TBATE - Corrupted Blessing

20 : First zone

Caera Denoir

We arrived now inside the entrance to the relictombs. There are lots of people here entering or exiting the relictombs. The line was long, but because the four of us are 'exceptions'. The guard didn't even manage to carry a simple conversation with us and we skipped the long line of people, or in Nico's words 'They let us go first by their own accord.' and brought out our weapons before entering.

Arriving on our first ever zone in this little journey of ours, we got welcomed by what for me looks like a ruins of old, ancient buildings. Surrounding the ruins are lush vegetations and trees towering above us four. The trees doesn't even look real as it is at least more than 50 meters tall and has a body as wide as a small house. Even its branches are as big as a normal tree I would see everyday.

Now, I'm wearing a white shirt and a simple black pants. While Grey is wearing a whole black outfit with a tight black long sleeved shirt as a top and black pants. Nico's outfit is similar to Grey's with only the difference is that he's wearing a long dark coat over his body.

Cecilia on the other hand is wearing a black sleeveless shirt with gold touches on it, along with a black leather pants. Cecilia, as the only girl besides me in our party so she is the one I'm closest with. Grey is an exception of course. At first I'm uncomfortable with Cecilia because she gives this otherworldly aura around her that I can't explain. It then revealed that her body is an Asura's specifically a Phoenix's body. That fact made me uneasy and because of her ears that looked like an elf's as Grey said to me back then. Combining the fact that she had a crush on Grey on their previous life makes it unbearable.

But that feeling of unease quickly disappeared when I got close to her. She is just a simple, quiet, cheerful girls and it made her likeable even with all my doubts.

Our line up is made of a triangle position. Grey at the very front, me in the right side, Nico on the left and Cecilia in the middle of us. We slowly but surely observed our surroundings trying to figure out what awaits us in this zone.

Looking around, I sensed danger  coming towards me and instantly brought up my sword to block it. But the attack didn't arrive, Grey caught it with his bare hands, and he instantly raised his right hand, Conjuring a small black water ball in his hands. Firing it towards the woods where the attack came from, the ball easily hovered to the forest and just like that, a wide area in the forest is now covered in a black ice. The ice produces a black smoke, making the trees in that area rot slowly.

Grey tossed the projectile to Nico who caught it and examined the object. “Is it a trap? But I didn't sensed any mana signature around us." I said, making the Grey look at me.

“Because it's not a trap." Grey said and looked at Nico who nodded at this. “As Grey said, it is not. It's a dart used by a mana beast. Or is it even a mana beast?" Nico said staring at Grey, asking for his thoughts.

“Whatever it is, just don't lower your guards and observe. But for now, let's go up." Grey said pointing up?

“Where?" Cecilia asked

“Up" Grey said and flew up to the closest tree, landing on top of it's biggest branches.

The three of us followed him and landed on the same branch as him.
Grey looked at Cecilia and signalled something with his hands. Suddenly, multiple new branches appeared on the trunk of the tree, connecting to the branch we're on making it wider.

“Now that we have a nice platform to stand on, we'll plan out wh-"

As Grey is about to finish his words, an object comes flying from the other tree, heading towards Nico. Nico easily swatted it by his mana enhanced hand, making it fall to the wooden platform we're currently in.