The dust settles, and Abby restores everyone including herself back to her best ability. It's clear there is still some leftover mental and physical fatigue; all four team members are moving slowly with sore muscles and aching bones.
Lydia, approaching, previously restored by Abby after being freed from the cuffs, has her eyes wide, and an expression of pure shock and awe is plastered across her face.
"W-What happened to all of you? This..."
Her voice trails off as she looks at the ice sculptures before her and the burned town off in the distance. Streaks of red energy cover both of them, reminiscent of the aura that was engulfing all of the fighters moments ago.
Abby replies, "It's a long story, we'll fill you in on the way back."
She turns around, making eye contact with every member of the group.
"Before we do anything else, we need to find out what happened to Jay."
Arie points a hand toward the ashes of a burned abandoned city. "I have a hunch if anywhere, that's where we'll find some clues."
Everyone shares a few thin smiles, and a few hugs with Lydia, but quickly make it to the blackened and demolished village. Everyone's excited to have successfully saved Lydia, but there's a much more important matter to focus on.
Once everyone is safe and accounted for, then the team can finally relax.
"Over here!"
Abby finds the crash site first using her earth magic. After a few minutes of searching, the hot morning sun has started melting Maria's Ice, but the light breeze is still pushing cold refreshing air over to the burn site.
Fisher and Arie walk over together while Abby continues to catch Lydia up to speed. Although the white-haired mage is saved, she looks awfully on edge, still looking over her shoulder at every crunch or crackle from the fallen burnt debris of the town left behind.
On the way to the town, a loud crash from up above on the cliffside followed by a rumbling buzzing noise for a few seconds makes everyone's head turn for a moment. However, it's just the observatory's top floor collapsing down to the first due to the severe damage done before the battle. This only makes the white-haired mage's paranoia worse.
Abby's voice rings out again as she stands over the briefcase and item drops next to the shattered uniquely black-colored armor.
"I found the soul stones... and the leftover gold... this is everything left in Jay's inventory..."
Arie comments on the odd metal scraps. "He never wore armor like that."
Lydia peers around a charred woodpile, and her eyes open wide at the sight of the gear. "That's- That's the Sector Two Leader's Armor, I'm positive."
Tons of theories are thrown out as all five of the remaining members debate what could have happened. The red aura and the contents of the briefcase are even brought up, and the pile of silver numbered pins that specifically represent ranks within the organization look just like the ones on the Sector 4 Leader they fought.
Fisher breaks the tiptoeing conversation with the truth of the matter. "Whatever way we look at this, there are two things that are clear. Jay isn't here, and neither is the Sector 2 Leader. It looks like one of them must have used a self-destruct-type move. That's the only way a battle like this could have ended."
Everyone looks around, seeing the craters and flame marks along with an unmistakable red aura staining the air.
There are a few gulps that fill the silence.
However, Maria's cheerful attitude breaks the tension. "It must have been the only way. It may not be convenient, but he said he'd find us back in Solara in just over a week if anything like this were to happen. His real body will fully recover soon. I didn't think it'd come to this, but in the end the battle has been won. We took back what was taken."
She holds onto Lydia's hand tighter, looking up to meet her eyes. The rest of the teammates jump in, talking over the matter and what to do next. In the end, there's only one option.
Arie is the one that says it to the team. "We'll have to clear this place out, then wait for Jay in Solara. We move as a team. I have a feeling this is only the beginning. There's going to be a lot more eyes on us soon. We've been outcast and sold out by the Association, they'll want to cover their tracks. Now, we've just taken out 2 of 4 Dark Continent Underground Sector leaders. These two organizations won't take it easy on us, plus I'm sure our actions have most likely affected many lines of business and trade in many areas of the world. Our actions the last few days have real consequences."
Abby interjects. "They had it coming to them, so what?!"
Arie chuckles in reply, putting his hands up in a playful manner. "Hey, I'm not saying they didn't ask for it. I'm just saying we're not just basic low-level hunters anymore. We're playing a more dangerous game with even more unknown powers. Many of which can't just be punched harder to defeat. We'll need to get stronger in more ways than one before a force like this challenges us head-on."
There's another long pause as the group reflects on the past few days.
A round of nods follows, as the seriousness of the situation stacks up more and more the longer the sun rises overhead.
The discussion fizzles out, but it's decided that the only thing to do now is clean up the area then wait out of the public eye for a week before the whole group can come up with a plan together. To Lydia; the Soulstones and mention of a skill that allows one to seemingly return from the dead after just a few days is mind-bending news, but with all that's going on Maria assures her it will make sense once fully explained.
Abby places all of the assorted gear into her item box including the Soulstones and even the broken armor of the Sector 2 Leader.
After further rummaging, she manages to find the shattered black longsword too. Once the ice melts from the Sector 4 leader, the only item still left intact and unshattered from the ice and battle is the golden "004" pin.
Arie and Fisher try clearing up the Red Aura that still fills the air, but despite their trial and error, nothing seems to work.
During all of this, the remains of the observatory up on the cliff start to hum, and a white and grey glow comes from all the fallen debris from the previous collapse.
Another loud bang echoes down into the valley as the white and grey energy expands, destroying the entire building along with a portion of the cliff.
The team still exploring the burning town are a safe distance away, but the immense power of the blast still turns heads again.
Maria chuckles. "It was probably that equipment Jay was talking about on the top floor, it must have been damaged in our battle."
Fragments of metal, rock, and debris roll down the cliff in unrecognizable shapes. Some burning with orange flames while others are covered in the greyish glow moments before it dissolves into the atmosphere.
Fisher sighs. "Dang, I wanted to see if there was any good leftover gear in there too. I guess we still could find some... but I doubt it's in good condition anymore."
More time passes, and the area is stripped clean of any valuables or identifying items. The only thing that can be known from the sight here is that a battle definitely took place, and one or more users wielded some odd crimson energy.
Arie's guesses it will all be covered by the Abyss in the next surge anyway. So, it isn't optimal to leave the place like this, but it isn't the worst situation that could have occurred. There isn't anything more to do.
The group of five makes their way back to Solara and finds Chester nervously waiting for them to return.
Everyone is mentally and physically drained, so there's a happy greet and quick run through of events that took place with the old man, but everyone eats and falls asleep within the hour of stepping in the door. It's only been a few hours since they left, but it feels as if the many days of fighting have finally come to an end.
—
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
There's a light knocking on the door that evening, but the team of five are still sprawled out and sleeping in the living room.
Chester hurriedly nudges Arie awake.
He wasn't expecting any visitors, and Arie is the only one here who looks like a Solara native while being much stronger than Chester if there's any issue. If it's a government official or just an old business friend, Arie would be the least suspicious out of anyone to answer.
He whispers in a low tone as the archer wakes up. "There's someone at the door, and I'm not sure if I should open it. I can't see who it is."
Immediately, Arie peers out one of the windows to see the setting sun. He uses his mana control to feel around the house and whispers under his breath. "There is definitely someone there, but the feeling of this reading is odd. The person is strong, very strong. However, It's impossible to tell how strong they really are..."
He wakes everyone else up to be on guard before approaching the door.
Ready to summon an arrow and even activate all of his buffs again, the archer slowly opens the door.
"Who is it, what do you want?"
A confident voice responds. It's paired with a bright white smile and sharp blue eyes.
"My name is Lith Galeheart, I'd like to come in and have a chat."
____________________________
Author's Note:
If you're enjoying Dungeon Diver and want to follow Jay on his journey 20+ chapters ahead of schedule, check out the Patreon link in my profile bio.
There's custom chapter art for every new daily upload too!
Thanks for reading:)
____________________________