*I still feel bad about taking so long, so here is an extra long action chapter to put some action back in. I will try to stop looking at my writing and hating it until I take so long. No more promises, no more guesses on when I will upload, just know I am still thinking about this.*
10 years ago, in an abandoned apartment…
"Mom? I just got to the part where Naruto is fighting Kaguya, and I just have to ask. What the actual hell?"
"Kai, as much as I'm glad your English is good, watch your language."
Kai's mother shook her head, smiling sadly. Even though her son was only five years old, it felt too rare that he actually acted like a child.
"Don't underestimate the stunning power of the unexpected and bizarre. Naruto was definitely a pervert, but he knew how to use everything at his disposal, including being a pervert."
"Haaaiii," Kai replied, pouting. "But I'm not doing that."
Kai's mother laughed. "You don't have to. Besides, wouldn't it be hard to get those guys to be as distracting as Naruto's harem jutsu?" She gestured at the Zergling that was scratching its head with the scythe arm that sprouted from its back.
"A little ugly, aren't they?"
"We could put together a circus act," Kai said, giggling. "They aren't as bad as clowns. So, is the van back yet? How much longer do we have to wait?"
"We can't go yet. Not until they are all together."
The zergling in the corner coughed and hissed. It was eager to consume the many Essences in this world, but it was bound to its master's guidance. It could feel Kai's impatience as well. Why wait to release the Swarm?
But what did the zergling know? Even it knew that it didn't understand; nor did it need to. All it needed to do was wait on the command of its young master. It sighed and settled back down, mirroring Kai's own reaction.
"Okay, mom." He was quiet for a few minutes. "Do we have a plan?"
"Same as before. Keep things quiet, even if it's not clean. Leave the last five or so for interrogation. In the end, they all need to go," his mother said shakily.
"… Are you going to be okay, mom?" Kai asked cautiously, concern in his eyes.
"… Yes," she lied.
Her hands were shaking. What was she doing? What had she been doing? She had grown up dreaming of being a hero. When she couldn't, she tried to do her part in hero management.
Now, she was… what? A vigilante? A criminal? A fugitive? And further, here she was, talking calmly with her son about attacking a human trafficking ring. People were going to die tonight. Her son was going to kill people tonight, on her orders. She would begin the work of death.
And worse…
"MOM!"
Kai's voice startled her, and she realized that she had been hyperventilating, on the verge of a panic attack.
"Mom, we should stop. You aren't feeling well," Kai said.
But even as he said it, his mother could hear his thoughts: "Maybe I should just do this alone. Mom can take a nap, and I'll take care of things."
"You know I heard you, right?" his mother said as she steadied her breathing. "Those people need help. The right way won't work, because those bastards have protection. We can do something. I know that you can do it on your own, but I can't just ignore it. I'm making you do it, so I'm going through it with you. And if I'm going to live with what happens tonight, I think that if I can just feel their relief; know that we saved someone, it will be enough."
She embraced her son, trying to reassure the both of them. For a long moment, she was able to hold on, fooling herself into feeling peace.
Then the peace was broken by the quiet cries of fearful minds. In unison, connected by their senses shared through her Quirk, they packed what little they had into their bags.
There would be no use coming back when the night was done.
"So, mom? How are we going to start this?"
"Well, to deal with the lookout first…" she trailed off in thought. "Have I told you about 'get help?'"
***
The lookout took a long drag from his cigar. The only comfort to his current duties. Tonight was a big night, with the month's haul of new merchandise- human and otherwise- safely in, the boss was in a good mood and breaking out the good drink. Meanwhile, he was stuck looking out into the rain.
Of course, that was his lot in life. With a Quirk that had turned him into a wolf heteromorph, his extra senses made him perfect for the role. While his comrades celebrated and drank inside, he was the lone wolf at the gate, looking out at the rain.
Well, it wasn't going to be so bad. When his shift was done, there would be a bottle of good vodka with his name on it, and his name alone.
Suddenly, a sound made his wolf ears perk up. The sound of footsteps splashing on the wet pavement. Two people. Judging by their cadence, an adult and a child.
Even at this time and with this weather, it wouldn't be so strange for someone to be walking past. This neighborhood was good for their operation for how quiet it was, which also was a draw for vagrants and the homeless. But they were not likely to have a child with them.
The lookout went through the city's heroes in his head. No shifters that he knew of, and it wasn't the season for hero internships. Probably nothing.
Still, he grabbed an umbrella, gave a brief explanation as he passed the poker players at the front "office." If there was something funny going on, it was better to get eyes on the situation. Besides, it wasn't like there was much else going on at the moment. He probably needed the opportunity to stretch his legs.
Almost immediately after stepping out into the rain, he heard a splash and a cry of pain. Turning to the sound, he saw a woman in a rain coat sitting on the ground rubbing her ankle as a child no older than six looked in concern and tried to help her up. But, after a couple of attempts, the child looked up and around.
Seeing the lookout, he ran up to him.
"Can you help us?" he asked cheerfully.
The lookout smiled and walked up to meet the kid. Well, this could be a bonus, he thought. Maybe these two could add to the profits of the night. They even looked good, too, he noticed as he got closer. Even clean…
Suddenly, the child's face turned to a grim smile and he quickly, as if he had tripped, dropped to the ground and slammed his palm into the pavement. His eyes surged with purple light and a ripple ran across the ground towards the lookout. For a fraction of a second, nothing happened.
Then, the hairs on the back of the neck of the lookout raised as he heard a whisper of wind behind him. He turned and found himself looking into the dark maw of a creature that was midflight for him.
The lookout just had enough time to draw in a breath to scream before he felt something sharp on his neck, and two blades piercing his back.
And then there was nothing.
***
As the zergling finished its job, Kai and his mother were both struggling.
Kai was fighting mixed feelings. The zergling was filled with delight, processing new Essence for the swarm as it filled its belly. These feelings leaked to Kai, who had to fight echoing the feeling. Killing was supposed to be wrong, and he did feel some disgust watching the blood wash down the sidewalk with the rain, but it was for a good cause, right?
After a moment, Kai felt his breathing stabilize. He was ready to continue.
His mother, on the other hand, was far more unfortunate. She did not have a Quirk that let her tap into the mind of a creature that had no qualms about eating a man alive. On the contrary, she had been connected to the poor lookout, and felt every detail of his death without the benefit of forgetting it in death.
She had to force the bile back down her throat. "We will have to do this, and more, if we are to survive," and "this is what we have to do to save them" were so easy to say before the blood started flowing.
Before she had experienced another death.
Yet, it was all she could tell herself to continue. This wasn't the first night of blood for them. It was unlikely to be the last. All she could do was get used enough to continue the work.
Leaning on Kai, she stood up straight and walked with him to the door. It was time for the real work to begin. She reached out with her Quirk. She had already suffered a lot, even before tonight. What was a little more?
"Listening" for the minds that weren't filled with fear, she opened and tied them together. Mind to mind, and sense to sense.
As confusion spread through this mental network, Kai's eyes flared with light again as he rested his hand on the door.
Zerglings poured out of the wall, instantly overtaking the drinkers and poker players just inside. As three savored the essence they had discovered, a further nine rushed into the warehouse.
Meanwhile, pain and fear of death echoed in the network that Kai's mother had established. The lesser goons of the gang were close to passing out. The veterans, on the other hand, experienced with death, gritted their teeth.
"We're under attack! Snap out of it, you pansies! It's a psycher! It's just an illusion! And if you don't get up and fight, I'll kill you myself!" the boss shouted, trying to bring some order.
The hope that it was just an illusion, even if it was an absolutely realistic and terrifying one, revived the men. Quickly, they gathered whatever support tools and weapons they had and rallied for combat.
When the zerglings burst into the room, they were met with ice, fire, steel and lead. One was punched and crushed against its brothers and a wall.
"What the hell are these things?" one asked, moving in to take a closer look.
"Weak's what they are," another scoffed.
Just like that, calm rippled through the ranks. It really was a psycher trying to scare them. Of course that still raised more questions about the attack, but it was good that-
That thought couldn't even be finished. Another full wave of a dozen zerglings burst through the doorway. However, this time the beasts had targets. First, three piled on the fire Quirk user, as he had fried so many of the first wave. Then the strength enhancer fell, dismembered. The man with blades for arms found his blades stuck in a zergling's guts before its brother answered in kind.
With each death, pain and fear echoed through the mental network, and the light of confidence was drowned with agony and despair.
Some asked, "why would anyone do this?" Others, "who could do this?" Hero or villain, this was beyond what they had ever heard of anyone doing.
In a matter of minutes, the questions died out, as did the questioners.
And then there were three.
Kai and his mother walked slowly through the building, carefully avoiding the blood as much as possible. Kai kept one hand on the wall, always ready to summon reinforcements. The death of the first wave had been… vexing. Kai was pained as he felt their deaths, but they continued to be just as eager to fight.
More than that, as they pushed forward and found time to consume the fallen, they became more frenzied. There was something… good… in this fresh meat. Something good for them. For evolution, if they could just understand. Perhaps if they continued to consume.
More.
MORE.
"KAI! THAT'S ENOUGH!!"
His mother's voice rang in both his ears and mind. A swift wave of emotions- fear, anger, despair, and the intense pain of his throat being torn openw- rolled over him, disorienting him for a moment.
As he recovered, Kai turned to face his mother, puzzled.
"There are still more people here. They won't go down without a fight. We need more."
"No," she replied slowly, cautiously. "They were putting up a fight. It's over now. All that's left are the people we need to save. That's what we came here for."
She put her hands on her son's shoulders.
"Kai, it's time to stop summoning."
Kai stretched out his senses back to the zerglings. As his mother had said, the fighting was over. All that was left was himself, his mother, the cleanup, one shipping container…
And 36 zerglings.
What was I about to do? he thought. Now that he noticed, he had a horrible headache, and keeping all of the zerglings here was tiring him. Quickly, he dismissed the beasts. They went gladly, as they had received the reward their master had promised, even if they had been denied the second meal they had discovered.
If Kai were to put the zerglings' feelings into words, they would be, "oh well, there is always next time."
Indeed, there would be.
— Bab baru akan segera rilis — Tulis ulasan