IN THE DARK FOREST

Mari and the others enter a mini bus provided by DDI authorities. They had also taken appropriate measures to ensure the bus wouldn't be stopped by the military along the way. The team finally sets out. Their destination: the terrorist-infected city of Akbad. Mari opted to drive, but Yash wouldn't let him. After due consideration, Mari decided to let him handle the wheel. The others all sat in the back, arranged two hunters per row. Mario found himself on the last row, sitting with Jolie.

As the day grows darker, the road becomes quiet and empty. This is mostly because most motorists—and even pedestrians—dare not head east at night. There's a palpable military presence on the road, but to many, it's not enough reason to take such a bold action. As expected, the bus isn't being stopped by the military—not even at the checkpoints. Eventually, Humberto breaks the silence in the bus.

Humberto: Wow. I wonder how they do it.

Mari: Do what?

Humberto: This. We haven't been stopped since we started this journey.

Mari: Oh. I've gotten used to it.

Jolie: DDI must be really influential.

Mari: Either that, or Malvay is full of corruption. It gets me wondering sometimes—there are always two sides to a coin. Where one sees influence, someone else may see corruption. What do you think, O?

Mario doesn't respond.

Mari: O?

Mari turns to look at Mario, who is obviously not paying attention.

Mario: What was that? Sorry. I was a bit distracted.

Yash: How can you be distracted when a legend is talking to you?

Mario: Pfff. He's not a legend to me.

Yash: How dare you?...

Mari: That's alright. Honestly, I don't see myself as a legend. I would like to think that there have been many greats in the history of demon hunting. However, to me, only a few should be regarded as legends. I'm not trying to discredit the others, but this makes the title "legend" even greater.

Jolie: I'd have to agree.

Mario: Which hunters do you regard as legends?

Mari: Obviously, the first name any hunter faced with this question would mention is John Kado.

Jolie: Anyone but this guy.

Jolie points at Yash.

Mari: There's someone else also very deserving of that title, though.

Mario: Who?

Mari: Lumine Gransbelle.

Yash: Lumi the who?

Mari: Lumine Gransbelle. He was a hunter in John Kado's era—probably the reason he's usually overlooked.

Jolie: What makes you think he's a legend?

Mari: He's arguably the most hardworking hunter in history. He wasn't privileged enough to have Kado, but he served as a hunter until his last breath, and very few can boast of hunting down more demons than Lumine. Sadly, among the vast collection of books in the DDI archives, none is dedicated to his name.

Mario remembers what Mari said to him during their argument at his residence and mutters to himself.

Mario: So, that's what he meant when he said, "some have reached great heights without being able to use Kado." It all makes sense now.

Jolie: How do you know about him, then?

Mari: He appears in about a dozen books as a side character, often used as a buildup to "even greater men."

Yash: Lame! You're way cooler than any of those sore losers.

Jolie: What a dummy. Do you all seriously feel it's okay to let him drive?

Humberto: What do we possibly have to lose?

Jolie: I have everything to lose. You guys might be okay with going down in history as the only hunters to die in a car accident, but I'm not.

Humberto: Who says we'll be the only ones?

Jolie: Ugh... I don't know.

Mari: Same problem all over. We lack access to critical information!

Mario: Where exactly are we headed, anyway? We can't just survey the entire northeast.

Mari: Would you be so kind as to tell him, Jolie?

Jolie: Based on numerous unverifiable reports, we've marked out three settlements.

Mario responds sarcastically.

Mario: Great. We're gonna let fate lead us.

Mari: I honestly wonder where Renard is.

Mari's D-pad beeps. He checks it and sees a message.

Mari: Speak of the devil. Renard just texted. He wants us to meet at the Dark Forest.

Humberto: Dark Forest? That's a creepy name.

Yash: It's in Akbad. This means we're on the right track.

Mario: I'm surprised that guy actually knows how to read a map.

Jolie: It's basic geography—even for him. My brother isn't a total idiot, you know.

Yash: Awwn. Thanks, sis.

Jolie: Gross! Don't ever do that again.

After about an hour and thirty minutes, the group arrives at Akbad, where there are many abandoned, uncompleted, and destroyed buildings.

Mario: Another ghost town?

Mari: No. There are people here—they're just too scared to come out.

Jolie: How could the royal family let this happen?

Mari: Let's face it: the royal family doesn't care about us. The entire royal house doesn't.

Mario attempts to speak but remains silent.

Mari: Suit up, guys.

Humberto: I am the suit.

Everyone stares at Humberto, except Yash, who continues driving.

Humberto: Not literally... I only said it because I thought it'd sound cool—you know, movie kind of stuff.

The stares continue.

Humberto: All right, I'm sorry.

Mari: As I was saying, suit up, guys. We're almost there.

A few minutes later, the team reaches the Dark Forest. They're all dressed up and holding their masks in their hands, except Yash, who parks the bus and begins to put his uniform on.

Mari: I trust you brought your computer.

Jolie: Yes.

Mario: Why does she need a computer?

Mari: The Dark Forest was a popular tourist destination once—permit me the usage of the word. We haven't had real tourists since... I don't really know. Anyway, even with the rise of insurgency, I believe most of the security cameras remain functional to this day. We're going to—well, I mean, she's going to hack into them and use them to aid our cause. She'll communicate with us from here. The goal is to locate Renard and get whatever information he may have. That jerk... he chose to make this difficult. I trust you're all ready?

Mario: Not yet.

Mario grabs Dark Nemesis.

Mario: Now I'm ready.

Mari looks at his D-pad.

Mari: He's close. Let's move. Everyone, be on your guard. Don't take anything for granted. See you when we return, Jolie.

Mari gives a bright smile as he puts on his mask, and the others follow. Jolie opens her computer, and within a few minutes, she's hacked into the security cameras. The others alight from the bus as they hear Jolie's voice over the radio.

Jolie: Checking comms. Can you hear me?

Mari: Yes.

Humberto: Loud and clear.

Mario: Mmmhm.

Yash screams in excitement.

Yash: Super duperly, extremely, and superbly clear!

The others all cry out.

All: Ouch!

Jolie: Don't scream over the radio, dimwit.

Mari chuckles.

Mari: Let's go. Straight ahead.

After walking for a few minutes, they see Renard standing beside a tree. He's dressed in his uniform, wearing a scary-looking mask with horns—similar to Sinister's mask.

Renard: Well, well, well. Look who finally made it.

Mario (to Renard): So, you're the guy I've been hearing about.

Renard: What was that? I'm sorry—you're so far down in ranking that I can't hear you.

Humberto: Ooh. Sick burn.

Mari (over the radio, to Jolie): Anything off?

Jolie (over the radio): No. It all seems normal from where I'm sitting.

Mari walks toward Renard.

Mari: Enough of the games. What did you find out?

Renard: Where's the fun in telling you immediately after you ask?

Yash (to Renard): You need to learn how to talk to a legend.

Renard: And you need to learn some respect before I teach it to you.

Back on the bus, Jolie watches keenly as "something" whooshes past one of the security cameras. She tries to make out what it was, as another body whooshes past. This places her on high alert. She attempts to notify the others, who are still with Renard.

Jolie (over the radio): Guys, something—or "some things"—are heading your way...

Her computer suddenly shuts down, along with her D-pad and every other electronic device on the bus.

Mari (over the radio): Jolie. Hello?

Renard: Having issues?

Humberto: The comms are down. Something's wrong. Did anyone hear what she was saying?

Mario: I don't know, but she sounded worried.

Mari becomes annoyed.

Mari: Get serious and say what you...

In the blink of an eye, a huge explosion occurs in their midst.