The group continued struggling through the blizzard.
With every step, it felt as though their bodies were becoming heavier. Their fatigue weighed down on them, but knowing that if they fell here they'd be buried in the snow, those hunters and monsters found the strength to continue. What they were struggling for finally appeared within their vision. A building on the mountain.
They dragged their unresponsive bodies forward, trying to reach the building. The door was still closed. There were no windows visible. It was impossible to tell what was inside of the building. But even so they struggled towards that unopened box, simply because it was unopened.
The last steps were finally upon them. They pressed forward with all their remaining strength, bursting through the door as a group.
The ones who managed to fit through the door crashed into a wooden floor, looking up at a bright room. Several people stood inside. A moment of silence ensued, the hunters not moving from the floor while the people that were already inside the building stared at them.
"We have guests! Get ready!"
The inhabitants sprung into action with those words. They rushed around faster than the eyes of any of the hunters could process, most of them disappearing. All that was left behind was one man at a desk.
"Welcome to the Eternal Rest!"
"H-huh?" Was the only possible response that Judah could form upon hearing this.
The ones that were still stuck in the freezing cold pushed forwards, forcing the ones lying on the floor further into the building. By the time the door was shut, the floor was partially covered in snow.
"Sorry, what did you just call it?"
"The Eternal Rest."
"That's- that's quite a name."
"Thank you."
"So what is this place?"
"An inn."
"Oh, I thought this was a slaughterhouse or something." Laura commented, echoing the thoughts of those around her.
"No, it's called the Eternal Rest because it's on Death Mountain. And because the service is so good that you could just stay here forever. The name sticks out, doesn't it? Seeing it outside is what drew you over, right?"
"What sign?" Luke asked.
"Oh. Giadrome must've stolen it again. Damn, we'll have to get a new one."
"I'd advise changing the name." Bal told the receptionist. "I think that if I had seen the sign earlier I'd have stayed well clear of this place, even in that weather."
"Noted. Hmm, maybe that's why we don't get that many guests."
"You should probably consider the location before that. That brings me to a better question. Why is this place here?"
"To begin this story, let's return to fifteen years in the past. A man from a far off country travelled to this land in search of new adventure. Instead, he found a business opportunity. He built an inn on this mountain for hunters crossing between the second and third zones."
"I see. So I'm guessing that founder is you?" Asked Jean.
"What, no. Why would I be using third person to talk about myself?"
"I dunno, it's just how these things usually flow. So where is the founder?"
"He got eaten by a Lagombi six years ago."
"Huh?"
"Yeah."
"I didn't think bunnies could do that." Mary muttered, before trying to resume the conversation. "So, you are?"
"One."
"One?"
"One."
"One of what?"
"One of his sons."
"Okay, and your name is?"
"One."
"...Seriously?"
"This inn is run by my eight identical brothers and I."
"Oh, so I wasn't seeing nonuple when we stumbled in." Luke noted.
"Can we just hurry up and get inside, already?" Spence asked. "I'm still freezing here!"
He started to run in, but was blocked off by the appearance of several men that looked identical to the receptionist.
"Not so fast, dear customer." One (at the desk, not one of the ones blocking him) spoke in a more chilling tone than before. "There's a price to pay first, you know? Maybe there are things in this world that are priceless, but staying here certainly carries a price.. After all, it's a business. That means it runs on respect. If you run in without paying, then that would be the same as disrespecting us. What reason would anyone have to not do the same? Getting you out of that blizzard into safety, that carries a heavy price. So don't think that you can just walk in without paying, dear customer."
The group finally fell silent, staring at One.
"Five hundred zeni per person."
"Oh, that's pretty cheap." Vicke said as the tension immediately deflated.
The DBA gathered up, discussing something in whispers. Isa turned to One.
"Do the monsters we're with get in for free?"
"Sure, no problem."
"That's better, then." She put her right hand on Spence's shoulder and gave a thumbs up with her left. "Looks like you're the only one who has to spend the night out there."
"Hold on, we didn't decide on it being me."
"Do you seriously not have enough? How bad with money are you?" Lotus asked Judah.
"Well, it's complicated."
Lotus walked over to the desk and placed money down.
"I'll cover for you fools too, so don't worry about it. Really, you should be thanking me."
"You're serious? Thank you so much, Lotus, I don't know how-"
"I didn't- I didn't do it to be thanked."
Lotus walked into the building, hiding his face.
"I can't believe they have a sauna here." Michael noted.
"It makes perfect sense to have a sauna where it's cold." DPSG told him.
"But it doesn't really make sense for this place to be here anyway."
"It's time for my revenge." Lotus smirked. "I've been working out even more fervently than usual as of late. I'll make him envious of me in revenge for embarrassing me earlier."
"I feel like that was more self-destruction than anything else." Stanley pointed out, getting ignored.
Judah walked out of the changing room with a towel wrapped around his waist. He surveyed the room, before looking to the floor in alarm.
"Lotus? What happened!? Are you okay?"
"Ah, he just kinda collapsed on his own." Bal explained.
"Will he be okay? How does that even happen?"
"Well I guess that even this much was too hot for him. I'll just drag him outside. Don't worry about it."
"Looks like he can't help but self-destruct." Stanley noted.
After Lotus was safely removed from the room, the rest sat down.
Bal relaxed his head. "Ah… this is so relieving. My whole body and soul needed this."
"Spoken like a true old man." Michael observed.
"Shut up, I don't want to be reminded of that by you. Hunters these days are too young." Bal leaned forwards slightly. "Hey, Luke, how are you doing? Are you feeling dehydrated or anything like that?"
"No- I'm fine." This was a clear lie, but Luke's response held a confidence unfitting of one looking to deceive others. This more resembled overly optimistic reassurance. "I can handle some heat. I mean, if I can't, then how can I be ready for what's to come after this."
"I see… that's a good answer."
"Why does it feel like you like him more than any of us?" Michael asked.
"Because that's exactly the case."
"Hey, this is kinda out of nowhere." Stanley interrupted. "But how do you think you'd react if you found a severed head in here?"
The rest of the men in the room stared at him in silence. Spence was the first to work up the courage to talk.
"Do you have something to show us, or-?"
"No. It's just hypothetical. How would you react if you found a severed head in this room?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"Because I do." Stanley's expression remained the constant blank smile it always was.
Feeling uncomfortable, Judah looked around for an out. He found one across the room. "Speaking of things that are strange, Fen."
"What? Are you trying to imply something?"
"No, I wanted to ask why you're still wearing your eyepatch in here?"
"Oh yeah, now that we're asking Fen questions" Spence continued "How come you're sitting as far away from me as possible?"
Fen sighed.
"Well, the answer to the second question is for personal safety reasons."
Spence had absolutely zero idea what that meant.
"And to answer your question, cap'n. Well… let's just say that none of you want to see what's under this."
"Ah, it's like that." DPSG gave an irritatingly knowing smirk. "Don't worry, I went through a phase like that too."
"It's not me trying to sound cool, I have this for a proper reason."
"I'm pretty scared to find out what kind of monster could do that to you." Luke's told him.
"Ah, not quite. Well, this is from before I became a hunter. That's about as much as I'm willing to reveal."
"It really does sound like you have it on to be cool when you say things like that." DPSG commented from the side.
"Can you stay out of this?"
"Ah, I finally worked it out!" Michael stood up, his chest swelling with pride at his supposed right answer.
"Worked out what?" Judah asked.
"How he lost his eye."
Fen stared at him with discomfort.
"You ran into a tree branch really fast, right?"
"...What?"
"You were going so fast you couldn't stop and then you accidentally got a tree branch stuck in it. That was it, wasn't it? It's nothing to be embarrassed about, it's happened to me before. I still have both my eyes though."
"If I lost an eye over something that stupid I would try my hardest to make people think I still had both intact."
"Look, we should probably stop bringing this up." Bal finally acted as the voice of reason. "We all have scars here, as can be clearly seen just by looking around the room. An eye's no different from this bite I got from a Glavenus or…" He scanned the room, looking for the first result. "Those claw marks on Spencer's chest."
"I got them from the Thunderbearer."
"No idea what that is. But see my point?"
"You didn't have to talk for me, but thanks. Besides, you guys shouldn't be commenting on my eyepatch anyway, just look at yourselves. The bird guy's still got his bird head on even in here." He pointed back to Kalo. "And your scientist still has his glasses on in here!"
"Well, going without my glasses would be losing a part of myself." DPSG argued back.
"Can you even see out of them?"
"That's besides the point."
The room fell into a momentary silence.
"No one answered my question earlier. How would you react to seeing a severed head?"
"Stop asking that." Judah told him.
On the way out, something caught Bal's eye.
"Did any of you notice this door before?"
"No. Where did it come from?" Spence asked.
"It's a door, I think it was there from the start. I'm just wondering what it leads to."
He stuck his head through the door and recoiled just a second later.
"Hell!?"
"Don't people usually say 'What the hell?' instead of that?" DPSG asked.
"No, it feels like I just stepped into hell there. What's wrong with that room?"
"It can't be that bad, can it? Here, I'll-" DPSG pulled back after spending less than a fraction of a second with the door open. "Okay, I see your point."
"What's even the point of this room?"
Judah opened the door, bearing the heat to scan the room for a second.
"There's a sign. 'Super death heat room that will kill you if you stay in it for too long.' That's what it says."
As he finished those words, Spence and Michael shot past him.
The two sat down in the hell room, staring at each other.
"Whoever leaves first is the loser, that good?" Michael asked.
"Of course it is. Because I've got no intention of stepping out first."
"Well, let's just leave them to it." Fen started to walk away, before turning around. "Where'd Luke go?"
The others looked confused, before peering into the room. Just faintly, Bal spotted him sandwiched between the two competitors.
"Well, he's becoming a man in his own way." Bal noted. "Let's not interrupt."
They finally left and got changed back into their normal clothes.
The group walked out at around the same time as some of the women.
"So how was it for you?" Judah asked Isa.
"That armour girl… why the hell was she still wearing her armour in there? Like, how was she alive? I brought it up to her but they all started treating me like I was crazy."
"Oh. About the same as our side, then."
"Huh?"
A few minutes later, Michael emerged first looking dejected and Spence followed him with his head held high.
"I can't afford to lose, even when it's something like this."
"When did Luke leave?"
"...He was in there?"
Luke won the competition.
"Now that you are all seated," One spoke in front of the crowd of guests. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. You've already met me, but it bears repeating. My name is One."
Ten identical looking men were lined up in a row. They began to speak in order.
"Dos."
"Tri."
"Four ultimate."
"World."
"Six (name pending)."
"Gambling King: Seven."
"The Dark Side of the Moon."
"Ten."
"Hold on." Zara interrupted in spite of the fact they were done introducing themselves. "Most of these are jokes, I get that. But why are you just six? It's not even properly halfway through, it doesn't make any sense as a joke."
"The name's pending. It hasn't been revealed to us yet."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Aren't you going to question The Dark Side of the Moon?" Asked The Dark Side of the Moon.
"No, I'm limiting myself to one only. You aren't at the top of the list for ones I want to question anyway. Nine, four and seven all come before you."
"Oh." The Dark Side of the Moon seemed incredibly dejected.
"We don't have a nine here." Ten pointed out.
"Is that not you?"
"No. We don't talk about him anymore."
"...Yeah, I'm too hungry to keep doing this."
"Well that's perfect, because I've prepared a meal for all of you."
"Ten is our dedicated chef." One explained while setting plates down.
"I grow everything by myself as well." Bragged Ten.
"So what do the rest of you handle?" Asked Mary.
"I handle the reception desk and explaining things. Everyone else cleans."
"That seems a bit skewed."
"Do you have any idea how much snow needs to be cleaned off the roof in a place like this?"
"...Sorry, I really didn't consider it."
"Hey, DPS. Can you pass the salt?" Isa asked.
"Who are you calling DPS!?"
"You."
"I see. Well, I shouldn't expect someone like you to stay informed about these things."
"What?"
DPSG stood up from his seat to dramatically point with his right hand and push his glasses up with his left.
"Allow me to enlighten you. My name has evolved since you were last informed of it. I am now Doctor Professor Scientific Genius. You may not abbreviate it."
"Oh. My bad. Can you pass the salt, though?"
"Sure."
He threw the salt across the table while still posing dramatically.
Luke fell backwards onto his bed with a sigh.
Him, Spence, Judah and Fen were all sharing a room together. For the first time in quite a while, they seemed to have some form of peace.
Jean burst through the door, destroying the peace before they could even come to appreciate it.
"We found some cards!"
"That's not such a grand reveal that you need to be so loud about it." Zara walked into the room after her.
"She wanted to play with everyone and we couldn't really talk her out of it." Mary explained while also entering the room.
"Play what, exactly?" Luke asked.
"Well, that should be obvious."
"It isn't."
"The eternal classic of scenarios such as this… old maid!"
"I still don't know what that is." Laura told her from the hallway.
"The rules are simple. Get in here and I can explain it while we go through the steps."
Isa and Laura entered the room. At Jean's insistence they sat in a circle.
"So, to start, we all take turns drawing cards. Who wants to go fir-"
Spence grabbed a card from the top of the deck.
"Then we'll start with you."
The rest of the group got set up while Jean explained the rest of the rules. With all of the set-up out of the way Zara now stared at the backs of Spence's cards.
"Going first is kind of a pain. I've got no idea who has the joker right now and he's not reacting to anything, so all I can do is guess. Well, the chances are pretty low anyway, so I should just pick whatever."
She followed her own advice and went for the left-most card. It was the joker. Zara stared at it blankly before turning to her right.
"Ok, just stay calm. The game's only just beginning. All you have to do is make sure that she takes it. Give some fake expressions to make her take the bait, she shouldn't overthink it."
Laura immediately went for the two of spades.
"Damn, I should've guessed that she wouldn't think things through. How come she instantly went for the right choice? What is that? Luck? Skill? Wild beast instinct? Oh well, it doesn't matter. I might already be done for. Maybe I should just accept things as they are."
As Laura's fingers closed in, Zara quickly swapped the cards around. Laura took the joker.
"Ah, that's cheating!" Spence yelled from behind her.
"Shut up, it isn't. A strong idiot like you wouldn't get it, the weak have to use any means we can to survive."
"Even in card games?" Mary interjected, going ignored.
Next came Luke's turn to take a card. He carefully considered his options. Laura seemed happy when he hovered over any of the outer cards, but when he considered the middle card her facial expression was one of pure despair.
"I'm starting to get the slightest hunch that she might have the joker. I guess she's trying to fool me by showing the opposite reaction but that's… a little too exaggerated."
He took the middle card. It was the joker.
"It was a double bluff? Oh well, maybe I can get rid of it on my turn."
It felt like eyes were piercing through him. It was Isa's turn. His hopes went completely to waste.
Like a newborn herbivore caught alone in the sights of an apex predator, he was powerless. Even the slightest twitch was enough to give away all the information she needed.
In his hand were four cards. That meant that there was a higher chance of making the right decision than making the wrong one. She took the joker not out of any mistake, but to prove a point. She had read him so completely that even though she took the joker, it was still his defeat.
When it came to Fen's turn this shifted completely. Before he even reached for a card she had already broken out in a nervous sweat. Her reactions made it more obvious which card was which. Such was the fate of one able to see through every lie and unable to tell a single one.
He took the joker from her out of pity.
The game continued on.
Jean took the joker from Fen for fun.
Judah was tricked by her into taking it.
Mary took the joker out of pity, Judah too possessing an extremely poor poker face.
Spence took a card from her without even checking her reactions. Somehow, a full round had been completed without any cards discarded.
Zara once again found herself staring at the backs of Spence's cards.
"Mary's definitely the type who'd prevent him from taking the joker, but since he just took a card without looking that might've been the case. Oh well. I've got to take something. How bad would my luck have to be to get it twice?"
A second later she found herself staring blankly at the joker she had just drawn.
The game continued even further until just two participants were left.
Jean was the first to empty her hand, followed shortly after by Isa. Next were Luke, Zara and Fen. Judah was fortunate enough to get out next. Mary intended to be last, but accidentally ended up with an empty hand.
This left just Spence and Laura, facing off. Spence had two cards while Laura had one. She was only a step away from victory.
She closed in.
Her hand was clearly headed for the other card. This was a clear sign of imminent defeat. His mind raced. The scars on his chest ached.
Could he really accept defeat? Sure, this didn't matter. But even so, could he really lose when he bore the responsibility of being the one who had defeated the Thunderbearer. He sat on the fence until the last possible moment before it broke away.
The entire group watched him swap the two cards around at lightning speed. Laura took the joker. When it got to her turn he took the remaining card, also at lightning speed.
With the last pair discarded he was the winner. But, it didn't feel right. The underhanded method left it a hollow victory. On the other hand, Laura was celebrating. A fulfilling defeat.
"I really didn't think I'd win. Too bad for you guys."
"Um, Laura." Mary leaned in. "You're not supposed to have the joker by the end."
"What? But it's the coolest looking one. Look at the skeleton. Why would it work like that? There should only be one winner, not eight."
"...I think I've worked out what was going on now. Well, as long as you're happy."
Through a miracle, a game of old maid without a loser had been created.
On the other side of the building, Bal sat down at a table facing three opponents. A game of poker was underway.
To his left was Sol, still in full armour. To his right was Kalo, still wearing the bird head. Across him was Stanley, his blank smile unchanging as always.
"I've been in a lot of situations in my life, but this might be my toughest gamble yet."
"Sol, go all in. Everyone else has horrid hands right now." Milla gave a thumbs up from behind Bal.
"You're the worst referee I've ever seen." Lotus complained to her while playing a game with the remaining three on another table.
"I anticipated that she'd tip the scales in Sol's favour when she volunteered." DPSG pushed his glasses up mid-sentence. "That's why I changed tables instead of trying to fight back."
"At least be underhanded about it if you're going to cheat." Lotus continued.
"Why would I need to? I'm free to do as I please. Who's going to be the referee for the referee?"
After that game Luke, Spence, Isa and Mary all went to check on their monsters. This left the trio of Laura, Jean and Zara walking down the hall back to their room.
Perhaps because of her newfound boredom, Laura threw a kick out randomly. Not directed at any of the others, but at the wall next to her.
Before the others even noticed that an attack was made, it connected. The wall broke away.
"Hey? What are you doing that for? Is the wall an enemy?"
"No, I just felt like it. I have no feelings towards the wall, it just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Stop talking about the victim of your wrath for a moment." Zara peered at the damage. "What's going on behind it?"
Now that the other two were paying attention, they finally noticed what she referred to. Behind the wall lay a corridor that led into darkness.
"I knew that was there the whole time!" Laura proclaimed.
"A bit late to say that now."
"Of course a place like this would have secret passages. Well, nothing else to it. Time to explore! Jean ran ahead of the other two into the corridor. In her hastiness, she failed to pay attention to her surroundings. A mistake was a matter of inevitability at that point.
As expected, she tripped over herself and crashed into the ground. She turned around, ready to laugh things off, thinking what just occurred to be misfortune.
As she did, a buzzsaw emerged from the upper half of the left wall, tearing through the space she would've been occupying had she not fallen.
She lay on the ground with her mouth agape. Zara and Laura both stared with similar shock from the outside.
"So, that's how it is." Jean explained to Judah and Fen.
"You almost lost your head and you're still planning on exploring? No, before that. Your first reaction upon finding a secret passage was to sprint down it?"
"Wouldn't you do the same, captain? It's the spirit of adventure."
"Not when there's buzzsaws involved."
"I didn't know that at first."
"But we do now. Look, I'll just put the wall back and we'll act like we never saw this, okay?"
"Nice one."
"What?"
"Never mind. But still, aren't you curious about what's down there? A mysterious inn on a mountain just has to have dangerous secrets. Maybe it's a cloning facility! It could be hiding a superweapon! What if the ninth brother is down there? The fact that it's got traps to guard it makes it even more suspicious."
"Ok, but as the captain here the last thing I want to do is go near unnecessary risks."
"I agree, cap'n." Fen started to walk away, waving. "I'm not risking getting injured over something so unimportant."
"Ah, what will we do now?" Zara asked, covering her face with her hands. "I'm so scared of the possibilities of what could be down there. For real. If only I had some brave strong man to run in first and set off all the traps for me."
Fen ran towards the corridor without another word. Zara went back to normal almost immediately.
"Okay. See you in a bit, Judah."
"No, I'll go now. Need to make sure that you don't manipulate him into really getting hurt."
Fen and Laura led the group down the secret passage, the latter there because she wanted to prove that she was more powerful than the traps left in wait.
After dodging even more buzzsaws, some flamethrowers and even a few explosives, they reached a door.
Buttons covered in mysterious symbols adorned the wall next to it.
"Oh, so after all that, we're in for a puzzle." Jean still seemed excited even when there wasn't any immediate danger. "I wonder what'll happen if we get it wrong?"
"Please don't test it out."
"I might not."
Zara stepped forward.
"Well, it looks like this is the part where I get to shine. To be honest, my medical expertise hasn't been good for much during this journey apart from patching all of you up, but it's finally time for me to show off a bit. The answer to this puzzle starts here, with this symbol in the middle. Do any of you recognise this symbol in the middle? This staff? That's where the answer begins. Now, to explain it's history-"
Laura walked over to the door and pulled the handle, opening it without a problem.
"Wait."
"I solved it."
"But you didn't do anything."
"I did, I opened the door."
"But you ignored the puzzle!"
"You were taking too long to explain it. Besides, it just opened, so was there even a puzzle?"
"Maybe whoever set this up is still working on this part?" Fen asked, following Laura through the door.
"But this was supposed to be the part where I show all of you up with my problem solving. You can't just take that away from me. This was my moment!"
Her cries went unnoticed as the rest of the group walked into the next room.
"Wow, it's freezing in here. There's so much food. I guess this is their fridge?" Suggested Judah.
"But why would they set up all this security for a fridge?" Fen asked.
"I don't know, to stop food thieves. Well, now that we've solved the question of what's down here, let's-"
"I got it! Before we came here we heard about how many expeditions end here. Sure, it could be the monsters. But what if it was something else? This place lures them in with the promise of escape from the snow, only for that to be a trick, and then…"
"And then what?" Asked Laura.
"I'm leaving it blank on purpose."
"I don't get it."
"Well, they… y'know."
"I don't."
"I'm saying that they kill people and serve them as food. I'm saying that we ate people earlier."
"Oh! What the hell? That's messed up!"
"I can't believe you were brave enough to say that cannibalism is bad. Really going against the grain here." Fen made a snide remark in Zara's place, since she was still out of it after they skipped the puzzle.
"I ate a person… I can't believe that."
"Yeah, you probably shouldn't." Judah told her. "I don't want to call her a liar, but I think that Jean might be fabricating things a little."
"Well, only one way to find out."
Laura strolled towards one of the hunks of meat that was hung up and tore a chunk out of it, before throwing it into her mouth. She thoroughly chewed.
"No, this is Larinoth."
"If you can tell them apart by taste then why did it take doing that to tell?"
"I can only tell what it comes from when it's raw. Cooking it takes all the flavour out, to be honest, I can't really say I agree with it."
Jean decided to ignore this. "So if it wasn't cannibalism, then what could the secret be?"
"Yeah, what exactly did I have to risk getting my head cut off that many times in a row for?" Fen asked.
"That… was kind of your own volition, wasn't it?"
"I won't let you find out, you little rats!" A voice cried out from just outside of the door. One of the owners of the inn stepped through.
"You!" Jean pointed back with an energy to match the man's desperation. "Of course you were the one behind all this- No, I can't finish this. Which one are you?"
"Ten!"
"Of course you were the one behind this, Ten!"
"I don't know how you found this place, but you'll lose your lives before you find out the truth!"
He pulled out a knife and started to run towards him.
"This is bad." Judah thought. "We're completely unarmed right now."
Ten continued running with the knife.
"I feel like if we all rushed him we'd have a chance, but someone would probably get injured." Fen thought to himself.
"The puzzle…" Zara thought. "They don't know about the staff… I'm so mad."
"Here we are, finally at the climactic action scene. How are we gonna get out of this? Who's gonna tragically die in an unforeseen way? I'm so excited." Jean thought.
Before Ten could reach the group with his knife Laura punched him in the stomach, flooring him instantly and disarming him.
"Well, of course that's how it'd end up." The other four thought in unison.
"Don't think I'm done yet… I've still got-"
She punched him again, knocking away the second knife he pulled out. Ten seemed to give up after that.
"Dammit! It's all over now!"
Judah took this in for a moment. "We still don't know what the secret you're trying to hide is, though."
"Oh. It's that I bought all this stuff. I don't grow it myself like I said. That's the secret."
Judah was now completely unsure of how to respond.
"You'd kill people over that?"
"Yeah? Well it's not like I succeeded anyway, so it doesn't matter that much. So there, now you all know. I'll fully understand if you want to kill me after this revelation."
"I seriously don't get why you think it matters that much. Really, I'm just confused where you even get it from."
"I just run to the shops."
"But we're on a frozen, empty mountain. Isn't doing that still pretty impressive?"
"Huh? How would it be?"
"I don't think we would've realised the secret if you hadn't come down here to tell us anyway, how does seeing this room even indicate-"
"This doesn't matter." Zara interrupted. "I have to ask about that puzzle out there. You realise that it's broken, right? What was the intended answer?"
"Oh, that. Just opening the door was the intended answer. The symbols don't have any meaning, I just slapped some random ones on there. I figured that I could at least slow any intruders down by making them overthink it. I guess I'll have to rethink it since you got through without a problem. Only a real conceited idiot would see a solution in that nonsense."
Zara stared at him for more than a few moments.
"Laura, punch him again."
"Good to know that Storm's still doing okay." Spencer put his arms behind his head while walking down the hallway.
"He was only alone for a few hours."
"Yeah, but he gets lonely easily."
Due to the lack of guests, the monsters had been given a room each. Storm was the last one they had to visit, so they were on their way back.
Luke's pace slowed slightly.
"Are you okay?" Asked Mary.
"Ah, yeah. I'm fine, I'm just kinda-" He stumbled mid-sentence.
Mary rushed over to stop him from falling.
"You're really not okay! I'll go find Zara, you might be dyin-"
"No, that's definitely too far. If you get her she'll probably say I'm dying regardless of how healthy I am anyway. I think it's just the heat from earlier still making me dizzy."
"Oh."
She stared at him emptily for a few moments. "I'll go get some water, then." Mary rushed off before anyone could say anything.
"Y'know, I never got to ask. Why were you on the verge of death earlier?"
"Oh, did your side not have the ultradeath room?" Spence asked.
"Excuse me?"
"The ultradeath room."
"It's not going to make any more sense if you just repeat it."
"It was a room way hotter than the rest of the sauna. We sat in there for a bit to see who could last the longest. Y'know, a test of manliness and that stuff."
"I don't know and I don't think I ever will."
"Well, still. He stayed in there the longest, even though we didn't realise he was in there."
"Wait, so why were you in there, Luke? That doesn't seem like you."
"Yeah. That's exactly why, I guess. It's not like me at all. That's why I did it."
"Yeah, but why?"
He looked around for a few moments before explaining. "I guess it's a bit dumb. I just got the feeling that if I couldn't stand those temperatures, I wouldn't be able to catch up to him."
The others didn't respond. Luke thought they were allowing him to be dramatic, but as the pause dragged out he realised that wasn't the case.
"Come on, I shouldn't have to spell out that I'm talking about catching up to my brother."
Spencer tilted his head. "...You have a brother?"
"You seriously forgot? Looking for him is the entire reason that me, Panzer, Judah and Mary came all the way here!"
"Yeah, but I mean, when did you bring him up?"
"Right before we set out."
"That was years ago."
"Half a year."
"I forgot it too." Isa added.
"It's nice to know you two care so much."
"Hey, don't be like that, a lot's happened. Besides, I feel like we've made it pretty clear how we feel about our dad, but I don't remember you ever talking about that guy."
Luke seemed taken aback, as though he'd never expected anyone to ever ask him.
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?" Spencer asked. "I think sibling relationships are pretty simple. She's an idiot and that's the end of it. I can't really see anyone feeling any differently about theirs."
"Hm, well I can't say I don't feel the same way about him to an extent." He sighed. "I've picked up a lot of information over the years. That's why I know so much about monsters and things along that line. I wouldn't say that I found all that out because I like knowing things, but because I dislike not knowing. I don't know how I feel about him. The good, the bad, it all mixes together into something I can't describe. I don't think I can understand it until I face him."
This time, they went silent just to soak in what he said rather than any forgetfulness.
"Now that I think about it," Spence began his sentence with a bold-faced lie. "You still didn't say why he left."
"Oh. That's-"
Mary sprung back into view, holding a drink for Luke.
"Here you go!"
"Oh, thank you."
"On my way over I heard that everyone else found an underground room with deathtraps. Doesn't that sound interesting? Let's go and hear more."
"Huh? Death traps? For real?" Spence was visibly intrigued by this, immediately setting off.
Isa followed with a bit more hesitation. That just left Luke and Mary.
She smiled.
"Come on. This is more fun, isn't it? Let's focus on this for now."
He looked away slightly.
"Sure."
The night eventually gave way to the next morning. The mountain once again calmed, looking identical to when they set out previously.
The Starward Diamonds parted ways with the group, trying to beat them to the third zone.
As they were getting ready to leave, Luke noticed something.
"Hey, Fen. What happened to your hair?"
The others finally took notice of it at that moment. Fen's hair was usually a mess, but for once it seemed different. His hair was tied back in a ponytail.
"Ah, yeah. I haven't really tried brushing it in a while cause it always gets messy when I use my accelaxe anyway. But then last night Jean started going on and on about how I need to take better care of it for some reason."
"Cause it was bugging me the whole time that you were running ahead. It's a waste and you'll go bald."
"Getting it brushed was the most painful experience I've had within the last year."
"Sacrifices have to be made to look good."
"Does it even look that much better?"
"I think it does." Mary told him.
Fen blinked a few times.
"Damn, I should've done this sooner."
The nine hunters and eight monsters didn't run into any further problems. The descent was surprisingly uneventful.
As they reached the bottom, a great forest stretched out before them.
"Wow, this is intimidating." Isa stared up at the trees that were several times her height.
"Yeah, I've never seen trees of this height. They've got to be at least over a hundred meters each."
The leaves joined together, almost completely blocking out the sky. The light that poured through was still enough to see. As they continued onwards, they came across a tree that towered above the rest.
"Ah, this is just like that one we got the Rath eggs from." Zara remembered.
"Hey, can we climb it?"
Zara then remembered what happened the last time she climbed a tree like this.
"That isn't a good idea."
"I wasn't asking you, I was asking Judah."
"Sure, but why?"
"We can't see anything from here. How am I meant to tell where we're headed."
"Do you even know where we're going?"
"That's also a good question, but I'm not gonna worry about that right now."
"Some navigator you are." Zara commented from the sidelines.
"Look, I'll be able to get there fine if I can get a glimpse of it, I just don't know the name. You never say what anything's called until we get near."
"We were in Valrag for six months, I figured you'd just find out on your own."
"Well, why don't you just tell me the rest of the places we have left to go to now to get it out of the way?"
"Sure, so to-"
"It'd be easier if you pointed them out from atop the tree."
"So it was all leading to that anyway."
"Well, what do you say, Judah?"
"I think that we should go for it, it could be good." He answered, trying to pretend that he didn't simply want to climb the tree for the sake of it. In truth, there wasn't a single member of the group who didn't want to climb this tree. Even the ones that were seemingly against were only barely suppressing that desire.
Isa found a pathway up and began to ascend, the others following. After several dozen minutes, they got past those leaves that covered the sky.
The entirety of the Frontier Grounds spread out before them.
"There's some buildings down there. Is that where we're headed?"
"Yeah, that must be Seion."
"These places really do get smaller the further out you go." Spence said, barely able to see the outpost.
"Well, that's to be expected. The way we're heading after that is… around there. That lake's called Carrow Lake, I'm pretty sure."
"That's a real mouthful."
Luke didn't have any reason to believe that Isa was joking about mishearing the name.
"Now let's see… yeah, that must be it. Can you see those two cliffs in the distance?"
"Just barely."
"Those are the warring dragons."
Laura's ears suddenly perked up. "Huh? They're fighting over there?"
Zara stared at her. "That's pretty clearly not it. It's just a cool name, right?"
"Yeah, sorry if that's disappointing. They're two cliffs that are facing each other that sort of resemble dragons, so the name stuck. The outpost nearby is called Dragonbase. The path leading in is called Dragonpath, and the path leading towards the fifth zone is called Dragonroad."
"How creative of them."
"Wait, what about the forest?" Spencer looked out. "It looks like it keeps going even into the fourth zone."
"It does. Most of it hasn't been explored yet."
"We probably should go at some point." Jean added. "Y'know, get some extra hunter points, get lost in the forest, it'll be fun."
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Spence asked.
"Oh, right. I guess we never explained it to you." Mary noted. "In the FG you can chart out unexplored areas in return for HR points. That forest would be a good example. Secret areas, landmarks, undiscovered ruins, all that is good."
"Ok. So why weren't we doing this before now?"
"Because the first two zones are mostly charted out already." Judah explained. "So there was no real point trying to look for unexplored areas. Now that I think about it, maybe reporting the Eternal Rest is worth something. It'd help them get some guests, at least. Still though I'm sorry, I thought you knew already."
"Well, I guess that makes sense. Kinda annoying that we Jean somehow found this out before us though."
The group's musician made a peace sign with both her hands. "I'm omnipotent."
"Are dragon shaped mountains a common thing further in?" Laura asked. "Look, there's more all the way past them."
"I'm surprised you can see that far." Luke pulled out his gun and looked through the scope, not really being able to see what she was pointing to much more clearly. He wasn't able to tell for certain, but he had a hunch.
"Isn't that a Lao-Shan Lung?"
"Huh?" Laura's eyes widened. "For real? Let's hurry up and get over there, I've always wanted to fight one of those!"
"I can't believe those are real." Isa tried to grab the gun from Luke to look for the scope, but he was already expecting this. He deftly moved it out of her reach at the last possible moment, only for Spence to grab the gun from the other side of him.
"Huh? I don't see it. That just looks like a giant tree to me. No, it isn't a tree. It's kinda-"
Isa pushed past Luke and grabbed the gun from her brother.
"You're using it wrong, obviously. Now let's see… oh, yeah that really is but also isn't a giant tree. What's up with that? I'd say it's more like a stump… maybe some kinda root?"
"That's just part of the environment. I think you need to turn your head to the right a little." Luke had now given up on getting his gun back.
She followed his instructions, before expressing delight. "Oh, that really is it! It looks way weirder than I thought."
"I guess that's where they live when they're not showing up to try demolishing fortresses every century or so." Fen remarked.
"So that's the fifth zone." Zara sighed. "I really don't like the look of it, so you better find who you came here for before you get there or I'm leaving early."
"Don't be like that." Laura's enthusiasm was the exact opposite of Zara's. "Just imagine how many strong monsters are hiding in there…"
"That's why it's disgusting to me. Though I'll admit that it's not quite as disgusting as all the drool you're getting on me right now."
"Mary, are you okay?" Judah asked. "You've been staring at the sky for a while now."
"Ah, sorry. I just felt like looking up. Something…. Something doesn't feel quite right. But don't worry about it, I'm sure it's fine."
"Yeah, there doesn't really seem like anything to worry about here." Isa donned an expression with far too much confidence. "You're probably just worried over nothing, right?"
Luke readied himself to lecture herself on saying lines like this again. The group relaxed, focused only on that played out conversation.
In their hubris, they failed to see the red descending upon them until the very last moment. In the same fashion as a meteor dragged into Earth's gravitational pull, something crashed into the tree.
For a moment and only a moment, they caught a glimpse of that blur. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. For most of them, it was as though it wasn't even there
The impact split the top of the tree apart, sending the group flying off in different directions. As he fell, Judah realised that he needed to give an order. With their attacker unknown and not knowing where they would end up, only one made sense to him. He raised his voice into the best yell he could muster.
"Head for Seion! We'll regroup there!"
The entire group was scattered into the trees.
Judah crashed through the leaves and landed with a heavy thud, rattling his entire skeleton. He then looked up and briefly panicked before rolling to the side, just before Titan landed in the same spot he had.
Spencer and Storm hit some trees nearby.
"Did anyone else fall this way?" Judah asked.
"Not as far as I can see." Spence answered. "Well, it's tough to see anything around here anyway, but I can't hear them."
"Well, it'd be ideal if the rest all landed in a big group, but I'm worried. I just hope that Luke and Isabel at least ended up in separate groups in that case."
"Huh? I get that they were fighting over the scope earlier, but they get along pretty well apart from that, trust me."
"No, not that. I'm just worried about everyone finding their way."
"Oh. Yeah, good point."
They heard the sound of flapping wings. Kasa descended, holding onto Mary. Even after dropping to the ground, she remained panicked.
"We need to get moving!"
"You're right."
"Let's go and find Luke!"
"Excuse me?"
"We need to hurry and-"
"I don't know if we can find him."
"That doesn't matter! The longer we wait the more we're going to- Fine, then Kasa and I will just go, you keep running ahead!"
They were visibly confused by this.
"We-"
"Hey, Mary." Spencer cut her off with a look of determination in his eyes. "Do you not trust Luke?"
"Huh?"
"I'm asking if you trust him."
"That's- that doesn't matter."
"Yeah, it does. Even a dumbass like me can tell how overprotective of him you are. But he's been growing stronger since we set out. Sure, he's still not all the way there yet, but all he needs is some encouragement. Why can't you see that?"
"This isn't the time for arguing! Especially against someone who doesn't know anything. You're always so- You think I can't tell that he's been changing? Of course I noticed! It's just…" Mary cut her own words off, not wanting anyone to hear the end of them. "This is different. It's not the same as always. I have… I have to get there before it's too late. You wouldn't get it."
Mary turned her head.
"I can at least make you understand, Judah. What attacked us just now. I think-"
A blade appeared between the three of them, stopping the conversation completely. An instant later, it sunk into Spence's stomach. His eyes widened. The blade pulled away and vanished once more. Immediately, Judah switched into combat mode, shielding the collapsed Spencer.
The attacker had disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, but they weren't free. Every one of them could feel that. Whatever was responsible for this was still with them.
"What the hell is going on with this place?" Spence just about managed to speak through the pain.
Laura crashed head-first while Tama and Jean helplessly flopped to the ground, the leaves they passed through being the only thing slowing their descent.
"Arachne! Webs!"
Zara's partner barely managed to follow her instructions and stop them both from crashing into the ground.
"Phew…. That probably would've killed me. I'm envious of you idiots for being able to survive a fall like this unharmed."
"What is she talking about?" Laura asked after pulling her head out of the ground.
"No idea." Jean got back up without any problems.
"Okay, so does anyone remember which way we had to go?"
Laura stuck her arm up. "I do!"
"No you don't. I shouldn't have made the question open when I was really just asking Jean."
"Ah, I got spun upside down while I was falling so I completely lost track."
"Damn. Well, I've still got one more method to try."
"Oh?" Jean perked up. "Well, don't keep us waiting. What trick have you got up your sleeve?"
Zara smiled back.
"Guessing."
"I think you might be dumber than me sometimes."
"That is the most scathing insult I've ever gotten in my entire life, anyway let's get going."
They ran in the opposite direction of Seion for a few minutes.
"Are you sure this is the right way?" Jean asked.
"Definitely."
"The wind feels weird."
"What does this have to do with anything?"
"Nothing, it just does."
It took a few seconds for Zara to understand what she meant. A strong wind came from ahead, shaking the trees around them. She felt like she was going to be swept away by it.
Someone stepped into view.
"Who the hell are you!?" Zara yelled.
He tutted at her. The man was dressed in a strange outfit and was wielding an even stranger looking blade.
"Watch your mouth, woman. That's an awfully rude question to ask. Someone such as myself deserves more respect than that. Try again!"
"I don't care, just say who you are."
"Oh, aren't you just full of yourself? Fine, then. If you won't understand through words then I'll make it clear through actions. Oh, and while I'm being clear. I don't care about any of you personally, therefore if you want to run then now's the time. I'm just here to take those monsters of yours."
The group didn't respond.
"All right, time to get started. Show yourself, my monster."
On his command the shape behind him revealed himself. A dragon of pure steel stepped out from the trees, beginning to flap its wings.
The group braced themselves as strong wind assaulted them once more.
The last group kept running through the forest.
"What was that just now, seriously?" Isa asked.
"Sorry, I've got no idea. Hey, Luke. Any thoughts?"
There was no answer.
"Hey."
Still nothing.
"You in there?"
"O-oh, sorry. I've got no idea, I'm just thinking through some things."
Fen shrugged.
"Well, that makes sense. We should just focus on running."
"What was it?"
"What?"
"I'm asking you what you really think it is, Luke."
Luke turned. Isa's eyes were burning brightly, as though they were staring directly through him.
He paused. He knew that trying to cover it up would be pointless. Even though it was just a baseless hunch, he still had to say it. But before he could, Fen interrupted.
"You can save the speculation. It's coming this way!"
True to his words, a flash of red sped between the trees. It was far slower than before, their eyes were finally able to make out the shape of a silver dragon with crimson burning from its wings and an armoured rider atop its back.
The monster stopped just in front of them, singing the ground as it spun to face them.
A moment's pause. The others tensed up completely.
Only Luke and Panzer reacted differently.
Luke pulled off his helmet.
"It's you, isn't it? Davi!"
The man in the Desert Seltas armour stared down at him, before removing his helmet in turn.
His face resembled Luke's, only more rugged. Their eyes were even the same shade of hazel.
"So that's the elusive older brother." Isa's observation was mostly to fill Fen in on the situation.
"Well, isn't this a surprise? I never thought that you'd become a hunter. Never thought I'd see you again either, Panzer."
Luke stared at what his brother was standing on the back of.
"What's with… that monster?"
"This is Goliath, my new partner. You've probably read up on Valstrax before, so I don't need to explain much. We fought and now we're buddies. Not much else to it. So with that out of the way, what's next? I think it'd be for the best if you tell me that you only came all the way out here for a greeting."
"I- we came here to take you home, obviously."
"Ahh. Yep, just like you to pick the worst possible answer. Even after all this time you're still caught up in that gravity of yours."
He sighed.
"Hey, do you remember me ever asking you guys to take me back?"
"Huh?"
"It's a pretty simple question. Hurry up and answer. Did I tell you that I'm in need of help? Did I suddenly break down crying, asking for someone to free me from all of this? Did I ask you to save me?"
"I-"
"The answer is no. An overwhelmingly negative response. Nothing but false. So that raises the question of why exactly you've got the idea in your head that you're here with some grand objective in mind."
"All you're doing is running away. That's why I'm here."
Davi stared down at him. A few seconds passed before he threw his head laughing.
"Running? You're saying that I'm running? A guy like me running away!? It's almost like you don't know me! Well, since you're already here I guess you really don't. I guess then it would look like I ran to you. So, what's next for the version of me that you're creating in your head? I go back home and apologise to everyone like a good boy… then sit around waiting for the guild to kill me? That's what you want?"
"Yes, I want you to come back. I just want things to go back to how they were before, that's all. What are you talking about with the Guild?"
"Huh? Weird. The king was saying that we all got wanted posters put up, but I guess he was full of shit if a guy like you doesn't know anything. Well, there's not much to it. I just went around fighting like I pleased and they ended up putting a bounty on me. Get it? I'm a poacher now, no going back. Supposedly they started calling me Limit Breaker or something like that, I kinda like that name so I don't really mind."
Luke didn't have any response to this.
"See? We can't just go back. So why don't you make this simple and give up now? Ah, but leave Panzer and those other monsters here. I'm working with some other poachers now, guys called Fera Gladius. The king started calling me his 'Knight of Heaven' or something like that. My job's scaring off hunters and collecting monsters, so hey. Might as well kill two birds with one stone, right?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Two chapters in the same month (just barely), can you believe it? Even though it was a bit shorter than the normal wait, a lot happened. I caught covid for one thing, though before any of you get your hopes up I survived it.
Anyway, I think I might've gotten a bit carried away at the end of this chapter but I have a good reason for it. Davi ranks pretty highly on the list of characters that I'm most excited to introduce. That's why I added in little previews for him before he got his proper introduction here.
Speaking of previews is a good segue into the other important thing here. During Mary's focus chapter I wanted to be cool and show off a few of the upcoming characters early, but it backfired since I got the urge to change the group's name to Fera Gladius when I got to this chapter. I also changed one of the epithets from "Iron Emperor" to "Molten Emperor" due to it making more sense that way.
If you've somehow noticed these changes then this is here to let you know you aren't going crazy and even if you haven't I just thought it'd be neat to bring up.