NOVPUBAs the sun set on the sky, many curious eyes peeked at the zeppelin through the dense vegetation. Some of the eyes came in pairs, some were lonely red dots and others came at an eerily uneven number. Many were the eyes present on the swamp, some came from below the water, from ground level and even from the treetops, but one thing they all had in common was that all of them were set on the zeppelin.
Luna examined everyone and announced everyone was fine, safe for Emma who suffered a few contusions from the violent crash. The fact that she was the only one hurt was fortunate, but not really out of luck. It was all thanks to Medusa’s carefully planed design that took such emergencies into consideration.
"It seems my baby is fine and only needs some small repairs, but without fuel we’re not going anywhere any time soon." Medusa informed after checking the small lights on the ship’s board that represented the different parts of the zeppelin.
"How many flux orbs do we need?" Uriel promptly asked.
"If we want to get to the city, a couple dozen beast rank orbs will do. But if we want to make it to Europe, I think it would be safer to get some entity level flux orbs to upgrade the engine." The Pegasus, like any zeppelin, needed a steady supply of flux orbs as fuel.
They could be of the beast or monster rank, but using entity level flux orbs to feed an engine was dangerous but that didn’t mean they weren’t useful. Its engine was built with orichalcum coil and placing entity level flux orbs on it increased fuel efficiency.
Right now, the Pegasus engine was built with a single entity rank flux orb. That meant it’s efficiency was really low and it burned through the fuel reserve at a rapid pace. Going to Europe with a low tier engine wasn’t impossible, but it was beyong expensive.
"Then I guess it’s a good thing we landed in the wilderness. With all of us together, we’ll find an entity rank cryptid in no time." Nika said in a cheerful tone of voice after climbing out of Uriel’s shadow.
’I’m so punishing her...’ Uriel inwardly promised himself, but his thoughts were shaken once Luna began speaking.
"That won’t do. We need to kill as many cryptids as we can, but Medusa needs to stay here and repair what she can, Emma is wounded and even if she wasn’t she’s worthless in a fight and you’re a heavenly rank."
"So?"
"I’m stronger than my rank and Uriel probably is too. We can deal with entities together, but two heavenly rank hunters roaming around in the dark is too... uhm..."
"Risky?" Uriel finished her sentence after the prolongued silence became awkward.
"Uhm... yes. Inside the zeppelin our flu energy is masked thanks to the orichalcum frame around us, but outside you’ll be like a beacon for horror level cryptids."
"So, what do you propose? To go outside with Uriel at night and take advantage of him?" Medusa scoffed.
"You had your chance, it’s my turn." Luna replied with a bare face.
"Wait! You can’t decide those things by yourself!" Nika complained, to which Uriel nodded, but his approval lasted only until Nika finished speaking. "It should be my turn now!"
"No, you went to Mexico with him." Luna then opened the door and waited for a flabbergasted Uriel to exit.
"What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?" He blinked a couple times, still unsure whether he was lucky or the opposite.
As soon as he set foot outside, the fresh breeze of the night hit his nostrils and all the scents of the swamp infused him with a strange energy. It was dark, but the light of the moon hit the surroundings making the marshy ground shimmer in a silver light.
The plants, the trees, everything gave off a sacred feeling and Uriel walked around the zeppelin, just to make sure everything was alright before starting the hunt. He then closed his eyes and focused on his mystical sense.
The heightened senses, along with the supernatural sense allowed him to go places without even moving. He felt connected to nature in a way he never experienced before, he could hear frogs croakins, crickets chirping and strange unknown creatures emitting creepy noises.
The latter were the kind of sound humans could only listen to once in a lifetime, as those who heard them would most likely meet their end at the claws of those unsightly creatures.
But thanks to his recently acquire heavenly rank, he was able to sense their presence just like cryptids felt a hunter’s energy signature. The only problem with that was that, although he could feel their presence, as long as they were on standby he couldn’t pinpoint their location and he needed to rely on his other senses to find them.
Suddenly, the strange feeling of something warm touching his hand startled him, but it was only Luna who grabbed his hand.
"Luna? What do you think you’re doing?"
"Scared." Was all she replied, but she made sure to turn her head back and glare at both Nika and Medusa who remained by the zeppelin’s entrance with an offended expression on their faces.
"That midget!" Medusa grunted with a wry smile.
"I just can’t be mad at her." Nika let out in a single long sigh as she watched them disappear on the forest. But as much as both of them wanted to spend some time alone with Uriel, they were both silently glad they didn’t have to walk in a knee deep marsh.
The Louisiana wetlands honored their name, at times Uriel thought the ground ahead was solid, only to be fooled by the floating vegetation and fall on waist level water. Because of that, Luna ended up climbing on Uriel’s shoulders and remained like that as they seeked for beasts to hunt in the early hours of the night.
