Chapter 558 (2/2)

Randidly grunted and gave up on doing it delicately. He smashed his fist down into the rock, cracking it. Then he dug his fingers into the crack and pried the thing apart. The body of the assailant fell into the water and there was a moment of panic as Randidly expected it to escape.

But it just bobbed up and down in the hip-deep water. Randidly lifted the body and was surprised by how light it was. There was a pang of regret in his chest as he examined the body more closely; it was wearing an exosuit. It was a human.

It never felt good, to kill another, even though Randidly had grown used to taking the lives of Raid Bosses and other intelligent monsters. It was a tough world they were living in. And now it seemed that forces within humanity were threatening the race as a whole in such ways that Randidly might need to kill less discriminately…

Randidly shook his head, pushing those thoughts away. He pulled the mask back and revealed the assailants face. It was a woman, brown hair, late 30s. Randidly frowned down at her, his initial regret giving way to puzzlement.

This woman… Randidly recognized her. But from where?

*****

Neveah hummed to herself as she walked from her room towards the rooms where Tia was staying. As she had agreed with Randidly, Neveah had told Tia that she was not truly the man Randidly Ghosthound, but another who was a very close friend of Randidly. She left out the part that she was female, and also her true form, but told her fiance most of the rest.

Tia had taken it very well, listening seriously to Neveah’s entire explanation. Then she had asked Neveah if it was alright if she took some time to think about it. Neveah had agreed.

At the last minute, Neveah stopped herself, turned on her heel, and walked away shaking her head. It had only been a few hours. She couldn’t just… just walk over there now and ask what she was thinking…

Neveah walked back to the door to her own room, which she barely used. But now that she was waiting for Tia to come to talk to her, she had to spend time here, correct? Otherwise, she might miss the other woman-

Well, she might as well take a bit of a walk to see the night. Maybe over towards Tia’s portion of the mansion…

But two steps back in that direction, Neveah froze. Her face turned grim. When she stepped, the wood of the floor splintered with the force of it. Hurtling down the hallway, Neveah felt her illusion waiver but didn’t take the time to reinforce it. This was more important.

One thing she had learned from watching Randidly was that when it was time for action, there wasn’t a point in being subtle. It was better to be decisive.

So Neveah smashed the door down, knocking it off its hinges.

“Uh…! What?!?” Senator Firefly said, sitting bolt upright in his bed. Although he had improved his stats, he confided in Neveah that he still felt somewhat uncomfortable without sleeping on a daily basis. So he habitually still lay down for the night, even if he didn’t necessarily fall asleep.

It wasn’t much, but Neveah had a half-step on the other party. So when she settled into a battle stance after breaking down the door, the windows were smashed in and four figures clothed in black rolled onto the floor. Two immediately stopped up short, looking at her, while two streaked towards Senator Firefly, pulling pistols out from small holsters.

Those two that approached the Senator met Neveah’s Jaws of Earth when crushed their lower bodies and twisted them away from a place where they could attack the Senator. For good measure, Neveah pulled up a Wall of Earth.

Finally, the two others recognized Neveah as a threat. Several more strangely dressed figures rushed in through the dark windows. The nearest one to Nevaeh threw a packet at Neveah. Curious, Neveah caught the thing.

Enough electricity to fry a horse pumped out from the stun grenade. Most people, even System empowered, would be stunned by such a rushed of electricity. Neveah didn’t even flinch. But it did knock away the rest of her illusion.

In the darkness, Neveah’s toothy maw twisted into a smile. Today was not a good day to get on her bad side. Her wings of bone slowly spread, hanging above the assailants like a pale scythes.

When they died, the assailants didn’t have time to scream.