The strength of numbers lies in their cohesion; without it, they are no more than a house of cards in the face of individualism.
Unfortunately for me, my attackers were inexperienced and individually weak, but their ability to avoid getting in each other's way surprised me. Their combined attacks even sparked a flicker of respect within me.
Perhaps that's why they were still alive.
Although, I found myself astonished at how this muscular old man could still have a breath of life left after everything he'd been through.
He had taken a full 100 kg ball I had thrown with all my strength. Had it hit concrete, I have no doubt it would have shattered like porcelain. Then, he was sent flying 20 meters high, served, used like a baseball, and took two fireballs to the face.
And yet, his body was still... well, let's say, intact.
Perhaps I had misjudged his resilience and he wasn't just a pile of muscles, but rather a high-performance human punching bag.
"You monster, maybe you've beaten us, but you'll never shake our determination,"
a weak, trembling yet determined voice caught my attention. Even with a bullet in his abdomen, it wasn't enough to silence him.
Why do they all have to act like martyrs? It's becoming cliché.
"What will you do with them? Will you kill them?" Victor asked, a hint of anxiety in his voice, though he tried to sound calm. I could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he spoke, betraying his nervousness. He wasn't one to let worry take over, but I knew he was far from comfortable.
I took my time considering the possibilities before responding with a calculated coldness.
"Killing them would be the simplest solution, but it wouldn't be the most optimal."
"If I want to ruin their plans, I'll need to deal with the parasites. Otherwise, I'd have to kill the source, but nothing guarantees the parasites would die with it."
"The easiest method would be, of course, to eliminate all of their hosts."
"Do you feel capable of killing thousands of Initiates by yourself? You must think you're very powerful, but you're just one man."
A smirk unconsciously slipped onto my face, an expression strangely at odds with the seriousness of the situation.
"Well, I still have some room before I consider such a radical method."
"We know the parasite stays in their brain. Last time, I tried to examine someone, and the result was... well, a head that went boom."
"I'd rather not be carrying my hands through a brain puree again."
"But that doesn't mean what I did last time was useless, because long before it exploded…"
I brought my ring closer to examine the runes inscribed on it, which I still couldn't read.
"Why are you wearing a kid's trinket?" Victor criticized, his tone dry and mocking, betraying his disdain. He never held back with his words, and he knew exactly how to sting with his insults.
"You should see an optometrist. If you can no longer tell the difference between a treasure and junk."
He sniffed coldly, a gesture of disdain he no longer bothered to hide.
"Tsk, you're the one who's blind. If I say it's junk, then it is. The day you develop a better nose than mine, pigs will fly."
Better ignore this grumpy rat.
This material, I'd never seen or heard of it before. What I was sure of was that it was deeply tied to my soul. I could feel it as part of me, more precisely, an extension of my own body.
As long as I gave it orders, it would follow through to meet my expectations.
"Nephele."
My ring disappeared, and a dense, almost opaque fog enclosed us all within a 5-meter radius.
Taking a deep breath, I sought to become one with the fog.
'Close your eyes, relax your muscles, let go. Forget your limbs. Be as light as the air, fluid like a lake.'
I repeated these words in my mind, pushing my concentration beyond its limits.
Then, after an indeterminate amount of time, everything turned white, like a peaceful lake that had known only tranquility and silence.
Then, a stone was thrown, shattering that millennia-old serenity, creating ripples across the lake's surface.
I began to see through those ripples. Everything became clear in my mind.
The space occupied by the fog was no longer hidden from me: the rat's movements, my own body… I perceived everything, like a radar.
It was like the abilities of marine mammals communicating through sound in the vast ocean.
Then I silently gave an order to the fog.
Before separating from it.
When I regained my senses, my body felt less familiar.
Wow...
I barely had any ether left in me. That brief moment had almost drained my reserves.
Well, let's see if this works.
I slapped the one who had been ranting non-stop until then.
The instant his gaze landed on me, his body trembled with fear. Horror spread across his face, his eyes wide, his lips trembling, as if he had seen death itself stand before him. I had no idea what image I was reflecting to him, but judging by his expression, I must have looked like a terrifying monster.
This shock lasted only a moment before his expression shifted from fear to surprise, then to concern, as he began to shout at me, panicked, desperately warning me:
"Run! There's a Calamity! It could return at any moment!"
At that moment, the rat stopped boasting, reverting to its most primal instin
cts, as if all external consciousness had left its body.
"My word, it worked."