The ruins trembled as the twin lights grew more intense, casting harsh shadows that made the writhing centipede look even more nightmarish. The green and pink stars blazed in the sky, their radiant energy so strong it was almost like a second dawn within the cavern. Shade shielded his eyes, watching with mounting awe.
The centipede hissed, coiling its massive, segmented body protectively as if even it recognized the power bearing down on it. Its carapace, slick with black ichor, pulsed as it reared up, preparing to strike at the encroaching light.
"Bad idea." Kitti heard the shielder murmur, his voice amused.
The centipede screeched, its jaws snapping as it lunged, faster than any of the adventurers had expected.
The sight was surreal for the adventurers. A gargantuan monster, several meters long leaving a trail of darkness as it lunged into the sky toward two descending stars of divine might.
The ruins erupted in an explosion of light, power, and sound, the force of their attack obliterating everything in its path. Dust and debris filled the air, the ground quaked, and the very walls of the ruin cracked from the force.
When the light faded, the centipede lay in pieces, its remains scattered across the battlefield in smoldering chunks. Twin figures stood amidst the wreckage, unfazed, their auras slowly dissipating.
"That was easy." the pink figure called out, her voice cool, as if she were merely commenting on the weather.
"It was so big, I thought it was strong." The green figure replied swinging a massive hammer as the glow receded.
"You guys sure took your time." The shielder chuckled as he approached them. "Maple must have rubbed off on you way more than I thought."
Kitti was confused, and glancing at the looks on their faces, Shade, Jean and Bekhan were confused too. She shifted her stance, a little wary. Whoever these newcomers were, they were powerful enough to destroy the enemy in one blow.
When the light finally receded, the Maple Tree twins stood within the destruction.
"What the hell..." Jean whispered.
Bekhan clutched his prayer beads tightly. "Great Suho..."
"When he said, they were stronger than he was, I didn't think... What are these people?" Kitti followed behind the shielder. 'And the undead from earlier... I'm going to have to talk to him about this. Hear him out first.'
Shade sheathed his claymore with a sigh. "Welcome back I guess." He studied the twins, but he couldn't find the third member he expected. "Where's..."
"Where's our leader!?" Prim, the archer of the pink petals party rushed towards the twins. "Where's Daisy?"
The twins turned towards a direction, and Prim followed their gaze. In the distance, a tiny figure was running towards the group.
"Ah. There she is." Yui exclaimed.
Prim had a wide grin on her face as her leader caught up to the large group.
"huff... huff... You guys... just left... me." Daisy panted. "So tired.'
"We're glad you're okay." Shade placed his hand on the pink haired leader's shoulder. His eyes scanned the debris, thoughts whirring in his head.
"We should take the next few moments to catch ourselves. Count our losses." He turned to the strongest healer in the group. "Bekhan. The injured."
Bekhan sighed with a smile on his face. "Got it. Thanks to the luminous spores we gathered, it shouldn't be too much trouble. Maybe we could head back to gather some more?"
Shade tilted his head for a few seconds. "We'll likely need as much as possible. This is only the second floor."
"Depending on how recent this dungeon is. The next floor might be it. At least I hope so." Bekhan turned to the group of injured, laying before him.
Shade grunted, then headed to the edge of the ruins, where Bone leaned on a large pillar.
Bone tilted his head towards the Raiding leader. "Boss."
Shade walked up to the rogue. "How fast can you make it back to the cave. We need more of those mushrooms growing on their walls."
Bone nodded. "I should be back by..." He turned to the sky, the large orange sun, still hung in the same spot. "...nightfall?" He turned back to Shade. "Will it be by myself?"
Shade shook his head. "The shielder will be going with you."
Bone raised his eyebrow. "That'll leave..."
Shade cut him off. "With the twins here, I think we can spare. Their strength is definitely abnormal. But it's more than enough."
Bone grunted an affirmation.
Shade made his way back to the group, he turned to Kitti, standing next to a fire. She was the only one not doing anything at the moment. "Has it come in yet?"
She turned to him, her eyes dark as she spoke. "Yeah. We lost seventeen people." Her voice croaked. "Damnit... If I had been there, then maybe... Maybe..."
"No." Shade rebuted. "We all did all we could. Including you. Don't beat yourself up for it." Left unsaid was that nothing they did had actually mattered. The moment the shielder was out of the picture, they suffered heavy losses.
'And now.' He glanced at the twins moving large rubble the size of buildings. 'Those two as well. What else does Maple Tree have? Does Malakar have any more guilds like them or are they just the exception?'
Shade's gaze lingered on Kitti, ensuring she understood his words. Her eyes still held a hint of self-doubt, but she nodded, her jaw clenched.
Shade nodded and turned to the rest of the group. Bekhan was tending to the injured, while Jean and the others were gathering the fallen comrades' belongings.
"Shielder." Shade called once he was close to the shielder as he directed the twins. "We need more luminous spores for the injured. We sent Bone to head back to the cave. We need someone to go with him."
Shade eyed the twins, they were effortlessly lifting massive rubble, their strength still breathtaking.
"Sure thing." The shielder agreed with a smile. An action that still baffled Shade. 'Even with his strength, he's still listening to me as the leader. Normal people with strength like that would have ordered to be in charge by now. Since without him or his team, we're pretty much screwed.'
////
Bone wiped the last of black ichor from his dagger when he felt someone approach him from behind.
He moved his head to see the familiar shielder climbing over a broken pillar before walking towards him. "So... I heard we were gathering luminous spores."
Bone immediately sheathed his dagger, bringing to rest in his lower back pouch alongside twelve other daggers. "Yes, try to keep up."
___
Bone's blurred form zoomed past a grassy plane.
As a rogue, speed was his element. He trained himself to be as light and quick as possible, and after unlocking his mana he was even faster.
As he ran, he glanced behind and sighed. 'So unfair.' The shielder had easily kept up with him, infact he looked like he was holding back, he wasn't even trying.
A few moments later, they were running past the meadow where they had fought the unusually large pack of Kraelions. A few limbs rotting in the distance.
The cave wasn't much farther after that. They reached a few more sprints later.
The cave looked the same as it did when they had rested back then. Ominous as hell, when looking from the outside. Surprisingly comfy when inside.
The duo immediately went to work gathering glowing mushrooms, with Bone providing several brown storage pouches.
Bone expertly plucked the luminous mushrooms, his movements swift and precise. The shielder followed suit, his strength allowing him to gather multiple clusters at once.
"Pretty efficient," Bone said, eyeing the shielder's haul.
"Thanks," The shielder replied, his smile faint. "I've had practice."
Bone raised an eyebrow. "Gathering mushrooms isn't exactly a shielder's forte."
The shielder chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't. Just striking conversation I guess."
The tension between them was palpable, but Bone didn't press the issue. Not yet.
As they filled the pouches, Bone's thoughts turned to the raid's dynamics. The shielder's abilities, the twins' strength.
"Shielder," Bone said, his voice low.
The shielder looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"What's the story with Maple Tree? How did you join the guild." Bone asked.
The shielder's expression turned thoughtful, but he replied, "Hmmm, there wasn't something special or anything. The best I could describe it is that Maple picked us on a whim. And I also joined on a whim. It felt like it would be fun. And it was."
Bone's eyes locked onto the shielder's. "You're not going to give me more than that, are you?"
The shielder's smile was enigmatic. "There's nothing to give."
The air was thick with unspoken questions, but Bone let it drop. For now.
With the pouches filled, they began their return journey. The orange sun still hung static in the sky, casting long shadows across the desolate landscape.
As they ran, Bone glanced at the shielder, his thoughts whirling. Maple Tree it seems was an enigma, the shielder was stronger than a warrior, likely faster than a rogue, and had the aura if a mage. He wanted to know more.
Their pace was swift, the silence between them punctuated only by the sound of their footsteps.
Upon returning to the ruins, they found the group in chaos, gathered with their weapons drawn and trained... on the twins?
The shielder groaned. "Now what?"
Kitti's eyes locked with the shielder's, before she quickly averted them.
Shade nodded at their approach. "Good timing. Maybe you can talk some sense into them."
Bone handed over the pouches to Bekhan, who glanced at the twins before he began distributing the luminous spores.
The shielder's gaze swept the group before focusing on Shade. "What's going on?"
Shade's expression turned serious. "The girls..." He pointed at Mai and Yui. "Are protecting the monster."
The shielder looked at what Shade was pointed at and his eyes widened. Mai and Yui had their hammers out in front of them, though they didn't raise them. The group still backed away though. Behind them a girl sat on the floor, Wearing a purple kimono, with black stockings and a loose sash around her waist. Her hair a dark red colour.
The shielder had a thoughtful look for a second before it was replaced by a look of realization. "Mai, Yui. What are you doing? That's the centipede lady that attacked us."
Mai flinched under his gaze before speaking. "I found her under the debris and she was hurt. I wanna help her. They said she hurt them, she isn't going to do that anymore."
Yui just grinned at the shielder. "She looked friendly, so she's a friend. Please... uhm... that's odd... I can't remember your name." Her face now had the look of confusion.
"That's a whole other thing. We'll come back to it later. Mai, Yui, I just want you to understand, she-" he pointed at the lady, who has an impassive look on her face. "She attacked us. Killed a few of our new 'friends', and is incredibly dangerous to everyone here but us." Shade and Jean raised an eyebrow at the last statement. The shielder continued. "Knowing all that, do you still want to keep her?"
There were murmurs and gasps across the group as they heard the shielder's question.
Mai and Yui turned to look at themselves for a few seconds, having entire conversations with just their eyes.
"Yes." "We do." They turned back to the girl seated on the floor. Placing her hand on the girls blood red hair, Mai asked. "What's your name?"
The girl looked up at the twins, the shielder behind them, watching her. "I..." Her voice was soothing, without the previous ominous tone overlayed on it. "...don't have one... not anymore."
Yui sniffled. "That's... That's so sad." Mai nodded before speaking. "We'll give you one, right Yui?"
Yui cheered. "Right."
Shade stepped forward. "Hey... That isn't..." A glance at the shielder made him stop.
"I think we'll call you..."
""Alice.""