Chapter 76: Angel

The inside of a blender.

Bella had always wondered what it would feel like if you accidentally stuck your hand inside a blender when it's running. She initially thought that being hit hard enough for your ribs to crack would just be a similar pain to having a fracture, but she was wrong.

The feeling she was feeling right now was probably what it felt like for her inside to be mangled by a blender. There was this fluctuating numbing sensation crawling inside of her as well, amplifying the pain she was feeling with every beat.

She could feel herself fainting. No, in fact, she was trying to-- but the pain she was feeling was keeping her awake as her face groveled on the silver floor.

"..." As Bella was writhing in pain, the only thing that Riley could do was take a few steps back. It would seem he got too excited; becoming careless enough that he put too much strength in his strike.

Of course, the fault can not solely be blamed on him. Bella suddenly removed the metal plate that was shielding her, not giving him enough time to adjust the power of his punch.

"..." Well, this could have gone worse. After all

...the raw strength he had was the same as Mega Woman.

"Keuhk!" The silver floor started to be stained by red as Bella started puking blood; and as soon as she did so, the perimeter of their zone lit up in Red instead of the usual blue-- indicating that the match was over and one was gravely injured.

It was almost a direct hit to the liver; with multiple rib fractures causing a punctured lung. Just a few inches more and the bones that were now like shrapnels would pierce Bella's heart.

"I find it interesting you're still conscious, Black Bell," Riley then muttered as he continued to watch Bella gasping for breath, "You must be used to pain. But please don't move or the tiny bones inside your body will go through your heart."

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"Move, move!"

Riley then quickly moved a few steps back; making way for the 4 people that were suddenly descending from the air. And as soon as they landed, they quickly rushed to check on Bella.

"Multiple fractures on the ribcage; liver trauma; nearest shrapnel to the heart is only 3.75cm away. Not good, we need to take her to the ward ASAP."

...X-ray vision? Quite a rare power-- Riley thought as he watched the 4 people take care of Bella.

"What's the student still doing here!? Move him away!"

One of the medics was about to grab Riley and assist him out of the zone, but before the medic could do so, Riley moved to the side.

"I can't leave here, medics."

"Go, Riley Ross. Your friend will be alright."

"No," Riley shook his head, "If I leave here, I might forget that I am preserving the shape of the sand-- all of you will be swallowed."

"...What?"

The medics quickly turned their heads to the perimeter; they didn't notice it before, but the wall of sand was perfectly in a flat hollow cylinder.

Does that mean he was holding this while he was fighting with his opponent? Just what kind of monster was the Academy breeding?

"...Let's transport the patient first. Bren, can you float her away without moving her torso?"

"That's--"

"I'll do it," but before the medic called Bren could say another word, Riley raised his hand, "I caused this, after all."

The medics all looked at Riley, who was surprisingly already completely dressed. And without even waiting for the medics to respond, Bella started to float in the air. The head of the medic group was about to open her mouth, but as soon as she noticed that Bella's entire body was as if completely frozen, with her hair not even moving a single bit-- she just ordered the others to prepare to leave.

"No time to be amazed, let's go."

And with that, Bren raised his hands and carefully floated the rest of the medic group. Riley's eyes quickly looked at the other combatants as they flew in the air; and his eyes immediately caught Silvie, who was already done with her match.

Silvie also quickly noticed Riley flying with the medic group and could not help but be curious. She truly wanted to follow them to see what was going on, but since they were ordered not to leave their zone until all matches are over, the only thing she could do was wave at Riley.

"..." Riley also waved back, but as soon as he did so, the eerily quiet audience all let out unshackled cheers and roars.

"He hehe," and one of them was Gary, who was laughing menacingly as he looked at his phone, "With this video my channel subscribers would surely pierce the heavens! Tomoe, let us leave this mortal plane since Riley and Silvie's match is over

...Tomoe?"

Gary was about to scooch to the side but noticed that Tomoe was not moving even one bit.

"T Tomoe?" Gary then could not help but take in a huge gulp as he heard something coming out of Tomoe's mouth, "You you alright?"

"Kek"

"K Kek?"

"Kek kekekeke!" Dark steam slowly started to fume from Tomoe's body as a smile crawled on her face, almost ripping out her cheeks with how wide it was. Her eyes were also moving erratically at a very high speed as she stared at her phone.

Gary took in another gulp as he slowly took a peek at her phone

...only to see a bunch of Riley's shirtless photos.

"You need help," Gary immediately muttered, "...

...Can I have one as a thumbnail?"

***

"We need more eyes here! Possible heart puncture if not treated quickly!"

"Prep the ETT!"

"Riley Ross, thank you for your help, but I am afraid you're not allowed inside the Ward."

"I actually am, medic," Riley then quickly grabbed something from his pocket; before proceeding to wear it around his arm.

"...Okay," And as soon as the medic saw the words 'Police Force' on the armband, the only thing he could do was let out a sigh as he gestured to Riley to go inside, "You must really be concerned for your friend."

"Maybe," Riley shrugged as he nonchalantly entered the so-called Ward. And as its name suggests, the Ward truly did look similar to a hospital's ward other than the fact that the medical apparatus that were scattered everywhere was not something you would find in a normal hospital.

"ETT Ready!"

"..." Riley watched as the medics carefully inserted Bella into some kind of tube similar to an MRI scanner-- except the bed that Bella was resting on was floating.

Alien technology? Riley once again thought as he looked at all the apparatus inside the Ward.

"It's a miracle her heart wasn't punctured. According to the ballistics and impact of the hit, the bone should have gone straight for her heart," one of the medics then let out a huge sigh of relief, "Nice work transporting her here, Riley Ross. Maybe I should ask the Academy for you to help us more-- Riley Ross?"

The medic turned his head towards where Riley should be waiting, only to find that he was no longer there.

"Still a kid, after all

...Maybe he couldn't take the atmosphere here."

***

"..."

Riley was now walking across one of the Academy's colossal hallways that were normally restricted to normal students. Well, it was a good thing that he wasn't a normal student.

Riley turned his head towards the endless cameras that were plastered on the ceiling, making sure that his Police Force armband was being seen. He continued to walk through the hallway, his eyes as if searching for something.

And after a few more minutes, he stopped and faced a wall.

"..." He stared at this part of the wall for a few seconds, before slightly sliding his foot forward. And as soon as he did so, the part of the floor where his foot made contact with slightly distorted in shape.

He once again stared at this weird distortion, before casually moving his foot back and patting the distorted area, returning it to normal.

"Hm

...Dark Millenium is earlier than expected."

***

"Ladies and gentlemen

...welcome onboard flight ***V6 with service from Los Angeles to Miami. We are currently 6th in"

"Mommy, mommy! Look at him, look at him!"

"J Julie! What did I tell you about pointing at people!? It's rude!" A woman was currently trying her best to stop her daughter from pointing at the people walking past by their seat, apologizing to each of them.

Most of the passersby did not mind, however, as they only smiled and waved at the child. The woman could not really blame her daughter for being excited, after all, she was finally visiting her grandmother after a very long time of not seeing her.

"Julie, don't be too noisy when--"

"Mommy, look! It's an angel!"

"Julie! What did I just tell--"

"It's alright, madam."

"N no, Julie say sorr--" The woman was about to reprimand her child, but as soon as she saw the face of the person her daughter was pointing to, she could not help but take in a small gulp.

"I am actually seated next to you, madam. May I pass?"

"S Sure," the woman could only let out a stutter as she could not help but stare at the young man's face. Although his head was covered by a hoodie, it was hard not to notice his skin that almost reflected the sun that seeped from the tiny windows of the plane.

"Mommy! The angel is so close!"

"D don't touch him! I I really am sorry for this."

"It's quite alright, madam," the young man then smiled, almost making the woman take in a small gasp with how pure he looked, "Children are just

...curious creatures."

Chapter end