Chapter 581 - 581 -Not Alone Anymore

With slow, careful, and most important of all, silent steps, Drake and Scarlet kept on trudging forward in the dark, dimly lit underground tunnel. Whenever they reached closer to a dark hole in the wall, another cavern entrance, they slowed their pace to a halt and made sure to slink, sneak closer to the edge.

Since they were in an unknown, potentially hostile territory, they both did their best to keep a calm and steady heart, and a clear, conscious mind as they slowly scouted out their new environment. 

There was one thing they just couldn't get their heads around, one mystery that seemed to have no immediate answer to. 

Where was the rest of their team? Why were they the only two that got teleported, warped to this place? Did the rest of the team decide that it was best not to step on the same ground as they did? Were they still up there, atop the barren and empty plateau, waiting for them to return? Or did they perhaps, leave them to their demise and instead go back to the camp to report to the Captain of what had transpired here?

They didn't know, only that neither of the rest of their team was anywhere close to them. As far as they had seen, after traversing a good portion of the dark underground chambers, and journeying through the tunnel… they had seen no other soul in sight.

"Well…" Sighing, after checking yet another empty, damp and small cave, Drake spoke up. His face donning a bittersweet-looking smile as he gazed at his sister's complicated-looking face. "…look at the bright side of it sis."

"Ugh… What can be good about this? We have no idea where we are, how we got here, and how to leave! There's nothing good about this!" Agitated, nervous, and slightly annoyed by his brother's nonchalance, Scarlet huffed a complaint as she stormed out of the cave and returned to the slithering, seemingly endless tunnel once more.

"Well… We seem to be safe." Drake smiled as he returned to her sister's side. His right hand, never left the handle of his sheathed sword ever since they began their makeshift exploration. "There are no other enemy teams around here, nor can we find more of those hideous weird creatures! That should count for something, right?"

Scarlet could only sigh and shake her head at his brother's words, she did not want to comment on him. She was aware that he was just trying to lift their mood a bit, pull them back from the growing despair that was creeping up on them. She knew, of course, she knew, yet she just couldn't bring herself to smile.

She felt guilty, regretful of her actions from before. Because of her huffing, her annoyance of the task, she landed themselves in such a hopeless predicament. How could she elicit a smile then?

"Just… sto-" 

Suddenly, Mort, Drake's treasured artifact sword lit up with a bright, light blue luster. A series of long and short hums escaped from the gemstone at the tip of the sheathed hilt, translating themselves into a warning, an urgent message inside Drake's mind.

Drake's smile, which he had forced upon himself in an attempt to try to lift their mood, have just as abruptly vanished as the messages arrived, souring, twisting, and turning first into a shocked-looking expression, then eventually forming a somber, serious, hardened visage.

As the message was conveyed and the hums quieted down, Drake gave a silent, somber nod into the air, turning his attention to the looming darkness lying ahead of them. His grip on the hilt tightened ever-so-slightly, he confidently took a couple of steps to stride ahead, pushing his startled sister behind his back.

"W-what is it? What is g-going on, brother?! She asked with a nervous, increasingly agitated tone. She was tightly clenching the daggers in both of her hands, instinctively raising them higher, and entered a lounging, battle-ready stance in an instant.

"We are no longer alone." Was the only thing Drake said, sneering the words out of his gritted teeth and tightly shut lips. He cracked his neck as he moved his head around its base as to massage and awake his tired joints. 

Scarlet, had many more questions to ask, but as she looked at his brother, she knew that the time for them has long since passed. Whatever was happening, whoever was approaching their location, they both needed to focus. 

Judging by her brother's reaction, they needed to put in their everything to have a chance. Whatever the contents of the sword spirit's message could have been, it had caused an instant shift in her brother's mood.

For him to jump ahead to protect her with his body and consequently his life on the line, their situation was beyond critical most likely.

Thinking everything through in a few passing seconds, Scarlet followed her brother, raising her daggers higher, reaching her eyesight.

Holding both weapons in a slicing pose, with the blades facing outward of her body, both her fists were raised close to each other, just in front of the slits of her squinting eyes. She kept her focus on the looming darkness lying in front of them. 

Just like she did many times during her time as a gladiator, a damned, cursed warrior fighting for her own survival and to the amusement of the rich, she exhaled a long sigh, clearing her mind and calming her heart in the process. 

In the next moment, she slowly inhaled the damp, stale, and cool air, giving it an additional moment to keep it stored inside her diaphragm as she used the newfound surge of energy to heighten and focus the three most important of her senses. She sharpened her sight, as she squinted, bravely gazed into the darkness. She focused her sense of hearing, heightening it to spot the most silent of noises she could. Her nostrils trembled as she ignored her feminine disgust and tried to differentiate this mixture of nastiness to the best of her abilities.

Though she was not aware of it as it wasn't a conscious activity on her part, merely a result of the hardships she had to accommodate to over the long years that overshadowed most of her childhood, Scarlet did in fact was close to completely awakening a new skill of her own. An ability, an innate ability that only a select few humans would ever have the fortune to hold as their own. 

Whilst Drake's senses and reflexes were enhanced through her mystical connection with Mort, at the same time, Scarlet's natural ability, a slumbering heritage of her bloodline was slowly starting to awaken. 

A faint pinkish hue, a light red tone flickered inside Scarlet's eyes. Soon, she spotted some tiny flickers, miniature distortions in the distance…

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