The canyons were grand and inspiring; offering a breathtaking view. High above the cliffs, Kiba and Ashlyn floated in the midair.
Ashlyn has a hand joined with Kiba’s as she appreciated the astonishing view of geological sculpting.
"This is beautiful."
Her cold voice was sweet and melodic.
Kiba observed her face and as he saw the faint smile on her rosy lips, his heart thumped.
Her smile was like sun melting in winter. There were tranquility and peace that could only come from within.
Kiba was experienced with countless women and have bedded over a hundred, and yet, just a faint smile on her cold face was enough to put him into a trance.
Compared to the view below, she was far more beautiful and stunning.
No, nothing even deserved comparison to her.
Her beauty was perfect and flawless.
If she was just some random woman, Kiba would have responded to her statement about the beauty of canyon, with something like:
Unlike you, the canyons are lackluster.
If you want to see something truly beautiful, then see it in my eyes... check the reflection of the most stunning view in the entire world.
But Kiba wouldn’t use these cheesy and over the top remarks. No, he wouldn’t use any flirty words at all.
The reason was simple.
She was different than most women. She was borderline naive and didn’t really know much about relationships.
Then there was her background.
He didn’t know much, but from the limited details he was aware of, she was born a cursed one. Due to this, she was discarded and brought up in an orphanage before adopted.
He didn’t know why, but these adopted parents didn’t really sound like loving parents to him.
Otherwise, what type of parents would raise their children like Ashlyn?
She was just existing, doing things she must. But not living or enjoying basic pleasures of life.
It was almost like she was brainwashed.
Ashlyn, on the other hand, has strong love for her parents, at least that’s what he thought. Based on Shawn and Amy’s conversation, she was basically here to prove her love.
Kiba shook his head and cleaned unwarranted thoughts. He was doing his bit to change her, to make her live in the moment.
Maybe those who know him wouldn’t believe this, but he was doing it with no hidden intent...
Ashlyn looked at the hiking trails through the enigmatic domes formations and sharp cliffs. She checked condors flying between the cliffs, as if searching for food.
From high above, it was an awesome sight.
A minute later, Ashlyn lifted her head up.
Winds swept past her face and her hair. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she said, "Thank you."
Kiba smiled at her words. He gripped her hand, and then like a bolt of lightning, they both flew away.
From the ground, they were like two dots of light flying above the cliffs. Many humans who have just arrived in this region noticed them and were surprised.
But then they decided to mind their business. It was none of their concern if a couple wanted to wish their strength in flying.
As Kiba and Ashlyn crossed half a mile distance, on the ground below, there were over ten humans. Just then, without any forewarning, the rocky texture on the land bumped up.
Heavy rumbling sounds reverberated, and red stones split apart, as a fist made of rocks shot out from the ground below.
The mutants on the ground were shocked. This happened just too quickly. The fluctuations of earthquake only radiated out when it was already far too late.
The fist has only three fingers, and its knuckles were sharp rock cones. There was a metallic glint shining on them as if they contained more than just rocks.
Most of the mutants were smashed by the knuckles, and their bodies instantly split into pieces of gore.
Only a few mutants - who were on guards and didn’t dare to be careless from the very start - were barely able to dodge. Despite this, there was nothing for them to be happy about.
They realized with great horror, as the fist rushed into the sky, it brought an eruption of black liquid in the open ground below.
"What is this liquid and that rock fist?!"
The black liquid was like oil and it spread widely on the red surface. A male mutant was far too late as he submerged into the black liquid.
His pupils dilated in terror and he opened his mouth to let out a terrifying scream, but alas, he never got the chance to actually scream. The moment the liquid bumped into him, his body corroded and completely submerged into the liquid.
There were no remains of his body, not even a drop of blood.
A female mutant was shocked as she witnessed the way her companion was corroded. She was scared witless for she knew her companion has strong physical body, and vibrant blood mass that could help him regenerate even his limbs from scratch, and yet, he was completely destroyed in less than a second.
"Just what’s going on?!"
She didn’t think much. She quickly transformed her body into snowflakes and soared along with the wind.
Her eyes turned wide into utter terror as she saw the liquid rising up like chains of sticky mass. Gritting her teeth, she created a solid snow barrier, trying to block the black liquid.
With no surprise, the liquid passed through the barrier, destroying it, and pierced through the woman like torrential rain.
It took a long while to describe but everything so far happened only in a second. The black liquid was far more corrosive than strongest known acid on Earth.
High in the sky, Kiba’s eyes flashed with a cold light. The rock fist was punching towards him and Ashlyn.
With his free hand, he aimed at the incoming fist. Surges of golden energy swept out of his arm, and from his fist, a golden column of light boomed out.
A stifling aura of suppression enveloped the sky as the rock fist crashed into the golden column of light.
BANG
Ripples of destructive force visible to the naked eye surged outwards.
Fissures cracked on the knuckles of the fist but they were filled at a rate that couldn’t even be detected, and the fist broke through the golden column of light.
Kiba retreated with Ashlyn further high into the sky, his eyes filled with slight surprise. His attack wasn’t weak.
In fact, he has acted on the strength he felt from the fist, but at the final moment, the fist’s strength amplified.
"Behind!"
Ashlyn suddenly warned. She couldn’t fly so she has to take his support, and given the distance from the ground, if she jumped down, she would face serious injuries.
Kiba didn’t need her warning. Even without looking, he detected waves of black liquid sweeping towards them.
"This liquid must be responsible for the corroded skeletons and carcasses I noticed earlier."
With his supervision, inside enormous cliffs, he has seen skeletons of beings that resembled a mixture of reptiles and dinosaurs.
Unlike humans, those beings have a strong foundation and body, and as such, the effect of black liquid was weaker. This was why they could still have some traces remaining.