It was basically impossible to follow Nero for the others as he moved too quickly. Fortunately, his freezing body left a trail of frost wherever it ran, his icy footprints easily visible within the underground tunnel.
There were also signs of frost on the walls where Nero had grabbed mushrooms and just stuffed them down his throat. Such a thing was actually incredibly dangerous for they could be toxic, yet Nero didn’t have much of a choice.
He used what little knowledge he had of foraging from survival class to judge what could be eaten and couldn’t, and swallowed whatever seemed even remotely edible. That included any moss he found on the walls.
What Nero did not do, however, was attack any of the small animals in the caves. While the meat on their bodies would serve as a lot more sustenance than moss, hunger had not made him foolish enough to provoke the only animals that didn’t want to kill him.
He had no idea if attacking even a single one of them might provoke them all into viewing him as an enemy. He also found it suitable to return the courtesy of being non-hostile that they had shown him.
When the group finally caught up to Nero, they found him sitting near the entrance to the first underground level, sitting on a rock, looking slightly ill.
"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked between ragged breaths, "What happened?"
Nero turned and looked at the group, limping, bleeding, bruised, on the verge of death, and decided that maybe he shouldn’t confess that it was his first time eating a plant that fresh and it left a bad aftertaste in his mouth.
"If I had to guess, it’s because my ascension was longer than expected. My body wasn’t able to keep up with such a long baptism, causing me to suffer from a case of mild starvation," he explained, using that as a perfect cover. "I’ve had enough forage to help me last till we return to base. What about you? What’s the report?"
"Bael is a little delusional, but he’s recovering fine. The problem is with Noman. He’s shown signs of improvement, but he’s not waking up," answered Vanessa as she looked at the thirteen-year-old with worry.
"Does anyone here have expertise in emergency first aid?" Nero asked as he turned towards Noman. The kid wasn’t turning blue or purple, which was a good sign, but the fact that he still wasn’t recovering wasn’t great.
"Let me look at him," Bael said weakly, as he pushed himself up.
"Are you sure you can give him a check up in your state?" Nero asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, I’m fine," Bael said weakly. "Ever since I started using my own ability, I also started to study medicine so I could get a better understanding of how my ability can help me. I have some cards here that’ll help as well."
Despite the weakness in his voice, and in his limbs, Bael put on a very serious expression as he kneeled beside Noman and began giving him a check up.
"What exactly happened?" Bael asked. Even Nero wanted to know, and so he turned towards Vanessa.
"Dave poisoned the whole team. He’s been preparing for this since back in Fordham," she said, thinking back to what he had said. "That’s why he hadn’t been able to poison the seven additional members we took on. He wanted to use me to blackmail someone, I think. Not sure how he would have managed it, but I was clearly the target. He put Bael to sleep so that his passive wouldn’t kick in, and poisoned the rest. Poisoned me too, but not enough to kill me, just enough to incapacitate me."
Bael opened Noman’s eye and looked at his pupil, before shaking his head.
"What’s wrong? Is it too late?" Nero asked, feeling an additional weight on his chest.
"No, the kid’s not suffering from poisoning. He’s suffering from mild aether deprivation. He must have used his ability to seal his own poison or something," Bael said before looking through his own deck and finding a card that helped speed up aether recovery.
As soon as he used it on Noman, colour began to return to the teenager’s face, relieving the group. Only Nero remained troubled.
"Bael, take a look at him as well," Nero said, bringing him over to the soldier Nero had laid against a boulder. He was unconscious, and breathing lightly, but he didn’t seem too great. Although he wasn’t bleeding out from anywhere, he was getting progressively weaker.
Bael obliged, and his expression changed almost immediately. He pulled out various cards, using them, but none seemed to improve the situation.
"He... it’s beyond my ability to help him," Bael said. "He has internal bleeding, and a few other things I’m not sure of. I don’t think he’s got long left to live."
"Can you wake up Noman," Nero asked. "If Noman can place a seal on his body, it might delay his death."
"What kind of seal could do that?" Vanessa asked, but Nero didn’t reply. All he knew was that Noman’s innate ability was special, or else Unity would not have been so interested in learning its details. Since that was the case, he might just be able to help. It would depend on the specifics of his innate ability.
Though Bael himself was not completely recovered from his own poison, considering he’d only been put to sleep while everyone else nearly died, Nero had no compunctions about working him hard.
While Bael worked on Noman, Nero turned and looked at Vanessa.
"We have a decision to make," he said to her softly. "I’ve discovered the pond, but it’s also become much more dangerous and unpredictable to stay here. We need to decide whether to risk it, or head back."
Vanessa did not immediately respond, instead simply pursing her lips and looking down at Noman, and the others. Lina was simply using this opportunity to heal and recover, while the second, injured soldier leaned against a wall, not looking too good either.
The guilt of so much death was already weighing on her, and now Nero’s question filled her mind with incredible amounts of doubt and hesitation. If she chose to head to the pond, she would be further endangering everyone even more, and if that decision caused more deaths, she... she...
"I can see it in your eyes," Nero suddenly said, interrupting her thoughts.
She looked up and saw the handsome teenager, his muscular frame more evident than it had ever been before. This close, his blue eyes almost seemed to be glowing as he looked into hers.
"You can see what?" she asked.
"Your doubt. Your guilt," Nero said slowly. "You know, I’ve heard there are special classes in the military academy to train officers on how to deal with the loss of their soldiers."
For a brief moment a heavy silence hung between them, as they both reflected on the loss that they had endured, and how it had affected them.
"I don’t know what they teach in that class, Vanessa, but I can tell you regret isn’t going to solve anything," Nero spoke slowly, a hint of regret seeping into his own words despite his message. "There was a mission, and for that mission we took risks. The soldiers weren’t the only ones who could have died for this mission. When I came up, I saw your blood covered face. You could have just as easily been a casualty as well. For this mission, we took risks, and we have sacrificed.
"Do not make that sacrifice worthless. If anything, ensure that through the success of this mission, you can serve Kolar even better - to make the sacrifices worth it."
Vanessa looked into Nero’s shining eyes and saw, for the first time, through the facade. He was good at acting, and masking his emotions - very good. But even he could not hide the pain that he was feeling right now. That pain had been especially pronounced when he mentioned seeing her on the floor, covered in bed.
Vanessa began to feel a strange sensation in her chest - one she was unfamiliar with.
"If you want to go to the pond, just say so. Why are you making me make the decision?" she asked.
"Because you’re a quick learner, and when you go back from here, you’re going to be in a position of influence. A weak mindset will do a lot of harm," Nero responded. "For example, there’s nothing I want more right now than to go out and hunt Dave down. But I have to force myself to stay calm and assess the situation to make the best decision. I know that for him to return to the tavern, it will take him at least two hours, if not more, due to the increased difficulty. That should be more than enough time for us to complete our mission, and then hunt him down. I cannot sacrifice the mission just because I want to rip his lungs out."
There was a certain chill in his voice at the end, and for some reason that just deepened the odd feeling in Vanessa’s chest, and increased her blush.
"Well in that case, when we hunt him, leave a lung for me too. For now, we’ll recover and head to the pond. Let’s be quick, and let’s be safe. I don’t want any more casualties. None!"