Part X- The First Deviation
"Evilus." Ryuu said plainly and as coldly as possible with her eyes locked on Finn. "You found members of Evilus down there."
Everyone remained still, leaving only the crackle of the fire to try to fill the void.
Ryuu's eyes were locked onto Finn's, and as if emitting from her, Bell could feel a cold wind.
Finn took a deep breath as his eyes returned to the flames. Both his team and Bell's lay in silence.
"Yes. As the leader, I made the decision that it'd be best to keep this from you and your team. Not because of you entirely." He gestured to Bell, then to Ryuu noting her standpoint on Evilus.
"Rather it was for your sake. Evilus, Remnants, whatever they chose to identify themselves as, operate in the most cruel of ways. Often resulting in the death of many, even their own. You of all people know this, Gale. It's that disregard of life that they possess being the reason why it was kept from you and your team. If you look at our team, Bell, we are all level six. That is not to say you all are incapable. If anything, what you accomplished here as a team proves otherwise. But you-."
"Level one." Finn's gaze landed on Haruhime who flinched at Finn being aware of her level.
"Two." Then Welf, who sat silently, obviously unpleased with the situation.
"Two." To Mikoto, who gave no expression other than Finn having her full attention.
"Two." Lili wore a scornful face, as if anticipating being condescended.
"Four." He looked at Ryuu.
Finn gave everyone of Bell's team a glance and began counting off their levels. Each person met Finn's gaze, and their level, leaving Bell for last.
"Four."
Bell's eyes were steady on Finn. The point he made was clear at least to him and his team.
"Bell, unless they can level up like you can, then in no short amount of time will any of you be prepared to fight a threat like this. In the past few months alone, not only our familia, but others as well have lost so many if not all of their members thanks to Evilus."
Finn drew upon the memories of times past, where Bell and his team were preoccupied with other things. And Bell, to some extent was aware of the events through hearsay and rumors, he didn't know the legitimacy of such words. If anything, hearing it come from Finn's mouth it was all confirmed.
"I am asking you all as Finn Deimne, a fellow adventurer, to leave the remainder of this task up to us."
He offered them all his sincere attention as he spoke. Some returned his gaze with suspicious glares that soon relented.
"Will you let us do that?" Finn said.
Bell cast his gaze down in contemplation. It was one thing to believe they accomplished so much because of their determination, their experience. But it was another thing entirely to have such a request be brought to them. To stay put, to do nothing. Even after they've fought things that few have survived. As he cast his gaze back up to Finn's team, he came to realization. Each member was at level six for a reason. Through hardship and loss, they managed to persevere. How could he not do the same.
Would it be reckless to deny this request? Selfish?.. How else would they be able to grow, to become stronger? To reach a level where he could stand by Aiz's side if not surpass.
But just like before he was reminded of something. Caught in the intense concentration, he managed to feel the eyes watching him. His own team.
"One. Two. Two. Two. Four. Wo-.. Would they be strong enough?"
How long could he push them? To drive them into situations to usher in growth. But this wasn't any other day in the Dungeon. Something happened on a scale that shook the city.
"Does it make sense to risk their safety over something like this? Expeditions have us go into the unknown, but this? This is a mission. Does that make it any different?"
He pounded each question into his skull. Determined to find an answer. And he found it, one that he didn't like but he knew that his team, his friends were his responsibility. They are relying on him to make the decisions to bring them success and back home safely. He couldn't risk that, no.
"You want us to go to Rivira, and wait? Is that it?" Bell asked.
Finn stood with arms crossed and nodded.
"Yes. You're still in the dungeon, in range of the Occulus. If anything comes up, we can let you know."
"Will you?.." Bell asked firmly.
Finn stood still, for the briefest of time he stood in contemplation. Weighing the options.
"If we go back to the safe point, I want to know everything that you find. If this mission isn't over, we can't be left in the dark. You understand that right?" Bell rose to his feet, and left himself open as he waved to teammates. But his words were stern, uncompromising.
Those were his demands if they were to agree. Though if he gave it thought, how foolish would it have been to think that they could mean anything to a team vastly stronger than them. If anything it would be a professional courtesy. That was what he was weighing on since they made the agreement that they were in this together. Regardless, Bell would not stand down.
"Until this mission is over we are still in this together."
From the last word silence filled the air.
"Woah, Argonaut got intense.." Tiona said in soft admiration of the white haired boy. Just quite enough for her sister alone to hear.
Bell gave the rest of Finn's team no mind, in this instance they weren't his priority. It was making sure that whatever may come they would be prepared for it.
Finn couldn't break his eyes away from Bell as from this alone it was as if he could feel the air change around the boy. That was enough for him to understand the error of his previous assumption that Finn and his team could keep this away from. Naive as he may be, when it comes to the people he cares for there lies within him a determination, a focus to keep them safe.
"I see now that there are such ideals within you that even I still have to strive for…"
Finn stopped the thought.
"You have my word, Bell." Finn held out his hand to Bell.
It was a gesture of goodwill. Seemingly so. Though it occurred to Finn possibly too late how little it meant when he already broke trust by keeping the knowledge of Evilus from Bell and his team.
Bell took a few steps towards Finn, and silently looked into his eyes with a gaze that searched for any clues.
"Is there anything we need to know before we go?" Bell asked.
"No. We'll see you back in Rivira when we're done." Finn said with his hand still held out.
"Good luck, I mean it." Bell said as he reached for Finn's hand.
It was a handshake with a firm grip. With all things considered it was a second chance at trust. The tension on Bell's face faded and there grew a faint trusting smile. Though there lay something with it, it was careful, an almost fragile expression of trust.
"We're leaving. Let's go, everyone." Bell said with the focus of a leader.
Bell's team was silent, leaving the only sound being the faint shuffling of fabrics and footsteps. Far beyond the creaking and groaning of the ice down below filled the cavern. And without turning to look back, Bell and his team left. Surely their silence would end once him and his team were out of earshot. For now, all Finn and his team could do was watch them leave.
"Captain, should we really have sent them away?" Tione asked with faint concern in her voice but also as if something about it all didn't make sense.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, couldn't have they been useful in the investigation? You know, two is better than one. Divide and conquer. The thirty seventh floor is pretty big."
Tione offered her reasoning but it was too late for that.
"They might not look like it, but for those that have fought, that fight took a lot out of them." Finn said.
A monster that could be deemed death itself was laid to waste by a team not even on the same level as his own. It was the ingenious strategy that he'd have to remember from what he was told. But it came at cost. And they nearly failed.
"Just what level was that Juggernaut anyway?"
"From healing Bell alone, he's lucky to be alive. It was wise to let them return to Rivira. Assuming they take the time to let themselves recover. For if they push themselves any injuries may become reaggravated." Riveria added as she slowly stood up, patting the dust off the back of her robe.
"So close to being at the mercy of death.."
It was a fact that left Finn silent. Off near Riveria he spotted Aiz staring off at the ground with her brow faintly furrowed. Something barely noticeable. From that look alone, he could assume she felt the same.
"Well, that's good and all but what about us? We did three days worth of traveling in like six hours. Are we going to rest up or just move? Because I don't know about you three, as much as I love a good walk we're already pushing it to where my legs feel like moosh." Tiona added to her sister's query.
"Didn't you get a stamina potion from Lili?" Riveria asked.
"Oh well about that.. Yeah, and no. I sort of gave it to Aiz. Of any of us, she kinda did the most work right? So I thought she'd need it more than I would."
It wasn't an incorrect assessment, though Lili did initially attempt to recollect it to their stock, but reluctantly gave in to Tiona's request of giving Aiz more aid.
As Riveria gave Aiz a quick glance, she saw her giving Tiona a thankful nod of her head.
"Thank you again.." Her voice ever so quiet.
Tiona simply gave her a welcoming grin as she sat crosslegged.
Riveria and Finn's eyes crossed, and through the past years of experience working together they nodded in silent agreement that they both knew what to do next.
"Right, before we leave we need to go over everything we found. Everything, no matter if it's the smallest of things can be important."
"△▼△▼△▼△"
The twenty seventh floor was quiet as Bell and his team made their way up to the passageway leading to the floor above. None had made an attempt to say a word. Most just kept an eye on Bell as he made each step forward, leading them through the floor. There within each step lay a faint jerking motion, a limp. One that Bell tried to play off as nothing.
It was all too obvious for Mikoto, to a point where she couldn't ignore it.
"Sir, Bell." Mikoto spoke, bringing Bell to a stop as he turned to greet her. The rest of the group followed suit, coming to a standstill. "Given your current state are you sure we should've left so soon?"
"Huh?- Wha-.. My current state?" Bell tilted his head as he posed the question.
"You're limping, Sir Bell. And we have nine floors until we reach the safe point. Will you be able to make the walk back?" Mikoto continued, her voice with mild concern after he pushed himself so far.
"If you can't you can always ride on my back. If not that I'm sure Lil'E wouldn't mind making some room in her pack for ya." Welf chimed in lightheartedly leaving Lili to scoff at the thought.
"Lili's backpack is big, but it is not made for a person." Lili proclaimed in a huff. "But here."
Setting her backpack down, she reached into it and pulled out a healing potion.
"Guys, I'm fine. Thank you. Really-.." Bell nervously chuckled at the sudden attention being thrust upon him.
"That's not good enough for Lili. You need to be at your best." Lili said as she held the potion in her petite hands out for him. "Even if it's just for a walk."
Bell gave it a solid glance. And as Ryuu watched she could see how everyone was willing to come together even in a time like this. When the euphoria of a battle over fades, they still prioritized each other's safety. Just like her own though she was a guest standing within their circle, she could feel an immense distance between herself and them.
From the back of her mind, a thought lingered. One so rare, she considered it a fleeting emotion. Something baseless. Unnecessary. But only here and now did she truly affirm it. Embracing this idea that she kept tucked away from all to see. What came along with it were a flurry of emotions equating to that of fear of rejection and shame. Those emotions telling her, no.
"There's no way it could work.. Could it?"
But deep down, she believed in this simple yet eye opening idea.
"Alize.. I ask for your strength.."
"Thanks guys." Bell said as he gave them a warm glance before drinking the potion. "Let's get going."
Whatever tension was gone, and with utter faith in their leader they continued their trek back to the safe point. Yet Ryuu remained silent.
Walking beside him was none other than Ryuu, who kept giving him a soft glance. Trying to build up the courage to ask something. With everything that has happened just in the past six hours alone, she finally had it within her to speak what was on her mind.
"Bell, may I ask a favor of you?" Ryuu spoke softly as she kept the words solely for him to hear.
"Is it about Evilus?"
The limp still remained, but the healing potion was having its effects already. Though walking seemed to already play a major role in reaggravating it, he continued walking. Yet she didn't care to let it continue.
"Uhh.. Here." Ryuu uttered as she swept under his arm, to support his weight.
Bell finally gasped in surprise not expecting her to move so quickly, but welcomed the support as he leaned onto her.
"Thanks." Bell let out a nervous chuckle. "Seems that I'm thanking everyone lately."
"You don't have to thank me, you've already done enough." Ryuu said before getting back to her initial thought.
"No.. As hard as it may be to believe, they are a secondary thought but are still relevant. I trust in the Loki familia gather information needed for this operation. To relay it back to us? -I think it's greatly possible for them to follow their word after being caught red handed thanks to Lili calling having noticed something was off. But what I want to talk about is well-... Uhh.. Now is not the time nor the place."
Ryuu cut herself off just before she started to ramble. She too was tired and surely what she wanted to say would slip through her lips. And before she could get too excited by even speaking of the idea she first needed to know what Mama Mia herself would say. In her mind that wasn't the only thing, she could anticipate the girl with silver hair and eyes reaction. A friend.
"Please don't believe it to be a betrayal of trust.." As her mind went through the possibilities of dialogue in worry of someone she deemed a friend. Someone who saved her. She was cut off by the voice of the white haired boy.
"So you're not mad about not going after Evilus?" He sincerely asked.
It was a question she couldn't hold against him, after her crusade, then the catastrophe of her familia and Jura, Evilus bore a deep unforgettable impression upon her. One that needed to be wiped clean from the world.
Though as she turned and catched his rubellite eyes upon her she could only speak the truth of what's on her mind.
"No. I think I'm right where I need to be." In a manner ever so slight, a smile grew on her face that could charm any man.
"I'm glad." Bell said warmly. "But what's do you need help with, Ryuu?"
"Would you-.. No.. Are-.." Ryuu, stopped trying to find the right words. "When this is over, will you bring me back to Mama Mia? There's something very important that I need to discuss there."
"I can do that." Bell responded softly as he struggled along.
Regardless of not knowing the entire request, he agreed. It was that and the warmth of his voice that struck her the most.
Those words were all she needed to reaffirm her belief that by his side, with him and his familia they could do good. To stand by a boy who has triumphed against diversity with his familia. To not only serve justice but compassion. The boy, Bell Cranel, a force of change to be reckoned with. Someone with a future so bright, who gave hope to others. Would it be crazy to want to protect him so?
"△▼△▼△▼△"
The light from the crystal ceiling of the safepoint still shone a bright light, emulating the day of the surface. But inside the smiths' home, the light lay diffused through the curtain. With that emulation of day, came no heat. Yet the room remained warm as the smith, Jai, returned to his work. Leaving the stranger. The man with no known name or familia alone, resting in the bed after being carefully attended to.
Though there was no peace in this rest. Beneath the bandages that covered one eye, he witnessed the replay of the events that led to this very moment. If anything, it was horror and it was pain.
As the memories played, from the Goliath and the casting of his spell, to the escape of the black mist. Every step in reverse, every swing of his sword had the force that emanated from it, returning to its blade. Each wound seemingly seized it's pain as the inflictor of each injury returned to it's orginal place.
Then a frantic and mad dash through the crumbling walls that brought themselves back to its perfect condition.
The memory held still for a second. No more. In the moment, he looked back with adrenaline and fear running through his eyes. The only discernible thing was the faint reflection of two beings mid battle. They were close. But the question lingered within his mind, void of reason and any logical train of thought as his consciousness was swept away, why was he alive? He could form no answer.
The memory continued to a dark place where the walls surrounded them close, and drowned out the light. In a claustrophobic environment any and all breath stopped. Like a state of stasis he remained gripped by fear only to have the light show once more.
It was no sun. Though it was bright.
There was warmth, but it was not sensed on his skin.
As his eyes focused he could see a figure bathed in the light. A woman so beautiful. That even to him he stood in awe as his heart ached.
She stood injured but calm.
He remembered. Of course he remembered.
This was his sister.
"Serene.."
She spoke words, but his mind was hellbent on keeping them from him. The only decypherable words he could make out were-..
"It's going to be ok.."
As her lips moved silently from there on they were interrupted.
She didn't get the chance to finish as she was struck from the side and the light faded.
Of course he remembered. Those were her last words with her smiling face burned into his mind he realized one thing.
He failed to keep that one promise from his father.
"It's going to be ok.."
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
It's not.
The man awoke, gasping for air as if he was drowning. Flailing his arms as he tried to acquaint himself with his surroundings. Kicking off the sheets, and swung his legs out and before he could stand he fell to the floor as his legs collapsed from under his own weight.
Those words repeating incessantly in his mind.
"It's going to be ok."
But he knew.
"It's not."
The air left his lungs as he hit the wooden floor. Gripping his ribs in agony, he desperately tried to catch his breath. And as he tried to crawl on the floor to the door, his cheeks felt damp. For as the dream has ended, the harsh truth of reality didn't.
"It's going to be ok."
He failed her. He failed his familia. He failed them all.
On the ground, he clenched his hands tightly and fought the urge to cry as his forehead dropped to the floor.
There he bit into his arm and let out a muffled scream. Clenching his teeth, trying to down out one pain with another.
"It's going to be ok."
"△▼△▼△▼△"
Jai stared at the fire that flickered before him. Deep within it's inferno was a glowing piece of metal. With metal grippers he turned it over as part of the process, examining it from afar. Sweat dripped down his brow as the heat filled the room.
It was time.
Pulling the glowing piece of metal out of the flames, he examined it briefly but intently to look for any faults. It was a blade, shaped as if it were of obsidian stone. It was gorgeous as the glow that emanated from within made the metal look translucent from the thinner points of the blade. Then he dunked it into the bucket of water next to him.
Steam erupted with a hiss and after a few brief seconds he brought it out of the water and into his leather gloves. There he examined it closer. Running his fingers down the edge. It wasn't sharp, nor was it intended to be at this point. But as he ran his finger across it, a sensation like that of dread crept up within him as he watched the blade crack.
It's pieces fell the cracks of his hands down before the fire below.
"Damn it.." He sighed in defeat.
Another failure. A defective product.
"There's no way this is going to work out.." Jai said, his voice full of doubt as he closed the metal face of the stove separating himself from the fire and his workshop. Tossing his gloves onto the ground his ran the towel, that was once pure white now smirred with char and ash, across his face.
In this moment there was a single pressure on his conscious. To fulfill his end of the bargain.
He glanced around his workshop that was tucked away in the furthest part of his abode, recounting all of the swords he's made. The faint red light from the stove glimmered off of the polished blades. His collection.. That's all they were. Nothing more.
His eyes stopped on one in particular, though a part of him wish he hadn't. It was the sword that he always chose to ignore. Why he hung it up was brought down to its simplest thing; it was sentimental.
It was the sword that earned his mentors favor to teach him.
"That seems so long ago.."
Before everything changed so suddenly and he was cast aside.
When he made-..
A heavy thud shook the beams that ran through the ceiling. A sound of someone falling like deadweight.
"Oh no.." Immediately Jai got up, tossing his leather apron aside and exited his workshop.
As he entered into the main room of his abode, where the meeting initially took place, there on the steps he saw the man gripping the railing with his bandaged right arm as he tried to come back to his feet.
"What are you doin guy?" Jai's voice stricken with concern immediately jogged up to the man and helped him up.
"I gotta-.. I gotta.." He could only utter those two words as he trembled.
His body alone wasn't recovered enough to make such a short distance.
"I gotta get everyone out of here.. They can't be here. We-... I-.."
He finally uttered as his one available eye cringed at the pain surging through him.
"Uhh, well it's a little two late for that. Two teams already went down. But you shouldn't worry, they're some of the best."
"What?.."
Jai tried his best to reassure the man, but he wasn't convinced. Shaking himself free of Jai's support, he weakly stumbled away.
"Hey just calm down, guy. The Rabbit kid seemed to know the monster. They're all working together. So it'll be no problem. That Jugger- or whatever is good as dead."
The man stopped and turned back to Jai.
"That what?" Though a quarter of his face was bandaged covering his left eye and left side of his face, it was apparent that was information he was unaware of. In fact his face held a look of utter confusion.
"They called it the Juggernaut. Made of bone and such. Like I said, they'll get it taken care of. You got the Rabbit Foot, and Sword Princess going at it. It doesn't have a chance. It'll all be over soon. Ok? So will you just relax? You got bang up real bad and need to rest."
"The Juggernaut?" The man uttered the name, as he contemplated the information. Only to slowly shake his head as an anxiety grew within him. "No. No. No... You saw it, you had to have seen it."
"Seen what?"
"What got your friend, my famili-..." The man stuttered, as his breath quivered at the truth. "It wasn't that thing. It's not it."
The shaken look on the man's face and his words finally reached him as his expression of relief and confidence slowly succumbed to a previously unknown truth into dread.
Jai stood in silence.
"I gotta go." The man uttered with a determination not to let anything that has befallen him and his familia to anyone else. He struggled as he made his way to the door, only to be stopped by Jai.
"Did you not hear me before, guy?! You can't go, look at yourself. What could you possibly do?"
The one eye of the man glared back at the truth that Jai had shout at him.
"I'll tell you what I won't do. Sit around and do nothing pretending that it's all going to be ok."
"It's not. Alright? It is not going to be ok with that thing here!" The man pointed his finger down to the ground strong declaring his observations of the scenario. "They are going into something blind."
Jai grimaced as he watched the man leave before he could get another word in edgewise. There on Jai's face grew a look of reluctantly accepting the man's words as truth.
Marching through the door, he caught up to the man and swung the man's left uninjured arm over his shoulders. There was a bit of a height difference between the two, with Jai being taller than the man.
"God damn it. You're gonna get yourself killed and this time there won't be no pretty elven lady to heal your ass. So what do you plan on doing?"
"Right now, the only thing that I can." The man said as they slowly made their way through Rivira. "I'm going to try to wake the Dungeon up."
"△▼△▼△▼△"
The Black Fog that filled the floors seemed to be at its most dense on the twenty-fourth floor. As Bell and his team made their way through the fog, their lanterns only reached out a short distance. They were effectively walking blind in the dungeon. With no sense of direction they could've been walking in circles.
Occasionally a few would let out a cough or two as the fog would leak itself through the seams of their masks.
"What's with this damn smoke, it wasn't this thick on our way down!" Welf groaned as he tried to swat some of it away from him to no avail.
"It really wasn't. I can hardly see a thing." Mikoto shared as she swung her light around as she gripped Haruhime's hand with Lili in front of them.
They were walking in a single file line, yet at a slow pace as everyone was scrunched together.
"Agh.. There has to be some way to clear it out.." Welf muimbled as he gripped his magic sword. His eyes were red and on the verge of tears as the black fog attacked his eyes. But yet he found himself reluctant to swing his sword.
Having heard of times that when particulates ignite it causes a chain reaction, and for everyone to be caught in an explosion was the last thing that he wanted to be responsible for.
"Shouldn't we have reached the exit by now?" Ryuu calmly asked beside Bell.
Bell eyes scanned the environment, though the dense fog was proving to be too much. Even for him. All that he could make out was that they were on the ground floor, not on the elevated path. Which was both a good and a bad thing. The Black Fog could be denser up top, and there is the chance that one of them may fall. But there is the flipside where they have no path to follow on the ground. At some point they knew they would reach the entrance to the next floor up, but it was just a matter of time.
Walking beside the cliff face of the path above them it seemed that they both were going in the same direction for the time being.
"I would've thought so too. What's causing this stuff anyway? Have you ever come across this before?" Bell asked Ryuu as they tried to get a grip on their surroundings.
"No. Never something like this. The Dark Fungus wouldn't emit this much unless the entire floor was occupied by them. If that were the case we would've spotted them on the way down.."
"My eyes are burning back here. Can we hurry it up? I'm not good if I can't see what I'm swinging at."
Welf was unamused at how long they've been walking that and the current limitations he himself was currently facing.
"I can't imagine it's much longer. Don't worry we'll get through it. How's the rest in the back?"
Bell gave the members behind him a glance as he checked up on them.
"I can't say it's pleasant but the sooner we can escape this fog the better."
"Lili's fine for the most part. Let us hurry, please."
First Mikoto said and she politely urged them forward, only to be followed by Lili's own declaration of her current status. As Mikoto began to walk, the hand that she held remained in one spot like a leash tied around a pole.
"Haruhime?" Mikoto quietly asked with concern lingering in her voice.
There stood Haruhime, her eyes squinting as if trying to pierce the darkness that surrounded the floor.
"What's wrong, Haruhime?"
"Guy's wait up, Haruhime's doing something!" Lili shouted from the middle of the line.
Mikoto quietly returned to her friend's side.
"Where are the stones?" Haruhime quietly asked in profound confusion.
"Huh?"
Mikoto swiped the light against the bare floor.
The bare floor.
Nearly the entire way down on the twenty fourth floor magic stones littered the ground. And thankfully the darkness hid a truth from Haruhime that surely would've caused her great distress.
"Guys..." Mikoto's voice grew tense.
Though she could not see their faces, their lights faintly pierced through the fog giving their location and the direction of their attention to her.
As she continued to sweep the floor with the light, its light barely illuminated against the floor with a subtle shift in color.
Solely red stains remain.
"Where are the bodies?"
Haruhime gave Mikoto a concerned glare at the truth being revealed, as she turned to darkness searching for any clue one fell right in front of her. A drop. Then another. As she held her hand out, a single drop fell in her hand. It's gooey consistency was apparent, but the faint light of Mikoto's lantern gave enough indication of what it was.
"Mikoto.." Haruhime whispered.
Slowly both Mikoto's light and Haruhime's eyes rise. The circle of light from the lantern lens trails up a small cliff face of the trail above that was painted red with streaks pulling the red down to the ground.
Atop of the path that they walked beside, the diffused light from Mikoto's lantern revealed the silhouette of a beast within the dense black fog. It heads and jaw heaving and shifting as if preoccupied with something else entirely. It was nestled up on the pathway, with a deep satisfied purr mixed with a bellow oblivious to the adventurers.
With a crunch, a red fell to the floor just before them. Then a mass of meat fell.
Immediately Mikoto dimmed the lantern and aimed it down towards the mass only to discover what lay in front of them was the mangled mess of legs from one of the adventurer's that they found on their way down. Anticipating Haruhime's reaction, Mikoto covered Haruhime's mouth with her hand muffling the scream to a whimper..
"Quiet. Stay quiet."
Stepping with light feet, they walked backwards to the others. Mikoto's eyes vigilant gaze unrelenting on the spot of the beast.
"Guy's what are you doing?" A voice rang out from behind, her mind unable to decipher who from the torrent of emotions and adrenaline coursing through her veins.
"Don't say anything." Mikoto gently hushed Haruhime.
Mikoto aimed her lantern behind her to the voice, assuming it was Lili, she opened and closed the lens of the lantern twice.
It held no complex meaning, but what it did accomplish was maintaining silence as it said, "We are here."
As the lantern dimmed to nothing, they continued.
Not even a few seconds later, a series of deep thuds shook the ground.
The beast had left it's perch.
"Please tell me that you can track it.." Haruhime spoke so softly that it was questionable whether or not it was even audible over the sound of Mikoto's beating heart as she stared into the darkness.
"Not this.." Mikoto said through her mask as she ushered Haruhime behind her as she reached for her sword. "I've never experienced this thing before.."
Any color of Haruhime's face faded as the words graced her ears.
"It's doing something.." Haruhime said as one ear perked up.
Author's note: Hello everyone, hope you all have been well. Yes, it has been quite the while since the last addition. Hence being work-life balance is an important thing to have balance of, especially when you do something you enjoy. I.e. writing this story. Good news is, a lot of the hiccups are out of the way. I should be able to consistently dedicate more time to writing like in the past. And while times change, I hope that they remain beneficial for us.
I hope you all are safe and healthy, and until the next addition, take care!