The undiscovered maroon creatures attacking the miners were small and agile, very unlike the cavelurkers that Malaro had theorized to have a connection with them.
Seeing them again, however, Sylren could understand why her teammate would think so. These creatures had an uncanny resemblance with the critically endangered cavelurkers, to the point that to the lesser informed people these Etherbeasts were likely to just appear as underdeveloped cavelurkers. But the researcher team knew better.
They walked to the direction tens of miners were fleeing from, following behind the skyguards they'd put the faith of this mission's success onto. The three captains took front stage, scaring away the Beasts climbed on top of the miners. Commander Befir walked two steps in front and to the side of Master Dwajo, tens steps behind whom trailed the research team.
"What do you think, Malaro," Sylren asked as the skyguards helped the miners. "I can see how you came up with that theory, but we must also look into the points against it."
Malaro nodded. "Cavelurkers have never been seen in groups of more than ten. And they for sure don't look like these malnourished creatures. But the features of these…that anatomy and that skin pigmentation. That's the best lead we have on finding more about them."
Lariz was noting down the conversation, adding some of his own points, and his son was filming everything.
All the captains far ahead of them pulled out their Subjugators and fired some shots to scare off the cavelurkers. The energy guns did not fire solid bullets, but lines of light.
"Careful, Lexnal," Master Dwajo said, his voice louder than usual. "You almost shot one of them." He upped his pace, Befir jogging beside him deeper into the tunnel.
Prestris lagged behind the group, her daughter Ulana close to her. "They're already fleeing, Sylren. Maybe they're intimidated by the sheer numbers marching toward them."
Arold stuck beside his mother, eyes to the escaping creatures as he turned his head up and to his mother's side. "You could've easily gotten them with an arrow, mom."
"Blood's not necessary here," Sylren said with a shake of her head. "Those creatures are prey in a different sense. A good hunter can hunt without hurting." She turned to Prestris. "I think you're right, Prestris. Should we let the skyguards continue without us?"
Prestris gave her a nod as they all stopped. "I think we've contributed enough by successfully predicting the location of the Beasts' next attack."
Malaro and Lariz agreed.
"Master Dwajo," Sylren shouted. "I don't think numbers are helping us. They're good at fleeing. You'll have to chase them separately."
Dwajo glanced over his shoulder as he continued running deeper and gave a thumbs-up.
"What about the video?" Korven asked of the halted group. "I thought we were filming the badass scene of you guys capturing one of those animals."
"The video was to capture the Beasts' behavior mostly," Malaro said, folding his arms, Trixina by his side. "If those skyguards succeed in their part, filming one of those creatures in good lighting would be an inevitable step. So don't sweat it."
"Got it."
The skyguards disappeared from view completely and the thundering of the fleeing Etherbeasts stopped. But only a few moments later, a scream from the deeper part of the tunnel echoed throughout, cutting the conversation of the research team.
"They got Captain Lexnal," a captain screamed. "Those bastards were luring us in! There were hundreds waiting!"
Sylren ran toward the noise.
"Don't jump in without thinking first, Sylren," Malaro advised, reaching for her with a hand. "If those Beasts are strong enough to take on a captain—"
"Shut up and follow me!"
The research team shared glances which slowly turned into nods. They did accordingly, everyone following Sylren. Soon they found Commander Befir sitting outside a cave, back against a wall. He had removed his hat, and purple blood was splattered across his uniform coat.
"Don't tell me you attacked one of those undiscovered Beasts!" Sylren said, pulling on the collar of the commander.
Malaro pulled her away from the skyguard. "Calm down, Sylren. Don't forget he's on our side."
"No…" Prestris said softly, sweat on her forehead.
Ulana gasped. "That's…horrible…!"
Korven turned his camera inside the cave, filming the horrific sight with a set jaw. Lariz stood behind his son, notepad to mouth.
Seeing the reactions of the others, Arold turned away from the cave's mouth. But Trixina stepped past the adults and looked inside and didn't react too badly. Morbid curiosity got Arold and Trixina's indifferent expression helped him to follow in the girl's steps—
He fell upon a single glance inside the cave, plugging his shout with both hands.
Sylren and Malaro were the last ones to join. They entered the cave with a quick step but immediately jolted still in shook for a long moment.
Tens of burning corpses of the maroon Etherbeasts were scattered around the middle of the cave with lines of black smoke trailing upward from them. The three captains were kneeling around a bleeding body lying motionless on the ground, blood drenching the clothes and pooling around the body. It was Master Dwajo.
"What happened?" Sylren demanded, running to the skyguards. "Who did this?"
Lexnal lowered his head, his shoulders shivering. "He risked his life…for someone like me…"
The other two captains also had tears in their eyes.
Sylren looked at Master Dwajo's lifeless body, blood gushing out from the several small claw marks etched onto his skin—most on his stomach. "We have to get him to a hospital," she said with urgency. "NOW!"
Lexnal shook his head, lowering it further.
"What!" Sylren gulped as she examined Dwajo's body again. A mark of three claws had been swiped on the Legion Master's neck. "Is he…"
The captain nodded slowly. "We're sorry for Commander Befir's action," Lexnal said softly. "He lost control when he saw the Beasts attacking Master Dwajo…"
Sylren looked around at the near-burnt corpses. She bit her lower lip.
The mission was a failure. A way too big one. It was all her fault. Sylren had killed a good man for her own selfish reasons—
She felt a hand on her shoulder.
Malaro turned her around. "They're skyguards, Sylren. They'd accepted this result the day they joined Aegis."
Sylren tucked her head, eyes watering. "Doesn't justify what happened to him…"
"We mustn't let emotions come in the path of progress," Malaro said, taking Sylren out of the cave. "Conclusions don't need to be formed immediately."
Sylren looked at his face after hearing his wavering voice. Malaro also had tears in his eyes.
"If you turn your head down," Malaro said, trying not to sob, "what'll become of us? We did not kill that good man, Sylren. But we did contribute to his end. We'll have to live with that… But for now, we must not sit in that and blame ourselves. Let's not disrespect the skyguard's brave actions."
Sylren nodded in understanding. She raised her head, bringing her eyes to the rest of her team standing outside the mouth of the cave. They seemed solemn. Quiet. And reasonably so.
Sylren must never forget this. The price of discovery. She had to use the yellow-orange flames scorching the corpses to burn this image onto her brain. "The Skies can offer everything you can imagine—for an appropriate price, of course." She finally understood the true meaning of those ancient words.
She turned her head to the nearest corpse and her brow jumped at something brighter than the flames eating the Etherbeast: a shiny blue crystal-like rock of no more than half-a-finger's length. A lucentum crystal.
Without thinking about it much, she exited the cave and grouped with the rest of her team. She immediately held her son by her side, wiping away the tears in his watery eyes. Commander Befir had already arranged everything, a group of miners hurrying inside with a stretcher.
"Let them burn," Befir said coldly, still squatting, head lowered. "It's a warning to the others." The skyguards nodded. "You all should also wait in the quarters…" he regarded the researchers without lifting his head. "We'll see it from here."
Everyone in the research team nodded…aside from Sylren. She did start with the rest of her team away from the cave, but she didn't plan of going too far.
The skyguards carried out their lifeless Legion Master, the captains and commander following behind. After they'd left the scene, Sylren revisited the cave where the ash of burned Etherbeasts stained the rocky ground.
She tried finding the blue crystal she'd seen earlier, and not too soon, from within the ash of a corpse, she brought it out. Her suspicions had been true: it was a lucentum crystal.
'Now why would this be here?' Sylren thought.
###
"I think I discovered two things, you guys," Sylren said to her team. "And I need your help to confirm those theories."
The others were surprised to find her come all the way up to the quarters. They didn't look like they wanted to talk much. Not after what had just happened with Master Dwajo…
"Let's talk later, Sylren," Malaro said quietly. "We'll join you at dinner."
Sylren nodded in understanding. She wasn't ignoring what had just happened down in the mines. No, what she had discovered actually related back to Master Dwajo.
And how he might've died of reasons other than the beasts.
The lucentum crystal in her pocket held the key to it all.
###
Within a month, the skyguard in charge of the mines had changed.
Commander Befir had moved out of the mines and become the new Master of Legion 55.
As for new commander in-charge of Ezlus Mines, Captain Marseth was promoted to that position.
With the new men in power, the research team could not conduct their research in the same manner. For once, Commander Lexnal denied helping them to capture one of those beasts, claiming that they'd bring nothing but misery like they did when Master Dwajo was involved.
Sylren and the team had understood their reason. But without the help of the skyguards, their research had screeched to a halt. The only reason the team had decided to stay in the Ezlus Mines was due to their leader, who had said the progress on her theories was going wonderfully well.
But more than a year had passed now since Commander Lexnal came into power and refused to provide any help. The research team had grown closer after spending this time together in the Ezlus Mines. Their patience would be finally rewarded.
For the day to test her theory had arrived.
Sylren was smiling as she sat in a dark corner of a narrow tunnel, a heavy pouch in her hands. Korven was ready with his camera, lying flat on his belly about 20 meters away. Arold and Trixina were lying beside him, waiting for the team leader's signal to light up the cave.
Sylren took a deep breath and opened the pouch.
Her face was immediately washed by a glittering shimmer of a thousand blue lucentum crystals. It had taken a year to get this much. She almost prayed once again for this to work.
Only stopped by a horde of maroon creatures approaching her.
She smiled widely, spilling the contents of the pouch toward them.
The Etherbeasts rushed to the crystals and it confirmed one of her theories.
These undiscovered Beasts were attacking the skyguards only because they mined lucentums. These creatures seemed to like the blue crystals—
One gobbled up a few and suddenly a fight broke out between the creatures for a major share of lucentums.
'They eat lucentums—!'
The two who'd won the fight ate the rest of the crystals.
What happened next choked Sylren.