"Still can't believe you couldn't set yourself free. You'd rather chat with a crazy psychopath." Lycan teased Remi as he burned off her ropes, leaving only a little bruise on her wrist.
Of course, unlike him, she wasn't resistant to fire.
"Cut the crap, we have to find the girl."
They had stormed out of the dark basement, leaving severely injured and scorched on the ground, the scientific priest. Only on their way to find Tori Wilson, their target.
Remi hadn't stopped panicking. The words of the priest had played into her head repeatedly like a soundtrack, and it could only have been about the demigod trafficking ordeal of these monsters. Somehow, she was reminiscent of her own past, confined in a locked room on a cruise, among hundreds of other demigods. As she was being exported past the lines of her origin.
Like every other pale, deprived child there, fear had torn up her eyes, panic swelling her bones.
However, none of them had made a noise, because if by any chance they were saved from this torment, then it only meant returning back to their lives of anguish, where they had to live on their own, struggling to survive each cruel hour.
But here, they were at least being fed. And because of that, they hadn't found a reason to call for help just yet.
That was only a glimpse of her sober past, and it haunted her to imagine it happening to another demigod - especially the one who was the supposed subject of her quest.
Besides, if the Titan Atlas was now recruiting demigods, then he wasn't up to anything good, as demigods specifically held the blood and charisma of their god parents. And it would only be a rebel to turn them against the gods.
Now, she just had to hurry before their target, who was expectantly the child of the big prophecy, became one of Atlas's most dangerous alliances.
As she ran across the hallway corridors of the orphanage, hardly being followed by her partner. Remi took every splinting second, introspecting every room in the area for a girl with a french plait and deep blue eyes.
However, all she met was a sore sight. Human children filled the rooms in swarms, all looking unkempt, lean and hungry. But still, they had an unknown look of happiness in their expression. Their faces beaming with joy as they had an unscheduled prep time.
Like the priest had explained, it was only the work of the Elixir.
She had scuttled past every corridor there was, but there wasn't anything such as a girl with french plait. Maybe she was too late, maybe Tori had long been taken away.
And that was another quest of hers, failed. It sure wasn't going to be a considerable week for her as she tends to look down on herself when she isn't able to complete a quest.
"She's been taken," Remi spiraled to the floor in disappointment. "They took her."
"Remi, are you okay–?"
"We've successfully participated in another wasted quest Lycan, do I look okay to you?!!"
"We can–"
Lycan wanted to say something, but a loud yelp for salvation from the end of the hallway immediately grasped their attention, "Somebody help!"
Remi took to her feets, and running forward she saw a dead end, this wasn't right. She'd checked the rooms again and didn't find any kid who required help- at least not urgently.
But she was sure the sudden cry had been coming from this direction, almost like it came from the walls of the dead end itself.
"Wait, I think these walls have an opening." She walked towards the wall, palming around it as she placed her ears on it.
"You mean like a secret room? That's so 80's." Lycan admitted, stroking his chin.
"What was your thought when you first accessed this building?"
She stopped as her hand pushed something, a lever? It was more like a button she pushed, and slowly the walls parted into two different intersections as it revealed a tunnel ahead ahead of them, lit up with torches so bright that it didn't seem like they could be extinguished.
"Cool!" Lycan exclaimed with evident astonishment.
"Let's go." The burning light reflected in Remi's scowl as she stared deep into the nothingness before her.
They walked into the tunnel, nothing but darkness visible as they continued to thread forward, Remi had even questioned how the girl's voice was able to get to them from deep within.
They hadn't walked for so long before they saw at their right side, a door with wooden hinges instead of a lock. To assert their susceptibility, another cry for help was heard from within, this time rather faint and weak.
Urgency swilled around her brain, and Remi kicked the door, and as expected, the weak attachment fell and stumbled to the floor, leaving a loud noise that announced their very presence to the horror they met.
Pinned tightly to a stretcher by two empousas regardless of the force she exhibited was Tori Wilson; her dark blue eyes squinting out fearful tears, her skin red from the tension as adrenaline washed palpably over her.
The repugnant odor of antiseptic swilled Remi's brain. She gulped a distressing amount of breath, then groaned, feeling as if she inhaled through a web of nettles.
Two empousas: fire headed demons with one goat hoof and copper feet instead of legs; coercively held Tori down seemingly with all their strength, as she was much too powerful for her age.
A dracanae; snake-like monsters with trunks instead of legs; had been holding up a pumped syringe of golden liquid before her, preparing to impale it into her skin before the duo showed up.
Remi questioned herself over why she hadn't suspected that this place could be monster infested. With supposed monsters that manipulated the mist just to look like meek, loving nuns.
Remi didn't hesitate, neither did she say a word. She walked sparingly towards the trio monsters and with hand-to-hand combat, pinned them to the floor. They were left barely injured but they were unable to reinforce themselves and get up.
She knew it could be worse if only they hadn't taken away her weapon when she fell unconscious.
The target, Tori Wilson had a sudden mixture of awe and sheer panic in her eyes, and so did Lycan.
"Tori Wilson right?" Remi asked.
Tori stared fazed at the scene, beads of sweat trickled down her face, her hair partly soaked due to her former struggles. She didn't reply.
"Of course, you've been stuck in this place your whole life that you've been influenced by their decrees." Remi sighed, walking away. "I can't help you if you don't want to help yourself, if you don't wanna find yourself in a even worse fate before tomorrow, you'd come with us."
She finally stood ahead of Lycan. He gave her a look that said, ''what the heck are you doing?!' but she only nodded assuringly, as if to say that her plan would work.
And as expected, the girl climbed down the bed. Uncertainty lingered in her eyes. However, it seemed she was willing to follow them, regardless of who they were.
They ran back out of the tunnel, but they were met by an ambush immediately. The priest, alongside the other nun workers who were still hiding under the mist, formed a defense cover around the entrance of the cave, where the trio stood.
"I see you guys met some of my employees." The priest smiled darkly.
"How did you–?"
The priest was now fully healed, the scars from where Lycan had burned him had disappeared, and his gown wasn't shredded nor dismantled. It almost seemed as if he wasn't the one they attacked.
"That man earlier wasn't him, he was only a decoy." Lycan groaned, the grudge she had earlier seen in his face had suddenly returned back.
"Brilliant conclusion to the situation." The priest clapped. "Allow me to introduce myself, the original."
Immediately, he began to transform, his gown ripped as he expanded in size and height. His laughter echoing throughout the halls as he crazily enjoyed every bit of the experience.
"This isn't good—" Tori hid behind Remi as the fear rippened in her chest.
She thought she had seen it all eversince she'd been stuck in this place, but before them stood a 8-feet tall Echidna. Cackling and baring out spikes from it's body.
"It's over now, let the girl go or you two shall die."