Both Uriel and Ininise relaxed. They had already said everything; now all that remained was to rest after their recent fights. Uriel could feel that, little by little, his relationship with Ininise was growing stronger, which was a good thing.
"How are the others? Did they make it?"
It had been a while since Uriel last heard any news about the others, so he felt a bit curious. The last he'd heard from Ininise, they had been forced to split up because of the sudden event.
Ininise was happy; she had also been worried they might suffer since she wasn't there, but it seemed that much concern hadn't been necessary. Overall, things appeared to be going well for them.
"Yes, actually, they're on their way here."
Uriel had experienced firsthand what it was like to not have a group, so he found himself wishing they would arrive soon. He didn't want them to run into another event—that would be the height of bad luck.
"That's good. I guess they're moving so slowly because no one can carry Ralzire, haha."
"I told them you got a monster soul. Ralzire said you were a… uhhh… a… an idiot… a lucky idiot."
Uriel was sure that the "idiot" part had originally been a much harsher insult, and that Ininise had chosen to tone it down.
"Something like a lucky bastard?"
"Yes! That."
Suddenly, he felt like teasing her. He didn't really want her to say those insults; it was kind of cute.
"Come on, then—why not say it? Lucky bastard. See? It's not that hard."
Ininise, however, was determined not to repeat those words.
"Come on, say it. Nothing's going to happen to you for saying a couple of bad words. Look: lucky bastard. Ralzire's a bastard for calling me one."
But Ininise quickly grew tired of it.
"If you keep saying those words, I'm going to get up."
He immediately stopped teasing her, falling silent as if he had never said anything in the first place. Forgive me, please—don't punish me like that by taking away the most precious thing I have in this dark tower.
Suddenly, Ininise burst out laughing. Uriel smiled as well. It was almost as if she could tell exactly what he was thinking at every precise moment. Wait… he had felt that sensation several times before. It couldn't be a coincidence, could it? And in a world filled with fantastic abilities and magical things, how crazy would it be for someone to actually be able to read minds?
Uriel carefully studied Ininise's face, analyzing every little detail. She had just stopped laughing abruptly and now stood still like a statue. Could it be? Could it be that all this time, Ininise had been able to hear every single one of his thoughts?
"Wait, shhh… I hear something."
But he hadn't said anything out loud this whole time… Ininise shot him a complicated, somewhat embarrassed look, while Uriel himself turned red as a tomato. All those moments when he thought about how beautiful she was, or how big certain parts of her body were—even that time he dreamed about her on the beach… did she know all of that? Uriel wanted to bury his head in the ground.
"Uriel, we need to get ready. Someone's coming up."
From her reaction, it clearly wasn't the others—it was someone else. But who were the people now entering the house? And more importantly, how did they know someone was here? It couldn't be a coincidence.
There was a burned-down house right next to this one, so why did they decide to check this house in particular? More killers?
However, Uriel had a plan. If they were killers, this could give him a crucial advantage.
Uriel dropped to the floor and made his best effort to look like someone on the verge of death. With a bit of luck, his numerous wounds would help him deceive them.
Ininise immediately understood and took a similar position, tending to Uriel as if he were a precious treasure.
The sound of footsteps slowly became audible to Uriel, who realized they were close.
"Did you find anything, Masson?"
"I already told you, Elijah—my ability never fails. There are two people here: one of them is one of ours, and the other is one of those horned demons."
Two adult men entered. They were equipped in a rather distinctive way, so you could tell what class each of them belonged to.
"Jackpot."
The man called Masson had a rather peculiar voice; there was a mocking tone to it, and a satisfied smile that never left his face. He looked pleased with his discovery.
Masson carried a golden bow embedded with several jewels, which contrasted sharply with his otherwise dull archer's outfit. It was as if he had spent his entire salary on a weapon and neglected everything else about his appearance.
"Whew… well, would you look at that—we've come across a real beauty."
The old man named Elijah was around forty. He had heavy bags under his eyes and a face full of scars. Like Malach, he carried a large sword that resembled a greatsword. Unlike Masson, his equipment was better in the proper sense—everything looked high quality. He wore a full set of matte black lamellar armor; the only thing not covered was his head.
Honestly, they didn't seem like good people, and it didn't look like they were searching for us out of kindness or anything like that.
Ininise looked tense; her expression confirmed my suspicions.
Suddenly, a voice echoed in my head.
"They're not good people—they're hunting other climbers."
It seemed Ininise also had the ability to communicate telepathically with others. Weren't we all supposed to get just one ability? Why did it seem like Ininise had dozens of them?
Masson was the first to step forward.
"Hey, you—is the guy on the floor dead?"
Ininise, if you can read my thoughts, please—whatever you do, don't tell him I'm dead. That guy's ability told him there were two people; he should also be able to tell whether they're alive or not.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—Ininise understood.
"No, but he will be soon. Please, help us."
Come on, Ininise—you can do this.