Yuna walked out of the transporter, right into the hustle bustle of the early morning work day of Junction. People cleared a path for her as she sped out of the station, their eyes going to her uniform. It must have been full of splatters from monster blood and guts.

She took to the streets and headed toward the Academy dormitory. In the campus, a few students seemed to recognize her, but they stopped short of greeting her. They must have noticed her uniform as well. Or her expression. It might have been both.

The elevator opened up the moment she slammed the up button, and her foot tapped on the ground in a frantic pattern as the elevator shot up. The elevator stopped, the doors opening with a ding. Before the doors had completely opened up, Yuna slipped out and brushed past a student who was waiting.

She sped walked down the hallway, the doors passing by as her hair bounced up and down. Her room came up, and she opened it up, walking in and heading directly to her room. 

‘Communicator, communicator,’ she chanted in her mind. Her head craned around as she tried to remember where she hid it. ‘Drawer. Drawer.’

Her hand yanked the drawer of her nightstand open and dug around the inside, pushing aside papers and books, until she touched metal. She grabbed it and placed it into her ear. Then she gave it a tap, waiting for it to begin ringing, before going to her closet to grab her sword.

Yuki picked up after the first ring.

“Yuna,” she said. “Are you done? Are you alright?”

Her melodic voice was low, but urgent. The sound of it loosened a knot that had tightened within Yuna. She sat down on her bed as the energy drained out from her.

“Yuki,” Yuna said, her relief pouring out in her voice.

“What happened?” Yuki asked.

“I don’t have that much time to talk right now,” Yuna said. Yuki waited, not replying. “My assignment isn’t finished yet. We’ve ran into some problems recently that have thrown our plans in for a bit of a loop.”

“What problems?”

“We’ve recently had to battle a horde of monsters. A group of around ninety monsters. A few of them were rank A monsters,” Yuna said, her words rushed. She heard Yuki suck a breath in at that. “We will probably be heading into the Keynal Strip in order to investigate the reason behind why such a large group of monsters came out.”

“Is that all?”

“No. We’ve observed that the monsters seemed to be scared of something. They weren’t cooperating and they didn’t seem that interested in us. So we came to a conclusion as to what could have caused such a response.”

“A rank S monster,” Yuki said, her voice with a hint of dread. 

“How did you know?” Yuna frowned.

“We don’t have time right now for me to explain that,” she replied. “You need help”

“Yes,” Yuna nodded, glad that Yuki understood her situation. “Please.”

“Then you have it. When?”

“A few days. I’m not sure on the time yet.”

“I’ll be bringing Akira and Erica with me. Just return to your mission. Bring that communicator with you, but don’t wear it. I just need to track your location.”

“Understood. What’s your cover going to be?” Yuna asked.

“The Keynal Strip is a premier hunting location. I can come up with something easily, don’t worry.”

“Okay. I need to go now.”

“Then go. I’ll see you soon. Count on it,” Yuki said, her voice soft. 

“Got it,” Yuna replied. Her hand went up to her communicator to shut it off.

“Yuna,” Yuki said. Yuna paused. “Be safe out there.”

“I will,” she smiled, her chest warming. Then she disconnected the line and pocketed the communicator. 

After grabbing her sword, she left her dorm room, her step now carrying a sense of reassurance. Her squad had help now. And though she knew it wasn’t the appropriate time for such feelings, the thought of seeing Yuki again after three weeks made her a bit giddy. And perhaps that was what she was really looking forward to.

---

 

“Let’s go, soldiers!” 

At the lieutenant’s command, Yuna and her squad began their march into the Keynal Strip, passing that dense treeline that Yuna was so familiar with from afar. Other squads flanked her sides. 

The plan that the headquarters had given the squadron was simple. Once all the squads had rejoined, they would then venture out into the Strip in their respective squads and investigate. There will be five minute intervals where the corporals of each squad will relay any information to the lieutenant.

And now, four days after facing the monster horde, Yuna was heading into the heart of the problem. Towards whatever had scared those monsters. 

But now, with that communicator in her pocket and her sword by her side, the task before her didn’t seem too big now. 

The forest swallowed them, blocking out the sunlight save for a few shafts that slipped through the gaps between the leaves and branches. The forest was cool in the morning, the ground wet and a tad muddy. Squirrels were scampering about up and down trees. Yuna noticed a deer in the far distance, but it noticed her as well and disappeared into the shadows of the forest. 

“Squad eight reporting in,” Carol said into her communicator a few feet away. “Nothing unusual.”

The lieutenant’s acknowledgement crackled back and Carol let her arm fall down. She turned her head and looked around, her gaze passing by Yuna. Yuna followed it, counting the six other people that were present. One member had sustained injuries that prevented them from joining.

“Look alive, boys,” Carol said. “We’ve got a bit of a trek on our hands.”

They continued moving forward, the scenery around them unchanging. It was all just the same combination of tree trunks, bushes, and shadows. The most exciting thing was the occasional animal that appeared here and there.

‘Maybe all of the close monsters were pushed out?’ Yuna thought. ‘We’ll see some once we get further in.’

And her suspicions proved to be true. A few more minutes of walking, and faint mana signatures began to glow in the distance. Monsters. Yuna didn’t know how far away they were, or how strong they were, but at least she was aware of them now. 

“Mama, I feel some signatures now,” a man called out.

“I do too,” Carol replied. “Ready up. We don’t know what’s coming for us right now.”

The forest breeze shifted, and then Yuna began to notice the smell. It was light, but getting stronger and stronger with every step she took. It smelled like rotting flesh, stabbing her nose with every inhale. It was the scent of death.

“Mama,” Yuna said, raising her voice. 

“Yeah?” Carol said. She turned and paused, waiting for Yuna to continue.

“I smell something,” Yuna said. “It smells like something dead. Decaying corpse of some sort. It might just be a dead deer or monster.”

A few soldiers spoke up, corroborating Yuna’s observation. Carol frowned and gave the air a sniff. Her nose crinkled and her head swiveled towards the source of the smell.

“Check it,” Carol instructed. “Be ready for anything. You two.”

She pointed at two people, a man and a woman. They stood at attention.

“Go with Princess.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they replied. 

Yuna nodded at them and drew her sword before sniffing the air. The smell was still there, as putrid as ever. She walked towards it, being guided by the intensity of the scent. When it became almost unbearable, she heard the sound of flies buzzing about.

“The bushes,” she said to the two that followed her. Their noses were crinkled, but they held their weapons firm. “Watch my back.”

They raised their swords. Yuna reached out with her own blade towards the bush where the rotten smell was radiating out from. She pushed a few branches away, revealing what the bush was hiding. She grimaced, stopping herself short from pulling away.

Underneath the bush, a wild hog laid. Or at least what Yuna thought was a wild hog. The only recognizable trait were small tusks that jutted out from a mouth and a snout that was riddled with gashes. Besides that, the body of whatever that animal had been was gone. It looked as if the hog had been put into a blender. The place where the body and the neck had been separated was a rotten yellow, black flies buzzing around it as pale maggots ate away at the flesh.

“What the fuck did that?” the woman that had come with Yuna said. “That shit isn’t normal.”

“It looks like someone took a blade saw on that thing,” the man said. “The hell?”

Yuna agreed. This wasn’t normal by any means. The thought set alarm bells off in her mind. A monster had done this. 

“We need to go back,” she said, pulling her sword away and letting the bush hide its horrid contents once again. “Something’s wrong.”

And as if to agree with her, a screech echoed through the forest, sending shivers down Yuna’s spine. The communicator on her wrist crackled and Carol’s voice came out in a yell.

“You three, come back here now!”