[Psychokinetic] Eyeball Pulling - Chapter 180 (Patreon)

From the vivid sense of location Astrid had received during the activation of Overload, it was made clear where her father was. Well, that wasn't exactly true. She didn't know where he was, but he was... Somewhere. That fact was also why she couldn't detect where her mother, or any of her other family members were for that matter.

After thinking about it, the vision of her father must have cost a tremendous amount of mana. More than that, she even felt her subconscious mind attempting to summon him like she had done with her army of two. She must have skipped over the others and decided to use the rest of her mana to actually help her in the moment. Thanks, subconscious mind. Astrid snickered, but her thoughts were transferred back to reality when a rogue corrupted shot straight for her.

Flaring her mana, she yanked the mindless beast's eyes from its skull. She passed its exploding body at a frenzied pace for the Sinwen manor. The guards were busy fending off the swarms of enemies, until Astrid arrived, that was.

With a few blasts of psychokinetic energy, she erased the existence of the corrupted before landing in front of the guards. She needed answers. Thankfully, she recognised the man at the helm of the formation. His armour was drenched in putrid purple and red viscous liquid. Red from the blood of the freshly corrupted, and purple from the stronger warriors. Despite the entrails of the dead hanging from his shoulders, she could make out the kind face marred in worry from in-between the gaps in his helmet. As the leader of the Sinwen guards, his strength was well renowned within the nobility ranks.

"Frank, where's mother and the rest of the family?" Astrid said with urgency. The fact that the guards were the only ones guarding the perimeter meant that something was drastically wrong.

"Astrid?" The knight in thick armour blinked in surprise, but he regained his professionalism as if it was ingrained into his bones. "My lady, it has been weeks now that the strong warriors of Sinwen, along with other powerful noble families have travelled into the depths of the city–Apocryphia. I'm afraid I wasn't given a reason, but it was obviously of great importance. It's been a long time since I've seen the esteemed Spearhead wrapped up in concern."

Astrid’s brows rose as she pondered on his words. If her father, mother, and brothers were all moving together, then something terrible was happening under the surface. Not just them, but it seemed to be a joint effort with the other nobles as well–something that was almost unheard of.

But why would they begin the expedition early? Her first thoughts wandered to the masked terrorists, if they found their location, they may have moved out in force to wipe them out. Or maybe it had something to do with the corruption, or even the Leviathan. Whatever the reason was, Astrid knew where her priorities lay. With her family gone, and the other noble families wrapped up, it was on her shoulders to protect Rebirth. She had to trust in the strength of her family as she held up the mantle while they were gone.

Just as Astrid was about to say something else, a familiar face emerged from the gilded entrance of the family manor. Red hair, and pretty dress ornamented in armour. She would have radiated beauty if not for the deep bags scored underneath her eyes. Her hair was messy, and not a spec of make-up had touched her face in days. For Freya, it was almost unbelievable.

"Freya–”

"Freya!"

Before Astrid could approach, a blur passed her shoulder. If not for the lack of killing intent, Astrid would have never let her past.

Bellona moved like black lightning as she approached Freya. There was no skill, only a technique that was trained to the top. She wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace, then planted a worried kiss on the redhead's dried lips.

Freya forced out a smile, then said, "Praise the Goddess that you made it back in one piece. But you shouldn't have come. It's not safe."

***

Freya gazed at her lover in relief, before she glanced at her cousin. She had changed. Not just in appearance, but also in temperament. Past the unique black and white robes that seemed to radiate an ancient aura, and the strange grinning mask that imprinted a primal aura into her heart, Freya could tell the young lady in front of her transformed.

But no amount of transformation could save her from what was happening on Rebirth. Now wasn't the time for her to come back home.

She was truly tired, weeks had passed, and the family forces still had yet to arrive. Exhaustion weighed down on her bones, but for the safety of Rebirth, she had to forge on. Although she was no match against the wretched high nobles, for her home--she would die trying.

Just as Freya was about to usher them inside the halls to explain everything that was happening, an explosive roar split the air. She could feel her very heart tighten at the towering presence. As a social Class, she didn't have the means to face it, let alone be in its proximity. Glancing at the Astrid, Bellona, and the others, anxiousness overpowered her senses. Her hearing turned dull, but she bit her tongue, awakening her from her fear. Although Frank and the guards had defeated one before, it came at great casualties, and It was aimed right at them. It was an evolved. Yet despite that, only a firm resolve pushed her forward.

Astrid spun around, it was evident she was prepared to face the incoming enemy. However, Freya knew it was a fool's errand. It was impossible for her current strength. A quick glance at the ravaged Sinwen walls, and the blood seeping within was a grim reminder of an evolveds power.

"Astrid get inside the manor’s walls–this isn't an enemy you can defeat!" Freya exclaimed as she rushed in front of Astrid, blocking her with her own body.

The highly trained guards didn't even need an order as they slammed their shields in front of them.

Freya was frantic. She glanced back, yet Bellona was simply standing there with her arms crossed instead of making a move. She knew that look anywhere. The woman that had faced constant life and death battles down within towns, wasn’t concerned in the slightest at the incoming evolved.

“Bellona!” Freya said, panicked. Her small cousin was adamantly standing there. She tried to move her, but was surprised to find that Astrid was like an immovable mountain.

Taking a breath, she tried again. Her face turned red from exertion. She was about to shout again, but a stray thought flickered within her mind. Had Astrid already outlevelled her?

She didn’t have an Identification Skill like mage, or profession Classes had, so she couldn’t tell for certain. But the aura the evolved emitted should be felt by everyone here, even Astrid. The little girl behind her was always reckless; always creating trouble. However, Freya knew she wasn’t stupid. Far from it, in fact.

Calming her mind down, she frowned. It should be impossible for Astrid to face it. The last one was Level one-hundred and eighty-six. If it wasn’t for the combined effort of the Sinwen guards, it would have continued to rampage through the halls.

And judging by its aura, it most likely had entered the next stage entirely. The second stage–Level two-hundred.

Another piercing shriek caused her shoulders to tense. Following the harrowing sound, was a crash. The monster blasted through a building's wall as bricks and mortar shot into the surrounding area. It bounded straight for them.

The evolved’s jaw hung down, farther than any human could naturally open it. It’s purple mottled tongue flapped as a crazed madness flashed within its iris’. But it was the dense muscle that was condensed into supernatural levels that caused her concern. Each step gouged out the tiled floor, and revealed the earth below it.

Its aura swept toward her. Sweat formed on her forehead. Her fingers twitched.

Just as the monster was about to crash into the Sinwen guards, the monster was halted. It was like the hand of a god had plucked the monster up from the nape of its neck. It dangled its legs in the air, powerlessly flailing them.

“Weak.” Astrid mumbled.

Freya wasn’t given a chance to contemplate her words as the corrupted warrior’s eyes shot out of its sockets. Two rumbling explosions rocked its solid skull as red and purple liquid spilled out from the new holes in its face. However, it didn’t end there. Astrid raised her hand and a sparkling purple formed within the palm of her hand.

Thanks to her Skill–Energy Detection, Freya was well accustomed to the many different forms of energy used within the world. It was how she managed to detect Bellona’s trace amounts of unique anti-magic. And with it, the purple within Astrid’s hand caused her heart to tighten.

It was dark, boundless, chaotic–it wanted to be free. Astrid wasn’t finished. Within the void-like ball of energy, flickers of vivid red, and orange sparked to life. As she gazed into the flecks of light, it was as if she was looking straight into the eyes of an ancient, primal monster.

They screamed into the birth of existence, then Astrid let it go. Or that’s what Freya assumed as it simply disappeared from sight.

All she could see was a faint purple-orange trail within the air, as the space repaired itself behind the attack. Then, a hole appeared in the evolved’s chest. What happened next forced Freya’s eyes to widen, no, that wasn’t right–they had long risen in utter disbelief.

From the walls of the wound, it sparkled like glitter, or… stars. Flecks of orange followed, then in an instant, the body was engulfed in a primal fire. It attempted to scream, but its body suddenly convulsed until it turned inside out. The purple energy sucked it into a blackhole, and only the grinding of hardened bones, and toughened flesh, rang out from the void.

“What–the–” Freya stuttered. She glanced back at Astrid and her eyes widened even further–if that was even possible at this point.

Two eyes hovered behind her shoulders, and her own eyes glowed a menacing light. As she looked within them, she was horrified at what she discovered. They were endless–like a neverending chasm that threatened to swallow her whole. Her entire mind screamed at her in warning.

The girl in front of her was destined to stand above others. She was destined to stand above everything.