Chapter 24: Mission Started

Aruta followed Sako from behind as they walked. However, throughout their journey, neither Aruta nor Sako spoke a word. Aruta began to feel uncomfortable due to the awkward atmosphere. To distract himself, he glanced around. There were only a few doors on either side of the hallway. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Aruta turned his attention back to Sako and was startled to see that Sako had already moved quite far ahead.

"Hey, you're walking too fast," Aruta said as he quickened his pace to catch up with Sako.

"Huff, hurry up. I don't want to linger in a place like this. Especially not with a pervert like you," Sako retorted.

"Tch, so harsh," Aruta muttered under his breath.

Aruta and Sako continued walking until they passed a door. Just as they did, a strange sound came from behind it. It sounded like groan of an animal. Aruta, hearing it, was immediately startled. He instinctively jumped and accidentally hugged Sako.

"BWAAHHH!! What was that??"

"Don't touch me!" Sako grabbed Aruta's arm and slammed him to the ground.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch."

"You're scared of something like that? Our job is to deal with creatures like that," Sako said.

"Hey, I'm easily startled!" Aruta replied. "If you're really a brave lady, why don't you check the room?"

"Ugh, you're the guy here. Why should I go first?" Sako shot back.

"Ugh, fine fine." Aruta stood up and slowly approached the door.

Meanwhile, Sako maintained her stern expression, though her heart was racing after hearing that strange sound.

"Fiuh, I almost jumped and hugged that pervert," Sako thought to herself.

On the other side, Aruta reached for the door and opened it slowly. He peeked inside and saw a junoi. The junoi took the form of a wolf with glowing red eyes, and its body wasn't fully covered in skin. In some places, flesh and even bones were exposed.

Realizing the door had opened, the Junoi turned its gaze toward Aruta. But Aruta didn't falter and immediately stepped into the room.

"Leave this one to me," Aruta said.

Aruta dashed forward, aiming a punch at the Junoi. However, before his fist could land, a small glowing yellow ball zipped past him. The ball struck the Junoi, causing an electric explosion that shattered the creature into pieces of flesh. Instead of blood, the fragments were filled with LYNK energy. Meanwhile, Aruta, unable to stop his momentum, crashed into the wall, destroying it.

Aruta looked back and saw Sako with her hand shaped like a finger gun.

"Did you do that? But that junoi was mine," Aruta said.

"Is your fault being so slow. I'm just attacked it first," Sako replied.

"Tch this girl is so annoying," Aruta muttered.

Suddenly, Aruta and Sako heard the faint cry of a child coming from the room.

"A child?" Sako said.

Aruta and Sako searched for the source of the sound, which led them to a closet in the corner of the room. Aruta slowly opened the closet and found a small child clutching their injured knee. The child was startled when Aruta opened the door.

"Hah! Monster!" the child screamed as Aruta opened the closet door.

"Whoa! Monster? Where??" Aruta was equally startled by the child's scream.

"You idiot!!" Sako slapped Aruta's head, sending him flying into the wall.

Sako approached the child and gently patted his head.

"Calm down, there are no monsters here. How did you end up here?" Sako asked softly.

"I-I was playing ball. My ball accidentally rolled into this house. I came in to look for it, but the house is so big that I got lost. Then I felt like something was chasing me, so I hid in this closet," the child explained before bursting into tears.

"Shh, it's okay. No one's chasing you," Sako said in a soothing voice. Aruta, listening to her, thought he could fall asleep if he heard Sako's voice like this at night. "Don't be afraid. I'm here now. Let's get out of here."

Aruta stood up and approached Sako. "Wow I don't know your voice can be so soft."

"Shut up!" Sako immediately punched Aruta's chin, sending him flying into the wall again. He fell to the ground, sprawled out.

"Ouch, that girl punch was so strong."

While holding his chin, Aruta sat up and looked around. He was surprised to see that the flesh fragments from the junoi hadn't disappeared.

"Why are the flesh fragments still here?" Aruta muttered.

Suddenly, the fragments began to reassemble. The junoi regenerated, returning to its original form. It immediately charged at Sako and the child, aiming to ram them.

"Watch out!!" Aruta dashed forward, grabbing Sako and the child, and threw them out of harm's way.

However, Aruta didn't have time to dodge and was struck by the junoi's charge. Fortunately, he managed to cross his arms to block the attack, but the junoi's strength was too much. Aruta was sent flying, crashing through the wall into the next room. He lay there for a moment before getting back up. He saw the junoi enter through the hole he had created and now stood before him.

Meanwhile, Sako, who had been thrown by Aruta, got up and saw the child still beside her. She turned and noticed the hole Aruta had crashed through. Sako quickly picked up the child and ran toward the hole.

"Aruta!!" Through the hole, Sako saw Aruta facing off against the junoi.

The wolf-like junoi opened its mouth, attempting to bite Aruta. But Aruta managed to land a punch on the Junoi's chin, sending it flying.

"Leave this junoi to me. Take the child and get out of here!" Aruta shouted.

Hearing this, Sako prepared to run but hesitated to leave Aruta behind. Suddenly, Aruta shouted again, "Hurry! I'll be fine here!"

Hearing this, Sako's hesitation vanished. Her legs were enveloped in electricity, and she dashed away at incredible speed, holding the child tightly. The child began to cry in fear.

"Hic... hic... What's happening?"

"It's okay, don't worry. Everything will be fine," Sako reassured the child. She glanced back and muttered, "I believe in you, Aruta."

***

On the other side, Aruta was staring down the wolf-like Junoi, which was circling him. As he prepared to fight, Aruta also noticed the lifeless bodies scattered around the room. Some were mere skeletons, while others still had remnants of flesh clinging to their bones.

"Seems like you've been here for a while. You've taken many lives," Aruta said.

The Junoi let out a louder growl, its body growing larger, its teeth becoming sharper and more menacing. Drool dripped from its lips.

"Get ready, because now I'm going to take your life," Aruta said as his hands became enveloped in LYNK energy.

***

Meanwhile, Sako was running as fast as she could toward the hall. A few seconds later, she was almost there and could see the hall just ahead.

"Alright, we're almost there," Sako said.

But her steps came to an abrupt halt when she saw a junoi land in front of her, blocking her path. The junoi locked eyes with Sako and immediately gave chase. Sako turned around and ran away from it.

"Damn junoi!!" Sako muttered.

Sako kept running and was surprised to see a fork in the path ahead.

"Left or right, left or right, left or right." Sako was getting closer to the fork. "Ugh, maybe just go to the right!"

Sako turned right and continued running at full speed. The junoi chasing her was just as fast, staying close behind.

Sako kept running as fast as she could, but she began to notice that the hallway was getting narrower and narrower.

"Dammit, why is the hallway getting smaller?" Sako muttered. "If I'm forced to fight, I'm still carrying this kid."

Not long after, Sako decided to break through one of the doors in the hallway. She entered the room and saw a closet. She quickly approached it, set the child down, and said, "Hide in the closet. Don't make a sound, okay? Don't come out until I come back for you." The child nodded and hid inside the closet.

Once she felt the child was safe, Sako dashed out again. But this time, she wasn't running away from the junoi. She was running toward it. Soon, she encountered the junoi that had been chasing her. The junoi was surprised to see Sako approaching it. Sako glared at the junoi, and her hands became enveloped in a massive, bright electric current.

"Too bad I don't like tight spaces," Sako said.

Sako punched the floor of the hallway, causing a massive explosion. The walls and floor around her were destroyed, and the junoi was sent flying by the blast. As the dust settled, the junoi got back up and saw Sako. Her hands crackling with electricity. She wore a wide grin, but her eyes were sharp and intimidating.

"You were the one chasing me, right? Go on, face me!" Sako said in a low, menacing voice.