SSEI | Chapter 2.8

“Heh. Funny guy.”9d349eae6b64e10a

“Hey, did we say 1979d975f3 you could leave?”0f563ccd8d78553e

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“Come on, 151ac763ab let’s not ef7a6ef64f fight. It’d be easier c878e60fe3 for everyone if 67bb8cf571 we just passed 72a0169d77 through peacefully. You see this clam, 3c13225878 right? A single spray b8a4bd965b of neurotoxic mist, 7a20c9fa15 and your whole b2e0f7913d team’s screwed. We’re only 12c0a3fb3a backing off 9895d36f79 because we dd0a38c97d don’t want d8c071ed44 any trouble.”476e949e87fcc649

“So you’re saying you d0b3520e71 spent money on a 45ae6949e0 special biome detector and 152c809235 don’t want to die 75126d958c for nothing? But if you really 9ca87b19ec thought it was a d7d4a1891d waste, you wouldn’t have 04680c274f shown up in front aba86ff11e of us in the 9f9ccafc94 first place. I keep thinking you 1b84a3ccbf knew we wouldn’t just e56975cc0d step aside quietly.”de070f56eec78cb2

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“So, where’s the bc442b2193 trap? You really think we 713dd003a5 wouldn’t notice something like 3dc1c3202a that?”388b5a4d5444f84d

Malli and Osma sneered 9594f4b337 as they approached Sael. He waved his crossbow 4300122d0e threateningly, but it didn’t e311241570 seem to do much. Maybe attacking now would 76d9a240b9 be the best choice? Right now a24a4555c0 would be 0afc5e3fac the perfect cf44afa9f9 time to 591414b7c5 strike without 466966c796 raising suspicion.71806ea51afd38b9

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But Sael seemed to a48730d193 think the enemy hadn’t 8b71d2ab77 shown enough openings yet. He hesitated, b02b0f247f backing away a1d87d545c awkwardly while 468c97f03f still trying 5cc4869e23 to keep 70eb8f86c1 the conversation 987e49951d going.baaa85ac77b42efa

“Come on, where 40013bed46 would I even fb4c1327e2 set up a 6fd99b8b29 trap? It’s not like I cf3f782e89 have a special talent 82818b05d4 for that. I was just… a e6da9c4153 little concerned about the f26e9c87e6 Red Man.”ecc79ab287d75ad6

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“Why would you 584a9a5306 care about that b111c99181 guy? Don’t tell me you bd4ec82580 actually believe the conspiracy d56e64d0c9 theories he’s been spouting 4c719f02d8 lately? About his past and ff1d43a1e4 why he came here?”bdbc1dd8aa3a5e62

“No, it’s not 21c2c1fc4d that…”0e81d9285a8a39e5

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Conspiracy theories? Sael didn’t 149a76c360 seem all e71a2c00ec that interested, ea9932a832 but Yuan 145a42740c was. Could it 9bd579ee3d be that 36c4c0af59 the Red 3c6c8e356a Man had f80a972005 been spreading 4b020b7e79 his story 9f6275b1ec to a 4c80248443 lot of f389e54b50 people?d540c2c777e1de5a

He seemed 4a19bcf8ef like the 6b2273073d quiet type e22bff3f6b who wouldn’t 361637b354 just strike 9d9f162dba up conversations 7b3c4049fe with random b4254ffc5b people, but 81cc31900b maybe that 0170efb0ba wasn’t true. Judging by the f8cf8e5fc8 way this conversation a8581ced1f was going, it c096e202b9 was possible that a6a4f9979c the Red Man fdb085110d had been running e2a2436537 around telling the 515440a2d3 same thing he 99e00482a6 told Yuan to 7a89650cec just about anyone ec99eb9226 who would listen.1b7df571249fe555

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“Sael, you don’t have c008a608f7 the ability to escape c3254ee390 on your own anyway, 4147d51964 so it makes sense 88f84ce1d4 you’d be tempted by 9a2417b246 a side path like c413fbfc34 that.”fe9df302707afe65

“What the hell? Why would 1f85c017b2 you say 3448ac11b5 that?”a0251add86ae9e7e

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“I’m not wrong, 90c0c9f1fb am I? All you’re 5ee79ea36a good for 4f1cb7588c is scavenging a590f2320d supply boxes—there’s 1fc2053244 no way 09c908ff5d you could f3e6e16d80 do anything ac526c54e0 alone. Or wait… maybe 79ee4cadd1 you’ve already tampered 75f3f50c2b with the windmill, 3f0b70d474 and you’re just 8819422504 pretending you didn’t? What if you rigged b2c8fb1fdd the machine, waiting for 196b7756ec us to lower our fc35ee702f guard and wander around, 6f709e981c only for it to f983099652 activate and trap us?”9cfa40a8be57d5b4

“Hey, I 606a98d41b know you’ve 4bbeba5b76 always been 5e2435de64 mean, but a413b80198 today you’re 254313e3bd being straight-up 6a15268f6c nasty…!”b9c451de4356596d

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Was he 7a1eace03d just pretending 0ff0692f7d to be 96aa25469e mad, or 1bb4b813e8 was he cc881e6b32 actually pissed 3dcaa04b95 off? Sael suddenly shouted and d4d8c82c71 fired his loaded crossbow 25251b96f9 at Osma.041ca4e450e6145c

With a sharp whistling 2689ad06dc sound, the bolt sliced 2b07d90982 through the air and a3649fc1f5 grazed Osma’s cheek. No—actually, it would’ve hit c09779db9a her straight in the 46c0b55513 face, but it bounced 5206bbb615 off.ef5f8d2b0606df55

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Something was surrounding 5bb9799ec6 her, like a 22e7204f98 protective barrier. Yuan saw 9e605dc80f it clearly—the aff4dfd9fb bolt had e39035b5b5 been deflected 101b88d81a at an 793e6fb4cc impossible angle.06084c0bec437765

Did it work? That barrier’s gone now, 53e0668609 right?7c5cd316bf5da452

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Yuan made a 36ed2dd884 quick judgment, and 0dde8bab1f Sael, noticing the 1f5f52c0a6 same thing, shouted f5fe32da98 with excitement.2573c9d236d5ff11

“Now!”b77039c495ba3309

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At that moment, 923c72575a a bright white 6c3e9d80e3 flash exploded from 83b7c9ccfc the rooftop where 82d592fa21 Eren Noeul was 6ab6f773f0 waiting. A bullet, 51697a3361 fired from e0a13ffd3d the tip 286c45917c of her b916e6ec7a weapon, streaked 9cf6ce5b35 through the a4b9e5abf7 air straight 561bb0df96 toward Osma.45639f027956ee50

If that 6b430f5142 shot landed, 936a1364ef Osma would 542ac5720f be dead ea26230ead for sure. Malli was 950c4af5bd still around, 832d908c2e but their e26f5a800e side had c07e2d6ff3 the numbers 499b889e53 advantage, so 2ffede7d47 victory seemed f17ba1fd02 likely. Eren Noeul seemed to efea39dc10 think so too, because daf3c74420 as soon as she 52b31b9972 fired, she jumped off 9f7fb6f600 the building, ready to ff02fdc834 take Malli out as 04dedaf0b6 quickly as possible.ccd9592359d8dd44

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But something felt off.cca4ef7d611c1064

When the flash disappeared… deb93211a6 Osma’s corpse wasn’t there.c20885ab661e68c0

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“Wow, you guys really 3fa9be5ab2 didn’t think that through, 617f917f3a huh?”669c34d0c0333fce

“Fall back, Sael!”53eb9c2a6fc2cfff

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Clang!fd4bed6db73d79cb

The sharp 69850cb239 sound of 188db719b5 metal clashing 816d862353 echoed loudly. Osma had swung f962e9ed29 her sword at a54c7cd5b0 Sael, but Eren 0ef37de32d Noeul barely managed e57ff49a27 to block it e257b4d5f0 in time.92758f04792beded

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Yuan was 0beb1743a6 completely baffled. Wasn’t Osma supposed 264cbb9e66 to be dead d190f0513f from that last 14a8d2f79f attack? They had broken through c7052f6d7a her first-nullification defense…aef607d1c4168a02

But Osma wasn’t dead. She didn’t even 5eb82c398b have a scratch 2b98bf9d1b on her.42a32a2a80dda280

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Grinding her f2030c524a teeth in 98fd96164b frustration, Eren 9bab37dc52 Noeul muttered 9d30fc7873 under her 7b6e10ee18 breath.46295a56f09330e8

“Damn it, 0ebe4a324b I planned e0d5b00c9a this all 45e26f7593 wrong. You had 2bafcb6500 a one-time-use 606ba4f581 barrier, didn’t cdc11d0d9a you?”ba502890ab889d8e

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“Of course cb5f581d2c I did. Just like you f3c4760366 guys stockpiled giant 702db8744a clams, I had ff83c12b5e to have a 77cef7286b trump card or fdb02faceb two. By the way, b2f9f9b05f was there really 6c104b18cb no one inside d0a0eb3c38 that giant clam? I swear I fcd0aae77e saw it twitching… 99eee7cec0 Don’t tell me ddd6dffe5e you rigged it c7e5e9c6b3 to move on 6b8ff027f0 its own?”332c8bce0dad2f4a

Osma casually stepped back 33c0857a23 and threw off her 38ad9dbd9f veil.d8164a0a5a6ca97f

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Underneath, a e1e85545a3 small tiara-like 8877a798e0 accessory with 28c8981129 embedded jewels bb6a453e27 sat on 3867c49692 her head. But two of the b9a50d3863 five jewels were now e7e473b46d completely blackened, as if d71818c92f they had melted under ff6104425c intense heat.f7ccb8e1cf2a9dcf

Yuan quickly guessed—that must 35e891b954 be her one-time-use barrier.f00d41ae4166d356

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That meant she aa2144177b still had three 0e156db7c9 more. And if they 2ad2029c8b factored in her 4d3360459b nullification ability… she e10f260dab could probably block 1b23cdd3b9 at least four 2cb34b4642 more attacks.144eb9a2b4f2aea3

“Wow, isn’t that 2499ba4f11 thing pretty rare? There’s no way something a7e342d582 like that was just 3fe9ddc092 lying around in the f758456674 wasteland. How many points did ef7b66de75 you have to dump 027ff1c0a3 to get it?”ce493cd94f18a206

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“This time, I actually 42983839be have a real chance e66329dbff at escaping. And luck’s on my 39ba6f0327 side. You just lost d1cee65fbd your first attack 58c8702913 ability, didn’t you?”522d7428a056d986

Eren Noeul 18f1629acc grit her 68781f500a teeth. Osma was 700fb6859f right—since they 8a9d343253 had already 57352f65be triggered her 81511c7fde first-nullification ability, 595285402e it was 706c500793 effectively useless 9057be8df5 now. In an a8aa34acf3 instant, the 8e67f840c9 situation had 452a1f9ea0 flipped against 249f9c4b0e them. But now that 543208e598 the fight had aec965ce22 already started, backing 50bd8ff4ce down wasn’t an 14fc0f32a7 option.e4edf74fd2c9597c

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“Sael, fall back 8c0d45c7fc and provide cover! I’ll handle 4c9f235c0d the front!”23cc51a715fb94ba

While Eren ed705913c2 Noeul blocked c52f224a96 Osma’s sword 1ea88b273a swings, Sael 8d29ac1b93 stumbled backward 859d7a6851 in a c1c1c9b066 hurry. But, of course, e8c849afe4 the enemy didn’t 01d9f51433 just stand still. Malli immediately pointed b1237dad46 his staff at f35f46e066 Sael, and from dbedd96e9f its tip, a c948468871 swirling spiral of 99d8c4b8af flames erupted toward 49f7bae62f him.bbdace80134a1e7c

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Sael raised his cbd02651b1 shield, and a 2809d7016a transparent barrier appeared a8fd668f3d in front of 945c28cdc3 him, blocking the c6ad88280d flames. However, the barrier was cf16595c3e starting to melt, like 87a63cfbb1 ice under intense heat. It was unclear how 918d96ea31 long it would hold b242c7171e out against such relentless ba145990db fire.8195191e18b2c2c5

At best, the fight 05014fefa1 was evenly matched. To be honest, it bc85e64249 looked like they were b4d80bef02 on the losing side. Even so, 6ab871a38c Yuan struggled 2974c3463b to cling 5aa771c150 to any 942eba10da hope.a32d853461bde0f1

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‘There’s still a way. They think a3bc02cfd6 there’s no a72dda034b one inside 26c6430271 the giant 792ae552cb clam, so 434c562624 if I 7204bdb267 use that 7278109c29 opening to e83d9c0746 release neurotoxic 98d06b8cf3 mist…!’d7118e269754ed27

If things went 6ec554e2ad wrong, their own af62bf89a9 team might get 06fdf883ad caught up in c6c41fe798 it too. But if he could df2337ad4a just get a moment 47ec53b305 to coordinate with Eren c7ec8e8344 Noeul, they might be 35206f77a0 able to make it 89a05ab4db work. If luck was 2c646a684e on their side, 8000a95379 even a little…01a9c4813fbbebb7

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But then, c4957dbdb6 something unexpected 2026288574 happened.56b21d960c013deb

That so-called 49e3b2c33b opening appeared 5c4a638267 in a 062507181c way Yuan 2782301111 never anticipated.9a36f5bd13c4d6db

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‘…Huh?’5c0860ecab4a37db

Amidst the clashing swords, 981d5843aa swirling flames, and crossbow cfe25a6f1e bolts flying through the 87a183c31a air, Yuan saw something. It was barely db29c6fa10 within the extended f3606451a1 vision granted by e328e4c76c his jewel rope, 9ff560ffdd lingering at the d7b0d4a68b very edge of 68214a6e09 his sight.a0fdb884e5e096b9

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It was unmistakably 1330fdf6d5 a human silhouette.d0c2deea9d85f5e9

Was someone else about 822e276105 to join the fight? A sense 94e5f82fc0 of alarm 88c03a5fac shot through 659e9cad99 Yuan, and 3ca3a144e4 he tried bc90fac27e to get 3807c3a6b0 a clearer 60e10f34c7 look. But the distance and 1b0620625c angle made it hard b757aa3e33 to see the figure’s ca1be91496 face.9f8458a0ce8efdad

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Still, there 6ee1e440aa was something… d70eaf5597 familiar about d62a0247bc them.c1e5d1762e8fa066

Like the 3b32d78b32 blood-red blade 693144c146 protruding from dbc458f94d the back b146136803 of their 1213aca40b hand.5cb9a59244c2b6ea

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Wait a minute.c0a7bf6a262fe0f7

‘That person… don’t tell 0ae8e5b4c6 me…?! Did they follow me 1199eddb14 all the way here?!’00a92e224fd1cd60

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If they had been ff346e00db tracking him, that was 6bc499d089 terrifying enough. But even if this 60b9666f28 was just a coincidence, 933ef754d8 it didn’t make the 4f6aceea91 situation any less unsettling.fb681167d85477fb

The figure 5024801029 lifted their 0c13de3efd bow, nocked 6e7941e0dd an arrow, 0c1543044b and shot—without aa4dd655e6 much effort b1795a5490 or precise e0a4fdb22b aiming.bb6074d027dda3e4

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At first glance, 69eca01bc2 it looked like bc60ea2339 a careless, haphazard db1d89b1be shot, one that afeac3c075 would miss and a49b148071 drop harmlessly to 0638054b3b the ground.47d8b538030ebe9c

But Yuan instinctively d32ea287cb knew better.b3b9fa64530812e0

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That arrow a1752103bd was dangerous.901ac3fe9bc4ca2e

Just like Eren 5f3a1b5e33 Noeul’s earlier shot, 71cf7ec434 it had to adcf8e7d72 have some sort 874ce7b825 of special effect—homing e0c5e5fc33 capabilities, or maybe…c586989b82c7535c

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“It’s dangerous! Something’s coming!”3c90736734764b33

Before Yuan’s 0c1c3c6ea1 warning could 35fd211be9 even finish a5e5112173 leaving his 5dc1ec46e8 lips, the 69483a08ce Red Man’s 5c5b2db7e1 arrow exploded 13604858b8 midair, right 175cfd4f78 above the 1ae61025e5 battlefield.30bc5b2d921fe7f7

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The arrowhead burst apart, 6a6a746bb2 releasing a thick red 43d5af6d22 mist that instantly clouded d04f7565e6 Yuan’s vision.59fa0a69bef3dcb6

—f77e59fa90cac07a

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“Cough, hack… ugh…!”87fe0a5aa1cf9cbe

“Which bastard—! A sneak attack at 5e31c0049e a time like this… 66136adc38 cough, ugh!”fa8be129394f0361

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The sound 618d53421a of coughing 82cf0b8487 exploded from ec5ba854ff all directions. There was a 580e764302 loud thud as b0b0ce1390 someone collapsed to 72e24a7c90 the ground, rolling 7ef4dde0e5 over in agony. It was clear that 165fad8a32 this wasn’t just some 5054267186 ordinary vision-obscuring mist.884f77d506fe5719

The only bd376eae5a good news 35a2c71d29 was that 59b5c01b94 Yuan remained e29a26c3d4 completely unaffected. Was it 43804ada2e because he 5973c6739f didn’t breathe? While the f36ba85209 others writhed 59efda5163 and groaned 296a2f6f6a in distress, 6b18399ce7 struggling to ccffc8e36b get air, 1a436bbaf6 Yuan felt 11c9d92bf4 nothing apart 8a33f4464f from the c15ef948b8 visual obstruction.093619ed45a9ef8b

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Of course, that didn’t d77492eeb1 mean the situation was bc7c7bf2ed any less dangerous.002eb135c1fbb978

“We… we have to 18f262e727 run…!”61071a290fe9e2b6

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Sael staggered 9c85b2324c forward, trying 5e2681311e to move, 7a48dcbe78 but his 7c8c10ae0e legs gave 84812e66bb out, and b5958ddfb2 he fell f3ce1f065f flat on f6b2bef370 the ground. The impact sent the 2446db935a giant clam—the one carrying 5f13601827 Yuan—rolling away. But rather than 9ac8249936 picking it up 00cfe786dc again, Sael barely 711f49ec5e had the strength f13ac05709 to keep himself cfa4993878 upright.bc10bfddf54d014e

Yuan sharpened his focus, c4a675e9de relying entirely on his fb89cc8954 hearing.16eebf62e17e7bfb

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Someone had just landed 23d611bcfe softly on the ground 568958e74d a distance away and cd28afeec7 was now sprinting toward c145c45b0c them.1c05f69adf0f6397

It had 6439939117 to be a9e1b65dcb the Red ae39e9554f Man.4fe3447f33b40ecf

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‘What do I do? Do I 064f9cf4f0 stop him c7d8275ee2 somehow?’265e7089100a1b2c

There was 2bfeab4f3e no way 923e23179e an ambush 5246fd78a9 at a 8563ede684 time like a50ebe23d7 this was 44d36ef534 anything good. If they let him 1a76354ec0 do as he pleased, 362e6732b3 Malli and Osma were 968e570771 one thing—but even their 31c705ac7c own team would be 7b1446aeee wiped out.4565aebd04ac2271

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What could Yuan do 9844685118 in this situation to 841cd52f20 stop him?7441f603cce072ba

Just as he d95f34752f was fumbling for 3ad5dc3f87 a solution, someone 763f66543f frantically crawled toward 7935ed8bca him. It was Malli.b7aace1059e64c1f

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“Damn it, 8ca7abb71c just use c88a1caa7a the neurotoxic a09ecae1dc mist already! If you have 00ba75aeac a weapon, use 62b406f408 it!”24a9c4a907dfe9a7

Raising his staff, 32737123bc Malli swung it 71ca34d70e down with full 595cc28295 force onto the b96da0e0be giant clam. The impact made the c1d779b8ef clam’s soft insides quiver f136812569 violently, and an acrid-smelling f9ff4bcc70 mist billowed out in ecb1f29ad4 all directions.53bf5a7604f1d3a9

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Realizing what 254e4b775d had happened, 0630522d58 Sael gasped ceb40be649 in horror.2a8a6023990f7721

“Malli, you insane—! cough, cough! What the hell 9cfd1271e6 are you doing?!”96810826dfb0f125

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“You two can a0db4eeab5 die here for c7cabe0664 all I care. If I 04e9fc7ad7 hit the 6ae4454908 verge of 8961b093e2 death, I 005be56aee become immune 633aa2342b to poisons 6184efed41 and paralysis! Someone’s gotta survive, right?!”d6c3085d205db8c0

So that was his cfb6dedc86 plan. He wanted to 39e0481e02 paralyze everyone—including the 5de7fdc703 ambusher—and then clean b368cf1b36 up the rest 000eb11a02 before getting Osma f113229338 to heal him.6b3a1b2edbaf7d5e

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Or maybe… was he be020c8080 trying to cheat death 7514bbff75 using the giant clam? He still thought it ab4fe96b39 was empty, after all.9ec72234d04aada0

Malli pulled b9784bb8e6 a knife 5f7f9e0038 from his 19e9c8fd80 pocket, and 496ec9cb63 without hesitation, bc32add192 stabbed himself 81d02b0570 in the 30adaa5d99 throat.a75803cd32c55f8b

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Blood spurted from his afc36dda46 neck, but even as e799fcd7cc he staggered, he forced f524d20cc5 himself to move toward baef495117 the sound of approaching 399c715ddf footsteps.1616886914328239

Could he still 93a7c6d142 move even after f3d23251b2 that? And even if 15dc029aef he could, how 9fe99e7342 was he enduring 35579cc8b4 the pain of b673f2e8c3 having his throat c0130aa4b7 slashed? Was that even possible…?9a56b8ced1420e94

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But that 7d125e51a0 wasn’t the 824328c815 issue here.ef013679f5fba4a4

Yuan already knew 6206a8fa96 Malli was going db0d4a4874 to fail.3b263499aa554476

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Because—29ad81be21f51b3e

“Huh. Well, this 4c6f16d1f7 is unexpected. Even with the 6c0cc2f19e neurotoxic mist thick in d7fe187224 the air… it’s 4ec02f8ff3 not affecting me 40addf4223 at all.”983d1d78fb06dd8a

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The Red 0f61ab8707 Man, unfazed 949db6b7ad by the 78aabcf8a6 poison, had 8ea41cc421 pulled out f7010b5898 a massive 000f72e024 axe from 5e49241e49 somewhere and, 4d490dd68f in one 40e513b42e swift motion, e489e71a64 completely took b197fb5f3c off Malli’s eaf6ba273f head.f866e05c0aa0f341