'It talked…! Without a mouth at that!'
Even so, those words brought enough shivers down my spine…! What the hell is that item!?
I could feel my hands shaking at this mere scene.
On my side, with the exception of Ariana and Oliver, everyone began to experience difficulty breathing, their throats seemingly constricted by an unseen pressure, and the slightest motion could potentially jeopardize our lives.
It was just that frightening, even more so when it was coming from merely a book.
As long as Oliver wasn't giving any orders, we would stay in our place like this.
The question is, how long till our fears get the best of us?
"Where is… contractee Oliver?"
The gaze of the grimoire shifted to Oliver briefly before returning its focus to Brad. This time, the applied pressure increased tenfold.
"Why are you touching me?"
Slash—!
We were too late to realize and when we did, results already showed.
Brad's arms were severed, causing the grimoire to plummet. However, instead of landing on the ground, it levitated through the air and began to speak.
"I don't like this brat's soul."
As Brad writhed in pain, the grimoire spoke once again, shifting its gaze to Oliver and slightly to his side.
"Hoho, you have one pretty delicious soul on your back. Will you cut off another deal using these people now?"
"No!" Oliver shouted, using his hands to shield the rest of us, "That guy told me he wanted you, so I offered you."
The eye squinted before retorting, "That's not practically a lie yet it wasn't the truth either. Now, what shall I do…"
This time, Brad began screaming in agony as he witnessed his deteriorating arms. His cries reverberated loudly, yet it seemed as if everyone were deaf to his pain, their attention solely fixed on the ominous grimoire.
The eye curved upward, "Well, you'll decide whatever to give me once I'm done suppressing my powers anyway."
Once more, it closed, and the tenfold pressure applied by the grimoire returned to normal. Everyone could, at least, breathe properly again.
"Run."
In that instant, everyone surged forward, swiftly distancing themselves from the still-suffering Brad. Oliver retrieved the fallen grimoire and trailed behind the others.
"You shit have a lot of explaining to do, Oliver!"
Ariana let out a curse, abandoning the formalities she should have maintained, but Oliver didn't mind. He simply smiled faintly and continued leading the way at the front.
However, I'm not going to let this slide without even knowing anything with just a mere fucking smile!
I'm risking my life here for goodness's sake, which was supposed to be a safe guaranteed mission!
Formulating the right words inside my head, I stated while letting out a forced smile, "So what is this Crux all about? At least give us something!"
Everyone gave Oliver blank gazes yet also filled with skepticism and distrust. Who wouldn't be?
One might even think this grimoire case has something to do with why they were here.
Each one here demanded answers, and I questioned something which can lead to questions one after another.
Oliver was silent for a while before giving a brief explanation, "This grimoire is something I got from the expedition at the third base which I found in simple coincidence. And it was very easy to take it. There are no competitors for this power. Do you know the reason why?"
"…"
"Because the third base initially had no monsters inhabiting the place."
What!?
"It's because of the book. Its origin is unknown but the one behind, probably the one who made this book, the owner is very vicious."
"Wait! That doesn't make any sense!" Ariana shouted in a doubtful tone, "What do you mean no monsters are inhabiting the third base!? How come were you wiped out then!? Even so, if this is true, why do the survivors of that expedition say differently than yours right now!?"
Oliver had a look of contemplation for a moment before pointing to his head, "The mind. I made a deal with the grimoire to erase everyone's memories that were there in that time except me and created a newly created memory that doesn't exist and use them."
'Erasing everyone's mind and... created a new one to replace—'
Unbelievable… this is too unbelievable!
"That doesn't explain how you were almost wiped out, sir!" Ned, whose complexion was worst since it was his first time hearing it, was pressured.
It might seem Oliver was avoiding answering the question, but it was nothing like that. He's just hesitating.
"We… were ambushed." Oliver painfully speaks, "All this time, there are Horrors surrounding the third base and waiting for someone to pluck this grimoire out from this place. And by the looks of it, that was the only one stopping those creatures.
He paused, "As if they are waiting for someone to pick it up which I did. Now, they have the same goal as me. Possess this power."
The hallway fell into silence, the only sounds echoing being our running footsteps, each step guiding us in a chosen direction as we immersed ourselves in our own thoughts.
Rumble—!
Our perspectives on the matter became inconsequential as a rumbling emanated from all sides.
Thud—!
Looking back to where we ran off, our senses tingled by the unfathomable set of Horrors that were trying to swarm the place.
"Ah, shit!"
It seems whatever grimoire did when it said it was suppressing its powers went out was finally gone, informing the entity that surrounded us.
"Go up!"
"We'll follow you behind. We're the fastest one here!"
Ned and Mandy issued orders for the rest to run ahead, recognizing their own abilities and aiming to provide a chance to escape the approaching Horrors prepared to ravage the first tower.
Their backs were disappearing, wanting to confront those creatures to buy us a bit more time.
Thus, we did run upward first.
Thud—!
"Will they be alright?" Alex anxiously uttered as everyone exerted their best efforts to keep running.
The stairs spiraled in circles, resembling a snake coiling upward, and we pushed ourselves to the limit to reach the gap from here to the exit of the tower.
However, the exit above remained frustratingly out of our reach, and the ominous footsteps of the incoming Horrors grew increasingly closer.
Thud—!
Suddenly, the very tower shook heavily, stumbling us all on the ground.
"Ah!"
Freda teetered at the edge of the stairs, and as everyone attempted to grab her hand, my body, acting subconsciously, moved swiftly. I reached out and immediately grasped her arm, preventing her from falling.
"P-pull!"
Everyone collaborated to push my body back, successfully pulling Freda to safety in the process.
"Groar!"
Taking quick breaths, we all hurriedly ascended towards the top of the tower once more, but this time, the Horrors were hot on our heels.
Our eyes are only at the front.
No one dared to look back.
No one had the guts to look back.
"Ksksks!"
"Lelelel!"
"Apapa!"
Because once we did, the realization that those creatures were now right on our backs would undoubtedly instill fear in our bodies.
The noises, the footsteps, and all accompanying sounds only pointed to one thing.
They are here.
We were already aware; we just weren't prepared to acknowledge it.
"Your robes! Use the robes to cover your faces!" I shouted, feeling a bit delighted at the mere fact that the door was already up ahead.
Though they didn't share my joy and instead concentrated on escaping the accursed tower.
"Get out, get out! Move!" Oliver urgently gestured for everyone to run faster, seeing the horde of Horrors just meters away from us.
"Mandy! Ned!" Ariana, who stayed behind with Oliver, shouted the names of her squad members.
Mandy and Ned emerged at the far end of the hallway that led out of the tower and sprinted towards the exit. The two sheathed their swords and called back their contracted Horrors before dashing at maximum speed.
"Run, ma'am!"
"Go!"
Both Oliver and Ariana heeded their warnings, acknowledging that Mandy and Ned could make their way out since they were exceptionally fast and capable of clearing a path for themselves.
Crack—!
In a couple of seconds, Oliver and Ariana made a distance on themselves, following where our current position was.
Thud—!
The door was smashed open by Mandy before boosting their speed once more to close their hundred meters of distance to half of it.
Rumble—!
"Cover yourselves with your hoods!" Reiterating the matter once more, everyone here finally snapped and followed my orders without even understanding the reason behind it.
It was a psychological response where, in this kind of situation, the one who speaks takes on the role of the leader, and others instinctively follow through.
I glanced back and gestured for Ariana to cover herself with a robe, which she did while also looking in our direction. She whispered to Oliver to do the same thing.
Rumble—!
In that instant, the first tower burst into pieces as various kinds of Horrors, forming mountains, fixated their gaze on us and gave chase once again.
"Now… what?"