Chapter 101

Dreadus secured a treasure of a lifetime that was made up of many difficulties, flows, and unknown factors. It was also a huge relief because it existed, and some missions didn't end in vain. The past deaths did their work for nothing, sure, but they did not come off as slacking.

It all came back to nibble at one fortunate bastard. For how long were they looking at the wrong corners or... was everything from the very beginning hidden and gained its first opening because of one curious timing? Or was that a mistake? That unknown girl might've always been a key living here, and no one got it.

Dreadus felt he was lucky and unlucky at the same time because this wasn't clever, or easy at all. How much time did the Federation waste in their endeavors, and how much did Australia help? Well, the decades spent was one thing, while Australia could never possibly change.

How many reasons were there to look for something strange, hidden, and so out of touch? In a freaking Australia of all things; in a bloody Holy Land?! Just how much sense was dwelling over this madness wasn't under Dreadus's mind. Frankly, he was strong enough to call himself lucky and uncaring enough to accept it. He didn't care how many years and wastes of time happened because it shouldn't matter too much to him.

He was here, and he had it. That was enough and simple, yet part of something he couldn't figure out in the slightest. Some unknown factors were simple to imagine because no one was ever shameless and close at the same time. However, one fact stood above the rest; the girl he met was an oddity among many questionable circumstances as well as the ''owner'' of that crazy crystal.

Was she the reason or the cause for the Federation's failure? How far did this go? Dreadus was thinking about many things after watching over this mission. She was like an unwilling guest who appeared out of the blue, and she was also the unknown and important part of this whole thing.

After all, who was she, or how did she arrive at this place in one piece and survive for....well, almost a decade? That might be more questionable than that cave as a whole, while something else bugged him even more. That water. Then, there were those mountains no longer hiding anything, or creating many strange rumors and works.

Holy Land was no more in the Coban Region, and some things and people won't like it for sure.

Dreadus could work with that and didn't care about it even more, for he had the best excuse he could give to anyone and anything. Being in the middle of Coban Region, he knew doubts were better for later, if not up to him at all. He wasn't sure what he drove, met, or saw, but he crashed this Holy Land because he could and done what he had to do.

It was a stupid choice back then. He wasn't even aware of that water or its crystal, yet he trashed this whole place regardless. He saw that girl and the crazy Creature. Then, he moved because there was no way to do something else than run because of that girl. The rest was around him, crashed and quenched like his fists.

Fights against the Holy Lands were an ongoing effort that was either done intentionally or through countless strategic moves. This Region was off-limits in some regards, but this mission was here for special reasons, even if this Holy Land wasn't under many essential eyes. Calling it neutral and holy was almost glorious from many perspectives, for there were no nests or Fogs in sight. It was just heavy. Very heavy and grave.

And with a girl around of all beings, surrounded, alive, and living for years as... what? After she showed him that water, Dreadus knew that that thing couldn't stay here. Nothing could.

The unnamed girl whom he took under his care was hesitating on her feet. She was still afraid to lose her life or watch the shattered mountains and hills of her former home. Unfortunate as it might be, her home was no home. It was terrible imprisonment of mind. It wasn't even a physical issue. Well, that was false. She was visibly perplexed and anxious to move on, take this loss, and see the end of this place.

She was cuffed in a cage that was open and free, yet the walls or the surroundings were still around her in a different form. Her eyes made her anxiety notable for those clever enough. Dreadus was clueless about how to approach her, let alone take her existence for what it could be, or his self-doubts and hesitation came off as his defensive mechanism.

For him, she seemed the same as he met her. Her long black hair was messy, her eyes hiding under some strands of her hair, and be it her clothes or her feelings, she was a giant mystery to him.

Perhaps she was lost in hopes and time of this place or prison, slowly changing, or being like this for the sake of her survival. It not only latched on her on a physical level, but her mentality linked and created something hard to solve. She couldn't have done it out of nowhere. This had been with her for years and years, and Dreadus had nothing to scoff at it. It wasn't clever. He couldn't forget her either.

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

For a little one to do this, there was no way she was normal. Was it Benjamin in some way? If so, this stunk of some bad news and terrifying consequences. How far Dreadus wanted to put his mind onto the reasons wasn't essential. Who would even think putting a child into such circumstances? Some people could for sure and he didn't want to think that far or close. So.... Darks?

Some suspicions came into his mind as Dreadus stood with the unknown girl back on the surface and not in that cave. Vern and Vera extracted what they had to after hours of work that would shatter a city if it weren't for Dreadus and his heavy lifting. They increased the entrance a bit more, pushing that crystal out with the use of their ethereal flow that the girl didn't take lightly.

It was her eyes and face that made her odd, while her acts seemed restrained when she saw them do... that. They stole it, sizzled and shone in a light of stars, and bewitched that she never took lightly. She was shaking, yet she loved how Vern and Vera became stars and started to influence the surroundings and her cave as if they become the sky.

Vera was a Gravity Elementalist. She had all sorts of mental moves, powerful psychic power, and the ability to lock and move things at incredible spaces and weights. Vern was an Ice Elementalist. Both were at Rank 6 with closing forty years of age, though they didn't look old.

Anyone sane would pivot the age factor to Vera, who was youthful and pretty for her age if it weren't for her ice look. Anyone would call them adults closing in their thirties. Together, they were known as Gravice Duo who could fuse their powers and create and manage two kinds of Arcana types within their System and Emblems, ensuring their powers would get elevated and strengthened.

Vern stabilized the significance around the Gravity that Vera handled. She was creating a self-sufficient space bubble around the crystal, and Vern ensured nothing would leak by turning her Gravity into a mix of space and walls, appearing like ice and see-through matter that shined in many ways.

It was a difficult job because they could tell what insanity they were moving, yet they never questioned Dreadus when after recognizing what the fuck was happening. Instead, they questioned each other, arguing who was better, and what should be done, and ensured they got this job done because their silly captain wouldn't do it; he would break it instead.

“Are you icing properly?” Vera said, furrowing her brows and pushing both of her palms up, pushing the crystal up the small shaft. Many waves of wavering space came from her arms, and space or the ground around her was soaring in dust and many rocks. As for Vern, his ice was like a flowing waterfall with blue soft colors and quite a lot of luster.

“You don't get the gravity of the situation, sister,” Vern said, pushing a bit more ice toward her.

“I think you froze when you saw this crystal, brother....”

“Oh. I belie...”

A clap stopped them both. Dreadus was a bit annoyed with how this excavating went. Numerous times, he glanced at the girl with a silent judgmental stare, yet she never went further than watching. She was quiet, standing beside Hound, and looking a bit tired.

She didn't stop them because it never let her close. She got that crystal was out, yet destroying that cave was not great, or easy. Dreadus at least apologized and she could tell his words were a little assuring and honest good.

She decided to let things go, similar to that Hound not that far away, waiting. It shrank by a lot and sat aside from her as if checking the same sky as her again. Hound was patient and curious about the incredible crystal and sea surrounding it. It didn't know what else to do besides waiting. It seemed vast changes were happening and it smelt nothing great would come out of it.

Hound was getting a little nervous, which was apparent by his darting eyes, slower pacing tail. It was thinking how that big man was close and a little treasure closer, yet the one was closest, and a tiny bit upset. Could it be upset as well? Hound didn't know. It was also imprisoned, even if its instincts were soaring.

This team of Walkers made a hole in that shitty cave. A ten-foot wide push took Dreadus a lot of struggle, yet after healing and taking that liquid with his skin and body, they got what they desired.

The girl eyed the people who invaded her home for the tenth time and felt many of them were less than normal. The more she looked, the more certain she was about them and what they were doing.

They were still alive and talking. With faces too. What was that supposed to mean? To be alive, it was to breathe and move, so what else was normal or weirder? How could she imagine those words working with what she knew all her life?

Standing on her own feet had fewer options and security after the last few hours. There was no cave, no protection of mountains, or upper ground. At least she saw no fresh blood or monsters scattering around her. There were just different sets of monsters. Her home wasn't buried, but it might as well be very soon.

Why? She was running away. Stolen, or brought out or bought as a gift, she was doing that. Death might come. The end would slow her steps.

Looking beyond Dreadus, cold siblings pulled that crystal with a strange light that harbored their strength. The girl never saw that crystal in full view because a portion of its upper sections was inside the ceiling. There was even that water around it now, rather than below, swirling as if small rivers moved around the crystal-like moon's rivers. It was no ice; Vera ensured it would remain positive.

Right. It was as if they were in space without gravity, yet air remained. The girl got a bad feeling about it no matter how her eyes blazed in wonder at their sight. Her hands quenched, and no screams were around. A strange light flickered around that crystal and water, giving light and wind pretty hues. Surroundings were another thing. That crystal was far too bewitching and prettier than any of them.

Unfortunately, she had some conflicted feelings due to their mysterious importance.