Uriel was having the sweetest dream he had had in a long time. He dreamed he was on the beach, enjoying the view of the coastline; beside him, Ininise was sunbathing in a swimsuit that left little to the imagination.
"Uriel, can you help me reach my back?"
Ininise laughed as she handed him the sunscreen.
Uriel was truly happy in those moments.
But just before placing his hands on Ininise's body…
"Uriel, Uriel, Uriel! Wake up!"
Uriel's eye snapped open, startled by Ininise's shouts.
"What's going on?"
When Uriel finally regained full awareness, he realized that in front of him was the panel he had seen many times before.
[Attention all climbers]
[Sudden event starting]
[The mist has appeared. Any climber who remains alone will die]
[Seek shelter, find your allies, and keep climbing]
[Visibility reduced]
[New hostile creatures will appear]
[If there are fewer than three climbers, high-level hostile creatures will appear]
[If a climber is left alone, they will die]
Now he understood why Ininise had been so desperate to wake him. This was really bad. Previously, they had been a large group, so they hadn't had much trouble dealing with the pink imps, but now there were only two of them.
"Ininise, how far away are Kaelira and the others?"
Uriel hoped they were close enough to run and meet up with them.
Ininise shook her head.
"They're still very far… at least an hour."
That was too long. Still, he hoped that being inside the house would offer them more safety than walking out in the open. Even so, it didn't calm him; after all, he had no idea what those higher-level monsters were.
Ininise's hand gently touched Uriel's arm, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry. A little while ago, while you were sleeping, I recovered my magic. You won't have to fight alone again."
A relieved sigh escaped Uriel. He was truly happy to hear that. After all, Ininise was the one who really had offensive potential. If a mage class and a tank class worked together, Uriel was sure they could at least hold out for a while.
So they waited as the mist slowly covered the streets and seeped through the broken windows of the house. The atmosphere quickly returned to a grim tension.
Neither Ininise nor Uriel said a single word, afraid of drawing the attention of a swarm of pink imps.
Suddenly, screams began to echo in the distance.
It seemed they were unintentionally close to other groups who weren't faring very well.
"AAAAAGGHHHH!"
"KILL MEEEEE!"
For some reason, the effects of the sudden event seemed worse than before. Uriel wondered if it was because, perhaps, in the first event, the groups that had lost a member were now suffering the consequences.
A cacophony of horror—screams from both men and women—rang out constantly. Wherever there was a scream, Uriel could hear how, outside the house, the sound of small footsteps moved toward the source.
Then more screams, but this time desperate.
At some point, Ininise had slowly moved closer to him. Her hands were trembling, yet she didn't make a sound.
Uriel was also afraid. It was strange—just a short while ago, he had faced a horde of those things without fear, but not having a large group changed everything. He understood that if he went out now, he would be torn apart slowly and surely… no, first he would fight a grueling battle, and then, once exhausted, that would be when those creatures would devour him, slowly but surely.
Uriel placed his hand on Ininise's head. She didn't pull away; on the contrary, she accepted the small gesture and rested her head against his body, waiting.
There, hidden in a collapsed house, the last of the first and the oracle of the god of duality waited patiently for all the horror outside to end.
Until suddenly, much heavier footsteps began to be heard, slowly approaching the house they were in.
Uriel went on alert. This wasn't a coincidence. The footsteps grew louder and louder; they didn't stop, moving steadily, as if it knew there was something inside that house. Uriel realized this was no accident and prepared himself to fight the creature.
Immediately, his mind began forming a plan to survive. This had to be the high-level monster the system had mentioned.
The idea of escaping was impossible right now. Countless pink imps must be roaming through the mist. He would probably have to fight them if he tried to run. No… the only thing he could do was fight in an environment he could at least somewhat control.
Uriel kept thinking as the footsteps drew closer and closer.
A grotesque sound, like flesh being churned over and over, along with a nauseating stench, seemed to announce the creature's arrival.
"Ah… do you have any idea?"
he asked Ininise, hoping she might have a plan.
Ininise stayed still for a moment, then stood up, pointing at the staircase.
"Let's go up. If we destroy it, the smaller creatures won't be able to climb up—whatever that monster is, it won't either."
Ininise raised her palm; a small flame appeared.
"In the worst-case scenario, I can burn this place down."
Uriel stared at Ininise for a few seconds.
"You do know that when a flame touches my body, it hurts me, right?"
Ininise's eyes widened suddenly. That genuinely caught her off guard.
"Why would flames hurt you?"
Uriel couldn't believe he was having this conversation, but there was no time.
"It doesn't matter, I'll explain later. For now, let's go up."
Uriel and Ininise climbed the stairs, and once they were upstairs, Ininise fired a couple of magic missiles, destroying parts of the staircase and making it unstable for anyone trying to climb it.