Chapter 110: A new discovery (1/2)

As the last guard slumped down on the dungeon floor, Aiden turned his head towards the direction they all came from.

He could only map out the dungeon system until this point, his senses were blocked beyond this doorway that was not littered with mutilated human corpses. Relying on his smell wasn't an option either, as it was distracted by the foul stench of piss and the blood of the battle. Even if he could ignore these, it would still not give any fruitful rewards as with all the dirty slaves layin and weeping in their own muck and who knows what…

Sighing defeatedly, he stepped away from the dead body and started walking towards the unknown. He only knew that somewhere inside he could still feel Lily's presence. He can follow this feeling and let it guide him at least.

His thoughts were interrupted when he was about to step over the mutilated body of the captain of these guards. As his foot lingered above the carcass, he thought about trying something he never had a chance to so far.

”Hmm…” He took back his leg and crouched. ”It would be good to have Enya's opinion right now, but oh well… It can't hurt to try…”

As he took the mask off, it visibly altered its stretched shape back to its original round form. Looking at it, Aiden was once again stunned by the number of resources his strange master has.

”I still don't know if we can fully trust him… But after all these years, she has been nothing but helpful. I can also feel she genuinely cares for Lily and me…”

Aiden looked at the guard's frozen expression. The fear, the regret, and unwillingness contorted his features, which amused him for some reason. Still, his thoughts were not on the man, as he muttered to himself while he raised his right hand into the air.

”...Well, I just hope everything will be fine. I owe her so much already…” As his thoughts kept lingering about Number 3, he struck down and dug into the dead body of the guard captain. His hand reached towards the man's silent but intact heart, and with one decisive notion he ripped it out.

Holding it in front of him, Aiden's thoughts came back to reality.

”...Let's see if this is enough or if I need more… Luckily, I have many more test subjects…”

Taking the organ into his mouth, he started chewing on it. He was never really bothered by taste, the only thing that mattered to him and to his body was the amount of energy he could gain, and in the case of an organism with unique life essences, if it would be enough for him to acquire the new strain to form.

Chewing on it just a few times, he then eagerly swallowed and immediately closed his eyes and focused on the potential changes.

As the food slid down, it was soon completely turned into tiny particles as his body and the system processed it. Shortly later he felt the satisfying warmth spread out from his stomach area all the way to the end of his limbs.

A massive amount of energy was released into his body, refreshing him and filling his only slightly drained reserves. In fact, the amount was so much that he had trouble containing it. The power bubbling inside him raged, it wanted to be set free.

Abiding by this feeling, he stretched his arms to the sides and raised his head towards the dark ceiling. As he howled with all his breath, the air around him formed into a transparent ring and with a loud explosive sound, it was released.

The erupting force was so powerful that the resulting waves that were released to all directions in the air destroyed the nearby sections of the wall and also shattered some of the steel doors in Aiden's vicinity. A few of the slaves that were closest to Aiden also got hit by the powerful shockwave even after it was being significantly weakened going through the walls and the door, throwing their weak and battered bodies back onto the walls.

The cracking sound of a neck snapping of one poor unlucky man went unnoticed. He silently fell to the ground, relieved that his misery has finally come to an end…

The explosion made the whole underground structure slightly shake for a few brief moments. While it was not felt by the guests who were eager to see the start of tonight's show, it was indeed noticed by a few…

Granny and Number 3 looked at the ground, towards the source. Sighing, Number 3 grabbed her forehead under her mask, and audibly sighed.

”I had a feeling he will not be able to stay calm... Well, it shouldn't be that much longer now...”

The ever-gentle smile did not leave Granny's face as she kept looking towards Aiden's direction.

”It is fine. We shouldn't need to keep this up for much longer. As soon as they are ready, we can all leave.”