Perhaps if the Spartan had not been gifted his abilities, he would find such a situation concerning. After all, a group of eighteen monsters that had unknown abilities and had located them was something most people would be concerned about. These had to have some sort of special ability like some of the others he had encountered, especially when they were able to navigate their way around these foggy areas.
This would be an annoyance to deal with, but not impossible. He could easily take care of this, especially when he had access to his divinity. With his powers, such a battle was nothing more than a formality at this state. He ran through the calculations required to strike at each of these monsters, getting the pathing and the positioning right.
Then he struck. His spear slammed into one of the monster’s heads, destroying it utterly. They all reacted accordingly by jumping back and looking around to try to see what on earth had killed their ally. Such an action would not be able to save them at all, as the rest of the strikes kept on coming and ripping through their skulls.
They tried to run away. The Spartan did not let a single one of them escape. They tried rushing towards him and his associate. They didn’t get the chance to get a single step forward. Not a single chance was given for them to predict any of his attacks to dodge. They stood there and died instantly. Upon realizing there was no hope of escape, the rest of them gave up trying to survive and allowed him to end their lives without much struggle.
All that remained of the mass that had formed was a giant pile of dust and bones that scattered themselves across the ground. With that squadron taken out, he went ahead and deactivated his divinity. He stood there for a while, before taking several deep breaths and scowling as a slight pain began to settle across his arms.
That was one reason why he didn’t like to use his powers too much. They were strong, but overwhelmingly so. The backlash got worse the more energy he spent on using his divinity, and thus made him have to be cautious about the usage. He didn’t like using his powers so frequently and he would much prefer to keep it as a hidden weapon, especially when he had such a limited pool of energy to draw from.
In any case, the two of them had to get out of here. That yelp might have attracted even more monsters to start converging on their location. In any case, they would definitely need to get inside one of the nearby buildings to wait out the incoming storm.
He looked back at the Crusader, who at least had the courtesy to be embarrassed over his slight mishap. The man at least realized what had just occurred with his incessant yelping and looked ready to apologize. He was probably going to ramble and start begging for forgiveness until the Spartan lifted a hand and looked him dead in the eyes.
“This can wait until we’re in a safe position.”
His associate looked surprised at his statement. He stood there for a few seconds, ready to say something. His associate looked surprised at his statement. He stood there for a few seconds, ready to say something.
Then he shut his mouth as they heard the echoes of movement, loud and cluttered to the point that both of them were aware of what was to come. At that moment, they both scrambled towards the nearest building to seek shelter before they were mobbed by the incoming swarm.
They didn’t get the chance to look at the exterior decorations nor care about whether this place was secure. No, what was important was that they left the area as fast as possible and repositioned themselves to have better defense.
The Spartan checked the door and found that there was nothing barring their path. He swung the door open, but not hard enough to create any noise. No, he did so as efficiently as possible to avoid any loud sounds and to maintain their stealth.
With that done, the two of them snuck in and he closed the door behind them. With some safety behind them, they took the chance to relax a little bit and to explore this structure. What they found was the remnants of a restaurant that had the kitchen and the dining room combined.
There were several wooden tables that had empty bowls and cups scattered across with utensils stabbed on top of the surface. Chairs were strewn about haplessly that were done with the clear intent to get up and run away, but all the skeletons on the ground showed how effective that strategy was.
The kitchen itself had numerous iron cooking tools, ranging from pots and pans to giant cleavers and forks. There were several small piles of dust scattered across the floor of this area with mold growing in huge clumps all around the white wooden block that separated the sitting area from the cooking range.
The good news was that there was no fog present in this room. That could be attributed to the bronze lamp fixtures that hung on the ceiling. The blue faded light that emanated from the hanging bowls brought a good amount of illumination, so much so that it seemed as if the sun itself was shining its light directly into the restaurant.
There were also stairs that led up to a second floor, though the Spartan couldn’t get a good luck up to get a grasp of the area. For the time being, this place could serve as a temporary safe house while they waited for the swarm outside to disperse. Though, all the rampant noise and screaming definitely made that goal a far away dream.
The two of them getting away was the best possible solution for everything that could have happened. Already, the loud noises were getting even more chaotic as there were louder footsteps and even infighting starting to ignite all across the streets.
There were no signs of things becoming calmed at that point. He couldn’t help but scowl at the news, but that was what he had to deal with. At this current waypoint, the only means to get away from the whole situation would be simply to keep hiding until the mess sorted itself out.
Which meant maintaining their stealth. While they could continue hunkering down here in the restaurant, there was the second floor that was still available for exploration. They could check up there to see if there were any amenities they could utilize for the time being to wait out the storm and if his hunch was right, then there would probably be some furnished bedrooms to accommodate travelers.
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Though, he had to be safe. He activated his divinity for a few seconds to scan the second floor for any possible moving figures. Thankfully, there was nothing hiding upstairs and thus they could move onwards without much concern.
He turned to the Crusader and pointed two fingers up, before aiming them at the stairs and used his fingers to mimic walking up the steps. His associate nodded and the two of them sneaked upwards to find themselves looking down a hallway with four rooms available.
Inspecting them gave results that he had expected. Each of these rooms were well furnished, with a small table that had one of those lamp fixtures, albeit this time having the bowl on top of three pegs. There was a decently sized bed that had an actual mattress lined with cotton and a thick cloth blanket that covered up a few pillows. There were even chests within these rooms that could possibly contain something, though there was always the possibility that there was a trap within.
Either case, they had shelter now. A perfect safe house for the upcoming battles that would come within this town. Though, there still remained the concern for water and food to secure.
He doubted he’d find any of those small creatures around here, and water was going to be incredibly difficult considering the lack of water sources nearby. He hadn’t been able to find any wells within this town, and thus they were at a conundrum.
The simple way to get out of that would be to drink blood, but that was something he knew for a fact the Crusader would be heavily against. After all, the man had such a weak stomach that he doubted he’d even be open to the idea of biting down into a living animal, even if that meant life or death.
And speaking of his associate…
He turned around and gave him a stern look. His associate jolted at his stare, not sure of what could have prompted such a reaction. At least, until the Spartan whispered at him with clear annoyance riddled in his voice.
“You had your apology to say, no?”
The Crusader jolted. He swallowed and looked down at the ground, thrown off by the change in tone. He closed his eyes and then looked up at his partner.
“I’m sorry about that. I should have been more vigilant.”
“More vigilant?”
Does he not realize that the whole reason for his moment of panic was all because he was being far too paranoid and vigilant? I can’t believe this, he’s so bullheaded that he can’t even realize what he has done wrong. What is this?
“Yes. It is because of my moment of weakness that–”
“No, that is not what happened. You focused too hard on keeping an eye out and forgot about my existence. You panicked because you were so terrified of your surroundings that you let this place get to you.”
“I can’t help it,” he said softly, “This town, this cursed hamlet, is forcing me to stay on edge. The fog makes everything dangerous, and I couldn’t help myself. You surprised me and at that moment I couldn’t hold myself back.”
“I understand that, but why on earth did you have to cry out like a woman?”
“It was an act of surprise! It wasn’t meant to sound like that!” The Crusader hissed as he leaned in forward, “Even you have to admit that this place is quite cursed! The way everything is twisted and wrong would make anyone keep an eye out no matter what!”
“I’m not arguing about keeping an eye out, but I am upset about how you succumbed to your fear and let your wits escape you.” The Spartan said firmly, yet with a soft tone, “You have to understand that while being cautious is a good thing, you went too far and allowed yourself to be weak for that single moment. Such a thing would have meant your death on a battlefield.”
His associate opened his mouth to reply, but nothing could come out. Slowly but surely, he sagged and allowed himself to go down onto the ground, almost as though he was defeated by such a revelation. With that, he sighed and looked up.
“Then what am I supposed to do? I can’t simply cut off my fears just like that.”
“You might need to take some rest. Perhaps the events of today have merely weighed on your mind,” the Spartan replied, “It’s been quite a day.”
“I see.” The Crusader said softly as he got up and leaned onto the wall next to one of the rooms, “Perhaps a good night’s rest is what I truly need to get my head back in the game.”
“Mayhaps.”
He nodded at that, before making some steps forward to the bedroom. He got to the doorway before stopping and looking back at the Spartan.
“Though, I am concerned about one thing. What are we going to do about food and water? There weren’t any good sources around here.”
True, that was a good concern to have. What are we supposed to do about that? Well, there are a few things that we could do, but well… let’s try to be optimistic about this.
“Let’s wait for a while. Perhaps we’ll get lucky, and the fog will dissipate after some time, though I suspect we’ll need to scout around for a well and food.”
“Maybe.” The Crusader nodded, at least until a loud roar and the noise of heavy crashing erupted from the streets. The two of them turned quickly towards the walls that act as the barrier between them and the outside world, before easing up and groaning.
“Great. I don’t think there’ll be any changes with that anytime soon.”
“Again, all we can really do is wait.” The Spartan replied as he headed inside one of the rooms, “For now, get some rest. We can reconvene after we wake up and figure out another plan from there.”
“I– yes.” He nodded at that sheepishly, before going inside the room. “Then I’ll see you after our rest.”
“Good.”
And with that, the two of them went inside their respective rooms. The Spartan sighed as he took off his armaments and set them aside the wall. He then allowed himself to remove all his armor before sitting on the bed.
How soft and flexible this mattress was! The blankets were certainly well tailored and made for pure satisfaction and before long, he found himself laying down with ease. He could feel the exhaustion hit him as he sank into this squishy bed and allowed himself to become one with the furniture.
And thus he dozed off, the sounds of fighting and havoc still echoing throughout the building. The best kind of lullaby for a good night’s rest.