March 20th.
At the beginning of spring.
—Beeep! —Beeep!
A rhythmical beeping noise echoed inside of a white room.
Inside of the white room was a small bed where a beautiful girl with long orange hair lay.
Her breathing was faint, and if not for the cardiac event monitor next to her, someone could've mistaken her for a dead person.
"hmmm."
After a while, the girl's eyelids twitched slightly.
Before long, opening her eyes, the girl blinked a couple of times, as she wondered, 'Where am I? What's going on?'
Lifting her head up, the girl's eyes darted all over the room. Finally, she realized that she was in a hospital room.
—Clank!
It was then that the door opened and a nurse came in. Holding onto a trolley filled with equipment, the nurse calmly pushed it towards the side of the room.
Taking out a sack filled with some unknown transparent liquid, the nurse walked towards the bed.
"——!"
However, once she turned around, she suddenly became startled. That was because the patient that she was supposed to tend had woken up and was looking directly at her.
Calming down quickly, the nurse put her right hand on her chest and rushed by her patient's side.
"My god, you've startled me, are you feeling okay?"
"Mhm," Monica absentmindedly nodded her head, before asking."Where exactly am I?"
"You're in the Union medical department."
The nurse replied as she checked the IV saline that was attached to Monica's arm.
The main headquarters of the Union was quite big, about the same size as the Monolith's one.
Aside from having all the best training facilities in the world, they also had their own medical department that could treat injured Heroes. That was where Monica was currently at.
"I see...ah!"
It was then that Monica suddenly started remembering what had transpired before. From the betrayal of Tasos, to Mo Jinhao's appearance, and the destruction of the core. She slowly started remembering everything.
"I have to make an urgent report!"
Monica suddenly sat up straight, startling the nurse once again.
"What's going on?"
"I have something to report to the higher-ups. It's really important!"
The fact that Tasos had betrayed the Union was a serious matter that she had to relay to the others. He was after all one of the seven heads of the Union.
"Don't worry Monica, everyone already knows."
Right before Monica was about to rush out of her bed, a melodious voice suddenly entered Monica's ears. Following this, two breathtakingly beautiful women entered the room. One with green hair, and the other with black hair and amethysts colored-eyes.
"Donna! Amber!"
Monica widened her eyes in surprise.
In response, Donna smiled as she and Amber sat next to her.
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"Looks like you've somewhat recovered."
Moving her arm around, Monica replied.
"My body is still quite sore though."
"All that matters is that you're fine."
"Hee, let's see for how long that is. Given how energetic she is, I wouldn't be surprised if one of her injuries suddenly relapsed."
Amber chimed in, laughing merrily.
"Tsk, what are you trying to imply?"
"Nothing, nothing."
Amber covered her mouth as she avoided Monica's glare. Smiling by the side, Donna suddenly looked at Amber and reminded her.
"Amber, let's tell her the news first."
"Ah, right."
Being reminded by Donna, Amber's face turned serious. Turning her head and looking at Monica, she seriously said.
"We've already been informed about Tasos's betrayal. The higher-ups are currently holding a meeting right now regarding the situation. This is what they told us to tell you."
"I see."
Lowering her head, Monica clenched her fists tightly. After a while, lifting her head up and looking at both Donna and Amber, she asked.
"What about the others, how are they doing?"
"The others? You mean the people that you went with?"
Amber questioned.
"...Yes."
Turning her head, Amber looked at Donna who was currently frowning. After a while, looking back at Amber, Donna nodded her head.
"It's alright, you can tell her."
Nodding back, Amber continued.
"Regarding the people that you went with, there was a total loss of 10 members, with only five making it back, Amon included. His conditions are quite critical as he's currently in a coma with no way of knowing when he'll wake up."
"Ah..."
Listening to Amber's words, Monica clenched on the bedsheets below her, wrinkling them slightly.
Although she knew that she was not to be blamed, a little part of her felt guilty. Guilty for being unable to realize that Tasos was one of the people working for the Monolith.
"That aside Monica, how did you escape?"
Noticing Monica's mood, Donna decided to change the topic. Amber who was next to her, also showed signs of interest as she leaned in slightly.
Although they were Heroes, they weren't actually working for the Union. As such, they didn't know the full details of what had happened. All they knew was who had gotten injured and that the mission had failed.
Lifting her head up, Monica looked at both Donna and Amber. After a brief moment of silence, Monica opened her mouth.
"We managed to escape because someone helped us."
"Somone helped you?"
Donna asked in surprise. Amber too was surprised as she couldn't help but ask.
"Who helped you?"
"..."
Biting her lips, Monica didn't respond immediately.
"Monica?"
Her behavior caught the attention of both Donna and Amber. Having known her for a long time, they knew that whenever she bit her lips, it meant that she knew something.
"Is it perhaps something that you can't tell us?"
Donna carefully asked.
With Monica being an elite member of the Union, she knew full well that some information could not be mentioned by her. If it was that, then Donna would be respectful enough to not pursue the matter any further.
However, contrary to her expectations, Monica shook her head.
"No, it's nothing of the sort...it's just that it's too unbelievable."
"Unbelievable?"
"Mhm." Monica quietly nodded her head. "...Even now, I'm not sure if what I saw was correct."
At Monica's enigmatic words, Donna frowned.
"Are you referring to the identity of the person who helped you?"
"Yes."
"Was it someone you knew?"
Closing her eyes, Monica suddenly raised her hand startling both Donna and Amber. Soon, a small orange hue enveloped her hand.
"Monica?"
"What are you doing Monica?"
Ignoring the two of them, a small transparent barrier enveloped the tree of them. Staring at the barrier, Donna instantly realized what Monica was doing.
"A sound barrier?"
"Mhm."
"Is the information that sensitive?"
Amber solemnly asked.
"It is..."
Monica nodded her head slightly, before looking at the two of them with an incomparably solemn expression.
Although she wasn't exactly sure about what she saw since she was quite far, her hunch told her that what she saw wasn't wrong. Furthermore, she trusted Donna and Amber enough with what she was about to say.
Once the barrier fully enveloped them, Donna asked.
"Monica, can you tell us exactly what is going on?"
Taking a deep breath, Monica looked at both of them in the eyes before saying.
"It's someone that we all know."
"Who?...are you referring to the person that saved you?"
"Yeah."
Monica suddenly nodded her head. Furrowing her brows, Amber asked.
"Who is it?"
Monica's enigmatic behavior had really started arousing her curiosity.
Pursing her lips, Monica glanced at both Donna for a couple of seconds before opening her mouth.
"It was Ren."
Following her words, a deep silence shrouded the area. The first one to speak was Amber who was then immediately cut off by Donna who stood up in shock.
"Who is Re—!"
"What!?"
Donna cried out loud. Staring at Monica, her voice raised.
"Impossible! You must've seen it wrongly. There's just no way. Impossible!"
Donna was in denial.
She could clearly remember seeing Ren get engulfed by the flames. Simply put, there was no way for him to escape.
It was impossible.
Yet, staring at Monica's eyes and seeing how serious they were, she knew that she wasn't joking.
After a while, calming down and swallowing a mouthful of saliva, Donna carefully asked.
"Monica, are you sure about what you're saying?"
Lifting her head and staring at Donna's amethyst-colored eyes, Monica nodded her head.
"I'm positive...I could tell from my power. The person who helped us was Ren."
"...ah"
Slumping back on the bed, Donna let out a small sound. At the moment it felt as though her whole body had lost all of its strength, as held her head with both hands.
"B-but how? You clearly saw how he died. How did he survive?"
"I want to know that too."
"Ehmm...guys."
Disrupting the duo was Amber. With a confused look, she asked.
"Who is Ren again?"
At her question, Monica and Donna looked at each other before coming to a sudden realization.
Aside from the two of them, Amber had only met Ren once. She obviously did not know who they were talking about.
Turning her head towards Amber, Monica thought for a moment before asking.
"You know the student you've met in the auction?"
"...yes." Squinting, Amber slowly nodded her head."Isn't he supposed to be dead? Why are you mentioning...wait, don't tell me?"
Amber's eyes suddenly opened widely. Staring at her. Monica silently replied.
"That's right, he is Ren."
"Wait what!?"
This time it was Amber's turn to be startled, as a look of disbelief appeared on her face.
"Are you saying that your student is still alive, and is also the person who saved you to boot?"
This honestly sounded ridiculous to Amber. From what she remembered, that student's aura was quite weak. Nowhere near <A> or <S> rank.
How could he have possibly have helped them when he was so weak? She couldn't understand. Furthermore, she had also seen his death live on television.
Quite frankly, although she could've survived the explosion, she didn't believe that she would've been able to do it without getting seriously injured.
For someone whose rank was around <E> to have been able to do it, Amber was quite skeptical.
Turning towards Monica, she asked.
"Did you get a clear look at him? How did he look like?"
"...err"
At Amber's question, Monica's face turned a bit strange.
"What's up with your face? You didn't?"
Waving her hand, Monica shook her head.
"No, no, I saw."
"Then what is the problem?"
Scratching the side of her nose, Monica hesitated for a bit before replying.
"Although I know that he was Ren, he didn't look like Ren."
This time it was Donna's turn to become confused as she asked.
"He didn't look like Ren? Then what did he look like?"
"How should I say..." Crossing her legs on the bed, Monica mused for a moment before replying. "His face was completely burned he had no hair, and he had the same colored eyes as Ren."
"Burned? No hair? Blue eyes?"
Listening to Monica's words, a few words suddenly caught Donna and Amber's attention as they looked at each other.
Their faces suddenly became inexplicably serious, as Donna asked.
"Did you notice anything else about him? Like were there any scars on his face?"
"Scars?" Monica frowned. "...mhh, now that you've mentioned, there could've been, but his face was quite burnt and he was quite far, so it's possible? He's also bald if I don't remember incorrectly."
"Oh, god."
Amber suddenly muttered out loud.
Next to her, Donna's brows furrowed tightly as she hastily took out her phone.
Reading the mood of the room, Monica's face became serious.
"Hey, what's up with you two? Is there something wrong with what I said?"
Rather than answering, Amber looked at Donna who kept scrolling through her phone. After a while, looking at Monica, Donna flipped her phone and asked.
"Does he perhaps look like this?"
"hm?"
Moving her head back, Monica squinted her eyes and looked at Donna's phone. Upon getting a better look at the phone, Monica was able to see a picture of a person with burn marks and scars all over his face.
Staring at the picture, Monica was instantly able to recognize him as she excitedly said.
"Yes! Yes! That's it! It's him! That's Ren"
"Monica."
Donna cut in, clearly showing signs of discomfort.
"What?"
"Rather than just tell you, it's better to just show you."
Tapping on the picture on her phone, the picture shrank and an article appeared. The moment Monica took the phone and read the article, her eyes dilated and her face paled.
"What!?"
***
VRRRRR—!
Laying back on a tree, I could faintly hear the sound of a car engine roaring in the distance. Before long, a massive black vehicle appeared in the vast plain I was in.
Soon the car stopped, and rushing out of it was Smallsnake who cried out.
"Ren!"
As I watched his lanky figure run in my direction, the edges of my lips curved upwards as I couldn't help but think.
'The name stick-like human really does fit him.'
From where I was, he really looked like a stick. Had to give it to Angelica, she was spot on with this nickname.
"Ren!" Running through the field, Smallsnake called out for me before stopping a few meters away from where I was. "Ren, is that really you?"
Smiling, I waved my hand,
"Been a while Smallsnake."
"It's really you!" Smallsnake cried out in relief. "Where have you been? We've been looking for you, all over the place. We've tried searching for you through a face scan and everything. No matter where we looked we couldn't find you."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
Exhaling, with the support of the tree behind me, I stood up and moved towards the car in the distance.
"Haa, well, it's a long story."
"A long story?"
"Yeah, it's one I don't really want to recall."
The memories of my experience at the Monolith weren't something that I wanted to recall. Those were some of the darkest days of my life.
"I see..."
Understanding my words, Smallsnake didn't ask anymore.
Following me from behind, Smallsnake hesitated before suddenly asking about something else.
"By the way, what happened to your face?"
Fully expecting Smallsnake's question, I entered the car and sat on the rear seats of the car before half-heartedly replying.
"Nothing much, I was just trying to boost my fire resistance."
"Hu?"
Taken aback by my answer, Smallsnake raised his head and looked at me from the rearview mirror.
"Fire resistance? What are you talking about?"
"I'm just messing with you, drive the car, I'll explain more later."
Smiling, I waved my hand and urged him to start the car.
For now, all I wanted was to rest.
