CHAPTER 18 : SEARCHING FOR MEANINGS

"A mutated monsters is fighting another monster! They've already destroyed several buildings! Send in the extermination squad immediately!" A police officer with a thick mustache gave the orders. Rose and Shaurya, along with their team, quickly grabbed their gear, shields, and weapons to get ready.Mikael's group also moved swiftly, following their captain as Mikael sternly ran towards his police car.Meanwhile...Kyoko unleashed a massive lightning arrow at the Stray. Nasuha watched from afar, still holding the unconscious Khairul in her arms. The arrow flew swiftly toward the Stray, but it managed to catch the arrow."It's useless even if you catch it!" Kyoko shouted as the lightning arrow detonated, striking the Stray multiple times with bursts of electricity.Despite the intense attack, the Stray continued to move, swinging its long arms. Kyoko dodged swiftly, as chunks of bricks were hurled at her."Tch! Isn't that enough to kill it?" Kyoko complained, landing on the rooftop of a building, slightly further from the Stray."Ergh..." Khairul finally regained consciousness."Khai? Are you okay?" Nasuha asked, clearly worried. Khairul looked around before focusing again on the Stray, which was clinging to two buildings."I'm okay. What happened?" Khairul replied."Kyoko attacked, but her electric power couldn't kill the Stray. It's stopped attacking for now, though," Nasuha explained. The Stray remained still, seemingly motionless. Khairul drew his twin blades."We need to kill it quickly. Someone must have seen us fighting by now, and they'll have reported us to the police. They'll be here soon," Khairul warned."But our attacks haven't done any real damage to it so far. This Stray is much stronger than the others we've faced," Nasuha sighed. Khairul gave a bitter smile."This is only our second day of patrolling. If there's a Stray like this, there must be even stronger ones out there. We have to do everything we can to eliminate it." Nasuha flew toward the Stray, hurling Khairul with all her strength. He sped toward the creature, locking eyes with it as it raised both its arms to strike him."All of this... It's so painful!""Just kill me...""I'll kill you!" The Stray's voice shifted between that of a little girl and a deep, gruff man. Khairul deflected one arm that swung at him and closed in on the Stray's head, attempting to stab it. But his blade couldn't penetrate the hard scales covering its body."What the—!" Khairul exclaimed as the Stray's left hand punched him aside, and its right hand slapped him down toward the ground."What happened?" Nasuha caught Khairul mid-air and flew away again."I couldn't pierce its scales... Where did those even come from? They weren't there before," Khairul groaned, wincing in pain. Nasuha observed the Stray carefully."Now that I think about it, it's bigger than it was before," Nasuha noted."What can we even do to kill it?" Khairul wondered aloud as Nasuha landed on the same rooftop where Kyoko was."All three of our attacks barely hurt the Stray at all. What are we supposed to do now?" Kyoko asked, looking at both Khairul and Nasuha."Should we call for Group One's help?" Nasuha pulled out the eye gem given to her by Mei as a fail-safe system, preparing to call for assistance.But before she could act, the Stray suddenly let out a loud scream, emitting a sound wave that shook their surroundings. Windows shattered, and Khairul, Nasuha, and Kyoko's ears rang painfully. The eye gem slipped from Nasuha's hand as she tried to cover her ears from the pain.Despite being unsteady, Khairul managed to catch the eye gem. Blood began to trickle from his uncovered left ear due to the pressure of the sound wave. Gripping the eye gem tightly in pain, he turned to Kyoko and Nasuha, who seemed immobilized from the attack.We need help!Sorry for interrupting your investigation... Help us! Khairul shattered the eye gem.The Stray finally ceased its attack, and the sound wave assault stopped, but Khairul collapsed to the ground, weak and bleeding from his left ear. Nasuha and Kyoko slowly began to rise from their pain, trying to stand."What was that attack?" Kyoko groaned, still dazed from the loud blast."Khai... your ear..." Nasuha said regretfully, noticing the blood flowing from Khairul. She realized the eye gem that Khairul had broken, and her expression shifted from guilt to fiery anger. Determined, she soared towards the Stray."I don't care what your problem is... You hurt Khairul! That's all the reason I need to destroy you!" Nasuha thrust both hands forward."Star Beam, Maximum Output!" With speed, Nasuha unleashed her attack, the bright beam of light striking the Stray's body. The light forcefully pushed the Stray, causing it to tumble and try to grab onto another building. However, the push from the Star Beam was too strong, making it lose its grip, and the Stray fell.Yesterday... I found it difficult to kill the Stray. Unlike when I was in the Mind Dimension,Nasuha's thoughts began to drift, reminding herself that they were only in their minds. There, I knew we were just in our minds, so killing Strays, fighting Khalid and Sister Kyoko didn't feel burdensome.In the real world, I felt it was hard to kill Strays, as if Khairul's sword and Chyou's hands were stained with blood. Because I was hesitant... But this Stray, it hurt Khairul... Made him bleed...You promised yourself, didn't you, Nasuha? You won't let Khairul get hurt alone anymore. You won't bear this burden alone anymore...So be Ms. Star for him... My light is bright for you, Khai!The image of Khairul's face, bruised and filled with cuts, band-aids, and scars played in Nasuha's mind. As the Stray hovered in the air, Nasuha appeared above it. She gathered light energy in her right hand, forming a large star with many branches like a giant sword blade."Star Slash!" Nasuha swung her attack, and the beam of light wounded the Stray's back, causing it to fall to the ground. The Stray crashed into a bridge and slid onto the empty road."Nasuha... What are you doing?" Kyoko groaned from a distance, her eyes filled with concern. Khairul also watched the event unfold with a worried expression.From the thick dust and smoke created by the Stray's fall, two large hands suddenly emerged and grabbed Nasuha, enveloping her entire body and immobilizing her."Ah!" Nasuha was pulled towards the Stray, its grip tightening around her."Nasuha!" Kyoko and Khairul shouted in unison. Without wasting a moment, Kyoko pulled Khairul along and flew at lightning speed towards Nasuha and the Stray."I'll kill you!""I can't control it!""Kill! Kill! Kill you!" The Stray roared in anger, squeezing Nasuha with enough force that she struggled to breathe. Nasuha tried to free herself, but her powers were insufficient, and her body lacked the strength."Erm! Huah... Fuh!" Nasuha was losing oxygen rapidly as Kyoko and Khairul landed on the Stray's hand. They both tried to move the Stray's fingers, but they lacked the strength. The Stray ignored them as it continued to grow larger, its mouth and hair lengthening, and more scales sprouted around its body."Na-Nasuha!" Khairul yelled, repeatedly trying to split the Stray's fingers, but he could only manage to scratch them slightly."K-Kha-Khai..." Nasuha could only gaze at Khairul, her vision growing blurrier."No! Not like this! Arrrghhh!" Khairul grew increasingly desperate. Kyoko also felt the same, creating two knives from her lightning powers to cut through the Stray's fingers, but they were not strong enough either."I-I'm...sorry..." Nasuha said before losing consciousness. Khairul gritted his teeth as tears began to flow; he glared at the Stray with a fierce expression.The Stray's right eye shed tears and appeared sorrowful, while its left eye looked furious."I'll kill you...""Sorry... I'm sorry...""Arrrggghhhh!" Khairul leaped high towards the Stray's face, his jump generating a powerful wind. Spikes began to grow from his back, and his blades transformed into a more downward-curved shape. Two blade-like teeth emerged from the sides of his mouth, resembling a mantis mouth.Khairul managed to slash part of the Stray's face, penetrating the skin and the hard scales of the creature."I'll kill you!" Khairul shouted as he repeatedly slashed at the Stray's face."Kuaaaaarrrrghhhh!" The Stray screamed again, releasing a sound wave. Kyoko covered her ears, while Khairul continued to attack, even though both his eardrums were ruptured and bleeding.Stop!Both the Stray and Khairul halted their movements.Let go!The Stray's hand released Nasuha. Khalid's group had finally arrived. Khalid immediately exited the Furioswheels car with Mei, while Chyou used his powers to retrieve Nasuha and teleport her back to their vehicle, gently placing her inside."About time you showed up," Kyoko descended from the Stray and landed beside Khalid and Mei."Khairul... Come back here. Calm down," Mei pleaded, placing her right hand on his head.She was using her powers to control both Khairul and the Stray."He... killed Nasuha... I will kill... this monster..." Khairul stated."Nasuha is alive; she's still breathing. Look at her, Khai. Let us handle this situation..." Mei ordered. Khairul regained his senses, and the blades that had grown from his body retracted while his blades returned to its original shape. He quickly leaped off the Stray, landing in Khalid's car to check on Nasuha. He placed his hand on her nose; she was still breathing, and Khairul embraced her tightly, tears glistening in his eyes."Nasuha...""Khalid... Something's not right," Mei said.Inside the mind world of the Stray, a girl could be seen with half of her left face covered in darkness, her entire body bound by numerous snakes.Help me...Kill me...The girl in the mind world was Farah, Mikael's lost daughter, who was also mentioned in the file they read before their previous patrol and mission."This is the Stray we've been looking for," Mei sighed."Are you serious?" Khalid asked, while Kyoko looked at Mei with a puzzled expression."That's not all... She's the daughter of the police officer whose wife got killed. She became a Stray while fighting with her mother..." Mei viewed all of Farah's memories, witnessing Farah screaming at her mother."She killed her own mother." Mei's voice turned sorrowful as she witnessed Farah transforming into a Stray, devouring her mother's head entirely."We'll free her from her suffering now!" Khalid stepped forward, but Mei tried to stop him."Mei?""Wait, Khalid! She... She's not like other Strays... There's still awareness in her, Farah still exists within that Stray," Mei explained.The Stray Farah lunged forward, swinging her arm and throwing chunks of asphalt towards them. Khalid deflected all the attacks aimed at him, Kyoko dodged, and Chyou teleported Mei away from the danger.Everyone! I'll kill them!Don't leave me! Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!"Mei, what options do we have?" Khalid sighed."Khalid... This is the first time a Stray still has human consciousness. This is our chance to try and bring her back to humanity; there's a possibility she could become a Mutant. We have to help her.""Help her? She almost killed Nasuha, don't you realize that?" Khairul snapped."I understand what you want, Mei, but this Stray is dangerous... Nasuha and Khairul were seriously close to death earlier," Kyoko chimed in."Please, you all. She's just a child... We can help her, we are the only ones who can. I can. I will find a way to restore her human mind completely; you all stop her from hurting anyone else... That's all, please don't kill her. Give her a chance, give me a chance!" Mei pleaded, bowing her head before them. Khalid exhaled deeply."Alright... We'll try," he agreed."Damn it... Listen, if things get worse, we have to kill her," Kyoko replied."Understood." Mei then used her powers on Stray Farah, entering her Mind Dimension. For a brief moment in the real world, Stray Farah halted her attacks, but she soon resumed, prompting Khalid and Kyoko to step forward to halt her.Khairul remained by Nasuha's side, refusing to help Stray Farah. Chyou utilized his powers to assist Khalid and Kyoko, repositioning them to safety every time they were in danger of being hit by Stray Farah's attacks.Police sirens echoed in the distance."Just perfect..." Khalid groaned while dodging several of Stray Farah's attacks aimed at him.Meanwhile, inside the Mind Dimension,"Kill me..." Farah pleaded, her eyes vacant."I'll help you. Don't give up," Mei said, placing her hand on the darkness covering half of Farah's face."But why? I don't care anymore... I don't want to live...""Farah, your father needs you. He's all alone right now; come back to him.""But... I killed Mama.""It wasn't your fault. It was the evil cell's fault. Farah, you need to fight it. Use your powers to save people, to atone for those you've hurt..."Tears began to flow from Farah's eyes."But... I can't..."Two police cars stopped near Stray Farah and the HOPE team that was battling her. Rose emerged from one of the armored vehicles, her expression disturbed as she realized HOPE was present."No way..." she murmured, while her teammates moved forward, armed and ready.Mikael and his group exited the other police vehicle. Mikael looked furious as he faced his team."Shoot! Kill those monsters!" Mikael shouted. The police began firing rapidly at Stray Farah and the HOPE team."S-Slow down, everyone! Something's not right, stop!" Rose commanded, but only a few police officers halted their fire while Mikael's team continued pressing forward, shooting relentlessly.The bullets from the police struck Khalid multiple times, but his armor held strong, protecting him. Chyou quickly pulled him away from the chaos."Great! The police are shooting at us now!" Kyoko groaned as they sought refuge behind the Furioswheels once more.The police focused their fire on Stray Farah, with several bullets penetrating the non-scaly parts of her body."It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" With each hit, more darkness enveloped Farah's face."Hang in there, Farah!" Mei urged, struggling to control the darkness threatening to consume Farah completely within the Mind Dimension."Kuaaaaarrrrghhh!" Stray Farah unleashed a sound wave towards the police, many of them halting their fire, clutching their ears in pain. However, Mikael charged forward, his helmet flying off due to the force of the wave, revealing his fierce eyes. Blood trickled from his nose and ears, but he ignored the pain."Pa...pa?" Stray Farah paused her attack, her expression shifting as she recognized a familiar presence. Mikael, too, was taken aback, his eyes widening in shock at the sound."Pa...pa..." Stray Farah repeated softly."Don't use my child's voice to mock me... You damn monster!" Mikael's fury only intensified."So you're the one who killed them! The monster who murdered them!?" Mikael advanced towards Stray Farah, his body suddenly shrouded in black liquid emanating from his shadow.My existence now is solely to avenge my family!Kill this monster... That's the only meaning I have to keep moving now!From the palms of Mikael's hands, two axes formed from the black liquid. His Mutant powers activated, fueling his rage and determination as he prepared to confront Stray Farah.