Epilogue – Part Two

“Make certain that they all eat. I don’t want any of them dropping dead before we return.”

“Yes ma’am!”

Camilla watched as her loyal peon ran off to fulfill her orders. Her little group of prisoners had been rather docile since they left Ethiopia, but she had to make certain that nothing happened to them until she could hand them off. Experienced fighters would soon become a valuable commodity, but would be dangerous to deal in for a time.

Ah, I can’t wait until there’s warlords practically popping out of the woodwork for me to sell to. There’s just no market for them right now.

“Hmhmhmhm🎶.”

She hummed to herself as she returned to her personal quarters. This house was just one of many properties she owned around the world, and would serve as temporary shelter until she could arrange for transport off the continent.

Popping the door open, she found her newest pet on the floor, having somehow escaped his bindings but not the room itself. That was probably due to the trick the door had. You needed to turn the handle exactly twenty-eight degrees to open the door.

“Oh my. Is my little puppy feeling neglected? Hehehehe, well, why don’t I show you lots of love, hm?”

She watched in amusement as his face paled as he remembered what that had meant the last time.

***

I sighed as the water washed over me, cleaning me of a week's worth of grime. Aaaah, indoor plumbing is probably one of mankind's greatest inventions. I can only ignore that grimy feeling for so long.

The transport trucks had taken us a fair distance away from the encampment, past several abandoned towns and into this one, which only had the bare minimum of its infrastructure up and running. The military was apparently using it as resource depot, and most of the people living here were either associated with them, or were providing services to them. Such as the hotel they’d lodged us in, the same place they’d sent the group who’d retreated from the Dungeon.

I’d already seen Tiffany and Serena, though Hunk-lite was nowhere to be seen. Serena had told me that he’d disappeared shortly after they’d left the Dungeon, along with a few other people who’d slipped away during the confusion. I was assuming that other group to be the traitors from Braddock’s group.

We’ll need to get out of the country as soon as we can. I don’t think they’ll try anything right now, or so I hope, but I just won’t feel safe until we’re far away. There’s something afoot here, and I just don’t want to get involved in it.

Shutting the water off, I stepped out of the shower, grabbed the nearby towel, and began toweling off. I began to reach for my clothes once I was dry, but my reflection in the room's mirror caught my attention before I could.

Wha!? Wow, I guess it has been awhile since I’ve looked in a mirror. But wow, my body's changed quite a bit in the last five months. My arms and legs have actual definition to them now. And are those the beginnings to abs I’m seeing? Hm, I’ve always tried to maintaining a certain level of fitness, but this is something else. Though I guess it might have been inevitable considering my recent activities.

If I was more narcissistic, I’d probably spend more time admiring myself in the mirror, but I frankly couldn’t care that much. It was just one more thing that had changed since the apocalypse had begun.

I finished getting dressed and left the bathroom. We’d agreed to meet two hours after we arrived, and cleaning myself up had taken a half-hour, so I had some time left. I decided to start by looking up the news from the past week, since we hadn’t been told anything that had happened while we were in the Dungeon.

Hm, let’s see. Celebrity bullcrap I don’t care about, a few political scandals that are just depressing to think about. And the Committee’s increasing their recruitment efforts? Haah, wait…why? Why would they need more recruits? ………….Oh shit, what the hell is this?

***

[Alicia’s POV]

“Haaaaah. Mmnnn, this bed is so soft! I think I could just fall asleep if I closed my eyes.”

Alicia had spent the better part of an hour taking a bath, something she usually didn’t do since she was partial to showers. But she felt like she deserved a little pampering after the grueling week she’d had.

“Mn, I really should get up, but I just don’t wanna. Michael won’t mind if I take a little nap now, will he? Naw, he’ll get over it.”

However, just as she was going to allow herself to lull off, there came a knock, knock, knocking at her hotel room door. It was a gentle, but insistent rapping, much different from how Michael or Cameron knocked. She was greatly tempted to ignore it until they left, but felt that it might be one of the other mercenaries coming to ask her something.

She got up and crossed the room to head to the door once her guest had knocked a second time. Looking through the peephole, she saw what appeared to be a soldier holding a box. For some reason, Michael’s voice popped up in her head, mentioning how he didn’t trust the people who’d planned this operation.

“Um, who are you?”

“I have a package for an Alicia? That’s you, right?”

“Yeah, but what do you want?”

“Someone paid me to drop this off here. That’s it. I’m setting the box here, and heading on my way.”

Whoever he was, he sure was in a hurry to be gone. She poked her head out around the door, but couldn’t see any sign of the man. Grabbing the package, she slipped back into her room and locked the door before setting the box on her bed.

Okay, so who sent me this? Since it was a soldier who dropped it off, it’s most likely a mercenary, but who? Oh, and why? Gasp, what if it’s a bomb!? No, wait. That would just be stupid. Who’d be dumb enough to bomb someone with a mysterious package that they themselves handed off? I mean, gah! I’m just gonna open it!

Alicia picked the box up and looked it over. It was a pretty nondescript little parcel, about a foot on all sides. She didn’t really have the knowledge necessary to figure out if it was booby-trapped or not, and she quickly realized that probably wasn’t the case. The box wasn’t even taped shut, having instead been closed by folding the flaps together. That spoke of a rush job, someone setting this up in a hurry, or so she chose to believe. So she decided to open it up, if for nothing than to satisfy her curiosity.

But upon opening the box, she discovered something she definitely hadn’t expected: a magic bag.

Wha? Why would someone leave this behind? Magic bags are really useful, even E-Rank ones, so why send me one? Unless, this is the trap!

That would be extremely devious. Even if someone tried to detect whether the box was trapped, all they’d find was the bag. They could then put some hazardous or explosive material inside the bag that would kill whoever removed it.

Uh, um, ah, what do I do with it!? It shouldn’t be able to hurt me unless I put my hand in. Is there someone I can ask for help? Errrrrr!...... crap, maybe I should just go bug Michael about it. Or I could… aaahhhh! I don’t know!

***

[Braddock’s POV]

“God, you look like shit. So that’s what it looks like to “ignite your Essence"? Damn.”

“It’s worse than that. I feel weak, like I just had a month’s worth of chemo in a day. Another minute longer, and that Skill probably would’ve killed me.”

Braddock and Grant had retired to this room so he could finally rest. The strain of using that particular Skill had left him in his current state. He looked haggard, as if he’d aged twenty years in a day. Which was sort of what had happened.

“I’m just glad that I’ve been wearing my helmet all the time since that monkey got the drop on me before. I don’t think anyone’s realized that something's off about me.”

“Hm, no, I think you’re wrong there. I noticed Michael and Alicia glancing back at you while we were walking back to the fort.”

“…Do you think they know?”

“Nah, probably not. I bet they just thought you were tired and worn out. Which is technically true.”

Braddock sighed to himself. The last thing he needed was for this to somehow get back to Kalia. He was panning on cutting her loose here, not tying her down with guilt over what he’d done.

“With enough rest and nutrition, my body should recover soon enough, but what’s done is done. There’s no undoing the side-effects of this particular Skill.”

Out of all the people they’d worked with, only four had known what Last Gasp did. Its effects were extremely powerful, but all the more horrifying for it.

***

“Fuck. Fucking, fucking, fuck. We’re soooooo fucked. Just, why the hell didn’t they tell us about this!? Hahahaha, I’d think it hilarious if it wasn’t so goddamn annoying!”

My internet search had sent me down a rabbit hole of despair. Things had gotten worse while we were in the Dungeon, much worse than I’d expected. First, a seventh zone had appeared in Australia, eating up close to a third of the continent. The Committee had its hands full with establishing a defensive line there, which had only exacerbated the next problem. The Kyushu Defensive Line was being attacked by swarms of monsters.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find anything concrete on that, as the Committee had yet to release a statement regarding it. The only reason anyone knew about it was because the Japanese government was the one responsible for releasing the information. They stated that the situation was dire, and they’d even requested reinforcements and aid from several of their allies, including the United States.

Ahahaha, this is pure shit right here. We’re in the deep end now, and we don’t know how to swim. This is no time to be leisurely resting. I need to get back out there.

What I’d read had lit a fire under my ass. I couldn’t let this apocalypse get ahead of me, or I’d end up dying far too quickly. Finnél’s presence had hinted at one thing. There may be a way to survive this, or even to end it. I’ve got to find Cameron and Alicia. We need to get moving as soon as possible.

However, a knocking came at my door before I could run off to look for them.

“…Who's there?”

“It’s Cameron. Lad, can I come in?”

“Yeah sure. I was just about to come looking for you actually. I think we need t-. Oh.”

Cameron’s face as he came into my room brought me back to earth, and reminded me of something I wanted to forget about. It was an expression of sadness, but also of determination. The fact that he had his magic bags with him just drove it home. No, he wouldn’t.

“Don’t look at me like that, lad. I just…. Can’t do this anymore.”

“…What do you want me to say? What is it that I should feel here? What on fucking earth am I supposed to say to that? Haaah. I assume there’s no changing your mind?”

“Not right now lad. I think I just need some time away from it all. Just some time to myself to recuperate and rest.”

“Mn, I see.”

“…You’re upset, aren’t you?”

“Wow, I wonder what gave that away? Was it the sarcasm, or the deadpan way I’m speaking? Haaah, if you’re leaving, then just go. There’s no use dragging this out.”

“I see. Tell Alicia I’m sorry.”

I didn’t even look at him as he closed the door. I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to scream or cry.

Damnit. Damnit, damnit, damnit! Why the fuck did he need to do this now of all times!? He just, gaaah!

We’d known it was coming, but Alicia and I had thought that there’d be more time. That he’d wait until we could find a few more people to fill in the gap he’d leave. I never, ever would’ve suspected that he’d just cut and run like that. It pissed me off so much that I didn’t even ask for an explanation.

At least he actually told me he was leaving, that’s something. He could’ve just left a note if he didn’t want to get yelled at. Ah, fuck it. I’m too damn exhausted to deal with anything right now. That took away any motivation I have to do jack-shit right now. I’m going to sleep.

***

[Kalia’s POV]

Kalia sat on her bed, still dressed in her gear. She knew she should change, but just couldn’t bring herself to do so. The realization that she didn’t know what to do next had utterly stumped her. She couldn’t decide what to do next. She’d tried going over things in her head multiple times, but kept going around in circles. Even looking at her Status hadn’t helped.

Status

Race: Human

Age: 24

State: Healthy

Titles: Magic Prodigy, Beginner Mage, Razor’s Edge

Rank: D

Skills

Normal Skills: Analyze, Healing Magic Rank C, Blessing Magic Rank F, Survival Instinct,

Authorities: Arcane Grimoire,

Equipment: Rearguard's Circlet, Healer’s Robe, Ring of Mana Control, Gold Fleece Bracelet, Whitewood Staff,

She’d grown by leaps and bounds inside the Dungeon. Her Rank, which had stagnated at E for weeks, finally went up to D, and she’d finally gotten Survival Instinct as well. She’d even acquired a few new items which pushed her Healing Magic to the next level, but she still felt this terrible sense of ennui.

She knew why. Braddock’s group had given her a sense of purpose, and had been her rock in the current storm consuming the world. Now it was gone, scattered in that very storm, and it terrified her. Without them, she was afraid that she’d be washed away, her and everyone she cared for just another casualty.

Instinctively, she clutched at the Aries Pendant she’d gotten from the Dungeon. It was already on its way to becoming her new rock, but it wasn’t enough yet. She wanted something tangible, something that could really help her stay afloat in the storm.

No, sitting here wallowing in despair won’t help me one bit. I need to get up and take action. First, I need to finally resolve things with Grant and Braddock. Only then can I move on.