The cave continued to shake at irregular intervals. Nothing like the first time, but enough to force us to slow down and keep a wary eye on the walls.

Whatever the first attack was, it hasn't happened again, thankfully.

Despite how jagged it is, it's quite wide, giving us plenty of room, but it is tapering off...

I just need to find a good spot.

Pursing my lips, I continued to rush up the incline and look back every few moments to make sure Rena was keeping up.

She's breathing quite heavily, but she'll have to put up with it. The faster we are, the better.

I turned back to the interface but threw it aside.

I don't have the faculties to look over another skill right now.

At that thought, the floor abruptly levelled out, and I slowed to a halt. Several directions made themselves apparent, but only one stood out to me.

I smiled, seeing the outline of a crystalline protrusion far down one of the paths ahead; its colour was an unexpected pinkish red, however, its shape was unmistakable.

Looking at the direction of the soul-tether, this should definitely be around the right area—we're getting close.

We approached fast.

A strange scent hung thickly in the air, pushing me to slow down and adjust.

Vile.

My breathing subconsciously slowed in an attempt to reduce my exposure to the disgusting scent.

I noticed Rena's eyes poking out from above her wing as she used it as a mask, her gaze tepidly gazing at the crystal.

Hah, maybe she's complaining inwardly but acknowledging there's nothing we can do.

I spun back around, left wondering why wings are so much more useful than I originally wanted to give them credit for, but said nothing and continued forward through the eye-watering smell.

The crystal protruded from another room, and a dim megenta glow followed close behind, colouring the floor and walls with a subtly invitational presence that contrasted the sickly atmosphere.

Rena tugged on my sleeve, and I moved my finger to my lips while nodding to the side.

I assume that was a warning, since she can't be certain that I can hear properly anymore... as we found out outside. Luckily, though, my ears seem to be healing.

A subtle sound, which I can't exactly discern, came from within. I hugged the wall as tightly as I could without being stabbed and craned my neck to listen. I filtered out the coarse static rumbling in my ears, attempting to create a vague image of what was inside.

I would have just rushed in, but the smell is worrying me for some reason.

Perhaps it's just the crystals cracking apart from the shockwaves passing through the ground... But, no.

Somebody began to rummage through something... A pack of vials or tools maybe. It's like the sound of perfectly formed glass bouncing against each other, almost like two magnets falling through the air.

I was wary, but the frustration evident in the noise gave me more confidence, so I carefully poked one eye around the corner, only to find myself surprised.

Like plants burrowing through concrete, the large expanse of glowing crystals protruded from every surface, yet my eyes didn't linger for long on the whole image.

The only thing alien in the room is exactly as I thought—not the magnets, but the vials. Vials full of a pinkish-white mixture. Spontaneous hues of purple would spring forth inside, and the glass would vibrate in place, almost threatening to crack at any moment.

However, I didn't think too hard about it. What pulled my attention aside was the Demon frantically chipping away at the crystals, collecting the fragments in his palm, and dropping them into a strange acidic-looking mixture; when they dissolved, it was like an alkaline substance had been thrown in, and the concoction radically stabilised with a sizzling, bubbling burst of gas.

The source of this rancid smell?

Wait... That Demon....

It's him, the one with the weird name I can't remember. It was quite funny, but he's just too forgettable. Pretty sure he hated me, but I didn't really care enough to think about him; I can't really blame myself.

I'm confident he won't be a problem, but what exactly do those potions do?

I want to believe that something made so easily can't do anything significant, but I don't want to assume reality is that convenient; besides, I'm getting a strange feeling from it. I want to avoid it, yet hoard it.

How weird, and I don't know why.

Tch, I don't want to use any more mana than what's neccessary here; how should I approach? Just rush him?

Hm...

To Rena's confusion, I slipped off my rather flimsy-looking footwear; they're quite ruined anyway.

I gestured to her to stay put by holding my hand flat and ushering to the ground.

She didn't say anything but seemed to understand, or at least she didn't look confused in any way.

Gingerly, I moved forward on all fours.

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It must have looked strange with this large frame, and to be frank, I'm a little embarrassed, but it's the best way I know of to use my [Stealth] skill.

I discreetly scuffled across the floor and hid myself behind a large crystal; only slight pertubations of the dust could potentially give away my position—but this guy doesn't seem that keen-eyed.

Fortunately, the room was chaotically packed, and the colour made the crystals opaque.

The Demon was far too preoccupied with his task and only moved from nearest crystal to nearest crystal, chipping away at the topmost point with the darkest shade of magenta, almost purple.

Suddenly, a sharp clap sounded in the room, and the cave shook violently.

I stumbled, and the demon shrieked. He dove atop the vials like a mother bird protecting her nest. Several crystals blew apart and shattered against the ground, scattering violet chunks throughout the expanse.

I moved to avoid a projectile, and our eyes locked onto each other as the chaos died down.

He looked stunned but reacted quickly upon recognising me as an Angel.

I thought the potions were extremely important to him, but he didn't hesitate to roughly grasp several at once and toss them at me.

I went to jump back but stepped on a shard of crystal and lost my footing. Recovering and getting away would have taken only a moment more, but shockingly, Rena lunged in from the side, slashing at the glass in the air with her sword. The bottle shattered and its contents dispersed into the air, but she didn't slow down, directly rushing into the liquid without regard for the danger.

"W-what are you doing?!"

Completely bewildered by her actions, I shouted at her.

Even the Demon let go of his advantage upon seeing the apparent idiotic display.

The other potions fell to the ground, and their contents sizzled against the rock like cold water poured onto a hot pan.

Torn between two actions, I moved on instinct, rushing past Rana and grasping the Demon by the head. He wailed as I tore him by the scalp—away from his vials—and violently slammed him into the ground in a short burst of movement.

His cries died in his throat as his muscles and lungs constricted from the impact; some of his bones probably shattered as well.

I spun around to see Rena's back facing me, but I could clearly see her hand firmly pressed against one of the crystals in front of her. She didn't seem to notice anything around her at all.

Bewildered, I rushed forward and pulled her back by the shoulder.

The words then died in my throat.

Her already normally vibrant eyes glowed with a deep, ethereal purple. Energy seemed to drift from her irises like soft vapour hugging a calm water surface, and as I searched for further effects of the potion, I spotted the lingering pink traces of fluid still hugging her skin; however, a moment later, it vanished like a cream melting into the body.

My gaze moved to her arm. It was beneath her skin, pulled along by the veins in her arms. Seconds passed, and it visibly dispersed until it became invisible.

I can't do anything. There's not even anything to heal.

I swallowed dryly as the glow in her eyes dimmed greatly.

Visibly, she became aware of her surroundings and looked herself over. She turned over her hands, and her eyes traced the length of her arms.

I took a step towards her, and she looked up at me in surprise.

"Why did you do that? How stupid! We have no idea what it even does."

Her breathing became more rapid.

"I- I"

She swallowed, and her voice cracked.

Suddenly becoming aware of how tall I was, I took a step back and tried to forget the look that briefly crossed her face.

She grabbed her forearm and looked away before opening her mouth again.

"I'm sorry, I just felt... I'm not sure. Pulled by it. I could ignore it, but when he threw those potions at you, I wanted to help. Then I just moved..."

A weazed cough came from behind me, but I ignored it.

Compelled huh... I'm not much different.

I sighed.

"Well, you seem fine."

For now...

She looked around at the other crystals warily, still grasping her arm, before turning back to me.

The violet light delicately bounced off of her downtrodden face.

"It's this guy's fault then. Just tell me if you feel anything strange."

"Okay."

I nodded and turned to the Demon lying on the floor.

I'm not sure if he can't speak or just doesn't want to, but regardless, he's listening quite intently. What is he doing? Trying to see the results despite his situation?

Suddenly unsheathing my blade, I thrust it down against his left arm, directly bisecting it, and then stomped onto his right.

Blood shot out of his mouth in a sudden spurt, and his face contorted into a horrified mixture of expressions; he couldn't stop his limbs from flailing against the ground like some animal on the verge of death, and his mouth opened wide as if desperate to share his pain with the world.

That desperation worked its way into his eyes as they moved from inquisitive to terrified.

Not a noise was made; I just watched him, my other foot planted on his neck to shut him up, and only a voiceless stream of air left his mouth.

Lifting my foot away, a gravelly, distraught voice entered my ears.

"What are..."

Without warning, I swung my hand into the side of his face. His cheek split open, and blood poured out. He tried to groan but choked on his own teeth, causing him to hack up a cough.

I picked him up by his clothes and rested him against one of the crystals.

Blood dribbled down from his mouth and poured from his arm while he groaned from the pain of being tossed around.

Tearing away some cloth, I tied it around his arm stump to stop the bleeding—he didn't even try to attack me with his now-free arm; instead, he just looked at me strangely and fearfully.

More clarity returned to his eyes, and he looked at both me and Rena in turn; his eyes narrowed when he saw her face.

I knelt down and swiftly pulled up one of the vials, holding it in front of his face.

"What is this?"

This body gave my voice a unique harshness that I managed to channel in this moment; it forced his attention over to me.

"My... my only chance."

Swallowing some blood, he continued before I could berate him for speaking in riddles.

"These crystals are usually useless, and their energy can't be diluted or compressed..."

A conflicted look crossed his face, but resignation soon set in for him; more than anything, he looked like he wanted to be recognised, and it didn't take much to get him to speak.

"This outpost... it's the only one built beneath a bed of these crystals. None copied us since they disrupted long-distance magic, but there was an unknown side effect..."

I watched as a grossly prideful smile elongated across his face, and my foot started impatiently tapping against the ground.

Couldn't he just get to the point... I'm not going to hit him again though; something tells me that this might be the fault of my [λ-Pride] title to some extent as well.

"Get to the point."

Still, I ushered him on, and his bloodied smile widened before suddenly falling away into one of lethargy, like the situation he was in had just caught up in his mind.

"The others just assumed the ambient energy of the source fruit bleached the colour away from the crystals. It's actually able to compress the energy inside them."

He spat some blood onto the ground.

"You can see it all collecting at the ends... The higher the density, the greater its strength."

"What does it do?"

I cut in and pointed at the crystal.

"I thought it was an accelerant... but she's thrown that out the window."

He turned to look at Rena.

"Eheh, is that freak just as much of a calamity for you as ours was- HAHAHA"

His cough was laced with spit and mirth, and a cold glint flashed in my eye.

Before he could say anything more, I kicked his face into the crystal, and his body immediately crumpled into a lifeless heap.

Perhaps he thought we had some kind of common ground and saw the potential for survival; unfortunately, he was talking to 'that freak'.

"I- I wasn't upset by it."

Rena seemed startled by my sudden action.

I turned to look at her, but she didn't meet my gaze; she had obviously heard what he said but chose to keep her thoughts to herself.

In her eyes, I attacked him because he insulted her... It might have been rash, but I didn't want him to mention me at all.

With a wave of my hand, a swirl of emerald energy encompassed the vials, and I sent them over to the edge of my inner-world.

Well, whatever—I'll have to figure it out later.

If he was so deranged as to stay behind and collect as much as he could, then they must be extremely useful and not simply dangerous...

Accelerant... She's still the same, so it doesn't seem to have a strong effect on Angels at least.

Hah, this has taken too long; we need to speed up.