We had dealt with exactly 25 monsters at this point. We were worn and tired.
Sweat dripped down our faces. Multiple monsters had launched treacherous attacks on us, but our team stayed steadfast.
I was sure some other teams were ahead of us, but we couldn't falter.
At the moment, we were in the middle of taking down a monster.
"Damn, this thing was tough to handle, but now it's all over," Devin grunted as he punched the monster, blood gushing from its face.
Delight wiped her claws, her body covered in blood. "This one really was tough, but we did it," she said with a wide grin.
Daniel and I sat on the ground a bit farther off. We were tired and decided to take a break while they finished it off.
Suddenly, I began to see an aura from the shadow of a dilapidated building.
I was now able to control my left eye to an extent. I had also learned to identify what some of these auras meant.
Blue represented something like drive or will.
Red represented fear or danger to one's life.
Purple auras appeared only when someone used a large amount of their energy.
The aura flickering in the distance was green. What did that mean?
Nonetheless, I had to do the main-character thing and confront it dramatically.
"I know you're there. Come out!" I stood on my feet, pointing toward the direction of the foe. My hair formed sharp tendrils, ready to strike, and with my chakram in hand, I bet I looked like a really cool dude.
Daniel got up as well, his face scrunched in irritation. "There's no one there. What are you talking about?"
I smiled. "Trust me."
By this point, Delight and Devin had stopped paying attention to the monster and were now looking in the direction I was pointing. They agreed with Daniel and questioned my claim.
"You really need to put more faith in your teammates, you dimwits," a voice called out, laced with boredom and bluntness.
The person began to emerge, dressed in the black military bodysuit we all wore. She had long green hair and matching green eye makeup.
"…Normally, I'd just swoop in and finish this quietly, but you just had to figure out I was there. I'll just slither past all of you now," she said as she walked toward us.
A claymore was strapped to her back. It looked menacing, with holes pierced into the blade. She slipped on a mask resembling a fox, with tubes attached to its sides.
"What do you plan on doing?" Daniel asked, his eyes narrowing in anticipation.
The fox-masked girl tilted her head. "Simple. I'll knock you out with my ability, then finish off that monster. That'll be one extra point added to Squad Faith."
A sudden pop came from Devin's arms. "If you really think we're going to let you do that, you're sorely mistaken."
"Agreed," Delight said, her hands beginning to glow as she touched her panther's head.
Daniel stood firm, and so did I.
"Boring. Don't worry—I'll only knock you out for a few minutes. I wouldn't want you guys losing too badly."
Devin gritted his teeth and quickly charged toward her, his hands glowing.
With one swift motion, she rolled her wrists and pointed at Devin. Boom! Devin's body went limp, collapsing to the floor.
She continued this process with everyone, taking them down one by one.
Finally, she turned to me and smiled. "You're cute. Maybe you can call me when all this is over."
Boom. My eyes became hazy, and I fell asleep.