Cass followed the shimmering thread off the path and deep into the woods. A few more blood drops pointed him in the right direction. He would eventually find the soldiers…or what's left of them, either or. The entire sky was reflected in the snowy landscape; an all encompassing orange glow swallowed the world as the sun set. Eventually, The thread ended above the maw of a sizable cave.
Great. Like I thought, they're dead. Now all I have to do is go back and report my findings. I can probably make it back before the mess hall closes.
Those were the thoughts going through Cass's head as he headed into the cave.
Maybe I'm a bigger fool than I thought.
Cass had lucked out a bit. The cave had a few mana crystals sticking out along the walls and ceiling. They provided enough light for him to see without using his flashlight.
I should be able to sneak up on anything hiding in here. Provided I stay quiet.
Cass stumbled upon a boot as he ventured further into the cave. It looked new. His mana rifle was at the ready. He was pretty sure it could hurt the thing, but killing it? It'd take a well placed shot to do that. In the distance he could see patches of white lining the ceiling and walls of the cave. As their frequency increased, he began to see tightly wrapped cocoons among the interweaving threads.
Looks like I was right. Great. Of all the things to get caught by. If these bastards aren't still alive, I'll kill them!
"C-CASS!? Gunther, it's Cass!"
Cass almost jumped out of his skin.
The utter fool.
Ayman and Gunther were already barreling toward Cass. He signaled for them to quiet down, but Ayman didn't notice or didn't care. Either way, it was too late now. He wanted to berate him but there was no time.
"Get your rifles read-"
Before Cass could finish, Gunther was smashed against the cave wall. A razorleg spider lurking in the gloom had pinned him under its leg. Cass could tell he was dead instantly. His entire chest was caved in and his head swung limp…his neck clearly broken. The thing was around 3 meters tall and as the name suggested, had scythe-like blades adorning the underside of its legs. Its red and black body seemed to convulse with glee; the jagged peaks of its exoskeleton scraping against the cave's walls. Before Cass could register his actions, the mana gun was already firing at the base of the leg pinning Gunther. The blue streak ripped through the air and collided with its target, severing the leg. The spider let out a bone chilling shriek.
God damn it!
Cass was infuriated. He wasn't even sure why. Was it Ayman's big mouth? Or Gunther being so unceremoniously killed? Or was it the fact that Cadeyrn's lessons had saved him again. He had moved without thinking. Muscle memory was key in combat. If your mind freezes, your body will remember the action, so long as you train it enough. He didn't have time to brood.
"Where's the others?"
"T-that thing wrapped them up! And-and it bit-"
That was all Cass needed to hear. They were dead. Now they just had to escape.
The spider may have been crippled, but it was still fast. Cass and Ayman ran for the cave entrance as fast as they could.
"Where's your rifle?"
"It's out! When it snatched up the others, we followed it to the cave while taking potshots at it!"
Ayman was already panting out the words.
There's no way he was going to make it to the entrance. And it wasn't like the spider was averse to sunlight; it had attacked them in the day. Razorlegs were typically nocturnal or stuck to caves. This one was likely starving, judging by the age of the cocoons in the cave.
They would pop up from time to time on the family property, so he was fairly familiar with them.
That's right, "The family".
Cass had little reason to associate himself with them at this point. It only seemed fitting to address them as such. Of course, any one of them or their Blessed guards could dispatch the beast handily.
Good for them!
The spider closed the distance between itself and the two survivors.
I guess I'll have to report the mission as a failure. After I trip Ayman to escape the cave, I'll have to come up with a reasonable story about why it took so long.
Those were his thoughts as he reached into the pack and pulled out the flares. Firing them all in the spider's direction. Its legs screeched against the stone as it came to an abrupt stop. By that time Cass had already fired another shot from the mana rifle into its face. It missed any vital points, but the creature recoiled in pain.
"Run, you idiot!"
Cass charged toward the stunned spider.
"Cass!? What are you doing!?"
Ayman seemed concerned, but it didn't stop his retreat. Cass knew if they didn't kill it now, it was all over. He leaped into the air directly towards the spider's maw. Even if he was fully Blessed, a direct hit from one of those legs would probably do him in. As he was now, it'd be instant death. Its bizarre, cat o' nine tails like pedipalps flailed wildly and its legs began to twitch alive again…its vision was returning. But it was all in vain. Cass slammed the barrel into the beast's mouth and pulled the trigger. Blue light and blood erupted from the maw and its body crashed into the ground with a thud.
"Y-you did it, Cass!"
"Looks like it."
He tried to hide his shaking hands as he slung the rifle over his shoulder. Ayman was too in awe to notice. Cass had fought beasts before, but never one this tough and aggressive. It was a step, a very small step, closer to his revenge.
"Come on, there might be more. We can send a group with a Blessed to recover the bodies."
"Right!"
Cass was quiet the whole way back to the base. Ayman couldn't shut up about the fight and the experience. Normally Cass would've told him to shut up, but this time he didn't. Somehow, Ayman had no injuries, so he returned to his normal duties. Meanwhile, Cass reported to Captain Stanev.
"Excellent work, Cass. You've gone above and beyond."
Cass shifted uncomfortably. Receiving praise from anyone but Misha made him a bit uneasy. To be fair, before the trial, he had ONLY received it from Misha…and the betrayer, IF that was even genuine.
"Thank you, sir."
"To think our vanguard missed a creature like that. At least it wasn't demons. Thank God for small favors. Dismissed. Go get some rest, son."
"I will, sir."
The mess hall was empty. Cass stirred the chocolate pudding mix into the milk as it simmered on the stove. Once it was ready, he added some whipped cream and a copious amount of rainbow sprinkles; a staple on any army base. And of course, you can't forget the cherries on top.
Voila! Has a delicacy this fine ever been created in this kitchen? Any kitchen, perhaps? No chance.
As proud as he'd like to be of his creation, he hoped that no one saw him with such a childish dessert. It'd take a special kind of weirdo to eat such a thing. Cass entered the holding cells and strutted up to Ariayah's cell.
"You're late."
"Good lord, the pouty pint-size princess now? We never agreed on a time. You simply said you wanted to meet tonight."
The silent treatment? Seriously?
"I guess I'll have to eat this chocolate pudding all by mysel-"
Before he could finish she was at the bars
"You brought dessert!? Outside of mealtimes!? You rebellious scamp. That's my good demon boy."
She patted his chest.
Damn it! Why did he like that so much? He didn't make this pudding out of the kindness of his heart. You catch more flies with honey and all that. He wanted to figure out what made demons tick. What sort of tricks they'd pull. How they reacted to real human emotions. If he could figure out a method to discern the two; that is, real human emotions and whatever demons do, it would be invaluable. Come to think of it, did he actually know what real human emotions were? Rage, disgust, contempt…was he forgetting any?
"You busy?"
"Huh? Clearly not. I just spent 30 minutes making you pudding."
"Won't you sit with me? At least while I eat?"
He hesitated for a moment. Then slowly lowered himself to the floor. She did the same. She scooped a mouthful of pudding into her mouth.
"Mmm, what a treat!"
Cass couldn't help but smile when she did. With that, his first date began.