"Sapphire… there's one thing…"
Sapphire turned to him.
Her heart pounded.
The sound of the rain faded into silence as she waited—breath held—for the words to come out of Sebastian's mouth.
CREAK!
A sudden crack echoed from the old, rusty door behind them.
"Who's there?!" Sebastian yelled, scrambling to his feet.
Sapphire was just as quick, standing up with anxiety and growing irritation.
The door opened slowly. Another creak followed.
Kekekekekekekekekekekk…
A foot stepped out.
Sirius walked out, his hands raised like he'd just been caught by the royal guards.
Klaus followed behind him, his face filled with fear as he walked cautiously. He looked at Sirius like he wanted to eat him alive.
"Dammit, Sirius! Why'd you have to blow our cover when the good part was starting?!"
Sapphire folded her arms, a smile on her face… one that masked the rage and bloodlust simmering behind it.
A crack of thunder lit up the sky behind her. Her pink hair looked almost red. Her pink-and-white outfit suddenly gave her the aura of a monster.
Just like you readers, she thought, I really thought this was going to be a confession scene.
---
Meanwhile…
Elijah finally moved. He began stretching his arms.
A sigh of relief escaped his lips.
"Ha! Ha! Finally I won!!" Sukiro jumped around, water splashing everywhere as he celebrated.
"Won? I was just taking a bath," Elijah said, clearly confused.
"Ba—bath!?"
"You can't bath when you just lie around all day rotting!" Sukiro shouted, frustrated.
"Too much work for me," Elijah shrugged, rotating his shoulder.
"Okay, let's go meet up with the others."
---
Back at the door…
"What were you guys doing?" Sapphire asked, her tone threatening despite the forced calm.
"We just…"
"You know," Klaus mumbled, voice trailing off like a kid about to get scolded by his mom.
"There was a huge spider! It jumped on me!" Sirius smiled nervously as he slowly backed away.
Sebastian let out a disappointed sigh, placing a hand on his forehead.
"GUYS!!!" a happy voice yelled from a distance.
"Sounds like Sukiro," Sebastian muttered, turning his gaze towards the sound.
"Guys, I'm here!!" Sukiro ran across the muddy land, water splashing into his mouth as he tried forming half-sentences.
"About time," Sebastian smirked
"Yes! We are saved!" Klaus thought, his face glowing with hope and joy.p
Sapphire looked at him, her eyes murderous.
Sukiro waved his hands in signal and then—
TCHHHHHH!!
He slipped.
Face-first into the mud.
Elijah, who was walking behind him, burst into laughter.
"Hahahahahahhhhhhhaaaaaa!!!"
"Yo—" coughs "You can't even walk properly, man!"
"Hahahahh!"
Sukiro muttered something under his breath.
"Can't hear you, idiot!" Elijah yelled, still laughing.
"If you're done laughing, can you pick me up now?" Sukiro grunted, his face now fully brown.
"Sure, sure, why not? Mr. Can't-Walk," Elijah said, still grinning.
Sebastian and the others watched in shock and amusement.
This was the first time…
He laughed.
"He laughed," Sebastian whispered, eyes wide.
"He can do that?" Klaus muttered.
"That's a sight to behold," Sirius smiled.
"Yeah. Yeah, it is," Sapphire agreed, gazing at the distant Elijah and Sukiro.
---
Some time later…
"Okay then, now that we've had our little, much-needed breath, let's head to the village. No stops—except for eating and sleeping, of course," Sebastian said, standing in front of the group, determined.
"Aye, captain!" Klaus saluted enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that's enough of that," Sirius muttered after witnessing the cringe.
The journey was long, filled with chatter—and plenty of bickering.
Finally, they arrived at the village.
Dust surrounded them. Desert plants rolled across the ground like in an old cowboy flick.
The village was dusty and rusty, with houses made entirely of wood.
Sirius smiled wide. "The desert village! We are so back!"
An old man approached them, surrounded by villagers. He leaned on a cane, moving slowly toward the Emeralds.
"Welcome back, heroes," he spoke, his voice aged yet powerful.
"It's been quite some time since you left…"
"Yeah, it has been a long time," Sebastian smiled, reaching out to shake the old man's hand.
The old man returned the gesture, smiling warmly.
"Well then, Christian here will escort you to your rooms," he gestured toward a maid.
"Okay then. Thanks, Jules."
"No worries, Sebastian. This is the least we can do."
---
Christian led them toward their rooms. That's when they spotted it.
"A dungeon?" Klaus pointed toward the ominous structure nearby.
"Yes. It's been open for around… 25 days," Christian replied with a very uncertain guess.
"…Is that a wild guess?" Klaus raised an eyebrow.
"Well…" Nervous laugh. "Yeah…"
"So it can open at any moment?" Klaus asked again.
"Well…" Another nervous laugh. "Pretty much…"
"You're certainly not the brightest around here," Klaus sighed.
"What's the dungeon type?"
"I heard it's a mix dungeon," Christian said.
"The most difficult kind, then," Klaus muttered, hand to his chin in deep thought.
"Well, hunters, your rooms await. I'll be on my way."
"Thanks, Christian," Sebastian said.
"No problem, Master Sebastian."
"Well, I'm going to sleep. You guys can do whatever," Elijah said, stretching.
"Yeah, us too," Sirius added, motioning to himself and Klaus.
"Okay. Let's take a short nap and meet at the village center," Sebastian sighed.
---
Sebastian lays on the ground, letting Sapphire have the bed.
Suddenly, he was jolted awake by a sound.
Something had fallen.
Groaning, he got up to check what it was.
And then he saw it—
A ghoul.