They weren't attacked on their way back. But the moment they entered Rivira, the moment they let their guard down just by a fraction, as Hermes Familia began to process and grieve the death of two of their members, it struck again. It went for the guards on the walls, who were shocked and confused by the mental wreck they were. Three were cut down in an instance, not having been dragged away. No, instead their flesh was torn apart with ease, their stomachs split open and their necks reduced to nothing. The following hours were pure agony for them. At this point Asfi was at the verge of losing her temper as she slammed her fists down a table, breaking it in half. All the items she prepared for a hunt. To catch or trap or at least slow down the monster. They were all broken. The strings meant to alert them of its movements. Sticky fluids that could hold down even a level four. Pitfalls, empowered shields, strengthened walls.
It was as if it was mocking them. Declaring that no traps, no items, no walls could protect them from it. It didn't bother trying to mask its presence anymore. Now its aura, its hate, overflowed in Under Resort for all to feel. Of course Aiz and the others didn't stay idle. She and Bete were essentially the permanent guards in this crisis, with their senses being the best in Rivira right now. Residing on a high location in Rivira, they both have been trying and failing to preempt the monster that audaciously waltzed into the town and out as if nothing could stop it. Naturally she and Bete were straining their senses to their limits, fueled by anger by this situation. She didn't have to glance at the wolf man to know that his eyes were bloodshot and wide, that drool was dripping out his mouth, hungry for victory.
"C'monc'monc'mon you piece of shit... !"
They were getting closer. Their reaction time became faster and faster. Yet it wasn't enough. Not a single time they were able to hit it thus far. Chase it for a while, realizing it was actually transparent for some heaven forsaken reason, but they at least could make out its shape, even if it was just from behind. It was definitely some sort of giant hound. Still, not once they could prevent a death it decided to cause. Because of that, the stress building up in the town was rising to levels that could easily cause a panic at any given moment. Aiz took a deep breath, ignoring how dry her throat felt and tried to keep her focus up. No time for breaks. No time for eating beyond the bare minimum. She had to see better. Feel better. React faster and move faster. Every single death was on her hands and she would not accept that howling abomination to live a second longer if she could help it.
Her ears twitched. She glanced down, long realizing that her eyes were essentially useless against that being. So even if she looked away from her surroundings, her other senses focused on any shifts of the wind, any deviation of the natural order. Because of that, she could see Finn approaching the Pallum siblings of the Hermes Familia. They were at the verge of collapsing in terms of mental strength. But it spoke volumes of his fame that her captain's presence was more than enough to make them straighten up.
"I've heard from Lyra you might want me to sign something?" Finn asked casually, waving a pen in his hand. The two siblings froze up, gaping. As if not believing their luck. As if not believing the craziness of this situation. Pock and Pot if she recalled correctly shared a shocked look. The sister giggled nervously, playing with her fingers as she looked away.
"Err-"
For some reason, her brother scoffed. Despite the red face, he put up a tough front as he crossed his arms and looked away.
"Pff, what? No way! A-As if we want something from an i-idiot like-"
Naturally the sister was horrified, slapping Pock over his head with a hiss.
"Brother!"
Pock winced, rubbing his head before carefully glancing at Finn. The Braver still had his casual smile on, patiently looking at the level two. After a short staring contest, in which Pock was fidgeting around, he pulled his helmet down to try hiding his blushing face while the other arm presented a piece of paper, alongside his sister's.
"...yesitdbenice."
"Hahaha!" Laughing in amusement, he swiftly signed his name on the papers. He fondly looked at the two Pallum, unable to hide their awe as they looked at the signature of his. Finn nodded in approval. "It's nice to see Pallum rise up to the challenge like this." He looked up with a wistful expression. "It helps keep things in perspective. Why I'm doing all this."
"Well, with you going wild, it makes all of us look like we are lazy," Pock commented, looking away as he cleared his throat Finn blinked before waving his hand in dismissal.
"Oh, that wasn't my intention."
"Somehow I find that hard to believe," Pot said, causing the trio to laugh a bit. Aiz couldn't help but smile a bit, finding some relaxation in this. Then she moved on with her eyes, her sense of the wind still sharp. She spotted Gareth and Tiona, chewing away at some meat. The latter ate slower than usual, something that the dwarf noticed.
"You alright, lass?"
"Of course!" Her smile wavered a bit as she shrugged. "Just a bit... weird, I guess. In missions like these I'm usually with Tione."
"Yeah, you two are practically fused to each other's hip."
"Ey, you make us sound like some sort of monsters."
"You said it, not me."
The two shared a small laugh before Tiona's forehead furrowed in thought. Gareth raised his eyebrow at her, gesturing for her to elaborate. The amazon leaned back, her head hitting a wall before she glanced to a certain direction.
"...Arash is in the Lower Levels, right?"
"Don't think that mutt will let us leave that easily," Gareth replied, immediately seeing where she was going with this. He shook his head, though he didn't seem happy with what he was going to say. "'sides, he's busy boosting up Hestia Familia. Would be mighty rude to interrupt them. Even if that Kojiro fella doesn't seem to really need it."
Aiz pressed her lips together. If anyone could track this fast, invisible monster, it would be the strongest archer. Sometimes it was like he could see the future in order to hit his targets. That would certainly be helpful right now. But Gareth was right. They had no idea where exactly he was. Only that he went into the dungeon and went deeper than Rivira. For all they knew he could be in the Deep levels. It would be insane, but she heard that Ottar sometimes went on solo runs down there as well.
"Hm. Just figured him and his super bow skills... " Tiona sighed. "Sorry, guess this is bothering me more than I thought."
"We all have our moments of weakness. We just gotta trust Finn on this."
They frowned at the mention of Finn, something that Aiz had to as well. He had a plan, one he explained to them. Naturally none of them liked it but they also knew there was no better idea with the resources at hand. But the waiting was the worst. Because of that, she relished in listening to the others, while she kept lookout.
"What did you mean with Kojiro not needing it?" Tiona asked idly, standing up as she began to stretch a bit.
"He has the same air. Like them," Gareth responded, reaching for his back as he winced. Tiona blinked before it dawned on her.
"Oh." She cracked a grin. "Well, Lil' Argonaut sure picks them strong, ey?" She jumped up and down a few times, as if warming up. "Man, I really wanna get this done and over with! I wanna see them beat up those Eris meanies!"
Gareth laughed at her antics, but it was cut short by a scream. Bete and Aiz tensed as they shared a look, subtly nodding at each other but not making another move. Everyone else however turned to the source, seeing someone pull at their hair as they hyperventilate.
"I can't take it anymore!"
"Lulune, cal-"
She slapped the hand of her captain away, slowly backing off like a cornered animal. Her panicked eyes glanced at the entrance of the town that was open, with the people having realized that a gate was meaningless. It was easy to see what Lulune was about to do in her panic. Aiz wanted to go down there but she forced herself to remain still.
Not yet.
"Calm down?!" She pointed up. "Aiz and the others can't stop it! This is a suicide mission!"
Not yet.
"Running away won't he-"
"I won't die while sitting ducks! I'll at least try!"
Not yet.
"Lulune, wait!"
Not yet.
"Hey, Finn, why aren't you-"
The wind shifted ever so slightly. Aiz' eyes snapped wide open, just as Bete already moved. There! Lulune was running out of Rivira. A step outside the gate. She gripped her sword tightly in her hand as she leaned forward and let gravity drag her down.
"Awaken-"
Her feet touched the "tower" she was standing on. Bete meanwhile crashed down right in front of Lulune, who screamed as she fell backwards. The wolf man snarled, his feet having broken the bridge.
"Fuck!"
"-Tempest!"
It was a cruel plan of Finn. Using someone, anyone, who would panic and break off as bait. Asfi seemed to realize that plan and shot him a heated glare, but remained silent. Instead she slowly moved as well in Aiz' eyes, as she summoned her find. She pushed herself off the tower, not to use her special move, but to gain momentum for her wide swing. Bete picked up Lulune to get out of the blast zone. She focused on the monster's movements, something she wasn't able to before.
For a moment, it was startled. In that instance, its movements were predictable. She swung her blade and a storm followed.
"Did it stop?!"
"I can't tell, it's still invisible!"
The landscape, the water, all were swept away as Ariel crushed it all. Yet Aiz didn't see any proper resistance in her wind. Not a clean hit. But she could see that the monster was forced to go with the flow of the wind, pushed back in the air.
The Sword Princess skid over the ground, raising her blade to meet the monster who landed on the ground as well. In that moment, Aiz knew it could dash away, forcing the cat and mouse game once more. But just as she was fully prepared to give chase, fully prepared to take advantage of that little break of the routine, something happened. Instead of fleeing, which it could've done with ease thanks to its Transparency, their actions diverted from normal convention. A once in a lifetime event that could only occur between a specific brand of individuals. It was said that eyes were the mirrors to one's soul. It was a coincidence that this happened. But even with its invisibility, even with Aiz trying to find its center of its massive body to keep track of it, their gaze just happened to meet. In that instance, it was like lightning struck both lifeforms.
The eyes of one that hated monsters met the eyes of one that hate primates. For a singular instance, both entities froze as their polar opposite and their mirror image was in front of them.
Their hatred met each other. The pain that gave birth to the desire of vengeance. The goal of one who lost everything to predators met the goal of one who lost everything to hunters. Like an abomination of a fusion, their hatred synced, increasing each other's force on their host, like two opposite powers strengthening the other. Their teeth were bared as the two snarled. Their vision narrowed, focusing only on their kind. Wind burst out of the humanoid being, wind turning black with her hate, her promises forgotten in the haze of rage. The monster became visible, revealing its azure carnine form, its fur and cloak fueled by vengeance and forming into tangible armor and formless blades, a form representing someone that long surrendered to the black inferno in its soul.
A human with monstrous power. A monster with human wisdom. Looking into the other's being, they were offended by the hate they found. What right did the other have? No, it could not stand. Thus, they thought the same. Like soulmates, their muscles bulged, gathering energy before unleashing it in a single explosion together with their magic and furious, almost feral sounding screams.
"Nizel!"
"▂▂▃▃▅▅ーーー！！"
They would not rest until their opponent was annihilated.