Just as expected, after distributing the attribute points, he didn't just feel his strength reach a different level, but even more, the pain he felt around his ribs faded away.
Levelling up served as the best regeneration for him.
In the next moment, he rose to his feet, feeling more energy than ever.
Peeling off the bandages revealed his underlying musculature, which seemed to have become even more defined.
Everlearn moved closer to the wardrobe in the room, opened it, and found some clothes, quickly dressing in something simple.
A simple white shirt and trousers, with a blue jacket.
His destination wasn't far away, just at the top of the mansion, where the wide-open city of Mechron was waiting for him.
But then, his eyebrows furrowed, witnessing ambulances and law enforcement vehicles moving over the streets.
Only now could he witness the true destruction, buildings blown over, with missing roofs and a particular place barricaded with yellow tape.
The sight of it made a memory flash through Everlearn's head as he backed off the wall as if he had been electrocuted.
He sat upon the ground, eyes flashing with memories, and once more his stomach lurched within him as he gripped his head tight.
It was that scene.
The scene of Joriy's head falling to the ground, the severed head's eyes gazing at him.
And it overlapped with an earlier scene:
The scene of Mecha Eva swinging her scythe upon his head.
It was similar, so similar, and nauseatingly the same.
"Are you alright?"
The voice echoed from behind, and Everlearn jerked up with such force that he shot nearly two meters into the air, rolled twice, and, landing on the railings, crouched.
When he turned forward, he found Boss Ash looking at him with a raised eyebrow.
He stepped down, scratching the back of his head.
"I'm fine," he said.
Her expression was suspicious
She stepped forward toward the railings, her eyes looking at what was happening, and soon enough, they settled upon the bandaged area and Joriy's corpse, currently hidden beneath a white sheath and being whisked away into an emergency truck.
"Your first time seeing someone dying?"
She asked, turning to look at Everlearn, whose brows furrowed.
"No."
He replied curtly.
She turned and walked toward him, only to watch him back off a step.
The sight of it made a smile appear at the corner of her lips...something truly rare.
"What? Do you think I'm a monster now for beheading someone?" she asked.
In return, Everlearn turned away to look back at the scene.
"If you hadn't arrived when you did, it'd be my corpse that is being whisked away," he said, the smile on her lips receding.
"So even if now, I back away from a monster, that monster at least saved my life."
"I'm just a little bit irked by the memories, but I'll be fine...with time."
He whispered, and she hummed beneath her breath.
A kid like him witnessing someone being beheaded right in front of him.
He had not flinched when she had sat beside him just moments ago, but did now, obviously due to the scene below.
It must have been a scary flashback, and that much was understandable.
She brought out her cigarette and lit up, exhaling smoke.
She paused slightly, turning to him before she waved the cigarette box before him.
He turned and found it, turning to look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Want a cig?" she asked, and Everlearn chuckled in disbelief, replying,
"I am 17."
"The legal age is 16…" she replied, and Everlearn paused before saying,
"I'm fine." He said, and she shrugged, keeping it back into her coat.
"What's with you and cigarettes anyway? You smoke a lot."
Huuuuuuuu
In that moment, she turned her face up, exhaling a cloud of white smoke, and he watched her smile.
A smile filled with so much relief.
"It's comforting," she said, turning to him.
"Did that come out weird?"
She asked, noticing his repeatedly quivering eyebrows.
"No. You truly exhale in relief anytime you smoke," he said, as she grinned, planting the cigarette between her lips, but then, she paused.
"I'm sorry, Everlearn," she said, as he turned to her.
"There are a million ways to have stopped that man, and yet, I chose the most brutal, and scared your soul.
"Now that I think about it, it must have been truly a horrible sight."
She said, the realization finally hitting her.
"It's fine," Everlearn said.
'I've gone through much worse,' he thought silently to himself.
'I thought getting cleaved through the head would have made me immune to such sights, yet…'
His hand moved, perched upon his heart, finding its tempo slowly increasing.
'It's still so scary,'
___________
WHUP!
WHUP!
CRRSH!
The air above the mansion blew powerfully as an object descended onto the ground.
Everlearn, sitting on the side of the railings, got down and witnessed a helicopter descend from the sky, landing upon the building.
It sent a powerful stream of air that blew Everlearn's hair around his head, but that reduced as its rotor's rolling speed slowed down.
Before the blades on the helicopter slowed down fully, the side hatch was swung open, and a figure jumped out.
Yes, he literally jumped out; instead of stepping to the ground, his head narrowly missed the rotor blades.
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
An incredibly loud and boisterous laughter followed, as Everlearn stepped back, watching as a dwarf-like man sped toward him.
Before he could even take three steps backward, he had already been snatched off his feet, and his eyes bulged when he felt the squeeze upon his back.
It was as if his soul was being forced out of his body.
"Let… Me… GOOOO!"