Chapter 180 180
"There was a fierce battle going on in the basement bazaar. Obviously, the only way I found out about it was from others' mouths; I wasn't there. There were many people who were harmed, and I heard that several of your friends were among them."
Before the bystander could finish his sentence, Xzavier had already remounted his horse and was on his way to the underground exchange. The other girls decided to mimic his actions as closely as they could.
An uneasy sensation had begun to take hold along the journey.
It was not that Xzavier hadn't expected something similar to happen; he had. In truth, he had drastically overestimated Quaid's tenacity and viciousness. Perhaps he should have arrived first, riding his battle motorcycle fully armored.
"I hope everything works out!" In his brain, he let forth an internal scream.
His heart fell when he arrived at the site of the previous underground exchange.
The majority of the structures in the area had been leveled, indicating that there had been a severe struggle there. Massive blood streaks covered the floor, leading one to conclude that more than one person had been slaughtered here.
"Tacy!" Xzavier called out the girl's name, but there was no response.
Xzavier kept stamping his feet in the same spot because he was worried about how well she would be hurt.
"Fuck! I should have seen it coming! I really should have! " He insisted on holding himself accountable for what had occurred.
When Babara noticed how concerned Xzavier was, she gathered the other girls and led them on searching. Nonetheless, it was evident that their attempts were futile.
Just as Xzavier was about to give up hope, he woke up to the sound of a familiar and comforting voice.
"Is that you, Xzavier?"
Xzavier recognized the voice as that of the kind elderly man he remembered.
"Hey! Kadin, where have you gone? " He let out a yell.
"Right beneath your feet." Kadin's voice had a very weak tone to it.
"Oh my God!" Xzavier then saw an elderly man through a breach in the rubble, who begged him to "Come and help!"
The four young girls rushed over to help Xavier extricate the elderly gentleman from the rocky entanglement.
"Holy shit!"
Xzavier yelled before noticing a massive bloody hole in the elderly man's chest.
Kadin's face was so pale that it appeared as if he wasn't even breathing. His chest moved in directions very slightly. It wasn't until his gaze was drawn to Xzavier that he burst forth, hands clutching Xzavier's collar, " Silver Knight..."
His mouth couldn't stop mumbling "Silver Knight," as if he were an elderly man suffering from amnesia and trying to remember something he was about to forget.
Xzavier couldn't grasp Kadin's miraculous survival after such a horrendous injury.
"Where can I locate Tacy? What the hell is going on in this place? Is the Silver Knight you're referring to, Dale?" prompted Xzavier's mind to become clouded with confusion.
When the old man heard "Dale", he suddenly shouted, "Go save Tacy!" After completing his sentence, the elderly man hurled himself to the ground and opened his eyes wide.
"Someone needs to come treat him." Xzavier let out a shout.
When Babara came, he noticed that the blood in the elderly man's chest had stopped oozing. She leaned in closer to the elderly man, hoping to detect his heartbeat, but she couldn't. She said, "He's dead," with a sad smile on her face as she placed her hand on Xzavier's shoulder.
Xzavier was stunned and said, "Wasn't he alive just now?"
"In concept, he should have died before long. I don't know what kept him waiting for you to come here," Babara said, amazed that the old man had survived what looked like a fatal injury.
Because everything had happened so unexpectedly, Xzavier found it difficult to accept. It seemed that the great old guy had used his willpower to stay until now in order to await his arrival.
Despite the rapid onslaught, Xzavier was able to hide his feelings of misery and suffering. He was very experienced in the skill of coping with feelings of this sort because he had gone through a previous incarnation in which he witnessed the selfless act of a fellow mates. Even so, he was angry and knew that Quaid had gone to great lengths to catch him.
Seizing Tacy and blackmailing him into submission would have been in everyone's best interests.
He needed to save Tacy while protecting himself.
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Standing in front of Kadin's tombstone, Xzavier was filled with silence. He was down to a few hundred points after losing his tank and his black clothing, which had been custom fitted to fit him precisely. It was definitely impossible for him to face hundreds of mages and Dale again, let alone Laddie. This time, he was dealing with a catastrophic problem on a never-before-seen scale.
"I feel it would be in our best interest to leave this area as soon as possible because there is no guarantee that they would not return," Babara said, appearing to grasp what was going through his thoughts. "We aren't powerful enough right now, but it won't be too late to save Tacy once we have the required resources. "
"That's how I perceive it as well." Earlene had not anticipated a fight between Xzavier and his father.
"So do I." Janae was a girl who valued traditional values.
"If we don't save Tacy right now, there will be no other chance. " Adalia was unconcerned about her current predicament; instead, she looked Xzavier in the eyes and stated, "Honey, I do care about your safety, but I'd hate for you to live with regret for the rest of your life." Adalia's demeanor was entirely unconcerned about their circumstances.
Adalia was standing in his way, "You are correct in your assessment of Quaid as a man of unwavering principles. Do you think Tacy has a chance of survival even if you left right now? To tell you the truth, I have no intention of putting your life in danger in any way. Tacy will almost certainly die, if you go now, you won't have to worry about your own safety for the time being. If you fight back right now, you'll almost certainly be murdered, and there's no assurance you'll be able to save Tacy. "
"I know it's a difficult choice, but you have to do it!" she repeated again, looking Xzavier in the eyes.
Xavier was once again in a state of uncertainty. In truth, as Adalia remarked, it was a difficult decision.
In truth, Babara was aware of her options, yet, unlike Adalia, she did choose to disregard them. In her opinion, a lady she was unfamiliar with didn't deserve to be compared favorably to the man she adored. She didn't care whether it was Tacy or Lucy; she should stay out of it. She only wanted Xzavier to be okay and not endanger his life again.
It was not every day that she came across a man with Xavier's strength. She believed that, despite his lack of strength at the moment, if he was given enough time, he would eventually become even more powerful.
"Taking a chance to save Tacy is a high-risk move that I don't believe is a wise one." Babara gave Adalia a stern look, as if chastising her for being a dumb pig.
Adalia, not to be outdone, proceeded to dispute. "The question is, how much longer will you hide? Wait until Quaid dies naturally? Given that we are all much younger than he is, I must admit you have a valid point. "
"I'm not attempting to make a point; I'm simply stating the facts. At the moment, our military resources are insufficient to carry out a rescue mission with any reasonable expectation of success. You can't assume that everyone else lives their lives the same way you do. " Babara took a stand and confronted Adalia.
"Stop!"
Xzavier quickly put an end to this pointless argument.
He soon composed himself and resumed his talk after a brief fixation on Adalia.
"I must fight in order to save Tacy. She is innocent, and her life should not be taken away because of me."
"But..." Babara made another attempt to stop.
"Don't say anything else." She came to a halt when Xzavier waved his hand in her direction.
After witnessing Adalia's bravery, Xzavier was able to gather himself. The solution was not to flee and hide, but to tackle the problem head on. If he gave up now, he would be followed by those who wanted him dead for the rest of his life.