Theo let out a deep, worried sigh.
The more he thought about the entire situation, the more his hair stood on end.
’Even if this guy was only a low-ranking mber,’ he thought. ’There’s no telling how dangerous this will be if these maniacs are involved.’
The Calamity Covenant... it didn’t matter who you were, how young or old you were, or where you ca from. That was a na that would always remain at the back of your mind.
And all of that fear ca from three incidents... or rather, catastrophic events.
Out of those, one in particular had always stuck with him, having witnessed it live on television at the ti.
’The second calamity...’ Theo thought, his expression tightening slightly. ’The Demonic Painter.’
He had only been twelve at the ti, yet the mory was still as clear as ever.
Every screen had cut to the sa ergency broadcast, showing chaotic aerial footage of an island nation called the Bahamas that had been completely reduced to ruins.
At first, everyone thought it had been a catastrophic beast tide, sothing that hadn’t happened in nearly thirty years.
But that assumption didn’t last long.
As the cara moved along the coastline, sothing appeared that left everyone frozen.
Thousands of corpses had been arranged together, forming a single sentence stretching across the entire beach.
’’If you wish for chaos, death, or destruction, join the Calamity Covenant.’’
Even now, just thinking about it made Theo feel a chill run down his spine.
Because of that ssage, the entire world had been thrown into chaos, as desperate people everywhere imdiately tried joining in.
’And now so of these people appeared here?’ he thought, his expression faltering for a mont.
Theo exhaled slowly, forcing those thoughts down as he rubbed his face for a mont.
Thinking about it any further would only make him more worried, especially since he couldn’t do even the slightest thing about it.
’I think I should just get so rest,’ he thought, feeling his entire body ache.
It would take so ti before Iris could get back with a rescue squad, and he wasn’t in any position to move now either.
Before he closed his eyes, his gaze shifted over to Owen for a mont.
’He said he had a situation of his own, huh,’ he thought. ’We’ll have to talk about that later then.’
If it had been anything he needed help with or wanted to say, Owen would’ve done so already. Seeing that he didn’t, it likely ant that he’d rather keep it a secret.
At least for now.
’I wonder what it is, though,’ Theo thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. ’Owen’s usually never the type of person to act like that.’
His gaze lingered on Owen a little longer.
As he was about to close his eyes again to go to sleep, a flashing red screen popped up in front of his eyes.
’’What?’’ Theo muttered, the sleepiness vanishing instantly.
[Daily Descent: -04:23:10]
Theo’s eyes widened imdiately, a shiver crawling down his spine.
’Shit,’ he thought. ’I forgot all about that...’
It had pretty much been a full day since they entered the dungeon now, which also explained why the would-you-rather showed up in the middle of the fight.
’But in this state... I’ll die if I fall,’ he thought, his expression tightening. ’And even if I don’t, the others will definitely see disappear and fall through the sky.’
A hint of worry and panic flashed across his face.
Even if he didn’t die from his injuries while falling, just the others seeing the strange situation would be annoying enough to explain.
That’s when another line flashed on the screen.
[Teleportation halted.]
[Host is determined to still be severely injured.]
[Daily Descent will be temporarily suspended until recovery threshold is t.]
A wave of relief imdiately spread through him, a faint smile appearing on his face.
’So it isn’t that rciless,’ he thought, letting out a soft breath. ’That’s good.’
But before he could fully relax, another ssage followed.
[Punishnt for temporary failure: Every two hours the mission isn’t activated, an additional day of Daily Descent without rewards will be added.]
’’What the...?’’ Theo let out, his eyes widening.
[Current punishnt days: 2]
He stared at the screen for a mont, his expression slowly stiffening.
’...Already two too?’
It took him a second to understand.
He had been unconscious for a few hours, while the would-you-rather prompt showed up at eight PM every ti.
Theo let out a quiet breath, resting his head on the ground.
’So it didn’t stop counting even while I was unconscious...’
His eyes flickered back to the screen.
’That’s just... great.’
Just like that, the holographic screen vanished from thin air again.
Theo stared at the air above him a mont longer before laying flat on the ground again.
’’Now I really have to hope Iris cos back quickly,’’ he muttered, letting out a yawn.
Finally being able to close his eyes, he imdiately fell back into a deep sleep.
...
Ti slowly passed by.
At first, everything remained completely silent.
Then, faint sounds began to echo all around them.
Theo’s eyes shot open, a burst of adrenaline shooting through his body as he glanced around.
’Footsteps,’ he thought. ’And many of them.’
’’Over here!’’ a familiar voice echoed through the forest.
Within seconds, a group of nearly ten people pushed through the bushes and trees.
Theo shot up, his hand automatically on his spear as he gazed warily at them.
That was, until he spotted Iris at the front, pointing at him and the others.
’She made it back,’ he thought, letting out a sigh of relief.
Iris briefly locked eyes with him and nodded once, a faint smile on her face.
’’Healers,’’ another voice rang out. ’’Get them stabilized.’’
He paused for a mont. ’’The rest of you, co with to the incident site.’’
The group of people all nodded, splitting up into two groups.
Iris and two other people stayed behind as the remaining seven hurried off in a direction pointed out by Iris.
’I wonder what they’ll find there,’ Theo thought, briefly glancing up at the crystal sky. ’I hope there’s sothing about a cure for this mindless aggressiveness in there.’
Just then, the two people that had stayed behind beside Iris got to work, a young man approaching Theo while a young woman went towards Emma.
’’Stay still,’’ the man said politely, his eyes scanning Theo’s body. ’’And point out the worst injuries to .’’
Theo nodded slowly, first raising his shirt to show the deep cut in his side.
The young man nodded once, raising his hand in front of the wound.
A faint green light glowed from his palms the next second.
At the sa ti, a warm feeling spread through Theo’s body.
’’Thanks,’’ Theo said, smiling. ’’This feels a lot better.’’
The young man let out a chuckle. ’’That’s what I was hoping for.’’
He lowered his hand after a few seconds, the soft green glow fading away.
"It’s not nearly a full fix," he said. "But it should be enough to get back out safely."
Theo lowered his head, glancing at the thin layer of skin that had grown over the wound.
’’Got it.’’
Across from him, Emma’s condition was also rapidly stabilizing under the other healer’s care, finally returning so color to her face.
It was only a matter of ti before all the wounds were temporarily fixed and both of them could stand up again.
’’We should head back,’’ Iris said, glancing at them. ’’The military will take care of the aftermath from here.’’
Theo nodded slowly, grabbing both his spear and brand new umbrella off the ground.
Emma and Owen also agreed, seemingly in a much better condition than before.
’’Is one of you traveling with us?’’ Iris asked, turning to the healers.
The female dic nodded. ’’Of course, young miss.’’
"Good," Iris said, already turning around. "Then we should move now."
Theo stepped forward, falling in beside Owen at the back as the group began making their way back through the forest.
For a mont, neither of them spoke.
Owen briefly locked eyes with him, nodding once with a small grin on his face.
’...Yeah,’ Theo thought, nodding back. ’We’re definitely talking about that later.’
And with that, they slowly went towards the exit.
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