The massive hologram of the city floated, its blue light falling on the faces of those present.
Gareth stood in front of them. The group members were lined up across from him.
The atmosphere was so heavy that even Marcus had put aside his usual jokes. Gareth displayed several satellite images on the hologram.
The same street.
The same damn street. The same place where everything had gone out of control. The same place where Sarah had lost her life. The same place where Andreas had been killed.
And the same place where Lian had split the Red-Eyed Stalker’s body in two.
For a few seconds, everyone just looked at the image. They did not know what to say. Should they accept the mission or just forget about it?
Lian could understand the reasoning behind wanting a Red-Eyed Stalker corpse. In fact, he had expected something like this.
With a corpse of that monster, they could gain a lot of information and find out what that thing really was. Perhaps they could even discover the origin of that unknown white-eyed creature.
"Wait a moment..." Liana suddenly frowned.
Everyone’s gaze turned to her.
"Didn’t you say the monsters collect all the bodies?" She pointed at the image.
"Then why are these still there?"
That was exactly the question forming in everyone’s minds. The question everyone wanted an answer to.
Why had the monsters suddenly changed their routine? Why had they suddenly changed their behavior? And thinking about how the monsters’ behavior had been strange over the past two days made everything even more complicated and strange.
Gareth did not take his gaze off the image.
"We don’t know. Either those bodies are no longer important to them, or they can’t get close to them. Exactly like that footage you found, where monsters wouldn’t go near the Red-Eyed Stalker."
The room fell silent again. This possibility was the scariest of all. If the monsters were really avoiding the corpse of one of their own kind...
Then what exactly had happened there? What species was that monster that other monsters were afraid of?
Their gazes fell on Lian. His reasoning was now becoming even more logical and likely.
After the meeting, the group gathered in the base courtyard. This time, unlike usual, Cassian did not make a decision immediately.
He remained silent for a long time, then looked at each member one by one.
"This time, we vote."
Everyone was surprised.
"I don’t want anyone else to die because of my decision." He continued.
"If we’re just picking up a corpse, I have no problem." Marcus answered almost without thinking.
"Me too." Lian shrugged. Unlike the others, he truly was in no danger. He also had no worry about anything happening to himself.
Besides, they were not going to stay there for hours. Just go there, pick up the corpse, and leave immediately.
"We’ve come this far. Only one day left. I’m not backing out now." Selina also agreed.
"I still think this mission is stupid..." Liana grumbled for a few seconds.
But in the end, she sighed.
"Fine. I’ll come too."
The only one who said nothing was Claire. Her hands were trembling slightly. Her gaze was fixed on the ground. It took a few seconds for her to speak.
"That same street..." Her voice trembled.
"That’s where it happened..."
No one said anything. There was no need. Everyone knew what she meant. The same street where Sarah was killed. The same street where Andreas died.
The same place where she herself had nearly lost her life.
A few moments later, she took a deep breath.
"I’ll come. I hate that street, but if our effort can save other people’s lives, then it’s fine."
Cassian quietly nodded. The decision had been made.
Two hours later, they entered the city again. A cold wind blew through the abandoned buildings. The streets were empty.
And the closer they got to their destination, the heavier the silence became.
No monsters could be seen. No sounds could be heard. Not even the sound of creatures moving in the distance.
As if the entire area was dead. When they reached their destination, everyone unconsciously slowed down.
The street was still the same street. Destroyed, silent, and full of memories that no one wanted to remember.
The bodies were still there.
Bloodfang Hounds.
Gravehide Brutes.
And among them...
The Red-Eyed Stalker’s corpse.
Untouched.
Two days had passed, but no monster had even gone near it.
"We do this quickly and go back." Cassian stepped forward.
Everyone agreed. The sooner this damn thing ended, the sooner they could leave this hell and return to the Academy, where their lives were completely safe.
They lifted the Stalker’s corpse, and Cassian placed it in his storage space.
And just at that moment when they turned to leave, it happened.
Not a roar, not an explosion, not an attack. Just mist. White, thick mist. From nowhere, like a living creature crawling out from the cracks of the city.
Within seconds, it swallowed the entire street. Visibility dropped to less than a meter.
"Damn it! Danger! Danger! Watch out! Stay together!" Cassian immediately shouted.
But it was too late. The mist had swallowed everything.
Lian understood at that moment.
A trap.
This mist was not natural. He immediately tried to find the exit direction, but suddenly a shadow attacked him from the right.
A harsh roar echoed in the mist.
A Bloodfang.
Another one.
And another one.
They were attacking him from behind. From every direction, monsters in the mist attacked him, and they did not give him a chance to find the exit.
"Go to hell." Lian snorted and killed them one after another with his fists.
[You have killed a level 9 Bloodfang Hound]
[You have killed a level 9 Bloodfang Hound]
[You have killed a level 10 Bloodfang Hound]
"Their aim is not to kill..." But something was strange. They were not trying to kill him, and he realized this.
They were just attacking, just holding him back. As if they wanted to buy time.
This made Lian’s sense of danger multiply. Why were these monsters not attacking to kill? What was their real goal?
It was not hard to figure out. They wanted to do something to the others. He was the strongest among them, and the monsters clearly knew this.
They knew they could not defeat him, so they wanted to take down the others.
He threw a powerful punch. The first was split in half. The second’s head was severed from its body. The third was slammed against the wall with his strike.
But the mist kept getting thicker, and he could not hear anyone’s voice.
Not Cassian, not Marcus, not Claire. No one.
"I knew those bastards were planning something, but I didn’t think they could go this far and hide such abilities." He whispered mockingly.
This was partly his fault for taking it too lightly. The creature behind all of this had deliberately not moved those bodies.
And that footage from the camera... it might have been that creature’s own work, to draw their attention to the Red-Eyed Stalker and force them to go back for its corpse for analysis.
In other words, from the very beginning, they had been following that creature’s plan.
"A simple but brilliant plan. We were wrong from the start to underestimate that creature. I thought because it was something like a monster, it must have low intelligence."
"And we fell for such a stupid trap." He laughed.
This was a trap that had happened because of their stupidity, because of underestimating that creature.
A few seconds later, he made his decision. If the mist remained... everyone would die or worse.
He channeled seventy units of mana into his fist.
And then...
[Earthbreaker]
The ground under his feet shook. The asphalt cracked. The surrounding buildings began to tremble.
A massive explosion shook the entire street. A shockwave like a storm passed through the ground.
Windows shattered. Walls cracked. And the mist... was forcefully pushed aside.
Like a curtain being torn with violence.
[You have killed a level 10 Mistveil Lurker]
[Species identified]
[Mistveil Lurker]
[Rank: Normal]
[Level: 10]
For the first time in a few minutes, Lian could see his surroundings again. He first looked at the notification. Based on the name of this monster, he realized the mist was probably its work.
First he saw Cassian. He was on the ground. His armor was damaged, but he was alive.
A few meters away, Selina was sitting. Breathing heavily, tired, wounded, but alive.
Lian immediately searched the area. Marcus? Nowhere.
Claire? No trace of her.
Liana? She was also gone.
No blood, no bodies, no footprints. Practically nothing.
As if they had never been there.
Cassian struggled to get up from the ground.
His gaze turned around. It took a few seconds for him to understand the truth.
"No..."
His breathing became heavy.
"No..."
His gaze searched around frantically.
"No..."
And at that moment, Lian understood the truth. They were not lost. No one had gotten lost in that mist.
They had been taken.
And worse than that... this mist had not come to kill them. This mist had only come to separate them.
And it succeed
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( A/N : The arts of Lian and Seris have been uploaded, and you can view them and share your opinions. What do you think about them? And which character’s art and profile should I upload next? Let me know your thoughts. )