"Go!"
Drya commanded her people. It was ti for them to act.
The combined effort of all of the surviving cultivators had worn the beast down considerably. They were unable to truly fight against each other until now, but that changed the mont the beast started its death throes.
While her team took control over finishing the battle with the fleshy beast, Drya separated from them and moved on her own.
Her path was hidden within the fleshy beast's tentacles and attacks. She, like a hidden serpent, slithered up to her target and found the perfect opportunity to strike.
She didn't know who this person was.
This person also didn't know who she was.
They only chose a random corridor to interfere with, and it happened to be hers.
And because they happened to choose her corridor, her friend died.
It didn't matter if it was a real grudge or not. This debt had to be paid back in vengeance.
The culprit was actually a mber of her sa faction, one of the Ars Goetia groups who entered before them. However, none of that mattered.
The bonds between Society mbers were like bonds of blood, but they could never, ever surpass the bonds she had with the people she grew with.
Even if it ant striking her own kind, she would do it gladly.
Shing!
Her blade swung out and decapitated the head of one unsuspecting victim. She waited until the beast attacked to conceal herself and did it over and over again until an entire group of six had been slaughtered rcilessly.
She wanted to target that man called Carrian as well, but she didn't have the chance.
Just as she finished killing the last of the group, a loud screeching sound spread through the entire cavern. The blood pool under the beast was practically a lake now, and instead of the blood of cultivators, its depth was created through the beast's own sacrifice.
Its fleshy body was filled with holes and its monstrous endurance could no longer keep it fighting. It roared and screeched, desperately slamming its tentacles into the ground, but it was too late.
All of the involved cultivators jumped out of its reach and watched as it slumped lifelessly into its own blood lake. As its muscles loosened, large and unchanging openings were created in the wall around it.
Finally, they could reach the treasure!
Drya's team stood back and entered slowly, but the remaining tens of Ascenders imdiately rushed in to claim the rewards for themselves.
But…
What they found inside…
"It's empty!"
"There was nothing?!"
Carrian's face was as red as a tomato.
Both the unknown final reward and that masked rat he saw earlier were both gone.
"DAMMIT! SEBASTIAN, FIND HIM THIS INSTANT!"
His roaring fell on deaf ears. His loss and frustration were being experienced by every single person in the cave, after all.
After all of that fighting and all of that work, there was nothing waiting for them?!
How preposterous!
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Drya was only confused, unsure of what to make of the situation. Did sothing happen or did he escape? How did he make it out of the cave?
Her questions were fated to go unanswered, but there was one thing…
Suddenly, she felt an unnatural breeze whoosh past her. Her hand went to her sleeve. Along with the breeze, "sothing" was placed there.
'A piece of paper?'
Not just a piece of paper, but a note.
"Consider us equal. Let us et again when circumstances are… more favorable."
Drya smiled wryly.
'So you did escape.'
It was a very concise farewell, but it was really to be expected of Atlas. Even when they approached him kindly, he would always keep his distance.
He was a strange one like that. He didn't hide that he was also feeling friendly towards them, but there was always a sort of invisible barrier keeping him separated from the people around him.
'People who walk difficult paths tend to prefer walking them alone.'
It was a fact of life, and Drya couldn't bla Atlas for leaving quickly. He made it clear that he had enemies on his back.
'Next ti, I will repay your favor.'
Their farewell this ti took place in such a way that she was forced to keep her gratitude unsaid. However, it wouldn't remain that way.
Next ti, she would truly be able to help him and repay him for saving her life.
She swore it on her pride as a cultivator.
***
Atlas spent several days at the very least in the secret realm. It was a truly short period of ti, as many secret realm expeditions took weeks or even years to complete, but in the scale of Atlas' life, it was too long.
By the ti he got out of the secret realm and started attempting the trial on the 25th Floor, Dusk had already found him again. They had no idea how he managed to reach the 25th Floor, but it didn't matter.
As they had his location, they were going to once again pursue him. And, this ti, they would ensure that even miracles couldn't save him.
It was with that ntality that an army of three hundred troops from Dusk arrived on the 25th Floor. They stepped out of the Celestial Ladder together with only the destruction of a single person as their goal.
"Find him."
It was an order given by the man who commanded them.
But it was the only order he was able to give.
In the next mont, a whizzing sound cut through the trees. Blood spurted in the air and bodies dropped to the ground.
"Enemy attack! Everyone, be on guard!"
The warning was useless. With one hidden strike, the enemy killed ten of their people. The remaining two hundred and ninety took their positions in order to fight, but they never expected what was coming at them.
From the surrounding forest, only six shadowy figures appeared. Seeing only six enemies, the Dusk group relaxed sowhat.
However, even if they were paying full attention, they wouldn't have been able to change the outco.
A flurry of blades, a flurry of blood. A madness of just a few seconds that could not be comprehended unless one had an amazing talent for perception.
In under a single minute, the entire force of three hundred had been turned into bloodpaste and rain. Not a single one of them was able to resist the terrifying power of the enemies that suddenly dawned upon them.
If one looked closely, one could see a being in the shadows. He, a man who looked more like a beast than a human, grinned widely.
"Dusk, Dusk, Dusk..." he muttered to himself.
"Unfortunately, I'm playing a ga with your target right now."
He jumped down from his perch and landed in the blood pool, grabbing the head of the group's leader off the ground.
"I don't know if you know this, but…"
He clenched his fist, crushing the head into bits.
"Nobody is allowed to interrupt my ga. Not even you."
A ga proposed by a madman, a ga with life on the line…
Though Atlas didn't know it, for him, it was both a blessing and a curse.
Only, it would take quite a while for him to realize the forr.
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