1740 Shadow

Unaware of the battle taking place beneath the surface, a relatively handsome man with short green hair and matching eyes could be seen exhaling an exasperated sigh as he caused yet another small cave in. Behind him, a rather childish-looking girl with blonde hair could be seen giggling next to a rather knightly-looking man with short brown hair. The former had the flat of a dagger held against an extremely plush pillow while the latter, less enthused about the situation, smiled wryly as he held a comfortable-looking blanket hostage.

With an expression most would reserve for their nemesis, the green-haired man, Laure, looked back at the distant duo, coldly demanding, "There, I'm finished. Return my blanket and pillow to me..."

A stark contrast to her childish appearance, the blonde-haired 'woman', Nare, giggled rather darkly in response to Laure's threatening tone before musing, "Nope! Until the Test is over, I intend to put you to work! You had more than seven hours to sleep while we were scouting the area. You can stay awake until the end of the Test."

Since their agreement only required him to collapse a series of tunnels, Laure's expression became even more enraged as he exclaimed, "That wasn't part of our agreement! You can't just change the terms however you please! Return my babies to me, you tyrannical thug...!"

Rather than lose her smile, the edges of Nare's lips curled up as she lightly tapped the pillow with her dagger, asking, "You're pretty bold. Should I cut this up to teach you a lesson~?"

Hearing Nare's threat, Chunhwa couldn't help releasing a sigh. As for Laure, he performed a near-perfect dogeza, pressing his head to the ground as he politely stated, "Forgive me, my Goddess. I did not mean to offend you..."

Nodding her head in approval, Nare was about to have Chunhwa return Laure's blanket when the latter suddenly raised his head, half-turning as he said, "They're coming. I can sense them...the Dogs are on the move..."

---

After quickly treating Shibisu's wounds using Shinsu, Anak left the tracksuit-clad man to fend for himself as she ventured into the darkness with only a baseball-sized Observer to light her way. It wasn't that she wasn't worried about Shibisu, but, unless there ended up being a second Bull, there was no need to babysit him.

With Observers on the same team being able to locate each other, Anak was confident she would quickly catch up to Endorsi. Her speed and power were marginally better than her Ghost-Eyed Aunt, so, unless the former had disappeared beneath the mirror-like surface of the underground lake, her Observer would guide her directly to the location of the battle.

With her Shinsu-enhanced body, Anak was able to largely mitigate the drag forces that acted on her body while moving at high speeds. This was one of the greatest benefits of Shinsu for those who specialized in body reinforcement, as, depending on your level of control, you could actually move significantly faster than normal. It was a unique form of Flow Control that basically allowed you to create a 'current', drastically decreasing the amount of stamina used to cover vast distances in a short period of time. At higher levels, this same skill would allow those who had mastered it to basically fly through dense fields of Shinsu, much like how Shinheuh themselves were able to 'swim' through the substance.

Enjoying the feeling of 'gliding' through the inordinately dense Shinsu found in the underground cave system, a burgeoning smile gradually replaced Anak's characteristically annoyed expression. This was actually a skill Gandr had taught her, so, for a brief moment, her mind wandered to all the times they had raced against each other. Unfortunately, as was often the case with happy moments, Anak's expression immediately reverted to a deep frown as a wooly figure appeared in her path.

Remembering the concerned warning Gandr had given her prior to the Test, Anak's grip on the Green April tightened as she glared at the mascot-like figure and asked, "What are you doing here, Administrator...fluffball...?"

Though he was a little annoyed that Anak seemed to have forgotten his name, Administrator Yuga didn't show it externally. Instead, he giggled eerily before musing, "Well, I suppose it doesn't matter too much if you remember my alias. After all, my true identity is far more interesting~!"

Despite feeling her instincts kicking into overdrive, Anak did her best to appear calm on the surface as she half-turned, shouldering the Green April as she said, "I don't have time for this. Get lost."

Seeing Anak turn away from him, Yuga felt an almost irresistible urge to just kill her then and there. However, much like the Bull he controlled, he lived for the moments when he could torture his prey until they begged for death. Thus, even though his body had started to tremble noticeably, he kept a jovial tone as he mused, "Oho? Wasn't revenge the reason you decided to climb the Tower? What an unfilial mutt...your mother must not have been all that important if you can't even make time for her killer~!"

Though she was about to leap away at high speeds, Anak's body froze the moment she heard the man's words. She obviously didn't believe him, as her mother was a High Ranker that had earned the right to possess one of the Thirteen Month Series, but that didn't stop her from looking back at him with a murderous glimmer in her eyes.

Chuckling loudly in response to Anak's reaction, Yuga emulated her act of half-turning away from her, his tone even more cheerful as he mused, "You're obviously very busy. Don't let me keep you from what really matters~."

With the Green April's hook gradually increasing in size, a bloodthirsty aura began to emanate from Anak's body as she shouted, "Don't toy with me, you rice-ball bastard! Explain! What do you know about my mother's death!?"

Exhaling a sigh of mock-exasperation, Yuga turned back to face Anak, the smile at the front of his costume becoming more prominent as he bowed slightly and replied, "Though you are not worth the courtesy, allow me to introduce myself. I'm a member of the Royal Enforcement Division, Unit No. 67. My name is Ren. Lo Po Bia Ren, to be exact. I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but it takes most of my willpower not to vomit whenever I see you..."

Completely ignoring Ren's introduction, Anak's attention was focused wholly on the small acorn-like pendant he had produced from the seam between his costume's lips. It wasn't the most eye-catching accessory that could be found within the Tower, comprised of little more than a smooth green stone and a brass shell, but, in Anak's eyes, it was the most precious treasure that could be found in all the Floors. After all, it was the pendant her mother had made for her after she fished the stone from the river near their hidden cottage...

With green electricity dancing along the length of the Green April, Anak's peculiar pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes, a crazed smile on her face as she asked, "Where...did you get that necklace...?"

Now trembling to the point that his body appeared to be vibrating, a repulsive chuckle emanated from within Ren's costume, persisting for several seconds before he answered, "You really are hard of hearing, aren't you? I just told you mere moments ago. I'm the person who killed that disgusting traitor you call a mother. Jeez, were you dropped on your head as a child?"

Finished with his introduction, Ren 'slurped' up Anak's pendant using a large red tongue, sucking it back into his body. This caused the Green April to enter a pseudo-ignited state, Anak's rage boiling over in an instant as she stated in a menacing monotone, "Give it back."

Sensing the flow of Shinsu around Anak's body converge towards him, the trembling of Ren's body reached critical levels. The only thing he enjoyed more than the hatred of others was the moment their hatred turned into fear, despair, and anguish. Anak's murderous aura was enough to bring him to the verge of a climax, his knees shaking as the Shinheuh concealed within his costume began to writhe about in excitement and expectation.

Just as Ren was considering releasing his excitement all over the murderous girl slowly making her way toward him, both he and Anak stopped in place, complete silence descending upon the small clearing. This persisted for several seconds before the trembling in Ren's body became even more potent. Instead of excitement, however, his trembling was the direct result of the indescribable pain that seemed to radiate throughout his entire existence.

Mustering what little power he could manage at the moment, Ren attempted to leap away from the figure that had appeared behind him, his mouth opening to produce a condensed Baang of Shinsu. Before he could fire it, however, an invisible force seemed to cut through, not just the void, but his ability to manipulate the Shinsu in the surroundings. At the same time, his attacker, a figure wearing a hooded parka that concealed everything but ghostly golden pupils, instantly appeared at his side, slicing through his body with a shadowy black katana.

Despite being 'bisected', Ren's body didn't separate into two parts. Instead, he felt another wave of pain, almost like his soul was being burned by fire. He didn't know any other way to describe it, but, compared to all the other pains he had felt in his life, nothing even came remotely close to what he was currently experiencing.

Unable to restrain his voice any longer, a blood-curdling scream escaped Ren's throat as the mouth of his costume opened to reveal a large number of massive Shinheuh. To his surprise, however, the majority of these Shinheuh simply crashed to the ground, many already dead. Those that were still alive attempted to devour the shadowy figure, but, without even trying to move, the entity held up his katana with a single hand, standing his ground.

Further increasing Ren's horror and confusion, he watched with rounded eyes as one of his largest Shinheuh crashed into the figure, seemingly devouring them whole. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as, immediately after passing through the area where the figure had been standing, the large eel-like creature slid lifelessly across the ground while the sword-wielding shadow remained firmly rooted to their original position.

Feeling fear for the first time in more than a hundred years, Ren's mind raced as he tried to make sense of the current situation. He was almost positive that the shadowy figure was a High Ranker, but, no matter how much he tried to read the flow of their Shinsu, there was no feedback. It was like the person standing before him didn't even exist, something that made absolutely no sense considering he could feel their horrifying aura pervading the entire cave system.

With cold sweat covering most of his body, a stark contrast to the intense 'flames' that seemed to be burning him from the inside, Ren did his best to resist the pain as he asked, "Who are you? This is a matter concerning the Jahad Empire. Are you-"

Though he had tried to react this time, Ren was in too much pain to properly control his body. As a result, he was completely powerless when the figure appeared next to him in an instant, their sword seemingly splitting into numerous arcs, each cutting through his body. This caused him to blackout completely, his body crashing the ground with a thud as his real self coughed up a large quantity of blood several thousand kilometers away...

---

Despite seeing how easily the shadowy figure dealt with one of Jahad's Rankers, Anak was surprised to find that she didn't feel even remotely concerned. Rather, a familiar warmth had spread through her body, easing her nerves and diminishing her passionate fury into a mellow calm. Then, as if they could sense her confusion, the figure turned around to face her, the golden flames within the hood gradually fading away before they ultimately removed the fabric to reveal two pointed ears...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Poor Laure','Anak be like, "Who dis?"','(OwO)? What's this~?')

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