Chapter 71 - Utter Opposites

Walking with fear guiding her step, Iris followed closely behind Brahmi through the extensive carven, devoid of light.

"--Do we really need to hunt this specific monster? I mean...who knows if it's even in here. Besides it's...dark, how will we even know if it's dwelling here?"

The damp, musky cave was an environment not suited for everyone, especially a girl like Iris who seldom ventured beyond her own home.

"Ah, quit yer' yammering already! Yer' were the one who refused to finish off the damn Mardem yesterday and made us lose those points! So we gotta' make those points up now and find this damn Caveragon."

Without any care for the still, dark cave she was in, Brahmi didn't even attempt to control the volume of her voice, causing Iris to shudder in fear of what her companion's abrasive yelling may lure in. As a result of her own passive attitude--Iris could do nothing except be led by the fearless brawler, who thought with her fists rather than her head most of the time.

While Iris was wrapped in snow white robes that retained heat, Brahmi, on the other hand, wore nothing except a black sports bra, compression shorts to match and light, studded-leather armor. In the cave which harbored chilled winds, it was hard to imagine that outfit being satisfactory--but Brahmi didn't seem bothered in the slightest.

Iris had already attempted to console her partner about her choice of clothing, but Brahmi simply replied, "I'm already wearing what's best! This makes it easier to move around in!"

--It's no use trying to talk sense into her...she's stubborn...once her mind is set on something, there's no changing it.

"--I'm at least going to cast a light spell, we should at least know where we're going…"

"Do whatever ya' want, I don't care."

Brushing off Brahmi's abrasive affirmation, Iris stopped for a moment, extending her hand forward with her palm facing the ceiling as she focused.

"Licht: Illuminate."

The darkness that swallowed the cavern diminished at the newly manifested ball of light's presence, hovering above the gentle girl's palm.

As she predicted--the source of light revealed they had no idea where they were going, as there were a plethora of alternate tunnels within the cavern that they most likely turned through without noticing.

"...Brahmi, do you have any idea where we came from?"

Concern coated her meek voice as she felt a drop of cold water pelt against the top of her head, listening to the everpresent whistle that traveled through the lonely cave.

"Hah? Course' I know! Obviously...we just gotta go through here next!"

Pulling an answer out of thin air, the rowdy woman pointed towards the tunnel to their right before making her way through it. Iris didn't buy her response for a second, but there was nothing she could do to control her partner's tendencies.

Continuing down the silent, narrow passage of the cavern, the sense of hearing only accompanied by the trickling pellets of water falling onto the rocky floor below, Iris stopped as she noticed something on the wall.

"--Brahmi, stop for a second."

The light had revealed text, carved onto the charcoal-tinted walls of the cave.

"Huh? What is it?"

"--This text…"

"What's so special about it? I can't even read it--this isn't the Mastornian written language, is it?"

Stepping closer to inspect the enigmatic letters etched into the stone, Brahmi squinted her eyes as she fruitlessly attempted to decipher the words.

"It's not...this is the language of Belmon. What's it doing here…?"

Iris ran her fingertips over the letters as she moved her lips without emitting sound, as if unpacking the words in her head carefully.

"Belmon? Never heard of it."

"I only know a little bit about it from books and from Mother, but...it's a human kingdom on the other side of the world. Nothing is known about it."

"--Then what's their language doing here? Can you read it?"

"...I can."

As she deciphered the text, her fingers stopped moving as she responded to Brahmi's constant questioning.

"What's it say?"

"--"Diligently, we spread the love of our empress, our goddess, and our savior. We bestow this love onto all who welcome it until the soles of our feet bleed, the skin off our fingertips is scraped. Diligently, we further the gospel of depravity, welcoming all those who can understand her beauty and grace, those who will give their blood and souls to her tomorrow. Diligently, we are the envoys of the truth in this world, opening the eyes of those who are blind to this singular truth."

As she slowly read the foreign text, running her finger across each letter, a mix of disgust and worry came over their faces.

After reading such shady, foreboding words, Iris felt the cold air of the cave instill a new layer of fear into herself.

"--I don't like this...we should just get out of here already."

"Hah? You're too paranoid! Even if there were some cult freaks here--we could just pummel them real good! And get answers at the same time!"

Even if she said that, it was easy to tell the enigmatic text struck something within the confident brawler as her smile reeked of caution, holding her usual brazen attitude as a front to her fears. As the two fell silent for a moment, the whistles and howling of the cavern winds cultivated the already growing anxiety.

"..I don't know, Brahmi--I just…"

"Come on, I mean, how do ya' even know this text wasn't written a century ago, ya' know? We've come this far already--no point in backing out now."

Fear held a place in Brahmi's heart, but it's still not enough to counteract her stubbornness. Iris knew well she was the type to confront her fears rather than run away, which was the opposite as to how she would prefer to handle this, but she accepted this fact.

--Anything is better than staying in this same spot...near this creepy text.

A new atmosphere inhabited the cavern after encountering that scripture, even Brahmi seemed to be on her guard as an air of caution followed her.

The resounding sound of a single footstep echoed through the dark corridors of stone, jumpstarting their anxious hearts.

"Gah--!"

In unison they both let out gasps at the sudden presence of noise, Iris' light spell revealing their new visitor. Standing upright, drooling at the sight of the two cave explorers--a large, fur-covered beast watched them with eyes full of hunger.

"--A bear?!"

Brahmi yelled out in surprise, raising her guard.

"No, it's a "Kumano"! It's on the list! It's a fifty-pointer!"

"Fifty-points? It's our lucky day!"

Seeing points instead of a towering, bear-like creature in front of her--there was no fear in Brahmi's fiery gaze.

"I'll support you from the back, as usual--"

"Nah, don't bother! I want to test myself against this thing! It's not everyday ya' see one of these "Kumano" or whatever."

--I should've guessed as much...when she encounters a new foe like this, she wants to test her own strength. So be it.

The kumano let out a bellowing roar, displaying its sword-like canines as its saliva pelted against the floor. Unlike a bear on Earth, the kumano's silver fur stood up when threatened--spiking up like a porcupine as it prepared for battle.

"Be careful--I read that their fangs and claws can tear apart steel!"

"Yeah, yeah. Reinforcement: Stone Flesh!"

Conjuring a unique form of reinforcement magic, the brawler's skin shifted into a gray complexion resembling stone.

--That's one of her special quirks of being a gaia-magic user who has put all of her training into hand-to-hand combat. "Stone Flesh" is a special variation of reinforcement that grants an incredible defense, adding more weight to her attacks as well.

The poor cave-dwelling beast didn't stand a chance against the martial artist, getting pummelled without the chance to fight back. Each impact of her fist against the thick hide of the beast only proved that its natural defenses meant nothing to the resounding power she packed in her punches.

"Come on, make this fun for me!"

Brahmi shouted as she dashed behind the kumano, wrapping her arms around its waist before hoisting it up into the air, the heavyweight of a beast's eyes widening as it experienced a weightless sensation never felt before--falling back to send the beast into a suplex. The weight of the kumano's body returning to the ground floor could be felt as a miniature tremor ran through the stone walls, letting out a defeated and confused growl.

It was a sight you'd hear about second-hand, passed down as legend years after it occurred--but with Brahmi, such feats of strength became natural to witness.

--This is always how it goes with her…

Iris averted her gaze, not wanting to watch the one-sided beatdown of the creature. After a few minutes of cave-shaking punches against the kumano, Brahmi returned with a bright smile after defeating the creature.

"Fifty-points acquired!"

"--Can we just move on now…? I think I'm going to be sick."

Moving past the deceased bear-like creature, the brawler had left it in a state that resembled a bundle of skin and fur.