CHAPTER V

  **From the POV of BINO**

  . "HEY! DONT BE TOO CLINGY, COWARD...! Urgh–"

  Gaten was practically glued to my side, though nothing's happening still– not yet, anyway. It's a good thing I have my utility bag with me, just that three of my chemical toothpaste Vials are used up thanks to a certain SOMEONE here. What's left would be my mini torch, knife, cloth, and a medicinal oil valve. I also have this small glass casing for the torch in cases like these– for the... wind... might get too strong and extinguish it.

  It's such an unnatural wind man...!

  The air carried a faint breeze, drafting through us out of the dungeon, but there's definitely something bizarre about it. It's chilling— the pattern of it.

  The path was just one straight corridor into the abyss, but the darkness ahead swallowed any sense of an ending. The floor and walls were still glassy—crisscrossed with veins of glowing crystal. Looking at them made my skin crawl and my sense of cleanliness dulled. The way they pulsed and twisted reminded me too much of fungi... That is hecka Gross...! I'd rather watch paint dry than stare at one of those for more than a minute.

  As for Gaten... A t-shirt and shorts? Yeah, not the best call. If we got stuck here, he'd probably freeze to death before anything else.

  That brings us to the main question…Does anything hear us from deep inside, I wonder? Our footsteps echoed through the entrance, bouncing back at us from the smooth, crystal-covered walls. It was eerily like the inside of a cave, except the reflections made everything feel... off.

  Hmm... It's starting to get harder to see, I don't want to be fully relying on my torch's light. Besides, it's been about a minute— I think it's time to head back.

  . "Gaten," I stopped walking forward "don't you think we've seen enough? Let's head back."

  He looked at me with dim eyes, and spoke with a soft tone as always, "...We haven't really seen anything yet, why don't we walk for a few more minutes?"

  I glanced around, down the path, then back at him. My face automatically resorted to a half-assed grin. 'This guy is gonna die', I thought.

  . "Gatey-boy, I'm telling you, something's not right about this path"

  It's hard to speak loud when every surface of this place amplifies your volume about tenfold. I DO NOT want to break my ears.

  . "Well~ maybe~ You're wrong?"

  His evidently sarcastic face is so very punchable.

  . "Besides—! We'll just walk for at least 30 minutes." he said.

  . "I SAID 10 MINUTES! 10. " my nerves are gonna break.

  . "ok ok— relax, I was just joking."

  . "HnNGG...! "

  If we don't find anything, would Gaten really turn back? The way he's acting now, I don't see no reason why he wouldn't. But if it came to that, I'd just drag this CLOWN out myself. I'll try to lighten the mood at least, check this out—

  . "But, you know... What if there's a Dragon~ right around the—"

  . "HEY?!!" He shouted, that was too heckin' loud. "Don't bring us a bad omen, Bino, you'll hate to see it if that actually happens."

  . "So when I joke around, I can't do it?! I don't see how that's fair. " I snuffed at him.

  We kept walking, and the environment walked with us— slowly dimming and straying from the outside source of light, and slowly becoming a darker hue.

  About two minutes in, we already passed by a few more formations unique to this dungeon—red crystals, purple crystals, whatever caught our deteriorating interest... or at least just my interest. But as to how these crystals work do have me interested. I'll just entertain Gaten for a little more before I cut a small chunk of it with my knife to bring home.

  …That's strange.

  Blue Lilacs were growing along the veins around the crystal. Normally this specific type of lilac shouldn't be exposed to anything, especially against prominent winds... How did it even grow in said condition? What more, I never noticed but the floor, the walls, and the ceiling weren't made of crystals and mirrors anymore. Now it's only that bland and common cave interior— clay, gravel, dirt, moss, cobble, and limestone.

  Hmm... This surely is becoming interesting indeed.

  We kept going farther, a slow and steady walk was best. The mossy smell is beginning to puncture my nerves, I feel like inhaling a jar of perfume.

  . "Looo-laaaa-liiii-looooo~" this couldn't get any worse than Gaten humming loud, his deeper vibrations echoing all around.

  . "Shut up boy...! The monsters inside you're so eager to see might hear." I told him.

  . "Relax Bino, there's nothing else here beside us... Lalalee~~" he was lax, continuing on with his displeasing humming.

  This Careless little Goober—

  . "I know there's nothing there, Bino." His eyes were fixed ahead, fully wide open, even as the cold wind were drafting by. "If there was, I would've seen them even from the entrance..."

  . "Huh?" I went blank faced

  He continued, "Only humans can suppress their Mana, every other living being continuously emits for me to see. It's actually pretty easy to differentiate non-object from object mana... Life forms it like veins— while objects emit a gaseous spreading form."

  . "Oh Keep BLABBING on, that's not gonna stop you from falling off a SUDDEN PIT."

  "...Actually" He turns to me

  "You're right! Aha!" and he grinned every so mischievously. Seriously, where's this guy's survival instinct?!

  This tunnel shouldn't have any pits at least, that I'm sure of. The way this wind has been to us helps me predict it will stay a single path until it's end.

  I just have to keep my ears open.

  || 'Swoosh~!'

  . "...Woah—" Gaten and I covered our eyes, it's that wind again. It always blew from farther in the void, as if the darkness was whistling to us. We may have a problem treading forward if it got any stronger.

  The wind quickly calmed down just after a few seconds.

  . "Hey, Bino. It's getting pretty dark."

  . "I know."

  Though the crystals emitted a faint glow, it wasn't enough to rely on, but it sure outlined a straight path for us to follow.

  || 'Click!'  Flickered my torch, I covered it with the glass case right after.

  For a small torch— this little guy is really potent. (Well of course, I made it by hand.) At least this way, we could see a few meters ahead. How I wonder what floor this path connects to.

  It's been 3 more minutes since we went in, and the wind was already getting wild. It didn't make sense. It wasn't a steady breeze—it came in bursts, rested for a while, then rushed in again. Like a quick gust turning into a fading lull, then nothing. This repeated so many times already, the stone ground and ceiling were getting carved off like sculptures.

  I fear that if we kept going, it might be strong enough to push us back... But I guess that's a good way to stop this Reckless guy from going deeper in.

  . "Take a break?" Gaten asked me

  . "Yeah..."

  We sat in cover behind a large crystal deposit, its structure trapping some warmth and spreading to its proximity. Dead lilacs surrounded it as well. I set down the torch, now it made us look like we're camping at night.

  . "So, what do YOU think?" I asked him, arms crossed.

  . "This wind's kinda weird... Must be coming from a dungeon floor?"

  . "HOW observant— tell me things other than the OBVIOUS please—!" I replied to his 'common-sensical' remarks.

  . "I mean I could guess which floor we're supposedly heading to..." He leaned back on the crystal, sighing out a breath of comfort to its warmth.

  . "Oh...?" I slouched on the opposite side. Gaten pointed to targeted directions.

  . "A mirror-like exterior, crystal formations, and a refreshing, clean breeze!" He said optimistically.

  But that wind is DEFINITELY not a refreshing one.

  . "Then that means~ we're probably heading toward the middle 20s."

  . "...And the camera you BROUGHT broke. We could have filmed everything. REALLY NICE."

  Gaten scratched his head, chuckling. I do not understand what is happening inside this guy's head... But the reason for that might be because it's actually empty.

  . "Oh-"

  The wind stopped, and so the dark tunnel became silent once again. This must be our cue to start heading deeper... I'm getting much too impatient seeing just crystals and lilacs over and over, they're a disgusting sight. What if we just ran all the way...?

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  I slowly glanced to Gaten and grinned. And so did he. Looks like he knows what's up! We stood from the comfort of the ground, patting particles of dirt off our clothes and dirty skin. When I picked up the torch, we braced ourselves—

  "Gaten, It's just a straight path, but I'm not exactly sure. Is it right?"

  "No there's not. I suppose you're right."

  "And there's NO anything in front of us, correct?"

  "I suppose so!"

  Then... On 3...

  2—

  Oh screw the countdown—

  . "AHAHAHA!! CATCH YOU LATER GATEY-BOY—!" I dashed way ahead, giving me a few meters jumpstart ahead of poor old Gaten. My loud stomping loudly ricocheted all around the silent cavern path. This was necessary to win our mini race for he's MUCH faster than me.

  . "Hey–! You might trip–!" he shouted far behind me. His slippers made that funny stomping noise.

  The torch's fire wavered wildly. And gradually, I could hear the burst of wind fast approaching.

  . "BRAAAACEEE!!!!" I shouted, as the 'burst' hit us hard. Gaten was already right by my side though I ran first, but we had to stop in our tracks to keep our balance. The wind was pushing us back, we couldn't keep our eyes open. But we slowly carried our steps one by one, giggling hard, approaching deeper into the windy unknown.

  This is probably the most fun I've had in a while.

  But as we grew closer to the uncertain end, the wind picked up in force, pushing stronger, sharper, deadlier—

  Then, when the wind suddenly calmed after a few seconds—

  || 'THUD!'

  Gaten lunged forward with his head low, that didn't quite work out for him though, "NGGGHH!"

  I immediately chortled at the sound of him bumping into something.

  It seems his head collided into a rock solid wall, recoiling from the impact and dropping on his feet, hands covering his newly found Injury caused by recklessness. I could see a mountainous bump forming, it looked hilarious. Good thing he did so before I did, I'm too handsome and clever to appear with a bump like that.

  Rock fragments fell from what he hit, shattering as it impacted unto the floor. I could hear cracks forming right in front of us.

  I brought the torch closer to take a better look.

  . "Oh... no..." I stepped closer, peeking in between the cracks.

  . "W-what is it?" Gatey-boy stood up and inspected with me.

  It was a very mysterious and... nothing that I expected. What we stared at was a dead end— the other side of this single-path 'entrance'. It was a cobblestone wall covered in green moss, tiny holes, and cracks. A wall that looked like it's about to crumble and fall right on us at any moment.

  …However, for these cracks to let through THAT much wind is... unthinkable— at least, in the logical sense. There must be another entryway somewhere... Or we could break this wall down ourselves...?

  I think the capital has this one. Heck— the wind itself might just break it.

  . "...this is good enough, Heh." Gaten suddenly tapped me on my shoulder.

  I looked at him dead in the eyes for a short while, and I patted him back with full force on the back. A little twig, he was, but he sure is durable for one.

  . "It's definitely already been past 10 minutes Gatey-boy, wanna walk back?"

  . "I don't think it's a good idea to be near this wall when the wind passes." he said acting all cautious and all, walking slowly away.

  . "Why not?? Best the wind could do is PUSH us away—"

  . "Bino-where-we're-standing-now-I-think-it-would-rip-us-to-shreds"

  . "Ok, ok—!" I started jogging beside him.

  It was easier to move back, as the light at the beginning of the tunnel provided us a straight direction. It was also easier to notice the crystals' glow from this perspective.

  . "So, you RECKLESS little STICK, are you satisfied?" we both smiled to each other, we were definitely more than satisfied... But the moment we're out of here I'm gonna squeeze this little troublemaker to death...!

  . "Ehe, definitely could've been better but— I think I've made everyone worry too much...." he spoke solemnly, like a guilty sack of gargled nuts— is that an appropriate simile? I don't know, I heard it somewhere. But I didn't want him to feel down all the way back home. I want him to remember and treasure this 'little adventure' we had— because for me this really was a fun one. I just had to say something.

  . "Well at least we got to—"

  || 'swoosh~'  All of a sudden, I heard the loud gathering of the wind behind the wall.

  It sounded nothing like the bursts of wind before...! An orchestra of wind instruments, a loud and high-pitched whistle that of a giant, a thundering howl that would break the sound barrier.

  We were still just a few arm's lengths from the wall—

  With almost a fraction of a second, I grabbed Gaten by his shirt, almost ripping the cloth off his skin as I threw him with full force.

  . "What—"

  BEHIND A CRYSTAL FORMATION...!

  . "Bino what's—"

  . "BRACE." I tucked deep in the crystal's hollow curvature, pulling Gaten down right by me.

  (I wonder what would've happened if we hadn't taken cover at the last second.)

  Gaten looked panicked and confused, but he still followed me. He didn't hear what I heard.

  (…How we would have ended up...)

  withstanding the explosion of more than a hundred tons of pressure.

  || 'BOOM!!!!'

  Our bodies immediately reacted by covering our ears, as the torrent's breath charged at us like a dragon and its prey. What came at us— imagine a herculean tornado passing by through a small and compact space, with all its energy focused in one point.

  || 'PHOOOOSH-!'

  My ears already felt like bleeding, even as my hands covered it. The torch got blown away from my grasp, and my clothes felt as if it were trying to pull me away from my position.

  My entire body hurt like hell.

  . "AAAAHHH–" The ground was shaking like a Magnitude 10 earthquake. The shattering of rocks, the walls, crystals, and floor were mixed in, flying it's fragments through us in a scene of pure destruction.

  I turned to Gaten.

  …He was fully tucked in, in a fetal position—

  We were both like sitting ducks, our lives dependent on the crystal's durability. We're a mere head's length away from death...!

  || 'CRACK-'

  A shattering vibration...? OH THAT BETTER NOT BE THE HECKIN' CRYSTAL.

  I looked up at our cover's state, it still looked intact... If it wasn't from the crystal—

  That would be the dead end.

  . "BINO... T-THE DEAD END...!" I could slightly hear Gaten's mumbled voice.

  . "HNNNG—! JUST DON'T GET PUSHED AWAY!!" I shouted with all my might.

  My body was beginning to tremble, struggling to keep my back positioned on the crystal's rough and brittle surface. I positioned my feet next to Gaten's in a tight lock, keeping ourselves from being blown away ourselves.

  …BUT THIS IS JUST ABSURD— IT'S DEFINITELY BEEN MORE THAN 20 SECONDS. None of the bursts before was this long...! WHY HASN'T IT STOPPED AND WHY IS IT THIS STRONG?!

  At this rate–

  the wall—

  WILL BREAK—!

  || 'CRACKLE!'

  Beams of light rushed in, little by little, scrambled by the wind–

  || 'CRASH!'

  The large fragments of the cobblestone wall started falling apart, colliding with the surrounding crystal formations.

  || 'CRACK!'

  I turned to see.

  . "...GAATEEEN THIS ISN'T GOOD...!"

  The other crystal formations were getting demolished by the rocky debris' collision. If any of those rocks hit our crystal—

  The wall's debris still hasn't completely cleared out.

  || 'BANG-!'

  A-Another Crystal was obliterated...

  The sudden vibrations of the impact caused both of us to flinch every time it happened, all we could do was hope we chose the right one to take cover in.

  || 'CRACK-'

  But even by just the wind, our crystal was starting to crumble apart... I feel fear... But this has been the most alive I've ever been.

  I gasped at that terrifying shake, and as for the dead end—

  It fell apart.

  || 'CRASH!'

  . "HNNGGG—!!" The rocky debris crashed into the top of the crystal, breaking large chunks of it off little by little. We could hear every single chunk that flew away as if it were our own life that was fleeting from us. We shook, we cried, and we braced for the inevitable ending—

  || 'WHOOooshh...'   At the moment, it stopped, gradually fading into a weak push.

  We got lucky.

  The crystal was a third of it's original towering size, standing just as tall as we were sitting. But, the catastrophe is finally over. Let this be the ONLY time I let my ARSE welded unto a dirty floor.

  From what was once a dead end, a natural breeze of nature rushed in. This one... felt natural... refreshing— full of life! Instead of a burst of melancholic and sickening winds, now it's a constant breeze of delight. What was uncovered— a bright sunlight, painting the once void area with a morning tone....The faint howling residue of wind finally left us alone, escaping through the hole that we came in through.

  I'm craving some dessert SO BAD.

  . "Bino." Gaten let go of his ears, he looked at me with a... shocking expression. He was smiling up and wide, his eyes shining bright, breathing heavily as if filled with bliss.

  This fella is officially sick in the head, even having the audacity to say—

  . "Th–that was fun."

  . "HUUUH?!! YOU— YOU HIT YOUR HEAD AGAIN?!"

  . "Oh I'm better than ever—!" said the exhausted Gaten, who then proceeded to flop down into the floor like jelly. Coughing out a bit of vomit as well...

  'SO GROSS'— I had to limp away from this disgusting man. I won't unseen any of that anytime soon...!

  ."CLEAN YOURSELF UP NOW, BOY." I exclaimed, covering my eyes and nose from that ludicrous stench.

  . "Yyyeeeaaahhh—! My legs are numb though~" he replied with close to zero energy.

  . "...Yeah, no. You can carry yourself. As for me—"

  My legs were weak, but after a deep breath, I gathered what little strength I had to get my legs up and balanced. I want to see what the dead end uncovered—what treat for the curious await...? With gleaming eyes, and endless possibilities as to what could be before us—

  I peeked through the Crystal's edge.

  ****

  ****

  . "ehe~ so... Bino, what's in there—" Gaten's mouth was quickly covered by both of Bino's hands. Bino looked dead ahead in silence with constricted pupils, his breathing grew weary. Out of nowhere, his expression was instantly overwhelmed with horror. Gaten, immediately lifted himself from the floor, straightening his position and clearing his mind.

  They both became quiet, as Bino let go of Gaten's mouth. He grabbed some cloth from his utility bag and started wrapping his own hand with it.

  || 'step!'  The sound of bare footsteps walking in from the demolished dead end.

  They sounded as if panting from exhaustion. Dripping— presumably sweat, or even blood, was audible.

  Gaten whispered

  . "What are you doing... what did you see...?"

  His panicked friend was completely silent, void of even a physical response. He just kept rolling some cloth around his hand, sweat gathering around every crevice on his skin.

  In silence, and in sound of the eerie winds.

  Suddenly, they both heard a blood-hurdling groan.

  …a snake... that tried to sound human.

  Gaten's hair knackered up, and from the very bottom of his spine to the top, every part of his body shivered. As the unknown being stepped closer, veins of mana were in Gaten's view, it was already emitting from the being behind them even as it wasn't even close... A giant aura of Gleaming Red Mana.

  || 'STEP—!'

  Every step toward them that it took was the loudest thing they've heard— it struck the soul itself. They were stuck where they were, knowing full well that if they'd move even a single inch...

  Now they see its shadow... honing in on theirs

  It had a devilish horn

  Out of anything to ever encounter, it was the presence of this creature one wished to see last. The presence...

  Of a Durmian standing right beside them.