16 True Strength

"Considering the fact that one of her early traps was that powerful," Human Hunter told Proel, who stood in a circle around him. "The rest are most likely impossible to avoid under normal circumstances. Actually, the trap Alant set off probably would have killed me. The only way to avoid the rest would be to use Lock's absorption ability."

Lock nodded in acknowledgment.

"However," Human Hunter continued. "Setianal informed us that this Phina lady has traps suited for any possible situation. Lock's absorption won't work forever. Does anyone else have abilities that could potentially be helpful?"

Silva gave an answer, while pacing back and forth. "I would suggest using my power of flight to pass over, but there's no way our dear friend Phina didn't rig her little devices to sense airborne threats."

"Which is why we aren't using our aircraft." Tigal grunted in response.

"I.. may have a suggestion." Lock gulped.

Everyone gave Lock their full attention.

"What's up buddy?" Alant leaned on one of his swords that he had stabbed into the ground.

A single drop of sweat dripped down from Lock's forehead. His book wasn't in sight, making it obvious that something crucial was about to be revealed. "Lately, Faed and I have spent quite a bit of time together. Much more than usual. The reasoning behind this is something that can be deduced at a later date, for now, I would like to share with you all the remarkable albeit alarming discovery I made as a result of our frequent and extensive interactions."

A few more drops splattered across the rocky floor. Lock adjusted his eyewear and cleared his throat. "When provoked, Faed's level of power is increased by such an inconceivable margin, that I fear for anything that unfortunately happens to be within the area during the outburst. She gains talents and skills far beyond our own, though loses all control of herself in the process. I kept this as a secret so that Alant wouldn't intentionally activate it like the fool he is."

"What!?" Alant seemed slightly offended. "C'mon Lock you know I wouldn't go that far."

"No matter!" Lock stated in a harsh tone. The veins in his forehead intensified. "The point is, if Faed's other form is awakened, our chances of passing through this abyss of traps increases tenfold. The issue is that Faed doesn't particularly enjoy transitioning over to this form."

Faed gripped onto Lock's arm a little tighter. Her eyes watered. "I-.. I don't like it because it turns me into a mean jerk just like this lady and I hate mean jerks which would mean I'd hate myself and that doesn't really make any sense how could I hate myself not to mention the fact that I get super tired afterwards.."

Putting his hand up, Lock interrupted. "Quiet Faed! Now's not the time for a lengthy explanation." He gritted his teeth. Lock only mentioned Faed's displeasure for her secret power, so that someone else would hopefully trigger it. He wasn't sure if he could bring himself to do it on his own.

"Lock.." Tigal began, shaking his head. "I never knew that you were such a daredevil. Why would you have activated this form of hers in the first place?"

"By mistake of course. My attempts to show her what a healthy meal is backfired in a horrific manner. Faed enjoys her sweets a little too much I'm afraid."

Faed looked back and forth at a rapid pace. The fact that everyone was arguing over something related to her stressed her out.

"Listen Lock." Alant began with a soothing tone. "I dunno if we're gonna be able to use this man. I mean it's Faed after all, we can't do anything she doesn't want t-.. S-Silva..!?"

Everyone froze. Silva had impaled Lock through the chest with a blade of hers. "Oh shush he'll be fine. You said it yourself a minute ago Alant, even if all goes wrong, Setianal will take care of our goal along with Human Hunter's dog."

Human Hunter clenched his fists. "Wolf.."

Lock dropped to a knee. Blood poured from his chest, and drenched the ground below. Faed looked on in horror, letting go of Lock's arm. She began to shake as her eyes widened with shock.

"Not the greatest of ideas Silva, but I suppose it'll do." Lock groaned in pain.

All of a sudden, the entire canyon vibrated. Faed's eyes sparked and transformed into a sort of glowing black color.

The strength of Faed's power alone kicked up powerful gusts of wind. She was growling in fury.

"Faed didn't want to be like this... Silva." Alant fiercely brought up. "So why did you make her?"

Silva stepped back, a little surprised at Alant's unusual tone shift. "Well Alant, I believe it's rather obvious. I did it so she could destroy all the traps, like Lock was suggesting."

Alant stared at the ground.

"Then you better run, because she's not after the traps. She's after you."

With a sudden look of urgency, Silva glanced over at Faed, who had removed her bandana. Drool flew from her mouth.

Faed brought her left foot back, and bent it. Preparing to blast herself forward at unknown speeds.

Punching the ground, Tigal screamed. "Dumbass!! You were stupid enough to start this.. but that doesn't mean you should let yourself die! Get on your damn cloud and go!!"

"C-Certainly.." Silva agreed. She quickly used one of her abilities to form a floating cloud beneath her, and sat upon it. She took one good look at the canyon, drew a deep breath, and bulleted towards it full speed ahead.

Faed quickly followed suit, cracking the ground as she left it.

As Silva passed through the canyon, hundreds of traps were set off. Each had a unique assignment of it's own. From powerful barrages of weapons that would result in instant death, to monstrous flying beasts that relentlessly pursued their target, Silva was barley able to hang onto her life, managing to only slightly dodge most of these.

Faed on the other hand, completely wiped out everything in her path. No trap stood a chance at touching her. Darkness surrounded her body, and destruction was the only thing caused by this form. Her mind was completely set on the death of Silva, who knows how Lock survived an attack like this.

Meanwhile, more of Lock's blood spilled onto the floor as he coughed. Alant and Tigal quickly rushed to his side. "C'mon buddy, hang in there. We'll find a way to fix ya up soon! Kay?" Alant was trying to be optimistic as usual.

"Repairing my damaged body is far from the priority here. Take a look. While you may not be a fan of the method used, a pathway to our destination has been cleared. Soon enough, Phina will almost certainly use other tactics in order to prevent us all from reaching there. So you m-must hurry.." Lock coughed even more, hurling blood from his throat.

Alant's eyes watered, but he smiled. "I don't really care about that right now, man. I care about keeping my teammate safe."

"Focus on that." Human Hunter all of a sudden stepped forward. "I'll follow Silva and Faed's path of destruction, and eliminate Phina for you. I've done almost nothing this entire time. It's time for me to change that."

"W...What..? Hahah, c'mon H.H... don't be like that. You're gonna get yourself killed so just wait for us, we'll-.."

"No. I came here to improve my skills, and that won't happen if I'm just watching Proel do all the work. I need to see what I'm capable of against these people on my own." With a whistle, Human Hunter called Halt, who had secretly accompanied him on their way here. "I'll only accept help from my wolf, Halt. Otherwise, try to keep your distance from me until Lock has been patched up. He needs you right now, but he doesn't need me."

Leaving Lock's side, Tigal stood up. He stomped his way over to Human Hunter, pulled his arm back, and swung. "Diving head first into an overwhelmingly dangerous situation isn't the correct way to test yourself you useless bafoon!"

Human Hunter used most of his strength to catch Tigal's fist between both of his hands. He slammed his feet into the ground to stop the momentum. "Maybe not, but it's the only way available right now! Plus it'll allow you both to focus on healing your friend! So let me help you.. that's what teammates are for, right?"

Tigal applied a bit more force. "You expect me to sit here, and wait for you to return with an entire army of corrupt immortal gods?? Like hell! I haven't trusted you since the second our eyes first met, and I'm not about to let some stranger leave mid mission without my surveillance. Not even if you were approved by the boss."

"Fine then.." Human Hunter stated with a hint of aggression in his voice. "I'll show you who I am. Engrave it into your memory, then hopefully we'll finally be acquainted enough."

"Guys, stop it or else Lock's gonna die no matter what we do!" With a bit of hesitation, Alant decided to agree with Human Hunter's decision. "Human Hunter's just trying to help Tigal, he's trying to gain our trust, and your crazy theories are getting in the way of that! Let him go, and come help me with Lock already."

"If I let him go, we'll all probably end up dying. I love Lock, don't get me wrong, but it's either him, or everyone."

"No... it's... not! Are you that stupid Tigal what the hell!? I'm usually pretty tolerant with your crap but not now, not when it's gonna kill someone!"

"Funny. You didn't seem to care about killing anyone when you set off that trap earlier having not a single clue as to what it did.."

"Nngh.."

Before this argument could get too out of hand, an unknown figure kicked Human Hunter in the side, launching him away from Tigal into the decimated section of the canyon created by Faed. The figure grabbed Tigal's head before the Proel member could even react, and slammed it into the ground, fracturing the surface.

"Hello all, your comrades seem to be making quick work of Miss Phina's traps. That is an impressive feat indeed, however you're far from achieving your goal." The strange figure lifted his hand from Tigal's head, and allowed fresh blood to seep down his fingertips. "I'll admit that little stunt of yours caught us off guard. I'm referring to the girl who's wrecking the canyon as we speak. We never saw her use that ability in the surveillance footage, but that's what back up plans are for am I right? We have plenty of those prepared in case they're needed."

Alant watched as this stranger, who was concealed with a mysterious gray attire, played with the wet blood on his hands. "Doesn't really matter how many back up plans you've got, cause it won't be enough. Not to stop us." Alant rose to his feet, resting Lock's head upon the rough terrain. "Now my buddy over here isn't lookin so hot, I don't have time to deal with annoyances like you, got it my bro?"

The figure chuckled. "Bro, huh? That's a funny thing to call the one who will be responsible for your defeat. Not to mention your.. buddy's... death. Your lack of time is none of my concern though, the only thing that I must worry about is doing exactly as Phina has asked."

"Cool man, thanks for clearing things up." Unsheathing his blood smeared swords, Alant didn't smirk like he usually would. "Glad to know that you'll be second on the list of Phina's strategies we're gonna screw up."