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*Bang*

 In a hallway, unknown, loud, sharp, rapid-fire bullets barraged a young boy. Shells bounced and echoed throughout the empty corridor. Destruction and debris, smoke covered their sight. The leader signalled his men to stop the shooting. Intensely, they all glared at the smoke.

 But…

 Seconds passed, and repeated slow steps approached. It was light and eerie, going *tap*, *tap*as the smoke cleared up. The guards froze in place, gulping.

 “Monster…” the chief guard remarked.

 He sighed as he gestured for his men to keep firing. They resorted to grenades, rocket launchers and machine guns. However, none of it seemed to have worked—bullets were suspended mid-air; nothing stopped the boy until this point.

 (So why would this be any different? The boy has already destroyed all our turrets, broken through our defences, and as a last line, they use us a fodder.)

 As the boy got closer, they were all backed into a corner. Their vision became hazy, everything became disorganised, and they all felt dizzy.

 The boy, who slowly approached, ignored them, walked past, and destroyed the lab entrance by bending, distorting, and moulding it. Inside were horrified researchers, running frantically, trying to empty the place and save and destroy their research.

 However, their attempts failed as their bodies morphed, one after the other; they twisted and died an insufferable death, with their cries being the last thing the guards heard. And peeking into the lab, they saw a puddle of blood and horrified twisted forms of what was once human.

 “Get out if you don’t want the same fate,” the boy coldly remarked without even looking at them. “Or did you all perhaps know what this research was about?”

 They gulped and looked around; it looked like a normal lab to them all. They were a little suspicious but were hired to do a job which they did not think entailed certain death by something supernatural.

 “Well then, leave.”

 The boy glanced at them. His eyes were cold gold, his expression calm as if he’d been doing this all his life, despite his youth. And with a final warning, they all ran for life.

 “I’m done here; where is subject K-57?” the boy inquired as he placed his hand on the earpiece.

 [Good job, YB. The subject should be in a suspension tank. Uhh…there should be a button under one of the desks.]

*Sigh*

 [C’mon, don’t sigh. Anyhow, I have something to tell you after the mission.]

 “Understood.”

 YB shifted his focus and looked for a button—soon, he found a switch and after flipping it, with *flick* the lab started to shake; a pathway had opened stairs started to shape downwards toward a secret tunnel.

 “Found it.”

 Following the corridor, he arrived at a large open area that was mostly empty. He looked around the white room and tried to connect, but the signal was completely blocked. He continued to look around, each step echoing loudly.

 Finally, as if recognising that someone was in the chamber, suspension tanks rose from the floor; they were mostly empty; however, there was one that contained a girl in suspended animation. Blond hair floated as air bubbles rose. Slowly, the girl opened her eyes. She blinked, and a hint of fear surfaced as she covered her naked body. Her eyes were a lustrous shade of green.

*Sigh*

 YB. Yet again, let another sigh escape. He was uncertain that she would attack as soon as he released her. But by the looks of it, she seemed harmless and relatively stable.

 (Should I kill her?) YB considered.

 His mission was to kill artificial life created for the purpose of hosting an esper core. But…when he judged her reaction earlier, she showed fear and shame, a hint of humanity.

 “Nod, if you understand me.”

 Frantically, the girl nodded.

 (…is she really a human? Did they come this far already…?)

 As he kept thinking and staring at the girl, he noticed that her cheeks were getting more crimson, and she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

 (You’re fucking kidding me…)

 YB didn’t hesitate further as he destroyed the glass tank. He carefully made sure that shards wouldn’t injure her. As the suppressant waters flooded out, he levitated the girl, relocating her somewhere else. Shivering and covering herself as she sat on the cold white floor. With a flick of his hand, a strong, somewhat warm-up draft warmed the girl, drying her off. YB threw her his jacket.

 “Wear this,” he coldly said.

 “…thank you,” the girl replied in a hushed and hoarse voice. She’d been holding back her tears, and after she put his clothes on, she began to sob. “Thank…you…”

*Siiiigh*

 “Can you stand?”

 The girl shook her head. “I…my legs feel weak.” The girl said as she clenched onto his jacket, trying to cover as much of herself as possible.

 “We’ll talk on the way then,” YB said as he swung her over his shoulder.

 “Kyaa!? W-what are you doing?!” the girl asked in surprise.

 She couldn’t even fight back as her body was numb; she felt weak and could only retort with words. The boy who was carrying her was rough with her—not very gentlemanly like at all.

 “What does it seem like?”

 “W-Well! At least give me a piggyback!”

 “What are you? A kid?”

 “What if I am?! I’ll call the cops on you!”

 “Pff…as if that would work,” YB scoffed.

 “Urgh…! You’re so mean…! W-Wait! Why aren’t you using your powers to carry me!? D-Don’t tell me you wanted to touch me all over—”

 “Shut up, will you?” YB coldly voiced.

 “…yes Sir…” she swiftly replied. “but you could’ve at least carried me like a princess; you did save me after all…” she uttered to herself.

 “…you never shut up, do you? Besides, dream on.”

 “You’re totally an asshole…”

 “So, what’s your name?” YB suddenly remembered to ask.

 “It’s a little late,” the girl replied. “…I’m Olivia; thank you for saving me. What about you? What’s your name?”

 “YB.”

 “YB?”

 “What?”

 “Ah…well, is it a nickname for an agent of sorts?”

 “No, it’s a name I received from someone I admire. That’s all,” YB casually replied.

 “Then…what’s your actual name?” Olivia curiously asked.

 “It’s of no importance,” YB instantly replied.

 “…U-Umm, where exactly are we?” Olivia asked. She looked around. There were only white halls with cold lights. “I don’t remember how I got here; I just remember them doing horrible experiments on my body…”

 “You’re somewhere in South Africa—”

 “W-What!? Ugh…then…I’m far from home…” the girl said as her heart sank.

 “Where are you from then?” YB indifferently asked as he placed his hand on the earpiece.

 “England, it was 2025 if I remember correctly…”

 “It’s 2027 now.”

 “Huh!? I endured that hell for two years…?”

*Sigh…*

 “Paul, can you hear me?”

 “—huh, who are you talking to?”

 [Oh! Finally! How did it go? How advanced was subject K-57?]

 YB ignored the disheartened Olivia and focused on Paul. “They’ve kidnapped a girl from England and put an esper core inside her.”

 […Fuck…] Paul cursed with a hint of deep frustration. [Can you escape with her? Their backup will be arriving soon.]

 “Got it, I might be able to.”

 [Might be able to?]

 “I used quite a bit of energy, so…”

 [Can’t you fly away?]

 “Not while carrying her.”

 “—H-Hey! I’m not that heavy, am I!?”

 “Seriously, shut up, will you?”

 “…..”

 At his cold words, Olivia shut her mouth. YB realised he might’ve been a bit harsh. No, he was too harsh, and he regretted his words almost instantly. Olivia’s eyes were hollow, unlike the humanity she previously clung to. Judging by her face in the reflection alone, it seemed his words triggered a trauma, as then he realised she was coping by bantering with him for no reason.

 “Well, we’re near the coast. Can’t you get us a boat or something?”

 [We could; if you go into hiding and distance yourself a while, we can fix It within a few hours—abandon her if you have to.]

 At Paul’s statement, Olivia twitched as though she heard what he said—no, she definitely heard Paul.

 “I won’t.”

 [Is she really pretty or something?] Paul teased.

 “She is. Now, shut up. I’ll contact you later,” YB sarcastically replied.

 [Yes, yes…]

 YB briefly glanced at Olivia through a reflection; he noticed her face to be slightly red.

 (…I figured…she’s easy.) YB sighed yet again. (Well, she’s not too depressed, at least.)

 “…So he was after my body after all—he does find me attractive~ ehehe~” Olivia whispered, sounding a little happy.

 (…somehow, I regret humouring her already…)

  …..

 …

 As the two found a cave, YB let Olivia rest while he was on guard. Seeing her sleep while curled up in tears made him feel somewhat remorseful about his rough treatment of her.

 (Paul told me they’d disguise as a local fishing boat, but…it’s been a few hours. Why hasn’t he contacted me? Ugh…)

 “Hey, Paul.”

 For a while, nothing, but after a few minutes passed, Paul answered.

 [Ah, YB, sorry about that. They have completely surrounded the sea and air, so it will be quite difficult to sneak in—we’re working our asses off, you know?]

*Chuckles*

 “I don’t doubt that.”

 [I’ve got some time now, so about what I wanted to say earlier—Alum Miller went missing along his class. I want to go into more detail, but it will be lengthy. Is that okay?]

 “Alum…!? Did…he get assassinated or something?!”

 [Ah… I’ll take that as a yes and no; we don’t believe he did, but there have been supernatural events occurring lately—unrelated to the esper projects around the world, that is.]

 “…what?” YB voiced his surprise. He didn’t believe in the supernatural, and neither did his organisation. “You’re kidding, right?”

 [I’m not… it has been happening all over the world, mostly in remote area or very tiny spaces. People has gone missing and…recently, a whole class went missing.]

 “Alum’s?”

 [No, I got this report a few days ago; high-school students in Sweden had a trip to the mountains…a large chuck of that mountain is gone, leaving a massive hole.]

 “…..”

 [We believe that’s what happened to his class, but on a smaller scale—a whole seminar room disappeared—]

 Suddenly, YB felt a massive headache. He resisted at first but soon fell to his knees.

 [So that’s what happened… Hey, YB, are you listening?]

 Slowly, YB lost consciousness.

 [YB!!?!?]

 Time passed…and as if drifting through dark space, YB felt his world shake and could hear Olivia say, “YB, wake up,” in a gentle manner while she shook him. Slowly, YB opened his eyes.

 “Stop it, will you?”

 “Ah! Finally! Sleepyhead!”

 YB sharply glared at her, and he noticed that the cave seemed different. He touched his earpiece, but it wasn’t working. When he got up, he instantly felt dizzy.

 “Guh…”

 “A-Are you okay?” Olivia voiced her concern for him.

 YB ignored her, however. He looked around some more. It definitely wasn’t the cave they first entered. The first thing that crossed his mind was that they used gas to make them fall asleep, then relocated to another place, but the more YB thought about it, it made no sense.

 “Can you walk?” he asked Olivia.

 She nodded her head. “Yeah…I feel better now.”

 At her reply, he began to walk, looking for an exit. After a short while, walking through the cave filled with luminescent mushrooms—which he did not recognise—both he and Olivia found themselves in a forest.

 “…where the hell is this?” YB uttered. He looked up, and in the sky, he saw the usual sun but…also an additional one, which was smaller. “…shit.”

 “Huh? What’s wrong?” Olivia asked while tugging his shirt.

 “Look into the sky, idiot.”

 “Huh…? Huuuuh!?”

*Boom!*

 Suddenly, a loud rumbling roar erupted, and as both Olivia and YB turned toward the sound, they saw a massive rhino-looking creature covered in magma, stone surfing with full throttle toward them. Timidly, Olivia clung to his arm and hid behind YB.

 “W-What do we do!?” she frantically panicked.

 YB's eyes twitched, finding the whole ordeal troublesome. He clapped his hand as if containing the rhino-looking creature and was pushed back slightly by unbelievable force.

 “What the!?”

 Realising that the rhino was not to be underestimated, he stood firm; Olivia noticed that he was being slowly pushed back and helped him by pushing his back—the inferno rock-riding rhino was suspended in the air. The ground beneath him cracked as he levitated the struggling rhino; it cried and moved hysterically.

 Mercilessly, YB turned and twisted the creature's joints, crashing it down with immense force, as he himself fell to his knees, sweating and panting while looking at the creature in disbelief. He turned to Olivia.

 “Are you really an esper? You sure are pathetically weak.”

 She puffed her cheeks and sulked. “Excuse me! I…I’m not completely useless…”

 “Ah…I see, that’s why you were the only subject left…they totally replaced subject K-57 with you, didn’t they?”

 “I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

*SIGH*

 “Figured…no fucking wonder…”

 Saddened by his remark, Olivia distanced herself; she clenched her chest, and her expression was filled with pain.

 “I…I know I’m useless—I’ve always been…”

 YB raised a brow. “Well, whatever. This thing is probably edible. I’m getting hungry.”

 “…you’re eating that?”

 “You are too, now. Get to work.”

 “Yes Sir…”

 As the two returned to the cave with some parts they believed to be edible, they soon realised that, even if they looked around the cave, it wasn’t the same as the one they had first entered, and they had no way back to their world. But strangely, YB felt a little excited.

 (He disappeared…could he be here?) he wondered with a hopeful glint in his eyes.

 “YBBBB! This thing is rather delicious!”

 (And I’m stuck here with this airhead…)

 …

  …..

 …

 Late into the night, in a room reserved for Alum and Amethely, they and the others had returned to the surface of Velen Lon. Their encounter with Alester had dispirited many of the recruits; they felt as though they met death itself—passing out without being able to act.

  Alum sighed at the letter he’d received. It was a letter from the guild that said something about low-rank adventurers going missing in the mythical forest Elchnor.

*Knock knock*

 Hearing the knock on the door, it slid open, and Amethely appeared with mugs in her hands. “Al, I’ve prepared hot milk to go with the treats!” she said happily with a smile. “Huh? A letter?” she inquired, her head adorably tilted to the side.

 (She’s adorable as always…)

 “It’s from Guild Master Ateles. A little something about an advancement mission procedures to the next rank.”

 Suspiciously, Amethely squinted her eyes and peered at the letter. Her cheeks inflated, and she looked straight into his eyes with her bubbly ones.

 “Weren’t you supposed to be on a ‘no quest policy’ for a while? It’s…not something dangerous, is it?”

 Alum chuckled. “He rated it a D-rank—it should be fine. Besides, my actual evaluation and my rank differ quite drastically. Don’t you think?” Alum teased as he reminded her he was able to block one of her strikes completely.

 At his response, Amethely put down the milk beside the treats, walked over, sat beside him in bed, and crashed down on his lap.

 “…I didn’t use mana.”

 “I still blocked it, though.”

 “…..”

 Amethely heaved a deep sigh.

 “Will you go with a party?”

 “It’s just some investigation, rescue if needed. So, I won’t. Besides, I would have been faster if I had done it alone—not having a party that needed more preparation. I also have Hilos if things get sour.” Alum calmly replied while stroking her smooth, silky hair. “So don’t sulk too much,” Alum warmly said.

“I wanna come along too!”

 Troubled, Alum awkwardly smiled.

 “If you did, there wouldn’t be anything for me to do…besides, don’t you still have to teach the recruits? Even if we’re not down in the labyrinth, they’re still here to train.”

 “Don’t tell me Sir Rigeld granted permission to all of this…?”

 “Ah-ha…ha…” Alum awkwardly laughed. “If Sir Ateles sent this without his approval, he sure would be in a messy situation…” He peered at Amethely, who made herself comfortable on his lap. “So…uh…I’ll get going now.”

 “Huh!? Now?!” Amethely rose up.

 “Yeah…” Alum scratched his cheek. “I want to get it over with; I’ll come back by morning.”

 Amethely placed her hand on his chest, lightly holding onto his shirt. “Something strange always happens when you take a quest…” she said while leaning in, resting her head on his chest.

 Alum gently embraced her. “Nothing has happened recently…” he replied somewhat reluctantly. He then separated from her, peering deep into her eyes and reassuring her. “I’ll be fine. So…I’ll head out now,” he said as he got up.

 Amethely grabbed his wrist, pulling his face closer to hers, giving him a gentle, warm kiss on the cheek. Her lips were soft, and his cheek was warm and along with a *Chu* sound made his heart skip.

 “You forgot this,” Amethely warmly and playfully said.

 “Thanks…”

 Alum gently smiled. He turned around but decided to turn back again, taking a second glance. He felt such warmth and longing in his chest that it was a little painful to separate from her; he leaned close, kissing her on the lips.

 “…Al…” Amethely happily blushed.

 “Sorry, I had the urge, but we’re not going further than that…”

 “Meanie…giving me false hope,” Amethely sulked.

 Alum began to laugh warmly, and Amethely couldn’t help but giggle. They both locked eyes while laughing at their silly exchange.

 “Al, I demand lots of affection when you return! Be prepared—you were a meanie giving me false hope after all!” she affectionately declared.

 “Yeah, I will,” Alum chuckled, agreeing to her sweet demands.