A deathly silence fills the warehouse, the seven of them silently digesting the information.
"... Hey, it might be worse if the Usurper Calamity was a powerhouse..."
Anna spoke, scratching the back of her head as she sighs.
All things considered, this one is an easier enough enemy since they don't have to fight head on with a stronger enemy.
After all, it is just a puppeteer hiding in the shadows.
"But, it seems that the mist... — if it is the Usurper Class, or an actual Usurper Class. Considering the strength of the werewolf it controlled — has the home advantage. It knows about our location even when we were separated."
Sirius adds more as Thea follows up.
"It also seems that whenever the mist gets closer to its puppet, the puppet gets stronger. I felt how the werewolf got stronger in that fight just now at the last few seconds."
The situation seems to be hopeless, leaning towards the fact that they can't fight it. They need to escape.
"How about you guys? What do you make of the enemy?"
Thea ask, looking around her teammates as they fall in deep thoughts.
Soon, Adam brings his head up and speak out his suspicion.
"I think, not only it controls the werewolf and maybe the surrounding Calamities to a precise degree, it could also see the surroundings of the puppet. It's not just a simple control and give command, but control and enter their view. At least thats my hypothesis."
Adam cross his arms, thinking back of the battlefield that he viewed before. Since he didn't play a part in participating directly, he could see the view of the battlefield more precisely.
"I back his words up, since I was with him at the time and saw it all."
Anna speaks, rocking back and forth on her seat as she thinks back to the moment.
Thea nods, taking in that information.
"So... you still want to try to eliminate that Usurper, Thea?"
Sirius ask the one question that has been lingering in Sol's mind as everyone looks at Thea.
Seeing the faces of everyone turning towards her, Thea blinks her eyes as she closes her eyes.
"I... it's tempting."
Thea speaks, a small curve at the edge of her lips as she closes her eyes.
She thought back to the battle with the werewolf, how fast she was going, how everything around her almost fall to a blur.
"... What about you guys? Do you guys want to try and kill that Usurper?"
With that question fired back to the others, the warehouse falls into silence. Thea closes her eyes, anticipation in the back of her mind.
Sol with a sigh quietly walks over to Thea and gently grasp her hand, silently affirming her.
Thea smiles in silence upon feeling her sister's warm hand.
She was glad to have her sister here.
The others watch their interaction as Luna sighs.
"Okay, Thea."
Luna speaks with her quiet voice, as Thea looks at her and smiles.
Yuki looks at Luna, his brows knitting as he looks back to Thea and sighs, shaking his head.
"Okay."
"Well, looks like everyone's literally on board by now, because I don't think you and I are going to bail out now that everyone's in, right?"
Anna asks, looking at Adam who looks back at her with scrunched up face.
"Yeah, I don't really want to. In fact I would have liked it if we just try and escape instead of trying to kill it."
Adam snickers, interlocking his hands on the back of his head.
Chad turns to look at Sirius, lying on the ground while closing his eyes.
"How about you, Sirius?"
Sirius slowly open his eyes, he let out a sigh before speaking.
"I'm not in."
Thea looks at Sirius, she stares at him.
'Well... I already expected him to say that...'
"First, like I said before. If we do stumble upon a Usurper Class Calamity, we are out. I'm not going to join in this... crusade."
Sirius slowly sit up, straightening his torso as he looks back at Thea.
"I will try to find the other Gate for us to escape, as much as I want to escape this Abyss. I'm not heartless enough to leave you all behind. I'll scout a path to the Gate and return back to you guys. I'll see if you all succeed or in critical condition."
Sirius delivers his final verdict, everyone looks at him in silence as Sirius prepares himself for some curses or maybe disdain.
Surprisingly, no one speak.
Sirius looks at each one of them and blink a few times.
"I was expecting Adam or Yuki or maybe someone else to curse me out. Mind explain why you guys are so silent and stiff like that?"
Sirius scratch the back of his head, Chad coughs and cross his arms.
"Well, not really, you after all stumbled here and basically have no relation whatsoever with us. But... well, you did save us back there, even that was a lot for a bystander. Not much would do what you did."
Sirius looks at Chad and sighs, Thea follows up with her piece of word.
"I appreciate what you have done for us Sirius, thank you for what you have done for us till now."
Sirius looks back at Thea and slowly nods.
"Like I said, I'll try and find the other Gate and wait for you guys to finish your business. I hope you guys succeed."
Laying back down, Sirius close his eyes. His body begging for him to rest up and stop abusing it.
The others meanwhile circle around Thea as she sit straight up. They start on discussing their plan for the soon to be fight.
Sirius' family pops up inside his mind as he thinks of his father, mother, and little brother.
'Hope they're not too worried...'
Sirius slowly drifts off to sleep, too tired to keep his eyes open and alert. He knows that there are Thea and the others so he doesn't bother keeping his guard up.
***
He drifts in the dark sea, where the light doesn't shine, floating endlessly through the motion.
His body feels calm, his mind hazy as he sinks deeper.
Curling his body up in a fetal position, Sirius drifts off.
'It's so peaceful here... and weirdly warm.'
Sirius smiles, drifting off deeper...
Suddenly, a golden needle stabs into his body, with the edge like a small fish hook.
Sirius widens his eyes, he looks at his back and see the golden needle stabbing inside his body.
'What the...'
More and more needles stab through his body, weirdly, no blood escapes his body. As if he hasn't just been stabbed.
But the pain weighs down on him.
Numerous more needle stabs down, he tries to dodge but he couldn't, as if the golden needle-like thread is alive and chasing him.
'Go away!'
Sirius groans as bubbles rise, he could feel his body suddenly being yanked up. The cold returns, the warmth of sinking underneath unreachable as he screams underwater.
'No!'
Yet, he could only helplessly feel the warmth escaping his body, the cold drags him to where he looks back and see a bright light on the distance. Up where he is being dragged.
The warmth that the bright light gives is too hot, too bright.
'Damn... it...!'
"Sirius!"
Sirius opens his eyes wide and sit straight up, slamming his forehead straight against Thea's chin.
"GAH!"
"OUCH!"
Both Sirius and Thea curls in pain. Though Thea manage to dodge Sirius' forehead against her forehead, her chin was still in range.
The others, watching what happened laughs, aside from Luna and Sol who merely smiles at the shenanigan.
Thea rubs her chin in pain, groaning as she looks at Sirius.
"You okay...? Khh!"
Sirius merely nods as he let out a groan.
"How about you..?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."
Thea stops rubbing her stinging chin and slowly stand up to lend him her hand. Sirius takes the hand and straighten up as he sighs.
"How long was I asleep for...?"
"A bit long I think? Maybe. I was about to inform you that we're about to move. We have all rested up, we're going to scout the enemy first before engaging."
Upon hearing her words, Sirius nods and looks around. Everyone seems to be ready to head out.
"Right. Sirius, we'll be back after gauging up the enemies and scouting the third floor."
Sirius nods, as they both silently look at each others' eyes.
Sirius closes his eyes.
"Careful out there."
Thea slowly nods upon hearing his response, smiling as she turns around, leaving Sirius alone as the others nod back at him.
Alone in the warehouse, Sirius sits with crossed-leg and close his eyes.
'What can I do now...? Just rest, I guess...?'
Sirius sighs, hanging his head low. It is true that he doesn't want to involve himself further in their journey of trying to kill a Usurper with only Evokers.
But he is worried about them.
"Well, they were planning to clear all the enemies in the Gate in the first place, they didn't take me into account since they came here first."
With that, Sirius relaxes himself and instead opts to train his own mastery of his new Ruin. He is after all quite curious about the extent of his destructive power. He had never used [Stellar Force] to form a single weapon, a single phenomenon to its absolute maximum due to him conserving his mana tank as to not run out and be left standing like a clown.
"Now... what shape would it take...?"
Sirius thought to himself, what weapon would indeed give him more strength, more firepower.
***
Stealthy footsteps linger through the now desolate city, the city is now a husk of what it was, a battlefield. Traces of ruins and battles could be seen near houses and buildings that are already rundown.
Thea and her team look around in caution, even though it is now desolate, a desolate and silent battlefield is a worse type of battlefield than a visible or active one.
"Stay alert."
They prepare themselves, hands already gripping their weapon and awaiting for any sort of attacks...
As they move through the silent city, with no visible enemies coming at them, Thea and her team are visibily confused. She looks at Adam with a questioning gaze, but Adam simply shakes his head.
"No sign of living beings whatsoever."
Thea cautiously nod before turning to look up front once more.
Time went by, they fasten their pace upon seeing that there's no enemy whatsoever for what felt like hours.
"Have they all retreated to the third floor or something?"
"Most likely."
Adam adds, replying to Yuki with only those two words as the others listen in tense silence.
"Let's go to the third floor."
Thea speaks, though everyone has already agreed with Thea to go kill the Usurper Calamity, they are still fearful of it, of the thought of fighting it and its army.
Walking back towards the towering pillar, they descend the silver old stairs.
On the side of the pillar but not at the end of the staircase, is an entrance to the third floor. Light mist flows on the floor, drowning the entire floor with silver ash.
Thea kneels, touching the mist that escapes the entrance to the third floor, as if trying to reach inside the staircase of the pillar.
Standing back up, she looks towards Adam, Adam activates his Rune and shakes his head. Thea looks back towards the mist encased city.
"Move carefully, stay close to each other."
Following Thea's lead, everyone moves forward while sticking close together.
Their footsteps appear to be silent, not emitting a single sound.
They could see some parts of the city, though shrouded in mist.
The town appears to be in ruins, as if an ugly battle had happened. What appears to be blood marks could be seen here and there.
But weirdly, no bodies.
Thea looks back to the others and see them still close to her, Thea lets out a sigh of relief before speaking.
"Adam, still no sign?"
Adam quickly replies back to Thea,
"What? Can you speak louder?"
Thea raises both of her eyebrows, eyes wide in shock before heightening her voice,
"Your voice is like a whisper! I can't hear you well just now!"
Adam is shocked to hear that, before he suddenly notice something that alarms him.
"Enemies! Three o'clock!"
Adam shouts this time, not speaking in a normal tone of voice. Along with his shout, ugly shrieks spears through the mist.
"Chad! Shield! Luna, Yuki, make a circle with me! Sol, Anna, Adam in the circle! Stay close, absolutely do not get separated from each other!"
Anna summons a silver bow and shoot blue arrows one after another at the approaching swarm of ghoul.
Her shots are precise, aiming at the chest of the ghouls where their souls reside. The ghouls fall one after another, while Chad with his shield covers the party from the claws of the ghouls that dare to approach.
Chad moves his spear, thrusting at the ghouls that has yet to drop dead from Anna's arrows.
Thea, Luna, and Yuki meanwhile guard the West, South, and East. With Adam and Anna and Sol inside the circle that guards them.
Slowly, they move back where they had come from, since they have only been moving forward.
Moving sideways to the right, Chad fends off a bite that came close to him. He push his shield to the front, pushing the ghoul away in a hurry.
Other ghouls try to push past the shield which is Chad, but failed as Anna shoots them down.
"Thea! Right in front of you, incoming!"
Adam shouts, Thea in response grip her sword tightly with both hands, aiming at the mist in front of her.
Her heart beats loudly, thumping against her chest.
Crackles of lightning gather at the tip of her sword as the first hands lunge at her. Building up electricity as Thea lunges forward and thrust her sword right at the chest of the ghoul.
An explosion of lightning burst behind its back, which burns the ghouls on the back, outright killing some.
Thea clicks her tongue as she sees another wave of ghouls already replacing them.
'This is... bad!'