Warning: This chapter contains slight/soft gore, and a little foul language.

Chapter 6: Dream of a meeting

“What’s with this maze… damn it, didn’t we pass by here already?!”

“No, I don’t think so, we have been marking the walls wherever we encounter these bifurcations…”

“Yea, stop complaining… isn’t this part of the job anyway? Do it properly…”

“Ah! Shut up! When I signed for this expedition I didn’t thought I would be doing such a boring thing like exploring caves!!”

“Yare yare… you’re such a child Maren…*giggle giggle*”

“Ah? Look who’s talking, baby Aurora? Pffff….”

“Maren, shut up! Aurora might be the youngest but she sure is more mature than you!”

“Yaila now uh… more mature? HA! What a good joke!”

“Guys, Gelon is scouting the passage! Stop your quarrel right now!”

“Yeah yeah, whatever captain”

“Maren!!”

“Guys calm down! Captain Dayne is right, Gelon needs silence so shhhhhhh”

“Ber, stop being such a sucker”

“What did you say you-“

*STOMP*

“*low voice* Shut up... all of you… NOW…”

“Yes Leit!!!”

“*sigh* Thanks for that Leit...”

“*whispering* Now you have done it! Leit is mad!!”

“*whispering* You were at fault too!!”

“*whispering* Guys… Leit is looking here…”

“I’m back captain”

“Report”

“Yes! The right way goes like what we have been traveling so far, there is another bifurcation not so far and we would need to choose between up or down there…”

“And the left?”

“The left path is different, at the end there is a big site but I didn’t went further into it. What do we do now captain?”

“Did you hear guys? What do you think?”

“LEFT! I’m sick of the tunnels”

“Maren wants to go left, so let's go right”

“Yaila you bitch!”

“Mmm, i think left is good too”

“Well, for this one I will choose left too!”

“Really Aurora?”

“I’m done with the tunnels you see…”

“Ha! Take that Yaila!”

“Let’s go to the site, with enough space we can rest a little and eat something too”

“What about you Leit? You have been mute all this time”

“……left”

“Okay, left is it then”

…

…

“*clap clap* Okay guys, that’s it for the recess time, let’s do another round and finish with today’s assignment”

“Aww… what a bummer… let’s rest some more… yes? Please?”

“Maren stop being an eyesore!”

“Tch!”

“Yes!”

“Finally…”

“Let’s go!”

“…”

Adventuring in the site, the group discovered a river further in, there was a natural bridge that allowed to cross it. It was big and looked solid enough to let the 7 person party stand on it, the river also boasted a significant size and the current was no joke either

At the other side, the group started to notice that the solid rock was slowly changing to green grass, the air flow was growing stronger too, and after walking up a ramp they noticed light

“Already out of the mountain?”

“I don’t think so, could it be… a valley inside the mountain?”

“Let’s wait near the exit, Gelon go scout the place”

“Yes!”

“A valley? Mmmm…”

“What’s wrong Aurora? Thought something?”

“No, nothing of the sorts, just that… since the landing we encountered many beasts out there, but here… nothing that resembles them… so just to be careful…”

“Don’t’ worry, Gelon knows what he is doing!”

“You’re such a worrywart baby Aurora”

“Mmm, Aurora is right, let's ready our weapons, Ber, Yaila in the front, Leit Aurora and me in the middle and Maren at the back”

“Let’s hope ‘White Aurora’ surprise us with her abilities!!”

“*giggle* Don’t worry Maren, I can show you just fine without the need of any beast, you know?”

“Guh! No it’s fine! Save your energy!”

“Ha! Maren got threatened by his junior, isn’t that pitiful Ber?*elbows him lightly*”

“*holding laughter* He knows that Aurora can hand his ass on a silver plate if she wants”

“Tch, just because she is a Summoner…”

“Stop the chit chat, Gelon is coming back”

“Reporting”

“What happened?”

“This is indeed a valley of sorts, it may be around 3-5 square kilometers… also there aren’t that many trees in the vicinity, there is a forest but it's pretty far in the edge, but, in contrast, the valley looks like a savannah, the grass rounds from 50 cm to 1m and 50cm… But that’s just my rough estimate”

“You heard him guys, do you wanna give it a go? Take for granted that we will encounter something there”

“I really don’t want to enter this place”

“Ha! Who is acting like a chicken now? No! Wait… you want to go back to the tunnels so maybe you're a mole! Go back home if you don’t like it here Yaila! HAHAHAHA!”

“(This little shit!!) I bet 5 vane that Maren will be the first to get his ass handed by beasts in the valley”

“Oh! Make that 5 more!”

“Mmmm, I will go with 3…”

“*giggle* I will hand 1 more”

“……20”

“Wha-what!! You guys!!! And what the hell with the last amount?!?! Leit!!”

“……..I like gambling……”

“*Sigh* Why does this squad is such….”

“Hang in there captain *pats his shoulder*”

“Thanks Gelon. Okay! *CLAP* We will enter and explore the area, Gelon join Maren in the rear-guard, we will go with the 2-3-2, don’t stray from the path the one you have in front goes, is that clear?”

*Nod*

“Good, let's go then”

…

…

…

“*whispering* Captain…”

“*whispering* How many?”

“*whispering* I don’t know, 5 or 6, but I saw them, they’re Maghyenas… it will not be strange to run into a pack of 20 or so of them…”

“*cursing lowly*Damnit!”

“*low voice* Change of plans guys, let's head out of the pastureland, we will be at a disadvantage if we engage here, let's get to that rock formation”

*tapata tapata* *rustling rustling*

“Shit! They’re coming Captain!!”

”GROOOOoowl!!!”

“Watch out Ber! Help him Intercept it Yaila!”

“(!!!) SHIT!!”

A Maghyena jumped and attacked with its jaws wide open aiming at Ber’s throat, but with Dayne’s quick yell, Ber could use his shield to ward off the mouth of the beast lunging at him, but the strength behind the attack was overwhelming making him stagger back a little and leaving an opening that the Maghyena used to attack again

Yaila wasting no time, used her spear to intercept the beast aiming at its shoulder, the thrust hit its mark and the spear sunk a little. The Maghyena let out a howl and tried to retreat to shake off the spear

“I will not let you, you fucking dog!!!”

Ber regained his posture and also launched a thrust with his short-spear, colliding with the neck of the beast. The Maghyena let another cry out and did not waste time and started to retreat ignoring the wounds and in the process it carted the two person along

“Shit, its muscles are too hard!!! What the hell!!”

“I can’t pull the spear!!”

Trying a futile resistance, Ber and Yaila lost their grip on their weapons, but at the same time a white sphere appeared just in front of the head of the Maghyena and a sabre came out of it impaling the right eye and farther inside its head. The beast lost all strength at once and fell, the pair rapidly took their weapons back

“Good assistance Aurora!”

“Thanks Aurora! That was a great hit!!”

“Stop distracting yourselves and run for it! We will get surrounded if we lose any more time”

“YES!!”

The party went for the run, it was bad luck that the pastureland where they were immersed, was high and dense enough to be a difficult obstacle. Some plants had thorns, others had sandpaper like surface and many more with their pointy ends started to do their work on the party that run fast through the maze

While racing, the group started to notice the rustling movements that followed them very close making them more uptight at the prospect of suddenly being assaulted by a Maghyena

“Che! Captain, The damn dogs are running along us and I'm sure they’re waiting for us to exhaust ourselves!!”

“For mere dogs they sure have a brain, not like someone I know!!”

“Are you talking to me Yaila? Eh?!!!”

“(How the hell can they joke in this situation….)”

“Haha! Look at Aurora’s face, she is pale like a phantal!”

“……. Plan LB captain?”

“It looks like that will be the next course of action Leit”

“Aurora, plan LB, at the count of 5!”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

“5….4….3….2….1…. NOW!!! EVERYBODY PUT YOUR EYE-PROTECTORS!!!”

“[Light Bomb]”

*ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAS*

A sudden outburst bathed the valley with a fulminating white light, followed by the cries of numerous beasts and the joyfully chorus from the squad shortly after, seeing that their plan succeeded they kept on running towards the rock

With the margin gained with the plan LB, the group could reach the formation without any mishaps. Following the tract that started to go upwards, they finally got out of the pastureland and reached a platform that looked flat and leveled

“Okay guys! This space will be our ground! Gelon, deploy the quills!”

“Yes!”

“Captain, their tackles are no joke you know…. a wrong move and my arm is gonna split”

“Haha! Sucks to be you Ber then!! Ah! That’s your job too isn’t it Yaila? *grin*”

“*sigh* You better aim good and do something, I can’t see how your little knives would do anything at all…”

“They’re coming! Ber, Yaila don't try to clash directly, we will do a 2-1-4 formation, Gelon shoot the ones that are farther, Maren support us holding them back, Aurora will give the finishing blow if deem necessary, if not, save your mana as much as you can”

*YES!*

Gelon went to the furthest side of the platform, readied his bow and started to shoot at the Maghyenas that came running. Dayne, Leit, Ber and Yaila were circling the exit awaiting ready, Leit, like Yaila, had a long spear, and Dayne had a two-handed broadsword; but the two were light armored emphasizing movement unlike Ber and Yaila’s heavy armor

Maren stood beside Aurora a little further back of the 4 person semi-circle, but different from the two sabre wielder girl, he had throwing knives on his hands

Shortly after Gelon started his firing, acute howls followed and promptly some Maghyenas reached the platform. But, fulfilling their objective, the quills pierced the feet of the first group making them stumble and stagger giving the waiting people the chance to attack first

“GET THEM NOW!!”

Dayne shouted the order while charging at one of the Maghyenas that fell and with a rapid motion sliced its head off. Ber and Yaila passed next to the spectacle with different emotions

“Damn… that was sick captain!”

“Amazing! That’s Dayne for you!”

The two rushed at another Maghyena trying to reaffirm its footing. When they were closing and nodding at each other as a signal, Yaila directed her full charge at the open mouth of the beast which was too late to react and got pierced through it. When the beast started showing an impossible will to move, Ber used two rapid thrusts and plucked the eyes of the creature

In the left, Leit did a high jump while setting his spear pointing at the ground but instead of the rocky surface, the pointy end found bone and flesh(grey matter) as its landing point, killing another Maghyena. While trying to extract his weapon, another appeared and did a rapid charge, but as if expecting that, Leit did a flickering spin and slammed with the blunt part of the spear the side of the Maghyenas’ head

Gaining some distance, Leit readied himself again, but, before he could start his new attack

“Go from the left!!!”

Understanding Maren’s intention, Leit changed his trajectory and rushed to the left. The beast, recovering from the heavy blow dealt to it, followed Leit’s movements and the moment it did so, 4 knives impacted it, two in the neck and two in the head. Of the knives that went to the head, one pierced the right ear and the other sunk in the upper-part of the eye socket. Letting a crying howl, the Maghyena rose its front paws a little and when setting foot on ground again, did a shaking motion trying to shook off the knives. With the opening, Leit jumped again, but this time he did not aim up and rolled midair, when his feet touched the ground he launched himself up again and pierced the neck of the Maghyena from below

“GOOD GOOD!! THAT MAKES IT 5 IN A ROW!!”

“CAPTAIN! TROUBLE! THIS HERD HAS WAY TOO MANY, I’M COUNTING AT LEAST 31”

“TCH! 26 more to go, uh? Damn our luck to encounter such a big pack…. CHANGE OF PLANS GUYS, WE WILL KEEP THIS FORMATION AS WE GO UPWARDS!! GELON, AURORA, MAREN YOU GUYS FIRST, GO GO GO!!!”

Dayne had just killed the last Maghyena of the group that arrived first and was in high spirits, until Gelon reported the situation. Maghyenas were beasts that moved in packs, but the numbers did not go over 20, at least, that was what the information gathered until the moment. Dayne thought that they would manage facing a normal herd in the platform, with 20 or less and having already taken 5 out, were the numbers that he was using in his equation, but the abnormal quantity of this pack was simply too much. Avoiding a scenario where they would be surrounded was the safest bet and luckily the trail that went upwards circling the rock formation seemed to have some platforms like the one where they were currently

If they managed to hold their own in each stop, they would avoid the worst case of being surrounded, so with that objective in mind Dayne directed the course of actions in the rally like situation they were in

….

….

….

“*uff..uff* Why the hell are these creatures so damn stubborn!!??”

“*ragged breath* Damn… it… all!!”

“*panting heavily* I-I’m dooooooooone!”

“What are you bitching about, you are rearguard Maren you bastard!!”

“COMON! Just a little more and we will be at the summit, there will not be any place left to run!! So take the fight to

the Maghyenas, or we will be the ones biting the dust!!”

“Are we gonna be alright Gelon?”

“That’s a certainty, trust Captain and us more Baby-Aurora”

“Are you really picking this time to tease me?!”

“Hahaha!! Sorry about that then!!”

Reaching the summit

The party that rushed until now, suddenly stopped in their tracks

Bones

Bones laid everywhere, scattered, piled, big or small it didn’t matter

The disorderly arranged mess of white left a trail that, at the end, reached the entrance of a cave. Only a few rays of light entered it, but the far end remained shadowed by darkness

The group seemed at a loss on what to do next, but Dayne pulled through and directed new orders

“STOP DAYDREAMING! RUN AT THE ENTRANCE, WE WILL USE THAT PILE AS COVER!!”

With haste, the group advanced and when reaching midway they noticed the rumbling of the bones the herd of Maghyenas produced behind them. The vibrations kept of increasing, and shortly after, all the bones were making creaking sounds

The noisy serenade that the bones made, acted like a trigger

“GRUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHH”

A loud and guttural roar escaped from the depths of the cave and resounded in all directions. Shutting every sound, even the wind seemed fearful as it stopped blowing

The party and the Maghyenas, stunned, waited with their tension rising and when it reached the peak, the Maghyenas were the first to act as they turned and started to run from where they came from but as if waiting for that action, that, that lurked in the cave finally exited it and showed itself

Mighty

Imposing Dominant

A feline of sorts, towering at more than 5 meters, a homogeneous ruby like colour permeated through all of its greatly body with the exception of the overflowing mane that was of a darkblood colour and the black mass that covered its loin. The contrast highlighted the powerful gaze of the beast, its eyes sockets were filled with a pure golden colour and a hazy light could be seen emanating from them

Such creature resembled nothing known by the people in front of it

Such creature, stopped and stood still just outside of the cave

Standing proudly, the beast let out a small growl and opening fast and pointing to the sky, two gigantic bat like wings transformed the majestic lion like creature in a horrific sight

The party was simple too overwhelmed and didn’t react...no, they couldn’t react to the movement of the beast. A blur passed just above them and flew downwards the small mountain, it were mere seconds but sorrowful cries of wounded creatures were heard and started resonating one after the other, and fast enough an abrupt silence shrouded the hill and environs

The party members had all colour drained from their faces but oddly enough Maren showed the most composure and disrupted the silence

“Well… we are screwed...”

With that short statement, the group started to exchange some smiles as if coming to some resolution, foreign to this exchange, Aurora still looked white as a sheet and looked at everybody with confusion

“WHY ARE YOU ALL SMILING?!?!?! THAT MONSTER IS COMING BACK ANYTIME!!! WE ARE GOING TO DIE AREN’T WE...UH..UH..uh...uhhhhh…..”

She raised a scream and was on the verge of tears, Yaila with a soft look started to caress her head and hugged her firmly

“There…. There….”

“Who was more mature than me, eh?”

“Are you really picking on her, and at this time? She is only 17...”

“I’m not picking on her, I’m picking on you! Duh!”

*CLAP*

They all stared at the origin of the sound and looked at Captain Dayne. After a little, he finally spoke

“Gelon, the reports”

“Yes! Here they are...”

Gelon passed some documents and papers that were rolled and fastened with a cord, and retreated to where he was. Dayne then closed the distance and approaching Aurora said to her

“Aurora, this is an ORDER, return to the campment”

“Eh?”

“Teleport back, you were assigned to this squad because of that talent-”

“I-I CAN’TDOTHAT CAP-”

“AURORA!”

“(!!!)”

Aurora started crying, she was swamped by her surging emotions but brushing it all away, Dayne followed

“Our mission was to survey, and all of our observations are in here! Understand? You have to report back these documents!”

“Waa..aa,but but captain..-- ”

“No buts! Get on with it!!”

“(!!)”

She was at a loss, Dayne was shouting with a tone she never heard before and they had been to more than 15 missions together since the expedition took place some time ago

“Please Aurora, you're the only one that can do this...”

“Guys...”

“Aurora, you’re a Summoner understand that...”

“Guys...”

“Aurora you are about to be 18, so for now follow what we grown up men say, okay?”

“No...”

“..... I trust you Aurora, follow Dayne’s command”

“No...”

Maren spoke last

“Listen here you brat, this is why you’re called baby-Aurora, stop that weeping and wipe away those tears and snot, they’re ruining your pretty face... okay that’s better… now smile! Yes, a smile suits your face better….now listen well. Don’t go killing us off so easily! We will manage somehow, and meet you in the basecamp! Besides, you’re running out of fuel aren’t you, in this condition you’re of no help… so scram, go and wait for us with a nice meal okay?”

“......”

“Did you understand?”

“*nod*”

“Good, then...GO!”

“Please promise me…. Promise me that you are all going to come back….”

“...... I promise”

Muttering lowly, Aurora grasped the documents and closed her eyes. While she was moving her lips, small white particles started to gather around her and in the end covered her like a coat made of snowflakes

*ZAAAAAAS*

With Aurora gone, the group looked at each other

“What’s with that sweet lie Maren? That was so not like you…. I find it hard to believe that speech came from your mouth”

“Tch! Ha! Don’t come falling for me at such a time Yaila….you bitch….”

“*giggle* That tone suits you better, besides, every group needs a jester don’t you think”

“Well guys, i don’t know about you, but after Maren spoke i feel like trying a little more”

“Yeah… if we come back we can give Aurora a big shock don’t you think”

*laughter*

“Squad 16 Captain Dayne! I salute you companions! May we have our wildest fight!”

With Captain’s Dayne sudden formal salute, his men followed suit

“Squad 16 Scout, Gelon!”

“Squad 16 Vanguard Ber, Yaila!”

“Squad 16 Middle Guard, Leit!”

“Squad 16 Rear Guard, Maren!”

“GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWL”

“Heh! Finally the main actor showed up!”

“I was tired of waiting, you damn oversized cat!”

“......about time, stupid mammal….”

The beast, returning to the summit landed on the road, cutting off the only exit and glared with ill intent to the party. But they met Its glare head on without a hint of fear anymore and raised a battlecry

*UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH*

…...

…….

…….

*ZAAAAAAAAS*

“Uff, I feel a little dizzy... now to rest a little in the ca- eh? What? This place is... No, this can’t be!!!”

Aurora succeeded in her teleportation, but that was as far as her luck went. She had learned the skill, but for a perfect execution, it would take more training which she currently didn’t had, in short, she took a gamble and…. She lost it.

She deducted she was in the opposite side of her objective, Gelon’s report before venturing inside stated it clear

“Damn it….fuck… FUCK IT ALL!!!!! FUCK! Fuck the Maghyenas, fuck the friggin monster!!! GODDAMNIT ALLLLLLL”

She had reached her limits, physically, and mentally, and now with the last bit of her mana pool gone, she could not move freely, all her limbs were too heavy and her thoughts started to wander off astray. Finally, her vision slowly became blurry and together with her loss of hearing and touch, it became a surreal perspective

As if some fate at hand was mocking her, she was in a position where she had vision of the small mountain of the valley, and with her senses not working properly, laid there watching in a semi dreamlike state

By the time she had shifted her gaze, there was already a figure in front of her, but she stopped caring for all she knew

“Oy!”

“....”

“Oyyyy! Someone up there? *waving hand*”

“......”

“Mmmm…. Uh?”

The figure was a handsome and tall man. Trying to gain some response from the girl, the man tried to shake her but his senses acted up and turned facing the mountain

“A Manticore… oh? An Irregular one at that… well, if it knows what’s better for him, he should stay away from- Coming here uh? *long sigh*”

Matching the man’s words the Manticore that was closing in, reached just a little further away from them and menacingly gazed at the third party

“Mmm? This girl? Your prey… you say?”

“GROOOWLH”

“I’m sorry little kitty, she is in my territory, if you want her….*waves hand* come and play with me a little?”

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRWWW!!!!”

The beast fell for the man’s provocation and struck a potent right paw at him. The man unamused simply raised his in a relaxed manner, and when both extremities met

*CRACK* *SPRAAAAAAAAT*

“GRUOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW”

The right carpals of the paw broke with a thunderous sound, followed by the acute howl of the Manticore. The man in contrast had a joyful and relaxed expression

“I guess it’s gonna be meat for tonight~~”

The Manticore was suffering, but above that, started to be afraid of the man that was approaching it. At the start of the battle, the man had little to no presence at all, but now, with every step that he took, the relaxed expression on him was turning into one full of dread. Not just the manticore, the air itself and the plants surrounding them started trembling from the source of such disgusting deathly aura.

With a sudden turn, the manticore readied its wings to take fly

“Oh no, you decided to fight, so do it until it finishes....okay?”

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP*

*GRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOUUUUUUU*

Before it could make a flutter with its wings, the man was already at the base where they formed and ripped them apart. Another cry of the beast resounded but the man didn’t stop there and jumped above its head, and when landing on it, the beast fell to the ground and

*CRAAAAAAAAAACK* *SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT*

“Finally some silence…. For goodness sake….That annoying scream was getting on my nerves….Ah!”

Remembering that there was another person

“Hey girl, I’m gonna-”

“.....”

Reaching to the girl, the man noticed that she had an unfocused gaze yet tears were falling down across her cheeks and didn’t look that it were going to stop flowing anytime soon

“Nice to meet you, crying princess. My name is Reidmo…”

Reidmo put his hand near Aurora’s face and released a gentle bluish light

“…...For now why not have some sweet dreams….okay?”