"Make way!" Mary yells as she pushes through the front. "Coming through!"

I follow, trying desperately to catch up while avoiding bumping into anyone. I look around at my surroundings after navigating through the crowd of porters. At the center of attention is an Essevian, swiping at anyone who gets too close, with a pool of black liquid gathering beneath him. His bloodshot eyes have pupils of an alarming red hue.

A lizardman bursts through the crowd, lunging toward the Essevian.

"No!" Mary shouts as the lizardman nears the Essevian.

With a hiss, the Essevian rolls to the side and grabs the lizard's tail, biting down and tearing the limb apart. As the two wrestle, my eyes follow a trail of black blood leading toward a nearby bush.

Occasionally glancing at the battle, I swiftly approach the bush. The prickling sensation on my skin intensifies, emanating repulsion and disgust.

Whatever is hiding in the bush seems to cause the Essevian's aggression. It feels similar to the light-infused Asura arrow, but different—much weaker and mixed with other unknown elements.

"I'm going to borrow that for a moment," I say, snatching a nearby porter's kitchen tongs. "Be right back."

Edging closer to the bush, I concentrate, willing two tentacles to forcefully pull it apart. It reveals a limb covered in clumped-up black blood and various types of gunk. My stomach churns with nausea.

For once, I'm somewhat thankful they decided to restrict all Essevians' rations lately.

With tongs in hand, I latch onto the limb and hold it to the light. Its shape resembles a long ribbon that's flat like a paper but sharp as a blade. A small white light is mixed with black Essevian blood from the jagged cutoff.

This was intentional: An Essevian's tentacle requires significant force to tear off. While light asura can inflict severe damage, the small amount involved wouldn't have been enough to sever it. If anything, the culprit repeatedly butchered it until the limb finally detached.

As one of my tentacles pokes at the dead limb, the bond feels eerily hollow, devoid of any sensation. A buzzing feeling resonates through my ears, muffling nearly all other sounds.

'Shiek!' 'Splurt!'

"Mary!" someone shrieks from behind me.

"I'm fine!" Mary yells back, her voice strained. "Hand me a rope!"

Swiftly turning around, I spot Mary pinning the aggressive Essevian to the ground, blood dripping from a deep claw mark on her arm. At the sight, a pounding sensation clouds my vision and rings through my head.

On the ground lies an empty container with two distinct boot tracks imprinted on its surface. Nearby, a bush sports a sizable hole torn right through it.

I blink rapidly, pressing a hand to my forehead. The fuzziness over my eyes quickly recedes.

This is the second time this has happened. I don't recall ever experiencing this before. What in the world is going on?

A burning sensation washes over me as the bond quivers with the tentacles' fury. Mentally distancing myself, I swiftly erect multiple barriers that partially dampen the intense anger.

It seems like the tentacles don't cause the memories. That anger feels similar to a few hours before the expedition when they decided to put up a mental barrier.

"I was informed there's a disturbance here," a blond-haired man asks as he approaches Mary. "Seems like that's been taken care of."

Isn't he one of the asura hunters? The strange vision must have taken me out long enough for him to arrive.

The man wore an armband over his sleeve adorned with an Aequitas symbol, and two silver stripes were embedded on the left corner of his chest armor.

Fudge, one of the leaders in this expedition is here. If I thought my ration was sparse before, it's going to be even more so after this incident.

I glance at the Essevian pinned down by Mary. His eyes are shut tight and his mouth pulls back in a grimace.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He's not getting out of this one unpunished. They'll probably stuff him into one of those sweatboxes.

"Scout leader Chris," Mary addresses, her hand still on the Essevian beneath her. "Do you need a rundown of what happened?"

"Not right now. I came here to subdue the threat posed to the porters." With narrow eyes, he glances at the Essevian. "He will be detained and temporarily incapacitated."

A shudder passes through me as I stand up. Holding the paper-like tentacle at arm's length, I start walking toward Mary. Chris gives me a passing glance and snaps his fingers. An airtight bag flies from out of nowhere and hovers near my face. Without a word, I place the severed tentacle into it.

"If I may, why not have the Essevian stay with me for now?" Mary suggests, stepping closer to Chris. "We'll detain him with an asura circlet."

Chris raises an eyebrow and strolls over to where the Essevian lies.

"Are you sure that's wise? Most of the asura under your care are below D rank." Chris nudges one of the Essevian's tentacles with his foot. "One strike from this one could be fatal."

"We don't have the full story yet," Mary interjects, stepping in front of the Essevian and shielding him with her body. "Cutting off all his limbs seems excessive."

What in the world is she doing? She's just a porter; Chris is an asura hunter and a high-ranking member of Aequitas. He could easily have her blacklisted.

She briefly gazes at me, mouthing 'trust me' under her breath.

"I'll be fine," Trevor smiles, placing his hand on my shoulder. "Trust me."

The insides of my stomach churn while my chest feels like something heavy is pressing on it.

This feels so much like something Trevor would have done. He would still be here if it weren't for someone like me.

"Some members of my main team are on the case and doing the best they can," Chris says, crossing his arms and slightly bending down to Mary's height. "Regardless of who's at fault for this incident, this Essevian has proven to be too dangerous. Don't worry too much about him; his limbs can regenerate."

As Chris tries to move around Mary, she swiftly blocks him again.

"With all due respect, I can't let you take him. While it's true that he can cause significant damage, incapacitating him is a cruel punishment," Mary continues, holding Chris' gaze. "The regeneration process for a tier-one Essevian is slow. Though I am not saying you guys will do it, depriving him of food would slow the process down."

Trevor stares defiantly up at the teacher, continuing to block her path. "We shouldn't be jumping to conclusions. There could be other things we've missed."

Mary steps closer to Chris, invading his space. "It's also possible that threatening him with torture would make it harder to gain his cooperation or could lead to false statements."

Trevor states firmly, shielding the girl behind him as the teacher gives him a warning look. "Using pain to extract information isn't always reliable; it can make someone agree with any statement just to stop the pain."

Why do I keep dwelling on memories of someone who's gone? Trevor and Mary are nothing alike. It must be the universe's way of reminding me. After all, his death was my fault.

"Very well, we'll let you have him for the time being," Chris sighs as he turns away. "Keep this in mind, Mary. Although many porters see you as their leader, you are not an official one. Not many asura hunters will take kindly to your defiance." With that, he quickly leaves the scene.

When Chris is a long distance away, other porters rush in and begin pestering Mary with questions. Shaking my head, I quickly stride toward Mary and rescue her from the crowd.

"Wow, there sure are a lot of questions," Mary chuckles while handing a nearby Essevian an asura ring. "It's probably not going to let up for a few days."

The undead promptly walks to where the Essevian responsible for this incident is lying. She puts the asura ring around his torso before closing it with a tap. Asura flows through the metal's surface, making it glow a neon green.

"Thanks for the rescue, by the way, Beatrice," Mary says as I continue to drag her away. "I don't think I could have escaped without your help."

Staying silent, I sit Mary on a nearby rock and squat down beside her. Gently, I cradle her injured arm in my lap and begin inspecting it.

"Ouch!" Mary winces as my finger lightly grazes against her wound. "That's going to sting for quite a while, huh, Beatrice?"

Without a word, I retrieve a disinfectant bottle from my backpack and pour it over Mary's wound.

"Beatrice?" Mary grimaces, then straightens up. "Is everything alright?"

Pausing in my work, I tighten my grip on her wrist.

"Why did you do it?" I ask quietly. "You could have faced serious consequences for your actions."

A long silence falls between us as I continue cleaning her wound.

"If I didn't do it, who would?" Mary finally says, her arm relaxing under my touch.

Trevor stares at me, "They can't do it for themselves right now. Who else would have stood up for them?"

They really are the same, aren't they?

"Hey, don't underestimate me just because I'm shorter than you," Mary puffs out her chest. "I'm a lot tougher than I look."

I gaze at her with half-lidded eyes, crossing my arms. The corner of my mouth twitches as I suppress the urge to chuckle.

Smiling, Mary slowly rises to her feet. "Thanks for worrying about me, though. Sorry if what I did upset you."

"Mary!" Arbora's voice calls out in the distance. "I heard you were injured, so I brought Ollie with me!"

"Put me down, you stupid reptile!" Ollie barks. "I'll make sure to 'accidentally' rearrange your teeth if you do this again!"

Chuckling to herself, Mary holds out her hand to me.

"Hey, my name is Trevor. What's yours?" The boy extends his hand toward me.

No. While they are similar in some respects, they also have their differences.

"We better get back before Ollie decides to skin Arbora alive," Mary smirks. "Then again, I still haven't gotten her back for ruining my tea mixes."

I briefly glance at Mary's outstretched hand before heading towards the voices of Arbora and Ollie.

"I think you still have other matters needing your attention," I chuckle, amused as Mary responds with an exaggeratedly tired expression.

While Mary could never replace Trevor, maybe getting to know her wouldn't be so bad.