Moments before Archer[Quinn] had entered the room, the second that Lawson[Nat]han saw him leave his sight, he had a sick feeling in his stomach. It might have been hard to see under his clothing, but his body had been heavily sweating throughout the whole confrontation the two of them had.
'I'm sorry Archer[Quinn]… I really am…but if I don't do this, then my family is at risk as well.' Lawson[Nat]han thought as he pulled out a strange looking crystal and held it in his hand. This one was strangely round, which was an odd shape for one.
Usually, beast crystals had rough edges and looked somewhat similar to raw large diamonds. The clarity of each one would go up the higher its tier, only the crystal in Lawson[Nat]han's hand emitted the same type of energy as it would from a beast, yet at the same time it was clearly different.
'This crystal, it really will enhance my powers, and I can do this…right?' Lawson[Nat]han started to wonder. He held onto the crystal with one hand, as it slowly started to light up. Lawson[Nat]han had his other hand held out, and a large bubble started to form from it. Larger than he had ever produced before. It continued to grow and grow, and even went through the walls.
'The Enhancement crystal, it's working…but that is bad news for you, Archer[Quinn].'
Lawson[Nat]han's skill[ability] allowed him to create a zone. Inside these zones, one would be unable to use their skill[ability]. Of course, one could just move out from this zone, or fight within it. Usually, though, these zones that Lawson[Nat]han could create were only a little bigger than a human. He could fit in a small group, but that was it.
That was when a certain individual had approached him, claiming he had a use for his powers. Handing him a crystal the military man had never seen before, he had given him a task. A task to create a large bubble that would cover the entire area, so it was unable to be seen. Stopping a certain individual from using his powers inside.
The crystal that had been handed over to him, was an enhancement crystal that would boost an skill[ability] users powers when used. The world had only known about beast planets for a short amount of time. As they mined into the core they discover new things and new crystals all the time. With anything new discovered to be sent back to the lab.
Of course, one of the groups that was focused on mining the beast planets more than any other, was the military and it looked like they had been keeping some of their discoveries a secret.
From the beginning, Lawson[Nat]han had known about the trap that awaited Archer[Quinn], because he would play a massive part of it. After Archer[Quinn] failed to pick up on his first lie, he knew that the Cursed faction had merely bluffed and had no way, other than instinct, to tell when he was lying or telling the truth.
Archer[Quinn] had sealed his own fate when he had refrained from using the Influence skill on Lawson[Nat]han… because he trusted him. Trusted that he was telling the truth… which only served to make the guilt and pain in Lawson[Nat]han so much more worse.
'I've done my part, Archer[Quinn], and it may be wrong of me to say this…but I'm rooting for you. Get out of there and live, and pay them back for all they have done!'
——
Inside the dark area, Archer[Quinn] could see countless people entering the room. He wasn't mistaken like he first thought himself, that's exactly what they were, people. Every single one of them looked like normal humans. Hundreds of them, but something was clearly wrong.
Their eyes looked dull, a bit like they were asleep, and their movement was slow.
'Their condition reminds me of the Marked back then with the Demon tier tree… they look too different to be clones, so are all of them being controlled somehow?'
Channelling his power, Archer[Quinn]'s eyes started to glow red. The people were coming from all directions, but with his powers he wondered if he could still command them. He couldn't imagine that every single one of them had been implanted with some type of Qi command.
"Stop!" Archer[Quinn] shouted, hoping it would do something, but they continued to move towards him. He imagined that somewhere Zero was watching his futile attempt and laughing at the scene.
'You… you don't want to kill them, do you?' Kenobi[Ray] asked, noticing that Archer[Quinn] seemed hesitant.
'I've killed many times in the past, and perhaps not all of them deserved it, but… with them being controlled like they are at the moment, it doesn't feel right. I don't think they're members of Pure, so I would rather not kill people who might have gotten dragged into this mess.'
Seeing that his Influence skill didn't work, Archer[Quinn] rushed over to one, who had attempted to hit him. As soon as the Vampire Lord got within a certain range, the figure swung its arms at a speed that surpassed a regular human by far. However, it was nothing to Archer[Quinn], who managed to get behind them and placed his hand on top of their head.
'This doesn't make any sense. I can't feel any Qi in their body, so then why isn't my Influence skill working on them?'
"If anyone can speak, speak now!" Archer[Quinn] demanded, expecting at least one of the hundreds to explain the situation. Alas, not a single one spoke up, instead something strange started to happen to the one that Archer[Quinn] was holding onto.
His body started to change in front of his eyes, and it appeared to start a chain reaction. The other followed suit, their skin began changing in colour, going to a pale green, while their muscles were budding in front of him.
Two of their front teeth were forming into large tusks right in front of his eyes. The ears started to elongate and form downwards, growing four times the size, and the hair started to form into something that resembled a snake. Each strand individually strong, moving as if it was alive.
Since Archer[Quinn] still had his hand held onto the one in front of him, he could tell that there was energy growing inside them, energy that was similar to that of a beast.
'Pure… does this mean they were finally successful in creating a beast that they could control? Similar to that of the Oregon[Dalki]?' Archer[Quinn] worried
When learning of what they planned to do, it sounded far-fetched. Since the Oregon[Dalki] had come from similar means, it was possible that they might create another race similar to the Oregon[Dalki]. However, it was apparent that Pure had found a way to make them subservient.
'I've seen something like this before.' Kenobi[Ray] spoke up. 'This scene reminds me of the beasting process during my time. Humans used beast crystals on themselves to evolve. Although…during my time there was great risk.'
Letting go, Archer[Quinn] wanted to see what exactly these new beasts could do. Just how dangerous they were, With all of them around him.
'What… this has happened before in the past?' Archer[Quinn] asked.
'Yes, but that was out of their own will. They would retain their human rationality, but the ones in front of you are somehow being controlled. I'm afraid you don't have the time to find a non-lethal way to get past them.'
Archer[Quinn] was still wondering what type of beast they might have used to create them. All of them looked the same. The Oregon[Dalki] were created from a dragon like-beast giving them extra power, but what about these guys? Kenobi[Ray] was right as well, these people were dangerous, and there was no way out for him at the moment.
Soon, with all the new Pure beasts coming towards him, Archer[Quinn] activated a power he still did have. Using the third stage Qi, he pushed it out as a wave, knocking over all the beasts onto the floor. It looked strange, they couldn't even get close to him, and they suddenly fell out of nowhere. All apart from one, Archer[Quinn] had purposely left a gap in his third stage of Qi to let one through.
"I'm sorry.' Archer[Quinn] said, as he dodged a claw from one of them. Looking at the arm closely, he could see a slime-like substance, unsure what it could do. With another punch, Archer[Quinn] grabbed the creature's hand, as he tried to get a read on its strength.
With these two simple movements, Archer[Quinn] could tell that these humanoid beasts that had been created by Pure were strong. He felt that they might rival a one spiked Oregon[Dalki], yet no more than that. Still, if they had solved the problem that the Oregon[Dalki] had with producing more, and were willing to use endless humans, then they would have a frightening force at their disposal.
At the same time, it also meant down the line they could create more.
While holding onto the creature's hand the hair of the creature moved trying to wrap around his neck, but with the third stage of Qi, Archer[Quinn] didn't even have to lift a finger to push it away. Finally, used a Blood spray punch towards its stomach to end it. A large hole replaced its former mid section, and blood came shooting out from the beast's body, a mixture of black and red.
'This blood…smells strange.' Archer[Quinn] noted, as he tried to make his mind numb to what he was about to do.
"I'll end all of your pain."
To be continued........
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