{Louis… Please!}
Slowly, I picked up the vestige as a pained scream that begged for mercy echoed within the confines of my mind.
I managed to ignore the horrible feeling that made its way into my chest just hearing the agony that such a gentle voice carried. It was a feminine voice that I'd never heard of, but I was pretty sure who it belonged to.
Cruz Silva…
Yeah, that was definitely her. The girl whose BOR Parasite was so strong it ended up corrupting her mind, making her an unkillable monster deemed the 'Queen' that went into a frenzy and destroyed everything in her path.
Even when she was defeated, she couldn't be 'killed' and the only way to deal with her was for her indestructible remains was for them to be sealed within compatible people, making Successors like me a thing, special revenants who carry a unique trait that she had once she was a whole being.
"Ugh." I made sure that the cage to store vestiges was secure before finally paying attention to the red coral demon fighting the rest of the party, only Io at my side making sure nothing went wrong while acquiring the vestige.
You know what, calling that 'fighting' was flattering the monster.
That thing was being jumped by everyone!
Honestly, I can't believe that Yakumo genuinely said that he and Louis 'struggled' with this specific lost. Enough for Louis to die in the confrontation which explains his vestige being on top of this plateau.
I guess this just telling, we aren't just individually stronger after putting plenty of time into training, but how much of a danger is a team of revenants who can possess specified skills that cover specific areas during combat altogether.
The coral devil at the summit of this highland isn't like any schmuck we have encountered. For now, it is just behind the Butterfly of Delirium, if that gigantic insect had used its flying abilities since the start, the fight would not have been on our side and we would've lost or run away before losing members.
Since red coral devils come out during the day to absorb the sun's rays to recharge their coral armor and keep their searching light working under the sea, one could say that there is a hierarchy between them.
The higher they are on the level of the land, the stronger they will be. The weak red coral devils like the one I encountered on my first expedition in this place were at the bottom of the food chain since they recharged their energy near the water level.
To think that those already at the bottom of the barrel were already stronger than most normal lost found running around in the city was a bit concerning, it confirmed my suspicion that Juzo Mido experimented with the lost in this place.
And those resting at the top of the small hills and pillars in the Dried Up Trenches were considered the cream of the crop, they literally fought their way to the top to recharge their coral armor, waiting for the night to come and go back hunting in the depths of the sea.
This crimson coral devil had much better maneuverability than the others. Its coral armor was jaded and its color was a deeper red than the rest. It towered over most lost I've seen as it stood 4 meters tall (13ft).
But that gigantic size didn't seem to matter in the least, the snake-like movements it pulled off just showed how flexible that coral armor was. Its sharp claws slashed the air with precision and an abnormal amount of grace. It didn't exactly behave like a beast and possessed some intellect.
And yet…
Countless wounds scattered across its crimson coral armor. Not once did the team give it time to defend. Spikes that covered its body as a defense mechanism were no more, just black patches of the charred armor remained there.
"AGHUA@#$!" It screamed in rage and agony as it saw its own arm fly up into the air, the high-frequency blade from Yami finally penetrating its firm coral armor.
But that wasn't the end. Not even a drop of blood had fallen to the ground did Yakumo's axe cut through the air and took off its remaining arm in a single swing.
The beast's attempt at retreating once it lost its two limbs was cut short by Louis, he made his way behind the monster and summoned a wave of fire on its back, pushing it forward.
And then Oliver arrived to deliver the final blow. The coral devil was vulnerable and caught off guard as a hammer aiming for its chest was almost making a cyclone with its mere movement and speed.
The sound produced by the hammer wasn't something you hear from bones and flesh being crushed, that sound belonged to an explosion!
Its chest was sunken by the attack, and most of its organs were mashed to mush by the impact.
Red mist exploded from its back along with bones that would've hit Louis as shrapnel had he not moved out of the way.
It left a trail of red mist as it fell off the plateau and it started to slowly disperse during its downfall to the water in between the canyons formed by the separation of the dead coral.
You know, when Oliver hits something, it is either turned into fine red mist or is sent flying a whole football stadium in the distance. Not one time have I seen a monster be strong enough to be a case where two of those things happen at the same time.
"You got the vestige?" Louis approached after Yami confirmed the safety of our surroundings.
I…
After seeing his reaction to Kevin's memories, I almost hesitated.
I know that he was strong, he had been in this city without knowing what the hell was going on since he woke up, just learning and helping as much as he could. He had grown and made a name for himself in this place.
But I knew damn well that seeing the memories of how he 'failed' Cruz was going to hurt him. The dude can't catch a break.
I knew it wasn't my fault, but it didn't feel pleasant to bring painful memories to people.
A cruel truth can break a man faster than any lie.
"...Yes. I got it." But there was no good being done for Louis by denying him the reality as well.
"Good, let's go before another tries to get this spot," Yami said as he sensed our near vicinity. When a red coral demon is killed, another one will surely try to take the empty spot to absorb more sun rays during the day.
That was the food chain during the day in this place.
We went on our way, to the next mistle which should be closer. But on our descent, I asked about the one place that had been bothering me for a while. A place I only noticed once we got onto higher ground.
"Staten Island?" I asked again.
"What's left of it, yes," Louis affirmed.
It was nothing but floating rubble. One could see from the distance that the columns left standing over the sea indicated the existence of a bridge, one that had almost no remains other than the cables that held it above the water.
Shit…
Isn't that a perfect place to have a bunker hidden from Cerberus?
Though, I'm sure that Mido should have more than one bunker where to do experiments.
Dried Up Trenches is a territory barely touched by the government, much less wandering revenants, only the crazier-than-crazy or the ones with balls of steel like Gustav would do that. No one would really know if Juzo Mido was strolling around this place in plain sight. The wacky environment and food chain of this place was more dangerous than the city.
This deterred any city folk from entering but this also meant something else, someone clearly messed with it.
Man… I know this isn't the time to be doubting what I'm going to do when I encounter the successor of this place, but if things go wrong, I'm sure that winning a fight against that mad scientist isn't even a question, it is a pure delusion to even ponder the thought of us having a chance against him.
Io has traveled the city in search of her successor, and that happens to be me, so, the question is, does Juzo Mido have eyes everywhere or he only bothers to pay attention to his experiments and the successors themselves?
Was he aware that Io was looking for her successor and decided to let her be to find me?
Maybe he didn't need another specimen for his experiments as, supposedly, he already had done enough experiments and just left her alone.
So far, the lack of eyes on me and the fact that I don't have a hole in my chest could mean that Juzo Mido doesn't know of me.
However, was I that lucky?
I didn't want to fall into that line of thought. There is too much up to chance.
So, what if he already knows how to find successors after doing experiments on attendants?
Does he know of me?
Does he just find me uninteresting?
Is my involvement so minuscule in his plans that I'm simply ignored like a pebble on the road? Or that he doesn't intend on doing anything to me until his master plan takes motion.
My abilities as a successor have been kept secret good enough for now, it has just been me making sure that Mido didn't know of me before I had a grasp of my surroundings, but they will soon be revealed at the end of this expedition. That is why I'm not hiding my teleportation 'gift' from others as much.
If he didn't know of me until that moment, will he strike the instance I show my successor abilities?
Will he see my potential and decide to just swop in and rip the relic out of me?
Cage me up like a bird and experiment on me?
Leave me be?
Just kill me?
Think.
That is what I have to do.
Think of WHAT I can do.
My only advantage is knowledge. Information which I still have to confirm for now I exist in this world, it isn't the game I played anymore. I have to be careful about how I use it. How much I reveal will dictate my fate.
My heart isn't a normal BOR Parasite, not even the part of the Queen that should be influencing my judgment is there. This new heart of mine is even fighting it off.
Then, what if I reveal it to someone like Louis?
He will try to understand it. He is a researcher… but because he is exactly that, I wonder what will he do when finds out how the other successors basically fight for their sanity by simply holding a relic inside them?
Will people think that the Queen has taken over me secretly and I've been acting until now? Abiding my time and trying to get 'my' parts from the other successors to revive in full glory?
There is no exact way to detect the Queen's influence unless a person just goes berserk as far as I'm aware. Even Louis can't see through my abnormal state and find anything that screams, 'This dude has two other consciousness fighting in him!'
How much can I trust them, and when can I do it?
Even Io…
Damn it. Attendants help successors… but what if I have this thing in my heart overtake part of the Queen's blood that is in my system, like it has done with other blood codes?
Will she turn on me, betray me?
Will she still support me?
Would I still be considered a successor for her to attend?
What about Jack?
What if he sees something wrong with me with that eye of the Queen of his?
Will he kill me again?
Many questions.
Few answers.
Many things to do.
A single wrong and my head will be rolling on the ground.
However, it all comes to a problem of time and strength.
If Mido knows, he knows. If he doesn't, he doesn't.
Either I die or I don't.
Whatever happens, happens.
Will his plan take priority and leave me for the end or I will be taken as a priority target? THAT is how long I have.
A simple 50/50.
Yes, in the end, all I need to do is fight on and move forward. That's all there is to it.
I'm not strong to have everything under control… yet.
All I can do is take the chance at becoming stronger in the limited amount of time I have. If can't do that, then I will die within a few days or just end up falling short when the time comes…
It's obvious the path I have to take even if it kills me.
Risk nothing, win nothing.
"Adam?" A certain voice called for me, its soothing tone still worked to calm my nerves… but…
"Io" I spoke.
I glanced at the woman beside me.
"What am I?"
I wondered. Would she say, Revenant?
A successor?
A person?
Or just… Adam?
"... I'm not sure how I can answer that."
"...To you, what… No, it's fine." I stopped myself. It was a dumb question to ask at the moment. "Let's go."
____________________________________________________________________________
Word Count: 2,263
Bro really dropped the "Would you still love me if I was a worm?"
LMAO.
Anyway…
(❁´◡`❁) Cowld yow pwease gwivme a reviewwwww? :-3