Chapter 74: What Remains, Part 1

Mara picked a flower that had blossomed through a fissure in the structure nearby, her eyes focused on the vibrant pink color in her palm. As she blew it away, the corners of her mouth curved into a smile unbefitting of her age. It flew ahead of our group, no longer bound by its roots.

"So you're admiring flowers now?" mocked Logan.

She only shrugged her shoulders, uninterested in his remark. "Perhaps. What's it to you? The others aren't complaining about it."

"That's because you have a saber at your side." He pointed toward it with his finger.

"You don't expect me to fight without a weapon, do you? Compared to a brute like you, I lack the raw strength to cause any significant damage to any monsters."

"That's because of their mana," Edward, the one with the crossbow in the center of our formation, grumbled. "Makes them a lot sturdier than the average person..."

"Which is frustrating," she shot back, annoyance filling each of her words. "If even the weakest of monsters can use mana, humanity doesn't stand much of a chance."

Putting all of that aside for a moment, my mind lingered on the slight bulge of Lucas' backpack. A gryphon was in there and judging by the expression on the beast tamer's face, there was no telling when she might lose her patience.

"Gray," Lucas whispered. If he went as far as to call me, he must think about the current situation at hand as an emergency. Not having the chance to discuss the matter in detail before joining us, it was bound he'd constantly think of a way to bring it up. Melody's existence wasn't something he could mention to others.

I pulled the straps around my shoulder slightly, eyes fixated on my companions' backs. With the other, I reached toward Lucas's bag and told him: "Give it to me."

"What are you doing?" He reluctantly gave it.

"Convey to her to follow our trail quietly," I answered and jogged into a crack between buildings.

I gently laid it down, her golden beak peeking out as I unzipped it. I gave the gryphon a light ruffle through her feathers while pointing toward the sky with my finger.

"Follow us," I said, putting down my own enormous backpack as I began taking some of Lucas's rations. "We'll feed you at night. Make sure you aren't noticed until then—"

Something else other than affirming chirp interrupted me. "Gray!" Logan called. "What are you doing?"

"Takin' a piss," I yelled back, which was barely audible.

"Couldn't you have done that before we entered this fucking wasteland?" his voice drew closer, and so was the flapping of wings and the sound of metal colliding.

"Held it in," I muttered, stepping out of the alley once I was 'done.' "Got a bit emotional at the gate. Thought we might not make it through because of Oliver's absence."

"A shy pisser? Fine, I get it. But don't scare the crap out of me like that again. Thought I lost you already," he said, his eyes going toward the empty rucksack in my hand. "What's with that?"

"I stole some of Lucas' supplies while I was at it," I replied nonchalantly. "I'd rather see him fight at his best in case some trouble gets in our way. And we can use his empty rucksack to carry more jewelry."

He put an arm on his forehead. "Do you have any idea how suspicious that sounds?"

"It does, doesn't it?"

"Whatever then. Forget it," he harrumphed, not giving a damn about it anymore as he lowered the axe to his side. Its edge was shining as a portion of the rug wrapped around it fell. "Let's get going at our usual pace. Don't trail behind again."

I followed in his steps, reluctantly joining the group once again. Logan was a lot tenser now that we were within the 4th District, so I didn't blame him for his... outburst if I could call it that.

"Thanks," whispered Lucas from my side as I gave him the rucksack back. His line of sight, however, was fixated on the small figure resting on top of a building. Melody was barely visible from our current position.

"Stop looking at her," I told him, which fell on deaf ears.

His sketchy behavior was bound to draw even more suspicion from the others, I thought as I grabbed him by the shoulder firmly, giving him a shake and snapping him out of whatever dream he was having.

"So we'll feed her at night," he muttered.

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My eyes shook as I withdrew my hand. "Your ability has evolved?" I spat out that question.

I assumed that his ability originally allowed him to transmit and receive some of Melody's emotions. Still, if it had evolved to the point they could communicate even without speaking aloud...

"Telepathy?"

"I can't read her mind," he shot down that theory. "I can listen to whatever she wants me to listen to, and vice versa."

I gulped down. Flawed telepathy it is, then. Pseudo-telepathy might be a better term. How intriguing...

"It's different from before. I can feel her emotions too, and... something more than that," Lucas said. "But I have the feeling that this ability won't evolve any further, nor that it'd extend to other animals or humans, for that matter."

His ability, although unable to rival Reyna's affinity toward fire, it was still as rare as hers. Something that other hunters couldn't even fathom having. A talent that might industrialize the way we currently interact with monsters. None of that mattered much to Lucas, though.

It was his own life, and what he wanted to do with it was up to him. I had no right to decide any of that. At the same time, there was something musky lingering in my lungs... Probably a hint of envy. Just what would I be able to achieve if I possessed such a wonderful ability?

"Gray?" he asked.

"What is it?" I looked at him, his question forcing me to put aside what I felt deep down.

"The security at the gate," Lucas pointed out. "Don't you think it was rather... lacking?"

Making sure the others weren't listening, I said: "You talk as if there were any guards waiting at the entrance to the Underworld."

"That's that, and this is this."

I closed my eyes, trying to find a better way to put it.

"The number of ways you can get past the walls are limited," I explained, trying to give him as much information while also being cautious of Logan's sharp senses. "They're very tall and don't have any cracks in them. There won't be any for a long time, so climbing isn't an option."

Mana was used to fortify the walls. Not only that, but excavating beneath the ground would be futile. Several monsters specialized in digging tunnels, so I was fairly convinced the walls extended well beneath the surface. Flying above them might be effective, though. Years had passed since the Overflow happened. If there were any flying creatures, they would have left the 4th District long ago. It was safe to presume that none remained, either slain or never emerging from the dungeon in the first place.

"Fine, but what about the guard at the entrance? Couldn't security be made a little more innovative?"

"Do you mean like an airport?" I squinted, trying to figure out what he was on about.

"Exactly," Lucas went on. "Some sort of metal detector, for example. And maybe a boom barrier sort of mechanism to authenticate our licenses and grant us access to the gate. Why rely on humans when anything can be automated? Furthermore, the manner in which that guard checked our belongings and identities was rather—"

"Half-assed? I know. First. A human being would do a better job at consoling a distressed mercenary. No robot can change that, and—" I leaned closer. "Here's a secret. The guard's actually on our side."

Because of how things functioned, there was no need for more than one person to cover each shift. All you had to do was fill in the blanks with the surface-level information provided. That lucky person might waste time in their booths the majority of the time. The windows and walls were undoubtedly mana-enhanced, which meant they were completely safe from any harm that might be thrown their way. Of course, if something significant were to occur as a result of their negligence, that particular guard would be held accountable.

Simply put, corrupt. I was also convinced that I could handle the task with ease if it were up to me. That confession, though, caused Lucas to grimace. "What do you mean by that?"

"They get a significant portion of whatever goods we provide them."

Jewelry, automobile parts, and possibly monster claws or fangs. Whatever it was, at the end of the day, it was in their best interest to overlook things. Even if someone were to slip in a bomb, I doubt they'd mind it.

"Everyone so wicked..." his blunder went unanswered.

I felt the same way, even though I pretended not to hear him.

Our society's rotten to the core.

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