Team 5 coalition members: “…

…Huh?

…What?

…Why in the world would we do that?

…Yeah, especially when we just got here!”

Almost the entire team appeared confused. Why should they retreat? They just got here! They barely made any progress because of this nervous … turtle-like captain!

…

The expressions for his own mercenary organization members though, those who originated from the Ghastly Seal – Breaker’s mercenary company along with Tomoya, wore vastly different expressions from the others.

…Their expressions were equally as terrified as his own!

In fact, deep down, every single member of Ghastly Seal – Breakers were secretly just as confused as those hailing from other mercenary corps, like Bright-Burn or Dark Mercenaries.

But unlike the situation with those other Team 5 team merc soldiers, that inner confusion they each felt didn’t halt any of their fear. No, not when they knew full well about both their teammate and current captain’s fear-driven intuition!

It’s prowess wasn’t anything special, he was only capable of differentiating if something was about to be a good or poor experience. However their captain’s surprised complexion wedged an immensely horrifying dagger through each of their hearts. For these men and women of the same organization, they learned as quick as their brains were able to process that whenever Tomoya is feeling worrisome in regards to a mission, they should always listen to his instructions or follow his example should he stay silent.

At least, they should do so if they value their lives.

Normally, during an unfavorable encounter, he would try his best to hide the level of fear he feels from showing on his face. This is how his subordinates are able to gauge the level of threat that is coming their way. The fact that his face is showing such an expression, without any regard to attempting a cover – up was a first for them all!

Only an imaginative mind could dare to guess what frightening grimness struck such fear into leader Tomoya’s consciousness. What in the world could have such an effect on their calculative team leader?

These 489 team members were the first to flee. They didn’t even bother looking back

Why?

Because they knew their Team leader, Captain Tomoya!! At most, he would wait 5 minutes or so before abandoning everyone!

…

And such a thing is exactly what he did. Just as he made the announcement for the rest to flee, he waited. Except it wasn’t 5 minutes… but only 12 seconds! During those 12, he received their questions, he pondered over the proper response, and he delivered it to them in one powerful sentence.

-

Coalition member # 63: “Excuse me, uh… Captain? Can we, uhm… can we have a reason?”

Coalition member # 64: “Yeah, Captain, it’s so quiet! Why should we escape now when the forest is THIS serene? It’s borderline peaceful!”

Coalition member # 65: “Sir, with all due respect, I don’t want to leave. That money is too important to me to give up here and now, all because of Captain’s baseless worrying. Perhaps… could Captain please reconsider?”

Coalition member # 66: “Can you tell us what you saw captain? What happened so suddenly to make you react like this?”

A plethora of similar questions and complaints flew from their lips. And for 12 seconds, it continued. Until he opened his mouth to speak.

His wonderful words of wisdom, as a response?

Captain Tomoya: “If you fools wanna die then go ahead. I’m leaving!”

Even more than before, people began to question what the better decision to make would be. For many, so much was riding on this one decision. Whether it be to get rid of their debts, to put food on the table for their loved ones or themselves, or to avoid punishment and possible death by running away like cowards! Certain individuals even wished to press forward simply thanks to the greed seeping out from every pore on their skin! After all, they were never paid the second half of their commission! And also, there was the announcement about an extra reward for just lopping off the heads of each child and handing them over! That’s easy money! And with the Coalition leaders in charge, each trying to maintain a better image than the other five, there was nearly zero fear of somebody trying something sneaky. It was a win – win - win situation!

But to be honest, the ‘pack mentality’ was a powerful thing. The moment Captain Tomoya’s fellow Ghastly Seal – Breakers charged away, a good few dozen panicked and left with them. Those that stayed...well, they talked amongst themselves after 12 seconds saw Captain Tomoya exiting closely behind the last cowardly straggler – with only fallen, autumn leaves to cover their hasty tracks.

Mr. Abrams: “Hmm. Leaving so soon? Hehe, but what’s the rush? You just got here~ Why not stay and enjoy the fall?”

This team… they were each comprised of some resistance to either physical attacks, magic under a specific energy output, or in the case of those really rare ones… both. Normally Mr. Abrams could try to overpower them all with pure, massive force. Even if they have magic resistance and boast a supposed ‘magic immunity’ what is that to him? Is it so easy to topple one of the world’s two greatest magicians by simply enchanting one’s body to be magically immune? No matter how ‘immune’ one touts themselves to be, there must also be a limit the body can handle. And these people clearly cannot match Mr. Abrams’s limits. Besides; even if they somehow manage to match it…Mr. Abrams could just remove it. He’s not the world’s 7th ranked most powerful hero for nothing, after all.

If he felt like it though, Mr. Abrams doesn’t even have to rely on such tedious tactics. All he would need to do, is teleport them all high in the sky, along with the others from the Spectral Daggers mercenary corps. Teleportation is a psychic ability that invokes the ‘properties’ of space. Mr. Abrams’s may become a combination of psychic and magic, or either one. Not being limited to either or is his forté, after all. If not that, then he could just crush them with a mountain or something after ‘borrowing’ it via teleportation and temporarily moving all living creatures away from it for a little while.

But he didn’t.

No…

They wish to boast about magic immunity? Fine. Let the killers keep their shells on. Instead, like the fallen, discolored leaves on this autumn day, they too, will fall.

*SHIIINGG!*

An earth – shattering rumbling is felt by all. The abandoned team looks all around themselves in sheer disbelief, in suspicious awe, and in dreaded fear.

They all begin to share a lone thought: They should’ve left the moment Captain Tomoya warned them.

The North - Western forest shook violently as a massive quake cracked soil and rock bedding. The dirt floor became a cesspool of unearthed bugs and stone. Without a moment’s hesitation, the simple large crack sung deeply, widely, madly. It shortly after, resembled a miniature canyon! Except, the canyon began to spread.

And spread.

And spread.

And spread.

It spread massively, becoming a trench. Then a crescent.

…And finally, a large, circular pit. A horrifyingly massive cut was formed into the ground. And very quickly, the very center of this pit, exactly where the poor murderers were standing upon – vanished without a trace! It was especially sad for some of the Ghastly Seal – Breakers Mercenary Corps members who were at the very edge of the separated land, and about to do a running jump…

They fell down the pit during their run.

First, the ground tore away from the edges. This was his fragmented teleportation at play. Millions of particularly small clumps of soil and stone were removed, giving the impression the ground was being eaten away at by invisible piranhas. The first group of cowards had no choice but to turn back and flee to the center. Some tried to levitate or fly, while very few used their enhanced strength to ‘jump’ over the trench. But they immediately sank into the mysterious depths below. They couldn’t cross the trench no matter how hard the tried to fly or move past it! Like an unseeable hand, swatting them down below. They were nothing more than pesky flies compared to this show of power.

The abandoned Team 5 quickly broke into separate individuals or pairs trying to find a way out. Each using their hidden specialties that didn’t reveal or couldn’t master as well as their defensive capabilities. These people WERE, after all, as group of high ranking superhuman professionals. They each at least harbored two powers.

Yet they still met similar fates to the retreating group, the very moment they attempted to pass the trench. Not even a lad with teleport managed to cross it. He only fell into the developing pit after ‘appearing’ right above open space.

Finally…

All at once, in an instant and without word of warning - the floor that was slowly disintegrating just flashed away with a *VWISH!*.

And above another team who halted their pursuit after feeling the worldly quake; An expansive shadow eclipsed the faint moonlight cast upon them.

It seems a mountain was descending.

---