Inheritance (Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth)

꧁ IV ꧂

Red came to a stop once they reached a small juncture in the path they were traveling. He looked down both paths that lay before them. "No fiends and yet..." He sniffed the air. "There is an ashen odor in the air."

"An ashen odor?" Lailah reiterated. "I wonder if-?"

All of a sudden, an angry roar echoed throughout the mine. Barret and Red tensed while Lailah remained calm. She knew that sound all too well.

Barret looked over at the snowy-haired girl. "Was that who I think it is?"

She nodded. "Yeah. That's Hephaestus, all right. We may run into him. That is if he doesn't run off again."

"If we do, he damn well better be in a better mood..."

"Hephaestus..." Red muttered, having not been with the group when they first met the tiger. "That is the name of the ancestral beast of the Ignis Tribe. Should we be concerned?"

"Hephaestus does have quite the temper. I had to intervene during our first encounter to keep him from killing Barret. He...does not approve of the company I keep, but trusts my judgment. He shouldn't attack us on sight."

"Better not..." Barret grumbled.

The trio chose a path and pressed on. They had yet to find the robed man, but they did find the burnt remains of a few monsters. The scorch marks on the creatures' bodies, the ground, and the rocky wall were enough to indicate there was a powerful blast of flames.

Lailah kneeled down and hovered a hand over the black marks along the ground. She could still feel the warmth of the flames that created the marks. "He can't be far."

Red gazed at the corpses of the monsters. "It seems Hephaestus has cleared the way for us."

"From the state of the corpses, he didn't hold back. I knew he had a temper, but this..." She gazed at the monsters' charred bodies. "This is overkill even for him."

"Whatcha mean?" Barret asked.

"He's angrier than usual. Whatever has his temper flaring this bad, I hope we don't encounter it. I wouldn't want to stand between him and his prey."

As they continued forward, the trio discovered more charred corpses of monsters and remnants of powerful flames. They even discovered a large shard of mythril that was shattered and charred, its lustrous glow and beautiful appearance gone.

Stepping over the burnt shards, they followed the trail of soot until they reached a large open area. Among the charred rocks and mythril were large claw marks across the cave walls. There were more remains of monsters, some burnt and turned into piles of ash while others were torn asunder with parts of their bodies scattered around the area.

Lailah winced at the gruesome sight. Even though they were monsters, the scene was a massacre. Blood and ash combined, painting the area in a horrifying way. She then heard another roar. This time, it was much more threatening and sent a chill down her spine. "If Hephaestus finds the others, he may attack. We need to regroup as quickly as possible."

Barret and Red agreed. They picked up the pace to regroup with Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith before Hephaestus could discover them. They were able to find a ladder that led to the path above, but they refrained from climbing when they heard the sound of fighting. The three remained as quiet as possible as they listened to the sounds of battle above. They didn't know how long they remained silent until they heard voices.

Hearing the battle had come to an end and the voices of their allies, they ascended the ladder. Barret and Red carefully approached from the side while Lailah searched for a vantage point. She snuck around and found a way to climb up the metal scaffolding.