In an instant, the black abyss from before, was replaced with the gentle swaying of trees, and warm orange sunlight that broke through the shade. Olivia stared up at the sky, her mind still fresh with shock. As the sun slowly set, and the moon began to rise, Olivia thought of only one thing.

"Did I... Fail?"

She thought about it for a moment before laughing the idea off. Quickly standing up, Olivia began trying to convince herself that she didn't fail.

"I was just snuck up on. If that clown guy didn't suddenly appear, I totally would've won!" Olivia said, puffing up her chest a bit.

Her justifications weren't needed however, as nobody was even around for her to justify to. Finding the silence lonely, Olivia began exploring the forest she had dropped in.

Her journey was... Very lonely. There were no signs of life for miles. It was just her, and the trees. For a person who prided herself in her sociability, not having anyone around her was hell. For 30 straight minutes, she walked all over the forest searching for just one person.

"Please I don't even care if it's a Fester! If nobody sees me, do I even exist?!" Olivia thought, slowly losing her mind.

Running deeper and deeper into the woods, Olivia eventually stumbled on a figure. A grin spread across her face, before sprinting in their direction. Reaching her hand out to grab them, Olivia made a rather unsightly face.

"Finally... I found another person"

Her victim slowly turned his head to face her, a look of horror filling his face. In an instant, the poor man fainted, falling to the ground unceremoniously.

Olivia stared at the unconscious man for a few seconds, before panicking. She quickly tried shaking him awake, however the man did not wake up.

"Wait no don't die on me!!!" Olivia yelled, shaking the man violently.

Her violent shaking caused the man's head to hit a tree, jolting him awake. He blinked groggily a few times, before his attention returned back to Olivia.

"Thank goodness you're alive!" Olivia said, sounding extremely happy.

Olivia smiled widely, relieved that she didn't accidentally kill an innocent man. Though in the man's POV, all he saw was the cruel grin of an insane woman. Her face almost made him pass out again, but she slapped him before he could close his eyes.

"You better not fall unconscious again. I've been alone for 30 fucking minutes..." Olivia said, holding his shoulders tightly.

The man shook his head vigorously, before meekly asking her to release him. Olivia blinked a few times before letting him go.

"O- oh right... Sorry about that" Olivia said, sounding a bit embarrassed.

The man laughed awkwardly, before suddenly looking sad. Olivia's guilt only doubled after seeing the face he made, thinking that she was the reason he was upset.

"H- hey sorry okay! I... I was just super lonely" Olivia explained, fidgeting with his fingers.

The man looked at her with an "are you really serious right now" look, before eventually sighing.

"It's fine... It's not entirely your fault anyway" the man said, looking away.

Olivia tilted her head, curious as to what he meant. She began pressuring him to tell her, which made him even more uncomfortable.

"C- could you please just give me space! I just saw my entire team get wiped out! I'm not in a good headspace..." the man said, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples.

Olivia perked up a bit after learning of that fact.

"Crap... Now I look like an asshole don't I?" Olivia thought to herself, laughing awkwardly.

She began sweating profusely as she tried to come up with other topics to change the subject.

"Um... So... Uh.... Why can't I think of anything else to say?!" Olivia whined, her embarrassment reaching it maximum.

Seeing Olivia panic, made the man chuckle a bit.

"Hey don't laugh at my pain!" Olivia whined.

The man apologised before rubbing the back of his head.

"I actually really needed that... Thanks" the man said, sounding grateful.

Olivia's whining quickly turned into smugness after hearing that. She encroached on his personal space, as she began praising herself.

"Well of course, I'm the best comforter in the world! My brother Oliver can attest to that!" Olivia said, an extremely smug expression on her face.

Hearing the name Oliver made the man perk up slightly, before grabbing Olivia's shoulders.

"Wait you're his sister?" The man asked.

"Oliver's? Yeah. I've been stuck with him since the womb" Olivia retorted.

The man breathed a sigh of relief before laying his back against a tree.

"Thank goodness... You see I'm actually his squad mate. My name is Roland Arguile!" The man introduced himself.

Olivia introduced herself as well, before asking why he was so relieved to know she was Oliver's sister.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Roland began rubbing his left arm as he looked at his feet.

"Something terrible happened in the west... Everything was going so smoothly, but out of nowhere this masked guy appeared. Right before we could destroy the second nest core, that man fed something to the fester, and made it evolve. And after that... was like hell on earth. So... so many people died. So many of my friends... my superiors... they died. I barely managed to escape alive... But there are still people trapped in the west that monster. Even if I'm a coward... I can't just let them die like that! So... Please take me to Oliver!" Roland begged.

Hearing that he wanted to meet Oliver, Olivia raised one of her eyebrow. Why Oliver of all people? Sure he was his squad mate, but why did he want to see Oliver specifically.

"That's sad and all... But why Oliver of all people?" Olivia asked, crossing her arms

Roland's face turned red before suddenly fidgeting with his fingers.

"It might sound a bit weird... But he promised us that he'd look out for us... So a reliable guy like that... I think would be the best choice to save the day" Roland said, looking a bit determined.

Olivia paused for a moment, tapping her fingers on her forearm. She didn't like it... But hearing that made Olivia feel a bit worthless.

"He's so reliable now... No... He's always been reliable. I've just been holding him back haven't I?" Olivia dropped her arms, before clenching her fist.

Roland noticed her balled fist, asking if she was alright. Olivia only shrugged, before scanning him up and down. While thinking about his story, a few things were off about it. Firstly, Roland didn't look like the survivor type. His messy dark purple hair told her he cared little about his own self-care. On top of his scrawny build and timid demeanor, things weren't adding up.

"So a big bad event happened and it just so happens that you're the only one who escaped alive. On top of that, you say you barely managed to get out alive, yet you're completely unscathed? You really expect me to believe that?" Olivia crossed her arms.

Roland looked at her with shock, and a hint of betrayal in his eyes.

"H- huh? What? Why would you think I was lying?" Roland asked, taking a step back.

Olivia glared at him, before rolling her eyes. Taking out her attachment unit, she quickly slashed at him, expecting him to dodge. Instead, Roland stood still, completely frozen in fear. Seeing this, Olivia curved her blade at the last moment, causing the tree behind him to be cut in half instead.

Roland stared blankly at Olivia, before eventually snapping out of his shook. He immediately called her out as he began consoling himself.

"You could've killed me!" Roland said, tearing up a bit.

Olivia looked a bit guilty as she put her katana away, though she wouldn't admit it.

"I was just testing you... It's just that your story was super unbelievable. How can a scrawny guy like you manage to escape an area where a disaster class Fester was just born?" Olivia asked.

Roland lowered his head, before clenching his fist.

"A teammate... He sacrificed his life for me. If he didn't jump into battle, I wouldn't have been able to make a run for it..." Roland said, his voice was shaky.

Olivia's gaze softened before looking away.

"How noble... He sounded like a good man" Olivia commented, looking at her blade.

Roland nodded, before explaining how cool his teammate looked when he saved him.

"Sebastian Alabaster really is super cool! He jumped in with his rapier and began fighting the Fester! I didn't really get to see much since I was busy running away..." Roland exclaimed.

Hearing that name, the respect Olivia had completely went down the drain.

"Sebastian? Sacrifice himself? That bastard wouldn't do that... He probably wanted to get all the glory himself, so he jumped into battle thinking he would win" Olivia said, sounding disgusted.

Roland laughed awkwardly, though he couldn't deny what Olivia said. In all the time he had known Sebastian, Roland figured he was a glory addicted asshole who only thought about getting promotions.

"That does sound like him now that I think about it... But I still owe him my life..." Roland retorted.

Olivia paused for a while before sighing and crossing her arms.

"There's no way that bastard is dead..." Olivia commented.

Roland tilted his head, before asking what Olivia meant. Pausing for a moment, she began looking at her nails.

"This isn't the first mission where the C and A squadrons have worked together. In that time I've seen the kind of man Sebastian is..." Olivia said.

"And that is...?" Roland asked.

Looking dead in Roland's eyes, she scrunched her nose a bit.

"A lucky bastard who doesn't know when to quit"

Coughing up blood, the blonde haired investigator slowly pulled himself over to a nearby wall. Laying his back against it, he held the deep wound in his stomach. Rummaging through his pockets, he pulled out a vile of red liquid. He looked at it with hesitation, before eventually drinking the whole thing in one go. The taste was incredibly bitter, but its effects were quick. A stinging pain enveloped his stomach area, a sign that his body was trying to close up his wound.

"Shit... This hurts so fucking much.... But at least I'm not dead yet..." Sebastian thought, before coughing up blood.

He quickly covered his mouth, the blood that was expelled staining his black leather gloves. Gritting his teeth, he threw the glove away in anger.

"Damnit I spend so much on that too! Why the hell did this happen... No... How the hell did this happen?" Sebastian thought to himself.

[An hour ago]

Reaching the centre of the Fester nest, the investigators breathed a sigh of relief after finding the core dormant. It beat and pulsated like a living heart, yet it looked like nothing naturally living. More like a tumour growing from the earth.

Gathering everyone's attention with a snap of his fingers, the plain looking bearded squad captain, Paul, informed the group that they would be taking a momentary rest.

"It would be better to fight this thing at full strength. So do whatever you want, I'm getting a smoke..." Paul exclaimed, sounding a bit exhausted.

"Yes sir!" They all responded in unison.

While the other investigators were busy splitting off from the group, or resting their feet under nearby trees, Sebastian was the only one to stay behind and observe the core. Paul noticed this strange behaviour, approaching Sebastian to ask him about it.

Upon being asked, Sebastian scrunched his nose as he looked down on Paul. He scanned the man head to toe before scooting a few inches away, as if repulsed.

"Obviously low rate trash like you wouldn't get it... While it's true that we should fight this thing at full strength, we shouldn't be acting like we're on some vacation. Notice how all these guys are lazing about? Some of them even separated from the group entirely. So tell me, what are we supposed to do, when this thing eventually wakes up, and nobody is here to warn the others?" Sebastian explained, an air of arrogance in his voice.

To an everyman like Paul, Sebastian's high class prejudice was degrading to go through, however he did have a point. With how things were going, the group would be easily susceptible to a sneak attack.

"I guess you're right..." Paul rubbed the back of his head.

"Of course I'm right" Sebastian said quickly, pulling out a poker chip from his breast pocket.

Seeing the item, Paul smirked. Stroking his beard, Paul asked if Sebastian was a gambler. Although it was meant as a joke, Sebastian seemed to get quite upset by the question.

"Gambler? Yeah I guess you can say that..." Sebastian said, his dark green eyes focusing on the chip.

Paul sighed before taking out a cigarette.

"Kids shouldn't have vices you know, otherwise you'll end up like this old man" Paul commented, lighting his cigarette with his lighter shaped attachment unit.

Sebastian rolled his eyes before putting his hands in his pockets. Staring up at the sleeping core, Sebastian lamented.

"How can it be a vice, when you were born doing it?" Sebastian retorted. His voice was so cold, it sounded like he was stating a fact.

Seeing the solemnly look in Sebastian's eyes, Paul felt drained. How could he, an adult, let a child end up like this? Taking a drag, Paul put his arm over Sebastian before ruffling his hair. Turning to glare at Paul, Sebastian asked why he did such a thing.

"It's nothing... You just remind me of a kid I used to know... But that kid died a long time ago. Now he's being paid minimum wage in return for his sacrificing life..." Paul commented.

Sebastian grimaced before putting his hands in his pockets and walking away.

"Don't ever do that again. Getting my hair styled costs more than what you make in a year" Sebastian exclaimed.

Paul yawned in response, making Sebastian even more furious.

"I'll kill you one day you hear!"

Half an hour had passed since then. The investigators all huddled up near the core with their hearts full of vigor. Before the battle truly began, Paul walked over to the front lines, to explain the plan one more time.

"Now listen you lil shits. We're going to kill this thing as fast as humanly possible. The faster we kill it, the less chances it will have to evolve into a disaster. If it reaches that stage then... Well, you've all written your wills right?" Paul said, a dark look in his eyes.

The investigators perked up in fear, forcing Paul to explain that it was a joke.

"Honestly kids these days don't have a sense of humour... I blame TV. Now then, are you all ready?" Paul asked.

"Yes sir!" They all shouted.

Smiling a bit, Paul turned his attention over to the core. Flicking open his attachment unit, the small lighter became two gauntlets that were set ablaze. He smashed his fists together before giving the final signal.

"Let's do some garden work!"