Free Web NovelChapter 93: Chapter 92 - Monster Outbreak(Part 1)
Point-of-View: Aurora Pretorius
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"You only want me to go?" I inquired in response.
"Yes, that’s right. If this was a regular old Monster extermination assignment, then the others would probably be included too. But this all feels too deliberate and unnatural, something isn’t right...so it’s been decided that the others aren’t yet ready," Explained Neo objectively.
Today’s the 22nd of May, and in the past couple of weeks or so, there have been a lot of unusual incidents being reported from all over the world.
Several social media posts with clips of stuff like buildings getting damaged as if something bumped or fell onto them, despite seemingly nothing being there, strange footprints being found, people getting injured and claiming that they ran into something they couldn’t see, and so on, were being uploaded from all across the world, including, and most concerningly, from countries or areas where Monster’s have rarely ever appeared in.
And also from countries where Harmony doesn’t have any hidden bases...like Neo said, it’s too unnatural, and the timing feels deliberate as well.
That said, there have also been such incidents in countries where Monster activity isn’t as uncommon too, but those have been a bit more recent. It’s almost like the countries with low Monster activity and scarce Meta-Human presence were targeted first, as experiments to see how effectively this can be done, before moving on to the more Monster-active and densely populated countries.
Since yesterday, there have been a lot of clips being posted from New York times square and Paris that’ve gone viral, but there are still plenty of videos being uploaded from the smaller countries too...
"Do you think Eden’s doing this? This could be a ploy to draw us out and then kill us once we’re worn out after taking on the Monsters, hypothetically speaking," I suggested uncertainly.
"No, I don’t think so. The fact that most of these incidents are happening in highly public areas means that it’s unlikely that Eden’s involved. After all, they risk exposing themselves, there’s bound to be plenty of onlookers if a serious battle breaks out, that goes against how they operate. And if they’re not the ones doing this...," Frowned Neo as he scratched his chin.
"Then it’s probably that Chaos faction, huh?" I surmised with a grimace.
"Right, most likely, yes. And from our one encounter with them, it’s apparent that they operate completely differently to either us or Eden. They’re still a mostly unknown beast to us, so we can’t take too many risks just yet. That’s why you’re the only Outlier chosen for this, you’re more than strong enough to handle yourself, the others are still a bit too green."
"Yeah, okay, I understand. Oh, by the way, any luck with getting more information out of that Pravin guy we captured back then?" I inquired curiously.
"No, we’ve kinda hit a wall with that. We haven’t been able to find a way to unlock his sealed memories, even our best Light Skill users had no luck. The Negate technique isn’t strong enough, but no one’s mastered the more advanced Dispel technique in decades. I think Inoka’s trying to figure it out, but it’ll likely be a while before he does, if at all," Sighed Neo with a frustrated look on his face, "The worst part is that we have no idea who might be a traitor amidst our peers, or even how many there are."
"And it’s not like you can keep track of every single Meta-Human in Harmony, there’s supposed to be over ten million members, right?" I replied thoughtfully.
"More or less, yes."
"Well, anyway, where am I going to sent to? And will I be going alone or what?" I asked him, getting to the matter at hand.
"Of course you won’t be going alone. I’ll be partnered with you, along with another Category 0 whom you haven’t met before. And we’ll be heading for Paris, which seems to be experiencing the biggest Monster outbreak at the moment," He informed me.
Paris, huh? Despite the circumstances, I’m a little bit excited...I mean, it is one of the most famous cities in the world, after all.
"Okay, so what time are we leaving?" I inquired, before he glanced at the time.
"Well, in about two hours, it’ll be midnight in France...we’ll leave then. There most definitely will be people around, but it beats going during the day, I suppose," He replied with a slightly apprehensive look on his face.
"Just so you know, I’m not gonna kill any witnesses under any circumstances," I stated firmly.
"Don’t worry about that, given the situation, it can’t be helped. There’s bound to be people recording, or even live streaming, not to mention surveillance cameras, so we can’t do anything that’ll paint us in a negative light. With all the clips from the Outlier incidents still circulating online, and the commotion raised by various religious groups, it probably won’t be long before the world realizes that we exist.
The number of people who believed that the initial Outlier clips were a hoax are shrinking, thanks to all the ongoing incidents. With that in mind, we can’t afford the general consensus towards us to be negative," He surmised grimly.
"Then I guess our faces are going to be all over the internet soon too, huh?" I replied with a wry smile.
"Actually, we’ll be wearing masks. Hm, I think I’ll change up my hairstyle too...maybe wear it down instead of tying it up?" He mused thoughtfully.
"Can I just use black mist to cover my face? A mask might dull my senses a bit. Also, why not go for twin tails or something like that? It might look good on you," I suggested, doing my best to keep a straight face.
"You’re making fun of me, aren’t you? Hah, you’re just jealous because I’ve got better hair," He smirked in response, as he undid his ponytail and made his hair go swoosh.
"Long hair would just get in the way, plus is hard to maintain. I’d rather be comfortable, thank you," I shrugged with a smile.
"You’ve really eased up since coming here, haven’t you? You were so tense and jumpy at first," He chuckled as he patted my shoulder.
"Oh, is that why you killed that one guy when I first arrived?" I recalled wryly.
"Yup, after seeing you in action, I wanted to eliminate even the remotest possibility of triggering your wrath, so I did what I had to do," He remarked wistfully, before glancing at the time and opening a portal, "Okay, I’m gonna to take a nap and rest up, this mission could turn out to be a rough one. You get some rest too, I’ll be back in two hours or so, ’kay?"
"Okay, I got it," I replied, as he disappeared into his portal...
...
"Whaaat, you get to go to Paris!? I’m so jealous...I’ve always wanted to go there," Sighed Alexis as she lightly bumped her head repeatedly against my arm.
"You, uh, do realize that she isn’t going there on vacation, right?" Responded Inoka with an amused laugh.
"It is pretty cool though...just imagine, jumping across the railings of the Eiffel tower, fighting Monsters, and possibly even an epic tower collapse towards the end, a big dust cloud rising up as it crashes down and-...," Imagined Zoraiz eagerly.
"This is totally your fault for having him binge so many action movies, you know," Dieter remarked pointedly at Inoka, before admitting with a sheepish grin as he glanced at Zoraiz, "But, well, that does sound pretty cool."
After he warmed up to us, he’s become a lot more friendly and playful, and pretty teasing too, which can be a little bit annoying at times. But he’s a nice kid.
"Ugh, you guys suck, Paris is all about the sights, you know," Alexis sighed in exasperation.
"I mean, technically speaking, it’s main shtick is the romance aspect, right? But since none of us are really involved in anything romantic, we find other factors that appeal to us instead. I, for one, don’t really care, it’s just another place as far as I’m concerned," Shrugged Inoka with disinterest.
"You would say that, and actually mean it too...you’re kind of a bummer sometimes, aren’t you?" Smirked Dieter in response.
"Whatever, you little brat."
"Hey, I just got a great idea! Aurora, could you expand your Shadow Cat technique big enough to use the Eiffel tower as a weapon if, like, a super huge Monster shows up or something?" Asked Zoraiz with a gleam in his eyes.
"Why do you want the Eiffel tower destroyed so badly?" I inquired with a bemused smile.
"Well, I don’t really, I just think it’d be awesome, that’s all. So, is that possible for you or not?" He asked again eagerly.
Huh...could I do that? I haven’t really tested the limits of how far I can extend and expand my Shadow Cat shroud...no, no, no, get that thought out of your head, that’s a terrible idea!
"Don’t know, and I don’t plan to find out."
"Aw, that kinda sucks."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, before opening it as Inoka called out to them to come in, and... freēwēbnovel.com
"Huh? No...no way! I-impossible...Neo actually knocked instead of barging in using a portal!?" Exclaimed Inoka in disbelief.
"Is it an imposter? Or is he not feeling well? This is definitely a first," Frowned Zoraiz in shocked agreement.
"I just assumed that he didn’t know how doors work, poor guy," Added Dieter with a look of sympathy, before adding with a smile, "I’m so glad for you...you finally figured it out, didn’t you? They grow up so fast..."
If it wasn’t obvious, all three of them are mocking him. Come to think of, they do all often complain about him showing up out of nowhere with a portal. Alexis and I haven’t had that problem, he usually knocks on our doors if he wants to talk to either of us.
"Cut it out, you dicks. Hey, Aurora, it’s time. Let’s go," He remarked bluntly, as he opened a portal and gestured to it.
"Yeah, okay. Well, see you guys later. And check social media, I might show up in some clips or something," I said to them, as I headed for the portal.
"Good luck, Aurora, do your best!" Waved Alexis with a grin.
"Go kick some ass," Added Zoraiz with a thumbs up.
"And definitely don’t use the Eiffel tower as a weapon. Definitely don’t do that," Smirked Dieter, clearly meaning the opposite of what he said.
"Yeah, what they said," Chimed in Inoka.
As I headed into the portal and emerged in a dark alley between two buildings, I froze almost immediately, a chill running down my spine as I inadvertently let out a slight gasp. What...what the hell is this?
"Aurora? What’s the matter? You okay?"
I-I remember this feeling, from back when I lived in a cave and had to fight those Chupacabra Monsters...I could sense it, all around me...countless rifts between this world and the Mirror Dimension, too many to even count...
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