Chapter 42: Into The Apocalypse

"You...if you had this, why didn't you just lead with it?" Huey threw Tyla and incredulous look before she could leave through the door.

"Ah, so that was what I was missing?" All of a sudden, the platinum blonde woman voiced in a light realization as she seemed to reflect over her past actions, and steps she could have taken.

Huey could guess at a glance her thoughts and his brows twitched.

Tyla's expression slowly beamed and she turned, her azure eyes sparkling with unrestrained excitement.

"Then..."

"No. Get out!"

Huey instantly rebuked before she could finish. He was clearly annoyed, and though he tried to hide it under the pretense of being vexed, his face was flushed.

"Pfft." The sound slipped out before she could stop it.

The following second, Tyla suddenly broke into a short burst of laughter, causing Huey to feel mocked. She tried to hold it in, she really did, but the absurdity of the situation got the better of her.

Huey felt a strange emotion, his pride wounded as he realized he had just been teased for her amusement. 'Hold it in, Blade. Hold it in,' he thought, his hand hovering near the hilt of his sword. He was this close... his sword this close. He swore he would get her back.

But...

'Strange.' Huey hadn't known Tyla long. In fact, he barely knew her at all, and she had left only the faintest impression on him. But from the rare to zero interactions they'd shared, including this very moment, he had to admit it was strange and suspicious to see her laugh so heartfully. It was as if, for the first time, she was revealing a genuine part of herself.

He could have called it cute.

But it was at his expense, and that directly translated to his nature as starting war.

"Excuse me... I- I was just... that reaction..." Tyla stammered, struggling to contain her amusement.

"Are you done?" Huey cut in sharply.

It took a little while, but Tyla managed to regain her composure and reverted to her usual cold and distant facade. The abrupt shift was almost comical.

Aside from a glare from Huey, nothing else was said as Tyla decided to leave. With the door now open, the platinum blonde paused and looked over her shoulder at the young man one last time.

"Heh..." Her lips curled into a small, sensual smile as she brought the tips of her fingers to her lips, her azure eyes glowing vibrantly as they locked onto his figure. "I'll take you up on that offer some other time then."

Leaving behind words that made Huey's back drench with sweat, Tyla walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

A few seconds after she was gone, Huey's brows furrowed. "The fuck?" he muttered to himself.

Why couldn't he explain the shudder he felt when Tyla's last gaze fell on him?

"Women are terrifying. An Elder God? What's that?" Huey muttered to himself, massaging his brows to relieve the tension from all the glaring he had done. It went without saying that his mood was far from the best after all of Tyla's teasing.

Cursing and swearing one last time to get his revenge, Huey redirected his focus to the map in his hands. His expression slowly transitioned from a frown to an unreadable and indifferent mask.

***

Tyla snickered to herself as she closed the door behind her. The underground hallway was lit with neon LED lights hanging from the ceiling, pleasantly illuminating every corner. Taking a short sigh, she pushed herself off the door and walked down the passage with measured strides. The taps of her paced steps echoed hauntingly off the walls.

Her steps grew slower and slower as she approached the end of the passage, where it split into a junction. Reaching the junction, Tyla's tall figure lingered in place. This was the one spot where the rays from the ceiling lights barely reached. The light directly above her flickered, causing shadows to descend and disperse as quickly as the light returned.

"Isha."

Tyla's cold and emotionless voice echoed in the emptiness of the hallway. Leaning against the wall to her left was a familiar figure. Isha stood with her arms crossed, her dark hair unruly. A sharp glint shone in her azure eyes as she raised her head, and Tyla noticed the traces of dark circles beneath them.

A strange, suffocating gloom enshrouded Isha like a cocoon, and all traces of warmth drained from Tyla's expression, replaced by peerless coldness and distance.

"Don't do anything stupid."

Without sparing her colleague a proper glance, Tyla turned in the opposite direction, leaving behind only those words. She walked away.

***

Huey emerged from his quarters half an hour later and was escorted to the settlement's exit just above ground. It was the same abandoned subway entrance they had previously descended through when he first arrived.

Huey had changed out of his rags and into the clothes Tyla had brought him. He wore a loose outer garment reminiscent of a Greek toga, but with the exotic and colorful accents of the Ntuli Tribe's native design style, along with leather sandals that wrapped around his ankles.

At first, Huey felt strangely uncomfortable and awkward in full clothing. The outfit left much of his skin exposed, with his arms and legs bare, but it was still odd to be wearing actual clothes that covered his body after so long. For the most part, he had roamed the Red World with only the ragged remnants of his kimono since before he was teleported. Now, he even had sandals.

"Strange."

It felt odd, but Huey quickly grew fond of the colorful designs and styles. As long as the outfit didn't impede his movements, he was mostly fine with anything. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Huey tied his long, unruly black hair back into a waist-length ponytail, accentuated with a few colorful feathers protruding from the elastic cord holding his hair together. In his left hand was his long black sword, unsheathed and bare.

Escorted by a guard, Huey ascended to the surface entrance and met a familiar group of faces there to see him off.

"Warrior of the Walls," Barak's gaze instantly lit up when he spotted Huey in his tribe's attire.

Huey's feet, cushioned by sandals, crunched the ground slightly as he turned to meet Barak's gaze, and his expression instantly fell.

"Geh," his dissatisfaction was evident, but Barak didn't seem to take the hint and instead approached him eagerly.

Huey turned to the rest of the people present. Among them was the Elder from before, a few Ntuli Tribe guards, and Tyla, whose expression remained cold and unchanging.

'She's ignoring me...' Huey concealed his venom behind a friendly smile as he blatantly waved at her.

"Brave warrior, it appears you're ready to depart," the stoic Elder slowly walked up to him and nodded in reserved satisfaction after sweeping his gaze over him.

"The Professor needs to begin the preparation for the operation of your companion, so he cannot be here to see you off. He sends his regards and a message: 'I hope you find what you're looking for.'"

'I hope so too,' without a change in his facial expression, Huey nodded subtly.

"I've heard the direction you will be heading towards. It would be a waste to tell you to be careful, but like any other abandoned region on this forsaken planet, it's prowling with vicious and abominable creatures. And not just Elder Gods," Barak gave a grave warning of concern.

"I appreciate it. I understand." Huey nodded once more before he walked further, past them. His gaze swept the vast ruinous world before him.

The air was stale and stagnant, filled with a vile murky mist. Fuming patches of black clouds covered the broken grey sky, and the earth was turned asunder.

Taking in a deep breath of pure toxicity, Huey retorted sarcastically inwardly.

'What fine weather.'

Then his gaze met with Tyla for a brief passing second, and his face twitched as Tyla's stone face turned away.

'This bitch is still ignoring me.'

Just then, the monotonous voice of the Elder reached his ears from behind.

"The journey may be long. Are you certain you do not desire a small group of escort or supplies?"

Huey's back was straight as he replied flatly without turning around.

"They'll slow me down. I'll be back in two days from now."

'Two days?' Tyla's brows couldn't help but knit as she heard that. She was vaguely aware of how far the distance Huey was about to travel, and to return in two days, on foot, was almost impossible. Almost.

...And who said anything about walking?

"Very well. I wish you luck," the Elder curtly said.

Without so much as a response of any manner from Huey, he pressed his feet against the ground and leaned forward. A condensed shockwave tore a compact bang in the surrounding, and the ground trembled slightly as Huey's figure vanished into the distance, unseen.

Feeling her hair ruffle from the pressure, Tyla's brows knit tightly in shock as she stared at the empty space where Huey had been just half a millisecond ago and thought unfathomably;

"Monster!"

______________________________________

DING! DING! DING! No, I am not dead. No, I have not dropped this book. Yet. I apologize for suddenly running off without warning, but for those of you who have been reading my other book you would know that I've been focusing more on that rather than RED. But here I am, another chapter in...twenty-seven days...yay?

Alright, alright, I'm sorry. It's just demoralizing to keep writing without a contract or obvious expression that this novel is liked. But I'm here anyway, and I've previously said I would continue the first volume of RED, and after that, we'll see.

Check out my other novel, in the meantime with 100+ free chapters. More than ample time for you to decide if you'd like it. And vote power stones for RED: Swordsman in the Apocalypse, to show your support, only then will I be truly driven to go plus ultra on this book. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this read.