Chapter 118: Caress the Tense Blue (2) (Patreon)

We swarmed through the mansion like a swarm of locusts. I took a position near Ruel at the front—considering he was the strongest person, and basically out babysitter, it seemed a prudent decision. Our footsteps pounded through the hall. Though our teamwork hadn’t been exceptional at the beginning, it was starting to pick up. 

Giir, who I’d directed to take the lead, kicked one of the metal gates that barred our way. It buckled from his severe force and fell forwards. He caught it and tossed it further down the hall, and it banged loudly. We stepped forward, and with a quick flurry of blows, dealt with those that were cowering behind. 

The mansion was a tempest of chaos—voices echoed throughout the halls, panicked and desperate, while the screams of the dying resounded behind us. I tried my best to ignore them, but it was a difficult task. It was beginning to occur to me that I didn’t belong here.

I didn’t know when I’d got it, but I had a fairly large gash on my leg. I suppose that was the effect of adrenaline. Though I considered taking some time to wrap it and staunch the bleeding, I wasn’t afforded any time. We marched ever onwards. I knew Zinuetet and Day were near, but oddly enough, I didn’t want to look at them.

Ruel led us wordlessly down the halls of the mansion. Occasionally he’d branch off into the rooms, scanning them for people. There were people present that weren’t guards—servants, residents, and the like, but we strictly ignored them. These were the people that made the money, after all. Wouldn’t do to kill them. 

Why am I here? That question kept ringing it my head. I didn’t know why I kept asking it. I was able to quickly answer it every time it came up, yet it kept persisting, as though my mind wasn’t satisfied with the answer. I didn’t know what to do with it, but I tried my best to push it away. Extraneous thoughts weren’t a good thing to have in situations of life and death. 

We came to a hall that branched off into four rooms. Ruel looked around for a moment, and then directed us to split up with his hands. It took a second for some to understand, as the gesture hadn’t been rehearsed, but eventually most got the message. I noticed Leedie entering the room with Vast and Giir. I exchanged a glance with Vast, suspecting he knew my intention, but I didn’t follow it up. 

Instead, I followed Day with Zinuetet close behind me, and we checked a room alongside several of our khort allies. It resembled an office of some kind, with multiple cubicles set up, meaning we’d have to check it very thoroughly. I walked through aisle after aisle of desks with strange, alien computers that were vaguely familiar to me and yet entirely foreign. 

I turned sharply on a corner and saw one of the guards cowering in fear. I opened my mouth to shout, but didn’t have time to do so. The man, a lithe one with many eyes and a disgusting mouth, leapt at me like a cornered rat. Perhaps that’s what he was. I barely had time to conjure a barrier to block his attack. His blade of Primordial Energy met the barrier next to my cheek. 

He turned his blade and thrust out, using my barrier as an axis for his attack. I hadn’t been expecting it, so I didn’t dodge in time. The blue Primordial Energy blade sunk into my right eye before I managed to pull away, and my vision swirled with myriad colors, before turning red and then ceasing to see at all. 

I was greatly alarmed by the development, so my defense wasn’t as stellar as it ought to have been. I was pushed back, though I managed to avoid any more serious wounds. Eventually, I disarmed him with an upwards swing, and slammed my shoulder against him. He slammed to the wall, and I stabbed him in the chest multiple times. Perhaps more than was needed. I was fueled by anger and adrenaline, turning him into a mess of a creature. 

I heard voices, but my ears were ringing and pounding too loudly for me to make them out. “I’m fine. I’m fine,” I said, not sure how loud I said it. I slowly got my bearings. My eye. Why my eye? Why couldn’t it be anything else? I knelt down, and cut off a strip of cloth from the corpse’s uniform. After some struggles, I wrapped it around my injury. Why am I here? 

I tried to leave the room before I could be seen, but Zinuetet did see me. I could see the surprise on her face after seeing my eye, but I didn’t give her the opportunity to speak, strutting out of the room quickly. We were the last to arrive, and Ruel shouted out, “Let’s move!”

We made our way back down the hallway, Giir taking the lead, dealing with any attacks from those strange bolts of fog that the enemy was using. He seemed the most fatigued of any of us, but as long as his barrier held, I wouldn’t mind. 

It had only been a passing thought, but I hadn’t seen Leedie. Perhaps Vast and Giir really did take care of her, as I thought they might. It was none of my concern for now. It was a testament to their character if it was the reality. There was nothing I could do but shake the thought away and carry on. 

I was beginning to notice a severe lack of depth in my eyesight. I couldn’t discern how far away most things were. It was disconcerting. 

“Casimir. Casimir!” 

I felt something forcefully pull me back my shoulder, and turned to meet Zinuetet. 

“Why did you run away from me? Your eye…”

“It’s not the time to worry about me. I’m fine. Let’s keep moving.” I quickly turned back and followed behind Ruel. No need for her to see me like this. 

Ruel continued down the hall, leading us to a place far ahead. The guards were thinning considerably now—perhaps they’d bulked their forces at the front once they’d discovered that’s where we’d be entering. We entered a very large rotunda. Four hallways met at this area. It seemed to be the central building. 

I saw the glint of something far off in the distance, and tried to strain my eyes to look at it. Then, a splitting howl echoed down the hall, precisely in the direction I was looking at. It was distorted sound, like a mish-mash of words, and as it coursed past my ears, I could not help but block them. 

The words begin to take shape, oddly enough, as though they were emerging from the abyss. 

“Gotcha,” the voice said, its sound reminding me of a fell demon. I felt goosebumps erupt on my entire body, and I knew I was affected by something. 

I looked to Ruel for direction. He was opening his mouth, and I could see his throat shaking from the effort he was using to shout, but I heard nothing—just the echoing sounds of that voice. I watched the way his lips moved in a desperate attempt to read his lips, but it was fruitless. He wasn’t speaking a language I knew, and without the Citizenship Chip, it was useless. 

I only understood his meaning when he dropped to the ground. I quickly followed after him, trying my best to take shelter behind his shield.