Grand Escape

Truthfully, he didn't even know if there was an "out" of this unorthodox tunnel, but the only thing they could do was move forward.

His ears were filled; the constant thumping of the metallic ceiling up above being marched over by dozens of ravenous footsteps, accompanied by ear-piercing howls of the Defects–it was an anxiety-thriving environment that almost put him into a haze as he forced himself to crawl forward, following the girl in front of him's lead.

More and more limbs began to pierce through the ceiling of the metallic, overgrowth-laden tunnel, allowing sunlight to peek through and the muffled howls to grow louder.

"Faster, Jeong-Hui!" Myung-Hee barked.

"I'm going as fast as I can, dammit! You think I'm holding out right now, of all times?!" He snapped back, speed-crawling to the best of his ability.

It became more and more frequent; the Defects stabbing into the ceiling, only missing by mere inches now as it became daunting.

Eventually, they reached a spot in the graveyard of cars that allowed them to stand straight and run, moving forward as the rampant stomps of Defects up above rattled the metal.

"How large is this thing?!" He asked out.

"I don't know, but I'm thankful it exists right now!" Myung-Hee replied.

"Over there!" Kamou pointed out.

Up ahead, it seemed the interior of meshed vehicles reached an end, connected directly to a sewer opening.

"Urr…"

Reaching the entrance, they all stood around the circular entrance to the underground, vile passageway with hesitance.

"Screw it! No time to waste!" Myung-Hee said, hopping down the sewer.

"Wait–!"

Before he could say anything, the black-haired woman was already too far down, prompting him and Kamou to look at each other for a moment, knowing what they had to do.

"Ladies first," he said with a wry smile.

"..." She looked at him silently with a begrudged expression.

After another second, as the pace of the pursuing Defects grew more intense, he finally bit the bullet and grabbed Kamou, much to her surprise, bringing her into the sewers with him.

"J-Jeong-Hui…?!"

"Sorry, I didn't have much time to think–!" He told her.

Together, they fell down the height of the sewer, though with the physical amplification of [Equip], the height didn't put much strain on their body as they plummeted down to the bowels of the rancid sewer system of the city.

Kamou held onto him as they fell, soon reaching the bottom with a splash of the putrid waters below.

"We made it," he let out a small sigh.

"We did."

As they stood there for a moment, Myung-Hee was looking at them with folded arms and a raised eyebrow, "I don't mean to interrupt anything, but…"

Realizing they were still holding onto each other, the two quickly separated with tomato-red cheeks, looking in opposite directions as he flusteredly ruffled his vermilion-shaded hair, and the girl twirled her silver strands.

"Anyway…where the hell do we go now?" Myung-Hee asked.

They were at what looked like a cross-section of the sewers, with four, large tunnels to choose from, and no real way of discerning their path.

"Good question," he muttered, looking at each pathway, though they all seemed exactly the same without much difference.

He brushed his all-black, sleek uniform, but he knew there was no avoiding getting dirty in the environment of waste.

Luckily, "Equip" uniforms wash themselves clean after being unequipped. Still…I'm going to have to walk around in this filth for a good bit, aren't I? He thought.

"Kamou, you can figure out our path, right?" Myung-Hee asked.

Kamou nodded, "Mhm. Leave it to me."

"Wait, what?" He asked, confused.

His question wasn't exactly answered, but Myung-Hee gave him a light slap on the back as if telling him "Just watch", which he did.

Kamou twirled her staff between her fingers, lowering it as she dipped the opulent jewel into the sewage waters below that her pale, high boots stood in.

"Cast: Divination."

The spell that illuminated from the tip of the staff took the form of a wavy, expanding manifestation of curled light, flowing through the rancid waters gently and soothingly.

What's this? He thought.

It always surprised him; the skills inherit to Kamou's class–"Serene Weaver"--she didn't possess many offensive abilities, but the defense spells and utility she had access to made her absolutely invaluable in the team.

Part of the wavy essence of light lifted, pointing towards the leftmost path.

Kamou had her eyes closed during the duration of the spell, opening them after the sublime radiance dissipated, "To the left, we will find our path."

"Sweet!" Myung-Hee celebrated, taking the lead.

He was left agasp at the spell, surprised at something so divine, "That was amazing."

"It's nothing…" Kamou smiled a bit with a small blush, "I'm really not all that useful in combat, so this is all I can do."

"That's not true! You're totally awesome in combat, too!" He assured her.

"Really?..." Kamou averted her gaze a bit, twirling her silver, pristine hair around her lithe finger.

"Really!"

Before they could continue, Myung-Hee called out from up ahead, "Hurry up, would ya'? I really don't feel like stewing down here!"

"Right…" They both said in unison, following the muscular, tall woman down the leftmost tunnel.

Luckily, from the sounds of it, the Defects didn't manage to track them down into the sewers as they walked throughout the quiet, smelly passageways beneath the surface of the abandoned city.

"I'm surprised more people didn't think to come down here, you know?" He asked as they traversed the tunnel.

"Do you mean when this all started?" Kamou asked, walking beside him with her staff held.

He nodded, "I mean, most Defects can't even fit through the entrances. I doubt they'd try to break through–they sort of just act based on what they see and hear at any given moment."

"Isn't it obvious? Nobody came down here 'cuz it smells like ass!" Myung-Hee answered from up ahead, keeping her claymore laid on her shoulder.

"...I think people would rather smell bad than die," he answered with a wry chuckle.

Eventually, they reached an exit, similar to the one they came in from with a ladder leading upwards.

Myung-Hee went first, followed by Kamou, then himself as he felt more comfortable being the one to deal with any potential surprises coming from the back. Without thinking about it, he looked up while climbing the ladder behind Kamou, finding his eyes meeting with something that almost made him fall from the steel, rusted holds.

As white as snow–! He thought.

Of course, what he saw were her panties; not just that, it was a clear look at her surprisingly plump, smooth thighs that accompanied her lithe body.

He rapidly shook his head, retaking his concentration as he felt his blood run hot, continuing to climb as if he never saw anything.

Don't you dare get hard–! If they see that, I'm done for! I'll kill myself if that's how I end up! He thought, bargaining with his virgin body.

After a surprisingly arduous climb up the ladder, he met up with the two at the top, finding themselves inside of an abandoned warehouse, stocked full of dusted boxes as he huffed, bringing himself to his feet from the sewage entrance.

"Why're you breathing so heavily?" Myung-Hee asked.

"You're sweating, too," Kamou added.

He exhaled, "...It was hot down there, that's all."

Looking around, he coughed, waving his hand as the interior of the vast, abandoned building was dusty, "Anyway, where are we?"