Precipice (II)

"Before we begin the briefing, I want to acknowledge Yelena's efforts in uncovering the site of Scarecrow's next appearance. She spent two full hours interrogating the men you and Angelica defeated yesterday, Cyril. Her methods were… a bit excessive—considering they were still hospitalized—but they eventually talked. That's why everything is happening so suddenly."

I should have guessed she was up to something like that. Talk about being dedicated to the cause. Cyril carefully turned his head towards the stone pillar where Yelena stood, she returned his gaze for a moment, then signaled him to refocus his attention elsewhere.

"In regard to your earlier question, a wind magician is absolutely necessary for this mission—one of appropriate rank at that." By the time everyone registered Yelena's gentle tone, she was already making her way to the front and stopped beside the Chairman.

"From what we've gathered so far, Scarecrow has been working with informants to lure provisional hunters into secluded areas within these proxy dungeons, where he then makes his appearance. Nectar is usually distributed free of charge, but if no one wants to buy the drug, he uses some kind of skill to immobilize them before forcefully administering it."

"Forceful immobilization huh? That sounds an awful lot like an extra skill— the type of power predatory monsters usually have."

Yelena's lips parted as she slowly turned to face the speaker, her face betraying a subtle hint of surprise upon registering the voice.

"Yes, we have considered that possibility as well, Arden. However, based on the current witness testimonies we don't have enough evidence to conclude that it's an extra skill just yet, there is still room for us to be wary of other possibilities. The main symptoms that witnesses recall before being immobilized was the growing difficulty to breathe, alongside nausea and dizziness. Its led us to believe that scarecrow may possess some kind of poison related ability because of the gas mask he usually wears."

"If he's that meticulous about things then that means we're up against someone with a Psionic power. No wonder this guy's so sneaky." Cyril said, quietly mulling over the details to himself.

"Yes, and that's why you need Percy on your team." Wilhelm spoke again, shifting the topic of the conversation over to the young magician.

"Chances are, Scarecrow's powers are conducted through the air in some way, so you'll need a wind magician to shift things in your favor as soon as he begins using that paralysis skill. And on that note..." he added, "Angelica, your skill—Dragon Flare—Is it a Psionic or Etheric power? Depending on which one it is, Scarecrow might be able to prevent you from using your skill if he's somehow manipulating the atmosphere itself."

"My skill falls under the etheric category Chairman, it doesn't follow the rules of normal combustion, and I've even used it underwater."

"Oh? That's quite the versatile power you have. Now I can rest a little easier knowing that the team has a balanced mix of Psionic and Etheric deviants."

"An even split...you mean..." Angelica's eyes widened as she made a long pause. She turned towards her teammates and connected the dots herself without the Chairman's input.

"I see. It never really occurred to me before, but it actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it. Arden and I have Etheric abilities, while Cyril and Percy have Psionic ones. You really can tell just by how straightforward someone's powers are," she said, smiling softly at her conclusion.

For whatever reason, her teammates — especially Cyril and Arden — had gone out of their way to give her a small applause for figuring it out.

"Yes, that's basically the gist of your team's layout," Wilhelm replied. "You're all very capable. And although I don't mean to toot my own horn, I've been doing this for a very long time and handpicked each of you personally for this mission. Especially you Percy — it took quite a bit of convincing to get him onboard after his initial refusal. This should be more than enough to apprehend Scarecrow and get to the bottom of this."

"It's as the Chairman said, you've all been handpicked for the task." proclaimed Yelena, interrupting them. "At its core, the mission simply boils down to exploring the dungeon and waiting for Scarecrow to make his move, then apprehending him as soon as he shows himself. If that's not possible, then do whatever it takes to ensure your own safety."

Her implication was met with silent compliance. The words didn't need to be said out loud, but intrinsically, everyone understood them.

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"Typically, we would have gathered a lot more of you here for an actual dungeon dive, but this dungeon has already been cleared so a lot of those parameters aren't required anymore. Even though its more or less just a shell of a dungeon, be on your guard, anything can happen."

"By the way, Chairman, what exactly is the rank of the dungeon we're about to enter?" Angelica asked, adjusting her grip on the rapier at her side.

"Its difficulty should be about the same as Ba'al's Labyrinth. But going forward — and this applies to all of you provisional hunters — remember that we no longer rank gates solely by their magical output. Only gates registered within the Grid have an official ranking; anything outside of that is essentially a wild card."

"Very well, I understand. I'll infer the details some other time."

The Chairman cleared his throat and nodded. He glanced over the members of Onslaught's party, scanning them with his diligent gaze before speaking again.

"That sums up just about everything I wanted to cover. Scarecrow's agents might be mixed into the crowds you're heading in with, so be careful all of you."

"We hear you Chairman. Don't worry, I'll wrap this up quickly and drag that guy out by his ear." Cyril was the first to break off from the group with a casual stroll, tucking a hand into his pocket as he moved towards the exit.

"I know you're not foolish enough to do anything stupid, Cyril. If you all cooperate, then you should be able to complete the mission without a hitch, so give it your all." Wilhems words were preceded by the synchronous assent of Onslaught's party members as the gathering dismantled itself and began heading for the nearby exit, following in Cyril's lead.

"Confident much?" Angelica teased, quickly catching up to Cyril and leaning in close as she spoke.

"Aren't we all?"

"Heh, you have a point."

"The dungeon has been cleared, and the gate is set to close in due time. Normally, more experienced hunters would accompany you inside the dungeon. However, that won't be the case this time — by the Chairman's order, you're all exempt from any higher directive, including my own. I will not be joining you. Every member of this party is free to act however you see fit inside the dungeon, which means that your personal safety is entirely your responsibility. That concludes the formalities. If there are no further questions, you're all free to proceed." Yelena promptly concluded her announcement and took a step to the side, gesturing towards the large swirling portal with her free hand. A vertical gate stood beside her, the very same one Cyril had laid eyes upon a few minutes ago.

Although it was a literal tear in the fabric of space, there was something entrancing about it—a kind of otherworldly allure.

As soon as Yelena gave the order, swarms of people began moving towards the swirling gate, a few of them even had their hands raised to signal their questions. A rough approximation would put their total numbers somewhere between two to three dozen.

For efficiency's sake, Wilhelm had made himself scarce shortly after the briefing concluded, but not before granting Yelena the authority to oversee the proceedings. He had no desire to apply any unwanted pressure to a party full of provisional hunters.

No orderly assembly had formed this time, their departure was far from being called that, it was more akin to a crawling mob procession. A semi-circular assortment formed and slowly began marching through the gate, disappearing one by one as the figures became enveloped by the spiral of light.

As disorderly as it was, the mob of provisional hunters progressed rather quickly, and in no time at all, Yelena caught sight of the most conspicuous person there—even more noticeable than the noble behind him.

The boy's silver hair was a dead giveaway.

Onslaught—the most peculiar party on the scene—advanced toward the gate with purposeful strides. Their faces showed little trace of anxiety or tension; if anything, their hopeful expressions were tempered by a steely resolve.

"Cyril, a moment if I may."

It only took a single sentence from Yelena to stop them in their tracks. Predictably, all heads turned towards her in anticipation. It was fairly uncommon for her, a person known for her sangfroid, to call someone out so boldly—even more so because the one she had just called by name was nothing more than a lowly provisional hunter.

"Is something wrong?" Cyril turned around, asking the question slowly.

Yelena's gaze drifted over to the curious Angelica as she made to speak, her expression twisting with contemplation as she searched for the words. Only Cyril had been called by name, but the other members of his party instinctively stopped as soon as the young mans name was uttered aloud.

Yelena's expression stiffened, she parted her lips and exhaled a sharp breath, all but ready to rescind her statement. Before that could come to pass however, someone else intervened.

"Cyril, we're going on ahead. Catch up to us as soon as you get done talking to her."

"Angelica...?"

The girl smiled at him and gave a small wave as she moved off, imploring the others to do the same. Having understood the intentions at play, Percy and Arden wordlessly obeyed Angelica's command. They left Cyril with small gestures of acknowledgment before resuming the advance forward, and within moments, their bodies were consumed by the gate's swirling light, vanishing beyond its bounds and slipping out of this dimension entirely.

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