The next day, Urtica was back to normal again. He got up on time, participated in conversations, and even laughed a couple times. It really seemed like his problem had been resolved.
Baoba was not convinced.
He wasn't sure there had been a problem in the first place, because none of it fit the usual profile. On the other hand, if he really was a spy, Urtica was being a pretty lousy one. On top of that, there were still all of the previous reasons that seemed to imply his loyalty.
For example, his long and arduous training alongside the whole team.
But then why did he react like this ? Why did he pretend nothing happened ?
What did he talk about with Pando ?
Questions of that sort were spinning uncontrollably in the team leader's head, and this wasn't even the worst of his worries.
"Euugh.." Right now, he was sat on a pile of beds near the entrance, letting out an audible grunt as he buried his face in his hands. The fire from breakfast was dying down, and the squad was getting ready.
Even in this little cave with a pool of dried blood just underneath the surface, he felt like he was tucked in bed, having to go out in the cold.
He thought about his enemies. He thought about his plans.
He thought about the real possibility of their death in the near future. And about other things, too.
But he didn't have much time to think. The forest was waking up.
They had to move north, towards more dangerous enemies, away from potential backup.
Towards the humans, too.
Today, he especially didn't want to put up with it. More than ever, he wished to be at home, his very first home he only got by promising he would leave.
Behind him, he felt Capcsium move to him and reach out to put her hand on his shoulder. He chose not to dodge.
"You alright, Captain ?"
He paused, put on a confident smile after straightening his posture, and said in a sweet voice :
"Fuck no."
Everyone was a bit stunned. This was usually a great occasion for a motivational speech about friendship and trust. Plus, this wouldn't have been the first time a member of this group hid their true feelings.
Baoba let himself fall onto the beds he was sitting on, hands pressed against his face.
"Today, I slept six hours on a very crude bed, thirty centimetres away from the blood of my victims. Even this sleep of lesser quality was broken up by night watch, and now it's morning, and I am 100% sure it will only get worse, much worse. So no, I'm not okay."
Sitting up, he glanced at the sky for a moment.
In the silent, sleeping forest, only a few birds broke the silence. The air was lacking conditioning, and the sky was an annoyingly pure shade of blue.
He could almost feel the inquisitive stares of his team weighing on his back. Looking back down, he let out a heavy sigh and got up.
"But who is, right ? I don't think there is a single week in my life where I've been alright. It just doesn't matter. The Lord isn't going to kill himself, and neither is he going to stop threatening us. The humans will not stop trying to annex and exploit us, and the world will not stop spinning. Wether it is today, or in the past, we gotta do what we gotta do, no matter how we feel. Basically, what I'm saying is..."
He walked out of their shelter, just like he did the previous days, and put his right hand on his clavicle, thumb up against his neck, in a menacing gesture.
"We're going. Down with the Lord."
As always, the team followed him.
***
The day was going as usual, without much difference from the previous ones. They had one encounter, dodged a similar amount of the same monsters, it was maybe even a bit more peaceful.
Baoba's expression was getting more and more grim.
'This isn't right..'
Looking straight ahead, he played his move absentmindedly : "Bishop takes E5."
Another game start was going splendid for the captain, but it didn't seem to improve his mood.
'Is it finally happening ? Is it today ?'
Venus and the team didn't emote from their whole strategy crumbling before their eyes for the hundredth time. They started thinking about their next move without communicating.
It was worth noting that each member's growth was actually very impressive, but it didn't matter in the slightest. Baoba still crushed them mercilessly every time without ever looking at the board, looking as if he was not even putting in any effort or enjoying this at all.
It had been a while since someone said a sentence that wasn't just their move. This situation was only slightly better than the silence.
Capcsium spoke up after tacitly agreeing with her team : "Pawn to D4."
"G7." He played right away, as he always did.
It wasn't hard to see his mind was entirely elsewhere.
Venus looked away from her new board and asked : "You're obviously not putting much thought in the game, what's on your mind ?"
He didn't talk for a little, then curtly answered : "I'd rather not tell you."
She didn't really expect to receive a real response anyway, so her eyes just went back to the game.
Baoba could not care less about his squad's feelings right now.
'Please let me be wrong... This is only the second time I've prayed, please let this day be as uneventful as before..'
He didn't get any divine feedback, so he could only hope.
And wait.
And hope.
And pray.
And wait even more.
But once again, he was reminded of the reason why he wasn't a zealous believer.
Nothing ever went right in his life.
Pando stopped abruptly, her eyes widening greatly. Every detail of her posture implied danger, and panic. As she turned around and reported as quickly as she possibly could, Baoba closed his eyes and allowed himself to feel the irony for a millisecond.
'Of all the times to be right...'
"Every monster in the vicinity has started moving in our direction ! A huge army is closing in on us from outside of my detection range ! We have about 4, no, 3 minutes before the first ones arrive ! The monsters already in my range will arrive in 30 seconds ! What do we do ?"
The captain started talking before she even finished her last sentence.
"Capcsium, start charging up two thermal bombs to the absolute maximum right now ! Venus, take these and make a box with the weaker side up, It has to be perfectly sealed on all sides ! Let me know before you nail the top on !"
He threw two strange pitch-black metallic orbs to Capcsium, and immediately created on the ground before Venus six thick slabs of the same weird material, along with a hammer made of a single cut-out piece of that mineral, and a bunch of obsidian-looking long nails.
The slabs's shapes suggested a pretty flat box, and one of the big sides was a bit less thick than the others.
Capcsium caught the orbs and hesitated for a second before closing her eyes and lighting the inside of her hands with a bright, deep crimson light.
Venus dropped to her knees and took two seconds to understand what she had to do, then looked up to Baoba briefly, seemingly wanting to know why she was making a box.
But his back was already turned, and a light blue glow around his right hand heralded the arrival of his bone sword.
"Urtica and Pando, we're going to defend the two of them because our lives depend on it !"
Pando instantly drew her weapon and caught the small shield Baoba had tossed her.
Urtica had removed his gloves at some point. His silver shortsword had already started glowing a deep purple and made a characteristic metallic unsheathing sound as he got into a battle stance.
Pando used the remaining time to tell them about their opponents.
The three protectors were arranged in a triangle around Urtica and Venus, as they poured all their focus into their respective tasks.
This was an unprecedented crisis : the three of them would have to fight alone against multiple enraged monsters in order to even have a small chance at surviving this.
Already, Baoba could distinctly hear the mortifying sounds of a multitude of beasts rushing to him at full speed. Simply stopping the inertia of such massive bodies would be tough.
But he also had to kill them,and fast.
He summoned a massive javelin and got ready to force it through the first beast he saw. This strategy was not applicable to the whole wave due to their numbers and speed, but it would at the very least take one down.
And then the time ran out. Two napes were charging him, and the screams and steps behind them were gently suggesting they did not come alone.
Baoba's javelin shot out at dire speed, carrying enough force to kill its target on the spot. But if there was one constant in Baoba's life, it would be this :
Nothing ever went right.
The nape tripped, involuntarily dodging the fatal projectile.
'Mothefu..' He did not have the luxury to finish that thought.
The beasts were already on him.