Deka took a few moments to contemplate every word she heard. She was trying not to break down, thinking that she had failed miserably in her role as the new leader of this group. She thought the death of her comrades meant that she had done them wrong.
But, the reality was that the trip itself was a suicide and the chances of survival had been eerily low. She had forgotten that this decision came because there were no other options to begin with. Staying in that cold weather until the flood subsides and the help arrives would be imminent death.
No one in that squad could survive that harsh weather for long. This trip was their only way out of that horrifying situation. In a sense, the fact there were still five people alive was quite good all things considered.
‘I… He’s right…’ Deka frowned. ‘I can’t expect to save everyone… I’m far too weak for that. I need to focus on saving as many as possible until we make it home.’ She mused.
The reality was harsh, and the fact that she was akin to an insect against the terrifying powers of this Divine Tower was true. No one could accept that fear and uncertainty with ease, but as the leader, Deka knew that she had to accept it and focus on trying to get out of that. If she truly wanted to be a leader, she had to understand her shortcomings as a person.
“I… I understand…” She muttered. “I’m trying to get myself together. It’s not time to give up yet.”
‘I have been fighting myself for the past several days. Get yourself together, Deka! I have lost too many people to give up now!’
“Good. Now, focus on trying to find a way out of here, and let me do my thing. I think I’m getting close to breaking this mystery.” He said.
“Did you figure out something?” She asked curiously.
“Hmm, not quite yet. But, I feel like I’m on the verge of unraveling everything. I just need the last piece of the puzzle to make the full picture.” Arthur replied with a mysterious look on his face.
“Is that so… Well, I truly rely on you, Arthur. You have a keen eye that I have never seen in any person before you. It’s… something very special.” Looking at Arthur, Deka worded out everything with emphasis.
For her, Arthur’s eyes were truly something of miracles. He seemed to be able to see beyond anything and everything with ease. Something about those red eyes was rather magical.
“I don’t know about that but I try to simply notice things most people would ignore. That’s how I survived so far and that’s how I will survive in the future.” After saying that, Arthur turned around to walk away.
Deka stood there silently, watching him walk back to his spot. Nobody knew what was going through her head at that moment.
“Hey.” She then spoke.
“Hm?”
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“Thank you. I owe you a drink when we get back.” She said. “On me.”
Staring at the woman, Arthur realized that she had a small smile on her face. This was the first time he had seen her smile ever since they met. Deka was a rather good-looking person so the smile was quite refreshing to see. So, he reciprocated with a smile of his own.
“I don’t drink alcohol, ma’am. Make it orange juice and I might accept.” He winked before he turned around and moved to his spot.
“Orange juice, huh?”
***
With that, another two hours passed in complete silence. The surviving mercenaries worked on covering their dead comrades and cleaning the blood while Arthur busied himself with inspecting every single corner of the ship. He searched everywhere for any trace of manipulation or even mana traces to understand what could’ve happened.
However, he found nothing of interest. The ship was the same as it was before, and even his sharp senses couldn’t pick up anything out of order.
That only further confused Arthur as he expected there would be traces of some sort of ability being used. If it wasn’t for the loop itself then at least for the sudden change that hit Sergi.
Sitting down after the search, Arthur was even more confused than before.
“If there are no traces of mana then that means that the monster had somehow got rid of it before I can find it. How is that even possible?” Rubbing his hair, Arthur felt a headache just trying to piece things together. His best chance was to find any sort of manipulation evidence around the ship.
Now that he came back empty-handed, he truly had no idea what the best course of action was. The more he thought about it, the more the headache became stronger. Rubbing his temples, he blinked.
‘All of this is really making my head spin, huh?’ He mused. His eyes were considerably unfocused because of all the problems he was juggling. It was the first time he actually experienced such a state.
“Fuck, why does my head actually hurt?” Holding his head in both hands, he grumbled angrily. “My body should be immune to headaches.”
As he struggled against this sudden pain, Arthur started hearing weird noises echoing in his mind. It was at first very subtle but slowly grew with every passing second until it became audible enough for him.
It sounded eerily close to a human, seductive laugh. Very sweet, and melodic, and yet also hid a very eerie vibe that made it sound rather disturbing.
“What… the hell?” Arthur grumbled. ‘That laugh sounds awfully familiar!’
Arthur quickly channeled his mana to try and get rid of whatever was plaguing his mind. He thought that reaction could expel the headache. However, it didn’t do much as the laughs continued reverberating in every part of his brain.
“Arthur?”
As he was like that, Deka noticed his odd behavior and approached the mast. “Are you good up there, Arthur?”
“…” The boy continued struggling against the headache without replying.
“Hey! Arthur!” She called for him again, this time concern started appearing on her face.
“Stop!! Dammit!!” He yelled at the top of his lungs as he rubbed his head violently. “Why are you laughing in my head?! Come out!!”
Even with all the mental protection his evolution provided, this feeling still hit him really hard like a train and it only got worse the more he tried to resist. The dull pain turned into pulsing pain, making him feel as if his brain was expanding and shrinking like a pumping heart. Each pulse sent shivers down his spine and filled him with immense discomfort.
“Get down here, Arthur!” Deka spoke again.
“What’s happening to him?” The trio noticed the commotion.
“I don’t know…” Deka frowned.
The group stared at the struggling boy with worry and confusion. They had never seen him react in such a way to anything. Arthur had been terrifyingly calm about everything even when death was knocking on the door. For that same boy to be screaming and crying from pain, it horrified them to think what could be causing that.
At that moment, while they were trying to figure out what to do, Arthur suddenly lost balance and started falling to the ground.
“Oh no!”
The first to react was Deka who rushed to the spot and opened her arms. A second later, Arthur fell into her arms as she stumbled back.
“I got you!” She said. “Get yourself together, Arthur!”
Putting him down, Deka tried to see what was wrong with him. But, the boy didn’t stop squirming and tossing around as he fought with his own thoughts. The sheer pain he was experiencing made her unable to do anything.
“Get me some water!” She yelled to her friends.
“Y-Yes!”
At that moment, Arthur opened his eyes and Deka could see his pupils. They were dilated to a terrifying degree and red veins were pulsing through the sclera, threatening to make his eyeballs explode from the horrifying pressure.
“Arthur! Stay with me, Arthur! I’m here!” She snapped her fingers.
“It’s… It’s…” The boy grumbled through the groans a few audible words. “It’s with us… It’s here…”
“Huh? Who is with us?” Deka asked.
But, the boy didn’t respond as he looked beyond the woman into nothingness. Deka tried to trail his point of view but she couldn’t see anything or feel anything around them.
“What are you seeing, Arthur?! Tell me!”
However, the boy simply continued staring there and didn’t answer. In his eyes, he was seeing things that Deka could never understand.
The world around Arthur started slowly peeling off as if it were some kind of dry paint. The light of the day slowly vanished as it was replaced by the darkness of the night. The calm wind resumed its howls and chaos. The snow descended upon him from every angle.
Deka’s features started slowly disappearing as if the woman was getting wiped out of existence.
“What’s happening?! What’s happening?!!” Artur yelled as he held his face still. Never could he comprehend what he was seeing.
But, this was merely the start of something far worse.
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!