Chapter 197: Directional Misalignment

"Haah…finally! I made it on time!" Rhizen wheezed as he arrived at the bottom of the tunnel that they fell through at the start. He noticed his tail blinking, looking like it might vanish any moment.

He then used the remainder of the energy within it to make it take action. The tail flashed around as the stinger pierced through the wall, acting as an anchor.

The tail contracted in size before erupting with power, like an arrow released from a fully-taut bow, sending Rhizen flying upwards. And, the moment he began to lose power in the flight, the tail pierced into the wall once again and repeated the process.

After performing it five times, the tail vanished as Rhizen barely caught hold of a couple of dangling roots. He grunted in response, not having enough strength left in him to hold on.

But, gritting his teeth, he slowly climbed up, preventing himself from slipping as he gasped for breath, landing on the ground as he looked around. Once he arrived at a safe location, he wheezed, finally relaxing.

But, he hadn't even managed to rest for a couple of seconds before shrieking in response, springing to his feet as he looked back, noticing an ant biting his butt. His clothes at the place had been torn off when the tail grew.

And now that the tail had vanished, it revealed the large patch on his pant that wasn't covered anymore. He hurriedly swatted the ant away, grunting as he loosened the folds on his bag, ensuring it now covered his bag, preventing him from the embarrassment.

He then looked around, failing to find anyone around, frowning, "Strange, there should at least be a couple of groups in such a large stretch of land."

His expression then collapsed upon smelling a faint stench of blood pervading the air. Alerted, he cautiously began to make a retreat, beginning to descend the mountain.

…

"Compass! Don't die!" Neena grunted as he spat out some blood, screaming in her mind, 'System! Heal me!'

<Ding!>

Followed by a weak response, the Directional Misalignment System healed the poison in her body as she hurriedly arrived before Compass Carburettor, intending to prop him up when he glared at her, expressing through sight to not touch him, for the poison on him was contagious.

"Hic!" Neena began to cry automatically, unwilling to see him die. After all, though naïve he may be, he had supported her a bit. Moreover, one's true nature would always be revealed in a moment's crisis.

When the scorpion chased after them, he had broken a stalactite to first give her a weapon to defend with. The moment she grabbed hold of it, Neena realised that Compass Carburettor was only naïve, not stupid.

He had selected a weapon for her whose weight was almost perfect for her. And, he hadn't coincidentally destroyed one and decided to give it to her. Rather, she watched him charge at the stalactite and destroy it, before giving it to her.

So, it was apparent that he was aware that it would serve as a perfect weapon for her.

When she was scared by the insects, he had supported her. While holding the hem of his clothes, Neena noticed that his body too was shivering. Clearly, he too was afraid of the poison but had still supported her out of the goodwill of his heart.

He had done the same to Rhizen too, so she understood that he was only expressing his goodwill. Moreover, she had confirmed with the System that the picture of the Pomeranian he showed before was real.

So, it meant that he, though naïve, was a kind-hearted person. And finally, when Rhizen attacked them, he put himself in harm's way to save her, getting poisoned severely as a result. Such an action won her over, causing her to weep for him.

Neena then bellowed in her mind, 'System, please save him!'

<Ding!>

[Host, there is insufficient energy to heal him. It's best to refrain from actions that won't benefit Host]

'Please, I beg of you! Save him!' Neena roared in her mind, weeping as she watched the skin of Compass Carburettor continue to melt as even his flesh began to do the same. At this point, his eyes had glazed over, unable to see.

He was still alive but was unable to do anything beyond that, on the verge of death. In a few more seconds, he would die and melt into a puddle, leaving almost no traces behind.

[Host, a complete recovery is impossible. But, his condition can temporarily be suppressed.]

'T-Then!' Neena was excited when she noticed a mysterious energy flow out of her body before seeping into Compass Carburettor's body. His injuries healed at an alarming rate, but his skin had barely begun to grow when the mysterious energy stopped flowing into him.

The System's voice resounded in her mind immediately after.

[Host, you have 24 hours to save him.]

<Ding!>

[Quest: Save The Love Interest!]

[Quest Description: There is just…$%###]

.

.

.

[System Err*r]

[Sys$%^$ E$%#$]

'W-What…happened?' Neena was alarmed, unable to make sense of the situation of her Quest Window turning into a garbled mess as the voice of her System turned chaotic and grainy.

But, that was all she thought as her body collapsed to the ground, with blood leaking out of her head. And there, on her forehead, lay three holes, bullet wounds.

The bullets could be seen from outside, their contents dissolving as they were interfering with her System's abilities. The last scene Neena witnessed was of the figure she tried to save getting up slowly as the figure that looked no different to a zombie stared at her, sporting an expression of sadness.

Compass Carburettor looked at the corpse of Neena before him, expressing neither happiness nor pride at his scheme succeeding. Rather, all he did was mechanically extend his gun and place it above her corpse, watching her body dissolve into a smoke of sort that was sucked into his gun.

"Though she might have had other intentions at the start, but in the end, she wholeheartedly intended to save me. Killing such a person is…" He sighed, closing his eyes, losing balance as he fell on the ground when his flesh cracked as blood spilled out profusely.

Compass Carburettor died.