Fractal Plane: Purgatory Survivors

Chapter 4 - Absolute Order

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Guren Izaya's heart skipped a beat every time he made a leap of faith, and he just finished jumping off the rocks that connected the floating islands.

One more jump, and...

He took it, landed awkwardly, and started flailing. Thankfully, a hand reached out and pulled him up by the arm.

"You okay? That was close," sighed a paler than usual Miyuko.

Still reeling from his heavily pounding heart, Guren exhaled and gathered himself. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Don't push yourself. We'll get to Kiyone, one island at a time."

She lightly tapped him on his back, and her reassuring smile put Guren's thoughts at ease.

Deep inside, Guren felt inadequate. It was he who wanted to save Kiyone so desperately, but when push came to shove, he was nothing more than a bystander.

He stood back when Miyuko was blasting those shadowy monsters away, and he was the one who keep needing to be saved.

Those thoughts hung around his mind while he followed his companion's confident strut.

How could she be so confident?

It amazed him.

While he had those thoughts of awe and wonder ever since they woke up in this world, the whole trek through Babel made him look up to her even more.

Growling sounds crept up as they approached the broken down shrine on this island.

Miyuko drew her blaster, entering a defensive stance as Guren waited in anticipation.

Dark aura engulfed an arch by the shrine, and from it formed a large silhouette. He expected something humanoid, like the tiny imp-like creatures that had troubled them, yet the aura gathered near the ground.

Three strands first formed as the tails materialized, and following it, the body of a hound-like creature followed.

The beast, standing almost twice as tall as they did, snapped at the air, its three eyes aimed at them.

"Stand back, Guren. This one's a tough one."

The blaster on Miyuko's hand gathered energy before she let it loose, striking the hound square on the head. The impact, once capable of taking out those small creatures, merely caused the creature to flinch.

Now that he had more time to focus on the situation, Guren could tell what his friend was warning him about. Indeed, there was something off about this creature.

Narrowing his eyes allowed him to see some purple mist surrounding the beast. Unlike the creatures that attacked them before, looking at this monster alone gave him temporary fits of nausea.

It was if this thing exerted its own aura on the surroundings.

Letting loose a powerful snarl, the hound bounded towards them.

Left staring at the monster, Guren felt an arm pull him to the side.

He heard the sound of clothes ripping.

When he got back up to his feet, he heard the sound of Miyuko's blaster letting loose even more rounds.

"Snap out of it!" urged Miyuko, who continued firing at the monster. The shots remained ineffective, but the repeated barrage managed to stun the monster.

The smell of smoke filled his nose, and like smelling salts, it snapped him out of his daze. With his senses restored, he glanced around.

"Over there!" he said, pointing to a makeshift bridge of floating rocks at the end of the island.