Novels2Search
Amber
Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day it is still the usual routine. When they saw Sannet they introduced Leanna to her. Like most of the people who just met Sannet. Leanna had her brain empty for a few seconds before she realized that she froze due to some reason after meeting Sannet. Sannet doesn't seem to mind, which could be because it has happened too many times or because she simply doesn't care.

While they are eating Viola suddenly asks: "Do you guys know about a man called Jenkin?"

Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I mean, his actual name is John Kranich, but everyone calls him nicknames like 'Jenkins,'" Viola continued. "There's apparently a file somewhere in this base explaining his death."

"Remind me again who that person is?" Minka asks.

"He was considered one of the leading fighters against Phyrexian on the planet about 10 years ago. But he disappeared after the peak of his career. There was no news or information about this. Literally none." Viola answered with deep curiosity while having her food.

"Weird..." Leanna thought as she took another bite from her bowl.

"Or he was called 'Legend' by many people. If that refreshes your memory." Viola said with a smile then continued: "His main fighting style is an advanced form of dual-wielding blades, so-called two-blade technique. The movements are quite fast and smooth and extremely deadly."

"Oh Legend, I heard a thing or two about him." Sannet said while still having her usual cold expression: "He apparently rumored to be a huge ass though."

"That… I don't know anything about that... But are we all in to find more information about him? I heard they fetch some nice prices~" Viola asked all at once.

They all agreed immediately except for Leanna who just silently nods along the rest of the group.

A few hours later they began their training for the day. After the training was finished, they had some free time for something fun and relaxing. Well that is what they told the supervisor. They are actually on their way to the B2 facility, which is contracted with Militarumtech and contains some sensitive information deep underground.

"I still don't get why we are doing this…" Leanna complained while being led into a big elevator car.

Viola looked at her puzzledly: "Because it's our mission."

"No it's not! We are supposed to complete the training and be assigned to militarum branches that fit with our personalities. Also, aren't there other options?" She continues while getting in: "What if someone saw us going in here like this."

"Lea, I never thought of you as a person with a high moral compass." Viola laughs: "Oh, please, come now. Are you really scared right now or maybe, just too afraid of losing face? Aren't you trying to escape your responsibilities? No sane person would join the boot camp for fun."

Leanna narrowed her eyes and replied sternly but quietly: "I am responsible for my own know nothing about me!"

"Guys please!" "Don't fight about it when we have so much work ahead of us," Minka says from behind them. Let's go."Minka is in because she kinda needs money to get a few upgrades for herself.

They arrived outside of a huge metal door. It looks like a vault but it is just the protective blast door. It requires a Class two ID card to get in, which Viola has. But it also needs a registered member's print inside of the militarum, which Leanna a pilot has.

Leanna gave Viola an icy stare before placing her hand over the sensor. With the sound of machinery, the doors open smoothly, and the lights around the room begin to turn on one by one until the entire room is brightly lit. The door is currently open and will not trigger anything. But the further in which is where the documents located will need them to improvise for themselves.

This place doesn't seem to have anyone inside. They all run in while scouting each corner. First they found the control room, which Sannet easily broke in and knocked out the guy in it: "Aren't we doing a bit much?" Minka asks, seeing the knocked out body.

"It is fine. The current shift usually takes naps around this time." Sannet explains as she searches the rooms of this facility for information about the legend: "And this mission should be easy compared to our usual stuff."

"Why's that?" Leanna asked as she took a look at the map that was placed in the center of the floor.

"Because no one had visited here for months." Viola points at the visitor log.

"I found it." Leanna points at a section of the map: "This is the paper document section which dated until 20 years ago. It will have what we need."

Minka checked outside and seeing there's no people, they all sneakily bypassed multiple patrolling guards and finally arrived at the sector door. The door slowly opened with their combined effort, revealing countless shelves filled with files, some even wrapped up with ribbons or secured with special sealants, making sure only authorized personnel could get to them.

Leanna picked up several random documents before turning her attention to an old file. She began to read through them carefully but before long her eyes grew wide in shock: "This isn't possible…"

"What isn't?" Minka asks while looking for the file they want.

"Apparently, this facility was a research base for cultivating an alternative to space marines. It was trying to create a serum that is able to give superhuman strength and durability while retaining the person's personality." Leanna read through the first few pages: "Huh… And they used people in the camp for the experiments."

"What a lovely story, now help us to find the information regarding the legend." Viola says as she flipped through a lot of files until finding the one she needed.

Minka looked at Leanna who continued reading from another document. The contents were written clearly about how Legend worked together with other mercenaries and successfully managed to kill two separate groups of dangerous monsters. But then there were no follow up reports. This really seems like the lost page of history: "Weird..." She thought.

"The reports regarding the legend seem like it has been stripped after this mission." Minka said while scanning the room for any sign of anyone.

Leanna put the paper down in front of the group. They all couldn't believe it since they had never seen this kind of thing before. But then Sannet found something weirder, a psychological report regarding the legend. It contained various records that showed the personality and behavior of different people when they encountered him. It wasn't anything extraordinary until the very end, where the writer was talking about a woman named Nova Terra: "Nova Terra dictated that the Legend had started to stray from the role which was assigned to him. She decided to demand further resources and manpower to deal with the situation."

"Your mom signed out for this?" Viola asks Leanna.

"I don't know… she never really talks about work at home… Especially something like this. Knowing mom, she had to write something very detailed about further reports. We need to find it." Leanna gets back into searching while moving through the shelves.

Minka looks at the file again, but only finds some other words written in black ink on a plain white paper: "Cursed." That's strange, why would the word 'cursed' in the file but not written in the report format… Minka thought.

Viola then found another file: "Mission report 2192." She opens it up and reads it carefully. Then she saw an odd paragraph that she could hardly understand at first glance. It was talking about an incident involving an Imperial General who went insane due to his defeat and was running rampage across the planet until the Legend killed him. And apparently based on what they've found this was his last mission: "A general running rampage?"

Suddenly they heard footsteps outside of the door. They all stopped moving and lucky the person outside did not come in. But they still hear them walking around. "I think someone is coming this way?" Viola says.

"Looks like it." Leanna said while looking over the map. The map shows there should be a room nearby: "I think we have found enough, let's ditch via the vent." Leanna said while crawling under a shelf with her legs while trying to get out as fast as possible without making noise. After reaching the next room, they were able to squeeze through a narrow space by going down several floors using a staircase near where Leanna crawled out from. Then they used a maintenance lift to leave the facility.

"Whew! Not even breaking a sweat." Viola looks at the files in their bag: "This will fetch a nice price."

"Before you turn it in, let's meet up in our room to link the information together." Minka suggests. And everyone nodded their heads. Later at night near midnight, everyone sat on the dorm ground and started discussing what to do with the information.

"Now let us conclude what we know, Legend was a very avid fighter who served and became a prominent figure. But soon after Nova Terra herself deemed the Legend to be unfit for further deployment…" Viola looks at the stack of documents in her hand: "What the hell had happened?"

"Maybe because the mission was related to that imperial general who had gone rampage… which was… wait.." Minka blinks a few times before saying the next word: "200 years ago?"

Everyone looked at Minka in silence.

"Are you serious?!" Leanna exclaimed: "That can't be right!"

Viola took over the document Minka had: "It is legit… unless this document is forged or altered. The event apparently also took place near the abyss. But it doesn't make sense because the abyss didn't exist until the end of the phyrexian war."

"Well… I can ask my mom about it… it's just…" Leanna said while sounding hesitant.

"What's wrong?" Viola asks.

Leanna shrugs her shoulders: "Nothing. I am afraid to go home. Because she will probably say something like: 'Oh Lea, you already coming back?' And Mom will blame herself for not helping me prepare better for this."

"That sounds rather sweet of your mom…." Viola says with a smile, then quickly looks at the documents in front of her again: "Anyway, let us start from the beginning..." She continues by reading the file.

"Or we should just go to the location mentioned in the document." Sannet suddenly spoke up and everyone turned their eyes towards her.

"But how are we going to sneak out of the camp? We don't have a valid excuse." Minka said after hearing what Sannet proposed.

"I think it's possible if we plan well enough... If we come up with a story and act naturally," Leanna replies while thinking through what could happen next: "Like a family emergency…"

"But it would take days for us to get there! It is too long for us…" Viola added : "And we need to submit the document as well. So we need to act independently." Viola then looks at Sannet: "You work for the adventures guild…so…are you able to give us some membership pass or something like that?"

"You want to join the guild?" Sannet ponders for a few seconds: "Alright, but you guys need to do some tests in order to become one."

"What's the qualification? I love tests!" Minka said it with a straight face.

"Nerd!" Viola pinches Minka's cheek.

"I am not a nerd…" Minka said while blushing, before noticing the look from Leanna.

Sannet then hands them all a card that is supposed to be a membership card for the guild. "It is only good for 3 months. So it's good for the current investigation. However, you guys will need to attend and pass the test."

"Why do we need to pass it?" Leanna asks.

"Because the card I just handed is a personal recommendation card, which only the exclusive members can give to outsiders. All of my personal honors depend on this." Sannet replied: "After this investigation, I need to assign you guys some quests to make your qualification legit."

"That should be easy right?" Minka asks.

"Sure, you just need to survive as a group in the phyrexian ruin for about a week." Sannet said while looking at them seriously.

"Hold on… I remember hearing that the ruin is currently infected with some strange organisms which killed three strike teams already…" Viola muttered.

"Well, decide now. Or we are not doing this." Sannet crosses her arms looking at the girls.

All of them looked at each other nervously. After several minutes, they all agreed to accept the challenge: "Alright, we accept! So… what now?"

"I will submit a claim with the head then we leave the day after tomorrow." Sannet stood up then headed back to her room: "Good night."

"Well… I'm exhausted from all of this…Good night everyone." Leanna lies on her bed and begins dozing off.

"Something on your mind?" Minka asks Viola.

"It is amazing that we are actually doing something that might have a impact on things." Viola smiles.

"What do you mean by this?" Minka asks while holding her cup of hot tea.

"I was like you once, big eyed for adventures trying to make a difference in the world. But soon I realized that everything is too far out of my reach. So… I gave up doing what's right…" Viola sighs softly: "But here we are… somehow managing to be part of something bigger than ourselves." She looked at Sannet's room which is across their own: "I don't know if she is also with us on this or trying to gain something out of it… but… it doesn't matter."

"Yea… I didn't expect Sannet to help us like this. We owe her one, so let's make this worth it, alright?"Minka smiles warmly.

"Hey Minka…"

"Yes?"

"Can I get a lap pillow?"

"No!"

On the preparation day, they all packed up a backpack and headed out to the abyss. Abyss is a man made mining rig at first for the deep planetary mineral operations but soon it was abandoned for the diggers releasing something from the depth of the planet, however it was never confirmed. The abyss is so deep that it has its own climate and ecosystem within. As long as you stay in the lighted zone above ground there are no monsters or creatures roaming around; only strange plants grow near the entrance and walls where you can find fossils from different types of creatures. Or like Minka's father used to say to her: "All kinds of weird shit grows down here. No human has ever ventured inside because even the brave explorers who were sent to scout have vanished into thin air, leaving behind nothing except for a bunch of crazy stories about an underground city and some strange tunnels. Only a fool would actually try and go even near there."

"I guess I'm a fool then." Minka shrugs off the words Trazyn told her a while ago. Sannet apparently is drawing a lot of attention, not because of the way she looks but the badge of guild that was only given to ten people since the creation . Despite encountering some small issues they managed to arrive at the town where the event related to Legend had happened. Compared to the hive city, this place is seemingly less developed but the air quality is better at least. They decided to rest their tired legs by purchasing some food at a nearby restaurant and eating together outside while admiring the scenery. It wasn't very busy at this time though considering it's still early for dinner and most people are still working.

"Minka?" Suddenly a familiar voice came from behind her.

"Dad?" Minka turned around looking very surprised: "What are you doing here?"

"Just visiting this place. Aren't you supposed to be at the bootcamp?" Trazyn asked. He looked at the girls with his usual expressionless face before turning back to look at the horizon in front of him.

"Well… we are having a … field trip here." Minka panicked a bit.

"Hi . How are you doing?" Viola interrupts because she saw Minka was struggling.

"Hi, Uncle." Leanna also greets

"Hey hey, it's nice seeing you guys hanging out." He changed his expression to a wholehearted smile.

"Dad.. this is Sannet." Minka introduced.

"Sannet." His smile got wider but seemingly turning to a fake grin on his face: "Is Sannet also your friend, dear daughter." Trazyn asks while putting emphasis into the last part as if he was mocking her.

Instead of having that constant expressionless cold face, Sannet seemingly just focuses on sipping her drink and tries to avoid eye contact with Trazyn.

"Yes, dad. This is why she's with us… is there something wrong? Where's mom by the way?" Minka asks worriedly.

Trazyn exhales softly. "Your mother is on one of those missions again. So worry not, she's not gonna be home anytime soon." He then shifted his gaze to Leanna: "Lea, does Nova know about this?"

"Huh?" Leanna's eyes widened: "I… no…i didn't tell her about coming here…"

"You naughty kids…" Trazyn pats Minka's head: "Well, don't worry I won't tell on anyone. Snitching is not really my specialist. But you guys should worry about this place… it's god forsaken for a reason."

"Thank dad… by the way are you the CSO of Militarumtech?" Minka asks for Viola.

"Oh, yea. I am. Did Viola tell you that?" Trazyn smirks.

Minka looks at Viola who nodded silently with a slight blush to her cheeks. Then Trazyn explains: "It wasn't a title of accomplishment or anything like that though. I am just a representative of countless hard working people much like Viola, I still report to the head though." He then pats Minka again: "Well enjoy your trips with your friend!" He then looks at Sannet seemingly saying specifically for her: "Take care of yourselves."

"Thanks dad!" Minka hugs his father tightly and bids farewell to the girls.

After eating dinner, all four girls decided to take a stroll around town since it was not very busy yet as there were not many tourists due to lack of attractions in this city. Leanna decides to walk with Sannet, for one she wants to know her better and another reason is that she noticed the little change of expression when Sannet saw Trazyn.

"So... is quite a character huh?" Leanna decided to start the conversation while they were waiting for the street food.

"Yes, he's really eccentric." Sannet nods, she seemed to be getting used to talking to Leanna already.

"Can you believe him having the name of a necron overlord?" Leanna smiles wryly at her. "I think he's probably hiding some dark secrets."

Sannet doesn't seem bothered by it at all but instead shrugs her shoulders: "Well whatever...everyone is hiding something..."

"That is true... Well, since we are in a team now, do you want to share some secrets?" Leanna asks jokingly to tease her new partner.

"What kind of secret? There aren't any about me, I don't have any…" Sannet says quietly, not looking up to meet Leanna's eyes.

Leanna did not expect to see Sannet at this side, she realized that talking about her uncle might be a pressure point for Sannet. Just knowing this is enough for her, so she decided to change the subject: "Well... we can share our opinion on Minka!" She has an evil smirk on her face.

"Huh?" Sannet looked surprised and thought about something: "I always thought Minka was an air head but when I got to know her, she is actually a very thoughtful and nice person. But I have to say that she does have some really bad taste when it comes to clothing, did you even see that purple dress she had? It looks like something from fifty years ago."

Sannet is more chatty than Leanna thought, it really seems like Sannet is more conversational when they are separated: "Yeah, Minka usually wears plain clothes most of the time. And those are the clothes she spent the effort to choose. But... she's probably one of the most stubborn people I've known. She knows no defeat and always tries to work through stuff...Sometimes I feel like she must live a tiring life, always trying, never standing back a little to find joy in life."

"Is this why you and Viola joked that she never had friends before?" Sannet asks while looking at Leanna.

"Well yes..." Leanna blushed a bit embarrassed but smiling at the same time because her heart starts to flutter when Sannet looks at her. "...That was also partly true though…" Leanna pauses for a second: "I mean... everyone deserves to be happy right? Minka doesn't have anyone to be close to until now... "she suddenly realized how much she opened herself up, so she tries not to overdo it: "But it doesn't mean i won't mess with her." Leanna honestly is a bit lost in her mind when she sees Sannet's figure, how can someone be this beautiful? She looked like a doll that had been given life to.

"Emm, this is amazing!" Sannet just had a bite of the meat pocket that she bought. Sannet tilts the food towards Leanna: "You want to have a bite?"

"It smells amazing! But... I am currently controlling my weight.." Leanna sighs: "Sorry but I need to watch what I eat since we are on training camp."

"You look healthy though." Sannet gave an apologetic smile.

"I know... it's my mom, she is really strict about things like this..." She looks down sadly.

"Is your mother this strict?" Sannet asks curiously.

Leanna nods quietly: "Yeah... she has high expectations of me and I don't want to fail her..."

"And you are the one talking about how Minka is not happy with her life." Sannet points out.

"I know... and this is why I know exactly why being happy is such a great quality to have in life... Minka doesn't understand how but... I really want to... this is why I came to the bootcamp." Leanna smiles awkwardly.

"Oh.. I see." Sannet understood now the reason Leanna came, she then turned to look at the street where people were walking around: "Well when I first came, Viola and Minka wanted to beat me up but... I dropped them before they could even start speaking."

"Those two can be idiots sometimes... but I really find Viola can be very outward and charming at times. She always seems like trying to lift everyone's spirits up with either teasing or bringing up strange quests like this one." Leanna said while looking at a couple who just walked passed. Her eyes track at them for some distance.

Sannet nods to Leanna 's comment on Viola: "Yeah she can be a handful at times."

A thought crossed both girls' minds as their eyes met again: "So..."

"So?"

Leanna just couldn't hold back her question: "What's your story?"

"My story? What do you mean by that?" Sannet slightly tilted her head sideways due to confusion.

"Your past... your family background... What made you become a guild member? I know that you used to know Trazyn but what happened?"

Sannet was stunned by this sudden question from Leanna: "How did you know?"

"You surely don't talk a lot when we are together but your expression told me everything." Leanna said with an honest smile on her face.

"I didn't know that you paid that much attention to my expression..." Sannet said in awe.

"Well now you know what I know. So... why don't we be a little more honest to each other? I promise i won't tell anyone." Leanna said in a playful tone while making a fist in front of her chest. Leanna has the intelligence of her mother but inherited the outgoing straightforward attitude from her father.

"I never thought of that..." Sannet had a small smile on her face as she thought about it: "Alright...I'll tell you..." Sannet leans back on the bench and looks up at the star: "A while ago I lost my memory. I couldn't remember who I was but it was him who took me in, trained me and eventually taught me everything about myself that I know today." She paused for a second and continued: "He taught me that even if there is a huge gap between us, he will always be there for me no matter what and I will do so for him as well."

"So... why did you leave him?" Leanna asked while keeping her eyes fixed on the star above their heads.

"Because he lied to me." Sannet said softly as she clenched her fist .

"What do you mean by that?"

Sannet sighed and let her anger fade away: "I was always wondering who he truly was...But... I never should've tried to find out the truth...I was not prepared to face it and process it properly."

"That's rough... but... what did he do?" Leanna said carefully with a sad expression on her face.

"He was the one that killed everything that mattered to me, made me lose my memory and eventually lied to me every step until I departed from him." Sannet said coldly while clenching her fists again.

"I'm sorry... that must've been painful." Leanna said gently.

Sannet nods with a slight smile: "Well... even though that was a long time ago, I just could not forgive him..." She then looked at Leanna and smiled: "And I couldn't forgive myself either..."

" That was not your fault! He manipulated you, used you and ruined you!" Leanna said with determination as she looked straight at Sannet.

Sannet looked down: "I know... but he also took time to take care of me and never asked for anything back... He's a... huge asshole but... he is also kind of like a mentor to me so it's hard to hate him for what he did... even if it hurts me terribly."

"..." Leanna felt anger in her heart and her face tensed up. But then she slowly relaxed again. "Yeah... I understand how you feel." She said with a gentle voice. "But it's time to move forward from here...If you want... I will always be at your side."

Sannet did a rare chuckle: "You're too kind."

They continue to watch the city as the stars shine on their faces.

"Hey you guys~" Viola and Minka came over while holding some nice street food as well: "Having fun chatting?" Viola asked with a smirk on her face while handing out food to each one of them.

"Yea... we were just discussing the plans for tomorrow." Leanna said with a half-smile on her face.

"Always working, such a Terra trait. Minka was also pegging me for more information about the place. You two should really take off that popsicle stick." Viola said with a sly smile on her face while she handed out her own snacks to the group.

"Yes, I suppose..." Leanna said with an apologetic expression on her face as she took the snacks.

"What does the popsicle stick mean?" Minka asks while looking at the two girls curiously.

"She means that there's always a stick up your..." Sannet explains but gets interrupted by Minka.

"Stop it! I don't want to hear more about it! It's disgusting!" Minka covered her ears with both hands and started to squirm in embarrassment.

"Okay okay! I'll stop! Sorry!" Sannet quickly apologized for her explanation. She had a true genuine smile on her face for a second.

After sight seeing a bit more, the girls then proceeded back to the hotel and slept nicely and happily.

The next day, they woke up early in the morning and ate a quick breakfast before heading out to the village where their first destination is. The old militarum camp where the Legend was stationed: "Well... we should just ask around... but I don't think we can get in there." Viola said while she had a serious look on her face: "If only we knew someone that could get us in there..." She then looks at Minka.

"My dad? No way, he doesn't have access for this." Minka said with a deadpan expression on her face while crossing her arms.

Viola then looks at Leanna then gets closer. Then she asks Minka: "How tall is your aunt, Minka?"

"About the same height as Lea... Oh..." Minka realized what Viola was about: "I think it would work."

"What? No way!" Leanna protested immediately, but then she hesitated, she also realized that this might work. Leanna looks at Sannet begging for help: "Hey Sannet, do you have any ideas?"

Sannet shook her head with an apologetic expression on her face: "Sorry Lea... I have nothing!"

Leanna then turned to look at Viola who had a proud expression on her face: "Do your worst..." Leanna looks away while having a resentful look on her face.

After the collective work of everyone, a person looks almost indistinguishable from general Nova. Leanna hates this so badly, but when she thinks about the stake of the entire operation. She let out a long sigh and approached the guard tower. She stood there without speaking a word.

"General Nova?... we did not expect you to be here." One of the guards immediately recognized. The guard quickly saluted as he opened the gate to allow Leanna in.

"I have some people accompanying me as well." Leanna signals the girls to come with her. Honestly? She's acting like she's her mother herself.

The guard nodded and let them in. Minka walks behind Leanna and whispers: "That was amazing Lea!"

"Shut up... I am trying not to blow it..." Leanna said while grinding her teeth hard to control her anger and impatience. She then continues forward with her steps.

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"Now we just need to head to the archive to find the records." Viola points the way for Leanna.

As expected the disguise of Leanna did prove that a famous face will open many doors for them, without even needing to check for the documents they arrived at the archive room: "Now let's get done with this already..." Leanna unties her ponytail as she lets out a sigh of annoyance.

After about fifteen minutes they heard footsteps coming: "What the hell is this?" The commanding office of this base came over and shouted at the room.

Leanna came forward and stood in front of him: "I don't appreciate the tone... sir."

"Yea! I don't appreciate it when people come to my damn base and start searching without a reason!" He shouted at Leanna.

Leanna kept her cool and answered: "This is an under the book operation from the inquisition. If you want to go against it, I would advise you to stand down."

The officer suddenly stopped talking, he can tell that if General Nova came over under the order of the inquisition, something might be going on. And this is way above his pay grade. The officer then asked: "What do you want?"

"We're here to inspect this camp and find out information about the Legend." Leanna said with her serious expression on her face: "Then we will be leaving when our information gathering is over."

"Yes... general... you can go right ahead." But everyone can tell he was not happy about standing down.

Leanna then shut the door and sat on the ground: "Whew... that was way too close."

Everyone gave a thumbs up to Leanna and after about thirty more minutes, they found what they were looking for. A deployment record of the Legend. They then quickly located an area where it was related with his last deployment, a small village not too far away from the camp but it will take them a day of drive.

They then snuck out quickly with barely getting noticed. Later at dinner they are celebrating with the brilliant idea: "Cheers! Lea is really amazing at this!" Viola said happily while drinking from a bottle of whiskey.

"Thank you... but we still have a long way to go." Leanna said while drinking her beer calmly.

"I thought it was Aunt Nova for a second there." Minka said with a cheeky grin. Leanna just glared at her but did not say anything.

Only Sannet knew what Leanna went through, she gently pats Leanna's back while also calmly drinking her beer.

The next morning, they rented a car and started driving towards the destination: "Wait... is that a hot spring?" Minka points on the map.

"Yeah, you guys wanna go?" Viola asks while looking at everyone else.

Sannet and Leanna look at each other and then nod their head. It's not usual to go to the hot spring early in the morning but this is the reason that there's lesser people at it during this time so they can also discuss the plan for the upcoming destination.

"Man... it has been a while since I was in a hot spring..." Minka lays her head back on the edge while sinking her body in. The hot spring felt very good for all of them except for Sannet, who didn't like hot things very much, so she just dipped her feet in while looking at them.

"Aunt Monika and uncle Trazyn don't bring you often?" Leanna asks while dipping her body in the water.

"No, it's more like I was in school trying to get away from them." Minka said with a bit of an annoyed expression on her face.

"Your parents are amazing, why don't you want to spend time with them?" Viola asks.

"I just feel awkward when I'm with them." Minka said as she tried to explain her feelings to Viola. "They just treat me like a kid and I just can't stand it."

"Minka, it's not their fault." Leanna said while staring at the pool: "They are just trying to protect you."

"Of course you're the one to talk to, if I have aunt Nova as mom I would be sooo happy." Minka said with a bit of anger in her voice: "But instead my parents treat me like a kid and won't listen to me."

"That's not true! "Your parents are the ones I look up to the most!" Leanna said while placing her hand on her chest: "They have no expectations of you! And they give you a choice to be happy and have fun growing up! You should be grateful!"

"Why are you always fighting against me? I thought we were friends!" Minka said, her eyes turning red.

"I am saying this because i'm your friend!" Leanna said while sitting on the edge of the pool: "You are stubborn and careless!"

"You..." Minka turns her face away, but Viola can see a few tears dropping from Minka's eyes.

"I'm sorry!" Leanna said while quickly moving to hug Minka: "But you should know how lucky you are to have a parent such as yours."

"I don't care!" Minka said while pulling out of Leanna's grasp.

"Minka... why do you hate them so much?" Leanna asks with a soft voice while staring at her face: "Did they do something wrong?"

Minka shakes her head, which is full of tears: "No, everything they did was right to me! But... they never let me do anything that's outside of their expectation and if i do... they will take it away...That's why i was so scared of having friends..."

"They wouldn't do that... right? That sounds psychotic..." Viola said while staring at her friends who were all in deep conversation.

"They thought I wouldn't know... but I knew all along..." Minka said as tears continued to flow down her face.

"Minka, every single one of us is proud to be your friend... and we are all strong enough to protect ourselves and each other!" Viola said while using her arm to wipe the tears off from Minka's eyes: "Don't cry, we are here for you."

Leanna quickly holds her hand: "We will protect you."

Sannet also came in and held their hands: "So do i."

Leanna glances at Sannet as if telling her: If you want to tell Minka about yourself, it's now.

Sannet looks back but decides not to, not now, not yet. Sannet just gently pats Minka on her back then eventually calms her down. Hearing what Minka said about her parents, Sannet couldn't help but frown for a few seconds because even for his own daughter Trazyn is still doing exactly the same as what he did with her. About that, Sannet and Minka are in the same boat. She secretly decides to not carry out Trazyn's order anymore, instead she will just help Minka to achieve what she wants.

"Well now since we are reconciled let us discuss our plans for the village, because we just can't go in blindly." Viola said while opening her notebook to write down notes for their current location and their plans for the village. They discussed for about an hour then finally left the place.

"Lea... I want to apologize..." Minka said while sitting in the back seat. "I'm sorry for being mad at you..."

"It's okay..." Leanna said while smiling.

"You know, I just wanted to be treated as an adult and not just be treated like a child by my parents...But I oversaw the difficulties that you had to come across..." Minka said while looking at Leanna who was looking at the scenery out of the window.

"That's okay... I understand..." Leanna said with a bit of hesitation: "But don't worry, I'll still be your friend...and besides." She suddenly has a smirk on her face: "I wasn't the one crying like a little girl."

"You..." Minka is embarrassed and turns away from Leanna while smiling at the scenery out of the window.

"Well, we are getting close to our destination, so keep your eyes peeled and keep your wits about you!" Viola said while driving the car fastly: "There might be monsters in here, so be on your guard!"

"Monsters?" Leanna asked while looking at Viola: "What kind of monsters?"

"You know, the usual type, like a boar and stuff." Viola suddenly hits the brake and signs everyone to be quiet. There's a huge half mechanical lizard crossing the road, it is almost as big as their car. The driver slowly turned down the car to avoid the lizard, but the lizard saw them and tried to attack them by using its huge tail which was like a giant club. The lizard swiped with its tail, but luckily it missed its target. Viola immediately reversed and did a sharp 180 turn and began to drive away, but a second one immediately came out of the forest and crawled in the middle of the road.

"Guess we have to fight this..." Sannet leaves the car and pulls out her short sword from her back: "I'll take one of them."

"Wait! You can't fight it alone!" Leanna says while holding her breath as she gets out of the car: "What should i do?"

"You stay here..." Sannet said while running towards the lizard as she unsheathes her sword from its sheath: "I will handle this."

"Lea, Viola let's deal with the other one." Minka said while activating the bracelet her father gave her.

Leanna took a deep breath and got out of the car while feeling the wind around her, then she unleashed a wave of air blade at the lizard, it did damage but far from killing it. The lizard roared loudly and tried to crush Leanna under its tail, however she avoided it with ease. Suddenly, she sees Minka rushing forward recklessly: "Minka?!"

"I'll do it!" Minka shouted with a loud voice while charging forward at the lizard, suddenly green light came from her right hand and a weapon that looked like the powerfist appeared in Minka's hand and she swung it with full force. With a loud cracking noise, she sunk half of the lizard's jaw into its face. It roars in pain and now fixated on Minka.

"Minka!" Leanna shouts with worry.

Minka seems not to care as she just continues to charge at the lizard while holding her powerfist. After another two seconds she sunk her powerfist completely into its head and it roared in pain and fell to the ground. But after that it jumped back up and now attacked towards Minka again with its jaws open wide. However, it failed to attack as Leanna uses the windblast to hit its limb to assist Minka with her attacks.

"Minka! Duck!" Viola suddenly shouted and fired a grenade from her grenade launcher. It hit it's head and blasted it's cheek, she then fired another then another until the beast finally fell on the ground."Nice work girls!" Viola said while coming closer to them while they were still breathing heavily: "Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, we are fine." Leanna replied while still catching her breath.

They then saw Sannet split the beast open with her sword by running across on it's back and landed steadily with a flip in the air. Sannet was covered in blood and her short sword was dripping red: "Woah.." All three of them were stunned and were silent. They saw Sannet wiping her bloodied sword with a rag.

"Did you get hurt?" Leanna asked Sannet with worry: "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, it's just the blood is really nasty..." Sannet said while trying to clean herself off.

"We better report this to the authorities." Viola said while taking her notebook out from her bag. She writes down everything that happened with great detail and then signs it at the end before putting it back in her bag: "Now we better get to the village and report what happened."

Everyone nodded to agree and got into the car. Sannet managed to wipe away the blood on her face, but she needed to find a place to wash her hair. Leanna looks at Minka and finally asks about the powerfist she used during the battle: "So... where did you get it?"

"Oh... Well... You know..." Minka answered nervously: "I had gotten it from a weapon shop."

"Lies, no weapon shop will sell anything like this." Leanna said while raising her eyebrows.

"Alright... It was my dad... He gave me so...i could kick your ass..." Minka replied, hiding her embarrassment under the windshield.

"..."Leanna is speechless, but then she lets out a sigh: "Well... just don't show it to others, and I think we will be fine..."

As they approached the village, they could see smoke rising from the chimneys of the houses. Viola slows down the car while approaching the village with caution: "Let's be on our guard." Viola then parked the car next to a hotel and packed her weapons into a sports bag.

Sannet wiped most of the blood off her, but the smell of blood still makes everyone frown. When they entered the hotel, they checked in quickly and went into the room. The first thing to do was to take a shower and change their clothes. And of course, Sannet was the first one to step in. Leanna however went downstairs to ask some questions about the locals.

"Are you always carrying a bag full of weapons?" Minka asks Viola.

"Yep, always." Viola replies as she takes out her notebook.

"Are you allowed to? Like having a license or sorts." Minka questions this further.

"Nope, that's why I joined the bootcamp to have the legitimacy to do so." Viola answers.

"You don't think about serving the imperium and helping out the one that can't defend themselves?" Minka asks with a shocked expression.

"Nope, I couldn't give a damn. I have side jobs and main responsibilities to take care of." Viola answered with a cold expression while cleaning her clothes.

"But there's plenty of people that are willing to fight for this world. Why don't you join one of those?" Minka asked with concern.

"Why do I need to join if plenty of people like you are already joining?" Viola replied coldly: "And why would I join just for glory or honor? There are people who fight for money, power, love, but there are even more who fight for survival ...I just happen to be the latter."

Minka is speechless, she didn't expect an answer like that from someone who seemingly always teases her. Viola was right, but she should at least try to become a better person, she should at least try to understand the other side of the argument before making such an insensitive remark: "That doesn't sound like you."

"I don't see you doing any better..." Viola replies with a cold smile as she closes her notebook and puts it back into her bag: "Look, I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. So I had to fight through my life and take care of whoever is important to me."

"Is that why you keep helping others even when you're in trouble?" Minka asks curiously.

"Yup... I guess you can say that." Viola replied with an awkward expression on her face: "But I wouldn't help anyone if they didn't help me in return. Now... since you know more about me..." Viola suddenly pushes Minka on the bed: "How will you repay me?~"

Minka's eyes widen as she gasps, she was never expecting an aggressive response from Viola like this, so she doesn't have any idea what to do or say as she is still stunned by this sudden action: "Um...what do you want...?"

"Well now... since no one is here..." Viola then put her hand on Minka's collar while looking straight into Minka's eyes: "I want you..."

Minka gulps as she feels a tingle of arousal spreading through her body as Viola's hands caress her collar, she was never expecting this type of reaction from someone like Viola who usually teased her all the time: "M-me?" Her face is bright red: "You have a boyfriend!" She was blushing furiously now, she was so embarrassed and her heart was pounding hard now: "I-I don't want to...!"

Suddenly Viola broke her act and laughed uncontrollably : "I don't want to..! Now that's a good reaction!" She giggles: "My... you really think i was going for it?" She then pushes herself onto the bed beside Minka while lying on top of her, pressing her against the bed while placing one of her legs on top of Minka's leg while reaching up to caress Minka's cheek: "You are just too cute.."

"Get away from me!" Minka pushes Viola away and tidy up her shirt, her face is bright red but she was hell out of annoyed by that act. She didn't expect such an action from Viola: "You... you are unbelievable?! How could you joke with this kind of thing?!"

"Oh c'mon... What's wrong? Is that really what you think?" Viola asked with a teasing smile.

"I mean... I don't mind if you flirt or tease but... just so you know, I am not interested in women whatsoever. I don't have problems with that but it's really not for me." Minka said while glaring at Viola: "I thought that you were my friend but it seems that I was mistaken... you are a real piece of work."

"Oh, that's too bad..." Viola then stood up and get close up with Minka: "In this world, it's either you get fucked or you fuck other people."

"That's not true!" Minka stares right into Viola's eyes while feeling a tingle of fear: "The world can be cruel but it doesn't mean that you should face every other person with that pessimistic attitude!"

"And how should I feel then?" Viola asked with a cold expression on her face: "You're just like a spoiled brat who clearly never seen the worst of the worst."

"Is this how you see me? Like a plant who grows in a greenhouse? Always been protected from the outside world?" Minka steps forward.

"You are not even worth my time." Viola replied with a cold expression: "It's a wonder why you didn't get killed already."

"Don't you even know how much I have suffered in my life?" Minka asks as her eyes are full of tears, but still full of determination: "You don't even know how much pain I went through for everything I am today..."

Suddenly Leanna entered the room with a look full of confusion: "Were you two fighting?"

"Just a little." Viola replied as she walked past Leanna without saying anything else: "She was being an idiot anyway." Viola then proceeded to go downstairs for some fresh air.

Leanna then puts her hands on her hips while looking at Minka in a rather disappointed manner: "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing." Minka answered as she took out her towel from her backpack: "I just wanted to help her... but she didn't want to listen..."

"Why do you do that all the time?" Leanna asked with an angry tone: "Why do you always try to help people even when they won't listen to you?"

"Well..." Minka began to speak but was interrupted by Leanna: "You know what you did wrong... Look, in an adult world people select the people they want to be with, this goes to friends, family and lovers. Don't try to change her, be the friend she needs when she's sad or down. I don't care about what you two were arguing about, but this was on you!"Leanna pokes her finger on Minka's chest: "You're such an idealist and honestly it's getting on my nerves. You need to apologize." Leanna crosses her arms.

"Leanna, stop it!" Minka yelled at Leanna : "This isn't even your business!"

"When our team starts having pointless arguments like this? Now that is my emperor's damned business. I will not hesitate to give you a good beating if you keep this up." Leanna looks at Minka furiously: "And that girl has suffered so much already. It's enough that she has to suffer alone, don't add more pressure on her. You could tell from the way she deals with people, do you think she would ask us for this quest if we are not somewhat useful?"

Minka's face turns bright red, she knows she screwed up: "Leanna... I'm sorry..."

"Apologize to her." Leanna said as she put her hands on Minka's shoulders and pull her close to her while staring at her directly into her eyes: "Look... I might be your cousin but I always see you like my own sister, my big sister. And sisters always have each other's back, even correcting one's mistakes."

"Lea..." Minka hugs Leanna tight while having tears running out of her eyes: "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize too much." Leanna smiles at Minka before giving her a hug: "Now... head down, and give Viola a nice heartfilled apology and it will all be gone."

Minka nodded and began heading downstairs.

"Well I didn't know you're so good at holding the team together." Sannet leans on the door frame while wrapped in towel, she looks rather impressed.

"I just hate when things are out of order, and humans are... unpredictable by nature... I do my best to cope with everyone I know." Leanna said as she took a seat on the couch.

"You're really good at holding us together." Sannet replied while changing her clothes: "You always find the best approach to talk to everyone you know."

"Thanks for that." Leanna smiled while putting down her hands on the armrest of the chair, she then looked up at Sannet as she spoke: "But don't tell anyone that I told you this or they would be worried about me." Leanna taps her finger four times but she then cramped it into a fist.

"Don't worry about it." Sannet said with a warm smile: "But... How come you're so good with talking to others? Even me?" Sannet asked with curiosity, she then noticed Leanna's look and tried to cover it up: "Sorry, it's not my business really."

"I guess I was born with it." Leanna replied while scratching her cheek with her finger: "I'm always trying to keep things under control."

"I see..." Sannet looked away while thinking about this for a bit.

Then Viola came in looking as stoic as ever, Leanna looked up and asked: "Well? Did you and Minka make up with each other?"

"Minka? I didn't see her." Viola replied with a cold expression: "What was I supposed to say to that spoiled brat anyway?"

"Wait..."Leanna stood up: "She was about to apologize to you. She literally went down a few minutes ago." Leanna looks outside the window, nothing. Minka is not downstairs.

Sannet is already geared up: "I will go and look for her. Stay, I feel like something wrong is going on."

Viola opens up her sports bag and throws Leanna a shotgun: "You know how to shoot?"

"Yes." Leanna nodded and caught the weapon from Viola, she then quickly examined it and loaded it with shells: "If someone is on to us, we need to stay together."

Viola nodded and stuffed a small auto pistol into her holster. Leanna then opened up the door and suddenly she saw Minka: "What the..."

"I'm sorry!" Minka yells as she rushes inside and hugs Viola tightly.

"Minka..." Viola then took a step back from Minka and looked at her face: "You alright?"

Minka nods her head rapidly and then hands over a bag full of cupcakes: "I am sorry for being such an insensitive brat..." She timidly said.

"Don't be an idiot!" Viola loudly scolded, she then took a step forward and hugged her tightly: "I was not mad at you at all... Just don't just disappear on us again..."

This is the time when Minka sees the shotgun in Leanna's hand: "Wait... did you guys think I was kidnapped?" She said as she slowly grabbed the shotgun from Leanna.

"Well... You disappeared all of sudden after being clearly upset..." Viola said as she released her grip on Minka.

Sannet suddenly barged in while holding on someone's collar and threw him on the ground: "I found this man peeking on us." Sannet pointed her sword at him: "You better not move a muscle or you'll regret it."

The man was covered in a long coat, he was in his early thirties and had short brown hair: "Wait... don't kill me! I was only watching out for my master! I swear! Don't kill me!" He cried while curled up on the ground.

"Who is your master?" Sannet asked as she stepped back from him: "And why were you following us?"

"I wasn't! My master's son is currently on a trip alone! So he sent me to watch out for him." The man panics.

"Well false alarms then." Sannet then picked the man up and pushed him outside of the room. She then closed the door.

Everyone let out a relieved sigh and seemingly made up with each other, and of course the girls shared the nice snacks Minka bought and thoroughly enjoyed it. Later, Leanna and Viola go out to get some resupplies and there's only Minka and Sannet who're in the hotel.

"Sannet... do you mind if I ask how you feel... about me?" Minka timidly asks.

"Not interested." Sannet responded bluntly: "I don't have any feelings towards any of you."

"No, I mean do you think I'm... stupid? Because Leanna and Viola all said so..."Minka looks away.

Sannet chuckled lightly: "You're not stupid... In fact you are very intelligent. Just that..." Sannet paused before she continued: "You're too naive at times... And that's what makes you look stupid..."

Minka pouted slightly: "What do you mean? I meant everything I said to them."

"It's fine if you believe what you say..." Sannet replied: "But reality is different from what you believe. You can't get by by just believing whatever you say. Unless... you're a greenskin. Are you a ork? Minka."

"No... I'm not an ork." Minka realized this is how others see her: "I see... thanks Sannet..."

"But i think you need more than words of encouragement, how about we get on some actions?" Sannet suggested: "I have no idea how are you doing in combat, so I'll teach you some things. Not just in fighting, but also about life."

"You kicked my ass last time..." Minka said.

"Well, after sometimes in the camp. I think you at least learned something, right?" Sannet asked as she took a sip from a canteen of water.

Minka nods, then finds a field where there's no people around: "What now?"

Sannet points at her own wrist: "Activate it and show me how it works." She is referring to the artifact her father gave her.

"You knew?!" Minka asked curiously.

"I don't think any of us are blind, now... let's see what you can do with this." Sannet didn't even pull out her sword, she just put one of her hands behind and told Minka to strike.

Minka compiled by phasing out a bat from her hand and began to swing at Sannet. However, she immediately blocked with her hand and swept Minka on the floor with her feet in almost less than a second.

Minka was stunned at this move, as she just saw a small girl just kick her like that. Then, she stands back up and strikes again, only to have her strike blocked once more. She then uses the momentum and puts Minka down on the ground again. Sannet shakes her head: "All brawl and no skill..."

Minka gritters her teeth and tries to kick Sannet away but she instead kicks Minka away.

Sannet looked at her watch as she continued to fight Minka. After about ten minutes of fighting, she told her to stop for now, as it was getting late already and they needed to get some sleep soon, in preparation for their journey.

"We are not done yet!" Minka wipes the blood on the edge of her mouth: "I can win this!"

Sannet was slightly taken aback by her strong determination, but she smirked and simply said "You can try...But... let's just call it for now... don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this." Sanne winks cutely.

Minka's cheek blushed for a second after seeing Sannet wink at her: "I-If you insist... One day, I'll show you that I can win!"

"Looking forward to it." A genuine smile appeared on Sannet's face.

On the roof not far away, Leanna gave Viola a bill of imperial credit, Viola had a full grin on her face and put that money into her pocket: "Well, this is what you got for overestimating Minka."

"I just can't believe that she can't even land a single hit..." Leanna shook her head in disbelief as she put her hands on her hips.

"You wanna also spar?" Viola asked with a grin.

"No... not tonight... We better head off and pretend we are sleeping, so Minka can rest peacefully..."Leanna starts heading off to the exit.

"You're hopelessly caring aren't you..." Viola chuckles as she follows behind Leanna.

When Minka and Sannet go back to the room, Viola and Leanna are already asleep. Minka let out a relieved sigh and changed her clothes. Even though there's a little bruise under her shirt, they are seemingly getting better by the minutes. Honestly, Minka never questioned this, she always assumed that she's just too healthy compared to her peers. As for her father, he was always fond of the fact that his daughters are healthy and robust. That is why he would always spend time with his daughters during their training sessions.

Didn't take long for Minka to fully recover from the pain and bruises that were done by Sannet. She actually felt a bit better than usual after some exercise. Everyone seemingly already packed up their bags and ready to head to their first destination: The outpost near the abyss.

"So... do you guys remember the originality of the abyss." Viola asks while looking outside. She is staring at the abyss which is like an ocean of black water, endless and dark in every direction from a distance.

Leanna then looks at the abyss while saying "What is that abyss anyway?"

"The abyss is one of the deepest areas in the planet that never reaches light or any kind of radiation from the sun." Sannet said casually.

"When I was still in school we talked about it, apparently in another theory they suggest that it didn't exist before the phyrexian war. It was something like an antigrain blast that caused the collapse of the underground structure and it sank into an abyss. That's what we heard anyway, never been there myself." Minka added on.

"How deep was it?" Leanna asked curiously.

"Nobody really knows." Viola answered casually. "I think it's at least three miles deep, maybe more."

"It was one of the deepest parts of the planet after all." Sannet added to that: "We should be careful when near it, the place seems to have some unnatural power under it. "

"So the last place where Legend was seen apparently has a relation to the abyss. Do you guys think he went down?" Minka asked curiously.

"Maybe... but we lack any information as of now." Leanna mutters as she continues driving. Soon they saw an outpost that was filled with people from Militarumtech and the astral militarum.

"Halt." One of the guards stood in front of the car: "This place is forbidden."

"We are here for adventure guild business." Leanna gave the guard the ID card.

"Is the Guild sending people here?" The guard looks at the ID card questionably: "Your group, please step out of your vehicle."

Everyone got out and gave their ID to the guard. After checking he shakes his head: "I am sorry mam, we can't let you through. This place is currently off limits due to classified reasons."

"I can't believe it." Leanna looks at the guard angrily: "That's our first destination, how come it's off limits?"

"Sorry mam, but you have to go through proper channels if you want to pass here." The guard's eyes were filled with pity: "I understand your frustration mam but please leave now. Don't come back here again."

Leanna about to say more. But Viola gave her a glance to the side of the road, they soon drove out of the sight of the guards and began approaching the abyss on foot, Viola took out a mine detector and walked to the front. Surprisingly, there is none. They managed to sneak past the outpost and saw a strange facility in the distance. It is seemingly covered in white armor plate and has a chimney spewing smoke in the air. The whole facility seems like it was designed for warfare, there are many turrets scattered around that are connected to power lines and hoses which seem to be connected to some kind of engine in the facility's chimney.

"This is getting weird..." Viola mutters while looking around, trying to find anything that could help her identify the place. "Is this some kind of military facility?"

"I don't remember ever seeing it on the map..." Leanna mutters as she walks next to her, Leanna was looking around as well. They then suddenly hear a strange beast hawling from the forest, and from the direction, they can tell that it's approaching the camp. Everyone got up on the trees and observed the tree branch.

"What is that?" Leanna whispers to herself while staring at a giant creature that was about to attack the facility.

"That thing's a Wurm!" Viola quickly jumps from her perch and goes down on the ground, making everyone else follow suit and hide themselves on the ground.

"Halt! Halt!" The beast was just about to strike at the facility when several soldiers suddenly appeared out of nowhere, aiming their rifle at the beast. The twin bolter turret begins raining bullets at the beast and it seemingly damages it because of the explosions on the beast's body and the flying shards of its armor. The hot-las rain on the beast's head for a few seconds but suddenly stops as the beast let out an angry roar before charging straight towards the soldiers, causing them to panic and flee for their lives.

Minka paused for a few seconds and seemed determined on something: "We have to help them."

"Why?" Leanna asks while watching the soldiers run for their lives from the beast: "Minka, we have to go now, or we will never find another chance of getting near the abyss."

"We are doing this out of pure curiosity." Minka explains: "If we don't do something about them now, they are going to die. We will have another shot at this eventually, but if we don't act now, people are going to lose their lives." Minka then glances at Viola and Sannet with a pleading expression.

"Fine..." Viola agrees reluctantly while glancing at Sannet who just shrugs her shoulders silently.

"You..." Leanna then let out a sigh: "If you say so..." Leanna then starts having a swirling wind around her: "Let's save them."

Minka charges in first while phasing out an axe on one of her head, she's quite nimble to approach the wurm then she climbs on it and begins hitting the beast with her full might. It successfully drawed the wurm's attention and began trying to shake her off. Viola appeared with a bolt gun and began raining bullets at the beast's weak spot. And Leanna is also helping her friends by trying to fend off the attacks of the wurm on each of them. After a few more minutes Minka finally made a decent wound on the wurm and Sannet suddenly leaped on and stuck her sword in the open wound. She then began running towards its head while slicing through its body.

A sudden squirm from the wurm managed to yank off everyone from it's body and it starts charging towards them. Leanna suddenly stops phasing her wind around her while Sannet runs towards the wurm. She then dove down and began cutting up into the beast's body. Viola tried to fire her bolt gun but it was knocked out of her hand by a sudden strong blow from the beast. Even with all of its wounds, the wurm is still seemingly set to kill them. Suddenly a tail strike with overwhelming force aimed at Leanna while everyone was still focusing on its head. If the strike hits, Leanna is surely good as gone.

Minka at this last moment blocked the attack for Leanna but it sent herself flying over to a tree and cracked it with force: "Minka!" Leanna roars while seeing Minka fall unconscious on the ground. Leanna suddenly began charging in and riding on the beast, she then stuck her hand into the open wound by Minka and began utilizing her wind power. The wind created a powerful tornado inside the wurm, she then began turning her wind into blades which cut through everything in front of her, causing the beast to slow down from all the damage that was dealt to it. Soon it began to bloat and eventually explode into a bloody mess. While Leanna was in mid air. Sannet managed to catch her and both of them safely landed on the ground.

Before Leanna could even tend her own wound. She rushes towards Minka while limping on her leg: "Minka, you have to stay alive!" She then holds onto Minka's wrist and lays her flat on the ground while using her thighs as a pillow for Minka. Leanna then applies pressure on the bleeding spot on Minka's arm. Viola and Sannet also helped out by applying pressure on Leanna's leg wound until they noticed that it was just a flesh wound: "We did it."

"I know..." Leanna was panting heavily from all the effort she put into saving Minka: "You're such an idiot..." Leanna said to Minka: "But...without you... I would be the one lying here..."

Suddenly, Minka's eyelids moved for a bit and eventually she opened her eyes again: "I am so happy you're okay..." Minka grins while resisting the pain coming from all over her body.

"Do you want some pain killers?" Viola asks.

"I'll be fine... But ouch..." Minka tries to move, but Leanna stops her.

"Just stay still," Leanna whispers to her with an exasperated look: "We need to make sure that you're fine."

At this moment, a team of soldiers came over with a stretcher with them: "We will take care of her. Thank you for your help." A commissar came over and tells the soldier to put Minka on the stretcher and begin shipping her into the medical camp.

"You're going to be okay." Leanna smiles as she leans closer to Minka: "Don't worry..."

While Minka is off, the commissar then takes a look at these three: "Look, I do not like the fact that you guys are transpassing a military base, but you saved my men. And for that i will look kindly to whatever you guys are about to do. I will not include you guys into my report, so don't worry." The commissar hands over three bags with supplies for them and said: "Please follow me, i am sure that you guys have a lot of questions." He then began walking away while he turned to his men: "Get that thing out of here." He points to the wurm. The soldiers started dragging the wurm away as quickly as they could.

While sitting in the office, the commissar offered them some warm drinks and gave them some spare uniforms: "Put them on, so no one else will suspect you."

"Thanks," Leanna said while putting them on while noticing the rank insignia on their uniform and noticed that it was a sergeant: "Thank you very much!" She then got out a pad of paper and began writing down all of her questions for the sergeant: "So can I ask you some questions?"

"Of course."

"What is this camp? Why is there a production facility?"

"Well... We're not exactly sure of what we are doing here but... We were told to build some sort of production facility for whatever reason." He then let out a sigh and took off his hat: "The truth is, I think we are some kind of bait for the monsters, because technically this is a heavy fortification camp and we have drawn a lot of activities over the past few weeks. The wurm you saw is certainly one of the bigger troubles and we are barely holding on here."

"The wurm..." Leanna had a shocked look on her face.

"Yeah... You know, they were here just a few days ago and suddenly attacked us. Apparently they crawled out from the pit." The commissar then sits on a chair and places his cap on the desk before looking up at them: "This is just a theory, but maybe this pit has something to do with why they attacked us?"

"Really..." Leanna thought about what the commissar had just said while looking over at Sannet who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Hey sir... do you guys have a shower place? Because you know... we are kinda filthy..." Viola asks while wiping away some of those wurm blood off her hair.

The commissar called in a female officer and let her lead them to the female quarters to do some clean ups: "Don't worry, I will inform you guys when your friend is stabilized."

After about an hour, those three finally cleaned up and put on the local camp uniform. They then start going towards the medical camp where Minka is located, when they get in Minka greets them with a smile while waving at them: "Hey guys!"

Leanna sits beside Minka and holds her hand: "Thank you for saving me."

"Sure thing! You're welcome!" Minka beams with energy, she doesn't look like someone who was struck with a hit that's like a high speed truck.

Leanna chuckles while saying: "You're okay now right?"

"Yeah, just a few sprains, but I'll be fine... say how are we going to the abyss now?" Minka asks.

"They gave us the green light. So, don't worry." Viola says while patting her friend on her back: "Just rest, we will leave until you are rested."

"I'm already rested!" Minka answers while wincing in pain from all her bruises and cuts: "I am just bored!"

The three exchange glances before Sannet declares that she will remain with Minka. Mostly because Sannet doesn't seem tired at all after all of that, and those two are on the verge of collapsing. They then went back to their resting area. Leaving Sannet and Minka staying in the same room.

Sannet took out a book and starts reading it, she had already finished reading the first chapter. The only sound that can be heard from within that room is that of books flipping page by page. Minka is genuinely bored; she is aware that the other two have kept Sannet here because they do not want Minka to be unhealed: "Emm Sannet?"

"Yes?" Sannet raises her head and nods to Minka.

"Do you want to sneak out of here and go for a walk?" Minka asks while leaning on her pillow.

"No, you need to rest." Sannet is back to reading her book again.

"Please, I don't want to be alone. I'll be quiet, please. Let's go and have a walk..." Minka says while looking down while playing with her hair: "I don't want to be left alone in this place."

"I'll stay with you for the night, so you're not alone." Sannet ignores the plea from Minka.

Minka then slaps the table as she gets irritated: "Fine! Just leave me alone then!" She then covers her head with the blanket: "Don't wake me up until morning!"

Sannet didn't even look up while Minka was making a scene. Minka gets out of bed and tries to leave the room after about twenty seconds: "Where are you going?" Sannet asks.

"Toilet!"

"I'll go with you." Sannet grabs the book that she was reading and closes it. She puts her hands into her pockets and looks at Minka expressionless.

"You..."Minka then walks towards the toilet while looking a bit upset. Finally she had enough after hearing Sannet standing outside of her toilet stall: "I am a big girl now, so I get to make all my decisions. I don't need someone to guard my every move! I am fine!"

Sannet still has that cold expression on her face: "I know you're fine, but we all agree you need to rest." So, I will make sure that will happen." Sannet's voice sounded cold and lifeless.

Soon, Minka came out and washed her hands. She then started to wash her face with cold water, and her expression changed from angry to relaxed. She then comes out of the bathroom stall and grabs a towel to wipe her face dry before sitting on her bed while taking a deep breath: "I guess I shouldn't argue with you, because you're right. I should be more careful next time." She then looked up at Sannet: "But you really do piss me off."

"Sorry..." Sannet's voice sounded somewhat apologetic, but her expression still remained cold.

"I mean, can't I just go for a walk outside? I'm not a prisoner, and I need some fresh air." Minka then scoffed: "Fine! Don't worry!" She then tries to leave again, but Sannet still grabs her by the wrist: "What? Let me go!"

Sannet then gave Minka an icy glare while saying: "You are not allowed to leave."

"Sannet!" Minka tries to break free from Sannet's grip but is unable to do so due to her strength. She then gets pissed: "I saved Lea! "I think I deserve to go for a walk outside!"

"Minka, this is for your own good. Please try to understand. Every single one of us cares about you." Sannet said with a cold tone: "You may have a lot of power but that does not make you a hero."

"What do you mean?" Minka asks with an angry tone: "You guys have been treating me like a delicate flower ever since we first met! I can take more hits than all of you combined! Try me!"

Sannet pushes Minka onto the bed and pins her wrists together above her head, glaring at her with a menacing expression before crawling on top of her to ensure she couldn't wiggle away. Her hands were cold and stiff as if she was made out of stone: "Try me."

Minka suddenly blushed, she didn't expect Sannet would take this far. She can't even form a word in her mouth because of how embarrassed she is. She simply lays down on the bed as she closes her eyes to hide her red face from Sannet's cold expression: "S-Stop!"

"Only if you tell me that you will stay and be a good girl tonight." Sannet says with a cold expression: "If not... Then I'll keep holding you down."

Minka was still thinking about what she should say, when she was interrupted by Sannet: "Fine! I promise I'll stay!"

"No, you must repeat everything I just said to you." Sannet takes away her hands from her waist.

Minka is now blushing from embarrassment, but she still looks angry: "I will stay and be a good girl tonight..." The latter of the sentence was almost whispered out.

Sannet then let go of Minka's hands and left the position where she was on top of Minka. "Good. That's better." Sannet then went back to her seat and continued reading the book.

Minka hides the second half of her face under the blanket so that no one can see her red cheeks anymore. She's too embarrassed to face Sannet right now. It took a lot of courage to say those words. However, after thinking for a moment, she finally got over her embarrassment: "I'm sorry for my behavior."

"Don't worry about it. It was my job to take care of you." Sannet answered as she kept reading.

"I was just..." She didn't finish her words but just stopped speaking altogether: "Fine." Minka then finally closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

Sannet still read her book in silence. After a while, she finally finished the book she was reading and also closed her eyes while sitting. The lights were turned off, and only the faint glow from the street light was still visible in the room. It was dark, and the only sound was that of Sannet and Minka breathing gently in her sleep.