"I wouldn't go that way even if I had to." Irene explained to Keng. "It's a dangerous place. After the Deimons betrayed us, they triggered the Deimon blood in us and caused many to go berserk. The living and the dead became corrupted and will attack anyone who goes near. Anyone who's strong enough to resist the Deimon blood is here."
Keng took the information in and scribbled notes in the air. It had become second nature to write, even with his hand at his side. He turned to look at Lee Seng and the others. Lee Seng, Manny, and Calis took the opportunity to walk over while the others waited.
"Miss Irene is telling me it's dangerous to go to the old settlement now." Keng informed them. "Are you sure you want to look there?"
"A place like that is sure to hold the Cup." Calis was the first to speak up. He shifted as he folded his arms together. He looked over to Manny for an opinion.
"There's… corrupted people there? I-is there a comparison you could make? Are they fast zombies? Ghouls of sorts?" Manny asked. Irene shook her head.
"I don't know how else to describe it. It's like… They're shells of who they were. They were instantly taken over by the Deimon blood and went feral. The Deimon blood was strong enough that the dead rose! Those cursed zombies are stronger than regular ones." Irene gave more details.
"What would you rank them on?" Lee Seng asked.
"Mmm, the zombies are C rank at best. The others are maybe B rank or higher. A lot of them have retained their training and abilities so it's like fighting other Biohumans. If you don't have to look around there, I would avoid it." Irene warned them. Lee Seng and the two leaders nodded.
"Which way do we go?" Keng asked. Irene tapped her bracelet and a screen popped up. She pointed to where they were and then traced her finger to the Southeast. She circled it as Keng lifted his hand and muttered something under his breath. The crystal necklace glowed and absorbed the information.
"Earth Map has been updated with Druidic Scout Irene's information!" A small voice spoke to Team Zephyr in unison. Lee Seng and the others threw up the map and watched the map fill itself in. The entire city and miles of the forest in all directions were filled in for them. Keng circled the area they needed to go in and the map updated for Team Zephyr.
"Alright, I think that does it." Keng closed his map. "Thanks, Miss Irene. Appreciate the information." Keng began to turn when Irene called out to him.
"K-Keng!" Irene stuttered. Keng turned back and raised his eyebrows at her. "If you go that way, could you do me a favor?"
"What kind of favor?" Keng asked, fully attentive.
"Well… Y'see…" Irene leaned in and whispered something Lee Seng could barely piece together with his hearing. Keng listened and nodded after Irene moved away.
"Sure. I'll keep a look out for it. If we find it, I'll let you know." Keng smiled. Irene's uneasy body relaxed a bit like she was injected with a bit of hope.
"Th-thank you! It would mean so much!"
Keng nodded and waved. Lee Seng, Calis and Manny waved their goodbyes and turned to rejoin the others.
"What did she ask of you?" Lee Seng telepathically asked Keng. Keng didn't look at Lee Seng. He bounced in his steps as he rejoined Ritsuka's side.
"It's a secret until we get there." Keng replied to Lee Seng.
The destruction of the city grew bigger as time went on. Holes in the road, crumbled buildings that blocked off the team's path and sketchy upheld buildings that looked like they might fall any second. Keng and Calis led the way while the others followed behind. Lee Seng hung in the back. He had naturally assumed the back position because Keng was in front. He didn't want anything to happen and had half the team in danger.
They popped out of the half-collapsed building when Lee Seng heard it. It was small but it sounded like a groan. Lee Seng stood underneath the opening and turned to look behind him. He scanned the area and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary but that sound.
Graaaah…
'What is that?' Lee Seng thought. Liz was the first to notice that Lee Seng wasn't with them. She turned around and saw Lee Seng staring into the half-collapsed building. Lee Seng fully turned his body to look straight into the half-collapsed building and strained his ears to hear. Nothing.
"Lee?" Liz called out. This brought some of the team's attention to the back. Lee Seng turned and looked over at Liz. "Everything all right?" Lee Seng nodded and rejoined them.
"I think I'm hearing things." Lee Seng dismissed the noise. He had heard plenty of noises before that sounded like something else but turned out to be something inanimate producing it.
"Hearing you say that makes me shiver…" Liz looked at him. "You and Keng have the best hearing. If you say something like that, it means you can get the noise wrong." Lee Seng smiled and shook his head. They followed the group as they moved through the narrow curving path into the large road.
"Sometimes you think a chair is someone making a weird noise, so you check it out." Lee Seng shrugged. Debris crumbled and Lee Seng casually looked behind them. Something managed to duck out of sight before Lee Seng could fully register what was happening.
"C'mon, you two!" Ritsuka shouted. Lee Seng turned and noticed Liz was waiting for him in between the group and him. Lee Seng gave a thumbs up before catching up to Liz and the others. As they rounded the bend onto the street, Lee Seng watched from the corner of his eye as something fast darted up into one of the openings in the building.
"What was that?" Lee Seng asked. He stared up at the opening and then looked behind them.
"What?" Liz followed Lee Seng. She saw nothing and shook her head. "I didn't see anything."
"It went up there." Lee Seng pointed at the opening. The other members turned and looked at Lee Seng and Liz.
"What's wrong now?" Manny asked, loudly. "Why are you guys lagging behind so much today?" Lee Seng continued to stare at the building, watching for any sudden movements. When he didn't answer, Liz looked over at the others.
"Lee Seng says he saw something." Liz answered. For a moment, Lee Seng noticed a dark shadow dart past.
"I saw it again! It's on the next floor!" Lee Seng pointed as the rest of his teammates looked up. They noticed nothing.
"There's nothing there! I think you're seeing things!" Manny shouted. Keng sighed and stomped. A seismic wave flew out and the area filled in his head.
'I can't… see anything…' Keng's eyes went up to where Lee Seng pointed and pushed energy into his eyes. 'Is there really anything there?'
Graaahh…
A low groan grew around the group. They all whipped their heads around, listening to rubble spill as harms exploded out of the rubble. Keng let out another blip and felt nothing. Purple bodied Biohumans rose from the rubble. Keng gulped as Hydrosphere appeared in his right hand.
"I can't detect nor see any energy whatsoever." Keng spoke.
"Y-you can't see any of them even though they're in front of us?" Calis asked.
"No time for questions!" Manny shouted. "Get ready!"
"GRAH!" A loud roar exploded from the building Lee Seng had just pointed at. A small body flew out and grabbed Lee Seng, pushing him backwards and slamming him onto the ground. The ground cracked into tiny pieces. Liz yelped as Keng reached out and pulled her away from Lee seng.
"Lee!" Manny shouted, running forward.
"Manny don't—" Keng started to shout when a purple Biohuman blasted Manny to the right.
"GRAHHH!" The purple Biohumans screamed. Their eyes were filled with red and purple. Veins bulged with purple energy and their forms were distorted. The purple Biohumans rushed at the group while two moved off for Lee Seng.
Lee Seng grunted as he ripped the small thing off him. A small child growled at him before plunging their teeth into Lee Seng's chest. Lee Seng screamed as his body blew everything away from him. The child growled as it managed to dart away.
Evan barely managed to raise his half-manifested shield when the corrupted bit him. He swung his free hand and punched the thing. It released its jaw just enough for the shield to manifest. Evan shoved the thing away from him, pushing the few that had gotten to his teammates away from them.
"I think these are the corrupted!" Ritsuka shouted. Liz moved behind the group and grabbed Manny.
"Are you okay?" Liz asked. Manny pushed himself up and nodded.
"These fuckers hurt!" Manny grunted as he healed himself. He looked over and noticed Lee Seng was just barely standing as two corrupted were rushing him. "Liz, Calis, help Lee Seng! Ritsuka, Olivia, Evan, Keng try to handle the rest! I'll slow them down enough so they can't tear at us quickly!"
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