Brent fluttered his eyes open. He felt himself gliding as he was carried on a shoulder. When he was fully awakened, he saw himself being carried by Eric.
"What happened?" Brent asked. "Where are the monsters?"
"You fainted. That's what happened," Eric said. "You should thank your brother. He's the reason why we escaped."
Eric was a tall man with a slender build. He had long legs and arms which would somehow look odd because they didn't fit his body, he looked like the Slenderman if he wore a suit. Brent knew that Eric was capable of carrying him, so he let the man do so.
Eric's long wavy hair glided in the air as he traveled in the water, skating with the river-like flow that Mark created. "If you're going to look at me like that, I would think that you're in love with me or something."
"Your hair…" Brent trailed off. "It looks like an octopus."
This made Eric's jaw flung open, rolling his eyes but a smirk was never formed. Instead, his jaw was clenched, feeling the weight of the news that he was about to tell Brent.
"Where's my brother?" Brent asked. "You said he's the reason why I'm saved. Where is he?"
Eric was silent. The silence immediately made Brent panic. "Where is Kian, Eric?"
"Let's just speak when we arrive back at the camp," Mira said. She was already awake when they started their conversation. The woman was running beside the flowing water, keeping up with the Heroes that had water affinity.
Brent took note of how much she could keep up with the combatants. Her speed and raw strength were more than what a regular support Hero had.
"Mira, tell me the truth," Brent muttered. "What type of Hero are you?"
Once again, there was an utter silence that enveloped the whole group. Mira did not answer the question. Instead, she looked ahead and ran like the others.
A few minutes went by and the Heroes arrived at the campfire. Everyone hurried to the wounded, tending their wounds and their depleted energy.
"What in the hell happened?" Matthew, Hero of Eridanus, asked. He was the assigned head healer of the Heroes because he had the highest healing powers among them. He could summon a flow of water from his body, down to the body of the patient that he was treating.
"We were attacked by a huge number of bosses," Mira sighed. "We were trapped in the castle that Joseph led us to."
"What happened to Kian?" Brent asked, a large mist of darkness looming around him. Dexter and Sebastian, one of the two strongest warriors in the group, visibly shook after they felt the aura that came from Brent.
It was dark, menacing, and most of all, filled with all the darkness anyone could ever have. It was like his looks alone could kill all of them in under a minute.
Mira sighed and shook her head. "Brent…"
There was a long deafening ringing in Brent's head. The dark aura that came from Brent was immediately sucked inside him. He didn't flinch or make any other move, only stare in front of him.
The group started to raise their guard as Brent's face contorted in grief and confusion. He did not know how to process what Mira just told him. It was like he was in an endless maze and the harder he tried, the harder it was to escape.
"Brent–"
The man immediately lunged back in the direction of the castle. He was stopped by seven people, all pulling him back. Even with their number, they had trouble stopping Brent. His power was overwhelming them all.
His body lit up with a bright yellow color, blinding all of the people in his midst.
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
A sound of gentle humming and plucking on a string made Brent fall to his knees. His eyes immediately became droopy, slowly fell asleep as Keira, Hero of Lyra, played her instrument. She soothed Brent of all of his grief and used that power to make him fall asleep.
Before the man lost all of his consciousness, he held out his hand. "Kian…"
Dexter caught him before he could fall to the ground. The man carried Brent to the campfire where Mira was waiting for him, the woman carrying a chain to tie Brent up.
The group became silent after that. There was no one else who ever spoke a word, instead, they just looked at each other, seemingly talking in their minds.
"He was a good kid," Mira grit her teeth and clenched her fists as she spoke to Dexter. He glanced around and narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean someone sabotaged that?"
"The entrance to the castle was on that window and it can only be locked from the inside," Mira said. "How in the hell did they get in there? Weren't their monsters inside already?"
"It's as if you're saying that someone deliberately trapped Kian inside that castle," Sebastian said carefully. "Who could it be?"
Mira scoffed and turned to Joseph who was being treated by a young female healer. She was chuckling at what Joseph was telling her. She was Lea, the Hero of Virgo. She had almost the same healing prowess as Matthew, but the man mastered his skills more than she, that was why she didn't lead the medic team.
"What are you going to do about them?" Dexter asked Mira. "You know how influential he is. If you do something now, he will end you."
"That is why I'm going to play his game," Mira grit her teeth even harder. She released the clench of her fist and hid the murderous intent in her. "I'll avenge Kian.
The castle was dark and foggy. Outside, it was void of life, but there was chaos inside.
There were monsters everywhere. Kian could only close his eyes and lean his back on the door, hoping that he could at least hold it for a little while as the other Heroes escaped.
He was the sole Hero that stayed behind to lock the doors. All of the other heroes that could fly were already out, and there was no other way. At least, that's how Juan planned it.
"There wasn't any connection between them based on Mira's database," Kian said to himself. "Did she lie to me?"
The thought corrupted Kian's mind. He started grinding his teeth and his body shook in anger and despair. The words from Mira's mouth right before they entered the tower rang in his mind.
'Do not trust anyone, not even me.' Mira said to him at the entrance of the World Tower.
"So that's what she meant, huh?" Kian saw the monsters approach him. They started lunging for his body, the man laughing as the beasts feasted on his flesh. "You got me, Mira."
His face was scratched by a large bear, his arm was torn off by a giant mantis. He was laughing the whole time, his mind slowly being swallowed by the darkness.
Until one face entered his mind.
"Brent."
Kian did not know what to feel. When the thought of Brent being an accomplice was cracking his head. He imagined his brother laughing along with Mira…
With Juan…
With Joseph.
"No," Kian whispered. When a humanoid lizard tried to rip his other arm off, he gripped its neck. His eyes glowed and he gripped the lizard tighter. "I will not die here."
Just when he thought he was winning, the lizard grinned. "You stay here, human."
His eyes widened. It was then that he realized that he didn't grip the lizard's neck. He was merely holding it. "Fuck."
Whirl. Slash. Boom!
Kian's eyes widened when he saw an explosion near him. It was the black creatures again.
"What?" the lizard gasped as he ran out of the range of the attacks. "Why did you attack now?!"
The monsters ran in separate ways, all running for their lives. Kian glanced at the large humanoid creatures. They approached him and stared at him. Kian looked at them too. "Who are you?"
The creatures did not respond. Instead, they walked away and vanished into the darkness again. Kian panted as he stood. He watched his body and saw that he was still complete. It just felt like the monsters were ripping his limbs off, but they were still attached to his body.
But he was heavily wounded. Blood was scattered all over the door and flesh got scrambled on the floor. There was nothing but silence.
"I'm still alive," Kian whispered to himself. "I'm still alive."
The faces of the people that betrayed him flashed in his mind again. This time, he could not take it. He pulled himself together and sought any kind of hiding spot. He saw a safe spot right by the second-floor room.
"This is a big castle," Kian said. "I have plenty of hiding spots."
Right by the corner of the room, he saw a rat. Kian lunged for the rat and gripped it as tight as he could.
The man grinned at himself, hysterically eating the small beast. "This castle is my EXP farm."