EmEs_etherious
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Chapter 76- A Harrowing Experience
🕑 Added 2023-06-25 23:22:15 +0000 UTCWalking into that room made Bryan question every decision he had ever made in his life. He must have gone wrong somewhere, or he never would have ended up in a situation like this. Being under the collective scrutiny of dozens of individuals that controlled the flow of Earth made Bryan feel like he was an exotic creature that was being examined. He’d take fighting another Shade any day over being here in person. Okay, maybe I won't go that far.
Bryan quickly observed everyone sitting around the large round table and tried to get a feel for what the atmosphere in the room was like. Some eyes were filled with open hostility, others with curiosity and apprehension and even a few with pity. One man’s glare stood out to him, however, and he quickly recognised him as the French president. Yep, that’s definitely the bastard with aura issues, Bryan thought as he matched the repressed aura signature to the fluctuating pressure he had felt from outside.
The angry man was renowned for being a prejudiced and fickle individual, and Bryan was now certain that those qualities were definitely more than baseless rumours. The only other person who stood out to him was Natasha Samuels- the frozen princess- though for very different reasons. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him, but he quickly schooled his thoughts. Calm down; she’s practically half your age. Bryan chastised himself. Still, the woman was well known for her incredible beauty, being a former model, and Bryan wasn’t altogether successful in ignoring her presence.
The rest of those in the room were much like he had expected them to be. That is to say that most of them could probably have him dead and buried by the time the day was out. Bryan gulped nervously. Thankfully, his direct superior, and perhaps the strongest man in all of America, rescued him by clearing his throat loudly and bringing everyone’s attention to himself.
“Now, this is Bryan, the man who brought us this warning.” General Bradly spoke, his voice low and commanding, almost like he was ordering you to listen to him. Given the man’s military background, that may have indeed been the case.
“I’ve already told you everything that he told us, but I thought it best that you should all see him for yourself and ask him any questions you may have. Cordially.” The general added the last word directed to the French president with a pointed look.
Bryan was both grateful and exasperated with the old man’s statement. He had at least warned away anyone from just demanding answers from him rudely, but General Bradley had also thrown him to the wolves with his announcement that he was there to satisfy their curiosities. Bryan once again felt everyone’s gaze hone in on him, and he cursed his previous self for getting him into this situation.
As expected, the first question came from French President Amarone.
“Why should we believe anything you say?”He asked accusingly.
When Bryan got over the fact that he had somehow understood the man’s French perfectly, despite never learning the language, he took a deep breath and prepared himself. This was a question he had expected long before walking into this room, and he had already explained himself once before.
“With all due respect, sir,” Bryan began, hating the forced politeness in his voice. “I’m not entirely sure how I can prove to you that I’m an honest person.”
Amarone snorted loudly at that, and Bryan quickly continued to speak as if he hadn’t heard the sound of derision in the man’s rude interruption.
“All I can do is recollect the events that happened today,” Bryan said before going into an explanation of how and why they had killed Shade and, finally, the eventual finding of the experimental mutagen. Pulling out a slip of paper from his pocket, Bryan recited the message he had received from the system assistant, making sure he emphasised the final line where he was ordered to ‘warn his people.’
When Bryan finished speaking, the room was quiet for an eternally long moment before everyone exploded into chatter. Bryan was a little surprised at the strong reaction as he was certain that General Bradley had already told everyone what he had just said. Unless, of course, the old-fashioned fool thought it was best that the bearer of bad news delivered his message himself, Bryan thought wryly. He wouldn’t put it past the old man to do something like that. It took almost an entire minute for everyone to calm themselves down and regain some semblance of order.
Bryan observed that a few of the individuals looked far less sceptical now, and some, especially Natasha, for some reason, appeared downright terrified. They all quickly schooled their expressions into ones of calm indifference, and Bryan would have almost believed that he had imagined things. He knew what he had seen, though; there was no doubt about it.
They had looked afraid.
Bryan quickly dismissed the strange reactions as something he could better look into later and prepared himself to face the tirade of questions that was no doubt incoming after his tall tales. This time, it was an unfamiliar man that addressed him, and for the life of him, Bryan couldn’t guess who he was, though his accent somehow translated through whatever magical means it was by which he could understand everyone. It sounded decidedly Russian. He could be wrong, however, and the man could be representing the Italians for all he knew.
“And what of the experimental mutagens you found? Do you have it with you?” the man asked, his voice slightly nasal, like he had a cold or something.
Bryan quickly reviewed what he had said and realised that he hadn’t mentioned how the unique item had simply disappeared.
“Well, you see, “ he began, already knowing how pathetic his words would sound. “The mutagen is far too unstable to exist in its natural state when not bonded with a human. That's why it destabilized soon after I took it.” Bryan took a deep breath, hoping that the man would believe his next words.
“It's gone now.”
The room was silent for a moment as everyone digested Bryans’s claim before the French president scoffed.
“Well, that's convenient, isn't it? Such a dangerous tool just goes poof whilst in the American hands,” Amarone sneered. “Just like all those nukes you used to hoard.”
It was General Bradly that responded to the angry man’s accusations.
“I thought you said you didn’t believe us,” he spoke, his voice deadly quiet in the tense room. “That's perfectly fine, Amarone. What isn't is you insinuating that the American government would hide such a dangerous item.” A hint of rage had leant a deadly edge to General Bradly's voice, and the room seemed to have gotten a lot hotter all of a sudden, perhaps due to the old man's fire and enhancement affinities.
He almost pitied Amarone with how flushed the man's skin had gotten. It was surprisingly Natasha Samuels that brought the heated situation to a cool, literally. Living up to her name as the frozen princess, the temperature of the room rapidly cooled and returned to normal as she spoke, her voice icy cold.
“Why don’t we all calm down and stop behaving like children.” When General Bradly’s oppressive aura receded, the beautiful woman smiled and stopped releasing her own.
“Amarone, dear. I’m afraid that Bryan hasn’t spoken a single lie since walking through those doors. I have a skill that tells me as much.” Natasha spoke quietly. “As much as I hoped this was all a farce, that sadly isn't the case.”
Her voice was much louder now as her words were directed to the whole room. Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats when they heard the Nordish woman's claim. To have revealed that she possessed such a useful skill meant that what she was saying was most likely true. Everyone present knew how important it was to keep your magical affinities to yourself nowadays. It was what gave you an edge in a fight, and unless Natasha was lying to everyone, that meant she had actually revealed one of her greatest secrets just so people could believe her. It lead credence to the magnitude of the threat Earth currently faced. Bryan felt touched by the woman's gesture of goodwill but quickly bought himself under control. She could just be lying to pursue her own agenda. He warned himself. He wasn’t about to let her charming smile distract him from the fact that the woman controlled an entire nation. She’s only 21, and she didn’t get to where she is by being a nice, naive woman, Bryan told himself.
“That isn't to say that you’ve told us the entire truth.” Natasha asserted, now addressing Bryan directly, thus confirming his suspicions that the woman was after something. I knew she was too perfect to be true, Bryan thought forlornly, though he did wonder what exactly it was he hadn’t said. As far as he could remember, he had given a pretty accurate recollection of the events that had transpired today. Voicing his confusion, he spoke.
“I’m not sure what you're trying to say. What do you mean I’ve not told you the entire truth?”
Natasha smiled awkwardly at the question, finally doing something that revealed her young age. “Well, you see, that's the thing. I’m not really sure either, but my skill was acting up a little when you were talking about your fight with Shade,” she paused for breath for a moment. “It’s almost like you're consciously avoiding something about that fight; it doesn’t add up as well. You say that you only just unlocked your class when you fought the crazed ghoul, and you're the highest levelled member of your team.” Bryan felt some of his confusion ebb away as he realised where this conversation was going. “If Shade was really level 162 like you said, how in the world did you manage to bring him down? It should have been impossible with your strength. Who helped you, and why don’t you want to talk about them?” Natasha asked.
Many of the others seated at the table leaned forward in curiosity when they heard her question. Though they hadn’t asked for details, most of those gathered here had wondered how Bryan had managed to survive an encounter with someone as strong as Shade, especially if this so-called experimental mutagen lived up to its hype. Bryan sighed wearily. It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to keep Arthur’s involvement in the fight against Shade a secret despite his attempts not to mention him at all. Though he didn’t really know the man much, he owed his life to the young healer, and Bryan felt that speaking about Arthur's abilities to everyone he met willy-nilly would be a poor way to repay that debt.
Still, it was probably inevitable that he was found out sooner or later, as Bryan was pretty sure that the American government were not done with the healer’s services. Bryan took a deep breath and prepared to explain the enigma that was known as Arthur Ward. The least Bryan could do was present Arthur in a favourable light and make sure that the last spell the healer had used was kept a secret. At least he would try to if Natasha's skill allowed him to by the time he was done talking.
“Well, you see.” Bryan began. “I didn’t really want to talk about that because the help we received came from someone completely unaffiliated with our government,” Bryan paused for a moment to gauge everyone’s reaction to his statement.
The world leaders were understandably intrigued by the admission that a powerful unaffiliated individual lived on American soil. “As you can guess, I felt that I couldn’t disclose any of his information, but it seems that circumstances don't really allow me to,” Bryan paused for breath. There was no way these people would let him keep quiet after Natasha spoke up. He inwardly cursed the beautiful woman.
This was going to be a long explanation.
“We actually contracted a powerful healer for the fight. He’s called Arthur Ward, and I wouldn’t be mistaken in saying that he’s currently the best at what he does on the entire planet. a combat healer that can hold his own.”
Bryan went on to describe the exact nature of Arthur's abilities and why he was so useful on the battlefield, trying his best to downplay it where he could. It was the least he could do for the young man. At least this way, they would be a little unprepared when they tried to recruit him.
A few long minutes later, Bryan was finally done, and the room was silent as everyone came to terms with how broken Arthur's regeneration skill was. Once again, it was Natasha that spoke up first, and the beautiful woman surprised Bryan once again.
“I want to meet him.”
Next chapter Tomorrow.
