"Wasn't he a bit... harsh back there?"
"Who, Marcus? What happened?"
Roxy paused for a moment, unsure herself what had happened. "He lashed out at the people, as though it was their fault that others were taken. Like they should have fought back regardless of the fact that some had. He was especially harsh to that older teen. It was as though he couldn't understand that they chose to survive rather than fight. Did something happen to him?"
"I'm... not sure. Maybe. He mentioned dreams to me once or twice," Elanor responded.
"Dreams? What kind of dreams?"
"Images. Of things, of people. For whatever reason, what he saw during his nights changed him." As Elanor spoke, she thought back to when she had first arrived at the orphanage.
"I was a scared child. The storm in the night. The uncertainty of the dark. The small creatures that could crawl all over you and creep inside your ear without you being aware at all. I was always afraid of something. And, while my parents were alive, they would always hold me throughout my fears. They made me feel safe.
Once I lost them, I became more afraid than ever before. But then, I went to Cranbrow. Then, I met him. He made me feel safe again, just like my parents had. If I was ever scared, I could simply turn to him, and he'd protect me. He'd hold me until I felt safe again.
Then, suddenly, he stopped. And I know his attitude towards me changed, not that he ever admitted it. But he became entirely consumed by the idea of strength, and that those who were weak deserved pity because of fate, or some other convoluted idea. I didn't really get it.
Personally, I think he's just too naive to understand that there's often more to things than what you know."
"That's concerning," Roxy said. "I understand the need for strength, especially here, and I think someone's strength is something I can like about them, but that seems like an unhealthy obsession. What's his deal with fate, as well? That's something he's mentioned a fair amount, too."
"Yeah. Fate is the most important thing, no one can change their outcome, therefore lament the weak and respect the strong, blah blah blah," Elanor said in agreement. "I don't understand it."
"I feel a little sorry for him. I can't imagine what he saw."
Silence fell over the two girls momentarily, as they approached the large building in front of them.
"These statues are giving me the creeps," Elanor said.
"Want me to hold you until you feel safe?" Roxy asked with a soft chuckle.
"Shush," Elanor said while rolling her eyes.
"So was that why you objected to coming down here back in the tunnels?" Roxy asked her.
"Yeah, I don't like tight spaces. I'm not too bad with the darkness on its own," Elanor answered. "Not anymore, at least. What about yourself? I seem to remember you objecting once we could hear things crawling about."
"I... I'd rather not talk about it."
"Ah, come on. I told you my stuff."
"I don't care," Roxy sharply said. "I'm not telling you. Unlike you, I never had anyone to protect me from my shit. I just had to deal with it."
"Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you then," Roxy apologised, breaking the momentary silence that fell awkwardly over the two girls. "I've got some... bad memories with that in my past."
"It's fine. I shouldn't have pressed you for an answer. Sorry."
They approached the building. Now closer, they could finally understand the true scale of the building. The gaps that were created between pillars due to the open walls now looked like doorways, created to allow a race of giants access inside. There were no gaps visible through the building, implying they stood before the intended entrance
Strangely, both the pillars, immaculately detailed by a caring sculptor, and the material that made up the floor were in immaculate condition, and the fact they were located inside a mountain felt like a weird error with the world.
Elanor felt a shiver go up her spine.
"Hey," she whispered, leaning towards Roxy, "do you feel-"
"Like there are eyes looking at me? Yeah."
"I don't know if I should be relieved or concerned after hearing that."
"Either way, be alert. We don't know what we're going into here," Roxy warned her.
Cautiously, they entered the building. In spite of the location they found themselves in, the building was surprisingly well illuminated, thanks to lit sconces distributed evenly around the room. The room was large, and its appearance was made to seem larger from how empty it was. Cobwebs covered the walls of the room, contradicting the outward pristine appearance of the building. Strewn in with the webs, various sized eggs could be seen hidden in corners and on walls.
"Well, at least we know where those spiders in the tunnel came from," Roxy said with a slight chuckle."
"God, I hate this place already," Elanor remarked, drawing more laughs out of Roxy.
The two girls continued towards the centre of the room. Lying in wait for them in the floor, hastily hidden by an old, worn tapestry, lay a door that led down below the building.
"Let's go down," Roxy said. Her reasoning was that hidden things are more likely to be found behind hidden doors, and why else would people be taken here then to find things.
"But hidden things means danger," Elanor retorted. "We should wait until we're all back together before we even consider going down there. Let's go upstairs and check the other floors."
Roxy agreed dejectedly, before following Elanor deeper into the building, towards a flight of stairs that hid at the far end of the room.
Suddenly, Elanor froze in place.
"I just felt something scurry up my body!" she said in a panicked tone, wanting to scream while also not wanting to be too loud.
To ease her worry, Roxy visually examined her.
"There's nothing there," she concluded. "Your mind's playing tricks on you because you're too afraid."
"Alright," Elanor said with a deep breath. "Thanks for taking a look. Now come on, we've got to check upstairs."
"I know, you already said."
Elanor raced to the stairs, with Roxy having to run behind her to keep up with her pace.
The two stopped abruptly at the foot of the stairs, as voices suddenly started communicated on the floors above them.
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He emerged from the rocky cocoon, clad in iron armour he had pulled from the mountain and forged around himself. In his hands, he dual-wielded two twin shortswords that he had also created from iron.
As the cocoon cracked, Marcus saw that the battle was weighted heavily towards the creatures, with Tess almost completely out of Magia stamina.
Using the extra mass of the armour he now wore, Marcus broke through the rock with ease as Tess collapsed to the floor. One of the creatures towered over her, gleefully waiting to strike the final blow.
Marcus killed it first with a clean blow, leaping towards the creature before severing its head from its body.
As he struck, Marcus heard laughter from Tess.
"Why are you laughing? Shouldn't you have been able to hold on for that long?"
'Is she alright?' he thought to himself. 'Wait, why should I care? If she was too weak, then she was destined to lose, nothing can be done about that.'
Still, doubts formed on his mind as he stared at the woman on the floor in front of him.
"You shouldn't have done that. Not against them," she quietly said.
"You shouldn't have been so weak," he coldly responded.
'No, these things are too much, especially with these numbers. This is my fault for doing that.'
He shook his head.
"First things first, I've got to kill the leader," he thought aloud. "It's the main source of strength here."
'What the hell is going on in my head?'
In response to what it perceived as a threat, the leader of the beastman pack pointed at Marcus and growled. Once again, more of the creatures advanced forward and engaged Marcus from various angles.
His iron armour was the only thing that prevented him from being immediately overrun.
The creatures advanced on him with surprising speed, but their powerful strikes rebounded harmlessly off the armour. They kept up their speed as they attacked, each creature proving to be a considerable threat.
If it was the armour that saved him from the initial assault, then it was the choice to create dual swords that saved him from the unrelenting attack of the creatures.
He spun a nauseating amount, desperately parrying attack after attack, with no time at all for an attempt at a counter.
'If it was just one, then I could match them and create openings. There's no way I can beat three!'
He continued to block with arms and armour as he began to shift the location of the battle away from Tess, taking great care to move only when it wouldn't disrupt his defence or cause his opponents to gain another advantage.
As he continued to defend, opportunities began to form.
A creature inaccurately lunged in from the right, missing his target by a wide margin. Marcus, who had leaned back to avoid the attack, spun his blade in his hand and drove it down into the back of the creature.
His choice of attack proved to be an error, as it allowed the other two creatures to dive onto him and force him down. Sensing the battle was won, the other members of the pack joined the pile, adding their attacks onto the strain the armour now faced.
'I messed up. But, it doesn't end like this, does it? I can get stronger, I have to.'
It was then that a series of horrific, high-pitched screeches filled the large room.