CHAPTER 44 - Turning point II

Seconds after the explosions

Maria had been searching for Leo for a while, guided by Sara's information, but she had yet to find a single hint when an explosion rocked the surroundings out of nowhere, catching her attention.

Leo

'My head…' I bring my right hand to my head, which feels like it is about to explode by the pain I am feeling.

'Damn, it seems like mixing up qi and manna makes quite the show.'

Thankfully for my safety, my body has long since passed human standards. It may not be enough to tank a whole explosion head-on like one from Bruma's lighting, but this much is enough.

Both spheres were already small, to begin with, and they were losing power with each passing second on the outside, so the explosion came from a tiny amount of energy. That made it possible for me to survive just with some quick reflexes on my part, though I can't even imagine what would have happened if I had used a lot more power in my experiment.

'That was scary.' What would have happened if I were to use double the amount? Triple? Maybe stack it ten-fold? It would be no easy task to keep both spheres in control till breaking point, sure, but once I get better? Doable.

'I will need to test it a lot more before I do anything with it without blowing up in the process.' My line of thought is interrupted by the arrival of Bruma, surprisingly being the first one to arrive.

Her link reaches me and I let her know I am alright.

'Thank you for worrying, but I am cool. The noise will probably attract more threats though, so let's leave this place for now.' I say as she licks one of the slashes I sustained from the outcome of the test.

I scan the area for any signals of living beings before going on our way in a 100-meter range, and to my surprise, I find… people?

"Wait Bruma, let's wait a second." I tell her as I follow their movements. I know she can't understand what I am saying, but my intentions are more or less conveyed, so that works for me.

A few seconds later, a group of humans poke their heads out from the corner of a big pile of rubble, looking at the outcome of the explosion.

They see me in the middle, staying idle amidst a sea of broken pieces of stone that had fallen with me from high up. What surprises me is that I can see some familiar faces in their group.

'Maria and Sera…'

The whole group gets near, but I keep my mouth shut.

Maria is the first one to speak.

"Leo? Is that you? Are you okay?" She asks while looking at me, making it hard for me to mutter a word.

Bruma seems to sense my emotions as she jumps in between me and them and starts to crack with electricity while barking nonstop at them.

"It's okay my friend, they are good people." I shush her as I take her with both hands into the air and my embrace.

I finally look up at them.

"Yes, it's me, Leo. It's been a while."

"It's good to see that you are alright, we were worried that you ran into too much trouble somewhere." Sera says.

Really? That is all they were thinking at the time?

"Sorry." I say while looking at both of them.

"I went back to where I left you after everything ended, but I couldn't find you." I know that I could have done much better at the time, few decisions have made me doubt my judgment till now, and that one is one of them. That one, and leaving both my elderly saviors not that much later to an unknown fate has haunted me at times.

That's why I apologize.

"No, don't muse over that, you saved both of us when we were about to die and even imparted some sense into us in the small amount of time you were with us. If anything we should have been the ones to apologize and thank you."

The words from Maria hit the spot. 'Is that really the truth? I could just have chosen another course of action that took into account a lot more things, but I didn't care. I did everything with only one thing in mind, and in the end, I still failed.'

'At least they are both alive and well, Maria even seems to be the leader of the group of survivors.' I can't help but be proud of their progress.

"Let's talk somewhere else, monsters are bound to come soon here following the explosion." One of the people from her group comments so, and it wakes me up from my stupor.

"Yeah, let's do that. Leo, would you mind following us to our base to have a chat and discuss some things?" Maria throws the question at me.

"Sure." It's the least I can do after the mess I put them through in the first place.

Half an hour later, we arrive at a rundown gym that has all windows covered up.

After a quick scan at full power, I can make out a big group of more than 75 people inside.

'They really have come a long way.' To think that so many people are being led by these two.

We enter the place and the first thing I notice is the lack of security. There are some people keeping watch, but only a small group in comparison to the size of the group. At least they are armed though, three of them have pistols of different kinds and another one wields a bigger one, some type of rifle with a higher caliber. The one with the bigger gun does not have any magazines hanging around though, so they probably lack those types of bullets.

'Well, that's something, at least they got guns. Even then, with those numbers, there should be more capable people to keep a close eye on everything that goes inside and outside.

As we pass the guards, I am led to another open space on the back, some type of small arena or ring with enough space to house all the people laying around. Most of the people I sensed with my scan before are here, only a few remain in another room.

Maria, probably sensing my curious gaze over the survivors, tells me the reason I was looking for.

"All the people here have been either abandoned at some point or are looking for help to chase one of our goals and thus decided to join. That's why we may not be the best group when it comes to manpower, but I assure you we compensate with loyalty as we all chase the same thing. One way or another."

"And what goal may that be?" There are so many different backgrounds and ages here that I find it hard to believe that every single one of them chases the same thing.

"Revenge. From those who took everything from us." Yeah, that's to be expected.

"I need to join a meeting with the rest of the people in charge about something that came up, but I will send someone to bring you in after we finish discussing it. I want to talk with you about something." She seems hellbent on this revenge of theirs, so it probably has something to do with that. Just what am I even doing here? I don't care at all about all these people, they are nothing else than mere strangers to me.

They are suffering, sure, but how could they not? A fucking wave of otherwordly monsters and beasts are invading our damn home planet. It is only obvious that everyone is having a hard time.

Even from where we are now, a whole city away, I still feel the pressure of the storms happening on the other city every now and then, telling me that the damn guy that sacrificed my fathers is there.

More than once I have caught myself thinking about seeking revenge, but I am aware, I am perfectly aware that I would die. Not only are everyone and each of the monsters in my home city stronger than here, like that minotaur. They are intelligent from what I have seen.

There is no way that I will be left to wander around different territories of monsters when I have the potential to be a threat to them in the near future, not at all. I am sure the second I show up there, the father of the small vampire will come to get rid of me.

'Whatever the case, I won't help them with seeking revenge. It's too early to make my move, and I can lose focus on the end goal. Strength, enough to stomp on whoever comes to steal anything from me. I won't let history repeat itself.'

As I muse over my worries, a small child of about 8 years comes to me.

"Hello mister." He starts talking, keeping his sparkling eyes on Bruma's white fluffy hair.

She has been laying on my lap since a while ago, probably noticing my sad feeling resurfacing and thus deciding to stay by my side. I even started petting her unconsciously to calm myself.

'Shit! I am lost in my thoughts again, I need to get a hold of myself for fucks sake!' I try my best to keep a straight face as I look at the young boy.

"Hello there, what happened?"

"..."

"Hello?"

The boy keeps his gaze on Bruma.

"Is that cat yours?"

"Is it not a cat, it's a fox." I answer.

"She is called Bruma and she is my friend." I even let out a small smile.

The boy walks closer and I can even predict what he is going to say.

"Can I pet it?" He asks with sparkling eyes as he eyes Bruma's white fur.

"Only a little okay?"

I let the boy get closer and I help him to slowly bring his small hand to pet her so that she doesn't attack the poor guy.

Thankfully, she just enjoys the petting without making a sound.

"I had a cat too before the bad guys showed up, its name was Blackie. I begged my fathers for days to get them to buy it for me, but he ran away when the monsters showed up."

'Hahhh. Why are the victims always the most innocent ones? I can't even start to imagine what this poor fella went through, for him to stay so innocent and sane. People around him must have really tried their best to shield him from everything bad.' As I think so, I can't help but take a look around, getting a good look of the survivors.

Most of the people in this group are in their 40s or 50s, but a large part is still formed by the elderly. I look around, hoping to find the couple that helped me, but with no success.

'Just what made all these good people hate someone so much?'

'I don't even know what to say to the little guy.'

"Where is your family mister? If you don't have one, we can let you join ours!" The boy points all around as referring to his family.

'I see, he must be an orphan.'

"What's your name my friend?" I don't even know what to think. Is this guy lucky to be alive and have all these guys caring for him? Or would it have been better for him to just die with his family? Is it even possible for so many people to care about a single child?

I shake my head.

'What am I even thinking?'

"I am Troy! And you?"

"I am Leo. You see Troy, I have no parents anymore, but maybe I can find my sister somewhere." I try to convince myself as I say it to him too as I answer his previous question.

"You have a sister? I was going to have a sister too! Too bad my parents didn't have time before the bad guys arrived."

"I am sorry to hear that Troy. My sister was called Leyla, and I see you resemble her a lot."

"Really?"

"Yes, she was always cheerful… She is older than you, she is 15 years old. Actually, scratch that, she should be 16 years old as of now. I am sure she would love to talk with you when I find her." I force a smile.

"Really? I would love to make new friends. I can let you pet Blackie too when I find him." So cheerful even in this situation, humans are really good when it comes to adapting themselves, especially the young ones.

"Sure, sounds like a plan."

I talk with the guy a bit, unable to shoo him away. I just can't bring myself to do it right now.

Minutes pass and I hear steps coming from behind and I turn to face Sera, Maria's sister.

"Leo, we already discussed what we needed too, can you come with me for a second? We want to talk with you about a serious matter, you can let Troy here."

"Okay. See you around Troy, I will tell you about my adventures next time." I eye Troy, who seems satisfied with my answers and gets up to leave.

Sera grabs his right hand and guides him to an old man who seems to be writing in a newspaper.

"Why don't you play with Grandpa in the meantime Troy, we will come soon to have dinner." Sera seems to have a close connection with Troy and the old man as she briefly chats with them before coming back to guide me to their meeting room.

'Let's see what they have in store for me.'