Simon began to follow Elliot and the rest of the group. What else could he do, after all? What reason did Simon have that they would acknowledge as justification to leave?
He eventually caught up to them, doing his best to determine the situation at hand. Simon knew, for the time being, he should not try to rely on his Signature due to how unstable it was.
The walk there was quiet, too quiet. Simon could not focus on what was in front of him, no matter how hard he tried. It wouldn't take long before they reached their location.
As Simon expected, the entity was still there. The royal man was gazing directly at the group as they turned the corner.
His hand had regrown, except its color was much paler. The entity grasped his wrist, taking an intimidating pose.
(If he was harmed by the Neil... Then why is he still here?)
They were all at a stand-off, with Simon behind everyone. He didn't know what to think; he just walked to the side and set the camera up.
The last camera they had was still inside the replica world, meaning he could destroy it at any time. So with this camera, they could observe him as long as he didn't leave.
This would be essential to making the royal retreat. As Simon finished setting it up, the entity clicked his tongue.
He didn't pay attention to the rest of the group, only focusing on Simon. It was almost as if he was intimidated by him. Almost.
Then, he decided to examine the rest, not a single word shared between anyone this entire time. As Simon looked closer at the entity, he could tell something was wrong.
Not with him, but rather his surroundings. Even though he could not see his feet through the robes, he could tell he was not touching the floor.
No one else seemed to have noticed this, but still the stand-off continued.
The entity turned from person to person, his expression changing each time.
He looked at Leo, filled with pride. The royal could tell he was a better fighter than him.
At Haruto consumed by sloth. No matter how he looked at it, Haruto was not worth the time.
Ezra with wrath. He was the most experienced out of the group; therefore, the most dangerous.
Evelyn was enchanted by lust. He was captivated by her beauty.
Then... He turned one final time to Silas. His face went pale, a slight tremor in his fingers.
"You... Abomination..." The entity struggled to say.
The royal looked as if he might burst at Silas, although he might die from it.
"Who are you calling an abomination? One-eyed freak," Silas said.
The group was clearly preparing itself for a fight.
Simon could still not get over the fact that this was happening.
(He clearly wants us to fight him... but why?)
Then, Simon noticed it. The air should be covered with a red mist, but around the entity, it suddenly disappeared.
What could this mean? It was as if Louge Gas did not exist around him. The closer he observed, the more he came to realize.
The entity had not breathed once, and there was nothing around him.
Not a speck of dust.
Not a rock.
It was as if a property was taken away from the things around him. Ezra was about to take a step forward before Simon quickly grabbed him by the collar.
Ezra's foot went straight through the floor.
"Huh?"
Simon pulled Ezra back up with a heavy effort behind it.
It was as if his foot alone weighed twice as much as his body.
Only after Ezra was retrieved did Simon step in front of him. He grabbed the coin out of his pocket, tossing it towards the entity.
As it was tossed, it began to slow in the air. Only after two seconds did it suddenly vanish into the floor. It was as if it had sunken into water.
The coin did not bounce, did not clink or roll. It simply disappeared into the ground as if it were a void.
Evelyn took note of this, grabbed a nearby rock, and did the same thing. Just as the coin, the rock fell through the earth.
"Tch."
The royal man's trick had been discovered, and he swiftly deactivated it.
As soon as this barrier was gone, Silas raised his hand.
"Bang."
He shot the entity directly in the forehead, making it crash onto the floor. This, of course, was not enough to kill it, as it rose again.
Its body was folded, its head below the back of his knees, and its spine broken from the sheer force of the attack. It swiftly snapped back up with one motion.
Its expression had shifted from calm to pure, unfiltered hatred.
"Curse Thee! Be with the damned! Both of thy! Disgraceful spawns of šēmu!"
The royal continued to rant, although none of them could understand what he was saying. They did not hear a single sound that spilled from his lips, like he wasn't talking at all.
Although they thought this man was crazy, they needed to retreat. It was clear they had no chance of even getting close to him.
Simon could only sigh, looking to his right at the next turn of the train tracks. He noticed something that wasn't there before.
(Really? Here?)
What he saw was another marker from Project Icarus, a falcon's skull. Simon turned his attention away from it, not wanting to draw their gazes towards it.
"You guys should go back. I'll set up the camera."
They all nodded in agreement, except for Elliot, who hesitated for a bit before doing the same. Simon knew he had also seen this, but he didn't have a reason to stay, unlike Simon.
They all left Simon behind, seeing it was safe as there was no Hollow Beasts activity at this time.
Simon had fully set the camera up long ago, so he made sure it wasn't properly recording for the time being.
Then, without another thought, he walked towards the marker, leaving the entity who was screaming his head off alone.