"..Whatever it is, I just need you all to forgo everything else and listen to unconditionally. I won't risk putting you all in danger, except for myself. Can you cooperate?" Aria questioned.
"Which ans, you're willing to endanger yourself?" Elgin raised a brow at her statent.
He wasn't a hypocrite, and he naturally wished for soone else to take the brunt of things if a sacrifice needed to happen. He knew his worth, his importance, and would spare a lot if it ant getting out of a tough situation.
"Ideally, no. But if the ti cos to it, then I would put myself in the position of danger," Aria was prepared.
"Well- you do you, I guess," Elgin said.
Not to ntion, Aria was not an official mber of his team yet, so he did not wield a responsibility to protect the woman.
Nodding, Aria continued her speech.
"Our ti is running out. I'm going to be explaining everything in brief. That thing is called a , which is essentially a fusion of undead monsters of various types. It receives the powers and characteristics of monsters that has been sucked inside. Inside that thing, a particularly annoying enemy has been mixed. The , a creature that exists solely to hunt in an attempt to fulfill its everlasting hunger. That creature being mixed inside the cluster was what caused it to focus solely on Ha-young,"
"This is why, you have to try and not get injured. The thing will locate the most injured being and lock it down as its prey, because it will deem it as the most vulnerable of us all. If you get injured, then expect to get chased," Aria explained.
"The other monsters mixed inside that thing are similar to the ones we fought before. Lower class undeads. The is notorious for its troubleso and stubborn characteristics, but it's not exactly a super high-leveled creature. Its trait, the fact that it doesn't care for its safety and whether or not it dies in the process is what causes it to be infamous. It continues to hunt, hunt, and hunt. It will never stop unless its life is extinguished completely," Aria stressed out her points, wanting to let the team know how dangerous the beast could be.
Even though the hounds varied in terms of strength, all of them shared a common trait, and that was their craziness which stemd from their hunger.
"There is only one slight problem that we haven't figured out, which is where it got the tentacles from. and my Earth Spirit has been trying to find out, but we got no plausible choice. Within the range of undead monsters, the only one who possesses tentacles do not have it in that type, which is why we think that its a species or variant we haven't encountered before,"
Aria looked at the cluster, which had one tentacle out and flailing in the air. She narrowed her eyes, wondering exactly to whom those tentacles belonged to.
She could think up of several candidates, but none of it suited the current clues they had, which was why she ca to the temporary conclusion of it being sothing she was not aware of.
"That is, to say.. you've encountered monsters like these before? If you have the knowledge of it, in detail, too," Reina questioned.
"...I would appreciate it if you don't question anything as of now. So long as you don't wish to cooperate fully, there might be a chance that you lose your life inside this place. In order to maximize our chances of coming out alive, could we work together, dropping all the other forms of emotions and prioritizing solely the work?" Aria replied, dodging the question.
Her serious gaze looked straight into the others' eyes, wanting to convey her feelings.
"In short- let's beat this thing up and argue later. I'm in. Reina, you shut up for a bit," Elgin cut into the conversation, cracking his knuckles and preparing to fight.
He was a straightforward man. Even if Aria climbed out of Hell, he wouldn't pay any mind to it. The important thing was that Aria possessed knowledge that could help them. From where she got those knowledge parts did not matter to him.
"Wha- jeez! I don't know anymore. I just have to not get injured, right? There's no way I'm going to get chased by that thing!" Reina stomped on the ground with her heels, irritated at how Elgin actively ignored the underlying question.
Aria internally heaved a sigh of relief as the question was not pressed on further.
"You don't want to take those off? It might hinder you," Aria comnted, seeing how high Reina's heels actually were.
"Hmph. Are you doubting my ability to walk on heels? I've worn this for how many tis now? Hundreds? Thousands? If you tell to walk in the air with these babies, I-"
"Reina, for God's sake, just shut up a bit, will you?" Elgin massaged his temples, criticizing his colleague's actions.
"...Got it," Reina grumbled, finally calming down from her rant.
Their ti was running out.
"Now, what to do?" Elgin asked.
The monster was currently acting slightly sluggish. Aria attributed this to a potential characteristic from the unknown monster that possessed the tentacles within that cluster.
Whatever the unknown piece was, Aria had to be careful when working around it. Outside from that, however, she already had inklings on how to initiate the fight.
"I will take the first aggravation after the thing recovers. I will stand near the cluster and cut my finger, so that it attacks first. I'm confident in my speed and agility.. So when I'm dodging, I want you all to attack it and just see whatever works," Aria instructed.
The characteristic of the would make it not able to peel its attention off Aria once it started chasing her, unless there is another one with a bigger wound.
Her plan was to lead the monster around for the others to attack. That way, the others could safely take their own asures in casting or attacking.
"However.. there might be a possibility where each of the tentacles are able to operate on their own. You can't let your guard down even if the cluster is facing alone," Aria reminded.
The others nodded, aware of the fact that the multiple tentacles were used when Ha-young was struck dead.
"For now, that's about it. Our main agenda is to find out what the secret ingredient this cluster has. When I find out the answer, I might have a change of plans, but that is for later. Is everyone set?"
"Ready, ma'am," Elgin replied.
"..Ready!" Reina ca next, followed by Elgin who made a slight nod.
"Then, I'm starting first," Aria licked her lips, turning around and facing the cluster's direction.
After saying that, Aria instantly ran towards the cluster, followed by her two spirits. Another reason on why she was so confident in taking the aggro was because her spirits were there to defend any attack that might endanger her flight.
Midway through her run, she slit a clean wound on her finger and pinched several drops of blood out from the crease.
She knew that this new entrant would pick on the cluster's senses and provoke it.
"Co at , will you?" Aria gestured at the monster, provoking it to start the chase.
Indeed, since its senses had been recovering ever since it finished devouring Ha-young, it took a couple seconds before it noticed Aria's sll.
The sll of blood- coming from Aria's injury.
It could be said that the trait of this and the unknown monster contradicted against each other. Originally, the cluster should have beco more motivated and aggressive upon catching Ha-young, but it unexpectedly slowed down.
However, since Aria's fresh wound was made, its senses were once again reactivated. The characteristic of the ravenous hound ca up.
'Slowing down after beating the enemy.. It narrows my choices down with the characteristics, but..'
She still couldn't accurately point out the culprit. She did not know any monster who had the specific clues she had picked up.
Pursing her lips, she decided that she would find out after a direct engagent with the cluster.
"Rallaka, Dianthe, work with each other to ensure my safety," she commanded.
Aria was confident that the other team mbers would be able to defend themselves.
She had to utilize all her power to account for whatever surprise the monster might hold for her.
With the disgusting monster creeping closer and closer, Aria gulped her saliva and cald her nerves.
She awkwardly laughed, telling herself that this is really happening.
The monster launched a tentacle towards her. It seed like the tentacle was its primary weapon, but Aria didn't know the exact amount of how many tentacles it possessed.
So far, she had seen two being simultaneously used.
However, the existence of far more than that might be possible.
With Aria dodging everywhere and trying to steer clear of her team's pathway, the tentacle grew aggravated in a short ti. With each dodge she made, the tentacle's montum increased.
Finally, it reached a breaking point.
A new tentacle sprouted out of the cluster's body.
'That's the second one.' Aria noted down.
'Will there be a third one? A fourth? Fifth?' She speculated.
Whatever the creature hid within its physique, she would take them on.
"Rallaka, Dianthe, prepare for attack, too," Aria said.
The two spirits agreed, swirling in the air as they began casting their powers.
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