Transcendent Gene-Chapter 266: Connection [2]

’What...’

What else was he supposed to feel? He was in a stupor as his mind digested the events of the past few seconds.

He didn’t think Raven was that injured. He’d given her a multitude of cuts, gashes, and burns that couldn’t be considered more than flesh wounds, but the being that appeared in Raven’s body didn’t show up for nothing.

’They said she had a lot of internal injuries. It’s possible that she was hurt even before we met for the first time. On the other hand, it could also be that the blunt impacts of being thrown around and slammed on the ground and floor did more than I thought.’

She accumulated wounds he couldn’t see and decided to keep fighting because of pride. He was the same, so he could read her thought process easily.

In his opinion, he had a justified reason for his hatred. She didn’t have the same kind of reason, but her pettiness reached an almost similar level. She wanted for him the same thing he wanted for her, and he knew that he was willing to act recklessly if it meant that she ended up suffering.

’The one who took her was probably one of the people there, too.’

He frowned as he grabbed a vial of healing serum from his Storage Hole and sat against the wall. The hole in his stomach and the internal bleeding caused by the one who took over Raven’s body began to slowly heal.

’I didn’t accomplish much. I only learned her codename, but I wouldn’t say it was a wasted encounter.’

That being confirmed it. He’d planted a seed in Raven’s mind that guaranteed their future meeting.

’Not only that, but I received an invitation...’

If he had to pick the most confusing part of what happened, it would be that.

He could justify Raven’s injuries. An incredibly powerful and esoteric Sequence could justify the possession. The strength of the possessor justified their ability to extract Raven from the Scenario Quest.

’But why would they invite me, and what is that invite for?’

It couldn’t have been anything good, but Gio’d curiosity didn’t stop for such considerations. That being gave him no clues, only telling him that it would take place in six months.

’It’s a VNGRD-related event, so I have to attend. I have half a year to make sure I won’t be caught off-guard, so it should be fine.’

The annoyance he originally felt from having his prey stolen disappeared relatively fast. Only one part of his brain was angry that Raven was gone. The rest were satisfied with continuing the interaction later.

’I didn’t learn anything about the Draconians, but the Draconians are guaranteed to take interest in me now.’

The best part of it was that he’d managed to keep the fact that he knew about VNGRD vague. Raven had no way to prove that he was related to the one she’d met previously, and other than the small clue she got from Hekat’s power, there was nothing else she could use to justify the assumption.

If they saw him as someone unaware of their affiliation with VNGRD and approached him based on that, he could already see several opportunities in his future.

’I need to control myself better. It worked out this time because my personal matters and the task at hand coincided, but I won’t always get lucky. I can’t let my mind be clouded like that again.’

With Raven gone, the storm in his mind subsided considerably. He couldn’t be confused by revenge when the object of said revenge was no longer present.

His eyes moved to the items on the ground nearby. When she stepped through the cracks in the world, a litepack was ejected back into the catacombs. Gio was confused as to why such a phenomenon took place, but his question answered itself when he searched the pack.

’Elixirs, Enhancers, and archaeological riches. This is a goldmine of treasure.’

They were the same items Raven and her group took from the very room Gio was sitting in. Along with the treasures, there were also several books written in monster language.

’I can’t decipher it yet, but there will be a connection somewhere. The people of Earth at this time were trying to find similarities between their language and the foreign language of these beings. Now that I’ve deciphered their language, it might be easier to find connections to this one.’

The litepack was ejected because the items within were quest items. Taking quest items out of the Scenario Quest was entirely possible, but only after the quest was cleared. Raven left while it was ongoing, meaning she had to forfeit the quest items she had in her possession.

’I don’t know what would even happen to the Scenario if it lost vital quest items, but it wouldn’t be anything good if someone who can break out of the quest limits can’t take them outside.’

The being didn’t have any reason to acknowledge the existence of these items at their power level. The only reason they did so was because they had no choice.

’It’ll probably piss Raven off.’

He could already imagine the fury the girl would feel when she understood that she’d lost completely.

’And it’s really the best benefit I could’ve been given.’

Gio took the litepack for himself and stood up. After three vials of healing serum, he was finally in decent shape again. His first use of his regained ability to move was obvious.

He rushed back to his team, wondering how they were faring in their battles. He took the same winding path one more time until he was finally back, and...

Boom!

The upper half of a woman’s body flew past his head. With widened eyes, he looked over at where it had come from.

Neriah was standing there and panting heavily with a blade in hand still dripping with that woman’s blood.

There was another corpse on the ground next to her, and her body was covered in scrapes.

Shiro and Serene were sitting on different parts of the wall with varying degrees of injury. Gio saw some concerning open wounds on their arms and legs, but he didn’t immediately spot anything to be concerned about.

"You three finished up fast," he said with a smile, alerting them to his presence. He walked over to Neriah, tossing vials of healing serum at Shiro and Serene in the process.

Unlike them, Neriah looked like she was having a difficult time moving. Almost comedically, her muscles cramped and froze her in that final position, making it look like she was purposefully posing like a hero.

As he helped her out and injected the serum into her arm for her, he turned his head to fully scan the battlefield.

The only complete corpse was the one under Neriah. Gio couldn’t imagine what had happened to the others.

"Did you get her?"

Shiro’s question drew his attention. Gio shook his head in denial.

"No. I won, but she escaped. I’m coping by calling it a small victory."

Shiro nodded.

"It’s probably better that way."

He had seen humans killing humans far more in the past day than he ever had before. It was still hard to cope with the fact that he had the blood of more than one person on his hands. The fact that his friend was acting like a bloodthirsty psychopath didn’t help.

Gio’s calming down was for the best of everyone.

He talked to his party members for a bit, learning about how their fight went while telling them some of the details of his altercation with Raven. Once they’d finished healing and Neriah regained movement, they got their priorities in order again.

Gio pulled out the litepack he grabbed and showed it to them. As they looked through its riches and anticipated the day they could use the rewards present within, Neriah raised her voice.

"If we have these as well, then we’ve practically cleared out this area, haven’t we?" she asked rhetorically.

"It’s about time to move on."

"Move on? Where to?" Shiro asked.

Gio had a part of the answer. He’d accidentally revealed a new hidden corridor, after all.

Neriah, however, had a much better understanding of what was at the end of that path.

"Where else would we be going?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"These are catacombs. Our original destination wasn’t here."

Right. The other three just assumed that the "Bloodless Crypt" was one of the rooms within the catacombs, but Neriah thought differently.

"The Bloodless Crypt is still a bit further away. The path there was blocked before, but I can sense it clearly now. I know where we need to go."

After all this running around, it was about time they actually saw the place designated by the sign they found at the church entrance.

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