Chapter 813: Pasture [4]

"Send the second team in."

The man standing beside the monitors raised his voice, pointing towards the Gate as several people hurried past him.

The first rescue squad was already inside. Another group waited near the entrance, checking their breathing sets while someone secured a fresh line to the support beside them.

"What’s the latest?"

"Conditions are still worsening. We’ve lost contact with Keller’s team."

"And the classification?"

The operator looked up from the screen.

"A-Rank."

"....."

The man’s expression tightened.

He looked towards the Gate before reaching for his radio.

"Notify the Guild. We need another team on standby, and get more medical personnel here."

Someone behind him immediately started making calls.

The area was considerably busier than before. Equipment cases stood open beneath the shelters, with people moving between them while the pumps continued running near the entrance.

One of the monitors briefly showed a section of the flooded passage.

A light moved beneath the water.

Then the image froze.

"Can you get that back?"

"We’re trying."

The man leaned closer, watching as the operator changed the feed.

Before another image could appear, several people near the vehicles stopped moving.

A black car pulled up beyond the barriers.

At first, nobody paid it much attention. Vehicles were arriving constantly, bringing equipment and additional personnel.

But when the rear door opened, the agent nearest to it immediately straightened.

"...Guild Master?"

The words reached the others.

Several heads turned.

The Guild Master of Obsidian Bastion stepped out, one hand resting on his walking stick as he looked towards the Gate.

His dark blazer shifted slightly in the wind.

For a moment, the man beside the monitors simply stared.

Then he hurried over.

"Guild Master. We weren’t informed that you would be coming."

There was no answer.

The old man continued walking.

People moved aside as he approached the entrance, occasionally glancing towards one another. Nobody seemed to understand why he was here, but none of them were willing to ask.

He stopped a short distance from the Gate.

Placing the walking stick in front of him, he rested both hands over the knob.

His back remained straight.

"The rescue teams are entering now."

His secretary explained next to him.

"We’re still trying to establish contact with those farther inside. The change happened too quickly."

The Guild Master’s gaze remained fixed ahead.

His fingers tightened around the knob but he remained silent, staring silently at the Gate.

The secretary stopped speaking and turned towards the waiting rescue squad.

"Go."

They entered one after another, their lights disappearing beyond the Gate.

The wind picked up.

The hem of the Guild Master’s blazer fluttered, but he remained where he was. His hands didn’t move from the walking stick.

A voice suddenly came through the radio.

?We’ve reached the gallery.

Everyone near the monitors stopped.

"Status?"

The reply broke apart beneath a sharp burst of static.

The operator adjusted something, leaning closer.

"Repeat. What’s their status?"

?We’re bringing them back.

The Guild Master’s grip tightened further.

"Prepare the stretchers!"

The medical personnel moved towards the entrance.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the Gate fluctuated.

A figure stumbled out.

Adrian.

His hair clung to his forehead, and both arms were stretched across the backs of the people slumped against him.

Marcus hung heavily from one shoulder.

Vera from the other.

Adrian tried to take another step, but his knee buckled.

Several people rushed forward.

The Guild Master’s gaze moved past them.

Another figure emerged behind Adrian.

Seth.

Water dripped from his clothes as he stopped near the entrance, looking down at something caught against the torn strap of his harness.

It was... something pale. Almost like a hand.

He stopped for a moment, stunned. Then, taking the hand, he looked at everyone and started waving it.

"Hello."

The Guild Master watched the scene in silence as everyone was too stunned to speak. What sort of...?

Then his fingers loosened around the walking stick.

"Help them."

He turned away.

The man beside him paused, apparently expecting something more, but the old man was already walking back towards the vehicles.

"Guild Master...?"

The walking stick tapped against the ground.

He didn’t stop.

Behind him, the rescue personnel helped Adrian lower Marcus and Vera onto the waiting stretchers.

"Where are the civilians?"

Adrian tried to answer, but a cough interrupted him.

The Gate fluctuated again before he could speak.

The first rescue team came through with the scout and the civilians. Some were carried, while others needed support to remain upright.

The operator counted them as they passed.

Five.

He looked towards the scout.

"There were seven."

The scout lowered his head as covered case hung from his hand. He kept it close even when someone reached over to help him.

"Get them treated first."

The man beside the monitors turned back towards the Gate and lifted his radio.

Two civilians were still unaccounted for.

And judging by their expressions, nobody needed about the missing member of the squad.

***

"You used your node?"

I sat with one arm extended across the small table, watching the doctor go through the results in front of him.

"...Hmm? Well, just a little."

He looked at me.

I looked back.

"You shouldn’t have."

"Couldn’t be helped."

My clothes were finally dry, and there was no water beneath my feet. It felt nice to be dry again.

Although I could still smell the pool.

And that was despite washing myself twice. Apparently, that wasn’t enough.

The doctor lowered his gaze towards my wrist before checking the screen again.

"You were supposed to remain at the staging point."

"Yes."

"And yet you went into the water."

"The water was coming to me anyway."

"....."

He opened his mouth, then stopped.

After a moment, he shook his head and removed the equipment around my arm.

I slowly pulled it back.

The skin beneath the cuff felt a little tender, but otherwise, I could move it just fine. My injured wrist was another matter, although even that wasn’t hurting as much as I expected.

The doctor seemed to find that strange too.

He went through the results once more before picking up my bracelet.

"Keep wearing this. It’ll help."

I accepted it and fastened it around my wrist.

A familiar pressure eased behind my eyes as I felt my nodes starting to close off.

Well, I felt better.

"The damage doesn’t appear to be worse, but I’d still be careful. That doesn’t mean you can keep using your nodes without consequences."

"I understand."

"You said that last time."

"And I understood last time too."

His attention remained on me.

I wasn’t sure what else he wanted me to say.

I mean, I understood. But just because I understood it didn’t mean that I would listen to him if the situation made it so that I had no choice but to act. Especially when there were hands trying to drag me to the bottom of a pool.

Eventually, he picked up his things.

"The choice is yours. We can explain the risks, but you’re the one who has to live with them."

"Right."

"Get some rest."

He left shortly afterwards.

I watched the door close before slowly leaning back.

My room was quiet again.

"Never again."

No more swimming for me.

I looked down at my hand.

There was nothing on it, but I rubbed my fingers together anyway.

"...Hoo."

I rested my head against the pillow and closed my eyes.

Almost immediately, the outline of the pool came back to me.

Not the dark water or the hands.

The area formed by the four markings.

Pasture.

My eyes opened again.

A small smile slowly formed on my face.

I could still remember the sensation that I felt when using [Herding] on all of those anomalies. Even the ones near the far side of the gallery stopped the moment I used Herding.

There was barely any resistance. Usually, it wasn’t this easy.

The strain on my nodes when using [Herding] was also quite high. But this time...?

I could actually do it.

Not only were my abilities enhanced, but so were my nodes.

And the pain...

’I almost felt normal.’

I turned my wrist, looking at the bracelet before letting my arm settle against the blanket.

How long could I keep the Pasture active?

How large could I make it?

There were quite a few things I wanted to test.

Not now.

For now, I was going to stay in this bed and make sure nobody sent me anywhere near a pool.

But afterwards...

"Pasture."

I muttered the name quietly one more, my smile lingering as I looked towards the ceiling.

I could do quite a lot with that.