"So, let me get this straight."
Reko paused and glared at Ash, who bashfully looked away.
"In a life-or-death situation, instead of using the potentially hundreds of literal death devices you're casually carrying around..." Reko said, squinting his eyes.
"You decided to use three of your valuable explosions! And now you can't fight properly for a while!?" Reko screamed, and now it was his turn to put Ash in a headlock.
Ash struggled to free himself from Reko's now almost superhuman grip. Steven, even in his exhausted state, let out a chuckle at the sight.
"Listen, I said I'm sorry! I-I have bad impulse control!"
On his last visit to check if the Consumption had disappeared, Ash ran into two Faceless. Instead of using his stash of explosives to deal with the two low-rank Voidbeasts, he decided to use his Explosion Ability to kill them.
Why?
In his words: "I felt like it."
Reko quickly cooled himself off and released Ash, who fell to the floor, gasping for air. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in the details. They had to make do with what they had. Time was limited.
"Alright, I guess I'll have to go and fight alone then."
Since they needed to head even deeper into the Pit, they needed every advantage they could get, which was why Ash's actions could be considered so reckless. The other part was that Reko had most likely obtained an Ability, the special power only Gifted have access to. Needless to say, figuring out what Ability Reko got would drastically increase the squad's chances of survival.
At first, they tested various methods to determine his Ability.
He attempted to set Ash on fire.
He attempted to suffocate Ash.
He attempted to give Ash carbon monoxide poisoning.
However, nothing seemed to work.
Then Steven made a suggestion.
"What if you need a motivating factor to figure it out, like your life being in danger? Maybe you need to fight something. That's how Ash discovered his Ability, right? Not to mention you said you had a sudden burst of speed while we were escaping from that damn eye. Maybe it's related?"
Reko thought Steven's line of thinking was correct, but he didn't want to risk going out to fight on the lower floors. Even Ash, who frequented the lower floors, rarely fought fair and square against the higher-ranked Voidbeasts. He could definitely cause significant damage to those with weaker defence using his explosives, but killing anything above the Famished rank was difficult.
However, this plan was feasible because, according to Ash and Steven, the floors they passed through while escaping the eye creature were filled with weaker Famished Voidbeasts from the higher floors.
Reko agreed with Steven's suggestion, thinking he could handle a couple of weaker Voidbeasts now that he was a pseudo-Gifted. This led him to ask for Ash's help just in case, which in turn led to the current situation.
Reko sighed and rubbed his forehead.
'Time's limited, so I can't put it off either. I'm not sure how long Steven can hold up, and we don't exactly have a surplus of supplies either. Otherwise, I could wait for Ash to recover and then fight. I've got to take a risk this time.'
Reko knew he and Ash would be fine without food or water for a while, but Steven was another story. He tried to put on a brave face, but Reko could tell he was struggling quite badly due to his body not being used to such high concentrations of Essence. He wasn't planning on letting one of his friends die so easily.
"All right, I'm heading out," Reko spoke, as he removed the barricade from the nearby door.
"Sorry, be careful."
Steven warned his friend with a sour face. He knew he was the reason Reko had to take such a risk and why Ash couldn't go to help him. Even in his drained state, he could set up a trap and hold off any potential threats.
Before Reko could head out the door, a firm grip landed on his shoulder. He turned around and faced Ash, who wore an unnaturally serious expression. He was holding a small pouch in his hand.
"I put 10 Hedgehogs in there. They'll mess up most Famished, but even if you figure out your Ability, run if anything stronger comes. We're still just pretty much very strong humans, so we can't handle anything even slightly powerful without insane amounts of preparation."
Reko nodded and took the pouch. It was quite weighty. The Hedgehogs were probably the same type of explosive Ash has been carrying around all day.
"I know, thanks."
After a bit of hesitation, Ash added in a more cheerful tone, trying to comfort Reko, "Also, be careful. If you die, Steven and I are gonna follow right after you into hell and make your eternal suffering even worse."
Reko smirked. Despite his brash demeanour, Ash was a good person.
"Yeah, I will be. Thanks."
After that final exchange, Reko waved to Steven and then stepped out into the hallway.
This place was a bit different from anything else he'd seen on the other floors. Fluorescent lights illuminated the hall, revealing the same monotone corridor he'd long grown used to. However, the left wall was lined with large windows which seemingly displayed nothing inside. There were panels underneath the windows filled with broken buttons, screens and levers as well.
'A testing site?'
Reko was hesitant to investigate the windows further, knowing that unknown dangers could be lurking on the other side. As he was about to turn away, he noticed it. Further behind the window, there was something in the distance. He squinted his eyes and saw what looked to be an elongated ginormous umbrella frame. He couldn't make anything else out, since the room behind the window was hazy for some reason.
While observing the giant frame in the distance, Reko noticed random bits and pieces floating in the room, which quickly solved the mystery.
'Water? Is this a giant fish tank?'
All of a sudden, Reko became concerned about what the giant frame in the cloudy depths of the tank could be. Maybe an unknown horror, which could easily end his puny existence with a stray cough.
He turned his attention back to the hallway in front of him. He couldn't afford to be shaken by anything at the moment. Time was of the essence.
'Good thoughts, Reko, good thoughts.'
Slowly and quietly, Reko tread through the hallway, trying not to alert any hidden dangers. Oddly enough, there were no Voidbeasts in sight. This made him even more alert, as it could mean something particularly dangerous was nearby.
'Maybe the thing in the tank?'
He steadied his breath and kept moving.
Reko advanced along the walls lined with windows, cautiously observing the mysterious frame on the other side. The frame began to slope downwards at some point and turned away from his view. Soon it disappeared out of sight. Reko decided to ignore it for now and make haste to get out of the hallway.
After five minutes of walking, he reached a corner, turning left. He passed the corner and was greeted by a replica of the corridor he'd just come down. He noticed another path further down the hall on the right wall.
'Maybe there?
Reko began making his way towards the newly discovered path. As he was approaching the path, he took another glance at the giant tank. It was still the same. The water was murky as always, yet oddly blue. However, he noticed something in the corner of his eye.
Further down the tank, near the windows, something lay there.
A giant skull.
It was easily the size of an airplane and had six visible eye sockets. Its top was adorned with four giant horns, twisting and turning for tens of meters. Its mouth was filled with razor-sharp teeth five times the size of Reko himself. The skull was connected to a massive skeleton, which stretched out of sight into the murky waters of the enormous fish tank.
Reko stood rooted on the spot, staring at the dead leviathan. He felt small and insignificant in front of it. He felt like prey. If even while dead, this Voidbeast could evoke such fear, then what was it capable of when it was still alive? Who even managed to contain it in this place?
Reko didn't know and didn't care to find out at the moment. He shook his head and turned away from the once mighty creature. He could still feel the dead titan's gaze piercing into his back, but he ignored it and headed into the hallway.
'Seems like that pile of bones is what's keeping all the other Voidbeasts away. Guess I owe it my thanks.'
Reko silently thanked the once great beast and continued down the newly discovered hall. He shook off his unease and remembered why he'd originally gone out.
'That's right. I've got an Ability waiting for me!'
***
Reko continued exploring the floor for a little while. He saw many walls lined with smaller tanks, each containing varying sizes of skeletons. None could compare to the first one, however.
All the while walking, Reko kept trying to figure out what his power was. He tried diving deep into himself to see if something had changed about himself. And he did discover something. He could feel something in him had changed, other than his physique. He felt more...complete, as if he were closer to his true self. He also felt like there was a bundle of uncontrolled energy within him, filling his entire being. He assumed it to be Essence, but he wasn't sure.
'Interesting... I don't have much to go off, and I can't really fully invest myself in this at the moment.'
Reko was starting to find it difficult to contain his excitement. Even in this dangerous situation, he couldn't help it.
After several more minutes of walking, Reko came into a wide hall. The giant hall was filled with sofas, desks and even had a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The theme of the room seemed to be royalty, as everything was dyed red and engraved with gold. It seemed to be a rest area.
This entire room was very... eye-catching to say the least.
'Talk about contrast.'
He spotted several other passages leading further into the floor. However, something else caught his attention.
In the middle of the room, where four big sofas faced one another, he noticed three motionless figures mindlessly standing about, staring at the ground. Two seemed to be of average height, while one towered over the others by a fair bit. The figures wore old, torn clothes and carried backpacks. They seemed almost human from behind.
Almost.
If one didn't look keenly, it was easy to miss their slightly elongated arms, which ended with sharp claws. None of them faced Reko, but he knew they'd already sensed him. This was how the Faceless hunted. They waited for clueless lone Divers to get close, making them think they'd found a brother in arms, before slicing their necks open with one swift motion.
Such cruel hunters were born from those who didn't escape the Pit before the Consumption began. They lose their faces and are forever doomed to wander the desolate, metal halls of the pit, slaughtering their former fellow Divers - truly a cruel fate.
'That's my mark, I guess. They rely on speed, so I have to be ready.'
Reko cringed at what he had to do. They could easily be killed with Ash's Hedgehogs, but that wouldn't help him figure out his Ability. So, he was about to do something really stupid in an already dangerous situation. Luckily, he had a plan.
He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself. This would be his first time in a proper battle alone in a while, and he was outnumbered. Humans weren't meant even to take on a single Voidbeast, but he'd managed before, albeit with a weapon. Now that he was a pseudo-gifted, he knew one Faceless wasn't enough to pose a threat to him, weapon or not. He had to fight all three.
"The hell are you losers admiring the floor for!? The real attraction's right here!"
Reko saw the three Faceless swing around and felt their empty visages flick onto him. They all scanned Reko from head to toe. Even without faces, they could see him. He lowered his stance, preparing to dodge their onslaught.
There was a moment of silence.
Then all hell broke loose.