27 Hang Back

A few tense moments of sneaking and scurrying later, Riku and his group eventually found themselves in the relative clear once more. They didn't make progress, but they were at least safe for now as they took the chance to rest at one of the many marble buildings scattered through the Depths.

"Alright, we're far away enough for now that we won't get caught up in their fight," Nyx told them with a sigh of relief. "We might've come back to where we started, but it's something I can live with."

"Yeah... I really didn't want to get blown up there," Shizu chuckled. "I'm not ready to die like that..."

Riku simply nodded as he stared out at the direction where they first went. The faint plumes of smoke told him that that the fighting was still ongoing, something that was concerning especially since it had almost been an hour since they left. Thankfully, each Depth they've been through so far had been big enough to house a small community. Probably at around a few square kilometers in terms of surface area. Of course, he didn't know if the same could be said with the Depths of the other realms, but right now, the massive scope of their current location was playing to their advantage.

"Well, we're back here again, safe from all of that. Not that I needed to be safe, but you two needed the space, right?" the goddess awkwardly chuckled, her prior confidence and competence going away in favor of her usual personality. "It's... kind of bad that we lost all of that progress though."

"I thought you said you can live with us being back here again?" Shizu curiously asked.

"That was before. Now, I kind of wish we just went through them," Nyx pouted. "Kind of... Riku?"

His attention called once more, he raised a brow as he replied, "We needed the space. Any progress we lost, we can regain easily," he reassured her. "Also, the Deep Blue doesn't end after we get to the end of this Realm, right?"

"No, but wouldn't it be nice to be first?"

The former assassin let off a soft hum at his goddess's thoughts. While it would be nice to be up front in a race, he was pretty sure that doing so now would be bad for their general health. Looking at Shizu, the look on her face told him that she thought the same as they both turned their gaze back to Nyx.

"It would be nice to be first by the end, but right now, it would be best for us to hang back and look at what those ahead of us are doing," Riku calculatingly stated. "Being first means that we'll have a massive target on our backs, and we we'll have the disadvantage of walking in blind to a potential challenge where hindsight would help us."

"But being first though..." Nyx sighed... "Wouldn't having a lead lessen those disadvantages?"

"Yes, but we're in no position to hold such a lead yet. At the very least, we need to go even deeper before we start having the ability to do so," Riku stated, his power's ability in the back of his mind with each word. "You know it yourself, Nyx. I need time to ramp up."

"I agree. It's like in an arcade racing game where those in the back would all aim their weapons at you when you're ahead," Shizu meekly added. "Though, ramping up, Riku?"

"I'll explain later. I owe you an explanation on how my power works anyway," Riku stated, making Shizu's eye brighten with curiousty. "Right now, however, we have to hang back and see where the fighting leads up."

Looking back at the plume of smoke rising up into the sky, Riku mentally calculated the way the fight was moving based on the direction of the wind and relative speed at which it moved. Based on what he remembered, the fighting started near what should be the exit of the Depth they were in. Currently, the plume was moving ever so slightly westward at around a few meters per minute, suggesting that whoever these people were, their battleground had moved relatively little compared to what he had hoped. In terms of coverage, the fight was still well into their desired direction, meaning that if wanted to try their luck again, they would have to sneak past them instead of running away like earlier.

"Well, what's the plan, Riku?" Nyx casually asked.

Turning to his companions, he noted the expectant look the two women were giving him before he replied. "While we don't want to be first, we don't want to be last either. I'm pretty sure we're in the middle of the pack at the moment. Unless..."

He gave Nyx a pointed look, hoping that she actually had knowledge in terms of the current rankings of the game.

"Oh? Uhm... We're kind of dead last at the moment," the goddess weakly relayed. "If we can pass them, we'll at least be tenth-eleventh-ish. Also, I can't really tell you two who they are until you see them for yourself though."

"That's good enough," Riku nodded. Knowing that we're last means a change in tactics, however."

Nyx smiled at the praise, and Shizu placed her hand on her deck of cards in preparation, already knowing what he was going to suggest. She was learning, at least.

"Right, let's talk strategy," the former assassin began. "Based on our earlier trajectory and time of travel, we should be nearing the exit by the time we had to turn around. It just means that we'll have to go back there, but we'll be prepared this time."

"Oh, do we have to distract them somehow then all sneaky-like?" Shizu asked.

"Not necessarily. If my hunch is correct, whoever's fighting out there already moved enough for us to access the exit without much problem," he replied with a shake of his head. "Still, that doesn't mean we can relax. There's a good chance that their fight trajectory can change at a drop of a hat."