Chapter 389: That’s Not Normal

Elara reappeared inside the Black Howl.

The instant her feet touched the ground, her knees nearly buckled beneath her.

She barely managed to remain standing as the exhaustion from crossing an entire country crashed over her all at once. That was after using Spatial Leap to get them out of the gate, conjuring hundreds of constructs to keep Kaela from falling, and fighting the Riot Valkyrie.

Her body felt heavy, her breathing was ragged, and the enormous amount of mana she had spent left her feeling as though she had been pushed through a grinder.

Kaela and Mark were still in her arms.

Transporting three people across such an enormous distance was understandably consuming. Her mana reserves had been heavily drained, even after the demon’s additional supply, and every muscle in her body seemed to be protesting the strain.

Even maintaining her balance felt like an effort.

But it had worked.

That was all that mattered.

"We’re back..."

Elara breathed the words before carefully lowering Kaela and Mark to the ground.

Kaela groaned as she rolled onto her back.

She had been mostly conscious since the final barrage and had witnessed the mind-boggling portal Elara had created inside the Gate. Yet, surprisingly, she barely questioned how Elara had managed it. Under normal circumstances, Kaela would have been bombarding her with questions, especially after watching Elara essentially tear open space itself.

But her attention was entirely on Mark, who seemed to be getting worse.

His body suddenly convulsed.

"Mark!"

His back arched as a strained scream escaped his throat. His entire body began writhing as though every muscle were experiencing an extreme cramp at the same time. His fingers curled against the ground, and his legs kicked involuntarily as his body struggled against something neither woman understood.

The dark green aura surrounding him flickered violently.

His body shifted.

Bones moved beneath his skin as the adaptations he had gained inside the Gate began changing. The muscles that had grown denser during his battle seemed to tighten and distort, while his skin briefly took on an unnatural texture.

Then those changes began reverting.

Mark rolled across the ground, clutching at himself as another wave of pain tore through him. His screams echoed throughout the Black Howl, and there was something deeply unnatural about them.

It sounded like something inside him was fighting for control.

Kaela grimaced as she watched him.

"That’s not normal."

Elara’s expression hardened.

Within the Gate, Mark had already been terrifying.

Yet, at least from the beginning, he hadn’t attacked either of them. He had looked at them like they were potential prey, but he had still been capable of recognising them. Maybe his hunger for the Gate Core had been stronger than his instinct to battle two powerful A Ranks.

Or maybe some part of Mark had still been holding on.

They could only hope it was the latter.

Now they had to figure out what was happening to him.

Elara reached for her phone.

There was only one person she could think of who might be able to help.

And in this case, it wasn’t Ethan, who she was sure had a lot he was dealing with.

She made a call.

It was answered after a single ring.

"What is it now?"

Greg’s voice sounded exhausted.

He had become increasingly tired of receiving their calls.

Considering Ethan used Elara’s phone more often than his own because he was constantly losing or breaking it, Greg had assumed it was another one of Ethan’s requests.

Then he heard Elara’s voice.

"I need your help."

The seriousness in her tone immediately changed his demeanour.

Greg straightened.

"What’s happened?"

Elara began explaining Mark’s current predicament and provided a key detail.

"It’s like that drug he took hasn’t left his body."

On the other end of the call, Greg’s expression slowly changed.

He had suspected that Mark had consumed that drug, but none of them had confirmed it until now. That went to show just how serious his condition was, but it was exactly the opportunity that he was waiting for.

’Marcus Reed has displayed abilities like that of a Titled...’

His thoughts became increasingly interested as Elara continued.

’And unlike the others who have consumed that so-called Blessing, he seems somewhat stable.’

Greg’s eyes narrowed.

’He’s the perfect test subject.’

And now, quite conveniently, that test subject was being delivered directly to him.

Greg kept his interest hidden beneath a professional tone.

"I’ll send operatives over immediately."

Elara exhaled in relief.

"Thank you."

"Keep him restrained if necessary. I’ll handle the rest."

Neither Elara nor Kaela questioned him.

They were too focused on Mark.

Greg, meanwhile, had already begun making arrangements. He intended to handle Mark himself, of course, without revealing his ulterior motives.

For now, Elara and Kaela simply needed his help.

While black-suited Association operatives were being dispatched to their location, Greg took the opportunity to get a report from Elara.

"I know now isn’t the greatest time, but we’ve been reached by our allies in the North. Can you please at least give me a brief report of what happened in that Gate?"

The Canadians couldn’t exactly stop them from leaving, even if they had wanted to. Elara and Kaela were Titled from another country, and as drained as they were, it would be fatal to try to use force without their country’s strongest Titled.

Still, their Association needed to understand what had happened.

They had lost two scouting squads inside an unusually powerful and unstable Gate. The only people who had eventually emerged from it were the allied Titled who had been sent to help. And then those same Titled disappeared moments after exiting the Gate in what had been a rather dramatic departure.

Greg needed something he could actually put into a report.

Unfortunately, Elara and Kaela knew full well that they couldn’t tell him exactly what had happened, which didn’t exactly paint them in the best light.

There was an awkward silence on the line.

Greg waited.

"You still there?"

"Yes..."

Elara glanced toward Kaela before handing her the phone.

Kaela looked at it, then back at Elara.

"Hey, why do I have to speak to this loser?"

"I saved your asses, so you have to deal with this."

Kaela couldn’t exactly argue with that.

She sighed.

"You know I can hear you, right?" Greg pointed out.

Kaela ignored him completely.

She didn’t care.

Instead, she began giving him her very undetailed and not particularly useful report.

"Well, the Gate was crazy with some weird sky and shit. There were all kinds of ugly monsters, and the Boss Monster was some giant weird thing with horns that could cause explosions. We handled it, then the Gate started to go boom boom, so we rushed out."

There was a long pause.

Greg pinched the bridge of his nose.

"And how did you make it back here already?"

"You wanted a report on the Gate. That has nothing to do with it"

Kaela then suddenly ended the call.

Greg stared at his phone for several seconds before chuckling lightly.

He had expected as much from the Riot Valkyrie.

Trying to get a detailed report out of Kaela was probably about as useful as trying to teach a monster table manners. More importantly, Greg’s attention was fixated on Mark, who might be the answer to what he was seeking.

And that was far more interesting than the official report.

Back inside the Black Howl, Elara shook her head and let out a relieved laugh.

Despite everything, they had made it out alive.

That was enough.

She looked toward Mark, who was still twitching uncontrollably as Kaela put some clothes on him.

’We’ll make sure he’s okay.’

Elara didn’t want to pile anything more onto Ethan, and could only imagine how things on his end were going...