"…In the caverns attached to the monster nest down below, you must watch your every step…"
"You never know what could be lurking, even underneath your own two feet…"
"Remember, sometimes fearlessness is equal to stupidity… Blah!" Michael scoffed.
He mocked the tone of Big'Un in a frustrated and uncouth manner of tone as he trudged through the moss, deep roots and vines of the cavernous depths alongside Scott and Felix.
After having the basic layout of the explored underground caverns connected to the monster nest explained to them, they were tossed into the abyss deeper down below by Big'Un and his underlings, and they were forced to trudge and tread into the unknown, which none of them took a particular liking to.
However, this part of the deep underground was already partly investigated and lit up by several illuminants, and thankfully, they had a way back up.
"Well, at least he gave us the choice to fight him instead! He's not that bad compared to other bandits!" Felix told to Michael, who simply rolled his eyes, "And besides, we only need to investigate until we reach a "danger zone". That's easy!"
"Hmph. You do realise that there was no point in him giving us such an option," Michael replied, "Even if there were ten of each of us, I doubt we would be able to take down a Marauder General."
"They have a particular strength of such a degree that I've heard they can fight bare-handed with monsters!"
Felix shrugged. "Well, I think with Scott we could've had a tiny, tiny chance of beating him. Unlike us two, he's already managed to grab the brief attention of a God."
"…" Scott remained quiet, silently thinking to himself as they talked. Noticing this, the pair glanced at him for a moment and then continued their odd conversation.
"… Alright, but besides whatever situation we've gotten ourselves into now, have we decided whether we're going to Sanaharma or what?" Michael asked.
"What, what? Who said I'm coming with you?"
"Well, I did. You owe us."
"Owe you what?!" Felix answered back, "I don't owe you two anything!"
Michael raised an eyebrow.
"…Ah… but…!"
Felix sighed, and grumbled out a meek:
"Fine... I'm not that scummy."
"…Good!" Michael replied, turning around to shake his hand, "Trust me, you'll undoubtedly have fun joining the two of us. The more the merrier."
"…Hey, you two," Scott spoke, the first time in a while, "I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Do you two… get one of those strange moments when it feels like you're remembering something or have remembered something… but you can't seem to recall what you've remembered?"
Felix shook his head. "Nope."
"Neither do I. What, is that happening to you right now?"
Scott shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you can say I'm going through something similar at the moment..."
Felix rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.
"Maybe you're just experiencing "Disorder". Everyone experiences it at least once in deeper, unknown biomes."
"What's a Disorder?" Scott asked.
"Oh, Father Morn told me about this. It's a particular burden placed on the mind, and it's causing as you get closer to the Tree of Divinity that's at the centre of the Almighty Dream. It can cause you to temporarily forget bits and pieces of things."
"…Hm. Then, why aren't you two getting affected?"
"Well, for me, I went through the Great Vines Cathedral's Holy Rites, which gave me both incredible mental toughness and grit, as well as my Beast's Sight, which comes in handy quite a lot," Michael replied, "And, the blessings I gained from the Rites are still incomplete. I'm not so sure about Felix though."
"…Is "I don't have a clue why I'm not being affected" an answer?" Felix asked with a tiny grin on his face.
"…Probably not," Scott replied, chuckling, "Maybe it's because you're a demi-human, which Michael told me you were?"
"Hehe, sorry to disappoint, but that's not true. Demi-humans are quite like humans, just with improved senses and whatnot. I think the reason why I'm not being affected is because of my coerced devotion to the "Maniacal Laughing Noise."
The Maniacal Laughing Noise, the God with No Name, the embodiment of trickery, joy and artistry. As soon as the God of Tricks was mentioned, Michael felt the cogs in his brain turn, and suddenly, it began to make sense why Felix was so quick.
"The Maniacal Laughing Noise is what most people call the God of Tricks, or the God of Deceit, whichever you prefer," Felix added, his hands behind his head.
"I'm technically a disciple of "Their" cathedrals because I was forced to make communion as the first half-breed, cat-lion demi-human they had in their palms."
"Huh… I do wonder, what are the Knights of the New Capital even doing about this? The Sovereignty of Six Crowns should've cracked down on the exploitation of different human races long ago…"
Felix shrugged. "They have too much on their hands already, I guess. The Divine Hall Meeting, which takes place rarely, is starting soon. Of course, this includes all royalty and nobility across the entirety of Glamar's domain, and even the High Lord of Hanus Sols has gone."
"This is most likely why Iron-fisted King Cromse is only acting up now. Most of the knights have gone with them, leaving the impoverished, the unruly, the cruel and the remaining powers to fight for a proper standing."
Scott and Michael stared at him for a moment, stunned at all the words that came out of his mouth. They had no clue that someone as mischievous as him had moments like this.
"I didn't know you knew so much about such things… I have to say, I'm shocked," Scott spoke, "But, what was with that fancy way you spoke so suddenly?"
"Huh…? I thought everyone talked like that, in that "posh" sorta style. I was just copying them because it made me sound smarter. Besides, it's not that different from how I usually speak, is it—"
A small squish alerted him that his foot had stepped on a bug.
A bug that looked similar to that of a normal ant, but much bigger, with a pinkish-purple exoskeleton and mandibles capable of nibbling and gradually wearing away the consciousness and memories of living beings through multiple bites.
A Mindscatter Bug.
"…Crap."
A loud bellow echoed from the cavernous walk ahead, and small bugs, which seemed to be fellow Mindscatter Bugs, began to come through.
"Eurgh… what are they…?" Scott asked as he saw them approach.
"Well… they're described as "miniature plagues" under the right conditions, so take that however you want!" Michael replied, stomping the ground and crushing as many bugs as he could.
"I've also heard from the other disciples that they spawn endlessly from their "source" when threatened, so we need to get going quickly to find it and get rid of them!"
"Alright!" Scott and Felix replied simultaneously, as Scott sent a flaming fist their way and punched a bunch of them into smithereens and Felix stomped on groups of them with his incredible speed.
The three of them proceeded to dash as quickly as they could onwards, smashing every bug in their sights. Yet, the horde of bugs that were even crawling through the cavern's small orifices to get to them was endless, and it was only a matter of time until they were bitten.
But ultimately, after traversing for long enough, they found a small opening close by, leading to another small cavern that contained the "source". A "Bizarro Sentinel", classified as a "Beast of Nightmare", is one of the entities born of abnormalities that are oddly similar to a demon.
The Bizarro Sentinel from above looked quite like the Mindscatter Bugs, but much more like a humanoid too, with multiple arms emerging from its back, and a purplish, fleshy growth that formed its head and several other parts of its body.
"Fortunately, finding it is the hardest part since it's just a living nest for the bugs and it can be dealt with easily afterwards," Michael whispered, "But, since we lack enough strength, defeating a Bizarro Sentinel is only possible with all of us working together."
Scott and Felix nodded.
"Alright… let's do this," Scott said, preparing himself, "That thing looks flimsy anyway. I'm sure we can do this."
They all agreed, and then on the count of three, they jumped straight down and landed right in the middle of the small cavern. This instantly caused the great Beast of Nightmare to notice them, and the creature bellowed before its strange bugs crawled out of its many orifices.
This would be their first-ever experience with "real danger", a primal danger that could only exist in the face of unimaginable terrors that could eradicate villages and raze cities to the ground.
And also, after this battle, they would all know the true meaning behind the words that they carelessly ignored:
"Sometimes, fearlessness is equal to stupidity."