Chapter 112: Vex vs 16

Unlike what one may consider to be a “typical” elevator, this chute is closer to a tube that transmits people directly. Inside, a jet-stream of flowing water pushes two men upward like a water slide ride.

One of those men, Vex, lags behind, making the gap remain the same.

Splishhh

Being pushed around by high pressure water inside of a tube like this…I can’t help but feel like I’m stuck in a water hose. Putting aside the uncomfortable damping of my garments, the automated pace is a much bigger issue. If I do nothing, I’ll never catch up to 16 at this rate.

Assuming 16 has indeed been cloned, it’s also safe to assume that it has the same mind as the original. His strategy must involve getting so far ahead of me that he could either shake me off his trail or be well-prepared to set me up at the destination. If I could catch him before then…

Vex bends his fingers a few times, testing them for a bit before pressing against the walls of the tube softly. After getting a feel for it, he stretches out his hands to touch opposite sides of the tube.

“This should be effective.”

Releasing all of his arm’s charged-up energy at once, Vex pushes his body forward, greatly increasing his acceleration.

Shoo!

At rhythmic intervals, similar to that of swimming, Vex continues to spread his arms and push ahead, assisting the water stream in jetting his momentum forward. At last after traversing through nothingness, a pair of dark boots appear a short distance ahead. For a split second, a pair of black pupils glance back, touching Vex’s purple.

“!”

He didn’t make it as far as I thought…ah, he could be baiting me. I don’t have the luxury of time for a well-thought strategy in this situation, so I have to be aggressive!

Shoo! Shoo!

Vex doubles the speed of his strokes, gradually increasing his acceleration. The gap, while still wide, is rapidly decreasing between the men.

At this distance, I have enough time to react to whatever he does while still being within arm’s reach. Since he can lead me straight to his mastermind, it would be stupid for me to completely stop him when I can’t even do much here anyway–?!

Spray! Shhhh!

“Tch–eeh!”

A veil of scattered particles envelops Vex, covering him completely in a mist before he could blink–now he can’t even open his eyes.

What kind of–he had a bullet smoke bomb?! These clones literally have everything! This water better be clean or else–doesn’t matter, I just need to be able to see something.

Like a toddler playing in the bath, Vex feels around blindly for the water stream. Once confirmed, he splashes as much water as he can on his eyeballs, forcing them to open wide for a moment.

Looking at the end result, he might as well place a patch over his right eye since only his left is doing all of the work.

“...huh?”

16 is completely gone. Of course, why wouldn’t he take the opportunity to escape while I was blinded–

“Compress.”

I never expected a single finger to feel so…frigid…

“Dang–”

____________________________________________________________________________

Drifting…

Floating…

Suspended…

…I don’t feel any other emotion as strongly.

My eyes are wide open, yet I can’t see anything around me–except for a veil that blurs my vision of the outside world.

A quiet, muffled ambience is the only thing my senses can pick up clearly.

“Ah, so that’s how it feels…”

A curse that encapsulates the concept of compression is very powerful with even destructive potential if the user sees fit. Curses that depend on the whims of the owner are too risky for a functioning society. I have no idea why any deity would force such sources upon humanity…unless it’s a type punishment. Even if that’s true, I personally did nothing to deserve such hell.

And now I’m dragging a kid along with me though hell just to get me out.

“Damn it, I still can’t believe how that bastard managed to sneak around me in that chute. Even though I tried my best to avoid this outcome, I can’t downplay 16’s skills.”

But I’m certainly not going to praise a fake either.

“...”

Since I’m in a compressed state, I should be inside a little orb now. No matter how much I move, it’s like I’m floating in endless space, achieving nothing.

It feels like I'm out of options, but until I’m dead, there’s always something I can do regardless of whether it’s effective…

“...”

Listening closely, the ambience sounds like…flowing water? Flowing water…

“!”

There’s a chance that I’m floating underwater, or at least near it. That’s right, I have someone who can bail me out in these situations. No matter how loudly or quietly I say her name, she always responds. If she can hear me within this orb, then there’s no limit.

“PERLINA–?!”

Something’s shifting on the outside. A strange…warm sensation is overwhelming my entire body!

A strangely familiar sensation…

“I never felt so much energy before–?!”

–and it feels like it’s about to burst out of me!...

I can’t…hold it…in–

“Hahhh!!”

“Pwt! Fuuuuu…”

My clothes are drenched in saliva, all the way down to my underwear–beyond even that.

A convenient, but rather annoying amount of air bubbles smother my face clouding my vision.

All the while, a soft and gentle touch envelops me–one that’s all too familiar.

“It worked.”

“It did? Was it really effective? Whew, I-I’m glad my t-technique is improving!”

Just as I hoped for, Perlina was able to be summoned even in my compressed state.

And now, I rest in her gentle hands.

Perlina licks the dripping saliva from her lips, then hides her tongue back into her mouth. I couldn’t help but to cringe and feel slightly embarrassed. I refuse to dwell on what that degenerate disguised as a tongue just did.

I only felt it without being able to see whatsoever, but that’s all I needed to perfectly comprehend.

“Sigh…n-never mind that. Listen, I need to get to Zateon’s headquarters at the temple immediately; there’s a psycho there we’re forced to deal with. I’m not sure how to get there from here, or the best way to go about this without getting caught up in the chaos on land…”

Now that I think about it, where am I? Looks like 16 dumped me in a river after all; now I’m completely disoriented. But the longer I sit here thinking, the further along this conspiracy goes.

“Leave that to me–I know the perfect route that will get us straight there!”

“You do? Then how–”

“AAAH!”

Perlina swims towards me with her mouth wide open with force similar to that of a whirlpool. I’d rather her discuss what she’s thinking before immediately acting upon it, but what else can I do at this point?

Nothing but accept my fate.

…

…

…is her throat open somewhat wider than usual?

“GULP!”

…

…

…

…

As the thick lump goes down Perlina’s throat, her swimming speed rapidly increases until she vanishes.