Chapter 244 - Displeasure

Rynold quickly got off the bed and created some distance between him and the entity. He was wary, more so than usual. He knew just as well that this being before him was nothing he could have taken lightly.

At that moment, a stand-off occurred.

The Mech God stood behind Rynold, taking his Candidate's side. They both looked at the entity before them, seemingly displeased at Rynold's sudden waking. Even so, it was still eager to stay around and continue their interrupted conversation.

"Impressive," the entity admitted, "But I'm sure that you have no means to stop me from trying again."

"Oh. I'm counting on it," the Mech God matched the entity's threats, "But I'd say that you won't find it easier next time. He's not as susceptible as you might think, you know."

Rynold, who stood in between the two omnipotent entities, didn't fully comprehend what they were saying. He missed some context as to what was going on. But it didn't stop him from doing what he needed to do.

"I don't know what either of you are saying. But," Rynold brandished his Mana Gauntlets, turning it into its Strength-form, "Neither one of you are in the clear until I wrap my head around all this. While the god can go suck it, I'm more pissed at you. Who — no — What are you?"

"I'm here to offer you salvation, mortal," the entity answered, its voice sincere. "While you wither away at that incompetent god's hands, I can offer you more. More power than you would ever dream. I did say, yes? I am a friend."

"You're the voice from before. It's funny how you think your offer now can tempt me to do anything you want. After you possessed me, I'd be damned to even consider it."

The Mech God looked at Rynold with concern. He hadn't known that the entity before them had contacted Rynold before now. He questioned it, thinking as to when it had happened. And, more importantly, how had it gone under his nose?

"Dear, naïve mortal. Your short-sightedness isn't going to get you anywhere in this world. You're nothing more than a misguided human, set in a skewed path by the man beside you. Truly saddening. While you may believe that you're on the right track now, it won't be long until you realize otherwise."

"Yeah? And what makes you think that you'll see me again any time soon?"

Rynold jumped towards the entity, his Mana Gauntlets clad in a silver light. He felt uncertain, but his anger overwhelmed any doubt in his mind.

Striking with his right fist first, the Mana Gauntlet didn't find contact. Rynold's fists only passed through the entity, as if he were striking the air. Even though he had managed to sever the connection, it didn't seem to apply the same when hitting the target.

"Like I said. Naïve," the entity brushed off Rynold's attacks like they were nothing. It then floated towards him, completely unrestrained, "You silly mortal. You are millennia away from even harming a single hair on me."

Clicking his tongue, Rynold wasn't pleased in the slightest. He didn't know what to do but, at the very least, the entity didn't seem to be harming him either. It was just there, taunting him.

"Leave this place, damned deserter," the Mech God interrupted the other two's conversation, "Even if he can't touch you, I sure as hell can. So, I'd appreciate it if you don't show your face again. Otherwise, this will get ugly. And I guarantee that you won't get out of here unscathed."

The Mech God openly threatened, not a shred of doubt in his voice. He wasn't some pushover that would be treated like shit in his own workshop. No, he was a god in his own domain. Any intruder that was unwelcomed here would be treated as such.

"While I appreciate the sentiment," Rynold instead rebutted the Mech God's statement, "I can handle this thing just fine. I don't need your help."

"Oh, but you do," the entity added, in a disappointed and somewhat condescending tone, "You're not going to fare well without that insufferable god's help. But, even if both of you worked together, I doubt you'd ever do any damage onto this body."

"She's right," the Mech God answered, surprising Rynold who had been clueless about the entity's identity, "But, even so, any damage to your shadow would reflect upon you. You're not stupid enough to risk something like that. I know you're not that shortsighted."

"That may be so," the entity turned to the Mech God and looked at him with a smile on her face, "However, my strength is not at the level it used to be."

The entity's ghost-like body spread shadows on the ground. It encompassed a large area and extended into a full circle. From the depths of the shadows then came monsters of different sizes, each one notably strong. Each one of them stood out, more so than Rynold cared for.

"Neither is mine."

In spite of the show of strength, the Mech God snapped his fingers. From there, the entire building opened like a flower blooming in early spring. The Mech God seemed unusually confident as Rynold watched the two omnipotent beings duke it out.

From there, the buildings around the island started to take shape. Transforming into something more than their natural state, the buildings turned into Mechs in accordance with their size. Some were large and bulky. Others had a sleek design and were modern-looking. All in all, the Mech God's outnumbered the creatures that came out of the shadows by ten to one.

"I'd never thought you'd turn to dark magic," the Mech God snickered, obviously mocking his enemy, "Are you that desperate for power that you relied on something like that? What the hell happened to your good-hearted nature? Is this why you left? For some desperate cling to power?"

It was hard to separate emotion from the Mech God's words. At least, that was from Rynold's perspective as he watched the two beings fight against each other.

"Unlike any of those other buffoons, I'm not doing this for power," the entity exclaimed as the smile on its face flickered, doubt running in her thoughts, "I left for reasons the likes of you could never understand.

Even after all these years, you are still far too foolish to understand the bigger picture. Let this be a lesson, for I will not stop until I attain my goals."

Just like that, the entity left.

She didn't seem to have any resentment during her final words to them. But it felt as though she had meant something more than she said. Rynold didn't understand it fully though as he lacked the necessary context to fill in the details.

That said, the Mech God wasn't as unaffected as Rynold was. He felt disturbed, to say the least, as the entity that had disappeared on them was none other than a dear friend. It was weird, the Mech God thought, as he realized that the reason was a lot deeper than what he had initially established.

"Oi!" Rynold called out, snapping the Mech God out of his daze, "Get your head out of the gutter. We've got company here!"

While Rynold barely managed to hold his own, the enemy monsters came at him by the dozens. It was only a matter of time until they overrun him. And, at that point, he would have most likely be hurt or, worse, dead.

Nonetheless, that wasn't even the biggest thing Rynold was worried about. Because, out from the corner of his eye, he could see a familiar person on the ground, unconscious.

Suffice it to say, Rynold knew that the guy couldn't defend himself. The ongoing hoard of shadow monsters would reach the unconscious fellow in just a matter of time. While Rynold could defend himself, it wasn't the same couldn't be said for the other.

"Shut up, asshole!"

The Mech God soon realized the situation they were in. While he could handle himself just fine, the two mortals in the room wouldn't fare as well.

Therefore, the Mech God telepathically called for some assistance — one from the mechanical variety. In a matter of seconds, drones appeared from the sky and took care of the situation at hand. The whole thing barely took any effort on the Mech God's side. But, by the end of it, Rynold was sweating like a pig.

"You good?" the Mech God asked, his tone more casual than usual.

"The fuck do you think?" Rynold answered, wiping the sweat off his brow, "Besides, I'm not the one you should check on. You've got the other guy over there. I'm guessing he's not going to wake up feeling all fine and dandy."

Pointing at Crimson, who was at the corner of the room, Rynold didn't know what he had done for him. That said, the Mech God was more than aware and hurriedly ordered drones to come and pick Crimson up.

Rynold watched as the drones took Crimson away, leaving him and the Mech God alone. Following which, Rynold took a deep breath and stood up straight. He was covered in sweat, but he didn't seem to care about that now.

After recovering a part of his Stamina, Rynold confronted the Mech God for answers.

"What," Rynold said with a rather forceful tone, "In the hell was all that?"

"You really should watch your mouth."

"Holding back now wouldn't get me answers, would it? Tell me what happened here. And, more importantly, what the hell happened to me? How did I get here?"

Rynold made it perfectly clear that he wasn't one for mystery. In fact, at all times, Rynold didn't want to hide anything. Rynold wouldn't dare keep anything from his friends. And, by doing so, he hoped that they wouldn't hide anything from him — especially information that specifically affected him.

"Calm down," the Mech God responded dismissively, "You're fine, aren't you? Geez. For a mortal whose ass I just saved, you sure are ungrateful, huh?"

"Oh, did you? Because, as far as I can tell, I was better off unconscious than dealing with a hoard of those things. Even though it all worked out in the end, I'm pretty sure I'm on some crazy chick's hit list. I definitely did not ask for things to end up this way."

"Hey," the Mech God finally turned to Rynold and matched his gaze, "You seriously think I want things to be like this? And that crazy chick you described is more than dangerous. You should be careful on how you proceed from here."

"Why are you defending her?" Rynold asked, completely understanding the underlying relationship of the two, "What is she to you? An ex?"

Hearing that, the Mech God then raised a brow. He wasn't sure if he should be insulted or disgusted by that assumption. From Rynold's perspective, the assumption might have not been baseless. But, the Mech God was more than offended by the guess.

"She's a friend," the Mech God corrected while holding back considerable disgust. He then quickly changed the subject to something more reasonable. "I should be the one asking you that. How did you come into contact with someone like that? You're too under her radar to even attract her attention."

"Obviously not," Rynold answered, clueless as well, "All I know is that her voice randomly popped into my head when you called all of us back. It was a brief conversation. She said that she was a friend and I smelled of sprite dust. I don't really know what the hell that meant, but clearly it wasn't anything good."

"Yeah, no shit," the Mech God frustratedly shook his head, "You were willing sprayed with sprite dust? And you didn't even refute it? No wonder she got control so easily. For fuck's sake, you're really nothing more than an idiot with a mouth, huh?"