As they took their steps slowly and carefully, Mono, Kazuya and Came treaded closer to the central shopping district of the Green Hole. There was an enormous amount of guards all governing the place. They had heard from many that were shopping there the day before that they had seen the three of them appear here. Of course, the obscurity of where they went after that completely backtracked any progress the guards made.
"Slowly now.... take your steps extremely slowly...." Whispered Came.
"Y'don't have to keep reminding us. This is nerve-racking enough as it is." Whispered Mono annoyingly.
With each slow step, they grew closer to their destination. They had been walking for what feels like an eternity because of this slow pace, but all would be worth it, they thought. They had been walking past every guard flawlessly. Their entire presence was sealed away.
"As straining as this is, your plan is perfect, Came." Whispered Kazuya.
This plan of Came's was simple. The same way he made them invisible back then when the guards chased them, he would keep them all invisible as they walked towards the gate. Of course, this would be somewhat easy for Mono and Kazuya, but most of the strain was on Came. Turning himself invisible wasn't an issue, but turning others invisible is a great feat, let alone when they are moving, hence why they must all move at a snail's pace.
"Can't we go any faster than?" Complained Mono
"No. Also if you could keep quiet so I can concentrate that would be great..." Whispered Came with a strained voice.
There were only a few steps left till the gate. Finally, in a few short moments, they could leave this level and move on to the next. However, before they could, Came's ability began to hinder. The strain was too great on him, and the invisibility was very close to wearing off.
"Came, are you okay?" Asked Kazuya.
"Yes... I'm fine..." Said Came, despite his heavy breathing. "It's only a few.... more steps.... I'll... be fine...."
One step. Two steps. Three steps. Finally, this was the last one. Once they step on this area, they can activate the gate.
As they stepped onto the area of the gate, shown by a rectangular outline, a glow began to appear, only this time it shone a bright baby blue. As the hole began to form, everyone looked back there, thinking there was some form of malfunction with the gate. Mono, Kazuya, and Came were about to depart, but just before the gate fully opened for them to begin their descent, Came's was no longer able to keep them invisible. For a few short moments, they were visible. The guards immediately took action, and followed them through the gate.
"Shit, now what do we do?!" Exclaimed Mono
"We only have one option." Said Came.
The darkness around them evaporated, and they began their freefall to the ground. Below them was aa field full of crops, farms, and strange looking livestock. Above them was a slightly more blue sky, and two guards who had managed to make their way through the hole.
"Mono, Came, and human, you have all been deemed a sky-wide threat, and hereby sentenced to death!" Shouted one of the guards.
"Tsk, those pesky assholes." Said Mono.
As they continued their fall, they came to a halt right before landing. Mono and Came landed on their feet, while Kazuya almost succeeded, but ended up tripping and falling on his face once again.
"Kazuya, get your ass of the ground! We gotta run!" Shouted Mono.
"I hate these gates so much..." Thought Kazuya as he got up.
Soon after getting up, the guards landed down with a loud thud, sending a shockwave around them. Mona, Kazuya, and Came all started to run away, with the guards following after. While Mono was able to run at a rapid pace, Kazuya was running at a slower than average pace, while Came was still recovering from keeping the three of them invisible. In a hurry, Mono thought up of a plan, and grabbed both Kazuya and Came.
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait NOT THIS AGAI-" Thought Kazuya before being dragged onto the floor alongside Came.
Mono was once again leading the way by dragging his companions. However, the amount of buildings were small, only a few that could be seen from where they were, preventing him from running on walls, or preforming any stunts like he would like to. He opted to prioritize his speed and the field's thickness to escape the guards. While running, he made it to one of the barns, and swiftly moved inside of it, diverging the guards away from them.
"Wooh, that was a whole workout!" Said Mono, despite him barely breaking a sweat. "How are you guys?"
He looked at Kazuya and Came, who at this point were just barely hanging on to their lives and laying on the ground.
"Oi. Say something." Said Mono in a blunt tone.
Eventually, Came and Kazuya got up, and began thinking of a plan to escape the guards. They were in a barn filled with livestock, and it was only a matter of time before they were found.
"God, this place reeks!" Said Mono.
"You're the one who dragged us here. Stop complaining." Said Kazuya. "Came, are you doing alright? You still don't seem too well."
"I'm fine. At this point, I'm not as fatigued, and can hopefully run on my own. However, if I'm dragged around like that again, I could genuinely die." Came said while staring at Mono.
"At least show some sort of emotion or concern while saying that... Also, you should be thanking me for saving you two's lives!" Said Mono.
"You almost ended it though..." Thought Kazuya.
"Either way, we need to figure out how to escape the guards. As much as I'd like to reuse my plan of invisibility sneaking, I'm too drained to do so. Additionally, we have no clue where the next gate is." Said Came.
"So our only options are to continue running away until we find the platform or fight them head-on, eh?" Said Mono.
"Pretty much. Either way we have a slim chance of making it out, but preferably, minimalizing any sort of fighting is ideal." Said Came.
"Hmph! Well, I believe it'd be better for us to just wipe them out completely! After all, I've been meaning to use up some of the energy I've collected." Said Mono.
"Energy? Wait, Mono, do you have a-" Came said, before being interrupted by a beam of light, barely missing Came's head. As they turn around, they find one of the guards standing at an entrance opposite to theirs, and quickly, the three of them get up to flee, but are stopped by the other guard. They are now trapped in the barn with only one option left: to fight for their survival.
"Hehe, this is perfect. I finally get to let out some steam!" Mono said, with a green glow starting to form around him.
"Kazuya, I need to you to go hide immediately. If you stay here, you'll be killed." Said Came whilst unsheathing his sword. "On my mark, run towards one of the pens and hide in them, got it?"
"...Got it." Said Kazuya hesitantly.
"Alright... One... two...."
As tension filled the air, and energy flowed within the barn, a showdown was about to commence...
"THREE!"