His foot was pressed against the floor, both hands clenched a spear, and he prepared to launch himself forward in an attempt to break through the part of the mountain where the crystals resided.

Who was doing this? Cereo, who'd been using a variety of methods in an attempt to surpass the blockade in front of him.

"Your attempts are useless. If you couldn't tell by now, forceful entry clearly isn't the way to go about things." Blank was jiggling around one of the bottles that contained his liquid forcefields.

"Giving up so easily, are you?" Cereo responded. "Well.. I'm not one to abandon this method so quickly. This could very well be a test of might. Though I'm unaware of why Firose wouldn't be required to participate. Maybe because the woman from the gate verbally granted us entry, but not her."

"It isn't a test of might, dumbass. And it doesn't matter if she was granted entry or not, there's another reason why this is occurring. One that we've all been too dumb to figure out so far."

"Ahh, maybe only girls can go through?" Firose suggested.

Dropping his spear to the floor, Cereo turned away from the blockade. "That wouldn't make sense considering Zen, an elderly male, is the one who discovered what we're attempting to locate in the first place."

"Maybe I... can be of assistance?"

Someone approached from behind. It was a female. She had lengthy, luscious silver hair that led down to her elbows. Blue eyes that glistened identical to how the ocean did. She had a slim figure, and her upper body looked like it had some sort of matte black cloth wrapped around it, everywhere except for on her hands, and above her nose. To some extent, it resembled layers of tape/bandages. Her lower body consisted of the same matte black color, except on shining armor.

"My name's Asada. Asada Oceane, and I too have been attempting to locate the heart of the parasites."

Blank adjusted his lab coat while looking at Asada. "Splendid. You can help us pass through this strange blockade, then leave us alone and look for the 'heart' or whatever you called it elsewhere."

"It's.. in a fixed location. Searching elsewhere wouldn't serve much of a purpose."

"I guess you won't be finding it then, now will you?"

Cereo stepped between them both. "Calm yourself there Blank. Don't underestimate the importance of outside assistance. Having yet another comrade accompany us, one that I'm assuming has quite a bit of strength considering the dangers of this place, is nothing less than a plus in every regard."

"That's right." Asada stepped forward, and touched the mountain. "So, you said the sweet girl is able to see through this?"

"You've been watching us this entire time, right? You shouldn't need to ask." Blank said.

Asada looked down. "I suppose I didn't conceal myself too well. Yes, I've been on your trail for a bit. Not the entire time but, long enough to hear your constant rambling."

"Rambling? Yes, that's a frequent occurrence when you travel with an inferior moron and the girl he dragged along."

Triumphantly, Cereo put his arm around Firose. "Had we not brought Firose, we would have been unaware of the crystallized path that only she is able to see and access."

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"Tchh.. don't act like you've accomplished something. Another way would have been figured ou-.."

"Wait! Just hold on a moment!"

Asada looked intrigued, and Blank appeared annoyed that he was cut off.

"Did something happen?" Asada asked with a bit of urgency.

"Hah... indeed. Something most certainly did occur." Cereo pulled Firose closer, as he turned around to completely face the mountain blockade. He proceeded to chuckle. "How could I have been so naive, the answer to this little puzzle was quite obvious."

"The wall... you can see through it now, can't you?"

"That is one point for Asada, and a mere zero for Blank."

"Points?" Blank scoffed. "You must be kidding me."

"Oohh, points huh? Just you guys wait, I'm gonna get way more points than you all sooner or later!" Firose said in a determined manner, clenching her fist.

Cereo smiled warmly. "You Firose, already have an infinite number of points considering you originally located the crystals. Blank and Asada's participation is simply a means to decide second place."

"Awh, really? Guess you've both already been beat then!"

Yet again shifting his lab coat, Blank put away his bottled forcefield. "This point system serves no purpose, I suggest you abandon it Cereo."

"Being a sore loser is not something I can tolerate Blank. If your behavior continues, I may be forced to kick you from the game." Cereo informed him.

"Please do."

"Cereo." Asada alerted him. "If touching the girl.. Firose, was really the key, then we should all be able to pass through if we hold onto her. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I would, though I still fail to understand why exactly she's the key."

"No need to question it, let's just move forward."

"As you wish. Let us continue! Blank, I advise you not to fall behind unless you want to remain at the bottom of the point rankings."

"Tchh.." Blank closed his eyes, and tilted his head down. "In that case I think I'll intentionally walk near the back."

Everyone grabbed a hold of Firose, and could finally see the path she could see the entire time. "Ya know, it's pretty cramped in between you guys." she said. "But cozy at the same time!"

"Great, now move forward so I can finally let go." Blank impatiently stated.

"Well.. alrighty I guess! I just hope you're not all crushed when you let go, I have no idea how far it should be until we've passed where the mountain would still be there for you guys. For all I know, you'll have to hold on forever."

Clenched onto Firose, the group made their way through the crystallized path. It was a gorgeous sight indeed. The amount of glistening red crystals increased as they traveled. Eventually they came upon a tunnel of them. A tunnel made almost entirely of the crystals. After walking through that for some time, Blank suggested that they break apart.

"Okay... now that we have entered a separate location, can we all get off each other already?"

"I like being close to my new friends but, after all that walking I kinda agree." Firose made a small grunting noise.

"But it's as you suggested earlier..." Cereo reminded them. "Letting go could potentially kill us if we are only able to access this place while maintaining contact with you, Firose."

"Yeah... that's true."

Also expressing her discomfort, Asada noted. "The old man you were speaking of somehow must have moved freely in here. Plus, we'll need to let go in order to eliminate the heart of the parasites anyway. If it kills us, then oh well. It's the only way to find out."

"Heh.. you truly are a daring one." Cereo lightly smiled. "Alright then, let me be the one to initially let go. If it results in my death, you'll all know to head back."

"We'll be fine. As you can see, I grew rather impatient and decided to test it myself. " From behind them, Blank had already relinquished all contact with Firose. He tapped his foot on the ground. "Now can we get going?"

"I see you beat me to the punch Blank. Dare I say this deed has earned you a point. Either way, I applaud you. As you've requested, we can continue onward within our own personal space."

The group moved forward, conversing every so often. Their footsteps echoed down the crystal tunnel. It was calm for a while, but the walk was beginning to drag on without any noteworthy occurrences. Eventually though, the crystallized walls began to sprout something large.

"Woah guys, what is that thing? I have a feeling that it's pretty dangerous." Genuinely interested, Firose pointed.

Blank glanced at her. "How would we know what something from a remote location such as this is? Seriously girl, please use that head of yours for once."

"Her name is FIROSE!" Cereo corrected him with volume.

"Yes... I'll be sure to keep that in mind for the next fifteen seconds."

"Blank, you really must learn to be kind. I believe you've gone quite some time without making even a neutral remark."

A rumbling interrupted them. What had been sprouting from the walls landed onto the crystallized ground with a clank. Each of the four examined it, and observed five separate red crystal monsters. Monsters that were void of any details, only resembling the silhouette of a humanoid being.

"Everyone, stand back." Gesturing with her hand, Asada waved the other three back as she calmly approached the creature. "Whatever these things are, I'll take care of them." She placed a hand on the massive scythe sheathed on her back, and removed it, clearly preparing for a fight.

"Wait a second Asada, you really don't want any of our help?" Firose pressed her hands together, looking on at Asada with a concerned expression. "I get that you're probably pretty strong and all, but still, it'd be a lot safer for you."

"I'm sure. There's no need to worry, I can usually tell the strength of an opponent just by looking at them. They aren't that tough. Plus.." she flicked back her scythe. "One of the main reasons why I came here was to prepare myself for a battle I'll need to partake in in the future. If I can't defeat lowly monsters such as these, then I have no right to call myself anything other than pitiful. So please, allow me to take them out myself."

"Oh... I get it now. You've gotta make sure there's no way you'll lose to anyone in that war. Alright then, kick some ass! Just um.. don't die please!"

Asada tightened the grip she had on her scythe. "I won't, you have my word."

Just then, finally, Blank broke his streak of only spewing rude remarks. Sort of...

"If you die, we'll be delayed in our progress through this place. So don't. If our assistance isn't necessary, then prove it. Eliminate those things."

He paused for a moment.

"Maybe then I'll allow you to continue traveling with us until we reach the heart."