Chapter 25- Brutal
After talking with the General, Rein left the tent as he exhaled a long, tired breath. Then, he started massaging the back of his neck with a pained look on his face. 'Fuck, I'm so exhausted. Doing all of this today was certainly not on my list. I want to sleep.'
Blinking slowly, Rein tried to snap back to reality again, forgetting the exhaustion. However, it seemed his body had truly reached its limit, and he needed rest more than anything. He had exhausted his Essence, and his body was riddled with injuries, so it needed sleep to recover some of the lost energy.
'Can I even rest when the situation is so damn risky? The horde could come back at any given second.' He frowned as he looked into the far distance. The soldiers were still fighting, even if the sound of bullets decreased quite a bit.
'But, I also can't really function in this state. I want to go out again to hunt and get even stronger. I can't let my growth stagnate whatsoever, or I will regret it quickly.'
After seeing the kind of creatures lurking in the city, Rein realized how truly far behind he was. These monsters were extremely strong, and they evolved extremely fast. Every minute that passes, more and more creatures gain power and control over the city.
After contemplating for a moment, Rein turned around and walked toward Violet's tent.
"Hey, Violet, are you inside?" He asked.
"Rein? Come in, yes." The woman replied quickly. Walking in, Rein saw Violet sitting on the chair, a rather nervous look on her face.
"Did something happen?" He asked.
"No, it's just… I tried to contact my parents, but they didn't reply." She said as she forced a smile on her face.
"Hmmm… You said they were safe earlier?"
"Yeah, they told me they were able to lock the building and stay inside. They kept in contact with me for a while and now… They aren't responding." She said as she gripped her phone tightly.
Rein looked at her for a second. "Where are they exactly? I mean, the last time they contacted you."
"Rein? No, it's really ok, I'm sure they're safe. I was planning to leave the base and try to reunite with them later."
"It's very dangerous outside, and going alone is extremely hard. I will go with you."
"..." Violet blinked slowly as she stared at him, completely speechless. "You would… help me?"
"Yeah. I don't know if they're fine or not, but it could be a loss of connection. We will go see."
"... Rein… I…"
"What?"
"No… It's just that… This would probably be extremely dangerous, and I know you have other plans. I'm really grateful that you would help me even though it's a lot to ask." She said, her tone soft and warm. She felt very touched that he didn't even hesitate to offer his help.
"..." Seeing the warm smile on her face, Rein looked away for a second. "Your parents are good people. They treated me well when I met them; it would be unfortunate if they faced a bad outcome. We will try to find them. But, umm, do you have any spot where I could rest for an hour or so? I need to recover a bit of energy."
"Rest? Of course, you can use this sleeping bag." She said as she pointed to the other side.
"... You don't mind?" He asked.
"No, please, you need it a lot. Today has been very tiring on you." She said. "I will stay here and guard you. If anything happens, I will also tell you so rest easy."
"Well, thanks." Rein said as he walked behind Violet and then sat down on the sleeping back before he started taking his shirt off.
Violet's eyes widened as a healthy blush formed on her face. She tried to instantly look away out of instinct. However, her eyes could only stare back, admiring the godly physique before her. Rein was naturally, a very athletic person with a very aesthetic and strong body.
His muscles were defined, but not overly huge, complimenting his height. If his face was average, then his body was definitely not. However, what made his body stand out even more were the scars riddling it.
Many were from when he was young and was still a beginner in this domain and others were completely mysterious to Violet who gasped softly. A mix of intrigue and sadness filled her eyes.
'How much did you go through for your body to look like that, Rein?' She asked herself. Yet, she would be lying if she said that the scars made his body look ugly… If anything, they looked very… interesting.
For a second, a weird glint flashed through her eyes before she shook her head. 'What am I even thinking about?! Oh my god. Get your head out of the gutter, Violet!' She exhaled to calm her mind down.
As she slowly turned around to look at Rein, she realized that he had already lain down and closed his eyes. He had drifted to sleep almost instantly.
His breathing slowed down, and his chest started moving rhythmically.
'He's asleep…' She mused. 'He was really tired. I don't blame him, he had done so much today, and there is still even more stuff to do.'
Staring at her companion, she could only admire how resilient and relentless he was. Even when the world was ending before their eyes, he didn't lose composure, and he didn't let it stop him. He adapted and learned, and now he was facing these abysmal creatures without fear.
'Hm, you're really Agent X, after all? The agency would go to war to keep you working for them.' Pursing her lips, Violet stood up and approached Rein before she put her chair next to his mattress. Then, she leaned forward and smiled at him.
"You can take this time to rest for a bit. You did well today, Rein. I'm really proud of you." She whispered under her breath.
***
"Mmm…" Rein's eyes slowly parted open as he felt a sharp headache assault him out of nowhere. Frowning visibly, he tried to rise from the ground… Only to realize something.
'I can't move.' He thought to himself as he looked down. His body felt completely paralyzed. He clenched his teeth, feeling a sense of panic overwhelming his body. However, Rein then realized something even more disturbing.
He didn't seem to be in the tent where he slept earlier. In fact, he didn't seem to be anywhere recognizable. All around him, he could only see a sea of white. A white so blinding, his eyes felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets.
'What the hell is happening? Am I dreaming?' He clenched his teeth as he kept struggling to move. However, his body was completely still, not even shaking.
Then, as he was like that, he suddenly saw something within this white world. A hole formed out of nowhere and slowly, black liquid started oozing out of it. Then, another hole opened and another one after that. In seconds, dozens of holes formed all around him and oozed out gallons of this weird liquid.
The entire world was filled with it in seconds as it crept toward Rein. The latter felt a deep sense of primal fear seeing that liquid.
'Fuck, what is even that?!'
The liquid reached him and started creeping up his body as its level rose. The legs were swallowed, then parts of the thighs, and then it reached his neck. Rein looked up, and he quickly sucked a deep breath as darkness completely swallowed him.