64 WinterHord (3) - Mana storm.

Here's today's chapter, sorry for the delay, it was supposed to be out earlier.

That said, let me do my promotion: (Insert here a Ruby Rose doing the advertising)

"Did you know the author has a (P) (A) (T)/CalleumArtori, he does, and there are 3 chapters ahead of both stories, Devas', and one from a guy named Hunter that the author told me to mention. (I don't know who he is, but if there's Hunter in the name, it must be cool!).

"All of this for 2 dollars!" (I don't know what currency this is). "Go there, help if possible!".

Well, my promotion is done, have a good chapter everyone and happy reading!

PS.: I started posting Hunter's story on my profile again, posted a chapter yesterday and will post another tomorrow.

[...]---[...]

"And the earring?" - I asked, keeping my eyes on the road. "What does it do?" - I had to concentrate, as I was taking advantage of this straight stretch along the beach to speed up.

A Humvee reaching two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour was quite amusing.

I hadn't accelerated more because it would consume too much fuel, fuel that, in this case, was Artificial Sapphires.

Could the Humvee still run on gasoline? Yes, but after finding a way to make the car move using mana to power the pistons and not overheat the engine, I preferred to use only that option.

I had plenty of Artificial Sapphires, not so much gasoline. That's because some parts of the car could function using the ARC reactor...

My car was more of a chimera than a car at this point. It ran on electricity, mana, and gasoline.

Was it confusing and unnecessarily complicated? Maybe, but if it works, it works, and I wouldn't really complain.

Gilbert took a few seconds to respond, finishing his drink... made from fish...

Damn, that thing looked like strawberry juice, but the taste was... Not pleasant, to say the least.

Gilbert seemed to like it, as did Robyn and Selina. The only ones who didn't like that monstrosity were me and Dylan.

Only two-thirds of the car had normal taste buds, which was pretty sad.

Even Millia seemed to find the taste good, but considering she was a slime, I'll let it slide.

"It's basically a danger detector," Gilbert began to explain, placing the empty cup in his Travel Space. "Simon and I never figured out exactly how it works, but it works, I can guarantee that."

"How does it detect danger?" - Dylan asked after finishing chewing. "Looks like an ordinary earring to me." Dylan turned, looking at the earring on Gilbert's ear.

Gilbert scratched his chin before answering.

"As I said, I don't know exactly how it detects danger since it doesn't emit mana." He explained, making my eyes widen slightly, and Dylan's too.

I'm sure Selina and Robyn would have the same reaction, that is, if they were paying attention to the conversation.

Selina was halfway out of the Humvee, shouting with joy at the speed the car was going, like a child on a roller coaster.

As for Robyn, well, she was devouring a portion of shrimp alone without paying attention to anything else.

"No mana... How is that possible?" - I heard Dylan murmur.

I had that question too. Some advanced sonar technology? How? Was Terraria's technological advancement so messed up that they didn't have cars but had a sonar that could detect danger?

Again: How!

I didn't sense any mana coming from the earring, but I thought it was because it was such a small amount that I couldn't feel it, not that it was literally nonexistent.

"Would you let me analyze that earring later?" - I asked before Gilbert could continue the explanation. An Analyze: item on this thing, and I would know how it worked.

"Me too, if possible." - Dylan said right after.

I could see Gilbert shrug through the rearview mirror. "As long as you don't break it. It's on loan." He said.

I nodded in agreement, and Dylan did the same.

"Later then..." - I said. When we return from the mission or before, when we reach WinterHord. Analyzing the earring now would only be a distraction.

Seeing that neither Dylan nor I were going to say anything else, Gilbert went back to explaining. "The earring works within a ten-kilometer area..." - Gilbert said, pointing to the earring on his ear.

"It detects the most dangerous being in the area, shaking more the closer it is." - He explained. "The colors change according to the danger too."

"What does this green color represent?" - Dylan asked, looking at the earring through the rearview mirror.

"It's the 'weakest' color, so to speak. Any common animal like a bear should trigger this color." - Gilbert said, taking the earring off his ear. Before Dylan or I could ask, he explained.

"Green, yellow, orange, blue, pink, purple, gray, red, black. That's the order of the colors, with green being the least 'dangerous' and black the most 'dangerous,'" Gilbert stated.

What the hell kind of color order was that? Did a child decide the order?

"Wasn't it supposed to be in a more dangerous color then?" - Dylan asked. "I don't think anyone inside the Humvee is weaker than a bear."

"The earring is ignoring you because I tinkered with it to ignore you," Gilbert said, taking a yellowed paper from his Travel Space. The paper looked old.

"Lucky that I still had my notes; otherwise, it would be a pain to remember how to do this," Gilbert said. "Basically, I 'erased' you from the earring's detection."

"How?" - I asked. Didn't he say the earring didn't use mana?

"I have no idea; Simon and I discovered this function while messing with the earring, but how it really works, I don't know."

"How do you put something you don't know how it works literally next to your head?" - I exclaimed with a slightly disturbed tone.

"Simon and I weren't the most cautious teenagers, I won't lie, but it didn't seem dangerous at the time. Rarely are my instincts wrong." Gilbert shrugged.

"Damn, top ten best ways to end up dead." - I asserted, Dylan nodded in agreement.

Gilbert just laughed.

"Well, I'll count on you to warn us if something dangerous approaches then." - I said after a few seconds.

The earring's range was twice that of the Minimap, even though the earring wasn't as good as the Minimap, having a larger range was useful.

It's always good to know where the danger is coming from...

[…]

"Do you have any preference for the doneness of the meat?" - Gilbert asked while stirring the meat on the stove he had taken from his Travel Space.

Interestingly, Gilbert said that if the merchant job didn't work out, he would have tried to become a chef.

From the smell I was getting from the food, I'm sure he would have done well.

"Medium-rare." - I replied, not moving from the hood of the Humvee, where I was lying.

"Separate some for me if anyone wants it medium or well-done." - I had nothing against those who liked well-done meat, but if I were to eat something with the texture of tree bark, I would bite into one.

"By the way, where did you get this meat?" - The merchant asked. "It must be the best meat I've ever prepared in my life. I'm even using my special seasoning because this meat is so good."

"From the smell, I can't disagree." - Robyn said from inside the Humvee, where she was lying with the car windows open.

"Neither can I." - Dylan said followed by Selina. "Much less me."

"Me neither! :D" - Even Millia seemed to agree. I didn't even know slimes could smell.

"The meat is a specialty from where some friends of mine live." - I replied. "The seasonings came from the same place."

It wasn't a lie, after all, Wagyu was, as far as I knew, a specialty of Japan, where the HOTD guys lived.

The fact that this place was in another world was something I didn't need to say...

"I have more of this meat if you want seconds after eating." - I offered, making the group cheer in agreement.

Were we on a serious mission? Yes, but that wouldn't stop me from enjoying the journey...

[…]

It had been two days since we left Terraria. The journey here had been quite smooth, no highway robbers, no animals trying to attack the Humvee, nothing, it was a pretty calm ride.

"How long until we reach WinterHord, Dylan?" - I asked the guide in the passenger seat.

Dylan took a few seconds to respond. "Two hours, give or take a few minutes."

Hmm... Earlier than expected, but it was to be expected since I could shorten the time by speeding up the Humvee every time the path was straight.

"All right... Gilbert, stay alert. If this earring moves, I want to know," - I ordered the merchant.

I'll keep an eye on the Minimap too. Even though we're still far away, it's not bad to be cautious.

"I'll keep Kiki on alert too," - Robyn said before whistling for the owl.

"Has anyone ever told you that your creativity for names sucks?" - Selina asked without bothering to filter her words, making Gilbert laugh and Dylan sigh.

If Selina hadn't asked, I would have...

Damn, were all the names she had for her animals two repeated syllables? Kiki, Lili. Was she, like, eight years old?

"Hey! Kiki is a cute name, she likes it," - Robyn retorted, and I could hear the owl's hooting in the distance, as if agreeing.

Was the owl female?...

"I never said it wasn't cute, just that it's uncreative," - Selina sighed. "At least it's better than the idiotic names Dylan gives to the things he creates."

"Hey! The names I choose are not idiotic." - The guide seemed offended.

"They are idiotic the moment the name for a vision-enhancing eyepiece has more than ten words!" - Selina said with a scoff.

"We've had this discussion before. Let's just agree to disagree." - Dylan said, massaging his forehead.

Hadn't he said he almost married her?... Honestly, I don't know who I would feel more sorry for...

A few minutes later with the meat ready, I pulled a table from the inventory and some chairs, and we started eating before hitting the road again.

[…]

"You know... I'm not a storm expert or anything, but this doesn't look very friendly." - Damn, I didn't even know if that thing was classified as a storm at this point.

It was like a massive white cyclone surrounded everything in the distance, hiding the mountains and everything around, even the skies, where the only things were black clouds that occasionally thundered.

Damn, the winds inside that thing couldn't be weak either...

"It wasn't like this before..." - Dylan murmured with widened eyes. "The information I found said nothing about it being this big or that it was so aggressive."

"Did you get that information from more than one source?" - I asked, opening the door of the Humvee and looking at the storm through binoculars.

We were about twelve kilometers from the storm, so my Minimap couldn't detect anything...

"I got it from more than one place and from various sources." - Dylan replied, making me frown.

"If it's not the information that was tampered with..." - Selina said with a serious voice. "That thing turned like this in less than two days..." We arrived here in record time, less than three days, and in this short time, this storm had already grown larger...

"I'm going to ask just for peace of mind, but does anyone want to bail out? The time is now, after that things are going to get... not nice, to say the least." - I said aloud without taking my eyes off the storm.

"You know my answer." - Dylan said with a serious tone. "I'm not leaving my sister in there, especially now that we've found out that this thing has grown..."

Selina was the second to respond, her voice as serious as the guide's. "Melissa is one of my few true friends; I won't stand still if I can help her." Seconds later, she continued, but in a lighter tone.

"Of course, I can't let my dear 'cousin' go kill himself, can I?" - She said playfully while reaching out and poking Dylan's shoulder, who hit her hand, but still, I could see he had a slight smile on his face.

"Devas, you and Dylan saved me back in Jille." - Gilbert replied. It was the first time I heard him say Dylan's name.

"If I can help you two, I'll help," - He said before smiling and continuing in the same manner as Selina, in a more playful tone.

"Sure, you won the battle in Jille practically alone, but the Oakwood kid helped, so I'll help him too." - He said with a smile, making Dylan exhale lightly.

Robyn was the last to respond.

"As my old man said, you saved him, so I'll help you where I can." - She replied while pointing at Gilbert.

"Of course, preventing my dad from killing himself because his back seized up in the middle of a battle is also one of the reasons I'm here." - She said before laughing and saying in a deceptively serious tone.

"Just a heads up, if I die, I'll haunt those who stay alive." - Robyn pointed at her father before finishing. "That includes you."

Honestly...

"You guys are too foolish, that's all I can say." - I said as I opened the door of the Humvee.

Even at this distance from the storm, the temperature had dropped... Damn, I didn't even want to imagine the cold inside.

"Say that without a smile on your face, and maybe I can take offense." - Gilbert said with a light laugh.

"And you? Why are you here?" - Selina asked before I could answer or leave the Humvee. "From what the nerd there told me, you were the one who saved him in Jille, he owes you, not the other way around."

"Why take the risk?" - She asked one last time.

I thought for a few seconds before responding.

I had few friends on Earth, two, to be exact, two friends I really knew were my friends.

Apart from those two, I was never one to really connect with people. Sure, I could socialize, but thanks to my dear "father," trusting someone was really hard.

I didn't have this problem in Terraria, with the (CHAT). No one here was influenced by the movies and plays that my "father" had made... I didn't have to worry about endless ulterior motives; I could just act normally.

Funny how it seemed like I had more friends in the (CHAT) of the stream and in Terraria than on my home planet...

"Ignoring that I feel like that thing will be an even bigger problem if we leave it there without doing anything?" - I asked rhetorically, looking at the storm.

The stream mission confirmed that for me. This storm, if left alone, would end up being more than just the "mere" problem it was now.

"Dylan asked for my help... if my friend asked for my help, I'll help." - I said, finally answering Selina's question. "I don't need more reasons.

I've never needed reasons to help my friends, and I never will. If someone treated me well, I would treat them well, it was simple.

Ignoring the looks people in the Humvee were giving me and the messages in the stream (CHAT), I jumped out of the Humvee. "Change clothes, our next stop is a very cold place."

Before even hitting the ground, I was already wearing the cold-resistant clothes I had prepared for the mission.

Seconds later, Dylan and Gilbert got out of the Humvee to give privacy to the women; moments later, Robyn kicked Selina out of the Humvee to change alone.

Oh, yes... I had even forgotten her little secret.

Outside the Humvee, before changing, Dylan approached me and put his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank you." - He said without further words.

I nodded without responding, which seemed to be enough for the guide.

Dylan then stepped back and took out a circular curtain from his Travel Space and entered it to change.

Selina did the same, muttering in a low tone what I'm sure were many curses as she massaged her butt, where Robyn had kicked.

Gilbert didn't have this problem, as he started changing right there outdoors.

While the four were changing, I looked at the small slime in the pocket of my shirt, under the jacket.

"And you, Millia, I kind of dragged you into this, are you sure you want to come with us?" - It took her a few seconds to respond.

"Everyone I knew disappeared... Dad, Mom, Aunt Alice... You said you would help me find them, didn't you?" - She molded her body quickly into the words.

She tried to hide it, but I could see that she was trembling slightly as if about to cry.

"Yes, I said..." If they were alive, I would help her find them.

I already had her mother's seal key; I just needed to find where the seal was.

As for her father, well, I was sure the King Slime was the last boss of the dungeon. It was only a matter of time until I became strong enough to go there.

As for the Empress of Light... Well, let's leave that for the future. One step at a time, as always.

"So, I'll go with you... You also take care of me, I can't let you die, who will give me more cake? I need my cake! :P."

"True, without me, you'd be without cake." I said playfully. "So make sure to protect me, okay?" I said poking the slime with my finger, pushing her body slightly.

"Okay! :D." Millia quickly wrote, seeming happier.

After everyone changed and got into the Humvee, I started driving towards the storm.

The first change occurred at the ten-kilometer mark, where the earring on Gilbert's ear began to tremble.

The merchant wasted no time in taking the earring off his ear and holding it in his hand, showing it to everyone in the Humvee that the fish's eye color was purple.

"No changes..." Gilbert said with a slightly relieved tone, albeit slight.

Gilbert had told me before that the angler's son, while leaving WinterHord before the storm started, saw the earring turn this color.

The danger level hadn't changed... or at least it seemed that way.

I moved the Humvee a bit closer and stopped the car, in case something happened, with no changes in the earring, I resumed driving towards the storm.

The second change occurred at the five-kilometer mark. I thought something might appear on the Minimap, but no, what happened was that the temperature started to drop rapidly.

The temperature gauge that I had taken from the inventory and placed on the Humvee's hood plummeted quickly to twenty degrees below zero (-20°C), (-4°F).

It wasn't a gradual drop, it just went from the normal ambient temperature of twenty degrees to twenty degrees below zero.

A forty-degree drop in seconds...

Again, I left the Humvee parked for a few minutes to see if anything happened, if the temperature dropped even more or something appeared on the Minimap or the earring reacted to something.

In the meantime, I took the opportunity to read a bit of the (CHAT).

[(MOD)RedHuntressLive]: Gah! First, our team needs to go on a mission in a week, and now this! Why is everything happening at the same time?! (Little Red Riding Hood pulling her hair emote).

[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: The Humvee's engine should withstand the cold with anti-freezing protections and the ARC reactor. The casing too. I haven't tested much with the hardened gel you sent me, but it should hold up... I think... Damn DS! Wasn't there a better place for you to hide? (Iron Man facepalm emote).

[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: Hey, I'm not the smartest and all, but at -20 degrees, shouldn't it be snowing?... Why is there no snow on the ground? (Generic guy pointing to the ground emote).

[AsuraLady]: If my hair turns white before 20, I'll blame you! Why do you always end up getting involved in these absurd things?! (Indignant pink-maned lion emote).

[(MOD)GryffinHouseMatron]: A ritual, perhaps?... I don't know anything that can do something of this magnitude and not of this intensity... I didn't even think this was possible... And you, Albus?, do you know anything? (Witch hat black cat emote looking at the snow).

[TohsakaHeiress]: I don't think even the Queen of the Clock Tower can do something of this magnitude... A Phantasmal, maybe? Or something with divinity?. (Chibi Rin deep in thought emote).

[WiseWizardGleam]: Besides Miss Rin's hypotheses, another possibility I can think of would be an alchemical experiment trying to create Absolute Zero... In that case, I don't know which of the options would be worse. (Concerned old wizard emote).

Ruby was going on a mission? That was new. I'll ask her later what it was about. For now, I had some other concerns.

("I'd like to be on a beach enjoying the sun, Stark. But unfortunately, that's not possible.") I pulled up the Minimap and quickly typed a response.

After solving this shit problem, I was going to take a few days off. Where, I didn't know, but I would take at least three days off.

While reading the (CHAT), I realized Kazuma was right. I was so focused on the Minimap and the storm itself that I didn't even notice the ground.

There was no snow, nor did it seem wet. The only thing giving away that something was wrong with the landscape was that the grass and trees weren't moving, as if frozen...

"The ground..." Dylan commented.

"Yeah, I noticed." I replied even before he finished the sentence.

After a few more seconds reading messages from the (CHAT) and theories about the cause of this storm, I resumed driving the Humvee.

I took the opportunity to distance myself from any guilt about premature aging or white hair that may occur from watching me.

I was innocent!

Approaching the Humvee even more, something curious happened, or rather, didn't happen: The temperature didn't drop, instead, it remained static at twenty degrees below zero (-20°C), (-4°F).

"This isn't cool..." I muttered, looking at the temperature gauge.

I even used the VoidBag to place other gauges outside the Humvee to see if it was a problem with the gauge... It wasn't.

All the gauges I placed showed the same temperature of twenty degrees below zero.

"If this isn't a giant prank, I think I know where this is going..." I could already guess, all the cold was concentrated inside the storm...

Without hesitation, I activated the three protective barriers of the Humvee, the internal, external, and the engine.

Along with the three barriers, I also activated the internal temperature matrix of the car and the engine temperature matrix.

Finally, I activated the Humvee's hardening matrix, maximizing the defense of the car. I also had the attack matrix ready, just in case.

Was it foolish to jump into the snowstorm without first conducting various tests?... Maybe, but I was treating this first entry as a test in itself.

I knew the Humvee could withstand the storm for at least a few minutes in the worst-case scenario, so I would leave the car on the edge of the storm to see how it would fare.

If it became impossible to continue, I would just reverse and see what could be done afterward. It was better to damage the Humvee now than to die later.

"Well, here we go..." I murmured, accelerating the Humvee towards the snowstorm.

The first thing upon entering the storm was that the temperature gauge on the hood of the car had frozen and broken almost instantly.

I quickly shifted my attention to the status of the Humvee and sighed in relief when I saw that the durability of the car wasn't being affected. The barriers and matrices were handling the cold.

Unlike the durability that remained unaffected, the reservoir of Artificial Sapphires was taking a significant hit. A five-per-second decrease.

Damn, that was quite a lot. If it continued like this, the Humvee would run out of Artificial Sapphires in about fifteen minutes... Of course, that's not accounting for the fact that I could replenish it.

I had a good amount of Artificial Sapphires in the inventory; I just hoped it would be enough... In the worst case, I would use the Mana Crystals to power the Humvee if necessary.

How cold was it for the barriers to consume so much? Damn, even the temperature gauges I had placed on top of the Humvee's barrier had broken, and they could withstand up to ninety degrees below zero. (-90 °C), (-130 °F).

Dylan had told me on the way here that WinterHord had a barrier that protected the city from the weather, which was good since it meant the people in the city hadn't frozen instantly.

I just hoped they had a really large stock of Artificial Sapphires or Mana Stones; otherwise, I didn't see how the barrier could withstand this cold for more than a week...

Looking outside the Humvee, I just now noticed that the snow didn't accumulate on the ground but seemed to follow the storm, leaving the ground only with a thin layer of snow, making the scenery even whiter.

On one hand, that was good, as it would make the Humvee's movement easier, and I wouldn't need to activate one of the matrices on the car's wheels, which would further increase the consumption of Artificial Sapphires.

On the other hand, it didn't reassure me to see that the snow seemed to be alive...

At least the Minimap was empty, with no points other than those inside the Humvee.

"Dylan, as you can see, visibility is shit," I said pointing outside, where the storm consumed the surroundings, leaving everything white.

"I'll need help finding the way to WinterHord." Even though I could use the Minimap, it was still good to have a guide, and Dylan and the guide were handy.

"I know the route there, but still, if you can tell me our location based on that map of yours, it would be of great help," Dylan said with his eyes glowing a light blue color.

"Just let me know if you think you got lost." I said. "Now, let's get going, I don't want to linger here." Besides the cold, I was sure there was something inside this storm.

Whatever it was, I was sure it wasn't friendly...

[...]

POV: Robyn Jheut.

I won't lie and say I wasn't scared by our current situation.

Even with this machine, the Humvee, protecting us, it was still suffocating to know that we were inside a mana storm that could freeze us within minutes.

The only thing that calmed me was, first: the Humvee, which, even as someone completely ignorant of Mystical Symbols, I knew was something impressive.

More than impressive, if what I understood from Dylan and Selina's conversation was true. They only had praises, both for the machine and the clothes we were wearing.

I understood about a tenth of what they said about Mystical Symbols, ink material, and everything else? No, but I was good with animals, excellent, actually, not with Mystical Symbols.

My role in the group was to be an emergency medic, catalog and explain the animals we might face, and, if necessary, engage in combat.

Knowing what Mystical Symbols did was the job of other people. Speaking of people... Devas.

I had a set of mixed feelings about our leader.

On the one hand, he knew about my secret, something I had been trying to hide since my dad came home early and almost caught me using that plug.

I wasn't lying when I said I grew another tail and used that plug for over five years to cover up that pointless lie... Even though I quite liked the feeling, but that's another story.

I still didn't know how Devas had found out about the plug in less than half an hour, something no one had discovered before... He must have been looking at my ass very attentively to find out.

Pervert...

On the other hand, after my dad explained to me what Devas had done in Jille, and how Lili and Kiki reacted to him, I knew he was strong.

More than strong, actually; everything I had learned about him said that. And yet, he acted as if it was no big deal.

He didn't have that arrogance that high-ranking contractors had; he didn't try to impose himself; he seemed... normal.

If it weren't for my instincts screaming every time he looked at me, telling me, "Don't move, you'll die" - I would have believed that.

At least after spending the last few days interacting with him, my instincts seemed to have realized he wasn't a threat and calmed down, treating him as some kind of protector rather than a predator.

Or, as Lili liked to "say," Devas was the Alpha of our pack. Even after so many years, understanding what animals said was still surreal.

I still didn't understand why Lili seemed to like Devas so much, but for some reason, she liked him a lot. You miserable little fox, I've known you for ten years! You can't just jump into anyone's lap like that!

I didn't know why this happened, but if I were to guess, it would be that Devas had this effect only on some animals, foxes being one of them, or the only one, since Kiki didn't seem to care about Devas more than anyone else.

I just hoped that whatever this "power" Devas had over foxes wouldn't start affecting me.

My instincts had already begun to treat Devas as the group's Alpha, as Lili liked to say; I didn't need them to add "Sexual partner" next to that title.

If that happened, and I ended up going into heat near him, I didn't know if I could control myself. Damn, I didn't know if I would want to control myself!

This curse had become something good over time. I had learned to live with it and appreciate it in a way, but some parts of it, going into heat specifically, had never stopped being... Unpleasant, to say the least.

Not being able to control your body properly was a horrible feeling...

I let my thoughts wander for a few more minutes as the Humvee covered ground quickly through the frozen landscape before something caught my attention, or rather, caught everyone's attention in the Humvee.

The fish earring my dad was holding in his hand, alert to any changes, had started trembling even more, and the eyes of the small green fish had changed color, shifting from purple to gray.

I could also perceive that the gray color seemed to be of a more pinkish tone, as if it were leaning towards changing to the red color.

This was bad, very bad...

"Which way is this thing?" Devas said without slowing down the Humvee, looking at the earring through the small mirror on the ceiling in the middle of the vehicle.

My dad moved quickly, moving the hand holding the earring in all directions, stopping when he felt the earring tremble more to the left.

"The opposite side of the city... Well." I heard Devas murmur in a calm tone.

How calm he was! There really was something out there in that storm! What was it that was out there? I didn't know any animal that could survive in this cold, what was this thing?!

"Gilbert, can you tell me the distance from that thing to us?" I heard Devas ask my dad, pulling me out of my mini panic attack.

I took a few deep breaths to calm down, almost not hearing my dad's response to Devas' question.

"Far, I'd guess close to the edge of the bri-." My dad's voice was cut off when a scream seemed to shake everything.

▄█▆▂▃▄█▇▄▆▅▃▂▆▅▄▇█▄

I can affirm with all certainty that it was the most horrible sound I had ever heard in my life.

It was something raw and fierce that seemed to mess with all my instincts in the worst way possible. I wanted to run, bury myself under a rock, and hide until whatever emitted that dreadful sound was gone.

I could only think straight again when that infernal noise ended, only then realizing that I was crouched behind Devas's seat, hugging Lili and Kiki, who seemed to be doing their best to look like statues by the way they were standing still.

At least they were breathing, that was good.

When I looked up, I realized that everyone inside the Humvee was still sitting normally.

Hadn't they been affected?... Did I hallucinate?... No...

Even without getting up, I could see that everyone was tense. Selina looked ready to attack anything that moved, with those iron arms of hers pulsing with mana.

My dad wasn't much different, as all the muscles in his body seemed tense, and he had his bow in his hands.

Looking at the front seat, Dylan seemed better than Selina and my dad; he still seemed to have been affected, but he wasn't as tense as the other two.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Selina shouted after a few moments of silence. She had a wide-eyed look and moved her eyes quickly from side to side, as if looking for the owner of that terrifying scream.

I don't know, I don't want to know, and I feel sorry for anyone who does.

That's what I wanted to say, but I noticed that my voice seemed unwilling to leave my body, as if my body refused to make noise.

Only then did I realize that I was holding my breath.

While I tried to fill my lungs with as much air as I could, the others in the Humvee started talking.

"I don't know, and frankly, I don't want to find out." My dad said with a muffled and tense voice.

He only seemed better when he looked at me and saw how I was, then he gave a smile, trying to reassure me.

Damn, I had the best dad in the world.

"Was that something alive?" Dylan asked. His voice sounded tense but much better than my dad's and Selina's voices. He also had his eyes shining in light blue.

Did that strange magic of his protect him?

I was sure now, for some reason, probably because of that innate magic of his, Dylan had been affected much less than everyone in the Humvee.

"If it's what I'm thinking, yes, it was something alive..." Devas said calmly.

... Everyone except Devas, who seemed not to have been affected at all.

"Do you know what that was?" Selina asked again, this time in a lower tone but still almost hysterical.

Devas didn't answer Selina's question but did something else.

I didn't know what he had done, but I felt the atmosphere inside the Humvee become lighter, and the effects of that scream began to fade.

Looking more closely, I noticed there was a kind of light mist inside the Humvee, as if something was in the air. Some kind of powder?

After a few seconds with this powder circulating inside the Humvee, I managed to get up and sit back in the seat while placing my two pets beside me.

"Better?" Devas asked.

Yeah, a lot!

"Well... Purification Powder is useful then," Devas said, answering me. Did I say that out loud?

"Yes, and that sentence too, are you okay?" He asked with concern. "How did that scream affect you?"

He really didn't feel anything? Was he made of stone or something? What was his mind made of? A fortress?

"The scream seemed to affect my mind," Dylan was the one who answered, his eyes still shining. "My magic activated on its own and protected me, but not completely... Damn... I've never heard of something like that."

"Purification Powder seemed to be effective. A curse perhaps?" Devas asked, looking ahead, still driving the Humvee.

A curse? Did that airborne powder purify curses?

Looking at my body quickly, I didn't notice anything different, even felt my head to see if my ears were still there, and they were.

My tail too, the real one.

Did this powder really heal curses?

"We can discuss later whether that scream was a curse, an attack, or anything else. You said you knew what the owner of that scream was, didn't you?" Selina asked.

She seemed much better, no longer had the frightened and glazed look on her face, and her voice seemed much calmer too.

Before Devas could answer, I stopped him, pointing to the front of the car where I could see a completely black silhouette in the storm.

"There's something there!" I shouted at the same time, leaning my body forward, pointing over Devas's shoulder.

"BE CAREFUL!"

Due to the proximity, I could see Devas's eyes first look forward, where I had pointed, and then to the upper right side, as if looking at something invisible.

He seemed confused for a moment, as if he didn't understand what I was talking about, before slightly widening his eyes and simply turning the Humvee's steering wheel, throwing the vehicle to the side, avoiding the black creature that I had seen.

While the Humvee moved, passing whatever it was that I had seen, I noticed some characteristics of the being.

The creature had a slender body, entirely black, resembling an insect; a centipede with several small legs on each side of the body and what I can only assume to be a pair of entirely white eyes that seemed to be staring at me.

The creature didn't seem to try to attack, just looked at me, deep into my eyes, while the Humvee distanced itself from that thing.

What the heck was that? A giant centipede? WinterHord had a nest of Wall Creepers, didn't it? A variation of them?...

"Robyn, what did you see?" Devas asked, snapping me out of my stupor.

"I... I'm not sure," I said, turning my face, looking at Devas. His face was close...

"Robyn... There was nothing there," Dylan said, making me turn to look at him.

"How was there nothing? Of course, there was!" I said, feeling my breath accelerate slightly.

"Let me guess, a black thing with white eyes, with some insect-like features?" He said, practically describing the being I had seen.

"Yes... You saw it too, didn't you?" I asked before sitting down and looking around. "You all saw that, didn't you?"

Both Dylan and Selina shook their heads, denying. Even my dad seemed not to have seen anything.

Damn... If it were just Dylan and Selina, I might think they were lying to me in some kind of horrible joke, but if even my dad hadn't seen that thing...

Did I see it wrong? Did my brain play a trick on me because of that horrible scream?... Or was it...

I turned, looking at Devas when I heard his voice, his next words confirming my fears.

"That was a hallucination."

... A hallucination?

[...]---[...]

Yay! Apologies for the delay, but here's the chapter.

Of course, first and foremost, a happy new year to everyone and happy holidays!

Well, now, onto the chapter:

A brief explanation about the earring that Gilbert borrowed from Simon and some interactions among the group.

So, finally, Devas and the rest of the gang reached the mountain range where WinterHord resides and discovered that the storm has grown, a lot, and seems to defy the laws of physics (or is it thermodynamics?).

Well, finally, a small part from Robyn's perspective.

I'll keep this "Author's Note" short as I don't want to give too many spoilers.

That being said, good night to everyone, and happy reading!

PS: Devas didn't analyze the earring to keep his mind unoccupied and fully focused on the mission.

PSS: Is Ruby going on a mission?...

PSSS: Robyn's curse wasn't affected by the Powder for some reason, oh yes, she also has some diverse thoughts.