"What is this?" Questioned Tai.
Inside the dark cave, multiple people remained still and comatose. The Jah had led the two through a secret tunnel going farther than before. The room they were in had solid protection from not just charms and soldiers but those things. The Finneds.
"All you have to do is drink this." The Jah started handing her a bottle of slimy purple substance.
There was an obvious anger forming on Titi's face as she realized what it was. She hurriedly tries to smash it out of her sister's hand but fails. From the next moment on, Tai faces her with an awfully cold expression.
"B-but. This is unethical. They can't just make you drink knowing it's from those cursed monsters." Titi complained to her sister.
"It isn't unethical if it is for the better." Tai said.
"Bu-!"
"Where is the results?" Tai asked.
The Jah excitedly led them through a hallway and stopped in front of a cell. Though it was dark, they could make out the figure of a man lying on the cell bed. Clearing his throat, the Jah mumbles the unlocking chant.
As soon as he did so, the man in the cell rolled over from facing the wall to the three of them. Before he could say his greetings, Titi could tell who it was.
"Maaka. Of course it's you." Titi rolled her eyes.
Having disappeared for months, she initially had thought he died or left because of exhaustion. It had given her a piece of mind as she didn't have to deal with one of his people anymore. They were like leeches sucking for blood.
"Greetings to the twins." Maaka said with joy.
He gets up from the bed and heads over to the cell door. Every subject that had been experimented on had gone berserk or died. Some survived the stages that the experiment put them through being deemed as No. 4.
"It's just my luck being No.0, your grace. Who would've thought that my blood works quite well with those of the monsters?" Maaka proudly stated.
Titi scoffs as her hand remains on her hips. She knew that his people were once great warriors, but they lost that title when they decided to join hands with those people. It wasn't a surprise that his blood would work with those monsters.
"Well, it seems one of your graces wasn't surprised." Maaka said with a smile.
"How long was the period of comatose?" Tai questioned.
"Three days." Maaka stated confidently.
The twins raised their eyebrows at the same time, expressing their shock. That was an abnormally quick time it took for him to recover. Clearing her throat, Titi stepped forward.
"And how do you know that this wouldn't harm Tai?" She directly asks Jah.
"It has been proven several times. Look at the marks of Maaka. They are pure, no curse in sight." The Jah proudly claimed.
Despite still being somewhat doubtful about the whole thing, the time they have left to exterminate the monsters was limited. If any news of the conflicts here were to be leaked to the King, they wouldn't get out of its scot-free.
"Alright." Tai unbottle the caps as Titi watched while unsettled.
—
His body landed on a mossy patch of grass as he observed the situation before him. In the dense thickets of trees, he sees a bunch of Hell Marmot resting from below. The people who had been training those creatures just now had gone away.
Neo glanced at the building, unsure of where the strong smell was coming from. The confusion of how his body felt so light and fast was clouded by the constant ringing in his head. It was like he was being controlled.
"Tumun." He muttered.
He was trying to bring the man out as he had fully disappeared. He didn't like what the situation felt like. It was like something bad was going to happen. Despite calling out to him he doesn't appear.
A person came out from the building, holding in his hand what seems to be like a glowing stone. Neo's eyes widened as he realized that there was blood covering his hands. Scared, he held his body back, laying low and away from sight.
The smell from earlier. It was coming from the man. This really felt wrong.
With every second passing, his breathing gets louder and haggard. Trying to conceal the noise, he raised his hands to cup his mouth.
"What are you scared of? Aren't you starving?" A whisper came from beside his ear.
It was only him hiding there yet Tumun was talking to him. He shook his head, seeming frightened by the aura coming off from the man below him.
"You haven't done anything wrong." The whisper came again.
A screech from within the building reached his ears as he flinched. It sounded like the hell marmots but why was it screeching? The images of him being chased down in the cell reappears. That mutilated and giant Hell marmot that had chased him down several halls.
It was ingrained into his brain and body. He could feel himself shaking and breathing heavily. More screeches came from the building as loud thumping sounds filled his ears. Taking a peek from his hiding spot, he sees splattered blood on the ground.
Through the door of the building it was pouring all over. Each time the scream died down, the man from earlier would appear with another glowing stone in his hand. What was he doing to those hell marmots?
"Go." The whisper told him.
Neo flinched at the command of Tumun. Why should he go when that person was doing something like this?
"It's your meal." Tumun whispered again.
"My meal?" He questioned.
A sharp gaze caused Neo to lay his head back down on the mossy patch of grass. He could have sworn that the man had turned to look at him. Did he find out that Neo was hiding here?
What was he going to do if he got caught here? Whatever the man was doing seemed illegal.
Another ringing from his head causes him to clench his jaws tightly and close his eyes. Something sharp was hitting the back of his eyes and his temples. The pain was unbearable and he couldn't contain the noise. Once again, the smell was getting stronger.
"Oh, another one?" An unfamiliar voice stated.
Neo opens his eyes at an abnormally fast pace as he realizes it wasn't Tumun. A giant hand quickly slammed him down on the mossy patch of grass. It was the man with the glowing stones. Unable to get out of his grasp, Neo could feel himself choking as the hand squeezed harder on his neck.