Ronan clung to the giant wasp like his life depended on it—which, honestly, it probably did. The wind howled in his ears, whipping his thinning hair into a frenzy as the city lights of Dark Moon City blurred into a distant glow below.
His stomach did sorsaults, not just from the height, but from the sheer absurdity of it all. A month ago he was mopping the floors of his father’s martial arts halls since that was his only way to contribute to the family business, too weak to be an instructor. Yesterday, he was scrubbing soup stains off counters. Today, he was riding a monster bug with a poisoned terrorist slung over so faceless boss’s shoulder. If this was his new life...he didn’t necessarily hate it. Though his bladder begged to differ.
The wasps veered toward the city’s outskirts, where the hustle and bustle of the city gave way to a quiet, forgotten district dotted with abandoned buildings—run down husks of tal and brick slated for demolition, their windows like empty eyes staring at the encroaching weeds.
The air grew thicker with the scent of rust and rain-soaked concrete as they descended, landing with a soft buzz in the shadow of an unassuming building that seed to be the only structure present not in disrepair. However, he only caught a glimpse of the building as they descended from the skies, before it vanished behind the tall walls surrounding it as they landed. And, Ronan suspected, a shield likely also covered the entirety of the building which is why they couldn’t just fly in.
Ronan slid off, his legs wobbling like overcooked noodles. The faceless man—whose features still refused to stick in Ronan’s mind, like trying to grab smoke—waved a hand. The massive door of the gate surrounding the building opened. Darius followed Kain without a word as Kain enterred with the unconscious Knight, leaving Ronan to stumble after them, his heart pounding like a drum in a bad orchestra.
They entered the building and went down what felt several stories below ground until they reached an area with a bunch of closed doors with only a small window. However, several of the rooms also had a completely glass wall that allowed the entire room to be in complete view, as if the occupant was a zoo animal on display. Ronan wasn’t 100% sure, but he suspected that these were cells. For captives.
A shiver went down his spine at the thought.
Eventually, they reached one cell and the door was held open wide to Ronan, making him panic.
"Inside," the faceless man commanded, his voice low and final. He hefted the Knight’s unconscious body like it was a sack of potatoes and strode in. Ronan hesitated at the threshold, peeking into the room that, contrary to his initial thought that it’d only contain a bed and toilet for a prisoner, looked more like a futuristic lab than a prison cell. A large room full of rune-etched panels, vats of glowing liquid, and alchemical apparatus that hissed with faint steam. ’What new kind of hell is this?’ he thought, but his feet carried him forward anyway.
Kain—though Ronan still didn’t know his na or face—dumped the convulsing Knight onto a reinforced tal slab. tal restraints clamped over wrists and ankles automatically.
"Stay back," Kain warned Darius, while gesturing for Ronan to co closer to him, which he did nervously. "This ’poison’ can spread from person to person easily and as the only one currently uninfected, you should stay outside and just watch. At least unless you want to be in for a world of pain before I can cure you..."
Ronan froze in place at the ntion of pain. He wanted to bolt, but his legs betrayed him, carrying him closer despite the warning. His eyes widened as the Knight spasd violently, faint wisps of haze rising from his skin. The air shimred as the bacteria began to leave the body of the Knight, having fully saturated his spiritual power circuits, in order to infect a new host. Like a plate of steaming hot delicious food, the barely visible shimr in the air persistently kept moving toward Kain as the bacteria sought out his imnse spiritual power tinged with a unique seasoning that they were unfamiliar with, but was undeniably attractive to them —Source Power.
Kain’s expression hardened. Although he had an innate resistance to infections due to his affinity, nobody would enjoy being looked at like prey. He activated the cobbled-together equipnt around them: sterilization crystals commissioned from skilled artisans he was connected with via Dark Moon College and Halreth. He also had so modified simple lab equipnt made by the dwarves such as containnt fras etched with wards, and modified lab reactors modelled after the System equipnt that Kain described in detail to the dwarves. Crude, weaker than the originals, but functional.
A cluster of runic lamps ignited, their sterilization properties flooding the chamber with searing violet light. Enchanted vents hissed, releasing a purifying mist that slled sharp and tallic. The bacteria writhed, clustering tighter against the Knight’s skin as if trying to burrow deeper.
"Queen," Kain called.
The golden wasp-like matriarch unfolded beside him. Green radiance spread outward, purifying energy saturating the air. The bacteria recoiled, smoking under the light—but then adapted, bending away, burrowing deeper in the Knight’s body
"Bea," Kain ordered next.
Bea’s splits surged into the Knight’s body and the surrounding haze. Ronan shuddered as he realized he was watching a war at a level he couldn’t even comprehend.
And then ca Chewy. The yellow tiny blob plopped into existence with a cheerful gurgle, utterly at odds with the horror around them. He inhaled stray energy greedily, swelling slightly, then let out a deep burrrp that rocked the chamber. The burst sent energy to Bea and Queen, giving them the upperhand finally.
Ronan gawked. "What... the hell is that thing?"
No one answered him. All focus was on containnt.
For endless minutes the battle raged: lamps burning, mist hissing, Queen’s glow shimring, Bea’s splits infecting and controlling the each opposing bacteria only for more to be born, Chewy fuelling their efforts. Kain stood at the center, holding the bacteria in his own body at bay by sheer force of will so that they could focus on the Knight.
Finally, the haze thinned. The bacteria were gradually being beaten back—for now. Kain exhaled, eyes narrowing at the Knight. His body was still, breathing raggedly, but the damage to his body and spiritual circuits was unmistakable.
"His circuits are collapsing," Kain murmured, running scanning crystals across the body. The readouts glowed with jagged fractures where spiritual pathways once ran smooth. "For a six-star tar, this is... devastating."
Ronan hugged himself, bile rising in his throat. He had dropped that into soup. Soup he himself had tasted just hours before. His stomach churned violently—if this could shred the circuits of a six‑star beast tar, what would it do to him? Was he dood to the sa convulsions, just delayed? He slid down the wall, pale.
Darius stepped forward, gesturing toward Ronan like presenting a prize. "Sir, this one not only found the Knight’s whereabouts, but brought him down."
Ronan’s head snapped up, terrified at suddenly becoming the subject of attention for this scary man. "No no—!"
But Kain’s blurred gaze fixed on him. For the first ti, Ronan felt the weight of being seen. The faceless man tilted his head slightly. "Impressive," he said. His tone carried amusent and danger both. "Foolhardy, but effective. You must be quite talented."
A strange spark of pride flickered in Ronan’s chest, quickly smothered by terror. "I—I didn’t...I was just lucky" He wanted to protest further, but the words caught in his throat.
"Well luck is also a kind of strength. Seeing as I know soone that can even manipulate and weaponize it, I know how terrifying the elent of fate can be."
But before they could speak further, another change of events occurred. Finally the bacteria was completely excised from the Knight body and he began to stir in response.
The Knight’s eyes flew open. A guttural snarl ripped from his throat as he surged against the restraints. "You... insignificant worms!" His spiritual power flared wildly, the bacteria that just escaped sensing his spiritual power and wanting back in.
Kain’s eyes narrowed. "We can’t keep doing this, who cares if they’re useful, just destroy them all..."
The implication was clear. Kain was willing to completely sacrifice and destroy all remnants of this bacteria. Completely eliminating one of his own weapons.
’But just because sothing is powerful, doesn’t an it’s a weapon. A weapon should be firmly controlled by its wielder. This thing is just a natural disaster.’
That was why, despite its strength, Kain had never considered using a contract position on it. The bacteria had no intelligence, no core mind like Bea. Binding one would never have controlled the rest since each of the thousands of bacteria dividing and attacking them were independent from one another. It was too wild to be a weapon. Better destroyed than unleashed.
"Vauleth" Kain said with a wave of his hand.
The air cracked. A dragon erged, scales shimring with the crimson of fire and the darkness of void. Vauleth’s presence filled the chamber, oppressive and magnificent. Ronan yelped, diving behind one of the machines in the room.
The dragon’s chest swelled. A roar split the chamber as a torrent of fused dragon’s breath burst forth—searing Red Dragon’s fla braided with corrosive Black Dragon’s breath.
The fire, like a sanitization thod, covered the entire room, vaporizing most of the equipnt in the room, and even nicking part of the Knight’s leg, removing flesh and bone from the knee down. When the roar ended, nothing remained but so smoke and the Knight’s screaming before passing out from the pain.
Ronan peeked out from where he hid, trembling. "D-did it work?"
Kain didn’t answer imdiately. His hand hovered in the smoke, sensing. Finally, he closed his fist. "Destroyed."
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