95 - Screams From The Shadows

Toku burst into the chamber where Hoshina's group was fighting, with his spear raised and his breath heavy.

A massive crystal-and-rock beast loomed in the center of the cavern, its body jagged and glowing faintly from the stellar jewels from within. Before Toku could even catch what was happening, LuLu flashed past his vision--her scythe cutting cleanly through its core. The creature cracked, split, and then collapsed into lifeless shards of rock and crystals.

Followed with Confusion and Silence right behind it.

Toku rushed to Komi.
"What's going on here?!" he demanded.

Komi blinked at him. "We're just clearing these beasts. Why?"

Toku frowned. "Then why were you all... screaming then?"

Confusion crossed her face. "Screaming? No one screamed, not that I'm aware of."

Toku's face turned pale.

Without another word, he spun around and sprinted back into the tunnels.

The screams returned--down a different tunnel. Sharper and twisted with agony.

They came from the passage Copia had taken.

Toku rounded the corner at full speed, only to freeze.

Copia was kneeling calmly, sealing a small scratch on Jin's arm. Glonk stood nearby, fists lowered, as the massive corpse of a dragon-like boss collapsed forward in front of him, its skull shattered.

No panic, no terror, and no screams.

Toku stood there, chest rising and falling as deep breaths were being taken both from anxiety and being out of breath, eyes darting wildly.

"D-Did you hear that?" he asked.

Glonk shook his head. Jin tilted his head. Copia glanced around.

"Hear what?" Jin asked.

Toku backed away slowly.

The screams came again.

This time--from Valentine's path.

Toku turned and ran.

He didn't stop until he reached Valentine's team, finding crystal geodes scattered everywhere, the floor littered with debris from shattered rock-beasts. Whatever had attacked them had been handled with ease.

Brant turned. "Toku? What's wrong?"

Toku exhaled hard, words spilling out. "I keep hearing these screams. Real screams. Everywhere I go, they vanish. But no matter what I do, they keep blaring."

Valentine's expression darkened. PB straightened immediately.

Valentine made a quick decision. "PB. Rinka. Take the crystals back. Now."

PB nodded and Rinka didn't hesitate.

"Nepheres and Brant. With me," Valentine continued. "We're checking the other routes."

Before anyone could move--

The ground shook.

Stone groaned as like the mines were mourning.

Then the tunnels collapsed.

Rubble thundered down, sealing off corridors in every direction.

Valentine reacted almost instantly, stepping forward and driving his fist into the rock wall. Stone exploded outward as he punched through into the adjacent corridor.

On the other side--Hoshina's group.

At the same time, the wall opposite them shattered as Glonk forced his way through, reuniting the teams in a cloud of dust and falling stone-debris.

They barely had time to regroup.

The screams returned.

Not from the tunnels.

But rather from the center chamber.

Louder, constant, and sounding like they're coming closer.

Everyone turned and looked into the very lowly-dimmed area.

A shadow marched forward.

A corpse.

Its flesh hung loosely from its frame, barely holding together, eyes hollow and screaming without breath. It staggered forward.

Then another.

Then another.

They piled out in numbers--tens at first, then dozens, then hundreds--bodies stacking, crawling over one another, walking on each other's feet, filling the chamber with endless but an agonized sound.

The screams didn't fade nor did they stop.

"Dead Banshees." PB said,

Valentine turned to him, "You know what these things are?"

"They're Banshees, still hollering for their goddess." PB replies, "But they shouldn't be here, not in Grisue, and definitely not down here."

Nepheres added, "I sense Necromancy here, and not a low level one."

Everyone put up their guard, except a select few.

"Get em boys!"

PB yells as him and his group rush forward, with Nepheres throwing his spear forward, penetrating multiple Banshees all in one go.

PB punches a Banshee with a right-hook, then the next with a left-hook, knocking them out cold with one hit each, knocking down many back-to-back.

Lewis and Byakko jump up then leaps down into the middle of the group together, doing a dual-crescent swipe to all the Banshees around them, clearing a small chunk of them.

Finn throws his Bola covered in fire, igniting the few Banshees in front of him.

Sin, with one large step forward, pulls his large sword from his back to in front of him from the side, breaking the bones of all the Banshees in his wake.

Valentine looks at his group and sees that only PB's squad has moved up. LuLu grips her scythe tighter but Valentine stops her. "They seem to have this. Let's just conserve our strength in case there's a bigger being lurking beyond."

Copia and Tobi cast healing spells from their Guitar and Girmoire, healing the small scratches on PB's group, which were mostly caused from themselves.

After nearly 2 minutes of fighting, the Banshees were cleaned out.

PB, bandaging his fists and Copia healing some small blisters on his knuckles, mentions that he believes they're all dead.

"We got the resources we need if y'all want to head back up." says Valentine, which everyone agrees with an expression of confusion yet the determination to finish what they originally came for.

When they reach the rocks covering the exit, Glonk and Valentine stance up together, and both lunge a punch forward, breaking a large hole in the rocks piling the exit.

When they reach the doors, Rudbeckia and Serenity pull it up, with Daedaze meeting their return. "I heard some commotion, but you all look to be here and alright."

Toku rubs the back of his head "heh, it was a little worrying but we're good."

The maidens take the resources back as the others go rest up, sleeping through the rest of the day until night time, when they're awoken by Komi and Rinka.

Upon Valentine and the NTG arriving in the portal room, he sees PB and his group. "Fancy seeing you here."

"Well, we fought for the resources, we ought to see what comes from it." PB replies.

The portal rings to life, showing a space with repeating stars in a pattern, like they reached the end of space yet still more beautiful than anything they ever seen.

Serenity steps up to mention that Ivy and Bells will retrieve what they came for, for which they promptly enter the spacey portal. Within a few moments, Daedaze mentions how they have returned, as Ivy and Bells bring back 3 beings, with faces similar to their lost comrades.

Valentine starts to tear up as the rest of NTG is at loss, and begins to walk towards the small platform where that lay. But before he reaches them, Rudbeckia and Serenity step in his way, saying that their bodies are still unstable from the wounds they took and where they just were for the last few months. As for them, time has only been a few hours.

The maidens rush the three to the infirmary, where they perform healing spells behind closed doors.

Raye and Kori walk in, mentioning "Your friends should make a full recovery, but they don't seem to have any Mana currently, as their bodies were pushed past limits unknown to mortal-kind."

The following morning, the NTG, which was slumbering outside the infirmary the whole night, were woken up by Komi and Rinka, which alerted that their friends have reached a stable condition but have yet to wake up.

"But, the girl with them has opened her eyes, and even began to speak and move around."

Raye comes out the doors with a soft but disgusted-looking face. "We restrained her finally, she was acting up."

"It'll be a few days until they wake up we suspect, so you and the other may go rest, we'll watch over them in the meantime."

Valentine tells the rest to go back and rest as he stays behind to make sure they're okay despite the concerns from Rinka and Komi.

PB, wandering around at night, comes across Valentine holding his eyes open. "Hey buddy, any luck?"

"Nah, nothing so far." Valentine responds, "What you doing up this late anyways?"

"Just went out for a quick smoke." PB responds, with the cigarette still in his mouth.

Valentine and PB look around as footsteps are heard loud and fast, and see many Maidens running into the infirmary.

Valentine stops one of the Maidens, which looked familiar as Lunar from the other day's speech.

"What's going on, is everything okay, are they doing alright?"

"They're critical, on the brink of death!" Lunar says as she quickly rushes in.

"What!?" Valentine and PB rush in behind her.

The see Rikushi and Blaidd, both with slow heartbeats on the monitor, breathing every few seconds but slowing after each breath.

Raye then walks in behind with Kori, and tells the Maidens to hook them up to the Starlight Silo, which they do, and it alleviates their breathing and pain.

Raye looks at Valentine and PB and orders them out.

Valentine and PB, having their stress levels reaching an all-time high and their anxiety spiking, control their breathing, hoping everything turns out alright.

Rinka comes by their side and suggests they take a stroll. Valentine then asks Rinka if he can see Mysha, which Rinka looks to the side and says that she shouldn't let that happen, but PB backs Valentine up, insisting that they meet with Mysha.

Rinka, finally deciding to let them, whispers to them "Please keep this a secret, as I'm not supposed to let anyone meet with her right now-."

After walking through many corridors under the academy, they reach a small room, looking like a little jailcell.

Rinka knocks on the door, then opens it, revealing a quiet and still Mysha.

"You have guests, Miss Mysha."

Mysha looks up to see Valentine and PB in front of her.

"What happened, how did it come to this, and why are you contained!?" Valentine frantically asks.

Mysha then quickly lunches upright, grabbing onto Valentine's collar, having her feet held back from moving forward more by a chain connecting her to the wall. "They're killing them!" She yells, angerily.

Rinka tries to calm her down saying that they're saving them, not hurting.

"I saw them, tubes connected to them, draining their blood, their skin as pale as the clouds outside, they're taking all the Magic they have, because they know the blood of those two carry the blood from the Vetus Terra."

Valentine turns to Rinka, "Is this true?"

"I have no idea, I'm not allowed to know, but I'd hope this wasn't the case."

Valentine rushes back to the infirmary, bringing a freed Mysha with him, along with Rinka and PB.

They barge into the infirmary, seeing tubes sucking blood out of Rikushi into a large container beside him, with his skin as pale as the color white. "You-..."

Kori, performing the tasks with other maidens, orders them out, but Valentine walks over to Rikushi's stations, tearing the tubes out of him, and sitting him up.

"He's barely breathing, fix this. Now." Valentine says, with a serious yet scary-sounding voice.

Kori takes off her gloves and walks over to Valentine, which she then abruptly pushes him aside.

Kori then grabs a nearby knife and lunges at Valentine, striking him in the abdomen. "You little bi-" Val exclaims, before cutting himself off as Kori twists the knife, tearing up his insides.

PB lunges forward, his right fist leading, with Kori dodging quickly and backing up.

Kori then dashes out the door, with PB tending to Valentine's wound.

PB pulls out the knife quickly, as Valentine burns the blood vessel with his Fire Magic.

"Go tell the others, I'll take care of them here." Val says, holding onto his abdomen.

PB rushes out the door, to quickly be greeted with Kori attempting to strangle Rinka with Mysha laying motionless beside them.

PB quickly lunges his fists forward, which don't connect with anything but get Kori off of Rinka.

"Go. Get the others, I'll keep her at bay and protect the other."

As Rinka coughs while running away, Kori attempts to pursue her but PB steps between them, throwing a punch into her side, throwing her back.

PB quickly runs forward and lands another punch to her gut, sending her to the ground.

Rinka rushes to the dorms, waking up PB's group first, then the NTG.

Lewis, Byakko, and Sin make it out the rooms into the main area first, right as PB drives another punch into Kori's gut.

"I think I took care of it." PB says while fixing the bandages on his hands.

Lewis pushes PB to the side with all the force he could muster, as he is thrown across the large room, striking a pillar.

PB looks back to see Raye with some Banshees beside her. "To my side, now." Raye yells, which Kori quickly gets up and rushes to her side. She then stands behind her, spitting out some blood.

"Get them, my beloved Banshees." Raye orders, with her Banshees rushing towards PB.

Lewis, struggling to stand, gets up as Byakko and Sin engage the Banshees.

PB then runs towards Lewis, picking him up, "You good Lew?" PB asks, worryingly. "Of course, tis but a scratch" Lewis says with a small chuckle.

Amidst his small chuckle, they see Byakko getting thrown across the room beside them, but landing on his feet. "OW F%#K, that hurt" as he drops to one knee.

Byakko attempts to stand back up but finds himself unable to stand for long, as his ankle seemed to have been dislocated and ruptured.

"You two just sit here until Copia or Tobi get here, then they'll take care of you." PB says, still holding Lewis up on his shoulder.

Lewis sees Raye charging up a ball of Light, preparing it to fire it at them while Kori fights off Sin.

"I don't think they'll seeing us in time" Lewis says as he shoves Byakko and PB out the way.

A big ball of light, shoots through the air, leaving no trace of what stood there once.

PB and Byakko look around, seeing their friend gone from their sights.

A small battle turned into them losing one of their own in the blink of an eye, as if nothing originally was there to begin with.