[From now on, I will upload this daily. Five times a week basis.]
Kabanata 14
The sun showed up again, Keenan stared at the brightening sky. He was elated to see it again. He was laying on the ground breathing heavily, dead bodies were all around him. Keenan fought multiple creatures. He couldn't count the exact numbers but he was confident that he killed over fifty monsters. It was obvious that he didn't have any rest nor sleep, he stayed up all night to entertain them and he did a good job.
Keenan's face had bruises and his shoulders had cuts. As for his back, they were covered with scratches, deep scratches, and blood. It was actually fortunate that he only suffered minor injuries like this. The invisible Hands protected him but they were not enough and sometimes he would lose his footings and fell on the ground. His Hands could still feel a little bit of pain but overall, they were tough and could withstand any attacks from the monsters.
"It's good that I have another way to attack them."
Despite being on the ground, Keenan stabbed the monsters that were pouncing on him. His left arm(blade) was busily wounding them while his right hand was busy snapping fingers to increase the damage. Keenan didn't stop, he knew that he would die if he stopped attacking them.
As time passed, the monsters that were attacking him diminished, and the dead bodies around him increase instead. When he stood up, he realized that all of the monsters were already dead. All of them had wounds all over their bodies and the major reason why they died was because of bleeding.
Keenan sighed, his body was aching, his muscles were sore because of the all-night party. He reached the closest body and stabbed its chest. The sunlight started to engulf the wasteland and Keenan could see the place again. He got the N-core and ate it, he wanted to erase the lingering pain.
He breathed in relief as his body gained energy. The fresh wounds that he had started to vanish. However, eating one N-core was not enough to heal him, it was good that he had a lot of food around.
"Although I can't eat all of them at once, my body will explode if I eat too much N-cores."
Still, Keenan took all of the N-cores, he could eat them later. He just had to digest the energies in him before eating again.
After taking all of the N-cores, Keenan's pouch was filled with shining crystals. They were like candies that he could eat if he's hungry. Keenan's lips curled upwards as he tapped the pouch full of N-cores. Now, he was not afraid about finding food. He could eat whenever he wanted. Even the injuries he suffered, he could heal them immediately as long as he had these N-cores.
Keenan started moving again, it was still early and this was the right time to move. The sun was still rising and it was not hot enough, he could travel faster. Sleep, rest? Nah, Keenan don't need any of that. As long as he had these N-cores, he could stay awake for a week without feeling any dizziness or headache.
In a way, N-cores was the best drug that he could use. They didn't have any bad side effects, in fact they could make you stronger. It was a win-win situation... As long as you don't overdose, that is.
"I'm already here for three days… this is not good, I have to find them. And I need to eat real food, or else I will die…"
Keenan said. He still couldn't find his teammates and he was starting to get anxious. The more time he spent here, the less likely he would live. Netherworld was thrice bigger than the Thera, it would be hard to find someone like him. The chances of someone rescuing him would be close to impossible.
"I'm just a simple guy who had a simple background, no one will come to save me."
He grimaced, he knew that graveness of his situation. He was fucked up, if he won't leave this place, he would be fucked.
...…
...
…
Two days passed, Keenan was walking as his body was covered with filthy sweat. His pouch was bulging, it was filled with N-cores but Keenan was not happy about it at all. His hope of leaving this place slowly fade away. Even if he killed many Nightmares, he knew that he would die if he met a far higher class. If he met a Class-A, then perhaps he may die. However, if he met a Class-S, he understood that he would surely lose his life. Netherworld was full of powerful creatures and Keenan did not have the power to face them. Class-S and higher, he didn't want to any of those monsters. Class-S monsters have the power to manifest Aura, and Keenan knew that his Hands couldn't withstand attacks filled with Aura, it was on another level.
"I'm just a normal student…"
He gritted his teeth in frustration, he continued walking but he was slowly losing his hope. Five days already passed and no one looked for him, this meant only one thing…
"No, they will not leave me. I know it."
He convinced himself, yet a slim part of him thought that perhaps they really did leave him. He clenched his fists, his pouch was dangling, and the crystals made crisp sounds as he walked.
"It's funny how I have these crystals but I can't save myself. If I sell this, many people will buy it."
He chuckled, his eyes were staring nowhere, they were unfocused. He narrowed his eyes as he found that he saw something. The sun was too shiny so he couldn't identify it completely.
When he walked closer, he saw that they were actually two Zvieras eating food. Keenan shrugged, he thought it would be different. He already experienced this kind of situation many times within these goddamn 5 days. Sometimes, he would meet stray nightmares eating over dead nightmares. Keenan disregarded them since he didn't care, his mission was to find his teammates.
However, when he looked at the flesh that they were eating, his eyes widened and he felt strong electricity shocking him. His eyes clearly saw the hand that they were eating, a ring was on the finger and Keenan further opened his mouth realizing that…
"That's from Roman!"
Keenan lost his control and started dashing at them, two Hands appeared on his back. They glided and approach the two Nightmares, they hold their necks and lifted them up. The monsters struggled but they couldn't get out, Keenan transformed his arm and dashed. He stabbed the first monster and sliced its body into two. Then, he reached the second and aimed for its neck, his blade went deeper into the monster, the monster trembled until it died.