Southern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 5:30 AM.
“What the hell happened here…”
At the edge of a gigantic crater, expanding as far as the eye could see, Gal and Maulik closely observed the terrifying landmark with slacked jaws. The bottomless pit seemed endless in the eyes of the hybrids, concealing its depths under dark and intimidating shadows. Strings of hissing steam could still be seen from the rocky walls of the crater, continuously increasing the temperature around it, enough to drench the pair’s faces in sweat.
“You think Gigi did this?” Gal asked her companion, who rubbed his chin before replying.
“I mean, he is totally capable of it...” Replied Maulik. “But master would not go as far as to destroy an entire region like this… not unless necessary.”
“Hmm… Where is that woman anyway?”
“Will you ever call her by name?”
“No.”
“Haa…” the male hybrid released an exasperated sigh. “She must be at the center already… it’s been a while since we started fending off the—”
A sudden and violent tremor interrupted Maulik during his sentence, making his feet slide off the edge of the crater. Fortunetaly for the hybrid, Gal was able to maintain her balance during the abrupt rumbling that struck the area, throwing her arm towards him to grab his shirt—preventing his fall into the depths of the crater.
“Hehe…” she mockingly laughed before pulling the man away from dark pit. “My balance is better than yours.”
“Tch! Only because you train your legs more…”
“Anyway, what should we do? Do we just… go back and wait?”
“You will just ignore the tremor that almost took my life?”
“Yeah.”
“Haa…” Maulik sighed in frustration for a second time, rubbing his forehead at the girl’s ruthless honesty. “We shouldn’t have moved from our post to begin with… but I don’t think master would mind if we explore just a little.” He told Gal, giving her a determined nod. “Let’s keep moving onwards from here. We’ll investigate around the edge of the center, but will not go any further, got it?”
“Yes!”
Northern Region of the Deadlands: 936, December 31st, Monday, 5:30 AM.
“T-towards the center?” Tori asked nervously, keeping her brows furrowed with worry.
“Yes,” replied the lieutenant, contrasting the young redhead’s pile of nerves with a gaze of strong determination.
Having concluded their investigation on the petrified demons, Bloodhound ventured further into Deadlands in search for answer related to the lieutenant’s family treasure. Claire’s azure ring glowed strongly the closer they drove into the core of the region, guiding the group deeper and deeper into its heart. Bloodhound took their usual positions in the armored truck, now joined with a new companion to distract them during their adventures.
“Stay put, Lucy…” Claire scolded the girl, as her little hands could barely stay away from the truck’s advanced—and nonfunctional, radio.
“Haha, it’s not like it works anyway.” Said Scott with a chuckle. “Worst case scenario, she actually fixes the thing. I could use some RockFinger music right now.”
“Rock… what?”
“Finger,” explained Eric, as he remained seated next to Claire in the back of the truck. “It’s a popular band from this century. They created classics like: That time at Fruity’s Smoothies, or Great pain in my finger.”
“Sounds stupid,” said the lieutenant. “Stop!” she jolted suddenly, prompting Scott to hammer the breaks instantly in response.
The sudden change in speed almost catapulted Bloodhound through the windshield, forcing them to hold onto anything they could find around them in order to avoid a tragedy. Scott clasped the wheel of the truck, while Tori held for her life in her own sit. Eric pressed his fingers around the edge of the truck’s bed, while Claire pulled Lucy out of the front and into a tight embrace—cradling the girl from danger with her own body.
While no accidents occurred during the turmoil, the experience had managed to leave them shook for a brief minute, thanking the goddess for their good fortune. Scott and Tori sighed with relief while relaxing in their seats, meanwhile Eric grunted with an angry frown, his legs and face pointing up at the sky. Claire on the other hand, gently ran her fingers through Lucy’s soft hair with a smile, a gesture that the girl returned with a happy giggle.
“I hope the scare was worth it…” the young noble frown at the lieutenant.
“Shut up.”
Grouping Bloodhound together, she quickly announced the purpose of such violent and sudden halt, raising her hand to reveal the fast-blinking glow of the azure ring. The light emitted by the precious jewel had yet to demonstrate a clear meaning to its glow, and while its sudden outburst could possibly have no actual reason behind it, an anxious spark within Claire had caused her heart to throb at rhythm with the ring.
Dizziness suddenly struck her as she and her team scouted the area, and while distracting, she chose to keep her the strange sensation hidden from the rest. The group did not wander off too far from their transport, choosing to divide themselves into pairs to cover both east and west—reporting constantly t each other through close range radio comms.
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“Reminds me of our time at the academy. To think it’s only been a year since all of this started for us.” Scott said, talking to Tori as he looked into the depths of the fog with his binoculars.
“Hehe,” Tori giggled, keeping a watchful eye around them with her taser in hand. “I still remember my first year there. You helped me a lot as my upperclassman… even though we both struggled with physical training.”
“You didn’t have to remind me of that…”
The young medic giggled one more time, covering her mouth with one hand. “I didn’t mean as a bad thing. You were my first friend. It was hard to settle in with so many people more talented than I was after all.”
“Stop, or you’ll make blush.” The man replied with a short laugh. “It will ruin my cool and mysterious persona.”
“Right…”
In Claire’s side, Eric carried Lucy in one arm while keeping his free hand close to the grip of his sword—safely sheathed in the belt wrapped around his waist. The lieutenant took most of the scouting duty for herself, making use of the spectral gear’s abilities to form a pair of demonic binoculars—giving her a clearer view of the west side of the region.
“Anyt-ow!” the young noble flinched in pain before finishing his sentence, as the young girl in his arm pulled at his cheek with her tiny hands. “Permission to—”
“Denied.”
“Fine then…”
“There’s nothing around this area…” muttered the lieutenant, growing impatient at the calm and quiet atmosphere of the Deadlands. “At least nothing worth mentioning…”
“Was it really a good idea to come here?” Eric asked, trying to pull his head away from Lucy’s clutches. “We may not have enough fuel to go back all the way. If tha-ow!”
“Relax… I’ll just carry all of you in my bike.”
“I don’t think that’s-ow!”
“I wouldn’t leave us stranded in here witho…”
A cold chill crawled down Claire’s spine as a cloud of fog parted in the distance, enough to make her swallow her words before ending the sentence. She lowered her binoculars before vanishing her gear. Her eyebrows raised, and her lips parted slowly, an intense expression that caught the attention of the noble, who quickly lowered the young girl in his embrace next to the lieutenant.
Lucy gently placed both hands in Claire’s arm, snapping her out of the trance with a gasp. The lieutenant patted her head almost by instinct, but quickly turned her head to look back into the distance, in disbelief at she just had spotted in the distance.
Eric stepped in closer, crossing his arms with a raised brow. “It’s not common for you to look like that… what happened?”
With a deep sigh and an expression filled with concern, Claire placed one finger in her ear to press a tiny button in her earpiece. “Scott.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Regroup at the truck… I found… just get there quick.”
Following orders, Bloodhound quickly retreat back to their vehicle to be informed on Claire’s finding—though their minds were not prepared to hear the news delivered by the lieutenant. Her words seemed uncertain, yet the descriptions she provided were too detailed to have been a simple vision. Worry for her team’s safety had grown considerably, but despite her troubled mind, Claire commanded her team to enter the truck once again.
She guided Scott through the fog while rest waited anxiously in their sits, uttering not a single word during the short ride. Close to their destination, Claire was quick to convince Lucy to return to the spectral gear—making the decision to continue on foot. Bloodhound quickly followed their lieutenant, who wordlessly guided them at the front towards her findings. Only two minutes of walking had passed before they reached their destination, yet the horror that they encountered at the end almost nearly caused them to faint.
“That’s…” Eric’s eyes widened, moving through every cut and bruise that adorned the motionless body.
“No!” Tori covered her face with both hands, turning herself around to avoid contact with the lifeless man.
“It’s Ninigi…” Scott said while slowly taking off his glasses, unable to believe his own eyes.
The knight lied flat on the dirt, covered in the dry dust of the Deadlands. His chest remained static, with no oxygen entering or leaving his lungs any longer. The exotic glow of his azure eyes was now hidden under his shut eyelids, facing the crimson sky with pure serenity.
Gulping down nervously, Claire stepped in closer to the champion before kneeling next to him. Her brows furrowed, and she clenched her jaw at the tight sensation in her chest. The azure jewel in her finger glowed brightly however, as if begging to make contact with the gladean knight.
“Is this… what you wanted?” the lieutenant talked to the ring, leading her hand near the man’s chest before resting it on top with a gentle touch.
“How did this happen?” Eric wondered with disbelief.
“Sorry… I can’t…” Tori said, as her entire body trembled.
Scott placed both hands on top of the girl’s shoulders to offer comfort, yet none of his words were able to give solace to the young medic. “It’s… It’s quite scary to see a gladean knight like this… right?” he expressed while moving his gaze towards Eric, a quivering in his eyes revealing the utter fear that had crawled inside of him. “Specially someone like Ninigi…”
“…” Eric avoided his gaze with a mix of anger and sadness, gritting his teeth as the throbbing in his heart grew uncontrollably. “We didn’t know him for long, but he did save our lives back in Voyin… To see him like this is…”
“Ah…” Claire flinched at a bright light of azure that suddenly engulfed the body of the gladean knight, reacting to whatever powers her family’s treasure carried within itself.
The gladean knight’s glow grew brighter by the second, while the light emitted by the lieutenant’s ring only faded. Eric rushed in closer to pull Claire away from the champion, as its brightness became unbearable to the human eye. Bloodhound grouped together while hiding their faces from the blinding flash that struck their eyes, as they’ve been suddenly devoured by the aggressive glow. It lasted merely a single second, yet Claire and her team were left dizzy with foggy visions after its display. The group sighed with relief after recovering their sight in a few seconds, though their alleviated faces would quickly shift into astonished expressions
“Wh… where is he?” Scott was the first to speak, scratching his eyes in disbelief.
Listening to the awed words of the young sniper, Tori uncovered her eyes to see the empty spot where the body of the gladean knight rested before. “Did… something happened?”
“What did you do?” asked Eric, moving his gaze towards Claire.
After the blinding light that struck the region, Ninigi’s body had suddenly vanished from the field with no explanation. However, his disappearance would not come without any changes, as the lieutenant’s eyes remained fixated in the ring wrapped around her finger. It lasted no longer than five seconds, but its once beautiful and expressive azure was suddenly replaced with an elegant and sparkling silver, returning to its original state immediately after.
“I… I don’t know…” she replied to the young noble.
“Maybe… that means he will be fine, right?” Scott smiled while putting his glasses back on, trying to remain positive despite his anxious expression.
“Maybe…” Claire repeated while stepping in closer to where Ninigi once rested. Her eyes scoured the battlefield, yet the intent behind such rigorous search escaped even herself. They moved from side to side, drilling holes into every fissure of the scorched lands with her gaze alone. “Nothing…” she whispered, gazing upon the empty barren lands of the Deadlands. There was a faint glitter in her gorgeous ambers, a longing expression behind them that knew more than she did.
END OF CHAPTER