"We have to go inside of there..." Flor asks, her smile dropping into a frown, as they stare at the beginning of a dark forest, barely lit by the shine of dusk.
"Correct, it's where the glasses are pointing to." Nullen affirms, pressing toward it, with Carnage and Heron behind.
"Am I the only one who sees this as dangerous and a potential health hazard?" Flor grumbles to herself. "Especially with someone barefoot?" Seeing as they prevailed on, she reluctantly joined but clings close to Heron and Carnage.
"We're currently at the edge of town," Nullen states.
'Edge of town...it feels like much more.'
Carnage thinks, surveying the eerie space.
The forest is not the calm, scenic place where folks would go to camp during summer; it's more befitting of hiding their bodies. It's the place where the elder would forbid the rebellious youngsters to venture, but they still do.
From the dark oak trees spiraling into the sky, their branches sprouting out like skeletal, bony arms reaching for you, to the withered leaves suspended midair in their descent to the unpleasant, murky floors, a mixture of mud and grass.
"Ughh..." Flor groans, grimacing with each step she takes.
'Her body language says it all. She's not used to this, which, if I weren't most certain she was a doctor, my guesses would be narrowed down significantly.'
"You're not used to this, are you?" Heron, as if reading his mind, asks without looking at her.
'Hm.' Carnage's attention switches to Heron. 'I should pay more attention to him. Keen eyes and good with swords. He was either a swordsman in his past life or something closely linked to it.'
"I'm a physician, Heron; I practice medicine." She waves a hand, showing the now refilled bottle in her hand, glimmering with a blue liquid. "Not mud, bugs, and creepy trees trying to grab me."
"How does it work?" Carnage questions absentmindedly.
Flor snaps out of her rant. "Well... I was given a magical artifact. A potion bottle able to refill seven times. I have three uses of basic healing, three of critical healing, and one high-tier poison, though I haven't figured it out yet."
'Giving a physician a bottle of poison when they're supposed to be healing…i wonder what the covenant has in store.'
"I see." He nods.
"You?" He turns to Heron.
'I wonder if anyone has anything different from a magical artifact.'
"I don't have an artifact like you guys, but something called a devil's gift."
'A devil's gift?'
He activates it, exuding the same green shimmer, as he trails off the path to a lone tree. "It's called Might of Five Men." His fist rockets forward, slamming into the tree with bone-rattling force.
'Interesting...' it boost his strength making it equivalent to five men.'
"It's almost like an attribute." Flor and Nullen stare wide-eyed as a crack echoes from within the tree, then it collapses.
"A buff?" Nullen pauses for a second, confused.
"Yeah, in my world there are games where players are given an attribute, gifted by a high power, something that boosts them or aids them, just like what it's doing with him." Flor explains, her eyes lighting up as she inwardly reminisces.
"Enough about us, what about you, Carnage?" Heron narrows his eyes.
He meets his gaze with the same fury. "When the time comes." He says sternly, walking off.
Heron's stare follows him, lips pressed into a thin line.
"Wait! It's a left now!" Nullen scurries to him as he banks to the left on his orders.
.
.
.
More time passes, and Nullen murmurs in frustration, gliding his fingers through his hair. "It's as if they're always bloody moving!"
"Perhaps they're looking for us as well?" Flor suggests, innocently.
"You may have a point." He fixes his glasses but pauses, one eyebrow arching while the other dips, his lips parting without a word.
"What?" Carnage picks up on the shift in his expression.
"It's saying they're coming this way." He looks on through the path they're supposed to proceed through, waiting as the distance shown by the glasses drops.
Carnage and Heron, immediately understanding, take the forefront, their blades already in front of them.
"Ready?" Heron inquires, and Carnage nods.
"What are you guys doing?" Flor questions. "They're with us."
"We know, but you also have to question why they're in such a hurry. Making such illogical turns, just for the sake of finding us?" Heron inquires, and Flor understands, backing away.
"There, left!" Nullen shouts.
Their heads pivot to Carnage's left in the far distance, spotting two figures weaving through the three as a skinwalker crashes through to reach them.
「Demonic beast Grade: D (Tormented)」
「Power level: 70」
"Let's go." Carnage dashes forward, Heron quick to pursue; his goal isn't on the two sinners running but intently focused on the skinwalker behind.
Swiveling to the right, the two other participants light up with hope as they meet the figures of Carnage and Heron rushing forward, armed with blades.
"Oh, thank god!"
"Move." Carnage voices, as they near.
Heron activates his attribute and leaps into the air, while Carnage stays grounded. Just in time, the two split to opposite sides. Carnage glides down, sword angled upward, as Heron descends, his sword pointed downward. Simultaneously, they both drive into the neck of the creature, and slicing through in different directions, severing it cleanly.
「Another skinwalker has been defeated!」
「2/6」
「No Demonic core found!」
"That was..." Heron mutters, landing on the floor beside the carcass of the skinwalker. "suspiciously easy."
"Yeah." Carnage replies, getting back to his feet.
'Plus I didn't receive a core.' Carnage thinks as memories of the section describing his current predicament submerge.
「A demon core forms only when the demonic beast has acquired the power level their rank harbors; if not, it makes them significantly weaker.」
'Another thing to mark as true.'
"I did it again! I cheated death! I've been spared another day!" One of them says to themself on his knees in the mud, head plummeting as he plants kisses on the floor.
"Ugh…" Flor gags, swirling away.
Heron and Carnage join them, bloodied swords still in hand, watching the peculiar sight unfold.
"What's wrong with him?" Heron questions, staring at the blond-haired man, his mouth smeared with dirt.
"My saviors!" he spins, cleaning his mouth and jumping to his feet. "Please accept my thanks; I am forever grateful to you." He bows respectfully.
"No worries," Heron replies awkwardly, while Carnage is quiet, somewhat captivated by his lilac irises.
The color ignites a broken, contorted recollection, one that he felt uncomfortably connected to, and with the pain of its remembrance came another, one that ebbs around the inner walls of his vengeful heart.
'It's not exactly pain... so what is it?' he inquires to himself.
"Artticus!" he extends his hands and shakes both of theirs. "The survivor!" He says proudly.
"Survivor?" Heron titles his head.
"Yeah, it grants me the devil's gift of 'immunity,' but I don't know what I have immunity against." He chuckles, scratching behind his head.
'Another person with a devil's gift.' He thinks, eyes wandering to Nullen, who blankly stares at the other new participant.
"And you?" He gestures to him.
"Greetings." He also bows, a soft smile playing on his features. "I'm Evrad, the helper. I have the ability to copy."
'A devil's gift perhaps?'
Carnage for some reason lingers on him, inwardly noting that though the man is smiling, his eyes display something other than gratitude, yet he can't quite figure out what emotions lie behind.
"I'm Flor!" She chimes in, and the rest of them reintroduce themselves to everyone.
「Congrats! have found your entire team!」
「As a reward, here is your first hint.」