"They've been silent all along," Rhizen muttered in worry, his expression slightly pale as he had been waiting a couple hundred metres away from his house, gazing at a couple of thugs posted guard on the terrace.
"We can't wait any longer," Druvus said, "They have your girlfriend in captive. We shouldn't delay any longer. We'll break through the front door in one attack. I and Caithaleya will keep them busy while you infiltrate the manor. Your abilities are pretty invincible indoors."
"Wait," Just before it seemed like Druvus planned to take action, Caithaleya stopped them, sporting a frown as she spoke, "How long…have they been here?"
"What do you mean?" Rhizen's eyes widened as he realised what she was getting at. Even though he understood it, he didn't wish to think in that line of thought. For that was too pessimistic in nature.
"You've been away for more than one and a half months, during apocalypse even," Caithaleya spoke, not continuing further.
"No, the message I received yesterday was definitely from Chenger. Even if it was a message they copied after obtaining information from her, I'll be able to notice the tone used. But, there wasn't anything like that. So, they had attacked within the duration of our travel." Rhizen analysed calmly, "So, it hasn't been long since they've taken control of my house."
"Then, that means we'll only need to guard against those pearl-like objects." Caithaleya nodded, stating after a moment of thought, "The two of us will attack from the air while you infiltrate from the ground. Godspeed!"
Saying so, Caithaleya jumped onto the back of Druvus, watching him summon his wings and take off into the air, raising their altitude first before diving straight towards the house.
Caithaleya had her bow drawn, shooting arrows at the pearl-like structures that aimed at them, hitting their front to alter their angle, causing their attacks to fly elsewhere. She kept up with a flurry of attacks, constantly ensuring all the turrets were facing away from them.
In the meantime, Druvus summoned his hand-canon, blasting a large attack into the two thugs that stood guard, causing them to evade in a hurry. But, just as they had evaded, a second attack landed on them, turning them into meat paste.
"We're under attack!" A thug shouted before peeking out when an arrow condensed from burst element landed on his forehead, shrinking in size as it used the power to drill into his head before exploding a bit.
The power wasn't much behind the explosion but was enough to destroy his brain, killing him.
"Hah!" Rhizen sneaked in from the other side, using his boots to jet through the air, maintaining a stance that almost touched the ground. He blasted off like a rocket, landing the moment the energy from the pearl vanished, using the momentum to kick the ground as he swallowed another pearl while mid-air, diverting part of the power to his boots to generate a mild thrust, crossing the wall.
His scorpion tail manifested as it dug into a wall a little, creating tension similar to a rope as he used it to alter his direction before shooting off towards the entrance of the house, sliding through the entrance as his scorpion tail pointed at three figures that were rushing at the entrance, shooting three spikes.
Each landed on its respective target, causing them to froth at their mouths before collapsing to the ground. Their bodies shivered for a couple of seconds before stopping. They were dead, beginning to slowly melt after that.
Ignoring them, Rhizen's scorpion tail plunged partway into the floor, contracting a little before sending him flying deeper into the house.
"Die!" A thug shouted as he pulled out a gun and shot at him. But, as if he had noticed him in advance, Rhizen's boots emitted a bit of thrust, causing his body to swerve towards the ceiling. His tail pointed at the thug, shooting a spike that pierced his neck, killing him.
His tail then lodged into the ceiling, acting as a spring to cushion his momentum, allowing him to use the rebound to fly towards a room on the first floor that was the most guarded.
But, he had barely managed to reach it before someone from the guards rushed out, condensing a shield that blocked all the needles he had shot out.
"Hello, Rhizen. Now die!" A jovial youth laughed, appearing behind Rhizen while carrying a broadsword, slashing it down.
Rhizen's scorpion tail acted in reflex, meeting the broad sword, causing a resounding clash to emanate when the jovial youth grinned, flicking his wrist when the broad sword shone a little, unleashing a sword beam, severing through the scorpion tail.
The sword beam lost most of its power to cut through it but still had enough strength to wound him. But, the other half of the scorpion tail bent a little while Rhizen's boots unleashed a powerful thrust, changing his position, allowing him to defend against the attack.
But, the damage to his scorpion tail had increased, preventing him from using it for the time being. He retracted the scorpion tail and attached the porcupine's ability onto his back, causing spikes to grow out instantly, with some of them managing to pierce through the jovial youth, causing him to grunt in pain when Rhizen kicked him.
And at the moment of kick, his boots unleashed another thrust, sending the jovial youth crashing into the wall.
His jovial expression morphed into one of pain as his eyes were dyed red.
But suddenly, the jovial youth grinned as his body turned into marble and shattered.
Shocked, Rhizen turned around, noticing the jovial youth standing before the closely guarded room, smirking, "You fell into our trap, Rhizen. This entire house is the trap."
"What?" Rhizen was shocked when he turned around, noticing that all the thugs that he had killed also turned into marble and crumbled into powder. And immediately after, a group of thugs rushed out of various rooms, surrounding Rhizen the moment he landed on the ground.
"You should have surrendered and given up one of your arms to the deal." The jovial youth laughed, "That way, you would have reunited with your beloved Chenger by now. Alas, you took the hard approach. So, you'll have to die."
"But before that," Suddenly, a voice resounded as a man with a melted face appeared on the television in the living room, his expression sporting a devilish grin, uttering with a raspy voice, "Rhizen, oh Rhizen, how have you been? Do you recognise me?"
