropped at the sight in front of him.


    Ciara entered the ''Whispering Grotto'' along with Xuelong, the sudden gust of wind had dispersed the smoke allowing them to venture into the grotto very easily.


    "I hope your n works."


    Ciara frowned as she replied to Xuelong, "Me too, I hope we can get away with technicality by pretending to just stumble upon this ce.", their discussion came to a halt as they came face to face with Ryan who looked worse for wear.


    "Yo, what are you all doing here?"


    Ciara simply smiled back as she spoke, "We stumbled upon this ce and I decided to check it out, you know wanting to learn more about the culture and history of the other world."


    "Cool mom, though have you brought any healers with you."


    Ciara seeing Ryan''s poor condition wanted to simply run over to him and inspect him but the thought of causing Ryan to incur some form of penalty stopped her in her tracks, but the moment she heard him asking for healers she nearly gave in to the urge to dash towards him to check him up.


    Xuelong looked back as she bellowed out loud, "Shakidra."


    As Shakidra arrived quickly Ryan took a seat near the wall as he spoke, "Sorry mom, I had a chain quest going on which forced me hide many things from you, I am sorry for that."


    "Is the quest over now?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, it is over.", he then looked towards Shakidra as he spoke, "I have a cursed wound that need healing so should we do so inside this grotto or somewhere outside."


    Shakidra mulled for a moment before she spoke, "Outside would be better."


    A few minutester, Ryan sat outside of the Grotto as he quickly began to remove his mask, but as soon as he managed to remove it those that were present were soon assaulted by an incredibly rotten smell.


    Ciara was horrified at the damage her son had received, the wound over the left side of his face was not only ghastly to look at but it looked to be festering and rotten to the spoil it smelt bad enough to make others vomit, but more importantly the left side of his face seemed to be melting off.


    Shakidra quickly checked the wound as she spoke with a frown, "Your Holiness, how long since you received this wound and how did it happen?"


    "Well it was a very recently that I received this wound from a mutated undead, I had managed to y it but one of its attack managed to destroy my mask and harm my face, is it bad?"


    "Yes Your Holiness it looks really bad, but do you feel anything?"


    "No it has been sometime since Ipletely lost my feeling on my left face."


    "I see, do not worry your highness I will try my best to heal you."


    The sound of a car came to his ears which was soon followed by the opening and closing of doors as well as a familiar aged voice, "Oh my Holiness that is quite the wound you have."


    A small appeared on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "A granny Ame, you are here as well."


    Amentha smiled as she spoke, "Yes, I am here and if it is not to troublesome may I offer my help as well Your Holiness."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "As long as Shakidra is okay with it, after all I do not wish to challenge the knowledge of professional."


    Shakidra looked at Amentha as she spoke with a small bow, "I would great appreciate your help and wisdom Elder Amentha."


    Amentha looked closely at Ryan''s face as she spoke with a frown, "Your Holiness please lie down on your back, this is going to hurt a bit."


    Ryan chuckled as he spoke, "Granny Ame I have lost all my feelings on the left side of my face."


    "Well you will soon feel it again Your Holiness."


    Amentha then turned towards Shakidra as she spoke, "Shakidra you assist me, we would need some clean clothes, Holy Water among other things, I already have a good amount of Holy Water so you do not have to supply it to me but the sterilized clothes would be appreciated."


    Amentha looked towards Ryan as she spoke with a serious look on her face, "I am going to cover the uninfected parts of your face so you might not be able to see anything for the time being the pus could spread the infection."


    Ryan gave a small nod as his face was soon covered by a cloth, with Amentha tapping the part of the cloth covering the infected area twice, as with a green glow the part covering the infected part disappeared.


    Amentha then uncorked a sk as she began to drizzle the most sparkling and clear water that Ciara had ever seen on Ryan''s wounds which soon let out a puff of ck smoke as it began to sizzle, while Shakira began to cast a yellow-coloured spell on the part that has already been wetted by Amentha, further speeding up the process.


    A couple of minutester Amentha handed the almost empty sk to Shakidra as she spoke, "You know what to do.", Shakidra simply gave a nod as she left quickly while Amentha gave Ryan her undivided attention as she spoke, "Your Holiness I believe your senses on the left side of your face have returned and you are now able to feel."


    Ryan winced as he spoke, "Yes, and it has returned and just as you had said it has begun to hurt and itch a bit."


    "I see well grit your teeth because this part will hurt a lot."


    With that Amentha viciously rubbing the former cursed wound of Ryan, working in tandem both of the healers had already dispelled the curse but now Amentha was dealing with pus, the dead skins which she rubbed off of Ryan''s face.


    Ryan balled his fist hard as he gritted his teeth refusing to let out any painful cry while the duo cleared his face, while Ciara looked at the procedure with a worried look on her face, as it looked like Amentha viciously trying to rub off Ryan''s face clean.


    By the time Amentha was done, Ryan''s face looked ghastly it looked as if someone had torn off his skin as well as flesh off of his face.


    "Elder Amentha here I have brought the paste."


    Amentha nodded in acknowledgement as she spoke to Ryan, "The wound was because of a curse and with our current strength if we try to heal it, even after the procedure it would leave a ghastly scar, but we can use other healing methods that would not leave a scar but it would take some time, so what is your wish your highness."


    "The procedure that would not leave a scar how it is done?"


    "We will wrap the part of your face with a medicinal paste and bandages, and wait for it to heal."


    "I see, and while it heals it would itch a lot and I will have to endure it."


    Amentha let out a chuckle as she spoke, "Yes it would."


    "Well then do it."


    The light blue coloured paste was applied over the previously infected area, and to Ryan, it felt so soothing that he had almost dozed off while the duo finished applying it and then tying up the bandages.


    "Is there any other problems you are facing currently?"


    "No nothing at the moment."


    "I see."


    As Amentha spoke she suddenly wobbled slightly making Shakidra quickly grab her as she spoke with concern on her face, "Elder are you alright?"


    Amentha gave a weak chuckle as she spoke, "Sorry to worry you dear, I am old and this much excitement seems to be too much for me."


    "Then why don''t you take a seat and rest for a while granny Ame."


    Amentha gave a tired smile as she sat down on the chair that Ryan had quickly made and offered her to sit down on as she spoke, "Sorry Your Holiness for such an unsightly disy."


    Ryan waved off her apology as she spoke, "There is no need to apologize granny Ame you have helped me a lot and this is the least I could do for you."


    "So Brother Ryan did you received anything from your quest?"


    Ryan sighed as he recalled the ''reward'' he had received after thepletion of the quest, a quest that had his face disfigured.


    Back to the time when Ryan had managed to summon his familiar, a familiar which had appeared after nearly sucking him dry.


    Ryan blinked at his familiar owlishly, the familiar that looked ball of gas which was as big as a golf ball and it was floating in front of him.


    "It took so much energy from me, maybe it is something awesome."


    As such he quickly checked his familiar''s stats and felt his jaw drop in sheer disbelief.


    *************


    <em><strong>Name: <Unnamed> [To be named by host][Soul bound to Ryan Von Ruinesca]</strong></em>


    <em><strong>ss: ???</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Race: ???</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Tier: 0</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Health: 1/1</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Mana: 1/1</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Skill: Intangibility <It cannot be touch by anything and nothing can touch it></strong></em>


    *************


    But, before Ryan could think about his ''familiar'' anymore, he received a new notification.


    *************


    <em><strong>The host has epted the ''Gift'' thereby agreeing to the proposal, from here on out unless and until the given orders vite any order from God Avtis, the host will be working for Goddess Brenlena enforcing her will, with the understanding that any orders of God Avtis be treated as a priority.</strong></em>


    *************


    <em>''The hell what proposal and where was the fine print written on? But more importantly I never even heard of the proposal, it was forced on me.''</em>


    Back at the present, Ryan let out a tired sigh as he finished his narration as Ciara spoke, "You have been through a lot."


    Ryan gained a look of embarrassment as he spoke, "Sorry about that mom, if it were not for the condition of the quest I would have told you."


    Ciara simply waved off his apology as Ryan continued, "By the way howe you all are here."


    "Well just like you Brother Ryan we got a simr quest from our patron deities we were instructed help granny Ame''s group."


    Ryan looked at the speaker as he spoke with a smile, "Ah Sister Ylerias when did you arrive?"


    "A few minutes ago, and I was able to hear your exnation though please be careful about your surroundings."


    Ryan gave a nervous chuckle as Xuelong spoke, "But to think you got to meet Her, the scariest of Goddess in existence."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Well I do not think she is scary in fact I think she is nice but the domains which she rules over makes other wary about her."


    Amentha gave a nod as she spoke, "So true but the fate of her apostle was very sad, to be betrayed by everyone."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "But even then after all those betrayals he still stood on his path and even without allies or any help he protected everyone he truly is a hero."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "So true, but to think one of our predecessor had to suffer from something like that."


    Ryan nodded before he spoke with a frown, "I hope no one has to face something like what our predecessor Apostle Fenrir faced."


    Ryan''s frown deepened as he spoke with distress, "No wait a minute, his name was not Fenrir, but Fredrick? No not Fredrick but Roderick, no no I cannot remember what his name is, what is this? I have a good memory but I already forgot his name."


    Amentha gave a sad sigh as she spoke, "Your Holiness you are healing and getting stressed would do you no good, and as for forgetting about him did you not say this is the aftereffect of him sacrificing his existence."


    As Ryan nodded morosely Amallentha continued with a kind smile on her face, "Sometime some things are beyond our abilities and you should learn to ept that, we may not remember his name or anything about him but we can learn from history so that something simr do not repeat itself."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke with a nod, "I agree."


    Amentha slowly stood up from her chair as she spoke, "Well then I believe it is time for all of us to return."

 Chapter 133: The Whispering Grotto (part-4)

    Chapter 133: The Whispering Grotto (part-4)


    The car ride back to Amentha''s camp was uneventful as Ryan sat with his eyes close, although his fellow apostles did not follow Ryan as their scout had discovered something interesting and as such, they had decided to investigate it with a small group which included his mother.


    As they reached the camp Ryan spotted the camp looked to be a bit deserted as most of the people missing and his eyes soon found the culprit which was none other than his Alpha Raven 2.0, his rather infamous road train.


    <em>''It is good that I had not disassembled itpletely, but now it looks like I will have to remake it for future use.''</em>


    Most of the upants of the car had left except for Ryan and Amentha, they sat infortable silence before Amentha decided to break it.


    "Your Holiness, have you decided on your ''inquisitorial members''?"


    Ryan hummed in thought as he spoke, "No I do not have any permanent member, my mother is the head of a military unit I am borrowing her soldiers for now."


    "I see, but you have to create one soon enough."


    "I know granny Ame but for now I like the current arrangement, my mother''s soldiers all have different abilities and it is great to gain help from them."


    "I see."


    With that, afortable silence descended amongst them as Ryan began to mull over Amentha''s words.


    <em>''Inquisition, bratva, and so many other names are used by an apostle to call their groups, I have so many choices but when granny Ame called it the ''Inquisitorial squad'', it reminded me of the </em>fy chair'',<em> it was so hard not tough aloud, aww I would love to watch that skit and all those movies again I missed those.''</em>


    With that thought in mind Ryan dozed off dreaming off a certain <em>''ck Knight'', ''Holy Hand Grenade''</em>, and <em>''Roman go home''</em>, and when he awoke again he found himself back inside New Hope.


    Ryan climbed out of his car before he helped Amentha only to be rounded up by Michalina who had a look of concern on her face.


    "Brother you are awake? How are you feeling?"


    Ryan winced at the bone-crushing hug of Michalina as he spoke, "I am fine now Sis, I had help from others."


    But before Michalina could speak anything else a loud voice interrupted them, drawing the siblings'' attention towards the speaker.


    "Oh my God, it is Ryan O''Cahill I never thought I would see you in flesh."


    An overly excited eleven-year old ran up to him jumping with joy only to stop seeing the bandaged face of Ryan as he let out a worried gasp as he spoke, "You got hurt, how did you get hurt."


    As Ryan looked at the eleven-year-old owlishly the parents of the child arrived quickly at his side as the mother scolded the child, "John do not run away like that."


    "But mom I found Ryan."


    The mother grabbed hold of her child before she spoke with an apologetic tone, "I am sorry my son is very interested at fencing and you are his favorite fencer a few years older than him and you were already ready to make debut at International level."


    As Ryan let out an embarrassed chuckle the mother took notice of his bandaged face as she spoke with a gasp, "You are injured?"


    "This is nothing but a scratch you know how doctors are always fussing with their injections and medicines even for a slightest of scratch, so there is nothing to worry about I will be healed before you know it."


    "Ah the fencing sport you told me about, you even seemed to have a fan."


    Ryan looked towards the speaker as he spoke, "Ylerias did you finished your scouting."


    Ylerias gave a nod before she focused on the child in front of her as she spoke with a small smile, "You are a fan of Ryan."


    The child named John gave a vigorous nod as he spoke, "I have seen him in TV he is so cool while fencing and I loved watching him, he would look like he was dancing and then he would strike like lightning it was so cool."


    Ryan gave a slight bow as he spoke, "Why thank you for your kind words though now I think it is time for you to follow your parents and settle down."


    "But will I see you again."


    The hopeful look on John''s face brought a smile on Ryan''s as he replied back, "Of course you will after all I stay here."


    "Okay"


    With that, the child left while dragging his mother behind him drawing smiles from many who watched.


    "So you were famous before the merger of world took ce? And what is this ''fencing'' thing?"


    "Granny Ame I was just famous in certain small circles and as for fencing it is sport where two people duel each other using rapier style sword."


    As Amentha gave a small nod of understanding Michalina spoke with a snort, "Please brother you were dubbed as an uing star and you would have debuted internationally soon."


    Ryan simply smiled at her sister before he spoke with a gasp, "Ah how rude of me.", he then turned towards her sister as he spoke, "Sister she is Amentha or as I call her Granny Ame, she is a very knowledgeable and helpful person who helped to heal Me.", he then turned towards Amentha as he spoke, "And Granny Ame this is my older sister Michalina."


    Both Amentha and Michalina shed each other a smile as Michalina spoke, "Thank you ma''am for helping my brother."


    "There is no need to thank me after all it is an honor to help His Holiness."


    "Well granny Ame, please follow me I will show you where you could rest."


    As Ryan guided Amentha, Ylerias stepped by his side as she spoke in a whisper, "Ryan we have found a depot containing missiles and various weapons, Ciara wants to see if you need to scan them and unlock some new weapons."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he spoke with arge grin on his face, "I would love."


    "But there is a problem."


    "What is this problem?"


    "There is a hive nearby, and Ciara fears if are to fight to close to it we might end up detonating the depot."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I see and her fears are not unfounded, yes there are many advanced missiles that will not explode until and unless the triggering mechanism is armed, but with so much changes happening it is better to be cautious, but more importantly what is this hive thing?"


    "You know seen an abomination correct."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, I have seen it many times, born from corpses ofrge number of undead."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Hive can be said one of the possible rare evolutionary routes an abomination can take, it is gigantic in size and to a lesser extent it can be said as a Necropolis on legs."


    Ryan stopped in his tracks as he stared at Ylerias with his mouth slightly ajar, "Sister Ylerias you called it Necropolis on legs and its name is hive, so how dangerous it is."


    Ylerias frowned as she replied back, "If the hive had appeared instead of the iron dragon a few months ago, I would said to run as there is no hope of winning."


    "Troublesome."


    "Your Holiness.", with those words Amentha drew Ryan''s attention towards her as she began to speak, "The name hive it is given because they are like mobile fortresses carryingrge number of troops, they themselves do not have any attack power except those that are stored inside them, but they had nigh impregnable defense as well as cause the same effect as a Necropolis but in smaller case."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Yes and that is what makes them dangerous much dangerous than the iron dragon."


    Amentha''s eyes zed as her mind wandered back to her memories of bygone days as she whispered out loud, "A necropolis with a hive under its influence is a recipe for disaster as they amplify the powers of a necropolis, He died because of them."


    Amentha shook herself off of her depressed state as she spoke with a small smile, "Well enough of the sad stuff though I would rmend dealing with the creature as fast as possible, the longer you let it leave the chances are that more and more undead would call it home and stronger it would be and God forbid if it stumbles upon a Necropolis, even a recently created Necropolis partnered with a recently born Hive can be nightmarishly dangerous."


    Ryan furrowed his brow as he spoke, "I see.", he then looked towards Ylerias as he spoke, "Sister Ylerias is it possible to sneak into the depot, then even if we are unable to bring out the missiles at least I can scan it or dissemble it."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "It will be difficult but not doable."


    "Granny Ame how long until I can have this bandage removed?"


    "Three to four days, Your Holiness."


    "I see then we will make our move on the fifth day I will have to sneak in scan them, dissemble some if not all of them and get out first."


    Ylerias nodded as she spoke, "Okay but we will have to be discreet and fast."


    Ryan gave a nod before he spoke with a yawn, "True but most importantly I need a nice bath followed by a meal and sleep for now."

 Chapter 134: The Hallowed Square (part-1)

    Chapter 134: The Hallowed Square (part-1)


    Ryan jumped to the right as arge figure came hard on the ce that he had previously upied before he flipped back as another tried to kick him before he engaged with the shorted of the two in hand to handbat for a moment before the duo broke off and jumped away in time to avoid the vicious attack of the third.


    Thebatants who were sparring against Ryan were none other than Xuelong and Ylerias, and if Xuelong showcased immense strength then Ylerias was showcased extreme agility but Ryan was no slouch.


    The spar was a simple hand to handbat without involving any magic as well as a certain someone was forbidden from engaging all of his brains, and it was true that Ryancked the agility of Ylerias and the strength of Xuelong, but he was no slouch and inparison to the other two he was more bnced.


    Ryan did not wait any longer as with great agility he dashed towards Xuelong and showing an incredible amount of flexibility Ryan''s legs snaked around Xuelong''s forcing her to bend back as Ryan managed to reach the ground and with his hand pressed firmly against it Ryan flung Xuelong towards a charging Ylerias, who showing her amazing agility easily dodged Xuelong.


    Ylerias came hard against him with a kick to his head as Ryan pushed his hands against the ground hard to create some distance as he twisted his body in mid air to stand erect but Ylerias was already upon him as he swung his left hand haphazardly to keep her away from him which she blocked easily with a smug smile on her face.


    The fist that was sent towards Ylerias, more specifically her face was not meant to hit as soon as Ylerias stopped his fist she had a fistful of dust impacting her face making her close her eyes and that proved to be fatal as Ryan immediately send a haymaker that dropped her down for the count.


    Ryan did not have any time to celebrate as Xuelong mmed against him like a freight train, and before he could realize he found himself on his back with Xuelong sprawled over on top.


    Ryan winced as he was pinned down on the ground with his left hand firmly held by Xuelong as her body pressed against him with their legs intertwined.


    Xuelong was wearing a sports top and shorts while Ryan was wearing a sleeveless t-shirt and shorts, and the trio had been sparring for some time making their clothes to be caked with sweat making them somewhat transparent, as they panted hard to catch their breath.


    Xuelong had a muscr build with a face and grace that would easily make her one of the most beautiful women that Ryan had seen, her ratherrge and long hairy on top of them like a nket as Ryany pinned under her with only her right hand free.


    Their breathing synchronized as did their heartbeat, which Ryuu could feel as Xuelong''s breast was pressed against his rather toned chest, as he stared mesmerized at her eyes, while their face was only a millimetre apart.


    Ryan did not mind Xuelong''s body glistening with sweat pressed against him as he suddenly found her to be mesmerizingly intoxicating as unknowingly Ryan''s free hand snaked around her waist holding her even closer.


    Xuelong did not seem to mind Ryan''s behaviour either as her legs intertwined more tightly while her right hand''s fingers interlocked with Ryan''s left and her free left hand found itself ying with his hair.


    Their face seemed toe closer as they could feel the heat increased in their core, Ryan could feel her hot breath on his face as it lowered even further as their lips caressed each other as Xuelong gave soft pecks on his lips, their heartbeat sped up as their lips neared each other and Xuelong licked Ryan''s lips asking for entrance only for them to freeze as a groan came to their ears.


    "Ugh, Brother Ryan you should not hit so hard, I fear my jaw is dislocated because of you."


    The duo froze as the fire that lit inside them suddenly seemed to be doused by ice-cold water as they quickly separated from each other.


    Ylerias sat up groggily as she rubbed her chin while Ryan quickly went by her side as he helped her to stand up as he spoke with an apologetic tone, "I am so sorry Sister Ylerias for hitting you hard also pulling such a cheap trick."


    Ylerias looked slightly insulted at his words as she spoke, "In battle the honor is dictated by the winner and being honorable and chivalrous towards ones enemy will only make you a honorable and chivalrous corpse, and in fact I wish to thank you for pulling that trick on me to remind me to be cautious next time."


    Ryan simply gave a nod as his eyes were drawn to a certain part of his anatomy that looked extremely charged up and as such he quickly kneeled down on the ground as he hunched forward making his fellow Apostle worry about him, as Ylerias quickly spoke, "Are you alright Ryan?"


    Ryan gave a tired nod as he spoke, "Yes just tired nothing else just let me recuperate for a while.", he then looked up towards the duo as he spoke with a small smile, "You two are amazing and if it were not for the fact I used an underhanded trick I doubt I would have been able to hit you."


    Ylerias smiled at him as she spoke, "I already told you that it is fine so you have nothing to worry but most importantly who won?"


    "Xuelong won so she will be driving us back, and one day I hope to win against you without doing something underhanded."


    A few more minutester Ryan was safely upying the back seats of the car while Ylerias took the one beside the driver as they safely began to return back to New Hope, while Ryan let out a sigh of relief as he managed to rein control over a certain part of his anatomy.


    <em>''Damn I do not know what happened back then, Xuelong has kept me at an arm''s length so should I be the one to step forward and speak with her or should I wait for her to breach the subject, so confusing if only I could ask some advice from someone.''</em>


    As the thought passed his mind Ryan mentally went through the all the people he could ask advice from when all of a sudden he was reminded of his sister and the thought of his sister learning about it made him cringe.


    <em>''Micha would not only kill me but also try to kill Xuelong as well, back during thest few months of High School due to peer pressure and various reasons I decided to get myself a girlfriend, I have never proposed to any girl but many a times various girls showed interest in me but I rejected all of them, but that time I decided to give dating a try.''</em>


    Ryan sighed as he stared into the distance as the trees passed by while his mind wandered back to his attempt at dating,<em> ''My ''girlfriend'' wanted me in order to parade me in front of her friends and lord her superiority over them, but then I learned she already had a boyfriend and then the time and money I had to spend on her, she made me bankrupt within two weeks not to mention the time I had to spend on her from my busy schedule which caused my effect on my grades and practice not to mention her daily shenanigans and crying got on my nerve as such I broke up two weekster.''</em>


    Remembering the incident that followed made him wish to travel back in time and give his younger self a vicious tongueshing, he knew that he had no love for her and during the two week period he also learned many aspects about her that seriously made him want to ask his younger self what he was smoking when he said ''YES'' to her.


    <em>''Such a vain woman who only loved expensive items, prone to break down in tears and throw tantrum when something did not go her way, more importantly she is not my type, it is true that people can be a bit vain but she was too much, I never understood the reason or need to buy the same nail polish from a famous brand because her older one was only quarter full and a few weeks old, I liked strong independent woman not someone like her who was also unfaithful to her real boyfriend, I broke up with her and which she did not like at all as she took revenge by spreading vicious rumors about me.''</em>


    As he was reminded of the rumours Ryan''s jaw hardened, especially since he vividly recalled how his ex-sisters were fanning the mes for the rumour for giggles, but then Michalina happened.


    ''I heard that Michalina had met up with her and had a chat with her, she was absent whole week and when she came back to school she fainted from my presence, and after a couple of days she prostrated herself in front of the whole school begging for mercy and apologizing for taking advantage of me and spreading those rumors but most importantly she paid back twice the amount I had spent on her for two whole weeks.''


    "Brother Ryan is something wrong?"


    "Oh nothing Sister Ylerias, I was just reminded of something that happened in the past."


    "Oh and what would that be."


    Ryan looked towards Xuelong who sent him an intense stare making him sigh as he began to speak, "During myst few months of schooling because of peer-pressure and many other things I decided to get a girlfriend, and as such when I was proposed to by a girl I said yes, and within two weeks I learned what a big mistake it was."


    Ylerias was looking back with an intense look on her face while Xuelong simply kept her sight on the road as Ryan continued, "You see prior to her I had never agreed to be in rtion with someone because I was busy she was the first, but all she did was leech of me, she was incredibly vain and nearly made me bankrupt in two weeks not to mention she already had a boyfriend, then her tantrums and weeping if she did not get something it was annoying she wasted so much of my time as well so I broke up with her after two weeks."


    "She did not take it kindly to it, she who was strutting around as being able to charm me and make me her boyfriend took a huge hit to her ego when I broke with her, and as such she began to spread rather nasty rumors about me, and being so close to my final exam it was affecting me, and when Micha learned about it she confronted her."


    Ylerias had a grin as she spoke, "Ah your sister, she is very protective of you so what did she do?"


    Ryan gave a small smile as he nodded before he spoke, "So true, and what she did I do not know of, but my ex was absent for a week and when she returned she was deathly afraid of me and in fact a few dayster she apologized for everything and in fact paid back twice the amount I spent on her."


    Ylerias let out a small whistle of appreciation as she spoke, "Damn I wish I could get your sister to join my group but s she has already made her mind."


    Ryan simply smiled as he stole a nce at the frowning Xuelong whose mind was swirling in deep thought.


    The rest of the journey was uneventful as well as spent in silence as they reached New Hope, their new ce of residence, it had been almost a week since the new residents had settled in though they had yet to receive a permanent ce to reside in, but today was a day of celebration for them, and all preparations had beenpleted as they waited for their trio of honoured guests to arrive.

 Chapter 135: The Hallowed Square (Part-2)

    Chapter 135: The Hallowed Square (Part-2)


    Ryan fidgeted while trying the smooth the cresses of the pure white dress that he had worn today was a big day for them, but now he was extremely nervous and he desperately needed some help.


    <em>''I am so screwed, I am so screwed.''</em>


    His eye then travelled towards a certain someone as arge smile blossomed on his face.


    <em>''If anyone there is anyone who can advise me on this matter it is her.''</em>


    With that thought in his mind, Ryan dashed towards Amentha as he spoke out loud, "Granny Ame, just the person I was looking for."


    Amentha looked at Ryan curiously as she spoke, "How may I be of service to you Your Holiness?"


    Ryan spoke with a look of embarrassment on his face, "Granny Ame, I need some advice and help but the matter is a bit of discretion."


    Amenatha simply gave a small nod as those near her made herself scarce as Ryuu spoke, "You see Granny Ame I do not know any special prayers or songs or any religious scriptures so I do not know how I should pray, today we are having such an auspicious day and I do not wish it to be ruined because of my ignorance."


    Ametha simply gave him a kind smile as she spoke, "Your Holiness there is nothing to fret about it, at the end of the day every prayer is simply derived from the sense of gratitude, just sincerely thanking them for their blessings is enough and then ask for their blessings to continue to shower upon us, just do so sincerely and I do not believe you would need to recite from some sacred scriptures."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke with a small smile on his face, "Thank you Granny Ame you just took off arge pressure off of my shoulder."


    "There is nothing to worry about Your Holiness just do your best."


    A few minutester every resident of New Hope had gathered at therge square that had been created by Ryan as was his task and uponpletion of his task given by Avtis but uponpletion, he had received nothing and now the square would be put to use.


    ''The ''God''s blood stone'', ''Vige Heart Stone'' it had been called by various names and from what I have been told that it is very rare but we have managed to find four of them, and now the final stage of the process.''


    One of the ''God''s Blood Stone'' was ced at the centre with three others ced around it and near each other stood the three apostles.


    The smell of the incense was incredibly soothing to Ryan as he relished in the smell with a small smile on his face.


    <em>''It reminds of the Hindu temple that I went to, which was created by local Indianmunity, those sweets that they gave medak or modak I do not remember its name properly but it was delicious.''</em>


    Ryan''s eyes zed as his mind wandered off to his distant memories as he could not help but let out a longing sigh.


    <em>''I liked those ''Presadams'' they were so good I almost ended up bing a Hindu because of them until I learned the horrible truth many food items specially consumption of certain varieties of meat is considered sacrilegious as such I had to gave up bing a Hindu but fortunately I never had to give up on ''Presadams''.''</em>


    A frown appeared on his face as he continued his internal monologue, <em>''I have to work hard to preserve the culture of the people of the earth I cannot and will not allow them to disappear, especially all those delicious food.''</em>


    His inner monologue came to a grinding halt as Ylerias''s voice came to his ears, "Brother Ryan you remember the n right?"


    Ryan gave a bright smile as he spoke, "Yes, I do Sister Ylerias so shall we begin."


    The trio made their way towards God''s Blood Stone before kneeling on the ground offering prayers to their respective Gods.


    Michalina looked at Ryan who was kneeling in front of one of therge red stone, stones that they all had to touch in order to view their stats and in order to level up.


    <em>''What a cumbersome and ineffective system, if only we were not so depended on the stone everything would have been way better, easier and faster and then there was no need to crowd in front of them to level up or see our stats.'',</em> Michalina''s internal musing was cut off as she low humming sound came to her ears.


    The ''God''s Blood Stones'' were pulsing with a red glow and then they slowly began to rotate at their axis before the three on the outside began to revolve around the one at the centre, and as time passed both the rotation and revolution increased while the trio of Apostle''s seemed to be in a trance.


    "Micha those tattoos on the Apostle''s are glowing."


    Michalina''s attention was drawn towards Ryan''s face followed by the bodies of the other two Apostles and true to Jessica''s words the sacred tattoos on their bodies were glowing, glowing so brightly that everyone could make out the tattoos hidden behind their clothes.


    <em>''They seemed to have way more tattoospared to my brother.''</em>


    As they all paid undivided attention to the scene in front of them, revolving stones became a blur as a loud rumbling came from the cloudless sky which was soon followed by a loud roar of thunder as a golden-coloured lightning hit the ''God Blood Stone''.


    Michalina''s eyes widen with fear while her heart leapt out from her throat at the sight, ''The lightning was too close to Ryan.'' as such she tried to dash towards Ryan''s position only to find herself unable to move.


    "Child, do not try to move your brother is safe."


    Michalina greeted her teeth as Amentha''s voice came to her ears, but then her fear and anxiousness disappeared upon seeing the unharmed figure of Ryan, and then it hit her with full force.


    Marcel did not know what to think of the entire situation, it had been some time since they had started living in ''New Hope'', and each of them ept his mother has done some job, he has been working in construction while his wife is working in the farms and then his daughters one of them is in the militia and the other in the hospital trying to be a healer.


    <em>''A year ago if someone told me I would be working in construction like this I would haveughed at him and called him insane, how fast everything changed.''</em>


    Marcel''s eyes then travelled towards his youngest as a sense of sadness hit him hard, over the months since they had found him, they had tried hard to reconnect with him and for a moment they were happy and relieved to learn that they had finally managed to chip at his hatred of them only to be pped hard by the reality.


    <em>''Huh, at the end of the day we are like strangers to him, I do not know what is worse being hated or being treated as strangers.''</em>


    Then a shiver ran down his spine as he saw therge lightning strike that came from nowhere only to feel relief upon seeing Ryan safe, and then he felt as if arge tidal wave hit him and passed him by.


    <em>''What was that feeling? It felt as if I was suddenly hit by a wave.''</em>


    His questions were answered in the form of shouts of joy and reverence as he understood one thing his son had seeded in.


    Meanwhile, Ryan had a small smile on his face as he looked at thetest piece of information that he had received.


    <strong><em>*******************</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Sanctuary (Tier-1) has beenpleted.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Sanctuary Crystal has been created.</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Safe Zone Size: 10Km Diameter</em></strong>


    <strong><em>Resource needed to upgrade to next Tier: 3 Crystals</em></strong>


    <strong><em>********************</em></strong>


    Ryan looked at Xuelong who spoke with a smile, "With this monster would not wish to venture anywhere near this ce and everyone here is baptized so they do no longer need to touch the crystals to see their status and level up."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Then it is a good thing then, as Micha wasining about it so much now she will be happy."


    Ylerias smirked at him as she spoke, "Well since everything is over it is time for a feast."


    Ryan mirrored her smirk only for it to vanish as a new message popped up.


    <em><strong>*******************</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Host start preparing for the mission.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Time until missionmences: 6Days 23Hours 60Mins 59Secs</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Penalty: God is extremely displeased with you.</strong></em>


    <strong><em>*******************</em></strong>


    Ryan let out a tired sigh as he spoke, "Sorry but it seems I will have to begin preparation the mission will start seven days time."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong''s jaws harden as they heard Ryan''s words, they both had been informed by their respective patron Gods that they might be working on something very dangerous mission whose contents they have yet to learn and now Ryan received the words to begin preparation.


    As such Xuelong could not help but speak with a frown, "How will you prepare if you do not know for what you have to prepare?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I do not know and no matter how many times I ask him he will only grant me an audience whenever he would want to and most of the times He dictates the conversation so I have no idea but I know what I want for now, I want to deal with the hive and get a look at the depot."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "I see so should we prepare and leave now."


    Ryan gave a brief nod as Ylerias spoke, "Since this mission would require stealth I would be apanying you, maybe we can turn this into a training mission."


    "I would love to learn something new from you Sister Ylerias so shall we begin our preparations."

 Chapter 136: The Hive(part-1)

    Chapter 136: The Hive(part-1)


    Therge SUV slowed down enough for Ylerias and Ryan to jump out of it, before following her lead as they moved swiftly yet cautiously towards the depot.


    Ylerias quickly climbed on top of the nearest tree as he was soon followed by Ryan as they looked at the scene in front of them with the help of a binocr.


    Then were a couple of kilometres from the Hive and Ryan could not help but gain a shocked look on his face seeing the creature as he whispered out loud, "Damn this creature is something else, it looks like a small hill on two legs."


    Ylerias gave a small nod as she spoke, "It is but from what I have learned they can grow up to ten times that size, and this one is fairly young."


    "Ugh, I do not wish to meet something even bigger than this."


    Ylerias simply snorted as she spoke, "Sorry Brother Ryan unfortunately your wish will not be fulfilled, but let us move it is already passed noon and I do not think you would fancy working in the dark."


    The duo moved quickly towards the depot making sure not to get spotted by the undead but at the same time ughtering those they could not hide from.


    As they neared the depot they were greeted by therge broken walls but what drew their attention was the presence of the ratherrge horde.


    Ylerias gazed at the horde as she spoke in a whisper, "We are strong enough to deal with the horde but it would draw the attention of the hive at the same time it would be difficult to sneak past them."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "True but as long as I can get near the buildings of the depot I can easily slip in."


    "But what about the creatures who are inside the depot, not to mention how can you be sure that those undead cannot enter from any other direction?"


    Ryan shrugged at her as he spoke, "Well I have no idea and if worstes to pass we will turn tail and run, but for now I think we should use that bush over there as a cover, then I will create a wall on wheels which we can use hide behind as we move."


    "Those undead are not as foolish as they look."


    "I know as they grow stronger their senses evolve to some dangerous degrees and if we move like this at least there is chance we can elude them."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Okay I will be following your lead then."


    It did not take much time to reach one of the buildings as Ryan made a hole on the wall as he peeped inside the building before he whispered back to Ylerias.


    "I can spot three undead but none of them are active not to mention the entrance seems to be intact."


    "I see then let us deal with them."


    The duo slowly and cautiously entered what seemed to be a small hanger before they eliminated the trio of undead in front of them.


    "So is there anything interesting?"


    Ryan looked around as he spoke with a sigh, "No there is none but it seems to have an underground entrance shall we move downwards."


    Ylerias gave a nod as she turned on the light on top of herbat helmet as they began to descend into the dark bowels of the depot.


    "Keep your eyes peeled out Ryan, you are leading us."


    Ryan but his lips as he replied back to Ylerias, "I am, though please remain vignt those creature might even ambush us from behind."


    A marine steel door stood in front of them, which Ryan easily deconstructed as the duo pressed forward into the dark halls of the depot.


    Ryan looked around as he spoke, "It would be a bit difficult navigating the underground facility without a map, they are usually designed to stall enemies and hold them at specific choke points."


    "I see then please guard me for a moment as I solve the problem."


    Ylerias kneeled down on the ground with her right hand touching the ground and her eyes closed for a few minutes before she stood up as she spoke with a smile on her face, "I have almost mapped the entire ce, and it is quite big inparison to the area above, those who do not know would be fooled by seeing the tiny structures and small area on the top."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "As it should be ces like this are national secret they hold the sword and shield to protect our country."


    "I see but should this ce not have personnel guarding it?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes that is why I am asking you to be vignt as this silence is deafeningly haunting, an ammunition depot should have more personnel not to mention the door was locked from inside."


    "There can be way outside after all as I have said that I had almost mapped the entire ce, but I did not want to waste too much mana or draw attention of some dangerous creature towards us as such I stopped."


    "I see were you able to find any hidden dangers?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "I rarely use this skill as such I have yet to develop it to a level where I can pinpoint everything dangerous within such arge area though if it is within fifteen meters distance I will be notified."


    "I see a useful skill so shall we move forward."


    With that, the duo stepped forward but this time it was Ylerias who led the charge as they navigated the bowels of the depot.


    "There are so many rooms I would love to check them thoroughly, but we do not have much time."


    "Oh and why would you like to check them?"


    "To see if they have a clue to the location of the next depot or something of simr value."


    Ylerias suddenly stopped with a frown on her face before she trained her bow only for them to jump to the side as arge purple goop fell where they stood, which melted the floor with a sizzling sound.


    A couple of arrows hit the creature killing it as Ylerias spoke with a snarl, "I hate creatures that puke."


    Ryan looked at the whole on the ground as he spoke with a frown, "I can see the floor beneath us because of the highly corrosive puke."


    "Then we have to be extra careful."


    "Yes, but first it seems that we have some obstacles to deal with."


    As Ryan spoke various snarling sounds came to their ears as various undead came to their view.


    Michalina stared at the Xuelong with a confused look on her face, she had wanted to apany Ryan to the depot but Xuelong suddenly appeared asking for help and now here she stood in front of her a good few kilometres away from New Hope.


    The entire journey was spent in silence and now Michalina stood a few distances away from the car with Xuelong staring at her with an unreadable expression on her face.


    <em>''Why do I feel like I am currently facing a mobster style execution? The way she is staring at me is unnerving.''</em>


    "Michalina I brought you here because I want to have some serious discussion with you and I do not wish for outside inteferance."


    "What do you wish to discuss with me Your Holiness?"


    "First of all call me Xuelong, I am not speaking to you as an Apostle so please drop the formalities."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "Okay so what do you want to say to me that you brought me so far."


    "Well you see I heard from Ryan that you do not like any girl getting close to him."


    Michalina gained a confused look on her face as she spoke, "That is a lie I never prevent any women getting close to him, you can see the interaction of the soldiers of ck Wolves."


    "Ah, yes I know, I have seen them treating him like a friend, brother and those that are much older they treat him like he is their nephew or their son, but no I am talking about much more intimate, the rtionship between lovers."


    Michalina''s jaw hardened as she spoke, "He is too young for such rtionship."


    "But I have heard about his ex that"


    Michalina quickly cut off Xuelong who spoke in a heated manner, "That was a mistake and that floozy was taking advantage of my brother, and as such I dealt with her."


    "I see so what would you do if there is another woman who shows interest in him, you cannot stop him from falling for someone, what will you do when it happens?"


    Michalina gritted her teeth as she spoke with barely concealed anger in her voice, "He is my brother, he is mine, but why are you asking such questions Xuelong what is your motive?"


    A smile slowly began to form on Xuelong''s face as she began spoke with a hint of longing in her voice, "Three of us had a little spar, and after Ylerias was knocked unconscious by Ryan, I tackled him to the ground, but then something happened, you can say a spark lit in our core as we felt each other, grinded out bodies, and it felt nice as Ryan held me in his arms drawing me closer, it felt so great that we even began to make out and tell you what Ryan tastes so delectable, but s Ylerias woke up and interfered with us."


    Xuelong was cut off as the smell of ozone entered her nose as Michalina was upon her with a war cry, "<strong>Die you filthy whore!!!!</strong>"


    Xuelong winced as the electricity coursed through her body as she was punched hard by Michalina but instead of being afraid or being angry, a look of joy mixed with bloodlust appeared in her voice as she spoke in a mocking tone, "Sorry but you have to try harder than this sister-inw."


    Inside a certain depot, Ryan suddenly felt a chill down his spine and he knew it was not because of the undead that had attacked him because ity dead near his feet.


    "Is something wrong Ryan you look a bit tensed?"


    "Nothing let us move forward."


    With that Ryan turned the wheel as the steel door swung open with a loud groan and rows of missile and ammunition for howitzer''sy in front of him.


    Ylerias looked at them as she spoke, "They almost look like bullets that you use only bigger, so they are more damaging?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, they are more damaging some can level a building where as there are others that can even destroy countries, and some of them are so poisonous that it would take decades to centuries for the ce to be habitable."


    "You are joking right?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No I am not, as there are really powerful weapons like that and they aremonly referred to as Nuclear weapons."


    "I see so are there any here?"


    Ryan gained a small smile on his face seeing Ylerias fidgeting as he spoke with a brief chuckle, "Such weapons need the height of technology and are basically trump cards of a country, why would they be stored in such a manner, their ce of storage is extremely secure unlike this not to mention if a nuclear weapon was present here I would not have ventured within hundred kilometers of this ce let alone tinker with it."


    "I might not know how it works but I know that it is powered by an element that it is highly radioactive, and by radioactive I mean that the element fires a constant stream of small invisible bullets that cannot be blocked and it fires it at the rate of a few millions in a single second, even a small chunk as small as my nail will be able to kill people at the base and dying of radioactive poisoning is one of the worst ways to die."


    "I see your people are crazily dangerous to think of such weapon and element."


    Ryan gave a chuckle as he spoke, "I know radioactive element might sound dangerous and it is but it has other uses that make it a necessary evil because the good it causes overwhelms the bad."


    Ryan suddenly stumbled while Ylerias quickly hold of him as she spoke with concern in her voice, "Ryan, are you alright? Ryan?"


    But Ryan did not pay any heed to her words as he stared at the next quest his patron God has given to him, as he whispered lowly while his voice shook at disbelief, "You are kidding me, right?"

 Chapter 137: The Hive (part-2)

    Chapter 137: The Hive (part-2)


    <em><strong>Host has gained another fragment through scanning.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Host has gained another fragment through scanning.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Host.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>.</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Host has gathered at fragments (20/20)</strong></em>


    <em><strong>Surface to Surface Bunker Buster Missile Schematics gained.</strong></em>


    *************


    Ryan let a sigh of relief as he managed to gain another schematic as he spoke with a sigh of relief, "I never thought I would find something like this here, s I could not get the cruise one as there were only three of them here I need to scan seventeen more."


    "Hey Ryan, can I ask you something?"


    As Ryan gave a nod Ylerias spoke, "This thing you called it a bunker buster, so does it splits the bunker open with explosive force?"


    "Oh no, from what I know about it the missile drills into the bunker before exploding inside it, killing the upants of the bunker."


    "I see so now the only thing left for you is to dissemble them."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes that is the only thing left for me to do."


    "Also about thetest quest that you have received any thoughts on how you willplete it?"


    Ryan sighed as he ran his hand through his hair as he spoke, "I have no idea, and the closest nuclear arsenal is located somewhere in the country whose location I do not know, and even if I find one I will have to scan it and if I need twenty bunker busters to get a single schematic a nuclear weapons that I need would be many times more than that and I do not think my country will have enough of them."


    "And then the thermonuclear weapon is evolved version of nuclear weapon."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, it is and the only country that I know that might have some is United States of America, it is far off not to mention before the Apocalypse it used to be the strongest nation but now I do not know what has be of it."


    "I see then the only thing you can do is research hard to make it."


    Ryan gave a tired sigh as he spoke in a depressed tone, "Like such a thing is easy, creating a nuke alone is difficult let alone creating a thermonuclear that can surpass the ''Tsar Bomba''."


    "At least you do not have any time limit for the quest."


    Ryan''s depression increased even further as he spoke, "I know but that also means anytime he can ask for me to hand it over to him, it can be two days from today or a month."


    Ylerias gave aforting squeeze on his hand as she spoke, "Well that is true but I doubt he will be unreasonable."


    "Easy for you to say for I will have firsthand experience on how the surface of the sun feels like."


    But before they could do anything else a frantic radio message came to their ears, <em>"The Hive is moving, I repeat the Hive is <strong>OH MY GOD IT JUMPED!!!!!</strong>"</em>


    The depot was damaged significantly all those months ago but theck of maintenance had done a great injustice to it and the giant creaturending on it, as it began to copse.


    <strong>"RYAN RUN!!!!!"</strong>


    As Ylerias shouted at the top of her lungs the duo did not wait any longer as they ran as fast as they could towards the exit while the ceiling on top of them began to crumble and fall apart.


    "Will those things blow up?"


    As Ylerias shouted her question to Ryan he simply grunted as he replied back, "Yes many of them would and it would trigger a chain reaction, even if they are not primed with my luck they would detonate especially with the damage they would receive from that thing jumping up and down."


    "That is themon tactics of a ''Hive'' since theyck any other means to fight themselves, they use their rather long legs to kick, stomp and in some cases jump, now hurry."


    Ryan did not need to be told twice as he took charge disassembling any and everything in his path as Ylerias followed closely after him, and because of their skills and high tier level, it did take long to reach near the exit when the ground caved in under the jumping Hive.


    As the ground caved in one of the legs of the creature got caught under the rubble but before it could free itself a titanic explosion took ce that blew its leg apart as the creature toppled over causing a small quake in the area.


    Ryan dissembled the steel door and as he turned his head slightly he saw a bright red sh moving towards him, he did not waste any time as he swapped his hand and a wall now covered the doorway just in time for the st to hit it.


    The walls surrounding it cracked as debris fell on his head as Ylerias shouted again, "Keep moving."


    The duo dashed towards the stair only for arge quake to hit them as the iron stairs began to copse.


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he whispered out, "Not good."


    He turned towards Ylerias grabbing her tightly he jumped towards the nearest wall, which hollowed out before forming a cocoon around them.


    The duo stood inside their narrow sheltered cocoon panting hard while the ce outside copsed.


    "We can move soon."


    "A loud roar came to their ears, a roar that seemed to shake the ground itself."


    "Huh, it seems that the Hive is injured, and now we will have a chance to escape."


    "How will it help us to escape the Hive will make the undead inside it to search for us now."


    "Normally it would but it is injured and now it would try to heal by consuming any and all undead that it hase into contact and it will be our window of escape, but we will wait for a moment just to be sure and catch some breath."


    Ryan gave a small nod as the duo stood silently in the cramped up space, when Ryan had carried Ylerias to take shelter he had picked her up in such a way that her legs were wrapped around Ryan''s waist while his heady on her bosom.


    Ryan could hear her erratic heartbeat as he paid no mind to it while he came to one conclusion, ''Puberty sucks, teenage life sucks.''


    And after what seemed like an eternity the duo left the cocoon only to face the reality that not only the staircase but the roof has also copsed.


    "I will make thedder."


    Ryan quickly released Ylerias who stood on the small tform while Ryan created adder as he climbed out first.


    Meanwhile, Ylerias stopped briefly as she ced her hand over her heart as she sent a small smile towards Ryan as she mused inwardly, ''<em>It is a good thing that Ryan is a gentleman as it would have a shame to kill him for touching me, I do not like being touched without my permission especially by my opposite gender and in such an intimate manner.''</em>


    "Hurry up Ylerias, move fast."


    They climbed up from the depths of the depot before they made a mad dash towards the car which approached them to pick them up.


    Firmly seated on the back of the SUV Ryan could not help but let out a sigh of relief as he spoke, "I am tired let us return home hopefully we can get something to eat.", and as he spoke a small drool appeared from the corner of his mouth.


    The driver of the car snickered as well as the soldier of ck Wolves sitting by her side as she spoke, "Same old Ryan always thinking about food."


    The woman on her side gave a nod as she spoke, "He would not be our little glutton Ryan if stopped thinking about food."


    Ryan blushed as he spoke with a huff, "Stop teasing me Aunties."


    His response earned him a round of chuckles before one of them spoke with a serious look on her face, "Jokes aside, did you manage to get everything you wanted?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Well I managed to get a few schematics and dismantled a few missiles, but now, now I have a new quest that I need help for, and I do not know if you can help me Aunt May."


    The driver slightly turned her head as she spoke, "What do you need help for?"


    "Aunt May, I need to know the location of the nearest Nuke."


    May almost caused the car to crash against a tree upon hearing that as herpanion Julie quickly spoke, "May eyes on the road and Ryan what kind of quest that requires a Nuke."


    Ryan scratched his cheeks as he replied back with a tone full of embarrassment, "Well I have a quest to create a thermonuclear bomb that outstrips the power of ''Tsar Bomba''."


    Julie''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Just remind me what this ''Tsar Bomba'' thing is?"


    "It was a Russian Nuke created during the Soviet era and even after so many decades it is still the strongest Nuke ever detonated."


    Julie closed her eyes as she spoke with a sigh, "I see and now you need to create an H-Bomb to break the record, but I am sorry to say we lowly grunts of the army are not privy to the location of a Nuke, and I doubt even Major would privy to one on top of that I do not think our country has a H-Bomb."


    Ryan groaned as he spoke, "I know but more importantly even if I want to make a nuke I would need schematics for it and getting schematics for it would require me to scan who knows how many."


    Julie turned towards him as she continued to speak, "It would be a long and tedious mission and the only way that I can think about getting a schematic of a nuke is if you can make it to the states."


    May shook her head as she spoke with a frown on her face, "It is easier said than done, US is arge country many times bigger than our own and even if it has hundreds of Nuke it will be like searching for a needle in a haystack, so Ryan can you not pay a visit to the Nuclear Power nt near this region, may be you can reverse engineer something."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "May be but I do not wish to waltz into a danger zone who knows what the condition of the reactors are, ording to the media it was fully functional before the plug was pulled off not to mention the Apocalypse happened soon after."


    May frowned as she spoke, "That would not be good but if I recall we have an Engineer who used to work in that ce maybe he can shed some light to you."


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily as he spoke, "Really we have one."


    As Julie gave a nod he continued with arge smile on his face, "Then I will approach him and from there on I can proceed with the quest."


    Meanwhile back in New Hope, Ciara red at the figure wrapped up in a bandage hard, she could have allowed the person to heal up using magic but at the moment she was extremely angry with her to do so.


    "Michalina what possessed you to pick a fight with her?"


    Michalina grumbled as Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she spoke in a heated tone, "<strong>Louder.</strong>"


    "We were sparring and it got a bit wild."


    "Please do not give that excuse to me young woman, why are you so banged up."


    "We had a disagreement but now it is solved okay so please let it go."


    Ciara growled as Michalina spoke with a sigh, "Look mom we had a disagreement but we worked our differences so please do not chase that issue and let someone heal me."


    Ciara''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Fine then I will let you off the hooks for now.", she looked towards Ruby before she spoke again, "Heal her."

 Chapter 138: The Hive (part-3)

    Chapter 138: The Hive (part-3)


    "Sister Jess please remember to keep a distance and no matter what do not get too close that thing is a menace, it just needs to touch the copter to crash it, even if does not have any hands but its legs are powerful not to mention the plethora of undead stored inside it, there might be a chance of some flying undead as well."


    Jessica gave an assuring smile towards Ryan as she spoke, "Do not worry I will be fine and before you know it I will be back."


    With that, she climbed the nearest copter and left soon after along with another three that apanied her.


    The reason for using the copter was simple the copters were built along with special sensors that would scan the Hive to locate its core, the core of the hive was simr to that of a Necropolis not to mention as long as it existed the Hive can regenerate by absorbing the undead stored in it.


    As such the best way to deal with the Hive is to destroy its core but unfortunately, the core is deep within the body of the Hive, and currently, none of them has the strength to destroy the core by facing the creature head-on.


    A few had suggested sneaking inside the core but it was quickly crushed, as venturing into a creature where your powers are weakened, a creature that can eat creatures that enter its body but most importantly the hidden undead within it.


    As such after an intense discussion a n was hatched, the n that required four copters strapped with special sensors to locate the core and triangte its position.


    As the copters seemed to be smaller and smaller as they moved further and farther away from his sight Ryan quickly moved to prepare for the next part of the n.


    Fourrge Missile Artilleries stood at equidistance from each other while at their centre of them was a raised tform with arge antenna and multiple wires running out of them connecting the four immobile Missile Artilleries.


    Ryan sat on the centre tform waiting patiently, while each of the four Missile Artilleries consisted of arge rectangr box with each of them fitted with eight tubes in a manner that a pair of the tubes would be sandwiched in between a pair of three tubes, with each pair ced on top and bottom respectively.


    The missiles that he had ced in each of the tubesprised of normal missiles to bunker busters each with a range of two hundred kilometres.


    Ciara herself stood near the tform and seeing the tensed look on Ryan''s face she could not help but speak out in aforting manner, "Son, just rx everything would be fine."


    Ryan looked at her as he spoke with a grimace on his face, "Sorry mom but I cannot shake off this feeling of uneasiness, I feel like wanting to throw up, there are so many things that could go wrong."


    "But you tested the system before right?"


    "I did but still no matter how many times you test there is bound to be some mistake that might ur, just look at those space agencies even after so many safety precautions, tests and whatnots idents still happen."


    "Yes, they do happen but I believe in you, I know you can do it, now get ready."


    Ryan gave a nod as he raised his right with his palm facing upward he spoke out loud, "Come forth Caligo."


    A blob of darkness appeared on top of his hand which he tilted causing it to fall on top of the tform and to Ciara, it looked like arge drop of water that fell on top of the tform disappearing into it while leaving behind a ripple that soon spread from the tform to the four Missile Artilleries.


    The missile tube carrier moved on its own suddenly beforeing to a stop facing towards a certain direction.


    Ciara looked up to see the look of utmost concentration on his face before she suddenly realized a ring mistake on both their parts as such she spoke hurriedly, "Ryan your earmuffs and where is your helmet."


    Ryan''s eyes widen as he quickly took out his helmet and earmuffs and wore them as he spoke, "Mom, I think you should also move and take your position."


    Ciara nodded as she left shortly while Ryan waited for the news from the copters but each passing moment felt like an eternity.


    Ciara sighed as he sat inside the control tower listening to themunication from the helicopter toon while her deputy sat near her when the radio crackled as a voice came to their ears.


    "School has begun recess I repeat school has begun recess, football game has started."


    Ciara and Zhan exchanged a nce as Ciara replied to them, "Good luck on the game and y carefully."


    She then picked up another piece of radio as she spoke through it, "Ryan you have heard the message?"


    The radio crackled as Ryan''s voice came from the other side, "Yes mom."


    "Then get ready."


    Jessica looked at the hive from a distance as she let out a small whistle of appreciation as she spoke, "This thing is huge no matter how many times I see it I cannot help but feel awed at its size to think such a creature that looks so cumbersome and out of bnce can move in such a manner."


    Ylerias who had apanied with her could not help but nod in agreement as she spoke, "So true but I think it is time for the operation to begin."


    "You are right.", that she radioed to the rest of the copters, "Goal Keeper moving towards the goal with dramatic pace."


    "Striker is moving fast towards his position."


    "Midfielder is stalking towards the midfield."


    "Defender is shadowing in the deep."


    As each of the pilots of the copters spoke, they flipped a switch turning on a set of runes that made the copters invisible not only that each of them was covered by runes that made the noise extremely low as well erase almost any thermal emission and smell, but the problem was that they cannot be maintained together for too long as such all of them were activated when they came closer to the creature.


    A few more minutester the copters had surrounded the creature while the sensors attached to it were turned on.


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "So now we just have to wait."


    Jessica gave a nod as she spoke, "Hmm, it being such a big creature it would indeed take some time to bepletely scanned."


    It did not take long for one of the copters to spot the core of the giant beast and then the rest used their scanner to triangte the position of the said beast, and then to send the message back to the base.


    Ryan sighed as he received the exact coordinates he had been mentally preparing for some time now, and at first, he had wanted to make it mobile artillery but then the thought that beast might spot them and jump on them before they could aim and fire properly.


    Ryan raised his right hand while curling his finger into the shape of a gun while the artillery began to move following hismand, Ryan took a deep breath as he got ready to fire the missiles only to freeze as a voice came to his ears.


    "Oh my, what a wonderful creation and idea, but s at the end of the day it is futile."


    Ciara was sitting on the top floor of Fort Genesis, where themunication room was situated, from there she was monitoring the entire situation with her close friend, Zhan, and from there she could spot something was wrong with Ryan.


    Her first clue was when Ryan did not fire even after being ordered to do so, she at first thought he had gotten cold feet she was about to give him some sort of encouraging but then his shoulder dropped and he acted like a puppet whose string had been cut, the mobile missile tubes also dipped down, it did not take her too long to realize that something was wrong.


    "Ciara I am goi"


    Zhan was cut off from her speech as arge pulse went off from Ryan''s position as the missile artillery vibrate and twitch before it let loose the missile in randomly instead of a focused fire that they had nned the missiles looked as if they were haphazardly sent towards their target.


    "Damn it, one thing after another with that Ciara dashed out of the room followed closely by Zhan hot on her and they were not alone as Xuelong who was watching Ryan from a distance dashed towards him but before she could reach him the tform suddenly formed spikes on them that caused her to jump back while a familiar feeling washed over her.


    Meanwhile, Ryan found himself kneeling in front of a rather familiar person who spoke with a hint of amusement in his voice, "Tell me my dear idiotic, nave and overall unimpressive disciple what are your chances of hitting a target considering your previous test results."


    "I missed the target by a meter but with the destructiveness of the missiles it would be moot point not to mention the target is sorge I would definitely hit it."


    "True you would have hit it but a second before the impact it would have jumped away and the missiles would miss it narrowly."


    Ryan''s eyes widened in rm as he spoke, "it would be able to detect the missile."


    Avtis gave a small chuckle as he spoke, "No the creature would not be able to detect it, if it were os capable it would have already detected the copters but no it is simply lucky."


    Ryan blinked owlishly as he spoke with disbelief in his voice, "Luck?"


    "Yes luck, yes the same luck that enabled you to win a bicycle in a lottery but you exchanged it with the third price because your sister wanted the teddy."


    A fond smile appeared on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "Yeah it was a long time ago, and I was really lucky that day."


    "Just like that the hive is lucky because it chose to move."


    A tired sigh escaped his lips as Ryan spoke, "So back to the drawing board."


    "Oh no I cannot have you do that my young disciple you have a task ahead of you and no time to waste as such I helped you a bit, I took control of your body made some changes with the missiles and now let us see if I managed to hit the mark."


    A bright light engulfed them making Ryan close his eyes as a sense of weightlessness hit him as Avtis spoke, "You can open your eyes and look down."


    As Ryan opened his eyes and looked down he could easily spot the hive and the copters flying beneath him.


    ''Eh, why are they not invisible like I told them to be?''


    "They are invisible to others, but not too many others including yours truly who is helping you to see, now watch closely as the missiles arrive."


    Ryan''s vision changed as he found himself flying along with the barrage of missiles that instead of in a group was spread in a certain pattern as his vision changed again as he found himself watching the hive as Avtis spoke, "Now watch the magic happen."


    Ryan watched with horror as Avti''s words rang true to him as he whispered out loud, "I would have missed itpletely."


    Back with the squadron of copters, Jessica let out a dejected sigh as the creature bend its knee before jumping up high in the air as she spoke with a tired sigh, "Abort mission"


    But before she couldplete hermand the missile mmed into the hive in a manner that made her look bbergasted at the sight in front of her.


    <em>''What is this? Just how is this possible? How did Ryan fire those missiles in this way?''</em>


    The reason for not only her but everyone''s else''s shocked state was the fact that all the missiles hit the jumping creature at the same spot, a creature that was trying to jump away was hit in mid-air by missiles that are not only unguided but was released from a great distance.


    <em>''This is inconceivable, did Ryan even manage to calcte how the creature would move, how it would jump but more importantly how did he manage to do so.''</em>


    By the time the Fifth missile had hit the Hive, it had directly managed to destroy the core killing the Hive which was soon fragmented by the rest of them.


    Ylerias herself looked bbergasted she had seen Ryan practising a bit but he could never pull something like this, she watched as the carcass of the Hive fall onto the ground before it detonated with a titanic ball of fire.


    Jessica let out a cry of rm as the fire engulfed them but it left thempletely unscathed, even the copters were untouched as Ylerias spoke with a sigh of relief, "I belief that it was caused by his first circle, the creature exploded into a ball of me and because of its size it was titanic in proportion but most importantly how did Ryan do such a thing?"


    Jessica bit her lips as she spoke, "I have no idea but I believe it is prudent we return as early as possible."


    Meanwhile back at the base both Ciara and Zhan were stopped by a kneeling Xuelong as she spoke hurriedly, "Ciar, Zhan stop do not approach him, I believe that his Patron God descended into the mortal realm using him as a vessel so please keep some distance from him, do not disturb him."


    Both Ciara and Zhan were taken aback before Ciara was suddenly reminded of what she had learned about the apostles and Gods.


    ''Gods are powerful being just their presence would destroy the world as they use Apostles as an extension of their will.''


    A feeling of dread welled up in her heart as a thought passed through her mind, ''If it is so dangerous for the world itself then what about my son.''


    "Ciara!"


    Xuelong''s voice bought her out of her musings as she spoke in hurriedly, "Ciara please get a healer quick, even if we are Apostles, a Divine possession so early is not good for our health and please be fast, and do not worry I will keep an eye on him."


    Ciara did not need to be told twice as she left to get a healer for Ryan and thus missed the damage that had begun to show on his body.


    Zhan''s eyes widened as she spotted tears of blood leaking from his eyes where his nose began to bleed but Ryan sat on top of the tform in a trance.


    Back with Ryan and Avtis, Avtis looked at the copters that were created by Ryan as he spoke with a hum, "So you copied the design of the copters from Alligator or was it Crocodile?"


    "It is Alligato"


    "Meh, not important as all those so called cool copters from your world can only be used as scrap metal nowadays, so how is your preparation going on."


    "I am fully prepared to leave any moment but I do not know where to go as such I have no idea what vehicle to use."


    "Hmm, today my purpose of my visit was just that now looked at this blueprint."


    With that Avtis produced a holographic rendition of the blueprint that made Ryan''s eyes go wide.

 Chapter 139: NHASC-001(Part-1)

    Chapter 139: NHASC-001(Part-1)


    Ryan looked at the metallic ore in front of him, which itself did not look different from its normal counterpart, except for the fact that it was incredibly cold, so cold that water froze instantly uponing into contact, as such everyone had to wear gloves or use tongs to even touch it.


    "Incredible this cold iron is incredible, so is it difficult to use?"


    The dwarven smith gave a nod as he spoke with a sigh, "Yes Your Holiness, because of it cold nature heating it up is very difficult not to mention it cools down extremely fast, and as such it requires special process to smelt and create something out of it."


    "I see so can it be used to create something like steel."


    The Dwarven smith nodded in agreement as he spoke, "Yes, it is advisable to convert it to either convert it into steel or store it under oil as it rusts too fast, but even after being converted into steel it still retains its coldness."


    Ryan''s frown deepened as he spoke, "I see so it is useless if used to created armor."


    "Yes, it is as you have said Your Holiness, it can only be used to create weapons or items that are used to store others in cooler environment."


    "I see then but then how do you protect the user from his weapon, a doubt a simply handle would work."


    "We make a concoction with various herbs that we soak the cloth that is used to wrap the weapon handle part, and in some cases extrayer of wood is used."


    Ryan frowned as hard as he spoke, "I see, so can you make me cold steel ingots and that special concoction for me?"


    The Dwarven smith gave an enthusiastic nod as he spoke, "Yes Your Holiness I am skilled enough to make it."


    "Then please make me as much as possible fast."


    "Your Holiness can I get help because alone it would be difficult for me to finish them fast."


    "Of course feel free to ask for any help including mine."


    The Dwarven smith gave a small nod as he spoke, "Thank you, Your Highness and I would immediately ask for your help when it is required."


    With that Ryan walked away while his mind was swimming with thoughts about histest project, ording to the advice that he had received from his patron God histest project would need the lightest material possible, he had at first suggested using various alloys that were used for the creation of aircraft but Avtis did not agree with him and was instructed to search for other options.


    <em>''How long are you trying to just be satisfied with simply copying something, I know that you share ancestors with monkeys but taking the saying ''monkey see, monkey do'', as you life''s mantra is ridiculous, sad and pathetic.''</em>


    Ryan sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair as a small sense of relief seemed to blossom inside him, <em>''My idea of consulting the Dwarves proved out to be the correct one, they are masters of their craft and know their metals well.''</em>


    Ryan closed his eyes as the blueprint of his project floated in front of his eyes, <em>''It is soplicated and I need to make it within four days, and then there is also the matter of gears for the team, so much work and so little time.''</em>


    Ryan suddenly swayed as a sudden bout of dizziness hit him, the blueprint disappeared as he opened his eyes only for his vision to turn ck but before he could fall on the ground he was caught by a strong pair of arms.


    "Easy there Ryan, easy I think you have done enough for today and you need some bed rest at the very least until the Dwarves have finished their job."


    Ryan''s vision returned as he spoke with a tired smile, "Thank you aunt Zhan."


    Zhan smiled back at him before a frown formed on her face as she spoke, "Ryan, you seemed to have be even more lighter, are you taking care of yourself."


    Ryan huffed at her words as he replied to her, "Auntie you have grown stronger enough to bench press tank so of course I will feel lighter to you, though I believe you are right I would like to take to some nap."


    Meanwhile, Catherine had just returned home or rather the apartment that their family had been allocated to, and as she entered the apartment she was assaulted with the smell of food being cooked.


    Although they had managed to acquire an apartment, their living condition was not good, as Catherine''s eyes roamed around their apartment a sigh escaped her lips, <em>''It is 2BHK only in name, it is so small and tiny even my bathroom back at home was bigger than the rooms, not to mention the kitchen, dining, hall and living space was all rolled into one, the bathroom is so tiny that it ended as soon as it began but more importantly''</em>


    Her eyes then fell on her grandmother as a brief distaste flickered through her face, and as she watched her mother giving her a tight smile followed by the scowl on Beth''s face it did not take much for her to understand that another fight had taken ce between them.


    <em>''Ugh, why do we have to deal with the old hag, alwaysining about everything yet she sits in the corner all day brooding without doing any work, not to mention how we are forced to share room with her, especially at night when she passes gas while sleeping, so disgusting I want to throw up.''</em>


    "Is everything alright, Catherine?''


    Broken out of her inner thoughts Catherine hastily spoke with a tired smile on her face, "Nothing mom, I am just tired."


    "I see, so how was your day?"


    "Same old stuff, learning new things creating pills nothing new."


    "So are you enjoying your work?"


    Catherine turned to look at the speaker as she spoke with a smile, "Wee home father so how was your day."


    Marcel smiled back at her as he spoke, "It is tiring but I seemed to be enjoying the work, seems like I am finally losing my gut and working my way towards some as you mom says ''yummy'' abs."


    Catherine grimaced but before she could speak Ileana had already arrived at the scene as she spoke in a tired voice, "Yes whatever but neither sis nor I wish to hear what mom things about your body, on the other hand mom is the food ready, I am about to drop dead."


    Marcel helped her bruised covered daughter to slowly enter their ce of stay as Ileana grumbled as she spoke, "I wish we were at the ground floor."


    "Ileana! You seemed to be more worn out than you normally are, did something happen?"


    "Nothing dad, just one of my fellow militia recruits angered our drill instructor and she ran us to the ground."


    As Marcel helped Ileana to seat down, Catherine pinched her nose as she spoke, "You stink very bad."


    Ileana scowled at her as she spoke, "If I had strength left in me I would have flipped you, but enough of that did you see the missiles."


    Catherine shook her head as she spoke with a sigh, "No I was busy studying, I heard tidbits about it, but did you see it."


    Ileana had a smug look on her face as she spoke, "Yes I did, and it was so cool seeing the barrage of missiles."


    Marcel gave a nod as he spoke, "I might have seen it too from a distance but it looked cool."


    Eleanora frowned as she spoke, "So, what was different about it, they had been practicing it for a few times now."


    "Yes mom they had been but this time it was arge barrage that brother used to kill some kind of supersized creature."


    Ileana''s words garnered her undivided attention as Beth spoke for the first time, "What creature needed those missiles?"


    "Well unfortunately I have not seen it but from what I have heard from the grapevine, the creature was as big as twenty story building."


    Hearing that everyone''s eyes widen as Eleanora spoke with disbelief in her voice, "Surely you are joking."


    Ileana shook her head as she spoke, "No I am not, and the creature is called Hive, from what I have heard it is like a mobile fortress which carries hundreds of undead inside it and it moves by jumping from one ce to another, and also I have heard that Ryan and one of his fellow apostle hade into contact with it and barely escaped with their lives."


    Marcel frowned as he spoke, "That child always risking his life needlessly."


    "True father but because of him many of us are alive and now we have a thrivingmunity."


    "True, Ileana so true, but I hope he would stop charging ahead like that, there are plenty of people stronger than him."


    "Once again true father but you are forgetting currently our world is like survival of the strongest, as long as you are strong you would have no problem, upon saying that I believe it is high time you two apply for hunting party license."


    Beth frowned as she spoke, "I do not see the need for you all to risk your life for some level increase, even if you leave a normal life your level would increase."


    Catherine rolled her eyes as she spoke, "Yes, it would if leave for a hundred years of normal life then you would scrap by to the lower thirties by the time you die."


    Ileana gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes grandma, naturally waiting for is a waste of time and increasing one''s level also increases one''s life force, thus the chances of you falling sick is low not to mention your lifespan increases as well as your youth."


    Eleanora sighed as she spoke, "Even then I do not know if I can face any dangerous creature head on."


    Catherine gave a nod as she spoke a sigh, "I understand mom, and others do too as such joining a hunt is voluntary, but you have to remember that the stronger you grow the better your immunity bes."


    Ileana let out a sigh as she spoke, "Not to mention we are still escorted and helped by the ck wolves, but they are getting restless and I do not know how long they will keep on escorting us."


    Beth frowned as she spoke, "But it is their job."


    Ileana shook her head as she spoke, "To them escorting the hunt is waste of time as they get nothing in return except wasting their time, their ultimate goal is to grow stronger and even the weakest of them is in the mid twenties level, not to mention many of them wish to join Ryan."


    Marcel frowned as he could not help but ask out loud, "What do you mean by ''Join Rya''?"


    Ileana sighed as she spoke, "You have seen how a group follows with an apostle simr is going to happen as Ryan would soon create one.", Ileana was silent for a moment before she spoke again, "Before he leaves I want to be part of his group."


    Catherine sighed lowly as she whispered lowly, "Me too sis, but it would be nigh impossible for us there are so many talented people but I want to join his group before he leaves."


    Beth frowned as she spoke, "Leaving? Is he going somewhere?"


    Both Catherine and Ileana looked at each other as Catherine began to speak, "Apostles unless it is required of them do not stay in a ce for very long, and from what I have overheard the subordinates of the other two are restless and are speaking about leaving."


    Ileana gave a nod of confirmation as she spoke, "Yes, I have heard something simr and that is why I am trying hard to join him and if I am not wrong Ryan would leave as well."


    Eleanora frowned hard as she spoke, "You are speaking as if we would not see him at all."


    Ileana simply gave a nod as she found the floor too interesting to look at as she spoke, "Yes, we would not see him for months, years and maybe never again."


    Eleanora dropped thedle from shock while a certain apostle sneezed hard as Michalina spoke with a smile, "Bless you."


    Ryan grumbled as he spoke, "So they have finished making them."


    Michalina gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes."


    Ryan stretched as he stood up from his bed as he spoke with a yawn, "Then it is time for me to begin."

 Chapter 140: NHASC-001(Part-2)

    Chapter 140: NHASC-001(Part-2)


    Michalina was watching Ryan closely since he had begun working on histest project, and all she could do was stare at Ryan''s creation with confusion on her face.


    "Brother, can you please tell me what is that you are creating it looks bizarre."


    Ryan did not nce towards her as he replied to her while fiddling with some wires, "This is an aircraft that can take off vertically and can travel on water."


    "Huh, is that why it looks so weird? I have never seen something like that, what a weird idea."


    "Actually big sis this is idea is not a new one, in the early 1970s a Soviet scientist named Robert Bartini proposed the design of an aircraft that uses ground effect to fly, as well asnd on water,nd or in any ce on earth no matter the extreme condition of that ce, unfortunately he died before the aircraft could bepleted, but the one that I am making is based on the same principle and derived from simr designed but it looks like a love child of a Trimaran and a Concorde."


    "It looks incrediblyplicated."


    "It is big sis, and I cannot make any mistake during its creation otherwise we might end up dying, I wish I had a way to automate the creation of a vehicle."


    "I know that you will one day have a means to mass produce vehicles, just look at how you have created such marvels around, those apartments, the food gardens, the water and sewage treatment and then the industrial sector, brother you have created such wonderful bustling town."


    A silence descended amongst them as Ryan finished wiring the left-wing as Michalina spoke again, "Brother, I have been wondering for sometime about something?"


    "What is it Sis?"


    "Do you think that one day we will have to venture out into space? Or do you think that we might have to venture out into those creatures''s world to fight against them?"


    Ryan let out a brief chuckle as he spoke, "That''s a given sis, one day we will but may be not in the immediate future, also sis do you remember how I said that the blueprint for this aircraft was given by my patron God."


    As Michalina nodded in acknowledgement Ryan continued, "When he gave me the blueprint as well as made some changes to it, he mentioned the beings, who created had created the aircraft as genius, ording to Him their world had very little resources easily avable to them and yet they created miracles, I noticed how he made changes to create a human friendly craft, do you understand where I am going to Micha."


    Michalina''s eyes widen as she spoke, "Yes I do brother, I understand that this craft is a copy of the original that had designed and created by aliens."


    Ryan shed Michalina a small smile before he let out a groan as he spoke, "My back is killing me."


    "Then you should take a rest brother, you have been working hard and have already done a lot of work so I believe that you have earned your rest."


    Ryan looked at the framework of the aircraft that he had created, the aircraft that was as big as a medium-sizedmercial aircraft and working hard for an entire day he had managed toplete the lower part of the aircraft, as well as parts of the fusge along with any wirings of the left-wing of the craft.


    "I think I will take some rest, but I have so much to do."


    Michalina gave him a pat on his back as she began to speak, "Also there is something you should know, Xuelong has picked Shakidra and Ylerias has picked Siora to apany her."


    Ryan looked at the expected look on Michalina''s face, while the grip on his shoulder increased making Ryan wince a bit before he spoke with a smile, "Then I would chose you to watch my back."


    The grip loosens as Ryan inwardly let out a sigh of relief, his mother Ciara had wanted to apany him on a mission for some time now and he had wanted her to apany him but seeing the look on Michalina''s face he caved in.


    <em>''Mom is like the Mayor of the town so she cannot absent for a prolonged period of time, so I think it is for the best, not to mention no matter what Micha will always have my back.''</em>


    Ryan was about toy down on the floor of the aircraft but he changed his mind as he felt a pang of hunger as he spoke, "Sis I think it is time for lunch is it not?"


    Michalina looked up towards the sky before she spoke with a small gasp, "You are right it is time for lunch."


    Even though many of the citizens, especially those that already had managed to get an apartment have started cooking off their own themunal kitchen was yet to find itself out of work.


    As such the duo made their way towards the kitchen waiting for their turn to get food, and it was then that they came face to face with Siora.


    Siora gave a deep bow as she greeted Ryan, "Your Holiness."


    Ryan gave a small smile towards Siora as he spoke, "Raise your head Lady Siora, how is your training going on?"


    "Your Holiness, it has been going well the female warriors of ''ck Wolves'' have taught us very well and now I can wield a gun very well."


    "That is good news so how is your preparation going on?"


    "It has been going well Your Holiness, though I hope you would not mind if I still use my bow during the expedition instead of the weapons provided by you."


    Ryan quickly shook his head as he spoke, "No no please feel free to use whatever weapon that you arefortable with, I have seen various fighting tactics of yours with the bow and stripping you off of it during such a vital mission would be a great folly."


    Siora bowed once again as she spoke, "Thank you for understanding Your Holiness, though we are trying to create new tactics using guns, but it might take some time researching spells that can be used properly with a gun."


    "That is good and if you have any problem feel free to ask.", with that the siblings left while Siora simply bowed at the departing Apostle.


    Ryan looked at the queue as he spoke with a sigh, "Let us wait a bit for the queue to die down, I do not want to stand in line."


    A quick wave of his hand created a couple of chairs which the duo upied but unfortunately, they did not have the luxury of privacy as they soon found themselves surrounded by many people most of them incredibly young.


    Ryan gave a small smile and wave at them, making the awed children gush even more while a few braved themselves to approach the duo.


    "Hello, what is your name?"


    The small child wearing a yellow missing his front teeth and wearing a yellow tee-shirt gave a big toothy smile as he spoke up, "My name is John and I am five years."


    "Nice too meet you John."


    As Ryan spoke he tousled John''s hair, and that seemed to break the dam as the others approached the duo.


    The smallest of them being little over four years while the oldest was eight years, they had heard an about apostles a lot and had wanted to approach them but were always prevented by the adults, to them an Apostle was the most mysterious existence and finally they managed to meet with one of them up close.


    "So my young friends did you have your lunch already?"


    The group gave a collective nod as one of the older ones spoke up, "Your Holiness there is something that I want to ask you."


    As Ryan gave an encouraging nod the girl blurted out, "How do you be an Apostle?"


    Ryan hummed in deep thought before he spoke with a serious tone in his voice, "The road to be an Apostle is not an easy one so would still like to know?"


    The group gave a few uneasy nods as Ryan continued to speak in a simr tone, "The road to bing an Apostle is a tough one, you will have to listen to your parents, always try to be good and not be a fussy eater, you have to be helpful, brave and then one day if you prove yourself able the Goddess or Gods would take you as their Apostle."


    The group watched with rapt attention as he spoke, "Now, you have to remember being an Apostle is an Honor that only a select few receives so please work hard, and may be one day I might have one of you as myrades."


    "I hope they are not disturbing you, Your Holiness?"


    A mature voice interrupted them as Ryan looked up to see a red-headed woman who had gained some years which was evident from the streaks of white on her head.


    "Hello, and I am sorry but I do not seem to recognize you."


    "Ah, please pardon Your Holiness my name is Emilia Jones and I along with a few of my friends have opened a school for the little ones."


    Ryan''s eyes widen momentarily as he spoke with arge smile on his face, "Ah, I have heard about you and your friends, and that is something great that you all have done, please feel free to tell me if you need anything for your endeavor, children are our future and we all should nurture them."


    "Thank you for your kind words Your Holiness.", the woman grimaced as he continued to speak, "Your Holiness there are some who wish to train this poor children to fight can you please tell them otherwise."


    "Ah, about that please rest assured they will not be sent out to fight in the wilderness but will receive survival training so that when worsee to worse at least they can escape."


    "But still they are children not to mention they are safe here, it protected us from that beast flood a few months ago."


    Hearing her words Michalina could not help but speak with a snort, "With all due respect ma''am nowhere is safe there are creatures out there that can easily crossover the walls, and as for the beast flood my brother almost died trying to y the dragon."


    "Madam Jones, my entire family except for me are in the army, before the apocalypse took palce I was supposed to go to the US to pursue higher degree but that did not mean my mom did not taught me survival tactics, and because of those I am still alive, before I came to know about my status as an apostle I had due to an ident ended up in Navch City, the entire city isprised of nightmarish creature and with no help I escaped even if my leg was broken I escaped with my life and that was only because used every knowledge of survival that my mother taught me."


    "What my brother her wants to say is that the world is much different than before, it is very deadly as such let them learn a few survival tactics it would not go wrong as at the very least it would keep them alive."


    Emilia was silent for a moment before she spoke with a frown, "You have given me lot to think about."


    But before anyone could say anything else Ryan''s stomach let out a gurgle as he spoke with a blush, "I think it is high time for me to have my lunch so please excuse me."


    Once they were out of earshot, Michalina spoke with a huff, "That woman was making a huge mistake."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I know but I hope that she will make the right choice, but at the same time I cannot me her she is trying to let them enjoy what little is left of their childhood while trying to grasp what semnce of life she had left before everything went to hell."


    "So true brother, so true though now I believe it is high time for you to y the dragon roaring inside your stomach."


    Ryan blushed hard from Michalina''s teasing as he spoke with a huff, "Shut up Micha."

 Chapter 141: NHASC-001(Part-3)

    Chapter 141: NHASC-001(Part-3)


    Ryan sat on his favourite spot in all of New Hope which was at the top of Fort Genesis as he looked at the small party that was going on, while his legs dangled from the edge.


    As he watched them his eyes felled on the singer, a woman, who was once heavily pregnant and Ryan had helped her out during the food rush, and as it happened the woman turned out to be the lead singer from a band, and it seemed her songs are quite popr, most of them being folk songs that had been converted into the metal genre.


    Now the once heavily pregnant, who was now a proud mother of twins, decided to cheer up the crowd by singing various songs, and obviously, a certain Apostle was happy to provide speakers and microphones for them.


    <em>''They look so happy down there, partying to their hearts contents after the ordeal they had to suffer this is the least that they had earned.''</em>


    His eyes then went towards histest creation as a small smile seemed to tug at his lips at the sight.


    <em>''Micha would be so disappointed at the sight, at first she might have thought that this craft was abination of a Trimaran and a Concorde, but now it is like a mixture of Trimaran and Concorde aong with a dash of some fifth gen stealth fighter.''</em>


    <em>''A clipped delta wind with peron, Aileron and Leading Edge, not to mention the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, the parts of some fifth gen stealth fighter and not parts of the fastestmercial airne to ever exist.''</em>


    Ryan''s eyes slowly drifted towards the group of people that had been drawn towards the group that had been drawn towards what seemed to be an alien-looking craft when he felt someone approaching him from behind.


    Turning his head slightly Ryan gave a small smile towards the person while he suddenly felt his heartbeat increase.


    "Everyone is out there enjoying themselves in the party and here you are sitting all alone."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I prefer solitude to rambunctiousness."


    "I see then I hope I am not disturbing you."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "No no you are not disturbing me at all."


    Xuelong gave a bright smile as she sat beside him as she spoke, "So have you finished your preparations?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Almost, tomorrow I have a few more things left for me to work on and then by noon we would be ready to leave."


    "I see."


    Xuelong then kneeled behind Ryan as she hugged him, making Ryan go ramrod as he could feel her breath trickling on his ears.


    "Since that day you kept a distance from me, did I gross you out? I know I am a bit more muscr than most females and many male prefer females to be a delicate and soft."


    "No you do not gross me out it only shows that you are fit and healthy, and I was afraid that would be mad at me."


    Xuelong immediately replied to Ryan''s words with a lick to his jaws and nipped on his ears as she spoke, "If that were true I would have gutted you the moment you touched me like that, consequences be damned."


    "I like you Ryan, otherwise you would have been dead, and also do you wish to continue where we left off."


    Ryan simply turned his body as he held her tightly in his arms as their lips interlocked and a furious battle with their tonguemenced as he slowly moved away from the ledge.


    Meanwhile, Michalina simply looked up towards the top of the fort as the grip on her cup tightened crushing it a bit startling others near her.


    The next day as the sun rose up high in the sky, its rays woke up Ryan, as he opened his eyes he felt someone hold him tighter, a familiar smell came to his nose as well as his vision was filled with bluish hair.


    Ryan suddenly recalled the happenings of the previous night as a blush formed on his face, he still remembered how they made out with each other, how he bit and kissed her neck making her whimper before she returned the favour in full force, he remembered how he made her quiver as he cornered her weak spot.


    <em>''The night was filled with trying to dominate each other, though I am d that I did not have sex with her at the end, thest thing I would want is to be a father so young not to mention bringing my child when world is in such a state is not ideal.''</em>


    A soft moan drew his attention as Xuelong opened her eyes as she murmured low, "Morning", before drawing him into a heated make-out session once again.


    Later during the day, Ryan was giving a tour of histest creation to his mother, who was inspecting the aircraft with intense scrutiny.


    "Mom I have created two bunk beds that have been ced on either side with the lower berth can be morphed into a seat for two."


    "I see, it is made quite well, from the rear cargo door to the medical station and kitchen area and then the bed, though the space looks a bit cramped up whenpared to the outside."


    Ryan gave a smile full of embarrassment as he spoke, "Because of various instruments that had to be fitted to the aircraft there is not enough space."


    "I see though it is quite warm on the inside."


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "It is, I was afraid even after using every precautions because of the material that I have used the inside of the airne would still be cold."


    "It is a good think that it isn''t, now show me the cockpit."


    Ryan gave a nod as he stood by the side of the door which then slid open for Ciara to enter the cockpit while Ryan followed shortly after her.


    "This is the cockpit mom, it has a six seats ced in two rows with the pilot and radar officer facing the front, with the turret control seats back to back facing either sides as well as the two auxiliary officers'' seats following the same suit."


    "I see and also about the radar is it therge structure on top?"


    "Is it is simr to the AWACS aircraft?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, mom it is simr to that."


    "All of these seem extremely nice, and I know many countries would kill to posses this type of aircraft, with such designed to maintain stealth as well, so what is its flying envelope?"


    "I can easily reach a maximum speed of over a thousand kilometers per hour, with a minimum speed of hundred and eighty also it has a flying ceiling of sixty three thousand feet, and its vertical takeoff ceiling is a thousand feet."


    "I see that is impressive."


    "It is mom, also if pushes to shove I can make it reach near mach speed, but because of the edgy design it makes the aircraft a bit unstable when reaching mach speed."


    Ciara simply gave a nod as her eyes fell on the pilot seat and the controls in front of it as Ryan spoke with a smile, "This aircraft uses HOTAS for controlling the aircraft."


    "I understand but it has side stick?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Yes, it has as such it enable the pilot to have much better view of the instruments at front of him as the controlling stick in between legs made it cumbersome."


    "I see, but from what I have seen can I safely conclude that this ce is a software driven?"


    "Yes mom."


    "Did you write the codes?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "No mom, I do not think my coding knowledge is advanced enough as such my Patron God provided me with the codes, which I had uploaded in the system."


    "So did you take a look at the code?"


    Ryan''s shoulder slouched as he spoke, "I could not even recognize thenguage the code was written on, to me thenguage looked like a series of scratches as apparently it is written in some kind of aliennguage."


    "I see, I do not know if Micha will be able to fly it may be you should have approached Jessica, she has knack of flying anything that is flyable.", her eyes then fell on Ryan as she spoke with a twinge of regret in her voice, "If only if we had time I would have taught you how to fly which I would rectify as soon as you return."


    Ryan simply smiled at her as he spoke, "There is no need for you to worry mom, my Patron God has already made sure to teach me how to fly and I feel like I have been flying for decades."


    As Ryan suddenly gained a haunted and older look on his face Ciara could not help but ask the million-dor question, "And how did he teach you?"


    "He shoved a bunch of memories of others flying their aircraft with most of them dying a rather grisly death."


    An ufortable silence descended amongst them as Ciara quickly spoke, "Ryan if you wish to share anything remember I here for you, you can tell me anything and I will help you."


    Ryan simply gave a nod as he spoke, "I know mom.", arge smile formed on his lips as he spoke with a cheery attitude, "By the way mom, is there something else that you wish to know?"


    Ciara gave a nod as she spoke, "Yes, for the VTOL what kind of system you are using, because if you are suing propellers or rotors it must have a powerful engine because from the design it looks like the propellers has to be very small."


    "Ah, about that I am not using propellers I am using Cycloidal rotors or as otherwise also known as Cyclorotor and along with thrust vectoring."


    Ciara blinked owlishly before she spoke with a shake of her head, "Sorry but I do not recognize the term."


    "Well then follow me I will show you."


    With that Ryan literally dragged Ciara off towards the wing section where he opened another door as he spoke with a smile, "This is an emergency door and now let me open the cover of the rotor."


    As he spoke a small hiss came to Ciara''s ears as the cover slowly moved as multiple cylindrical structures with des in them appeared.


    "Mom, these are Cyclorotors they are called as such because of their unique shape."


    "I see, so are they any good?"


    Ryan gave a nod as he spoke, "Of course mom, they not only consume very less energy but also as you can see they also do not need too much space."


    "Interesting, so with this everything is ready?"


    Ryan once again nodded as he spoke, "Yes mom, I am just waiting for the fuel tanks to refill."


    Ciara suddenly drew him to a bone-crushing hug as she spoke, "Ryan I do not know when you will return but take care of yourself, listen to your sister but keep a cool head on your shoulder with your wits sharp, moreover please return back to me alive and in one piece."


    As Ciara spoke her voice broke as Ryan hugged her tighter and the mother-son duo stayed like that for a moment before Ciara let him go with her eyes red before she ced a small kiss on his head.


    Ileana''s eyes narrowed as she looked at the interaction between Ciara and Ryan from a distance as a frown formed on her face, <em>''Why are they suddenly acting as such? So strange maybe I should chat up with some girls and maybe I will then learn a few more things about this strange aircraft that Ryan has created so fast.''</em>

 Chapter 142: NHASC-001(Part-4)

    Chapter 142: NHASC-001(Part-4)


    Marcel ran as fast as he could with his wife following closely behind the reason for it being the news that his daughter Ileana had brought a few minutes ago, his youngest child and his only son was leaving to parts unknown and no one knew if he would ever return.


    <em>''It cannot be happening it is too soon, I have yet to earn my forgiveness and repair our rtions.''</em>


    Unfortunately they as well as many others who had panicked after hearing the person whose powers had to help them to recreate the city was leaving, and as such they had all wanted to persuade him otherwise.


    Ciara''s brow twitched at the sight of the mob that had formed, she had wanted to send off her children with a smile on her face even if her heart was being ravaged by anxiety and sadness, but now because of the presence of the mob she was feeling intense rage.


    <strong>"Would you lot shut the hell up!"</strong>


    Her intense shout had an immediate effect as a pin drop silence reigned in the area as she continued her spiel, "My Son is leaving today on a mission that would take him days if not month toplete and it seems that you lot have already forgotten that if it were not for a simr mission you would not have found shelter here, so now <strong>shut up.</strong>"


    Ciara''s shout had managed to make the mob looked a bit ashamed while making her way towards the aircraft which was being loaded with thest of the supplies while many soldiers of the ck Wolves regiment became busy trying to manage the crowd.


    Ciara approached Ruby who was going through her long checklist as she spoke, "Is everything alright Ruby?"


    Ruby gave a nod as she replied, "Yes Major, we have loaded all their supplies, the ne has finished fueling, and now they are ready to depart."


    Ruby winked at Ryan as she added with a teasing smirk on her face, "Captain Ryan, I think you can depart anytime you want to."


    Ryan simply huffed, while Ciara simply smirked, while Ruby''s face gained a serious look on her face, "Ryan take care out there and remember how important you as such no matter what you will have to survive, for us to flourish you have to survive and return back alive and in one piece."


    "I know and you do not have to worry I will return safe and sound."


    Ruby''s smile returned full force as she spoke, "Well then I will be off and if you decide to die make sure I can get your body to dissect as Ick some fresh corpses to experiment on."


    Ryan''s brow twitched at Ruby''s words while Ciara drew him into a hug as she spoke, "Take care Ryan."


    Before she repeated the same with Michalina and then she departed down the ramp, while Michalina approached him as she spoke, "Brother we are ready to depart."


    Ryan sighed as he could almost hear the countdown of the clock he had managed to get everything ready and they are about to leave at least five hours earlier than the deadline and that brought him a sense of relief.


    He watched the rest of hispanions waiting patiently for his orders which he spoke with a small smile, "Since we are all ready I think it is time to run all final diagnostic and then we will leave."


    His words were greeted by a chorus of ''Aye Captain'', which made Ryan groan as he hid his face behind his hands.


    As soon as Ciara left she made a beeline towards Fort Genesis only sparing a slight nce towards Marcel and his family, her pace slowed slightly as she spotted the pleading eyes of Marcel and Eleanora, but she had other duties to attend to.


    Ryan meanwhile had upied the pilot''s seat with Michalina taking over the Radar and Communication control, Siora and Ylerias were manning the turret while Xuelong and Shakidra were busy with various other parameters including pressure, engine conditions amongst many other things.


    The leading edges, the perons, ailerons and the stabilizers all moved before the engine gave a low hum, and the screen in front of Ryan came to life disying various information as Ryan spoke, "Diagnosticsplete all systems seems normal on my side."


    "Radar andms are okay."


    "Front Turret is working properly."


    "Rear Turret is working properly."


    "All system is working normally on my side."


    "Mine too."


    Upon receiving a good diagnostic report from others, Ryan proceeded to contact the Fort Genesis as he spoke out, "NHASC001 requesting for takeoff."


    The radio crackled a bit as a feminine voice belonging to Zhan came loud and clear, "Permission granted Captain Ryan have a safe trip."


    A plethora of giggles came from the other side while Ryan''s brow twitched upon being referred to as ''Captain Ryan''.


    Ryan then pulled back the controlling stick lightly by his right hand, while the throttle on his left was pushed forward.


    Eleanora watched in amazement as therge craft seemed to jump up from the ground as it began to rise at a steady pace, when the aircraft was sufficiently high in the air it moved forward gaining speed as it began to climb up bing smaller and smaller.


    "Hey sis how is the marker working."


    "Fine bro, for now it seems that no matter how far we are we would be able to return back following it though should we do a flyby."


    Ryan grinned as he replied to her, "Of course you just took the idea from my mind."


    The aircraft took a sharp turn as it banked down towards the left before it made aplete turn dipping down it began to move towards New Hope, and upon reaching it Ryan slowed it down as he circled it twice before once again moving up high into the sky.


    Meanwhile, back inside the cockpit the passengers except for Michalina and Ryan were no longer facing the front as their sits turned to enable them to face their respective stations.


    It would be a couple of minutester that Ryan would speak again, "There is no need for all of you to seat in the cockpit if you want you may leave, and if anything happens I will call you."


    Ylerias stretched as she spoke, "Well then I will take my leave, though Ryan will we have to do the diagnostic check every time we have to fly this aircraft."


    "No no, we did that because the ne was about to fly for the first time, though there is nothing wrong to do the diagnostics every time if you want to."


    Meanwhile, Michalina was looking at Ryan with concern on her face, "Is there a problem brother you looked a bit tensed."


    Ryan looked at Michalina as he spoke with a wry smile on his face, "Ah, about that I know how to fly this ne like I have flown it all my life yet my body does not know how, a weird feeling I do not think I can describe such a weird feeling."


    "I see."


    Ryan was looking in front of him when suddenly his vision cked out as he found himself in front of a familiar campfire.


    "Ah, I see you are airborne now with all of your preparationsplete."


    Ryan immediately kneeled in front of the flickering me as Avtis continued to speak, "Now I have a list of task that you need toplete amongst them the first one that you have to fulfill is to sink a ship."


    Ryan tilted his head as he spoke, "Sink a ship?"


    "Why yes, a ship that is not any ship but an Aircraft Carrier one of thergest and advanced in the world belonging to the US, a nuclear powered one to boot, Hull number CVN-83 or otherwise known as USS Murphy, one of therger Ford ss Aircraft Carrier."


    "Wait, wait are you saying they have a CVN-83? Last I heard that CVN-81 was under construction, so where did the 83 pop up from?"


    "You are fool if you think a giant superpower like that would show all its cards for the whole world to see, every time they make something new they show it to the world and the other world leaders salivate upon seeing the military tech, then what do they do? They say that the tech is not for sale and yet after a few years they sale it to someone for exorbitant price and a lot of restriction and then shortly after they show to the world an even more advanced piece of technology, and the cycle begins anew."


    "I see, may I ask something?"


    "Go ahead?"


    "I know it might sound disrespecting and rude, but is there any reason except for the fact that you ordered me to venture into an irradiated zone where mypanions and I would die a very painful and horrible death."


    "Of course there is as you see the ship, which is currently floating endlessly, will be brought to the shore three months from today by a storm, and the ship would end up near a small town that has been created by the people of the magical world, they will investigate and end up causing a meltdown in the reactor which would cause the death of about fifty thousand people, as well destruction of the surrounding area."


    "I see."


    "Also if you are worried about the reactor then fret not, those who designed it had taken into ount of the reactor suffering from critical power failure as such in case of power failure the control rods would automatically fall into the reactor core stopping any and all reactions."


    Ryan''s eyes widened as he spoke with disbelief, "It worked even after everything had stopped working, it still worked."


    Avtis scoffed as he spoke, "Do not be daft, the mechanism of the control rod was created in a manner that its insertion can be controlled when there would be power but theck of power would cause it to be under the mercy of gravity which would bring it down."


    "I see."


    "Now, if you do not have anything else to ask you may leave."


    "Ah, actually before I leave I want to ask you about fate of the crew of the aircraft carrier, are they alive?"


    "Maybe maybe not, it does not matter as your job is to sink the ship, now leave."


    <em></em>


    Ryan blinked as he found himself staring at the open sky with clouds floating in front of him as he spoke, "I have received my task shall we move towards it?"


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "I see then please move forward."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Alright since we will reach in a few hours time if you want you can take some rest sis."


    Micha deadpanned at him as she spoke, "We left not even an hour ago and I would need rest, though I believe we should start discussing on our objective."


    Ryan simply spoke with a sigh, "You are right sis, I think we should start making ns."

 Chapter 143: Ship breaker (Part-1)

    Chapter 143: Ship breaker (Part-1)


    The aircraft circled therge carrier, the aircraft carrier that once had been the pride of the US Navy, but its current form looked a little better than a ghost ship.


    Ryan let out a pained sigh as he began to speak, "Such a wonderful creation but now look at it, it looks so dpidated just like some ghost ship."


    Michalina meanwhile narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Is that a Ford ss aircraft carrier?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes it is, CVN-83 USS Murphy, thergest and most advanced even amongst its ss."


    "I see, I knew that CVN-81 was under construction but here it is a CVN-83 so far from home, strange."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "You know Micha, you are right about this, why put your secret like that out in the open for everyone to see, the world knows that they are building their CVN-81, yet their Murphy is loitering so far from home ."


    Ylerias could not help but insert herself in between the siblings as she asked out loud, "What are you all talking about? Can you please exin as we are at a loss."


    Ryan turned his head slightly as he spoke, "Ah, Sister Ylerias, do you remember how I had once told you about the countries in our world?", as Ylerias nodded Ryan continued to speak, "That is a Naval ship that belongs to the strongest country in our world."


    Ylerias''s eyes widened slightly as she spoke, "It is huge."


    Ryan nodded in agreement as he spoke with a frown on his face, "Yes it is, but the most important thing that is troubling us is that ship exists and the reason behind its appearance here."


    Xuelong joined their conversation with a frown of her own, "Exin."


    Michalina sighed as she replied to Xuelong, "ording to US, it is currently making CVN-81, a ship of simr ss, a ship that would take years to build, and everyone has seen proof of it but now we are seeing the CVN-83, so where did ite form as since 81 is still in production and 82 has yet to be thought of."


    Ryan picked up where his sister had trailed off as he continued, "Now here is the kicker, the ship that is the most advanced till date, a ship that does not exist ording to the real world, how is that ship here in this ce so far from home for the rest of the world to see."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement as she spoke, "I get where you areing form, why is their secret kept so out in the open, but Ryan is it not possible that is drifted away to this ce."


    "True, what you are saying is a possibility but still the distance is not only huge but an object of this size drifting this far it is difficult to digest."


    Michalina gained a contemtive look on her face as she spoke, "Well when we board it and investigate it we might be able to learn about the secret that it holds within its bosoms, but the most important question is how should we proceed."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke with a shake of his head, "About that I do not think it would do safe for us tond the aircraft on the ocean as well as on top of the deck."


    Siora nodded in agreement as she spoke for the first time, "I agree with His Holiness, the waters could contain dangerous unknown creature as well as we do not know what is sleeping within the bowels of that ship."


    Shakidra frowned as she spoke, "Then how should the ship be approached."


    "Why else, but by dropping off a group to investigated the ship, while the aircraft would hover around, and only when the ship is cleared of any hostile elements that the aircraft wouldnd."


    Michalina spoke while nodding in agreement with Ryan''s idea, "That is a wonderful idea brother, let us quickly form a team for ourtest mission, though I vote for Ryan and Shakidra our medic to stay behind while the rest and venture forth."


    "Wah, wah wait a minute why would I stay behind?"


    Michalina rolled her eyes as she replied to Ryan, "Why else but to keep the aircraft flying."


    "Well you can do it too."


    "s brother i do not feel confidant enough to fly something like this so please forgive me."


    Ryan''s eyes narrowed as he could easily spot the mirth shining in Michalina''s eyes.


    <em>''I know she can fly this aircraft, but it is so not fair I wanted to explore it first.''</em>


    As such with a huff he faced forward as he spoke out in a gruff voice, "Do whatever you wish to do."


    A few more minutester, a group of four fully gearedbatants disembarked from the aircraft before it flew away from the ship.


    Ryan bit his lips as he watched the group enter the ind disappearing from his sight, and even when he knew that every one of them was highly trained and much better than him, the feeling of restlessness seemed to increase substantially.


    Michalina took point as her powerful torch seemed to light up the corridor as she whispered lowly, "Corridor clear."


    The group moved in a single file with Michalina leading them, followed by Ylerias while Xuelong brought the rear.


    "Dried blood patches."


    Ylerias managed to draw their attention to faint marks of dried up blood on the white wall of the interior as Michalina spoke with a snort, "Look over there, part of a skull with most of the bones missing."


    Michalina pressed forward trying to be as stealthy as possible and upon turning to a corner she came to a halt.


    "Some kind of half-eaten humanoid creature."


    Ylerias took a peek, and upon seeing the creature she sucked a deep breath before she spoke, "That is a ghoul, a half-eaten ghoul."


    The group cautiously approached the carcass, as Siora kneeled in front of it, giving the carcass a thorough checkup before announcing the result of her find.


    "Seemed to be dead a few hours ago, and from the marks on its body seemed to be killed by another ghoul."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke with a frown, "So there is a possibility of a ghoul nest."


    Siora nodded in agreement while Michalina voiced her confusion, "What is this ghoul thing, a different type of undead?"


    Ylerias frowned as she replied to Michalina, "Some people categorize it as undead as they are susceptibel to spells that only meant for undead but they are born from living human who has consumed the flesh of an undead."


    Michalina suddenly felt ill upon hearing that as she spoke, "Who would eat something rotting and putrid like that, seeing those disgusting creatures who could work out an apetite to eat them."


    Xuelong shrugged as she spoke, "You would be surprised learning how many people end up bing a ghoul, but we can debate on thatter because we have to face some serious trouble soon."


    Meanwhile, back inside the cockpit of the hovering aircraft, Ryan could not help but ask Shakidra more about the newest creature that he had just heard.


    "About the ghouls, how dangerous are they?"


    "Your Holiness, ghouls can be very dangerous they are very fast and agile, not to mention their razor-sharp poisonous ws, along with their ghoulish screech that can be very dangerous."


    "Ghouls were once normal living beings, but they have discarded their normal life by feasting on undead, and all that remain is a creature that only exists to satiate its hunger."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "From the way you are saying any living being can be a ghoul."


    Shakidra continued with a nod, "It is as you have perceived Your Holiness, any living creature can be one, but the more intelligent they possess before bing one they more dangerous they be."


    "Ghouls tend to retain many of its former intelligence as such they tend to form a pack, use traps to capture their prey, and also has the highest chance of evolving into a Ghast."


    Ryan''s brow furrowed as he spoke, "So humanoid beings make more dangerous ghouls."


    "Yes Your Holiness and they are also sometime referred to as greater Ghouls as their intelligence make them dangerous."


    "What is a Ghast?"


    "An evolved form of Ghoul, they are bigger, stronger, faster and are often foundmanding a group of ghoul, their ws are so sharp that they can cut through steel like hot knife through butter."


    "Ghast can also evolve into a very dangerous creature known as Wendigo, a monster that can mimic other living beings sound."


    "Troublesome.", and with that Ryan spoke out with a sigh, "Did you catch that?"


    The radio crackled as Michalina''s voice came from the other side, "Yes, heard her loud and clear."


    Xuelong decided to add on to the conversation with a small hum, "There is chance that we might end up fighting a Ghast today so becareful."


    As Xuelong spoke Michalina''s eyes were drawn towards a steel door that had been cut off by what seemed to be giant w marks, while Xuelong only gave a nod as she spoke with a smug look on her face, "So I was right after all."


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "No one said that you are wrong, now focus and move forward."


    A few more minutester Siora could not help but voice her concern, "This is not right we have yet to encounter any ghoul, in fact it looks abandoned."


    Xuelong sighed as she spoke, "Siora you have to be more vignt than that, did you not see the pile of bones that we just passed by."


    "I did Your Holiness, they were arranged in some pattern indicating that they are used to mark territory."


    "Good good, then you must know they could be just waiting for the appropiate time to ambush us like some hunter so be patient and vignt, though I would have loved for the creatures to attack already this tension is killing me."


    "Well, then you would be happy to know I found three of them just around the corner, so how should I engage them."


    Hearing her words Ylerias quickly whispered back to Michalina, "Destroy their head as fast as possible and make sure that they do not get the chance to scream, their screams can stun you."


    "I see, then I will take the one at the right while Ylerias can take on the left, and the middle one Siora can deal with it."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as she spoke, "A sound n then on the count of three."


    "3"


    "2"


    "1"


    <strong><em>~thwap~</em></strong>


    <strong><em>~thwap~</em></strong>


    <strong><em>~thwap~</em></strong>


    That was the only sound that came from their respective weapons as the trio of creatures copsed on the ground headless, with dense ck blood flowing from them.


    Meanwhile, Xuelong looked at the scene with her eyes narrowed and her mind racing a thousand miles per second before she voiced her concern out loud.


    "This is troubling, Ghouls are not so docile they do not stand in corner like that without even moving, from the clues we have gathered we know there is ghast out here, but did it evolve into a Wendigo?"


    Ylerias bit her lips as she addressed Xuelong''s concern, "There is nothing we can do but to press forward for now."


    Their radio crackled as Ryan''s voice came to their ears, "If it bes too dangerous please retreat and I will simply use n B."


    Michalina''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Oh and what would n B entail?"


    "I have yet to think of anything.", his bubbly reply made his listeners shake their heads in exasperation.

 Chapter 144: Ship breaker (Part-2)

    Chapter 144: Ship breaker (Part-2)


    Ylerias peered down towards the main hangar as she whispered with a frown, "I can easily spot a good number of ghouls in there but not the Ghast."


    Xuelong gave a huff of displeasure as she spoke, "Me too, so how should we deal with them? I would have voted for bombardment, but..."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "There is a chance that we might end up blowing ourselves sky high."


    Before either of them could speak, Ryan''s voice chimed in from the radio, "I vote for fighting against them from a safe distance."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "I agree with my brother, though can anyone of you set something up that can provide warning if something sneaks up on us from behind."


    Siora quickly erected a barrier with proximity alert while Ylerias spoke out loud, "Micha, unlike us, you are not so good with seeing the dark, do you need us to illuminate the Main deck."


    Michalina gave a curt nod as she looked down at the endless darkness that shrouded the main deck.


    <em>''The eyes of those two are something else even with the help of the night vision something I would not be able to pierce through the darkness, and as for thermal-vision, it would be futile as it will only show the creatures and not the explosive stuff near it.''</em>


    The entire main deck bathed in light courtesy of the two Apostles, and the light was so bright that it looked as if someone had ripped off the deck and weed the sunlight.


    Meanwhile, back inside the aircraft, Ryan felt bored and would have loved to go down inside the ship then kill a ghoul or two, but unfortunately, he had to spend time hovering in the air a fair distance away from the carrier.


    "Your Holiness, inside the tall structure I see some movement."


    Ryan''s boredness disappeared as he quickly spoke, "Can you please point me towards the exact spot?"


    "The window just below the roof."


    Ryan tried to find the cause of the movement but, because of the light reflecting from the windows, he could not spot anything, and as such, Ryan willed the ne to move towards the ind while he radioed to Michalina.


    "Hey Micha is there anyone from you group inside the ind."


    The radio crackled as Michalina''s voice came to his ears, "None of us are inside the Ind, do you need anything, Ryan?"


    Meanwhile, back inside the carrier, it was a one-sided ughter as under thebined might of the group the ghouls stood no chance.


    Ryan''s question started ringing rms inside Michalina''s head as she quickly asked back, "Why are you asking that, Ryan?"


    "Shakidra said she spott... Oh Shit,.... <em>Kkkzzzttt</em>."


    With that, the radio went silent except for static noises causing Michalina''s heart to jump out of her throat, especially when arge boom came to their ears.


    Suddenly Ryan''s voice once again came to their ears, "We are under heavy assault by weird-looking creatures, there are near about a hundred such creature with a ghast leading them."


    Michalina''s group did not need to be told twice as they dashed towards the deck to provide support.


    Back with Ryan, he had moved his ne a bit closer to the ind to get a better view only for the windows of the flight controlling area of the ind exploded as an enormous figure jumped out of it.


    The figure was not alone, as in its ratherrge hands it held a pair of ghouls, the ghast then flung the ghouls towards Ryan while the aircraft showing incredible agility evaded the ghouls.


    While Rya was busy dodging Shakidra quickly moved to the turret gunner seat, and having upied the seat, she opened fire at the creature.


    In another ce and another time, Ryan would have gawked at the agility that Shakidra disyed to move towards the gunner seat from the radio controller''s while the ne was doing its roll and turns, but Ryan was busy elsewhere.


    <em> </em>


    <em>''From where did these creatures crawl out? So many of them, if I pull away they will target my sister''s group not only that I do not know how many are hidden within the carrier itself, they would be overrun and die.''</em>


    Meanwhile, Shakidra had already turned the turret on and then aimed the turret at the creature before Shakidra fired the first shot towards the Ghast thereby robbing it of its arms in a small explosion.


    The Ghast tried to run away only to be torn to shreds by Shakidra, who having aplished her objective of killing the ghast, focused fire on the group of Ghouls.


    Michalina, along with the fellow members of her group had tried hard to reach the deck, but they stopped in their tracks as they were forced to fight a tsunami of Ghouls that were racing down to escape from being ughtered by Shakidra.


    "Damn it, there are too many, Xuelong block the path, Siora confuse them, Michalina you are with me."


    Xuelong did not hesitate, as a runic circle formed in front of her and a wall made of ice propped up, which narrowed down the corridor considerably.


    While Xuelong narrowed down the corridor while Siora raised her hand as another runic circle formed followed by a sh of light and the Ghouls suddenly resembled a drunken man who was having a problem with walking as well as finding the right direction.


    While Ylerias and Michalina were making short work out of them, Shakidra had dealt a devastating blow on the ghouls, thereby reducing them significantly.


    NHASC-001nded on the flight deck, as Shakidra and a giddy Ryan deboarded from it.


    Ylerias gained an amused look on her face as she spoke, "You look incredibly excited."


    "Of course, why can I not be when I am standing on such a big carrier.", Ryan''s giddiness vanished as he spoke with a frown, "So how should we proceed?"


    Xuelong frowned in contemtion before she replied to Ryan, "We can divide into groups, one will search the ship to see if they can find anything useful, while one will apany Ryan while he does his job."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "That is the sound idea, and if possible I would like to find the Logbook of this ship as well any journal or anything kept by the sailors of this ship."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as she spoke, "That is a sound idea, who knows what we might learn from them."


    With the seal of approval in ce, they were ready to form groups and begin their work but came to a stop upon Siora''s intervention.


    "Your Holinesses, the sun is almost down the horizon as such I think we should wait till dawn."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "You are right Siora, we should postpone that for today, but we have another issue to deal with that cannot be postponed."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement as her eyes fell on the carnage that they had caused a few minutes prior as she spoke, "Let us deal with them up fast."


    The next day at the crack of dawn, Ryan ventured forth apanied by Siora as they descended into the depths of the carrier while Michalina and Ylerias made their way up the ind.


    "Is something wrong your highness?"


    With a groan, Ryan replied to Siora, "Nothing, just that I cannot seem to get rid of that horrible smell it seems to have stuck on my nose."


    Siora grimaced as she spoke, "Mine too, never did I think that ghouls would smell so bad when it is burnt, it was such a sickening feeling."


    Meanwhile, back with Michalina and Ylerias, Michalina was frustrated by the sight of the bridge, which looked like a war had been fought there from seeing the damaged consoles of the bridge, but the reason for the frustration was the fact that the ship used a Digital Logbook.


    "It is useless with Digital Logbook, we will not learn anything."


    "Then we should search thoroughly, and then maybe we might stumble upon something."


    Michalina nodded at Ylerias''s suggestion as she spoke, "You are right we should search thoroughly and who knows we might find something."


    With renewed vigour, the duo moved forward tearing through the bridge and moving towards the officers'' quarters, and it was there inside one of the rooms that Ylerias drew Michalina''s attention towards a diary she had stumbled upon.


    "Micha look at this, I have found a diary, though thest few pages are ineligible due to being drenched in blood."


    Michalina was quickly by her side as she skimmed through the diary before she spoke with arge grin on her face, "This is an amazing find, the diary of the XO."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "What is an XO?"


    "Ah, an XO you can say the person with the highest authority in a ship just after the Captain, his second inmand to be precise."


    "I see then the diary would be somewhat valuable, but why are you searching for them? I doubt they would be of much use."


    "Maybe not but can you please tell me what is this thing?"


    Ylerias narrowed her eyes as she studied the picture of a creature that was drawn on one of the pages of the diary, the creature itself looked like an orangutan but with arge conch shell as its head with two eyes peering from the gaps.


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "I have no idea."


    Michalina smiled at her as she spoke, "That is one of the reasons I am searching for the logbooks and diaries."


    "I see, such strange creatures that we know nothing about."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "But at the same time just thing of the creatures that are too small to be seen through naked eyes, what kind of changes they might have gone through."


    Ylerias visibly shivered at the thought of the various microscopic creatures that have undergone some form of mutation.


    A familiar static sound followed by a familiar voice came to their ears, "Can you alle down to the hangar deck there is something that I want to show you."


    The duo quickly made their way towards the hangar deck, and on the way down, they met up with Xuelong and Shakidra.


    Upon reaching the destination, they saw Ryan and Siora standing in front of a small cage with something trapped inside it.


    "What did you wanted to show us bro?"


    Ryan pointed at the small cage as he spoke, "Just take a look and tell me what you think about it."


    At his words, the new arrivals all approached the cage, and when they looked inside it, they were shocked to see a rather cute toddler looking at them with his wide doe-like eyes.


    Michalina looked at the toddler with disbelief on her face as she spoke, "You found a child and kept it locked in a cage?" before her face went nk as she continued to speak, "Wait a minute, how did a toddler survive here? What is this thing?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I do not know what it is, but it nearly bit Siora''s head off, as such I kept it trapped inside a cage."


    Ylerias stared at the creature that could very well pass for a human child, a very cute looking human child as she spoke with disbelief, "It is hard to believe that this child almost bit off Siora''s head off."


    Ryan smirked at her as she spoke, "Then why don''t you try getting closer."


    A curious Ylerias moved closer to the cage only for the toddler to lunge towards her, his face morphing into a ghastly one, with impossible long jaws that were split at the centre with long forked tongue and long razor-sharp teeth, even the hand seemed to elongate as long nails appeared from its fingers.


    Ylerias jumped back as she spoke in a whisper, "What is that thing?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "No idea, but whatever it is, it is dangerous, and it seems we have more of them as such I have blocked the passage to the lower level."


    Xuelong rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation before she spoke, "That is troubling, after all the shenanigans yesterday we never really went to the lower floors."


    Shakidra looked at the creature before she spoke with a frown, "Is it possible for me to study it."


    Xuelong shrugged as she replied to Shakidra, "Feel free to do so."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Since that is settled, I hope you will not mind lending me a hand in clearing the lower floors."


    His words granted him a couple of nods as he led them towards the blocked passage.

 Chapter 145: Ship breaker (Part-3)

    Chapter 145: Ship breaker (Part-3)


    Michalina ducked as a small infant-like body passed over her head before hitting the wall and having its head was blown apart by Ryan.


    "The hell is these buggers, they are moving too fast for me to hit them."


    "Micha focus."


    Michalina spun as she stabbed another creature as it tried to jump from Ryan''s back as he spoke with a droll, "Same to you too, Ryan."


    Ryan shoved the muzzle of his handgun into the mouth of the creature that had tried to ambush him from above before pulling the trigger.


    His actions earned him an impromptu shower of blood and guts, which made him gag.


    Xuelong, on the other hand, did not use any of her weapons, as she crushed the skull of any creature with her bare hands, while Ylerias was using her daggers.


    The reason for them using such weapons was that they were moving through narrow corridors, and as such, they did not wish to hit each other identally.


    Ylerias gritted her teeth as she killed another one of the creatures as she spoke with a snarl, "Just how many of them are out there?"


    Xuelong gritted her teeth as she spoke with a growl, "No idea, damn it, you missed that one it ran into the vents."


    Ylerias quickly dashed towards the vent opening, where she cast one of her fire spells which resulted in a muffled boom and a lot of smoke before she returned to slicing and dicing her enemies.


    While Ryan and his group were busy exterminating the creatures on another part of the ship, Shakidra was busy studying the creature caught by Ryan while being guarded by Siora.


    "Is something wrong, Shakidra?"


    Shakidra bit her lips as she remarked with a nod, "They are ghouls, mini ghouls, I have never seen or heard about something like this."


    But before Shakidra could further contemte on the matter, their radio crackled as Xuelong''s voice came from the other side.


    "Shakidra Siora, both of youe down to the Power Generation Area fast."


    The duo shared a nce before they dashed out of the room that they had previously upied.


    It took them a few minutes to navigate through the long dark stairs and hallways before reaching the Power Generation Area, only to freeze at the scene in front of them.


    The room was covered in some form of sticky substance, with a dozen pulsating white cocoons leaning against the wall.


    "What are those things?"


    Ylerias shrugged at Shakidra''s question as she replied to her, "No idea what these pulsating creatures are, except they are gross."


    "Watch out."


    The timely warning from Michalina made them move from the nearest one as the lower part of the cocoon opened up with a shudder, and it pushed out a slime-covered mini ghoul.


    Xuelong''s breath hitched as she spoke in a horrified whisper, "They are incubators that are spawning those mini ghouls, we have to destroy them."


    A horrified gasp from Siora drew their attention as she pointed up towards the top of one of the incubators as she spoke with a quavering voice.


    "Michalina, at the top of the incubator there is a face, does that face not seem familiar to you?"


    Michalina narrowed her eyes as she looked in the direction Siora had pointed to before she let out a gasp as the look of recognition appeared on her face.


    "That is the face of the Flight Deck officer we found her picture in one of the rooms."


    A horrified look passed through their listener''s faces as Ryan quickly pitched in, "Is it possible to save them? And if not I vote to euthanize them as fast as possible."


    Shakidra frowned as she spoke, "We should not be hasty, we do not know if that women is even alive or not, but more importantly I wish to take a closer look."


    Xuelong frowned hard as she spoke, "Is that wise decision?"


    "Maybe not your Holiness, but we have to ess the threat before it harms us."


    Xuelong groaned before she spoke with a soft sigh, "I will allow it."


    Shakidra gave a nod of gratitude while Ryan quickly created adder high enough for Shakidra to reach the face.


    Shakidra could feel her heart hammering within her chest as she approached the face, with each step seeming heavier than the previous one.


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I will keep an eye on her, and as long as she is within near thedder I can somewhat protect her as such keep us protected from any attacks."


    Shakidra channelled her magic which gently caressed the cocoon as Shakidra began her study, only for the face to open her eyes wide and stare at Shakidra.


    "Kyaa!!!!"


    As the sound escaped her lips, a frightened Shakidra almost fell from thedder if it were not for thedder to morph that prevented her fall.


    "Ki.... kilzz m... m... mi peaze Ki... "


    A hoarse voice akin to the scratching of a chalkboard came to their ears, drawing everyone''s attention.


    Shakidra could not help but speak with disbelief in her voice, "She is still alive."


    Shakidra''s heart plummeted as she finished her checkup, and as such, she gave her verdict with barely concealed sorrow, "She cannot be saved."


    "Every second alive is an extreme agony to her, and hence I rmend to euthanize her."


    Michalina gained a look of sorrow before her eyes hardened as she spoke, "Shakidra move, it is time for them to get their well earned rest."


    Shakidra did not hesitate to move out of the way while Michalina shot the tortured woman''s head, thereby releasing her from her mortal coils as well as from her pain.


    ~pffbrt~


    With that, the cocoon copsed while releasing acidic fluid, which made them take a few steps back.


    An hourter, the group had managed to finish dealing with the cocoons that had been present in the room.


    Shakidra bowed towards Xuelong as she spoke, "Your Holiness, if there is nothing else may I be excused, I had been working on a theory about the creatures before I was called here, and I learned much here, and now I wish to study more before I could give my conclusion."


    "You may, but take Siora along with you."


    As the duo left, Ryan spoke with a sigh, "Beyond that door is the reactor core, I would try and see if I can get some protective clothes as well as see if I can make a dosimeter."


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Is there anything that you need brother?"


    "I think if you can find Hazmat suit, even if it is in pieces it would be great."


    It would be another hourter that Ryan would be ready to venture into the reactor room with a dosimeter in hand, but unfortunately, they had managed to scavenge enough material for one hazmat suit.


    "Is the air tank properly working?"


    Ryan nodded towards Ylerias question as he spoke, "Yes, it is."


    "Bro, if the dosimeter starts moving towards danger level then leave immediately."


    "Do not worry Micha I will be fine."


    Xuelong smiled encouragingly at Ryan, which he returned with a nod before he ventured into the reactor room.


    Ryan vanished the heavy door that stood between him and the reactor before blocking the path as soon as he stepped inside.


    It had been a few months since the reactor room had any visitor, and under the effect of his shlight, Ryan could easily spot the reactors that had been silent for months.


    ''The radiation level in this room is lower than daily radiation we receive from the sun.''


    A snarl came from his side as Ryan spotted a single Tier 1 zombie who was still wearing the tattered remains of a technician''s dress.


    ''Poor fellow must be stuck here since that day and had starved to death and then suffered zombification.''


    The zombie died in a blink of an eye as Ryan lowered his handgun, as he watched at the Nuclear Reactors with awe in his eyes.


    ''I never thought I would stand so close to not one by two Nuclear reactors so lucky.''


    Like many of his age group, things like Nuclear had always carried a sense of mysteriousness, and him being so close to a reactor made Ryan feel giddy.


    ''The closest to a reactor that I have ever been prior to today were the pictures in my physics book, and if only my ssmates could see me now, they would be so jealous.''


    Ryan skipped towards the twin reactors as he began to scan them, to learn more about them, and as he did so, his eyes sparkled with glee.


    ''No way, they are using a fourth gen SFR reactors, so cool.''


    ''I did not think I would see a fourth gen so close.''


    As he scanned the reactors and the various pipe system supporting them, Ryan''s happiness disappeared as a sense of dread appeared within him.


    The feeling of dread shot through the roof as a familiar voice and chime signified that he had just received a quest, a quest that made him groan.


    Meanwhile, back with Michalina and others, Michalina was sitting silently with her eyes trained towards Ryan''s direction, while the other two were chatting amongst themselves.


    Ylerias looked towards Michalina as she spoke with a frown, "Michalina, is something wrong?"


    Michalina shook her head as she replied to Ylerias, "No nothing is wrong."


    "Please, Michalina, do not lie to me, since the moment we found that woman, you have been acting weird."


    Michalina sighed as she spoke with a look of sorrow on her face, "Those women deserved better."


    A sombre looked appeared on both the Apostles'' faces, as Xuelong spoke with a tired sigh, "When I think that I have finally seen everything horrible, something new appearspletely surpassing my expectations."


    "Since the day our world merged, so many new things have appeared and each weirder than the next,


    Michalina nodded in agreement before she continued, "Can you two do me a favor."


    The duo gained a confused look on their faces before they both nodded Michalina to continue.


    "If something simr happens to me, then please kill me as I do not wish to be a monster baby maker."


    "If only you promise to do the same to us."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement with Xuelong''s words as she further added to it, "A fate worse than death, I would prefer to die than be reduced to such a state."


    "Your Holiness."


    The twin greeting from Siora and Shakidra drew their attention as Ylerias spoke with a smile, "I hope your work was fruitful."


    Shakidra nodded as she began to speak, "Yes, your Holiness, may I share my findings?"


    As Xuelong gave her permission with a wave of her hand, Shakidra took a deep breath and began her report.


    "We know that the Ghouls are asexual beings, and when a human bes a ghoul, they lose their reproductive system, ghoul has no way to reproduce."


    "The evolved stages of a Ghoul has a simr problem, but today, we saw something bizarre, today we found child ghouls, which are born without such defects, not to mention they are way better than their parents."


    "They have a perfectly functional male reproductive system, not to mention they are stronger, faster."


    "The women we saw were morphed into such hideous form by cause unknown, but they served the purpose of spawning more and more ghouls, and from my research I can conclude that theyck female ghouls, hence they require female from other species to procreate."


    Michalina growled as she spoke, "And the result is that they kidnap and rape them while turning them into breeders."


    Shakidra nodded with distaste on her face as she spoke, "Yes, and to prolong their life as an effective and fast breeder, they were morphed into those hideous form."


    A silence descended amongst them as various emotions passed through their face when all of a sudden, their radio crackled, and Ryan''s voice came from the other side.


    "We have a problem."

 Chapter 146: Ship breaker(Part-4)

    Chapter 146: Ship breaker(Part-4)


    Ryan winced at the colourfulnguage of Michalina before he replied to her, "Sis, your mouth needs immediate cleansing."


    His words earned him another round of shouting, making his brow twitch as a look of annoyance settled on his face.


    "<strong>If you do not behave, I will turn off the radio.</strong>"


    As Michalina''s voice died down, Ryan continued, "Now listen carefully, while we were searching for the Hazmat, we found various Radiation cleansing chemicals, when I step outside the room, use them along with something to scrub my Hazmat from a distance."


    "Upon being cleansed, it would be safer for me to remove my Hazmat, and then I would love to use some water to clean myself, though I doubt we would find any soap lying around."


    Ryan''s radio was silent for a moment before Shakidra''s voice came to his ear, "Your Highness, I will find some soap for you, but do you need anything else?"


    "Yes, search the ship infirmary for some potassium-iodide tablets they are used to treat radiation poisoning."


    Meanwhile, back with others, a distraught Michalina could only look towards Ryan''s direction and pray for his safety.


    As Ryan finished giving them his orders Michalina could not help but speak with a cracked voice, "Tell me brother, is there no other way?"


    A heavy sigh came from the other side as Ryan replied to her, "Sorry, sis, but there is no other way."


    "I do not think that hazmat of yours will suffice."


    "I know, but still, it is the best that I could make at present, and also, you are worrying too much the control rods are fully inserted so, there should not be any radiation."


    Michalina frowned at his answer as she questioned him in a crisp tone, "How sure are you?"


    A nervous chuckle came from the other side as Ryan replied to her, "Well, I am seventy percent sure that I would be safe."


    Xuelong''s eyes narrowed as she spoke, "Why are you only seventy percent sure that it would work?"


    "Well, my knowledge about reactors is from what the school teaches us, which is the bare minimum, and from what I know that when control rods are fully inserted, the nuclear reaction stops."


    "But, I have no idea what would happen when someone strips the outeryers, and exposes the core with the control rods fully inserted into it."


    "Will the reaction begin anew? Or nothing would happen, but most importantly, how everything would react in the presence of magic?"


    Michalina could feel a massive headache developing, as she clearly remembers how things like petroleum have changed drastically.


    Ylerias groaned as she spoke, "This is not good Ryan, what else can we do to help you?"


    The radio was silent for a few moments before Ryan spoke, "I cannot think of anything else."


    Shakidra quickly spoke with a frown, "Your Holiness, after you step out, we will spray you with a special liquid while some of us would scrub your suit, then after thorough a cleansing, you will then remove your suit and take a bath, am I correct?"


    "Absolutely, and in the off chance I get radiation poisoning, I would need to ingest some pills."


    With his piece being Ryan gave his undivided attention to the reactor in front of him.


    <em>''ording to what I know, the control rod mechanism is designed in a manner that in case of critical power failure, the rods would fall into the core stopping any reaction, and hence, I can safely say that top-wise insertion will ur.''</em>


    <em>''So, if I remove the top, I can safely react the rods, and then I will put something that would prevent the rods from spilling out of the core.''</em>


    Ryan made a hole in the reactor cover as he looked at the inside, only toe face to face with the controlling mechanism of the control rods.


    <em>''So, these the mechanism that controls the control rod, hmm, I have to move it out of the way to reach the control rods, or hmm, ah I have an idea.''</em>


    Instead of following his original n to make way near the top of the control unit and permanently fixing them, Ryan decided on another path.


    Ryanpletely removed the reactor cover before he tied the controlling mechanism to the nearby structures, using thick iron chains.


    Ryan then loosened the mechanism, letting it fall inside the reactor, but before it could go all the way down, the chains held the entire structure from touching the control rods.


    <em>''The controlling mechanism is hanging at less than a centimetre above that of the control rods, thus preventing any damage to the core, and now I will permanently fix it at that position before covering the entire thing up.''</em>


    A loud thunk echoed inside the room as the mechanism rested on top of the control rods, and Ryan did not wait any longer as he began to strip the side of the reactor as he reached near the mechanism.


    Ryan attached the controlling mechanism permanently to the side of the reactor, using the materials that he had gathered, and then hepletely sealed the reactor.


    <em>''Now, the control rods will not be able to move at all.''</em>


    Ryan turned on his radio as he quickly spoke, "One down, two to go."


    His radio crackled as Michalina''s voice came to his ears, "Are you alright, brother?"


    "I am fine, and as for the radiation, I am having a much lower radiation exposure than an X-ray."


    A relief filled sigh came from the radio, followed by Michalina''s voice, "I am d you are alright, now finish the work fast and get out of there."


    It took a few more minutes, and Ryan finished his work on the second reactor, only for a horrible realisation to sink in.


    <em>''Wait a minute, this is an SFR, which means that it has sodium in it, so if I sink the ship and somehow the water find its way to the sodium.''</em>


    Ryan could not help but let out a loud groan at the thought as he spoke out loud, "One thing after another."


    Ryan did not hesitate to radio back to hispanions as he quickly spoke, "I have finished sealing up the reactors, but we might have another problem."


    The radio crackled as Xuelong''s voice came to his ears, "What is the problem, Ryan?"


    "This reactor uses sodium, so what would happen if the sodium would get in contact with water."


    Michalina had a horrified look on her face as she quickly spoke, "That would be terrible, nuclear meltdown, not to mention your hardwork would be for nothing."


    The radio crackled as Ryan''s voice came, "I thought a lot about what to do about it, and the only thing that I can do at present is to seal the roompletely."


    "Then do it brother."


    "Okay, then I will contact you as soon as I have finished my work."


    Ryan looked at the reactors as he mused inwardly, ''I have covered it well, so the risk of the sodiuming into contact will be minimal, but if I seal off a few portions of the room, then it would be nonexistent for a very long time."


    Lance Stormborne, High Priest of Xamos, God of Rain and Storms, prayed to his God, asking for His guidance, and he might not be an Apostle, but being a High Priest, he sometimes would receive visions and dreams from his God.


    After drifting in the sea for a long time, a vision came to him, and it was that vision that led him and his fellowpanions to this ind.


    ''With the sun rising behind the twin peaks of this ind, the metallic bird would bring us salvation and show us the way, but it has been weeks, and yet nothing has changed.''


    As Lance looked at the setting sun, he could not help but hope for the arrival of new dawn filled with salvation.


    Ryan raised his bowl to his lips as he drank the soup before he spoke with a content sigh, "That was wonderful, Siora."


    Siora bowed towards Ryan while Ylerias spoke with a frown, "Ryan, how long would it take for you to finish your work?"


    Rayn frowned as he spoke, "I will be ready to leave by tomorrow night."


    "It would take so much time?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke with a sigh, "Yes, it would, as I have no idea where to begin, and I would want to aplish it using minimum effort."


    Xuelong sighed as she spoke, "If it were before the merger took ce, either of us would have destroyed the ship with a single attack, but enough of us, how are you nning to deal with the ship."


    "About that, there are a lot of missiles and bombs on the ship, not to mention the aviation fuel storage, and if I can cause a chain explosion, then the entire ship would sink."


    Michalina, who was engrossed in reading a journal of an officer of the ship, spoke for the first time, "Even then, it would be difficult."


    Ryan smirked at her as he spoke, "Mom would scold you for reading at dinner table."


    Michalina scoffed at him before she spoke, "Scuttling a carrier of this size would not be easy brother, upon saying that, I found something interesting in this journal."


    As Michalina gained the undivided attention of everyone, she ced the journal on the table, and then turning to a particr page, she pointed towards a picture.


    "Look at the picture of the aircraft, and what do you see?"


    Ryan looked at the picture, drawn rather neatly by hand, as he spoke with a frown, "This looks, something straight out of a Sci-fi movie, what is this?"


    Michalina gained a smug look on her face as she spoke, "That is a sixth-gen fighter, well, more urately as close to sixth gen as possible."


    Ryan gawked at the design before he spoke, "It looks so weird, and how does it even fly?"


    Michalina shrugged as she spoke, "That I do not know, but what I know is that a few hours before the Apocalypse, these fighters took off for a test run, along with a three-star Admiral."


    "Damn that Admiral, and now I cannot get my hands on some sweet next-gen fighters."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes, and it would be great to get your hands on them, but something weird happened as they had veered off course from their usual flight path and disappeared from the radar."


    Ryan gawked at Michalina as Ylerias spoke, "So that means that they were lost?"


    Michalina nodded with a sigh, "That is true, but unfortunately, we can do nothing about it."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "But still all thirty of them veering course off and crashing, that is unexpected."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Maybe it is possible, after all, some minute changes might have begun before the merger, and it might have interfered with the sensitive instruments on board."


    Michalina nodded in agreement before she spoke, "I agree with you, brother, but how are you nning to sink the carrier, as they are notorious for taking heavy damage and still keep floating."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I know that is why I will have to make sure to cut holes in specific ces so that the carrier would sink easily."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "I hope it does, as I do not fancy seeing you getting into wreck trying to sink it."


    Ylerias nodded as she added a few words, "True, and God forbid you from swim in the dark and dangerous waters."


    Ryan replied to her, with his charming smile, "I will be fine, there is no need for you to worry."


    The charming smile made butterflies fly inside her belly as she averted her eyes slightly, but in doing so, Ylerias garnered Xuelong''s full attention, who narrowed her eyes at her.

 Chapter 147: The Marooned (Part-1)

    Chapter 147: The Marooned (Part-1)


    A loud nking noise filled the area as the ship dropped its anchors under the watchful eyes of Ryan.


    "Your Holiness, I doubt the anchors would be able to reach the seafloor, so why are you dropping them?"


    "Siora, while it is true that the anchors might not reach the bottom, but the ship would be within the next hour, and I hope that the anchors would prevent it from moving from its spot under the influence of some undersea currents."


    The sky shed with a rumble of loud booming thunder while Ryan looked outside, through one of the many holes he had made on the hull, as an annoyed look passed over his face.


    "The thunderstorm will be upon us any minute, and the ship has started to rock badly, and I do not wish for my craft to take a plunge into the sea."


    "Your Holiness, then shall we return."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, I have already rigged the ship to blow and sink, and all that is left for us to move away from it."


    As the duo left, Ryan could not help but thank his patron God for giving him a small warning about the iing storm.


    Michalina gritted her teeth as a torrential downpour hit them, and the ship was rocking a bit dangerously, as was evident from the slight slipping of their aircraft.


    Michalina spotted his brother and Siora exiting from the ind as she shouted out to them at the top of her lungs, "Hurry up!"


    Ryan slipped a few times because of the rain but eventually made it to the ramp, and as soon as both Siora and he were safely inside, the ramp began to rise.


    Ryan jumped into his seat as the seat belts moved on their own, securing him tightly.


    NHASC-001 suddenly found itself flung from the deck as a particr wave hit it hard, making the upants of the aircraft freeze with fear.


    A pulse of mana originated from Ryan, as his tattoos glowed while the cabin lights flickered, and then the aircraft engine shuddered as it suddenly went full power in a blink of an eye.


    The aircraft plunged into the dark waters before jumping out and skipping over the waves, and then it managed to climb up towards the sky.


    Ryan let out a sigh of relief as the lights returned to normal as he spoke, "We made it, now we have to sink the ship."


    He quickly took out the detonator before tossing it towards Michalina as he spoke, "Sis, after we get away a bit further from it, use it to detonate the bombs."


    The aircraft moved further away from the ship before turning towards it while hovering in the air.


    They watched as therge carrier began to rock dangerously under the onught of the giant waves when Michalina decided to use the detonator.


    Multiplerge explosions rocked the carrier as water began to seep inside it.


    Michalina gave a small sigh as she spoke, "There goes a great vessel, a marvelous engineering design from the old world."


    Before anyone could say anything, a lightning bolt went past too close forfort as Xuelong quickly spoke, "Ryan, it is high time we move from here, as I believe under the current condition, the ship will sink fast and well."


    Ryan bit his lips as he spoke, "I hope so, the sunrise is a few hours away, not to mention, because of the terrible storm the visibility is very low."


    A bolt of lightning came too close forfort, making Ryan''s decision, as he hastily moved the aircraft higher up into the sky, and within a tense momentter, he was way above the clouds.


    "So what now?"


    As Michalina spoke, she idly noted that her femalepanions were praying.


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I want to catch some sleep, and since we have nowhere to go for now, I would set the aircraft to hover mode and catch some sleep."


    A couple of hourster, Ryan woke up from his sleep, and instead of using the bunk beds, he had decided to sleep on his chair.


    As he opened his eyes, he could see the sun well up on the horizon while the storm had moved further away from them.


    Shakidra, who was already awake, made her way towards Ryan with a steaming hot cup of herbal tea.


    "Thank you, Shakidra."


    Ryan took a sip as he sighed with content before he spoke, "This is amazing."


    Shakidra bowed while Xuelong spoke with a smirk on her face, "So what now? Where should we go?"


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "No idea, but let me lower the aircraft a bit closer to the ocean, then maybe we can decide where to go next."


    As the aircraft neared the surface, Ryan spotted a pod of whales nearby, making his eyes widen with amazement.


    "Sis, look over there, a pod of whales."


    Ryan happily moved the aircraft towards the pod, and as he neared the whales, they sprayed water from their blowhole, and in turn, made Ryan feel a sense of awe and amazement to wash over him.


    "They are way cooler up close."


    Michalina nodded in agreement, but before anyone could speak, a creature that looked like a humongous eel broke the surface.


    The creature''s maw was giant enough for it to bite one of the whales, and then it proceeded to drag the whale beneath the surface as the water turned red, but it was not the only part that wasrge as the creature itself seemed to be near about a kilometre long.


    Ryan quickly moved away from that ce, while Michalina decided to break the silence after a few moments, "What was that creature?"


    Ylerias shook her head before she replied to Michalina, "No idea, never have I seen or heard about something like that?"


    Xuelong nodded in support of Ylerias''s words before she spoke, "Same here, I have never heard or seen about creature like that."


    Lance Stormborne prayed to God Xamos, thanking him for protecting them.


    Last night a terrible storm had raged, the ocean churned and frothed, and yet in the midst of it, a small ind upied by a few refugees was exempted from its wrath.


    The entire raging storm passed by the ind in a way that seemed as if an invisible wall protected them.


    "High priest, an unknown flying creature was spotted."


    Lance frowned, and as he looked towards the direction one of his priests pointed towards, his eyes opened wide, seeing the sight in front of him.


    The sun had risen behind the twin peaks while a ''metallic bird'' descended from in between the twin peaks.


    "Our salvation..."


    Lance whispered lowly before he quickly barked some orders to his subordinate, "Whatever happens, do not attack the mettalic bird."


    Lance dashed towards the aircraft, which hadnded on the beach, and he was not alone in the endeavour, as others from his group did the same.


    With a hiss, the back of the aircraft opened, and to their joy, they spotted a familiar figure stepping out of it.


    Xuelong stepped down the ramp as she spoke with a smile on her face, "Warm beach after the dreadful storm feels nice."


    Lancer and his people suddenly felt a sense of relief upon seeing both Xuelong and Ylerias exiting from the vehicle.


    "Greetings, Your Holiness, it is good to see you."


    Xuelong narrowed her eyes for a moment before she spoke with a kind smile on her face, "You are Lance Stormborne, High Priest of God Xamos, am I right?"


    "Yes, Your Holiness, it is great to see you during this troubling times."


    Xuelong gave a nod of acknowledgement as Ylerias spoke, "If I may, High Priest, what brought you to this ind?"


    "Your Holiness, before the world had changed, I was on a pilgrimage, and since that time, we have been drifting from one ind to another, trying to help more and more people."


    "But, unfortunately, we are at our limit, and many amongst us have given up hope, we do not belong on the sea that is strange and treacherous, and as such, we are waiting for salvation."


    Ylerias eyes roamed over the people''s faces, which was bubbling with hope when one of the people from amongst them stepped forward.


    "Excuse me, but how is that airne functioning? When every piece of technology is gone."


    "Ah, that would be my doing, my good friend."


    The person looked towards Ryan as he spoke with a frown on his face, "Who are you? And how?"


    "It is rude to not give you name before asking others, but since you asked, my name is Ryan Von Ruinesca, and I am an Apostle of God Avtis."


    A couple of gasps came to Ryan''s ears, but he did not pay any heed to them, while the person, who had questioned Ryan, began to introduce himself, "My name is Lieutenant Kason Robinson, Naval Aviator stationed onboard a US Carrier."


    Ryan''s narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "You were stationed on USS Murphy, were you not?"


    Kason frowned as he spoke, "Yes, I was stationed on USS Murphy, but how do you know about it?"


    "We came across the ship very recently, and inside one of the rooms, we saw your picture along with some of your crew mates."


    Kason''s eyes widened momentarily before he quicklyposed himself while voicing his concern, "How is her crew?"


    "I am sorry to say, but none of her crew survived."


    Kason mmed his eyes shut for a moment before he spoke with a pained gasp, "How? What happened?"


    "From what we have learned, the ship came to close a cruise ship, that had been overrun, by dangerous creatures, who then proceeded to board the carrier, and then killed her upants."


    "I see, and what about Murphy?"


    "The creatures caused damage to the ship, especially the reactor room, and fearing immediate meltdown, we were forced to sent her beneath the surface."


    Kason let out a heavy sigh before he spoke, "If you will excuse me, I need some time alone."


    As Ryan gave a curt nod, Kason swiftly left, disappearing into the crowds that had begun to form.


    Meanwhile, Lance spoke with a huge smile on his face, "Ah, where are my manners, please this way, you all must be tired from your journey."


    Xuelong raised her hand, stopping Lance in his tracks, as she spoke, "There is no need to get worked up, High Priest, is there any immediate problems that you need our help to deal with?"


    Lance was silent for a moment before he spoke with a sigh, "There are plenty problems that we need your help with, Your Holiness."


    "Then, do not hesitate to say whatever you need, and we will do our utmost to help you."

 Chapter 148: The Marooned (Part-2)

    Chapter 148: The Marooned (Part-2)


    Lance took them to a more secluded spot as he began to speak with a sigh, "Before we arrived at this ce, we had ten ships, we braved the storm and whatnot, but when we arrived at this ce, a giant creature attacked us, and now we have only four badly damaged ships."


    "So, in other words you are stuck in a deste ind."


    Lance looked towards Ryan as he spoke with a nod, "Yes, Your Holiness, we are trapped essentially on an Ind that is barely able to sustain us."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "I see.", she then turned towards Ryan, as she continued, "We can ferry this people away to safety, though it would take time and multiple trips, but it is doable, is it not Ryan?"


    Ryan was about to nod in agreement, only for a message to pop in front of him, which made him groan out loud.


    Hearing his groan, Xuelong could not help but send a pitying nce at him as she spoke, "A new troublesome quest."


    Ryan nodded as he began to speak, "Yes, I am to y the beast before someone arrives, and if I fail to kill it, the person would die, causing me intense grief as well as receive eternal loathing of the God of Ocean."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong were silent for a brief moment before a matching grin broke on their faces.


    Ryan owlishly blinked before he spoke, "You know the person?"


    Xuelong nodded at Ryan''s question as she replied to him, "Do you remember about all the different apostle''s we told you about?"


    As Ryan nodded, Xuelong continued with a smirk on her face, "Well, you are about to meet one of the oldest Apostles, Xue Okeniosi,


    Apostle of the God Ocean and Rivers."


    Ryan gulped as he spoke, "Yes, I remember about him, and I also remember you telling him being nigh invincible ."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "Yes, as long as he is near a body of water, he is near invincible."


    Ryan frowned before his eyes widened in rm as he quickly spoke, "Can he control the water inside someone''s body?"


    Ylerias frowned hard while Xuelong replied with a shrug, "No idea, you will have to ask him."


    "I see."


    With that, Ryan''s face morphed into a scowl as he continued to speak, "So, how dangerous is that creature if it can cause harm to someone of his stature."


    Michalina quickly supplied to her brother''s chain of thought, "He might have lost his levels like the rest."


    "That may be the truth, sister, but unfortunately, we do not know what he went through since, what is his current level and most importantly, how much of the previous abilities that he can wield."


    Michalina bit her lips as she spoke, "That paints a dire picture indeed.", she then turned towards the other two apostles as she continued, "Your Holiness, what is His race?"


    Ylerias acknowledged her question with a nod as she replied to her, "Uncle Xue belongs to the Merfolk race, but he is a bit special even amongst them."


    "How so?"


    As Ryan questioned her, Ylerias continued with a smile on her face, "The thing about Merfolk is that when they are born, they share more resemnce to some aquatic creature rather than usnd dwellers."


    "Most do not have legs like us and will never do, but in some cases, they evolve, gaining more simrities to usnd-dwellers."


    As Ylerias stopped, Xuelong picked up with a grin on her face, "And here is the kicker, these evolutions happen only to a lucky few, and no amount of levelling up or training can trigger it."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement as she continued, "True, and Uncle Xue sired by Sea Dragon and Leviathan type merfolk, was born as an evolved."


    As the siblings'' eyes widened slightly, Ylerias continued, "Uncle Xue is on a ss of his own, but enough of that, how are we to proceed with our current situation?"


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "If uncle Xue would have trouble with it, then the creature is troubling indeed."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Can you give an example about his strength."


    Xuelong smirked as she spoke, "You remember that Iron dragon?"


    As Ryan nodded, Xuelong continued with the smirk, "He would have pped the creature to death, and that is, how scarily strong he is, amongst the Apostles he boast the highest strength."


    Ylerias snorted as she spoke, "Please, sister, do not sell yourself short, as you are not that far behind, and if it were not for the level difference, you would have surpassed him in pure strength."


    "That may be true, but you have to give credit where it is due."


    Ylerias nodded in agreement while Ryan turned to speak with Lance, "High Priest, your people and you are more knowledgeable on the creature, so please enlighten us about it."


    Lance bowed deeply towards Ryan before he began to speak, "Your Holiness, it was early morning when the creature fast attacked us, and it was swift as well as vicious."


    "The creature attacked our ships from directly beneath us, and it used its massive size to capsize and sink our ships, it was quite agile and cunning, and if only would have been able to operate the cannons on our ship, then we would not have suffered such loses."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "How tough is its hide?"


    "Not by much if you ask me, again, as I have said before, it was because of the sudden loss of our level we were caught t-footed, or else we would have killed it easily, the main thing about the creature is its size, speed and its flexibility."


    "Even after all that, we managed to damage it, but s, while we are stuck here, it is hunting and growing stronger with each day, and currently, it is impossible for us to harm it any more."


    Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose as he spoke with a sigh, "Troubling."


    "Your Holiness, may I suggest something?"


    As Ryan nodded, Lance continued with a touch of reverence in his voice, "Your Holiness, I am more of a healer than a fighter, and during the battle against the creature, I had spent most of my time healing the injured, as such may I be rude enough to point you towards the Captain, as he might be more insightful than I am."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "That would be much appreciated."


    Lance suddenly got a bit fearful look on his face as he spoke, "There is also something I wish to warn you about the Captain."


    As Ryan permitted him to continue with a wave of his hand, Lance suddenly looked very old, as he continued with a look of unease on his face, "The Captain was a very pious and devout worshipper, but recent events had tested his faith, and he had was found wanting, and since then he has been spouting a bit of heresy, and many seem to be following him."


    Xuelong let out a growl while Ylerias spoke with a barely concealed anger in her voice, "And why are you all suffering in a heretic?"


    Lancer slouched as he began to speak, "Because not only we are low in number, he has some of the best warriors and hunters following him."


    Ryan quickly spoke while trying to diffuse the situation, "We will deal with the problem,ter on, as at present, our main priority is that creature out there."


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong sent Ryan a stern look, weighing the pros and cons of such action before they decided to acquiesce to Ryan''s advice.


    A few more minutester, Lancer left the group alone, and as he moved further away, Ylerias popped a barrier around them using runes.


    "So, what should we do now?"


    As Michalina asked the million-dor question, Xuelong began to speak, "We should break up into groups to learn more about his creature."


    "And terrain as well."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement towards Ryan as she spoke, "That too, we have to know the ce where we are to fight it."


    With that decision in mind, they split into smaller groups, and each group moved on to perform their separate tasks.


    While Siora and Michalina had taken the aircraft high up in the sky to map the terrain, while Ylerias had taken Shakidra with her to question the survivors about the creature, leaving Xuelong and Ryan to confront the captain.


    As the duo made their way towards thest known location of the captain, Ryan could not help but ask out a question running inside his mind, "Xuelong, may I ask you something?"


    "Feel free to ask me anything my love."


    Ryan blushed slightly at Xuelong''s tone before he continued, "How should we deal with the captain?"


    "Simple beloved, if the captain turns a new leaf, then he would be spared, and if not, then heresy will be dealt with extreme prejudice."


    "Then we have to make sure to deal with him in a way that does not cause resentment to be born with others."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "True, as it would be incredibly tricky, especially when he is looked up to by many."


    "So, how should we proceed?"


    "First, we test the waters by casually talking with him, try to learn about your newest prey, and if he is outright hostile from the beginning, we will kill him then and there."


    Ryan nodded in agreement before he spoke in a whisper, "What should we do about the person trailing us?"


    "Nothing, as long as the person does not attack us, we do nothing."


    The duo soon found themselves taking a small path that took them up the right peak and then into a clearing, where the captain sat surrounded by his men.


    The captain''s eyes widened momentarily upon seeing Xuelong before he spoke with a smirk, "My my, what an auspicious asion to have an Apostle amongst us, what can I do for you, <em>Your Holiness</em>."


    The mocking edge, on The captain''s tone, was not lost to either of them, but Xuelong did not rise to it as she spoke, "The giant creature tell us about it."


    "Why? So that you can show up to us, gain favour and glory, have your name written in annals of history."


    The Apostles frowned at his words as Xuelong once again spoke, "We came to learn about the creature nothing more, so sto..."


    "Shut up, I was not born yesterday, and I know why you are here, for it is to deal with a heretic right me, right? Go ahead, do your worst I am not afraid to speak against your God."


    The duo looked stunned for a moment before Ryan could no longer stomach it as he broke intoughter while Xuelong desperately tried to control hers.


    "Sorry, your joke was too much for us to handle, and did you seriously think we came this far for you? Just how arrogant are you? We are busy, and we do not have time to bolster a pitiful heretic''s fragile ego."


    Hearing that, the captain jumped up from his seat as he spoke with a snarl, "How dare you whore, how dare you!"


    Ryan was feeling annoyed by then, and he had a quest toplete, and as such, he spoke with a sigh, "Are you done with your pity party? Unlike some, we are busy."


    "I will show you what busy is, <strong>attack them!!!</strong>"


    With a warcry, the captain''s group jumped on the duo, while, on the other side of the ind, Ylerias turned to look towards her fellow Apostles'' direction before she spoke in a whisper while shaking her head in exasperation.


    "They should have dealt with the heretic, before he could spit out heresy."


    Shakidra''s brow wrinkled with a frown before she spoke with a sigh, "It seems, we have to deal with a few heretics on our own."


    As she spoke, the duo found themselves being surrounded by a group of people who looked ready to kill them.

 Chapter 149: The Marooned(part 3)

    Chapter 149: The Marooned(part 3)


    Ryan sat on a rock as he looked at the badly bruised group of men and women kneeling on their knees.


    Their crime being heresy, they had turned against their Gods while spreading heresy and disbelief amongst others.


    As Ryan''s eyes went over them, he could not help but let out a sigh as he thought inwardly, ''What a waste, from the looks of it, both Xuleong and Ylerias are pushing for their execution.''


    As he looked towards his fellow Apostles, he could not help but frown, ''Back in New Hope, despite having freedom of religion, I have seen those two and their group performing subtle proselytism.''


    ''Should I join them, but then again, my God does not require any worshippers, so Nah, too much work.''


    A cry full of pain cut his internal musings short, drawing his attention towards one of the heretic writhing from pain under Xuelong''s boots.


    Ryan sighed as he whispered lowly, "Those fools should have cooperated with us instead of baring their fangs and giving those two an excuse to deal with them."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I do not understand what your problem is? All I wanted to know from you is about the creature, so why are you trying to fight us."


    "Shut up, dog of the GooooAAAAAhhhhh!!!"


    The person screamed in agony as Ylerias stomped hard on the person''s leg, breaking it in half.


    Ryan looked at her with a disapproving look as he spoke, "Sister Ylerias, that was uncalled for, and if someone decides to spit at the sky then let them, it would only fall back on their face."


    He once again turned to look towards the heretics as he spoke in a sympathetic tone, "Why are you all being so angsty difficult but more importantly belligerent, we are not here to fight you, but to y the beast and save some people."


    "Then why? Why are you being so difficult, just tell us about it and be on your way, as we would."


    The captain looking worse for wear, snarled at him as he shouted towards Ryan, "Do you worse scum but we will not bend our knees in front of you sick twisted Gods."


    Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation as he spoke with a heavy sigh, "Really now, again?"


    He kneeled in front of the captain as he began to speak slowly, "I do not wish to fight with you, as I only want to know about the beast, or is it too hard for you to understand what I am trying to say for so long."


    The captain spat on Ryan''s face, but before it would hit him, an iron sheet intercepted it, as Ryan spoke with a shake of his head, "An idiot, a stubborn pig headed idiot, well I think one of ourpanions will be of more help to us."


    With that Ryan, mmed the iron sheet over the captain''s mouth, where it morphed around his face, effectively preventing him from speaking.


    Xuelong looked at Ryan as she spoke with a shake of her head, "Told you it was hopeless, as you will have a better chance with a wall than them."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Can''t me me for trying."


    Ryan looked at the crowd that was looking towards the heretics with varying looks, ranging from pity to anger, and in some cases pure loathing, with a few worrying look mixed within."


    As Ryan slowly made his way towards them, the sessfulnding of the aircraft captured his attention.


    Changing his destination, he quickly jogged to meet with his sister and inquire about her mission.


    As Michalina stepped out of the aircraft, she found herself greeted by a smiling Ryan.


    "Hey sis, did the mission go well."


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Yes, brother, I have mapped the entire area, and now you can begin nning on how to take down the creature, but most importantly, how did your mission go."


    A scowl formed on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "Bad, extremely bad, never have I run across someone as pig headed and idiotic as them."


    Michalina looked amused as she spoke, "Really, so what did they do?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "They, especially the captain, has gotten into his head that we are here to kill him for heresy like we have time for someone like him, and then they tried to fight us, and now they are held captive."


    Michalina sighed with exasperation as she spoke, "Well, if they do not want to cooperate, there is nothing that you could do, so why don''t you get inside and take a look at the map of this ce."


    Avtis stared into space with his jaw tightened shut, and his hand behind his back, behind him, stood both Oena and Vahjim with grim expressions on their faces.


    "Oena, this is a serious situation that you have stumbled upon."


    Oena sighed as she spoke, "True grandpa, but the worst is that if it were not for a fluke, I would not have been able to find their general direction."


    Vahjim frowned as he spoke in a gruff voice, "To elude the Goddess of hunt is no mere deat."


    Avtis spoke with a grunt as he spoke, "Yes, to evade our senses for so long and with such sess, and although I can think of a few ways to do so, but of them are nice."


    Vahjim narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "Is that why you have made our Apostles apany yours?"


    Avtis smirked at him as he spoke, "As perspective as ever, and yes, I was using mine to triangte the position, and as such, I was making him run meaningless chores, but now because of Oena, it would be easier for them to find the ce."


    Oena spoke with a frown on her face, "Will it be dangerous for them."


    "Very, the things that make us unable to see, or better yet that thing is making us look elsewhere is nothing to trifle with."


    Vahjim sighed as he spoke, "I just hope that they will be alright."


    Avtis sighed as he spoke, "I hope too, especially when they are apanying mine."


    Oena suddenly had an idea as she quickly spoke, "What about the fourth, he would appear soon, and then he could apany them."


    Vahjim negatively shook his head as he spoke, "It would not work, as not only he is not at his full strength because of the injury, but at present, he is not that good while fighting onnd."


    Avtis sighed as he chimed in, "I have to agree with Vahjim, while he might be invincible on the ocean, but he was not that great while onnd, not to mention, we have no idea where their journey would take them, and as such for all intents and purpose, he will be a liability to them."


    Oena could not help but sigh at herpanions'' words while silently hoping for her Apostle''s safety.


    Back on the newly christened Twin Peaks ind, Ryan was giving his undivided attention to the map of the area.


    "So, what do you think?"


    Ryan bit his lips as he replied to Michalina, "Fighting it out on the sea is tantamount to suicide, and the aircraft would be useless against it."


    The newly arrived Xuelong nodded in agreement with Ryan''s observation as she spoke, "That is very true, but how are we to going deal with it then."


    Ryan sat on the nearest chair with his hand over his face while he was staring intently at the map while others were busy discussing amongst themselves.


    Ryan suddenly jumped up from his seat, drawing everyone''s attention, as he spoke, "From an angle, it might look as if it is a single ind."


    He pointed towards a part of the map before he continued again, "But if you look closely, the ind is divided into two parts, the narrow river that flows between the twin peaks cuts the ind in half."


    Ylerias frowned momentarily before her eyes widened with a smirk, "It is a very narrow river, and if we can lure the creature here, it would get stuck and thereby enable us to kill it."


    Xuelong mulled over the idea before she spoke, "That is an excellent idea, though how are we going to lure it here?"


    At her question, Ryan replied to her with a shrug, "No idea."


    "We can use an animal bait."


    As the siblings gave undivided attention to her, Ylerias continued to borate on it, "Sometimes we use specially crafted items to lure a creature that we want to hunt, the item emits a special scent that lures creatures to a trap."


    Siora frowned as she spoke, "That would work, Your Highness, but how do you suggest we should craft it, as not all bait works for every creature."


    "True, Siora, as such, we will cook up something a bit generalised.", Siora was about to protest but was stopped as Ylerias continued, "I know, it might draw out some other unwanted creature, but that is the best solution we have."


    Shakidra, who was silent for the entire conversation, chimed in, "That would work, but in the end, there is too little information about it, and what would happen if it manages to free itself."


    Michalina quickly replied to her question, "Then I doubt we would be able to use the same trick on it, and as such we have to secure its movement."


    Ryan narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "I think I can do something about it, and while you all deal with bringing it here, and once its movement is sealed, we will kill it."

 Chapter 150: The Marooned(part 4)

    Chapter 150: The Marooned(part 4)


    Ryan huffed as he killed amprey lookalike that had tried to attack him from behind.


    "Brother, you have been killing many creatures left and right, and the water is getting bloody because of it, so who knows what creature might get attracted to here."


    "You are right, sis, and I am almost at my limit, though luckily, I have almost finished my work here."


    Ryan dived back into the water, where he began to ce thest piece of his machinery that would stop the beast.


    Xuelong appeared by Michalina''s side as she spoke, "Did he finish his work?"


    Michalina nodded as she spoke, "Almost he is now working on thest one."


    Arge grin broke on Xuelong''s face as she spoke, "Then I am not toote."


    Michalina frowned at her words as she spoke, "Your Holiness, you are notte for what?"


    Xuelong let out a sigh of content as she spoke, "For this."


    Michalina looked in the direction Xuelong was looking at and saw Ryan climbing out of the water.


    Ryan had removed most of his clothes and was only wearing a swimming trunk.


    Both Xuelong and Michalina ogled at his wet body shamelessly, and their breath hitched as Ryan shook his head to get rid of water from his hair.


    As Xuelong watched the beads of water travel down Ryan''s abs, she purred out loud, "<em>Yummy</em>, I like it."


    To which Michalina could not help but nod subconsciously in agreement.


    Ryan stepped out of the water, and after drying himself with a towel, he changed to his previous attire.


    <em>''Now, the only thing left is to lure the creature, but how to do it safely?''</em>


    Ryan suddenly felt as if someone was watching him, and as he turned, he spotted his sister along with Xuelong, who waved at him.


    Ryan waved back towards them while Michalina whispered back to Xuelong, "Remember our deal."


    Xuelong smirked back at her as she spoke, "Of course I do."


    As Ryan reached them, he spoke with a huff, "So, how was your day?"


    Xuelong shrugged as she spoke, "So so, nothing special, but have you finished with your work?"


    "Almost, the boat is the only thing left for me to make."


    "I see."


    "Though, I still thing it is highly unsafe."


    Michalina nodded in agreement as she spoke, "Of course, it is, brother, and that is why I will be the one to drive it."


    Ryan quickly protested against the idea, "Of course not, Sis, amongst all of us, I am the one most suitable because if something happens, and I end up getting eaten, I can force it to regurgitate me or at least kill it from inside with my powers.


    Michalina was about to protest, but Ryan''s stomach protested in hunger, as Xuelong spoke with a smirk, "Well, why don''t we discuss it after some meal."


    Michalina nodded in agreement as she spoke, "True, I am so famished."


    A few minutester, the group found themselves sitting on a log, and each of them held giant leaves with roasted seafood and coconut flesh in them.


    ''The roasted mixture of various kinds of seafood sure tastes nice.''


    "I hope the food is to your liking."


    Ryan looked towards Lance as he spoke with a smile on his face, "Absolutely, though I hope others have already eaten."


    Lance nodded as he spoke, "Yes, Your Holiness."


    "Good, good."


    With that, Lance gave a bow before he made himself scarce, leaving them to finish their lunch.


    As Lance was out of earshot, Ylerias began to speak, "So, Ryan, who is to be the decoy?"


    "I vote for me."


    Michalina sent a stern re at him as she spoke, "Absolutely not, brother, you are too important to take such a risk."


    "Maybe, but if worsees to pass, I can use my powers to tear my way out of it."


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "That maybe true, but that is the epitome of being reckless, and how do you know that something strange might not happen?"


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "I concur with them, as there are so many things that can go wrong, like the creature bit your craft, and it blew up, or it has acidic breath that melted you before you could act."


    "I can say that something simr could easily happen to you all."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "True, but you are more important.", as Ryan tried to protest, Xuelong stopped him from speaking as she continued, "Please, think about what kind of harm your sudden death would cause."


    "Excuse me.", a voice suddenly came to their ears, drawing their attention.


    Ryan quickly recognized him as he spoke, "Ah, you are Lieutenant Kason Robinson, right?"


    Kason nodded as he spoke, "I am, though first I would like to apologize for identally overhearing your discussion."


    Ylerias waved him off as she spoke, "No problem, we were not being discreet about it, and also, what can we do for you?"


    "I want to volunteer to be the decoy."


    Ryan almost spat out his food as he spoke with an incredulous look on his face, "What?! But, why would you?"


    "You have the power to help and heal our world, and as such, I wish to help you."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I see, let me finish my lunch, and then we can discuss about in great depth."


    A few minutester, Kason stood in front of Ryan and his group as Ryan had just finished telling him details of the n.


    "So, Kason, can you do it?"


    "Of course, I am used to sailing a boat, and as such, I can do it."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "I see, then I will take my leave to work on the boat."


    A few hourster, Kason stood in front of a catamaran that he was inspecting in great detail.


    "So, what do you think of it?"


    "An excellent boat."


    "And do you think you need any extra features?"


    Kason shook his head as he spoke, "No, I think this is perfect, so how soon should we begin?"


    "Tomorrow at dawn."


    "I see, so do you mind if I spent some time familiarizing myself with the boat."


    "Not at all feel free to do so, and if you need anything, do not hesitate to contact me."


    Ryan let out a yawn as he moved towards his aircraft, and when he boarded it, he found himself face to face with a scowling Michalina.


    "Why did you allow him to pilot the boat, brother? I could have easily done it."


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I know, but I did not wish for you to be out into such a risky position, and it might sound hypocritical, but you are my prioritypared to rest of them."


    While Ryan was having a heart to heart chat with Michalina, Lance was looking into one of the many machines created by Ryan.


    "Lord Stormborne, what do you think about the new apostle?"


    Lance frowned as he spoke, "Bizzare, his powers are so bizarre, unlike the others I have seen."


    Lance paused for a minute before continuing, "Did you feed them?"


    With a fearful nod, Lance''s subordinate replied, "Yes, I did, my Lord, but the Apostles had ordered us not to feeding them."


    "Yet, Lord Ryan turned a blind eye while I was giving those orders, and if only those fools would realize their folly."


    The next day at the crack of dawn, Kason drove his motorboat a few kilometres away from the ind, waiting patiently for the beast to appear.


    "Brother, are you alright? You look a bit tensed."


    Ryan looked towards Michalina as he spoke with a sigh, "I am a bit tensed sis, we are going to hunt thergest creature we have ever seen, and so many things could go wrong."


    Michalina squeezed Ryan''s shoulder as she spoke, "I know you will be victorious at the end of the day."


    Ryan''s radio crackled as Kason''s voice came to his ears, "I picked it up on the sonar, it ising, get ready."


    "Ok, stay safe."


    Ryan quickly switched the channel as he barked out his order, "Everyone, take position."


    Kason had dubbed the motorboat with the name <em>''Hunter''</em>, and he was currently driving it at azy pace while his eyes were glued to the sonar and radar, keeping an eye on the beast.


    Kason could feel his heart hammer in his chest as the beast drew closer when all of a sudden, he pushed the throttle hard as <em>''Hunter''</em> lurched forward with great vigour.


    The creature attacked ''Hunter'' directly under it, but it narrowly missed it because of Kason''s quick timing.


    Lance stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea as he prayed for Kason''s safety.


    His heart nearly stopped as he saw the giant maw of the beast erupt from under the surface of the water, narrowly missing Kason, and he was not the only one as apparently from the numerous gasps from around him.


    An intense cat and mouse chase began between the Kason and the beast, with quite a few close calls for Kason.


    After a few minutes of intense chase, Kason sessfully lured the creature into Ryan''s trap.


    The creature slithered through the gorge, chasing after Kason, and when its head was about to emerge from the other side, Ryan struck.


    The gorge was very narrow, barely enough for the creature to slither through, but under Ryan''s administration, it has be deadly.


    Hundreds of steel hooks and pikes suddenly erupted, whichtched onto the creature piercing its skin and flesh and thus halting its movement.


    An earth-shattering scream erupted from the creature while Ryan activated the next part of the trap,<em> ''guillotines''.</em>


    Pneumatic Guillotines, to be precise, dropped on the creature with their chainsaw des that cut through it like a hot knife through butter.


    While Ryan was busy cutting the beast into various pieces, the rest of his groups were not far behind.


    Ryan had created a couple of Rail Guns, which were being operated by teams of twos, while Xuelong was using her handheld ballista.


    They targeted the creature''s head as they bombarded it with their attacks.


    The creature did not give up its struggles as it suddenly sent a powerful jolt of electricity.


    Unfortunately, its attempt turned out to be in vain, as all it managed to do was recharge the Rail Guns faster and make the guillotines sharper and deadlier.


    Lance winced upon seeing the sea of blood erupting from the creature like a geyser out of control.


    "That is brutal, so this is the power of the new Apostle."


    Lance did not turn to look at the speaker as he spoke, "It is the power of the Chosen of the one who Ushers the Beginning and Heralds the End."


    Ryan let out a sigh of relief as the light left the creature''s eyes as ity dead.


    Xuelong was the first to approach him as she spoke with a dazzling smile on her face, "We did it, Ryan."


    Ryan smiled back at her as he spoke, "True, we di..."


    Ryan''s voice choked as he spoke with disbelief, "No way, it is not possible."


    Meanwhile, Xue Okeniosi stood on top of the bow of one thergest ships in his armada.


    A frown slowly began to form on his face as he stared at the ind on the horizon.


    Xue took a deep breath before he bellowed out his next set of orders, "Change course, we are going to make our way to that ind."


    His words had an immediate effect as the armada changed their course towards the ind at the horizon.


    One of Xue''s subordinates approached him as he spoke, "Sir, the sea near that ind seems to have been dyed by blood."


    Xue nodded as he spoke, "It is, but my heart is poining towards that direction."


    "What if there is something dangerous out there?"


    "Then we will turn tail and run, for it is unwise to fight a losing battle when you can survive and grow strong."


    "True, Your Holiness, though permission to use those idiots we picked up as a decoy."


    Arge grin formed on Xue''s face as he spoke, "Permission granted."

 Chapter 151: Xue Okeániosi (part 1)

    Chapter 151: Xue Oke¨¢niosi (part 1)


    Ciara sighed as she looked at the setting sun with a scowl etched on her face.


    "Is something troubling you, Ciara?"


    Ciara looked at her friend with a tired smile etched on her face as she spoke, "Zhan, I am tired from hearing those fools bicker."


    Zhan frowned as she questioned Ciara, "The council?"


    Ciara scoffed at her word as she spoke, "What council? How can there be a council when they are unable to decide who will be its member."


    "Ah, so that issue has yet to be solved, but I thought that you already are a member?"


    "Oh, I already am a member, well more like the Head of the Armed Forces of the city is the member of the council."


    "But, the others are undecided."


    "Yes."


    "So, what is the problem?"


    "Simple, it alles down to problems between races, as everyone wants a member from their race in the council."


    Ciara frowned at her friend''s words as she spoke, "The resent whispers on how the otherworld has stolen earth."


    Ciara nodded as she spoke, "Yes, some troublemakers are trying to fan mes of hatred, and it is also why the council is not being able to form."


    Zhan frowned before she spoke, "It would be so easy to install a military dictatorship with you as the head."


    "Yes, it would, but it would also be a chore."


    "So, do you have a n."


    Ciara nodded as she spoke, "I do indeed have a n."


    "So, what is it?"


    "I am somewhat going to copy the UN, there will be permanent members like the Head of the Armed Forces, and then there will be elected members, though at the end of the day, the elected members will only be there for show."


    Zhan smirked at Ciara as she spoke, "It would be difficult as well as dangerous, but I like it."


    Ciara nodded in agreement as she spoke, "This is a refuge that my son made, and I will not allow someone tarnish its glory."


    "Me too, Ciara, as I will help you to preserve my nephew''s hard work."


    Meanwhile, back in twin peaks, the situation amongst the twin peaks suddenly tensed up, as Ryan had spotted a UFO high up in the air.


    "Ryan, are you sure?"


    Ryan nodded grimly towards Michalina as he spoke, "Yes, sis, I am sure about what I saw, and I saw it disappear behind those clouds."


    Ylerias frowned at his words as she spoke, "Ryan, do you think you can catch it?"


    "Possibly, but it has some lead on us, and even if we give it a chase, it went into the clouds."


    "Then let us give it a chase before it disappears."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "True, but there is no need for all of us to run after it."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement as she spoke, "You might need to shoot it down, so take Ylerias and Siora with you."


    With that, the trio quickly ran up towards their aircraft, and it did not take Ryan much time before he was up in the air in search of the UFO.


    Xue narrowed his eyes as he watched a ck metallic thing fly up into the sky, and from the excited chatter of some people, he learned that this was a kind of vehicle.


    ''Interesting, from what I have learned from my God, every technological marvel that the otherworld had has gone up in smoke, so how does it exist?''


    Xue''s eyes momentarily widened as he recalled another conversation as a smirk appeared on his face, ''So, the newest Apostle is here.''


    His face suddenly hardened as he whispered lowly, "Or maybe he is not, and that is some unknown enemy, but either way, it will be fun."


    Back with Xuelong, she had arge grin on her face as she stood on top of a cliff overlooking the armada.


    ''Uncle Xue is here, and it has been a while since I saw him.''


    After makingndfall, Xue made his way towards Xuelong, as he let out a burst of boomingughter, "Niece, it is great to see you again."


    Xuelong grinned as she spoke, "It has been a while, uncle."


    Xuelong''s grin disappeared as she spoke with a frown on her face, "Though it seems that your armada is smaller than usual."


    Xue sighed as he spoke, "The sea is unknown and treacherous, and with so many hidden dangers out there, I lost so many good people."


    A look of sorrow passed through Xuelong''s face as Xue spoke with a grin, "Enough of that, so tell me what you have been up to."


    While Xuelong was bringing Xue up to date, Ryan


    was trying hard to locate the UFO.


    When all of a sudden the radar gave a blipping sound, Ryan briefly nced at it as he spoke with a smirk, "Found it."


    The aircraft stalked its prey, and as Ryan finally managed to catch a glimpse of it, he froze in shock.


    "It cannot be."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Ryan, is something wrong?"


    "Wrong, everything is wrong, that is a drone, and it should no longer exist ording to my God, every bit of technology were fried, so how is it still working."


    "Don''t you think it only looks like that in appearance, but in reality it belongs to Them."


    Ryan bit his lips, mulling over Ylerias''s words before he spoke, "That might be possible."


    "Your Holiness, how do we capture it?"


    Ryan replied with a frown, "The only way for us to capture it is if we shoot it down, but even if we are to capture it, what should I do with it."


    "At the very least, you would be able to deal with a threat."


    Ryan let out a sigh as he spoke, "Well, st it out of the sky."


    The drone failed to detect the predator stalking it, as the various runes on Ryan''s aircraft had made it invisible to the drone''s radar, and thus the turrets on Ryan''s aircraft made quick work of it.


    Luckily for Ryan, the drone had crashed on an ind, and as a result, Ryannded his aircraft nearby before making his way to the drone.


    WARNING, High-level Radiation leak detected nearby.


    The host is to evacuate the area effective immediately.


    WARNING, High-level Radiation leak detected nearby.


    The host is to evacuate the area effective immediately.


    Ryan did not even hesitate as he turned on his heels before picking up the Ylerias, who was just behind on his shoulder as he dashed into the aircraft closing the door behind him.


    Ylerias blushed heavily but soonposed herself as she spoke, "Ryan, what happened?"


    Ryan jumped into the pilot seat as he replied, "I received a warning about a major radiation leak."


    Ylerias''s eyes widened in rm while Ryan quickly piloted his aircraft away from the ind.


    Siora sighed as she spoke, "So, it was a bust."


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Yes, a total waste of time and resources."


    "So, what should we do now, Ryan?"


    "Well, since our brethren would be arriving soon, why not go and greet him, and I know you must be dying to meet him."


    A smile blossomed on Ylerias''s face as she spoke, "True, it has been a while since I have seen him, and I would love to meet him."


    Xue looked at the strange metallic contraption thatnded on the beach, and a smile formed on his face as he saw Ylerias stepping out of it.


    "It has been a while since I saw you."


    Ylerias smiled back at Xue before hugging him as she spoke, "It is good to see you too."


    "So, how was your hunt?"


    Ylerias grimaced as she spoke, "Bad."


    Xue chuckled as he spoke, "Why? Did your prey escape your grasp?"


    Ylerias shook her head as she spoke, "No, uncle, we caught it but, it was releasing deadly level of radiation, and as such, we had to run away."


    Xue frowned at the unfamiliar word as he spoke, "What is this rad thing?"


    "The people of this world had found a mineral that can supply them with an immense amount of energy, though it has a downside of being highly poisonous."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "So, is it Them?"


    Ylerias nodded before she spoke with a frown on her face, "Did you inform uncle about Them?"


    "I did."


    Xue frowned as he spoke, "That is troubling."


    Xue''s eyes travelled towards Ryan, who was making his way towards him, only for him to let out a groan of frustration.


    Both Ylerias and Xuelong frowned at his reaction as Xuelong spoke, "Is something wrong, uncle?"


    Xue covered his face with his hand as he swore out loud before he spoke with a grimace, "The biggest mistake of my life is now walking over to my newest brethren."


    The duo curiously turned their head towards Ryan, who was stopped in his tracks by a group of three.


    Ryan was deep in thought, distracted from their recent adventure, so deep that he had missed the trio that was approaching him.


    A fistful of sand thrown on his face drew Ryan''s attention, and as he turned, an arrogant brown-haired person spoke in a haughty tone, "You sick freak with the freaky eye, take me back home now this instant or my father will make your life hell."


    Ryan blinked owlishly at the figure in front of him, ''This is the first time someone called my eyes freaky in front of me, but more importantly calling me a sick freak, now that is someone begging for a good trashing.''


    "Listen to me freak or, did that wench you call mother forgot to..."


    Ryan''s brow twitched violently, and he was not the only one as both Ylerias and Xuelong had already drawn their weapons.


    Ryan, meanwhile, had a throbbing vein on his forehead as the girls apanying the arrogant man began hurling various insults on Ryan.


    If they had been a bit wiser, then they would have felt the growing hostility and bloodlust aimed at them.


    Ryan growled as he grabbed the arrogant person by his cor before punching him hard on his face, thereby breaking his nose, and then with the second, he not only broke his jaw but also sent his teeth flying.


    Ryan then kneed the person hard on his groin, thereby performing an impromptu orchiectomy on him.


    "Frankiepoo", one of the women by his side screamed before she tried to p Ryan, who promptly caught her wrist before he flung her towards the other women, knocking them both out.


    Ryan snorted at the downed figures as he made his way to the rest of the apostles.


    Xuelong stepped forward as she spoke, "Ryan, let me introduce you to Uncle Xue."


    Xue interrupted her as he spoke, "Let me introduce myself,ss."


    "I am Xue Okeniosi, Apostle of God Qynagi, the God Ocean and Rivers."


    Xue Okeniosi was a man with arge build who easily towered over any man or woman Ryan had met so far, with a Viking style emerald beard and hair, but what also set him apart were tusk-like horns that were by the side of his head.


    Ryan took Xue''s extended hand with a smile on his face, though he grimaced inwardly, ''Compared to him, my hand looks like a toddler.''


    "My name is Ryan Von Ruinesca, Apostle of God Avtis, God of Creation and Destruction, and it is a pleasure to meet someone whom my fellow apostles hold in such high regard."


    Xue let out a burst of boomingughter when suddenly Ryan spoke seriously, "I hope those people out there were not yourpanions, because even if..."


    Xue waved off his concern as he spoke with a sigh, "We found their group stranded on an ind, and by mistake, I saved them."


    "Ah, my condolence to you then."


    Once again, Xue let out a deep chuckle as he patted Ryan on his back while Ryan winced from the contact as he felt his bones rattle.


    "Well, why don''t two go somewhere isted and have a heart to heart chat."


    Ryan was silent for a moment before he acquiesced to Xue''s demands with a nod as Xue spoke with a smile, "Excellent."

 Chapter 152: Xue Okeániosi (part 2)

    Chapter 152: Xue Oke¨¢niosi (part 2)


    Ryanughed out loud at a joke said by one of the people near the campfire as his mind drifted to the talk he had with Xue.


    <em>Xue walked alongside Ryan inplete silence for a moment before he spoke, "So, how is your Apostle life treating you."</em>


    <em>Ryan mulled over the question before he began to speak with a sigh, "Although I am grateful for the powers that I have received, for it helped me keep my loved ones safe, but some of the downsides I hate it."</em>


    <em>Xue tilted his head as he spoke, "Downsides, what downsides?"</em>


    <em>Ryan sighed as he spoke, "I hate how everyone treats me, losing their sense and pride just to garner my attention, and it is such a chore."</em>


    <em>Xue snorted at his words as he spoke, "That is an understatement, and it is one of the many reasons why most of us avoid going near a settlement."</em>


    <em>"May I ask you something?"</em>


    <em>Xue smiled kindly at Ryan as he spoke, "Of course, I dragged you here to get to know you better, and I hope you would do the same."</em>


    <em>Ryan smiled at him before he spoke seriously, "How much has the ocean changed?"</em>


    <em>Xue frowned as he spoke, "What do you mean by change?"</em>


    <em>Ryan let out a sigh as he spoke, "The surface world has changed so much, with bizarre creatures popping out that no one has ever seen before."</em>


    <em>As Xue frowned, Ryan continued to speak with a sigh, "Just the other day, we came across a group of ghouls who have learned how to reproduce."</em>


    <em>Xue''s frown deepened as he spoke, "But how? Ghouls cannot reproduce, as theyck reproductive organs."</em>


    <em>"That was the truth before, but now, ghouls can reproduce by kidnapping females and using them as breeders, and it was so horrifying that we had to kill them to end their misery."</em>


    <em>Xue grunted before he sat on the nearest rock as he spoke, "Sorry, but because of my injured leg, I am unable to stand for too long."</em>


    <em>"You are injured?"</em>


    <em>"Ayed, the ocean is not as peaceful as it used to be, as strange creatures are popping up with some being rather troublesome."</em>


    <em>"I see, but what about the undead? We are having some serious problems regarding them."</em>


    <em>Xue waved off his concern as he spoke, "Ocean is full of creatures that feed on them."</em>


    <em>"That is what we thought about carrion animals at first, but at the end of the day, they themselves ended up bing undead."</em>


    <em>"I understand where you are going, but there are countless species who are not affected in such a manner, and they are safe and healthy even after feeding on the undead."</em>


    <em>Ryan was silent for a brief moment before he spoke with barely concealed excitement, "That is great, we can use the DNA of the species and splice it into some other animal and then we could have an anti-undead species onnd as well."</em>


    Back at present, Ryan frowned as he recalled his talk with Xue, who had given him the information.


    <em>''But, how do I implement it, without the help of an aplished gicist, most importantly where would I find one, maybe our resident mad scientist can work some of her ck magic.''</em>


    "Heyd, why such a long face? Smile a little."


    Xue''s voice brought Ryan out of his musings as he spoke with a smile, "Uncle Xue, I was simply thinking."


    Xue sighed as he spoke with a shake of his head, "Now is the time for celebration, you should celebrate, here have a sip."


    Ryan gave an apologetic smile as he spoke, "I am sorry, but I do not drink alcohol."


    Xue looked aghast before he spoke with a shake of his head, "That is no goodd, a only when a person learns to drink and grow hair on his chest can he call himself a man, I being your uncle will at least teach you to drink, here."


    With that, Xue put his left arm over Ryan''s shoulder while he shoved a bottle of rum into Ryan''s mouth with his right.


    Ryan awoke in front of a familiar campfire, and it did not take him much time before he was on his knees as Avtis''s voice came to his ears.


    "Did you enjoy drinking?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke with a grimace, "No, not at all, it tasted weird and smelt bad, and I did not like it."


    Avtis let out a bellyful ofughter as he spoke, "That is why you are still a kid."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "I do not mind being called a kid, as I still am I, besides being a kid has its perks."


    "Really, what perks?"


    "Student discounts for those below eighteen years of age."


    "Ha, I will give you that, as it certainly had its perks."


    A brief silence descended amongst them before Avtis began to speak, "So, how did the hunt for the drone go?"


    "It was a failure, we had managed to shoot it down, but then it began to leak radiation, so we had to pull out fast, and those enemies you warned me about is dangerous."


    "Hmm, tell me, Ryan, have you heard about Kronos Arms."


    Ryan frowned in deep thought before he replied with a nod, "Of course, I know about them, they dealt with weapons and weapon essories, but ording to the inte, they had some of the worst products."


    "They created that drone."


    Ryan''s jaw dropped as he spoke in disbelief, "That is impossible of the electrical or electronic devices survived after the day of the merger."


    "I would have agreed with you, my foolish disciple, but the proof suggests otherwise."


    "I took a close look at that thing, and I stumbled upon something interesting, interesting enough that I had Brenlena pull out souls of the employees of Kronos Arms and learnt a few interesting things."


    "First of all, the worthlesspany that Kronos portrayed was a facade, and behind it was a very active research institute that created cutting edged technologies, such as that drone."


    "But, why act with such secrecy?"


    "By creating, that phoneypany, they used thews of thend to camouge themselves, and upon seeing such a poor almostughablepany, many would not even spare a nce at it."


    "Now, here is the kicker, the employees did not know who they were working for."


    Ryan was stunned for a moment before they spoke, "Then their CEO, their founder?"


    "Handsomely paid actors, but the real power behind them is unknown."


    "That is troubling."


    "Indeed it is, and do you have any questions so far?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "About the drone, can you tell me more about it."


    "Of course, the drone was powered using Nuclear battery, with..."


    "Wah wah, wait a minute, what do you mean by Nuclear Battery? Nuclear batteries should not be as hazardous to force us to run away from it."


    Ryan was pped hard on his head by Avtis as he spoke with a hint of annoyance in his voice, "Can you stop and listen beforeing to a conclusion."


    "As for Nuclear Batteries, my foolish disciple there civilizations who use Nuclear Batteries that are very dangerous when they start leaking."


    "In this case, the rupture of an advanced version of M388 Davy Crockett caused high radiation leakage, and I hope you know what they are?."


    Ryan frowned for a moment in deep thought before he spoke with a gasp, "Yes, I remember reading about them."


    "Good, but I have not called you here to discuss the drone, rather your next mission."


    As Ryan sat up straight, Avtis continued to speak, "The reason why I have brought you here was for this mission specifically."


    "There is a region near your ce that is eluding our senses, and we want you to investigate it."


    Ryan shrugged as he spoke, "Okay."


    Avtis spoke with a harrumph, "My foolish disciple, you failed to perceive the gravity of this situation."


    "Some time ago, some of the Gods noticed certain ces on this that we cannot see like some fog is shrouding our vision, and then something is making us to look the other way."


    Ryan''s eyes widened as he spoke, "That is troubling."


    "Troubling indeed, there are things like that which can do so to lower-dimensional beings like you, but things that can confuse our senses are a tad bit worrying."


    "Will it be dangerous?"


    "Very much, in fact there is a high chance that you will die."


    "Can I pass this mission?"


    Avtis quickly squashed the hope blossoming in Ryan as he spoke with a snort, "It seems that I have spoiled youzy, but s, this time, I cannot give you such a choice."


    Ryan''s jaw dropped as he spoke with a splutter, "When have you give me any choice?"


    "That is in rude, my foolish disciple, as I give you one every time."


    "The only choice I get is something terrible happening to me if I do not do the quest."


    Avtis let out a sigh as he spoke, "That is to teach you that, ''Every Action has a Reaction'', now is there anything else you want to know?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Please, tell me more about the mission parameters."


    "As I said before, the scope of the mission lies primarily on scouting and scoping out the threat and then removing the said threat."


    "Your current teammates will only be yourpanions, and until and unless they vehemently desire not to participate, you will only take those five with you, and you will not stop them from joining."


    "You will not inform Xue about this mission or about anything that we spoke here, and if he bes nosy, tell him I said that he does not need to know."


    "So, is there anything else you wish to know?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "When you said ''we'', did you mean the patron of mypanions?"


    "Of course, along with another, but other than them, no one knows of your mission, and will learn as we will mask your presence."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke with a sigh, "I have nothing to ask for at present."


    A disappointed sigh came from Avtis as he spoke, "A pity, though I will advise you this, no matter what happens you will try your best to survive, no matter the cost, even if you have to sacrifice others you will have to, now go."


    Ryan opened his eyes as a thought suddenly came to his mind, ''Why did he call me a lower-dimensional being? Does...''


    Ryan''s thoughts derailed as a bout of nausea along with a blinding headache hit him.


    "Here, drink this."


    With that, Shakidra shoved a foul concoction into his mouth as Ryan''s headache began to subside.


    Ryan looked at Shakidra as he spoke blearily, "So, what happened?"


    "A hangover from drinking, Your Holiness."


    Ryan growled as he spoke, "I am never touching that filth again, no matter who tells me to."


    He took a deep breath before he spoke with a frown, "Shakidra, are the others awake and sober?"


    Shakidra nodded as she spoke, "Yes, Your Holiness."


    "Then please convey them that we have a new mission, and we are leaving poste haste."

 Chapter 153: The Strange Island (part 1)

    Chapter 153: The Strange Ind (part 1)


    Xue frowned upon seeing his fellow Apostles scurrying about getting ready to depart.


    Spotting Ryan nearby, Xue quickly approached Ryan as he spoke, "Lad, why are you in a hurry to leave?"


    Ryan shed him a smile full of apology as he spoke, "Sorry, Uncle Xue, a new mission came up."


    Xue frowned as he spoke, "Really, may I help you."


    Ryan''s apologetic look came back in full force as he spoke, "I am sorry, but I cannot share the mission details with you as it is ssified."


    Xue patted Ryan on his back as he spoke with a smile, "Lad, I understand, but promise me that you will keep yourself safe out there, and I do not wish to mourn anytime soon.


    Ryan beamed at him as he spoke, "I promise you, Uncle."


    Suddenly Ryan''s eyes widened as he continued, "Oh before I forget, let me bring you the map to New Hope, and I hope you will visit there someday."


    Xue smiled at him as he spoke, "Definitely, nephew, I would love to see the city you forged by your hands."


    As Ryan''spanions boarded the aircraft, Ryan spoke seriously, "This is yourst chance to leave, as this mission is dangerous and deadly."


    Michalina snorted as she spoke, "Just start the engine and take us up to the sky already."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement before she spoke, "I concur with Micha, take us to the sky, we left home together we would return home together."


    Xue watched the aircraft disappear behind the clouds as he closed his eyes to mutter a small prayer for their safety.


    "Your Highness."


    Xue looked at his subordinates as he spoke, "What is it?"


    "Well, yesterday, you ordered us to use those idiots as baits to do some fishing."


    Xue tilted his head as he spoke with a frown, "I did?"


    His subordinate gained a sheepish look as he spoke, "You were drunk when you gave that order, so you might not even remember it."


    Xue deadpanned as he spoke, "So did you get a good catch?"


    "Well, about that, we found out they are excellent creature repellent."


    "Really?"


    The man nodded as he spoke, "Yes, Your Holiness, no creature wanted approach near them."


    "Hmm, means that they are notpletely useless then."


    "It would seem so, Your Holiness, now we can use them to keep certain creatures away from our camps."


    Xue smirked as he spoke, "An excellent find, my friend, an excellent find."


    While Xue was chatting with hisrades, Ryan was busy discussing the nature of the mission with hispanions.


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "Ryan, switch with me."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "Is something wrong, sister?"


    "Very much wrong, since thest I checked, you do not have the training to fly in a hostile environment as I do."


    Ryan promptly exchanged his seat with Michalina as he spoke, "The controls are all yours."


    "Thanks, bro, and now if I remember clearly, there are runes to make it invisible, right?"


    "Yes, sis though it would be taxing on the fuel reserves."


    "I understand, but I believe we should switch it on."


    The rest of the journey was spent in silence when suddenly Ryan picked up some activity on the radar.


    "I spotted some activity at two o''clock."


    "Elevation?"


    "Near sea level."


    Michalina turned the aircraft, and soon they spotted arge ind with various structures on it, and as they neared it, their eyes widened in shock.


    "Micha, change to hover mode."


    As the aircraft shifted to hover mode, Michalina''spanions crowded behind her to look at the ind in front of them.


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "I can barely make out anything from here."


    "Here, let me help you."


    As Ryan spoke, the screen zoomed in on the ind, and soon they spotted a group of people.


    A smile appeared on Ryan''s face as he spoke, "The ind seems to be popted."


    Ylerias did not seem to share Ryan''s enthusiasm as she spoke, "I do not like where this is going on."


    Xuelong nodded in agreement as she spoke, "True sister, there are two group in reality, and one of the is subservient to the other."


    Both Siora and Shakidra looked at the sight with grim expressions on their faces.


    Michalina frowned as she spoke, "The gears on the subjugators look very well maintained and a bit futuristic."


    Ylerias nodded with a frown on her face, "That they are but take a look at their captors, they look so exhausted and unhealthy."


    Their discussion came to a halt due to the appearance of a van, which shocked them to the core.


    Ryan''s voice shook as he spoke with disbelief, "No way, how do they have a working car?"


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "I think we found our mission objective, but humans?"


    Ylerias bit her lip as she spoke, "Maybe they are not humans, but some humanoid creature."


    Michalina nodded in agreement as she spoke, "Maybe, after all we cannot see what is under those helmets, but most importantly, what should we do?"


    "What if we scout this ce from air while keeping a safe distance, then move a good distance away from here and then contact our Gods."


    Xuelong sighed as she spoke, "I like Ryan''s idea, but we have to be careful, and who knows what kind of thing they have."


    Michalina nodded as she began to circle the ind while Ryan took as many pictures as possible.


    An hourter, on a small remote ind, the aircraftnded safely on it.


    Michalina looked at her brother, who was in deep meditation, as were the rest of the Apostles.


    ''I hope we will not have to infiltrate that ce.''


    Meanwhile, the Apostle''s found themselves in a throne room, with four thrones facing them.


    "Ah, here they are."


    As Avtis''s voice came to their ears, the trio quickly kneeled in front of the throne.


    "So, my idiotic apprentice, how was your mission?"


    Ryan''s brow twitched before he spoke with a frown, "You were unable to see us."


    "No, our visions were clouded, child."


    Ryan looked towards the source of the voice as he spoke with a smile, "It is good to see you again, Goddess Brna."


    "It is good to see you again, child, now what did you find?"


    "Is there a way to show you our memories? I believe it would be easier."


    An unknown male voice replied to them, "That is possible, but only if my Apostle agrees to."


    Xuelong spoke with reverence in her voice, "I have no problem my God."


    Immediately following Xuelong was a second unknown voice, which was kind feminine, "What about you, my dear?"


    Ylerias quickly replied with a smile on her face, "No problem, my Goddess."


    Ryan''s eyes slightly widened as he realised the identities of the speakers.


    ''So, they are mypanions'' patrons.''


    "Yes, they are Ryan, though what have I told you about protecting your thoughts."


    Ryan blushed with embarrassment before he quickly stammered, "I am extremely sorry, but I have yet to find something that I can use to protect my thoughts."


    "That is not a good excuse, and you could start by creating something your people called a mind pce."


    Ryan quickly retorted back, "But mind pce is not possible."


    Brna sneered as she spoke, "ording to who, your thinking is so insr and nd, you have the brains, as well as the magic to do so, and don''t you have your ''Inner Sanctum''?"


    Ryan''s mouth formed into a perfect ''O'', while Avtis spoke with a sigh, "Stop it, daughter, what would others think about if me, if theye to know I chose this idiot as my Apostle."


    As Brna chose not to respond, Vahmjir took reign of the conversation, "Shall we watch their memories?"


    "Yes, please."


    With Avtis''s words, the Apostles had their memory projected out for everyone to see.


    A few minutester, Oena was the first to break the silence as she spoke, "So, what now?"


    A brief discussion began in an unknownnguage that hurt the ears of the Apostles, making them wince from the pain.


    Oena was the first one to notice their pain as she quickly popped a barrier making the trio rx.


    A few minutester, the discussion between the Deities came to an end as the barrier dissolved.


    Avtis sighed as he spoke, "My disciple, you can very well understand what my orders are going to be?"


    Ryan nodded as he spoke, "Infiltrate, sabotage if not outright destroy."


    "Good, from what we have learned till now, we know that there is a chance that we will not be able to lend you any help, and we fear that your abilities derived from us will not work."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "What about our weapons? Will they work?"


    Goddess Oena was the one to answer her question with a sigh, "They should work."


    Avtis gave a small p drawing everyone''s attention as he spoke, "So, does anyone have any questions?"


    Ryan raised his hand as he spoke, "I have one for Goddess Brna."


    "What is it child?"


    "You once told me that you deal with souls of every living creatures."


    "Yes, I do."


    "Then, you should have some souls from that ce with you."


    Brna was silent for a moment before she began to speak, "I have arge number of souls visiting my domain, and thus finding someone is difficult."


    Ryan faltered for a moment before he spoke, "I... I see."


    "Fear not, I am still searching for a soul that died in that ce, and is there anything else you wish to ask?


    "No."


    "Well, then you all are free to leave."


    As the Apostle disappeared from their sight, Oena spoke up, "Goddess Brna, surely with your power you have found someone?"


    "No, I have not, and father, I have some business that I need to discuss with you."


    The cold tone in her voice made Oena shudder as Brna teleported away.


    Avtis sighed before he spoke with a smile, "Well, then I will take my leave as well."


    A few secondster, Avtis found himself standing in Brna''s throne room, and Avtis would have cracked a joke but seeing the troubled look on her face, he controlled himself.


    "Is something wrong, my daughter?"


    "Yes, father, something is very much wrong."


    Ryan opened his eyes as he spoke with a soft sigh, "Well, you all are better at this, so, what is the n?"


    Michalina sighed as she spoke, "So, we are infiltrating after all."


    Xuelong nodded as she spoke, "Yes, we are, and I hope between us, we could hammer out a n."


    Michalina closed her eyes as she spoke, "I was hoping to avoid that."


    Ylerias smiled at her as she spoke, "Me too, but now we will have to hammer out a n."

 Chapter 155: The Strange Island (part 3)

    Chapter 155: The Strange Ind (part 3)


    Xuelong had a frown on her face since Ryan gained his consciousness.


    For a while, both Ylerias and her were very ill, but Ryan had lost consciousness, and from then, everything went downhill.


    Ryan had a fever, and then his temperature climbed so high that he began to smoke, and then he began to bleed.


    For a moment, Xuelong thought that Ryan would die, but then a miracle happened, and he survived, and never in her life she had felt so relieved.


    But then the harsh reality struck them, as Ryan was not only spacing out now and then, but he was acting like a fool, and thus they all concluded that Ryan had suffered brain injuries.


    Xuelong balled her fist hard as she spoke with a growl, "I do not know who but someone is responsible for this, and when I find the person, I am going to skin that person alive."


    Michalina helped Ryan drink some water, who then spoke with a grown, "ugh, the water tastes so bitter, yuck."


    "Water is tasteless, brother."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "No, you are right, but why?"


    Michalina grabbed Ryan''s face as she spoke, "Ryan, we will get out of here, and then you will be safe."


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "Something is wrong in this ce, and the pain I felt was so real, my nightmare it was so real."


    Ylerias frowned at Ryan''s words as she spoke, "Ryan, can you recall what you saw in your nightmare?"


    Ryan took a moment topose himself before he began to speak.


    Siora had left her group to scout ahead, and even without her mana, she was incredibly agile and skilled as she moved from one treetop to another without making any sound.


    And as she neared the hideout, she heard Xuelong speak with a groan, "Damn it, he is spacing out again."


    As Siora walked into the room, Ryan spoke with a loopy grin on his face, "Captain, I will take a three-quarter bottle of pizza."


    Siora gained a bbergasted look on her face, while Michalina once again stroked Ryan''s cheek as he became lucid once more.


    Ryan blinked as he looked towards Siora as he spoke with a frown, "Siora, did you find anything?"


    Siora quicklyposed herself as she spoke, "The explosion has destroyed the aircraft while killing those who were snooping around that ce, though currently the ce is swarmed with many guards."


    "I also made my way towards the town that we have spotted and stumbled upon a decrepit vige."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "What about the vigers?"


    "They are living in poor conditions, deseased, starving and are in rags, though from what I have seen, the town is exactly the opposite."


    "I was unable to get a closer look, but from what I have seen, it looked well maintained."


    Ryan frowned as he spoke, "We have to gather more intel, as well as prepare for a hideout, as currently, we are deep within enemy territory with no means of escape, we need time to study, our enemies."


    Xuelong nodded in consent as she spoke, "Siora, do you think that those guards wille near our location?"


    Siora nodded as she spoke, "They definitely will, Your Holiness, as they are searching for survivors with the help of their guard dogs."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Then we have to move from here."


    Ryan stood up as he spoke, "Yes, definitely before I begin to act strange again, damn that person."


    Xuelong''s brow furrowed as she spoke, "Who is <em>''that person''</em>?"


    Ryan sighed as he spoke, "Towards the end of my nightmare, I ended up in a room with a severed hand floating at the centre."


    "Then, that person appeared, at first he tore the ceiling apart, and then screamed at me, while I felt my ears bursting, my eyes melting and my whole body was in fire, it was agonizing."


    Xuelong frowned as she spoke, "Can you identify the person?"


    Ryan shook his head as he spoke, "I remember the person''s glowing eyes, and then screaming out, ''Apostle'', which caused me to loose my conscious."


    Ylerias frowned as she spoke, "Then we shouldy low for a while."


    Siora nodded as she spoke, "I have stumbled upon a ce that would make a nice hideout for us, and it is close by."


    Xuelong stood up as she spoke, "Then what are we waiting for?"


    It took them almost half an hour to reach the foot of a waterfall, as Ylerias spoke with a curious look on her face, "So, how did you find this ce?"


    Siora blushed as she spoke, "I kind of slipped and fell down here."


    Her words earned a chuckle from others while Michalina spoke with a frown, "Siora, will Ryan be able to move?"


    "Even if he is not, we can easily carry His Holiness to otherside without much problem."


    Ryan looked down at the foot of the waterfall before he spoke with a smirk, "Only one way to find out."


    With that, he jumped down, making both Xuelong and Michalina scream after him.


    Even though the water was a bit murky, it did not prevent Ryan from spotting the tunnel entrance.


    Ryan did not have to wait for too long as others soon appeared after him.


    Michalina growled as she stepped out of a small pool of water, and upon spotting Ryan, she let out a growl.


    "Ryan, what the hell was that?"


    Ryan turned towards her before he spoke, "It isputer time? I will take my bath in theputer after I have finished painting my math."


    Michalina wanted to cry upon hearing his answer while Ryan moved towards the cave wall, and even after bumping against the wall, he did not stop walking.


    Xuelong gained a pained look on her face before she spoke, "Shakidra, Ryan needs his rest, put him to sleep."


    With a quick bow towards Xuelong, Shakidra moved towards Ryan as she spoke, "Please, forgive my rudeness."


    Shakidra pinched the side of Ryan''s neck, knocking him unconscious before gentlyying him down on the ground.


    Ylerias sighed as she spoke, "We will be setting our camp here and may be try to explore the cave a bit as well."


    Philip let out a groan as his stomach growled loudly, as he dug out bugs from a tree trunk.


    A smile formed on his face as he took hold of one as he whispered loudly with barely concealed glee, "The fattest one till date."


    He quickly gobbled up the bug before letting out a satisfied sigh as he spoke again, "At least, I will not starve too much."


    Philip''s smile disappeared as a sour look settled on his face, <em>''I wonder if my parents are doing well, they must be worried sick for me, and if only I could see them once more.''</em>


    Tears pooled in his eyes as he let out a sob of anguish at the thought of his parents.


    "I regret my choice of joining the merchant navy, then at least I could be with them."


    Philip''s ship was a bulk carrier, and he was just a twenty-year-old cadet, set on his first voyage when the tragedy struck.


    The sudden loss of power and electronics onboard has left the ship stranded amid the vast ocean.


    Without electricity, their stored food began to rot, and then like a blessing of God, a vessel came to their rescue, or so they thought.


    Their vessel had drifted near the ind, and the ind owner had sent people to investigate the ship.


    Philip still remembered the joy in hisrade''s faces upon being rescued, only to turn into a nightmare.


    They were drugged and injected with something strange, and then their captors put cors on them, and from then on, they were at mercy to the whims of their so-called masters.


    Philip touched his cor as he let out a growl as he swore inwardly, ''If it were not for this, I would have ughtered them all.''


    Philip''s thoughts came to a halt as a hand sped over his mouth while a female voice came to his ears, "If you make a squeak, I will carve you from crotch to throat."


    Philip was blindfolded, and then he was tied up and carried away.


    Intense fear had reced Philip''s thoughts of ughtering his captors, as he had seen their cruelty.


    A few minutester, Philip''s kidnapper ced him on the ground, and then the most enticing and beautiful smell entered his nose.


    Philip''s stomach roared like a lion upon smelling the delicious food, but he was deathly afraid to move.


    <em>''Am I going to be tortured to death?''</em>


    As that thought passed through Philip''s head, he began to imagine the various ways his kidnappers would torture him for their sick and twisted fun.


    But, his thoughts came to a halt as another female voice came to his ears, "Rai, you should not treat him like that, look at him."


    The one who kidnapped him scoffed as she spoke, "He should be grateful for being touched by me."


    "Please, stop it, Rai, just look at the poor starving man."


    The person sighed as she continued to speak, "Here, let me help you."


    The friendly voice removed Philip''s bindings before helping him to sit up, although he was still blindfolded.


    "Do you want to eat something?"


    Michalina tried to hide her smile as she watched Ylerias and Siora interrogating their captive.


    <em>''What an effective means of interrogation? Though I am worried about the state of the vigers, they seem to have given up on living.''</em>


    <em>''I cannot me them, as if it were not for Ryan''s powers, we might have suffered a smiliar fate.''</em>


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!