Chapter 98: LITTLE COUSIN

VIVIAN/ OTHERS

It was already seven in the evening, Lucien had left when Vivian received a call from the Serial Team.

She was in the middle of packing her belongings when her communicator rang.

"Vivian, where are you?" Serial asked.

"We’re leaving for a Beast Hunting Mission. Get here as soon as possible."

Vivian glanced at the mess around her house.

"I’m coming."

She ended the call and continued packing. She gave her properties to Vega’s soldiers to take it home and promised to be back that night.

An hour later, she finally arrived at the designated location.

Several students going on missions were already waiting for their partners.

The moment Herbert spotted her, he walked over and knocked her on the head.

"Hey! What took you so long?"

Vivian slapped his hand away.

"Don’t touch my head!"

She glared at him. "I was packing. I got a new house, you know."

Serial turned around. "A new house?"

Vivian nodded.."Yes. I’m moving."

Herbert looked at her suspiciously.

"How did you manage that? Did you rob someone?"

Vivian rolled her eyes. "With your intelligence, you should be worried about how to survive the mission instead of asking me stupid questions."

"Who are you calling stupid?!"

"You."

"Vivian!"

She ignored him and looked around.

"By the way, where’s the new member of our team?"

"I’m here."

A familiar female voice sounded behind her.

Vivian turned. Her expression froze. Standing behind Serial was Ariel, the healer.

Beside her stood another familiar face.

The student with the Mind Ability they had encountered during their first academy mission.

Vivian’s smile slowly disappeared. She turned toward Serial.

Then she looked at Herbert. "What do you mean?"

Herbert scratched the back of his head.

He glanced at Serial. Serial lowered his head. Neither of them spoke.

Vivian’s eyes narrowed. "Someone better explain before I start making guesses."

Ariel stepped forward. "I’m sorry, Vivian."

She looked genuinely uncomfortable. "When I asked to join your team, I had one condition."

Vivian waited.

"Eric had to join me."

Ariel turned toward the young man beside her.

He smiled. Then he walked toward Vivian and extended his hand.

"Hello."

His smile widened.

"I’m Eric... Astronova."

He paused deliberately. "Your cousin."

Vivian stared at his outstretched hand.

Astronova!! Of course. Suddenly, everything made sense.

She remembered the way he had targeted her during their first academy mission. She remembered his strange behavior and the way he had watched her.

This man was an Astronova. No wonder he had been interested in her.

Vivian’s fingers curled slightly.

Then she smiled. "Nice to meet you."

She didn’t take his hand.

Instead, she turned and walked away.

Eric slowly lowered his hand. His smile remained, but something cold flickered in his eyes.

Interesting!

The team soon arrived at the transportation array.

Just before they entered, Serial caught Vivian’s hand.."Vivian, I’m sorry."

She looked at him.

He sighed.."We needed Ariel."

Vivian remained silent.

"She’s a healer, and most of the healers have already joined other teams. We started too late. A lot of students formed their teams last week."

Serial lowered his voice. "I didn’t want you to be disadvantaged during the missions."

Vivian looked at his hand holding hers.

Then she gently pulled away. "It’s fine."

She wasn’t happy about Eric joining them, but she understood Serial’s situation.

Besides, she couldn’t expect everyone to sacrifice their opportunities for her peace..and a healer is needed she can’t use her powers always..even though Serial knew she had healing powers but she CAN’T use it all the time. To be cautious.

She turned slightly. Eric was watching her.

His gaze made her uncomfortable.

There was something strange about him.

Something that made the back of her neck prickle.

Vivian couldn’t explain it, but her instincts were screaming at her to stay away from him.

Why does he keep looking at me like that?

Before she could think further, Serial called everyone into the transportation array.

A flash of light enveloped them. The next moment, they disappeared.

******

The team arrived in Ignora Dark forest.

The atmosphere was dark, and the trees were so enormous that their branches blocked most of the evening light.

The moment they stepped out of the array, a foul smell assaulted their noses.

Vivian frowned.

"What is that smell?"

Then she heard a crunching sound.

Crack....Crunch! Everyone turned.

Six enormous beasts were gathered in a clearing. They were feasting on the corpse of a Soldier Beast Human.

Blood stained the ground. One of the beasts lifted its head.

Its yellow eyes landed on the newcomers.

The other five followed. For a moment, nobody moved.

Herbert’s lips trembled.

"O-o-oh..."

He swallowed. "Bad luck."

The beasts roared.

ROOOAAARRR! "RUN!" Herbert screamed.

"RUN WHERE?!" Vivian shouted back.

The nearest beast lunged at them.

Serial immediately drew his weapon. "Formation! Don’t let them surround us!"

The team scattered into position.

Two beasts charged toward Serial and Herbert.

Another three rushed toward Vivian, Ariel, and Eric.

The final beast circled around them, waiting for an opportunity to attack.

Vivian’s expression hardened.

Six beasts at once?

Was the academy trying to kill us?

The first beast swung its massive claws toward her.

Vivian ducked. The claws struck a tree behind her, splitting its trunk.

She rolled across the ground and sprang back to her feet. "That was close!"

The beast roared and charged again. Vivian summoned her spiritual energy into her gun. And put on her flying boots..

She wasn’t going to reveal too much of her strength, but she couldn’t afford to be careless either.

She flew forward and struck the beast’s head with her Energy gun.

BAM! The impact made it stagger.

Before it could recover, Vivian jumped and kicked its jaw with her knee.

The beast’s enormous head jerked sideways. It crashed into the ground.

Vivian landed on one knee. She looked at her fist.

Not bad.

Then the beast got back up.

Vivian’s smile disappeared. "Why are you so durable?! Aren’t you tired because I am.."

It lunged at her again.

This time, Vivian twisted sideways and grabbed one of its horns.

Using its own momentum, she pulled it forward and slammed her knee into its head.

BOOM! The beast staggered but stood its ground.

He used his ability to spread black water from its mouth..it was smelly and slimy..

Vivian immediately jumped away before it could pour the smelly water on her body.

Serial.used his ability to ice the black water on the beast body.

"One down!"

Ariel stood behind her, her hands glowing with healing energy.

"Vivian, your arm!"

Vivian glanced down.

A shallow wound ran along her forearm.

"It’s nothing."

Ariel hurried forward and released a wave of healing energy over it.

The wound slowly closed.

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it!"

Ariel smiled. Then her expression changed.

"Behind you!"

Vivian turned.

Another beast was already upon her.

She barely had time to raise her arms before a powerful impact sent her sliding backward.

Her back struck a tree. Vivian had a feeling that the beasts were constantly attacking her with no good reason.

Pain shot through her body.

"Ugh!"

The beast opened its mouth, revealing rows of sharp teeth.

Vivian stared at it.

Then she smiled coldly.

"You really picked the wrong person to mess with. Deliberately or not."

Her spiritual energy surged.

She rushed forward before the beast could attack again, slipped beneath its claws, and struck the underside of its jaw.

The beast’s head snapped upward.

Vivian followed with another blow to its chest.

BOOM! It crashed to the ground.

She didn’t give it time to recover. She used all her Lotus energy to give it One final strike, it landed directly on its head.

The beast stopped moving.

Meanwhile, Serial and Herbert were having their own problems.

"Herbert! Left!"

"I KNOW!"

Herbert jumped aside as a beast’s claws swept past his face.

He swung his weapon with all his strength.

The blade struck the beast’s shoulder, but the creature barely reacted.

Herbert stared at it.

"Why is your skin harder than military armor?!"

The beast roared.

Herbert screamed and ran.

"SERIAL! HELP ME!"

Serial sighed.

"Stop running in circles!"

"THEN MAKE IT STOP CHASING ME!"

Serial’s eyes flashed.

He released his spiritual energy and struck the ground with his weapon.

A shock wave spread through the clearing, forcing the two beasts to stumble.

"Now!"

Herbert immediately turned around and attacked.

The two worked together, one distracting the beasts while the other targeted their weak points.

After several exchanges, one beast collapsed.

Serial finished the second with a powerful strike to its neck.

"That’s three!" Herbert shouted triumphantly.

Serial glanced at him.

"You didn’t kill any of them alone."

"Does that matter? We’re a team!"

Across the clearing, Eric was fighting the remaining beast.

He moved with surprising speed.

Every time the beast attacked, he seemed to know where it would strike before it moved.

He dodged its claws, stepped onto its foreleg, and launched himself toward its head.

A burst of spiritual energy erupted from his hand.

BANG!

The beast crashed to the ground.

Eric landed gracefully.

He dusted off his clothes.

"Pathetic."

Vivian watched him from the corner of her eye.

Her expression remained calm, but her instincts grew more uneasy.

He’s stronger than I expected.

Eric turned toward her.

Their eyes met.

He smiled. Vivian immediately looked away.

She didn’t like that smile. Not one bit.

The final beast charged toward Ariel.

She froze.

"Ah!"

Before the beast could reach her, Vivian rushed forward and shoved Ariel out of the way.

The claws swept across Vivian’s shoulder.

Blood splashed onto her clothes.

"Vivian!" Ariel screamed.

Vivian gritted her teeth. The beast turned around, ready to attack again.

But this time, Vivian didn’t retreat.

She released her spiritual energy into her fist and struck its chest with everything she could safely unleash.

BOOOOM! The beast flew backward.

It crashed against a massive tree.

Before it could get back up, Serial and Eric attacked from opposite sides.

Their combined strikes landed almost simultaneously.

The beast let out a final roar.

Then it collapsed.

Silence descended over the clearing.

Everyone stood still for several seconds, catching their breath.

Herbert was the first to speak.

"We’re alive!"

He threw his weapon into the air. "We actually survived!"

Serial caught the weapon before it hit his head.

"Stop celebrating. Check for injuries."

Ariel immediately hurried toward Vivian.

"Let me treat your shoulder."

Vivian nodded. "Thanks."

As Ariel began healing her, Vivian glanced at the six fallen beasts.

They were enormous.

Their bodies were covered in thick hides, and their flesh was filled with spiritual energy.

Suddenly, a familiar voice screamed inside her consciousness.

EAT THEM!

Vivian’s expression stiffened.

I WANT TO EAT THEM!