CHAPTER 127 - NIGHTMARES
Rayne's idea of training was great, as it improved our battle sense and reaction time for the succeeding days. The only thing that did not improve was our sparring partners' teamwork as they were still competing on the last hit against their president. As a result, nobody won a trip to Hawaii since nobody was able to take me or Rayne down.
There are three days before the start of the next round of the Battle Fiesta. Our minds are focused on that one goal; to make contact with Nanahara Irida or even her Gladiator Arth Victus. There is also one goal that crosses with that, which is for Rayne to get exposure to the public for Treenity Innovations to be recognized once more.
Now that I think of it, being a Battle Fiesta Champion was originally my goal, and it sounds childish now that there are more pressing missions for Rayne and us. Just as Rayne said, it's hitting three birds with one stone, as she considers my dreams as a priority too.
That is why we have to do our best in the second round of the Battle Fiesta.
But just for today, we have to set aside our grind. A phone call woke Rayne early this morning, and it was from the Saltside Mental Hospital. The Cyber Witch we defeated back when we last fought Raynevere Treenity is now in stable condition.
During the battle against Raynevere Treenity and the Cyber Walpurgisnacht that led Ryan's code to get stolen, Rayne managed to unleash almost fatal blows to the witch. Thankfully, the enigmatic Cyber Witch was able to take much damage, and the police apprehended her for questioning.
Unfortunately, the Cyber Witch was unresponsive to the police interrogation. The creepy woman seemed to be in a trance whenever spoken to, and she wouldn't even utter a word. Sometimes, she would just break down, cry, and have a seizure while frothing in her mouth. The police thought that it would be best to send the Cyber Witch to a mental institute for her treatment.
Now that the witch who destroyed the village and killed countless of Rayne's relatives is said to be stable, then we had to immediately take action and talk to her. She might even know the whereabouts of the real Raynevere Treenity and put a stop to her plans for good.
We arrived at the mental institute via Rayne's Striker Wing, and from then on, the nurse brought us to the visitation area. There, the Cyber Witch was innocently enjoying her tea set in a childish round table.
She was busy playing tea time with the stuffed bears and dolls around her, but then she smiled at us innocently when she saw us.
"You have visitors, Sarah. Treat them respectfully, okay?" The nurse said to the Cyber Witch.
"Hello there, big brother and big sister!" The Cyber Witch who was named Sarah waved her hand to us as if she was a kindergarten kid. It was quite a weird feeling for an adult murderer like her to be acting in such a strange way.
Rayne felt weirded out too, so she took a glance at me. The nurse took the sign of confusion for both of us, so she whispered to clarify something.
"Sarah is only stable because of the dosage of the cybernetic drugs. Her mental age is way younger than she looks. You might not get your answers, but you can at least try."
The nurse left us after saying those surprising words. But I just shrugged at my fiance and then we approached Sarah and sat on the kiddy carpet.
There was quite a silence after we settled down. Sarah was busily playing with her bunny tea set, and there was this sinister yet warm aura on Rayne. She's facing the one who murdered her father right in front of her after all. And I am also in front of the witch who sniped my chest. If Sarah is this innocent, we won't be able to take this seriously.
Rayne took a deep breath and then put all the negative feelings behind her. She smiled and looked at Sarah with her twinkling eyes.
"So your name is Sarah, right?" Rayne asked with a kind tone.
"Yes! Miss Raynevere gave me that name!" Sarah answered.
"Oh, so you know Raynevere for a very long time, huh?" Rayne said charmingly.
"Yes! Ever since she picked me up in the streets, she called me that! I hate her!" Sarah smiled innocently.
"Hate? Why do you hate Raynevere?" Rayne asked. "She gave you a name, didn't she?"
"Because she did very bad things to me! She imprisoned me in a big glass castle! She stabbed me with injections! She also took off my clothes and sent me to a den of monsters!" Sarah said with enthusiasm. Her happy tone does not match her grim answers.
But for a moment, Sarah stopped playing with her tea cup set and then stared at the ground. Tears welled up from her crimson eyes and she started to weep.
"Miss Raynevere also gave me nightmares. That is why I hate her! But I can't hate her because she will punish me!"
Rayne looked at me for a moment, then she shifted her glance back to Sarah. "Nightmares? What nightmares does Raynevere give you?"
Sarah shook her head and wiped her tears away. Then she resorted back to an innocent child-like smile. "Whenever she touches me, I would dream of myself becoming a very bad person. Like I'm an evil witch in bedtime stories. Lately, I imagine myself killing people. Like many people!"
Rayne bit her lip and clenched her fists. She turned to me and then whispered.
"It's the Code of the Numbered Kaiser. Raynevere Treenity must have pulled the strings for her to act that way."
Judging from what Sarah told us, she must have been one of those Cyberdemon Experiments that Raynevere Treenity conducted. And our hunch about that psychopath controlling this poor lady who now acts like a kid has been concluded.
There is no one else to blame but that psychopath herself.