ChaseR

Chase remained quiet, looking at her with an almost blank expression. It sounded like a pain, nothing more, nothing else. Someone was trying to hit hard on NIGHT and boy did it sound bad. He found it kind of funny that she began to complain about the dagger, but... A sigh followed as he realised what that implied for the person in question. "A dagger..? Isn't that one of the most... bleh weapons?", he recalled his findings, looking at the ground with squinted eyes and groaning.

"Sounds like such a pain... Why was she crushing on you so hard after being that aggressive too..? It kinda reminds me of my last time out with Shay.", he blurted and remained quiet, sighing and weaving his fingers with one another. A silent glance at DAY again, and she looked back. Silence. And it slowly devolved into awkwardness. He looked back at NIGHT and gave a tiny smile. "I guess you can not hang out with her again? I've had enough with idiots too today.", he tried to suggest and then nodded to himself, feeling as if a huge weight began pressing down on his chest. He stretched and laid back on the couch, almost as if he was asleep as he swung one of his legs back and forth tiredly. "... Remember when I got an orange crystal? It was cause I'd punched Freyd, if I didn't tell you or if you'd forgotten. I honestly don't remember. Can't bother to if I'm being honest.", the bluehead continued, realising it might sound rude and sitting up, looking at her with a frown. "I- Uh, sorry. I didn't mean it... you know.".

Her blank face already spoke volumes about how much offense she'd taken- it'd probably take a lot more than his ineptitude to offend her after this morning. "Anyways, Eruda from Firm Anima called me out to talk about it. Freyd told his guild because I'm a danger now. One mistake and you're worse than scum, huh?", he threw his head back again and grunted, before taking a deep breath and exhaling a damn long sigh. "I played back the record crystal I had of what happened back then- I initially wanted Freyd to say sorry to show it to Mari. But they still think Freyd was not in the wrong. Uh. I can give it to you if you want. I've no more use for it. I just... I'm not at my best in it. It's why I was so torn up on the dock the other day."

To her surprise, Chase was late- but not very much. He knocked on the door, waiting until NIGHT opened and quietly entering. If she had a rotten day too, then that- nah, not rotten. That was overselling it, he just asked if she had a bad day. Just because he didn't enjoy his doesn't mean that she enjoyed hers just as little. Or did it?

And so, he quietly plopped by the couch waiting for him alongside the other two in the living room, waiting quietly in silence before giving DAY a small smile. He always liked her, she was the best company he'd had since coming in here honestly. Second up was NIGHT- usually she wasn't bright enough to be considered 'fun' but Chase wasn't one to talk either now, was he? "... So. What fucked up your day?", he sighed and asked the rogue, quietly bouncing his right leg up and down nervously and giving her a slightly uncomfortable glance. "Mine's a bit of a story so go on. Take as long as you can, please. And uh. If I can help anyhow let me know.". Good to see that throughout this week or whatever of not talking his awkwardness hadn't changed any.

There were many things that Chase wanted to say, but if anything, he just said that he was done talking. He'd stick to that and keep his words short, no rebuttals or constant back and forths. It was obvious he couldn't get anywhere else no matter what he said, each would hear what they wanted to. "Just cause I'm not with you doesn't mean I'm alone.", he sighed and smiled slightly, before turning to Raidou once more.

"And I never said you owe me anything. But it sure feels like you think because I'm a tank, I owe everybody everything. So I'm cutting ties from the guild. I'm not your affiliate, I'm Chase. If you want help from an affiliate, you won't find it. If you want it because you actually want it, ask away.". And then came the little monologue, that speech. The bluehead shivered and turned to the side with a more scrunched up face, letting out a sigh. "... Keep 'hoping' then. Let dreamers dream.", he quietly mumbled, clutching the crystal tighter as a blue light began to envelop him. Before disappearing fully though, his voice echoed one last time. "I didn't come here to talk with you Raidou. I came to talk because Eruda asked- to talk with her. Seems I was mistaken.". And now, he'd appeared back in the 21st floor's settlement, slumping against the obelisk by the teleport plaza and plopping on the ground quietly. He needed a moment or two to unwind and regain his composure in full. There, he knew what to do. Since that was over, no need to worsen it any more.

That was one of the two messages he felt obligated to send. The other was more so for himself rather than for someone else, and after he typed in the name, he texted NIGHT, knowing she'd probably let him come over and relax- or she could come to his house instead, if she so pleased.

[ChaseR uses Teleport Crystal (Floor 21).]

After Grimm's missed attack, Chase groaned. They were probably getting fatigued from climbing up the tower at this speed, let alone demolishing anything without managing to even have a proper fight with the 'bosses' lined up for them one after the other. The monster began to charge right at Grimm, but before it could get too close, the same wisps that dispersed all over the room suddenly emerged once more and formed the rest of his blade.

"... My sword's going kinda haywire.", he commented lowly and landed a single strike on their opponent, looking at it before the light faded once more. He sheathed it and plopped onto the ground instead of going up the stairs, sighing and patting next to him for Ozwald to sit down too. "Right now, I think we need to rest. Maybe that's why my sword's acting like this. Let's get our energy back to full and then get back to it, I'm pretty sure we could both use the break. Mine's dropped to two thirds. First time in a while I've seen it like this if I'm being honest."

Quickly following up right after Grimm's attack, the boy tried to throw the finishing blow at this one too. And before he landed his attack, he felt the light form the rest of the blade. By the time the swing should have connected and knocked Dagahra out clean, it... failed. The light never fully formed a blade and if anything, after this many uses it dispersed into the air around them into little white wisps that disappeared.

And then the dragon knight got up. Wary, Chase walked back and looked at Grimm with a slow nod. "Punch it hard and see if you can take it out. If you run out of energy, I'll take out the rest. I was relying on holy too much for my reach.", he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward smile, as their opponent shook off the stun and prepared to block the next attack coming his way and smack whatever got in the way.

The bluehead heard Aquan's voice loud and clear. With a nod, he flashed a small smile and turned to the rhino. "Ace is much better.", he reassured himself before running right towards the rhino, having expected Ozwald's punch to put it down- but he charged away at that moment. Off to finish him them.

With a glow enveloping his sword and red trail dragging behind his blade, he swung his arm in front of him and in a swift motion, cut Piasuhon with a wide strike to the head. Before the beast had any time to connect blows, it shattered into the beautiful blue crystals everybody was used to by now, and the tank sheathed his sword once more. "... Nobody got hurt.", he nodded to himself and grinned slightly, turning to them and clapping his hands in an awkward gesture. "Uh. You're pretty good Valentine. Oz- Grimm did great too. But I'm surprised you managed to do that much with no sword arts, Ace. Good job everyone."

After what had felt like ages, the fight was truly on. No puppeteering, no more tricks, just the fight that they were promised. Chase held his sword firmly and as soon as the shadow was done talking, tendrils began to writhe all over the place. He made sure to dodge them, hearing Raidou just start ranting. Off to a great start.

"Stop running your mouth and hit him so we can go home.", he tiredly shouted just loud enough for the wanderer to hear, having made his way over to the towering figure and jumping forwards. With a spin and blue glow from his broken blade, he turned and managed to land a nice, wide cut on his form, making his way back to the party carefully and looking at it right in the eyes. "If you need to back down Mac, tell me and I'll take it from there.", Chase quietly advised his vanguard and looked behind at the rest of the group, failing to spot one of them... Who was it though?

So much was said, yet so little was accomplished. Typical, for the interactions Chase was having as of late with Firm Anima. "She knows damn well I'm not planning on doing anything to put her, or myself in danger. I've made a promise and I'm not planning to break it. But you're right. Maybe I should stay in your guild. That way the next time I threaten to lop someone's head off, I can be excused cause 'I'm going through tough shit'.", he hissed back, opening his menu.

"I've no doubt you mean well, Raidou. But you have to get your shit together. I've no punishment for Freyd- I'd kick him out if I were you. But I'm not. Is this my problem? It should be. But someone made it a guild's problem. Now it falls in YOUR hands, not mine. And look here real fast.", he turned Raidou's attention to the menu before flipping it so he could see it. "See that? I'm almost maxed out. My skills are also maxed out and my gear, you've seen at work. I am the last person to need your help. Not because I don't like you, but because I'm the least likely to get killed. Of all the people, you thought to offer tank protection. Do you know the shit I've gone through for your guild? I've been poisoned by a snake, paralyzed, tossed around and taken hits right to the face. For your people.", he huffed and closed the menu, resting a hand on the handle of his sword once more. "Right now, they need your protection much more than I do. Cause the next time they pick a fight with someone, I won't be there to protect them like I was until now. Your guild dragged me into this, not me. One of your people took me and said 'Hey, he fits on the list'. And you know how I found out? From Freyd telling me."

Almost static as he continued to talk, he turned to Eruda and Gaius, frowning. Less so with anger and more so with... dissapointment? No, that wasn't it. Sadness. "... Even now, you asked me here but you're not saying a thing.". He expected one of them would have something to say, but... nothing. Now all he expected was to be met with silence once more, as he had up to now. The bluehead turned to Raidou, putting on his rather weary glare once more. "If you keep thinking everyone is on the same team as you, one of these days you won't die. One person has to backstab you and you'll be one guildmate short suddenly. Everybody wants what suits them best and this has been proof of nothing else. I appreciate the offer, but it'd be better if you dealt with your guild first. Get your shit together...", Chase sighed and glanced over at Gaius and Eruda, before back at the wanderer. "... All of you.", he exhaled lowly, meaning it much less like an insult and more so as genuine advice. Enough was enough though. "Whatever you do with this now, defines how much you really care. You're responsible for Freyd, not me. I'll be responsible for myself and me alone."

Now done, he gave the others a moment to take it in, if they'd like to speak and not stare like soulless statues all this time. Taking a teleport crystal out of his inventory and holding it in his hands, he quietly peered over them and kept a blank, if not slightly pained expression, waiting silently. "What a complete mess."

Chase remained quiet, giving Eruda and Gaius a glance each. Nothing. After a few moments of silence, he shot a harsh glare at Raidou, with a fist clenched but both his legs firmly planted on the ground. "I don't think you understood anything, other than the fact you've wrongfully tangled Mari up in all of this.".

"If I wanted Mari to worry about me, you'd be the only one standing and you damn well know it. The fact I came in the first place should hint at something. God forbid there were actual consequences for once though, right?", he started, a low growl in the very back of his voice. "I've already suffered enough for what happened that day. So has Mari. But Freyd? He doesn't agree. He seems to think that because he didn't attack me back, he's in the right. And if anything, I show you this and what do you say? 'He was going through tough times'. So was I. So was Mari. And he tried to throw the blame on her.". For a moment, Chase felt a wave of rage brush over him, planting his legs on the ground even firmer. "He called Mari out for all she's done in the past before me, he never apologised once and even brought it up to you guys. So what now? I don't get kicked away, yet everybody is scared of me. Chase, the monster. That's what we'll roll with."

"It's fine if I get threatened with a sword or provoked. But it's not Freyd's or Katoka's fault cause 'they were going through tough times'. Is that seriously how little you care about pretending to be fair?", he huffed and opened up his inventory, equipping his coat and sword once more. The same glare was still in his eyes, but something else with it; disappointment. "It was a complete waste of time to come here. I don't want in on any of your guild bullshit. Nobody else will even know the full story, so that leaves me on my own then.". There was little to really be said over this. Chase already knew how this would play out. "Anybody that wasn't here will learn I left and keep being fearmongered by Freyd. They won't approach me, talk to me or even so much as think about what happened before spreading his lies. So much for trying to make new allies. I'm fine with just NIGHT and Alkor. It's their loss."

With Jomei and Mac cleaving through everything, only a single Shadowling was left close to the group Chase had been assigned, and what more fitting way to end this? For what felt like the first time in forever, his blade began to glow and quickly flashed, momentarily blinding even him. By the time that the flash was over, there was no shadowling left before the bluehead.

"All shadowlings are dead.", he told the rest and nodded, quietly looking around to see if any more were near- there appeared to be a few near the fourth party, but they were getting taken care of quickly. The Shadow won't have any other chance to spawn more minions, and will be forced to confront them, right? It felt like the fight was going at a snail's pace, from the menace that Orgoth was, to whatever the Shadowlings were supposed to be. A pleasant break, but way too long for his taste- he'd rather just get this over with as soon as possible. "Think he'll come fight now?", he asked his own group quietly and gave an uncertain, mostly tired look, sighing.

As soon as Gaius had spoken his mind, Chase let out a deep, annoyed sigh. "If I wanted Freyd or anyone else dead, I wouldn't have used my fists and he wouldn't have made it there. He was the one who came fully prepared for a fight though. He was suspicious from me before he even arrived.", the bluehead explained, before Eruda started to talk. And her eyes as soon as she finished made Chase flinch, shivering slightly and softening his expression.

"... I wanted him to take me seriously. That's why the fists. Man to man. He owed Mari an apo- Fuck this, here.", he groaned and opened his inventory menu, starting to scroll through heaps upon heaps of garbage before he eventually found an item and took it out, holding it tightly in his hands. It seemed like a crystal, but it was hard to look at it clearly. "Lily is... was my best friend. She's probably still waiting outside. That's all you have to know.", he vaguely tried to give them some context, but it'd make sense soon enough. He quietly looked down at his hand and then at Eruda, before giving Gaius and Raidou a glance too. "I'm going to give you the absolute truth. No lies.", he proclaimed and opened his hand to reveal a recording crystal, with an unlit red button at the very top. He lifted his other hand and tapped it gently with his finger, causing it to start floating above his hand as it began to play. The events from the confrontation had all been recorded right here.

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"... It must be on. Mari, I'm going to confront Freyd. For what he did to you. I want him to say sorry and mean it. If I act out of line, I'm sorry. You can scold me later. I don't want to just sit by and do nothing about this- I know it's not my place to but Freyd never stuck well with me. After all of this, there's no way I can let him keep going. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be doing this. But it's also because I want you to be happy... Happier. You keep putting yourself down as if you don't matter. You do. That's it. He'll be here any minute now."

And with crackling and what sounded like the crystal being stashed away somewhere on Chase, a voice could be heard from further away. One familiar to everybody else, even more so than Chase's.

"I'm here, Chase. What is it?"

"Why did you do that? To Mari. I was on the fence about you the whole time. So I was right. Why did you do that?". Steps could be heard echoing from the recording, and Freyd's voice slowly became louder and clearer.

"Why did I do what to Mari?  If you've dragged me out here to toss about accusations, you should probably start with specifics. And why is this a conversation for these depths?  It doesn't exactly reflect well on your potential intentions."

"Mari was sitting right by my sword, crying her eyes out. Because you used her for your fucking experiments. Because you just 'had to engineer your way into oblivion', was that it?! You hurt an innocent person for your own bullshit reasons, just because you had to test your own theories... If that's not it, why the fuck did you hurt Mari?!", the bluehead went on, and as he did, his voice got angrier and shakier.

"You don't actually have a clue what you're talking about do you?  Has it occurred to you that Mari's not exactly in the best of places to express what she's feeling, or what she saw?  Did you think for a moment that a sad and sorrowful person might not be giving you the full picture? I never... hear me... NEVER... conducted any experiments on Mari, though I wonder if you told you about the ones she used to perform on others. You didn't happen to share a drink with her, did you?"

Although the crystal kept on playing, Chase had tensed up, starting to feel overcome with anger once more. He opened up his inventory with a scary glare, starting to unequip all of his items- his armor, sword and bracelet. He stayed only with his vanity clothes, breathing heavily and looking to the side. 

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"I went into the Forest of Mysteries after the events at the Battle of the Cratered Lake.  Most people didn't realize it, but Mari, Cordelia and I had foiled a second pincer attack on floor 22 just before the lake gave way.  Stragglers remained in the woods, so I went to hunt them down.  In the process, something happened.  I'm not sure what or how, but a Gemini literally crawled its way out of me and ran amock about the place.  Those woods are tricky, and I had to fight through a number of illusory doubles it created before I could... chase... it down."  And then came a chuckle from Freyd, complete silence from Chase still. "I found it - my shadow - lording over her on Floor 9.  It wasn't pretty, and it got a lot worse.  The details are between Mari and I.  But I never dealt or meant for her to suffer any harm."

"No! I've fucking known you a while now! You liar! Does nothing matter to you?! Take your weapon off. I don't give a shit about your armor.". The shaky voice of the boy stopped being riddled with uncertainty, and after a sigh, he was perfectly maintaining his composure- for now. "Show me you don't mean ill to her, and apologize."

And after that, silence. The only sounds to escape the crystal were clicks and taps from someone toying with their in game menu.

"He sent a message to Mari instead of responding to me or turning the duel down. He was trying to provoke me. He also sent me the message.", present-Chase chimed in, a low growl in his voice. Hard to believe as it may be, this was the same Chase as Tanabata, as the one in the recording. "He said 'sorry' to her in the message, but to calm me down. Not because he meant it.", he said before the crystal started to make noise again.

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"... Get up.", a calm order from Chase before more footsteps. And out of nowhere, the sound of a strike and skidding along the ground, followed by the blip most were unfamiliar with. A crystal turning orange. "You won't try to manipulate her in front of me. Orange cursors mean nothing after seeing her have one and you have none. Get up now."

"Have you seen the names and the graves Mari has left in her wake?  She has the courage not to deny them.  She knows what they mean and will pay the price for those actions for the rest of her days.  I sought her out because she has that courage - to bolster it.  She had the potential to be a great leader among us, if she can learn to accept her deeds and move past them to be something more. We're still working on that last part, but it's a worthy goal. Don't lecture me about what I do and don't deserve when you're the one earning that, without the sense to even understand why.". And now, more blips followed before Freyd started to read aloud a message he got from Mari. "I told him your Gemini ripped mine out of me. That you congratulated me for engineering my own oblivion. That I don't blame you. That I wouldn't be mad if he punched you in the face. He hasn't gone further than that, has he?".

Just when it sounded like Chase was about to go right back at it, Freyd kept on going. "She forgets that I was speaking to her and the vile blight that my Gemini ripped out of her when I mentioned her oblivion, but there you have it. Straight from Mari's mouth - my evil twin did it, as cliche as it might be.  But you won't hear it.  You can't hear it, because you're too damned busy wanting everything to match your feelings instead of facing life being what it actually is. What would Lily say, if she saw you now?"

"You have no right to say her name. Say you're sorry right now.". Shaky breathing again, before two more strikes sounded. "Say it! Apologise!". And then, three more strikes. "Say you're fucking sorry!". A last one, before more tumbling and panting followed. "Say you're fucking sorry for what you did to Mari!". His voice had gone back to violent, angry and berserk.

"What would it even accomplish to say those words, Chase?  You've already assumed that I'm a liar, and you're not actually listening!  What could my apology possibly bring that would cut through to reach inside your thick skull? Show me some real strength, Chase.  Reign this in and stop acting like the same monster you claiming me to be.  You want the moral high ground?!  Do it!  Take it right now!  Because you've just surrendered everything that possibly made you better than me for the sake of a cheap and pointless shot."

"Say you're sorry to her and mean it!", another snarl before strikes upon strikes followed. Not too long after, the chains from the bracelet he wore could be heard clanking, probably having been used as a weapon to strike Freyd even more. "You've never done anybody any good from the bottom of your heart to be allowed scott free for what you tried to do to Mari. You're selfish, and a fucking monster."

Before this could continue any longer, from the distance, a new voice shouted. "HEY!". Silence, broken by a slap and more noise- Chase falling on the ground, specifically. "The fuck-Chase. Whatever happened to 'I'd never hurt you Ma'", her voice imitating his own before she began to speak with a pained voice.  "THIS. That. What were you thinking? How do you think I'd feel if I saw that? That marker above your head hurts more than any of the dumb ass shit that he- has done. I said you could punch him. Not turn yourself into the very thing you hate. What on earth are you doing? Talk me through what you're feeling."

The only noise to follow Mari's words was sobbing and whimpering. Freyd was quiet, she was quiet, and Chase was quietly crying. "You're being reckless, and childish. What were you trying to do?". Silence again, mostly in the form of sniffling. "And you. Sittin' there observing as if outside the situation. C'mon. Seriously. No one's gonna ever understand you if that's the shit you do.". The shift in her voice made it easy to discern she was talking to Freyd, but she got nothing in response. "It's fine. But you can't have me comin' in like that all the time. I might not survive it.". To top off the silence, a question to break through. "Can one of - or both of you tell me how this all started?"

"He asked to talk, I came.  He offered a duel.  I refused without first receiving an explanation, then sent you that message. That was his response. I never drew a weapon nor returned a single blow. You know full well that if he'd tried this shit with any number of others, there'd be nothing but shattered blue crystals all over the floor of this cavern right now.  I'm not in this situation - you two are.  It's a crisis of your own making: your own engineered oblivion, again."

"I didn't mean to make you mad, nor condescend you. I may have worded things wrong in the heat of...this moment...". An awkward pause before Mari's tone softened again. "You know....He's right. I don't think...I made it clear to you earlier that Freyd did apologize, I wasn't really in the best frame of mind - and I unwittingly omitted things. I think I did tell you that, yeh? I tend to lie by omission - without meaning to. I really wish you hadn't...fought him Chase - especially if it were on my behalf, a much lesser person would have killed you. It takes a great deal of patience to be berated like that and not retaliate. Look. This is the reality of having an orange crystal. You shouldn't let yourself have one so easily. Be thankful it'll disappear in a few days."

Without any quiet pauses now, Freyd went back at it. "I'm here doing exactly what you're telling me I need to do, and this is what I get for it!  Don't condescend to tell me I need to step inside after how many times I've been berated for trying to do just that.  I didn't yank out your soul, Mari.  You'd already done that.  I'm the guy who willingly placed himself between you and the darkness that already existed within. Consider this: If I was half the monster you both seem to think I am, you wouldn't have reached him in time, and might well be walking half-dead into your own grave. You two need to get your shit together."

"I never said you were. Nor do I think you are."

“Thank you for that, you also know that I still believe in you.  Those gashes show how much you still care.". That was about as friendly as Freyd would get. Then came his harsher tone again, directed to the quiet swordsman. “Chase, I’ve neither harboured you any ill will nor ever taken any action against you.  Whatever this is, you need to get a grip on it.  If I can help you with that, I will, though I doubt you’ll have any desire to accept such an offer. That said, luring a formal ally into the dark depths on the pretense of discussion meant to veil your own desire for violence is unacceptable. And if your intentions were purely noble, this could have been done in any number of open and safe locations.  You’re the one who chose the shadows, not me.   You’re the one who chose to bring the chains still wrapped around your hands, not me.  You’re the one who made your icon orange, not me.  I will have to speak to the other captains about this.  They have a right to know.  There may be consequences.”. And after this, his voice softened again, looking at Mari. “It’s a long way home, for you.  I can walk with you, if you want.  There is a place I know along the way where you could safely rest.  But I can also appreciate that you may want your space.”

"... You're lying through your damn teeth, you snake. If you didn't try to set me off further, we wouldn't be this way right now. Don't try to claim the moral high ground. Go back to your guild to justify yourself and pin it all on me, 'gentleman'. Tell them I'll do the same anytime if that fits your narrative better. I'll take care of Mari."

"I think you've said enough, Freyd. It'd be in everyone's best interests if you stepped away. I appreciate the offer, but I'll be fine on my own.". A bit of silence followed, before steps sounded. Freyd was leaving the scene, leaving only Mari and Chase. "Chase... I appreciate the defense, and I know Freyd no doubt did say things that would be antagonistic. But this anger... It won't help anyone, and it'll only hurt you further. Here... I'll take you to my home, the long way. Your orange crystal will disappear in a few days. I have a hot drink and a warm bed you can use. And if his guild may cause issue for you, you'd always have a home in mine."

And so, the record crystal ended. Chase had his eyes closed, letting out deep, shaky breaths from having relived- or at least reheard, the whole experience. He was more than just angry to say the least, but he seemed to be working on it. With the crystal now having finished its playback, he stashed it back into his inventory, crossing his arms and looking at Eruda with a pained look. "What I did wasn't fair. I refuse to be blamed for everything though.", he put it bluntly, looking to the side. It was a forest like this, last time, too, right? "Did Katoka tell you she'd drawn her katana because I told her to be careful of Freyd? Did Freyd say he never apologised and instead kept berating me? Did he even try to get this resolved, coming fully prepared for a fight?"

Chase was doing his absolute best to not get pissed off again, his glare appearing and being replaced by a softer look again and again. A betrayed, disappointed one. "If the guild feels unsafe without me, so be it. That's Freyd's doing though. It's not Chase the menace, it's Freyd pushing you away from me. There you go. The truth. Did this need to happen? Did Freyd need to put me through more than I did for that day?"

When Chase heard the voice of Raidou and saw his figure emerge, his hands quickly reached for his sword before relaxing once more. Even if on neutral grounds, he lacked faith in one person more than anybody else- Freyd. Or at least right now he did. And after Raidou came, there went Gaius, the cook. "..."

"What a pleasant surprise to hear that not every guild member of yours is a sheep. Let me guess, Gaius is one of the other two that doesn't want me out?", his tone shifted to defensive almost right away, starting to feel on edge from the sudden appearance of two more people. Then again, he might have to hold himself a bit until Mari. With a few seconds of silence, his glare softened again and went back to an uncaring glance. "... You shouldn't have bothered Mari in the first place. The only two people to talk about this are me and Freyd. I bet he started lying to you right away about everything that took place. Something about 'acting mature' and 'having restraint'. The sort he forgot to show when explaining this whole fight to a bunch of people unrelated to this.". If there was any malice in his words, it was definitely towards Freyd and him alone. "Before I give you the full story, I want to hear what he said about me.", he demanded with a slightly harsher look again, tapping his foot on the ground silently and letting out a shaky, deep exhale. "Whenever you're ready.".

He knew that Freyd could be absolutely unforgiving when it came to retelling anything- he liked to put others down to appear on top, from Chase's experience. He wanted to make sure he could shatter that barrier, for there was no way Freyd was absolutely honest with his retelling of the events. And after all, he was a prized guildmate. The deck was stacked against the bluehead, not the Captain. Now if only Chase knew Freyd was a Captain too, that'd help lots. At least he took the necessary precautions regardless. All he could do now was play it smart and do his best to resolve this situation.

It was a fair while since the incident, and a long one at that. Not much time had passed, but it certainly felt so. Chase hadn't done anything important or even engaged in combat almost at all, staying most of the days over at Mari's until his cursor turned green again, at which point he left for his own house up in the 21st. And after a few more days of downtime, here he was again. How was he supposed to respond exactly?

Reading Freyd's name was enough to make him glare at the message, and the whole mention of Mari being hooked right back into this mess was bothersome enough. That meant he couldn't just ignore them and move on on his own. "The fact he had the gall to even dare bring this up to the entire guild... I see what he's trying to do. Bastard.". With lots of pressure on his back, the bluehead let out a shaky, deep breath, starting to feel angry by the very vivid recollection of what had gone down on the back of his mind. He didn't think to respond to the message, leaving his house and starting to walk on over to the teleportation plaza. "I didn't even get any time to practice maintaining my composure, god...", he groaned and moaned internally, fading away from his home floor and appearing at the settlement only minutes away from the rendezvous. And with no hesitation whatsoever, he began to head right towards it. He didn't notice any Firm Anima members among the crowd, but that could be because he didn't care too much. Knowing Freyd, he'd probably painted him as someone scary, dangerous. Now to hope he didn't worsen things any.

Within a short amount of time, Chase showed up at the meeting point, making out a silhouette from afar- what he assumed to be Eruda's. He remembered her from the monster raid after the Tanabata Festival, but they hadn't ever talked before or after the event. Like so, awkward and stiff as ever, he asked her from a fair few feet away. "... How many of you did Freyd tell?". No greeting, no friendly or chatty mood, nothing. Just a blank stare right her way, with his hands crossed and his right foot quietly tapping the ground every so often.

[ChaseR activates Mega Slime Farm.]

ChaseR: HP: 1690/1690 | EN: 166/166 | DMG: 20 | MIT: 43 | ACC: 3 | EVA: 3 | HOLY: 12 | PARA: 9-10 | BH: 84 | V.(DEF): 84 | HBS: 16 | LD: 5

Ozwald had a point. On one hand, the quest might have been harder- on the other, granted they were prepared with food items, they would still be able to hit them back to back for a quick knockout, unless one of them missed. With a sigh, the man just shrugged. Whatever the case, off to finish this boss too. It was just a shame this was much more repetitive than they first anticipated rather than having more... 'puzzle' tones? Is that what Chase wanted?

And with his companion's miss, he ran right towards the enemy and slashed him down, his blade growing in size with light right before the hit connected. The light dispelled as soon as the slash had made its way to the other side, resulting in the dragon knight disappearing once more. So what else was left now? A fine question, really. He'd lost count, uncertain if there would even be a last one- most probably would be though. "I guess I'd be out of energy if we were lower levels, yeah. Let's keep moving on ahead, sigh."

It didn't take much other than a nod before a sigh followed right up, filled with even more disappointment out of this whole dungeon. Chase went in fully excited, but it ended up being a mess because everything was too easy for his overleveled state. He was probably dumbing down the experience, and if the fight was way too tough, there were one, or rather ten, too many to make it enjoyable as a challenge.

"Mm... I feel even if it was at my level, it would be a complete mess. The bar would be too high, while right now it's way too low... I think even if I was your level, we could kill the monsters without taking any hits, unless the next ones get stronger. I... doubt it though.", he grumbled and began to walk towards the stunned knight, surprised to find himself raising his sword with both hands once more as he brought it down upon the knight, the blinding flash having started to irritate Grimm a lot less as instead, he could now view the sword's form with more and more ease. Maybe getting used to these portable flashbangs was a thing, after all. "And that's one less up the tower, let's go."

Beginning to get much too tired by this predicament, as monster flew at them after monster, they had to do something. And something they did. Mac and Chase both cleaved down groups of the Shadowlings, while Hidden and Jomei seemed to have launched their own single target attacks on the rest. Things were going smoothly, bar the alarming amount of energy that everybody must have left.

"Is everybody alright? My energy is going way too low for what I'm used to. I don't know if we can keep this up for much longer.", he reluctantly told his teammates, starting to grow anxious about how this fight may devolve if more Shadowlings are thrown at them as time passes. For now, a minor annoyance that came with clearing out these batches of enemies one after the other was the explosion that dealt minor amounts of damage. It was more worrysome for the less sturdy allies in the bunch more than anything. Thank god the explosion of each shadowling didn't stretch throughout the room after all, that would have been disastrous and more than just an issue.

Chase gave a sort applause and then moved on to the other end of the room, starting to scratch the back of his neck as he half closed one of his eyes, letting out a deep sigh of (mostly) disappointment. "It feels kind of embarrassing to be culling them this quickly... That's the thing with being high level though... I just hope there's something at the tenth floor more riveting than... this."

And accompanying his words comes his hand, pointing away at the same sequence of an egg appearing, shaking and a fully grown human hatching out of it. As awkward as ever, the knight charges at the duo and Chase charges right back. Stomping his feet on the ground, he runs at the knight and just at the right moment for complete obliteration, his sword lights up. With the ever so bright flash going throughout the room, the knight disappeared in full, and a groan left Chase's mouth. "Did... Kayaba just... not feel inspired at all..?"

And with Mac's instructions heard loud and clear, Chase gave a nod, dipped his head and ran right towards the Shadowlings, slashing with his short blade. To his surprise, and probably everybody else's, his attack alone seemed enough to take out the Shadowlings left, leaving him speechless.

"Wasn't it... not enough..? Last time? So does that mean we're done with the minions? Will the Shadow appear to fight us this time or?", and like so, the questions continued to race through his head as he repositioned himself and prepared to lunge at whatever came towards them, happy to have at least cleared the area and protected the party. Even though he wasn't really the one taking the hits in this case, but whatever the case. If anything, he was growing tired of how long this kept dragging on and on. The few minutes they were in there felt like hours already, and the chaos just made time pass by even slower for the bluehead.

And he could hear Freyd loud and clear. Hacking and trying to cough something out, while everybody else was fighting the minions of the darkness that had emerged. Orgoth seemed to have regained his consciousness, still clinging onto life despite his health bar having dropped all the way down to zero. Something weird was happening but- such were floor bosses, it seemed.

And here they were, with Macradon shining a blinding light onto the shadowlings as the rest approached. They seemed weak and frail, and with a single slash, three of them were almost dead. They were just 'minions', weak monsters to keep them occupied while the Shadow was trying to regather his strength probably. And so, the bluehead did the best he could, keeping them at bay before the rest could also help out and start taking them out once and for all. Last, would come the big bad, waiting and looking at them while he mocked the fallen giant he was controlling up to now.

And while Aquan looked for an opening, Valentine buffed Chase and Ozwald got a punch in, the rhino in the bluehead's grip got much too angered at how he was being held down, running against the boy's best attempts and ramming his stomach with its horn, sending him into the air. At his HP dropping a bit, Chase groaned and found his balance again, landing onto the ground gracefully and diving right in for his sword, grabbing it and slashing widely at the monster.

With the movements of a monkey and the grace of an acrobat, he'd managed to drop its health down to the lowest percentage possible. Anybody, bar Aquan, from the group should be able to easily land a final blow to its health now, and then it'd be over- and they'd have many, many levels to enjoy all to themselves too. "It's still on me, don't worry.", he told them, jumping back slightly to make sure the same scene wouldn't repeat itself, if the rhino somehow survived a few more seconds. And so, he looked back at Aquan. "We've met before, Aqh-... W-Water man. I just can't pronounce it right.", he quietly and awkwardly explained, squinting his eyes and looking off to the side momentarily. "... Sorry."

There was nothing for Chase to disagree with. He gave a nod to the brawler and quickly moved in, following his missed attack, to slash at the dragon knight and take him down- sadly, even after he'd cut right into him, he was still standing. Much like the rest, he was just barely not with a fully depleted health bar. Whatever, this meant that Grimm could have the honors of taking him down himself now.

"It just slightly bothers me that I can't get kill them with a single hit, because look at the little health they have left... Speaking of which, we're clearing them way too fast, aren't we?", he proceeded to ask Ozwald before turning back to the knight, a slow and sluggish attack having been sent towards the bluehead. He dodged it with relative ease, sighing and giving a nod to his companion to take their opponent down swiftly.

At first, Chase was tense too. But with her laughter, followed his, a laugh of relief more than anything else. He didn't want to answer on his level as much as make a comment about the fact she lived over in the perfect fourth floor, but he was bombarded with another question before he could even open his mouth. "I- Er... Get me whatever you order too.", he anxiously followed up with a nod, giving a sheepish smile before looking to the side.

"Yeah, no clue how old I am anymore either... I was talking with someone and he said it's been two years... Can't have been, right?", he quietly mumbled as he turned his head back to Lessa, giving a small frown before he realised just how moody he was being. Almost immediately, he decided to get back to the topic on hand, coughing and shaking his head. "Uh, level seventy seven. I'm almost done with all quests, but I want to keep moving on before I give myself any rest. Even then, I don't know if I'll be strong enough to protect everybody I'm friends with. So I might just have to keep on going.", the boy quietly nodded to himself as he spoke, his tension having been lifted for once. His leg wasn't jumping up and down, and neither were his nails tapping the counter now. 

And as soon as the bits of data appeared, they came back together. Chase warily lifted his hand into the air, only for a groan to sound, fading into nothingness. As did War, crumbling to dust and getting swept by a gust that entered through the broken roof. The bluehead looked over at the barricaded door, hearing the Diseased Ones that were trying to approach starting to flee, in terror, annoyance or whatever else those same low grunts insinuated.

"It's dead.", he quietly mumbled and looked over at Miraak, giving him a nod as if telling him to remove the seal. After a few seconds of staring into it though, disappointment was etched all over the priest's expression. "... What's wrong?", the boy asked to hear a sigh in return as the priest held his arm out to the group, waiting for them to hold on. "The seal has been here for too long. If we had come earlier- days, or even weeks... We might have been able to do something. It won't worsen any, but... it can't be fully removed either. Let us leave and never look back. War... Pestilence... Death and Famine. All four will leave- only to return when you least expect it. Hold onto my arm and let us return back to Angel's Point. I thank you again, kind adventurers. It was an effort not worth your time, but you still gave it your all for Demon's End. Thank you.". An abrupt end to this tragic misadventure, but... Lessa was exhausted, Jomei seemed out of it and Freyd was... Freyd. No need to worry.

It was best to just accept Miraak's help and head right back where they came from, instead of cleave through so many monsters again. Although disappointed they couldn't finish the job they started, this was more than enough combat experience- on top of all he already had... and extra SP, too. Chase grabbed onto Miraak's hand, as did everybody else when they had gotten it back together, and in a flash they teleported back to Angel's Point with the same blue light surrounding them as it had every time they used a teleporter. And so, that's another chapter closed.

Everybody seemed to be relatively worn out, except for Jomei. He just seemed bothered to have to fight so much more than he did exhausted. The boss was almost dead by the party's destructive blows one after the other, and it was stunned beyond belief- ironic. It's called War, yet it can't even join in on a battle.

"It's almost dead. We're done here.", Chase said while the boss got up, striking its shoulder and knocking it back down to receive a growl from it. His face was blank if not still somewhat agitated, but that's mostly because he had to throw himself in front of everyone, including Freyd. On top of being unable to do his job of getting its attention right- unless that was a skill the boss had? Regardless, his strike landed true and he quietly looked at Lessa and Jomei, giving them a nod while ignoring the Shadow. A yellow light covered all of them, swirling peacefully before he turned to see Miraak having cast another protective spell for the group. "These vile creatures can be very damaging for us. I am to make sure you make it through this, so please, put an end to it."

As soon as the five entered, Chase moved further on inside than the rest. Freyd blocked the door and at last, they could all rest and take a few breaths before they had to be on the run again. They could always just use teleportation crystals to head right back to their home, but nobody seemed to have thought that up yet, right..? With Lessa thanking everyone, Chase just looked over his shoulder and gave a quiet nod, heading further inside nonchalantly with his sword by his side, sheathed once more.

And while Freyd rested alongside Lessa, Jomei kept watch and Miraak stayed with the other three. "... This church, you say? Well, it-". Silence. He stopped his speaking abruptly, with wide eyes as he pulled out a map and quietly looked at it, tracing their steps all the way to the center of the town. His body began to shake, and genuine terror appeared to have overtaken him. With that exchange ongoing, the bluehead looked about and huffed, one hand on his hip and the other on his sword's hilt, resting. "... There's this red thing on the ground, but nothing else seems off. Much space here, so that means...", he concluded his thoughts and moved to the circle's end opposite of the group, noticing Miraak look towards him. "Don't take another step towards the seal. Everyone, this is... I didn't notice any earlier but this presence. Be ready. I'll remove the seal and I can explain afterwards.".

Chase silently slid his weapon out of its sheathe, sighing and holding it to the side, ready to charge at whatever appeared atop the seal. He'd be surprised though, because as soon as the priest had approached it and began to cast the incantation, an explosion sent him flying right back to the bunch, barely not falling. The moment he lifted his head, he was cowering in fear of the monster that had revealed its face once more. "It can't be..! War is a dangerous opponent, please, take it out as quickly as you can!"

From everyone, the blueberry appeared to be the fastest as he bolted right towards the horned giant that appeared, holding his two-handed sword all the same as Chase used to. He thought he could read his moves with ease. And charging right in, he slashed as powerfully as he could, grinning at the amount of damage he dealt. This would be a piece of cake. And then came a wide slash from War that he easily dodged- it wasn't so easy for the rest to dodge though, was it? It kept going and going, ultimately turning around to strike the other four. Thankfully it missed, but as quickly as he could, Chase had run right over the seal back to them to stand in front and hold his blade out, breaking into a cold sweat. "... Can nothing in this damn place simmer down and hit me for once?!". He was just glad his party was unharmed, for now. "If you need energy, you can rest. Freyd, go get it.", he said, mostly for Lessa. He wasn't sure where Jomei was sitting in terms of stamina, so he made no further comments.