Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 458: Stone

"Close the door already, if the fog gets inside we're done for!" Emma cried, though Nika refused to let go of the door.

"I can't, Medusa is still fighting outside."

Their situation was dire to say the least. The fog enveloped the entire ship and the previously empty swamp was soon filled by uncanny revenants threatening to breach the hull with their traits. They hurled all sots of projectiles at the Pegasus, causing great damage to the ship's hull and Medusa was the only hunter still fighting.

"It's too late, uhm, they... they know we're here already." A sleepy Luna muttered.

"What do you mean it's too late? You said we were safe inside the ship!" Emma Cried some more.

"The ship only hid our presence." Luna replied and then fell silent, but her sister Cassandra prompted her to continue speaking.

"I know you think you made things clear, but we're not inside your head. You need to explain fully."

"Uhm, fine,"" Luna let out a tired sigh and then continued. "the Pegasus was made with orichalcum wire. According to Medusa, it's necessary to distribute flu energy to the whole ship, but it has the positive side effect of hiding the energy signature of the hunters inside. I'm not familiar with the term Medusa used, but it's like a cage."

"A Faraday cage?" Stella, one of the soldiers they rescued who was also an engineer, asked and Luna nodded in reply. "Then... it's not safe to be here anymore. now they picked on our energy signature, staying here is useless."

"I guess there's no choice then, we need to fight our way out and scatter in the swamp." Cassandra nodded knowingly, though not everyone agreed with her.

"No way! You're only saying that because you're strong. In the off chance I manage to escape from those things, I won't survive the night in the swamp!" Emma let out with teary eyes and a running nose. She looked pitiful, though she wasn't the only one scared to go out.

Every time a revenant's trait was activated a piece of the ship fell off making everyone inside the Pegasus flinch. Everyone was tired, wounded, but worst of all, they lacked the will to fight. After spending all of their effort into reaching the ship, which they thought would be a safe haven only to find out they were still in danger, they were left disheartened.

Not even Cassadra, the one who proposed to go out and fight, had the energy to do so.

"We can't give up, there must be a way for us to make it through the night. Perhaps if we get their attention, some of us might be able to make it."

"That is... uhm... unlikely. From my observations, each revenant has their individual consciousness, but they all share a hive mind. They... huh, huh...

I think they're connected through the fog."

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"Does that mean if we keep he fog away, the revenants might lose their ability to move?" Nika asked.

"It's only a theory, but I'm fairly certain. They're always inside the fog and they cower from the light." Luna nodded.

"Does anyone have a trait related to wind?" Nika scanned the room, but everyone present shook their heads and the realization that everyone was on their own hit them like a truck. There was nothing they could do to ensure the survival of the person next to them and the only defining factor to their own survival was luck and among those present, Nika was the luckiest.

She was the only one with a trait that would make her immune to physical harm while hiding her presence at the same time. It also wouldn't be the first time for her to hide inside her trait and witness a whole party of hunters get wiped out in front of her, but now something was different.

The last time she spoke to Uriel she realize her own survival wasn't the only important thing, not anymore at least, and she learned he difference between surviving and living. She wasn't willing to see her cute little Luna get killed in front of her eyes, just as she wasn't ready to abandon the last member of Uriel's army unit.

Nika would have deemed as nothing but a silly thought, but she felt that letting Mayhem die would be the same as failing Uriel's request. Even if Young and Rusty already fell, as long as Mayhem survived Nika wouldn't feel like a total failure.

"You guys wait here for my signal, then make a run for it to the swamp." Nika said as she grabbed an almost depleted battery pack to recharge the coil gun on her thigh for the last time.

"Signal? What signal?" Emma asked with a sob.

"Uhm... She means, when she dies." Luna explained with an aloof face, her eyes glimmering in a faint manner. It could have been tears or it could have been the lack of flux energy that caused such phenomenon, but Nika chose to believe the former was true as she turned around ready to fight to her last breath.

But as soon as Nika opened the door, a bright scarlet light erupted casting a shadow on the hunters behind Nika and an absolute silence was made in the battlefield. It was as though the background noise had been switched off by the unexplained shimmer and those present couldn't make any sense of it.

"I did it! I ranked up!" Medusa exclaimed in joy. The power surging through her veins was intoxicating and a pleasant feeling traversed her body. she had been feeling strange for a while now, like an itch that couldn't be scratched and the only thing that made her feel better was to fight.

For that reason, she chose to remain behind and cover the retreat, but contrary to the rest, instead of getting tired she only became more powerful, until the moment came when she realized the change in her body.

After defeating all of the nearby enemies in a single petrifying glare that did turn the revenants into actual stone, Medusa turned around to expect the warm smiles of her friends and people complimenting her for her incredible achievement. After all, it wasn't everyday a hunter was able to defeat so many enemies in a single move.

But the scene Medusa found at her back didn't match her expectations. Instead of the wam smiles and people thrilled on her behalf for the power up she acquired, she was met with the figure of a close friend frozen in stone.

"Nika!" Medusa let out in an ear piercing shriek. "What have I done!? I killed her!"

"Medusa, deactivate your trait immediately.' Cassandra commanded, doing her best to hide from the scarlet light behind the cover of Nika's petrified body.

"I can't! I don;t know how to do it!" Medusa replied.

"Shut your eyes, quick!" Luna added and only then did the red glow disapear.

"What's going on? I can't deactivate my trait. Luna, help me, please..." Medusa begged on her knees, tears running down her cheeks.

"Calm down, for all we know the effect might be only temporary," Luna spoke in her usual monotone, only now instead of annoying it had a soothing effect on Medusa. "come inside, but keep your eyes shut. We don't want any more accidents."

"Accidents? I bet she did it on purpose, she was always jealous of Nika! I say we leave her outside until she learns to control her trait or we might be the next accidents!" Emma voiced out her fears, but all it took for her to shut up was a disinterested glare from Luna.

"She built this ship with her own two hands, if anything, the one who shouldn't be here is you." Luna's words sent shivers down Emma's spine, though it wasn't just the meaning behind them, but the fact that she didn't so much as stutter while speaking. It showed just how much Luna meant those words and Emma had no choice but to remain silent.

Medusa did as Luna asked and entered the ship, making sure to close the door behind her. The scarlet light had completely disappeared, though whenever she opened her lids even a little, a powerful beam of red light would escape sending everyone but Luna into a panic. Because of this, Medusa ragged her clothes and blindfolded herself to keep everyone safe.

"I always thought your trait was powerful, but I never expected something like, huh, this..." Luna said as she examined Nika's statue.

"Wil she be alright?" Medusa nervously asked.

"I need to perform some examinations first, but time might be a determining factor. We should... huh... hmm... wait."

The fight had come to an end as all the revenants who besieged the ship had turned into stone and the remaining enemies limited themselves to watch from afar.

Had they been mindless cryptids, they would have continued their onslaught, but Luna's theory that they shared a hive mind was confirmed when they retreated, though the last ones to do so were the ones with ties to the hunters inside the ship.

Young's revenant took a last glance at the ship, maybe exerting the last of her will to see her daughter for the last time and then disappeared into the fog without leaving so much as a foot track behind.