Li Daiyu looked like she swallowed something unpleasant, eyelashes quivering as she shouted, "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Nox let go as she yanked her arm away from him, immediately covering the red symbol.
It wasn't hard to miss against Li Daiyu's pale complexion.
There was a long four-point star in the middle with six spikes surrounding it. A circle rested in the middle of the star, giving the impression of a raging sun.
Next to the black curse mark, it looked especially prominent.
Nox clenched the phone in his hand, releasing it a split second later when he felt it creak. "Why do you have it?" His voice sounded hoarse and strange to his own ears.
So Jiwoo and Victor were off to the side, faces neutral. Ari looked at the tense adults in confusion.
He hadn't shown Lei the photo before- with nimble fingers, she swiped it away and scrutinized the picture.
"Why... is it a crime to get a tattoo?" Li Daiyu retorted defensively.
Nox didn't know why he felt so worked up about the mark either. But the visions he saw right before that bright beam of light from the Seed of Catastrophe- he remembered those clearly.
The bold, crimson mark inevitably reminded him of the red eyes from the Serpent that he had encountered.
That Zera had encountered.
'... Could I be wrong?'
So Jiwoo frowned as the black haired man fell silent. "Nox?"
Nox hummed, acknowledging So Jiwoo. But he didn't respond, staring at the mark with [Eye of Themis] activated.
As expected.
He glanced over at So Jiwoo, the latter raising his eyebrows in question. Nox shook his head subtly. There was too much to explain and they were still in a trial. It would have to wait. "Sorry. I overreacted."
Li Daiyu tugged her jacket up, hugging it closer to herself. "It's fine," she said stiffly. Her fingers were clenched so tight that her knuckles turned white. She shuffled away slightly as the rest of the group got settled back into the small corner, no longer interested in interacting with them.
Wen had been hidden by Ari the entire round and then was smashed flat by Number 7's hammer, so they still didn't know the specific effects of the curse marks.
Nox sat down next to Lei with a sigh, glancing at the dark lines branding her fingers. 'Claude is going to kill me.'
"Churr," Kuna purred as Nox sat down, immediately leaving Lei's shoulder to sink into Nox's shadow. He didn't give his master any time to pat his head.
Nox raised an eyebrow at his familiar's behavior but chose not to comment on it. "Did you get anything good from Wen?" he asked Lei.
Lei showed off the spoils she gathered. "There's some pearls that glow in the dark, a rusty sword, and some kind of card. Oh, this one is pretty good." She took it out of her inventory to show Nox. "[Drunkard's Bottle]. It gives unlimited refills for any drink you pour inside."
"What's inside right now?"
Lei took a tentative sniff, "... Beer?"
So Jiwoo laughed at her scrunched up face. "Victor's somewhat of an expert at identifying alcoholic drinks, do you want him to try?"
"... Jiwoo." There was a note of embarrassment on Victor's face as his leader casually exposed him.
Lei handed the item over easily, "Sure, you can try."
So Jiwoo gave the canteen to Victor.
A second later, Victor revealed its contents. "It's vodka." He held the canteen higher, away from Ari's curious hands.
The little girl furrowed her brows in confusion, pointing at the silver item with confusion. "Why...no?"
A big hand patted her head gently. "Not for children."
Ari nodded reluctantly, letting out a small sneeze.
Nox noticed, ready to offer his jacket when So Jiwoo took off his sweater and tugged it over Ari's head. Underneath, So Jiwoo wore a simple long sleeved shirt with a blue stone dangling on a chain. It glowed briefly as his hand brushed past it. "It's a little chilly in here, isn't it?"
Victor handed the item back to Lei, looking at the two sternly, "Dress warmer next time."
So Jiwoo waved away his concern. "I know, I know." The second leader of Arcadia promptly let out a sneeze.
Victor: "..."
Lei burst out laughing, and even Nox couldn't prevent the smile that creeped up on his face.
The cavern was completely dark at this point.
Li Daiyu sat down a distance away from them, resting her head against her knees.
Nox and Lei took out their phones to act as flashlights.
"I suppose one of you have a portable charger?" So Jiwoo asked in amusement, seeing the two unhesitantly drain their battery.
Nox answered back good naturally, "Of course, she's right here."
Lei rolled her eyes. "When did you guys have such a good relationship?" she asked suspiciously, looking between the two.
"Since you snored away after the last round," Nox teased, amused as the teenage girl's face turned red with embarrassment.
"Uncle!"
***
Claude sneezed twice in succession, frowning as he glanced at the gloomy sky. The dark clouds created a depressing scene above B City, appearing right after Nox and Lei left to participate in the trial this morning.
"Oh, that looks bad," Li Zemin whistled as he followed Claude's line of sight. The brown haired man was fiddling with his phone, slouched in a leather chair.
The fiddling stopped, and a second later a replica of the phone appeared in his hand.
Li Zemin clicked his tongue in annoyance when the screen wouldn't turn on, tossing it into the growing pile of defects.
Liam hugged Roscoe to his chest, looking at Bak Soomin's calm expression anxiously. He wasn't a big fan of thunder- it was loud and startling, nothing like Lei's vibrant, playful purple lightning.
Claude glanced at the small duo, noting that the raccoon that had reappeared at some unknown time. "We should leave soon."
Bak Soomin nodded in agreement, looking around the mostly empty common area.
Other members of Arcadia had spotted the strange group and kept a wide berth, staring at them like wolves in the dark. Even know, she could practically sense the radiating hostility coming from the corridors.
A commotion sounded down the hall, followed by heavy, fast-paced footsteps.
She commented dryly, "It seems like we've overstayed our welcome."
Seconds later, a familiar face slammed open the door of the common area, features screwed up unpleasantly.
Claude nodded at the newcomer. "Bai Yu."
Bai Yu's chest was heaving as the older man took in the familiar faces occupying his base. A moment passed, then he straightened himself and regained his composure. "Why are you here."
A ambient smile crossed Claude's face as he turned away from the window. "Sightseeing, of course."
Before Bai Yu's face could turn into a fully ripened tomato, an even louder bang resounded in the hallway. A chubby faced man with an unkept beard ran to Bai Yu in a panic. "Boss, there's a group of intruders!"
Bai Yu's expression turned frosty. "Who dares?" This area had already been firmly established as Arcadia's base. Whoever chose to intrude on their territory understood who they would be offending.
The messenger took in large gulps of air, legs still trembling from the sudden jolt of adrenaline. "T-they call themselves Serpents!"
***
The curse marks made their effects known in the third round.
With a panicked yelp, Lei ran in the other direction, away from the mole chasing her. Unconsciously, she moved in Nox's direction. "Uncle, I can't use my ability anymore!" she wailed, skidding around a pillar to avoid the nightmarish 'squiii' as the hammer came down mercilessly.
"Kuna, go help her," Nox ordered his familiar, using the Sword of Hearts to deflect another blow from Number 4. With a chirp of acknowledgement, Kuna slipped off his shoulder to assist Lei.
Number 4 must be very good at holding grudges, because the other moles didn't dare to even look at Nox, immediately choosing to chase the other humans.
[Stinky human, quickly come here!]
When Number 4 snarled at him, Nox learned that moles had sharp, pointed teeth similar to a cat's.
Number 2 had enlisted Number 1's help to recover its hammer, but the squeaky hammer had been considered as an item and now sat happily in So Jiwoo's inventory. As a result, the moles could only chase him around to vent Number 2's anger.
Victor and Ari were holding their own- well, Victor was, at least.
Nox actually felt somewhat sorry for Ari's mole because the little girl would go into hiding every time. There was always a mole left behind that would be sniffing in a corner of the cavern fruitlessly.
The effect of Li Daiyu's curse mark wasn't as obvious, but it became clear when the woman was forced to use her ability. When Li Daiyu blocked the hammer with a trembling arm, her nails were lengthened and sharpened to resemble claws. That explained her well-maintained hands.
He glanced down at the high heels the woman was wearing. For the past two rounds, Li Daiyu had managed to escape mostly unscathed even while wearing heels.
'Number 5's hammer has a slowing effect.' Nox noted.
The third round seemed to drag on longer than before. By the end, Li Daiyu was hit a second time and Victor was hit by Number 3's hammer.
"Lei, start the stopwatch for me."
"Ah? Okay." As Lei turned on her phone, she made a startled noise as her eyes caught onto Nox's arm. "Uncle, you're bleeding."
Although Number 4 hadn't managed to hit him with its hammer, it had lunged for him with its claws. Nox didn't pull back in time before he got scratched.
"It's fine," he waved off Lei's concern. Bleeding was related to his ability anyway.
These rounds would have been easier if he had used it, but he wasn't a masochist. If he didn't need to bleed, then he didn't want to. Besides, it would be a problem if he passed out in the middle of this trial.
Any reservations about the three members of Arcadia had long since disappeared, but with Li Daiyu still alive he didn't feel comfortable revealing his true ability.
He glanced over.
So Jiwoo was observing the spiral mark on Victor's arm. For once, the young man had a deep frown on his face. Ari dug through her pockets, offering Victor a wrapped candy that he accepted.
They would be reliable allies. But outside where they had a duty to Arcadia... who knew if they would keep their word. Humans were fickle creatures.
So Jiwoo broke the silence with a frustrated sigh. "I don't think we can last all nine rounds like this."
"It's because we came in as allies," Nox replied with a smile, but his eyes were cold. "This trial would be easy to pass if someone came in by themselves."
The group fell into silence again. If someone had come in with six other people and each person would only die by obtaining three curse marks... Sure enough, fighting to keep others alive was harder than just keeping yourself alive.
Wordlessly, Nox walked over to the barrier the moles disappeared behind every night. It pulsed with a faint light as his fingers touched it, but it didn't violently throw him backwards like it had with Li Daiyu. It simply allowed him to acknowledge the invisible boundary.
He stared into the darkness.
He remembered in his first trial when a similar barrier had been placed up, not allowing him to leave. And then Hui had appeared at the end, but he had been distracted by his hunger and didn't catch the Overseer's explanation.
Nox blinked.
Hui had... what had he done again? Nox's hand pressed harder against the barrier as he scrambled to recall his memories. An object... yes, there had been something that Hui destroyed. And that broke the barrier.
Broke...
"It can be broken...?" Nox muttered, a gleam appearing in his eyes.