Chapter 185 - A Putrid Obstacle

"That's...a big one."

With his hands on his sides, he looked at the massive, bloated creature obstructing their path. Its arms didn't scale properly to their size, unable to reach towards anything as it was completely stuck in the spot it sat; it salivated as it looked down at the group of humans. 

Though it looked at them, there was no hope of it launching some sort of attack--left completely stagnant by its abnormal body. 

"How the hell did it even get here? How did it even get that big!..."

Macheo casually walked up to the creature, kicking his boot against its enormous stomach, covered in slimy, silver skin. It was the one thing blocking their way of leaving the depths of the repetitive tunnel that held nothing but darkness, damp stone, and apparently overweight blob-goblins. 

"They said this was the only path back to the surface of the cavern...Did it really get here between the time the scouts left and now?"

Ren sighed, still trying to understand how it even got there. It was bigger than any goblin they'd seen; sitting at a size comparable to even whales of the sea--most of which, the size came from its stomach. 

"I feel kind of bad for it...It looks like it's in a lot of pain."

Expressing her sympathy for the creature, Iris held her hands together as she had to strain her eyes to continue looking at it. There was no doubt she was correct; the pain the creature in was more than apparent through its bloodshot eyes, foaming lips, and vein-covered stomach that bulged outwards, surpassing its capabilities. 

"...Should we put it out of its misery?"

Aiko suggested, staying close to Iris--not wanting to get any closer to the gargantuan goblin as its abdomen seemed to pulsate at random intervals. 

"Obviously--it's just...Going to get a bit messy."

Sliding Belus out from its sheath, Ren already looked disgusted at the action he knew he had to take; being brought so close to the unnatural creature, the smell of it would've been unbearable if not for his nose already being used to such horrors. 

"Disgusting…"

Even though Macheo said that, he squatted down to get a better look at the condition of the creature--noticing the moldy growth on its underside as a putrid liquid seemed to secrete from the calloused scabs. 

"Stand back--I'm sure you don't want to be in the "splash zone" of this thing."

Ren warned Macheo, raising his sword as he prepared to strike it directly in its blubbery stomach, holding his breath. Realizing what the white-haired young man was referring to, Macheo furrowed his eyebrows before stepping back a few feet. 

"Wait!"

"Huh?"

He was stopped by Iris before he could bring down steely retribution to its core, looking back at the girl as she looked at him with a bit of sadness. 

"...That's cruel. If you just slash it there, it's going to suffer until it finally passes on...It's already in enough pain as it is, Ren."

Hearing this from Iris, he looked at Aiko, who non-verbally agreed with this sentiment with her eyes. Turning his eyes to Macheo, the boy simply shrugged with his arms folded across his chest. 

"I hear ya', I hear ya'...So, what're you suggesting then?"

Resting the dull side of his blade against his shoulder, he looked at Iris for her solution to the big, round problem blocking their path. Slowly, Iris stepped close to get a look at the goblin restricted by its own sheer weight. 

"Don't forget, just killing it isn't exactly the problem here: we need to move it out of the way."

Ren commented quietly as he stood next to the azure-haired girl, watching as her eyes seemed to emphasize with the pain of the goblin. 

Its breathing was ragged, sharp, and pained--coming out in weak huffs as its diaphragm seemed over-encumbered. 

"...I know. I can handle it."

"I'm leaving it to you then, Iris."

Giving her a reassuring smile and a wink, Ren placed his hand on the girl's shoulder before stepping aside to let her do whatever it was she had in mind. The others watched as Iris held her hands together, shutting the veils to her eyes as mystical words parted from her tongue. 

The incantation was said so softly, without any malice or intent to harm in her voice, it was impossible to make out what she was saying so kindly--yet it could be felt. A gentle light surrounded her form, running along her height as her locks began to dance in the air so subtly; a spell was born into reality. 

Ren couldn't help but smile for some reason as he watched her, witnessing the light born of her words wrap itself around the goblin, embracing its strained, silver hide before the radiance etched itself into its flesh with a scorching end. 

It did not scream, its groans halted as did its breathing--it merely accepted its peaceful end as the spell transformed its flesh into nothing more than ash, then to particles of discarded mana that began to float away into the dank air. Not a minute passed before the entire form of the encumbered entity had been reduced to nothingness. 

"...All done."

Iris turned back to them, brushing the perspiration from her forehead with a gentle smile as her eyes first met with Ren's. 

"What was that? It was...beautiful."

"It's a special spell, it's mostly regarded as useless because of its condition, but I learned it anyway…"Hyperion: Passage"--it only takes effect on those who want to pass on; granting them a painless, quick death."

Explaining the spell she used, a confident smirk came over Iris' lips, seeming joyful to finally find an adequate usage of the spell. 

"Ah...Well, good job!"

Ren complimented her, giving her a thumbs-up as she returned the gesture with a pearly smile. 

I'm lucky to have found her again when I did...Well, I guess it's more like she found me, didn't she? I was plummeting so fast into the deep end, it wouldn't have been long before I became someone she would've despised, Ren thought. 

As they moved on, Macheo continued to question the abnormality of the oversized goblin, talking their ears off before Ren decided to change the subject for the good of the group. 

"I've been meaning to ask---Aiko, what is your affinity anyway? I don't think I've seen you use magic."

The question caught the young girl by surprise as she let out a quiet, "Eh?", as her lips fell slightly agape from being put on the spot. 

"That's right; if we're going to function as a group, and fight like one--we should be familiar with our capabilities. I'm a water user."

"Dark here."

"Light, as you all just saw…And fire."

Quickly naming off their affinities to make it easier for Aiko to speak up, the girl twiddled with her fingers before finally disclosing her element. 

"...Light."

"Oh? Two light users--that's pretty handy."

Ren placed his hand on his chin hearing this, looking up as if thinking of the usages this combination of elements might have. 

"Two lights and a dark user, why do I feel like the odd man out here?..."

"You're also the only one with a wooden arm. Pretty damn weird."

"Shut the hell up! I don't want to hear that from you, snow-head!"

Macheo responded with a vein popping out of his forehead at Ren's low blow, letting out a huff before chuckling with the white-haired man. The two girls looked at each other with worried smiles, shrugging as the only thing they could think of was--"boys."

While the two boys continued bickering with one another, Iris felt a bit of reprieve in her heart witnessing the carefree spirit still residing within Ren. 

I guess I was worrying too much, he's changed, but he's still Ren...Still, I feel like something else is different about him that I haven't noticed yet, Iris thought. 

"What type are you?"

Iris decided to ask Aiko, making conversation as the Akitein native girl seemed reluctant to spark any sort of words on her own. 

"Type?"

"I mean, like, do you use offensive light, defensive, more prone to healing?..."

"Ah...I think the way we cultivate magic in my homeland is different from what you're used to…"

The topic of magecraft seemed to be something Aiko wasn't too excited for, looking down towards the ground as she adjusted the leather straps keeping the metallic gauntlet on her arms. It was the first thing she always seemed to turn to when pressed with a lack of words. 

"Those gauntlets...They're special to you, aren't they?"

"Huh? You can tell?..."

Iris nodded with a smile, luring some emotion from the girl finally as she seemed flustered, keeping her arms behind her back as she looked forward towards the back of the familiar companion of hers. 

"Mhm. The way your eyes settle on the steel...It's like you're looking at something dear to you, or at least it's reminding you of something or someone that holds that place in your heart."

"...You can tell all of that just from my eyes?"

"Intuition between fellow light users!"

Iris explained with a bright smile, doing her utmost to try and open the silent shell that Aiko hid in.