Chapter 25: Brink of Death (I)

The horses tore through the grass for over four continuous hours without stopping. Rutteo continued in the lead, shouting orders to his horse as if it could actually understand his words. However, he kept getting further ahead, gaining more distance between them.

Dante had been worried about Mrs. Dalia the entire time, but never thought they would be in danger like this. He should have stayed with her, should have said what he wanted at the moment. Even if it went against orders, he wanted to stay.

Now, everyone was in danger.

Another hour passed, and they spotted the first Camp. The speed of the horses startled the guards, but upon seeing Rutteo, they lowered their weapons.

"Bring me three horses!" he shouted desperately. "Now. Bring the damn horses."

The soldiers were startled and hurried to the other side. Dante and Rubbem arrived, dismounting. Rutteo handed the reins of his mount to another soldier and waited. Dante had never seen him so nervous before.

"Damn it!" Rutteo yelled. "Where are the horses?"

"Sir, we only have one."

The soldier came running with a tall, strong brown steed. But it neighed and tried to break free.

"We caught him recently, but we haven't tamed him yet."

Dante handed Deco to another man and grabbed the reins of the steed. He gave a tug and stretched his hand forward. The horse lowered its head, touching its forehead to his palm, and stopped moving side to side. I can't waste time here.

He mounted without a saddle and slapped the side of the animal.

"Rutteo, I'll go ahead. Catch up when you can."

Dante shot ahead without hearing the officer's complaints. However, the complaints and curses could be heard for nearly a hundred meters. Given his level of desperation, the situation with Dalia at the second Camp was dire.

He would do anything to get them out of there.

Halfway, his body seemed to grow heavy. His legs didn't respond properly, and his eyes tired with each blink. It felt like he was growing more exhausted as time passed.

That's when Vick openly alerted him:

"Energy levels at 6%. I advise you to conserve it, Dante."

"Can you track it, Vick?" Dante looked ahead, but the camp was nowhere in sight. "How much longer until I reach where Dalia is?"

"Considering the time it took you from the Capital to the first Camp, my estimate is about 4 hours and 23 minutes from now. The horse will tire in 3 hours. You won't make it before nightfall."

Dante kept pushing the steed to its maximum. He had to endure at least these remaining three hours. And he didn't let it lose strength and speed while running in a straight line. The green field around him blurred as they crossed the flat terrain.

Exactly as Vick had mentioned, the steed began to shake its head back and forth, no longer responding to the order to keep going. Dante held its mane and gave a gentle slap to its neck.

"You've done enough, boy. You can go back now."

Dante swung his right leg over the back of the horse and threw himself to the side. The steed's neigh echoed across the prairie, followed by a high-pitched scream from the depths of hell, responding to it.

In the vast grassland, a creature came running toward him. Its two front legs hit the ground after its back legs, gaining speed, and the closer it got, the more Dante realized it was nothing like what he had faced inside the simulation.

Two horns twisted sideways and then backward, almost forming a crown of deformed, hole-filled bones. Its mouth carried so many teeth, sharp and vibrating, they seemed alive as they protected the tongue that swung in saliva.

Is this a Felroz?

"Then let it be the first."

Dante's fingers curled back, and he launched himself like an arrow. He opened his arms as he neared the creature and clenched his fist.

"Can you hear me, abomination?"

The Felroz quickly moved toward the sound, and its sharp senses formed Dante's body in midair, perfectly shaped. It also clenched its fist, letting out a distorted laugh and punching in his direction.

"Where is Mrs. Dalia?"

The two fists collided. A massive explosion of air formed, sending grass flying in all directions and creating a rising wall. The clouds in the sky parted. The ground cracked with the impact.

I

Tecno sat on the ground waiting for a response from the only message they managed to send. His arm was still bleeding, despite the stitches applied by Freto and Crish. His skin had been remade, but it was a success.

If he had been sure the plan would work, he wouldn't have hesitated. If... it's always that 'if.'

"Using High Frequency was a smart idea," said Gorumet about two meters away from him, sitting. She was sweating. The heat underground was starting to become suffocating, slowly forcing them to remove excess clothing. "But if you put that 'T' in the middle, they won't want to know. Hermes is pragmatic, he won't send anyone here."

Tecno closed his eyes and curled into the corner. His right arm burned so much that he had to clench his teeth to avoid swearing. He wanted to say more, curse the officer's pessimism, but he stayed quiet.

He didn't need to make a fuss. If he had to stay there, then he would do it without causing problems for anyone. He preferred it that way.

He adjusted his uniform, all wrinkled and dirty, and leaned back to rest a bit. When he put his hand in his pocket, he felt something cold, solid. He slowly pulled it out, realizing he had been carrying a Frequency Cube since earlier.

"This won't work," said Dalia, observing his enthusiasm. "Even if we can send a message, there's no one to receive it. And the cubes need the table to create the High Frequency, remember?"

Tecno raised it slightly as Dalia and the others turned their faces the other way.

"This Cube isn't synchronized with any table, Mrs. Dalia."

Its light slowly turned on, a small flash of ocean blue. Then another.

Tecno smiled, victorious.

"It's synchronized with the Cube I left with Recruit Dante."

The Cube lit up brightly, and Tecno quickly pulled it, inserting his Cosmic Energy, creating an immediate connection. He couldn't waste this chance, even if it alerted the Felroz outside.

The noises began, followed by a sharp buzzing.

Outside, some creature let out a long, high-pitched scream, exactly like the cube. They felt the tremor of the ground above them shake as the feet stomped away from there.

Another scream, this time painful, and then it stopped abruptly.

Tecno pushed as much Energy as he could into the cube, but it began to darken suddenly.

"No, no." Tecno grabbed it with his injured arm and squeezed. "No, Dante. Please, no."

Gorumet became irritated and stood up.

"Stop giving false hope, idiot. Look at the state we're in. We have to wait for a full rescue, not a Recruit on horseback."

Dalia stood up and stretched her hand to her, stopping her from going further.

"No."

The situation was already bad enough for them to be against each other. Gorumet frowned and walked away. Tecno squeezed the cube hard enough for his skin to be cut diagonally, his blood dripping and staining his pants.

Dalia knelt beside him.

"Tecno. Keep that."

"No. He came. I'm sure." His eyes were watering. His entire expression was one of devastation. "We can't die here, ma'am."

Dalia put her hand to her face, covering her eyes. Then, she raised the other hand and placed it over the Cube.

"Dante, if you're hearing Tecno's words, please, don't stop. We're under the second Camp. We need help."

II

Dante took two steps back and punched twice quickly, exploding the Felroz's skin and sending it flying backward. He jumped from a punch and slapped the face of another. He grabbed the horn of the third and slammed its face into the ground, stepping on it. He used the body of the last one as a springboard and leapt into the air.

He didn't expect that even in the air, the creatures would leap to catch him. Dante spread his arms further, and grabbed his index finger with his thumb, forcing it down.

"Take this flick."

The shots hit their chests and heads, sending the creatures crashing to the ground. Dante swung his hand against each one approaching, but from above, he saw they were a pack.

There must be more than fifty of them here.

"Behind you" — Vick's voice rang loud.

Dante spun quickly on his axis and let one of the Felroz pass, screaming. But he didn't let it get far. He grabbed its leg and threw it to the ground. The explosion wasn't as strong as before; the Conversion was becoming less efficient.

"1% rate. I advise combining friction, Dante."

The sole stopped spasming, and Dante fell freely. The Felroz screamed, trying to climb on each other to catch him. They wanted his carcass, they wanted his body. Even though they were a pack, a group, a crowd, they were still weak, slow, and irrational.

"Your greatest enemy is yourself." Dante had heard those words from his father many times. "Don't drown in despair. I am flawed too. Humans are. So, those beasts have an opening. Find it and finish it."

Before hitting the ground, a voice emerged between the shifting attack positions.

"No. He came. I'm sure." There was a pause. "We can't die here, ma'am."

"Tecno?"

He looked around. Was his Officer present?

"Where are you? Tecno?"

One of the Felroz caught him in his distraction. Dante took a powerful punch to the back, sending him in the direction of the Camp. He rolled in the grass and stood up, hearing the sharp scream of those damn creatures.

He jumped backward, blocked a punch from the right, and deflected another to the side. The creature opened its mouth and tried to bite his arm. Dante used an elbow to its chin, releasing a painful roar.

Then, another voice emerged.

"Dante, if you're hearing Tecno's words, please, don't stop. We're under the second Camp. We need help."

Clenching his fist tightly, Dante let out a deafening scream toward the front, in the direction of nearly ten Felroz.