Through a bit of dumb luck, Karol managed to stumble upon an opening outside with a strange device inside. Rita confirmed it was the activation switch for what little could still run in this town. This eventually led them to a building at the center of the town that contained a spiraling staircase going down fairly deep.

Finally reaching the bottom, Deesh looked back to the spiral, "Someone was hiding something big down here."

Unfortunately, it seemed that Estelle, Karol, and Rita weren't doing so well. Karol looked the worse of them, ready to just keel over. "…I-I feel sick all of a sudden…"

Rita was too exhausted to shout insults, "M…Me too."

"It started as soon as we got here…" Yuri looked a little off, but he could still stand compared to the others. Even Repede was showing some signs of queasiness.

Aile, we're detecting that strange energy reading again. Only far more concentrated and all around us.

Seeing how it was effecting the others, she had to wonder, "Are we in any danger?"

Besides the weakened state the others seem to be in, it shouldn't affect you. We would still prefer you Megamerge just to be safe.

Shadow didn't catch on that she was talking to her Biometals, "Well, the three of us are still standing and I don't feel anything. Maybe it's an indigenous thing and we're completely immune?"

Aile suddenly merged with X and P as a mouth cover appeared over her face as an extra layer of protection. Deesh and Strider also didn't seem affected by whatever was going on, though it would seem she could feel something strange was abound. Even her stalkers didn't seem fazed however they knew something was off and hid in Deesh's satchel.

"Seriously, what's going on in these ruins?" Rita was the first to spot small green particles that started to become visible as it rose from the very ground they were standing on, "This is aer!" Soon they were now in a sea of these green particles rising around them, "It's dense enough we can see it!"

Aile was cautious now, "Does this somehow interfere with your bodies? And will it affect us?"

Shade was starting to scan the room, "Maybe but it shouldn't since we're foreign entities. Our lives never needed this kind of energy to exist. Though I do wonder if our time here may change or alter that in some way the longer your exposed to it."

Rita was huffing, "Aer affects everything in the world. Our own bodies, the growth of living organisms, even the weather."

Estelle then recited a segment she read about this, "High-density aer can occasionally have very negative effects on the human body."

Yuri remembered the last time it happened, looking to Estelle, "It made you pass out in the Quoi Woods, too."

Rita was genuinely surprised, "…Really? Wow."

Aile turned to Karol, "If that's the case, then we should consider turning back."

Karol muscle through, trying to pretend he wasn't as drained as he appeared, "I…I'm fine. I mean, I can handle it…"

Rita was fighting it too, "We shouldn't stay here too long. Especially runts like you who are still growing. The younger you are, the more of an effect the aer will have."

Deesh turned her attention now to the strange giant round metal door, "Now to get through here… And the only mechanism I see is that strange metal organ…"

Rita looked over the device Deesh was staring at, "It looks like this blastia is linked to the door. It seems that we have to carefully put together the symbols to form the right phrase."

Shadow pointed a gun at the console, "Wouldn't it be faster to break it?"

Rita grabbed her arm, "That's not a good idea. What if it makes the door stop working? We don't have the manpower to move something that heavy."

Aile pulled out three slips of paper, "Then it's fortunate that we found these along the way."

Each one only had one word written on them, 'light', 'sky', and 'sphere'. It didn't take them long to enter the password 'sun', though without these clues they would have been entering random words for a while.

The door was linked to a massive room was dome design, but the aer around them was still dense, enough to make a fog-like layer around their feet. Even at its thickest, Deesh, Shadow and Strider continued on through as if it was just fog.

Deesh was snarling as she looked up, "That seems dangerous for dryskins…" Above them was water being suspended above.

Floating just underneath the water was an elegantly designed object that contained a glowing orb. Aile was able to see it clearly thanks to the glare filter in her helmet's visor, "Definitely being contained by that device. A blastia, right?"

Estelle was still having trouble holding it together, "And probably this strange feeling as well…"

"Huh?" Rita noticed something as well, "He's similar to the ones at Ehmead Hill and Capua Nor."

Karol looked worried more than he looked sick, "Is it broken…?"

Rita was struggling as she shook her head, "When a blastia breaks, it loses its ability to take in aer. There's no way it would get like this."

That just made the situation all the more confusing, "So… What's going on…?"

"I don't know…" Rita was only getting worried now, "What could he be trying to do?"

There was a low rumbling now that jolted the area, Estelle looked around, "W-Was that a monster?"

Karol screamed after he looked down, "B-Below us! Th-th-there's a m-m-monster…!"

Aile steadied Karol, pulling him away from the ledge, "Easy there. You're not feeling well, remember."

Deesh was trying to study this monster as it continued to struggle, "Something about this feels familiar…"

The massive creature bucking causing the area to shack again, including the barrier around it. "The barrier's gonna fail…!"

Rita was quick to mention, "Don't worry, that's a reverse barrier."

Shadow pointed at the thing, "So that toy is keeping that beast caged up and the water from flooding in? Are you sure it can hold both?"

"It's a powerful barrier for holding monsters. He won't get out of there anytime soon. But, the aer here," Rita looked around them, "This isn't normal."

Yuri didn't like this one bit, "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"It's starting to disappear…!"

Before anyone could do anything, Rita started running to the other side, "Rita?!"

"Calm down…" Not even looking back to Estelle to tell her or the others, "I'll have it fixed in no time…"

Repede turned to the other side of the room and barked to grab everyone's attention. Strider, however, was snarling, ready to attack. "So, who're the numbskulls that decided to go and ignore our friendly warning?" On the other side of the room where the aer wasn't as dense were Clint, Nan and a third member of the Hunting Blades. This strange fellow had a green cowl covering his face as he lurched over, ready to attack anything or anyone.

Aile whispered to her Biometals, "Why didn't you guys warn us about them?"

The same reason we couldn't detect the monster just below us. This dense aer is interfering with our sensors.

It is like trying to see through a storm. The energy's intensity blind us to anything outside of standard visual senses.

Yuri called back to the Blades, "Sorry. None of us here are nice enough to take your friendly warning seriously."

"You don't say… Hey, isn't that Karol with you? I thought we fired him!" The man snickered, "Is the aer making you sick? It looks pretty thick over there."

Clint finally spoke out in a deep tone, "That's just what we want. You all just sit tight and behave yourselves. We're only interested in taking out this big brute."

Yuri couldn't help himself, "You sure talk big. Taking care of a pet is a big responsibility, you know. Don't go abandoning him for someone else to take care of."

Before anyone could say anything else, Repede, Strider, and Deesh looked up as a familiar cry rang out. In a flash, the Dragon Rider flew through the water and slashed at the blastia. "That dragon idiot again?!" Rita yelled in anger.

The barrier that was holding up the water started to shatter now, and water started leaking into the chamber. The barrier holding the monster shattered and the dense aer around them quickly dissipated. Estelle's chest was no longer pained, "Huh? I feel better all of a sudden."

"Me too."

"Of course! That dragon freak broke the blastia!" Rita yelled with all her heart now, "You're dead freak! Dead!"

Aile readied for battle, "Save the death threats for later!"

"That's right. Rage more! A beast is still a beast!" Clint dove in now, "I'll slaughter you with my own hands!" Unfortunately for him, the Dragon Rider would not allow him, blocking his blade with the spear and sending Clint back, "What?!"

The dragon then fired a few fireballs at Nan and the other Hunting Blade member. The shots missed, but the other hunter seemed interested, "So that's how it is. Looks like we'll have to take out this guy first! Should be fun!" Nan tossed her bladed boomerang as the dragon easily dodged, but that was a distraction as the cowled stranger ran up the wall, "Come on come on come on come on! Don't run! You won't get away!" The bladed boomerang perfectly placed them close enough for the man to jump off and land on the back of the dragon, "Got you!"

The rider managed to throw him off, but the monster below wanted out. It slammed its massive arms into the ground to try and create an exit, unfortunately, that only caused a portion of the upper area to collapse, sending Yuri's group down into the arena with the creature.

The creature was huge, as big as any dragon Deesh had ever fought against, and its bulk made it seem stronger than them. Yuri and Repede were still together, "Damn, my legs are shaking. But I guess we gotta take care of someone else's pet."

Estelle slowly got back to her feet, "Wait, please. I will fight too!"

Rita staggered her way over, limping a little, "Don't forget, I'm here too."

Shadow kicked a slab of stone aside, cracking her neck as she joined up, "That wasn't very nice, big guy."

"Such reliable allies," Deesh threw a rock off herself, "But this adversary may be too much for the likes of you, even together."

"Uh…" Aile had to shift to FX to knock the debris off herself. "Are you guys alright?"

Don't worry about us, Aile. You should worry about yourself.

"I know, X. But you guys are important to me, too." Aile turned to see Yuri and the others already fighting the monster. "P, H, can you guys get anything about this thing?"

This doesn't seem right…

"What's wrong, Model H?"

This creature… It is just like the rock golem. I can only detect aer from it.

I too can only detect the strange energy source. It is unlike the monsters we have encountered thus far. It's focused…concentrated.

Aile turned to the others, "Do you also detect aer from the people?"

If we weren't looking for it, it'd be nearly indistinguishable to our scans. But this thing…exudes the energy like a fountain. And it seems to absorb the aer around it.

"Strange or not, we still need to help the others survive this encounter first."

Deesh roared once more to draw the brute's attention away from Estelle and Rita, thrusting its head forward and stretching out its impressive neck to snap at her. However, this beast wasn't stupid, lashing out its long-plated whip-like tail to stop the two from casting their spells.

Aile jumped in, joining them as she created a small twister to separate the monster from the others for a moment. With this moment to breathe, Yuri wasn't sure if they could win, "It's even stronger than I thought. At this rate, it's just a matter of time until we become monster chow."

"What a joke!" Rita was back up and ready, "Like I'm gonna die in a place like this!"

Deesh roared, "I've survived too much to die on another world! I will see Argonia again!"

Estelle, however, looked back, searching for something. "What is it, Estelle?"

"Karol isn't here…"

As Strider and Repede kept the monster distracted with their charge, Deesh sniffed the air, "Now that you mention it, his scent does not leave the debris."

Yuri couldn't care less about anything but the thing in front of them, "He's gotta be somewhere, we can find him later! Here it comes again!"

Aile threw punch that launched a massive fireball against it, "We have to concentrate on defeating this first!"

Karol was cowering behind the debris, shaking as he watched the others fight. N-No way… I can't fight like they do-I…I've gotta get out of here!

Unfortunately for Karol, his cowardice was observed by Nan, even while fighting against the Dragon Rider. "…Karol…you idiot…"

Deesh used her shield to block the massive creature's punch, causing the shield to glow even brighter. Using the failed attack as a springboard, the monster prepared to ground pound with both arms. Deesh quickly released the stored energy in her shield directing it at the beast's legs, causing it to topple over. That wasn't enough to keep it down as it quickly rolled back to its feet and knocked Yuri back with its long whip tail.

Estelle rushed between Yuri and the monster, with shield and sword at the ready. "Estelle, don't get too close, or you'll only get yourself killed!"

Estelle glanced back to him, "I don't have the power to use my healing artes. But I can still fight."

Rita whipped around her scroll, "I can't use my attack magic either but…"

Shadow pushed Rita back, "All the more reason for you to rest in the back!"

Deesh drew an arrow, "Something about this is all wrong…"

Estelle took a defensive stance, "I was trained in the sword at the castle. Though that said, it is my first time facing such a huge monster…"

Even after the battering it received, the monster looked ready for another round, though the long lull in the battle was rather unnerving. Deesh was about to release her arrow as Yuri were ready to rush in. Aile swung out her bulky weapons in front of everyone, "Wait!"

The creature wasn't attacking Estelle, it was staring her in the eye as though it recognized something about her. After a few startling moments of quiet the monster turned away and abandoned its assault against them, fleeing the scene down a large passageway.

Debris started falling from the ceiling now, much to Rita's horror as to what crashed next to her, "The blastia!"

Deesh had other concerns, "We really should get moving if you don't want to be buried, or your case dryskins, drown!"

The Hunting Blades weren't too please with their target getting away. Though the Dragon Rider was doing his best to prevent them from following. The one rowdy Hunting Blade jumped back onto the dragon to fight the rider with his fists. "There ain't a monster alive that wasn't born to be my punching ba—" the Dragon Rider used the falling debris to throw the unwanted guest off again as it guarded the fleeing monster.

Nan was standing next to Clint, "Chief! We have to withdraw! Now that the mark has fled, there's no reason for us to stay any longer."

Clint huffed, "Damn. Haven't seen a monster like that in a long while… What a letdown." He turned away, not even bothering to help his fellow member, "We're pulling out!"

The others below, however, hadn't evacuated just yet. They were going through the debris trying to locate Karol. Yuri tossed a large bit aside, "Did you find him?"

Shadow threw more aside as the splash of water helped remind the others of their building trouble. "No, he isn't here."

Aile closed her eyes, shifting to Model LX as Model L's radar scanned the rubble. "I can't detect anyone here!" A piece of rubble lands a too close for Aile's comfort.

Estelle looked to the exit, "Perhaps he went outside?"

Deesh was trying to keep their exit free of debris, "Then we should leave!"

Yuri looked down as the water was starting to reach his knees, "We've got no choice! Let's go!"

They quickly rushed out of the chamber before the water and ceiling finally filled the area. They continued the search for Karol until a familiarly nagging voice could be heard yelling, "Something comes up, and it's just 'poof', you're gone! Always, always running away by yourself!"

"It—it's not like that!" it was Karol, and he was talking with the Hunting Blade girl, Nan.

"Not like what?!" berating him with every word.

"Like I said, back in Halure…"

She poked his chest, "I'm not talking about Halure! If you're not ashamed of anything, then shouldn't you hurry back to your friends?"

"It's just that…"

"You don't have to explain yourself to me!" Nan spotted the others approaching now, turning away from him, "There're others who'll listen to that…"

"Huh?" Karol turned back and saw them, "Guys…"

Estelle couldn't be happier, "Karol! I'm so glad you're okay. We were looking for you."

Rita wasn't, "Where the hell did you go?!"

Deesh agreed with Rita, "We could have used that hammer of yours to off balance the monster."

Karol couldn't even look any of them in the eye, "I…I'm sorry…"

Aile just smiled to him, "Well…looks like you're not hurt, at least."

Yuri walked over, rubbing Karol's head, "What's important is you're safe."

Nan had enough, walking away from them, "I'm leaving…"

Karol reach out to her, "W-Wait, Nan!"

She didn't even turn back as she shouted, "Think again on what you've done. And see if you really don't know what you did wrong."

"Nan…" Karol brushed Yuri's hand away, "Hey, Yuri! Quit treating me like a kid!"

Yuri didn't fight back, letting his hand get brushed aside. He then started walking off, "Let's go, Karol. It's been a long day."

When he walked past Karol, he noticed blood dripping from his forehead and the bruising, "Yuri…those wounds…"

Deesh pulled out a white vial, popping the top off with her thumb and chugging it down. "The taste never gets better." She then slapped her right shoulder back to make sure it was still in place.

Rita was scratching her head, "Man…why do we always get dragged into this troublesome stuff?"

Estelle had recovered enough to use her magic again, so she started to heal Repede, "It was really dangerous this time, too."

Shadow shrugged, "Breaking a spine on debris is nothing new."

Shade was quick to point out, "You do have your wings and your glide."

"Y-Yeah, but getting on the bad side of those Hunting Blades now would only complicate our situation. And I was pretty well hidden under some debris."

Shade frowned with his shell, "Right, it wasn't because you wanted to get into the fight sooner or forgot for a second."

Rita punched her fist into her palm, "When I catch that old man…!"

Estelle followed trying to calm her down, "L-let's try and go quietly!"

That's right…everyone was fighting that huge monster…and I…I was…

Yuri turned back, seeing Karol just standing there, "Hey, Karol! Hurry up, let's go!"

Karol shock himself out of it, giving chase, "Right! I'm coming!"