The creatures below extended their tentacles, trying to grasp Ezra's leg. Elliot hurried to make a frame with his two hands, trapping the Hollow Beasts inside of it.
[Stillframe]
They froze mid-air, just as they locked onto Ezra's leg.
"Bang."
Silas shot the tentacle. The Hollow Beasts could no longer preserve the Louge Gas in their lungs, and the clean oxygen entered. This made them wither away. A sense of relief washed over the group as they finally sat down to catch their breath.
With the gateway to the human realm now open, they could peacefully free themselves from exhaustion. Simon was different from the rest of the group; he was still on a razor's edge.
Not only had Elliot appeared at just the right moment — he waited until Ezra was in danger to do anything.
"Thank you, Elliot. This kid honestly won't get away from me," Ezra said.
"Running is too much work." Silas's voice was barely above a whisper.
Elliot didn't respond for a while, almost as if he was calculating the right response. This made Simon even more aware of his every move and surroundings.
"Haha, I could've gotten here earlier, sorry."
Neither Silas nor Simon was amused by this. He was a Bedeviled beforehand; how could he be so friendly with them?
Although with other people around, it would be difficult to get a reaction out of Elliot, Simon still had to attempt it.
"Hey, Elliot. Why'd you take so long to use your Signature?"
"Huh? It takes a while to build up spiritual energy for it."
"Really?... It shouldn't be that hard to gather that much when you're an A-grade."
This was correct; the grades just weren't for show. Of course, the lower the grade, the less spiritual energy the Signator could handle. However, higher grades came with more side effects.
Take Simon, for example; if he overused his power and turned fate, there would be a butterfly effect. There was no telling what it would be, but Simon knew full well that heavy spiritual energy usage wasn't his downside.
Even if it was, it wouldn't be considered one with his rank.
"If that's the case, why didn't you help Simon?"
"My Signature is just numbers. Even if I wanted to, nothing would be altered physically."
(Not unless you want to die, that is.)
Elliot's eyes flickered before he suddenly walked up to Haruto.
"We need to get him to a medic."
"I guess you're right, those nocturnal beasts must've done a number on him."
Simon and Elliot locked eyes for a split second. Their gaze was one of warning, both of them fighting internally. Elliot was the first to advert his gaze, assisting Haruto up the stairs.
Simon followed soon after, squinting as the sun hit him. As he stepped out, the tingle on his skin turned into a burning sensation. He exhaled, letting out the Louge Gas that had built up in his lungs.
Louge Gas functioned as entities' and Hollow Beasts' replacement for oxygen. Just as clean oxygen was toxic to them, Louge Gas was toxic to humans.
While too much consumption may not directly kill a human on contact, it would give them a virus if not treated immediately, would be lethal.
The rest of the group did the same, as Ezra suddenly threw Silas off his back. Silas reacted quickly, however, stopping his momentum and landing safely on the ground.
"Asshole."
"Watch your language, brat."
The entire group got into separate cars, Simon getting in the one he had arrived in. However, the whole drive, he couldn't stop thinking about Elliot.
It was like he wasn't attempting to hide his true intentions. At least to Simon, but even still, someone would need to be a fool to trust him.
(A Bedeviled will always be a Devil. No matter how much they try to hide it, they will be stuck to their roots for one reason. Once you become one, you no longer have the right to call yourself human. You are only a soul wavering in a body that doesn't belong on this earth anymore.)
As he thought this, they arrived back at Heaven and immediately went to the infirmary. The room had a few beds and chairs, smelling of heavy chemicals and metal.
Each one of the members sat down in a chair, waiting for the medical staff.
Haruto was given special treatment, as the others just needed a routine check-up.
Anything that is from the Hollow World must stay in the Hollow World. This time, Alina was the one doing Simon's inspection. As she shoved her dental probe into his mouth, she was oddly aggressive.
This made Simon tighten his grip on the chair. He instinctively moved his head, causing Alina to grip his chin.
"Stay still," she said with narrowed eyes.
To think this soft-spoken woman could be so demanding... Either way, Simon tried his best to comply with her orders.
Gag!
Alina had pulled out a big, virus-like rose-red orb. This was a very common virus and appeared from breathing in too much of the Louge Gas.
Alina put the orb on a metal tray, spraying it down with a blue liquid that smelled like sand. As the orb evaporated, Alina took off her gloves, writing some things down on her computer.
The rest of the group also had similar experiences, with Leo having the most noticeable one. His doctor had pulled a bright orange scorpion out of his mouth.
These were signs of a Hollow Beast trying to explode him from the inside out. When this was planted, the host would not be able to tell something was living inside its body, but they had stopped before it could get too serious.
Simon knew there were other important things to do, however. He got up from his chair, trying to ignore what had just happened before he was stopped.
As the automatic doors slid open, Evelyn quickly rushed him back to his seat.
"Ah, ah, ah. All of you need to rest."
With that, she brought in a tray of food. There was a container full for each person, including Alina. Simon was skeptical at first, carefully inspecting his food to make sure it wasn't poisoned.
There was nothing wrong with it physically; he was just a very cautious person. He pierced the roasted chicken with his fork, bringing it to his mouth, and began to chew.
"Did you make this?" Simon asked while chewing.
"...What makes you think I can cook?"