COI C271

  “Kenta stop it!”

  “This is not right. Your spear trapped someone”

  “I have no choice, she is dead”

  “But the hunter gives it to you and he keeps torturing those souls”

  Kenta reaches out to Voldemyr

  “Let me help you. UGH!”

  Voldemyr with his rune leathered arm band deflect U’ecin’s attack and re-maneuvered his polearm and hit Kenta as he swings back accidentally knocking him down. The fight between U’ecin and Voldemyr escalated quickly whereas the two of them have going too far. Mina stands and watches as she listens their arguments.

  “A huntsman, bounty hunter, or citizens called you a hitman. I never believed for you to come these caves alone”

  “Neither the caves stretched where our hidden outposts are”

  “This doesn’t explain how you obtain souls on your polearm. Especially for you to have younglings with it”

  “I said again, we all know what they are”

  “And I personally know them as children. You can’t convince me because I’m with Daygen and the others at the city”

  “Isekai City, it is hard to believe except for Tabitha. The real reason was the slight glimpse at the Foundation. Leaving only two of our guild members with little information about getting recruits. They were lucky because Haw already met someone important”

  U’ecin gives the spear to Mina. Then the next the two disappeared leaving behind smoke as she inhaled it and fell unconscious. When the two woke up for only a few minutes, the two look at each other and said

  “Why the both of us sleeping at guard duty? Look at the fire wood, we almost run out, Kenta!”

  “Wait? I am on the next shift? There is no way, I’m sure you are the one should be in guard duty. There is a stock of firewood over there?”

  They look at the empty stock. Kenta acts a little flustered

  “This curse will the death of us, Mina. I hope the camp won’t notice about this”

  “If they can remember”

  Mina finally remembered it all. They are the only two left who become witnesses from U’ecin’s actual goal. She was able to figure out how to control the spear’s abilities. To see someone inside the spear as she used it. The looks inside as if life turned to mana. It was few days ago when their memory specifically resets. They used to use notes to help themselves remember their past with secrets back in their home world to convince themselves that the curse exists. It soon failed when the second camp fell into ruins again.

  Back to the very place they were stationed a long time ago. They thought of finishing the loose ends, but here they are. All that is matter she sees there are close. With their memories regain. They are confident. Now set into another meeting, as U’ecin secretly pulled them in along with Kenta. Rerolling the same event happening from the start. There are still people who are cursed and won’t be able to put their trust on them because of the influence. But U’ecin had prepared for this, and with his weapon holstered and seen by full view. She expects he is going to kill those traitors.

  Nighttime came, the man catcher is with the sister of arms and Mi’lady. His eyes raised as the information he had become in vain.

  “Great rulers before Lord Lori’es took over the throne, how are we?! Skipping the prophecy of our host. Enders immortals let the mortals to rule and we bring forth to harvest without knowing when the season of harvest is over”

  The elderly man smites them with his glare. His man catcher aged only by dirt rings the sound of iron. The vibration releases as specs of lights scatters out. It turns to mild glowing wind circling around the weapon as it turns into a two-handed mace.

  Mi’lady understands what he is trying to show them. Tomorrow will happen again. The betrayal will appear among the citizens. Either they are real or not, it is obvious those victims were caught by unnoticeable magic. They can’t remember whom who possessed by the trick. They watch Tabitha worried face as they realize she couldn’t find her team, the Dexter Guild. This problem is getting difficult to handle. They continue to watch the rest of the citizens. While their men prepare for Tabitha’s plan.

  In the early in the morning, Mina, Toba, and Kenta follow the old routine. With Voldemyr at their side, they freely moving across the infestation as hundreds of rat men passing through dragging the dead entities they carried. Tunnels to tunnels, all the secret passages are flooded, new routes formed by the rat men’s effort. No other living passed by as all the remains are wiped clean. They see a few rat men carried the loots of other dead citizens as weapons trophies. However, there is something off to the citizens’ remains. There are no corpses or bones.

  Kenta tries to take a look of the loots the rat men had. A head appeared out of nowhere made out dead skin wrapped around like a mask, and a skull slips out from the skin mask revealing a goblin skull attached to a sown together bodies of different animals. Face to face, Kenta immediately takes action. Mina pulls him back and Toba crossline him down as they hid. Toba softly oust him

  “Idiot! Why are we bringing him with the influence curse?”

  “They said to bring him with us. Hey dwarf guy, is this is really necessary?”

  Voldemyr gives them the sign and continue to move forward. They turn and see what happened to it. It was gone. Then later they found it again appeared again out of nowhere at random. This behavior matches the entity trying to bait the survivors. The rat men were replicating the behavior without prior use of it. It gets worse as it phased through around them, feeling its presence with abnormalities creeping them along the way. For the very first time, they made it out from the sinking caves and see the first time where they are right now. Under the sea, and the trench way up to where they needed to be.

  They were at awe, and Kenta starts to feel odd. Mina and Toba notice him starts to walk back down.

  “Hey, Kenta?”

  Kenta quickly reacts and swings around his fist. Toba blocks it with her bat.

  “Whoa there, Augh! My hands. That is one hard hit from your fists?”

  Mina takes the front as they started to notice the effects of the influence.

  “No kidding, this is must be the reason why we couldn’t get out of here. Hey dwarf guy, back us up”

  “Here, take this” Voldemyr gives her a piece of paper scroll

  “Absorb? How am I going to use it?”

  Mina dodges Kenta’s fists then he quickly grabs her. Memories flooded in, and she breaks the hold as Kenta was shocked. Hitting him by the neck, he falls down but rolls back up as if that hit won’t knock him out. Mina remembers her sparring with Kenta. U’ecin keep telling them to fight with all they’ve got, in order for them to understand their abilities. But she soon remembered why he wanted them to do it. Smile at her advantage, she confidently faces him with her new moves. Kenta evades her. Mina didn’t even try to hit him, she tails him to the point he reacts, and when he did. A sudden strike to his neck again.

  Kenta recovers as soon as the hit blows. His neck is all red showing the hits was painful. She said to him

  “That was a big hit . . .”

  Then she stares at the paper she was holding. Absorb. Absorb what? This beckoning the idea to use it on him. Mina stares down at his neck as it is impossible to use it again. One more hit will paralyze him or flat out crippled him. One simple risk, Toba joins side with her. The two looks at each other as Mina shows her the absorb scroll. They push forward and jump on Kenta.

  Kenta unleashes his abilities with uncontrollable strength. Thanks to the hit on the neck, the powers release creating counter whirlwind to push them back out. Toba bats out the spell and Mina goes to the air and slams down on top of him. Kenta dodges her then tries to grab Mina and uses her to shield Toba’s swinging bat. Mina and Kenta grabs each other and spins around to use themselves as shields protecting from Toba’s bat. When the moment comes, Mina faces the strike of the bat. Toba froze herself the moment her bat nearly hits Mina. Another spin whereas Kenta gritted his teeth when another turn around facing the baseball bat. Toba resumes the speed and hits Kenta’s back.

  The bat hits him fiercely with the absorb scroll wrapped around it. Mana inside of him blows out like a candle. It’s Toba’s first time using it on him and it was too effective. Kenta broke out from the curse and Voldemyr catches him. He checks his body for any injury, and only shows his entire mana capacity quickly absorbed from the bat. Voldemyr reaches out Toba’s bat and she lends it to him. After a few second of observation, he used it again on him, reverse the effects as mana attached to the scroll still have left. Kenta wakes up tired.

  “My head, it feels like I’ve never slept all night. Hey? What did I do last night?”

  Mina answered “How did I know? We share the same curse”

  “Right, right. Or maybe you two kept me awake while we . . .!”

  Toba hits him before he said the joke. Voldemyr looks at them and ask

  “While do what?”

  Toba responds “It’s a pervert joke, don’t mind about it”

  “Heh, and I thought I could take a chance to hear some of that joke. Because I’m not laughing when your friend become a piece of leather strapping at my front”

  Mina laughs. Voldemyr sees them embarrassingly laughed

  “Ah, you know some of gay jokes”

  “I can’t believe I laughed at that”

  “That laughter is good enough for anyone who feel down. Now, let’s go”

  One teammate down. Voldemyr insists to go to the surface. The struggle to up along the trench is hard for the two girls. The noxious fluids all around them made them hurl a bit. Voldemyr provide them some potions to resist it in a limited time. They made it to the top as the border where their heads almost touch the sea surface. Thrilled by the two girls as they made it out. The sight to behold as it is been a long time to see the realm touched by the sun. All of their surroundings were clean, no trace of the rat men yet. But there is one person who is standing and waiting for them to arrive.

  Haw waves his hands with rushed gestures. Voldemyr pulled them together as they run towards him. Voldemyr throws Kenta at Haw when the moment before something arrived. They never stop, and they continue to run to the very border where Haw placed his defenses. It was fully clean off where the sand buried their footwear made it feel like they are at the beach. A rift ready to be opened, and only timing would bring them all out. Haw tied Kenta up and wrapped around with a special sack. Add some dust on him where the crystallization quickly molded. Toba and Mina were surprised.

  “The mana recovery for citizens is just too abnormal. This young boy’s mana is poor. Is he cursed by neutral mana instead of shamanism?”

  Mina shakes her head, but Voldemyr hides her expression from him

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “This is not about the curse. I know you read Wilson’s note. This is no normal studies for you either”

  Haw carefully looks at the two young girls. A serious look at his eyes staring at them then to Kenta. It’s like he knows about the curse. Unlikely, Enders know about the demons’ way be leeches to the citizens. Especially the uncured Kenta.

  Smoothly taking time as Haw gives Voldemyr a deserving knowledge about the notes. Haw explains

  “R-cord is best for gathering sensitive information. If he can’t find it, it means someone had already taken it”

  “And? Two pieces of the notes revealed itself to us are?”

  “Things just happened, or rightly timed to happen. Those same notes were about them. Not the notes with details. It is simple to understand, the enemy took the notes and someone is taking a piece of it for us to figure it out. But this is my speculation”

  Voldemyr shows the two girls to him. Haw said to them “What I’m trying to say is, your unfinished business is already tailing you”

  Haw throws a potion into the air and got hit by something. The potion wrapped with absorb scroll and traces back at the enemy who attacked. It passed through a hole on the man’s body as he runs away. Voldemyr tries to track him down but the trails corrupted by demonic mana. The traces left with harmful magic and leaving Haw’s preparation being nullified. Toba recognizes the man from how he acted. Her face frowned and anger sips in. Calling out to Voldemyr who that man is

  “That’s the cowardly idiot, Youta! The prick is alive!”

  Voldemyr felt shame hearing that man’s name. Haw asks

  “You seem to be down hearing that name. Who was he?”

  “Sigh* A bastard with miserable personality. Using empathy of others to gain to his advantage. He is selfish and that’s how most traitors are”

  “So, they are one those people”

  “Those people?”

  “Can’t explain but they have people like that in their city”

  “How pathetic, they can become demons’ puppets”

  “it’s . . . sigh* Let’s just say we can’t trust them”

  Mina and Toba really want to meet with that bastard again. All that happened when Voldemyr is on their side trying to figure out to remove the curse. That same bastard gives the wrong details costing Voldemyr’s time. They recognized that cowardly persona anywhere as he tricked many others to believe he was a loser. Worse than that, a liar who possessed the powers of the demon. The two is hoping Haw will accompany them to get him, but Haw heed them an advice. That coward almost wrecked his preparation, so it would be predictable enough he will come back to destroy his work like Voldemyr. Youta, from his guess, will need another fool plan to get here again.

  Taking a risk when they are close to escape. Those sabotages before had been succeeding for a long time. Following Haw’s plan is foolish enough, but he instructs them what Tabitha needed to do to deal with them. Either it will fail or not, Haw will it maintain until they arrived. Their time to scout a path is done and they need to get ready before Youta ruins it. The rat men horde are all around them. A large number people will be endangered if left uncheck. To do it on the next day leave the two girls phased by it.

  Aoi’s worries escalated as there are two things she doesn’t want to found out. The notes have already found, but on the hands of their enemies. Without it, the voice will not assist what they needed. The worse part than that is their old enemies. After the Benedictus attacked the corrupted citizens, the last note showing the names of them were not scratch off. This fears her that they are more of them than she had expected. These were the same people who tried to stop them from escaping.

  Tabitha makes the call “This is what I’ve imagined when R-cord and McS4 were here. If those treacherous scums still lurking and following us. Then we have to use their solution”

  Juela raised her head and looks at Tabitha

  “There’s a plan like this?”

  “Juela, are you really surprised about mentioning them?”

  “I don’t know if you truly know about the Dexter Guild. They have a saying never waste a good reason with motivation. Sure, they will help us, and what do you think they want to gain here?”

  “Honestly, Juela. I never thought about it before”

  “Neither do I, but . . . Tabitha, are you really going to do this?”

  It was U’ecin’s turn to scout. Voldemyr insists to join him after his turn. Those two will be good enough to find a new route. Although they will be tired when they return. The two have expected for Tabitha to succeed. The girls have the time for themselves. As the girls speaking gossips or continue the story they left off. Toba still rings herself back when they are in the trial. Without any hesitation, she reaches out to Juela.

  “About the time, you show me your side of your life. I’m really wondering how are we similar?”

  “Uh well, it’s more like we shared the same problematic but righteous people”

  “But yours lost your father because of your mother’s . . .”

  “That I too won’t understand why she did that. I still have her to know she will tell me why. But you, he is gone and you will never know the reason”

  “That’s true, but why is your mother couldn’t explain you before. What’s her big deal?”

  “For only you to understand, it is the same reason when it comes to danger here. Neutral Mana belongs to the demons, you possessed something that is not yours. Toba, think like this. What will happen to you when you’re going too far for being troublesome?”

  “I think I can understand, it was mostly making pranks. But to think that I have going too far would be hard for me to see”

  “I guess a young girl still needs to learn. To make it simple both of them wants for the best of us. The old man you said maybe annoying but he has his reason, preventing something that you might find out at the worst time”

  “Leaving the city because of the old man is one thing, right?”

  “It may sound like you belittle yourself, we don’t need to speak more about it. Let’s talk something else”

  Both of them agreed and they continue to talk about other things.

  Silfa: “We are so close to leave this place. You people will be going to be surprise how the city had become”

  Aoi: “After all the planning, we can finally talk about normal things”

  Sakura: “That’s great, I thought we are going to bore to death before getting out of here”

  Silfa: “Says you who always at the back”

  Sakura: “I never nor Aoi being fighters. Toba can do both as she likes to”

  Toba: “We are not capable to fight either, we can run and hide, but we can’t do stuff like that”

  Mina: “Don’t talk anymore about us, back to the main topic. Are they still calling that place, Isekai City . . .?”

  Hidden among the crowd of survivors. People whisper again the doubts in their conversation. Tabitha out hears their concern than hearing their own discussion. Juela whispers to her

  “It’s starting. We have done the first step. What’s the next Dexter plan?”

  “When they get back? We should segregate the survivors. They know who they are looking for. There is no need for us to meddle against troublemakers. We need to focus the escape”

  “But will it take all day?”

  “Even we are tired, I’m finally going to use that stash. It is time to use everything that we stored so far”

  Juela and Silfa nod at her as they both see the inventory hid inside of Tabitha’s UI.

  R-cord and Tabitha were discussing about this for sometimes. Her new and improve cards are taking effects and took it on to him. Juela holds the monocle, reinforcing her magic cards to make it a signal beacon for anyone who is trying to tap her telepathy. R-cord’s concern shows promising result where he uses his helmet as the source of beacon as well. Now the two have a proper conversation as the people who are trying to overhear them. It is the right time to lure those spies out from the camps. A flip of her deck as she has no longer have support cards of herself. Enders card provided by Mi’lady, who knew Yui has relative here.

  The plan is setting in, the people who is eavesdropping watching the three women finished their conversation and headed outside. The survivors who are with them continue talking as they sneak themselves in.

  “Hey, you guys seem to become close with them. All of them saying they would rescue us are really true”

  “Who knows, we’re going to forget all that happened and start the daily routine of all over again like our rescuers”

  Sakura speaks to them in a really reluctant tone. The same convincing tone that the survivors thought it is another loop. They be on their way thinking they are behaving like the usual.

  Sakura whispers to her friends “. . . I hope you die in a slow painful death”

  Mina almost burst out laughing “You didn’t forget what they did”

  “They are just nosers. Those are not the ones we are worried about. If they have magic to use, they’ll bring out the actual backstabbers, those dead fodders shouldn’t be here in the first place”

  They turn and look at Tabitha, playing her cards setting on the table. Now they can see how she is going to deal with them.

  The cards took place, three decks being played at the same time. She was wondering when she is going to use this kind of playboard. Myrrkei was the first to show it to her, then it was Mi’lady make proper cards for her to use. Her personal support deck turned into spell cards, Haw and Silfa’s deck converted to Juela and Silfa, and the one that won’t be needed to change is her two teammate, R-cord and McS4 deck. If it played correctly, all this two will not be used on a specific person or user. It will be channeled and shared in a correct combination.

  All three decks put together were able to create an illusion of themselves to head outside, leaving a spell with force command that meant for McS4, and fused together with Silfa as her UI feature used the doll for forced summon. Altogether, in these cards fused on the playboard, it will be good enough to gather them all in one place without them elusively escape again. Silfa and Juela use the best of the spells infused on the playboard against all odds of their enemies escaping. Their eyes pointing at the cards will be enchanted to, U’ecin and Voldemyr.

  Tabitha is steadily gets it together and uses her telepathy with R-cord. She sees the monocle blurring itself as someone is tapping through their conversation. Trying to find out where those two were. R-cord says to her

  “Focus who are there, and the others, misguide them at these coordinates. I left them a special surprised. But don’t bring their strongest there. It won’t be distracting enough if they can figure it out sooner than your time to escape”

  “Alright, please come back after you sorted out down there”

  “We will, only if your deal with the immortal was paid”

  The cards are neatly placed at the playboard, all preparation has been set. The three blends into the illusion, letting the girls watch them disappear. The aura reaches to them as their own illusions behaving as their own. They felt a bit tired and fell asleep side by side. The campfires are blown out as the darkness of the hidden camp devoured one by one. The survivors know it’s time to sleep and everybody go their own respective sleeping bed as darkness consumed the area.

  U’ecin and Voldemyr were busy and saw Tabitha walks by. Along with the two of her friends, they behave as if they don’t know them. Both Voldemyr and U’ecin brought out their absorb scrolls lash out to the illusion. It absorbs the illusion and engulfed into the scroll, mix together by the powers of the cards. They collected it and find rather strange mixture with it. Voldemyr begins to move and gives U’ecin one of his scrolls. Giving only to him a nod and runs as fast as he could. U’ecin sees the scroll as the spell already been lit. A timer starts as it begins to channel a teleport spell.

  The survivors are following the illusion and saw they vanished before they move and hide on the next. They see U’ecin alone, and they begin to run back before they get caught. Their minds blurred suddenly, losing their balance. U’ecin’s polearm holds one of the survivor’s souls using a spell to trance them closer to him. The corrupted citizens’ same old tricks won’t work. To think, Tabitha would’ve giving him such opportunity to eradicate who are left. He sees the numbers of them have already betrayed their people after for so long. The Unworthy Guild should be ashamed not successfully free them. But he knows better. Rescuing was over after they found them.

  Voldemyr reaches to the trench and drops a scroll behind as he climbs up. The spell is cast and forced all the enemies to be teleported there. Scattering lights everywhere and numbers are too numerous blending together as if there is an explosion. Weaker lights surging down back where the rat men noticed it and follow it without limits. Clearing them all before the day comes. Powerful magic consists of archscience and neutral mana from Sarah Mae, there is no mana dependence between the mana flow showing whose powers belonged to. The price of power spread all around as it leads back to the depths. Leaving the depths be under control of the demon.

  The man can see how this planned out. Tabitha the assistance by the Dexter Guild. The survivors who planned to sabotage every escape they tried. The Dexter Guild is countering them and hold their enemies need possible. They are pushing those corrupted citizens away in mass at the depths. Giving more chance for the survivors to escape. Bringing in the attention of the horde to chase after with it. This could mean the ruin will activate and release the mechanical spiders. Except, the survivors are already near at the sinking caves as they have to rush to the shore. Thankfully, the trench is enforced by the magic right in front of him. A special barrier good enough to be the bait. Those machines won’t be busy hunting the survivors when there is a mass mana concentrated here. Strong enough to hide from the rat men and gain enough attention for the machines to come here.

  U’ecin appears at the center of the magic circle. Solidified in stature stopping in motion as the surrounding area is being forced summon the corrupted citizens who still linger among the survivors. The pitiful guerilla tactics are gone. The corrupted citizens, already attained their memories, are ready with their weapons. They expected it to happen. But they never expect a full-blown magic and a man who will definitely kill them. They tried the same trick, harnessing the influence’s powers.

  They sense the mana comes out from the ruin pushing through to free them from the trap. Then it broke down as the rat men came to feast it. Devouring it all with nothing left and continuing their search down to the depths. The felt of lost among the strong corrupted citizens. Many time they have ruined their escape. Slowly giving up and joined the influence. They face an even more threat they have possibly couldn’t estimate. Those three women who tried to save them have show little to no threat when they come here sensing nothing to show their strength. They feared only the four people. Voldemyr, U’ecin, and the two Dexter Guild members.

  They thought it was their great opportunity to get rid of them, but they didn’t expect anything about this. With their tricks to deal against mana depended users, it should be a sure finish when they leave. It was a trap, a trap they never dreamed of dragging all of them out of here with a certain spell. The influence’s protection stops and their eyes flashes by U’ecin’s gem. U’ecin twirls his polearms fused together with his strength slowly intimidating them for a strong swing. The corrupted citizens see there is no escape and this man is alone. With their footings ready to lunge forward, the first one who cast his spell was hit by a pebble with a small crumbling paper wrapped around it.

  Powers easily pulled away as the man drained out his mana he had from the influence. They momentarily look at the man, shocked and afraid, and nothing else left for them to do about it. With their mind clouded like trapped rats inside a cage. They desperately charged at U’ecin surrounding him. U’ecin pulls out papers and throw it in the air. Trapping them further by the absorb spell, one after the other they fell out of their strength as their powers drained away. Giving one by one a fatal blow with his polearm.

  Voldemyr stared down from afar watching the execution at the foolish people sided with the influence. They didn’t learn about the daemos’ greatest weakness. Their powers are limited for how many they are in one realm. Sarah Mae, the influence, and the rat men are here. Limiting the resources of mana stretching throughout the realm. That’s why Sarah Mae forces herself weakening the presence of her authority at the depths and the price leads her here for Tabitha’s plan.

  Sarah Mae had made her choice. She stretched it further enough sacrifices to this event. The demon roars out from the depths as numerous platforms rose up and blocked by the blood pavement. Her eyes still glared at the enemies from below. The promise of removing her city from this pest still putting into her mind. She watches how U’ecin eradicate the people who had killed so many of their own people, then she watches the cowards teleported to where the rat men caught them in mid spell.

  The saboteurs are gone. Yet there is still more of them left, these people she remembered through the teens’ memories. Shrouded by another source of magic, capable of resisting the trap. Stronger but lost what to do after what happened. The runner tries to leave that place, but didn’t want to return to the influence because of the rat men. These people decided to return back to the hidden camp. Where they foolishly being spotted by the Unworthy guild, finally seeing all of their enemies entering back.