「 Azuma. 」
The voice brought Azuma out of his trance. He was uncertain about what to do. The mist would settle soon and then it would only take a while for the hell to break loose.
He can not recklessly engage in a fight if he wants to ensure his chances in the selection.
This was about survival, not fight.
Azuma reminded himself.
"But…" he thought out loud, "there is a whole fleet lying dead here."
Azuma took a step further and his speculations were indeed true. So many seekers won't generally gather up together for no reason. It was required for the squads to form.
If there was a fleet, their ship should be nearby.
And that would mean a potential shelter for Azuma.
The plane in front of him was vast and endless and hence it was pretty easy to see anything strange. There were no signs of any ships.
「 The time is running out. Shall I contact your regulatory fleet, Azuma? 」
"No," he might be saved but also disqualified to ask for help, "The ship must have fallen down the edge of this valley."
The infested land stretched for half a kilometre before dropping down into the void.
But there was also the rushing water coming from that side, and hence, it was highly possible that the ground was not much far from the edge.
Zero said nothing as Azuma walked down the valley. He was highly conscious of the leeches and cautiously tread over the path littered with dead bodies.
The creatures were blind and hence he should be able to get past them. Azuma just needs to try and be as quiet as possible.
There was an eerie silence, which was occasionally disturbed by the sounds of squelching the leeches made.
Azuma was now closer to the edge and he became slightly relaxed.
『 Alert! Rank C Grayscale Leeches Detected! 』
The abrupt message caught him off guard and he stepped over a man who had still some breaths left.
There was a painful cry that made Azuma turn pale and all the leeches nearby looked at him.
He broke into a run, feet speeding towards the edge. The rough littered path made him stagger and eventually trip over a hand.
A wet slurring sound gradually came near him as the leeches drew closer, and then things happened too fast.
Cold sensation flared against his skin as a leech bit his ankle.
Azuma hissed, took out his gun and blasted off the sleeky creature. There were more, some of them coming out from the ground, while some from within the fallen seekers.
It was hard to keep track of what happened as Azuma saw red everywhere.
『 Marksman Level 1 — Skill Activated! 』
『 Marksman Level 3 — Skill Activated! 』
The gore and blood splattered as the leeches were blasted off. But the noise had caused the leeches to be triggered. They swarmed down upon him in masses.
『 Alert! You're running low on your ammunation. 』
『 DIKS 11 [rented]: 1 charge remaining. 』
Azuma cursed under his breath.
There was no way out if things continued like that.
He barely dodged the leeches. Even though they were all slow, they were coming out of all sorts of random places. It was as if the ground breathed the bloodthirsty creatures to life.
『 Alert! Fatal Abyssal Radiations Detected! 』
『 Seek Immediate Shelter 』
Azuma threw a hasty glance at the disappearing edge. He could not freely run wherever he wanted.
「 My estimations say you have approximately one minute remaining Azuma. 」
"I know," he panted, there was horror creeping inside his heart.
Azuma abruptly stopped and faced the monstrosities. They were all very close, but his eyes were roughly scanning the fallen seekers.
How come he didn't think of this before?
He put on his black metal mask and his lips curled for a small second before his gun hit the ammo container of a seeker.
The fire surged and exploded right next to the hoard of the leeches and then the sparks flew and set off a couple of other explosions.
This allowed Azuma to distract the leeches if not kill them all.
He hurried towards the edge of the cliff, the booming explosions were calming down and the ground was slightly shaking.
『 Alert! Rank A Worm Sovereign Detected! 』
Azuma froze at the words flashing in front of him. He didn't dare turn back, he didn't need to.
The ground trembled and began to collapse beneath his feet.
A loud monstrous screech exploded through the darkness.
「 You have a visitor, Azuma. 」
"I know," he said through gritted teeth as he tried to get on his feet while the wild trembles revolted against him.
「 I am not talking about the Abyssal Beast. 」
He only had a moment to be confused.
Then the tortured ground near the edge of the valley collapsed. Azuma spiraled down into the darkness and just as everything was quickly slipping through his fingers, Azuma caught the sight of a masked hooded man.
He was quietly standing there and watching Azuma as if they had known each other forever.
Azuma wondered why the man did nothing when he was so close.