"Sweet words will not erase your mistakes." Tom said with a tired look.
Ralph was at a loss for words, he can't make up for anything in the short term.
"Still, it is my duty to assume my mistakes and ask your forgiveness ..." Ralph said seriously.
Tom pressed the grip on the steering wheel and said:
"I hope your sincerity doesn't stop at those words ... Your mother was very worried about you."
Ralph was at a loss for words again, and decided not to speak any more.
After talking to the doctor responsible for Ralph, it was decided that he would be discharged in advance.
The trip was smooth to their home. After arriving, Ralph and Ingrid had a short discussion.
Ralph just remained silent while Ingrid cursed him and apologized when he had the chance.
"You may already know this, but I will say it anyway ... Sweet words will not erase your mistakes."
After saying this, Ingrid went to his own room, leaving Ralph alone with Torvi in the living room.
"Drag first, and now you almost lost your life, your luck is really bad." Torvi said with a slight smile.
"Sigh ..." Ralph just sighed and went to his own room.
The spot where the shot hit him was still bandaged, and it hurt, but Ralph had already gotten used to the pain.
He went to his bathroom and started to remove the bandages.
His chest was a little red and there was a wound on the spot, but he was already showing signs of healing and he wasn't bleeding anymore.
After taking a shower, he decided to analyze a little of the "status" he has.
He had tried a number of things while under intense care, but had no success.
Despite finding it all a bit chunni, he had nothing to do anyway.
"Aura"
------
Unexplored, you can explore the mysteries of the Aura.
------
The same message as before appeared.
He needs to think outside the box, since even if someone made a big discovery, he could keep it to himself.
"Explore Aura"
Nothing happened.
Ralph frowned a little and closed his eyes.
After a long time, he said:
"Status of Aura"
The same message as before appeared.
-It looks like this is going to be a little more difficult than I thought.
"Exploration of Aura"
"Aura mistery"
"Aura ..." Ralph kept trying several things but it never worked.
"How stupid," Torvi said, looking at Ralph, who was startled.
"When did you get in here?" He asked in surprise, he didn't hear her come in.
"You were so focused ..." She said as she lay on his bed.
"Anyway, there is not much I can do now."
"Hmph ... You already forgot, didn't you?" Torvi asked as he narrowed his eyes.
After explaining to Ralph, he almost swore loudly.
-Fuck !!! I completely forgot about that.
"As the police checked this out themselves, they decided to wait for you to improve to charge you, they left a contact number."
"... Our parents don't know that, right?" He asked as he shivered.
Torvi just smiled coldly and left the room.
- I'm finished !!!! Not surprisingly, their cold demeanor after I recovered.
Ralph then looked at the note that Torvi left, it was the number that the cops left.
He decided to be decisive and settle this soon.
"... The breaker?" The sergeant's voice came on the other end.
-... It looks like they bought that number just to talk to me.
Ralph thought.
"It's me, there's no need to be discreet, what I'm doing is not really a crime."
"It may not be for you ..." The sergeant replied.
After arranging the details of the deal with the sergeant, they decided to meet at a restaurant.
It was all about a skill he gained in his teens, when he went hand in hand with Black Drama.
He learned to create a completely anonymous environment on a computer, on an almost military level, which is beneficial for many people, particularly drug dealers and corrupt police officers.
The nickname "The Breaker" has nothing to do with his skill, it was just something that Black Drama invented.
Ralph just got lucky that the cops who stopped him are not exemplary, and probably need "help". Besides being from his region, since they know Black Drama.
After arranging with the sergeant, Ralph hung up the call and was about to leave the room when he heard a noise in his window.
Frowning, Ralph approached the window and was startled when a stone hit it, almost cracking it.
This brought nostalgic memories to Ralph and he opened the window.
Looking out, he saw a black-dressed figure waving him down.
"By the beards of Moisés." He was talking about him a short time ago, does this guy have supernatural senses?
Ralph then left the house and went to her side. On the side of a tree, a figure was waiting for him.
"And to think that you would show up so quickly." Ralph spoke in a surprised tone.
"... What a way to say hello, you don't change." The figure lowered the hood.
He was a man with yellow skin and slanted eyes, he had all the characteristics of having Asian blood. He had short black hair.
"... It's been a while, Black Drama." Ralph laughed awkwardly.
Black Drama laughed and patted Ralph on the shoulder, making him almost moan in pain.
"And to think that you would reach death's door before me" Black Drama laughed.
"Bad stuff doesn't break easily" Ralph shook his head.
Black Drama then made a serious expression and said:
"I tried to find out who did it to you, but it looks like it involves a higher level than I thought."
"Don't worry so much about finding out who they are, their weaponry is not a good sign." Ralph shook his head.
"I heard the shot was 7.62 ..." Black Drama spoke seriously.
Ralph sighed and then laughed.
"While my bad luck is great, my luck seems to be on the same level."
"Enough with Bullshit, don't you want to know why I came here? If I really was so worried about you, I would just make a video call." Black Drama said as he took out his cell phone.
Ralph was a little surprised and doubtful.
BD was right, there is no need for him to take such a risk just for something like talking to Ralph. BD's situation was very complicated.
"You are lucky to have me as a friend, this was blocked by the armed forces but I have my contacts after all." BD showed a video to Ralph.
------- Video -------
Troops moved while accompanying an armored vehicle, were in a dense forest and it was raining. The sound of mud and rain added a dark touch to the video.
"Attention Men! The objective of the mission is just ahead, get ready for combat!" A military man with the rank of first lieutenant shouted.
Everyone then got ready, had strained eyes, and whoever was recording the video seemed to be shaking, perhaps because of the feae of being discovered, or for fear of the objective.
Suddenly, the armored cannon fired and chaos seemed to have set in, the soldiers were shooting at something but the camera was unable to capture it, everything was blurred due to the movement of the recorder.
Screams could be heard, as well as the roar of an animal.
After a few minutes, the fight seemed to be over, and the soldier finally moved so that the camera could capture everything without blurring.
Soldiers' bodies were scattered on the forest floor, the red color made the clay look bizarre.
"Re-group" Someone seemed to shout, it was not the lieutenant.
"The lieutenant is dead, as are the armored operators." Another soldier said.
In the end, only four men remained, two sergeants and two soldiers.
"... Is that dead?" One of the soldiers asked.
"We have to check" Whoever was recording spoke, he seemed to be a sergeant.
The other three nodded and moved slowly to what appeared to be an ancient beast.
This had the characteristics of a jaguar, but it was three times larger and had horns on its head, looking like a demon. Its fur was thick like elephant leather and the animal only died after a shot passed through one eye.
"How did it kill the armored operators? It shouldn't be able to get into it !!" One of the soldiers spoke in a trembling voice.
"Their wounds were not from bites or claws ..."
"But how did they die !?"
"You are recording!?" The other sergeant noticed and shouted.
-----End----
After a silence that lasted a few moments, Ralph asked:
"Are you kidding?"
"What will I gain by deceiving you?" BD responded with an ill-humored tone.
"What the hell was that thing?"
"I don't know, I received this video from an acquaintance of mine who is a sergeant in the army."
Ralph pondered for a moment and asked:
"You could have just sent me this video, why show me in person?"
BD then made a strange expression and said:
"What is it, can't you guess that?"
Ralph just snorted.
"It turns out that I "accidentally" found out that this is not an isolated case."
Upon hearing this, Ralph's expression darkened.
"And also "accidentally" learned that a monster of size and monstrous strength was walking near here."
Ralph then narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at BD.
"Don't you see that I'm hurt? Even if I was okay, I'm not a good fighter."
"Haha, you don't have to worry about your safety, I called several of my friends, you understand me ..."
Ralph thought for a moment, his instincts were constantly shaking in the face of the unknown, but his curiosity overcame his fear.
"Okay ... But why do you want me to go so badly?"
Upon hearing this, BD laughed and said:
"I knew you were going to run ... You know, you were always the smartest in the group."
BD then pointed to a motorcycle nearby.
"Let's get going?" BD started walking towards the motorcycle.
Ralph hesitated for a moment and then texted Torvi and went with BD.
After putting on his helmet, he got on the motorcycle with BD.
BD seemed to be in no hurry, or worried about Ralph so it wasn't too fast, somewhere between 80km and 100kmh.
After several minutes, they arrived in a garage with several people waiting.
"hoh, we have a survivor of a Russian shot here." One of them laughed.
Ralph recognized the person, he was one of BD's friends.
Ralph smiled slightly but was silent.
"I don't understand, he seems to be hurt and weak, why take him with us?" A black man with a big scar on his head asked.
BD just smiled and didn't answer.
"Let's hurry up, we don't have any free time." A woman got on a motorcycle and started it.
BD unhurriedly opened the garage and inside was a military-looking jeep.
"It cost me a lot to get this beauty, let's make sure to don't scratch it."
Although they didn't show it, Ralph knew that everyone was probably armed with a gun, and he saw a machine gun in the jeep.
BD took out a pistol and offered it to Ralph.
Ralph saw no reason to refuse and accepted.
"Don't worry, today there will hardly be a blitz." BD comforted Ralph.
Ralph nodded and climbed into the Jeep with four other people, the black man with the scar would drive.
The group consisted of a Jeep and two motorbikes, nine people in all, all armed.
Ralph was a little scared but he couldn't go back now, even if he was caught by the police.
The group made their way through the capital until they left it, and after an hour they arrived on a dirt road that led into a dense forest.
Remembering the beast in the video, Ralph shivered at the thought that they would face something like that.
He then felt a hand on his shoulder, it was BD and he was smiling.
Ralph just sighed.
After a few minutes, the group stopped in a small flash in the woods.
"She was last seen near that flash, watch out!"
-She?
Ralph thought with doubts.
Rain clouds covered the sky, and a storm could start at any moment.
Everyone had a flashlight and at least a gun. Ralph had a Glock, BD with a rifle.
-How are we going to find this beast? I don't think standing still ...
BD then waved to the others, and everyone started to enter the forest.
The sound of footsteps on leaves and birds and insects made the atmosphere heavy.
BD started to whistle, to Ralph's doubt.
They walked for half an hour but there was no sign of the beast.
Even so, Ralph realized that no one seemed to be impatient, on the contrary, they were all focused to the extreme.
He decided to do the same and held the pistol tight.
After an unknown period of time, the forest was completely silent, and no one in the group moved.
Only BD continued to whistle, but there came a time when he stopped and sweat started to run on his forehead.
"She's already here." BD spoke softly.
Ralph kept shaking, but he managed to keep his composure.
Hiss Hiss
The noise of something crawling attracted everyone's attention, but no one could find out where the noise came from.
"Keep calm, don't shoot." BD said as he calmly tapped Ralph's gun.
The moonlight made its way through the clouds and illuminated the place a little.
Ralph thought he was going crazy, as he saw a huge snake looking directly at the group not far away.
"Holy Shit!" The woman murmured as she remained motionless.
"At my command, aim your flashlights in her eyes." BD said slowly.
The snake looked at them curiously, as if considering them an easy prey.
Ralph didn't have much time to think as BD ordered:
"Now!"
Everyone looked at the lanterns in the snake's eyes, but the snake moved quickly and hid somewhere.
-Fuck! how can it hide so easily? it must be at least 35 meters long.
Ralph thought.
"Stay together!!" BD screamed and everyone gathered.
"It looks like your plan failed, what do we do now?" One of the men asked.
BD looked at Ralph, who was sweating.
"Why not just shoot her?" Ralph asked.
BD shook his head and said:
"As you have seen, it is insanely fast, in addition to having extremely resistant scales. Just one shot in the eye can kill it."
Ralph was silent as he stared at BD, why the hell did he invent to fight this monster?
"Tsk, I thought we could disorient her that way even for a moment." BD lamented.
Ralph just twisted the corners of his mouth, with such a stupid plan of simple it is no surprise that they are in danger.
"What do you suggest?" BD asked while remaining attentive to the surroundings.
Ralph was silent for a moment and said:
"If we remain grouped, the snake may hesitate to attack, but if it does we will probably end up dead. Our only choice is to step back and use the machine gun in the jeep."
"Tsk, what a great plan!" One of the men in the group spoke ironically.
BD thought for a moment and said to the others:
"Let's go back!"
The group started to move quickly, while maintaining a formation.
Ralph was sure the snake was watching them, but he had no idea how to find out where.
-Come on, think!
Ralph's brain was at peak capacity and he thought of a possibility.
There were not many places on the ground for the snake to hide, and even though it is dark, the snake does not know that humans do not have night vision.
A chill went down Ralph's spine as he swallowed hard.
"I ... thought of something."
"Say it at once" The woman who rode one of the motorcycle said.
"There aren't many bushes, so where would she think of hiding?" Ralph spoke while shaking a little.
The group took a while but they understood.
"Don't look up!" BD warned.
"The moment we do that, she will feel threatened and will attack." Ralph said.
They had to get into a clearing as soon as possible to get a chance.
Everyone was shaking non-stop, but they controlled themselves and walked quickly to where the jeep and motorbikes were.
When they got close to the flash, Ralph suggested that they walk more slowly, so as not to alert the enemy.
Upon arriving in the Jeep, two men took out the machine gun and loaded it with ammunition.
"Can we look now?" One of the men asked.
Ralph shook his head, to the doubt of the others.
Ralph then pointed to the clearing floor, there were some puddles of water.
BD understood Ralph's intention quickly and smiled.
The others did not take long to understand and each began to look for the reflection of the snake in the water.
BD suddenly trembled, and caught everyone's attention by flashing his flashlight.
BD raised his rifle slowly in one direction, but without looking.
The others also pointed the weapons in the same direction.
It was a gamble, they had no way of knowing whether a shot would hit the snake or not, let alone her eyes.
But they didn't have much of a choice, and with a shout, everyone opened fire.
The forest was lit by the shooting lights, revealing a figure at the top of the trees, a giant snake.
The snake appeared to have been taken by surprise, and hissed as it descended to the ground.
"She came down!" Ralph screamed as he tried to hit the snake, but it was just insanely fast, in a single second it was already down.
Ralph also noticed that the snake made almost no noise when moving, and also did not leave many tracks, which made him full of doubts.
"Stop fire!" BD shouted.
The woman turned on the Jeep's headlight to improve visibility.
Ralph went until the snake passed, much to everyone's fanfare.
Ralph crouched down and scanned the floor. A snake that size should have left a trail due to the weight, but there was none.
As he frowned, Ralph heard a 'Hiss' coming from in front of him.
Ralph didn't need to look to know what it was, it was the snake without a doubt.
But for some reason, he no longer felt so threatened.
Ralph stood up slowly and looked ahead.
Ralph's eyes were being reflected in the snake's eyes.
Ralph was right, the snake was at least 35 meters long, but at that moment, even the others in the group began to find it strange.
For example, why the hell doesn't the snake just attack Ralph?
Ralph came to a conclusion.
In nature, there have always been herbivorous animals that are not easy prey. Some have large fangs, others are poisonous, while others are quick.
But Ralph remembered one species of butterfly in particular. It was a butterfly that scared predators with the image of its wings, an illusion.
Ralph remembers it because he saw one in person when he was little, and asked his mother why the butterfly was so scary.
"You're not really a snake, are you?" Ralph asked as he pointed the pistol at the "snake."
"What are you?" Ralph asked intrigued, he just couldn't imagine why an animal would disguise itself as something so big.
The "snake" continued to stare at him, which further strengthened Ralph's thesis.
Instead of shooting, Ralph extended his arm further, making the gun go through the image of the snake.
At that moment, BD and the rest came to a conclusion, something very strange was happening, and the "snake" was just a scam.
The "snake" seemed to be a little intimidated, as it slowly backed away.
Ralph didn't hesitate and jumped in the direction of the snake, but it moved quickly and Ralph fell to the floor.
After some time, however, she reappeared, this time near BD, who also jumped in her direction.
No one understood why BD and Ralph were trying to do this, but they repeated the same thing, always missing the mark.
After almost an hour of trial and error, everyone was covered in mud and the woman shouted:
"But what is this thing after all? And why this jumping?"
BD and Ralph did not respond, much to the irritation of the others.
Ralph was trying to think of something to capture the animal, but he can't think of anything but to jump and try his luck.
Even if it's just an image, the snake is insanely fast.
Ralph needs to think of something to capture the animal.
-Think damn, that's the only thing you're good at.
The "snake" is quick as a bird, and likes to stay on top of the trees, besides apparently being very curious ...
There is almost no candidate, but perhaps he is ignoring the fact that a mutation is possible.
"Does anyone there have a fruit?" Ralph asked.
The whole group looked at him glumly, but one of them threw a fruit at him, it was an apple.
Ralph was sure the "snake" was nearby and would appear, so he left the apple on a branch of a tree.
Checking the pistol, Ralph positioned himself close.
The snake appeared again, next to Ralph, but her attention seemed to be on the apple.
The others realized this and prepared themselves.
The snake slowly approached the apple, and then the image of the snake seemed to swallow the apple as it went forward, until it stopped.
"Now!!" Nobody needs a warning, they knew this was a chance.
Everyone shot precisely where the apple was before, where the snake's neck was now.
The snake appeared to have been caught off guard and to have suffered a major injury, as it stagnated.
A high-pitched scream resounded in the woods, it seemed to be the animal's last resort to frighten a possible predator, but it didn't work, everyone kept shooting even with pain in the ears.
After about a minute, the snake seemed to have come in and collapsed, and the image of it started to fade.
After the image of the snake disappeared, the animal that was on the side of the apple ... or what was left of it, left everyone jaw-dropping.
"... Are you kidding?"