"Nothing one can do to harm it in the dream," Sasha asked the most important question.
"Harm the main body, nothing. But, you have done enough. Its part of it in you is totally annihilated." The man smiled broadly.
"What makes the three of you amazing and the reason why I came personally was each one of you defeated it differently."
"Buddhist Hand SS8, you defied it and weaponized that defiance to kill it!"
"Red Bodyguard, you allowed your talent to just chew it. What stranged about that is, the monster should have known your thoughts, it should have felt your plan, you were in its head and it saw and felt everything—anything that would harm it should have been known by it. In your case, it failed to feel danger until your talent appeared." The stared at Elias before he added gravely, "Talent reacts just like your barrier, but against someone with experience, that won't be effective."
He focused on Sasha. "You, my dear, didn't even understand how you won. I will tell you, it was amazing. You turned your thoughts into lightning and razed it from inside out. That is something Rank 2 and above should be doing."
"Wow. Look, I'm not the only one that cheated!" Elias quickly said.
"Ha. There is no cheating here. Fearmonger is a Calamity Monster that warrants us to lock down entire cities just to pinpoint it." The golden eye man said.
"But why allow us to fight it!" Buddhist Hand asked another important question. If it was that dangerous, isn't it suicidal to allow Rank 1 to attempt it?
The man smiled. "We have hunters, but not all are the same. Some hunt particular beasts more than others. Fearmonger is one that only if you have what it takes to survive the second battle can you face it. The fact you stood exchanging blows with it means you can win in mental battles. The very fact you stood before it, fought it, and repeated that till the end means your mind is strong enough to face it."
It was then that it sank in to them. These men were watching them somehow but never interfered.
"Would you have saved us if we were in mortal danger?" Sasha asked with hope.
"We are not in the ruin, we only watch from a distance. But there are things set to save you, but not guaranteed. The combat is real; you would have died if your mistakes were a lot."
They took a deep breath and nodded.
"The fun part is... you all now have mental invasion immunity. Also, Fearmonger will have a hard time infecting you now. Your body has also developed resistance to some ailments. Now, the rashes that plagued you before won't even affect you!"
The man said to Elias. It was then he noticed his skin was smooth.
ROAR!
A roar that shook the ruin came; the trio's hearts sank. That wasn't Fearmonger but something different.
"How many..." Sasha trailed off in her question as the man raised his hand, showing four.
Weakness enveloped the trio as they leaned back. Elias turned his head to his left where Buddhist Hand was, his fear evident from a grim possibility. Sasha noticed and teased them.
"Do you think we can run them too?"
Smack!
"You did the right thing, namesake!" Elias shouted.
"Come on, bro... I was just joking!" She pouted, but he only glared at her disapprovingly. His usual manner of having everything under control returned.
***
Elias's understanding about Calamity Beasts improved, and they truly are a calamity to the world.
Their very existence erodes the world. The feelings they make other life forms feel—such as the cold from that hyena-like beast, the heat of the red river, the dread of the Fearmonger—are called a plague and they can kill normal life forms in an instant or curse them with a disease that will be passed down through generations.
Elias's red skin was a result of Red River Horror Plague, a Rank 2 Calamity Beast. Though Elias's immunity had improved and he wasn't suffering, his children would be affected as long as he didn't cure it.
Also, the red was still serving as a beacon to the calamity beast; it knew the general direction Elias was in, and if he ever went close by, it would know.
What was worse was that it could make Elias's skin burn with heat just by being within tens of kilometers of the beast.
Elias sighed as his shoulders further slumped inside the bathtub where he was spending the last hours of his non-sleep time. The dome had dimmed because the sun was up, but from the patches of the broken parts, sunlight cascaded inside.
Directly above the clinic was a huge hole that Sasha had blasted out, and light came directly through.
The whole ruin city now had been filled with sightseers, Explorer trainees, official explorers, and auxiliary officials.
From time to time, those Rank 1 Awakened trembled as long as they weren't under the cover of tents that were set around.
But none were under cover; as long as they weren't injured, they had to be out in the opening to face the direct impact of the Calamity Beast roaring.
Just like Elias and Sasha, other reckless Rank 1s were taking their chances against the beasts.
Elias didn't know the outcome, but about two hours ago, he was kicked out of the clinic patients' room to here, a bathroom, with the claim that they had other patients who needed the beds.
He raised his left hand and clenched it. It was stronger now but not at prime; at least he could write without shaking.
The water he was in had been green, with the bad smell of herbs, but now it was fresh with a red hue. His body had sucked all that medicine inside. And he felt good.
What was strange was that he couldn't remember what Fearmonger looked like. The doctors said they shouldn't try to remember it, and they were all more than fine with that.
A nurse entered; without questions, she touched his head. "You are fine. Please leave; we have other patients that need this place!"
Elias sighed as he walked out from the tub, pulled on a long bathrobe, and wore it before he sauntered out.
In a flash, a girl, her body filled with hair, passed him. The bathtub was emptied, and she was placed inside.
The curtain was pulled, and his vision was blocked.
"Hey, how do you feel!" Sasha stood out in white clothes and a cape—her brother's.
"Fine." He walked a bit of distance away, under another shade. They were still not well enough to enjoy any Calamity Beast roar.
Sasha was about to speak when she noticed Elias's sitting position was purposeful and his breathing controlled.
'Meditation!' she thought. That was something she needed to learn. Then she was startled; his body pulsed with strange energy, and a thin bubble surrounded him. Then he floated as if he were a specter.