Chapter 173 - Journey To Ender Village

The primorelves were swift on their feet and even quieter; masking their presence completely despite it looking as if they were stomping their calloused soles against the stone. They soon found themselves in a hallowed ravine, covered in decayed branches and withered bones and cloth. 

Though he was holding Aiko in his arms, Ren kept up with the agile two, still holding the anxious, blank expression on his face as his hand caressed the back of the girl's head. 

"Make sure to stick close to us, Ren. The way to our village is a tricky one; it's meant to deter creatures of Purgatory."

"What is this village anyway? It's hard to believe there's such a thing in this wretched place…" 

It was a question from Ren that Moko seemed to anticipate, releasing a slight chuckle as he bounced from stone to stone, using one of the branches as a launchpad forward. 

"Our village is the last stronghold of our people, if you want the details, you'll have to ask Elder Heldjrim yourself!"

As old as Moko seemed to be, the swiftness to his movements was as completely natural as if he was a leaf blowing through the wind. Velrum was in no way inferior in agility but lagged behind as he remained cautious—scanning their surroundings as they traversed the lifeless crevice between two cliffs. 

"Heldjrim, huh…" 

If it weren't for the mention of Iris, a village would've sounded too good to be true—or at the very least, the settlement would've sounded more like some sort of grouping of monsters. 

At the very least, they look hospitable enough. If they try anything, I'm sure I can take them without a hitch, Ren thought. 

At the thought of fighting, his sword felt heavier in its sheath. Looking back down at the girl in his arms while he moved swiftly, these paranoid thoughts of violence crumbled to dust. 

Not again. I won't repeat what happened to you again, Ren sighed. 

It wasn't before long that the traverses of the unforgiving domain reached the existence of a pit occupying a floor of dried, gray leaves.

"Make sure you've got a good grip on her, lad."

Velrum warned, peering down the pit as only darkness stared back. Whispers of wind rose from the perfectly circular hole, fluttering the leaves as Ren squinted his eyes, looking at the pit then at the two primorelves. 

"...We're going down that pit?"

Asking with a wry smile, Ren's question came out doubtful as he hoped the two black-clad scouts were pulling his leg on this one. 

"Indeed! It's the only possible way to enter the village; see you at the bottom!"

Hoping for some sort of secret trick to handle the fall down the pit, Ren's hopes were dashed as Moko's scarce words were followed by him flinging himself down the pit with a wide smile on his face. Velrum gave a simple wave of his fingers before following his companion down the pit with a cannonball leap. 

Listening for their screams or any sort of confirmation of the height of the pit, there was no sound that returned to his ears. 

"Of all the things...This world is really trying to force me to conquer my fear of heights, isn't it?"

Cursing the world in his mind, he made sure he held Aiko with an unmoving grip before taking one more look down the abyssal pit. With a long inhale and a just as long exhale, he threw away his doubt before sending himself down the pit. 

"Gah!"

His bottom quickly met with a smooth, somewhat slippery tunnel of stone, sliding down the bowels of the pit as his hold on Aiko tightened out of instinct. A direct fall was expected, but he found himself on a slide formed of rock--it was hard to tell if it was an improvement from his initial fear as his mind was busy trying to adjust to the sudden change of pace. 

Unluckily for his own bowels, it wasn't a straight shot either way--the tunnel began to swerve left and right, feeling his stomach bounce around the interior of his temple as he could only feel the speed and motion of this unlikely passageway. 

The complete and utter darkness to it all amplified the intensity; not knowing exactly where he was, how far he was in it, and where the endpoint was--he was left in the dark as each sudden shift in direction felt like he was participating in a rollercoaster ride made for adrenaline junkies. 

As his periodic screams of primal terror echoed through the windy tunnel, it was only when his body no longer sat against stone but caressed by nothing but air, that he fell silent. For a moment, his stomach felt as if it remained still in his body, feeling each particle of airflow in and out of his parted lips--he finally realized what this feeling was. 

Oh, I'm falling, Ren thought. 

Kicking his legs back and forth in the air, this conclusion was further cemented as his shock was replaced with terror. 

Wait, I'm falling?! Ren thought. 

Before he could fling a spell in an attempt to break his fall, the bottom finally came into view from the illumination of verdant quartz embedding itself onto the walls of this deep cavern. What awaited him at the bottom was a mass of some sort of clear, emerald substance that looked as if it were breathing. 

Taken aback by this mysterious form, Ren landed onto it with his rear, sinking into its soft, bending form before being shot back up into the air briefly. Landing against it once more, he was returned to the air with a shorter launch--repeating this until finally, the force dissipated, leaving him utterly confused as he sat on the gelatinous pool. 

"What the…"

This entire situation took a few moments for his brain to catch up on as if booting up an old computer, sitting there for a moment with a blank expression. 

"Ha-ha-ha!"

The laughter of two familiar voices met his ears--bringing his gaze up, Moko and Velrum stood outside of the gelatin lake. Though it was only playful laughter, Ren still shot them a sharp glare before bringing himself back to his feet. 

"You could've warned me."

Gaining his balance on the unstable form of the verdant substance, Ren felt like he was in some sort of playground meant for kids--a feeling he didn't expect to be invoked by the hellhole. 

"Could've; no fun in that though!"

Velrum finished his chuckle, wiping his mouth before ushering for Ren to follow, turning towards the length of the corridor of stone. Though he felt frustration come over him for a moment, he couldn't help but chuckle. 

It seemed the noises of joy scared the duo of primorelves more than any glare could, freezing in place as they watched Ren blankly. 

"Did he finally snap or something?"

"Seems like it."

Moko and Velrum spoke to each other with just an exchange of glances, watching as Ren finally quieted down with a relieved sigh, stepping forward once more. 

"Lead the way."

Ren told the two, who had completely stopped in their tracks during that moment. A raised eyebrow from Ren asked them, "You two alright?", to which the two fervently bobbed their heads before marching onwards down the dimly lit corridor. 

It was an unlikely reprieve within Purgatory; he still wasn't completely sure if Iris really was waiting for him in some sort of village--though it was something that sounded almost too good to be true, he couldn't ignore the possibility. 

If they really are deceiving me, I'll cut them down, Ren thought. 

Once again, that thought process only led to him twisting himself up in his own thoughts. Killing continued to be the first answer in his mind when he feared deception, no matter how much he tried to dissuade himself from that process of thinking, it never halted itself. 

As he gently brushed Aiko's beige fringes aside with his hand, it was still there: crimson-clad itself to his fingers, seeping through the bandages that wrapped around his hands. 

The deepest, freshest sections of these covers were at the points of his knuckles--torn and busted open from the assault he unleashed on the man prior. 

Just seeing the abundance of blood that clung to his form made him want to puke; the stench of copper that came with the layer of scarlet around him made his eyes water from the sheer repulsiveness of it all. All he could hear was his own breathing, watching the backs of the stout figures leading him forward as he moved one front in front of another. 

He wanted to heave; it seemed it was only after composing himself that the smell became obvious to his nose--his body ran hot, feathers became his head as sweat escaped his pores. 

I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer. I'm a murderer, Ren repeated in his head. 

It was clear as day to him--what would've happened during that encounter if Aiko didn't show up. When he mounted Leo, the only thing he could see was a stream of red, flowing from his fist down to the man's face. There was nothing in his point inhibiting him: no inclination to stop, no regret of hurting the man, no care for anything besides hurting him. 

Even if he didn't go through with it, he knew it wasn't because he chose to spare him. Sparing himself from these intrusive thoughts, he gave himself a firm smack on the side of his own head, wincing from the unexpected force. 

Crap, I forgot how strong I've gotten, Ren thought, Thank you, Aiko.

Moko seemed to sense the quietness hanging over Ren, briefly turning back to see the anguished expression the young man tried to hide.