Free Web NovelChapter 53: Chapter 52 - Mediation
Point-of-View: Neo Cronje
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Okay, I somehow managed to make that work...I let out a tired sigh as I sat down on the floor, basking in the coolness of the air-conditioned room.
I’m beat.
I’d just portaled myself to the hidden base in Antarctica, specifically, the large room in which we store the outfits made using the Skill-resistant material.
I then stood up reluctantly and began looking for an outfit...I’ll go with something simple, like a baggy hoodie and a pair of jeans. These clothes all look like normal, regular outfits, and for good reason...I mean, if we made super flashy or unique outfits like superhero costumes for ourselves, we’d stand out in a crowd.
But since these clothes are perfectly normal-looking, that’s not a concern. Alright, I think these should do just fine...time to head back out there...after a few more seconds in here, it’s so nice and cool.
Oh, right, I should probably give everyone here a heads up that I’m bringing in another Outlier. If anyone reacts to her the way they did when I brought Zoraiz, Alexis and Inoka here, she’ll probably kill us all without hesitation.
I then picked out some clothes from a couple of the racks, before quickly portaling throughout the hideout and spreading the news...
"The next Outlier will be here soon, tell everyone! And under no circumstances is anyone to provoke her...I’ll immediately kill anyone that does, so let them know!" I repeated over and over as I continued to warp across the place, before those that I warned could respond.
And I wasn’t bluffing...if anyone shows any signs of aggression towards this new Outlier, the only way to stop her from going berserk will probably be to kill those that provoke her before she has a chance to respond. Just to catch her by surprise and make her forget about her suspicion and caution, to at least slightly calm her down.
Alright, I think I’ve told enough people...I managed to come across Kiyana, Inoka and Alexis while I’d been portaling around, while the rest, I didn’t particularly recognize...or rather, I recognized their faces, but I’ve never bothered to learn their names, so I don’t technically ’know’ them.
I’ll wait for about a minute or so, just to give them a chance to spread the word to as many people as possible. Okay, so...with this, seven Outliers have been found, at least to our knowledge.
But this particular case has brought up a very alarming possibility...Eden could easily come across an Outlier without our knowledge. The fact that we even knew about this was pure luck, with one of our members happening to spot that black haired Eden woman by chance.
There was no public knowledge about this one, no viral footage or news reports, nothing...on that note, I wonder, how exactly did Eden find her in the first place?
Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter, even if we do know how, it doesn’t change the fact that this was out of our control.
Luck is likely to play a significant role in which side ends up capturing more of the Outliers, but...this case has proved that our approach is a lot more effective than Eden’s.
I mean, yeah, I captured Zoraiz by force, and Alexis while she was asleep, and I portaled Inoka to the Sahara desert to persuade him...but afterwards, I was friendly towards them and made sure that they weren’t treated like prisoners.
Meanwhile, Eden is probably mistreating the Outliers they captured. In one of the early encounters I had with her, X had mentioned something about not having a choice but to do Eden’s bidding...maybe they’ve developed a technique to prevent people from betraying them.
Well, there’s no point in speculating without proof, but that said, it certainly doesn’t hurt to explore all the possibilities too...anyway, I think it’s time I head back out there, the Outlier might get suspicious if I take too long.
I then opened up a portal and walked through it, re-emerging in the same spot as where I’d left from. Liling was a few feet away, leaning back against a tree, and the Outlier was heading this way, with a large cat in her arms.
Wait, is that the cheetah she mentioned, Dot? It’s only about twice as big as a normal house cat, and didn’t quite look like a cheetah. She did say that it was born disabled and its growth stunted, but I didn’t expect it to be this small.
"Hey, I’m back, sorry to keep you waiting. Here, you can wear these if you like," I greeted her, holding the clothes out towards her.
"Hm...thanks," She responded curtly, before cautiously taking the clothes from me, eyeing them warily.
"Why don’t you go into the cave and change, we’ll wait out here-," I began, before a dark mist suddenly formed around her, enveloping her in a dense, dome-shaped shroud, too dark to see through.
"Oh, my, she’s really got the hang of her powers, hasn’t she?" Remarked Liling with a wry smile, "You know, she might actually be strong enough to take on Divine Tier or Pseudo-Divine Tier Monster."
"It’s hard to say, considering that those Monsters haven’t been seen in over a century," I pointed out in response.
Divine Tier Monsters are different to the typical Monsters that seek out Aura and attack Meta-Humans...they’re ridiculously powerful beings that even an army of Meta-Humans would struggle to defeat.
There are five different classifications of Monsters, they are, from least dangerous to most dangerous, Common Tier, Intermediary Tier, Prime Tier, Pseudo-Divine Tier and Divine Tier.
Most Divine Tier Monsters, along with some in the lower tiers too, probably should be classified differently to the Monsters that live in the Mirror Dimension, technically speaking. The majority of Monsters that live in the Mirror Dimension are typically like feral, wild animals, they’re not very intelligent.
But the Mirror Dimension isn’t the only seperate dimension from the physical world...there’s also Heaven and Hell. The former is ruled by the Divine Tier Monster known as God, and is also home to other so-called Monsters such as Archangels and Angels.
Based on that, you can probably guess what the situation in Hell is like. God simply maintains the balance between the living world and Heaven, stuff like recycling the souls of the dead, turning distinguished souls into Angels and Archangels, or creating new souls when necessary.
The ruler of Hell, Satan, on the other hand, seeks to collect corrupted human souls in order to create Demons and Devils. It’s been a very long time since either Heaven or Hell have gotten involved in the living world though.
There are some Mirror Dimension Monsters that are intelligent and possess power comparable to God and Satan, and are visible to normal humans too, but they’re generally docile and stay dormant for decades, only appearing rarely. They’re classed as either Divine Tier or Pseudo-Divine Tier Monsters, with those categorized in the latter being slightly weaker.
All these Monsters have been objects of worship in the distant past, which is why they fall under the Divine categories. These Monsters, along with the ones that live in Heaven and Hell, have Auras.
Anyway, it’s not important at the moment, so never mind. I’ve never encountered a Divine Tier Monster before, so I don’t know exactly how powerful they are, but somehow, I doubt that this girl is strong enough to defeat them by herself, even with her immense power.
Suddenly, the black shroud vanished, and the Outlier stood there, dressed in the clothes I’d brought her with a slightly uncomfortable look on her face. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t worn normal clothes in over a decade?
"I’m ready to go...what are you waiting for?" Inquired the Outlier with a frown.
"Oh, sorry, I was just a bit lost in thought. Alright, then, let’s get going, shall we? And on behalf of Harmony, I’d like to welcome you-...uh...oh, crap, we never introduced ourselves, did we?" I noticed as I realized that I didn’t know her name, "So sorry, how rude of me...my name is Neo Cronje. And you are?"
If there’s one thing that this Outlier capture mission has made clear, it’s that I’m not good at introducing myself...I always forget to do so until way later. Though, to be fair, the situations I was in weren’t exactly ideal for a nice, normal self-introduction.
"...my name is Aurora Pretor...Pretorius," She replied, getting a bit tongue-tied over her last name, before shifting her gaze over to Liling.
"Oh, I’m Liling Jin, it’s nice to meet to, Miss Aurora," Responded Liling with a warm smile.
It was slight, but her edges were softening up a bit...she probably doesn’t trust us, and gaining her trust certainly won’t be easy, but...she doesn’t seem as cautious and alert as before. That said, if we give her even the slightest reason to suspect us, she’ll likely get even more alert and suspicious than before.
Okay, I suppose that we really should get going now. For all we know, Eden could already be sending reinforcements here. Though now that her Aura is suppressed, finding her won’t be nearly as easy. Still, no need to take any chances.
"Alright, the portal’s set...let’s go," I suggested, as I opened a portal that was linked to one that I’d opened in the Antarctic hidden base.
"Hm...you go first...," Aurora frowned at Liling suspiciously.
"Sure, no problem," Came the reply, before Liling walked through. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"The portal will close after I go through, so I have to enter last," I explained as she glanced at me.
"Hmph, fine...," She responded, as she picked up her cheetah and walked into the portal, her hair standing up slightly as she hesitated for a moment, before steeling herself and walking through the portal.
I quickly hurried in after her, just in case I need to mediate any conflicts. As I re-emerged through the connected portal and closed it, I let out an internal groan as I saw most of the Meta-Humans in the base standing around us, looks of suspicion and curiosity on their faces.
Oh, the other three Outliers are here too, looking on with fascination. I’m not worried about those three doing anything, it’s the rest of them that have got me seriously concerned... ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
"What is that animal? A cat?"
"No, it looks too big to be a normal cat..."
Uh-oh, she’s looking kinda annoyed, I better ease the tensions in here...
"Alright, everyone, back up and give her some space, stop crowding. And be nice, she-," I began in a calming tone.
"Sir Cronje, this is unacceptable...we cannot be expected to tolerate another one! And to have the audacity to bring a pet here-!" One of them started to snap.
"Stand down, right now...did you already forget my warning?" I threatened him icily.
"B-but, sir! An animal will only stink up the place, why do we have to put up with that on top of having to tolerate another Outlier!? I saw we get rid of that cat or whatever it-," He began to suggest with a frown.
A chill ran down my spine as I saw Aurora’s expression from the corner of my eye, her eyes filling with immense murderous intent...I have to step in, now!
Before he could finish his sentence, I opening a portal in front of his face as he took a step forward, before immediately closing it...and decapitating him. A stunned silence filled the room, as his body hit the floor with a loud thud, blood pooling around it. Even Aurora was taken aback, staring at me wide-eyed, as I flashed an icy glare around the room...
"I did warn you, didn’t I? What, did you think I was bluffing?" I inquired coldly, before adding, "Okay, then...anyone else got something to say?"
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