Chapter 41: A Rabbit

Lumi thought she would find Evan almost instantly by looking for the familiar crackling light of electricity, but the entire dungeon had fallen into darkness after the battle. The only light came from the faint glow of the emergency lamps along the walls, most of which had already been damaged during the fight.

She took out the torchlight attached to her equipment and switched it on, slowly moving the beam across the ruined path ahead.

Broken stones and pieces of the Anomaly were scattered across the floor, while the remains of the Crimson Veil lay burned along the walls.

"Evan..." Her voice echoed through the empty dungeon.

There was no answer.

Lumi swallowed and continued walking deeper inside. "Evan, are you there?"

Still nothing.

She tightened her grip around the torchlight and walked a little faster, her eyes constantly moving around the dark surroundings.

’Where is he?’

She had expected to see him standing somewhere near the remains of the Anomaly, perhaps already waiting for her to come out and scolding her for ignoring his order.

But there was nothing.

The deeper she went, the quieter the dungeon became.

Lumi suddenly stopped.

Her legs were shaking so badly that she wasn’t sure they would continue carrying her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to gather whatever courage she had left.

’Here goes my brave and tough...’ She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the dark ceiling. ’I really hope there are no zombies inside this dungeon...’

Just thinking about it sent a shiver down her spine.

Out of all the Anomalies she had ever read about, zombies were the ones Lumi hated the most. She could handle giant creatures, strange plants, poisonous insects, and even terrifying-looking monsters, but the thought of encountering something that looked like a dead human walking toward her was enough to make every bit of her courage disappear.

She tightened her grip around the torchlight.

"Okay..." Her voice came out quieter than she intended. "There are no zombies here."

She nodded to herself as though saying it aloud could make it true. "This is just a dungeon. Evan is here. The Anomaly is already dead."

She took another cautious step forward.

’And Evan is definitely not going to let a zombie eat me.’

A quiet chuckle suddenly broke the silence, making her instantly flinch.

"Evan?" Lumi immediately turned around, her torchlight sweeping across the darkness.

A familiar voice came from behind a pile of broken stones nearby. "There are no zombies here..."

Lumi stared at the pile.

A moment later, Evan slowly stepped out from behind the rubble.

His clothes were dusty and slightly torn from the battle, and his hair was messier than usual. Faint traces of electricity still flickered around his fingertips, but compared to earlier, his power seemed much calmer.

He looked at Lumi for a moment before casually continuing, "And honestly, zombies are probably the least scary thing you could encounter in an Anomaly zone."

Lumi blinked. "Then what should I be scared of?"

Evan’s lips curved into a faint smile. "Me."

Lumi stared at him.

Evan took another step forward. "I might eat you alive."

A quiet chuckle escaped him.

Lumi remained completely silent.

’He is joking, right?’ She looked at his expression again. ’But honestly, that’s not funny at all...’

She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond, so she decided to play along.

’Maybe I should laugh?’

Before she could even force out a sound, Evan suddenly laughed. "Ah... you are adorable."

Lumi froze.

’What am I doing?’ She hadn’t even said anything. ’I didn’t even say anything. What does he mean by adorable?’

Her eyes slowly narrowed as she looked at him. ’His mind might have been ruined by all those Rampage incidents.’

Evan’s laughter stopped. He stared at her for a moment before the corner of his lips twitched again. "Don’t look at me like that."

Lumi frowned. "Like what?"

"Like... that..." He arched his eyebrows.

Her head tilted slightly as she thought hard about the meaning of his words.

’Like what? My face? Am I staring at him too much?’

She studied Evan’s expression carefully, ’Wait... He is looking completely fine, but what is different?.’

Evan answered almost immediately.

"I’m not fine, I’m barely holding on. So it would be better for you to go out while you still can..."

Lumi froze. Her eyes widened. For a moment, she simply stared at him.

’He heard that?!’

Evan’s lips curved into a small, amused smile. "Yes."

Lumi’s face went blank.

’He really heard me.’

Her fingers tightened around the torchlight. "How?!"

Evan instantly frowned and plugged his fingers inside his ears, "Calm down little kitty, you are almost hurting my eardrums."

Lumi stepped back instantly, ’Stage Two... Horny Gorilla.’

Evan laughed. "Gorilla? Where did that come from?"

He walked closer, amusement still obvious in his eyes. "And just to clarify, my Spirit Beast isn’t a gorilla." He leaned down slightly until they were at eye level. "It’s a rabbit."

Lumi blinked. ’A rabbit?’

She didn’t really understand what he meant by that, but there was something about Evan’s behavior that felt different from the last time she had seen him like this.

During his previous Rampage, he had been terrifying. His eyes had changed, his power had gone completely out of control, and he had attacked anyone who came near him.

She had already decided that was Stage One: Angry Gorilla.

But now...

Evan was standing in front of her, laughing, teasing her, and even talking about his Spirit Beast as though they were having a perfectly normal conversation.

’Wait... shouldn’t he be angry first?’ Lumi’s eyebrows slowly drew together. ’If Rampage has stages, shouldn’t he start with Angry Gorilla? I mean... he said rabbit, angry rabbit?’

She looked at him carefully.

’Then why did he suddenly skip straight to the...’ Her cheeks warmed, ’flirty one?’

Lumi immediately shook her head.

;No. No, that’s probably not a thing. Whatever, I just need to touch him if he is currently on a Rampage...;

Evan watched her expression change several times, clearly entertained by whatever was going through her mind.

"Are you okay?" Lumi nodded, then cautiously reached for his hand.

Before her fingers could touch him, Evan immediately took a step back, avoiding her hand with a small smile.

Lumi blinked. "Why did you move?"

Evan shook his head and scrunched his nose slightly.

"Nope..." He looked at her with an amused expression. "I like listening to your thoughts. It’s kind of calming me."

Lumi blinked, "My thought?" A second of pause, "So you actually hear everything?!"

"Not everything." His smile faded slightly as he glanced at his own hand before looking back at her.

"When my power is completely out of control, I can’t hear you. It’s more like... everything becomes too chaotic."

Lumi listened carefully.

"But when I’m somewhere in between..." He paused, searching for the right words. "Before I completely lose control, before you completely pull me out, or like right now... when I’m still trying to hold myself back, the connection becomes clearer."

Lumi’s eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, there is such a thing?" She remained completely still, staring at him. "And that’s when you can hear my thoughts?"

Evan nodded.

"Isn’t it better to pull you out right now? Before things get out of control..."

"It is." He smiled faintly. "But I don’t want to... yet."

Lumi looked at him in confusion. "Why?"

Evan’s gaze settled on her, and there was a strange amusement in his eyes.

"Because your thoughts are keeping me calm."