Glenn's scowl had only deepened with each successive interaction in this godforsaken place.
If his expression continued to sour, his devilishly handsome features might soon curdle into the permanent grimace of a wizened old man.
Glenn: ["Well, that was certainly… something."]
Disregarding Glenn's sardonic expression, Rusk arched a brow.
Rusk: ["What do you mean by that?"]
Glenn: ["You felt it too—there was something unnerving about that man. I would've preferred to just cut him down then and there rather than let a threat like him walk free."]
Rusk's own brow furrowed, his gaze intensifying as he scrutinized Glenn's brutal assessment.
Rusk: ["Justice would be better served by letting him rot behind bars rather than granting him the mercy of a swift death."]
Glenn: ["We both know what he was carving up wasn't some damned animal—if that doesn't warrant execution, what does? Besides, who said anything about 'swift'? In my line of work, you learn a thing or two about making death…excruciating."]
A chill crept through Rusk as he began to reassess his perception of Glenn. The one-eyed man was not merely a cynical rogue as he'd originally believed; he was dangerous. Why Lacerta was accompying such a man, he did not know.
Rusk understood that a disparity in raw strength did not guarantee victory. Cunning and intellect could easily overturn a battle once thought decided. And Glenn… he gave him that vibe.
Rusk: ["By that you mean…?"]
Glenn: ["Pfft... you know. Thievin', killin'... general banditry. Whatever it took to survive."]
The confession hung in the air. The crimson-haired man's expression instantly hardened, his hand dropping to the hilt of the sword at his hip like a striking serpent.
Rusk: ["———"]
Glenn: ["—?!"]
Glenn's eyes widened as his fingers clenched around the haft of his axe on his back, but the gulf in their physical prowess was insurmountable—no amount of intellect could compensate for that disparity without any planning beforehand.
Stepping between them at the last moment, Lacerta intercepted the blow. His own blade met Rusk's with a deafening clang, erupting in a shower of sparks that illuminated the grim alley. The very ground beneath them fractured from the concussive force.
In terms of sheer raw strength… it surpasses Haldran's!
Though he had managed to block the lethal strike aimed at Glenn's neck, the force of the single swing was staggering.
Lacerta: ["Hrk——!"]
Rusk: ["You? Why would you…"]
Ignoring the violent tremor that shot up his arm, Lacerta lowered his blade and growled.
Glenn: ["You son of a bitch—! I'll kill you!"]
Glenn stepped out from behind Lacerta and erupted in a furious snarl.
Lacerta understood Rusk's rationale—an attack fueled by raw emotion. He recalled Rusk's tale of losing comrades, and nearly his own life, to bandits. It was a logic born of trauma and rage, meaning that… while logical, was unjustified in the heat of the moment.
Thus, he could not allow Glenn to just be executed.
Lacerta: ["Enough."]
Rusk: ["——"]
Lacerta: ["Glenn, my guide, is a former bandit. Note the emphasis. Furthermore, would our mutual destruction here not displease Haldran?"]
Rusk remained silent, his chest heaving with emotion. It did not take long for the realization to dawn on him; he had acted rashly, a novice ruled by emotion rather than principle.
Rusk: ["My… apologies. My history with bandits… clouded my judgment. It won't happen again—I swear it…."]
Glenn said nothing, the sharp click of his tongue the only reply.
Sighing, Lacerta attempted to dissipate the residual tension.
Lacerta: ["Right. Now that we've settled that—"]
Glaring from one man to the other to ensure the fight was truly over, Lacerta finally stepped back from between Rusk and Glenn.
Lacerta: ["So, now what? We still have no information on the whereabouts of Caro Mendin. We're pretty much still at square one."]
Rusk: ["Perhaps we ought to split up..."]
Glenn frowned.
Glenn: ["Split up? In a fucking place like this? Did you not just see the last guy we ran into? A straight psychopath. Who knows how many more freaks like that are hiding on these streets."]
Rusk merely lowered his head, before averting his gaze towards Lacerta.
Rusk: ["It is our best bet. Splitting up, while riskier, would allow us to cover ground at a much faster pace."]
Lacerta simply had to agree with Rusk. Splitting up was the wiser choice, especially for one reason: what Haldran had said about time being of the essence with this mission. He'd already wasted hours practicing first aid on himself, so they were definitely in a hurry.
Honestly, he didn't much care for this 'Caro Mendin' person. He'd never even met them after all, so why would he? The only reason he was doing this was solely for information, if, in the end, he got the information he'd been after and Caro still somehow died in the end.
...He wouldn't really care.
Perhaps, if it were someone he actually knew a little bit more—like Glenn, he would though.
Lacerta: ["I agree with Rusk."]
Glenn could only sigh upon realizing his opinion didn't matter any more. He was outnumbered two to one after all.
Scratching the back of his head, he glared at Lacerta with his good eye.
Glenn: ["So what then? We regroup in, say... an hour or so?"]
Both Lacerta and Rusk nodded in agreement.
————————————————
Thanks to his superior agility, Lacerta found navigating the grey streets far simpler than he had expected.
The Warrens were a desolate, permanently grey labyrinth of alleys and dark streets, making it unsettlingly difficult to spot anyone lingering in the darkness—an effect that is only intensified by the intensity of the night.
The eternal darkness seemed unnatural—a peculiar thought, considering Lacerta lacked the worldly experience to distinguish the natural from the unnatural… though it was a feeling confirmed by the stench of negativity it gave off.
Walking through the damp alleyway, Lacerta glared at the T-junction ahead—left or right, with no idea where he was meant to be going.
Truly, Lacerta was navigating by luck alone.
Lacerta: ["——?"]
Stopping his walk in an instant, Lacerta's purple pupils narrowed as if trying to pierce through the darkness. He had caught a glimpse of movement within it: a humanoid figure traveling from one side of the fork to the other.
Of course, the natural thing to do was to give chase. The people most likely to know what he was looking for were the ones that lived here, after all.
Lacerta: ["Hey—hey, wait a second, please!"]
Yelling, Lacerta took chase after the silhouette as it took the right turn before he followed.
Lacerta: ["I just have a question…"]
His eyes fixated on the black silhouette, which now stood uncannily still at the very end of the dead-end.
Lacerta: ["Do you… know… wh—"]
A glint of steel reflecting the moonlight flashed toward his face.
Lacerta: ["———!!"]
————————————————
Where? Who? What? Why?
Lacerta assaulted himself with a barrage of questions that offered no answers, nor ever would.
He existed now within a dark void, seemingly without end, infinity stretching in every direction.
He had been here before…
This darkness, a representation of something intangible, was a new world of the unknown. It was a realm where reason faltered, where he existed without a physical body, yet could still perceive his surroundings. And once more, it was this same realm where that elusive something resided.
I don't know why… but I can feel it. Touching that something will change everything…
Thus, with a hand that did not exist, he reached out towards that intangible something, making an effort to grasp it. He reached towards the purple mist. Yet, once again, it remained impossibly distant. Though perhaps… he had drawn just a fraction closer to it this time.
————————————————
The weapon had never struck him; it never embedded itself in his face. Instead, it remained fixed no more than a few inches away from doing so, seemingly suspended in the air.
In a panicked, painful motion, Lacerta had caught the dagger at the last possible moment… saving his life on instinct and instinct alone.
He felt the sting of the sharp edge slicing his palm as warm blood trickled down his wrist before he threw the weapon aside and frowned.
I almost just died.
Of course, it wasn't his first experience with being close to death. Despite the short time he'd had to experience things, he had already brushed with death once before.
But to see it come so close so vividly was…. unsettling.