The Beats Go On

Chapter 81: Leaving Unannounced

🔮Chapter 81: Leaving Unannounced

With nothing else to do, the group started to head to the portal to the realm as it shook. Seemed like the treeangle partially powered the world, but then Clie just suggested that they wish for a new power source to substitute in for it and the group was good. Clie opted to carry everyone again, but then the group found out Racu could just fly, so he carried them while Clie flew next to him. They found the portal in no time and said bye to Clie since they lived in the realm and couldn't leave to have fun away from the realm. Soon the group was back where they started when they entered! Phew! 

"Yay! Friends made it back!" Ari said. 

"Well, we better keep going," El said, "We need to get the main villain." 

"Uh, why is the floor cracking?" Coco said after. 

The rest looked down. The floor was definitely cracking, and they were still in that main portal room they were in before. Racu was no longer flying, but rather hovering over the ground.

"That's weird." Ami said. 

Then, everything started shaking. And it was shaking a whole bunch! The group took that as a bad sign, because shaking never usually meant good things.

"W-what's happening?!" Ina said. 

"I-i think the building is falling apart! I've been in temples like this!" El replied, screaming. 

"Then we need to get moving before we get crushed!" Cas yelled. 

"Good idea! Let's go!" Digo replied. 

Looks like it was running time.

Everyone started running as the building started falling down. It was a fairly tall building, so moving fast was pretty much required. And it definitely wasn't easy. A big crack opened near the beginning of the path. Luckily, no one fell in. 

Parts of the building were also falling and nearly trying to crush them, as well as open areas they could easily fall through. Digo was fast, but nearly got crushed by a falling floor part. Luckily, El managed to grab him and they both dodged it. But they all had to hurry, the building was shaking more are more! Ina would have fallen through a hole on the wall if it wasn't for Coco and Ami helping her! 

This was getting very chaotic, and the group wasn't sure how much more they could take! Pieces of rubble and metal stuff fell down around them as they ran, threatening to take away more HP from them. But everyone with each other's help were able to get through many of the obstacles without sustaining a lot of damage. They couldn't give up now! 

"STOP! LOOK DOWN!" Ari suddenly shouted. 

Everyone else immediately looked down, and didn't see any floor under them. The building's floor had collapsed underneath them...and now they were falling down. Welp. It was fun running on air while it lasted.

"Remain calm!!" El shouted.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!" Cas shrieked.

"THAT IS NOT CALM!" Ami screamed.

"YOU'RE NOT CALM EITHER!!" El screamed back.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!" Coco shouted.

Everyone braced as they hit the ground, hard. It hurt, but they all had to get out of there before building parts fell on them. They all scrambled away, with Racu hovering over the fastest. Once they climbed up a nearby hill, they all caught their breath as they watched the evil fortress crumble behind them. Sese sighed.

"Well...there goesss my home," he sighed, a little irritated.

"Oh. I thought that was just some place you worked or something," Cas said nonchalantly.

"THAT TOO, YOU PEASANT!" Sese spat. "But whatever....it's gone now...and I no longer have power."

"Wait I thought uncorrupting someone immediately made them not evil," Ami said.

"Oh no no no, there are ssstill plenty of nasty shapes out there who didn't need corruption to be mean or strong. But regardlessss...I don't believe I serve Lord Agen anymore..."

"How you serve big evil man? He find you? Care you like baby?" Ari asked.

"Well...not entirely. I was an adventurer, and found him one day. He offered me great treasuresss and powersss in return for ssserving him, and I'd only accepted because pro adventurersss laughed at me for being a...lesser rank," Sese explained.

"A noob," El interjected.

"WHATEVER! My only friend was Racu, a ssship I'd helped heal after he was attacked by mean sssea shapesss...ssso Lord Agen let him in on the power and sssuch too. It was nice to finally tower over those who'd doubted me...but I guesss it kind of got boring when you could do thingsss with ease and without opposition..." Sese replied. "Now that I'm back down to rank one, I sssuppose I ssshould just...ssstart all over aga-"

"Hey, what's that?" Coco interrupted.

Everyone looked up from where they were, only to see a new, strange portal in front of them. It was definitely different from the one they'd entered (and left) more recently, because it was glowing a corruption-colored pink.

"That'ssss....a portal to Lord Agen's realm-agh, I ssshould've known this would happen-!" Sese hissed.

The group nodded their heads in understanding shortly before turning to face Sese so fast they practically got whiplash.

"Wait, how did we not know about this place before?!" Digo exclaimed. "And what do you mean, "known this would happen", huh?!"

"His realm is only accessible via his minionsss," Sese explained, "He has his higher classs minionsss guard gatesss to it and allowsss for no other way in. Sssince you bested me in battle....well.....THAT happened."

"Oh. So.....we fight guard to place and now us go in?" Ari asked.

"Basically."

The group was silent for a while as they let the information sink in. There were also plenty of actions to take, like going through it, staying away from it, finding something else to do, or outright leaving the place. After all, this was the thing that would probably take them to their goal. They'd come this far, and yet here they stood, unable to decide on what to do next.

Well.

Maybe it didn't have to be that hard.

"So....I assume we're going through it?" El asked.

Coco sighed.

"Looks like we have no choice."

"Then let's do this."