White forest

Eight months have gone by since that night, and two weeks have passed since Himeno's second encounter with the mysterious anomaly hunter known as “NN.” She had not seen Sylvie in all that time, and though worry plagued her heart, she knew it was better this way. She could feel their eyes on her at all times, even during moments when their eyes could not peer, she could feel their presence looming over her like a powerful shadow. She wondered how long it would have to go on like this before they would leave, before she could tell Sylvie that everything was ok again.

It was a windy afternoon, and the streets of Shibuya had been closed off. First responders at the scene quickly ushered as many civilians as they could away. The sky here was a pinkish-red, the sun appearing crimson under the thin veil surrounding the area.

“The veil covers about a six-point-five kilometer Radius. The magic in the atmosphere is pretty dense. Just going based on those two facts alone, I’d say that the dungeon is level orange.” A man spoke to another, Himeno standing just beside them, along with Shindo.

“The entrance was spotted in the train station near the south side. It manifested as a strange hole in the ground. We’re not too sure how to proceed going forward.” One of the men turned to Shindo, fixing the glasses on his face.

“How do you feel we should proceed?”

“I’m not too sure. People can’t communicate with others from within the boundaries of a dungeon. With an entrance like this, it’ll be hard to verify its safety. Furthermore, there’s no way to tell if there’s a way out, so recon is out of the question.” He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

“No one has ever died from simply entering a dungeon, but with everything that’s been going on recently, I fear even jumping inside something like this.”

“Then we’ll go in first.” A calm and cold voice chimed in.

The small group turned toward the voice, eyes falling on the kitted trio approaching them.

Yuya stood on the left with his usual sweater and jeans, except his torso was padded with a metal plate, and on his jeans was a hunting knife wrapped around his thigh. He also carried a large backpack in tow, a large metal object strapped to the side. NN and Junepai both wore black body suits, legs covered with silver guards, and their torsos shielded with a silver plate similar to that of Yuya's. The sleeves of their body suits were covered with arm guards, knives carefully slid beneath one, allowing the hilt to protrude.

“What are they doing here?” Himeno muttered, looking between her group and the slow approaching trio.

Shindo sighed, “They’re here to aid us in clearing out this dungeon. We needed all the help we could get.”

“You couldn’t have found anyone else?”

“If it makes you feel any better, they’ll be a part of an entirely different search team.”

She let out a deep huff of air, “Keep them away from me, and we’ll be fine.” Shindo nodded in response, stepping between his group and theirs.

“That’s nice of you to offer, but that still doesn’t solve the issue of confirming the safety of this entrance. Due to its nature, we aren’t entirely sure there’s an exit. Once we go in, there’s a chance we won’t be able to leave until we destroy the heart.”

“So then we clear it in one shot. My group will go in first. If there’s any immediate danger, we’ll clear the way.” NN stated with dry confidence.

The subway station was almost entirely cleared out, the carts full of bags of equipment, multiple bodies in light armor huddled around a singular area. Some of them crouched, examining it thoroughly. Others kept their distance, eyes wide with fear.

“Here,” Shindo spoke, parting through the small crowd. Just below them was a hole in the ground, a white, flesh-like ring pulsating around the hole. What appeared to be vines were connected to the ring, stretching outward so slowly they appeared not to be moving at all. The hole itself was infinitely black, appearing to have no bottom. It was just wide enough for your average human to slip through.

“Are you still up to it?” He turned to NN, expecting him to back away in fear, only for him to crouch down and touch to strange ring.

“It won’t take much longer for this to turn into a distortion; delaying entry any longer wouldn’t be wise.” He calmly spoke, standing.

“I’ll enter first, Junepai, you can enter right after me. I want Yuya to enter sixty seconds after that, and then the rest of the groups can enter four minutes after that.” His orders were direct, and despite being unfamiliar, the dungeon crawlers felt inclined to listen.

NN gave a firm nod to Junepai, then returned his attention to the hole, taking a long step forward and dropping himself into the abyss. Everyone instinctively peered into the hole, but he was already gone, consumed by the darkness.

“Alright, here goes nothing.” Junepai gave Yuya a reassuring nod before stepping forward, eyes closed, one foot out. Then, he dropped. His stomach became a pit as his body plunged deeper into the darkness. He could still see his own body before him, as well as his hair as it fluttered above his head.

Soon, that darkness became light. Pure white bled onto the black, the ground beneath him covered in fog, and finally, he met the ground with a soft-delicate touch. He quickly scanned his surroundings, his mouth hung open.

There were hundreds of dead trees surrounding the area, the thick fog acting in tandem and obscuring most of his vision.

“Look up.” NN called from beside him.

Slightly startled, Junepai jumped where he stood, then obliged, staring directly up at where the sky would be. Instead, there was the black void in which they both emerged, the pure white from before bleeding into that void as if someone were painting over it.

“Whoa!” Yuya yelped, his backpack crashing onto the ground and cushioning his fall, his body springing upward, and his feet planting on the ground. He wobbled a bit before finally balancing himself. A relieved puff of air escaped his lips, then his eyes fell upon the dead forest surrounding them.

“Oh… Wow.”

“So, what’s the plan?” Junepai sauntered toward NN, who was silently spinning where he stood.

“Plan? As of right now, our only objective is to clear this dungeon. If your main concern is that of Himeno Takeba, it shouldn’t be. I’ll handle that part.” He stopped dead in his tracks, pointing forward with a blank expression, “There, I can sense the heart over that way.”

“Wait, so we’re seriously only here for the dungeon?” Junepai asked.

“Yes. While I have taken a deep interest in this case regarding the shape-shifter, my ultimate goal here in Japan is to take down the shadow beast. This dungeon may be tied to it. Himeno Takeba taking up this case was simply a lucky coincidence.” He suddenly turned in the opposite direction, staring straight through Yuya with squinted eyes.

“Something's approaching, and quickly!” He shouted.

“What?” Yuya turned back, taking several large steps back and stumbling over himself in a panic, crashing onto the ground.

A small silhouette flashed through the fog, its figure small. The sound of cackling could be heard once, then again as it echoed, multiplying over and over. The fog parted, making room for the small creature as it zipped toward the trio. Its body was small and compact, and it couldn’t be anymore than four feet. It brandished blade-like teeth and claws, a black mane surrounding its small face. Its eyes were simply two large black beads, its nose a small snout. Its arms and legs were thin and short, and were as black as its mane.

NN raised a single hand and extended his pointer finger. A powerful energy gathered at the tip of his finger, a gentle blue light illuminating the area before forming into a small ball. What sounded like a whistle echoed, the small ball zooming forward and crashing into the creature. There was an explosion of blue, smoke and dust rose from the ground, and once it parted, almost nothing remained of the creature. There was a black ichor that stained the ground.

“Despite the inconsistencies of a dungeon's layout and geography, one thing always remains constant.” NN remarked, “The monsters.”

“What was that thing?” Yuya asked, quickly standing and dusting himself off.

“Mana feeders. They’re a unique type of monster that typically hunts in packs due to their small size and fragility. They actively seek prey with large mana pools to feed on. You can expect there to be more of these lurking around. Keep your eyes peeled.”

The sound of yelping could be heard as another body came thudding from the sky. Shindo landed on his feet and stumbled forward, waving his arms around as he attempted to catch himself. Himeno came soon after, a dark blue cloak fluttering around her body as she fell. She kept her arms at equal distances away from each other, keeping her body completely still until she came closer to the ground. She spread her legs, both her feet stomping firmly into the ground as the upper half of her body fell between her legs in a perfect squatting position. They took a brief moment to look around before turning their attention to the trio.

More yelps could be heard as more crawlers fell toward the ground. After a few minutes, there were a handful of them standing at the center of a dead forest.

“Is this all of us?” Shindo asked, sounding agitated.

“Unfortunately, sir, yes.” A man responded with a solemn vow, “Many of those who came today found themselves too afraid to enter.”

“Right.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Alright, listen, as many of you may know, this dungeon may be related to the shadow beast in some way, so despite this only being a level orange dungeon, we should all proceed with caution.” He flashed a look to NN, who, in response, pointed again to the same area he had pointed to before.

“I sensed the heart somewhere in that general direction. I’m not entirely sure how far it is. There are also man feeders in the area, so keep your eyes and ears peeled.” There was a bit of murmuring amongst the groups.

“I’ll try my best to lead us toward the heart, stay close with your groups, and keep any weapons you may have at the ready.” The trio took to the front, stepping through the fog. Yuya practically glued himself to Junepai, hands held tightly around his backpack.

“I wouldn’t be too sure about putting my trust into people like that.” Himeno remarked.

Shindo spared her a glance, removing the cigarette from his mouth and tossing it to the side.

“What’s your beef with those three?”

“They’ve been following me around. I think they know about what happened eight months ago.” She clenched her hands at her side.

“Really?” His expression darkened.

“The foreigner told me about the case, told me he was going to pick it back up. He hired those two recently. If they find out the truth-” She shook her head, not even wanting to think about the possibilities.

“If it comes down to it, we can take them out ourselves.” He coldly suggested.

Himeno looked at him with surprise, “What?”

“If they find out you let an anomaly escape, you’ll be killed. It’s you or them.”

“Don’t be an idiot, you’re already involved enough by keeping my secret.”

“Wait!” NN shouted back, holding a hand up in the air and scanning their surroundings. “They’re coming!”

From the fog emerged a multitude of Mana-feeders, shrill cackles echoed throughout as their small bodies charged forth, claws and teeth at the ready.

The groups fell into chaos, ducking and weaving between their assaults.

Junepai immediately put his back to Yuyas, eyes darting back and forth in an attempt to keep up with all the creature's rapid movement. One leapt straight for him, arms extended as far as possible.

Junepai quickly pulled his knife from the bottom of his arm guard, slicing outward and beheading the creature in one fell swoop.

Himeno effortlessly ducked and dodged between each monster, the wind around her fluttering gently, all her movements perfectly calculated and soft. As she weaved beyond one of the creature's reach, she grabbed it by the legs and slammed it onto the floor, elbowing another that was approaching from behind.

“Shindo-” She looked up, only to realize that he was no longer at her side.

NN found himself alone, facing the bulk of the Mana-feeders' forces. He pointed a finger-gun forward, small pulses of magical energy constantly blasting from the tip of his pointer. Dust clouds mixed in with the fog, further blinding NN from the creature's assaults. One managed to scrape its claws against his arm-guard before disappearing into the fog once more. His body tensed at an unfamiliar force rapidly approaching from behind, a swelling sensation stinging on his nape as he narrowly dodged the swoop of a blade. He leapt forward and spun his body around to face this new attacker, feeling up the small bit of blood spilling from the back of his neck. From the fog approached Shindo, katana held out at his side.

NN scoffed, his head tilting to the side.

“This won't work out for you.” He plainly stated.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that.”

The fog beside them parted, and another one of those creatures leaped toward NN with its mouth agape. He stepped to the side, elbowing the creatures back and planting it into the dirt. Shindo immediately followed up after, slashing his katana outward, only to be met with cold air.

“So long as I’m in proximity to you, I'm practically blind to the Mana-feeders.” As if on queue, two more leapt from beyond the fog. He dodged between them, taking another leap back as Shindo pursued him.

Junepai continued to drag Yuya around, slashing at every creature that approached.

“Junepai, watch out!” Yuya pushed him aside as one of the creatures pounced, causing it to slam directly into him. They both collapsed to the floor, struggling against one another.

“Yuya!” Junepai shouted, dodging between each Mana-feeder and sprinting toward him. He took a powerful step forward, then, in an instant, everything turned black.

Time slowed to a halt, and in the far depths of this darkness, sat a pair of eyes, peering directly into his soul.

“You’ll always be alone.” A familiar voice echoed, “You’re nothing but a worthless piece of garbage the way you are now.” It continued to speak, “Your life is meaningless until you find that perfect woman, the perfect woman just for you. The perfect woman to serve you, to live for you, to die for you. The only thing that matters in this world is finding a wife willing to serve you!” It screamed at him, “Find her!”

Yuya struggled against the Mana-feeder, using all the strength he could muster to keep it from chomping his head off.

“Junepai! Any time now!”

A hand plucked the beast from atop him, suspending it in the air. It clenched down, the sound of squelching and cracking echoing until its head burst into black ichor. Staring down at Yuya with soulless eyes was Junepai. Despite his blank stare, he was smiling so wide that the corners of his mouth began to crack.

“Let’s get married.” He said, bloody hand stretched forward.