Before she can turn, a burning pain stabs straight into her chest.

  Chapter 24

  The next several days blur by in a haze, and yet, at the same time, they feel extremely long.

  Flickering my eyes toward Mark, I slowly narrow them.

  The man casually walks around, barking orders to some of the hunters nearby. Despite what happened recently, not a single scratch or lost hour of sleep seems to affect him. It’s as if it’s just another usual dungeon day.

  As Mark approaches a hunter, I slowly curl my hands into fists.

  Nothing makes sense about what happened. How did our camp get attacked? Why wasn’t there some kind of search party—or at least time to grieve and bury our dead?

  Crossing my arms, I look at the ground.

  Well, at least our leader had enough sense to call the quest off. Then again, with most of your team missing….

  At that thought, I let my eyes wander to the rest of my group. My hand slowly wanders to the top of my head where a small little pinhead clip rest.

  The mood is so dense it’s almost suffocating. Most faces are weary, suspiciously eyeing each other. Others look more gloomy, staring at the ground despondently or outright breaking down.

  Chewing on my newly grown teeth, I briefly close my eyes. Unsurprisingly, the pinhead did not react when I touched it.

  No matter how much cheer or effort I try to bring, nothing will fix the group’s atmosphere for a while—not after the disastrous event that left so many Essevians missing.

  The image of Hazel suddenly pops into my head, sending a gnawing pain through my chest and making the pit in my stomach grow deeper.

  Hah. Protecting others? What a joke. I can’t even keep the ones closest to me.

  Very briefly, the image of a certain someone pops into my head before I quickly shove it to the back of my mind.

  Slowly turning to Mary, I see her already starting to unpack her sleeping bag for the night.

  The older woman appears almost normal. Her head is slightly lower than usual, and she’s a lot quieter. Feeling my core curl in on itself, I quickly shove the image of Hazel to the back of my mind.

  I can’t be breaking down now. Mary… she’s not doing well… after what happened… I have to be the stable one between the two of us…

  Quickly shaking my head, I put on the brightest smile I can manage and take out the thermal bottle the older woman gave me a few days ago from my backpack.

  “Hey, Mary!” I say as she slowly settles down for a break after hours of traveling through the dungeon and performing our usual porter’s duties. “Remember that tea concoction you keep asking me to taste-test?”

  At her silence, I feel my smile slowly falter.

  Quickly shaking my head, I push the uncomfortable feelings into the pit of my stomach.

  Holding the thermal bottle close to my chest, I slowly begin to unscrew the cap.

  Through the bond, I immediately feel revulsion and panic vibrating through the tentacles.

  Even before I’ve unscrewed the cap halfway, a foul stench—like something that had keeled over and died days ago—begins to waft out.

  With a smile still plastered on my face, I quickly hold the bottle as far away from me as possible when I fully unscrew the cap.

  The stench coming off it hits me like a tidal wave, almost knocking me off my feet.

  More terror starts to emanate from the tentacles, some even reaching toward the bottle as if trying to pry it from my grip.

  Even as the world begins to spin slightly, I keep smiling while pouring a tiny bit of the liquid onto the bottle’s cap.

  Immediately, several tentacles retreat, hiding behind my back.

  As the liquid pours into the cap, some of it splashes against the side of the container.

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  A few drops splash out and land on the sleeve of my coat.

  'Ksssss!'

  Blissfully ignoring the steam rising from the fabric as it slowly breaks down, I hold the cap to my mouth and chug it down.

  Several hours of screaming later and an embarrassing amount of hand-holding, I find myself lying on the ground.

  My throat aches terribly, threatening to tear itself apart. It feels like acid has been dumped repeatedly over the fleshy bit, then pricked with various rusted nails.

  Placing a hand against my forehead, I begin to massage it.

  Slowly opening my eyes, I’m immediately met with a barrage of emotions from the tentacles.

  Too drained to try and make out any of it, I push them out of my side of the bond and slowly sit up.

  As I begin to sit up, my ears catch the sound of shouting nearby.

  “—out there?” A familiar voice calls out. “Are you seriously going to leave them like that? Just gallivanting off and accepting whatever happens? Is that what you want?”

  “That is not my intention,” another voice, deeper and more masculine, responds. “I’m only saying it would be smarter to leave the dungeon and regroup.”

  “So we’re just going to leave them all here? Is that what you’re saying?!”

  “I’m saying it would be wiser to regroup and send out a rescue team. Our group is dangerously short-handed. What do you think will happen if we rush in unprepared?”

  Opening my eyes fully, I quickly swivel my head to the side.

  There, a bit farther away, Mary and Mark are deeply engaged in the middle of a heated conversation.

  Mary leans forward, almost invasively close to Mark’s personal space. Her brown hair is slightly frazzled, and her brows are scrunched together so tightly they create creases on her forehead.

  Mark stands with his arms crossed, his face neutral and unreadable, even as Mary jabs her fingers at his chest.

  The two hunters beside him make for a menacing sight. Both tower over Mary, their weapons gleaming ominously at their sides.

  It would be an intimidating scene if not for how much shorter Mary is compared to all three of them, as she keeps jabbing at Mark’s chest.

  Staring at the scene before me for a moment, I squint through the hazy mist clouding my brain.

  After a moment, I jerk up to a standing position and bolt toward them.

  Damn it, Mary! Why can’t you stay out of trouble for even one minute?!

  As I sprint toward them, my body feels sluggish. My legs are like noodles, making me stumble with every step.

  “You’re not listening to me,” Mary continues, her voice rising in pitch with every movement. “I’m only asking you to send out a search party—something! Anything! I want to know why and what happened that day!”

  “It’s already under investigation,” Mark says dismissively as he begins to turn away. “My team and I are working tirelessly to figure out what’s going on. Believe me, I’m as anxious about this as you are, but I can’t magically whip up an answer.”

  Before the man fully turns around, I watch as Mary suddenly grabs him by the shoulder. My stomach immediately drops at the sight.

  The two hunters beside Mark raise their weapons at her, their asura floating menacingly around their bodies.

  “We’re not done here yet,” the woman hisses, turning Mark back toward her. “I’m still talking.”

  With a sudden renewed burst of energy, I immediately sprint the last few feet toward them.

  When I’m near, I get between Mary and Mark.

  The temperature suddenly drops all around me as I feel pressure closing in on my body.

  Through the bond, I can feel the tentacles pulsating several emotions at once. Several of them even begin to move wildly on my back.

  Looking up at Mark, I chew down on my lip, hidden by the red scarf around my neck.

  Wow, his asura is really no joke.

  “Ah, sorry,” I say, internally cringing at how slurred my voice sounds. “She’s just a bit tired. That’s all.”

  Putting on my brightest smile, I feel sweat trickling down my head as Mark stares me down.

  “Beatrice,” Mary says beside me as I feel a hand grasp my arm. “What are you doing?”

  “She seems plenty robust to me,” Mark comments as I feel Mary’s fingers digging into my arm.

  Letting out a small, awkward chuckle, I slightly tilt my head down.

  “Ah, you know how seniors are in this profession,” I continue, ignoring how Mary tries to tug me back. “Things tend to go loony up there after several years.”

  I watch as Mark slowly narrows his eyes, scanning me up and down.

  After what feels like an eternity of silence—one that seems to constrict around my neck—Mark finally opens his mouth.

  “I see,” the man says, slightly relaxing his brows. “Well, that’s understandable. Things have been…”

  Mark pauses, letting his words trail off as he briefly glances away. “…tense after the unfortunate incident.”

  “Yes,” I quickly respond, nodding. “Quite.”

  Letting my hand hang loosely, I tilt my head slightly up to meet Mark’s eyes.

  "I do hope that things will be resolved soon," I say casually. "I think everyone here would feel a bit more reassured if they had more knowledge about what happened."

  Mark simply nods as he turns away from me. The two hunters flanking him give me a long, lingering stare before they follow after him.

  As they begin to walk away, I slowly glance behind me.

  Letting out the breath I’d been holding, I let my shoulders slump. Closing my eyes, I start massaging my temples.

  Thank god… that was intense…

  Lowering my hand, I slowly crack my eyes open to slits. I glance toward where Mark is and frown.

  …Those guys are definitely hiding something. I can't tell if they're just cocky, have some strong backing, or both. They're making it way too obvious.

  Glaring after Mark’s retreating back for a moment, I sigh and slowly turn around.

  Mary is now staring off into the distance, her eyes slightly glazed over—like she’s not really here at all.

  Bile rises in my throat, and I suck in a sharp breath.

  "Mary?" I ask tentatively, tilting my head to the side as I reach a hand toward her. "Are you—"

  She slaps my hand away and quickly spins around, putting her back to me.

  Barely flinching at the sting, I blink slowly. My hand is still raised halfway in the air, awkwardly frozen in place.

  The tentacles immediately go quiet through the bond.

  "Not right now," Mary says, her voice barely louder than a whisper. "I can't. I can't deal with things right now."

  With that, she begins to walk away from me.

  I stand there, silently staring at Mary's back. Everything around me seems to go quiet as the world begins to spin.

  Breathing quickly, I glance down at my hand. The sting still barely registers, even as a red spot starts to surface on my skin.

  ...oh.