55 1.29.1 I am not to blame.

"Korus was right.."

On a battlefield, two-kilometer away from the Riber City Easter outpost. A huge battle was taking place.

Fifteen-meter tall androids fought along with Wilkis to suppress the crystal lizard And they were succeeding.

Girisia's foreknowledge was true and not much has changed. Maybe, there was nothing the attackers could do to change their plan after seeing that all fronts of Riber city were under tight defense.

Their only true method of attack was the grade four fiend who was hurt after the ambush of Wilkis and his close constituents which included Mister clock and Vanras.

"How long before WIlkis wakes up?" Mister clock asked, watching the battle taking place in front of him.

Missiles flew, ion-cannons were shot from aerial drones from time to time and the two Gigantic androids were completely suppressing the fiend under their weight and heavy strikes.

If not for its hard crystallized body, the lizard would have already died under the attacks of AI automated Wilkis.

"Still not sure. But from Prof. Farsight's words, it won't take long." Vanras informed as he surrounded himself and Mister clock with a black metallic cover that grew out of the earth.

"He better wake up fast. People are getting suspicious." Mister clock spoke calmly, acting completely oblivious to the black structure that surrounded him.

"It would be bizarre if they didn't get suspicious."

Neither Vanras nor Mister clock joined the fight. They had no right or ability to take part in this battle. The difference between grade three and grade four was different between heaven and earth.

"Well speak of the devil." Mister clock turned to look behind. "Vanras, lower your shield. Some of our braves seem to have noticed the disturbance here." The current fight was happening not too far from the eastern outpost. So the moment the logistics detected the high energy output. They learned what was happening here through the eyes of the drones.

Now they were here in person and not even 3 minutes has gone by since the start of the fight.

"Mister Clock! Assistant Vanras... Why weren't we notified of this?"

Only two commanders came to this place while the rest were still supporting the war going on at the defense wall.

"There was no time for this and you already know who is behind this so we couldn't take chances on startling them." Mister clock explained calmly.

"Then why is the General fighting like this… He doesn't seem like his usual self." These commanders have fought along with Wilkis for a long time so it was easier for them to notice the inconsistent way the current Wilkis fought.

They knew that they couldn't join the way the battle was going on. If they tried to join it. There was a high chance they would be harmed, by Wilkis.

"Why are you not helping the General?"

"..." Vanras was stuck, he knew that he can't expose the mayor no matter what happens. And other people can't know that if given the rights, one can even control the Mayor's body in special circumstances.

And besides the two controllers which also included Farsight, only two more people knew about this. 'No maybe, 3 more people.'

"Just wait and see, you will know." Mister clock was not fazed by the questions. He had his usual poker face as gear kept turning on half his face.

"What do you mean?" A commander asked curiously. What is so special that will make Wilkis fight so crudely.

But they were answered fast.

"So they truly were not as stupid as we had hoped." The ground burst open, as a giant centipede with a chitin wing flew into the sky, aiming its pincers at Wilkis that stood floating in the sky.

It was grade four too.

*bang.

Its pincer that it opened wide was met with Wilkis's sword, cutting off its pincers and some of its legs with a single slice.

'The future will change depending on the actions we take.' And the actions have been taken by the gray bone clan. They have sent another fiend to the battle.

"Don't worry, the Mayor can han.." Before Clock can say anything.

A human-sized mantis suddenly materialized behind Wilkis and struck him in the back.

"What… "

Three, there were three fiends on the battlefield.

There was no need for play anymore. The situation has worsened way worse than expected. A total of three fiends are hard to fight for the current Wilkis.

'The Gray bone tribe has no means to control or cultivate three fiends… they can't achieve this strength so easily.' Vanras concluded. If the gray bone clan can secure the strength of this level so easily. They would have become king of Gareth Plateaus long ago.

"Don't think, go support the Mayor… I will try to defend you as much as I can." Mister clock sent a small piece of gear to the hands of the two commanders and Vanras.

"This will make me keep track of you and let me sense any danger. Just go and distract the lizard and centipede. Ignore the mantis, it's an equal match."

The fight began. Using the small gear as a catalyst, Mister clock started to teleport the combatants into the fray.

Tall metallic spears grew from the ground, trapping the lizard. It was already bleeding by the onslaught of Wilkis's previous offense and now most of the crystals on its body were broken making it the best target for Vanras.

While the other two end to the flying centipede.

*****

*Puke…

Away from Tarkov, who was searching for the remaining drones of Yoshikov. Girisia was hunching down by the side of a tree as he tried to puke.

But even if he put his finger inside his throat, nothing came out.

Most of the mutations on his body were already gone and he was slowly returning to his base form. The injuries that he had sustained in the battle also healed and regenerated under the effect of vitality infusion.

There was nothing wrong with his current body, but Girisia still felt disgusted by it.

Looking at the dirt on the ground, Girisia picked it up and rubbed it on his tongue. A sour and earthy taste filled his mouth but the sensation and taste that kept going through his head didn't change.

–"What are you doing?" A mechanical voice came.

Girisia turned and found a small floating drone behind him. He was not surprised by it, neither was he startled by the sudden question. He just casually asked. "How many have you found till now?"

– "A total of 21… I can't search too deep into the ground and chances are, Yoshikov has hidden them way deeper than we can imagine."

"Then let's forget about it… Wasting time to achieve something impossible, is a waste of time." Girisia under the watchful gaze of the drone moved away from the place where he tried to empty the contents of his stomach and started to walk toward the camp he had established with other players.

–" Then let's go back to Riber City, they may need our help."

"Yes, let's do just that." Girisia nodded nonchalantly, wanting to end this conversation.

And Tarkov relented. His drone flew away from Girisia, giving him time to stabilize.

<Quest complete: Help Tarkov in hunting Yoshikov.>

<Additional requirements fulfilled: Find the details of Utena.>

<Reward: 6000 exp, Companion: Tarkov>

Girisia felt nothing toward the experience reward, his eyes were blank and he didn't even bother to check how much experience he had gained from killing.

At the height of the battle, there was no time to focus on useless things for long. But after the battle, the reality set in and the things that he did during it started to replay in his mind.

'Can't, no I need to distract myself… that's the best way." Girisia thought. His mind kept replaying the events that happened before.

How he ate human flesh, how he killed the people and how he mutilated that woman at the end.

He can blame the first of his offenses on his animalistic desire but he can't blame for what he did to the woman later on. He was in complete control and he still went too far.

'Is this… how it feels?' The taste of human flesh stayed on Girisia's tongue, ignoring his pleas to leave.

'Mind is a dangerous thing…' There was no way the taste would stay on Girisia's tongue for so long, his body has completely shed its beastly form and even regenerated half of his face. That taste can't stick.

'But I didn't have a choice. And they were bad people.' Girisia tried to justify his actions.

'I couldn't leave any of them alone, I would have been exposed.' Girisia was trying to brainwash himself. He would still be exposed to Utena the day they excavate the drone hidden by Yoshikov, so his kills still didn't change a thing.

'Death happens, if I didn't do anything, I would be the one dead.' Girisia was not backing down, he wanted to keep his sanity in one way or another. He knew the difference between just killing and the thing that he did to the bodies.

'And it's not like death is the end… Yes, Yes!! I was reincarnated, meaning the afterlife exists along with reincarnation. They are not truly dead… no one is.' Girisia concluded a horrible conclusion that satisfied him.

"They shouldn't worry. No one should worry about death, for there is life after death, and who knows, if they get lucky in the next life." Girisia justified his reasoning with words that will twist his nature in the future.