Meanwhile, the Scavenger in front of Shen Yu seized the moment while the E.G.O. affected him, swinging both hooks to pin the Ice Crystal Spear embedded in its body and prevent him from pulling it free.
This "Resonance" of yours really screwed me over. Shen Yu gave a bitter chuckle and realized the other Scavenger had finished preparing its attack.
The instant the other Scavenger lunged, Shen Yu decisively used [Backstep]. With a ripping sound, the skin of both palms was left stuck to the spear.
Though he barely dodged in time, the descending iron hook sliced his right knee.
Since the nerves in his hands had already died, Shen Yu felt little pain. Bloody ice fragments rustled down from his dark gray muscles. At the same time, information from the Godtuner appeared again:
Resonance ended. [Snow Queen] attunement rate increased: 1% → 10%
Harvey ran over, caught Shen Yu, and supported him as they fled. "Ugh." Harvey sighed. "I told you to run earlier. We'd be dead long before backup arrived."
"Don't worry. I still have a backup plan," Shen Yu said, glancing at the Scavengers cautiously approaching behind them.
"A backup plan?" Harlan looked at the unfamiliar employee in surprise.
Could he be one of those people from Old Era novels, someone incredibly strong who played weak, then killed his opponent with a single punch when things got critical? Or would he just pull out an ALEPH-Class E.G.O...
That had to be it. Those physics-defying combat techniques he'd used earlier proved he was anything but ordinary.
"My backup's here." Shen Yu chuckled, stopped, and looked toward the corridor beside them.
Harvey stopped too. His heart pounded as he swallowed and looked at their savior gradually emerging beneath the dim lights-the Rag Doll from earlier.
You've got to be fucking kidding me.
"Are you serious?" Harvey asked Shen Yu, his mouth twitching.
"Yes."
"I must've rotted my brain reading Old Era novels to believe a rookie could have a solution." Harvey covered his forehead, let go of Shen Yu, and instructed him:
"I'll hold those two Scavengers off. Take your Rag Doll and run. Don't try to save me like you did earlier. One of us surviving is better than both of us dying."
"Please trust me, senior." Shen Yu patted his shoulder with the back of his hand, gave him a resolute look, and stepped in front of the two Scavengers with the Little Knight.
Watching his determined back, Harvey began to doubt himself again. Could he really have a way out?
Shen Yu took a deep breath, touched the connection, and took control of the Little Knight's movements. Then he split off a portion of his attention to make his own body crouch.
The "Bar Eyes" Scavenger stared at the "Rag Doll" ahead in confusion. How could something so frail dare stand before it? Still, that was just as well. It could savor the wonderful sensation of tearing a child apart.
It hunched down, then drove off with both legs and pounced, its twin hooks tracing two arcs of bloody light through the air.
"Why are you crouching? Have you lost your mind?" Damn it, I actually fell for his bullshit. I'm quitting novels when I get back.
Harvey cursed and hurried forward to rescue him.
Suddenly, the "Rag Doll" drew the long Nail from its back. Pale light illuminated the darkness, "shattering" the bloody glow of the hooks and forcing the Scavenger to a halt.
Before it could react, a second flash of pale light split the armor across its chest. Sensing danger, the Scavenger dodged with a backward step, hunching its trembling body as it guarded against the being before it.
Harvey stopped involuntarily and rubbed his eyes. Had my eyesight gone bad too?
Shen Yu glanced at the other, "Two Eyes" Scavenger and had the Little Knight cast a spell-Shade Soul. (Image)
Deep Void enveloped the Little Knight's body, pale light shining from its eyes. A mass of shadow bearing the same pale gaze shot out. The Little Knight's Shade Cloak transformed into scattered tendrils, flaring outward under the recoil.
The "Bar Eyes" Scavenger tried to dodge, but it was too late. The spell struck it squarely in the chest.
After dealing two instances of damage, the Shade Soul passed through its body and blasted a deep tunnel into the company wall.
A pitch-black hole appeared in "Bar Eyes'" chest. Liquid continuously seeped down from it, dissolving the rest of its body.
The other Scavenger abandoned its prey. Howling and grinding its hooks together, it lunged at the Little Knight.
Shen Yu made the Little Knight retreat out of the pounce's path. Countless pale motes rushed into the Little Knight's body, even forming a circular outline.
Then the "Little Knight" surged forward in a Dash. Void emerged around it, shielding it as it passed through the other Scavenger's attack.
-Shade Cloak: a cloak formed from the substance of the Abyss. It allowed its wearer to become Void while dashing, passing through enemies and attacks without taking any damage.
The Little Knight then channeled the gathered power into the Nail and slashed fiercely forward.
Dazzling sword light illuminated the entire corridor, cutting "Bar Eyes" cleanly in two.-Nail art: Dash Slash.
Next, it Dashed beneath the other Scavenger and unleashed Abyss Shriek.
Black-and-white spirits roared forth, devouring half its body. Then Shen Yu had the Little Knight sever its head with a single stroke of the Nail.
Beside him, Harvey opened his mouth and sucked in a breath, staring wide-eyed at the two Scavenger corpses on the floor.
What just happened?
Once it was all over, Shen Yu switched his consciousness back to his own body. Holding his right leg at an awkward angle, he approached the middle-aged man and administered basic first aid. "Hang in there. The medics will be here soon."
Since the Scavengers' attacks inflicted erosion damage, affected tissue rapidly liquefied and coagulated, resulting in relatively little bleeding. Even so, this cleaner's constitution was almost too good.
Only at Shen Yu's reminder did Harvey come to his senses. He immediately connected his wristwatch and instructed the person on the other end:
"The dangerous targets have been eliminated. Please send medical personnel to provide assistance. Same location."
Fortunately, the medics arrived in time. With the Regeneration Reactor available, they merely gave the two employees, Shen Yu and Harvey, some basic bandaging before carrying the middle-aged man away.
Afterward, Shen Yu and Harvey squatted on the floor, watching the Little Knight wander aimlessly beneath the Containment Units.
Once everyone had left, Harvey nudged Shen Yu and pointed at the Little Knight. "What class is that little guy, really?"
"Would you still believe me if I said ZAYIN-Class?"
"Do I look like a fucking idiot?"
"Looks like I can't hide it anymore." Shen Yu chuckled, stood, and carried the Little Knight over to Harvey. Solemnly, he said:
"This is all part of the Manager's plan."
"The Manager's plan?" Harvey stood instinctively, immediately recognizing the importance of the matter.
"Yes." Shen Yu nodded. "We've been researching Abnormalities for a very long time, but we still have to rely on employees risking their lives to suppress them.
"So the Manager came up with a plan: use Abnormalities to suppress Abnormalities."
"Use Abnormalities for suppression?" Harvey glanced at the Little Knight, then looked up at Shen Yu with wide eyes.
"Wait, don't tell me..."
"That's right. [Little Knight] exists specifically to suppress Abnormalities. And to ensure he could be controlled, the Manager injected himself with Cogito and extracted [Little Knight] from his own consciousness.
"That's why he's so gentle toward humans."
"What?" Harvey could hardly believe his ears. That Manager, as cold-blooded as a machine, actually possessed such a lofty ideal. He had even gone so far as to inject himself with the lethal Cogito.
Harvey had been with the company for some time and knew a little about Lobotomy Corporation's Singularity technology-Cogito.
It was a substance that could completely tear apart a human's mental substance, causing an explosion of intensely powerful emotions and thereby giving birth to an Abnormality.
Because of the extreme agony inflicted by that mental shredding, the resulting Abnormalities were usually steeped in negative emotions: bloodlust, distortion, madness, grotesquerie...
Then how great a spirit would it take to withstand such immense suffering and give birth to an Abnormality friendly to humans?
And I actually thought the Manager was just someone who hid in his office staring at his beautiful assistant. How shameful! No, I need to go confess to [One Sin and Hundred Good Deeds] 1,145.14 times.
Harvey hurried over to Shen Yu, clasped both his hands, and looked at him sincerely.
"Is there anything I can do to help, however little?"
"Of course. We need fine young men like you." Shen Yu patted his hands and returned his earnest gaze.
"I won't let you down, even if it costs me my life." Harvey straightened and declared loudly.
"Mm." Shen Yu nodded and patted his shoulder, but his toes kept curling.
No, stop talking. My toes are about to dig a whole villa out of sheer embarrassment.
Shen Yu then took the Little Knight and Harvey to the control room and found the subject for his Dream Nail experiment: O-01-12 [Old Lady].
Since Spider Bud had that hellish mechanic where observing it meant certain death, it was better to experiment on another Abnormality first.
"Keep watch here. Don't let anyone approach the Containment Room," Shen Yu told Harvey. He took the Little Knight inside and saw the Abnormality within.
She was an old woman with a deathly pale face and hollow eye sockets. A faded purple top, a long blue skirt, and a yellowed white cotton bonnet covered her severely aged body. (Image)
Their "hollow" eyes met. The Old Lady opened her mouth and spoke slowly:
"Child, child, would you like to hear a story from long ago?"
No, Shen Yu replied, guiding the Little Knight over to her and taking the Dream Nail from beneath his cloak.
Whether they entered reality through a breach in the "Black Forest" or were extracted by Lobotomy Corporation's Singularity technology, all Abnormalities originated in that primordial sea of consciousness.
The observable, recordable information about Abnormalities-their appearance, their voices, and so on-or rather, their very existence, constituted their shells in reality.
And the Dream Nail happened to be a divine weapon capable of cutting through the barrier of reality.
Zzzrip! Fully charged, the Dream Nail trailed a dazzling, colorful dreamscape as it slashed fiercely at the Old Lady before it.
The Old Lady's shell in reality tore open like a sheet of paper and dissipated into the dim Containment Room, revealing the essential nature within:
It was endless, eternal loneliness...
The intangible emotion coalesced in reality, becoming black dust. Countless particles gathered into a surging black ocean that swallowed the entire Containment Room in an instant.
Before you continue