Chapter 282: Muddled
Rhett’s expression had darkened by the time she finished. His instinctive reaction was to demand why they hadn’t said anything to him, but his words froze in his throat.
He knew how stupid that sounded. He’d done nothing but drink and party, even he wouldn’t trust him with anything.
Rhett finally nodded and glanced towards Nyx, then back at Laila and Grunde.
He cleared his throat, his expression serious.
“What now?”
…
A sea of green. A surge of unimaginable power. The glinting blade descending towards the head of a devil.
The scene played out in Malakai’s mind like a movie. In this scene, Malakai was the strongest he had ever been. The strongest he had ever imagined himself to be.
He faced off against a devil, an evil grade three darkness. And in this fight, he had overwhelmed it.
He had used powers he never dreamed of using before, giving life to trees, forming spears of vita in the air.
As he watched the scene unfold, he couldn’t hide the shock he felt. Was this really him? Did this really happen, or was he dreaming?
It was only when the power vanished and a wave of darkness slammed into him that he realized, it really had happened.
Malakai’s eyes snapped open to a dark sky. The air was cold, and the wind was intense. Following what he had just witnessed in his mind, Malakai expected to wake up with a body riddled with pain.
But his body had never felt so good. So powerful.
Malakai glanced around and took in his surroundings. He was lying on a bundle of leaves, tree branches rising all around him.
’A forest,’ Malakai calmly noted. He knew he had fainted during the battle with the darkness creature. Right now, he couldn’t be sure if he was in ally or enemy territory.
’It’s ally.’
The familiar voice of Valentine brought Malakai a sense of relief. He couldn’t deny it, he was glad to hear the chubby man’s voice.
’How bad is the situation?’ Though he couldn’t move during his unconsciousness, Valentine would have seen everything.
’I think it’s better I let them brief you.’
Malakai slowly sat up, his gaze landing on a figure kneeling in front of him.
“I’m glad to see you’re awake, Ninth Vein.”
’Nyx.’ Malakai’s eyes narrowed. Her tone carried the same formality as when she first started serving under him. There was no trace of the familiar warmth.
“Nyx.” Malakai’s voice cracked as he spoke, forcing him to clear his throat. “Where are we?”
He decided to ignore the change for now and focus on assessing the situation. It was the smart thing to do.
“We’re outside the fortress, Ninth Vein.”
Malakai slowly closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. “I see,” was all he said. He waited for a moment, his mind already spinning.
“The assassins?”
“Two were captured. Others died or escaped.”
“The Fifth Vein.” Malakai’s eyes grew cold. “Did she die?”
“I’m not sure, Ninth Vein.” Malakai didn’t miss the way Nyx clenched her fists. “I was only able to leave the veil after everything had settled.”
Malakai narrowed his eyes. “Then who interfered?”
Everything had come back to him now. The vita veil had been powerful enough to hold Nyx, which meant she couldn’t have escaped on her own, not that early.
He had fainted before he could finish off the grade three manipulator. Which meant someone must have intervened, or he wouldn’t be here.
“Captain Rhett, Ninth Vein.”
Malakai’s eyes widened. “Really?” He had to ask again, just to be sure.
“Yes. He was also the one that helped me out of the veil.”
Malakai noticed the strain in her voice, but he ignored it for now.
“Where are the others?” He finally voiced what had been bugging him. Why was Nyx the only one here?
“They’re scouting and making sure we weren’t followed, Ninth Vein. I stayed here to protect you.”
Malakai nodded, relieved. He couldn’t wait to see how the dramatic Renlo would react to all this. A smile flickered across his face as he imagined the boy trembling right now.
Then it hit him, how odd it was for a node formation evolver to be scouting, especially given the scale of their enemy.
“What about Renlo?” He finally asked, and his gaze sharpened the moment he caught the flicker of hesitation in her eyes.
“Wha—”
“Little bro is awake!”
Before Malakai could ask further, Grunde’s excited voice cut through their conversation, followed by a derisive whisper shout.
“I told you to keep your voice down!”
Grunde scratched the back of his head, covering his mouth with his other hand. “Sorry,” he muttered.
Laila shook her head as their bodies landed soundlessly on the large branch. She smiled at Malakai and was about to speak when Malakai suddenly asked…
“Where’s Renlo?”
Laila’s expression darkened. Even Grunde’s eyes dimmed. The coldness radiating from Malakai at that moment chilled their hearts.
“Ninth Vein… we—”
“Go straight to the point and tell me what happened.” Malakai’s voice was sharp.
Laila took a breath. “W-we don’t know what happened,” she said, clenching her fists. “When we looked around, there was nothing.”
Malakai found himself off the branch before Laila could finish, wind rushing past his ears. It was only when he was high in the sky that he realized what had just happened.
He had jumped.
However, this was nothing like what he’d expected. He had only meant to jump off the tree, but instead, he had shot into the sky.
This was a familiar feeling, like when he had just evolved with the life essence.
He had grown stronger.
Regardless, Malakai forced down the urge to assess his body. Right now, there was only one thing on his mind, finding Renlo.
He kicked off the air, and didn’t even notice that he had just controlled the vita around him to create a foothold in the sky.
His muddled thoughts made him ignore the scene of his own feet striking invisible steps, creating footholds as he ran across the sky like it belonged to him.
He had grown powerful. He had awakened something he wouldn’t have expected. Malakai knew all of this, but he shoved down every single thought and kept moving.
’Renlo.’ His eyes blazed.
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