Hedley: Breaking Out in a Cold Sweat

Kazdel, on the edge of some unnamed desolate battlefield.

The night was thick, and the air was filled with the pungent stench of gunpowder and blood.

A small campfire flickered, barely driving away the surrounding cold and darkness.

"Hedley... are you sure you want her to take W's place?"

A cool female voice spoke. It belonged to Ines, the little lamb disguised as a demon.

The man called Hedley tossed several pieces of splintered wood into the fire, then raised his head to look into the distance.

A white-haired Sarkaz girl was rummaging through a pile of corpses, cursing as she searched for supplies.

Even though the hope of finding anything in a place that had already been picked over time and again was slim.

"She obtained W's weapon and inherited W's name."

Hedley's voice was flat, as though he had never known the W he was speaking of.

"Besides, her Originium Arts are quite useful, aren't they?"

"She's dangerous..."

Ines frowned tightly as she looked at that highly unstable successor.

Seemingly noticing her gaze, the white-haired girl abruptly turned around and rudely flipped them off.

Hedley looked at the scattered mercenaries around him, their faces weary and numb, then sighed in a low voice.

"What mercenary isn't dangerous...?"

His gaze swept across the war-ravaged land before finally settling on the dancing flames. It was as though he was asking Ines, but also asking himself.

"When all is said and done... all mercenaries are just desperadoes struggling to survive on this land."

"Even desperadoes are better company than lunatics."

"..."

Ines sighed at Hedley's silent expression.

"Forget it... you're the leader."

Her gaze swept over the surroundings as Ines raised a question.

"Is it really okay to rest here? A battle just took place here."

"It's fine."

Hedley glanced at the corpses around them. Even in death, their faces still wore vicious expressions.

"The battle is over. The victors took what they wanted, and this place no longer has any value that would make them return. Besides..."

Hedley pulled out his canteen and took a sip.

"The supplies here were picked clean long ago. Other than unlucky bastards like us who got caught up in it, who else would..."

"[Sarkaz profanity!]"

A terrified curse exploded from nearby, instantly drawing everyone's attention toward its source.

Hedley initially assumed it was that newcomer who had inherited W's name going mad for no reason again, but then...

"[Sarkaz profanity!] xN"

Everyone followed the sound and stared, curses erupting in unison—

Among the pile of corpses they had searched earlier and confirmed held no survivors, an extra figure had appeared at some point.

That person held an enormous staff in one hand, while the black longsword in the other was pressed against W's neck.

An enemy!? But why hadn't Ines detected them?!

Alarm bells blared in Hedley's mind. He knew Ines's perceptive abilities better than anyone. How could a living person have silently approached this close without her noticing?!

With no time to think, Hedley grabbed the weapon at his side and sprang to his feet.

The surrounding mercenaries reacted at once as well, picking up their weapons and staring tensely at the unexpected intruder.

As for rushing over to save someone or assess the situation?

Sorry...

Hedley tightened his grip on his weapon. He wasn't stupid enough to rashly attack someone who could evade Ines's senses.

Whether the other party was friend or foe was unknown, as was the extent of their strength. Any reckless move could bring utter disaster.

Hedley rapidly considered a response... If a conflict broke out, how could he lead his men away?

His body stiffened as Hedley looked up.

A pair of faintly gleaming eyes in the darkness stared straight at him.

Elsewhere, Vera had just finished teleporting. Before she could even open her eyes, the disappearance of the sensation in her hand made her sigh.

The teleportation had failed... It looked like the plan to speedrun Kazdel with the boss was a no-go.

First, check the surroundings...

But her thoughts were interrupted by a curse right beside her.

Alarm bells rang in Vera's mind.

Someone was here! And extremely close!

Before her vision had even returned, she swung the Void Sword without hesitation.

"Swish—!"

The blade gave her the smooth sensation of slicing through warm butter. It seemed to have hit something.

At the same time, her vision instantly cleared—

She saw a young face right in front of her: short white hair, golden eyes, and... two red antennae on her head?

The blade was about to cut into the girl's neck. Vera's heart jumped, and she hurriedly tried to pull back her strength.

The sharp blade stopped by a hair's breadth against W's neck, leaving a bloody cut across the surface.

[The teleportation failed. How are things on your end, Number Two?]

Gregor's voice sounded in her mind. Vera was just about to reply when another burst of collective cursing erupted nearby.

She stiffly turned her head and caught sight of a group of burly men beside the campfire, glaring at her like tigers watching prey.

Her gaze met the scrutiny of the red-haired burly man at their head—Hedley—and the gloomy woman beside him—Ines.

[Number Two?!] Gregor realized something was wrong and hurriedly asked.

Vera was about to respond when a series of beeps in front of her made her pupils suddenly contract.

She sharply lowered her head—

On the tubes that had somehow been exposed on the girl whose neck she was holding at swordpoint, several little red lights were flashing frantically!

[Fuck! (A type of plant)]

"—The World!!!"

Without a moment's hesitation, she activated the Hex Staff and unleashed a time-stop field.

A strange violet curtain of light instantly expanded from her center, enveloping everything around her, including Hedley and his group in the distance.

Only five seconds remained!

Vera moved swiftly, immediately summoning that poor little demon servant.

Without giving it any time to react, she directly "pressed" it against the tip of the Hex Staff—

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Five rapid and precise point-blank strikes in succession, triggering critical hits like mad.

By the time the energy for a new time-stop field had finished charging, four seconds of the first field had already passed!

The second time stop activated.

Without time to catch her breath, Vera repeated the process, controlling the little demon to slam into the staff another five times.

A new time-stop field instantly formed and spread.

And the previous time stop had only two seconds left!

Every second counted!

With a flash of her hand and a fall of her sword, Vera precisely sliced through the dangerous mass of tubes on W's chest.

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She reached out with her left hand, grabbed it, and hurled it with all her strength into the empty sky.

The moment she finished all that, time began flowing again.

"Boom—!!!"

The explosive thrown high into the air detonated beneath the night sky. The shockwave carried fragments scattering in all directions, but fortunately, it was at a safe altitude.

The astonishment on W's face had not even fully shifted when a sharp pain struck her jaw.

At the same moment Vera threw the explosive, she had swung the hilt of the Void Sword back and smashed it hard into W's jaw.

W let out a brief cry of pain, and the taste of rust instantly filled her mouth.

The surrounding Sarkaz mercenaries instinctively raised their weapons to attack, but then...

"Nobody move!!!"

Hedley's roar was faster. Cold sweat slid down his forehead.

He... had not seen what happened in that instant at all!

From his perspective, he had merely made eye contact with the suddenly appearing Sarkaz woman.

The next instant, the explosive on W's chest had inexplicably appeared high in the air and detonated.

There were no signs of Originium Arts being activated, not even an obvious trace of movement...

This bizarre situation nearly made Hedley's heart stop. He held back the companion beside him who wanted to rush forward, not daring to make any rash move.

This woman... was extremely dangerous!

Every Sarkaz mercenary remained poised to attack, frozen in place by Hedley's shout.

After a brief daze, W regained consciousness. Instead of looking at Vera first, she looked at the weapon in her hands that the Void Sword had sliced in half.

"[Sarkaz profanity!] Do you know how much this thing is worth!?"

She licked her split lip, her voice carrying that distinctive manic edge.

"Fuck, what rotten luck! I'd barely gotten my hands on this weapon and hadn't even had time to—mmph!"

Vera shoved the blade into W's mouth, cutting off her tirade. Her gaze remained firmly locked on Hedley.

[Number Two: Fuck! I got surrounded the moment I landed! A whole bunch of big guys!]

[Boss: Are you okay?! Are you hurt?!]

[Number Three: !!! Get back here, now!]

[Number Four: Number Two, are you really that lucky? Forget it, it's time to test the results of your special training!]

[Number Two: Stop fucking around! I almost got blown up just now!]

[Number Four: Huh? That can still happen with time stop?]

[Number Two: That cockroach woman set off an instant explosion right in my face! Are all Sarkaz lunatics!? She was willing to take herself down too!]

The more Vera thought about it, the angrier she became. She lowered her head and glared at W, who was still trying to kill her with her eyes, then activated time stop once more.

She skillfully summoned the little demon and repeated the earlier process, then delivered a heavy blow to the back of W's head.

Time resumed.

In the eyes of Hedley, Ines, and the others, they only saw the mysterious woman twitch strangely for an instant.

W collapsed unconscious without warning, the entire process offering no sign whatsoever.

Some mercenaries raised their weapons, while others slowly backed away, positioning themselves in front of the others protectively.

Hedley's expression turned even uglier.

The other party had subdued W again right before his eyes, yet he still hadn't seen how. That gap in strength filled him with despair.

[Number Four: Cockroach woman... explosion... Number Two, send a picture!]

[Number Two: Image (cockroach sleeping peacefully). You know her?]

[Number Four: Oh my god! Lady Wis'adel!]

[Number Four: Pfft, pfft, pfft! She should be called W now. This really is Kazdel, and the people facing you should be Hedley's mercenary group.]

[Number Two: Are they strong? Can I beat them?]

[Number Four: Totally, bro! Listen to my commands, and I'll make you look coo... ahem! I'll carry you to an easy win!]

[Number Two: Did you just say...]

[Number Four: Here we go! Repeat after me!]

"..."

"So this truly is Kazdel."

Vera's utterly calm voice rang out, as though nothing had happened moments ago.

"Then, are you people from Babel Tower, or... lackeys of the Military Commission?"

Hearing the other party's icy words, Hedley instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

The other party clearly held the Military Commission in contempt. By all rights, he should claim to be from Babel Tower to improve his chances of survival, but...

He instinctively glanced at W, who was lying on the ground "sleeping" peacefully. The other party's methods were too bizarre; he didn't dare place his bet lightly.

His gaze drifted to Ines beside him—perhaps her eyes, which could peer into shadows, could see something.

Ines stared fixedly at the shadow beneath Vera's feet, but it was wrapped in an ominous stillness of death... completely impossible to see through.

Just as she tried to probe deeper—

"You're the one watching me, aren't you, little lamb..."

Ines and Hedley: "!!!"

Ines abruptly retreated a step, while Hedley instinctively tightened his grip on his weapon, his muscles tensing.

But before they could sort through their thoughts, the other party's voice suddenly dropped.

"Don't move..."

Hedley instinctively wanted to back away and widen the distance, but he had barely shifted his foot—

[Time-stop sound effect]

"!!!"

Hedley's thoughts raced wildly. He clearly remembered taking two steps back!

He should have completed the movement, but when he rolled his eyes downward to look...

I clearly moved! Why am I still standing in the same spot?!

What kind of Originium Arts was this?!

Could it be Words of Curse? Was she a Banshee!?

Ines noticed something was wrong with Hedley and was just about to turn and ask him.

Warm breath brushed against her ear.

"I told you not to move..."

Ines's pupils contracted, and her dagger instinctively slid to her side.

However...

[Time Stop Sound Effect]

Ines: "!!!"

The same experience, the same terror. Ines and Hedley exchanged a glance and did not dare make another rash move.

"That's more like it..."

Vera ignored their frightened gazes and placed both hands on their shoulders.

Her voice remained calm, yet carried an irresistible pressure:

"My patience is limited. Think carefully before you answer..."

Hedley did not dare look behind him and forced himself to speak through the pressure.

"May I ask... what do you wish to know?"

Vera released them. When she appeared again, she was already back beside W.

"Two questions..."

"How do I get to Babel Tower? And..."

"Where is the Doctor?"