Chapter 60: Unsettling Forest

Cyanide and Kirika entered the forest without any hesitation, dauntless and fearless. For Cyanide, that was the norm—fear was an emotion unknown to him—but he was somewhat surprised this samurai girl could actually keep up with him. Not everyone could just waltz into a dangerous forest filled with unknowns so calmly, after all. Especially not in a world like Endzone, where all life had been turned into bloodthirsty killing machines.

"This forest… it's strangely silent," she said as the two walked along the open path surrounded by thick trees. "But… I can feel it. There's a dangerous being here, deeper inside. The aura is faint due to the distance, but I can still sense it. Can't tell what exactly it is, though."

"So you've noticed," Cyanide replied briskly, and carried on walking.

"Huh…? You're talking like you've noticed too." Kirika arched an eyebrow. "Just after that one session, you can already sense auras from this far away?"

Her skepticism was practically written on her face, but Cyanide paid her no mind and instead merely shook his head.

"It doesn't take aura reading to know there is something dangerous in this forest."

"Oh? Then how did you know?" Kirika asked, as if challenging him.

Cyanide stopped walking momentarily, glanced at her sideways, and said one word:

"… Experience."

*****

- After Several Minutes -

"… We've been here for over ten minutes by now, and yet we haven't come across even a single sign of life," Kirika muttered, glancing at the shadowy trees uncomfortably. "I'm really not getting a good feeling about this. The sun's about to set, so… should we head back?"

"Head back on your own if you want," Cyanide replied calmly, crouching down and inspecting something on the ground. "… I'm staying until I get to the bottom of this."

"Bottom of what…?"

"You're not as sharp as I thought you were," Cyanide sighed, standing back up. "You've been relying on your aura sensing techniques so much that you're beginning to forget you have your basic five senses too. Listen, and observe. Are there truly no signs of life?"

Kirika did as told, closing her eyes and listening as hard as she could. Being trained as a samurai, her intrinsic senses were naturally better than most. Although ever since mastering the aura reading technique, she hasn't used her normal senses in battle all that much, if she really tried, she could still detect faint readings most people couldn't. And an example of that would be…

"…!" Her eyes suddenly snapped back open, and she slowly turned to Cyanide. "I… hear it. The faint breathing of animals, but… mechanical. Like mutants. So they need to breathe too, huh?"

"Think of it as a ventilation system for them," Luna explained. "When they breathe, they're essentially recycling the heated air inside their robotic bodies with clean, fresh cool air from the outside. It helps prevent overheating—at least, that is my theory."

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But Cyanide, apparently, still was not satisfied, and shook his head.

"Idiot. What good is knowing they're there? We already established that there was danger in this forest. You're still missing the crucial detail at play here. Listen closer."

Kirika frowned, not enjoying being scolded by a man who was probably not much older than she was, but she did lose in a duel to him. Her honor as a samurai stated that she would accept the defeat with grace, and respect the victor with all her heart. As such, she did as told and closed her eyes once again, listening even closer than before with her sensitive ears.

'Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in-'

Her eyes opened slowly this time as she realized what was wrong. Normal breathing would never be like this. It was a very small detail, almost impossibly small for a human to notice, but it was there.

"These mutants… they're scared. Of someone. Something."

Cyanide nodded. "That 'something' is the source of the aura you're detecting, deeper inside this forest."

"Well then, let's take it out!" Kirika said with a eager grin, fired up. "If these animals are all scared of it, that means it must be very strong, right? There's still some time left before sunset… we should be alright."

"Hm…" Cyanide pondered this decision a bit. While personally, he would've liked to prepare a bit more before going in, this was also a good opportunity to see just how strong this girl was, and whether or not she was worth keeping around. If she was too strong, Cyanide would need to dispose of her due to the risk of betrayal, but if she was too weak, there would be no point using her as an ally either. The earlier Cyanide found out, the better.

"… Fine," he agreed at last, folding his arms. "But just so you are aware… if your life is in danger, don't expect me to save you. We may be working together right now, but that doesn't mean I care what happens to you."

"Hmph… so cold," Kirika pouted, pursing her lips in frustration, then looked for a helper for consolation. "Hey, Luna, how do you stand someone like this?"

But Luna's holographic figure only smiled sadly. "You get used to it after being with him for so long. That's all there is to it, really."

Kirika sighed dejectedly and carried on walking, out of options.

"Anyway… what about our bet?" She asked Cyanide, who walked in front of her. "Are you able to sense any auras around us right now? Bet you can't, huh? Then… tell me about why you came to Endzone while we walk!"

But to her surprise, Cyanide's response was anything but within expectations.

"… Six auras within a ten-meter range, one strong, two medium, and three weak—a snake, two monkeys, and three insects respectively."

"Wha…" Kirika's eyes widened and her jaw dropped in shock at how easily that slew of words just flew out of Cyanide's mouth, but he wasn't done yet.

"Ten to twenty meter range, seven strong, fifteen medium, and twenty-four weak auras.. Of course, there is also the immensely powerful one you mentioned, which is so strong that it is detectable even from this far away," Cyanide continued, then stopped and turned to Kirika, who had frozen still from shock. "Shall I continue?"

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