It was especially difficult to see inside of the translucent crystal in the centre of the room from the doorway.
However, the position of the person inside was as clear as day to Ye Muo. The man was still engulfed in the heat of battle. Although the style of his damaged clothing was somewhat foreign to Ye Muo, the palette of black with deep red highlights screamed Grantz.
Ano glanced down at Ye Muo before quietly introducing the man, “Dylan Grantz. He was our brother.”
Ye Muo turned to the crystal again with some astonishment. He suddenly recalled the same crystals slowly forming over Adrian’s body during the vision he saw when undergoing resonance with Norton.
Adrian was slowly circling around the giant crystal with a frown. He kept a close eye on Dylan and only relaxed somewhat once he made sure the crystal was intact.
He clicked his tongue and averted his gaze.
“This guy looks as annoying as ever, even in there.”
Dylan’s rash and impulsive nature only calmed in front of Norton and their father. His relationship with Adrian was especially tumultuous.
Norton stepped forward until he stood in front of the crystal. His gaze swept carefully over every inch of it.
This kind of crystal was extremely sturdy and resistant to fracture. Not even psychic power blades would be able to leave a scratch. However, if it were ever to sustain damage, the Grantz sealed away within could and would take advantage of the slightest imperfection to break free.
Adrian stood quietly to the side, already used to Norton’s meticulous nature.
Ye Muo subconsciously followed behind Norton. The closer he got, the better his view became. At the same time, his psychic power spontaneously and joyfully shot out of his psychic domain. They circled around the crystal a few times before quietly infiltrating Dylan’s psychic domain.
Ye Muo mobilized even more psychic power than he did last time with Adrian. Moreover, the dissociation he experienced last time as his potent psychic power took control of him wasn’t present. This time, Ye Muo was fully lucid.
When Ye Muo attempted to venture even closer, Ano placed a hand on his shoulder.
Only then did Ye Muo snap back to reality. He looked up at Ano, who gently stated, “Stay here, alright?”
Ye Muo nodded minutely before turning back towards the crystal. He didn’t take another step even after Ano let go of his shoulder and stood by his side.
As Ye Muo remained in place, his hand subconsciously slipped into the hidden pocket of his cloak and tightly grasped that little box Adrian had given him.
If Ye Muo had taken out the box at that moment, he would’ve discovered all the marbles had lit up as he was continuously siphoning energy from them.
Norton inclined his head after finishing his inspection. “Ano, take Ye Muo back first–”
His voice suddenly cut off as he heard a very subtle sound.
Norton’s attention returned to the crystal at once and he swiftly located the crack. Adrian’s pupils contracted as he followed Norton’s gaze. “What the…”
Norton slowly unsheathed the sword at his waist. His eyes remained on Dylan as he called out, “Ano.”
Adrian drew his sword as well as he came to Norton’s side. They protectively arranged themselves between the crystal and Ye Muo and Ano.
Ano immediately understood. His hand returned to Ye Muo’s shoulder as he tried to guide the child away. “Come on, Ye Muo–”
He quickly sensed something was wrong. Ye Muo showed no reaction. He stood in place, transfixed.
Just as Ano was about to forcibly take Ye Muo away.
The box in Ye Muo’s hand fell to the floor, scattering brilliantly coloured marbles in all directions. They emitted light even more brilliant than before, like the last huzzah of dying embers.
At the same time, crystal fragments littered the floor as Dylan’s upper body broke free. His bare back was covered in fine crystalline debris.
The first thing the man did after gaining some freedom was to growl.
No two Grantz displayed the exact same behaviours after going berserk. Some commonalities, however, were intense aggression, destructiveness and bloodlust. Their already intimidating physical and regenerative capabilities further skyrocketed.
Their movements reflected their personalities. If Adrian was like a cheetah when berserk, a silent predator, Dylan was more akin to a lion who wanted to tear everything to shreds.
Norton swiftly ran Dylan through with his sword. The blade came to rest just beside the man’s heart. With the slightest application of force, Dylan’s deep slumber would resume.
Yet as time went on, Norton failed to take the final step.
Adrian hesitated from where he stood ready to assist. He looked at Norton inexplicably. “Big Brother…”
Norton didn’t turn his head. He stood on the remaining half of the crystal, intently staring down at Dylan.
There was no way both he and Adrian missed something during their inspections. That crack was not present in the crystal before. Thus, the only explanation was Dylan created it himself from inside the crystal.
But that was impossible. The Grantz had no self-awareness when encased in crystal. There had never been a case of a Grantz actively breaking free before.
Dylan didn’t attack. Only low, hoarse growls emerged from his throat as he trembled slightly. It was apparent from how tense the muscles in his sword-wielding arm were that he seemed to be struggling.
In the end, the military-issue sword fell to the floor with a clatter, crisply clinking against the crystal fragments scattered about.
Norton regarded him expressionlessly. “State your name.”
It was a few seconds before Dylan squeezed a few words from between clenched teeth, “Big. Brother.”
Ano alternated between watching on anxiously and glancing down at Ye Muo. Ye Muo had already doubled over, his hands clutching his head.
Berserk psychic power would cause headaches. Even now, Ano was sometimes awoken in the dead of night by the intense pain.
Norton’s sword didn’t move an inch as he glanced back at Ye Muo.
The child’s abnormal state let him know why Dylan suddenly woke up.
Ano happened to raise his head then and meet Norton’s gaze. Norton shifted slightly along with the sword in Dylan’s body.
Ano suddenly realized what Norton was about to do. The man was going to send Dylan back into a deep sleep to forcibly interrupt the connection between him and Ye Muo.
All of Ano’s anxiety suddenly melted away. Each of them, Dylan, Adrian and even him, should’ve joined their parents in eternal slumber long ago instead of clinging to life like parasites at Ye Muo’s expense.
But just as Norton tightened his grip on his sword, the marbles scattered on the floor suddenly exploded simultaneously.
Finally, Ye Muo’s psychic power made their presence in the room known.
They seemed to understand Norton’s intentions as well and instantly lashed out like rampaging snakes. Engulfing the entire room, they coiled around Dylan and entered his psychic domain.
They ended this ‘exchange’ mere seconds later and smugly returned to Ye Muo’s psychic domain.
Ye Muo gasped laboriously for air. This was his first time experiencing the entire process while lucid. He straightened after a moment.
Only then did he notice the heavy silence in the room. All the Grantz present were staring at him.
Including the one under Norton’s sword, Dylan.
Dylan grunted as Norton removed his sword. Adrian went over to support him by the shoulder.
Norton walked straight over to Ye Muo and lifted the child’s chin. He leaned down and touched their foreheads together.
Norton closed his eyes as his psychic power entered Ye Muo’s psychic domain as quickly as possible. Although it was impossible to measure a specific psychic power activity value this way, he could glean an accurate sense of Ye Muo’s state through his psychic domain.
As Norton approached his limits in recent years, mirages of magma often appeared in his psychic domain. Even Ye Muo saw them at times during resonance.
Norton’s eyes opened again. Ye Muo’s psychic domain appeared very calm.
Ano couldn’t help but ask, “How is he?”
“Not bad.”
In other words, he was surprisingly alright.
Norton tilted Ye Muo’s face right and left as he closely inspected the child’s complexion. Then he surveyed Ye Muo’s body. Before, Ye Muo would be weakened for quite some time after over-exerting himself like this. He would also…
“Are you hungry?”
Ye Muo considered it. “No.”
Then Ye Muo hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should say anything or not.
Norton stroked his hair back. “Tell me.”
“I don’t know if it’s normal or not, but I’m not hungry at all. Actually, I feel like I ate too much.”
Norton’s gaze shifted to a corner of the room, where the shattered remains of a marble lay. The marble had been extracted from a king insect.
Although Adrian collected them as a hobby and had them polished into marbles, their value far exceeded that of a mere toy or trophy.
These kernels of energy that naturally formed inside the bodies of king insects were so valuable they could be used as hard currency. Even a small crystal contained enough energy to power an entire fleet nonstop for a year and a half.
Due to their extremely portable nature, they were often bought by fleets that needed to travel long distances through uninhabited regions of the galaxy.
The crystals would lose their colour-changing properties after being drained of energy and become especially brittle and fragile. The slightest impact could shatter them.
Just like the ones scattered about this room.
