Chapter 16: Curserd City(4)
1248 Words
Neo 8’s body didn’t take long to completely collapse onto the ground. Along with her, the bubble finally shattered like broken glass, dissolving into fragments of energy that faded in the air.
Jasper stared at the scene, stunned. His mind had gone blank; he still wasn’t used to this. To the idea of losing someone like that.
“Bam!”
Seizing the opportunity, Lidia fired at him, ready to add another Neo X to her list of corpses.
“Hey, asshole, focus!” Slavik shouted, deflecting the attack with his gloves.
“Look, we can cry and feel bad for the kid later, but we won’t be able to do that if we’re dead. Do you understand?” Slavik said coldly.
Jasper clenched his teeth in rage as he forced himself to regain his composure.
“I’m going to kill you, you b***h!” he shouted, pointing at Lidia.
“I must admit, out of everyone they’ve sent, you’re the most entertaining,” the sheriff mocked, finally putting some distance between them.
“Jasper, we’ll have to retreat. We had no information on this enemy. The best option is to report this and come up with a strategy,” Slavik said, stepping forward.
“And let her escape? That won’t help at all. If we leave, we still won’t know what to do,” Jasper complained, his gaze filled with killing intent.
“You can copy her, right? Then let’s aim for that. Be useful for something more than just a shield.”
With those words, Slavik charged energy into his gloves and lunged at Lidia.
The woman didn’t hesitate to charge and fire her ice bullets. With the increased distance, she could shoot with greater power.
“There you go with the same trick.”
Already used to the attacks, Slavik deflected every shot with ease as he closed the distance.
“You’re incredibly annoying, Mr. Handsome!” Lidia raised her whip and began to attack.
“Don’t forget about me, blue skull!” Jasper shouted, propelling himself toward the woman.
Without wasting time, he launched several slashes at Lidia, who used her whip to deflect them.
“Thanks for the help, shield!” Slavik spat, throwing a charged punch at the XCP.
Pam!
The impact sent the sheriff several meters away from the duo, who were already beginning to show signs of exhaustion.
“Son of a b***h, my face!” the woman shouted, raising her flames even higher.
The desert sand, known for being hot and scorching, began to freeze around her. Lidia was clearly furious.
“Hey, Neo 7, it’s now or never,” Slavik said, switching his gloves for another weapon.
A massive electric sword manifested in his arms.
Lidia fired several bullets toward the group.
They moved in a zigzag pattern, making it nearly impossible to read their trajectory.
Slavik swung the sword in a wide circular motion, creating an electric field that redirected every bullet.
“I’m not paid enough for this!” he said before lunging at her.
“Neither am I,” the sheriff replied, raising two walls of ice in front of the duo.
“I’m not even getting paid!” Jasper shouted, jumping over the wall.
Lidia reacted instantly. She lashed out with her whip and managed to catch him, slamming him into the ground in front of her.
Pum!
Jasper’s body hit the ground hard, but before she could finish him off, an electric s***h grazed Lidia’s neck, forcing her to retreat.
“Now, Neo 7!” Slavik shouted, visibly exhausted.
Not understanding what was happening, Lidia looked down.
Jasper was touching her leg with his bare hands.
In that instant, Jasper felt the cells. The pattern. The exact structure.
“I said I was going to kill you!” he shouted, raising a structure of ice.
Pam!
The blow struck both of them, forcing them back.
Unlike Lidia’s ice, Jasper’s had a strange gray tone.
“f**k… you’re a damn copier?” Lidia growled, ready to keep fighting.
“Alright, it’s time to escape. Neo 8!”
Slavik’s shout left both Jasper and Lidia stunned.
They both redirected their gaze toward the girl, who raised one hand while smiling.
“I… reset you!” Neo 8 shouted.
A massive energy enveloped Jasper and Slavik. Their bodies began to glow.
“Reset is an ability of the girl that allows us to return to the last point Neo 8 considers safe,” Slavik explained as he returned to his original form.
“Wait a second? What the hell is this… like you?” Jasper asked, but in the blink of an eye, he found himself back at the inn.
In front of them, I9 and I18 were playing chess.
“Damn… I’ll admit it sucks to run away from a fight, but we had to,” Slavik commented.
“Oh wow, looks like you had a rough time,” I9 said, moving a piece.
“Yeah, but not as bad as you, hahaha,” I18 mocked, placing his knight on a square.
“The fire sand was itchy,” Neo 8 commented. The hole in her head didn’t seem to bother her.
“Wait… what’s going on? How are you…?” Jasper asked, stepping closer.
“Remember you were gone for a few days? During that time, it was confirmed what Neo 8 is. I don’t have many details, but she’s an alien,” Slavik explained, leaning against the wall.
“An alien? Seriously?” Jasper asked.
Neo 8 began to glow and, within seconds, transformed into a round, jelly-like creature with three green eyes.
“Yes, I’m a cloud.”
“We still don’t know where she comes from. I thought you knew, but judging by your reaction, clearly not,” Slavik added.
“So you took advantage of that to trick Lidia… I have to admit, it was a good idea. Hey, twins, where are the others?”
“Ah… about that. We don’t know.”
“What?”
***
“Is it okay if we go to a bar?” Lin asked.
“Haha, come on, Lin, you’re an adult now,” F16 replied with a smile.
“We’re here to investigate,” Suse reproached, entering the place.
They had split up to capture the fire XCP. In Gallows Creek, the best place to gather information was there.
The bar was packed. No one looked at them suspiciously. It was as if they had been expected.
“Good evening, sir. Two Old Fashioneds, please. One for me and one for my friend,” F16 asked.
“I’ll have a cosmopolitan,” Suse said.
“Perfect, give me a moment,” the bartender replied.
“Damn it, Fredick, this stupid margarita isn’t doing anything for me!” shouted a man dressed like a sheriff.
“I already told you to drink slowly,” Fredick replied as he served the group their drinks.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, old man… oh, we’ve got guests.”
The man sat down next to F16 as if he didn’t care.
F16 felt cautious but decided to gather information.
“We’re just passing through. We’re looking for something,” F16 said calmly.
“I see… hunting XCP must be hard, huh?”
The sheriff created fire in his hands as a display.
Suse and Lin went on alert. They had found him.
F16 kept drinking.
“But I already did the hard work for you, didn’t I?”
- Writer
