Free Web NovelChapter 85: Chapter 84 - Sucker Punch
Point-of-View: X
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"Move so much as an inch, and I’ll blast you," Warned Trevor, as he pointed a fireball at the girl.
He’d had me briefly explain what Eden is and the basics about Meta-Humans, so that the Condition would actually be effective...if the person inflicted with a Condition breaks it without knowing that they broke it, then the effect won’t kick in.
For example, if they just put a Condition on this girl without her knowing a thing about her current situation, and she then attacked Trevor the instant they finished placing the Condition onto her, nothing would happen to her since she’d have no clue that she was violating the terms of the Condition.
"I swear, I’ll find a way to make you pay for this, you bastard," The girl growled in response.
Oh, that’s right, I don’t know her name...asking right now would probably be bad timing though, so I’ll wait till later.
"Go ahead and try, soon enough you won’t be able to defy us," He replied icily, before asking Ash, "Hey, how much longer before it’s done?"
Yeah, he’d instructed Ash to make this Condition with stricter terms than normal, specifically that this girl couldn’t attack any member of Eden for any reason whatsoever. Guess her almost choking him out frazzled him a bit.
After all, depending on your mindset, you could attack an Eden member without triggering the effects of the Condition...like Astra did with Wrest, nearly burning his arm off.
"Hm? Oh...just a few more seconds," Ash muttered in response, letting out a lazy yawn.
"Good to hear," Trevor nodded with a slight sigh of relief, his shoulders relaxing a bit.
"Almost done, huh?" Mumbled the girl quietly, before clenching her fist and suddenly throwing a punch in Trevor’s direction, even though he was well out of her reach.
A look of bewilderment began to appear on his face...when suddenly, he let out a surprised yelp of pain as a force struck his face, knocking his head across to the left and sending him stumbling back a couple of steps.
Ohh, nice, that’s a Space Skill technique, called Compression...it compresses and narrows the space between you and your target, allowing you to hit something out of your reach. She probably discovered that technique by accident, which honestly makes it all the more impressive.
"Why, you little-...!" He started to snap furiously, trembling with rage.
"Okay, I’m done," Sighed Ash, standing up and wandering off with a stretch of his arms.
Trevor was fiercely glaring at the girl, clearly on the verge of snapping and beating the shit out of her...
"Man, this has got to be embarrassing for you! A Category 0 getting totally owned by a teenager who’s a total newbie at using their powers...talk about humiliating. Still, I doubt you’d be so petty as to hit back now that she can’t defend herself anymore...right?" I smirked, nudging him teasingly.
"Tch, remember your place, you’re starting to get too cocky for your own good!" He snapped as he glared at me, before clicking his tongue and storming off, "Whatever, I’m done here. Take that little bitch to one of the underground cells with the others. Come on, Ash, let’s go."
"Huh? Oh, okay," Came the response, as he followed after Trevor, before the two of them left the room and shut the door as they headed out.
Whew, that was close. I almost thought he was going to take out his anger on and hit me for a sec there. Well, anyway, guess I’ll take her to the basement now...
"Hey, come with me. I’ll show you to your room," I remarked as I approached the girl with a smile.
"Hmph, as if I have a choice. And just say prison cell, calling it a room doesn’t make it any better," She responded irritably, as she grudgingly stood up.
"Uh, yeah, you’ve got a point, I guess...anyway, um, follow me," I replied awkwardly.
Well, her attitude is pretty understandable, I suppose. Come to think of it, each of the Outliers we’ve captured have reacted differently to this detainment.
That Osian creep was rageful and lashing out, Adelmira was scared but assertive, Astra was, uh...just straight up psycho. And now there’s this girl, defiant and irritated.
Even her footsteps sound angry, as she followed behind me while fuming...I don’t think it’ll be easy for me to win her over, like I did with Miraliz. Though, technically speaking, it’s more like she won me over than the other way around.
"Hey, so what’s your deal? You said that you’re here against your will too, right?" She suddenly inquired in a grumpy voice.
Oh, guess she was curious about that...
"Well, I’ve got a Condition placed on me, just like you...I’ve been stuck with it for more than fifteen years though," I answered her with a wistful smile. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
"Oh, I see...sorry to hear that."
Huh, on second thought, maybe befriending her won’t be as tough as I expected...
"If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your story? I heard that they kidnapped you from a circus," I replied curiously.
"Yeah...I woke up that night to find our campsite on fire and people attacking, killing everyone around. My twin brother and I ran away, but a man grabbed my brother out of nowhere, and before I know what was happening, a man with a dragon tattoo on his face grabbed me and started teleporting or something," She recalled with a grimace.
"I see, so then you and your twin brother must have come across a glass-like orb and both touched it, right?" I asked her.
"Oh, that’s right...at one of our campsites a few days ago, we went to gather firewood for a bonfire, and he and I came across a glass ball that was between a couple of bushes. We thought it might be valuable and decided to bring it back with us. My brother started to pick it up, and then began panicking and saying that he couldn’t pull his hand back, I tried to help him and grabbed his wrist, but then I felt something flowing into me. After that, we both felt strange and found ourselves able to use these weird powers."
Huh, guess that means that if you touch someone while they’re in contact with a Meta-Orb, the power will get split between the two. Interesting.
"Oh, by the way, I’m X. What’s your name?" I asked her as I introduced myself.
"It’s Petra Engel," She answered after a brief pause, before adding, "Wait, your name is...X?"
"Well, I don’t remember my real name, so I went with something nice and simple since I didn’t feel like making up a proper new name for myself. Or rather, I just didn’t see a point," I shrugged in response.
"Oh, I see. That asshole with the ginger hair, he said something like ’take her to one of the underground cells with the others’...what others was he referring to?" She inquired curiously.
"People who, like you, came across a Meta-Orb, the glass ball you mentioned, and gained powers," I informed her, as we reached the staircase leading down to the basement and headed down.
"Wait, does that mean my brother’s there too!?" She exclaimed hopefully, as her eyes lit up.
Oh, right, I explained the basics about Eden to her before the Condition was placed on her, but I didn’t mention anything about Harmony...
"Sorry, but no...this place belongs to Eden, your brother was captured by their enemies, an organization known as Harmony. Both sides are opposing factions of Meta-Humans that have been around for a couple of centuries or so."
She didn’t say anything, a downcast look on her face as she quietly followed me down the stairs. Poor kid, but at least her brother’s almost definitely still alive...better than Miraliz’s case where her mother was killed.
I then unlocked one of the cells as we got to the basement, picking the one that was between Miraliz and my cells, on the opposite side to Osian and Astra’s cells.
"Well, at least the room is somewhat decent," Muttered Petra half-heartedly, as she walked in, before glancing back, "Could you leave me alone, please? I...I’ve got a lot on my mind right now."
"Yeah, of course. Just pound on the door if you need anything," I replied with a smile, before shutting the door and locking it.
If nothing else, at least I’m done for the day. Here’s hoping that I get at least a few days to kick back and relax before my next assignment...I’m seriously worn out at this point. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
I need a lap pillow...
So, naturally, I headed for Miraliz’s cell next, opening the door and walking in. Oh, she’s asleep. I quietly tiptoed up to her bed and then crawled underneath the covers with a stifled yawn.
She was sleeping on the edge of the bed, with her back against the wall, and I was facing her as I rested my head on the edge of her pillow.
I stared at her sleeping face, as she lightly snored, her mouth slightly open...aww, she’s so adorable! I gave her cheek a couple of pokes with a grin, before letting out another stifled yawn and rubbing the corner of my eye sleepily.
Yeah, I think I could use a good nap right now, and her body warmth is super comforting right now. I closed my eyes with a sleepy sigh, my consciousness drifting almost immediately...good...night...
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