After all the preparations were made, the newly-assembled party set off to Hylands, passing by the new Astorean capital city, Finweald, on the way. Considering the lengthy journey, the group decided to spend a night in the bustling city.

Since he couldn’t properly explore the city the last time he passed through, Sakkarin begged his companions to give him a tour of the city’s nightlife. Seeing his puppy dog eyes brimming with excitement, how could anyone deny him?

Sakkarin was having the time of his life sampling the Traveler-inspired cuisine and alcohol, but even those couldn’t compare to the stylish Traveler girls, whom he tried to court with the same line he used on Cessia. Trying his luck, he elicited a flustered response here and there, but ultimately it was a series of strikeouts that almost made his companions feel for the man.

While the four continued eating and drinking their way through Finweald’s rowdy nightlife, one of the Travelers who saw Sakkarin’s flirtatious prowl jumped out in front of the group and boldly declared that she would take up his offer and become his bride. If there were a Kamuy of dating, surely it had thrown its most fervent worshiper a bone. And so, Astor found himself praying to it, in his deepest tired heart, that he would never have to hear that goddamn pickup line again.

Astor, Haru, Sean, and Iván all watched Sakkarin’s eyes being replaced with hearts as he immediately took the girl’s hand and kissed it like the cover of a romance novel. It all appeared innocent enough if one were to overlook the fact that the Traveler had chosen a wolf-type beastfolk as her race and was adding ‘wan’ at the end of all of her sentences.

Just then, a vision assaulted Astor’s kingly mind. He could see it… a tribe of Sun Claws dressed in handsome blazer uniforms and sailor suits off in a village in Hylands somewhere. Sakkarin’s tribe. His jovial laughter was ringing in Astor’s ears between the wans that now dotted his people’s sentences as his now-bride of many years sat next to him on the porch swinging bench and nuzzled him… “It’s lemonade, wan, for my wuvvy hubby⸻” This traveler was too powerful, Astor realized as he suddenly felt very cold, she had the potential to conquer the natural order of the Hylands. Shuddering, Astor lightly elbowed Iván’s side, signaling for the Chronomancer to dust off his illusion magic.

Iván wasn’t keen on ending a potential romance for his new companion, but had no choice. After a wave of the hands, he expertly locked both Sakkarin and his love interest in an illusive daze, giving the other three a chance to drag the lovestruck Caenis away.

As they headed back to their wagon, Sean and Iván comforted the drunken and sobbing Sakkarin, who finally reached the part of the illusion where his love interest changed her mind and turned him down for a better looking Caenis named Emilias. It was around then that Iván was feeling particularly bad as the vibes quickly became gloomy.

Haru, Sean, and Iván looked at Astor judgingly as if to condemn his call. Their stares said everything: that had it been a catgirl in the former king’s corner, surely their suddenly mission-focused party pooper would be singing a different tune. At least the urgency of their trip gave him a way to deflect their silent criticism.

And so, the blonde responded with annoyance laced in his tone of voice, stating that Sakkarin can flirt all he wants after the mission concludes.

Destiny, my friend, if her love is true, let the kari guide her… Iván muttered, having left Sakkarin’s contact info in the Caenis travler’s hand to find after the illusion. Ivan, a married man himself, didn’t wish to tread upon love’s mysteries.

When they got back to their wagon, they set off westward, heading to their destination.

In total, the trip took roughly seven days, four to get from Stokbon to Finweald and another three to get from Finweald to the border of Hylands.

Sakkarin remained quiet for most of the trip after Finweald. Astor tried to comfort the Caenis, but his clumsy attempts only made it worse. The other three let him reap what he had sown.

When they arrived at the Hylands Ascent, Sakkarin snapped to life as the familiar sight of home reminded him of why he had gone such a distance in the first place.

To any onlooker glancing up at the Ascent, it would only appear as a truly massive mountainous plateau, its flat surface barely visible past the clouds from anywhere in Astorea. Sakkarin, however, described it as an entire landmass that was elevated by the moon Goddess, Uene, saying that only those who can endure the climb were worthy of entry into the cradle of the Caenis’ origin.

Standing at the foot of the Ascent, the four looked up in astonishment as the mountain completely dwarfed them. It was as if they were ants staring up at a wall of skyscrapers.

It was unlike any mountain they had seen in real life, the Ascent stood like a gargantuan wall separating its treasure from the rest of the world.

The Caenis didn’t skip a beat as he donned his backpack and began the climb, unphased by the challenge ahead.

“Oy, hurry and keep up or I’m going to leave you lot behind, nispa. You can gawk at my homeland all you want when we get to the top. We need to get to the first resting spot before the strong winds come in,” Sakkarin said, spurring the four.

And so, the five began their journey up the Ascent. With Sakkarin’s guidance, the group was able to find occasional stretches where they could walk instead of scraping their hands climbing up the steep mountainside.

When the group reached the first checkpoint, Sakkarin had the group set up camp even though it was only the early evening.

After assembling a fire, the five gathered around it for a light meal. Sakkarin spoke in between bites of his food, “Always remember that the winds get real bad between now and dusk, nispa. Don’t be like the young fools in my village who think they can win against the winds. The lucky ones only break a few bones here and there, while the unlucky ones become Reapers’ food.”

“What’s a Reaper?” Sean asked.

“Big migratory birds that reside here in the summer, with appetites worthy of the Kamuys themselves. Nasty predator,” Sakkarin growled.

“So, how many days are we from the top?” Haru asked next.

The caenis cocked his chin, “mmmrgh… at least seven… if we went with the safe route. The more dangerous route allows us to bypass the winds that force us to break camp well before nighttime.”

“Shouldn’t we consider going with the faster option then? Since the trip is urgent,” Iván asked.

Sakkarin scratched the back of his black canine ears, “Eh… I don’t know about that. If I was by myself, maybe. If it’s the group’s consensus, I’ll guide you up the dangerous path, but if you happen to die, your death is not on me.”

“I agree with Iván, let’s shorten the trip. The faster we can get there, the sooner we can try to stop the Masked Killer,” Astor voiced his opinion.

“Concur,” Haru said.

Sean seemed a bit reluctant. All of the training he had undergone with Zeus to overcome his fear had made the youth a bit wiser and the group’s inclination to rush through the climb screamed unwise to him, “Um, like what Sakka had said. I think encountering some kind of setback on the dangerous route will just slow us down.”

Everyone looked to Iván as the tiebreaker.

“I vote dangerous. What is life if not dangerous, friends?” the Chronomancer laughed.

And so, the majority voted for the faster route, to which Sakkarin obliged.

When Sakkarin said that the alternative route was more dangerous, what he actually meant was that they had to tie a rope around one another and make a vertical climb upward for several hours at a time with little rest inbetween. In return, the way the climbing path was situated shielded them from any passing winds and made them less visible to birds of prey as they moved up a massive crevice in the cliff.

With Sakkarin leading the charge, the four fell into a false sense of security as their climb continued to be uneventful.

To speed up the climb even more, the four players each found creative uses for their specializations. Sakkarin appeared rather impressed with the Traveler’s’ skillful display, which elicited some respect from the gruff Caenis.

A little later, while heading up the narrow vertical path, Sakkarin felt some dirt and small rocks dust his head. The Caenis’s immediate reaction was to press his ear against the rocks.

“Shit,” Sakkarin yanked the rope attaching him to the rest of the party. The sudden warning, starting with Haru, then Iván, then Sean, and finally Astor sent the group into a panic.

Before the Caenis could explain, a massive boulder could be seen barreling diagonally down toward him at great speed. Sakkarin was the sturdiest of the five, but not even his skills and hardiness could stop the boulder from pulverizing the arm he used as a shield to redirect it.

“FUCK!!!” Sakkarin roared out in pain as two other boulders missed him by mere inches on either side and ran down the side of the mountain.

Following the trajectory of the rolling stones with their eyes, the five saw the earth elementals atop a ledge above them. They were an hour’s climb above them, less if they rushed, but the four quickly learned that earth elementals could throw their boulders so they would roll vertically along the face of the cliff like a flat surface. It was a deadly game of bowling with living pins. One hit, and any climber, no matter how experienced they are, would get thrown off.

Haru, feeling the rope above him slack, immediately summoned his spirits to keep Sakkarin from falling off. However, as their guide lost consciousness, the travelers were on their own.

Seeing Haru spring into action, Iván braced himself digging in his right arm and leg into the cliffside with whatever grip he could manage. He thrust his left hand upward as if hurling something. A ball of gray light flew upward where it burst into a sphere of slowed time as the next volley of boulders collided with it and grinded forward. “ASTOR!”

Astor yanked the rope attaching him to Sean. “Sean, spot me!”

“Do it! I’ve got you!” Sean shouted back as he super-heated his sword and thrust it into the melting mountain slag with all his might like a climber’s pick. All the muscles in his body screamed as he braced to be the fulcrum.

Astor kicked off the cliff and swung out for a better view as he launched a barrage of fireballs at the slow, oncoming boulders. The climb was cruel. Ending the oncoming threat for only a moment, the blonde saw his blasts of magic transform the heavy stones into deadly shrapnel that threatened to rain down on them as they exploded like fireworks in slow motion.

Sean didn’t hesitate. Gripping the rope below him, the red-head wrapped it around his left arm and swung Astor back and to the left with all his might. He felt the rope pull and burn as it coiled and pulled against the raw skin of his forearm like a sandpaper snake, but still he did not let go.

A relieving ripple and slack was all Sean could trust to let him know that Astor was back on the cliff face and secure. Sean removed his sword, brandishing it.

“HUG THE WALL!” he shouted with all he could muster as he swung his blade releasing a wave of flame upward. It flew over the backs of his party like a crescent rocket where it collided with the orb of time and suspended in slowing space.

Iván released the bubble and the wave and stony rain collided in another explosion scattering the shards. “Go, go, go, go go, I see some earth elementals gathering boulders at one of the vantage points above us! I don’t think I can hold it back again!” Iván shouted pointing at the living siege weapons on the shelf above them. The earth elementals were readying their next volley.

Haru meanwhile was trying to rouse Sakkarin, “Sakka! Yo! Hey! Wake up we have to move! Dammit. Hang on, we’ll get you to safety, buddy!!!” Haru then looked down at Iván, “Iván can you haste me? I can’t focus on climbing while controlling my spirits at the same time.”

Iván nodded, putting a small bubble around Haru, which sped up his movement.

And so, the four began climbing for their life, not knowing when the hail of death would come for them.

Leading at the topmost position, Haru climbed blind, supporting Sakkarin, until at last he found himself pulling himself onto a blessed flat shelf and squeezing into the first cave opening he came across while having his spirit helpers pull the rest of his party into the mountainside hole.

Astor was barely able to dive into the opening before the next set of boulders smashed into the entrance, collapsing it.

Right before the rocks collapsed the opening, Astor thought he heard a crack and a sharp whizz. It wasn’t the sound of a stone. His instincts were screaming as the projectile snapped through the air and hit the cave floor just past his left shoulder from up above him. It was as though someone or something was aiming for his head.

Although they were out of danger for the time being, Astor felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It couldn’t be possible. And yet, his law enforcement experience was alerting him to the fact that something felt very wrong.

Knowing that he hasn’t been well mentally, Astor dismissed his instinct.

Sean took charge of the situation and infused his sword with fire, figuring out where the rest of the party were. Taking stock of the situation, suddenly everyone came into view.

“Sakka!” Astor shouted as he rushed toward the bloody Caenis lying beside Haru.

Haru put his hand up, “wait, don’t touch him, his arm is completely wrecked.”

Iván knelt down on one knee and grabbed Sakkarin’s good arm, “It looks like he tried to transform into something, but wasn’t fast enough. Damn, I should have been more attentive.”

Sean and Astor meanwhile met eyes, both noticing something concerning. Their traveling backpacks were too light. When they both took off their backpacks to check, it appeared that there were huge gashes where the remaining stoney shrapnel ripped them. The cuts were big enough for the supplies to fall through.

Both immediately went over and checked Haru and Iván’s bags, which were still intact. Sakkarin’s, however, was as obliterated as his arm was.

“Goddammit,” Astor muttered.

“Well, at least we still have two bags… that’ll hold us over for now.” Sean replied.

Sakkarin was gradually regaining his consciousness and immediately began groaning in pain as he grabbed his broken arm.

“Wait, stop moving so much, you’re going to make it worse, man…” Haru gripped Sakkarin’s shoulder to steady him.

The Caenis gritted his teeth as he struggled to sit up, “Astor, grab your journal and write down what I’m about to tell you nispa… the direction to get all the way up. I’m completely fucked. No more climb for me.You guys gotta continue up without me.”

“Only if you ate my stinkiest kari right now,” Iván remarked.

“Don’t go playing the hero,” Astor scoffed.

Sean shook his head. “I don’t leave friends behind.”

“I’ve got a kari that’ll leave you better than before, stinkiest you’ve ever smelled, you can try it when we get you home,” Iván remarked.

“We’re not leaving you behind, bud,” Haru smiled.

In between his pained groaning, Sakkarin looked at the four in disbelief, “goddamn buffoons, didn’t I tell you that the Ascent chews up and spits out reckless idiots like you? Ggah…”

“Why are you so goddamn annoying even though you’re practically dead?” Astor growled while the other three nodded. “Just shut up and let us save you, how the hell do you expect me to read a journal and climb anyway. Did you forget the rock fuckers?”

“I think this non-kari-eating fool is just embarrassed, haha,” Iván laughed.

Sean also chimed in, “yeah, a team is only as strong as its weakest link, but if you keep breaking the links you won’t be left with a chain.”

Haru chuckled, “hey man, you owe us a nice tour of the Sun Claw nightlife. We’ll carry you up the rest of the way even if you’re practically dead weight!”

Despite his grave injury, veins could be seen popping out of Sakkarin’s face, “I’m going to feed you lot to Moon Fangs, heartless bastards…”

For the rest of that day, the four tried their hands at making a splint and sling with what material they could salvage from their clothes and ruined backpacks. Though makeshift, their treatment made the grade thanks to the group’s pooled first aid skills. Healing magic was on the table, but with supplies low and combat lurking ahead, the group needed to sustain as much of their energy as they could.

As they were working they spent time discussing in detail how to ration the remaining supplies while aiding Sakkarin’s recovery.

The next morning, as far as they could tell, Sean and Iván scouted deeper in the cave since they happened to wake up before the others. After a five minute walk, they stumbled upon a deadend where a nest cradled piles of giant avian bones and some holes nearby. The description seemed to match what Sakkarin had described about the Ascent Reapers. When they headed back with the news of their finding, Sakkarin snapped awake the moment he heard giant bird bones.

“Oy, did you see any tunnels near those bones?” The Caenis asked firmly, a dark pall in his voice.

When his suspicion was confirmed by both Sean and Iván, Sakkarin grimaced, “Shit, we need to get the fuck out of this cave. Now. The only thing that can strip the flesh off those predators so cleanly is a Uboraon Hundred Legs. It’s a really long insect, nasty pincers and a hundred legs. They incapacitate their prey with their venom and then lay eggs inside them, using the heat of the victim to incubate their eggs. I would rather fall off the cliff getting carried by you lot than getting my entrail pumped full of slimy Uboraon eggs. If you’re gonna carry me, then we can’t stay here, nispa. Let’s go, break’s over.”

By the time he alerted the group, it was already too late. Sean and Iván had disturbed the nest.

The ground tremored. Something big was coming.

“Shit, shit, shit! We get to get the fuck out of here, now. Move!!!” Sakkarin fought the pain and rose to rush the four toward the entrance, which he realized had collapsed.

Astor and Sean immediately went to work making an opening with their explosive combat abilities while Haru and Iván prepared themselves for the incoming monster.

“DON’T HESITATE! ON THREE!” Sakkarin shouted as he half shifted his good arm into that of a werewolf.

Just as Sakkarin was about to count down from three, a giant centipede-looking monster burst out of the ground, roaring at the party’s first line of defense, covering Haru and Iván in its rancid saliva.

“FUCK IT! THE DOOR!” Sakkarin shouted as he swept and tossed Ivan back to the party, pushing Haru with his bound bad arm and shoulder to whirl the sage around. Regrouping with a screeching giant centipede just behind them, Sakkarin threw caution to the wind and tackled the collapsed entrance with all his might. Just then, Astor and Sean had managed to soften the obstruction with their destructive fire skills. The group smelled fresh air but didn’t have the time to savor it as they once again saw daylight.

Sakkarin burst out of the cave’s entrance and found himself going further than he anticipated without the rope from their climb to stop him.

Although Haru and Iván activated their defensive skills, it wasn’t nearly enough to stop themselves being pushed out of the narrow opening together with Sean and Astor as the Caenis barreled past them to open the path.

With the four scattered in all directions, fighting to grab hold of some kind of surface as they slid along the wide shelf. The Uboraon, meanwhile, easily repositioned itself, leaking out of the cave’s entrance after them and attaching its many legs onto the rock face where it whipped its head around, deciding which of the five to snatch first.

Sean, the lightest of the party, slid furthest and over the edge. But, Sean was ready for it at this point, and smashed his sword into the mountainside, repeating his trick, by heating up the tip of his sword to melt some of the rock to keep him and the sword in place. His shoulders ached, but he was alive. Just then, Sean’s eyes widened.

“Haru!” Sean shouted and grabbed onto Haru’s outstretched hand when he flew past him.

“Just a second!” Haru raised his voice while dangling from Sean’s slipping grip before he recited a spell that manifested a ghostly limb from the staff in his freehand to wrap around Iván’s waist as he fell past them.

Iván immediately found Astor and Sakkarin who fell after, working out who to assist first. Within a split second, Iván chose Astor, trusting that the blonde would figure out how to rescue Sakkarin who was down a limb. And so, he created a bubble of time to suspend Astor, buying the blonde just enough time to reorient himself and fire off an explosion that would propel him back towards the mountainside.

The moment Astor slammed into a cluster of sharp rocks with his back as his knees buckled and his heels dug in. He gritted his teeth through the pain and back soaked with scraped blood he scanned the chaotic scene, trying to locate the injured Sakkarin.

The Caenis, who was half-shifted into his Lycan form, had been caught by the Uboraon’s mandible first. Sakkarin reisted as he wrestled with the crushing weight of the monster’s closing pincers as it held him dangling over the cliff. Its head moved and struggled for the right grip to secure the Caenis, rushing to pull its prey back into its nest as its body coiled and danced along the cliff.

If the five had forgotten the original danger that started this whole mess, they were soon in for a cruel reminder. The climbers next felt a rumble as the stone elementals began to stir from their slumber. If the Uboraon didn’t kill them here, their reward was going to be getting pulverized by the elementals’ hurled crushing stones.

“Oy! Use the rocks! Crush it like it happened with the cave-in!!” Astor barked, trusting that his allies would be able to follow through on his plan with some major improvisation.

He aimed an explosion right beneath Sakkarin’s feet as he beckoned the Caenis with a shout, “Sakka, pull it up!”

Sakkarin, who was beginning to lose his morphed lycan form, pooled the last ounce of his energy he had left to turn the Uboraon’s head off the rockface and and in line with Astor’s shot. The centipede horror lost its footing from the shock of the blast hitting beneath its head as it fell over itself and began to writhe on the clearing in front of the cave face. On impact, Sakkarin freed himself as he dove and rolled. The Uboraon was now on its back as it flailed, trying to right itself.

“CLIMB! CLIMB!” Sakkarin shouted at the top of his lungs.

On that signal, Haru understood what Astor was getting at. “Okay Iván, you first! We’re pinning this thing!”

“Do it!” Iván responded as the ghostly limb that was still hurling him flung up toward the shelf.

“Stinky kari gives you wings!” he shouted, as he flew into Sakkarin’s grip and was quickly pulled over the ledge onto flat ground once more. Iván didn’t have a second to rest as he poured as much energy as he mustered into freezing the writhing insect in time. “I got it!”

All that Iván heard next was “Torpedo two!” from Haru as he saw Sean fly up into Sakkarin’s grip. “GRAAAAAAAH!” Sakkarin roared as he hurled Sean at the beast. The moment Sean entered Iván’s field, the chronomancer sped up the sphere, accelerating Sean’s attack into warp drive.

Sean flew along the length of the creature risking being sliced by the accelerated legs of his target as both were lost in the haste space.The sword impact broke through the Uboraon’s armor-like red shell, peeling its armor with a great big gash as the plates of its exoskeleton flew everywhere.

In a blink, Sean passed through the field and Iván with a groan managed to manipulate the field to a stop once more.

“Work on your stink and we can talk kari next time!” Iván grinned as the pooled sweat on his brow began to pour from the strain.

Sean skidded to a stop and a rough landing against the wall face as he saw Haru and Astor make it over. Everything was in place. The shadows over their heads told them so. Those, of course, were the boulders headed their way.

When they collided with Iván’s field they stopped as they seemed to be lost between the slow and reality, but at last, Iván sank to a knee and released the field as the party shielded their eyes from the crashing dust. The Uboraon was gone. That was good enough for the group, as they directed their gazes upward.

They had to close the rest of the way to the elementals or their journey would end here. Their crash course Ascent experience told the party that much. The five weighed time vs endurance, as Sakkarin pointed with his shakey good arm at the safest route up.

Amid the commotion, both Haru and Astor noticed a faint red light flicker in their corners of their eyes like a buzzing insect. Another crack and a whiz came from far, far above them as something hit the ground between them. It was almost as if the stone elementals were being guided. The elementals slowly churned their bodies as if following the vibration to find the party.

Since it was Haru’s first time seeing it, it took him some time to process the information amid the chaos while Astor took to alerting the others immediately.

“Climb, now! We’re being targeted by the masked fuck!!!” Astor screamed as he reached for the ledge above and pulled himself up as fast as he could. How could he explain it? He didn’t believe it himself, and yet he knew it was possible. They were being targeted by a sniper.

“Weave and stick as close to the wall as you can! Don’t move in straight lines!” Astor shouted what the adrenaline mustered from his real life experience as a police officer, a world he hadn’t stepped foot in couldn’t step foot in for years.

And so, they climbed because their lives depended on it. The next salvo of stones might not see them all through and there was no way to tell what the mask was or what he was planning. Forward as the only option and as fast as possible.

The white-haired mage, however, was beginning to feel the strain of over-exertion. All five of them had been eating as little as possible to conserve, and there had been barely any time for rest. With the amount of energy he had expended on his costly magic, his tank was about empty. A little bit more and he would go into mind-down and drop like a sack of bricks.

The five weren’t fast enough to skip the danger. They continued to climb as the rumbling stones made their way closer.

“There!” Sakkarin alerted Haru, who was deliriously helping him to cover as they led the way.

Together, both made up to about one able-bodied climber between their exhaustion, abilities and knowledge, but the crevice the party pulled themselves into saved them as the stones rolled past them tracing the ridge. The group was finally in cover for the rest of the way to the oncoming battle with the elementals, but a vertical climb was a losing battle as a resting place.

“I can see it, one last push, then we give the stone fucker’s what’s coming eh?” Sakkarin shuddered a laugh through ragged breaths trying to keep the ashes of the group’s morale going.

Anger could be a powerful motivator and Astor was ready to lead the charge. “Yeah, I see the way up. Let me take it from here. Haru’s spent, you’ve got one arm, and we pushed Iván to the brink with the shit-for-legs. I’ll lead. Sean, can you back me up?”

“You got it, boss.” Sean nodded.

The five relied on one another as they raced up the treacherous paths. The elementals’ barrage continued, almost mechanically, but the crevice continued to press them deep into the cliff and out of the path of the stones. They recklessly rushed upward. Whenever one or two would grab onto loose rocks or missed their footing, the entire group would inch closer to full-on exhaustion as they covered for that person.

The effort paved with blood, sweat, and tears paid off the moment the five managed to reach the next shelf. Their reward, of course, would be another grueling battle with the creatures that had started this whole mess in the first place. Or so, Astor hoped, if they were being directed by the shooter, it was only going to make things more complicated.

Peeking up out of the crevice, the five rested their arms on the hard surface, desperately gasping for air as weariness spread throughout their battered bodies. For now, things were quiet as the elementals sat dormant. The party knew, however, that the moment they stepped on to flat ground, the battle would be on.

While the other four lie sprawled out to catch their breath, Haru crawled up and peeked out from under the rocky canopy that half-shaded the elementals, he was trying to scout their position so they could properly plan an ambush. He counted three.

Just then, the mage’s eye was blinded by a flicker of glass above him. Haru spotted the masked killer up on a vantage point 100 feet or so above where the earth elementals. When the masked killer noticed Haru staring at him, he raised his rifle and aimed it at Haru. Seconds later, a faint red dot appeared on his chest and slowly moved up to his head, resting between his brows. Instead of lodging a bullet into the mage’s skill, the gunman fired his shot, purposely grazing Haru’s cheek to taunt him.

Haru gritted his teeth as a deep-seated anger erupted from the pit of his stomach. His face contorted from an intense anger that was not natural for him.

The masked killer was mocking him, no, mocking them. He had every opportunity to kill them, but he didn’t take the shot. Instead, the bastard wore them down, cornering them like rats and even when he was presented with it, he prolonged the chase, never claiming his prize. This wasn’t a battle for him, he just wanted them to suffer. The image of villages of dead Sun Claw, just trying to go about their lives unawares flashed into his mind.

When Haru spotted the elementals stirring, he retreated under the protective canopy. Thankfully, they hadn’t detected him.

“FUCK!” Haru shouted at the top of his lungs as he slammed his fist against the ground, wetting some of his knuckles with blood.

Astor, who was watching Haru the entire time, leaned over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “He’s just toying with us. It’s the type of shithead who will keep us here until we waste away from thirst and hunger. Sick fuck.”

“What the hell are we supposed to do, goddammit!” Haru growled.

“I don’t know. Rest a bit and conserve your energy. We need to find a way to get out of here,” Astor said.

“Also, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Haru basically confirmed it. That fucker has a gun.”

The group was pinned, but with decisive action, soon they would all be dead.

To be continued...