The two fell into deep thought. “So what if our duplicated selves are nothing more than blurry figures? Our skills are an entire ocean compared to Darius’, which resembles only a drop of water. He shouldn’t have been able to defeat us! Yet, a minuscule water droplet like him managed to ruffle our feathers and cause discord to us—the entire ocean!” At that point, Darius’ attention was on his body. His eyes widened slightly in shock when he could see through his flesh, his vision zooming in on the microscopic details inside him. Moreover, he could see better than a hospital x-ray machine, which could only pick up images of blood vessels and organs; he noticed vague luminous pipes containing a golden gas that followed throughout his body. They were breathtakingly beautiful as they glowed within him.Darius’ eyes locked onto the golden gas with the utmost interest. A voice then sounded in his heart, saying the gas was a force that could warm his body. Not only that, but if he could some
“What’s going on with you? That’s not the kind of attack someone at your skill level is supposed to have,” Michelle snapped before immediately adding with a relieved tone, “Although, you’re lucky that you’ve already wounded Darius badly. Otherwise, there’s no telling what would happen if we had fought on.”Darkness shrouded Darius’ vision once more. However, he had shut his eyes this time because he had gotten injured and not because he wanted to focus better. He could still hear the voices of everyone around him, so he was more than aware of what was unfolding. That included Michelle’s footsteps taking a big turn before pacing toward him. Darius wanted to open his eyes and stand on his feet, but much to his dismay, he could not move a muscle. It was an unprecedented situation; before, when Darius got severely injured, he lost all his senses. Yet, for some unknown reason, he heard everything and could even think this time around. He could clearly feel the stinging pain from every wo
“—Besides, maybe one of your body parts will end up in his body, just like what happened with Shelvin.”Darius’ heart pounded against his chest with greater ferocity upon hearing that. His heart beat so fast that he forgot about the pain in his body. He now knew what had become of Shelvin, and the truth horrified him. It turned out that Michelle and the other man in black robes had given Darius the complete opposite impression, which meant they had been deceiving him from the beginning.The golden gas gushed faster throughout his body and rose to higher temperatures in no time. It set off a raging ache that snapped Darius out of his thoughts. At the same time, he unknowingly opened his eyes and saw everything that happened deep within his body. This time, though, a pleasant shock flickered in his eyes. Darius even hoped the pain would last a little longer because he realized the golden gas’ high temperatures made his body recover much quicker than before. Likewise, his misshapen or
Michelle remained kneeling on the ground. Beside her, Darius could sense the hesitation in her downcast gaze. Still, she did not say anything and only stood before strolling further away. Her answer was crystal clear to Darius.Meanwhile, Darius heard the man in black robes approaching and knew the latter was about to kill him. Refusing to die at all costs, Darius opened his eyes. Neither he nor the man did not plan for that to happen. When the harsh sunlight shone into Darius’ eyes, Darius froze dumbfoundedly for two seconds. Immediately after, the pain he felt became so overbearing that he shot to his feet at once. His body had not fully recovered, and because of his drastic movements that used up some of his life force, Darius inadvertently injured himself again. However, he healed much quicker this time. Following that, he examined the internal wounds beneath his skin, knowing no one else could see them. Even so, Ford, who stood opposite Darius, could still accurately detect a
On top of Ford’s newly formed crater being so deep that others could not see the bottom, large soil particles like gravel and dust burst into the air, staining the scene with a shade of sepia. According to the law of motion, Ford’s blow bore a hole so deep in the ground that the soil particles flew out equally as far and with the same force. They swarmed toward Michelle, whose mind had blanked from the shock of witnessing everything. Layers of rubble crushed onto her body.Such a situation felt like a miracle yet also a dream to Darius. A whirlwind of emotions filled his body while he widened his eyes, realizing his bare hands were more than enough to cause Ford massive damage. Sensing no inhales nor exhales from Michelle, Darius wondered if she had died from the impact. His breathing then quickened as he tried to process the alarming news as a regular human would. Still, he was unsure whether his actions had actually caused Michelle’s death; everything happened so quickly and succe
Ford’s eyes snapped wide open when Darius abruptly retracted his hand. Of course, Darius did not mean to spare Ford, but the latter did not know that. Ford’s brows raised as his stare bore holes into Darius. “What you’re doing now confuses me. I don’t understand why you’d stop halfway into killing me, but I suggest you kill me now. My loathing for you has reached a higher peak than before, so if I manage to survive today, I won’t hesitate to spend the rest of my life attacking you. I’ll make sure you spend the rest of your life in distress!”Darius’ lips curved as he ridiculed, “You couldn’t even kill me when you had maximum health and companions to your aide. Do you seriously think I’ll be afraid if you return to attack me after recovering from your hefty injuries?”Although it seemed like Darius was taunting, his tone remained stoic. Such juxtaposition in behavior set off a panic in Ford because it meant Darius meant every word. Ford no longer had the strength to close his eyes, b
“After our training ends, we belong tothose that purchase us—our owners. We can’t refuse even if they want us to dosomething bizarre like exchange our body parts with someone else.” Ford’s features bitterly wrinkled as heconcluded, “It doesn’t matter what we feel or think.”Every fiber of Darius’ being trembled withrage upon hearing that. He had never experienced or thought it was possible tofeel such intense emotions. Yet, the way his body reacted now proved him wrong.Anger surged in his veins as he shut his eyes, then opened them. “You have Shelvin’s body parts andabilities now,” he pointed out calmly.Ford lay on the ground, and after listeningto the former’s words, he finally realized that perhaps his entire worldviewwas wrong. Subsequently, he shut his eyes and kept mum, willing himself toaccept the harsh mental blow. In truth, he knew the way he perceivedthings all his life had been inaccurate—the same applied to what happened withShelvin. He had plenty of chances
Darius sensed the hesitancy in Bridget’stone and immediately knew the place was unsafe. Hence, he shook his head. “No, I won’t allow us to go there even ifthis place you’re bringing up is the same as what Ford mentioned. That’s not awise option for us. After all, Shelvin’s dead now, so we don’t have to obtainhis remaining body tissue. Besides, I’m sure Shelvin won’t mind if his tissuescan get transplanted into other talented people and give them a better chanceat life. He’s a kind man, after all.”Bridget’s eyes rounded at Darius. The ideaof giving Shelvin’s remains to create more powerful enemies terrified her, soshe wholly rejected it in her mind. Yet, she knew her place as a bodyguard;Bridget could not disobey her boss’ orders. She had always voiced her opinions beforebecause Darius was a more forgiving boss than most. With that in mind, Bridgetknew it was unwise to test the limits of his mercy. Thus, she shoved herthoughts deep down her heart and nodded, saying, “Ye