Chapter 10 : Broken Facade

Cling!

SHIIING!

CLINK!

The echoing of blades clashing could be heard.

"Roughly three hours huh"

With calm breaths, Damon stared at Rudy breathing heavily before him. Eager to start, Rudy suggested training before they got to the base, but He didn't think it would take this long to correct Rudy's footwork and grip. Although Damon was only halfway towards minor mastering in his technique, he was confident in his current capabilities even without energy reinforcement, Yet within the last hour Rudy had managed to successfully land a hit against him.

'I Guess we should stop here, he's improved a lot.'

Suddenly taking Rudy by surprise, Damon lunged at him at an increased speed.

Before he had the chance to react, he saw Damon appear from the right side of his view.

Without hesitation, he swung his blade for a horizontal slash, but Damon easily caught his wriest mid-swing with his left arm.

Left completely stunned by this action, He had no time to breath before he felt his world view flip as his legs were swept off the ground.

Bang!

Landing on his back with a loud thud, Rudy could only turn his eyes upwards at Damon now leisurely standing over him. His vision was still blurry, but he could still see Damon's lips forming a subtle smirk.

"That's cheating! I thought you said you wouldn't use reinforcement?"

"He actually said he wouldn't use reinforcement on his weapon, he didn't say anything about not using it on his body."

Hearing the rough voice respond Damon and Rudy turned their gazes to the direction the voice came from to see Gerald and Liz walking towards them.

An hour into training they mentioned detected a beast with the head of a lion and a humanoid body, believing the beast to be a rare species they left to hunt it down. At the time Damon had been skeptical of their claim since he hadn't sensed it himself, looking at them now only deepened his suspicions further.

'Did they actually fight ? I'm not picking up the scent of blood on them....did they wash up before returning ?....no that's not possible, their clothes are too dry, and their energy outputs haven't changed.'

"Welcome back, how'd the hunt go?"

Hearing his question Liz seemed to ponder seriously, leaning forward she gazed into his eyes.

She then laughed heartily and declared, "We hit the jackpot!"

"Huh?" Damon exclaimed in astonishment. " What are you talking?"

Following up on Liz's declaration Gerald spoke once again." we manage to track the beast to it lair and discovered it was an old mining site. After we killed the beast, we found a stash of around 20 Lithos crystals, a single crystal is worth about five thousand to eighteen thousand dollars based on its properties" Reaching for the brown leather bag on his back Gerald opened to display Twenty shining crystals. "The crystals are made from spiritual energy being condensed within the earth under extreme pressure, but there very rare even more than diamonds"

'There worth that much!'

Seeing the greed sparked in Damon's eyes Liz chimed in, "Don't worry, although you weren't there for the battle we'll still give you five crystals for training Rudy."

"Really? I thought that was in exchange for the hidden inventory skill you taught me" asked Damon skeptically.

"Of course! This is an investment, with your talent you'll definitely become a big shot later. So just don't forget us when you make it to the top okay"

"Oh?" Damon was left speechless after hearing Liz's honesty.

He felt a bit guilty for being so suspicious of Liz and Gerald, but Mother had taught him to be weary of people who seem too generous without making their intentions clear.
Damon was no longer a normal human, the spiritual energy had not only increased the power of the simulated body but also the sensitivity of his senses. His senses told him something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was.

Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind. There was no point worrying about this now, it would just cloud his judgment....

After a few moments, They continued heading to the base on an uphill path.

Fifteen minutes later the entrance of a cave came into view.

They were nearing the cave when the feeling flared up.

That creepy, crawling wrongness that hadn't left his chest since he first encountered the trio.

The cave was like a jagged wound in the hillside, leaking a cold mist that didn't fit the warm temperature of the forest. Its breath kissed the trees and silenced the forest. The birds quieted.

Damon felt a subtle shift that made the hair on his arms stand on end.

Yet Liz strode on confidently as if she hadn't sensed anything.

Slowing his steps Damon began observing his companions.

Rudy walked beside him, smiling as usually, but now something felt eerie about it...more plastic, like the false expression of a doll mimicking what a smile should look like. Behind them, Gerald followed silently, but something was different His Footfalls made no sound, No crunch of leaves or dirt beneath his feat

Something was definitely wrong, he was sure now.

Feeling the tension had been building for minutes now he came to a stop. The silence that followed was thin and sharp, like a held breath before the scream.

To Damon's left Rudy had also halted too, tilting his head slowly strands of his blond hair sliding down his cheek seemed to extend, His smile stretched across his face even further as he spoke.

"Something wrong?" He asked with an innocent tone.

However, Damon's eyes didn't move to meet Rudy's.

He wasn't looking at the cave either, instead he was listening.

Behind him the.... the wind didn't shift but the air thickened.

His instincts screamed.

He moved quickly, performing a sharp sidestep with his shoulders low and knees bent just as a violent gust of displaced air tore past him.

Bang!

Rocks and dust exploded where he'd been standing.

A large hammer slammed into the earth with enough force to crack it open creating a small crater. Dirt spat into the air like blood.

In the creator stood Gerald, the usually quiet and calm one, now wide-eyed and twitching. His mouth curled in something between a snarl and panic.

"He-he moved. I told you he'd move..... He knows, he knows.....!"

His voice was shrill now, cracking under pressure. His hands trembling, knuckles whitening around the hammers' grip.

Leaping back twice, Damon created a greater distance between him and the trio.

From the front, Liz the once charming leader stopped walking and turned with a stiffness that reeked of barely restrained fury. Her shoulders squared as she reached for her daggers on her hips. Her eyes held no fear just frustration.

Seemingly confused Rudy blinked. He took a single step back placing one foot behind the other like he was surprised by the turn of events, However his smile didn't falter. Not at all.

"Gerald! What are you doing? Damon's our friend!" He asked. "You nearly killed him!"

Hearing this Damon only looked up at him slowly. His breath calmed steadily, his pupils dilated as he came to a realization.

Increasing his energy output by fifty percent he finally spoke, his voice cold.

"You're good, I almost started trusting you" he said. "Almost."

They trio froze.

Seeing there stupefied expression he continued "You kept this charade up all the way here, but you slipped up....." Pausing for a moment his eyes shifted to Gerald, then to Liz." It took so time for me to notice, but they don't breathe or heal like humans do. During the battle the wolves it was already undetectable, I assumed they had just been masking it since they're skilled enough to. But then I noticed"

Rudy's smile, stiffened cracking just a little.

"What? I don't understa-"

Cutting off her words Damon continued "After claiming to fighting the lion beast and walking up the hill there were no rises or falls in their chests or energy outputs. No scent of sweat or blood..... Just stillness. My guess is they're just dolls, the real Gerald, Liz and Rudy are probably already dead. I'm sure You killed them"

Damon's gaze sharpened as he reinforced his blade." You ask what's wrong, but your smile says you already know the answer"

The silence thickened with his finally words. He hadn't shouted, he didn't need to. The weight of his words were enough to free the air.

Hearing his words Gerald became outraged "What the hell are you talking about!? Of course were real, I know who I am, My name is Gerald.....ugh" His eyes begun darting around as he tried recalling his personal memories "Wait, its ..... I-I can't remember!. How's that possible..... Why can't I remember!?"

Clutching and tearing at his shaggy black hair, he began panicking as his eyes turned red

Watching Gerald break down, Damon' didn't move. His heart was pounding, but his thoughts were clear.

'I knew it! He's panicking, yet his output still hasn't changed at all, Liz hasn't spoken either so its likely she already figured it out or suspected it.'

CRACK!

Suddenly Rudy's head tilted again, snapping to a ninety-degree angle, you could hear the creaking of bones in his neck beneath his skin.

"That's not nice Damon, they weren't very useful at first, but they made for good toys" He said softly, his smile never wavering. "They refused to help me feed, so I threatened to kill their little master, Funny, isn't it? They ran around bringing me victims to save the brat not knowing they were already dead"

With her suspicions confirmed Liz staggered as she steeped away from the cave entrance. Her eyes widening in horror as tears welled up inside.

Shaking, Gerald released his hammer, dropping to his knees." No, no....you're lying!"

To Gerald's ears Damon's voice was like steel now.

"You're not them. You never were"

He didn't know what this thing pretending to be Rudy really was, only whatever it was its true shape or power was witting in that cave, and it had almost walked him right into it.