“What’s that supposed to mean?” I yelled, glaring at the Portal that Kesstel disappeared through. “You can’t just say something like that and leave! You — you … jerkface!” My voice echoed around the empty rainforest, making it all the more clear that I was alone with a bunch of corpses and surrounded by eons of trees.

When I’d first become a Warrior of Mist, the System told me I was the only one left. I believed it, since the System hadn’t ever led me astray before. But somewhere inside, I’d always hoped that there was another one like me. Maybe, someone somewhere just randomly turned into one like I did.

That tiny, neglected hope was thoroughly smashed with Kesstel’s words. I mean, both he and the System can’t be wrong, right? Especially if Kesstel was the one who … personally killed them all.

I dropped my face into my hands and moaned. Why would he kill them all? As uncaring as Kesstel was, he wasn’t the kind to move against a group of people without cause. He was too apathetic for that.

My lips curled up in a bitter smile as I lowered my hands. “Well, that explains why I kept feeling like he was going to kill me the first couple times we met. I’m glad we got over that hurdle.”

But it didn’t give me peace of mind. Unfortunately, the only person that could help was on the other side of the Portal entrance right now. As frustrated as I was, I wasn’t dumb enough to go charging into a Portal, just to chew out a man that was fighting a Boss.

But I could take my frustration out another way. I turned around and faced the monster corpses that covered the damp ground. Black blood soaked into the soil and turned the moss that covered much of the ground as dark as the dirt. The smell of death mixed with the natural scent of decay the Josu Rainforest was known to have, and elevated the repugnant smell to a new level. At least the light rain dulled the smell so it wasn’t overpowering.

I walked forward and started to stab the monster carcasses, making them disappear. I didn’t get any EXP or drop items from it, but according to Kesstel, when I destroyed an energy crystal, the energy was drawn into my blade. Maybe if I destroyed enough of them, my kindjal might upgrade again.

That, and I didn’t want to Velociorheas to eat the crystals and get stronger. They were hard enough to kill as it was. At least I didn’t have to deal with them right now. I didn’t know if it was the Portal or Kesstel’s barrier around me, but I couldn’t see, feel or hear any monsters at all.

Slowly, I made my way through the field, clearing away the bodies. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Hunters Association would send people to clean this up. Maybe even divide up the loot between the Hunters that were involved in the fight, but I didn’t plan on giving them the chance. I had two hours, hopefully that was enough time to destroy all the crystals.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t just dead monsters in this pile of bodies. I found several dozen Hunter corpses hiding among the carcasses. I wasn’t a ceremonious person, nor was I religious. But I wasn’t inhuman enough to leave them twisted together with Goblin guts. Each Hunter was a mess of stab wounds and blood, but I still pulled them to the side and lined them up in rows like in the first battle. There wasn’t much else I could do. They were already dead, so it was just a matter of time before someone came to collect the bodies — if they were lucky. Most Hunters that died in the Gate didn’t even have the privilege of retrieval and a proper burial.

An hour and half later, I was huffing and puffing as I added another corpse to the growing line. I sighed as I stood up. With the back of my hand, I rubbed my fringe out of my face as I looked at my progress. About ninety percent of the battle was cleaned up. I didn’t know how much energy I collected for my kindjal, since there was no way to calculate it, but I hoped that it was a lot.

My gaze swept over the clearing and zeroed in on the Portal’s black arch. I thought that Kesstel would be back by now. Maybe it was good that he was gone so long. Most of my anger had been released on the Goblin bodies. I was still frustrated and confused, but at least I was calm enough to have a rational conversation.

My lips pursed to the side and I walked back to continue cleaning up.

A tingle went down my spine, just like during the battle. Instantly, I dropped to the ground. A second later, a powerful pulse blew out of the Portal. I gasped and covered my head with my hands. The power swept right over my hands, so close that all the hairs stood up on my arms, but luckily I was low enough to avoid getting hurt.

The trees groaned as the power hit them. Some, even though they were bigger around then I was tall, were knocked to the side and stopped at a slant, their tangled branches the only thing keeping them standing. Other smaller trees were knocked right over and crashed down, raining pieces of tree branches with them.

After the pulse was gone, I looked up towards the Portal. What was happening in there? What about Kesstel?

My eyes widened — not because I felt another pulse coming — but because the Portal was starting to warp. The smooth curve of the black arch wrinkled and bent. As if it were alive and fighting against an internal parasite, the Portal twisted and stretched until it could barely be called an arch anymore.

“What?” I gasped and jumped to my feet.

Kesstel was still in there!

I ran towards the Portal. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I mean, there wasn’t anything I could do. But I wanted to help him. I needed to help Kesstel. Somehow.

Ten feet from the Portal, a pulse burst out of it knocking me off my feet. I tumbled painfully head over heels before I stopped. Gasping, I pushed up and looked towards the Portal.

It was gone.

Like, gone, gone. If it wasn’t for the blast mark on the ground from the last explosion, it was like the Portal never existed.

At the same time, I could feel the barrier that Kesstel had set up vanish, like a popped bubble.

“Kesstel?” I gasped and struggled to my feet. “Kesstel!” I looked around, using both my eyes and enhanced vision that the mist provided. I could see every nook and cranny of the rainforest around me.

But I couldn’t see Kesstel.

“Oh my god,” I whispered and grabbed my head with my hands.

The Portal vanished with Kesstel in it. He said it was a possibility, but he was so casual about it, I didn’t think that it was actually going to happen. Where was he? When a Portal collapsed, where did it go? Was it because the world vanished? So did that mean that Kesstel was stuck in space, floating like a comet somewhere between the devoured worlds?

I ran to the edge of the rainforest and stopped at the border. I pulled my mist back inside my body, there wasn’t anything blocking me as I stood there with wide eyes, staring up into Gate Vale’s blue, blue sky. Was he up there? And I just couldn’t see him because it was too far away?

How do I help him get back? Would he ever come back?

When I’d first met him, he scared the hell out of me. I couldn’t wait to get away from him. But now, the thought of never seeing him again twisted my gut into a painful knot. It was so hard for me to meet someone I trusted. Suddenly losing him seemed surreal.

“No,” I whispered to myself. “He’s not gone.” He’ll come back. He’d always had the cat-like habit of disappearing and reappearing whenever he wanted. If I waited long enough, he’d come back. Even if it was all lies, they were the only way to comfort myself.

I turned around and stared across the short space to where the Portal had been.

It wasn’t until that time that I realized that a Portal collapsed. The last time that happened, there was a world-wide Gate Surge. I could still remember how every monster in the Vale had gone berserk, howling like demons and rushing the Gate.

I held my breath and listened. It was dead quiet around me. There was no howling, no sounds of monsters running. I couldn’t even feel anything moving around me. Did that mean there wasn’t going to be a Gate Surge? Was it because this was a Portal Burst and not a Portal attached to the rim of Gate Vale? That was the only logical reason I could think of. Either way, it was a relief that there wasn’t a Gate Surge. Not only did I doubt that I could make it to the Gate, but according to Kesstel, Earth wouldn’t be able to handle another one.

My eyes were yet again drawn to where the Portal Burst used to be. Where I thought Kesstel would come out of.

Frowning, I sat down on the ground. In this empty space between the rainforest and the neighboring region, it was a ‘safe zone.’ Monsters didn’t, or maybe couldn’t, leave their zones during the day. Even if one came that I couldn’t handle, I was close enough to the teleportation circle that I could get away easily.

As it was, I was determined to wait. Until Kesstel came back or I had to leave, whichever came first.

Ten minutes later, the transportation circle flashed pale purple.

I jumped to my feet and focused on it with anticipation.

An S ranked man in full pattern weld armour stepped out of the circle, his deep red cape swishing as he walked.

Slowly, I sank back to the ground. I didn’t have to see his face to know that it wasn’t Kesstel — he didn’t wear a cape and his favored color was royal blue.

The man stepped forward, giving room for the handful of other people that came out of the transportation circle after him. They surveyed their surroundings.

“Where is The Noble?” An A ranked woman in full armor hummed under her breath. “And where are all the carcasses?” She motioned to their left. “According to the testimonies, there should be hundreds of Goblins.”

An A ranked man in leather armor walked farther into the rainforest. “Maybe they ran farther into the forest. Oh, look.” He pointed to the row of dead Hunters. “Who put them out like that?” With a few quick steps, he stood next to the closest body. “Nothing’s chewed on them. That’s different.”

Just when I was starting to wonder if they’d ever notice me, the S ranked Hunter turned and looked at me. I actually recognized him and the red pattern embedded on his chest. S Ranked Hunter Blood Sword. Ironically, the very same Hunter that I fell at his feet when I fled out of the Gate during the last Gate Surge.

“You girl, what are you doing there? And how long have you been there?” Just like the last time I’d met him, there was nothing discriminating about his tone. But there was also a strong command that I answered his questions.

The rest of the Hunters turned around, revealing Association crests on their gear.

I stared at them from my location a short distance away. “I’m waiting,” I answered honestly. “I got left behind.” It was true, even if I chose to stay myself.

Blood Sword walked over to me, his armor faintly clanking with each of his heavy steps. “Then you must have seen The Noble. He’s an S ranked Hunter that was sent here to take care of the Portal Burst. Where is he?”

The Noble could only be one person — Kesstel Noblé. I frowned and shook my head. “I don’t know. He came and went so fast, I couldn’t keep up.” I wasn’t going to tell them where he actually went, so I came up with something vague enough to satisfy them without straying too far from the truth.

Blood Sword gave a curt nod and turned away.

The women in full armor came closer to me. “What about the Goblins? And the bodies.” She motioned over her shoulder.

“The Noble took care of the Goblins before he left. Most of them were so destroyed, there wasn’t anything left of them.” Ah, well, since he wasn’t here, I could easily push that on him. I doubt he’d care. “I set the bodies like that. I thought their teammates might prefer it that way.” Look at me, acting all valiant. But it didn’t make me feel a lick better.

“Let’s check the forest,” Blood Sword ordered. Then he turned to the man in leather armor. “Give the girl a transportation token so she can leave. Then take care of the bodies.”

He wrinkled his pointed nose, but the man still walked over to me. He stood over me and held out a hand. A transportation token appeared in his calloused palm.

I blinked at the crystal. Then I took a hanky out of my Items Bag to cover my fingers and picked it up. Carefully, I stored it in the pocket of my hip satchel. “Thank you.”

The man watched my movements then gave me a look that said I was really weird. He jerked his head in a nod and backed toward the battlefield while the rest of the Hunters ran into the rainforest. They didn’t bother climbing the trees to run along the branches. It was three A’s and an S — what was going to hurt them?

I didn’t move from my spot.

I just sat there, watching the man as he put the dead bodies into the transportation circle one at a time before he started to deal with the leftover Goblin carcasses at a shocking speed. He kept throwing me glances, obviously thinking that I was insane for not leaving. It didn’t matter to me. I just sat there. Waiting.

Kesstel never appeared.

*****