"Geez. All this way and still no luck."

Kira grumbled as she tossed an apple up and down over and over again. She had come to Cataka for one reason, to track down her old girlfriend, Ellice Grace (Or Ellie as she calls her). She'd been trying to track her down for the past four years since she suddenly disappeared. Although, if it was only the events surrounding her disappearance was that simple, she wouldn't be so stressed out.

Truth was, the Arch Sage of Miltesa had personally asked for her to be brought to him. It wasn't specifically specified why, but Kira had an idea that it involved what was on her left arm. Though she would be lying to say that it wasn't personal.

She had come to this country of cat people on a tip that a silver-haired woman was seen coming from the country, which was followed by a large heist in the Dominion of Everndail, following which the same woman vanished. The only hit she had was that she came from Cataka, so that was the place to search.

But she'd been in the country for nearly a week, and had no luck at all. No one had seen someone that should stand out in this country of cat people, not even in Tattoria. Even out here in the boonies, there still was no news. The only thing that she heard was news about a werewolf that was terrorizing the region she was in, something to watch out for, but none of her business.

"Maybe this was a bad idea." Kira sighed as she caught her apple and took a huge bite out of it, glancing sideways to her rifle that was leaning against the wall. "Hm?"

A little Cait Sith girl was eyeing her weapon with fascination. Kira smiled at her as she picked up her weapon. "Sorry kid. It's not a toy." She nodded.

"Celis!" A Cait Sith woman then approached Kira, who she guessed to be the little one's mother. "Sorry. I hope she wasn't bothering you."

"Na, its cool," Kira said nonchalantly.

"Oh my," The woman looked a little surprised as she looked at Kira. "Another human. My, this rout is quite popular today." She chuckled.

"Hm?" Kira's ears twitched by her use of the words 'other humans.' "Y-You've seen other humans?"

"Why yes. In fact, there was a large group that passed though not too long ago."

"Can you describe them?" Kira asked the woman with picked interest. The woman looked a bit confused at her eagerness. "I'm looking for someone." She clarified.

"Oh I see." The woman thought of the description of who she was talking about. "Let's see, they were traveling with a Cait Sith and what looked like a Samiet. There were three human boy- not four, one was a child-"

"Um, were there any girls among them?" Kira asked impatiently.

"Why yes, two along with a Cait Sith. Peculiarly, one had bright red hair."

"Red Hair?" Kira then began to chuckle as she started to piece things together.

"Is something wrong?" The woman asked.

"Was the other blond?" She asked, though she already knew the answer.

"Why yes. Do you know them?"

"Yeah, I think I know who you're talking about." Kira nodded to the woman. The one's in question was a group of quite strange adventurers she met on the voyage to Cataka. Though she didn't know the others very well, she knew the blond-haired girl, Allisa. Good to hear she's doing well at least. That's something I guess.

"Are you looking for them?" This time the little girl asked.

"No not them. It's someone else." Kira sighed and turned to pick up her rifle and slung it over her shoulder. "Thanks anyway." She threw the apple to the little girl and winked before walking off.

"Oh! Now that I think of it, there was another group that passed through not long ago. Three women in fact." The woman suddenly said.

"Really?" Kira stopped and turned to look at her.

"Oh yeah," The girl mumbled. "Two of them wore scary masks."

The mother comforted the girl with a smile. "There was a silver-haired woman amongst them."

Kira then froze, her eyes widened. "What? Sliver hair?"

The woman was a little startled by her sudden question. "Uh... yes. She also had a bandage that covered her left arm."

With her mouth agape, Kira then dove into her pockets and pulled out her photo of Ellie and practically shoved it into the woman's face. "Did she look like this?" She said frantically pointing at Ellie. "Did she look like this girl?"

"Uh..." The woman squinted at the picture. "... I don't know. Her hair was shorter but.... Wait," She then took a closer look. "Oh, but she did have that scare near her eye."

Kira let out a gasp as she pulled her photo back and looked at it. Ellie....

"Is she...?" The woman asked nervously.

Kira didn't respond, but the look on her face told the woman that her guess was correct. Putting the picture back in her pocket, she asked in a more sad tone. "Please... do you know where she went?"

The woman pointed north. "Towards Howls Canyon. The other group was heading there too."

"Ok, thanks." Kira waved at the two and took off in the direction she was pointing as fast as she could.

"I finally found you... Ellie." She said to herself with tears forming in her eyes. "And this time... I won't let you get away again!"

Separated.... again

"Owow... That lousy swordsman." Allisa complained as she got back to her feet. "You ok Mary?" She asked Meracle who was upside-down, lying on a collection of rocks.

"Urg.... I don't like that guy." She groaned as she flopped down to her front.

After Yuki had thrown them, Allisa managed to grab Meracle's arm and used her teleport ability to land safely.

"I can't believe that jerk just threw us. Some heads up would've been nice."

The area they had landed in was still shrouded in a thick fog, and she had no idea how far they had fallen. The scenery looked no different than above.

"Where do you think we are?" Meracle asked when she got back to her feet.

"Somewhere near the bottom? Maybe?" Allisa said unsure.

There was then another howl in the wind that made the two of them jump.

"Mya! Is it those dragon things?!" Meracle muttered.

"L-Lets just get going," Allisa said, trying to put on a brave face.

"Wh-Where too?" Meracle asked timidly.

"First things first, we need to find the others," Allisa said, stile trying to act brave. "We're all heading to the same place so it's probably best to meet up there."

Meracle nodded and looked around. "So.... Which way are we going?"

"Uh...." Allisa was stumped as she didn't have a clue where they were going, or what it looked like. She barely remembered what it was called. So all she had to fall back on was on comics, movies, and games from her world. "....In movies, ruins are usually located at the far end of places like this," She thought out loud. "So if we go deeper we might find this place we're heading to."

"Are you sure?" Meracle asked. "There could be something strong in there besides those dragon thingies."

"Well.... It's better than staying here." Allisa sighed, knowing that Meracle did have a point. And that point raised another question. "Um... This is probably late asking, but you've fought monsters before right?"

Meracle looked a little uneasy. "Mywell... yeah, Cory took me out sometimes on monster hunts as part of my training and forced me to fight them alone." She responded.

"... you too huh?" Allisa couldn't help but sympathize with her. When she first came to Avalon, part of her training involved fighting monsters that were posted at the adventurer's guild. Those fights usually involved her fighting alone with the others stepping in when things looked bad, which in the first month happened a lot.

"Myew?" Meracle looked a bit confused. Allisa realized she said that out loud.

"Never mind." She brushed it off. "For now, let's just find this.... um, lauw hole place."

****

"Whew... that was a bit too close for comfort," Nel said to herself as she wiped the blood off her blades. Behind her was the corps of the Wyvern she had hitched a ride on downwards. On the descent, she used the body of the struggling wyvern as a shield as it collided into the rock face before finally colliding into a large rock close to the ground. And as it flopped down to the ground, Nel finished it off by cleanly slicing through its neck. Its skin was strong, but by effusing mana into her blade, it was manageable, though took some effort.

Now that she was grounded, she evaluated her position. She was completely separated from her companions that much she could tell due to her sensor ability. To add to that, she didn't have a clue where exactly she was.

"Another day at work I see," Nel said to herself as she began to think deeply about her next move. ".... Trying to get back up is out of the question it seems. And I doubt I would be able to find the others." She let out a long sigh at her grim prospects. "At the very least, we're all heading to the same place. So with any luck, we might be able to regroup there."

Seemed the best course of action was too straight to Löwe Höhle, alone. "Let's hope the others don't get lost."

****

Meanwhile, Cliff, Melvin and Rodger continued along the path they were traveling on, which followed on into a small cave system before opening back out into the canyon, with Cliff taking point while the two kids followed behind.

"Is it just me or is the fog getting thicker?" Melvin asked as he watched his steps as they traversed.

"No, it's not just you," Cliff said as he slowed. The path ahead was beginning to get more and more obscure as they walked forwards, to the extent that it was difficult to even see the path before them. "Stay on your toes. And make sure you watch your step." Cliff instructed the two.

"Don't gotta worry about me." Rodger boasted. "After all, I'm always-" Before he finished, Rodger tripped on a rock and landed flat on his front. "Ow...." Rodger looked up rubbing his nose, seeing Melvin and Cliff looking down on him.

"You were going to say careful right?" Melvin said in a toneless voice.

"No... too easy," Cliff said, holding himself back from making a joke.

Rodger sat up with his face flustered. "Th-This doesn't count!"

Cliff sighed and looked ahead, seeing as much as he could given the terrible visibility. "Wonder how much more we have left to cover."

"It would've been better if the Arch Sage provided us with a map of this place so we know where exactly we need to go," Melvin said.

"Or a better understanding of what we're after instead of having us go in without a clue."

"Oh come on. Isn't that what adventures are all about." Rodger said out loud. The other two turned their heads to him. "'Facing the unknown dangers, tackling with death on a daily basis in the pursuit of your dreams. That is what makes not only a true adventurer but is what marks you as a real man!'" Rodger quotes with pride.

"Your dad?" Melvin asked with a wry smile.

"Uh-huh." Rodger nodded. "Stuff like this was what he loved more than anything. And it's his path I'm following. So what if we don't have a clue where we are and where we're going? That's just what makes this an adventure."

Cliff chuckled. "Nothing gets you down I see."

"I guess you have a point. 'The fun is in the mystery' as they say." Melvin smiled warily.

There was then another moan that echoed through the canyon making all three of them jump.

"More of those things?" Melvin exclaimed, drawing his wand.

"Kinda sounded close," Rodger said as he pulled out his hammer.

The moan then got louder, and stranger. It sounded more like an explosion had occurred somewhere deeper in the valley.

"We best keep moving," Cliff said as he began to walk again, looking out into the canyon. "It's one thing after another."

Clash of Pride: Yuki vs Max

Further away from the other groups, Yuki was wandering away from the wyvern that had dragged him away from the main party. "Urg.... That was close," he groaned as he swiped the blood off his sword before sheathing it. "Now... where am I?"

Because of how far the Wyvern had dragged him, the fog, the fact that everywhere looked the same, he had no idea where in the canyon he was or how far he had been separated.

"Another fine mess we ended up in." Yuki sighed as he walked in the direction he thought was the right way. "Finding the others will be impossible in this... *sigh* Now what?"

As Yuki was complicating his next move, another howl swept through the canyon. "Tch, More of those things?" Yuki said as he pushed his sword upwards with his thumb.

There was then a flash or orange through the fog along with a loud bang. There was another howl that swept through the canyon, but one that Yuki recognized instantly.

"Aw geez." Yuki's grip on his sword loosened. He then let out a deep sigh while he rubbed the back of his head as he continued going forwards towards where the flash had come from. "Why did it have to be him of all people?"

****

Max nearly collapsed to the ground, tired from his recent fights. Around 4 wyverns lay around him, burnt and with large holes on some of them.

"Whew.... That should be it." Max breathed deeply and wiped the sweat from his forehead. After being swept away from the main group, he'd been battling against various wyverns up until this point. Due to his power, he was never in any real danger. His skin was hard enough that it actually fractured the teeth of one of the wyverns that managed to bit him.

But this didn't change the fact that he was far, far away from where he was and he had absolutely no idea either where he was or where to go. And smelling his way out was out of the question, probably an effect of the fog he thought.

"Maybe I shouldn't've jumped after them, huh?" He said to himself. He then spotted one of the wounded wyverns was still alive, and seemed to be crawling over to another of its kind, nuzzling it with its long neck, almost like any friend or lover would do to the one they care about.

For anyone else, those would be touching, but as Max watched, it just made his blood boil. All he saw was something from his childhood. As he gritted his teeth as a wave of memories, full of flames and blood, crept in, he flared up one of his fists and launched a great torrent of flames towards the two, almost reducing them to ashes.

Regaining his senses, Max put one hand to his head and breathed deeply. ".... Why did that come up?" He asked himself.

Suddenly, before he could regain his composure, another Wyvern burst through the fog, flying straight towards Max with its jaw wide open. Reacting quickly, Max pivoted and grabbed the Wyvern's jaw, digging his feet in as he skidded back from the force.

"S-Shit! That was.... Rrrg!" Max struggled as he ground to a stop with the Wyvern still in his grip. A second then burst through the fog and few towards Max's back, who was still entangled with the first, opening its jaw as wide as it could.

Reijingu Mizu: Stance 1: Sāji!

Before it could hit, Yuki suddenly burst through the fog as well, slashing downwards at the attacking Wyvern, slicing it in half.

"Wha-!!" Max was taken back by Yuki's arrival, almost forgetting the thing in his hands until it began struggling. Max quickly finished it off by breathing fire directly into its open mouth, blowing away its entire body from the inside until just the head remained.

Dropping the head to the ground, he turned to Max, not looking very happy. "Why are you here?" He asked.

"You could thank me for saving your ass," Yuki said as he sheathed his sword.

"I can handle myself just fine you know!!" Max snapped at him. "Anyway, what are you doing here? Where's Allisa and the others."

"Donno," Yuki said casually as he turned around. "Last I saw of them, I threw Allisa and the cat down a hole in the ground before one of those things-"

"Hold up!!" Max yelled as he violently grabbed Yuki's shirt. "You threw her into a hole!! What the hells wrong with you Sword Bastard?!"

Yuki smirked at him before headbutting him away. "It was either that or she would've ended up lunch for one of those things along with that stupid cat-burglar." He said as Max rubbed his nose where Yuki had hit. "And relax. Something like that isn't going to kill her." He said with a slight smirk.

"And how would you know?! It's not like you really care at all what happens to any of us?!" Max snapped.

Yuki grimaced. His smile disappeared. "... Yeah, It's not like I really care." He said coldly. "Who knows, maybe her luck finally ran out back then."

"What?!" Max's eyes opened wide as he slowly clenched his fists. "You... you really don't care what happens to her?"

Yuki fixed Max with a cold gaze as he continued. "I told you. The only reason why I'm traveling with you is to get stronger so I can finally kill Gai. I don't honestly care about whatever reasons the rest of you have for following that girl who's playing hero."

Max rushed up and punched him as hard as he could, sending Yuki to the ground. "I've really.... Had enough of your crap." Max growled, still holding his fist out before him. "... What do you even know about her?!!" He yelled as loud as he could.

Yuki slowly got back to his feet with his back turned, rubbing his cheek where Max had punched.

"Even back when we started out you treated her like crap! You just knocked her down and told her just to give up on something she just can't! But like I said back then, what gives you the right to judge her when you have no idea what it feels like to have a heavy burden that destroys your life forced on you?!"

Yuki tilted his head to Max's direction. "Hate to break it to you," He then pivoted sharply and punched Max in the face. "I KNOW EXACTLY HOW IT FEELS!!!!"

Max was forced to the ground. As he tried to get back up, Yuki drew his blade and pointed its tip in front of Max's face. The look on his face was the same he saw back at the village when he confronted Nel. His eyes burned with pure hatred.

"See this?" He snarled. "This sword belonged to someone very important to me. And she was killed by my rival!!" His grip tightened. "I vowed, no matter what, I would never lose a single fight, and grow strong enough so that I can find and kill that bastard!!" As his words sunk in, Yuki sheathed his sword and crossed his arms. "If anything, she's the one who doesn't understand what it feels like."

"Huh?" Max got back up to his feet. "What are you-"

"Unlike us, or any of the others, she doesn't know the suffering we've been through," Yuki stated. "She's never been hungry. She's never lost her home. She's never lost a family member before her own eyes. All she's ever done is live a dull, uninteresting and boring life. Face it, to her, this is just a way to escape that boring life she's lived up until now."

Max then punched Yuki again. "Like I said, you don't know a damn thing about her!!"

Yuki recovered and punched Max back. "And how the hell would you know?!"

"Cause unlike you," Max recovered as he fell backward, and kicked Yuki in the gut as hard as he could. "I'VE LISTENED TO HER!!!"

Yuki flew back a few feet before rolling on the ground.

"She may not have suffered like you and me. I know that." Max said as his fists trembled. "But she's still suffering in her own way."

"And what makes you say that?" Yuki said as he got back to his feet. "To me she's still the same naïve girl she was three months ago and still thinks this is all one big game." He said as he advanced on Max, pulling back a fist.

"This path may be different from her old life, and sure there might be a part of her that thinks that. But it's also full of pain and hardships that will only get worse as she carries on. She knows that better than anyone else. And deep down, there's also a part of her that doesn't want to let go of that old life, and a part of her that wants to quit." Max said as he pulled back his own fist. "That's why I swore, no matter what," Both approached each other and swung their fists towards the other. "I'LL ALWAYS BE ON HER SIDE!!!"

Both their fists scraped by the other and collided with the cheek of their target. Both Max and Yuki remained motionless with the others fits in their cheeks.

As they stood there, other wyverns began to gather around the two ready to kill them. Two then broke from the pack and flew towards the two idiots. As they got closer, a menacing grin appeared on both their lips.

"Stay."

Max flared up a fist while Yuki pushed up his sword. As the wyverns got closer and closer with their jaws open wide.

"OUT OF THIS!!!!"

The two suddenly broke apart. Max slammed his fist into his Wyvern and unleashed his flames while Yuki drew his blade and sliced his in half.

In response, the other wyverns became increasingly aggravated, beginning to fly above the two like vultures.

"Looks like we seriously pissed them off," Max observed as he and Yuki stood back to back.

"Hey Pyro," Yuki called out. "What you said, did you mean it?"

Max looked over his shoulder at Yuki.

"You said you'd always be on her side. Even if she gives up on herself, or die along the way," Yuki didn't finish his question, but Max understood it clearly.

"Yeah." He grinned and slammed his fist into his palm. "Even if it costs me my own life, even if the whole world were to turn against her. I'll always be on her side!"

"You really are a moron," Yuki said with a small smile. "Not that I can talk."

Both men grinned as the wyverns began to swarm around them.

Questioning the Mission

"Hey Allisa?"

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

".... Go ahead."

"Mywell.... Don't you think we're lost?"

"We're not lost."

"Are you sure? Cause this place looks familiar."

".... Everywhere looks familiar here."

While the plan to proceed to their destination and wait for the others was a good idea at first, as Allisa and Meracle walked deeper and deeper into the canyon an obvious flaw in the plan was rearing its ugly head.

They had no idea at all where they were even going.

".... Allisa."

"Yes..."

".... We're lost aren't we?"

Allisa stopped causing Meracle to stop as well, and then let out a loud groan. "Let's take a break." She said as she sat on a nearby rock. "... Ahh, I can't take another step."

"Same here..." Meracle moaned as she sat down. "I forgot why we even came her in the first place."

"I don't even know why we're here either," Allisa grumbled. Arch Sage Elaina had given her very vague orders on what they were here for, a stone tablet with a fox on it. All the information she got was that it was something she had to figure out on her own. "Oh! I just remembered." Allisa recalled that Miracle was one of the Arch Sage's aids. "Do you know what this thing we're after is for?" She asked eagerly.

"Nope," Meracle responded bluntly.

"Eh... you don't know anything?" Allisa asked again.

"They don't really tell me anything about what there doing. Not since...." Meracle paused before continuing. "... Uh, it might have something to do with that seal they were talking about for the last few weeks." She pondered.

"Seal?"

"Yeah. Something about a.... a fox?" Meracle dropped her head when she came up with a blank. "... Sorry. I really don't know."

"It's ok," Allisa said, letting out a sigh. "Guess you're as much in the dark as the rest of us, huh?" She added, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, Milady doesn't really let me get involved in anything important. Not since..." She didn't finish her explanation. Her tail, which was wagging around, began to drop. A pained look started to come over her.

"Something up?" Allisa asked, taking note of her change in mood.

"Mwell...." She began to twiddle her thumbs as she continued her explanation. "I told you I screw up allot right?"

"Uh... I guess."

".... Well, about a month ago, milady and the others had a big job protecting something in Miltesa. They took me along, Cory saying that I can use the experience...." She then cupped her hands as her expression darkened. "I kinda.... Screwed up. In a very big way...."

Judging by Meracle's mood, Allisa knew she didn't have to pry any deeper given how upset she was getting just recalling it. "Sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She apologized bowing her head.

"Mya! I-It's ok. You didn't do anything wrong." Meracle said quickly, waving her hands about. "Since we’re traveling together, I figured you should know at least." She then huddled her legs in. "I just don't want to screw up like that again."

"I'm sure you won't," Allisa reassured her. "Besides, no one's perfect. Heck, we'd all be the last people to call themselves perfect." She chuckled. Meracle looked at her curiously. Allisa smiled at her and continued explaining. "You've seen we're all pretty lay back. We don't really plan much and just improvise as we go along. Cause that causes lots of problems," She then glanced sideways. "Not to mention those two reckless idiots." She added with a wiry smile. She then looked back at Meracle. "So don't feel like you need to impress us or anything, ok."

"Allisa......" Meracle didn't say a word for a while. But what Allisa said did seem to cheer her up from her downstate, judging by her tail, which was beginning to move again.

Allisa was about to say something when she noticed something in the corner of her eye. "Huh?"

Not far, and just visible in the fog was a woman, with long flowing white hair with pointed ears sticking out from her locks, dressed in a plain white dress. Allisa stood up, mostly with surprise. Meracle also stood up when she noticed the look on Allisa's face.

"Who's there?" Allisa called out. The woman didn't respond. She just stayed still in front of her.

Meracle looked confused, her head looking at the woman and back to Allisa. "Uh... there's no one there." She said, looking a little concerned to Allisa's state of mind.

"Huh? But she's standing right there." Allisa said pointing at the woman. Meracle looked again, and then looked back at Allisa. ".... You can't see her?" Meracle simply shrugged. Allisa looked back at the woman. Taking a closer look, she realized that she looked somewhat familiar, despite the fog that obscured most of her figure. But.... She's right there....?

The woman then smiled at her and turned to walk into the fog, waving a hand at Allisa, telling her to follow.

"H-Hey wait! Who are you?!" Allisa called out as she began to pursue the stranger.

"Mya!! Where you going?!" Meracle shot up and ran after Allisa. "Don't leave behind!!"

****

Navigating the canyon was far difficult then Nel had thought. The fog and the fact that everywhere looked similar made finding her way increasingly difficult. She had lost track of how long she'd been wandering around the bottom of the canyon and had seemed to be wandering around with almost no clue about which direction she should be heading. The fog seemed too dense her sensor ability so finding the others was out of the question.

Only bright side was that the howling seemed to be quieter this far down and she hadn't yet encountered a wyvern, which was the only bright side she could think of at the moment.

"Wonder if the others would be able to find Löwe Höhle in this fog?" Nel thought out loud, thinking about the fate of her comrades. "Cliffs with Melvin and Rodger, so I shouldn't worry about them. Max.... well he always managed to get out of trouble so he'll be fine. Yuki's with Allisa and Miracle, not sure how that will turn out since they're still at odds with each other."

"So if he asked you to kill Allisa right then and there, would you?"

Nel stopped walking when she recalled what Yuki asked her about.

"Why am I getting so worked up about that?" Nel questioned herself. It was strange to her. She may be Allisa's companion, and been with her from the start, she was first and foremost and assassin. In other words, she is a killer for higher. And the night after she brought Allisa to Avalon, Dran came to visit her, specificity to give her some orders that are to be kept between them.

"She has a lot of potential, as you've said. But at the same time, she is also an unknown variable that could prove disastrous for both our worlds. So that's why I want you with her. The first stages of her development will be the most crucial of all, so make sure she doesn't fall along the way."

"And if she does?"

".... Then, and only then, you must kill her."

Nel's fists clenched as she recalled her orders Dran had given her in secret. If Allisa ever became a threat, she was to kill her then and there. "Why am I questioning this now?" She said, putting a hand to her head. "I know she won't fall, I've seen it first hand..... so why do I feel so uneasy?"

"Hey!!"

A voice in the distance snapped Nel back to the here and now as Rodger, Melvin and Cliff reunited with her.

"Oh, it's you," Nel said, burying the doubts and putting on a straight face for the others. "Did you see any of the others?"

"No. Just you," Cliff told her. "Luckily we didn't encounter any more of those things along the way."

"Yeah, guess they were busy with something," Rodger added casually.

"Or someone."

"Hey, are you ok? You look troubled." Melvin asked.

Nel was surprised. She didn't realize that she looked visibly troubled by something. "It's nothing important." Nel dismissed. She then addressed Cliff. "I take it you were on your way to Löwe Höhle."

Cliff nodded. "Figured it would be the best place to regroup since I imagine it should be a recognizable landmark." He glanced around. "If you can actually find it in this." He added.

"Say, I just remembered you're a sensor," Melvin spoke up.

Realizing what he was going to ask, Nel shook her head. "I'm not sure the reason, but my range is severely limited here. I can only sense you three."

"Right." Cliff sighed. "So finding the others isn't an option."

"Then we better hope they find that place," Melvin said. "Not that our position is any better."

"Aw ya worrying too much," Rodger spoke up. "We got separated before but all of us managed to find Deadman's End for the final battle."

"Please don't remind me of that," Melvin said with a pained expression. In the battle with Celtic Hoard, Max had, somehow, tamed the Behemoth named the 'King of the Forest' and road it right into the enemy base, plunging it into outright chaos.

"Cheer up," Cliff said, patting Melvin's head. "It's not like the same thing will happen again.... I think." He sounded very hopeful.

Nel couldn't help but chuckle at the experience. She was underground when Max arrived, destroying the surprisingly large weapon storage while Max and the monster his timed wreaked havoc.

Rodger grinned as they reminisce about the very recent adventure. "Well like I said, I sure, na, I know the others will make it." He said confidently.

"Quite optimistic." Cliff smiled. "Not that you're wrong or anything. Yuki should be with Allisa and the thief so they'll be fine. And that fire-breathing moron will find a way. Guess no matter what, well all have faith in our friends to show up despite the odds huh?"

Nel's expression hardened all of a sudden, something Melvin noticed.

"In any case, we should find this ruin, temple, or whatever it is and see if the others had the same idea." Cliff summarized.

"Right!" Rodger yelled raising a fist. ".... And where exactly are we going again?"

"I'd say we keep going to the deepest place in the canyon," Cliff said as he and Rodger continued presiding along the path that seemed to lead downwards.

Melvin and Nel followed. Nel still had a serious expression she had before, and it wasn't her usual serious look.

Noticing he was staring, Nel looked at him. "Something wrong?" She asked bluntly.

"N-No..." Melvin looked away. "You just seem troubled by something."

"I'm fine," Nel said bluntly, looking straight ahead.

Melvin looked back at Nel again, still looking worried. "If you say so." He said. Probably shouldn't pry too much. Knowing her, I doubt I want to know.