System Breaker: Surviving Apocalypse with Nine-Tailed Kitsune-Chapter 19: Kade’s Ability

’Ability? Why would he try to use an ability on me?’ Damon pondered in his head as he looked at Kade, who was handing him a rift shard.

Realising he kept his best friend hanging, Damon quickly accepted the gift. "Thank you."

"I’ll see you around," Kade replied with a faint smile before turning to leave.

Damon watched in silence as Kade walked away, his bloodied armour disappearing as he made his way up the stairs.

The moment he was gone, Damon turned his attention back to Kitsune, who spoke at the exact moment his best friend left.

"When your eyes met, he activated some sort of ability."

’Are you sure?’

"I’m certain. Just like I can sense the mana presence of others, I can sense when that very presence shifts." Kitsune explained.

’Maybe he has some kind of information-based ability." Damon lingered for a moment before shaking a thought away. "It’s probably nothing.’

A moment of silence passed inside Damon’s head before Kitsune spoke again.

"Just be careful."

"Yeah, yeah," Damon murmured, before shifting his focus toward his gift.

He turned the rift shard over in his hand a couple of times, feeling the faint vibration of energy beneath his fingers. It pulsed like a heartbeat, almost as if it had a life of its own. It was a great gift, but not enough to substantially raise any of his stats or buy a good relic.

Still, despite knowing it wouldn’t be wise to use it now, while holding it in his palm, he felt an odd urge to crash it. It was almost as if his core yearned for it.

Realising the urge to crash it was growing stronger with each moment, Damon quickly dismissed the shard.

That’s when an idea struck him.

’What do you say we go find some rifts?’

***

Victor’s eyes widened. "You want to find a rift?"

"Yeah," Damon replied. "Do you think you can help?"

Victor lingered for a moment before replying.

"Well, finding a rift should be easy. There is a lot more rifts than there are hunting parties, but... they don’t really take newcomers. Everyone has an already established group, so-"

Before his scrawny companion could continue his sentence, Damon cut in with a firm voice.

"I don’t need a group. I just need to find the nearest rift," 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Victor stared at Damon with disbelief.

For a moment, he wanted to say he was crazy for wanting to attempt a rift by himself, but then he remembered how Damon had already possessed rift shards, meaning he already closed at least one rift.

Victor nervously rubbed the back of his neck before replying. "I’ll ask around."

Damon nodded. "Thank you."

"By the way..." Victor turned one last time, his gaze narrowing toward Kitsune. "Did your fox always have two tails?"

The question caught Damon off guard for a moment, but he was quick with the response.

"Yeah."

"I... I see. I will go and try to find some information about the rifts."

Damon watched him leave before turning toward Kitsune. He could sense her happiness over the second tail through their connection, but he couldn’t share her joy. Changes would draw attention, and he had read enough stories and watched plenty of movies to know what people did in times of apocalypse to those who stood out.

What would happen when she starts having three or four tails? Or even worse, what would happen if she could stay in her true form at all times? That would definitely bring too much attention toward him-

"Mmm, thinking about me again?" Kitsune’s voice cut through his thoughts.

Damon stiffened at the sound of her voice. He would often forget she could hear him, just because she wouldn’t always comment on all his thoughts.

’Nevermind that...’ he thought to himself as he shook his unease away.

Right now, his main focus should be the upcoming rift.

***

In a dimly lit room, Kade leaned back in his chair, shadows flickering across his face.

"I need you to keep an eye on someone," he murmured, his voice low, almost tired.

"Who is it?" A figure standing in the dark corner of the room asked.

"Damon."

A moment of silence filled the room before the figure stepped forward, revealing a lanky man with dark circles around his eyes.

"Your best friend? Why?" The man’s voice wavered, and his eyes narrowed as he watched Kade spin red liquid in his glass.

Kade’s exhaustion seemed to vanish at the question as a sly smirk curved across his face. "To keep him safe, of course. Just like we do with everyone else here," he paused to take a sip before continuing. "We can’t let them get hurt, can we?"

The figure’s eyes widened.

"You mean-" he began to ask, but caught himself. His unease was broken by realisation. "I understand."

Kade’s eyes lit up, and light danced around his iris as he stared at the lanky man before him. "I knew you would."

His gaze lingered on his henchman for a couple of seconds, causing the man to stiffen in place. He did not even breathe until Kade had finally closed his eyes, letting him relax.

"Oh, and one more thing." Kade’s eyes opened with a newfound darkness. "Did you ask around about that fire-shooting wrench?"

"We did," the henchman replied through a ragged breath, his arms trembling at his sides, "...but nobody had ever met someone like her."

Kade frowned.

"Tell the others I want her alive. No one burns my subjects and lives."