When she released the energy, the magnum began to tremble. The bullet shot out at a monstrous speed, destroying the weapon's barrel and propelling Yumiel and Jack several meters backward, sending them flying even higher into the sky.
The bullet, meanwhile, did hit the hunter, striking him in the right shoulder. It hurled him several meters away, making him fall violently off the roof.
Yumiel and Jack fell farther away, behind several houses compared to the hunter's position. As they fell, Yumiel protected Jack's head. She landed on her back, which fractured several of her bones.
Yumiel crawled for a few meters, then sat down in an alley, exhaling as she felt her bones snap back into place.
« Wow, Yumiel, what was that shot? That was incredible. »
Yumiel glanced at her weapon—its interior was destroyed, and the barrel was gone. She decided to toss it aside.
« Yeah, I improvised, but it wasn't great. »
« Not great? Did you see the power you had?! That was, easily, more than three times the original power. »
« Maybe, but it takes a tremendous amount of energy from me for so little result, especially since no weapon can withstand the pressure. »
Yumiel saw Jack's face light up, as if he wanted more explanations.
« To put it simply, my blood contains an agent capable of altering blood properties at will, which I can control. It allows me to create a crystallized form that serves both offense and defense. What I just did was condense that energy—my blood, in this case—allowing me to create an over-compressed state, which is an unstable state capable of releasing energy. By making the crystals collide with each other, I reach the metastable state. From that point on, when I break one of my crystals, the condensed energy explodes, creating an explosion. It's simple. »
Jack narrowed his eyes slightly while staring straight into Yumiel's: « You lost me when you said offense and defense. Seriously, you call that simple? I didn't get any of it, but basically it's complicated and not that great in terms of results. Okay. »
Yumiel narrowed her eyes back at Jack: « Idiot. »
Yumiel stood up again but began to feel unwell, vomiting a large amount of blood and the food she had eaten earlier.
« Ah, well that's charming. Can we leave quickly? I really don't want to run into that lunatic again, and I'd really like to have a body. »
Yumiel controlled the blood on the ground and funneled it into her flask.
« Wow, that's disgusting. »
« No wasting. »
Slowly getting back on her feet, Yumiel headed back toward her home, staying along the edges of the streets and being careful not to draw attention.
« You think he'll follow us? »
« I don't think so. That blow should have knocked him out for a while. But I can't shake the feeling that he might still be on our trail. »
Walking through the streets, Yumiel stopped for a moment in a corner, taking out her phone and checking if the signal had returned. The bar on top was still cut, meaning it wasn't back yet.
« This little phone thing is convenient. »
Yumiel put her phone away. It took her a moment to process what Jack had said.
« What do you mean, this "little phone"? »
« Well yeah, this little phone. I didn't have that back then. »
With everything that had just happened, they had never taken the time to talk, even though they had so much to tell each other.
« Back then? Can you elaborate? »
Jack looked Yumiel straight in the eyes, staring: « Well, it's simple. I'm 90 years old. I was born in 1916. »
« 90 YEARS OLD?! » Yumiel was shocked, wondering how someone so old could be so irritating.
« Yeah, well, that's what was written on my tombstone. I don't remember anything about myself, just some knowledge of things that happened at the time. »
« Ah, that's a relief, » Yumiel said with a sigh.
« Alright, my turn. Why do you absolutely want to become stronger, to the point of risking your life like you just did with the hunter? »
Yumiel glanced at the sky—she still had a bit of time before sunrise. She stopped in an empty alley and sat on a bench.
« I'll keep it simple— » Jack interrupted her.
« No no, I know your "simple." Keep it short. »
« Ahah, okay. People always called me a genius in science. But for me, I'm not searching for theory—I'm searching for truth, for the actual reality of things, what is truly possible, not what's on paper. So when 50% of humanity was changed into what the system calls "deep nature", it was like a rebirth for me, a chance to finally discover truth, not theory. »
Jack spoke in a hesitant tone: « But Yumiel… » He paused before continuing.
« Haven't you noticed that it wasn't actually 50% of the population who were changed, but less? »
Yumiel lifted her eyes to the sky, watching the stars. She was about to answer, but suddenly noticed flames coming from a house nearby. She rushed toward the burning house.
« We'll continue this discussion later. » Not having a body, it was difficult for Jack to show agreement or disagreement.
Climbing onto the rooftops, Yumiel observed the situation, seeing several people coming out of the burning house—mostly women.
« A woman's body, is that okay for you? »
« I'd rather avoid it, but if we really have no choice… »
Once the women came out, the men followed.
<< It seems luck is smiling on you >>
Yumiel also needed blood to recover faster. She had noticed that blood helped her recover from mental fatigue.
Yumiel jumped from the roof, landing gracefully. All eyes turned to her, then to Jack, who terrified more than one person. But strangely, a woman and a man ran toward her. Yumiel sharpened her senses, expecting an attack, but the two collapsed to the ground, begging Yumiel:
« Whoever you are, please, save our son. He's trapped in his room. The fire is spreading too fast, we can't get upstairs. We beg you, we'll give you anything you want. »