Dunn and Jade carried Liam out of the portal. It exploded after they stepped out, tossing them to the ground.

Too tired to move, he lay there, breathing hard. Dunn didn't even have the energy to check their surroundings for threats.

After regaining a sliver of energy, he sat up and observed the area.

Thick trees surrounded him in every direction. A small patch of sunlight broke through the forest, shining beside his hand. Placing a quivering palm under the light, he enjoyed the warmth and sighed in contentment.

A sudden thud startled him, pulling him out of his reverie.

Jade stood in front of a tree, hitting it. It splattered her with dew, but she didn't pay any attention to the cold. She punched it again and again, not letting up even when her fists started bleeding. After leaving a clean hole through the trunk, she roared, giving voice to her feelings. It echoed all over the forest.

Rather than stopping her, Dunn felt the urge to copy her actions.

Inside the Rift, anything that moved; attacked. Relentless never-ending battles were the beginning of the problems. The most terrifying aspect was the constant voices whispering inside the head. Like a seductive devil, it called to their desires, murmuring sweet nothings. A single emotion was sufficient for it to latch onto their minds and claw at their sanity.

A bitter chuckle escaped Dunn. The simple ability to freely experience emotions was unthinkable to him a moment ago. Letting go of everything and just lying on the soft floor was alluring, but Liam was hurt, and he had to find help.

"Done?" he asked.

Jade regained control over her emotions and nodded. She walked towards Liam, who was still on the ground and gently picked him up. There was a gaping hole in the center of his chest. Even though the attack missed the heart and stopped bleeding, he needed help.

Placing him against a tree, she surveyed her surroundings. "Don't you notice something strange?"

Dunn carefully eyed the forest. "It is silent."

Apart from the sounds of running water and rustling leaves, they couldn't hear anything.

"Considering how close we are to a water source, it doesn't make any sense. The appearance of the Rift should have caused chaos in the surroundings."

Jade sighed. "That is true. But I was referring to a more important point."

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"If you are talking about the stranger hiding in the trees, then yes; I did notice him."

"How should we approach him?"

"I have many ideas, but all of them will result in us getting attacked."

Dunn suddenly paused in the middle of their conversation and grinned. "Heads up. We've got company."

Jade chuckled. "I noticed. I never really believed in luck, but now I am starting to."

She removed her shield. "I am too tired to fight. I will guard Liam, and you take care of the guest."

The task assignment agreed with Dunn. "Dead or Alive?"

"Who gives a shit?"

He took out the vial of medicine Ioriel gave him and gulped it in a single mouthful.

Jade scrutinized him. "Is it effective?"

"Marginally," Dunn said. "I don't think it will be effective on the two of you."

"Don't waste time and get to it."

Dunn glanced into the forest and whistled. "Looks like we might have found our ticket out of here."

He raised his gun and fired without any hesitation.

**********

Leo was nervously gazing into the portal when three figures appeared.

Initially, he thought they were made up of two mud monsters and a humanoid corrupted. After a closer look, he identified them as humans. The one in the middle was injured and the others carried him.

He couldn't make out their features due to dirt and grime. Leo had seen beggars who were cleaner than they were. Their clothes were so dirty and torn, he wondered why anyone would wear them.

To his surprise, he couldn't find any signs of corruption even after he examined them. Most of the people who were exposed to the Rift energies, especially the ones who fell into it, transformed into a corrupted.

Exceptions always existed. Some people were capable of keeping the corruption at bay. The situation rarely occurred, and those people were considered to be valuable assets by every nation.

Leo observed them from a distance and did not immediately approach them. Though they appeared to be harmless, he did not belittle them. Anyone who survived in that place wasn't someone to be trifled with. Also, he wouldn't put it past them to be corrupted who used some weird ability to disguise themselves.

"You won't believe what I am seeing."

"What is it?" Caleb asked in a worried voice. "Do you see a lot of corrupted?"

"No. I don't see any corrupted, but I did see three humans come out of the portal."

"Wait. You mean …?" Caleb asked, surprise evident in his voice.

"I can't be sure, but yeah, I think so."

"Okay. Keep an eye on them, and don't get too close. We are on our way."

"Got it," Leo replied, focusing his attention on the strangers.

Out of the blue, one of them removed a pistol and fired in his direction.

Leo instinctively fired back. The bangs from both guns echoed within the forest. Only then did he notice that the stranger fired somewhat above him. The other person was also mouthing some words.

"Behind you."

**********

Cloneeye couldn't believe what it was seeing. It saw three untainted humans make their way out of the portal.

It was both relieved and panicked by the sudden turn of events. Relieved because the mission wasn't about to take a turn for the worse and panicked because it was losing control over itself.

The smell of the Rift coming off of them was overwhelming. Its mind was getting overpowered by the desire to consume them. Knowing it wouldn't be able to resist, it formulated a plan.

There was a single soldier in the vicinity. As long as it could silently kill all four of them, there was a chance it could escape.

The troublesome part was getting them without being discovered.

It moved in the direction of the soldier, sneaking up on him. Just as it was about to succeed, it heard a bang.