Having tied a handkerchief around his nose to filter out the dust, Rhizen arrived before the rubble, gazing at the corpse of the scorpion.
He took out two mechanical files from his bag and pried open its mouth, tapping the mandibles a little as he determined that it was indeed dead and not playacting. Rhizen then cleared the rubble. Thanks to the impact, the stalactites had broken into a lot of rocks, so it was easy for him to clear them out.
Although, he was silent in his actions, unwilling to show the other two of what he was doing. Upon setting aside the rubble, he used the mechanical files to peel off the broken shells of the scorpion.
He then took out a cutting tool and cut open the soft flesh underneath, gently making the cuts in fear of the blood spill.
Since the air was currently filled with dust, this was the only time he could pry open its body without fear of the poison, since if any vaporised, it would be caught onto by the dust, as it was composed of various minerals.
He was counting on some of them having affinity to the poison vapour—if any of it even existed—to prevent him from being poisoned. It was a dangerous situation, but he was confident in his body's resistance to poison to be able to endure the minor whiffs that he inhaled.
After all, he was even able to ingest venom from a cobra, albeit at very minor concentrations. That was to the extent his resistance had been developed since birth.
Though, had he not arrived at the city and hadn't frequented his grandma's place as much when he was older, his resistance would have improved even better. After all, his grandfather was said to casually drink cobra's venom like it was nothing.
It was an age-old practice that had been done in his family's tribal ancestry.
Preventing himself from getting distracted at the final moment, Rhizen focused, using the mechanical files to pry open the scorpion's flesh when he saw a glowing org within.
Excited, he picked it up, actually seeing two objects placed nearby. The first was the glowing orb, one that was the size of his thumb. The second was something that looked like a pearl.
He was already accustomed to seeing the pearl, having seen it a couple of times already in his successful hunts. And now, he fished out the both of them, focusing on the glowing orb as his heart thumped in excitement.
There was excitement and also fear of the unknown, both mixed into his emotions as Rhizen hesitated.
"But, do or die, as simple as that. I've already consumed a pearl once and noticed my constitution improving. So, this should do something even beyond that." He muttered, taking in a deep breath before swallowing the glowing orb.
For a moment, nothing happened. But immediately after, he noticed his body heating up as his eyes felt heavy. An intense sense of exhaustion kicked in as it felt like all the energy in his body was being drained.
He quickly swallowed the pearl too, immediately feeling like something exploded in his body as his being brimmed with power. It lasted for a couple of seconds before returning to normal as Rhizen looked back in surprise, noticing a tail had grown out of his body.
He felt around the tail, noticing that even though it resembled the scorpion's tail, it didn't seem like a body part. Rather, it felt artificial, like equipment that resembled such a shape.
Instinctively, he understood that this tail could only be used once. And after that, it would vanish. To make it appear once again, he would have to consume another pearl.
"I have to use it to make it disappear…" Rhizen frowned, understanding the implications. If he went out like this, he would be captured for experimentation.
"This is not the time for me to reveal myself." He sighed, hearing the voices of the other two that were searching for him, "They seem like good people, but unfortunately, they know too much. It'll only trouble me further if they are around."
He only sighed a couple of seconds, firming his mind as he began to run, sensing the increase in his strength as he smiled, "This'll make things easier."
Hearing the sounds of the other two, he ran in their direction, accelerating when he closed in on them, exiting the dust cloud as his tail flashed around, with the stinger aiming for Neena.
Right as he was about to attack her though, Compass Carburettor reacted on time, hurriedly bringing his hand forward, getting pierced by the stinger instead.
"Dammit!" Rhizen frowned, watching Compass Carburettor hold onto the stinger reflexively as he stared at him in shock. But despite that, he expressed unyielding courage, trying his best to mask the sense of betrayal he felt.
"Dead men shouldn't struggle so much!" Rhizen shouted, punching Compass Carburettor in the face as his tail contracted a little when he used the generated force to jump up and land a kick onto Neena while she tried to attack him with a sharp stalactite.
He then rained down punches on Compass Carburettor's face until the other party was a bloody mess. Using the change, he kicked him after prying open his hold on the tail.
His tail then flashed once as the stinger pierced into Neena's thigh, causing the other party to scream in alarm. He was surprised for a moment when his stinger missed its target the first time, but without hesitation, he attacked countless times.
Even though he frowned in response, he made a connection, 'Maybe that's the power she has, similar to what I got now. The bag should have been a ruse. That makes sense now and clears up the confusion I felt in that alternate path before.'
"So, you've been aiming for my life?" Rhizen laughed as his stinger pierced through Neena once again, "Well, you're now a dead woman too. This poison cannot be guarded against."
Right as he wished to kill the two individuals that lay before him, coughing out black blood from the poison that coursed through their bodies, a mild headache started in his head, beginning to increase as he understood the cause, 'It seems I am losing power in my tail. Before it runs out, I can use it to leave this place from the way we entered.'
Thinking as such, he began to run in the same direction they had arrived, glancing behind once he entered the tunnel, watching the figure of Compass Carburettor turning deep purple while his skin began to melt. "Farewell, the two of you."
