Transcendent Gene
Chapter 47: Early Reunion [1]

Chapter 47: Early Reunion [1]

The world for several tens of kilometers was shadowed by a dark veil.

The black mirrors in the sky and the land connected, bringing forth a star made of pure darkness.

It was a grand enough scene. It was only a shame that it lasted for no more than a split second.

After all, that star was made to kill.

It slammed down into the ground with extreme speed. Gio could no longer see what was going on from where he was, but the rest of the world was privy to that scene.

BOOOOM!

A huge explosion rang out as the sand was evaporated. The star struck on Natalia’s position. She was completely fine within the scope of her own abilities, but what about the beasts encircling her?

The blast radius didn’t stop at the edge of the cave. It traveled past where the wall of flame once stood, collapsing the rock it passed through.

The entire area rumbled with sound. The whole area prayed for the return of light as the darkness attacked its enemies.

The beasts around Natalia were all different with different strengths and abilities, but the raw strength of the darkness made them irrelevant.

The tough skin of the earth dragons was torn apart and corroded. The serpents could not slither and avoid anything, nor could they fight back. Whether they were scaled, feathered, or furred, anything within the radius of that dark explosion was bound to die.

Because nothing in the vicinity could surpass the level that Natalia was currently at.

The winds whipped wildly in response to the force, banging against the cave wall. Even though he was technically trapped inside that cave right now, Gio didn’t think the debris blocking the entrance would remain for much longer.

He listened to those ominous sounds, looking into the darkness with his hands on the Blackwing Blood Serpent’s corpse.

Several seconds passed, almost reaching a minute before silence returned to the world.

Bang!

Then another loud sound blew open the cave entrance, revealing Gio to the light again.

Standing there basking in it was exactly the woman he was expecting, an array of destroyed corpses scattering the ground behind her.

’Unbelievable.’

Gio was able to somewhat understand the strength of those beasts before his view of the battle was blocked.

’They were all at least Tier 4. Does that mean she’s General Rank? But why would she be working for Raymond if she’s that high level?’

At that level, she could have her own team and have a much more flashy career. Was it a matter of loyalty, or was it something else?

As he wondered about it, Natalia approached, sizing up the serpent’s corpse.

"You found something good."

Gio smiled wryly.

"Can I claim finder’s keepers on it?"

"I don’t care about it. I’m here on orders."

Natalia shrugged, turning her gaze to him.

"You’re uninjured?"

He was covered in scratches, so he clearly wasn’t, but he assumed she was asking if he had any bigger injuries.

As such, he shook his head.

"It’s just what you can see. I’ll be fine."

Natalia nodded.

"Come, then. I’ve been told to escort you to the zephyr."

It was somewhat expected.

From the moment she showed up to now, he had more than enough to think about her appearance.

If he wasn’t wrong, Raymond sent a team to keep watch of him some time ago. He didn’t know if it was during their last meeting or the one before that, but that was irrelevant.

In the end, he couldn’t be mad about it. He would have died if Natalia wasn’t present.

’Plus, they didn’t see the most important bits.’

It was clearly occasional surveillance. Otherwise, Raymond would have been far more concerned about his relationship with the Old Lady.

Gio already planned to agree, since he was curious about why Raymond put people on him, but he cast a glance at the corpse first.

"Is there any way for us to–"

"The zephyr can’t hold it unless I break it.’

"Ah, well don’t do that..."

Natalia shrugged again and turned around, leaving the cave. Gio quickly followed. It was unreasonable to expect any positive response, but he figured he’d ask anyway.

Transporting it in pieces was necessary as well. The problem was that if she planned to cut it using her Sequence’s abilities, he was afraid it would leave the corpse damaged.

Since he was safe, he could tell the Old Lady about his success and she could send people to collect the corpse later. It was a much better alternative.

Nevertheless, that was a matter of when he returned to the city. As he followed Natalia out of the cave, his hand resting on the outline of the syringe in one of his belt pockets, Gio spotted the vehicle that had come to pick them up.

It hovered slightly above the ground and was only slightly longer than a car. However, the wings coming out of its sides and the thrusters on its back end made it clear that it was a vehicle meant for flight.

Natalia approached it, waiting for him to arrive as well before speaking.

"Get in. They’ll take you to the zephyr."

"What about you?" Gio asked curiously.

"I have something to take care of."

Natalia’s eyes flashed to a nearby mountain. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect.

Right as Gio followed her gaze, that mountain disappeared.

BOOOOOOOM!

A huge sound came first. Gio’s body instinctively lowered itself as he covered his ears.

In the next second, the shockwave hit.

WHOOOOOSH!

The massive wave of wind almost sent Gio flying backwards. He was lucky that Natalia supported his back, or else it truly would have happened.

He could feel the sand hitting his neck even through the protective gear he wore.

But no other sensation could compare to that sight.

The mountain that existed for only a split second in his vision bore itself into Gio’s memories. He saw what it was meant to look like, but he also saw what was being actively processed by his eyes.

The entire mountain, from base to summit, was obliterated in one go. That sound came from everything inside that mountain being turned to dust at once.

And the cause?

The sight couldn’t be completed unless one spoke about the elephant in the room.

Or, rather, the lizard.

It couldn’t be hidden even in a cloud of dust that big. Its form was almost as tall as the mountain itself, and its piercing eyes with pupils taller than any human glowed bright enough to make it obvious where its gaze was directed.

If the earth dragons that appeared earlier were ten times larger and stood on two legs, they would still be less terrifying than that thing.

"I pissed it off."

The words weren’t spoken loudly, but Natalia’s voice seemed to cut through the cacophony of sound around them and enter Gio’s ear clearly.

"Well, it’s not something you have to worry about."

Despite the appearance of a monster so massive, nobody else reacted.

The two people in the aircraft were as stoic as they had been since Gio first laid eyes on them. It was like they were statues. Natalia’s face was also ice cold and lacking expression, as if she had been expecting this moment.

’She must have sensed it a while back.’

Gio didn’t resist as she opened the aircraft’s door and pushed him inside. When the door closed behind him, sealing him in safety, he could only see that scene through the windows.

That was the danger of the Wilds. Ironically, perhaps Gio was safer because he couldn’t protect himself.

To say that such a beast appeared because Natalia "pissed it off" seemed irrational, but it was basically the truth.

Because she displayed the aura of a powerful human, she attracted an even more powerful beast.

And now, she was left alone to deal with it.

After all, the aircraft containing the only possible reinforcements in the vicinity was already taking off before the dust cloud had even remotely cleared.