Bab 37: Instinct
Ligi was down on the ground, unconscious. Thankfully, Gotang acted quickly or else the rot would have spread further to his body. Everyone was speechless. Resi opened and closed his mouth in an attempt to rid himself of the guilt he had deep inside.
Gotang looked solemnly at the unconscious Ligi. He knew the consequence of this event; the increased risk due to this would lead to casualties. Their numbers would be further shaved off.
Bang looked at the shield on the ground. A part of him wanted to get the shield and use it for himself, but that was unseemly at the moment.
"Don't make any more sudden moves. The beams are still active."
Gotang's solid voice reminded them of the seriousness of the situation. They had to face the endless monoliths without Ligi destroying some of them. From their research, the monoliths seemed indestructible when faced with weapons and magic; only the monolith's beam was effective in defeating it.
"Lobo, take Ligi with you."
Lobo moved with hurried steps towards Ligi, making sure to look around the monoliths. A beam of black light teleported towards Lobo but thanks to his years of experience, he able to avoid it. He took out a liquid from his waist and applied it to the stump of Ligi's dismembered arm; this stopped the profuse bleeding. Then, he took out a cloth and tied it in Ligi's arm.
Lobo picked Ligi up and hung him on his shoulder. The rest of the members felt tense. Thankfully, Gotang was there to guide them deeper into the monoliths.
"Keep your head low; let's head on."
Gotang moved forward into another monolith while the other members followed suit. Bang was about to follow them but he saw Resi struggling to keep himself up.
'I suggest the owner to help Resi up.'
"Are you okay Resi?"
"Ye-yeah."
Resi patted himself down and walked towards the monolith. Bang was a little bit worried because Resi looked unfocused and disorganized.
'I suggest the owner to help Resi."
'What do you mean, system? He's already up and running.'
A thought came into his head and he agreed to it. He walked towards Resi, making sure to be vigilant of any beams coming his way.
"You don't look so good. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Is Ligi okay?"
"Yeah, he's okay. Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure, I guess."
"Do you hate Ligi?"
"What?!?!"
Resi's heartbeat escalated to faster heights. He felt that Bang could see his guilt-ridden face so he looked away from him. Resi was flustered. His regret wanted him to confess and own the mistake he made, but his pride prevented him.
"W-what do you mean by that?!?!"
"It just looked like you and Ligi were always fighting."
Resi felt a heavy weight being released from his chest. He heaved a sigh of relief as he tried his hardest to show a smile.
"No, no. We're okay. I d-don't mind him."
Resi flashed back into the moment where he decided to actively hurt Ligi and his future. The look of naiveté and trust on Ligi's face pierced a thorn in his heart. He shook his head to try and clear his mind.
"When I met Ligi, he was like a mute. You couldn't make him talk if it's the last thing he could do."
"......."
"Now, he's talking, conversing, and even actively competing with you."
"........"
"I'm really glad that the two of you became fast friends."
"........"
The more Resi heard this, the more he was digging his own grave. Although he was feeling guilty, a part of him was also angry. His pride resisted the idea of him being the only reason Ligi got injured; it was Ligi's fault for not being fast enough.
"Ligi's unlucky to be hit by that beam. If he was any faster like you, he would have dodged it."
"Right?! He should have been able to dodge that. It's not my fault he was so slow!"
Resi looked up at Bang as he grasped at a sliver of excuse for himself. He quickly agreed with Bang when it meant that the blame would be shifted onto someone else. The heavy feeling on his heart was getting annoying.
"Ligi should have learned from you not Gotang, right?"
"Yeah! How come he gets the one on one with Gotang?"
"Mhmm... why is that?"
"I don't know. Their styles are more compatible, I guess."
"Didn't he teach you when you were a kid?"
"Yeah but like I said, it just isn't my style."
"Why did you join then?"
"I didn't join. I inherited it."
"From your parents?"
"......"
Resi avoided his head from Bang's inquiry. He hid the imperceptible frown and the pain in his eyes as he squinted. He wanted to avoid the topic.
"Let's walk together, we're getting left behind."
Resi stood up while avoiding eye contact with Bang, fearing that his eyes will convey a peek at his past. His body faced away from Bang and his shoulders slumped inwards.
"Where did you learn to fight?"
"......."
Bang looked directly at the back of Resi's head as if he could see the inner workings of the defensive teen. He didn't know what the system was planning but he just went along with it.
"Did your parents teach it to you?"
"......."
"Did something happen to your parents?"
"......."
"Are they dead?"
At this point, Resi's hands were clenching his pants hard. His head was shaking, vibrating, as he held on to his sanity else his anger take over. He wanted Bang to shut up.
A thought flashed into Resi's head. This was a memory from when he was a child. A woman, a beautiful and mature yet youthful stature was looking at him as he was on the ground. She smiled.
"Silly boy. Couldn't hold on to your anger again?"
"........"
"Whenever you feel your anger will take over, just remember my voice."
She crawled near him and lifted his head and laid it onto her thighs. A sense of calm and safety overtook his senses; the smell of lavender hit his nose as a soothing voice reached his ears.
"Do not worry my deary~~~~
For I am always here with you
By your side, all the time, I won't get weary~~~~
Oh don't worry, my dear sweet child
The answer always lies in your heart, don't forget to smile~~~~~"
Resi slapped himself out of his memory. He didn't want to relive that moment ever again as he buried it like a dark secret. He was feeling sad. He didn't want to feel that, so he turned all his emotions into anger, anger at Bang for making him remember all that.
He made his fist into a ball as he readied to punch Bang's face in anger. Just as he turned around, he felt a tingle in his spine. This signaled only one thing, a beam was about to hit them; he knew where it would go and when it would hit. A sneer formed in his mouth; this was retribution.
The beam teleported towards Bang. He didn't expect this so he just stared at the beam, unable to do anything.
'I suggest the owner to dodge.'
'Too late for that! Like I could dodge that even with the warning!'
'OVERRIDING HOST! 100 wp will be deducted.'
Bang's eyes became unfocused as the whites in his eyes overtook the irises in a split second. He tilted his head to the right, unhurried and unperturbed, as the beam barely miss his cheek.
Resi was already ahead of Bang, with full expectations that Bang would be hit by the black beam. He looked back and saw Bang. He felt that something was wrong, excluding the fact that he was able to dodge the beam.
Bang had a straight, perfect posture with no emotion on his face. His eyes stared into the void as if everything was beyond his care. Resi locked eyes with Bang and a tingle formed in his spine. Danger. The alarm in his head activated more intense than when the beams shot at him. He thought he saw a slight smile form in Bang's mouth but when he blinked, it became a deadpan expression.
Resi stared at Bang, vigilant of any movements this strange being will take. After a second, Bang shook his head and the tense feeling disappeared. It came and went like a dream. He was unsure of the validity of what he saw as he rubbed his eyes.
"What are you guys doing? Let's go."
Lobo shouted at them from the front. Resi looked towards him and started walking but he flinched when he saw Bang at his side.
"What's wrong?"
Bang questioned Resi's strange actions.
"Are you okay now, Bang?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
"Nothing."
Resi walked as he tried to make sense of what happened. The most logical conclusion he came up with was the strange happenings inside the Dreaded Valley. That must have been what happened right? Why did he feel that it wasn't that simple? Like all things he couldn't understand, he decided to ignore it and just focus on what's in front of him.
Hadiah
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