Supernatural Beings: Strive Survivors Vol. 2

Strive 124: Under The Sea!

Kibishi's POV

Under the sea...

We were now underwater with the "fishes" are living and the "crabs" are crawling.

In all honestly, I can't believe some animals are still alive, even if they seem to be a bit darker than the ones from the picture.

I can see a few dead bodies alongside with a few skeletons.

Despite the water sparkling around us, as the moonlight shows us the "light" within the darkness, we know that's just the world covering up the evil and cruel part side of it.

I can see some "correl" and "seaweeds" alongside the sand underneath our shoes.

And now that I got a good look around the place, it seems like the site is even bigger than the surface area. Huh.

"So, this is where all the creatures are held," I commented.

"Yes. We saw a few, but they were smaller than the ones on the first layer. We did see their numbers increase, but the fact that it was less of a threat made me worry for a bit." Tao explains while looking around with a worried expression.

"How come?" Kuma asked.

"Obviously, because we can't let our guard down. But every time we relax a bit, the creatures always jump on us. Not to mention that we're underwater now, so we may encounter a few along the way." Tao says while closing her eyes.

"Aah, I see." Kuma crosses her arms while looking upwards. "And without Jir's support from the back, even if we DO manage to fight decently, and that's a big IF, how do we support to focus on the fight and our surroundings at the same time? It'll wear us down more than anything. Sheesh, what a pain in the ass." Kuma says, then frowns at our current situation. 

"I think I got a few things to help you guys," I say with a small smile.

"You do?" Jir asks curiously.

"Yup. While looking around the tree, I found a few cubes with some elements. "Fire" and "Freeze."  I only got just about 3, though." I take out the three cubes with symbols on them. "Three cubes for each element, I mean. I think they were in the tree beforehand. It was right next to me after Tao woke me up. It wasn't there from before."

"Ooh! So that's what it was." Tao says with a surprised look.

"Hmm?" I tilt my head.

"Well, you held it firmly once you finished digging out the metal door. So I take it off your hand since I thought it was trying to harm you or something. Then again, I think if I had taken a closer look, it should've been a, but obviously,  hehe..." Tao explains while scratching the side of her face. "I'm sorry. I was so worried about you that I didn't care for anything else around me." Tao apologizes. 

"It's okay, Tao," I say to my orange-haired friend.

Well, it makes sense. Kind of. I'm surprised that you didn't take the orb out as well." Jir commented.

"That was also because I pulled him away from the metal door..." Tao says while frowning.

"Oh yeah..." Jir says softly.

"...." Tao lowers her head.

"Hey, Tao..." I look back and give a welcoming smile. "You didn't do anything wrong. You care more about human life than speeding up the process of our escape. I'm generally that you have a good heart.  Honestly, please don't look sad, okay? It'll make me sad, too. And then we both won't focus on the mission for tonight."

"Mm." Tao slowly nodded.

Mm. She still seems to be sad about it, huh?

I wish I could make her smile. But can I do it now at all times? Hmm...

"Hey guys, there's a surface near here. Why don't we go up to catch a breather?" Jir suggested.

"Hmm..." Kuma thinks for a bit. But she then shakes her head. "Mm-mm! Let's keep walking for now. Look, *shows phone* the super codes are still functional, and we all have plenty of percentages left. I'd say let's keep going until we find something."

"You make a good point there, Kum. Alright then, if you insist, I can continue." Jir says while looking at Kuma.

"I'm sorry, Tao. But we need to keep moving forward." Kuma explain with a bit of sadness in her tone.

"It's fine. *Wipe right eye* I'd rather do that then- never mind. Let's focus on the task at hand." Tao says but-

I can't shake the feeling that Tao is putting up a front. But I won't force her to tell us anything.

Her heart is pounding in a way that shows nervousness. Or maybe it's just showing "guilt" despite that not being true.

Either way,

I'll comfort her in any way I can.

"Let's try to minimize the battle as we can. Jir, you can make the bounded field bigger, right?" I asked.

"Yeah, but it'll burn a lot out of me. Maybe for two full battles. But that's if I don't pass out." Jir explained.

"Good enough," I look at my wrist to see the monitor. I press the single button, and it reveals my heart rate. "Let's see..."

Crank! Crank! Crank!

" "25% chance of heart attack. Give ally buff and enhance them around 50%.". That's not so bad. And I got meds to calm my heart down. I'll use this on you so that you can relax your mind and heart. So you can count on me if you ever feel tired, okay, Jir?" I say to reassure Jir that I got her back if things look icey. Icey. That word is so weird to use, even if I'm thinking about it. Huh.

Is that the right word to use as well? I feel like it is, but I'm not entirely sure.

Interesting.

Anyway,

"We should be on our guard for anything that may get the jump on us. Let's go, everyone!" I say with determination.

"Right!" The girls agreed.

To be continued...