Strongest Nova: Path of Vengeance

Chapter 340: Hint

Stanley finally arrived at the floor where his room was and immediately went to Sheila’s room to check on her. He managed to kill a few more people on the way there and was confused once more as to why his powers were not being freed yet.

Was he misremembering whether he had to kill 100 or not? Was it more?

He jumped over the corpses of some of the AAA agents and arrived in front of Sheila’s door. He didn’t even try to get the door open. Because the power was out, there was no opening the door.

He worried what he would find inside the room and quickly ripped open the door.

With his future sight, he could see the future where there were people inside. He worried they might have already got to Sheila.

He was about to walk in to deal with them when he heard the voice call out his name. He paused.

"Sheila?"

He looked around the room, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. He couldn’t even pinpoint the voice at all. It truly came out of nowhere.

One of the men in front of him tried to attack him. Stanley saw with his future sight a scene where the man struck out with an ice attack, freezing him.

Stanley dodged the punch quickly and knocked his hands away, forcing him to hit one of his friends. The man he hit was instantly encased in ice.

Stanley kicked the other man before he could pull the gun out of its holster and knocked him into the other man so hard that their body crumpled like a house of cards.

Stanley finally punched the guy with the ice powers in his head, killing him in a single punch.

He stood up, looking around for sight of Sheila. Usually, she would leave a small disturbance in the air that was hard to catch unless you were looking for it.

But Stanley couldn’t find it at all. Even when he searched everywhere, she was not there.

"Sheila?" he called out again.

"Yes?" she asked. She was a little confused about the entire situation, including the fact that Stanley had just killed 4 people who were in her room randomly.

"Where are you?" Stanley asked.

"Right here," Sheila said.

"Where?"

"Here," Sheila said.

"Where... is here?" Stanley asked, still confused. It took him a moment to remember that Sheila had been sleeping beforehand. In the chaos, he had forgotten that. And she had been asleep because she was gaining her powers.

He gasped suddenly. "Your powers evolved!" he said.

"What?" Sheila asked.

"Your powers," he said. "They are better now. Your powers evolved because of Upgrade."

"What do you mean?" Sheila asked. "What happened to me?"

"I don’t know," Stanley said. "Try and learn what your new power is. You know know it instinctively."

Sheila went quiet for a few seconds and then suddenly gasped in surprise. "What is this? How did this happen to me?"

Stanley grinned widely. "I think it is better if I explain what happened later on. For now, we need to leave."

Something changed just then, a subtle shift in the air almost. A moment prior, there was no one there. A moment later, Sheila arrived right before him.

Stanley paused and looked at her, his face slowly emerging into a wide smile. "There you are."

Sheila stared at him for a good minute and smiled as well. "You were worried about me?" she asked.

"Of course," Stanley said. "Why wouldn’t I?"

Sheila quickly hugged him. "Thank you for worrying about me."

Stanley was stunned for a second then he hugged her back as well. "Always."

They let go and Sheila tried to hide her blush but failed to do so. "So, what now? What is going on? Who are these men?"

"We’re under attack," Stanley said. "Hundreds of men and at least 2 Novas."

Sheila’s eyes widened in shock. "2 Novas?" she asked.

Stanley nodded. "Could be more too. I don’t know," he said. "Gray is fighting a Nova who can control the flame, and Raven is making her way up the mountain as we speak."

Sheila grimaced a little. "Raven!" she said, anger filling her voice. She remembered the day clearly when she had to go up against her. She had barely come out of it alive. "What do we do now?"

"I... I must go fight her," Stanley said. "That is all I have ever wanted and..."

Sheila nodded. "I understand. She was responsible for so much bad in your life. You deserve this revenge," she said.

"I know," Stanley said. "But..."

"You’re hesitating," Sheila said. "Why?"

"I... I don’t know if I can kill her," Stanley said. "She is so much older than me. So much more talented."

Sheila looked at him, confused. "That’s not it, is it?" she asked. "It shouldn’t matter if she is talented or not. You should still fight her. Why are you worried you might lose?"

"I am worried I might die," Stanley said.

Sheila paused and hesitated a bit. "But... this is important for you, isn’t it? This is all you have ever wanted."

"I thought so too," he said. "But now I know there is something else I want."

"To live?" Sheila asked.

"To live with you," Stanley said, looking up to meet her eyes.

Sheila froze for a moment. "What... what are you trying to say?"

"I... I want to be with you, Sheila. I love you," Stanley said, taking in deep breaths. "That’s what I want. I want you. And at this point, I don’t want to die if that means not being able to be with you."

Sheila was taken off-guard by the confession, not knowing what to say.

Stanley looked at her. "Should I have not said that?" he asked.

"No, no, that’s not it," Sheila said.

"Then? What’s your answer?" Stanley asked.

Sheila thought for a moment and smiled. "Come back alive and I’ll tell you," she said.

"That’s not—"

"But," she cut him off. "Here is a hint."

"What hint?"

Sheila took a step forward and kissed him.