It wasn’t long before the other hunters caught up to the scene of the kill. The lump of flesh and metal in the middle of a lush clearing was a sight no one expected. It was like the creature had peacefully died and gone the way of nature. Scars of battle were few, but the struggle was plain on every Void Piercer's face.

“Tie it up,” Audrus said as he placed a hand on one of the hunter’s shoulders. “Let's not keep Hugo waiting.” He continued to walk past until he collapsed against a tree.

More hunters arrived, and they began to tie up the beast. Caleb meticulously checked each Void Piercer for wounds like an overly concerned mother. Malack told him off when he came near and continued to observe those tying up the beast. Even after the fight, he refused to move more than a few paces from his kill. The edge of the battle still hadn’t left him, and Ezra suspected the feeling would stay until Hugo had the monster chopped up in tiny pieces.

By the time ropes were secured around the beast several dozen hunters had gathered. With Malack leading the pack, hunters lined up to transport it as strange braces were placed on the sides of the monster to lift it slightly off the ground.

“Pull,” Malack commanded as a multitude of people lurched forward. “Pull!” With another tug, the dead creature was finally on the move.

“You good kid?”

Ezra turned around to find Zoe with one arm still hanging limp. “The better question is will you be okay?”

“This is nothing, just part of the healing process. I’ll be back to normal by tomorrow.” A tired smile crossed her lips. “That was amazing, what you did out there. When the beast stumbled, the rest of them may not have noticed, but I did.”

“Oh, that was just a lucky shot. I was just watching the whole time.” Ezra waved away the compliment. “I don’t think I could ever be in the center of that inferno and how you were fine with that thing chasing you. It takes a special type of person to do what you do.”

“I think the word you're looking for is crazy.” Zoe gave a boisterous laugh. “Don’t ever think less of yourself, kid. You can do a whole lot more than you think you can.”

Albert had told him something like that before. Maybe the words were different, but the sentiment was the same. Ezra followed the group, looking forward to the face Milo would make upon hearing the news of victory.

The rusty walls of the encampment soon appeared on the horizon. With great excitement, the towering doors were thrust open as the hunting party came through. Other hunters waved and smiled as if the kill were their own. Ezra and the rest of the Void Piercers were too tired to protest. It didn’t matter who had credit. All they cared about was that the beast was dead.

Hugo came running from the center of the camp, almost tripping over his own feet. A glint in his eyes shone through his dirty round glasses. He was still wiping grease onto an apron as he approached.

“Quick, tell Mark and Cassino to prepare the operation table,” Hugo shouted to someone behind him. He ran his hand through a segment of fur that still clung to the exterior and whispered words of wonder. “You must tell me what its name is,” he demanded from Audrus.

“Lumber Catcher 54X,” Malack grumbled.

Caleb jotted down the name in his leather notebook, and Hugo pondered the response like they were words from an ancient wise sage.

Suddenly, Hugo returned to reality and continued to rattle off orders. “Bring it further in. I must examine it before it spoils.”

Other hunters rushed to follow the commands, but the Void Piercers sluggishly dragged their feet back to their tent. Outside the chaos, Ezra spotted Milo leaning on the corner of the medical tent. Milo folded his arms and grinned proudly. Ignoring Hugo’s continued shouting, Ezra weaved through the crowd.

“How’s it feel to be a hero?” Milo asked.

“Fine, I guess.”

“Only you would say something like that,” Milo said, shaking his head at the casual response. “No mighty speech, or trophy from your battle?”

“Does eight levels count?”

Milo raised an eyebrow before he carefully hid his surprise. “Impressive, but no. That does not count.” He shifted his weight a little more on the tent pillar. “I can get eight levels without slaying a massive beast.”

Ezra glanced at Milo’s leg. “Are you doing alright?”

“The pain’s mostly gone. I’m just warming up the muscles.” He stretched his calf out and winced. “Hopefully it’s not as ugly as I suspect under the bandages.” Milo peered behind Ezra. “Aren’t you curious about that thing? Like what’s inside it. How it works.”

Ezra turned to see the monster already near the center of camp. “I’m not sure. I’ve probably seen enough of it for a lifetime.”

“Well. I’m curious, and poor old me shouldn’t be walking around on his own.” Milo slapped Ezra’s shoulder as he limped past. “Come on. Let's go.”

Ezra relented and jogged ahead to pick up a thick branch that had fallen to the ground. “At least take this as a walking stick,” he offered.

Milo snatched it and stabbed it into the ground. “I’m fine. Let's just go before they have it chopped into tiny pieces.”

Hunters loaded the beast into a gray dilapidated building that was built around the thickest tree in the camp. The trunk of the tree jutted up through the roof and looked even sturdier than the metal walls that surrounded them. Around the building, the other tents looked tiny. Everything in the camp surrounded the mechanic's workshop, but a circle of barren land separated it from everything else. The effect may not have been intended, but it was natural. Ezra knew people like Hugo weren’t easy to get along with.

Sylvia exited one of the nearby tents and perked up upon seeing Ezra. She cautiously glanced from side to side as if checking for someone who shouldn’t be there.

“I heard that thing is dead. Is it true?” She asked, her voice shaking with apprehension.

“Yeah, it is,” Milo interjected and pushed Ezra forward. “And this guy helped kill it.”

Syliva’s eyes widened at the new information. “So the quarantine should be lifted soon? How soon can you leave?”

A confused look crossed Milo’s face, and Ezra quickly explained. “This woman wanted to travel with us to the third layer. She has a daughter and could use some protection.”

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“Do you think Hugo set this up,” she said.

The nervousness in Syvia’s voice began to make sense to Ezra. “No, I don't think he did. He has what he wants. He’s not after you. How about we leave tomorrow?”

She nodded and took a deep breath to settle her nerves. Emma peeked out from the tent and tightly gripped the entrance flap. “Mommy, what's going on? There’s so much noise.”

“Meet here tomorrow at first light.” She pointed to where they stood to emphasize her point and hurried back to Emma. “It’s alright darling. Let's go back inside.”

“Betcha you’re glad to not be the only one in a hurry,” Milo said.

Half of Ezra’s mind was still occupied with preparations for tomorrow. “What do you mean?”

“I know why you want to leave here quickly. I just want to make sure you’re ready for what’s next.”

“If Marcus doesn’t slow down, we don’t either. Mine and Sylvia’s plans just happen to line up. That's all.” Milo opened his mouth to say another word, but Ezra continued. “Are you wanting to see the beast or not?”

“Sure,” Milo said, giving up on the subject. “Lead the way.”

As they got nearer, the gray workshop loomed overhead. The smells of metallic dust, oil, and acrid air burned Ezra’s nostrils. Ezra noticed two doors lying on the ground. The hinges looked recently sawed off. Voices echoed from inside the building, and hunters passed in and out of the entrance. They waited from an opening in the crowd of people and then entered.

Crystals, affixed to the wall lit up a gigantic work space in the center. Scaffolding and rolling ladders obscured most of the beast from the front, and the mechanics around it scoured the creature like ants on a dead animal. Sparks flew in different directions, and Ezra cautiously pressed himself against the wall. They made their way around the room until they had a better view of the whole operation.

The skull of the beast was already separated from the rest of the body. Wires hung out like tendons, barely holding everything together. Even though it was dead, the blackened eye sockets still made Ezra’s throat tighten with fear.

He felt a tap on his shoulder, and a man with a dark complexion and a blue jumpsuit offered two safety glasses. “If you’re going to watch please wear these.”

Ezra and Milo both took the glasses and quickly put them on. The temples were a little tight around Ezra’s head, but he decided to endure it. He didn’t want to be here long anyway.

“What are they even looking for?” Milo asked as he leaned in to get a better look.

“A way to extract artifacts without damaging them. We never truly know what we’re looking for until we find it.” One of the mechanics raised a hand, and the man next to them flipped a few switches to brighten a lamp overhead. “Discovering the past is like poking around the dark. Uses of artifacts aren’t always obvious, and even if the craftsmanship is plain power can be drawn out given the right set of circumstances.”

“Kind of like the A.S.H.O. system,” Milo said.

“Not kind of. It’s exactly like it. The A.S.H.O. system is just another artifact of the past. To this day, there are still mysteries hidden within.” The passion in the man’s voice belied his tired complexion.

“Are you the ones keeping these artifacts?” Ezra jutted in.

“Some, others we sell based on their perceived uses. If it’s a weapon, it goes to Faulpher-tek, and if it has biomedical uses it goes to Dosser & Dod, and on rare occasions, if it has agricultural uses, we sell it to Grain Life. Sometimes, the more wealthy sky-seekers will buy artifacts from us, but Hugo always has his personal collection he won’t sell to anyone.”

Ezra took another look at the beast and wondered what artifacts lay inside. Two he had seen firsthand—whatever produced the wind and the cannon that shot poisoned shrapnel. Layer after layer of metal and flesh were being peeled back.

“Why’d you think people in the past created something like that? It’s so ugly.” Milo scrunched his face in disgust as wet sounds of organic material echoed across the workshop.

“Perhaps it didn’t look like that thousands of years ago. Time has no mercy for the living.” The mechanic said as he clicked a button that slid a rack of metals to the back of the building.

A loud alarm rang across the room and Ezra covered his ears against the piercing screech. Red light flashed from within the beast as if trying to escape its innards. Mechanics dashed around as Ezra saw Hugo on one of the rolling ladders shouting orders. The man beside them pulled out a set of wire cutters as long as his arms and ran toward the source of the light.

That terrible ring continued, and Ezra pressed harder against his ears, yet the noise still slipped in. Milo was saying something, but he couldn’t hear him. That idiot. Why now? What’s so important to say when no one can hear you?

Frantically, other mechanics lept on the beast and stabbed their tools within like the noise was some tiny rat that could be killed. Hugo’s face was nearly the same color as the light as he tried to be heard. His wrinkles looked ready to fold in on themselves.

Wires were cut one after another until suddenly, the space fell quiet. The silence almost felt unnatural. The light had stopped flashing, and people around the workshop breathed a sigh of relief. Hugo climbed down the ladder as he muttered something under his breath.

“What was that?” Milo asked as if expecting Ezra to know the answer.

“Whatever it was I don’t like it. Not one bit.”

Ezra and Milo turned to the source of the voice and saw Caleb writing another passage in his notebook.

“I thought you were resting with the others?” Ezra responded.

“I was, but I find it hard to keep still after difficult hunts. The nerves never really leave until the next day.”

The whole building shook as Caleb opened his mouth to make another comment. Ezra steadied himself against the wall.

Hugo’s voice reverberated across the room. “Which one of you brain-dead morons touched the thing again?”

Another shock came, and this time, it didn’t let up. The ground was pounding like a living heartbeat, and the mechanics looked around for the source. A petrifying roar came from outside the walls. One that made Erza’s mind run wild with what could make such an inhuman sound.

Caleb raised his voice for the first time since they met. “You two come with me now!”

Ezra wanted to ask why, but another horrifying sound made him reconsider his question. They darted out of the building, across the clearing, and into the camp. Nearly everyone was outside their tents.

Not far from them, Malack twisted wires coming from various explosives around him. “Damn it, Hugo. You didn’t tell us the whole story, did you?” He grumbled as they got closer.

Audrus approached with another handful of gray sticks streaked with red and set them next to Malack. More questions rose within Ezra, and he hoped Audrus could answer them.

“What’s going on?”

Audrus stared up at the wall as he answered. “Hugo got the transmission from the 3rd layer. He relayed it to me, but I suspect he left something out. I should have questioned him. It doesn’t make sense for them to quarantine a whole layer due to one rogue monster.” His hands were shaking. Just slightly.

Ezra had always seen Audrus as the calm one, but this time it was different. The walls seized, and he felt as if the world was about to collapse. If Audrus was scared, what were they going to do?

Malack gathered a group of explosives in his arms and pointed to the far side of the wall. “One of you, I don’t care who, get the other batch over there. Now! We’ll hit 'em with everything we got once they breach.”

“You want them to breach?” Ezra’s head spun as the metal walls groaned under the outside stress.

“Kid, we don’t have another choice.”

“I’ll do it,” Audrus said picking up the other bundle of explosives.

They rushed in separate directions, and Ezra stood frozen as the rest of the Void Piercers arrived behind him. The next sound he heard made his blood run cold. Metal snapped just to his left, and the walls gave in. Malack disappeared into the cloud of dust, and moments later yellow lighting flashed. A thunderous explosion consumed the spot where he stood.

Ezra stared into the dust, hoping what he just saw was a dream. He’s stronger than that. He’s a Void Piercer. He can’t die. Staring into the dust, Ezra waited for him to come back out, smile, and say that was nothing, but the only thing that appeared was a pair of bright orange eyes glowing in the debris. Then another and another until the terror he had known before seemed pitiful to the pit forming in his stomach now.