The woman handed Brango an object shaped like a cube. He didn't wait to consume it. His stats, displayed before him, were hidden. It didn't surprise me.
"What are you planning?" I asked him.
Brango ignored the question. He took a deep breath and, with an expressionless voice, invoked his ability:
"Stealth."
I felt the air ripple around us as the thin cocoon formed. Suddenly, we felt lighter.
"The drones have done their job. They've spread a fairly decent layer of smoke," he scanned the walls, "... Let's wait for her."
I was going to add a comment, but I was interrupted by the ghostly appearance of the skinwalker. She was still carrying the machine gun, which was smoking and smelled of scorched metal.
"Well? Ready?"
"Yes. We must get closer to the elevator. Were you able to destroy its reinforced calves?"
The tiger woman shook her head.
"Only one."
"That's more than enough. Did you notice?"
"Yes. It seems clumsy and slower."
"It would've been ideal to bring down the other one," said Brango. "That would have weakened it even more. However, we can manage with stealth."
The tiger woman nodded.
"What do we do now?"
"We wait until the elevator light turns blue."
The shapeshifter and I looked at each other, puzzled.
"How did you figure that out?" I asked.
"Zara."
We watched in astonishment as the yellow dust on the floor danced in the air and approached our position, turning into a floating sphere. Inside it, some illegible symbols swirled, reminiscent of Egyptian hieroglyphs.
"Profítis!" exclaimed my companion.
"I see you know what that is."
"It's a mage ability of 8 Periodic Elements. A rarity."
Brango looked at her inquisitively.
"I didn't know it was that special."
"Of course! Mages who can read the future are a rare kind to find. However, I had never heard of one who used a spell like this."
The tiger woman examined Zara as if she were a lottery winner.
"You're very talented," she confessed. "In Eraztar, the Supreme Clans would fight over you."
I sensed that Zara was shifting from skepticism to a cold curiosity, but before I could think about it, Brango abruptly intercepted her:
"The sphere contains the information gathered in the room." Brango closed his menu. "The dust attracts the lost magic molecules and analyzes them to determine where they come from and what their configuration is. Based on that, it makes an estimation of future events."
My companion nodded. But Brango still had more to say.
"A few hours ago, we read the signs… They were vague, but they've proven useful. We saw the monster coming out of the elevator. There was a simple description about it, and it emphasized the plates on its calves. Although we didn't know what would happen if we destroyed them, we assumed we should try attacking there. Then, we saw you two. And afterward, we saw a light inside the elevator. I believe the key is there."
"And if it turns out it's not?" I asked.
"Then we'll pray," replied Brango, crossing his arms. "There's nothing else we can do. That tiny clue is our only hope."
I also felt the weight of that statement, heavier than the gravity of the sun and more terrifying than the monster's sword. A chill ran through my nervous system.
"It's time," said Brango. "Stay inside the dome, or the monster will sense us."
"Couldn't we have done this from the start?" asked my companion.
"No. My ability is only useful for concealing presence, not for making us invisible."
With everything ready, the five of us set off in a single file. The woman who read the future went first, consulting the green sphere. The other followed her. Brango was in the center. I was right behind him. The skinwalker brought up the rear.
We advanced close to the wall, as far as possible from the monster's threatening silhouette, which growled like a bear and swung its sword, cutting through the endless smoke.
The blue glow appeared when we were just a couple of meters from the elevator. The monster noticed the change and corrected its stance like a demon. It walked forward, determinedly.
"It's time!" shouted Brango.
"Son of a bitch!" The machine gun spat bullets everywhere.
We ran like madmen so it wouldn't reach us — not with its feet, nor with that long sword it dragged like a bat. The stealth had worked until then. Just a couple of meters… A laughable distance for the real scale of things, but for us, it was the length of a tennis court.
It didn't take long for me to overtake the two employees, exhausted by the effort. Brango, for his part, was running like he had a rocket on his back. My companion cursed while unloading her firearm. I felt like I was in the middle of a movie I didn't belong to but had been dragged into by accident.
The smoke enveloped me, and the darkness suffocated me.
"Do you see the button on the side?" Brango said to me.
"Yes!"
"Press it when I tell you!"
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"Do you want to live?" he cut me off.
"Shit, fine!"
We were the first to reach the entrance. Brango pointed to the button, and I stood in front of him.
"Wait! Not yet!"
But the monster was already upon us. The lizard slammed its shield down and swept the floor. The air pushed me forward and crashed me against the wall. I felt my nose break and my jaw dislocate.
"I'll distract it!" my companion screamed.
She rolled across the floor and fired with sniper-like precision toward the lizard's weak spot. It instinctively shielded its calf, allowing the employees to catch up to us.
Both were panting. They entered the elevator. I was about to do the same when Brango gave the signal.
"Now, press it!" he shouted as he jumped inside.
[ACCESS DENIED]
I must have made the dumbest face of my life when I collided with nothing — with emptiness. The same layer that had once appeared on my room's door now stood before me, preventing me from entering the elevator.
At first, I thought it was an error — that some kind of video game bug had appeared here. So I tried again.
[ACCESS DENIED: THE ONE WHO OPENS THE PORTAL HAS NO RIGHT TO CROSS IT]
I stared at the sign like an idiot. It seemed to laugh at me.
I lowered my head and rammed it once more. I looked at Brango and the employees. The three of them were mocking me like high school bullies.
Together, they pressed a button, and the elevator began to close.
"NOOOO!" I struck the invisible barrier with my helpless arms. "Why? Damn you!"
[THE USURER HAS BEEN DEFEATED]
Brango approached from the other side of the barrier, aware that I couldn't harm him, even as I cursed and threatened him with my fists.
"As I told you, Lope," he spoke in an icy voice, "for us, our priorities are different. We're like the protagonist of The Metamorphosis. What matters to us is only getting to work on time. If to achieve that we must make immoral decisions, we'll do it without hesitation." Then he paused. "Thank you for everything. If it's any comfort, it wasn't personal."
"Come back here, you bastard!" I shouted, but the elevator had already closed.
[CRASIO BRANGO HAS COMPLETED THE SIDE MISSION: JESTER][SACRIFICED PERSONS: 14/10][REWARD: 10,000 FRAGMENTS AND ONE DAY IN PARADISE]