Chapter 279 B4 Chapter 35 - News

Vivi held a hand over her face as sand particles whirled all around the desert. She added ether to her nostrils and eyes for protection, and to her raincoat. With a light coating, sand merely slid off of the fabric, and her coat stayed perfectly clear. The hunters of the group stood with their backs straight in the storm, but Helegar and Aolinn were worse off. Sand already stuck to their clothes.

At least, the Shivell Mountains hadn’t been completely wiped out by a typhoon. Vivi was more concerned about what had happened to the crew on the surface. She sent three signals to Essi—the non-emergency request to meet in Paradise.

Her body filled with pressure as she waited for a response. She really hoped Essi wouldn’t give five signals in return, indicating an emergency, but more than that, Vivi feared she wouldn’t receive an answer at all.

Except, the response came almost immediately. Three rapid blinks that almost felt eager.

“I’m going to Paradise for a bit, someone carry me along,” Vivi said. Without much hesitation, she told Lucius, Bring me to that tree.

“Got it,” he said, and Vivi’s vision went dark.

***

A freezing gust of wind tossed rampant rainfall against Vivi’s head. She squinted her eyes and tightened the hood of her raincoat. The clouds were darker than before, lightning bolts raging in the distance. Somehow, the weather was worse in Ythar’s Paradise than the fifth level.

An ethereal presence glowed beautifully under the same tree Vivi and Essi had first met at. Vivi turned her head, and there she was, gaping back at Vivi.

Essi looked like a mess. The hood of her raincoat was down, and her hair was soaked, streaks clinging together. The skin below her eyes was red, as if she’d been crying. Seeing Vivi, her eyes were wide, and her mouth hung open.

Vivi ran forth and tacked Essi into a hug.

“You’re alive?” Essi whispered. “It’s really you?”

“It’s me,” Vivi said. “I’m not a fake. How about you?”

Essi hugged her back tight. She sniffled. “We held a funeral for you, you know…”

Vivi laughed. “It’s been a long journey. I’ll tell you when we’re back home. For now, I need to know what’s happening. Is everyone alive?”

Essi looked up, her eyes teary and lips trembling. Seeing her friend like that, the silent tears spread to Vivi as well. She wiped her eyes.

“You’re not captured right now, are you?” Vivi asked.

“No…” Essi said. She stayed in the embrace for a short while. “I’m not brave enough to be captured… I’m sorry, Vivi.”

“What is it? Did something happen?”

The topic looked difficult. “I’ve been a little pathetic lately…”

“Tell me what happened,” Vivi said. “We were at Helegar’s royal ball, and a masked hunter cast Banishment Portal on us. We’re all alive. What happened on your side? Where are you?”

“I… I’m safe. I’m back in Shivenar.” Essi paused, each word difficult to say. “The demon attack seized Ranewal entirely. They attacked the mansion ten minutes after capturing you. They… They got Patryn and Mildan, and… Rilla is dead.”

Vivi paused. Oh god. Shilman hadn’t mentioned this. Those were members of the ballistics crew that Vivi had taken to the surface. And they got Patryn?

She only knew him as a friend, but she had heard Mildan talk about his plans of having a second child with his wife when they returned to Shivenar. Patryn had a family at home as well.

“And the rest?” Vivi asked.

“We… escaped,” Essi said. “We weren’t strong enough to save anyone. It’s only thanks to Anthony that we made it back to Shivenar at all.” She clutched the fabric of her raincoat and bit her lip. “I’m sorry, Vivi. I’m weak. I’m completely useless. I was never meant to be a hunter.”

“You’re being very helpful right now, Essi,” Vivi said. “Do you know if Ythar is still alive?”

Essi lifted her head, a bit confused. “He is alive, of course? Why?”

Vivi nodded. “A group of fifth elevation demons are trying to launch him into the sky.”

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Essi stared at her with just as much surprise as everyone else who heard Shilman’s plan. “The sky?”

“Yeah…” Vivi said. “Either way, Ythar is in danger. I need to get to Shivenar and talk to Coshi. I’ll share my location to you.”

Slowly, Essi’s look became more determined. She wiped her eyes and nodded. “I’ll announce your return to everyone. This is the best news we could have gotten. Everyone will be so glad to see you.”

“Is the city defending well?” Vivi asked.

“The walls hold,” Essi said. “Thanks mostly to Civar and Freyven. The enhancement string technology is improving greatly.” She smiled, suddenly remembering something. “Oh, and you’ll want to meet your friend. Her name was Emmy, I think?”

“Eem?” Vivi asked. “Did something happen?”

“Yeah, you’ll be surprised,” Essi said, amused. “Stay where you are and we’ll come there, okay?”

“No, we’re walking to you,” Vivi said. “I can’t waste time. I’m with two other hunters and two regular humans. Helegar and his daughter.”

“Helegar, the sub-sovereign?” Essi asked. “He’s alive?”

“Yeah, and he’s a handful…”

Vivi and Essi smiled at each other, until another gush of wind splashed rain on her face. Being out here was genuinely uncomfortable. “We’ll meet soon,” Vivi said. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Essi said. “Even if I’m not as amazing as you think I am…”

“We’ll go save Patryn,” Vivi said. “Don’t blame yourself for that. See you in Shivenar.”

“Yes,” Essi said. “See you.”

Cut the connection, Vivi thought.

***

During her time in Paradise, Vivi had been carried to a small outcropping of sandstone. It wasn’t much of a cover, but better than standing out in the open. An ethereal aura was approaching them a few hundred feet away. Its shape was hard to make out through the clouds of sand, but its aura held at least fifty thousand ether. They’d need to deal with that in the next ten seconds.

Alda and Cael were both in stance, protecting Helegar and Aolinn. Their eyes were sharp, auras flared. Lortel was off somewhere, probably with her aura concealed to look for an opportunity to assassinate the monster.

“Vivi?” Alda said. “There’s a calamity right there.”

“That thing?”

It looked like a sand golem, wielding around fifty thousand ether. Vivi smiled, amused. To Alda and Cael, a monster worth fifty thousand was probably amongst the most dangerous monsters they’d fought. To Vivi, fifty thousand was just an aura. She summoned Dawnpour, filled all seven of its runes, and shot a sharp shockwave in the monster’s direction.

The force of the slash pushed sand aside in a vertical opening. Clean air was revealed, and the reanimated golem was slashed cleanly in half, collapsing. Lucius floated over to grab its ether before returning to Vivi.

“Shivenar is north of here,” Vivi said, pointing in the opposite direction of the golem. “I got the location from Paradise. We’ll follow Essi’s signal.”

“Essi… Sylva?” Alda asked.

“That’s her,” Vivi said. “She’s Essi Runeblessed now.”

Helegar’s annoying voice came from behind. “Is it safe to cross a desert in this condition?”

“I will make it safe,” Vivi said. “Let’s not waste time. Cael, Alda, Lortel, keep Aolinn and her father safe. I’ll focus on killing monsters. Are we ready?”

With nothing to add, both hunters said, “Ready.” Vivi led the way, and they set off into the desert.

For some reason, Lucius seemed exceptionally satisfied. “You’re getting better.”

At what?

“Leadership,” Lucius said. “Your allies aren’t just listening to you. They’re waiting for you to make decisions.”

Well, I’m the strongest member here, and we’re near my home, Vivi thought. It would be stupid for someone else to decide what direction to take.

“Yes,” Lucius said, his tail moving back and forth. “That is exactly it. If a leader is good, it would be stupid for anyone else to take the position.”

Vivi sighed. Let’s just get home.

The endless sand dunes continued with the first mountain showing its tip ahead. It didn’t take long before a surge jackal of sorts charged them with four nimble legs. It dodged Vivi’s initial shockwave slash, or maybe she missed, but it died after eating Dawnpour’s blade directly.

The usual desert monsters, like sand scorpions, were mostly absent. The stray monsters seemed to come from old uncleared storms. It had been a while since a stray surge spawned right next to her, though it made sense that surges were less common during storm season. Ether built up in the ground, welling into storms, instead of releasing through safer surges.

Just a few of the loose monsters here would have put a stop to most hunting groups prior to the slingshot launcher’s invention. Dawnpour trivialized most monsters into just walking clumps of ether. Vivi knew she needed to learn proper swordsmanship at some point in her life, but for now, she was happy to just cut anything she needed to without having to worry about technique.

Essi’s presence grew ever so closer. The teleporters had brought Vivi remarkably close to the city even without a teleportation ring. The accuracy was definitely better than Lucius’s when he freely threw Vivi down into the earth. They’d packed water to survive for a few days in the desert, but Vivi was glad to avoid a marathon through the sandstorm.

She had hoped to avoid any stronger monsters as well, but of course, to the northwest, a little off of her path, a tall, monumental ethereal aura appeared in her senses. It started as a little cloud-like feeling in the far distance, like a scent warning her of rain, until it grew and grew, overpowering all ethereal auras in its direction. Its course also seemed to be toward Shivenar.

Alda and Cael felt it too, and it showed on their faces. They looked like they wanted to nudge Vivi and ask her to pause. “That feels like just a larger golem,” Vivi said. “Nothing we haven’t dealt with. I can probably cut it down.”

“You plan on killing that?” Alda asked.

Its silhouette became visible in the sandstorm. It walked with two bulky legs, each step shaking the ground with a thump. That was most definitely a golem. A large one with an insane aura, but thankfully it wasn’t anything more serious.

“Essi can probably see it too,” Lucius said. “Her signal is close.”

We should meet up and discuss how to deal with it, then, Vivi thought, and began ascending the mountain, towards Essi’s signal.

She’d taken five steps, when a deafening snap came from atop. Vivi’s hair flared back, the sandstorm was pushed aside by the missile’s trail, and the golem’s chest blew wide open.