久久大陆

In complete honesty, he wished not to have to fight anything during this scavenge. After the skirmish with the Rakshasa, Hadimba, and the other rising fiends–he was exhausted. Still, despite knowing he was tired, he still felt as if he could go on for another two days.

Must be that "Zombie Self-Sustain" at work–neat, he thought.

Another can falling over sounded out as he quietly walked–this time sounding out from just the next aisle over, prompting him to rush around the corner and bursting forth with a swift succession of [Blink Steps].

He initiated his agile assault with a kick off of one of the shelves, bringing his blade forward before–he stopped.

"I yield! I yield!"

–It was a person.

Only a hair away; that's how close the edge of his blackened dagger was from the neck of the unknown person.

"Huh…?" He let out in confusion.

They were much smaller in build, with long, silken hair that came in a light-gray, soft shade. The mysterious person had flinched, hiding behind their arms, which were dressed in a long-sleeved, olive tunic.

It was impossible to decipher their gender; one one hand, their face was feminine–no question, with smooth, pale cheeks and dazzling eyes, and that lengthy curtain of almost mystical, silver hair.

But, the one thing contesting their feminine side was their completely flat chest, and the boyish aura they gave off.

[Player Recognized…]

[Xiaodan | Level: 22 | Class: Luminate Martial Artist]

Oddly enough, there didn't seem to be any armor they wore–it was difficult to tell if they were even in [Equip] or not as they wore baggy, beige pants and slippers akin to something a martial arts practitioner would be seen wearing–in movies he'd seen, at least.

"Err…Are you gonna move that blade away from my neck?" Xiaodan asked, still holding their arms up with a nervous smile, looking up at him with their pale-green eyes.

He was still completely confused, by a number of things at that, but pulled the weapon away as he felt no hostility from them, "...Yeah, my bad."

A sigh of relief poured from the adrogynous person's lips, who placed their leather-gloved hands on their sides.

They were a full head shorter than him, raising one of their soft, gray eyebrows as they looked at him as if expecting some sort of apology.

"What's with the look…?" He asked slowly, sheathing his dagger.

Xiaodan replied, "Nothing. Just wondering if you're one of "them" or not."

"..."Them"...? If you're trying to figure out if I'm some sort of enemy of yours or something, you should know I could've cut your neck just now," he assured them.

"I was perfectly capable of deflecting your attack, but that's beside the point," Xiaodan folded their arms over their chest, "...You don't seem like a complete lunatic, so you're probably fine."

"What're you even talking about?" He squinted at them.

He was still trying to figure it out for himself if this mysterious stranger was a friend or foe still, but he was the one being questioned instead.

"Those crazy cultists. You haven't seen them? I think they call themselves…Hmm, what was it?" Xiaodan answered, putting their hand to their chin as they pondered.

The mention of "cultists" made his blood run cold as his eyes widened, looking straight at the youthful, silver-haired person.

"..."The Last Bastion of God's Will"..." He answered for them.

"Yeah, that's it," Xiaodan snapped their fingers.

"How do you know them?" He asked.

It was an urgent question–one with many answers, and little that could possibly calm him.

The adrogynous, lithe person looked at him, blinking a few times with their bushy, silver eyelashes before answering, "Well…They sorta chased me here. I've been on the run, ehe…"

"Chased…?"

"Yeah! I was in an obsidian dungeon past those huge walls out there–they tried cornering me, but I'm nimble, you know? Got out of there in a jiff. Still, they're persistent…I don't doubt they're still on my trail," Xiaodan explained, replacing their serious expression with a carefree smile again, "That's about the jist of it!"

–This was urgent. Even more than the hellish horizon outside, this felt even more pressing than the looming demons.

"Xiaodan, was it…? Are you alone? Do you have a group you're with?" He asked.

"Nope," Xiaodan answered, "Just me. Why?"

He gulped, "Just a few blocks down, there's a compound–we have a lot of strong players. We're staring in a luxury hotel, too–it's nice. It's safe there."

This offer was extended as he knew full well what hell awaited for somebody wandering alone in this world now–between the rise of demonic entities and the mysterious player killers out there, he knew letting them walk away would be the worst case scenario.

If I just let them go alone…It's no different than killing them! He thought.

Xiaodan looked up at him as if reading his intent before smiling wide, "Sure! As long as you've got food and shelter, I'll go anywhere!"

"Really? That easily?" He asked in surprise.

A growl came from the adrogynous figure's stomach, prompting them to chuckle embarrassedly, "...Yeah, I've kind of been on the run for awhile now. I'm starving. That's why I came in here!"

"I see…" He let out a sigh of relief, "I came here to stock up on supplies for my group–help me out and you'll earn your stay. We need canned food and any sort of medical supplies you can find."

"Roger, roger!" Xiaodan playfully saluted.

Before he could get the opportunity to ask if they were a boy or a girl, Xiaodan marched down the aisles while humming a tune, collecting canned goods.

…They do realize what the world has gone to, right? He wondered.

Though he could only be relieved he managed to find them by a stray miracle–otherwise, he could only imagine the worst could've happened to them.

Still…if the Bastion is around…I'll have to tell Dae-Seong about this, he thought.

"Just one thing after another, huh…?" He mumbled to himself.

Finding a backpack, he began tossing all the canned goods he could find, dumping the tins into the red-lined baggage before filling it completely.

Xiaodan found one as well–a pink, flower-designed backpack that they filled to the brim before wearing it on their back with a smile.

They're a girl then, right? He wondered.

"All done!" Xiaodan presented with a smile.

"Good job," he complimented, slinging his filled pack over his back before stopping, looking right at the youthful, lithe figure, "...I've got a question."

Xiaodan tilted their head, "Hm? What is it?"

"Are you…you know…a guy or a girl?" He asked, finding it to be an awkward question for some reason.

The adrogynous, new companion of a small stature looked at him for a moment with a blank expression before giving him a cheeky smile, "Who knows?"

"Huh?"

All he got in response from them was a teasing sticking out of their tongue as Xiaodan began to move out of the building.

"Huh?! I mean it!"

Xiaodan chuckled, walking beside him, "It's no fun if I give you an answer directly."

"It's that way then, huh?...Whatever–it doesn't matter to me which you are," he said, rubbing his head.

As the two headed back outside onto the streets, he was surprised that the jovial-spirited youth was actually adept at moving stealthy alongside him, following him without making a single sound in their step.

I wonder if the martial artist class has some crossover with the assassin class? He wondered.

"What's this place like, anyway? Is your group…?" Xiaodan trailed their question as they moved into the alleyway.

"They can be rowdy, but they're all good people–trust me," he assured them with a smile, "Though they can be a handful sometime–"

As he was walking, his words suddenly cut off as something inexplicable happened: all light vanished from the horizon. It stretched from the sky above; an overwhelming, inescapable darkness that within moments, enveloped everything.

It was as if a veil of absolute black had replaced the air, imprinting a total, suffocating darkness around them.

"What…?" He let out.

Raising his hands, he could hardly see them waving in front of his eyes as even his assassin-class inherit ability to see in the darkness struggled to adapt.

What's going on? It's…pitch-black, he thought.

He took a step forward, smacking his face against the brick wall of one of the alleyway sides before having his arm grabbed, causing him to jump from the sudden sensation.

"Hey! I'm right here!"

–It was Xiaodan, who moved close enough for him to barely make them out in the absolute darkness.

"What's this?...It's completely black out here," he commented, "Forget night–this is something else entirely."

"If I had to guess…It probably has something to do with this "Final Culling" thing that God told us about," Xiaodan theorized.

"That's what I was thinking, but…Give us a warning or something, you know? This is just unfair, honestly," he whispered, grabbing onto Xiaodan's wrist, "--Let's go. We should get back before this gets any more weird."

He couldn't see it, but Xiaodan held a slight blush at having their wrist held, being guided behind him as he led the way forward.

My eyes are adjusting just a bit…but all that means is that I can see roughly a meter in front of myself–nothing more. Everything past that meter is completely black, he thought.

"...It's awfully quiet now, isn't it?" Xiaodan whispered to him.

"Now that you mention it…yeah, it is," he replied in a whisper as they slowly walked through the alley.

They were in the middle of the city that was overrun with both Defects and demons, yet it was eerily silent all around them.

He looked back at Xiaodan, who looked a bit nervous but was still holding a small smile, looking back at him with their verdant eyes.

"Do you have any spells that can give us some light?" He asked.

Xiaodan shook their head, "Nope. Sorry, hehe."

He knew it was a long shot, but it was worth asking. There was only one other option he could think of to combat the all-encompassing darkness, but it was something he had never actually tried before.

"Alright…It might work," he mumbled to himself.