Chapter 152 - Inaptitude

"Do you think they're going to meet us halfway because of that move?"

Ren asked, keeping up with the short-haired girl as she moved at a hastened paste. She had opted to take the leftmost bridge; somewhat to Ren's dismay as it had a sharp incline without any railings to hold on to.

"--No. Though we might run into others beforehand."

"Remember--"

"No killing. I know."

The swift girl was quick to intercept his words with her own, clearly, a bit perturbed by the handicap bestowed upon their alliance. Ren could only find it somewhat depressing that a girl her age was reliant on killing.

--I can't imagine what kind of life she likely led up to this point to have no hesitation with taking another life. At that age, your blissful days of immaturity and stress-free days should be the peak of your life--not this.

Moving one leg after another up the steep form of the bridge sent a ticklish sensation throughout his thighs as he imagined the heights he was at; looking up at the curvature of the stone bridge, feeling his stomach drop just at the sight.

For a moment, this fear of heights was alleviated at the scenery before him--finally seeing the area that took hold past the castle had opened his eyes. The vastness of it could hardly be comprehended by his mind; the colossal walls of this endless cavern were filled with an army of tunnels, dozens of ruined structures inhabited this land, some even hanging to the side or upside-down. It looked like something out of a fever dream; acknowledging this, his stomach resumed its tantrum.

"Come on, slow-poke!"

Aiko was as natural as they came with this, traversing the windy bridge as if it were a literal walk in the park, looking back as she ushered for her companion to pick up the paste.

"...Dammit."

Swallowing his anxiety, Ren pushed onward, closing his eyes and yelling out as he sprinted up the pathway with all the bravado he could muster. Catching up with her with a slight boost of reinforcement, Ren found himself sliding along the decline of the bridge side by side with her.

An unavoidable excitement expressed itself across her lips as they slid down, Ren could only find this a slight worrying.

--Is she a damn adrenaline-junky?!

"--Listen, we need an actual plan!"

Ren yelled out over the winds that came with their agile traversing of the unorthodox bridge, looking over at Aiko as her mixed-color hair blew against the wind.

"What happened to those big words earlier?"

Responding in a slightly teasing manner, Aiko kept her gauntlet against the stone as she slid down as if it were a slide.

"I'm not going back on anything I said! I'm still down for giving these guys a beatdown, but we can't just go in blindly, especially when they might know we're coming!"

Following behind Aiko, Ren found it troubling to hold a conversation while traversing the rollercoaster of a bridge. Before he could get an answer from the girl, she leaped from the side of the bridge, flipping herself over to a chunk of land jutting out from one of the gargantuan walls of stone.

Ren followed her, knowing hesitation would likely lead to a higher chance of failure, he leaped without a second thought, landing next to her.

"...Warn me before you do that."

"You did fine; don't sweat it."

Aiko gave him a slight smile, knocking her fist against his chest as he still felt the effects of challenging gravity so brazenly. The entire time he went through with this plan, Iris' safety lingered in his mind, impatience filled his mind as he wanted nothing more than to get this over with and find his companion.

--Just a bit longer, Iris, just a bit more.

"Are you sure we're going the right way? This doesn't look like a quarry."

Ren asked, kicking a pebble as he looked around the somber land filled with nothing but stone, bones, and withered fabric.

"You're even dumber than you look if you assumed we were just going to take a path directly to them."

Hearing the insult that came without any hesitation or jesting tone from Aiko, Ren brushed it off after letting out a defeated exhale, "I'm not talking about that. Everyone on the floor can sense when a sensor is used, right? I still think there is a chance Leo and his crew might move out; either towards the sensor or just change their location since they have keys."

He watched as Aiko scoped out the wall, poking her head into one of the tunnel entrances before looking back at her companion, gesturing with her head for him to follow.

"...You wouldn't happen to have fire or light magic, would you?"

Ren asked with a hint of concern as he walked into the ominous, pitch-black tunnel behind the girl, keeping himself behind her.

"I do not."

"Really? ...That's alright. Yeah, totally fine."

Trying to convince himself of this, Ren nearly lost it as the dreaded sensation of cobwebs colliding with his face came over him, flailing his arms around before peeling the substance from his face. After coming into contact with the web, Ren frantically ran his fingers through his hair to make sure no critters decided to take refuge in his locks.

"How did you survive this long?"

Aiko looked back at him, commenting on his less than manly display. The young man's hair had been completely ruined, sticking out in every direction as he fixed it up in an attempt to retain some level of his dignity.

"Good question."

Not denying the nature of her belittling question, Ren scratched his head with a meek chuckle as he continued down the gloomy path. It was difficult to tell just how wide or narrow the tunnel was; feeling that they were traveling on a gradual decline as all he could do was watch her multi-colored hair bounce with each step she took.

--Should I try to make small talk? She seems a bit...prickly. Anything is better than this gnawing silence…

"So, urr--"

Just as he resolved himself to speak, something had erupted from the floor beyond their position. Out of pure instinct, he pushed past the girl and stepped in front of her to prepare for whatever was coming.

--A burrower? I can't see a damn thing!

"Araphel: Particle Shade!"

Casting his sensory spell, he unleashed a wave of black particles that scoured the area beyond his step. It took no longer than a moment for the spell to coil itself around the form of the unknown visitor--quickly helping him to find out that it wasn't a burrower.

A moment was needed to process what he was indeed feeling from the particle sense; eight, long and spiky limbs, a round body with countless tiny hairs. When he put these features together--he felt his skin crawl.

--A spider?!

As Ren slid Belus out from its sheath, Aiko bolted past him with breakneck speed, moving directly towards the giant arachnid.

"Hey! Hold on!"

It was no use trying to halt her step with the momentum she had built up. His hesitance halted him long enough to witness his worries be whisked away as a singular thrust of her gauntlet-clad fist had propelled the arachnid back with such force that an echoing squelch filled the dark caves.

--That's right...What am I thinking? She's someone that made it past the first floor.

The perception he had of a girl he needed to protect was shifted, watching a single punch turn the insect into a mess of verdant ooze plastered on the wall.

"I had it covered."

Ren walked up beside her, retreating his blade back into its holding.

"I did too."

She answered without any visible emotion, brushing past him as she moved forward. Somehow he felt that he angered her, but decided it was best not to ask about it.

Standing beside her, there were three paths waiting in front of them; all three possessed the same pitch-black veil and howling winds echoing through them.

"Probably a long shot to ask but--you wouldn't happen to have any divination spells, would you?"

"I do not."

As soon as he uttered the last word of his question, Aiko rejected the notion without as much as a turn of her head.

"Right. I say we go le--"

"We're going right."

Completely intercepted mid-sentence, Ren watched as Aiko began to make her way down the rightmost tunnel, pausing for a moment before releasing a perturbed slight and catching up to the prickly companion of his.

"Aiko...Do you really know where we're going?"

His question was completely and utterly ignored. Normally, he wouldn't have much of a problem following someone like this, but when time was as valuable as gold when it came to finding Iris--he wasn't up for taking much of this.

"Hey! What's the matter with you? I'm talking to you!"

Ren grabbed the girl by the shoulder to make her face him. As soon as his hand met with her body, Aiko spun around and gripped his hand--the look in her fierce, violet eyes was simple enough of a sign that she wasn't playing around.

He quickly retreated his hand to block the incoming spear-hand jab of hers that looked as if it were going for his eye.

"Watch out, you could've seriously taken my eye out!"

Ren tried to calm her, but for some reason, she had fallen into aggression--attempting to go for another strike with her spear hand as Ren swiftly grabbed her wrist to prevent the attack.

--If she won't listen...I'll have to use a bit of force!

Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grasp on her wrist before yanking her closer to him, rearing his head back as for a split-second before his next action, she realized what he was about to do. Aiko attempted to evade, but the grip on her wrist was far too tight--having no choice but to be met with the brutal impact of his forehead against her own.

The headbutt forced a high-pitched wince from Aiko as Ren let go of her arm, letting her back collide with the rugged wall of the tunnel.