Into the Abyss

"So she put a hole in the ground..." Axel said, his eyes fixed on the pages of his novel, the words blurring together as he slurped the steaming hot ramen noodles on the rooftop of their mountain base.

A girl beside him, her long brown hair tied in a ponytail, her eyes fixed on the distant mountains.

Axel's gaze never left his book. "Who made this?" he asked, his voice detached.

The girl hesitated, her eyes darting towards the ramen bowl, "I-I think it was Sakura from the culinary team, sir." Her voice barely rose above the gentle hum of the wind.

Axel's gaze was still fixed on his novel. "Tell them to make another. This one's lacking something."

The girl bowed and quickly departed, her footsteps echoing across the rooftop. and the door was slammed

The door slid open, and Riasa entered, her curly crimson hair cascading down her back like a fiery waterfall. Her piercing yellow eyes sparkled, and her full lips curled into a slight smile.

"Eh sir... you called me?" she asked.

Axel finally looked up, his eyes locking onto Riasa's face as he chewed slowly. "Oh yeah, Riasa." His eyes returned to his novel.

Riasa approached, her hips swaying gently as she moved, her eyes fixed on Axel. Her black and purple outfit seemed to shimmer in the sunlight. "Yes, sir?" she asked.

Axel's gaze returned to his novel, his mouth still full.

"You and another in the team are going down the hole one of your higher-ups made." He said

"There's a suspected ruin underneath it."

" You need to get in there and bring back whatever you can."

Riasa's eyes widened slightly. "The hole, sir?"

"You mean the one created by Akari's...?" Her voice trailed off, her eyes fixed on Axel's face.

Axel nodded, his eyes still on his novel. "That's the one."

"Choose whoever you think is best for the job, and make sure to come back alive."

"You'll be working with a few from Squad Omega, so... have at it." He paused, his eyes flicking up to meet Riasa's gaze.

"That is all."

Riasa bowed, her smile growing wider.

"Yes, sir. We won't let you down." She turned to leave, her hips swaying gently as she moved.

Axel's voice called out softly, "Just don't die, okay?".

Back to the playground

Yukiko's eyes widened as she gazed into the massive hole, her voice laced with disbelief. "Well, how did this happen?!"

She took a step forward, her feet crunching on the rubble that surrounded the crater.

Kaito rubbed the back of his head. "Well.... it was Akari..."

Misuki's eyes narrowed, her gaze fixed on Akari. "So you're telling me... She blasted a hole into the ground....." Her voice trailed off.

Kaito nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground. "Yes... Akari, care to explain?"

"Well, I had to exorcise the spec!" Akari took a step forward, her fists clenched at her sides.

Misuki's eyebrow raised. "By ripping a hole in a playground?!" She gestured towards the destruction,.

Akari's face fell, her eyes welling up with tears. "But it was to save you guys..." Her voice cracked.

Kaito sighed, his eyes fixed on the ground. "Anyways, where's Kuro and Ryujin..?"

"I haven't seen them all morning"

Akari's face brightened, a small smile playing on her lips. "Kuro was sent on a mission to fight a burrowing Spec at a village"

"And Ryujin followed him on the mission..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Hope they won't destroy the village, though..."

"Anyways, the three of you have a mission!"

Kaito's eyes widened in surprise. "Huh? Three of us?!"

Akari nodded. "Yes, three of you were summoned to go on this mission."

"It's a discovery and retrieve mission!"

Yukiko asked. "What's the mission objective?"

Akari gestured towards the hole. "The hole I made is supposed to have a ruin inside it."

"And Squad Omega is supposed to go there and map out the ruins."

"If there's anything valuable there, retrieve it and report to us!!"

Misuki raised an eyebrow. "Practically, we won't need to fight?"

Akari nodded. "Right! But other teams would have been dispatched to the same ruins as well."

"I want you three to finish up before them and head back here!"

Misuki's eyes narrowed. "Hmm, to boost our credibility?"

"No... to make sure we win against them! " Akari said with her fist clenched,

"We have to show them we are the best team!"

Kaito sighed. 'Forgot she was that competitive...' he thought

Akari grinned. "Yea! While I go back to the X-spec center and discuss the Mutated Rodent Issue..."

'And it seems Koji got away too...'

'So we get back this evening?'

Kaito's eyes widened as he stared at the gaping hole before them. "Question, how do we get down there...??"

Akari's smile became mischievous. "Oh well..."

She pushed the three of them into the hole.

Their screams echoed off the walls as they plummeted downward.

"I should have known she'd do this!" he exclaimed, his voice barely audible over the rush of air.

Misuki's voice was tight with panic. "I'm falling too fast, the water pressure can't take the speed!"

Yukiko's arm shot out, pointing at the two tunnels below. "Ugh, guys, look!"

Misuki's eyes darted toward the tunnels. "Which one should we pick!?"

Kaito used his leg to push Misuki and Yukiko toward the left tunnel.

"You guys stick together, we'll find each other later!"

Yukiko and Misuki's voices echoed through the tunnel. "But Kaito!"

Kaito's voice was firm. "I'll be fine!"

Meanwhile, as they ventured deeper into the ruin, the two individuals had to navigate through the dense foliage of crawling vines that crisscrossed the cave's interior.

The sound of dripping water echoed through the cave.

"So what are we looking for down here...?" Voice 1 trailed off.

"We're just mapping the ruins, maybe we'll see a spec or two," Voice 2 replied.

Voice 3 snorted. "But it's still a one percent chance that there will be any specs right here."

"And why did you follow us, Hana!"

"I just felt like it" She replied,

A sudden roar echoed and the ground began to shake.

The sound of scraping and slithering echoed through the cave.

"Spoke too soon, Toru!" Voice 2 exclaimed.

A slime spec rose from the earth, its sickly green body glistening in the dim light.

Its slimy tendrils writhed like living serpents.

"Be on guard!" Toru's voice rang out.

Hana's voice was laced with confidence. "Nah, it's ok! We can take it!"

"We can handle it... Lustrous Mirage!" Riasa shouted and raised her hand, and illusory duplicates made of crystalline materials burst forth, confusing and distracting the spec.

"Now, Hana!" Riasa exclaimed.

Hana's voice was firm. "Vacuum Vortex!" She raised her hand, creating a localized air vacuum that sucked in the spec.

The spec tried to melt and escape, its particles extending tendrils toward the girls.

They dodged to the right, but the tendrils caught their legs and raised them upside down.

Riasa's voice was laced with alarm. "Crap!"

Hana's voice was sheepish. "Guess we played too much....!"

Toru's voice was calm, his footsteps slow. "You girls never cease to amaze me..."

He gathered threads from the surroundings, weaving them into a dense, spherical mass of razor-sharp thread.

"Threaded Annihilation Burst!" he exclaimed, hurling the spherical bundle towards the spec.

The threads exploded into countless, razor-thin strands that radiated outward, rapidly slicing through the spec's body and disintegrating it, leaving its core in pieces.

The girls fell to the ground. They looked up at Renji.

Toru said with sarcasm. "Clumsy." He raised his glasses.

"Hey, if we didn't play around, we would have gotten it!" Hana protested,

Toru broke into a smile. "Whatever you say... Team Beta can't be seen with losers like you two around."

As they started walking, Hana growled. "Toru..."

He turned to face her. "Our commander said we'll run into other teams"

"So the two of you better behave yourselves."

Hana replied. "See who's talking!"

Toru broke into a smug smile. "Me? One of the high-brand families? I don't think so..."

Hana exclaimed. "Ugh..."

Riasa's eyes fixed on the horizon. "Shush! Listen..."

Suddenly, the sound of girls screaming filled the air, and two figures fell from a hole, landing on the floor in front of them.

Yukiko and Misuki groaned, slowly getting to their feet.

"Are you ok?!" Hana bent down to help them up.

Yukiko's face was pale, her hand on her head. "Yeah... we're fine."

Misuki contradicted. "Speak for yourself." She slowly stood up, her eyes fixed on Toru.