CH 20 Meeting The Ex

Ren’s POV

Ren lay on his back. His breathing was uneven. Freya still rested in his arms.

For a few seconds, he did nothing except stare into the darkness above him, letting the fact settle in. He was alive. Somehow, despite everything that had just happened, he had survived. The last attack had come too suddenly. The sight of the silver armored attacker standing alive and perfectly unharmed had thrown his thoughts into chaos at the worst possible moment. That mistake could have killed him.

He forced himself to move his head and look around, though there was barely anything to see. The place they had fallen into was a deep underground tunnel, completely cut off from any natural light. The darkness pressed in from all sides, though he could sense the surroundings with his Mana Zone. When he replayed the past few moments in his mind, it felt almost unreal. Just as the cannon’s laser was about to hit him, a section of the ground had risen abruptly, forming a wall that blocked his—and the silver armored awakener’s—view for a fraction of a second. That brief obstruction had been enough. In the next instant, the earth beneath them had opened. Hands formed of soil had reached up, gripping his ankle and dragging him down into the darkness before the attack landed, and the opening had sealed shut above them. The fall had been rough. His body slammed into the tunnel floor hard enough to send pain shooting through his leg. He could already tell it was sprained, but compared to what could have happened, it was a small price to pay.

A slight disturbance brushed against his Mana Zone, snapping his focus back to the present. Something had entered the area.

Ren formed a Fire Bullet in front of him, its glow faintly illuminating the darkness as he aimed it toward the presence.

“Were you the one who pulled us down and saved—”

His words cut off as the figure stepped closer, the dim light revealing her face. She was human. Blonde hair fell in uneven strands around her face, and her purple eyes were sharp despite the exhaustion written all over her. Her clothes were torn and stained. Her entire body was covered in grime, and the dark circles under her eyes made it clear she hadn’t rested properly in a long time. For a moment, she reminded him of Freya when they had first met, only worse.

“Wa-Wait! I’m not an enemy! I saved you!” she raised her hands quickly, her voice tight with alarm as she noticed the Fire Bullet pointed at her.

Ren’s gaze hardened as he realized something.

“You…” His tone shifted, colder now. “It was you.”

“W-what?” she asked, clearly caught off guard by the coldness in his tone. He should’ve been grateful for being saved, right?

“You were the thing that Freya sensed before we entered the Base. Now it makes sense why I couldn’t sense you. Because you were underground,” Ren said.

“That—”

“You must’ve known what was waiting for us inside the Base, and yet you didn’t stop us. So why did you save us now? Or… are you working with that silver armored awakener? You came here to capture us,” Ren asked.

Freya had said the poison wasn’t lethal. That meant the attacker had intended to take them alive, likely to extract information. But when Ren had showed he was capable of escaping, the silver armored awakener used the canon, deciding it was better to kill them than to let them escape.

And this woman had appeared at the exact moment they needed help. The timing was too convenient.

Was she working with that silver armored awakener? She might be planning to make herself look like an ally then capture them for the silver armored awakener.

She is an enemy. His thoughts finished forming in an instant.

He fired the Fire Bullet.

The ground responded immediately. A wall of earth rose in front of the woman, blocking the attack cleanly. The flames scattered against the surface, leaving nothing but fading embers. But Ren had already moved ahead. Another Spell—Earth Bullet—had formed behind her head, ready to fire.

Just as he prepared to release it, she shouted—

“I’m a healer!”

Ren stopped.

“I’m a healer! I can look after Freya and you!” she repeated, her voice more desperate now.

“…how do you know Freya’s name?” he asked, narrowing his eyes.

Silence followed. The wall of earth slowly sank back into the ground, and she faced him again. She didn’t seem to rely on sight in the darkness, yet her attention remained fixed exactly on them, as if she could perceive their positions through another sense entirely. She had also somehow sensed Earth Bullet earlier.

“I’ll answer your questions but cancel your skill,” she said, referring to the Earth Bullet.

Ren let the Earth Bullet disperse, but he didn’t leave himself unguarded. A Water Bullet formed quietly behind her, positioned far enough that it wouldn’t draw attention. Unlike before, she showed no reaction to it.

She can sense Earth Bullet but not Water Bullet? Is her sense related to Earth? That would match with how she seems capable to controlling Earth, he thought swiftly.

He had planned to threaten her to talk without cancelling Water Bullet even if she asked to cancel it, but since she couldn’t sense it, it worked out better for him.

“Talk,” Ren said.

He was aware of how this looked. Threatening someone who had just saved them wasn’t ideal, but he wasn’t in a position to take risks. They were deep underground, surrounded by her element, and if she decided to turn on them, the fight would be heavily tilted in her favor. Even so, Ren was not planning to go down without a fight, or without taking her down with him for that matter.

“I— I’m Lotus. I’m a healer. I didn’t stop you from entering the Base, because—” she hesitated, biting her lip as if weighing whether to continue. She clearly didn’t want to explain, and she definitely had the terrain advantage to not take this kind of threat from Ren, but for some reason, she still talked. “You were with Freya. I was Freya’s previous partner, and if she saw me, she would’ve killed me.”

Ren was about to ask what had happened between them, but a memory surfaced suddenly.

The encounter with “Luna,” the Terror Wolf. The uncanny hostility the Terror Wolf showed towards him, the way Freya repeatedly emphasized that he was a “trustworthy” ally to calm the wolf.

She betrayed Freya in the past. Freya must’ve talked about it to the wolf. That’s why it didn’t like me, her new teammate, Ren quickly pieced the clues together.

He glanced down at Freya, who was still unconscious. A faint groan escaped her lips, and her body tensed with pain. There was no way he was getting answers from her right now.

“Why did you save us?” he asked, cautious.

“…My Beast is captured by the silver armored awakener. I need to save my Beast. You two were able to escape the Base even if on death’s door. That means you are strong. If I want to rescue my Beast, it’s only possible by working together with you two,” she replied.

Ren watched her carefully, measuring every word.

So she rescued us for her benefits. Well, that’s more believable than saying she did it out of goodwill, he thought.

The bond between Beast Masters and the Beast tied their lives together. If the Beast died, they died as well, at least until they completed the First Class Evolution and formed the second contract. At that point, a new connection was formed, allowing them to survive the loss, though not without severe consequences.

From what she had said, Lotus hadn’t reached that First Class Evolution yet, which meant she had only one Beast, and her life was connected to that Beast.

If the silver armored awakener killed it, she would die as well.

It made sense she was desperately trying to save her Beast.

That also meant there was a high chance she was working with the silver armored awakener. After all, why would the enemy not kill the Beast, knowing it’s Beast Master is alive somewhere outside and planning to attack? The more Ren thought about it, the more the situation felt layered. The silver armored attacker had shown no hesitation in trying to eliminate them once they began escaping. Someone like that wouldn’t normally leave loose ends behind. Keeping the Beast alive sounded like an unnecessary risk unless there was a reason.

No, maybe it left the Beast alive because of its ability. Lotus said she is a healer. That healing ability must come from the Beast, and that silver armored awakener is using the Beast to heal itself after battles, Ren thought.

The logic made sense, but it was still speculation. Too many assumptions, too many missing pieces. The chances of her being an enemy were still high, and even if she was telling the truth, that didn’t make her trustworthy. She had already betrayed Freya once. Someone capable of doing that could do it again if circumstances favored it.

“Let me heal Freya. We can talk after that,” Lotus added in a careful tone.

Ren looked down at Freya, who was still in his arms. Her breathing was uneven, and every few seconds a faint tremor ran through her body. She looked like she was in constant pain. Letting Lotus heal her would help, but trusting someone who openly admitted to betraying her before was dangerous. If Lotus wanted to kill Freya, this was the perfect opportunity. Ren himself was injured and exhausted. Lotus might even be counting on that, thinking he wouldn’t be able to retaliate, or that he would not kill her if she harmed Freya because he needed her healing ability.

“Ren, I won’t harm her. I promise. I… I have things to clear up with her too,” she said.

Ren didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he tried a different approach. He reached toward the cub in Freya’s arms, intending to gently take it out and hand it to Lotus for healing. But even in her half-unconscious state, Freya refused to let go. Her fingers tightened weakly around the cub, pulling it closer to her chest. Despite the pain she was in, she instinctively protected it.

Dammit, why does she care so much about a monster, he thought.

His options narrowed. Either he trusted Lotus, or he watched Freya worsen. There wasn’t much room left for hesitation.

“Okay, but heal the beast first before healing her, and keep in mind if she is harmed by you, I’m going to kill you,” Ren threatened. Letting her heal the cub while Freya was holding it meant she might be able to do something to Freya secretly but there was no other choice.

Lotus nodded slightly and began moving toward him with careful steps. Ren canceled the previous Water Bullet as its time ran out and formed another one quietly. Almost immediately, the Domain reacted, sending a faint sense of disapproval. It didn’t like that he had created the previous one without releasing it, and now he was doing the same thing again.

Ren clicked his tongue inwardly. He couldn’t release the Water Bullet without alerting Lotus, and holding it seemed to annoy the Domain. After a brief moment, he dismissed the Spell and shifted his focus instead. He prepared to activate Wind Slash instantly if something went wrong.

Lotus stopped in front of him. Ren was still holding Freya, keeping her supported.

“Put her down,” Lotus said.

He lowered Freya carefully onto the ground, making sure her head was supported. The cub remained in her arms, still held tightly. Ren expected Lotus to move immediately toward Freya, but instead she remained still, looking at him.

“What?” Ren asked, already prepared to fire a Spell if needed.

“I’ll heal you first. Your injuries wouldn’t take much time,” she said.

“I’m not injured much. Look at Freya—”

“Blood is pooling under your feet. You probably aren’t feeling much pain because of adrenaline, but your injury is also serious,” she replied.

She raised her palm, and a soft green glow spread from it, illuminating the small tunnel. The light revealed more of their surroundings. The ceiling was barely taller than Ren, and the tunnel extended behind Lotus into darkness. The area where they stood looked like a dead end, with no visible branching paths. The glow also made the state of his body more obvious.

“It won’t take long. I promise,” she added.

Only then did Ren fully notice his injuries. His right leg had a sprain that made it difficult to shift his weight. His left arm, the one he had used to tank the Wind Bullet to dodge the cannon, was stiff and beginning to swell. At best it was sprained, at worst broken. His shirt was torn at the back, and fragments of glass, metal, and sharp debris were embedded in the fabric. Those must have pierced him when he collided with the top of the wall while forcing himself aside.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author’s consent. Report any sightings.

And then there was something else.

Ren touched his lips and felt moisture. When he pulled his fingers away, they were wet with blood. He realized his nose was bleeding heavily. The strain from forcefully casting five spells in quick succession had done actual damage. The pain he had ignored earlier wasn’t just imagination.

“See, your injuries are bad. But they won’t take more time than Freya so—”

Ren grabbed her wrist before her glowing hand reached his face. Lotus winced slightly when his grip tightened.

“Heal that cub first,” he said.

“But—”

“Heal that cub first,” he repeated.

She stared at him for a few seconds, then shifted her gaze toward Freya. Only now, under the faint green glow, did she notice the cub in Freya’s arms.

“A Terror Wolf cub. It must be Luna’s,” she muttered, biting her lip as she crouched down.

Ren watched closely as she began the detoxification and healing. The main reason he refused to let her heal him was simple. He didn’t trust her. Her ability could be something else entirely. It could poison him, weaken him, or apply a hidden debuff. If he allowed that, their situation would worsen immediately. He was the only one capable of fighting right now. As long as he remained a threat, Lotus would think twice before doing anything suspicious to his teammates. But if he became weakened, there would be nothing stopping her.

Of course, the best-case scenario was that Lotus was an “ally”.

But he couldn’t rely on that possibility. Not after being lured into the Base by someone they assumed was an ally.

The silver armored awakener must be the one who caused Freya’s sword to spin and call us here. If so, why did he attack us? Ren thought.

Those thoughts were a can of worms. He kept them closed for now. He focused on Lotus instead. Letting Lotus heal—or do anything for that matter to—Freya was reckless. She had openly admitted she betrayed Freya before, and trusting someone like that went against everything Ren preferred. But there was no alternative. Without detoxification and healing, Freya and the cub would only worsen, and they had no antidotes. Whether he liked it or not, Lotus was their only option.

The cub’s breathing slowly became steadier as the green glow enveloped it. At first the change was subtle, but over time the harsh, uneven breaths softened into something calmer. Lotus remained crouched. Her palm hovered over the cub, maintaining the glow without interruption. Nearly an hour passed before the cub’s body relaxed completely. By the end, its fur looked healthier, and its chest rose and fell in a slow, peaceful rhythm. The cub shifted slightly and then fell asleep, deeper than any rest it had managed since Ren and Freya found it.

Only after finishing with the cub did Lotus move to Freya. The healing process began again, and Ren focused all of his attention at Lotus like earlier. The glow intensified around Freya’s torso and limbs, and the tension in her face gradually eased. Another hour passed.

Ren’s adrenaline had long worn off, and he was in terrible pain. His back throbbed constantly, his arm felt heavy and unstable, and the headache made it difficult to concentrate. Lotus asked him several times if he wanted to be healed first, but he refused each time. Freya had clearly been in worse condition, and now that he had confirmed Lotus was genuinely healing them, there was no reason to change the order.