The situation down in the city was woeful.
Oro had his wound wrapped and blood flow diminished, but that wasn't enough. The man was on the verge of losing consciousness at any moment. Worst would be if he contracted an infection in this place where medicines were scarce.
Taivat was missing, and the harpy that was carrying him had been brutally killed.
Worthy wanted to continue heading towards Walkyr, who should've been holding his own against anybody trying to battle him. There were only a few people Worthy could think of who'd give the battle-crazed maniac an enjoyable round or two.
Bonecrusher was growling, baring its teeth as slowly but surely, enthralled Climbers started to emerge from the surrounding buildings and alleyways.
There weren't just thralls either, though. Some people were free from the mental domination of the puppeteer, and were now preparing their weapons to defend themselves against the puppets. It was easy to identify a thrall now. Initially it was difficult, but now, it was an unexacting task to recognize someone whose mind wasn't their own.
Worthy saw it in their eyes before, but now it was their entire demeanor. The thralls were too positive, looking too jovial to approach others during this rising time of conflict.
Somewhere in the distance, a bell was ringing—a city bell that was meant to draw the attention of all the inhabitants of the Prime Settlement.
The current state of affairs were becoming more disagreeable by the minute. Chaos filled the streets as more and more people started fighting. Some were strictly targeting the Climbers that'd fallen into the grasp of the detestable abomination hiding among them. Others could not identify thralls at all, and instead ended up aiding the thralls in their battle against ordinary people. Those ordinary people, in turn, would fight both a thrall and a fellow well-minded human.
'Messy. This is super messy.'
While all hell was breaking loose, Hiel had to make a decision. Going back for Taivat would be pointless, since he was nowhere in sight. Oro needed immediate help, and the only place they could go to was closer to the wall, where a hopefully stable-minded group of Climbers would be willing to give aid.
"I don't mean to put a burden on your shoulders, I just think I'm super responsible for letting you know, we're going to die here too if we don't get to the wall." Worthy knew he didn't need to remind the summoner, but still took the liberty of doing so. Nothing was worse than a man who couldn't make a decision when it counted. Between Worthy, who was a twelve-year-old boy in danger, and Oro who was in dire need of medical assistance, it should've been a no-brainer.
Leaving Taivat behind was the choice that made the most sense. Maybe they knew where he was, they could risk a trip over, picking him up, and then trying to retreat again. With Asterie still lingering around, somewhere back where they left from, that was a less than ideal plan.
Taivat was wise enough to know that they couldn't return for him either. Out of their current group, he was the most equipped to protect himself anyways. Though the offensive capabilities of his Reward could be brought to question, its defense had proven everything it needed to. The barriers he created were able to block the effects of Rewards, including Asterie's spatial warping power. Of course, damage could be accumulated and eventually overload the constructs he makes, but that only changed the duration that the defenses were active for, not the effects.
No matter how one looked at it, being around other people was probably making it more difficult for Taivat to defend himself…
That's what the child told himself to further justify his selfishness, at least. He was not friends with Taivat, they were just Climbers. They shared a common goal and were willing to work together to accomplish it. It was impossible to achieve your goals when held back by something as meager as selflessness. Being selfless was a sin for the strong, who could afford it. Worthy wasn't going to stick his neck out for someone, certainly not Taivat.
It was between him and Deadman Walkyr, and although Worthy wasn't fond of the latter, the former held far less value. Protection was fine and dandy, but a man couldn't protect himself through the edge of the world.
As the bell toll came to an end, Hiel opened his mouth to finally give an answer.
Leave Taivat, or continue towards the wall to find Walkyr and potentially more help. Whatever option he chose would leave regret in his heart no matter what the decision was. No matter which option he picked, somebody would get the short end of the stick. Only, one option assured that that risk hovered over all of his companions, instead of one person.
Gritting his teeth, the man turned his head away…
"Evenin', lovely guys 'n gals. No gals? Alright, jus' guys then."
Hiel didn't get the chance to announce his decision, because someone had just appeared beside the hound. Bonecrusher turned to look at the person, and growled so loudly that Worthy nearly thought the man was a particularly dangerous thrall that'd snuck up on them. Another teleporter was all they needed to create a trinity of annoying pursuers.
Fortunately, Walkyr was not a thrall, and his eyes showed only a slight hint of missing their usual liveliness. That alone was concerning, but not nearly enough to make the child think of him as an enemy. If he was enthralled, there'd have been nothing they could've done. He would've appeared and blown a hole through Bonecrusher, then disposed of Hiel to get rid of the chance of him summoning the creatures again, or perhaps somehow earning a new one.
Because none of these things happened, Worthy was confident the gunslinger was not too far gone.
"Deadman!" Oro groaned as if he'd just come back from the dead. "Stop… Asterie! She's…!"
"I already know. I seen 'er a while ago. It's an opportunity I just can't let slide, y'see. You folks just need ta' get out of my way.."
It was music to the child's eyes. Walkyr had the best chance of fairly fighting Asterie out of all of them. Not to mention, his six-shooter could eradicate everything in its wake. It'd be unfortunate if Asterie died, she could be an invaluable, powerful ally to have as they go on to fight unknown terrors in the deep reaches of the First Floor. In that same regard, she was too powerful of an enemy to leave alive. Plus, her personality was too sporadic. A handsome man commanding the woman to slaughter them might actually find some success in his orders.
Worthy didn't know her enough to confidently declare this, but he also did not have the grace of meeting her for longer than a day. Everything he could deduce about her personality were snippets that revealed themselves in the short time they'd spent together.
Killing another person wasn't something the child had experience with. In truth, no matter how much he wanted to overestimate himself, he'd never actually ended another human's life before. Walkyr had plenty of experience with that. Killing Asterie isn't something he'd hesitate to do if provided an opening. In her enthralled state, she would tear him limb from limb the moment he lowered his guard as well.
That's how it was when two people fought with high stakes. Worthy would have to face that decision soon. He'd almost been faced with it earlier when surrounded by the group. His dagger would've undoubtedly killed one or two people before he was taken down, if not for their retreat on Bonecrusher's back.
The hound looked away from Walkyr and faced the wall, sensing something else approaching them.
Worthy was frightened at first. He didn't want to be caught in the middle of a new brawl with an enemy that was chasing Walkyr.
"Lady Freya!" Hiel shouted enthusiastically. Any grimness that the man once carried on his face was betrayed by joy.
When Worthy saw what was approaching them, he realized it was a golem—a creature made of refined stones, joints linked together by crystalline balls, allowing it to turn its limbs in various directions. It had six legs and four arms, and its size was rather overbearing, the size of a two-story home.
On top of its back, there was an austere woman who made Worthy feel small. Something about her cold, tangerine eyes were brighter than her auburn hair, and yet this contrast did not offer him any warmth. Her gaze made him feel like he was judged, and the golem he saw was reminiscent of the memories of Alice he'd been subjected to.
Judging by the way the creature descended down from the wall so slowly, yet without any device allowing it to fall with such measured speed, it must've had mystical properties to it. Worthy could not see invisible threads of whatever mysticism existed in the world, save for the threads of paths that led him places. However, there was no doubt something supernatural about her creation, more supernatural than the unknown abominations from an undiscovered realm that Hiel summoned his monsters from.
That preternatural existence was too familiar for Worthy to ignore. He was all but certain that the woman, Lady Freya, acquired a power potentially on par with Alice's.
'No. That's going too far. Alice was… I don't know how I would explain it, but she was beyond anything we humans could achieve. Still, there is something starkly similar. Alice's golems were far larger, and her legion was innumerable, covering much of the world.'
Worthy didn't know how many of those golems she could make in total, but he doubted they would ever be near the total quantity of Alice's army.
"I… did not think I had such a high standing reputation. We have not met before, have we?" The woman questioned Hiel, almost appearing a bit embarrassed, despite her unchanging, firm facial features.
"Ah, we haven't officially met. I saw you on the day we arrived here, and then also heard many great things about you from the Climbers here."
Somehow, Worthy had missed seeing the woman on his first day in the Prime Settlement. Frankly, none of the logistics behind how they'd be leaving the floor mattered to him, as long as they did it. He didn't stick around to meet the people War thought would be essential. They'd inevitably cross paths when they began their journey towards the end of the world eventually.
Freya was one of those people. Admittedly, he was not unbearably curious as to why Hiel held her in such high regard, placing Lady at the front of her name. "Say, Mr. Hiel. Who's this?" He beckoned to the woman riding on top of the massive golem that towered over the roof they'd been found on.
Hiel turned to the boy and explained, "Lady Freya is an essential part of the plan to escape the First Floor. Her Reward is very similar to Taivat's, but especially more potent. She can bind materials together and create semi-living, functional beings out of them. In short, she makes golems."
'Then how the hell is that similar to Taivat's?!'
"That… does sound rather powerful, if I had to say so. My guess is that you'll be making a ship or something for us to use then, Lady Freya?" The child then turned his attention to the woman, whose iron will did not bend beneath his innocent, childish gaze. Worthy suspected that was due to the fact that he was by no means innocent. He was a product of criminality from the worst slum in the whole kingdom outside this Tower. Thus, that innocence had receded from his eyes a long time ago… or, he might've just not been trying his hardest to use his childish appeal to garner her favor.
The woman simply nodded as she studied the child with a scrutinizing gaze, probably seeing through the tactic he'd attempted to employ.
'Ugh. Would she look at her own son with those eyes?!!'
Freya did not have a child, so the boy would never know how her piercing, gold eyes set upon such a being.
"Lady," Walkyr spoke, twirling his six-shooter in such a reckless way Worthy was certain a negligent shot would be fired. "Ya' already know tha' plan, don't you? Hurry on up out of here. There's a whole lot o' folks who are gunnin' for my head, and one of 'em happens to be…"
Walkyr was in the middle of speaking, and a rift opened up behind him, and thus near Bonecrusher and its occupants.
The gunslinger's eyes widened, almost caught fully off guard by the sudden arrival of the rift.
"Ah, dammit!" The gunslinger shouted, dashing as quickly as he could toward the hound.
The next second, a tenebrous ball of energy came through the rift, and the area was engulfed in a massive explosion that drowned everything in its vicinity.