Chapter 34: Against Meta-Humans

Impenetrable darkness, almost viscous in its thickness, immediately enshrouded Odin's silhouette and blinded his five senses after teleporting out of the cabin. He couldn't see even a few inches ahead of him, and his hearing ability was at the lowest it had ever been. It felt like he was back to that endless dark space within the mysterious orb housing the golden book entity.

"This might be the work of an ability user or a powerful mutated monster. Otherwise, the darkness shouldn't be this abnormal."

A myriad of thoughts flitted about his mind as he shook his head, trying to clear away the remnant effects of Chloroform. He went on high alert, and his spatial sense poured out of his spirit sea to cover the six-yard area around him.

Then, step by step and as light-footed as a cat, he started making his way through the darkness while remaining careful not to alert the enemies. After reaching about five yards from the cabin's door, he hid behind a tree and waited.

He was sure that the enemies were hiding behind the veil of darkness. They were patiently waiting for the Chloroform to take effect, and then they would head in and take all the people in the cabin hostage after they were fast asleep.

Thus, all Odin had to do was wait. He only had to stay still — and when the enemies acted, he would move in for the kill. He would surprise them, and since they didn't know that he was already out of the cabin, he would decimate them before they had even a slim chance to react. That was his confidence as a meta-human who had evolved his abilities by utilizing the potent Reaper's Origin Order.

"Let the battle of patience begin."

Odin's eyes were useless in the almost-viscous darkness. He closed them and focused his spatial sense to surround a large part of the cabin. As long as any creature stepped into the six-yard radius around him, he was sure to detect it with his inhuman perception.

Minutes trickled by at a snail's pace as he waited. But Odin still stood in the same place without shifting any part of his body. His high spirit attribute and fortified willpower allowed him to control his fit body like a yoga grandmaster. He was like a statue blended in the darkness as he hid behind the tree, monitoring the area around him with his spatial sense.

"CRACK!"

Suddenly, the snapping of a twig, loud and clear in the silent darkness, pushed Odin's heart into a hair-trigger state. He immediately knew that the enemies had taken action. But he didn't come out of his hiding place, fearing that they might be baiting him or drawing out some other enemies hidden in the darkness. Otherwise, how could he explain his auditory senses functioning again in such an abnormal atmosphere?

More minutes passed by slowly. And just when Odin was beginning to lose his patience, two shadowy silhouettes, moving like specters through the dark, jolted his mind into a peak state of alertness. They were as clear as day within his six-yard spatial domain as they slowly approached the cabin.

"They've finally acted."

Odin remained calm and collected. His breathing slowed down even further, and he crouched low, maintaining his position while tightening his grip on his machete. Then his muscles slowly became taut like a stretched string as he waited for the right moment to act and end his enemies.

But just then, the dark silhouettes halted about three yards from the cabin's door, and a few sounds made it into Odin's ears.

"It seems that everyone is really asleep," a voice remarked, almost sounding like a whisper.

"I told you that we don't need to be careful with these normal people," another voice articulated. "They only started absorbing the psionic energy in the atmosphere just today. There's no need to fear them. The Chloroform should have already taken them out."

"It's better to be safe than sorry," the first voice said. "Otherwise, if we mess up and disrupt the leader's plans, we won't have a good ending."

"But why is the leader so intent on capturing these people?" The second voice inquired. "Why did we have to move all the way from Missoula to here to capture some humans without any abilities? It's really baffling!"

"How can you make heads or tails of the leader's plans with your puny brain?" The second voice snickered. "I hear that when the leader set eyes on that Perez fella, he immediately obtained a prophecy from the almighty Dark One."

"The Dark One!" The second voice exclaimed, almost losing himself. "So, we're here to help the Dark One, not the leader?"

"Yes," the first voice confirmed. "It's the Dark One's intent to capture all humans in this resort. So, we should do our best to complete this mission. If we do well, our lives will change. The leader will have no choice but to raise our positions in the organization."

"Then, what are we waiting for?" The second voice sounded quite impatient. "Let's bundle up the idiots inside and take them back to base. We shouldn't delay the Dark One's plans."

"Okay."

On hearing that, Odin acted immediately. He jumped up from his crouching position behind the tree and covered the distance between him and the enemies in a beat. Then, with a single horizontal slash, he lopped off the head of the first silhouette, sending him to meet his maker.

"ENEM—" The second enemy opened his mouth to yell. But a single heavy blow with the machete handle to the head pushed his words back into his mouth. He collapsed forward and lay prone and lifelessly on the ground like a dead dog.

"That seemed a bit too easy."

Odin's stomach roiled, feeling slightly uncomfortable after killing a human being for the first time. But he forced down the uneasy sensation and focused on the present.

The two enemies seemed like amateurs and went down with a single blow. With their meager abilities, they might not have even been able to put up any struggle against a pseudo-type-I creature. An even more baffling fact was that they had begun conversing and discussing details about themselves before they completed their mission. How foolish could they be? Did they really think that Chloroform had taken out everyone in the cabin? As far as Odin was concerned, they were only incompetent clowns who couldn't pose any threat to him. Of course, that was unless they utilized chemicals like Chloroform.

"But who's this Dark One that sent them here? Could he be an ability user that evolved his abilities before the descent?"

From the conversation between the two enemies, Odin learned they were from a mysterious organization. And most importantly, their aim was to capture all humans within the resort after receiving a prophecy from the Dark One. But Odin couldn't comprehend why the so-called almighty Dark One had targeted his group.

"Damn! Could this be about the mysterious orb and the golden book entity?"

Odin's heart skipped a beat as he seriously considered the possibility. It was as if an electric shock had torn through him, and he couldn't stop the cold sweat from trickling down his back. He had a vague feeling that if the so-called Dark One and his sycophants were after the orb and the golden book, they would be tricky and hard-to-defeat enemies. He might end up endangering his sisters and his very own life if he didn't handle the matter with caution.

"As long as we interrogate one of the enemies, we'll be able to know more details about them. Then, I can begin making the appropriate preparations to face off against their organization."

Odin immediately turned his gaze to the silhouette representing the body of one of the foes on the ground. He had been careful with his blows and slain only one of the enemies. As for the other one, Odin had left him alive with the intent to hand him over to Christian for interrogation. He believed that the old gentleman would be able to fish out all sorts of interesting details from the sorry guy's mouth.

"Let's get this over with."

Odin immediately bent down and picked up the body of the slain enemy. In one single motion, he threw the body away into the darkness. Then, he hinged at the waist again, intending to pick up the enemy who was still alive before returning to the cabin with him. But just then, the all-familiar blood-red text manifested before his vision, causing him to narrow his eyes in alarm.

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[WARNING! WARNING!]

[Strong abnormal energy signature detected within the Host's surroundings]

[Energy signature determined to be belonging to Pseudo-Type-I Meta-Human]

[Conditions for D-Grade Mission have been met]

[Reaper's Origin Order Initiating a D-Level Killing Assignment]

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[Pending Missions: 'New' D-Grade Mission -> Terminate the Pseudo-Type-I Meta-Human. Rewards: +15 Origin points. Failure Condition: A high possibility of death]

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"Damn it! The signs were all there. How could I have not thought about the possibility of a stronger enemy hiding in the dark?"

Odin cursed inwardly but didn't halt his motion of bending down. His actions were natural — as if he hadn't detected the enemy hidden in the dark. Then, just when his spatial sense picked up the form of a shadow approaching him from behind, he reacted immediately and exploded with speed.

Whoosh!

His enhanced agility worked wonders, and he closed down the enemy instantly. A machete blade then flashed and flickered through the air as he delivered a downward diagonal slash at the silhouette's form.

Whoosh!

The enemy in the dark instantly leaned sideways, letting the machete nearly nick his head. Then, he righted himself and countered by throwing what seemed like small knives at Odin. His motions were immaculate, and he almost caught Odin off guard with his throwing knives.

"Son of a bitch!"

Odin cursed as his basic blade skills overlapped with his potent spatial sense and worked like a charm. Within a second, he unleashed several machete slashes and managed to deflect all the glowing knives aimed at him.

"Interesting!" The enemy shrouded in thick darkness said in a husky voice. "You're one of those who evolved before the descent. The leader was right to send me along with those two fools. Truly interesting!"