The mission was over - for what it was worth. The only survivors were Nero, Vanessa, Bael, Noman, Lina and one other soldier who seemed to have suffered some kind of knee injury. Even after healing, he was still limping which slowed them down, so Bael had taken to carrying him on his own back.
They left the mausoleum layer quickly, continuously on edge, fearing that the undead might stand up from their kneeling position. Fortunately, to the very end, they remained kneeling in full devotion.
After that, Nero had picked up the speed. Now that he had been enhanced once more, his hunger was returning with an unquenchable fury, and it was best not to let it linger for too long.
Of course, moving quickly also meant that the journey for Vanessa, who was in Nero’s arms, was bumpy.
Unlike Nero, who was not only at a higher level, but had straight up used pain to forcefully readjust his state, Vanessa was still feeling extremely vulnerable after her enhancement. Let alone any physical stimuli, just the mere flow of aether within her body was enough to drive her insane. If, then, the physical aspect was taken into account, then she was on the verge of completely losing it.
No matter how good Nero was at certain things, he couldn’t just eliminate the jostling caused by jogging through an underground cavern. Yet with every step he took, Vanessa’s overly sensitive body would shoot the sensation to her brain as if it were a thousand times magnified.
In the few lucid moments she had, she glared at Nero as if she would rip him to shreds. But for the most part, Nero could hear her exclaiming and cursing under her breath.
"Goddamit, no, keep it together... fuck, fuck, this is too much... stop, ahhh....I’m going to kill him... kill him..."
Nero would have cracked a grin if the situation weren’t as tense and dire as it was. Now that they had completed the mission, they needed to safely return to the tavern, and hopefully catch up to Dave along the way.
As much as Nero would have liked to kill him, tracking him down would be too dangerous given their state. It was best to return to the base and report everything that had happened. Chances were high that Dave, too, was heading that way.
Soon enough, they managed to exit the cave entirely, and the first thing they saw was Nero’s glaive, still stuck in the ground where he left it. Then they saw all the frozen beasts, as well as the massive hole that had formed around the area where Nero had his breakthrough.
Nero stood still for a moment, taking everything in, all the ideas he had about teasing Vanessa fading into mist.
This is where he had left his team to be ambushed, where his failure as a leader caused so many deaths. One could argue that it wasn’t his fault, but Dave’s. They would be right. Nero never contested that. He only lamented that his leadership wasn’t nearly as good as he thought it was. His experience in Lumina had allowed him to become overconfident.
Then again, betrayal was one of the things most difficult to protect oneself from. Whatever the case, Nero would not forget the scene in front of him.
"Guys, from here on out, we’re going to be trying to return to the tavern," Nero said, his voice grave. "If coming here was a dangerous task when the world was at the Neophyte level, then returning when the world is full of Initiates is... borderline impossible. Chances are high that... we will all die before returning to the base. I don’t want to sugarcoat it, that’s just the truth."
Nero paused for a moment, letting the weight of his words set in. There were just a few of them now, and they were mostly weakened, poisoned, over sensitive or starving. They were far from their peak, yet their enemies were stronger than ever. Realistically speaking, it would be impossible to return, yet they had to try anyway. After all, it wasn’t like giving up would lead to a better outcome either.
"But I’ve lost a lot of soldiers today," Nero continued, his voice somber, "and I don’t want to lose anymore. I’m ordering you all not to die , understand?"
It would have been very touching if the whole group had yelled ’yes sir’ with all their vigor, but the reality was that all of them gave broken answers, some barely better than a murmur. Not like one could expect anything else from such an absurd order.
"We have to move fast, and we have to avoid all fights. Stay close to me, and pay close attention to all my orders," said Nero, turning back to look at the others. He wouldn’t be able to run at his full speed, but he’d certainly move as quickly as the team would allow.
This time, everyone responded.
"Vanessa, this is going to be rough. You have to prepare yourself," Nero said.
Vanessa looked flustered, but for all the agony the jog to the surface had caused, it also allowed her to recover somewhat. After taking a deep breath, she looked at Nero and nodded.
With that, they set off. Nero set out at a light jog, but this was honestly the fastest pace that Noman could keep up with, so this was the pace that their group would travel at.
For whatever reason, the surroundings of their location were devoid of any life. One would have thought that with all the commotion from their fights earlier, more beasts or even curses would have been attracted. Instead, the surroundings were eerily empty.
What Nero did not know was that it was the ancient aura released during his own level up, the very one that most of the beasts in Perilith recognized, that had caused all of them to avoid the area.
Instead of being relieved that they faced no obstruction, Nero raised his vigilance even higher. The absence of even common beasts meant that something absurd had happened. He vaguely remembered the pillar of light that surrounded him when he broke through. Considering the intimidating influence it had on others, it was entirely possible that Virtuous Moonlight II could have been responsible, but it was best to be safe. It could just as easily be another terrifyingly strong creature. The image of the Primal Exarch flashed through his mind.
The landscape slowly changed as they jogged, but even then, they encountered no enemies, and for that Nero was grateful. The sun had already passed noon, and had begun to dip towards the horizon. They had about four or five hours before nightfall, and though the tavern wasn’t that far, any single obstacle could force them to take long detours.
Yet, for once, the unbelievable happened. There was no insidious monster laying in wait. No curse launched itself at them at the critical moment. They didn’t run into a massive pack of wolves. No, their journey was smooth sailing, right up until Nero saw it.
Tracks. They were subtle, but his senses were sharper than they used to be. He could see Dave’s tracks. Normally he was too skilled to do something so obvious as leave tracks, especially when he knew he might be hunted. Yet the urgency Nero could see in his footsteps suggested something else. Panic. Or yet another trap.
"Vanessa," Nero said, as he came to a halt, finally ceasing their relentless jog. "My mission now is to get you back to the base. But I also have to obey your orders."
Vanessa glared at him like she wanted to rip his face off. Instead, she suppressed her primal urges, and instead so eloquently explained her curiosity regarding his sudden behaviour.
"So?"
"I can see Dave’s tracks. He’s panicked, or it’s another trap. We can ignore it, or..."
" Follow! " Vanessa hissed, the aether around her body responding to the sheer venom in her voice. Nero could still contain his emotions, he’d been training for it. She hadn’t. Although her incredible discipline and attitude made it hard to tell, she had lived a very comfortable life, all her inconveniences self imposed. When had she ever suffered so much at the hands of another?
If Nero managed to contain his guilt for his failure, then her guilt caused her to be filled with a hatred that she could not even express. Earlier, she had been too weak to express herself fully. Now, though, Vanessa wanted revenge. Or if that was not possible, she would suffice for justice.
"Then follow on your own feet," Nero said, as he slowly put her down. "I might need to act quickly in case something happens."
Vanessa was in immense agony still, yet she did not protest. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and neither did Perilith. Through sheer hatred, she tolerated the pain in her body. Though she had grown in the lap of luxury, she had never been weakened by it.