Solflare: The Painter's Secret-Chapter 134: Sector 8 of Chaos City (2)
’This isn’t right!’ Leon pushed himself from the debris. "How come I can’t utilize the strength I gained during the six-month training?"
He wiped the blood from his face, tightened his grip on the dagger, then turned his gaze toward the creatures.
"Damn it!" he cursed under his breath, then dashed forward, his boots hammering against the ground.
An Lang lay on the ground, coughing blood when Leon moved past him.
’Keep focus...’ Leon whipped his gaze from An Lang, then maintained his focus on the creature Liu Yan was struggling with.
Leon leaped, landed on the back of the creature, then struck the dagger into the scalp of the creature.
A wet groaning sound echoed, followed by acidic liquid. The heat in the liquid caused Leon to fall from the creature, hitting his back on the ground, just an inch away from the creature’s right leg.
"Watch out!" Liu Yan screamed, her fingers reaching out for Leon.
Before Leon could process the two actions—the sharp claw nearing his head and the tail slowly squeezing Liu Yan—flames burst from his eyes.
In a blink, the gold light shield that burst out of him as he fought with Hei Yung appeared before him.
The claws of the lizard crashed onto it, then it stumbled back.
The gold energy shield burst into tiny flames as soon as Leon stood up. The flames danced on his skin, then narrowed toward the daggers in his arms.
With will-force, the daggers flew from Leon’s hands and struck the tail of the creature.
Liu Yan’s now frail body crashed onto the ground the moment the tail uncoiled around her.
Blood that made the spot it touched burn seeped out of the area where the dagger was lodged, spilling from the creature as it recoiled.
"Are you alright?" Leon dashed toward Liu Yan, wrapped his arms around her. "I’m... fine..." she tried raising the sword, but failed.
"No! No!!" a loud scream scraped out of her as the bones in both her arms disobeyed her command.
"Let me help you." Leon carried both her and the sword from the ground. He moved her to the building that seemed to be free from creatures.
The lights were intact, the household equipment in good condition, only a black box lying in a pentagon shape drawn at the center of the room he stopped in.
"Rest here." Leon placed Liu Yan on a couch that had thin rubber covering it.
"Leon," Liu Yan’s voice came in shallow breaths. "Take this." She pushed the black sword beside her with the little strength left in her.
"I will let it do the work you wanted it to." Leon bowed his head slightly, then dashed out of the room.
Standing outside the building, he saw An Lang lying about five kilometers away.
"Don’t force yourself, An Lang." Leon stopped by An Lang, then crouched beside him. A huge glob of blood splashed out of An Lang’s mouth as soon as Leon carried him in his arms.
"Stay with me." Leon dashed toward the same building he had placed Liu Yan in, then left the two there, An Lang’s war disc at his back.
"Now is the time to fight with everything I’ve got." He dashed toward Wu Ze’s direction.
So far, the only person who hadn’t fallen was her. She fought with the second Ironhide Lizard, throwing strikes that whipped through the air but caused no harm to the creature.
"Fuck!" she screamed, pausing mid-fight for breath.
The tail of the lizard whipped through the air, then grabbed her. Just as Wu Ze closed her eyes, ready to let the creature devour her, her body was released from the grip of the tail.
"LEON?!" Her eyes widened. She crouched on one knee, staring at the boy fighting the creature like a mad god. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
The gold light seeped around the tip of the sword’s blade as it sliced through the tail of the creature, cutting it perfectly in half.
The creature recoiled, its acidic blood splashing heavily onto the ground.
"I’m not done with you." Leon chased after the creature, dashing into the same area where the first lizard he fought had retreated.
Outside, Wu Ze’s arms reached out, as if calling onto someone who had long been dead or erased.
"That’s their nest!" She tried to follow in that direction but fell to the ground as her knees buckled.
"He shouldn’t have followed. He shouldn’t. That’s the end of him."
Her palms slammed onto the ground. She calmed her breath, then stood up, clearing the sweat mixed with tears from her face.
Dust settled around her as she sat on the ground, waiting to see Leon exit. "The extraction craft will be here soon, Leon."
Just as her words ended, the air around her shifted. An Lang stepped out of the building Leon had placed him and Liu Yan in, staring at the base of the extraction craft.
Wu Ze stood up and moved toward him. The two of them stepped back inside, helped Liu Yan out—Wu Ze under her right shoulder, An Lang on her left.
The ramp of the craft opened, then they entered.
"Where is Leon?" An Lang turned his gaze and attention to Wu Ze.
Wu Ze hesitated, then shook her head. "He followed the creatures into their nest."
"He WHAT?!" An Lang rose on trembling legs. "No! No!! No!!!" His fingers curled around his cheeks, his eyes rolling in their sockets.
"That can’t be possible. No one comes back alive from that place." He walked to the closing ramp, tried using his will-force to push it open.
"He’s already gone, An Lang." Wu Ze stood up, closed the distance with him, then placed a heavy hand on his shoulder.
Sadness filled the bunker where they stood the entire time as the craft transported them back to the base.
As soon as the hum of the craft faded and it landed on the graveled ground, Liu Yan’s eyes flared open.
She whipped her gaze around, then brushed the back of her left palm—which had regained strength after swallowing the healing pill Wu Ze forced her to take.
"Where is Leon?" She turned confused glances at Wu Ze and An Lang.
Both of them stood there like petrified beings, not even a single breath seeming to exit their nostrils.
From the front side of the craft, Hei Luo stepped out, his black suit shimmering as the towering lights of the base shone on him.
With a single push of a button, the ramp opened, allowing the sweet, chilled air of the base to wave through the craft.
"What is going on?" He stepped inside, dissatisfaction filling him as he shifted glances at the three members of the madhouse squad.
"I thought you were four." He paused his stare, pulled out a datapad from his left side pocket. He stared at the four names displayed on the screen with their images.
’Leon?’ He raised his gaze, gave them a thorough look, then turned back to the screen.
’Isn’t he Andrew Storm’s son, the boy we went for due to the abnormal power he wielded?’
He tapped on the thumbnail picture, read through his details. ’Yeah, that’s him.’
"Where is Leon?" he asked in a more controlled but powerful tone that sent the bones of everyone shaking.
Meanwhile, back at Sector 8 of the Chaos City, darkness welled around Leon. "What place is this?"
He took slow steps forward, the sword raised in a defensive stance. "How do I even find my way back?"
He turned and saw only thick darkness that promised to crush him. "Let me just continue... maybe there is another path leading outside."
Snarling, teeth grinding, and the sound of stone falling echoed around him as he moved further.
Sweat beaded on his face as he saw a swift movement, like a jet, move past him.
’What’s that?’ He whirled around, following the direction the black thing moved.
Just after taking twenty steps forward, light began to seep into the darkness he had been walking in for almost an hour.
Acidic air and bent tissue of something that looked like human flesh flew in a miniature storm in the direction he was heading.
"This place seems like a mini stadium." He paused, scanned the vast space in front of him, then exhaled sharply.
"Inhaling this will kill me." He pulled the red cloth from his neck, wrapped it around his face, leaving only his eyes exposed.
"This is better." His voice muffled in the cloth.
Although the acidic taste was still in the air, it was thinned as it filtered through the layers of cloth.
Moving toward a mini wall that seemed to separate him from the entire space, another black gleaming object with claws moved past him, blocking his path.
"Fuck! Is that the Ironhide Lizard?" He stood in a ready stance, the sword in his right hand, the war disc in his left.
In a blink, two smaller ironhides dashed at him. Leon parried the first with the war disc—pushing it into the creature’s mouth—then struck the second to death in an instant.
"Ouch!" He dashed forward, leaned against the mini wall, then cleared the acidic blood that fell on his thighs.
The level of the snarling and teeth grinding increased from behind him.
With a slow turn of his neck, Leon’s heart sank deep, seeing countless ironhides—one big one that seemed to encapsulate a giant, smaller ones like the one he had just killed, and the one he chased.
