The Transcenders

Chapter 77 - Obscure War (16)

"I am Bryan Moon, a member of Ejiro's team. We were supposed to meet the rebels at Karl's main gate, but they were all killed. Ejiro is being held hostage in Karl City."

Gabriella looked East, where she could spot Karl City's walls in the distance. Her blood boiled as she clenched her fists. "Where are you right now?"

"We are still in Redan. We've contacted the Western Army, and they will be here by tomorrow."

"Alright. Stay safe." Gabriella tapped on her earphone twice to hang up. She called Stephen Cure.

"Stephen-"

"I know." He wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Please stay in Razorpoint City and wait for the Western Army's signal before pushing towards Karl City. There's another matter too. The reptoids have conquered the second layer's Lycanport City."

"What? But we had a rebel camp there!"

"That's the problem. The reptoids were disguised as rebels."

"What about Aaron? Is he safe?"

Christopher Fireblood stared at her, trying to determine what they were discussing.

"I'm sorry, Gabriella. The cameras spotted Aaron getting dragged into the Second Layer. They've taken him."

"Where?!" Gabriella's voice became hoarse as she choked on her words.

"I don't know. He may already be dead." Stephen sounded sad despite having known Aaron for only a few days.

The static noise started again. Someone else was calling Gabriella.

[Incoming call: Aaron] said the earphone's system.

"Wait, then how is he... calling me?" Gabriella hung up on Stephen.

"Aaron!"

She sounded relieved; she wanted to believe he was safe. But evidently, Aaron had been captured.

"Hello, Gabriella Rivampe," a girlish voice said.

"W-who are you?" Strangely, the voice sounded identical to Gabriella's, as if she was talking to herself. The only difference was that the reptoid spoke with a smile.

"Do you want to see your friends, Aaron and Ejiro? They're with me right now."

"You!" Gabriella's blood level rose, and her cold, pale face heated up.

"Look at the news if you're curious about our last 'session.'" The call ended abruptly, leaving Gabriella overwhelmed by a sense of dread. She looked up the news.

...

Three hours earlier, Karl City. Not long after Zephyr left for his meeting, his wife, Stana, arrived in this city.

Stuck in the dark room, Aaron stared at his feet while Ejiro stared at the ceiling's light, both thinking silently, trying to catch either a whiff or a glimmer of hope in their dire situation.

There was a door, but not a ray of light broke through to them. A hallway waited behind it, attached to an elevator. They were deep underground.

"What's that noise?" Ejiro heard footsteps approaching. Aaron deduced it was a woman from the loud clicking her shoes made: she was wearing high heels.

It stopped right before the door. There was a mix of grinding and clanging, intermingled with the sound of a key being turned. The door opened with a loud thud.

Aaron was immediately blinded; it felt like staring at the sun when the hall's lights contaminated the room.

Ejiro, who had already adapted his eyes, was shocked by who he saw. "Gabriella?!"

"How are you here?" Aaron squinted his eyes. Although he couldn't see clearly, he could still tell it was her figure.

The strange Gabriella closed the door behind her, blinding Ejiro and Aaron with darkness. She flipped a light switch. The room glowed in a red tone.

The lights made her face look crimson, painted in blood. She smiled from ear to ear. "This is going to be fun~"

Ejiro was annoyed. "Hurry and untie us, please."

The reptoid, Stana, jumped towards him, but just slow enough to make him let down his guard. Instead of getting rid of his handcuffs and untying him as he expected, the fake Gabriella grew her claws and rooted them inside his shoulder, breaking multiple bones in a loud crackle.

Aaron couldn't see what had happened. He heard the loud, sickening crunches, followed by a high-pitched scream. Ejiro was in pain. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his nervous system sent into an uproar. The slightest movement made a grinding sound in his shoulder, resulting in even broader pain.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Ejiro finally managed, looking at Gabriella with chilly eyes.

"You're not Gabriella!" Aaron tried to move, to do something, but Ejiro, tied to him, was too caught up in the agonizing pain to help him. "Ejiro, the plan!"

Hearing Aaron's voice amidst his rage, Ejiro stood up, his back on the chair, and together they tackled the simulacrum. Yet, Stana was stronger than Gabriella. She pushed them across the room, her explosive force leaving a crack at the bottom of the screen.

Aaron and Ejiro were too hurt to fight back.

"I'll have to teach you a long lesson!"

...

They had lost track of time. In a daze, half asleep, half awake, every time their bodies had adjusted to the new bruises, the reptoid would torture them some more. They couldn't breathe well since adhesive tape covered their mouths.

Aaron had managed to bear the torture better due to his experience in the soul transportation machine. He was meditating. Meanwhile, Ejiro had to apply a technique he had heard about, counting backwards: 1000-7, 993-7, and so forth.

The screen suddenly turned on. Ejiro managed to turn his eyes towards it. It was their own, gory projection. They had lost all of their fingernails and toenails. The maniac had dislocated Ejiro's fingers, but only on one hand, making it impossible to slide off the anti-magic handcuffs. He had many horizontal cuts on his forearms. All it would take to kill him was a slight, vertical cut.

"860-7, 853-7..."

Aaron's vision was blurry; blood leaked into his eyes. He had three giant scratches on his forehead and more across his cheeks. His muscular body had gotten torn apart. She had even dislocated his foot, flipping it towards his opposite one. Finally, it seemed like he had two right arms.

"...839..." Ejiro muttered with his dry lips. "What have you done?"