Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 537: Infiltrating Central island
Disposing of a body should have been an easy task inside the second world of the dungeon since most of the islands floated. Unfortunately for the two soldiers responsible for the woman's death, that wasn't the case on the central island since it was connected to the depths. It was basically a huge mountain that crested over the fog which made it impossible to determine how high it truly was.
"Give me a hand, would you?" The violent hunter who carried the corpse grunted.
"You should have thought it better before opening fire. You didn't just kill a civilian, you could have caused a riot there!" The one with a more pacifist approach scoffed.
"Tsk, at least make yourself useful and stand watch while I take out the garbage. I've heard some cryptids are drawn to the smell of blood." The man fumbled to his companion as he neared the fog.
"Again, it's just the consequence of your actions."
"Oh! come on!"
"Fine, I'll watch your back." He replied as he watched his companion slowly fade into the fog. It wasn't the first time they had to do something like that, but being far from other people was always scary inside the dungeon.
The deeper into the fog the man walked, the slower his steps became. He felt an intense pressure building up inside him, maybe anticipation or perhaps just anxiety. Whatever it was, every second his body shouted at him to just take impulse, throw the corpse with all his strength and make a run for it, but he knew that dropping the corpse so close to the top could draw dangerous cryptids.
Everything was silent as a grave and the man could have sworn he felt the place getting colder, but he attributed it to the cold sweat that only then did he realize trickled down his forehead.
"There's something over there..." The man muttered as he stopped in his tracks, still holding onto the corpse of the woman he recently killed. A pale shadow seemed to move from side to side, like a soldier marching to the beat of a very disheartened drum.
The shadow then stopped and the man felt as his throat suddenly closed as a thin thread took several laps around it, wrapping his neck in a deathly grip that ended in the detachable pommel of the red thread of fate.
The hunter instinctively dropped the corpse on the ground and attempted to call for his companion, but he found himself breathless and incapable to move. He helplessly watched as the shadow he was looking at darted towards him after pulling on the thread, then his vision turned to black.
"Crap! I didn't mean to do that." Uriel cursed out loud the moment he realized that when he pulled the thread, instead of gaining momentum to close the gap between them like he wanted the thin thread cut deep into the man's neck and decapitated. This also alerted the other hunter, who turned to leave as soon as he noticed something was off.
It should have been easy for Uriel to catch him, but running uphill was difficult and his opponent also activated his earth elemental manipulation trait in a way Uriel had never seen before. Instead of simply creating walls or throwing rocks like the average hunter, this man created footholds to catapult himself uphill, bouncing like he had springs instead of legs.
"Stop, I won't kill you!" Uriel shouted when he realized that even with Dash active he wouldn't catch up to him. He really meant this as he had no need to kill him and he would actually be useful as a bargaining chip if push came to shove, yet all it took for the enemy hunter to decide was to take a quick glance behind his shoulder.
He saw what could barely be called as a human being, dressed with rags and covered in all sorts of teeth marks and scratch wounds. His eyes cold as murder and a strange grimace that no dictionary would describe as a smile, but that wasn't even the worst part.
His pursuer was half covered in blood as though someone splashed him with a bucket of the red liquid. Although he knew his mate to be more violent in nature than himself and always suspected he would wind up dead, probably in revenge by the family of one of his victims, he realized his death must have been too brutal to risk falling prisoner to someone like that.
Instead of surrendering, he put all of his flux and years of training to good use and continued jumping uphill with the help of his trait until a thunderous sound followed with a warm sensation made him faceplant the ground.
"You should have listened, I can't risk you sounding the alarm." Were the last words the man heard, accompanied by the Remington Magnum revolver that would become his last sight.
***
"What was that!?" Easton asked, though more than a question it was a prompt to investigate the source of the sound.
His squad, just like most of the other elemental squads, remained in position making a perimeter around the population and the ones who followed his tacit command were the ascended hunters who served mostly as cannon fodder and errand boys.
Their status was high enough to be above most citizens, but they were easily replaceable when compared to heavenly rank hunters like those who made it to the elemental squads.
Two minutes, five minutes, when ten minutes passed Easton finally understood his men weren't coming back and that something was wrong.
"Wind, go and report this to our superiors."
"Understood." The man replied and disappeared in the air leaving a trail of compressed air behind him that made him look like a soda rocket.
"You sure about this? It's only three of us now..."
"I'm just doing what I've been ordered to. If it's a cryptid we need reinforcements..."
"What if it isn't? What if 'he' comes?"
"It's just rumors, you all saw him. He's nothing but a wimp." Easton spoke, then a voice behind him replied to him.
"Am I?"
Usually, Easton would have reacted by activating his trait and turn to face the threat, but it wasn't the case now. The fact that Uriel's voice came from behind him wouldn't have meant much if not for the fact that he was supposedly back to back with his companions.
Paralyzed in fear, Easton couldn't even turn his head, but when he did...
"There's nobody here." He heaved a sigh, thinking that maybe his mind played tricks on him, but then the realization shook him. His companions should have been there yet there were no traces of them. He was completely by himself and although he could still spot the mass of people in the distance, he felt alone more than anytime in his life.
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"Did you lose something?" The voice said in a smug tone.
"How are you doing this?" The fact that Uriel remained unseen even in the open only made it more fearsome.
"Doing what? I'm just a wimp." The voice chuckled. No matter how many times Easton turned, he would always hear the voice coming from behind.
"Stop! I'm being serious!" Easton's face crumpled in a terrified expression. He didn't feel safe and the only people on sight weren't allies of his. Every passing second he felt the many possible unseen daggers jabbing him from the back, the many gunshots he may have taken, yet no matter how hard he tried to focus he couldn't sense any flux.
The trick was simple enough, but Easton had no means to know that while swiftly taking down his companions with the help of his Dash skill and the Shadow cloak he learned from Nika, Uriel took the chance to plant Lara's smartphone on Easton's ammo belt and put it on speaker.
Although it may have seemed like a cruel prank designed to torture Easton, the reason why Uriel did it was to keep him distracted and avoid any unnecessary violence.
As annoying as he was by the fact that they brought down the brought down the bridge that connected the graveyard with the floating islands, Uriel appreciated the fact that it was the least violent action and decided not to bring unnecessary harm to them.
But using the 'Red thread of fate' to knock his two companions was only possible due to their tough heavenly rank skin, even so it was difficult to regulate his strength to avoid the same outcome that came to the unsuspecting hunter.
Emma was the first to notice him, though she pretended not to see him to avoid drawing any attention towards them, not that it made any difference since Uriel's party was all dressed in military uniform and Uriel wore the distinctive fedora hat that identified him as a Dungeon Raider.
Their small party stood out like a sore thumb and it wasn't long enemies and allies alike noticed their presence.
