Simyon's mind had already gone past the breaking point; he felt like his head was melting, and even in front of him, he could only see an area of colors moving. He could hear the words and somewhat tell someone had entered, but how far they were or even where he was?
He wasn't sure if he had already died, but he just knew one thing: he had to stay awake. No matter what, he needed to make sure that his eyes stayed open; otherwise, everything he was going through now would be for nothing.
Memories flooded into his mind of when he was with his sister. The feeling he felt at the time, where he thought death was around every corner. The feeling he had right now.
That was when a voice could be heard in his head. 'Simyon... I promise you, no matter what, you are going to get out of this, you are going to survive!'
The image in front of him, of his sister being attacked, and the final words she said to him ringing in his head over and over. 'Live, Simyon, you have to live!'
A rush of power entered into Simyon's body, and the mushy image he could see in front of him started to disappear. He was gaining nearly all of the senses he had around him; he was becoming aware of what was happening.
This was the power of the seal breaking. Having endured three days of torture, the item's power was flowing through Simyon, giving him a burst of energy.
'Wait... why is there a Red Brigade member in here?' Simyon thought.
To the right, he could see Safa, getting up off the ground. She looked hurt, and the clan member's sword was already drawn. After getting up from a daze, Safa could see the man approaching Simyon, and she ran forward, tackling him around the waist.
"What are you doing, you little b*stard, get off me!" the clan member shouted, and with his sword raised in the air, he swung it down.
"NO!" Simyon screamed at the top of his lungs and darted forward from his position. He held out his arm to block the attack. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, whether this was just another illusion he was seeing, the same as the one he had been going through in his head with his sister.
'I can't let the same thing happen again, not this time!'
The strong thoughts allowed Simyon to be willing to sacrifice anything, and his arm had been given up in the process. The clan member only needed one of the kids to distract the ex-leader, so it didn't matter if one of them went, so he swung with full force.
As it hit Simyon's arm, though, a loud clang was heard, the same sound when metal struck against metal. The sword was pushed down, but it wouldn't go through Simyon's arm.
"What the, am I still dreaming, why isn't it cutting through my arm?" Simyon said.
"You, are you a Pagna warrior with the steel body? But you're just a kid!" The clan member, furious, decided to shift his stance and threw a punch, hitting Simyon right in the gut. It was a powerful blow with Qi embedded into it.
A heavy clunk was felt, and the knuckles of the clan member were sore. Seeing the opportunity, Safa jumped in the air, kicking her leg off the wall and punched the clan member right in the face.
Seeing the clan member stumble, that's when Simyon thought that this might be his only chance. He rushed forward and went to perform what Kron had taught him: the two-step shift with a punch right at the end.
His footwork was still a little clumsy, his fist didn't go through the most direct path, but when it hit the man in the side of his ribs, a crack could be heard as the bones were breaking.
The man knelt over, allowing for Simyon to raise both hands and bash them on the top of the clan member, sending him to the floor. He wasn't moving, either passed out or dead, but he wasn't sure, and the only sounds in the room that were left were of him and Safa huffing and panting.
After a few moments, Simyon looked at both of his hands. The bottom part of it was stained with blood from his hit on the top of the man's skull.
'How did I do that, and how did I stop the attack from the sword? It should have completely gone through my arm? None of this is making sense?' Simyon started to think about what the man said. Was he a Pagna warrior who had cultivated in the steel body arts?
But he had never done such a thing, and he hadn't even finished producing a solid core. He wasn't a Pagna warrior, yet he and Safa were able to beat the man.
'The earring!' Simyon raised his hand, stroking the bottom part of it. 'Raze said, if I managed to last the whole time, then I would be able to obtain power outside of this world!'
[Mythical Rank Item: Black Steel Earring] [Status: Unsealed]
[This earring can only be worn by the user who unsealed the item, otherwise the item will be treated as a normal earring]
[Effects: The user is able to create a 'Common' Steel Body]
[The strength of the steel body is Evolvable]
[The Steel Body's attributes can be changed and influenced temporarily by different attributes of magic that are placed into the earring]
Simyon had no clue about the effects of the earring, since magic was needed for one to be able to see what was taking place, but he had obtained a Mythical Grade Item. Something that Raze had never done in the past, a feat that had an almost legendary status.
An item that if Alter found out about it, they would do anything to seal it away so it could never be used again.
Because Simyon hadn't become a Pagna warrior, but was using an item that contained the power of magic.