A Returnee Wants to Play VRMMO 16 Chapter 15

At first, she thought that it will just pass but even now after she has finished shopping for groceries, the feeling is still there.

She tried reassuring herself by thinking that it may just be a side effect of the training she had received from Nex while she hurried back to her car.

Walking swiftly, she thought about asking the said person about this whole ordeal when suddenly, everything around her darkened. The bright and clear morning skies turned black as if a starless night had arrived. The warmth in the air is slowly dissipating to give way to the chill that is starting to creep in. The streets that were once filled with boisterous people going on with their everyday lives turned empty with no signs of life in sight.

Jane prided herself as a strong and capable woman but seeing such scenes and hearing nothing except her own quick breaths really pushed her sanity to its limits.

Abandoning all pretense of calmness, she started running towards her car while her fingers were busy trying to dial Nex's number to ask for help.

[There is no connection in your area!]

"Damn it!" She cursed loudly in frustration upon seeing the prompt.

She was still caught up in the helplessness that she was currently feeling when she perceived a creeping sensation at her back. She turned around only to freeze with shock.

From the shadows behind her, a humongous creature rose. One that could easily rival those monsters from horror films, if not make those look pretty and meek.

It had numerous moving limbs that greatly resemble the tentacles of a squid but instead of suckers lining across them, each tentacle had scythe-like protrusions. Although its legs ranked number one in peculiarity scale, it didn't affect the creature's mobility at all, judging from the way it is currently charging at her with enthusiasm.

The moment the creature sensed Jane, its mouth in the middle of its giant body opened wide into a strange smile, revealing countless of sharp and lengthy teeth. Large splats of saliva fell into the ground while infinite slimy tongues waggled around.

Of course, Jane promptly started running away. Who sticks around like an idiot when a hungry beast like that is aiming for them? Thanks to Nex's training, she managed to run faster than the average person does. She even felt she can outrun the beast! Hope slowly trickled in the recesses of her heart.

*Whipping Sound*

"Ahh!"

Alas! Reality proved to be a lot different from expectation, crushing down that tiny sprout of hope that was slowly budding inside Jane. The monster wasn't that stupid not to use one of its tentacle-like limbs to take a swipe at her shin. This resulted to an injury which Jane resolutely ignored despite the agonizing pain she felt. Who cares about all that blood gushing out of their shin and that biting ache when they are running for their very lives? Thus, Jane continued going forward.

*Whipping Sound*

"Ahh!"

She howled once more. This time, the attack landed on her back, making a nasty wound across it. On instinct, she turned around to take a look but of course, she wasn't able to see the extent of her wound. Instead, she caught a glimpse of the beast behind her and a realization quickly dawned on her.

The monster is only playing with her! It had countless of limbs yet only one of them struck her when it could simultaneously move them all for her capture. If that monster wanted her dead already, she would have been eaten a long time ago! Plus, that monster is spreading its mouth in a jeering grin, which was a dead giveaway.

Understanding her predicament, Jane made a single, crazy decision.

She will fight back!

She started running again but this time, her eyes kept looking around for something that could give her a fighting chance. She knew that with her current capability, she wouldn't stand a chance with a head-on clash. She must use a bit more of her brainpower for this.

Soon enough, she found something that gave her an idea. Quickly turning her direction towards a construction site, she kept running. The monster dished out a couple of attacks separately but excruciating, nonetheless, which she continued to ignore even if the pain made her want to faint.

She arrived at a crane that held a massive amount of heavy metals but didn't stop her mad dash. For her idea to work out, she had to lure her mob under those metals and do the little trick that Nex had taught her.

With her mind extremely focused on her plan, she mentally counted.

'Now!'

The second she finished her counting, she turned around and aimed her palm at the link that connected the crane and the pile of metals and muttered the strange word that Nex taught her.

"Blast!"(Preias Magic Language)

As soon as the word left her mouth, her palm began to glow in blue light. The light then condensed into a ball that quickly darted out of her palm and hit the link.

*Bang!*

She didn't expect much from that palm-sized ball. Just a small blast would suffice, as long as it breaks the link. To her astonishment, the result was actually a colossal explosion that not only broke the link but also flung the metals underneath at a great speed and an equal great force with its shockwave. It almost smashed the monster into tiny bits.

From being shocked to being elated and finally relieved at the results of her plan, Jane fell to the ground after the effects of the adrenaline rush that pushed her to her limits wore off.

But her happiness didn't last for long.

To her horror, she saw the remains of the monster turn into thin smoke that quickly grew denser by the second. It made jerking movements and in a flash, the beast is back to its perfectly horrid self. It all happened right in front of her, so it wasn't just an illusion or hallucination.

"No…"

She could only whisper such in misery and surrender as she saw the monster coming closer to her with a not-so-happy expression. Without an ounce of energy left in her, she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"Sorry I was late."

She didn't realize it until that moment that it was a voice she had irrationally wanted to hear under such circumstances. It had to be a dream! A wishful thinking that she could still be saved! The graveness of her situation made her pessimistic but a warm hand patted her shoulder.

"Nex!"

Her eyes flew open and she saw the familiar face of the silver-haired man.

Only this time, the usually present smile in his lips is gone. His casual self is nowhere in sight. His demeanor now is not something she had seen before as she could feel the fury that radiates off of him even if his face had a calm expression. She knows that that entire ire is not aimed at her but it still made her shake in trepidation.

As though sensing her emotions, Nex turned to her with his usual warm smile, "Sorry that you had to see that. Don't worry, I will finish it now."

He then turned to stare at the creature darkly. It was then that she turned her attention back to the monster.

It wasn't moving towards her as it had previously done. Instead, it was just thrashing around madly like it is being held by invisible chains. It couldn't do anything but make creepy wailing sounds that sounded a lot like frustration.

"Scram!"

Blinding bright light made Jane turn her head away and close her eyes. When she felt it was all done, she finally opened her eyes and what she saw made her forget to breathe.

The morning sky returned again with the sun glaring brightly up high. Sounds of people everywhere could now be heard. It was all normal once again except for the spot where the monster once stood. It brought a shock on Jane as she saw the presence of a glaring pit that was about 3 meters wide with a depth that should be more than 10 meters in place of the monster.

She then turned and stared at Nex, unable to find the right words to say, "You… How…"

Nex just shrugged his shoulders while scratching the back of his head as he smiled awkwardly at her, "I guess I went a little overboard…"

He looked at his handiwork and smiled sardonically, "That is sure to attract people."

Without waiting for her reaction, he continued, "Get ready."

She blinked once and then everything around her twisted. She wasn't bothered in the least as she is now with Nex. She blinked again and she found herself inside the confines of her own home.

He didn't let her react still as he looked at her and passed glowing energy to her through his hand which began to heal her wounds and minimize her pain into oblivion.

That was when she finally managed to process the earlier events. She turned and stared seriously at Nex, "What the f*ck was that thing?"

"A Soul Devil." He replied calmly.

"Explain," She said without breaking eye contact.

Nex took a large breath before he began his lengthy explanation.

"As you know there are normal demons and devils in this world and the thing they love the most is to destroy and kill. Then there is the Soul Devil. They are a devious mutation of a devil that experienced something similar to OverSoul. Their main purpose is to consume souls of people. Most of them are very picky and will only choose to eat special souls that attract them."

"Like my OverSoul?" Quick on the uptake, she asked.

"Yes," Nex nodded gravely, "Your OverSoul is quite alluring for them and will naturally be more attractive because it had started to awaken along with the training. Since they live in another dimension, they couldn't easily reach this place. The probability of them coming here is miniscule, that is why I didn't bother telling you about it."

Jane nodded as she processed all the information given to her but still said fiercely, "I would need more than that in order for me to not slap and kick you out of here. Rare chance, my a*s."

Instead of getting upset from her rough words, Nex just looked at her and smiled in amusement which made her blush a little on instinct. He pointed at the TV that suddenly turned on.

[Until now, there are no further developments about the situation of the Gray Gate. According to our sources, the Gray Gate is an extremely rare type of gate that opened not far from here and caused the emergence of never-seen-before Demons and Devils. Records show that the last time it had appeared happened 30 years ago which caused great mayhem, more in this subject is…]

"So? Still unconvinced about the rate of its appearance? Should I use the 30-year mark as a basis for reference?" He teased her a little.

Although having her words countered like that, with a slightly redder cheeks, Jane still persisted, "But this monster was attracted to me because of the training you---"

"It would have come anyway." Nex cut her off, "It would have sensed the scent of your soul. In fact, it would have smelled it from other people you are close to."

Gone was all the teasing in his eyes as he looked at her deeply before continuing, "Especially Eddie."

At his words, Jane turned pale at once and in denial, "You're lying..."

"No," Nex shook his head gloomily, "In fact, because of your soul not having awakened, the Soul Devil would have gone directly for Eddie as it would have sensed him better."

"Stop…" Various images all horrific and bloody flooded her mind. Images she never wants to ever see happen in real life.

Ignoring her rejection, Nex just continued in hopes of letting her understand the graveness of the situation, "Tell me, do you wish for that scenario to occur?"

She stayed quiet for a while, trying to rid herself of the ghastly scenes inside her head. She then looked at Nex, "No but what should I do?"

Hearing the confusion yet a slither of determination in her voice, Nex smiled brightly.

"That is very simple! We get you strong enough to kick the a*s of the next bastard who wants to mess with you or Eddie."

Chapter end