Make him do it

"Garrus, try killing it. You might get some surprise," the thin man repeated, voice echoing off the damp walls.

Garrus, standing amid the debris and flickering torchlight, grimaced at the sac. The reek of corpses pressed in on all sides, making every breath a struggle not to gag. He hesitated, sword clutched in a white-knuckled grip, eyes flicking from the savior to the corpses to the thin man.

"Let's make him do it." Garrus shrugged.

But the thin man immediately shook his head. "You do it. It is important."

Kaden raised a brow. This guy's intuition was on point. But yet he wasn't making a move himself. For someone who showed insight into the sac's potential, the man clearly preferred not to be the one swinging the blade.

Surprisingly, Garrus did not question him. Garrus's boots crunched over wet stone and scattered bones as he advanced on the twisted, waxy sac, raising his broad sword. Even through the dim flicker of the torchlight, Kaden could see the tension rippling through Garrus's arms.

In the hollow silence, Garrus exhaled and swung his sword in a powerful downward arc.

Crack—Thud!

The blade struck the sac dead-on. For an instant, it looked like the edge might bite into the membrane—only for the impact to rebound with startling force. A dull shockwave rippled through Garrus's arms, and he staggered back a step, teeth bared in surprise.

"Tch… tough shell," he muttered, regaining his balance. A faint flicker of bluish mana danced around his sword, the residue of a skill he'd channeled into the strike. Despite the extra power, the blow hadn't sliced deep—just scuffed a shallow scrape along the sac's veined surface.

Watching from behind his half-collapsed stalagmite, Kaden felt a knot of foreboding tighten in his stomach. Same result as before. The egg sac was practically armor-plated, especially to direct brute force. If Garrus's charged blow barely grazed it, cracking it open would take more than raw muscle.

The thin man stared at the shallow scrape on the sac, an unreadable expression flickering across his face. "Interesting," he murmured, stepping forward just enough to shine a small lantern on the damaged spot. 

The torchlight revealed a faint, sticky fluid weeping from the scratch—but not dripping freely like normal blood. Instead, it thickened and hardened along the cut, almost patching itself.

"It's repairing…?" Garrus remarked, breath tight.

That fluid functioned like some hybrid of acid and adhesive—both destructive to flesh and quick to self-seal if damaged. The group hadn't yet discovered the droplet's healing potential for living beings, but they were witnessing its unnatural resilience.

"Well, that's that," the savior said with exaggerated exasperation, turning as if to leave. "It's not worth wasting more time—"

Another drop trickled from the egg sac. Everyone took a step back to avoid the thing but the thin man's eyes quickly widened.

After a moment of silence, he turned to look at savior. "Garrus step back. You go to the front now, Mike" 

"Why? Garrus is the strongest. I am sure I won't be able to do shit." Savior, aka Mike quickly tried to get out of it.

But the thin man only smiled. "It's your turn to test something. Get that drop."

Savior still hesitated which made Garrus bark. "Are you going to do it or not?"

"W-why me?" the savior—Mike—demanded, his voice wavering between defiance and unease. He shot Garrus a dark look, but the broad-sworded warrior merely crossed his arms, jaw set with silent impatience. 

"This is nuts," Mike muttered under his breath, taking a grudging step forward. "How do you even know it won't kill me?"

The thin man shrugged, voice echoing softly. "We don't. That's why you're testing it. If you survive…" He left the rest unsaid—if you survive, we'll all know it's safe for us to exploit.

Kaden smiled. This group was ruthless—no trust, no camaraderie. Exactly the sort of twisted alliance the apocalypse fosters. This he was familiar with. Now the question was what to do about this group.

Should he just simply kill them all?

Kaden watched as the savior braced himself and held out his hand. For a heartbeat, there was nothing, just the savior's face twisting with alarm. Then his eyes flew wide.

Mike let out a ragged gasp, shoulders convulsing. The glow of torchlight revealed no burn—instead, a faint aura shimmered over his hand, something that was easy to miss unless one knew how to look for it.

"What—?" Mike stammered, astonishment brimming in his eyes.

Garrus stiffened, stepping forward with alarm. "Are you—are you okay?"

The thin man narrowed his gaze, curiosity blazing.

The savior inhaled sharply, and a fleeting look of euphoria crossed his features. "I—I feel…" His voice trailed off as though searching for words. "Nothing at all." He shrugged. "Just a little pain. Maybe it has long-term effects?"

He quickly got the hell out of there acting as if he couldn't wait to get out.

Kaden stifled a grin at the savior's transparent act. So he's choosing to play it down. What a shrewd guy. It looked like the savior was not planning on sharing his secrets with the others. That made his life easier. 

Now he only needed to kill one guy. Though Kaden was not opposed to killing, he really did not want to meddle with people around the priestess.

However, it looked like savior's acting was seen right through. The thin man smiled as he finally stepped forward. "There is no need to be in such a hurry."