Doubt was a bit of an odd and surprising thing for Haruo. He had little emotions about the whole journey through Atlantis. The things he saw certainly gave him an opinion, but nothing that really made him feel something. It was simply their reality and he accepted such facts. It wasn’t really his place to do anything about it. He had other issues to sort through that their problems were the least of his concern.
Even during the other fight and the ones he watched, it didn’t really have much effect on him. It was just things he expected to happen. They were unavoidable scenarios. Even the one he found himself at the moment was unavoidable. He understood that part. He understood his role needed for the situation.
Yet he still had doubt. He had no answer for it. He just wasn’t certain how things would play out. Now that he knew how Teris’ power worked and how he made the most of the loophole everything changed. A part of him felt more surprised that none of them ran into such scenarios sooner. He thought about the real possibility of it the moment he watched Yuki exploit how their powers work.
It was a strange condition for their power to start. They could completely rewrite the universal laws to their desire with mere thought. It required almost no effort or training to alter reality. Yet, their own body and mind remained immune to their own power. It was the only constant in a world they filled with their imaginations. However, it made less sense that it would stop there, it presented them with an incredible flaw. An ultimate power at the cost of the greatest weakness, frailty.
Covering up those flaws only made sense. Every one of them they met did the same thing to protect themselves and prevent their weakness from being exposed. Yet none of them tried to eliminate it completely. It should be the most natural step. Yet, the fact it didn’t happen meant he didn’t fully understand everything about their power.
Standing back on his feet, Haruo met gazes with Teris. The man that used to be just a lanky appearing scientist altered himself dramatically. ‘How much did this rewrite his body? Will he be able to keep it up?’ While not grossly blown out of proportion by muscle, Teris looked more like a bodybuilder now rather than someone average off the street. Yet the increase in his body also gave him greater speed, something troublesome for Haruo. ‘He seems like a well tested person, so I doubt everything he’s done to himself will end up disadvantageous to him in any way. This is only getting more troublesome.’
His body wasn’t broken from the surprise attack, but it did leave some ringing throughout him. Haruo could continue, he just needed to keep Teris away from him. The lion walked up behind Haruo, nearly completely recovered from the last attacks. ‘I’m not sure how many more animals I can make. I’ve done more than I’ve ever attempted. My body is fine, but I can feel a strange lack of energy. I’m guessing that means I’m not going to be able to make many more… Can I deal with him with what I have left in me?’
Chapter 266 – Unchained Beast
“Coming up with a new plan?” grinned Teris, his eagerness was hardly disguised on his face like the muscle on his body. “I look forward to dissecting it and breaking it down to understand how it works!”
“Rather simplistic.”
“Simplistic, but knowledge and understanding is the greatest a man of science could seek. I’m in the unique position of never being out of new things to discover. This is the greatest life a scientist could want! The dream of everyone!”
In a way, Haruo could understand his desires. While he lacked the strong motivation that Teris seemed to possess to seek out more knowledge and the unknown, Haruo certainly appreciated the effort as one who also sought to learn more. Their goals and motives remained very distant. ‘He’s starting to sound a little preachy and caught up in his own emotions. Maybe that’ll be the edge I need.’
Marching the lion back into combat, Haruo needed to test Teris’ new attributes. He had a good sense already from the first strike. But he needed to know if his animals could even keep up. All Haruo had were his animals. The only advantage of his body was the defensive properties. He knew he could deal with much that Teris tossed at him, unless he tried to increase his body further.
Freed of traps and bombs, the lion had full range to move around. It tried to out flank Teris, but such a thing wasn’t possible. Teris had strength and speed to his advantage. The two clashed once the lion charged in and despite the size, Teris held his position. He clearly had to struggle with the lion, but in the end, the lion was tossed away. ‘So it’s not going to be enough.’
Teris walked over to the collapsed lion. Lust carved deeply into his eyes. He had to know how it worked. The lion tried to fight back against Teris’ strength, but was overpowered. It was futile. Ripped apart and wounded of its pride, the lion laid unable even to move after Teris finished. Its regeneration kept it alive even when it rather died.
Rubbing his chin in thought, Teris stared with great intent. ‘I’ve destroyed plenty of these already. Size and strength notwithstanding, it’s very resistant more than the others. Is it because it is larger or for different reasons? The regenerative properties also seem to be more powerful as well.’ A constantly reviving subject made things easier for Teris, but also complicated matters. He had to be quick if he wanted to reach deeper.
Glancing back to Haruo, who remained still the whole time made him ponder something else. “Afraid? Scared… No, you are an interesting one indeed.” Teris picked up the lion and cast it at Haruo. The speed should have been enough to surprise even Haruo, but he just stepped aside. The lion dropped just out of reach. “There’s nothing there. I can’t see anything in your eyes. Surprise, sorrow, hate, nothing. You’re completely devoid of any emotion.”
“I’ve no need for such things. They’ve all been burned from my body.”
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“Now that’s very interesting. However, it does explain something. Why you’re so difficult to motivate. You’ve got no passion.”
Raising his eyebrows, Teris’ reaction left him a little curious why it mattered. He didn’t know why it was important. “It’s unnecessary.”
Teris started to laugh listening to Haruo. “You might actually be more suited to being a scientist than myself.” However, he quickly came to a stop and lifted a finger to make a point. “From one side anyway. Objectivity is valuable. Emotions can get in the way of breakthroughs. However, no passion or strong emotions will leave you unable to keep moving forward. You lose that never say die spirit that is so important to the world changing moments.” Thrusting his finger at Haruo, he made his declaration. “You lack that important quality!”
Haruo remained silent. A pointless debate to enter while they still fought. He went over to the lion to touch it. Any remaining wounds recovered immediately. It stood up next to him once more. ‘He’s simplified matters by making this a more straightforward fight. Yet I don’t have anything strong enough, not from what I witnessed.’
Teris grinned over at Haruo. He charged straight for him, becoming a bit of a blur in his movements. Actually prepared and familiar with his movements, Haruo could defend himself against the direct strike. Teris tried to push him back, but the strength he had wasn’t nearly enough.
“Silence, huh? It doesn’t change the fact that it’ll be the reason you won’t beat me. It’ll be over soon!” Suddenly a new burst of strength came from Teris breaking the balance Haruo had. Teris pushed harder, throwing Haruo back again.
In defense of Haruo, the lion jumped out for Teris. It clamped down on Teris’ new arm, yet made no progress against him. Teris jerked his arm sideways at an angle. Tossed the ground, he pinned the creature to the earth with his foot. “Your pets are pointless to me now. I’ve analyzed them enough.” He thrust his hand deep into the chest of the lion ripping out the glowing core.
Holding it tightly in his hand, the rest of the lion disappeared into white particles. “It’s surprisingly simple. This is their heart or brain, however you want to label it. Without it, they cease to be and are unable to regenerate. This is their weakness.” Teris tightened his hand around the lion’s core until it crushed into particles.
He spread the remains into the air letting it pour from his fingers. “Curiously enough, you still hold one secret that I haven’t solved yet. How your power functions on a fundamental level. I can guess and theorize for a while, but that’s not going to give me any answers. I had hoped in fighting you I’d figured out enough clues to understand the more critical part.”
Wiping off the particles from his hand, he started to approach the still prone Haruo. “Yet, you’ve done well concealing that aspect from me. I know you put something into these cores, which seem to be anything even made from the earth. Though this one didn’t have the same consistency or fragility of the ones you created from the earth. So my guess, you used something else to create this core. But the question of what you’re putting into these cores will explain your curious power.”
Teris dug up some of the earth as he approached. He pushed his fingers through the crumbling brown mass. “Someone less logical and scientific might claim you’re putting spirits into this, which might answer why you use the earth. However, I don’t think that’s the case. It’s something else. Something from you. A power you hold inside yourself, but what power is that?” Brushing off the dirt, he cleaned his hands and stood before Haruo.
Still emotionless, there did seem to be a hint of loss of interest. He didn’t really seem to care about indulging the man’s whims. At least that was how it appeared to Teris. “Seems I won’t be getting those answers from you, at least this way. You’ve satisfied my requests. Now I just have to satisfy my orders. But don’t worry, I’ll ensure your body tells its secrets before they execute you.” Teris lifted Haruo up by his neck to hold him hovering off the ground. “Looks like things will be ending for you soon. I wonder if you’ll feel regret. Emotions are important.”
Disinterest in Haruo’s eyes suddenly changed the moment he heard Yori Mizuno’s voice in his head. ‘Please hear me, everyone! You must listen!’ Without even waiting a moment, his mind already worked out all of the angles to how it was possible. His mind sped through the scenarios quickly. However, the moment he heard about the situation Yuki Hayashi faced Haruo something changed for him.
Teris looked away from Haruo. ‘What’s that sound?’ It sounded distant or faint. He wasn’t sure which, but it quickly changed. Something massive slammed into Teris breaking his grip over Haruo. Haruo dropped and Teris flung several meters away. The whole situation flipped.
Recovering, Teris discovered that his left arm was completely broken in three different places. The shock of the pain finally washed away allowing it to reach him. “Damn…shit! Argh…I don’t think there’s enough words in the language to describe this.” Quickly grabbing for his portal, a white massive object slammed into him again, breaking his opportunity.
On his back, it took him even longer to recover from the most recent strike. “What did he pull out?” The hit actually dazed his vision enough to make it challenging to focus. It prevented him from clearly seeing what suddenly roared before him. The volume was enough to kill any hearing he might have had and felt like it actually might have sent him tumbling away. It seemed even the earth quaked in its presence.
Slowly standing up, Teris found the pain difficult to concentrate on what he needed. He felt fortunate most of his powers didn’t rely on his mind. His vision started to clear up to grant him a view of what he dealt with. “So what is it now? Oh, you’re certainly impressive looking.” Teris had to look up to actually see the top of what stood before him.
A gorilla. The scale of it completely put the lion to shame. Hunched over in its current position, it still rose to exceed three meters. The white core that rested at its center glowed brighter than any of the others. It seemed to correspond outward to the white glow of the creature with an intense almost blinding light.
“Still got something left you huh? Sorry, but I already know how all of this works.” While talking, Teris finished his digging around in the void, hidden carefully behind his back. He quickly consumed everything just as the gorilla struck. However, Teris threw up his previously shattered arm to halt the gorilla. “It would seem we’re getting dangerous now. So allow me to get a little serious for you.”
Crushing the containers in his hand, he dispensed with any further delay to strike deep inside the gorilla. It barely budged from the hit. “I can give you thirty seconds of my time.” In a surprising turn, Teris dropped his lab coat. Disrobed down to just his pants and a bare chest, Teris lost any sign of being the person before.
Sweat covered much of his body. The further enhanced muscles made him look more of a monster than a normal human. Every centimeter of his body pulsed in finely tuned precision. It reached as close to perfection as possible.
Despite the size, Teris still kept his quick movement landing another blow deep inside the gorilla’s chest. This time the creature fell backwards, but not before Teris jumped up and kicked it in the head to send it flying back.
He charged off after the animal, but he met it enroute. The two titans clashed and jumped the earth from their impact. Teris effortlessly dodged the hairy fists thrown at him. The last one he gripped the broad arm of the gorilla and flung it back towards Haruo. However, he caught up to it just in time to ram his fist through the chest of the gorilla. The force pinned it to the earth with his arm all the way up to his shoulder, but just out of reach of the core.
The gorilla suddenly vanished into particles without its core destroyed. Teris looked up in confusion. “Huh? What’s going on?” He saw that Haruo had fallen unconscious. “I guess it’s over. Twenty-three seconds. Close. This comes with a dangerous side effect if I let it go past.” His hand dug around the void and retrieved the antidote needed to reverse the process.
Normal once more, he knelt down a little surprised to find what remained behind. “A pen?” It was just a simple ordinary pen, nothing that seemed expensive or unique about it. The only characteristic it held was a well-worn appearance with all of the branding rubbed away from continued use. Teris glanced back at Haruo. “He made that giant gorilla from just this little pen? Hmm… Perhaps there lies some emotions buried inside you after all…”