Chaos' Heir
Chapter 1413: Woman

That wasn’t the first instance of black waves washing over Aynor. However, the new sea unleashed by the long-haired evolved warrior was incomparable, mostly since it didn’t come from his power.

The new waves didn’t just flow into the streets. They crashed into the buildings, eating through them, annihilating their metal surfaces and making them crumble to the ground.

Clearly, the tide of black smoke carried more than mere opposition to the mana. It was a proper spell fueled by True Chaos, the same energy that gave life to the long-haired evolved warrior.

The nukes had melted and burned a quarter of the city. The previous pillars of smoke had washed over more than a third of it.

Still, the new sea directly pierced through block after block, seemingly wanting to expand until no trace of human presence was left in Aynor.

Half of Aynor vanished, replaced by the black sea. Another quarter of it still had those gaseous waters, but they were shallower, allowing pieces of crumbled buildings and other debris to float over their surface.

The area with the ongoing evacuation effort was the only zone spared by those black, gaseous waters, but the latter seemed ready to reach it next.

The soldiers and citizens there couldn’t even do much against the advancing waters since their technology wasn’t working. The city’s defensive walls had turned into a cage, trapping the people who had failed to escape in time and those who had come to their aid.

The end looked nigh and unavoidable. Still, the sea stopped expanding before reaching those inhabited areas, albeit not for lack of gaseous matter or power.

The black waves retreated, dragging metal surfaces, streets, crumbled buildings, and debris back to their source, exposing the barren, white sand under the city. A desert expanded right in the middle of Aynor, revealing the figures still standing on it.

The sea converged toward the Scarlet Eyes’ King, disappearing inside his body as if he were a bottomless tank of True Chaos. All the city’s metal debris suffered from the same fate, absorbed by the black hole that was that two-horned evolved warrior.

The long-haired alien and his companion’s corpse had also disappeared, dragged back by the waves, but other black figures had remained straight on the now-deserted area.

Several two-headed, four-armed, bloated-backed creatures stood near the desert’s edge, where the white sand and the surviving city blocks met. Trails of smoke leaked from their hideous physical feature, but they were too thin to bring any meaningful change to the now-clear environment.

The sea only seemed to have spared the members of the Scarlet Eyes’ army, but an exception existed on the white desert, on a spot near the sole remaining caped evolved warrior.

A tall, female, and ethereal humanoid figure shone near the King, radiating a white, pure glow that matched the desert’s color.

That ethereal figure only featured the upper side of a woman crouched down into a protective embrace. Still, black cracks covered her bright surfaces, which expanded to reveal her insides.

Two men became visible as the spell started to dissolve. George was on his feet, the broken sword still in his hands. His dark silver aura had disappeared, and the same went for the reptilian features caused by the mutagen.

George’s reversal to his regular state left him defenseless against the nearby True Chaos’ annihilating presence. His energy reserves instantly vanished, and the mana inside his flesh came next, filling him with a deep sense of exhaustion and overall weakness.

Nevertheless, George couldn’t focus on his state. He didn’t even care for the King’s breathtaking presence mere meters from him. His now-regular eyes were on the man right in front of him, who had saved him once again.

Rodney stood before George, his arms crossed in front of his face to act as a shield for both of them. The already torn military uniform had pretty much disappeared, leaving only a piece of cloth on his left shoulder and something to hide his private parts.

That half-naked state obviously couldn’t claim George’s attention. His eyes slid down that muscular back to focus on Rodney’s exposed and bleeding right leg, which featured a syringe still stabbed into his thigh.

Somehow, Rodney had pulled off another miracle, relying on a second dose of the mutagen to obtain the energy to protect both George and himself.

George was at a loss for words. He didn’t even think, but his eyes briefly rose toward the disappearing glowing spell. The ethereal woman’s face had begun to fade, too, but George felt able to spot vague similarities with Monica’s facial features.

However, Rodney tilted backward, snapping George out of his inspection and daze. The former was about to crash limply on the surviving chunk of metal street under the two men when George caught him, carefully laying him down.

The side effects of the mutagen’s second dose became evident at that point. Rodney’s half-closed eyes featured reptilian pupils again, but the blood vessels on his face had reappeared and multiplied, stretching past his chin, covering his neck to reach for his shoulders.

The blood vessels pulsated, seemingly heading toward the critical point of their structural integrity, but George mainly focused on what they tried to depict. Their intricate patterns almost drew scales on Rodney’s face and neck, slowly turning into permanent marks.

George’s speechlessness somehow deepened at that sight. Despite the bold claims and irritating character, George knew Rodney wasn’t really xenophobic. Still, his loyalty and pride in humankind were undeniable.

Nevertheless, that same man had accepted the possibility of permanent mutations to fend off the last attack, seemingly to protect George.

Rodney’s reptilian eyes remained half-closed but focused when a storm of worry and guilt filled George’s expression. His bloodied lips parted, releasing whispers that forced George to lean down to listen to.

"You are ... a more valuable ... asset ... war," Rodney weakly said, attempting to justify his altruistic action, but failing at it when more whispers escaped his mouth. "And ... have more to lose."

George didn’t know whether to feel grateful or irked. Despite that terrible state, Rodney was still trying to be as difficult as always, but George couldn’t argue with him there, especially since they weren’t out of danger just yet.

George glanced to his right, briefly inspecting his broken blade before looking past it. The alien King was still there, unassuming but unfathomably powerful. His scarlet gaze was also pointed in the two men’s direction, but George soon realized the evolved warrior wasn’t inspecting them.

That scarlet gaze wasn’t vague or uncaring anymore, either. It showed a tinge of interest, or an inferior version of that. George was about to frown at that confusing detail, but answers arrived before his perception could update him on the situation.

"You did well to survive this long," A calm, confident voice resounded from behind George, accompanied by the sound of steady steps digging into the sand. "We’ll take over now."

A second set of steps joined the first, being far heavier, accompanied by rhythmical high-pitched squeaking and deep groans of bending metal.

George lifted his gaze, only to see two men stopping at his sides, showing their familiar features. Colonel Norrett and Major General Arngan had arrived on Aynor, wielding auras proper of evolved warriors and a pair of reptilian eyes each.

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