Chapter 987 The Beginning of the End (6)
"Mai get back here! Now!" Jeremy shouted. He reached up to grab his sunglasses and began to pull them off. A large energy flew out of his eyes, hitting Mai and sending her flying into the ground. A red pillar of energy shot out of the sky, alerting Lee Seng. Jeremy slid his sunglasses back on and ran for Mai. Mai groaned in pain as her back was entirely burnt by Jeremy's attack. Jeremy knelt beside her and checked to see if she was okay. "Mai, are you okay? You should've listened to me when I warned you!"
Mai swatted Jeremy's hand to the side and tried to push herself up. Lee Seng manifested mid-run. He came to an abrupt stop, just shy of the unstable energy. The streets ripped apart and cars flew in every direction as Mai and Jeremy fought.
"H-hey, you guys should—"? Lee Seng bravely stepped forward into the unstable energy. He winced as he threw his hands up. He turned his aura on, letting it manifest into armor. He planted his feet into the ground and pushed his energy outwards, letting his true form come out as he fought against the energy. "I'm not that good at dispelling energies, so I guess I'll just EAT IT!"
Lee Seng opened his mouth and sucked in all of the energy in an instant. 'Crap, I ate this too fast!' Lee Seng thought as he tightened his jaw. 'Stable energy conversion is one thing but unstable conversion to stable conversion is another!' Butterflies exploded out of Lee Seng's body, showering the destroyed area in golden butterflies. The butterfly wisps scattered into the air, turning into dust.
Jeremy and Mai stopped fighting and realized what was happening.
"Who the hell is that?" Mai asked, noticing the butterflies. Jeremy pinned Mai onto the ground and looked at her.
"He's from my dream. He's come to help me in my time of need." Jeremy answered. Mai pushed Jeremy off and socked him in the face. Jeremy went flying, hitting the ground and breaking the sunglasses. Unstable energy grew from his eyes as he tried to squeeze them shut. Mai's eyes widened when she realized what she had done. She began to load a curse on her lips when a golden magic circle circled Jeremy.
"Devouring Circle." Lee Seng spoke the spell. Jeremy's eyes released a beam of unstable energy, head quickly flying upwards. Mai scrambled onto her feet and began to run.
"Get her!" Jeremy shouted. He covered his eyes with his hands and screamed in pain as the energy soaked into the magical circle below him.
"Don't get out of the circle!" Lee Seng shouted, sprinting after Mai. Mai turned and pointed a finger at Lee Seng.
"Don't follow me!" Mai ordered. Lee Seng began to stop when a butterfly wisp flew into Mai's way. The butterfly wisp turned immediately, disappearing into Lee Seng and allowing its master to continue. Mai's eyes widened. Lee Seng blinked forward, appearing in front of her face as she turned.
"You're mine." Lee Seng slammed into Mai, watching everything turn to darkness.
"Let me out!" Mai screamed. It was dark and dank. "Let me out! I'm not a monster! Let me out!" The sounds of chains dragging along the ground caught Lee Seng's attention. He stood in a pitch black room with no light. He listened to the chains pull. Mai turned and noticed a presence. "You. You helped him put me here... You helped him chain me up and now... he's gone and I'm all alone. Why?"
Mai's voice came from somewhere above him. She must've been in her large form. The unstable Biohuman serum didn't kill her. Lee Seng knew this. He had seen her. Mia lowered her head and noticed Lee Seng staring up at her with a blank face.
"Why are you here? Is it time for another one of Jeremy's prophetic dreams to come true?" Mai asked. Lee Seng looked away from Mai and noticed he could see around him. Mai was in a large see-through box. She was locked up like a bird in a cage. Mai moved away from Lee Seng and sat in her little corner. "Have you come to ruin me?"
"How long has it been since you've been here?" Lee Seng asked.
"I stopped counting after three years. Why would you ask such a thing? You don't care. You're just some... ghost."
"A ghost you will grow to hate." Lee Seng sighed. He turned and looked up at Mai. "A ghost that can give you your freedom. To go to see Jeremy and the others."
"I don't want to see them. I want that Doctor to pay for what he did to me!" Mai shouted. She turned and looked at Lee Seng with the same wild eyes that cursed him in his present timeline. "You are free. Right now, you are free. You're not a caged bird. You've broken out with your plan." Mai's eyes shook. She didn't know if Lee Seng was speaking the truth or speaking lies. Lee Seng took a step forward and Mai flinched. He let out a sigh and looked down.
"Trapped in here for ages and then I finally get out..." Mai sighed. "What do I do? Do I kill him?"
"Your plan works. You make people who will listen to you and you kill the Doctor and me."
"You? Who are... No, you cannot be his..." Mai pulled away from her spot and lowered her head to sniff Lee Seng. Her eyes widened and she immediately backed up. "Why are you here with me?!? Do you want to die?"
"You're in turmoil. You're constantly in it and you wish to just live your life the way you want to until you die, but you weren't even given that. You're locked up and you'll slowly give into despair. You'll do anything to get rid of it, right?"
"Will you save me?"
"No," Lee Seng shook his head. "But, you'll have to promise me something."
"Why? If you won't save me, what good is a promise if I am chained up and locked in here until I die?"
"When the time comes, you'll understand. I'll come at you like this and touch your head. It'll stir this memory and I'll give you peace." Lee Seng moved his hand and mimicked a 'poke' to Mai's forehead.
"You think I'll remember something like that??"
"Trust me, you will." Lee Seng lowered his hand and turned around. The space distorted and he looked behind him at Mai. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry you guys had to suffer. I'll make sure all the remaining experiments can rest once and for all." Lee Seng started towards the opening in the strange memory.
"Wait." Mai called out to Lee Seng. Lee Seng stopped and looked back at Mai. "What's your name?" Lee Seng smiled and fully turned around. He wiped his nose and puffed his chest out a bit.
"Lee Seng. I'm Lee Seng Chang."
"Isn't that—"
[FATHER'S LAST WISH HAS ENDED. RESYNCING SYSTEMS!]
Everything came back so fast. Lee Seng could feel Jeremy's spirit disappearing. He pulled himself together and noticed hand was balled in a fist close to the frozen Brood Mother. Lee Seng uncurled a single finger and poked it into her head. Brood Mother's eyes looked at him strangely like she had remembered something.
"You." Mai growled. "It can't be. You can't be... the one from then. T-that's—"
"Impossible?" Lee Seng raised his eyebrows at her. "Mr. Jeremy is something, hm?" Mai screamed, pushing Lee Seng away. Lee Seng flew through the air, landing on the uneven ground.
Lee Seng blinked forward and pooled all of his energy into the syringe in his right hand. He would do what was needed. Tendrils exploded from the ground, slamming down at Lee Seng. Lee Seng dodged, spinning through the air and releasing the butterfly wisps. Mai's eyes grew wide.
"It's like back then." Mai whispered. Her surprise quickly faded into anger. Mai's voice rose to a shout as she slammed Lee Seng's friends into the wall. "I'll kill all of you!" Tendrils exploded out of Mai's chest, sharpening the ends. Two tendrils flew straight into the butterfly wisps, revealing nothing.
Brood Mother Mai's eyes moved around the room. She definitely felt him running at her just a second ago and now he was gone! Lee Seng's energy popped up below her. She enlarged her hands and swung it downwards.
"I got you now!" Brood Mother Mai screamed. Her hand slammed against the ground causing a puff of smoke to rise. Brood Mother smiled. "I did it. I finally did it! It's over!" She laughed hoping the wave of relief she desperately wanted would come, but it didn't. That's when she felt it. A prick.
Brood Mother Mai hissed in pain, pulling away. She had definitely hit Lee Seng. She watched his hand drop to the ground and her mind began to wander.
"Where is it?" Brood Mother asked. Something burned inside of her. She screamed in pain as she looked at her enlarged hand. A small syringe screaming with butterfly wisps was the source of her pain. Brood Mother howled as she plucked it away. "What did you do to me?!?"
"What did... I do... to you...?" Lee Seng cackled, groaning in pain from his laughs. He pushed himself up and looked at Brood Mother Mai. "I'm... just doing what I said I would do..." Mai howled, tendrils thrashing everything. Her enlarged hand shrunk. She could feel her large body going back to its normal size - the size before her change.
The tendrils holding Lee Seng's friends melted away, freeing them. Lee Seng threw his hand up and slowed them just enough for them to hit the ground and not die. He sucked in sharp breaths as Mai's screams filled with fluid.
Lee Seng clawed his way over to Mai, listening to the building around him shake. Mai lifted her hand up to Lee Seng and reached past his fading aura. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.
"What... Did you do... to me...? Th-this isn't what I—" Mai began to say. Lee Seng pulled himself away, falling onto his back.
"You don't want that. You wanted to be a normal person. Look at you now. What you said to Mr. Jeremy was a lie. You never believed it. My father - the doctor - is dead. What're you doing...? Still angry? Why?" Lee Seng pushed himself up and hunched over his straightened legs. Mai coughed out black liquid. Anger burned from her eyes.
"The world... forgot about us... You all forgot about us... I just... I want a world where I can... where we can belong..."
"The world has changed in the time you've been locked up. I hope one day you'll be able to see it... if you are reborn, but rest now, Ms. Mai. You can rest." Lee Seng swung his legs around and poked his head into Mai's view. He smiled at her. "Trust me. I will make sure all of you get to see a world where all kinds of people can exist freely. Let go and believe me."
"I..." Mai coughed. Black liquid spewed from her body. Lee Seng watched the black liquid cover Failed 001's entire body. He watched as the woman who thought she would be making some quick pocket change twenty-eight years ago, fade away.
[Failed 001: The Brood Mother, MAI has been slain! 250,000 souls have been awarded! Current souls farmed: 250,000/250,000.]
[You are ready to evolve. Would you like to do so now?]
"Let's get... outta here first." Lee Seng's vision blurred. His head swung backwards, landing onto the debris.