Online In Another World

Asher didn’t seem much for conversation, and not much on time either, but explained, “Amon is after something called ‘Dread’–it’s an entity sealed within this valley. If it’s released, it’ll mean death for everything within it–animals, plants, and humans alike.”

“The ‘Dread’?” Yuna said quietly.

“Something like that is sealed here? Why would they keep that where they do the trial…” Melisande questioned.

“I’ve been asking myself that a lot–I don’t think it’s too crazy to believe,” Emilio said, looking over at Melisande.

Still, Everett scratched his head at this, “Why should we believe you? We hardly met ya’.”

“It might sound far fetched, but that’s the truth–fortunately, that man doesn’t know how to keep his mouth shut when he thinks he’s all but won. That’s all I can explain right now…I’m short on time, so–” Asher clarified.

“We’ll go with you,” Emilio said.

“Wha–”

The impromptu decision caught the others off-guard, but as the chance of a death-invoking entity being released was on the horizon, it seemed like the right choice.

“…Well, if he’s tellin’ the truth,” Everett muttered.

“I don’t know much about this, but…it sounds like it affects all of us,” Melisande said.

Yuna added in, “It’s in our best interest to pin Amon down anyway. I’d say this is a golden opportunity. I’m in.”

“I knew he was up to something bigger…He was a wild card for sure, but…It’s as Yuna said: this was already in our cards to confront Amon, one way or another. This is our opportunity to meet him on our terms,” Emilio explained.

“Yeah…I think I’ll sleep a whole lot easier knowin’ that sicko is taken care of,” Everett said.

Yuna nudged her elbow against the armored man, looking up at him, “Are you saying you’re fine with him being put down for good?”

For a moment, the shielder didn’t know how to answer before he breathed out, “I may be a softie at times, but…if it’s the lives of my friends or a cold-blooded killer, I can make the choice…It ain’t a pretty choice, but I’ll manage.”

It seemed to be the unanimous decision after some thinking, given an opportunity to perhaps finally lock down the elusive killer once and for all.

Standing in the raging snow, they looked upon the back of the mysterious, claymore-wielding recruit who slowly turned around.

Asher looked at Emilio, “…Are you strong?”

“Yeah, I’d like to think so,” Emilio nodded.”

“Alright. You can come along, but you need to keep up,” Asher told them all.

Though that seemed to be expected, those words put the others to the test as the black-dressed man took off in a sprint.

“Woah–! Wait up!” Everett stumbled forward, following behind.

Yuna clearly had no trouble keeping up, using the branches to jump from place-to-place swiftly, and neither did the young Dragonheart as he kept himself bolstered by magical reinforcement. Though as he looked back, it wasn’t exactly the same for Melisande and Everett, though he understood why.

…I never thought I’d see the day where I wasn’t the one with physical disadvantages. Look at me now, Ethan Bellrose, he thought.

To give some help, Emilio brought Sylph to his hand whispering to the lesser spirit, “Give them some help, okay?”

Of course, the orb of verdant wind blinked willingly before heading back to the two lagging behind, giving them a small boost of wind that aided their movement. It wasn’t as though Melisande was slow, but through the sheer cold, her newbie-level reinforcement wasn’t nearly enough to keep up without Sylph’s assistance.

For Everett, though he possessed a body like an ox, that was just the issue; his endurance wasn’t all too spectacular in the realm of cardio.

“One, two! One, two!” Everett repeated.

“Nn-!” Melisande stayed focused.

It wasn’t an easy task for any normal person; Asher moved with relentless swiftness, clearly amplified by his own reinforcement as he led them through the forest of frost.

“–How do you know where you’re going? I mean, you were asking us for directions, right?” Emilio asked, keeping up.

Asher seemed somewhat surprised that the younger figure could match his movement, looking over before setting his gaze forward again, “I know where the ‘Dread’ is being kept–so I know where Amon is heading.”

“You would’ve preferred to stop him before getting close to its location, I’m assuming.”

Adding in from above, the red-tailed cat woman spoke while hopping from tree-to-tree directly above both of the mens’ heads.

“That’s right,” Asher said, “This isn’t how I wanted to do it, but it’s the only way now. At least, I have assistance.”

Pushing forward to join in the conversation, the blonde-haired bumpking let out a warcry as he managed to somewhat catch up, lagging behind a good few meters, stomping through the thick snow.

“You fought with Amon, right?” Everett asked, doing his best to keep up, though he spoke through heavy breaths, “You must be pretty strong, then! He gave us all trouble and well–there’s four of us!”

“I managed. I failed to bring him down though,” Asher calmly responded.

Emilio was curious about those words, seeing the small tinge of regret in those onyx eyes as he knew the same feeling, though there was a sense of redemption now in their pursuit of Amon.

“We’ll get him,” Emilio assured his newfound ally.

“Yeah,” Asher nodded, looking at him for a moment.

Fortunately, it seemed being forced to move at a fast pace got the bodies warm of those struggling in the cold, though Salamander did its part to help out Everett and Melisande, who certainly found their own personal banes in the heavy snow.

…I can’t blame them. The only reason I’m managing as well as I am is my Dragonheart System. Without it, a skinny kid like me would be down for the count! Emilio thought.

It was almost herculean that Everett was managing to keep up at all, considering his bulky build and even bulkier armor, paired with the enormous shield he kept strapped to his back. Emilio found himself impressed with just how much natural strength the messy-haired bumpking really had.