"You're really good at this, aren't you? Is this really your first time?" she asked, watching him prepare more and more medicine. She felt she couldn't do any better herself. "Even with a recipe, most people don't get it right this easily."
"Yes, it's my first time. Thank you for the compliment, but I'm still just a beginner," he said, accustomed to her talkative nature. He coughed dryly, then changed the topic.
"After reading the encyclopedia and the list, I came to the conclusion that you intended to use bombs," Ryan said, finishing treating her, while she merely sighed.
"Am I really that predictable?" She looked at the ceiling while Ryan kept staring at her. Then she returned his gaze. "No, I guess I'm not… I guess you're just that annoying." She said with a laugh, drawing a sigh from him.
"So, are we going to kill the bear?" he asked.
"No, that won't be enough." She said firmly, then looked at the bear. "It'll just get back up furious. There's no chance we'd win in a direct fight. But we can bring down the tunnel and stop it from coming after us." Ryan placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully, then spoke in a deep voice.
"We don't have much time to waste, the sun is about to rise." She nodded.
Soon, all of them crossed to the other side once again. There, Ryan climbed the cave walls and placed the wired bombs at strategic points, aiming to collapse the tunnel completely.
After climbing down, he regrouped with the others. "All set." They nodded.
"Then let's just blow everything up." She said, to which Ryan… refused.
"You know, I loved your idea… but…" Suddenly, he began to smile broadly. "I decided to change our plans to something better."
***
Down the mountain, near the cave where Ryan was. A medium-sized camp had been set up.
With the sun rising on the horizon, a bearded man with an eyepatch pushed open the tent entrance and walked out, yawning deeply.
"What a terrible night!" he cursed as he approached the campfires. "I'm never setting foot in a Death Zone again!" he grumbled. "It's always the same damn thing! Beast screams, haunting screams, screams and more screams! Damn it!"
The men began to laugh as they looked at him, however, what seemed like a lively morning scene changed once one noticed the deep dark circles under their eyes and their grim expressions.
None of them wanted to mention the screams of men.
Changing his expression, the captain looked around with clenched teeth. Half the camp was ruined, dozens of corpses of Beasts, Abominations, and his own men were scattered everywhere.
"They already made it this far…" he murmured. "I thought they wouldn't break through the defenses on the very first night… damn it… holding out for another day will be impossible."
He took a deep breath, trying to think of what to do next. The pursuit didn't seem like it would last much longer, but neither would their target. Besides, there was a high chance that the Young Alters they were chasing were already dead.
"No… they're alive, I'm sure of it." he said, looking at the surrounding forest. "They're not like us, none of them are. After all…" Suddenly, however, something caught his attention, stopping him mid-sentence.
In the middle of the forest, a creature made of shadows, with two eyes like pools of mercury and a wide pearly smile, locked eyes with the captain. Ryan would recognize this Abomination as Silent Stalker, an abomination capable of inflicting [Fear] and [Terror] through eye contact.
However, at that exact moment, Silent Stalker was not attacking the Captain.
Its black hand was stealthily dragging a man whose head was soaked in blood toward the shadows, while its eyes checked if anyone had seen it. Exactly like a cunning thief.
But someone had seen it.
The captain.
Immediately, he sharpened his gaze and grabbed a bow and exactly three arrows from a man by the fire, startling him with the sudden change, drawing everyone's attention.
Silent Stalker also reacted swiftly, preparing to fight or flee, but before it could do anything, an arrow pierced its abdomen, creating a large hole.
Lost in pain, Silent Stalker became unable to react. Only uncontrollable screams rose in its throat.
But that was brief.
Soon after, two more arrows pierced its chest and head, causing the creature to dissolve into shadows, unable to feel anything in the cold embrace of death.
"Help him!" the captain shouted, unsure whether the man was alive or dead.
Even so, he couldn't worry about that.
The next instant, a loud scream was heard.
The captain turned quickly and soon saw one of his men being grabbed by a snow leopard, its jaws locked onto the man's shoulder, who could only scream as he was devoured alive.
"Tsk! What the hell!" the captain cursed, kicking the ground with all his strength as he rushed across the camp. His men all advanced just as quickly to support him.
"Boss! Where's your sword?!" they shouted, seeing him charge without his sword or armor.
"It won't be necessary!" he shouted back.
The beast growled as it saw him rushing toward it, releasing the man. The creature immediately leaped at him with claws and fangs, knowing that in those woods it was an unbeatable sovereign.
However, in the next instant, the man dodged the attack and, with a feint, struck the beast's face, throwing its fangs all over the place. Then, stepping forward, with his other arm, he delivered an upward blow to the beast's stomach, making it vomit all the blood it had swallowed.
Twisting his body, he kicked downward against the beast's spine, which could only scream as its consciousness wavered. At the end of the sequence, the beast was intact, but no longer had the strength to stand. His strength precisely measured to only knock it out, not kill it.
"Bring the net! Quickly!" he shouted. "There's always some filthy rich guy wanting a new leopard!" he laughed, thinking about the money he would make.
Approaching the camp once more while turning the holster over the throat, a man soon ran toward him. "Boss! At your orders!" The assistant said, ready to report.
"How are our numbers?" he asked directly, expecting the worst. A whole night of that had certainly taken its toll.
"Uncertain. And somewhat frightening for me." the man replied. "I've already counted the dead and the living, countless times, and even so, the numbers don't add up. Besides that, there are at least three dozen missing men and another dozen belongings from men who never existed but supposedly were with us." The boss let out a dark laugh. "I'm even starting to doubt myself, what the hell is going on?"
"All of this was already expected." he said, looking around. "I believe it's strange for those who've never been in a Death Zone like this, but it's common here. People disappear out of nowhere all the time. And finding belongings of people who never existed is also common." He sat on a rock and continued:
"Here there are shadows that devour the living, mists that feed on the mind and even your reflection can be your enemy. Beings so illusory they escape our understanding and constantly toy with our perception. Rare mental powers are common here, and don't even get me started on powers that border on the divine yet are wielded by worms and rats. Death Zones seem to hate the concept of rare and common, making everything equally probable, a complete and abominable chaos..."
"But the worst part is something else." He then coughed dryly. "Death Zones are called that because they condemn you to death with absolute certainty. No one is ever strong enough to overcome them, even if some believe they are…" He chuckled softly. "Death Zones deceive you, they make you feel safe, they make you think that you can overcome their challenges.… but in truth, what they do is wait for the right moment to sink their fangs in. They match your strength and that of your group. The stronger you are, the stronger the Aberrations you'll encounter. Repeat these encounters ten times and see if you survive."
He then looked at the group around him. "And obviously, it punished us for being in large numbers… Counting the dead is meaningless from now on… surely many of them have already been erased from our memory. Due to some mental ability" He sighed deeply and then laughed out loud. "At least, the money we will get will be good, no, actually it will be spectacular! This will make it all worthwhile!"
However...
Abruptly, he stopped laughing.
Suddenly, a low and subtle sound reached his ears. The captain's eyes widened as he tapped lightly on the wood, signaling his men for silence, who, surprised, ceased all activity.
The sound began to stand out, drawing everyone's attention. Each of them began turning their heads, and as the sound grew louder, their ears picked it up more clearly.
Facing the mountain, with the rising sun in their eyes, they shaded their vision with their palms, trying to see the origin of that sound.
The captain clenched his teeth as he looked at that silhouette, finally realizing what the sound was.
It was laughter.
"Money?! What does it matter if it's a lot or a little? When you're dead, you won't have anything!" the young Alter said from atop the slope with a smile. "Turn back now and maybe you'll make it home alive!"
The captain walked forward from the camp, passing through his men as he grabbed a sword.
A wide, unshakable smile on his face.
"Tired of running, brat?" he asked in excitement.
"I don't know, how about you find out?" the young Alter smiled even wider than him.