Cain turned his head to the side. He saw Abel and Louise plunging their weapons into the bodies of the virus beasts, concluding their first battle.
He let out a breath he had unconsciously held. From the side, Abel and Louise approached, their expressions stiff, constantly scanning the area around them.
"Good job, you two!"
However, before finishing his sentence, the 'bang' sound from a rifle blast echoed. It came from the sniper in their group, instantly drawing the vanguards' attention.
'Rika, what are you!?'
The gray-haired boy glanced at the girl, who took her focus off the rifle. She pointed to the left side of where Cain was.
Cain followed her gaze from an unseen corner covered by a thick wall. A black smoke emerged from a hole in the body of a virus beast that had managed to hide well from the close-range weapon users.
Without saying anything, he gave her a thumbs-up before telling the two to gather. Not long after, the two approached the three as they formed a small circle while looking around the area.
"What's next?"
Rika asked, making the others look at Cain as the leader of this small exploration squad.
Cain alternated his gaze between the monsters and his group. He already saw how his teammates handled the beast and the power behind the monster. The boy was sure that they could manage on their own.
There was also the fact that the area was too vast. It will take some time to finish the mission. So after deep consideration, Cain looked down, seeing that the particle armor suit enclosed the edge of the smartwatch screen without leaving any gaps.
He raised his smartwatch and showed it to the others.
"We will split up, and meet back at this spot in thirty minutes."
He looked at the faces of his comrades. Their expressions were tense, especially Louise's; her face was pale as a white sheet.
The other three realized, and somehow the worries that gnawed at their consciousness faded when they saw the person who was more anxious than themselves appear.
"Louise, calm down."
The brown-haired girl flinched. She raised her head and looked at her leader's calm, sharp expression, piercing her faltering consciousness.
Her breath hitched, yet the flame in her eyes never dimmed. The rattling in her spear intensified, but it came from her gripping it too tight.
Louise clenched his teeth as she accidentally bit her lip, causing blood to trickle down her chin. She licked the wound clean and nodded, focusing her attention on her teammates.
"I'm sorry, leader. Please continue."
Cain paused for a moment, making sure that Louise, in front of him, stopped shivering. Initially, he was a little hesitant about the girl. When they first met after the summons from General Dosh, Louise left a deep impression on him.
Yet Cain's assumption proves him wrong after seeing her constantly gritting her teeth despite the odds. Louise was a girl in focus; it showed in her mentality, which surpassed Abel's and was almost equal to his in terms of persistence.
These last few days together, Louise's development was the most prominent in the group, and something to reckon with in the future.
The gray-haired boy nodded and began to continue his plans.
"We will split up! I will go alone, Abel and Rika, Louise and Peter, you guys go together."
Rika nearly opened her mouth, but swallowed the words back that stuck in her throat.
Abel, Peter, and Louise exchanged glances, and they nodded. The three of them had a high trust in their leader's strength.
"Understood."
Together, the five of them tapped their smartwatch screens, opened the clock menu, and set the timer for thirty minutes.
"Okay, let's synchronize our time together in three, two!"
They pressed the screen simultaneously, and the time displayed started the countdown.
The group nodded and turned around to explore the area separately. Cain went north, Abel and Rika west, while Peter and Louise went east.
***
Minutes later, after separating from the others. Abel and Rika, who explored the west, were welcomed by a world where shadow reigns.
Abel glanced up, seeing the dark sky, darker than night. The abandoned buildings in the vicinity left a deep impression on him, who had been obsessed with the outside world.
His eyebrows wrinkled as he saw a green color stretching from the cracks of the building, yet it came from liquid stains. Not something that he longed for. It made him slump his shoulders, a bit disappointed because his wish to see plants vanished.
"Abel focus!"
A jolt struck the boy's butt, causing him to almost yelp. The blonde boy's expression twisted, his hand rubbing his throbbing rear. When he turned to look at Rika, his body froze, and he immediately threw his gaze forward.
"I-I'm sorry."
Abel, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. His eyebrows rose when he realized that for the first time, he had been scolded by Rika.
This revelation opened up memories from his childhood, which began to play in the boy's head.
***
Both of them have known each other since childhood. Rika came into his life as a child adopted by his parents.
He had once heard his parents whispering at night that Rika was the child of his parents' best friend, who died while carrying out a mission outside the wall.
The boy who heard it immediately took action, inviting the girl out and playing together to deepen their relationship as a family.
At first, Rika was a quiet child who preferred to be immersed in her books and always kept her emotions bottled up. Yet slowly but surely, that persona cracked, and Rika could express herself, showing her smile.
From that day forward, Rika has always been a caring and dependable family member for Abel. Although it sometimes became overly protective of Abel. And never actually scolded or raised her hand at him.
***
Yet on this day, whether she was aware or not. The girl showed her fierce side to Abel. Without Abel realizing it, his lips parted, showing a happy smile because he felt his relationship with Rika had progressed further than usual.
"Abel, why are you spacing out like that? …Haa, it seems you are tainted by Cain's influence too much."
Abel widened his eyes, seeing Rika, who exhaled while whispering something at the end of her sentence. He tilted his head sideways as he was curious as to what she was about to say.
"What is it? I can't hear what you say."
Looking at the oblivious boy, the girl smacked her front helmet, then shook her head, exasperated by his innocence.
"Never mind, let's continue the exploration."
Abel's body was pushed from behind. The two of them set off, traversing the cold, quiet street, passing several abandoned buildings that were severely damaged.
Of the many buildings, somehow Abel's yellow eyes were drawn to one place where a half-destroyed white building stood.
His footsteps brought him closer to the site until he stopped when he felt a pull on his shoulder.
"Abel stop!"
The boy nodded, his expression flat as he saw three virus beasts, one of which had a different appearance as they roamed freely in the half-destroyed building.
The new monster had four sharp legs that stabbed the ground. Its round, elongated body was covered with flesh and cables that coiled around to protect its pulsating core in the center.
Abel knitted his brows when he saw the monster, for some reason, his instinct kept ringing an alarm to immediately move away from its sight.
"Abel, that monster has a rifle at the end of its body!"
"A rifle?"
Hearing Rika's words, the boy once again looked at the monster, and it was true. Its body, which elongated and became smaller towards the top, was actually the rifle itself.
The red-haired girl immediately crouched down and aimed. Abel did not stand still; he gripped the hilt of his sword.
As he drew the sword, sparks flew, and the sharp side of his sword glowed red, emitting heat waves.
"No need, Abel. I got this!"
Without further explanation, Rika pulled the trigger of her rifle. Her body flinched as the recoil of the firearm pushed her shoulder.
It didn't stop there; the explosion's sound resounded twice more. The three bullets flew through the wind barrier and managed to penetrate the red core in the body of the virus beast, which now lay as junk.
Abel gasped when he saw his childhood friend's ability. He smiled faintly, but his expression hardened when he caught a shadow coming from above.
The yellow pupil in his eye shrank as he jerked his head upward. A jolt of power surged through his veins, making his body move before his mind could follow. He retracted his sword and, without hesitation, threw it.
The sword whistled as it spun in the air, cutting through the atmosphere. Its sharp tip pierced the core of the monster that was about to extend its cable tentacles.
A crisp sound reverberated across the place as the virus beast's body shattered after hitting the ground, making the boy's expression relax as he sighed in relief.
"Luckily, I noticed it."
Abel, who felt a tug on his shoulder, glanced to his side. Behind the transparent visor, he could see Rika's grinning face, showing her white teeth.
"Thank you, Abel."
He nodded and gazed toward the east, where they were supposed to gather as promised.
'I hope the others are fine.'