Chapter 289: I Won’t Leave You Behind

A Freebound member helped an injured man climb into the back of a truck. Another carried a child who had become too frightened to walk. Kilian’s reinforcements worked alongside them, making sure the vehicles were filled in an orderly manner rather than allowing everyone to rush toward the nearest available seat.

Jade glanced back once. The white mass had already reached the outer edge of the evacuation area.

She could sense the dense energy beneath its surface, but there was no clear way to reach the consciousness hidden inside it from here. Her ability could help her track that presence, perhaps even interfere with its movements, but she couldn’t afford to waste time trying something uncertain while fifteen hundred people were still boarding the vehicles.

Not when their lives depended on getting away.

“Kilian!” she shouted. “How many vehicles are left?”

“Three trucks and two smaller vehicles!”

“Fill them up. I want everyone accounted for before we leave!”

Kilian nodded and turned back to his men.

Jade continued helping until the last group of civilians reached the vehicles. Her gaze moved across the crowd, checking faces and counting people as best she could. It was impossible to know whether everyone had made it out, but she refused to leave without making sure they had done everything they could.

Her mind then wandered around and remembered that Gideon was still there.

That foolish man had told her to leave, given her a teleportation scroll, and walked straight into the Hive Mind as though he had nothing to lose. She could already imagine the expression he would make if she appeared beside him again after he had explicitly told her to stay away.

He would probably complain. Then he would try to send her away again.

Jade clenched her fist. “Just wait, you idiot.”

She had promised Amber that she would return to the Citadel and rescue her princess. She had also promised herself that she would protect the people who had chosen to build a home with her. Those promises were not mutually exclusive, and she had no intention of abandoning either.

First, she would get everyone to safety. Then she would find out what had happened to Gideon.

And if that annoying man was still alive, she would personally make sure he understood that he wasn’t the only person allowed to save someone.

She turned toward the waiting vehicles. It was clear that not everyone would be able to get inside. There were simply too many people and not enough seats.

Jade looked at Kilian. “You and the others can take the trucks. Make sure the injured, children, elderly civilians, and women get priority.”

She then turned toward the rest of his men. “Those who can’t get inside will have to travel on foot. Stay with them and make sure they’re safe.”

All of the men nodded.

“The Hive Mind seems to be in a dormant state for now. It isn’t attacking us, but that doesn’t mean it won’t change its mind. We’re moving in a large group, so any aberrants nearby are bound to notice us. Kill anything that gets in our way and don’t let them reach the civilians.”

“Understood!”

“Then move!”

The vehicles began pulling away, while those who couldn’t find a seat started following them on foot. The injured, children, elderly civilians, and women had been given priority, leaving the remaining survivors to travel alongside the convoy under the protection of Freebound’s personnel.

“How about you?” Kilian asked, still waiting for her answer. “You’re coming with us, right?”

Jade shook her head, but before she could say anything, she noticed the white strands creeping closer. Their movements were difficult to make out through the falling snow, which somehow made the sight even more unsettling.

“Let’s move first.”

Jade followed the retreating group until they reached a stretch of elevated rocks overlooking the road. The uneven terrain offered them a better view of the surrounding area, though the white ground still made it difficult to see very far ahead.

From there, she could keep an eye on the white strands creeping out of the settlement while the survivors continued their evacuation.

Kilian stopped beside her. “You’re coming with us, right?”

Jade glanced toward the distant settlement. “No. I’m staying here.”

His expression changed immediately. “What? Why? And where is Gideon, I didn’t see him at all? He… isn’t dead, right?” his tone turned low as if scared of the possibility.

“I need to keep an eye on the Hive Mind.” She paused, then added, “And Gideon is fine… I think.”

Kilian stared at her as if he hadn’t heard correctly. “Gideon? What do you mean?”

“He let it swallow him.”

“What?!” Kilian’s voice rose in disbelief. “How the hell did that happen? He’s strong enough to tear through an entire horde of aberrants! If even he can be swallowed, doesn’t that mean the Hive Mind is far more dangerous than we thought?”

“It is.” Jade didn’t try to reassure him. There was no point pretending otherwise. “But he did it deliberately. We don’t have many options left, Kilian. He believes the Hive Mind’s consciousness is somewhere inside that mass. If he can reach it, he might be able to destroy it from within.”

“And if he can’t?”

“Then I’ll go after him before it’s too late.”

Kilian’s expression tightened. He looked toward the settlement, then back at her. For a moment, it seemed he wanted to argue. Jade couldn’t blame him. Leaving someone behind while the Hive Mind was still moving toward them was hardly a sensible decision.

But she had already made hers.

“You’re going with them,” she continued. “They need someone to lead them, and I can’t do that while keeping watch over the Hive Mind. It might pursue the survivors once it realizes we’ve escaped. If Gideon and I don’t return, you must get everyone away from here. Don’t wait for us.”

Kilian looked deeply unhappy with the arrangement. “Jade…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” She gave him a faint, tired smile. “You know I’m not asking you to abandon us. I’m asking you to make sure these people survive.”

He held her gaze for a few seconds before finally letting out a frustrated breath.

“Fine. But you’d better come back.”

“I intend to.”

Kilian hesitated once more, then turned and hurried after the retreating group. Jade watched until he caught up with the others, making sure he didn’t look back again.

Only when the last of them had moved farther down the road did she turn toward Climber Rift.

The white strands were still advancing beneath the snowfall.

Jade tightened her grip on her weapon and took a steady breath. She had no intention of letting Gideon face whatever was waiting inside that thing alone.

Not if she could help it.

The problem was, how could she reach Gideon? And what would happen if she got swallowed again? Would the Hive Mind trap her in another illusion? Would she be able to tear it apart just as she had the last time?

She shook her head. “Now isn’t the time to worry about that. I just need to find Gideon’s body…”

She hoped she would be able to establish a connection with his consciousness. If necessary, she might even be able to tear apart the artificial space the Hive Mind had created.

“This needs to work.”

***

Gideon couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The System wasn’t helping him either, displaying nothing but a countdown. He couldn’t pinpoint whether this was another trick from the Hive Mind, but one thing was certain.

“You couldn’t even show me a hallucination inside my mind before. So why should I trust you now?”

“It’s because there was a wall surrounding your body that prevented us from seeing inside your head. Now that the wall is gone, we can finally see what you truly are.”

The Hive Mind’s voice echoed around him, sometimes whispering into his right ear before shifting to his left. The sensation sent a shiver down his spine.

It had a point. His System was indeed rebooting.

“Aren’t you curious about what you are? Why is your body stronger and different from everyone else’s? Even your beloved Delilah has noticed it.”

The Hive Mind laughed.

“If you join us, we will show you the truth behind that sound. You won’t regret it.”

Gideon was curious. He couldn’t deny that. But he had no reason to trust something capable of driving a perfectly healthy man insane by making him hallucinate his own brother. Besides, his sister was real. There was no way Callista was merely a figment of his imagination. She was just as real as he was.

He glanced at Callista, whose figure now looked more like a malfunctioning robot than a human being.

“Why would I trust you? You deceived Jasper into attacking us, and you used Aaron to shoot me.” His voice dropped. “And even if you’re telling the truth, I’d only become part of your collective consciousness, another parasitic idiot controlled by something else.”

“Who is your master? Who created you?”

Gideon raised his voice. The countdown on his System seemed to crawl endlessly. Only fifty-nine seconds remained, yet he was more interested in tearing this thing apart than worrying about the time.

“You want to know? Join us, and you will find out. We are the answer to every problem on this planet, even the monster buried deep underground that will hatch sooner or later.”