Emma didn't stop talking and continued, his current reaction seeming to further confirm her hunch that it was indeed Ringo. -I gained your mother's trust and even started acting as her babysitter for a while. That day I finally found the information I wanted, but they would soon realize what I had done, so I had to leave. The scene you saw in your dream was my last memory of you.
Emma didn't speak anymore, she stood there, quiet, looking at him.
Ringo, on the other hand, was struggling internally, feeling heavy and confused. He couldn't help but say. -So it was all... a lie?
Emma nodded easily. - Yes, I never thought your obsession would be so deep. I never wanted this, I'm sorry.
Ringo didn't answer, but the next moment he grabbed her by the neck. Even with the protests in his mind, he tightened his grip, but he felt the subpersonality's revolt growing stronger.
This infuriated him even more, because even now he still wanted to forgive her, wanted to find a solution, sit like a puppy dog for her and act like a Simp. Even if it had been a lie before, he could win her over now.
This infuriated him so much that he nearly went mad right then and there.
It was only fear of the repercussions that kept him from shattering the bitch's soul.
Emma didn't struggle, she felt suffocated. Even if this was just a dream, he could recreate it as if it were real. Her feeling of suffocation now was just like the real feeling.
Still, she looked at him calmly, which infuriated him even more. -You think I won't kill you?!
-I don't know, but it doesn't matter, I deserve it.- She answered with difficulty due to her throat being constricted. It was just her brain playing tricks, making her believe she was actually suffocating.
-Yes, you deserve it.- Ringo's grip tightened, but in the end, feeling his mind about to shatter, he sighed and released her.
Emma fell to the ground, coughing, looking at him in confusion. -You're not going to kill me?
-Do you want to die that badly?- Ringo asked, his lips pressed together.
Emma looked thoughtful as she stroked her injured neck. Still sitting on the floor, she looked at him with complicated eyes. -Die? No, I still have a lot to research, but you... you're my only regret in everything I've done. Even when I spread that disease that killed thousands of people, I didn't feel bad. Well, I warned them the product wasn't ready, but they didn't believe me and preferred profit to safety, but they needed someone to point the finger at.
Ringo bent down to her level and regarded her mockingly. -Poor thing, were you wrongly framed?
Emma pretended not to hear the sarcasm and paused for a moment. -Did you come here because you found out I was here?
-No, I was after Emerald Grass, not Emma.- Ringo shook his head, still looking at her through his sunglasses, emotions still raging inside him, but he tried to keep it all bottled up.
Emma raised an eyebrow and asked. -So you're not going to kill me because you want to use me? Fine, I can work for you to pay for...
-Shut the fuck up! - Ringo's rage made her nightmare energy leak out. A flock of creatures seemed to open their eyes in the darkness, all staring at her.
Emma remained silent, looking around, feeling a pang in her heart. She didn't speak again.
-You think some stupid serums will fix this?!- He asked with barely contained fury, he just wanted to tear this woman apart.
Emma didn't answer, just stared at him, her eyes twitching slightly, the façade she usually wore fading away.
-Do you know what it's like to wake up every other day with your stupid image in your head? Waking up with anxiety and longing, only to wonder if you're still alive somewhere, not hurt or dead, but waiting for me, only to discover that I'm the fucking key to your continued research? That I've been drugged to make me more susceptible to your advances? That I spent ten years of my life chasing a fucking shadow?! - Ringo asked with barely contained fury.
The subpersonality within him was silent for a moment. Even though it wasn't willing to kill Emma, its pain was even greater than Ringo's.
Ringo was just angry, but mixed with the subpersonality, there was evident suffering in his anger.
Emma lowered her head, her body trembling slightly, she didn't respond.
Ringo just stared at the bowed figure. The subpersonality seemed to want to forgive seeing Emma like that. - "She must be sorry, forgive her."
Ringo wanted to laugh in anger and ignored that idiot Simp in his mind.
Looking at the small figure, he sighed deeply. This trip was supposed to be completely different. Instead, he discovered he had a parasite in his soul and that his childhood crush was... Ringo couldn't even define what it was.
In the end, he got up and turned around, leaving the dream, but not before saying a few words. -Wait a minute, this isn't over.
Ringo left Emma, gave her one last look and left the room.
He no longer had the patience to joke around, instead, he began wandering the base for the next hour. Wherever he passed, all the guards and staff fell asleep, a deep sleep from which they wouldn't wake any time soon.
Ringo, irritated, considered changing his plans and massacring them all, but in the end, he decided against it. He didn't want to vent his anger on innocent people, even if the number of truly innocent people there wasn't high.
At the top of the valley outside the prison, He came out of his Nightmare form and pulled up a Walktalk. -Wolf, this is Bear, bring the cavalry, over.
Seconds later, Eva's voice rang out from the other side. - Copy that.
Ringo stood at the top of the silent prison, staring up at the night sky with a heavy feeling in his chest. He didn't even dare ask himself if this day could get any worse, afraid to raise a flag.
After a few minutes, the cars arrived. Ringo had already controlled the gate security to open for them, the tunnels, even though vast, were wide enough to allow them to pass.
From the cars, a group dressed entirely in black emerged, armed, they quickly entered the base. Ringo used the radio to inform them of the extraction targets. He had already obtained the base's list and all those deemed unusable had their souls devoured by him. He felt full now, but he didn't worry too much about it, his evolution accelerating his digestion.
Unfortunately, the invisible demon wasn't there yet and it would still be a while before he could be placed there, so he gave up waiting.
But there was one man who interested him among all the prisoners there. He was known only as "Li." He was 150 years old, a short, old man, his body as thin as a vine, but he was still marked "Extremely Dangerous."
According to the information he had gathered about the old man, he was extremely curious. This old man has C Grade strength! But that's not shocking, but what's shocking is that he doesn't have a Super gene!
This left Ringo extremely surprised, but according to the information, he was captured for research purposes and was imprisoned here to be studied by the six nations. After discovering the "secrets", they realized it wasn't something easily replicable, but they had already offended the old man, so they just kept him imprisoned here.
Ringo can sympathize with this, his experience in Germinal was similar, except he was extremely weak when he was caught. The old man, on the other hand, needed a C Grade Super from each country to be caught and even killed one of them.
His curiosity grew even more and he wondered if the old man had already died when Han Xiao appeared.