Chapter 181 - The Slime

"Damn. This place really is a ghost town."

Having concluded their search, Rynold and Neana rested on a nearby rooftop.

Although precarious, Rynold couldn't help but rest following several close calls. Close calls in which they would've fallen to the toxic grounds below.

Not only that, but it was also their spirits that needed rest. Because in the few minutes they ran around, there was no one in the area. Absolutely no one. The absence of people in such a place had somewhat gotten to Rynold. Well, not that he'd show it.

"You okay?"

Turning to Neana, Rynold was worried if Neana was feeling the same. Surprisingly, it seemed as though she didn't seem to be bothered as much as he was.

Looking at Rynold with a straight face, Neana seemed unaffected. Well, it's nothing to make a big deal out of since she has never even been here before.

"I should be asking you that," Neana answered, then smiled.

She seemed alright, Rynold thought, quenching his uneasiness. His main priority was to ensure Neana's safety. And, seeing her pleasant smile during a troubling time, Rynold felt slightly relieved.

However, the expression on his face said otherwise.

Neana knew what Rynold's range of emotions was, and, most of the time, his face was a clear expression of it. So, seeing Rynold's rather pale face with a long-looking expression, Neana knew something was amiss.

"Are you okay?" she asked politely and sincerely. It was a simple question. To which Rynold didn't hesitate to answer.

"I'm fine."

Turning his head slightly and avoiding Neana's gaze, Rynold tried to focus on the slums. From where they were standing, Rynold could get a good view of the place. Well, as far as apocalyptical wastelands go, this was as good as it gets.

But, despite his subtle efforts, Neana didn't believe him. It was expected, especially considering how he had so obviously lied.

"What's wrong?" Neana seemed disappointed at Rynold, but her intentions meant otherwise. "You know you can't hide anything from me."

Rynold let out a short chuckle in response, then proceeded to explain.

"Just wondering where all these people went," Rynold said as his expression became solemn. "Think about it. There's nobody here. It's just really chilling to see that there's absolutely nothing here. It would've made sense if there were some corpses. Maybe even some bones. But, there's nothing."

He was a realist, not some heartless monster.

People die. It's a fact that Rynold had to accept. He learned how to deal with death early on in his life. The solution he came up with was an inefficient one.

Essentially, Rynold had to accept death as fact and logical. He would see a corpse when somebody had passed, grief, and move on. It was an undeniable fact, after all. And, Rynold was a realist who could easily accept that.

But something about the current situation felt off to him.

There was nothing around them, no evidence or remnants which indicated death. It was empty. No corpses. No clothes. No signs of people's struggle to live.

It was disturbing, Rynold admitted that.

"Well," Neana spoke, "Maybe they all moved out? Right? Maybe they're all someplace safe and away from harm."

"No," Rynold disagreed, as he had already explored this possibility earlier. "If people left the place, there should be some cabinets or random items lying around. Clothes and furniture that people couldn't bring in a hurry. But, no. This place is empty."

It was the first thing he noticed when the first building they passed by had nothing in it.

There was no furniture, which struck Rynold as odd. Nobody would bring furniture when they're leaving in a hurry. And, the lack of cupboards and things built into the house further confirmed Rynold's confusion about the matter.

"It's weird. Like it's been ransacked," Rynold added as he continued to scope the area from where they stood. "Nothing's inside the houses. Even if they were turned into ghouls, they should have left some things behind. So, why..."

Rynold suddenly trailed off.

He realized that he might've been overthinking things a bit too much. Or maybe he vented all of his frustrations in a short moment. None of that mattered. The point is, Rynold didn't realize that he had been so open with Neana all this time.

'Since when did that happen?' Rynold thought as he turned to Neana.

"What's wrong?" Neana asked with her expression sincere and caring. Careful not to express it, Neana was worried about Rynold. It was only natural considering how paranoid he was acting.

"Nothing," Rynold showed a genuine smile, "Come on. No use in moping around and overthinking things. Let's get to the bottom of this."

Standing up and stretching, Rynold looked around to spot for anything out of the ordinary. It was hard, sure, but it was something he had to do to move forward.

'Axiom. Anything new?'

The Accord Sphere had been acting on Rynold's previous command: scan for any life in the immediate vicinity.

'Nothing, huh?'

Disappointed, Rynold decided to go about things the old-fashioned way. He didn't have to want to do this, but it seemed he had no choice.

"Stay here. I'll go check things out," Rynold said to Neana.

But, before he could leave, Neana suddenly grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. In response, Rynold turned to her, only to be greeted by a rather cute-looking expression on Neana's face.

"Is something wrong?"

"You sure you're okay? We could just leave this place be, you know. Maybe go to the actual city? I'm sure there's going to be some people there."

Neana wanted to make sure Rynold was alright. So, she attempted to change his mind. It would only be bad for both of them to stay here any longer, after all.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Rynold gently patted Neana's head. "Don't worry. I won't do anything reckless. Just going to try and make sense of all this."

Rynold knew Neana's concerns weren't off-base.

He knew it was safer for them to leave. He also knew that pursuing this thing any further would be illogical. But, despite knowing all of these things, Rynold still seemed determined to get to the bottom of this.

That's because, in the brief time he spent here, Rynold met some people.

None of these people were any notable figures. They were just the average person who was struggling to survive. And, surprisingly, Rynold could empathize with them. That these people were the products of a society filled with conflict.

So, going out on a limb to find a reason for their disappearance was justified. Right? Regardless, Rynold was determined to do it, anyway. It could be considered one of the few times Rynold ever got emotional.

Pulling out the remaining two Accord Spheres and his firearm, Rynold got to work. He proceeded to order Axiom and Maxim to accompany him while telling Dictum to stay behind and watch over Neana.

With that settled, Rynold then left the rooftop and proceeded to charge through the area. His destination: the suspicious pool of liquid located in the center of the slums.

'God, this is gonna suck.'

Approaching the pool of brown goo, Rynold could already smell the odor. Luckily, he was utilizing the rooftops; otherwise, he would've gotten the worst of it already.

Still, Rynold was alert. On the very off chance that the pool wasn't as it appeared, Rynold knew he had to be prepared. Thus, his Mana started to pulsate and wrap around him. He activated the more powerful Protecting Light to defend himself from any dangers ahead.

And, thankfully, he was able to do that in the nick of time.

Suddenly, something struck him on the side with enough force to push him back. Thanks to Protecting Light, the attack didn't hurt him. But it sure as hell annoyed him.

After receiving the said attack, Rynold looked at where it had landed. The veil of light around his lower abdomen was damaged, not to the point of breaking, thankfully. But, it still struck Rynold as odd.

For a normal physical attack to deal damage to the veil was a difficult feat. It would either be a very strong hit or one that had properties that cut through the light.

The first option wouldn't have been possible because the attack would've hurt him. Rynold would have felt the attack through the veil and recoil from the pain. As for the latter, however, was a different theory. And, it was the one that explained the very situation Rynold was in.

Raising his head up to face his opponent, Rynold was surprised by what he saw. The assailant wasn't humanoid, or anything resembling a creature that he had encountered before. No, it was some gelatinous creature that didn't seem to have a solid form.

In other words, it was slime.

Thus, it fully explained how his veil got damaged. The creature was capable of emitting some acid-like ooze that damaged anything it contacted with.

'Alright, let's go.'

With a smile on his face, Rynold raised True Caliber and fired. Two blue lights shot out from the barrel of the gun and went straight into the slime. The bullets landed onto the creature with a direct hit, but there was no effect.

Having expected this to happen, Rynold retreated to another nearby rooftop. He already made up his mind that physical attacks wouldn't work against a creature such as this.

So, the best he could do right now was to play keep-away with the slime.

With True Caliber in his hand, Rynold kept his distance while firing different bullets into the creature. Slimes were notorious for having extreme resistance against physical attacks, so Rynold had to get creative.

'Nope.'

Rynold fired another bullet that had the intention to pierce through the slime. In other words, it was a piercing shot. And, just like the numerous bullets that he fired beforehand, it had no effect.

'Damn it.'

Mind racing, Rynold had no idea what to think of at this point. There was only a limited amount of bullets he could create. And, the ongoing pressure of battle wasn't helping. What's worse, the slime wasn't giving him much room to breathe either.

As Rynold simultaneously dodged the slime's sweeping attacks, Rynold felt as though he needed to think outside the box.

Something different. Something that would help him at this very moment. Something that went beyond his capabilities.

'Got it.'

As he dodged the slime's next attack, Rynold proceeded to bend his intent in a manner that he had done before. The key difference this time was where he planned to use it.

The Mana pouring out of his Mana Core started to coalesce in his hand that held True Caliber. However, unlike before, the color of the Mana was different. Compared to the blue-colored Mana before, the one that Rynold was currently manipulating was red.

Fire red.

Recalling the feeling of Augmenting his drill, Rynold applied the same to the firearm. His blood was boiling because of the battle at hand, making for an easier time to express his intent.

Bang!

The sound of the bullet firing echoed throughout the area. True Caliber expelled a red hot bullet which managed to capture the very intent that Rynold was giving off.

And, not a second after, the bullet landed directly on its target. Following this, Rynold caught a whiff of a foul odor as the bullet sunk into the slime. Then, not soon after, something else happened.

Boom!

Exactly as Rynold had intended, the bullet exploded, taking the slime along with it.

The execution was swift and succeeded without a hitch. Rynold managed to take out the slime in a single hit. One that had applied the same technique that Rynold used to infuse Fire-Attributed Mana into his drill.

Suffice it to say, Rynold had lucked out. But, unfortunately, luck still had its limitations.

The explosion wasn't anything clean in the slightest. It was the messiest way to get rid of anything, from monsters to buildings. That being said, Rynold was now covered in the same green goo that the slime was made out of.