Chapter 192 - A Dead End

"I don't think that's normal."

Rynold walked ahead of the other two and soon arrived at their destination. And, judging by the look of things, none of this seemed conventional.

"What do you mean?" Neana asked from on top of the golem's shoulder. She had been sitting there for quite a while now, and Rynold wouldn't dare say anything about it.

"Well," Rynold stopped and turned around, "There's nobody around here. Technically, we're already within city premises. Even though this place is at the very edge, there should be some people around here. But, as far as I can tell, it's nothing but a ghost town. It's just like the slums that we passed by on the way here."

Admittedly, Rynold wasn't expecting much.

Ever since crossing the slums, Rynold believed that some parts of the city were overrun. That said, he still expected there to be some survivors. Or at least some signs of them.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Rynold's hope slightly dwindled as he proceeded to look around. And, as depressing as it was, Rynold had no choice but to keep moving forward.

The landscape was similar to the suburban area that Rynold's been to before. Buildings like these often took up the edge of the city. And, Rynold was no stranger to them.

But, what felt eerie about this place was the fact that it was empty. Suburban areas weren't famous for their abundance of people, but it was odd that no single soul was around.

At this point, Rynold doubted himself and thought that he might have been overthinking it. Neana paid his worries no mind while the kid seemed distracted as he took in the sights. Both of which contributed to Rynold's self-doubt.

However, just a second later, the doubt cleared up.

Halting his advance, Rynold motioned Neana to stop as well. Noticing this, Neana immediately ordered her stone golem to do just that.

Then, Rynold turned around and approached Neana. His steps were careful and alert, while his senses seemed wary for any incoming threats. No matter how Neana looked at it, this could have only meant one thing.

"What is it?" Neana asked in a whisper as Rynold approached.

"There's something up the road," Rynold answered, "I'm not sure what it is or how dangerous it could be. All I know is there's some weak trace of life coming from there."

Axiom's scanners were always running. It was one of the few features the Accord Sphere had. Sure, it had a lot of room for improvement, but Axiom was reliable when it came to tracing any potential danger. And, this thing up the road could be one.

"Well," Neana asked as she got off the golem's shoulder, "What should we do?"

"Check things out. See if they're dangerous. Then, decide from there," Rynold answered, then turned to the golem, "We need to do things quietly, though. So, you might want to cancel the summoning. Hey, kid! Get down from there!"

"Fair enough," Neana nodded as she waved her hand in one motion. Parts of the golem then crumbled and fell, leaving a small bundle of rocks in its place.

"Good, good," Rynold acknowledged as he turned to the kid who seemed to be distracted by his surroundings. "Hey," Rynold approached and patted the child on his shoulder, catching his attention. "We're about to do something dangerous, okay? So, I need you to make a decision here. Either you come with us or stay someplace safe. Whichever you decide, it's entirely up to you."

Rynold knew the risks. In fact, he knew the risks so well that he was offering the kid to choose for himself. The reason being was that if things did go wrong, the kid would have a much better chance of survival than Rynold and Neana combined.

"I'm coming with you," the kid answered with a strange sense of enthusiasm. He clearly didn't know what he had just agreed to, but Rynold didn't really mind that.

"That's fine," Rynold nodded as he let go of the kid's shoulder, "Don't forget what you promised, alright? And, try not to do anything stupid, okay?"

Leaving it at that, Rynold was the first to move to the source of the potential danger. But, just when he passed by Neana, she suddenly pulled him by the arm.

"Are you sure you want to bring him along with us?" Neana asked as she whispered over Rynold's shoulder. Being that close, Rynold could hear the worry in Neana's quiet voice.

"Don't worry," Rynold reassured, "It's going to be alright. Besides, I need to find out what he's actually capable of doing."

At this point, Rynold might have been oversimplifying things. They were about to venture towards an unknown entity. There was no telling how dangerous this person could be.

But, that doesn't seem to be the point of Neana's worries.

"Look," Rynold spoke in a calm, sincere voice. "Whatever's up ahead, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. You've got my back, and I've got yours. No matter what, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. And, hey, I'm pretty sure that your magic's a lot stronger than mine."

As much as Rynold could help it, he didn't want Neana to get nervous about what was ahead. He didn't want to say some bald-faced lie, either. So, Rynold told what he thought. His opinion on the matter that was true to him.

Whether she believed it or not, Rynold had no idea. All Rynold really needed was for Neana to feel calm, to have the strength to follow through.

"Whatever," Neana scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Let's just get going."

Hearing the response, Rynold chuckled a bit and motioned the kid to catch up. He then ran up to Neana's side and walked alongside her. Although Rynold hadn't mentioned it this time around, he truly felt comfortable next to Neana.

It felt as though no matter what dangers they would face, Rynold wouldn't be afraid as long as Neana was with her. It was stupid, Rynold admitted, but it somehow worked in his favor, regardless.

With that, Rynold and the two others soon left from where they stood.

Rynold led the way while Neana and the kid stayed close behind. He wasn't sure what supposed dangers were ahead of them, but Axiom's scans made Rynold feel calm. Nothing could honestly surprise him, but Rynold was still careful.

"Hold up," Rynold stopped behind a wooden fence. "We should be able to see the target from here. So, stay down, alright?"

As Rynold whispered these things out, he then peeked through a nearby hole in the fence. It was then that Rynold realized the target led them to a cul-de-sac within this neighborhood. And, not only that, but it seems that something had torn down the buildings in this cut-off road.

'Weird,' Rynold thought as his one eye dotted around the place.

The road that led to this place was a dead end. Meaning, there was only one way in and out of this road as any other path was blocked off. Although that, in itself, never really bothered Rynold before, the situation now was different.

Opposite of where Rynold was, overgrown thorns seemed to have blocked off the other side. Not only that, but it also looked like the thorns broke down the buildings too.

Judging by the looks of it, the thorns could have been naturally grown. If somebody had told Rynold that, he would believe it. Because of its overall wild and sporadic appearance, it was passable as such. And, its omnidirectional growth made it all the more believable.

Rynold would've left it at that, pinning the weird-looking and overgrown thorns to natural causes. Unfortunately, the situation wasn't that simple.

Shifting his gaze to the center of the cul-de-sac, Rynold saw someone. A person, perhaps? Rynold couldn't tell from this distance. But, he was sure that this 'person' was humanlike.

"What do you see?" Neana whispered as she became impatient. Even though they didn't wait for very long, the anxiety seemed to have gotten to her.

Removing his face from the fence, Rynold sat down on the small patch of grass they were hiding in. From there, he sighed and shook his head. Then, he turned to Neana with a somewhat dissatisfied look on his. It appeared as though the situation didn't meet Rynold's expectations.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you," Rynold said as he recalled what little information he got from the short survey of the environment. That said, there really wasn't much around. "There's just some dude standing in the middle of the road. I can't tell what he's doing, apart from standing completely still and breathing."

"What do we do, then?"

As soon as the kid asked that, Rynold fell silent. In truth, he may have been overthinking things. Who knows? The person might as well have been some dude who had nothing better to do. Axiom's scans even noted the guy as barely a threat.

So, how they would approach the situation would range from a calm approach to running in with guns blazing. Rynold was on the fence about choosing which one as either option was viable.

"Hmm...," Rynold let out a mumble after his brief moment of silence. "Well, how about we walk in slowly? And see where we go from there?"

"W-what?" Neana, baffled, questioned Rynold's sense of calm. She was sure that he had reason to be so, but it all seemed a bit absurd. "Are you sure? That doesn't seem very safe."

"It's fine," Rynold said as he stood up. Then, he casually and leisurely took a stroll forward from where they were hiding. He was the first to reveal himself as he walked up the road that led to the dead-end. He did so without care nor fear.

As Rynold took this straightforward approach, the kid soon followed. He raced towards Rynold at a brisk pace, leaving Neana behind. Naturally, she wouldn't allow being left behind and soon reluctantly followed too.

'The fuck is that?'

With his view now unobstructed, Rynold could see who they were dealing with. As to what it actually was, though, Rynold wasn't quite so sure.

'Scan.'

Immediately activating the spell, Rynold soon knew what they were in for.

'Fuck!'

His calm pace became rapid as Rynold ran towards the man at full speed. With Mana Gauntlets extended to Strength-form, Rynold wouldn't dare give his target any time to breathe. And, as soon as he arrived next to the person, Rynold swung his fists without holding back.

The entire series of events took less than two seconds. Rynold's decisiveness became unparalleled in the split second he realized what this thing was.

His fist crashed into the thing's body like soft clay. Rynold didn't dare hold back as he Augmented the Mana Gauntlets for another strike. In which the second strike managed to throw the thing to the ground.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rynold threw a series of punches at the already downed opponent. Rynold didn't dare let up as he struck down with great violence. He even threw in a Charging Fist for safe measure. Rynold didn't stop until he was sure it was dead.

From a few feet away, Neana was shocked by Rynold's sudden actions. His mad appearance made Neana feel uneasy as Rynold sent punch after punch at his opponent.

It was strange to see him like that, Neana thought.

But, Rynold paid this no mind as he soon took his opponent down. As he steadied his stance, Rynold stood over the beaten creature's disappearing body. Overall, Rynold was satisfied, albeit his methods were a tad excessive.

"Why'd you do that?" Neana asked with her voice shaking slightly. She tried to force herself calm, but it was to no avail. She was just too shocked by the look on Rynold's face as he mercilessly struck down his opponent.

"This might be a lot more dangerous than I thought," Rynold answered as he exhaled deeply.