King Of Limbo

Once midnight drew near, those who had been resting in the camp finally awoke and began to gather at the central area after making preparations.

Be it drawing water or packing food, sharpening their weapons or reinforcing their armor, everyone wanted to be as ready as they could be before delving into a ruin with unknown danger.

"Have you decided on how we'll move?" Henry posed the question towards Lady Rose as he along with the other aristocrats came to the central area.

It was only natural for them to think that a plan had already been put into place since everyone was being told it was time to startoff. However Lady Rose shook her head at his inquiry. "Not exactly, for now we will enter as one group then adapt to the situation once inside, the ruin is…" She then proceeded to explain the state of the ruin and why she felt this was best.

"I see…" Henry looked hesitant to accept this way of going about things but he had no choice but to agree. Since the information was more or less known to the majority of people, if he were to suggest they send scouts in then it'd be obvious that he was using them as test subjects.

Whether Lady Rose did this on purpose or not, he didn't know.

…

With all preparations made the group began to make their way toward the ruin a little bit after midnight.

It was completely pitch black due to the lack of moonlight that night, something Lady Rose had actually chosen purposefully.

For whatever reason the ruins had been dark despite individuals going in prior, so in regards to this she chose to go in when it would be most dark. If danger was present then they were better off confronting it at the beginning.

Currently they were using illuminating crystals that gave off a yellowish glow giving light to a two hundred meter radius in all directions. This wasn't much given how vast the ruin seemed but it at least prevented them from being caught off guard.

They moved in diamond pattern with Lady Rose and her scouters taking point alongside Evanora. To the sides Henry and Jagu took left whilst Esmeralda and Jin took right. The rear was protected by Aron and Juliet, making for a solid formation even if attacked out of the blue.

"This place is giving me a bad feeling." Sebastian muttered in a trembly tone despite being near the center of the formation.

It was fairly hard to see even with light so one could understand his concern. They could barley make out the structures they were passing due to the lack of light and numerous vegetation covering it up.

Jin chuckled at his remark and shrugged his shoulders in a carefree manner. "It'd be more strange if you had a good feeling. I mean this place is downright creepy." He added as his laugh echoed a few times.

"Shouldn't we be searching these structures?" Brutas who had been quiet most times asked this in curiosity. They were passing by a fair amount of broken down buildings so one would wonder if there was anything valuable in them.

Anastasia rejected this proposal almost immediately though. "No, if this is a ruined city then it's unlikely there's anything of value near the entrance.We're probably aiming to reach the end of the ruin and start searching from there coming outwards, right?" She

"Right indeed." Lady Rose muttered without bothering to turn back, her focus still to the front.

The longer they walked the more eerie the place felt. Only the sounds of insects and running water could be heard with the occasional rubble falling from the deteriorating structures.

After walking several hundred meters without anything of note happening, Jagu suddenly came to halt and began to sniff the air with a frown. "I smell blood."

"Here we go again." Jin sighed out loud as he placed his hand on the hilt of his blade while looking left and right with alertness. He knew to trust Jagu's senses so he had a feeling of what was to come.

Those lacking experience in the center of the formation grew fearful. Aron who stood behind could sense it well, only masked by the same smell of blood Jagu spoke off.

"Which way?" Lady Rose inquired and Jagu immediately pointed to a structure to their left.

It was fairly large, having five floors and looked to be in better condition than the other collapsing structures present. However this sort of enclosed space made them worry of what to expect inside…

*gulp*

Henry couldn't help but gulp loudly as he looked toward the dark brick structure, his attention turned to the few windows it had on the top floors but he could see nothing.

Being strong and being fearless were two very different things as this situation showed. The only individuals who looked unfazed were Aron, Juliet, Jagu, Evanora and Lady Rose. All others either felt fear to some degree or concern regarding the situation.

"Sheee...."

!!

Suddenly a whispery echo came from the building and had many almost jump in fright. It resembled the sound of wind whistling by but felt more artificial and raw… it definitely came from a living organism. They thought.

"You, go check." Henry suddenly turned to the center of the formation and asked one of the few scouts present to do what they were brought to do.

Fear and worry was plastered all over the young man's face but no one seemed like they would say anything to oppose his selection. Everyone just looked at him and waited for him to step forward.

"Here you go buddy." Jin tossed the young man a small illumination crystal and a pat on the back before sending him on his way.

*gulp*

"T-thanks." He muttered before taking a gulp and walking towards the building. Even without entering he could feel a sort of suffocating atmosphere coming from it, making him want to just turn back and run.

After finally reaching the beyond rotten door, he stretched out his hand with the crystal to try and see what was inside before actually going in.

First to his left… nothing

Forward… nothing

Finally came his right… 'nothing there too-'

"Sheee…"

Before he could pass it off as nothing once again, that same whistling echo resounded very close to him. He began waving the crystal frantically to his right but still saw nothing. It was then that he heaved a sigh and turned to face the others.

"The engrave looks clear so I'll be entering no- blergh!!"

Immediately he had turned around, blood spewed from his mouth and his vision grew blurry. He lowered his gaze to look at his chest and found that there was a large pale white hand protruding out of it.

!!

Everyone was taken aback by this sudden event and before those who wanted to react could even do so, the young man's body was dragged inside in an instant. Leaving behind only the illumination crystal on the ground and the sound of his screams echoing in the air….

For most they couldn't see anything beyond the arm that pierced the young man, but for Aron and Jagu who watched the scene carefully it was different.

…what they saw was a pale skinned and hairless humanoid creature, roughly ten feet in height with a hunched posture.

It's hands were freakishly long and could touch the ground even as it stood, but from what they could see the creature was most certainly bipedal. What drew their attention most was it's face which seemed to lack orfices aside from its mouth which hand a carnivorous dental formula.

'I've never seen or read about anything like it…' Aron thought we narrowed brows as he tried thinking of what beasts, creature or races it resembled.

Quite a few did hold comparisons hence the ease in identifying some of its physiology but none quite fit the bill perfectly.

"…how should we move?" Henry asked cautiously while looking in Lady Rose's direction, hoping she had a plan.

But before she could respond, Aron moved from his position and began walking towards the building. "I'll go." He announced casually as if it weren't at all troublesome.

"You saw what happened to that guy right? Do you even have a plan?" Henry asked with some surprise on his face, thinking perhaps Aron was just being overly confident.

However Aron didn't stop walking and just proceeded inside leaving only two words from Henry.

"I'm different."