The first thing Aiz noticed when they entered Under Resort was the heavy air, tainted with the smell of blood. It was subtle, not something inexperienced fighters would notice. But she grimaced, noting the amount of deaths that must have occured in a short time, which caused people like herself or Tiona to smell it. She could only wonder how bad it was for Bete, who covered his nose and hid his snarl underneath his hand. Asfi and the other adventurers they gathered from the Hermes Familia noticed their wariness and gave them worried looks. Yet Finn and the others didn't elaborate. Not wanting to, or else it would lower morale. The fact they could smell that blood meant one simple thing. The corpses still existed. Which was mind boggling inside the dungeon, as monsters would be attracted like flies to them in order to devour them. But that didn't appear to have happened. Instead it was almost too peaceful the closer they got to Rivira. As if the beasts were afraid of something. Aiz looked behind her. The team Hermes sent was quite varied. Bulky dwarfes with shields and the like. Pallum warriors that sent Finn nervous looks occasionally. Even some supporters and mages were gathered, ranging from low leveled amazon to human wizards. She recalled the worry Finn expressed, but he wasn't in charge of who Asfi took with her. The woman explained that she believed in variety to account for several situations. However she still heeded Finn's warning in a sense by protecting the mages the most in their formation. More than usual formations did. But from the way Aiz' captain looked around, it didn't seem to calm his thumb down at all.
They approached the city in the middle of the lake, but already it looked a lot different from the last time they were here. Thicker walls, build up in a messy way. More sentries, whose eyes were bloodshot with exhaustion. Not to mention the amount of bells each person seemed to carry on their person. She could suspect what purpose they served and the thought only caused her hands to form into fists. As they approached, the adventurers on the walls brightened up and began to cheer. Moments later they were surrounded by desperate individuals, creating a chaotic mess of noise around them. Aiz felt overwhelmed, looking around with wide eyes. Bete tried to scare them off with his usual rude comments but it spoke of their desperation that they just accepted them and begged for help anyway. Fortunately some order was restored with the leader of Rivira pushed his way forward. The man with the eyepatch looked to have seen better days, his face unshaven and messy. Yet his eye lightened up when he saw them.
"Braver?!" He wrapped his arms around the pallum, crying tears of joy. "Thank the gods! People were about to riot in here! With you guys, that monster won't know what hit it!"
Finn smiled, encouraging the crowd around them as he patted the leader's back. After seperating he crossed his arms, spear in hand as he narrowed his eyes.
"Bors. Got any leads for us?"
Bors winced, his excitement dying as he lowered his gaze, scratching the back of his head.
"Shit, I wish I did, but none at all. Whatever is out there ain't your regular monster." He shrugged helplessly. "Hate to tell ya that, but ya gotta track down the corpses. Maybe they give you leads."
"You didn't try to get them back?" Gareth asked, a hint of disapproval in his voice. Bors scoffed in response, sending the dwarf a dirty look.
"Fuck, we tried alright. All we did was add some new ones out there."
Sensing the mood going down, Tiona laughed in a boisterous manner before slamming her hand at Bete's back a few times before pointing outside.
"Bete, go!"
"I'm not a dog, you airhead!" He snarled, punching at her. She giggled, avoiding it with ease before blowing a raspberry. Gareth sighed before stepping between them, raising his hands.
"Kids, play nice."
Aiz couldn't help but smile lightly at their antics. It helped lift the mood. With the people more at ease, Asfi adjusted her glasses before turning to her people.
"You know the plan. Start preparations. I'm going to follow Braver."
"Aye, aye, captain!"
With those orders done, half of the team of sixteen split off, taking their bags, most likely filled with the Perseus' gadgets. The woman nodded at Finn, who gestured with his hand at the rest of the group. Just as they turned their backs to Rivira however, Borse had one last thing to shout after them.
"Be careful! That thing prefers night assaults, but it ain't exactly picky!"
"Noted. Thanks."
Leaving the walls certainly made the group more nervous. Even with Gareth at their back and the other Loki members at the front, she could tell that some were shaking. Still, they all ignored it, as now wasn't the time to comfort them. Not that Aiz would be able to anyway. Bete sniffed the air, grimacing before turning to Finn as he twirled his dagger a few times.
"Oi, captain, any preferences? Best I can do is give general directions."
"Strongest source," Finn replied after mulling over it for a moment. With that order given, Bete nodded before leading the group into the forest. With so many obstacles covering their vision, it only put them more at edge. Bete's ears twitched, ready to pick up any noises while Aiz herself focused on the flow of the wind. As neither picked anything up, they continued their march until even the low ranking adventurers could smell it. Some gagged, others almost keeled over. But the worst was just to come when they entered a small clearing. Even Aiz and the others, hardened warriors, had to gasp and take a moment at the sight they witnessed while others lost their lunches at this point.
"By the gods... !"
It was a scene of carnage. They found the bodies of several adventurers, if some could even be called that. Some were half the person they used to be. Some hung off some branch with their face completely mauled. Some were lucky and only had their throats ripped off. Still, the sight filled Aiz with anger as she took a shivering breath. Finn made the first move, stepping forward to one corpse and touching the blood, rubbing it between his fingers. At his actions, the others checked other bodies as well. They did this for a few minutes, senses at high alert until Finn stood up, turning to the group.
"Thoughts?"
"They all died at different times. Some of them already started to rot," Asfi responded first, pocketing some sort of vial she used on some of them. Gareth was next, pointing at some as examples. A body against a cracked boulder. Fallen trees with some victims lying upon it.
"Bodies were flung around. Like it lost interest the moment they died. Like dirty luggage." The dwarf spat to the side. "Dunno if it's good it ain't hungry or not...Pieces of flesh here and there, as if it spat it out."
"Definitely using teeth the most. Some got fucked up by claws but most kicked the bucket from a jaw," Bete commented next, distaste audible in his voice. Tiona nodded in agreement, her smile gone as she frowned.
"Makes sense, I guess. Gotta keep those legs occupied for running."
"High velocity too. Those kinds of wounds don't occur just from biting or scratching," Finn added with a hum. Someone coughed, causing them to turn to Falgar, the were tiger.
"Something's off." He gestured at one body he was kneeling in front of. "Some of them got attacked from the front."
Narrowing her eyes, Aiz could see it. Several of the wounds at signs of being caused from behind or the side. Yet the victim Falgar was pointing at was clawed at from the front. That alone wouldn't be weird if it weren't for other factors.
"No sign of a struggle," Asfi muttered, covering her mouth with a frown. "That is weird."
"Look at their faces." Gareth pointed out, confusion creeping into his expression. "Some died without even noticing."
"So either it's really really fast... or there's something more," Lulune, the Chienthrope, muttered with horror in her voice. Aiz nodded slowly, betting on the latter. She didn't believe it was a matter of mere speed. Not to mention all this made her taste the iron once more, as memories resurfaced. As Hermes Familia was gathering evidence up and the like, conversing among themselves, Finn walked up to Aiz with the others from the Loki Familia, giving her a pointed look.
"Aiz. Valis for your thoughts?"
She hesitated. But she realized that she couldn't turn a blind eye anymore. So even if it was a ludicrous idea, she took a deep breath.
"...I had a dream."
"Really?" Bete asked in a skeptical tone, raising an eyebrow. Finn raised his hand, silencing any other objections.
"Go on."
Aiz licked her lips, discomfort rising up in her stomach. But she pushed through as she forced herself to remember.
"I was a monster. Four legs. Wolf like. Large, larger than even Ottar maybe. Hiding in the shadows of the woods. Right here." She pointed at a certain spot she recognized. She ignored the looks she received from Hermes Familia as she walked up to it and knelt down, pretending to be the monster of her dreams. She pointed at Rivira, her hand shaking a bit. "I was observing them. Waiting for the one moment where their awareness was the lowest. With my smell, my fur, my taste, my eyes. All of my senses were used to make this the most opportune kill."
She swallowed the bile that threatened to come up. Covering her mouth she took a deep breath.
"I felt no joy when I took one of them. No satisfaction in their fear or their deaths. The alarms rang long after I was gone. I didn't eat them. I just killed. Between a fine line of... "
"Aiz?" Tiona asked quietly, worry filling her voice as the Sword Princess trailed off. Yet Aiz paid no heed to it, instead her eyes widening as she slowly shook her head. A part of her realized why she had that dream. Why she was inside that monster. It was different. Different from the usual hate of the dungeon, that fueled the usual goblin or the like. Indiscriminate distaste for all outsiders for reasons unknown. An alien hate. Yet with what they were facing right now...
"It wasn't mindless. It wasn't guided by rage or feral instinct," Aiz began to elaborate, trying to find the words. But in the end, it was simple. She disliked the mere thought of it. But the emotions she felt at the time... it was unmistakable. She looked directly at Gareth and Finn. She didn't know what kind of expression she had, but from their wide eyes, she assumed it was fear. "This... this is hate. Hate that is personal."
She understood that monster, if her suspicions were right. A thought that caused static to flare up in her mind. No. That's impossible. A monster couldn't possibly be like her. What could it possibly understand about losing everything? It was a beast with no attachments, no love to give. Just the desire to kill. It must be a mistake on her part. Or it was a delusional beast. A fake hate maybe. There was no way she understood it and it understood her.
A hand rested on her shoulder. Aiz didn't realize she began to hyperventilate. She looked up, seeing Tiona look at her with confused worry, same as Bete. Finn and Gareth on the other hand seemed to realize what she was getting at, wrong as she was. The Braver folded his hands, pressing them against his lips before nodding slowly.
"An irregular wolf monster... that'd fit the bill."
"Oi, we seriously trusting dreams now?" Bete asked with a scoff. The wind shifted, flowing from behind the werewolf. Aiz rose to her feet, smiling weakly at Tiona to reassure her. Tiona smiled back as Finn shrugged at Bete.
"It's the best we got." He glanced at Hermes Familia who were walking up to them. He nodded at his fellow captain before tapping the ground with his spear. "Let's go ba-"
Their only warning was Finn's thumb twitching. Yet it was not enough. A surge of magical energy followed, as if Riveria herself was casting magic. A mere split second, added to the other split second of Finn's instinct. Even for them, it was too little time to prevent fate taking its course. One moment there was nothing. The next, a gust of wind pushed past them. Time seemed to slow down as Bete and Aiz were the first to react. His nose and ears twitched, looking at Hermes Familia while Aiz was drawing her blade, looking at where the wind went. Yet she already knew it was long gone. Instead she followed Bete's gaze and her eyes widened.
Slowly, two bodies missing their heads dropped down. One in the clothes of the mage and the other barely covered as amazon culture demanded. Blood flowed out immediately after and time seemed to resume. Dead silence filled the air as Hermes Familia stared at two corpses of their own, unable to comprehend what just happened.
"M-Meryl... ?"
"Gina!"
Finn was the first to gain his composure. Immediately he took on a defensive stance with a snarl.
"Formations!"
The other Loki members heeded his orders in an instance. With high speeds they closed the gaps around the Hermes Familia, pushing them back into the middle of their impromptu circle.
"Tempest!"
Wind surrounded her as she frantically looked around. Yet she sensed nothing. She heard Bete curse under his breath, meaning he didn't sense anything either. Gareth meanwhile was busy with Tiona pushing the Hermes Familia back as some tried to reach the newest corpses in this graveyard of horror.
"Nobody move!"
"B-But they-"
"They're gone! Get your shit together!" Bete snarled, his body tense as he leaned forward, ready to charge at whatever attacked them.
"Bete!" Fine barked out, causing the wolf man to growl even more in frustration.
"I can't track it!"
"The heck do you mean you can't track it?!" Tiona shouted, indignation in her face as she twirled her massive Urga.
"It fuckin' means I can't smell it, dipshit!"
"Cut the chatter!" Finn snapped at the Sword Princess. "Aiz?"
"The wind blew from behind Bete before…!" She stopped herself, but the implications were clear enough.
"Damn it, it's intelligent?!"
"Not only that," Finn muttered in response to Asfi's agitated words. He clicked his tongue before he glanced at the others. "Did any of you see how it looks like?"
A shiver went down her spine. Sweat formed on her skin. Judging from the gasps, she wasn't the only one. The reason was simple. Several level six adventurers were in this group. Their senses far above most in Orario. People that could keep track of the Starfall's arrows and Ottar's fighting speed when they were somewhat serious. And Aiz knew that while the wind that was caused by the monster's rush was fast, it wasn't that fast that it defied common sense. However, the silence that followed was clear.
None of them saw anything. As if hearing their realization, a wild howl echoed against the walls. Aiz grit her teeth in frustration. It was the sound of a challenge. A sound of defiance. The declaration that they, the hunters of monsters, adventurers of the dungeon, were no different from the rest of the prey it hated so much.