Arty stood up immediately and rushed to the place where the gate was, gritting his teeth. He swayed his hands around in the air as if trying to grab on to something, It was like trying to grasp smoke.
A low hiss escaped his gritted teeth. "Damn it."
The others staggered to their feet, brushing off dirt that was now a permanent part of their attire.
Rilli darted to Sezel's side, her hands outstretched to ease the burden of the heavy bag weighing down his frail shoulders.
"What was that, Arty?" The question came from their so-called leader, his voice a taut wire of fear and accusation.
"How the hell should I know?" Arty shot back, his frustration a perfect mirror of the leader.
Ah, the brilliant Arty - the savior has no answers. Shocking.
With a snarl, the leader surged forward, his grimy fist bunching in the fabric of Arty's collar. "You're the registered Slayer! Who else is there to ask, huh?"
Arty's lips twisted into a mask of rage. With a violent jerk, he tore himself free. "Don't you ever put your filthy hands on me again," he spat, his voice laced with venom.
He took a shaky breath, straightening his collar, a pathetic attempt to reconstruct the shattered illusion of his calm, arrogant composure.
Sezel saw right through it. The bravado was a flimsy shield against the terror that was beginning to dawn in all of their eyes.
Still trying to play the hero, huh? Sezel thought, a bitter taste in his mouth.
Who wouldn't panic in such a condition? The gates were supposed to disappear after some time when they were completely explored and all the Spirit Essence was harvested out.
It was odd enough that this gate was still open and with so much Spirit Essence inside, but now it got even more twisted. They were trapped inside the Spirit Realm.
Sezel's gaze swept around. The spectral forest was a masterpiece of primordial horror. Twisted, ancient trees clawed at a sky that was nothing but a starless void. There was no Sun, no Moon or even the pretty stars.
The only light came from the pulsating purple Spirit Essence that throbbed in the gloom, casting everything in a nauseating, otherworldly glow.
Fuck. I'm trapped with these fools. His stomach echoed the sentiment with a hollow grumble. But it was my choice. A stupid choice, but mine nonetheless.
Arty was trying to get in contact with someone on his assessment device, a smartphone-like device provided to all Slayers to keep in contact with the corporation, but his expression said otherwise.
A sudden, violent jerk of his hand told them all they needed to know. "Damn this piece of shit! It's dead."
Another anomaly. This isn't delightful at all.
Those devices were made specially for establishing contact between the Spirit Realm and the real world. For it to fail meant... well, it meant they were even more screwed than he'd initially calculated.
"So... now what?" one of the hulking thugs stammered, his voice a comical mismatch for his massive frame.
Sezel laughed inwardly, All that muscle, and you still piss yourself with fear. Though he was also scared, he was certain he wouldn't be if he had such a fascinatingly built body.
Arty's face was a mask of despair. "I'm as clueless as you are," he admitted, his voice cracking.
Suddenly a scream, muffled cry of a creature echoed through the forest, it was a guttural growl that vibrated through the very marrow of their bones. The group instinctively huddled closer tension hanging tight.
It's already creepy enough. Did something have to start bleeding from its ass to make that sound? Sezel cursed whatever had made the noise. Rilli pressed close behind him, her presence a small, warm comfort in the face of the encroaching darkness.
"Closer," Arty whispered, his voice a quivering thread.
The Spirit Realm was not a place for nobodies like them to hang out. It was a dangerous place—more accurately said, it was a walking nightmare world with unexplored ways to die.
The sky was just a mass of darkness, and the only source of light was the Spirit Essence that pulsed the purple light, making it even more terrifying.
Curse it all, these fuckers will die and take me with them, Sezel brooded.
The rustle of approaching footsteps grew louder, more deliberate. Arty was a gibbering wreck, his fingers flying across the dead screen of his device as if he could will it back to life. Sezel clicked his tongue in disgust.
"Boss... boss..." The other large man, the one with the thick, dark beard, was backing away, his eyes wide with a terror that was beyond mere fear.
"What is it?" the leader growled, but his words died in his throat as he followed the man's gaze. He turned and fled, scrambling behind Arty on his hands and knees, clutching at the Slayer's pants like a terrified child. "Arty! Save us!"
In an instant, they were all cowering behind their self-proclaimed protector. Sezel found himself pressed against the others. Arty, now in front, froze over at the sight of the creature that walked toward them.
His device slipped from his trembling hands, clattering unnoticed to the ground. His eyes were locked on the thing that was crawling toward them from the shadows.
It was a nightmare given form. Blood-red eyes. Its jaw was a mangled ruin, pierced by its own knife-like teeth. It dragged itself forward on three legs, with one broken leg attached to its body by a visible bone, black blood dripping from its mouth and the broken leg, looking indifferent against its dark blue rough skin.
"This... can't be real," Arty stammered, stumbling back. "A Rank 2 Spirit Beast... a Night Crawler." he gasped, completely shocked as if he saw a ghost, well, he actually saw it.
Sezel had held onto a sliver of hope, a foolish belief that Arty could handle whatever dregs were left in this forsaken place. But the first Spirit Beast they encounter turns out to be a rank 2?
We are fucked up, aren't we? His mind went blank.
They were not just fucked. They were already dead.
Spirit Beasts were ranked in categories and tiers of power. A Rank 2 beast was a world away from the pathetic Rank 1 creatures Arty was qualified to hunt.
And yet, Arty drew his blade. Not from courage, not from a sense of duty, but because Rilli was clutching his arm, her terrified gaze was fixed on him. It was a pathetic, last-ditch effort to preserve his shattered ego.
He has gone mad. Can this bastard even do something against a beast clearly above his Rank? he pondered, trembling. But I am worse. I can't even do anything. He clenched his fists tightly until they turned pale.
The Night Crawler stopped just a few feet away, its head tilting as it sniffed the air. Then, with a speed that defied its broken body, it lunged.
Arty's scream echoed in the air as he toppled backward, the group collapsing in a chaotic heap.
The weight of his pack drove Sezel into the ground. He looked up through the chaos and saw death descending - Luckily the beast was straight above him.
Well, I never thought i would be dead so soon.