Elisa's eyes remained closed, and her hands against the wall.
'Not the same reason... Completely different... Brought here... Corruption... Devourer...? Final Test... That Armored Man... What is...'
She tried, but just couldn't focus on her Wind.
'What does it mean... A different reason for being here... A Test...?'
Too many questions tormented her mind.
Push-
Push-
"That Armoured Man... Must be on the same side as that fucker... That fucker... The one who used Corruption on all of us..."
Push-
Push-
"Then... If they're on the same side... If they know each other..." Elisa's breathing turned so unstable she started hyperventilating.
Push-
Push-
"Then Mark... Then... The Monster... The Armoured Man knew him... Which means... That..."
Push-
Push-
Elisa gripped her head with both hands.
"My head... Fuck...! If that Monster is... On their side then..."
Push-
Push-
"If he's on their side then-"
Push-
"WILL YOU GET OFF ME? CAN'T YOU SEE THAT I'M THINKING? GIVE ME SOME FUCKING SPACE, ALRIGHT? STOP RUSHING ME!" Elisa suddenly shouted.
The Moonlit Feline, frozen by surprise, slowly took its paws off her thighs and stepped back.
Elisa massaged her forehead and eyes, deep in thought.
'If he's on their side, then I need to...'
A decision had to be made.
Will she stick with Mark no matter what?
Or will him being on their side be the end of their...
Elisa turned towards the Moonlit Feline.
The latter lay on the ground.
It stared at the floor, and its ears hung lower than Elisa had ever seen them do so.
"Sorry. You're..."
Sigh-
"You're not at fault here. I just... I just need some time."
...
"Willing to answer now?"
Cough-
Drops of blood were ejected from Mark's mouth, while his nose continued bleeding.
"What kind... Of Test... Is this...?" His body swayed from side to side. "If you keep... Going like this... I'll..."
"You'll die? Mm. That would be troublesome."
"Right...? So how about... We find... A different way to..."
BLEUGH-
A punch to the stomach sent Mark to the wall for the hundredth time.
"Seems you've misunderstood something." Zephyr said as he walked forward. "You dying won't cause a problem to anyone, Devourer."
"The fuck... Is that supposed to... To mean...?"
"I'm saying that if you die, you die. As simple as that."
A chuckle left Mark's bleeding mouth.
"Yeah... Right... After all this time... After putting me through... This whole Dungeon... You think... I'll believe that?"
Zephyr chuckled in return.
"Don't tell me you thought you were special, Devourer. Don't tell me you were naïve enough or arrogant enough to believe yourself to be the only selected Candidate."
Twitch-
"How many?"
"So you really believed-"
"How many?"
Zephyr remained silent for a moment.
"Eight."
"More than I would have expected."
"Is it? What did you expect then?"
"Not much. There was no reason for me to think that I was the only one. And there was no reason for me to believe that there were others."
"Mm." Zephyr nodded. "You're taking this rather well."
"I wonder why Nia didn't tell me about them though..." Mark whispered to himself.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds."
"Huh?"
"You're asking yourself that when Death is staring at you?"
"Well if you told me what the point of this-"
"Evolve. Right here."
"I told you already, I can't. That's not how it works."
"Sure it is. You have a way to Evolve right now."
"What the hell are you-"
"Devour them. Those inside that Necklace of yours. That's your only chance-"
"I can't."
"Why not? Think they're special? They're just like any other Monster inside this Dungeon."
"Still, I can't."
"Why not?"
Mark remained silent for a bit.
"Because I will need them once I'm outside."
"Ah! That's a good one. Your arrogance truly knows no bounds. Devour them, or there won't be an outside for you."
"There might be eight, but that's not a big number. Not big enough for you to-"
"You're the first to get this close to the exit. If you don't make it, perhaps we'll adjust the difficulty for the others."
Mark didn't say a word for a couple of seconds.
"So what you're saying is that..."
"You'll die if you fail this Test."
"And what you mean by that is-"
"Yes, Devourer. I will kill you if you fail this Test."
Mark felt a shiver go down his spine.
His whole body immediately froze.
"Then... For the hundredth time, what Test am I-"
A front kick launched Mark away.
Ribs, crushed.
Breathing, increasingly more difficult.
Eyesight, blurry.
He could pass out at any moment.
His Mana Points had gotten low enough that he, now, felt the need to save them up.
There seemed to be a single manner to get out of the situation at hand.
'I have... To kill him... That's... The only way for me... To leave... To survive...'
Dizzy and lightheaded, he was barely able to push himself off the wall.
'But I can't do it-'
Something suddenly clicked inside Mark's mind.
'I can't do it... Alone...'
Zephyr abruptly halted his approach.
Something had changed.
The Aura around the Monster was different.
Too different.
It roared, and floating words appeared in front of Zephyr.
[The Unique Title "Devourer" is baring its fangs at you!]
[The Unique Title "Evolving Monster" is extending its claws!]
"Don't let your Titles control you."
Mark's lips parted, but his eyes seemed distant.
"Am I supposed to believe you instead? To believe that you won't kill me if I don't fail this Test?"
"That's right."
"How can I?"
Zephyr took hold of his spear with both hands.
"The weak have no choice but to trust the strong."
Mark was seething. His blood, boiling.
"You think... I'll accept that?"
"There is no other option for-"
"You think I'll... Agree to live... That way? You think I'll... Accept a life... Hanging by... Such a thin thread?"
"What else can you do? Your desperate plan is much worse. How can you let your Titles-"
"And what do you know..." Mark's eyes burned. "About my Ttles?"
"Stop this foolishness. Is this supposed to be some kind of bluff? You know you can't use or trust your premature Titles. They're too-"
"Trust...? Can't... Trust them?"
Mark's body started trembling.
"Do you have any idea... What these Titles have done for me...?"
Zephyr stayed silent.
"I didn't understand for a while but... These Titles... They're the only reason... I managed to survive..."
Mark's left hand took hold of his head.
"When I first appeared here... Weak... Scared... Confused... You weren't there... Nia wasn't there... Levi, Krista, Light... None of them... No one was there... When the first Monster appeared... That hunger... That had taken over my body... It wasn't simply hunger..."
The Aura around Mark turned ominous.
"My Titles took over... And killed that first Monster... Because... I wouldn't have been able to... They made me Devour... Because... I wouldn't have been able to... They were there... From the beginning... They allowed me... To taste blood for the first time... When I wouldn't have been able to..."
The ominous Aura thickened.
"And you think... I'll trust you... Over them?"
[Your Title "Devourer" smiles widely.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" urges you to keep going!]
"So, that's your choice?" Zephyr asked.
A mighty roar resonated throughout the Boss Room and beyond.
[Your Skill "Berserker[#]" is activating!]
...
'If they're on the same side... Then why would he have let me join his side...? That wouldn't make sense. Or are they just tormenting me...? No... I shot him, but he still...'
Elisa's palm knocked on her forehead multiple times as she thought.
'If they're on the same side, what would this Test be for? If they're on the same side, why was he put inside this Dungeon? Why doesn't he know anything about Magic? Why-'
The Moonlit Feline pressed its paws against her thighs.
Elisa turned towards Krista.
"Think they're on the same side?" She asked.
The Moonlit Feline didn't react.
"You can understand me, can't you? Why aren't you answering?"
The Moonlit Feline remained impassive.
And Elisa understood.
Sigh-
"You're saying that it doesn't matter to you?"
Nod-
"Well, it sure does matter to me."
The Moonlit Feline stared with wide eyes.
"I need to know... That's why..."
Elisa brought her hands to the brick wall once more.
"I have to ask him something. I need to ask him."
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and the Wind around her listened to her every command.
Through the spaces between bricks, cracks, and holes, her Wind went.
A multitude of passages were filled and emptied.
"Huh..."
One minute had passed.
Elisa turned towards the Moonlit Feline.
The latter's eyes were as round as ever.
"I'm in..."
Her Wind had made it into the Boss Room much sooner than she had expected.
The excited and overjoyed Moonlit Feline pressed its paws against Elisa's thighs again and again.
Enthusiastic, it had even started purring uncontrollably.
Elisa closed her eyes once more.
Slowly, but surely, she redirected more of her Wind.
She directed more of her Wind towards the one passage that led to the Boss Room.
Slowly but surely, her Wind occupied more space inside that room.
Drops of sweat were going down her forehead.
The effort was great.
But a slight smile was on her face.
Her head didn't hurt.
A minute later, she could feel movement.
Elisa took a deep breath in.
She breathed the air around her in.
Elisa's lips parted.
"Mark, can you hear me?"
