𝐀 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 /// ᴋʜᴜɴ ᴇᴅᴜᴀɴ

5th Petal

"What did you say, Blue Turtle?!"

"Come one, you two. Don't let your prides ruin such a joyous moment."

Khun was blushing in embarrassment, uttering under his breath how he didn't miss the crocodile that much. Meanwhile, Rak was pouting like a child who just got scolded, but pulled the two humans closer nevertheless.

After a few moments, the trio released each other's embrace. "Then now-- Let's get out of this filthy beast right away!" The crocodile gave a hearty yell as he lifted up his spear.

"... How?"

"So far I've been trying to throw my spear at him from the outside, but I can't pierce the bastard! I didn't even think of going inside him to attack!!"

Rak gave them a confident gaze before aiming his spear at the roof of its stomach. "YOU'RE FINISHED! YOU BEAST!!"

"I feel like this guy's only stirring up a hornet's nest..." Khun muttered under his breath. Lilith only smiled at the antic. "Well, that's Rak for you."

The moment the spear pierced the inside of the monster, stomach acid came flooding from below. This sent the party into a state of panic as they tried to run, but was immediately spat out by the beast with the help of the stomach acid instead.

"Goddamnit! Hey, man! I almost died because of you!! You stupid alligator!" The light bearer yelled, upset that his clothes got soaked. The young woman was weakly laughing as she struggled to stay afloat. Hockney was already submerged, only his painting being held up by his arms were visible.

Rak was grumbling about how the monster wasn't even affected by it, failing to notice another young woman approaching them on the back of a giant turtle.

"Warriors! Warriors! Are you alright?!" She yelled as the turtle floated closer to them. The girl introduced herself as Mi-eum, a wandering minstrel made to help warriors like them. Hitching a ride back to shore on the giant turtle, the party was shocked to find it walking on two legs once it reached land.

While Hockney was still processing the new fact, everyone present started removing their drenched coats to avoid getting sick. Just as Lilith was about to remove her own, she looked down to realize that she was wearing a white button up underneath. Silently, she tied her coat back on. 

Khun was asking the minstrel question regarding the place, only to find out that they were summoned in the wrong area, most likely because they didn't clear the train first before coming here. 

"Well-- We can't just stay here like this, so would you hurry and lead us somewhere? I need to change my clothes and have a shower..."

The minstrel smiled. "Ah, then would you like to go to the town?"

"The town?"

The young woman then pointed at the town residing on the mountains. 

"What do you mean! I'm not leaving until I beat that monster!!!" Rak complained as Khun didn't even bother to reason with him.

"Shut up gator. For now, let's just go. Maybe we'll be able to meet up with them." Khun started his way up the mountain, Hockney and Lilith following behind. 

As the party makes its way deeper and deeper into the mountains, the climate gets more and more humid. Questions were being thrown about regarding the hidden floor between Khun and the minstrel while the others lag quietly behind. Lilith was wasn't really listening until they brought up the topic of sworn enemies.

"... in order to prevent power from having an excessive influence on this place, one enemy equal to you is generated. Most of the time, it's a powerful enemy you have encountered, or a rival that you wanted to defeat," the minstrel explained. 

"Just so you know, Rak's sworn enemy is that monster from before," she added, leaving everyone in shock.

"What?!"

"Sometimes, people with a strong sense of identity create a monster that they've never even met before..."

Khun began muttering about how Rak was stupid enough to create an enemy not even he could beat, the alligator grumbling at his words.

This had the jewel eyed woman thinking of potential sworn enemies she might encounter. So far when she climbed the tower, most of it was spent accompanying Khun. While they did run into several powerful enemies, she didn't think she made a great impression on any of them. Most of the time, she just helped from behind the front lines. People did occasionally give her second glances due to her appearance, but for power, no one even thought twice, not even her. Heck, not even Rachel see her as a threat. All this time she planned to keep it that way to avoid catching the eye of any of the Ten Great Warriors or Jahad himself. But after the incident on the Floor of Death, things may no longer be the same as before.

***

Everyone was huffing as they struggle to keep up in the rocky terrain up the mountain. What caught their eyes was a giant statue standing in the midst of the stones. It's intricate design stood out from the rugged edges of its surrounding. 

"That's called the 'Fruit of Good and Evil'," the minstrel explained, noticing Lilith's gaze onto the demon stature.

"The Fruit of Good and Evil?" Khun asked, listening into their conversation. 

"Yes, it's a quarantined place for the most dangerous and evil people here... or those who may harm the balance of this floor," the minstrel explained. "The giant will drag the fruit into a very deep underworld once someone lives a good life and wins against evil, and it is the only way the warriors will be able to proceed to a higher stage."

Khun then proceeds to discuss with the minstrel about the stages they have to conquer, but neither Rak or Lilia were listening, saved for Hockney of course who was also responsible. The woman was pondering about what the minstrel said about the statue. It wasn't there when she and her companions came to the hidden floor, and the context of the 'fruit' itself seemed kind of odd. 

Just as the minstrel was explaining to them the function of the pocket watch, a rumble could be heard from the statue's fruit.

***

Everyone's heavy breathing could be heard between the stagger mountain paths as the party made it's way towards the village they were promised to be taken to. "And we're here!" the petite lady announced as the four companions looked up past the jagged boulders towards the town in its midst. 

"Finally..." Lilith muttered as Hockney help pull her up the final rock they had to climb over to make it to the opening. Chatters and clamors can be heard as they make their way closer and closer to the village before two certain figures came scrambling out in delight.

"LILITH! KHUN!" Boro yelled as he ran towards the group, Sachi not far behind.

"Huh?! Sachi? Boro?" Khun exclaimed as he took in the different appearance of the two men. They were obviously not in the clothes they originally were, but adorned in entirely new outfits that looked more similar to what the minstrel was wearing.

"Wait... ALLIGATOR?!" the grey haired man screamed as if he just saw a ghost. "W-What is he doing here?!"

"Ah.. we're not sure either. He was just here when we got here," Lilith replied calmly, hoping to decrease the size of shock the fisherman was feeling. 

"Really?! What a relief! I' so glad you're alive!," Boro began to fawn over the gator's wellbeing as if they've been friends for decades, effectively weirding the said spear bearer out. The man then go on to rant about how they have no idea where they were and how they were immediately greeted as heroes the moment they arrive. It was as if on cue a chorus lined itself in front of the village gates to welcome the new four.

"Is that--"

A woman interrupted the question by making her regal presence known. Her orange hair and abundance of flowers adorning her cloak made her stand out from the rest, suggesting that she is someone of higher authority in this town. 

"Welcome heroes... You must have gone through a great deal of hardships to get here," she then introduced the place as the Town of the Wandering Minstrel. "We'd like to welcome you all... great heroes who will win against the demons isolated in the fruit of good and evil..."

"... and lead them to hell."