Pov 3 person
In that moment of closeness, their eyes locked. The tension between them was thicker than the concrete walls surrounding them. At that moment, Neo's eyes drifted to Kurumi's lips. Kurumi noticed this, and with a hint of sorrow in her eyes, she pushed Neo away.
"I've wasted so much time... It's the first time I've ever felt this exhausted."
Kurumi said, standing unsteadily on her feet. In doing so, she diverted their attention from what had happened just moments before. And although Kurumi's face had regained its vitality and the dried blood had been washed away, it remained pale and covered in sweat.
"Other than that, everything seems to be fine. But from now on, I'll have to act faster when I want to use this method to recover my health. The sooner I do it, the less time I'll have to go back to heal ."
Kurumi said, stepping away from Neo and sitting down on the bench by the table. Neo, still looking at Kurumi with concern, sat down next to her. Her gaze sent a clear message to Kurumi.
"There's no need—I can go on my own.... Give me a minute."
Kurumi said, and that's exactly what she did; taking deep breaths and then stretching her body, Kurumi prepared to move. Meanwhile, Neo explained her idea about getting out. And although Kurumi was listening, she clearly had other thoughts on her mind too . Her gaze remained distant and unfocused as she stared at the empty wall, where shadows could still be seen moving unnaturally.
Something Neo hadn't noticed because her attention was on Kurumi. But Kurumi herself had noticed it, and she was clearly not pleased. Clenching her teeth, however, she ignored what she had seen and prepared to set off. Picking up the protective mask from the ground and then examining it for any irregularities, Kurumi brushed her hair aside and put it on her face. As for the fact that their cleanliness left a lot to be desired, there was nothing they could do about it. As long as the air filters were working they were useful , that was what mattered.
Neo did the same. Then they both wrapped their legs and shoes in waterproof fabric they'd salvaged from jumpsuits. Finally, grabbing their tools and flashlights, they approached the door. After checking the map one last time, Kurumi nodded to Neo, confirming her plan.
Then, after taking a photo of the map with the working scroll, they both looked at the door. It was heavy cast iron, no worse than the ones in the bunker. A meter of unknown purpose protruded from the side. Only an old, faded, and half-torn piece of a sticker revealed that it was some sorte of air gauge. Although most of the instructions had disappeared, the fact that the needle had stopped in the red zone generally didn't portend anything good.
"Let's get out of here."
Kurumi said, opening the door with a groan of effort. And the moment it swung open, an even greater wave of cold air full of moisture, dust, and spores hit them in the face. Fortunately, the masks on their faces protected them from the smell and other harmful elements.
After a moment of adjusting to the darkness and the settling of the dust particles suspended in the air, their eyes were greeted by a pitch-black landscape filled with floating dust. A simple tunnel stretched left and right, and only at the ends of the tunnels flickered faint light.
Thanks to their flashlights, they could see that a small stream of greenish-brown water, about five meters wide, flowed down the center of the tunnel, leaving only a half-meter-wide walkway on each side. In the distance, they could make out the outline of something resembling a small bridge allowing passage from one bank to the other. The tunnel itself was four meters high, with pipes running along the ceiling.
Right in front of the door, on a brick wall covered with fungi and moss, there was a round grate from which even more water was flowing.Other than that, the half-faded and worn-away white paint markings were the only guide along the way. Looking at each other, Kurumi and Neo knew there was no point in complaining. They simply set off along the route they had discussed earlier.
Without even looking at the slime-covered floor, they walked, glancing at the walls in search of clues and inscriptions , which ometimes they were more visible, sometimes less so, and sometimes not visible at all.
Just in case, after regaining more energy and regaining her full focus, Kurumi created clones and sent them through different tunnels as well as through the tunnels they were traveling in, in order to assess the situation in real time and respond accordingly.
"Damn it , I lost everything I had in the shadow..."
Kurumi said in a voice muffled by her mask, after checking herself, Kurumi confirmed this fact . Yet Neo understood her perfectly.
"Everything the clones had gathered in my shadow was lost when I lost my entire aura.... All the weapons I'd collected... All the firearms. Clones dropped it and lost it in the shadows ."
Kurumi said, irritated and clearly sad, yet she kept walking, knee-deep in mud.
"Luckily, the note I took from the Grey was handed over to the clone who escaped with Emerald . I just hope it is really worth all the effort. "
Kurumi muttered to herself, and Neo, as usual, remained silent, lighting the way with one hand, while her other hand, holding an umbrella, shielded them both from the " rain " falling on their heads. As for the rest of the new equipment, Kurumi kept it all in her shadow.
"Luckily, I didn't bring anything valuable with me, and you usually keep my documents and money."
Kurumi added, turning around the corner while simultaneously creating two more clones, which headed down different tunnels. Walking and wading through the tunnels, they moved in silence, eager to leave the sewers as quickly as possible, until finally a flash of bright light appeared before them. The current of the "water" in the stream flowing down the middle of the tunnel picked up speed. A huge reservoir appeared before them, which, thanks to its missing roof, let rays of light into the canal.
"Neo, try it,"
Kurumi said, pulling off her gas mask and standing near the edge, not wanting to go too far out so as not to attract the attention of possible observers, but still close enough to assess the situation. Hearing this, Neo nodded, took off her mask, and pulled out a working scroll with the intention of checking the signal strength. She then immediately made a call when she discovered it was possible.
" Ne&$..... #$@&: hdyWe// were already thin.....i that &#$&$# '
The scroll connected, but Kurumi and Neo soon realized the speaker must have been damaged. The words were choppy, and the voice was distorted and full of static. Only the video feed allowed them to recognize that Emerald and Big Mom were on the other end.
"Emerald... What's the situation? Where are you?"
Kurumi said, paying no attention to Big Mom's grim face nor to Emerald, who looked almost tearful—her eyes clearly showing she was in pain. The only thing Kurumi was focused on now was the situation. And seeing through the screen that Emerald was outside, she asked about it. However, Emerald froze for a moment; the image on the scroll flickered, then the conversation resumed.
"I can't hear you; your lips are moving, but you're not saying anything."
Emerald said, causing Neo and Kurumi to look at each other.
"Neo, take care of it."
Kurumi said, and Neo nodded. First masking the tunnel exit and then creating illusions of letters, she began to explain the situation to Emerald. Kurumi, on the other hand, taking advantage of the fact that Neo had cast illusions over the exit, approached the edge to look around.
"SHIT...."
Kurumi cursed under her breath upon seeing at least six different bullheads overhead. News bullheads , police bullhead, and a few others that were hard to identify. Besides that, a crowd of fully armed people in uniforms had gathered around the opening.
"What the....?"
The next moment, Kurumi's heart skipped a beat as everyone aimed their weapons downward and began firing. Not at them, but at something at the bottom of the tank. And as she looked down along the trajectory of the bullets, the targets became clear. Grimmies—not one or two, but at least a dozen—were scrambling up the walls of the tank.
These weren't the Beowolfs or Ursas Kurumi was used to. Nor were they anything she'd seen in movies or books. Long front legs with claws clearly designed for digging and climbing. A slender body without hind limbs, instead only a snake-like tail. A head resembling a cross between a crocodile and a wild boar. And all of this topped off with thick armor covering its entire back.
All these beasts were crawling out of a tunnel at the very bottom of the reservoir, which had previously been filled with water. Now, however, there was no water, as it had all drained into a new tunnel at the very bottom. And that tunnel hadn't been there before.
This tunnel clearly did not resemble a man-made one. Whatever had happened, the wall at the bottom of the reservoir had collapsed into some unknown tunnel from which these grimms were now crawling out.
The armor on their backs was thick, allowing them to withstand heavy fire. Under heavy fire from multiple barrels, these grimmies had no trouble climbing almost all the way to the top until they were knocked down. And often this wasn't due to the bullets, but because the wall they were holding onto couldn't withstand the pressure and crumbled, dragging the grimmies down with it, only for them to resurface and move toward the top again.
One Grimm also found itself beneath Kurumi, digging its claws just below the entrance to the tunnel where they had stopped. Kurumi, however, didn't even glance at it as a powerful shell tore through the beast's paw. Instead, Kurumi looked at the shooter who had just fired that shot. It wasn't the military or the police.
"Hunters."
Kurumi said, watching as a group of four people jumped into the reservoir, dragging the beasts with them as they made their way down.
"Well, that exit is out of the question."
Kurumi said, turning to Neo, who, after speaking with Emerald, was now standing beside her, watching the same scene.
"So what? "
Kurumi asked, and Neo merely shook her head.
"So we're cut off,"
Kurumi said to herself, taking the scroll from Neo to read the message.