Free Web NovelChapter 52: Chapter 51 - I’ll Protect You
Point-of-View: Neo Cronje
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Right as the Outlier closed in on us from behind, a blinding light suddenly flashed out as Liling used her Light Skill to blind her, but the Outlier swiftly closed her eyes and quickly backed away several meters, as that cat-shaped black shroud enveloped her again. freewёbnoνel.com
"Please calm down, miss, we’re not here to fight you!" I remarked in a loud, yet calm, tone, raising my hands up.
It was slight, but her shoulders relaxed a bit as she opened her eyes, a look of suspicion on her face.
"I...d-don’t be...believe you," She responded with a slight growl, struggling a bit to get the words out.
She didn’t stutter because she’s nervous or anything...she was struggling to speak in a literal sense. Is she not used to speaking? She definitely understood me when I spoke, and she responded too...
"Let me explain the current situation to you, I’m sure you have a lot of questions, right?" I offered her cautiously.
She paused for a moment, before narrowing her eyes and replying warily...
"Who...are...you?"
"We’re called Meta-Humans. The woman you fought earlier is one of our enemies, we followed her here. We don’t want to fight you, we’d much rather prefer to come to a peaceful resolution here," I stated in a slow, clear voice, before asking her, "Tell me, did you come across a large glass ball-like object and touch it?"
"Yes...I did. It...inc...increased...the pressure...around me...," She remarked with a frown, "How...do you...know...about it?"
Huh? Wait, back up a sec...
"Hold on, what did just say? It INCREASED the pressure around you? Doesn’t that mean...you already had an Aura?" Responded Liling in surprise, voicing my thoughts.
"Do you mind explaining your situation to us?" I requested in a friendly tone.
"You...explain...first," She immediately replied, without hesitation.
"Deal. We’re from an organization known as Harmony, and...," I began, before explaining the basics to her.
Specifically, I told her about Harmony and Eden, giving her a brief explanation of each of our goals. I then explained how Meta-Human powers work, with a rundown of Skill types and Aura...after which, she proceeded to figure out how to suppress her Aura in less than ten seconds.
I then explained the situation with the Meta-Orbs to her, about how they got scattered and stuff. And how Harmony and Eden are both scrambling to try and capture the Outliers. Though, well, I used the word ’recruit’ instead of ’capture’.
"And that about covers it. Come with us, we’ll protect you and help you better understand your powers," I offered, as I concluded my explanation.
"You...don’t seem...to be...lying, but...I don’t...trust you...," Came her response, a skeptical look in her eyes.
"Why don’t you think it over while you explain your story to us?" Suggested Liling.
Yeah, I’m pretty curious about that too. Let’s hear what she has to say...
"Okay...fine. I have...no reason...to...hide anything...," She replied after a brief pause, before telling us about what had happened to her over the past fifteen-plus years.
She’d been keeping track of the date with impressive accuracy, she was only about five days off, despite having been without technology for more than fifteen years. She spoke slowly and unsteadily, but her speech was steadily getting more and more fluent the more she spoke.
And based on her explanation, she’d awakened her Meta gene and gained an Aberration Skill nine years ago. It’s rare, but not impossible for normal humans to awaken their dormant Meta gene under immense stress.
There isn’t a very big historical sample size, but the general assumption is that the trigger is an unimaginable amount of anger, sorrow and/or despair.
It seems like her Aberration Skill gives her cat-like abilities and senses, along with the ability to communicate with all species of cats.
I couldn’t help but feel bad for her as she told us about everything she’d been through, she’d experienced true despair more times in the last fifteen years than anyone should in a lifetime.
She then concluded her explanation with a description of the events that occurred today, a dark look in her eyes as she finished recapping her experiences since ending up here.
"I see...wow, that’s all-...I’m sorry that you had to endure all that. What do you plan to do next?" I asked her.
"Next? I...I don’t know...," Came the response, her expression conflicted and uncertain.
"Come with us, to Harmony. We’ll protect you, as well as the last surviving cheetah of your pack, Dot. You’ll be able to live with modern amenities again, and you’ll be amazed to see how much technology has advanced since 2010. There are also three others that are in similar situations to you...uh, in that they came across Meta-Orbs too, at least," I tried to persuade her, and as I noticed her expression waver slightly, I sweetened the deal, "Oh, and we’ll also help you get revenge against that woman you were fighting. She’s undoubtedly one of Eden’s current top Meta-Humans, though probably a new addition to the Category 0 ranks, assuming that’s her rank, that is. Face it, if you stay out here, it’s likely that they’ll come after you again, but with more competent reinforcements this time."
She may be in her mid-twenties, but until today, she’s had zero human contact since she was nine years old. She’s cautious and wary, but she’s likely to be naive in a lot of ways, so I should be able to persuade her so long as I use the right words...
"I...I don’t know. How do I...know that...this isn’t a trap?" She responded suspiciously, narrowing her eyes before adding, "You might be...on the same side...as that black haired woman..."
Gotta say, I’m really impressed by how quickly she’s regaining her fluency with her speech...
"We’re definitely not...think about it, I could easily have used a portal to capture you the moment we spotted you, while your attention was on the black haired woman. Eden is trying to capture you Outliers by force, but that’s not the approach that Harmony has adopted. And besides, you’re insanely powerful...if this turns out to be a trap, you can easily massacre us," I pointed out with a wry smile, before asking her, "So, what do you say? Will you come with us...?"
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Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
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I...I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Should I go with them or not? On the one hand, I can’t easily trust other humans...since coming to Namibia, I’ve realized that some, if not most, people are vile, disgusting creatures that only care about themselves. But on the other hand...I can’t deny that most of what he said was absolutely right.
Those Eden people I fought earlier, it’s very possible that they’ll continue to come after me...and after everything that’s happened, especially today, I’m not longer confident that I can protect Dot on my own.
She’s the last cheetah of the ones who stayed with me...the last of Spot’s children that I’m aware of, I haven’t kept track of those that went off on their own after they grew up.
I have no doubt that accepting their offer and going with them will be risky, but if it’ll mean that Dot will be safer as a result...how can I refuse?
"O...okay, fine. If you people...really can protect...Dot, then I...I accept your offer," I responded reluctantly, my mind wrought with uncertainty and conflicting emotions.
"Great! Alright, then, why don’t you go pick up Dot and any other belongings that you might have? I’ll leave for just a bit and get you some real clothes, okay? Be back in a couple of minutes!" He replied, before opening a portal and leaving through it.
"Oh, uh...guess I’m staying behind. Do you have any belongings you want to bring?" The woman with the glasses asked me.
"No...I don’t have any...belongings. I only need to...bring Dot." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
This woman is weird...she’s smiling most of the time, it kinda gives me the creeps. It wasn’t a weird smile or anything, it was actually a pleasant-looking smile, but I was still suspicious of her, and the other guy too.
"You stay here...don’t follow me," I remarked firmly.
"Huh? Oh, uh, okay. I won’t move from this spot," She responded with a smile.
I then headed back to the cave, my footsteps feeling heavier and heavier with each step I took...this will probably be the last time that I ever see this place. I was perfectly happy and content with my life yesterday...and now, once again, my happiness was abruptly and unfairly torn away from me.
Maybe this is for the best...I’ve made a lot of good memories in this place, but the same goes for all my worst memories and experiences. I wasn’t supposed to be here in the first place...if it wasn’t for me, the cheetahs wouldn’t be dead...they wouldn’t have been killed so meaninglessly.
I never belonged here in the first place, me living here was nothing more than an invasion. I see that now. Yeah...it’s time for me to leave this place.
I’ve been here for far too long...I won’t endanger any more of the animals that live here. But I will protect Dot, even if it kills me...if this turns out to be a trap, I’ll make sure to kill every single person in sight. That way, there’ll be no one left to hurt her.
She bounded over towards me with a slight chirp as I walked into the cave, before I picked her up and hugged her as she reached me, burying my face in her fur, before I whispered...
"I promise...I’ll protect you..."
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