They came running into Faye and Aren in groups, their numbers only increasing as they all took out from the base of the statue.
Individually, they were weak, but their blades and armor made them lethal in numbers.
It could be fatal if Aren's not cautious.
Faye stepped forward, leading her beams throughout the dark room to strike the small beasts.
Aren still did not have a weapon to defend himself, but he still had his fists.
Lowering himself, he threw his fist forward with utmost force to hit the screeching monster.
In a single blow, the armor cracked, and the Scout was sent flying backwards. Without hesitation, Faye finished it off with her Spectral Ring, leaving a hole in its stomach.
Purple liquid leaked out as the Scout's body lumped downwards.
Aren narrowed his eyes, 'Disgusting.'
At the same time, more emerged, numbering nearly five times as many as the two.
Faye quickly raised her open palms forward, furrowing her brows. A wide circle matching the color of her wrists, containing unique patterns that spoke of years, even centuries of age, appeared out of thin air behind her.
Its presence radiated throughout the room, leaving everyone frozen in their places.
Thin, singular lines emerged from the circle, aiming to pierce the hearts of the Scouts as if they were designed to do so.
The hissing of the Scouts grew louder as each line shot out of their backs into the other, leaving an entangled mess of branches.
They slowly disintegrated into ash, and the glow in their eyes dimmed out as their weapons fell.
Aren's eyes widened, unaware of her new move. "When... were you able to do that?"
After exterminating the Scouts, the glowing branches quickly slung backwards into the circle. Then, the circle's patterns started breaking down until it eventually also disappeared.
"It was true. The threads of fate are indeed delicate in this area." Faye muttered.
She turned her head towards Aren, her lips curled upwards, before turning back and heading deeper into the building.
Aren simply ignored her and followed her into the dark room. However, before catching up to her, his boot, stolen from a hunter, hit a metallic object belonging to the disintegrated Scouts.
He looked downwards, only to see a long iron chain that encircled itself.
Aren's lips slightly curled up, "This will do the job. For now."
He leaned down and took hold of the chain, gripping it tightly. Suddenly, it twitched.
'Huh?'
The chain wrapped around his arm like a bracelet, leaving his skin widely exposed between its cold, metallic links.
Aren tried pulling back, but he was too late to do anything. It felt as if the chains had just glued to him.
More than that, a different part of the chain circled his other arm too. He tried pulling it, throwing it, and striking it, but nothing worked.
Worried, he turned his head upwards. Faye stood there silently, watching him with a rather unamused face.
Aren clicked his tongue as he continued trying to pull the chains off, not asking her for help. It'll only make him seem more pathetic.
'This just always has to happen!'
Eventually, he simply gave up and let the chains stick to him. If fate willed it that way, so be it. He'd just have to drag it on with him.
As he stepped forward, he let his dark blue robe drape over them, covering them completely.
"What? If you have anything to say, then spit it out."
Faye shook her head, keeping an eerie smile on her face. She then started walking along the carved path once more.
A long staircase came into sight as they stepped between the statues of the valiant heroes in the Era of Gold.
Aren was especially confused about how they were referred to as heroes if they let this city crumble to this degree.
Looking at the towering statues, Aren couldn't understand how these men were called heroes. Heroes never made sense to Aren. Behind their facades, he only ever found corruption, hypocrisy, and cruelty. That wasn't paranoia. It was the truth he'd learned the hard way.
Growing up in Helmond, a city that stank of filth and despair, left him with no reason to believe otherwise.
"Faye. Where are we going? This is too much for a weapon."
Still descending the steps, she replied, "It will be worth it. It is no mere weapon, but a part of your Aberration."
Aren was unsure of what to think of that.
Finally reaching the end of the staircase that descended to a large door that was built out of pure metal.
With one look, Aren knew it would be impossible to open, no matter how much he tried. But, to him, nothing was impossible.
"Let me try opening it," said Aren. Faye raised a brow.
He stepped forward, reaching closer to the wide gate in an attempt to try and force it open.
He put his two hands on it, then put all of the force he could muster into them.
The gate didn't even budge. He tried pushing even more, gritting his teeth as his face slowly turned red.
Determined not to appear weak, he continued pushing without looking back at Faye, but unfortunately for him, the thick gate remained immovable.
He let go of his hands that felt like they were about to break. 'Damn it!'
Suddenly, the gate began making a loud noise that echoed throughout the entire building.
Finally, the door opened. At first, it appeared to open on its own, but as Aren turned to tell Faye that she didn't need to thank him, he noticed she was standing next to a lever that he hadn't seen before.
He blinked.
Faye looked at him, "I was going to tell you, but you didn't give me a chance."
Aren only narrowed his eyes in annoyance as she watched, entertaining herself, seeing him struggle.
He parted his lips, ready to speak, when, out of nowhere, a colossal, shadowy figure clad in dark armor was summoned directly behind Faye. Its eyes glowed purple in the dark room.
The air crackled with tension as the presence loomed ominously, silencing him in an instant.
Aren's eyes widened in alarm as he extended his arm. "Faye! Get away—"
Then, the words stopped coming out.
Blood leaked out of her mouth, falling slowly down her chin onto her white dress, leaving a stained waste.
"Fate… is far too… cruel." Faye choked out the words, turning her head downwards to see the cause of the burning pain.
In the distance, the bewildered Aren saw a sword that shot out of her chest with sharp outlines and unspeakable words engraved onto it.
"No. No, no, no!" He cried out loud, a sorrowful expression on his face.
Faye's consciousness vanished. Faye had died.