Transcendent Gene
Chapter 127: Cult Encampment [5]

Chapter 127: Cult Encampment [5]

Natalia and Jax looked like they were moving slowly, but that was only if one specifically paid attention to their every movement.

In reality, they crossed the camp rapidly. Jax remained a hazy figure that Gio could barely make out when he tried to look for him, and Natalia was nowhere to be seen.

They didn’t communicate, but there was no need to.

They already knew what they were meant to do.

’For me...’

Jax looked around the camp.

Natalia was in charge of finding and surveilling Mother Baba. His job was to find any other points of interest within the camp to explore.

’Usually, they like to hide stuff underground, but I don’t know about here...’

Even if there was something there, it could be explored later.

’Right now...’

He snuck through the crowd. Keeping his body in a semi-solid state drained a substantial amount of energy, meaning he had to use every second wisely.

His body arrived behind Gio before the boy could begin to sense his presence.

"Report."

His voice was lower than a whisper, arriving directly in Gio’s ears.

Jax was lucky that Gio had numbed his body again. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to hold his surprise.

He calmed his heart and spoke. He was present for the briefing and knew Jax’s role, after all.

"There’s a woman in the blue-green tent over there. She’s the one who brought me in. Her role seems important. Everyone else is drugged out and hysterical."

"Copy."

The feeling of a light breeze was the only thing announcing Jax’s departure as he went to check the lead.

That woman didn’t seem strong. To Gio, she had the aura of an ordinary human mixed with something stranger. If she was a powerful Sequencer, then she was very good at hiding not only her energy, but also the physical and emotional cues that would out her.

Gio didn’t know how much information Jax could get from shadowing her. Unless he could interrogate her and succeed in getting information out of her mouth, Gio doubted that she’d be of any help at all.

’I can feel it from her more than I can from these people. The ordinary cult members here...they’re just brainwashed. She’s the only one who really seems like a fanatic.’

He suspected that she was the Apocalypse Church’s eyes in the camp.

’But if they sent eyes, then the others should have too...’

The force that they were trying to contact had to be of an equal or higher level. In other words, they wouldn’t be stupid enough to allow Mother Baba to run this camp as she pleased without any supervision.

’Hmm...’

Gio looked around the camp. His eyes landed on the red and gold tent where Mother Baba was. Natalia had probably already made her way inside.

If she could stay blended in with the shadows long enough, she was bound to hear many interesting things.

’I should use this time.’

He didn’t know what he was looking for, but there had to be signs. There had to be something differentiating the spy from the rest.

In the same way that the woman who helped Gio openly presented herself as a connection, the other side would too.

None of these forces were weak enough to hide their intentions from each other. It was more likely for them to openly provoke each other so their allies wouldn’t think of them as people to control.

’But everyone I can see is normal...’

Normal was an overstatement. The drugs in the food had fully taken root in their minds.

There were two types of fanatics. The first was these people. They were fanatics without real purpose who would be willing to die for their cause but couldn’t truly do anything to fight for it. People like them, at least the ones who were subjected to this state willingly, were those who’d given up on life and the world.

The second type was like that woman. She was a person with true faith backing her fanaticism. She had power and will. She had not given up on the world. Rather, she believed her fanaticism existed to save it. This type was much more dangerous, as people like her could truly make a difference in the world if given the opportunity.

’Someone like that, someone who has purpose...’

Gio looked aimlessly for it, almost certain he would find nothing. Several minutes passed in radio silence. Natalia and Jax were properly in position and doing their duties. For the rest of them, there was nothing to do but–

"...!"

Gio’s eyes suddenly widened into saucers. A flood of icy water poured over his heart.

From the corner of his eyes, he barely caught sight of a lick of blonde hair falling out of someone’s hood as they turned their head.

Gio’s heart went cold as the sight was related to a memory from the past. He snapped his head in that direction, his eyes following the individual as she pulled the hood back over her head and moved towards Mother Baba’s tent.

He only caught a single glimpse of her face.

It wasn’t the face he remembered, either.

But he didn’t doubt the [Memory Book] in the slightest. He didn’t doubt that the connection his Original Gene brought to the forefront of his mind was real.

’I have to–’

Before he could move in her direction, she rushed into Mother Baba’s tent.

And in the next moment, it was already too late.

BOOM!

Plumes of fire rose into the sky, replacing the red and gold of the tent with much brighter shades of the same colors. The burst resounded with a "Crack!" before dispersing into a more normal explosion.

The cultists around the camp snapped their heads in the direction of the flame cloud, but their eyes didn’t show fear for more than a second before their expressions reverted to joy and reverence.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

"They have come!"

"They are coming for us!"

Their nonsensical screams filled the air, but one voice stood out from the rest.

"I’ve been exposed."

Natalia spoke through comms. Gio could vaguely see her within the flames as a bundle of darkness, but the looming shadow above her...

"Captain, I’m making an executive decision," she said.

WHOOOSH!

Gio was pushed into the wall behind him by a great gust of wind. The flame cloud in the center of the camp was enveloped in darkness and swallowed. When the darkness melded into the night sky, only the beings within the inferno were left in its place.

Natalia faced Mother Baba, who was looking down at her with a look of disgust. Her body had expanded to five times its size along with her fury. The girl Gio saw was standing behind her, coldly observing the situation.

"You dare make me waste my vitality, you filthy Rat?!"

She screamed with pure wrath in her voice.

"Do you know how long I spent saving this much vitality?! Do you understand how hard it is to find people to take it from when my every move is being watched?!"

Natalia watched with a frown. She raised her arm and sent forth several bolts of darkness, but when they collided with Mother Baba’s flesh, they were absorbed and turned into nothing.

"Tch."

She clicked her tongue. She’d already tried several times, but the moment Mother Baba took her current form, she became untouchable.

Because, as she said, all of the vitality she had been storing had been released and was now actively draining from her body as she used it.

Mother Baba had a twisted Original Gene like that. Her ability allowed her to steal vitality from others and use it for her own purposes. Whether she wanted youth, strength, or something else, she could use vitality to give it to herself.

As an immediate response to Natalia’s assassination attempt when she was exposed, Mother Baba had no choice but to use all of her vitality to fortify herself.

However, with that protection, she was able to do much more.

Her form changed, shrinking rapidly. Before Natalia could charge and attack her while she was in the midst of it, she’d already reached her desired state.

Bang!

Her arm went up, clashing against Natalia’s blade as if it was also made of metal.

Voom! Voom! Voom!

Three waves of darkness spread from the blade, crashing into Mother Baba’s skin.

However, when Natalia looked at the point of impact, she saw nothing more than a slight redness on her opponent’s skin.

It was already too late to keep the original purpose of the mission intact.

The moment Natalia was exposed, their goal changed from reconnaissance to elimination.

And the moment she made the call to kill Mother Baba, the rest of the team acted as well.

BOOOOOOOM!

With a huge bang, a plume of fire and lightning replaced a section of the fortress walls.

Raymond and Jason charged into the camp, the rest of the team not far behind.

Since it had come to this, they had to achieve success in another way.

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