Joysaleen walked toward the mining camp with thumping steps, kicking up dust. She knew she was wasting energy, but those two had pissed her off way too much. She'd allied herself with Ryuzio and Hitryel for the sole purpose of their power to protect her from danger. And what did they do? Leave her behind! Who the fluck did that? Even Baru hadn't left her by herself once she joined for a job.
'No,' she thought to herself. 'I'm more pissed off because I have to walk all the way there… I just hope they don't get themselves in trouble.' Why? Because they were allies, of course. Why else?
As she was convincing herself that she had changed—something she had to do only ever since the last night, after she betrayed Baru—she heard a zooming noise, like a fan blowing away dust.
She found the source of the sound to be a hovercar coming her way from behind her back. This could be of help. She waved her arms to get the driver's attention, stopping the hovercar before it passed by her.
The driver was a man wearing a helmet with a visor and lights attached to the front of the parts covering his ears. A typical miner's helmet. Knowing this, she assumed that these two were also going to the mining camp—the miner helmet guy and the one sitting beside him, who had brown hair and wore overalls, both surely more than 15 years older than her.
"Are you lost, Miss?" the brown-haired man asked. "This is no place for kids to be in."
"Actually," Joysaleen said, putting her hands behind her back. "I just want to visit the lucentum mines as a study trip, but our academy just won't make it happen. So I decided to venture out on my own."
The two inside the hovercar shared glances. "You want a ride to the mines?"
Joysaleen nodded with a smile. "But only if you can afford it."
The driver shrugged, pointing to the back seat. "Fair enough. We get independent researchers all the time. Nothing new."
"Just try not to interfere with our own research," the brown-haired man said.
"Research?" Joysaleen asked, closing the door after getting in.
"We are part of the Resource Scout Force, after all," he replied. "Finding and researching resources is what we do around here." They took off.
Joysaleen gulped. "Ezlus Mines is run by skyguards?" She almost didn't want to say it out loud, but her curiosity got the best of her. Resource Scout Force was one of the Five Forces of Aegis, just like the Skybridge Security Force and the Hazard Combat Force.
"Why, yes," he replied. "Any lucentum mine is run by a Legion of the Resource Scout Force. The Etherbeasts that live in and near lucentum mines are not something regular miners can handle."
"So," Joysaleen asked, doing her best to suppress her hesitation. "Are you two skyguards too? I mean…the Legion that runs the Ezlus Mines must use some regular miners, right?"
"Nah," the driver said. "Every single one you see there will be a skyguard of Legion 55. Scout Force is the least demanding of the Forces in terms of qualifications, so the men there aren't much different from 'regular' miners anyway. It's just that…they accept the risk that comes with mining lucentum, and that's what makes them skyguards."
"But us two," said the brown-haired man, "we're both captains of our own individual squadrons, so don't worry about the other men in there. We'll tell them to let you do your thing."
"Can I ask for your name, Miss?" the driver said, not looking back. "I'm Captain Ernash, and this guy is Captain Celd."
"I'm…" Joysaleen said, letting out the fake name she always used, "Jayn. Jayn Blossome."
The brown-haired man raised a curious brow. "Like the…comic, 'The Jungli Jayn Blossome'?"
'How the fluck does he know about that comic?' Joysaleen thought in panic. 'That's not what old men read! Even I shouldn't know about that comic! Oh, yeah…'
"Comic?" Joysaleen said, pretending confusion. "I don't know what you're talking about."
The brown-haired man laughed. "Oh, I apologize," he said lightly. "I just assumed you'd know since the main character in that comic also shares your name. But I guess kids these days read digital comics, not traditional ones."
"That has nothing to with it," the driver commented. "That comic was written when we were younger than her. Of course she wouldn't know about that."
"I guess you're right," the other squadron captain replied. "Even I wouldn't have remembered that comic if my sister didn't like it so much. Its intended audience was young girls, after all."
"Can we talk about something else, man?" the driver said with a sigh. "We're two grown-ass men talking about a comic that was in publication two decades ago."
The brown-haired man laughed. "Of course," he said with a light snort. "Wanna talk about the economy of skyshards and how their prices are rising quickly?"
The driver shook his head with a smile. "You suck."
Their conversation was muffled to Joysaleen's ears as she had only two thoughts going through her head. The first one was about the comic. She never thought she'd meet someone who'd know of it. But she buried the thought to clear her sight for the second one, the much more important one.
If skyguards of Legion 55 were running the Ezlus Mines…then how did Baru make his illegal trades from here?
Something was off. Something she couldn't put a finger on, yet really obvious, right in front of her… But what exactly…?
'I hope Ryuzio and Hitryel don't initiate a battle with the skyguards…' She sighed. 'If they haven't already, that is…'
###
Hitryel turned his shoulders rightward, using the momentum to slash at one of the lunging maroon creatures with a kick. The impact sent the short creature flying to crash against one of the cave walls, just like the tens before it, and the few that were left.
More dared lunge at him as if the outcome would differ just because it was them, so Hitryel proved them wrong by kicking down every single one. Each of the short creatures let out a tiny screech as they went down. Hitryel exhaled as he looked for any opponent left standing. But he couldn't find one. Hundreds of maroon creatures were scattered on the rocky ground of the small cave, most unconscious. Had Hitryel overdone it?
"They tried me," Hitryel said to himself. "Their mistake—"
A loud scream from behind his back made him look over his shoulder. He turned with a demonic smile as his eyes fell upon the 10-or-so-foot monster standing ahead.
It looked similar to the maroon creatures, only with a deep red skin and of a much bigger size. Its hands could cover its entire round belly with ease, but the forearms they were connected to looked like twigs in comparison. Its legs were bulging with enormous calves and so it used them to charge at Hitryel.
"The boss is finally here, huh?" Hitryel said, using Ethersurge to enhance his muscles. The Style being his Primary made it so that he could use it with much more efficiency than someone like Ryuzio. Due to this, Hitryel lost way less Ether as it Surged throughout his body to empower him and could also keep it going for longer periods of time.
The red monster lunged from a distance with both hands in fists. Before they could crush Hitryel, he slid to the side, the crashing of the monster into the rocky ground throwing up dust. Hitryel quickly delivered a high kick to the monster's head, but it ducked and targeted his balancing leg, grabbing it with one of its large hands, pulling him off the ground, and then slamming him back to it.
Hitryel's back clapped against the rocks, the impact sending cracks out, his Ethersurge protecting his bones from shattering. But the monster wasn't done after stamping Hitryel down as it immediately followed its attack with a hammer fist.
It was not possible to roll to the side in such a small window, so Hitryel put his forearms up to block the falling hammer. The clash of their limbs sent out shockwaves that displaced the short maroon creatures tasting the rocky ground. The earth under Hitryel's back was cracking from the force pressing from above. If he stayed like this, he'd get flattened before too long. Therefore…
Hitryel Surged Ether to his forearms, strengthening them—
The monster brought down his other fist, hammering Hitryel into the ground, the impact blasting up a giant dust cloud. It looked down on the flattened Hitryel, and then exhaled through its nose before turning away. It walked as if it had won. Against whom?
Hitryel pulled himself out of the ground, blood dripping down his forehead.
The monster froze in its steps, but gathered enough heat to look over its shoulder.
Hitryel's eyebrows came together to point down, his expression tightening up. "How dare you turn your back against me!" he shouted. "We're not done yet!" Shockwaves flew out as Ether Surged through his muscles, his aura coat bursting into steam, making it look like as if smoke were coming out of his body.
The monster charged to put Hitryel down for good this time. It didn't lunge like its first charge, going for a simple tackle instead.
Mistake.
Hitryel exhaled to calm himself as he went into his stance, left forearm to front, fist pointed toward the surface above, right fist pulled to the side. The monster gasped loudly, bloodshot eyes widening as Hitryel's Ethersurge thickened around his right fist, smoke erupting out from it, trailing behind.
The momentum carried the monster forward even after it stopped itself, but it was too late, for Hitryel had launched his fist. The fist stopped right before contact, then a moment later it was touching the monster's head. Hitryel rotated it before pulling it back to the side, making the force ripple out, the monster's skin formed folds around its torso, all the way to its back—
"Ripple Bang!"
A banging explosion occurred the next moment, the force that seemed like it pierced through the monster sent it flying to the far wall, the shockwave produced from the impact throwing the fallen maroon creatures out to the walls as well.
Hitryel stood tall, exhaling through his mouth in satisfaction. "Go easy on them and they think they're stronger. Pathetic."
Clapping.
"Huh?" Hitryel turned toward the sound and found a man standing there. "Now who in the smoke are you?"
"That doesn't matter," the man said with a grin. "Because I know who you are…Hitryel Hystryk."
Hitryel cursed under his breath when he finally noticed the uniform worn by the man. It wasn't the typical skyguard uniform—white and gold—but the insignia on it was unmistakably of the Highplexian Aegis.
What did all this mean? Strange creatures in caves…along with skyguards?