The dark forbidding streets still appeared gloomy. What was different was that Tetsuya could feel a serenity that he hasn't felt prior to the disappearance of Loganel and Azura. Embarrassed by his sudden breakdown in front of the others, he was preoccupied with this embarrassment more than his fear. However, he still forced himself to focus on the task at hand and continued on their exploration in a cautious fashion.

After wandering the abandoned streets for a while now, a bright light bursted in the not so distant space above them. That light, signifies a temporary salvation from this bleak dungeon crawling: someone had found the stairways leading down to the twelfth floor.

"Let's go."

Tetsuya's voice was laced with an optimistic tone as the promises of a temporary safe haven awaits them. He felt a sudden invigorating happiness in his every step towards the location where the light had been fired from, leading his party through the labyrinth-like streets and always cautious of any enemies. See a Skeleton Warrior, go the other way and avoid it. Don't let it see them and they won't have to fight it. Do not slow down to dismantle those Zombies, for they are slow. Just outrun them.

Tetsuya's heart raced as they inches closer and closer to the rendezvous point, thinking to himself how he could finally relax his nerves for a brief few minutes. It doesn't matter how long the brief stop is; ten minutes, five minutes, one minute, or even just a mere seconds, any amount of time is appreciated. He just want a brief respite, a momentary escape from this endless mental torture that is of this dungeon crawling.

From not far ahead, noises could be heard of members of the expedition team. These sounds of vitality appealed to Tetsuya since it was something that he has missed sorely. It would seem that the lower they had descended, the deeper they had delved into this depression. Therefore, he was glad to be approaching a sudden scene of happiness.

"Look's like things are looking good," Tetsuya commented in between his panting breath.

"Yeah," a grateful voice from Sheriel responded.

A large smile appeared on Tetsuya's face as he approached his anticipated temporary haven. However, what greeted him was nothing he had expected. The noise and chattering that he had heard earlier that he had mistakenly presumed to be vitality and joy, it was the complete polar opposite of such. Blood dyed the stone floors red, and the veins of pulsing green lights now illuminated underneath the crimson fluid of life as the blood slowly filled into the lines. Limbs, fingers, and heads laid about on the floor. Corpses laid limp on the floor with Undead gnawing at it. In the midst of all this chaos, was the gray wolf that Tetsuya and his party had encountered earlier.

"The hell is going on?" Kaz cursed with a look of despair on his face as he slowly fell to his knees.

"Everyone down the stairs!"

A man in the metal armor of the knights called out to the survivors and pointed in the direction down the stairway. People, engulfed in chaos and no longer holding any real capacity to think for themselves, complied with no complaints.

"Come on," Tetsuya's wavering voice said to the others with a hint of despair laced within. " Let's go..."

"Go go go!" The knights called out to the expedition team, flooding them down the stairways to the unknown.

Tetsuya, as he passed by the knights, from the corner of his eye, he observed the knights. What once used to be the shiny armor worn by these honorable knights were now a dark grey due to the lack of light. However, he didn't give it much thought as he ushered his party members down the stairway and away from the bloodbath.

"Madam," a knight reported to Marsha. "Almost everyone's down to the next floor now."

"Good," Marsha nodded. "Let us continue on as well." She then turned and proceeded to walk towards the dark stairway that shall lead to the unknown depths.

"B-but the others?" the knight questioned, his eyes shivering as he stared at his commander in horror.

"What about them?" Marsha responded, forcing her face to abandon all emotion as she shielded her humanly emotions from this human world.

"T-they...are we just gonna leave them?"

"We can't save everybody," Marsha sighed. "And that is not our duty at the moment." Without stopping again to answer any questions, Marsha continued on to the stairway.

"You...you devil!" The knight cried out in a voice so loud that caused a sharp strain in his throat. "How could you?! These people are here because of that mission that—"

The knight's head was torn right off by the great grey wolf, who spat out the head wrapped in the metal helmet to the side. It stared at the Flora with a hateful glare in its eyes. It readied itself to pounce, and pounce it did.

"White Carnation." Marsha drew her blade from its sheath. Immediately, white floral petals belonging to the white carnation flower magically emerged from thin air, bringing with it, a dull white glow that provided ample illumination with the abundance of the flower petals that contained such a glow. These suddenly appearing flowers, products of Marsha's magic, lowered the temperature. Initially, it was to a gentle frost, but soon, the temperature dropped to a bone chilling cold that none could withstand other than the Flora herself. Standing elegantly before the stairway with her blade to the side like a music conductor, she made it so that some of the white flowers encircled and gathered by her blade while the others scattered on the ground in a fifteen meter radius from her. Then, she swung her blade in a wide arc before her and the white carnation flower petals that had surrounded her blade rushed out and formed a giant wall of ice that blocked off the stairway from the wolf.

Marsha watched as the wolf slammed its body against the sturdy wall of ice that she had created from her self-created spell. An absence of emotion was obvious in her eyes as she stared at the wolf with the same chilling effect that her white carnation flowers had. Then, without saying anything, she turned and walked down the stairs, her footsteps echoing alone as she walked.

***

"What the hell have you done?"

When the Flora had emerged from the dark stairways and stepped foot on the twelfth floor of the ruins, she was met with severe outrage from those of the expedition team. A deep fear mixed with a strong hue of despair could be seen on their faces as they wept for their uncertain future.

"Now we can't even leave anymore!" someone cried out.

"You've doomed us all you demon!"

"Silence!" Marsha's second in command barked at the rioting crowd. "Would you lot rather be torn to shreds by that beast? Madam Flora here saved our lives, and this is how you repay her?"

"B-but we're doomed," someone responded in a despairing voice. "We got no way out."

"Who says?" Marsha's second in command continued on. "If we regroup ourselves, we will slay that beast. All we needed is a barrier for us to gather ourselves, that Madam Flora has provided us."

"B-but..." Murmurings could be heard in the crowd. They looked at each other with unrest in their eyes, deeply concerned about their futures.

"We shall carry on with the expedition," Marsha announced in her apathetic voice despite the outrage and backlash the expedition team responded her with. "That is non-negotiable."

She ignored their blaming stares and their derogatory voices as she stepped forward from the stairways. She approached the large crowd that had gathered before her, and with a threatening glare, forced the crowd to part and created a walk way for herself.

"We shall continue on in five minutes," she said before she walked down the isle with those knights that still remained loyal to her by her side.

The crowd, with sensing no real change was to come, dispersed unwillingly. Everyone had a look of defeat and despair on their faces as their sanity levels dropped sharply. All of them could hear the loud beating sound of their heart as their heart rates maintained at a high level. This beating noise annoyed them; it frustrated them to the point that they wanted to drive a dagger into that pesky organ, penetrating it so that the sound would stop. However, for those that tried, they realized that the beating did stop. However, not immediately. It still echoed in their head for a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, but it did slowly faded away eventually. As those that had committed the act laid there, lying on the ground limp and staring into the weeping faces of their comrades, they could feel a mysterious warmth in their torso. This warmth was so sweet and comforting, it reminded them of home. But, many of them wondered, where is home? When they tried to recall all of this, they could feel a bone chilling cold creep into their body. It ate away at them, starting from their limbs. Then, it slowly moved up their arms and legs until it was up to their chest. As the warmth slowly seeped out of their body and the control they used to have over their limbs slowly was eaten away by this beast called "death", that is when these people realized what they had done. But, it was too late now for they are at the doorsteps of death. And when they finally mustered the strength to cry, they realized that...no they don't. They won't realize a thing for they had already left this world and soon, their body shall too. All of this will happen in the short span of less than fifteen seconds.

Author's Note:

Sorry for not posting the past few days. School has kept me VERY busy. Please comment and vote if you've enjoyed since I am very motivated by it. Plus, I enjoy seeing people talk about things in the comments. Please comment!! It's a bit lonely here you know. I wanna interact with you guys so if you have any questions, ask away in the comment section and I'll respond. Thank you!!