Garden Of The Abyss

Holding his hands over his eyes, Ren was still wincing quietly as the azure-haired girl attempted to comfort the pained young man, running her hand up and down his back.

"I thought that ability of yours seemed unfair, but this is the price of it, huh?"

"...Yeah."

Answering Macheo between sharp, painful breaths, Ren followed up with a yelp before dropping to his knees as the fiery sensation in his eyes amplified.

"Ren!"

Iris, Aiko, and Hongse surrounded him, trying to comfort him as they felt helpless to assist the white-haired companion of theirs.

It was such a short time that I used it for...I thought that the pain would be less extreme from that first time, but it\'s even worse now, Ren winced.

"I\'m fine…"

"No--we have to retreat, or at least wait!"

"I agree...You don\'t look like you\'re in any condition to fight."

Aiko assisted Iris in her thought process, getting a short, thankful smile from the girl with blue, silken locks before placing her worried eyes back on Ren.

Keeping her hands firmly on his shoulders, Iris\' worried sapphires were met with Ren\'s hazel eyes that had become bloodshot from the strain. Weakly, he gave her a smile that didn\'t fit his sweat-layered, encumbered expression.

"You know...when I think about where I started, and how much I\'ve grown, I feel like I can do anything."

"Ren…"

"So this is nothing...I\'ll be fine, really."

Even if he said that, he didn\'t deny Hongse\'s gracious offer to be helped up to his feet, being hoisted up as if he was weightless by the grip of the sturdy panda-man. Rubbing the sleeve of his coat against his eyes for a moment, he looked forward at Macheo with a nod; all that was needed to tell the golden-haired mage to open the bone door.

"Besides, with all of us--this\'ll be a walk in the park. Right, Macheo?"

"Yeah, that gross bastard wasn\'t all that tough."

Taking the lead as he walked past Macheo, who was adjusting the fluffy material that made up the cuffs of his coat, Ren\'s sable cape flowed behind his step, unsheathing Belus and his dagger as he forced the residual pain to withdraw itself to the depths of his mind.

Walking in with his eyes closed for a moment, it wasn\'t until the shutters to his eyes parted once more that he realized just the type of chamber he had walked into. The moment his irises witnessed the scenery around him, he felt his stomach churn, finding itself in his throat before turning back to warn the others.

"...Don\'t look!"

It was too late, speaking such a thing into existence naturally brought their eyes to what inhabited the personal domain of Butcher.

Hanging from the ceiling, attached to meat hooks, an endless array of bodies presented themselves lifelessly.

"...Welcome, welcome…"

Rising from the floor itself like a spirit of the astral plane, the monstrous entity itself made an entrance, bringing itself up with its unnatural form as it smiled behind its mask of false skin.

"Is it to your liking? My workshop?"

"...You sick freak."

Valerie responded to the twisted question, covering her mouth and nose as did everyone else within the bowels of the ghastly domain.

"Macheo…"

"Huh? What is it?"

Replying with his voice muffled by his hand, Macheo looked at the back of the white-haired companion who said his name.

"That creep looks different, right? I\'m not going crazy or anything, am I?"

"Now that you mention it…"

Squinting at the form of Butcher, there were indeed some alterations to his body that stuck out right away.

Without a doubt, the build belonging to Butcher\'s patchwork body was bulkier; putting on what looked to be twice his previous muscle mass.

"Ah, you\'ve noticed, right? Our little skirmish earlier inspired me to make some…adjustments…to my body."

Gyrating his arm unnaturally, Butcher\'s words were skewed with his own twisted nature, presenting his newly crafted body as if it were a gift to the world.

"How about I smash this creep into paste?"

It was a rare sight; Hongse\'s teeth were snarled as his physique puffed out past his obscuring coat of fur, manifesting his massive hammer into his grip.

"I\'ll burn him to ash."

Valerie unraveled her lance-staff, revving it up as a radiant flame began to coil it.

"I\'ll follow your lead, Ren."

Stepping beside the man dressed in a stygian gambeson coat, Aiko adjusted her gauntlets as a fire seemed to finally take place in her amethyst irises.

"Got it. Macheo, you with me too?"

"Do I have a choice? You\'ll just get in my way otherwise."

"Good to hear it, partner. Iris?"

Giving a thumbs-up to the prickly noble, Ren then turned his attention to the cherished companion of his who has yet to speak up.

How are they all so…strong? It\'s not their physical or magical strength, but their mindset. How can they see this room, that monster—and be so quick to make a plan. Ren, just how did you become like this? Iris thought.

"I\'ll…"

All eyes were on her, further burdening her mind to make a decision.

Looking at Butcher, her knees shook just at the sight of just a vile creature.

Every part of me is telling me to stay as far away as I can from that thing. Which is why…I should do the opposite.

"Hongse, can you follow my lead?"

After a deep inhale, her words came out without any hesitance. Slowly, the crimson panda nodded his head, clearly a bit puzzled.

"…Yeah."

"Alright, let\'s do this!"

Iris put on a smile that required melding her lips as she stood tall.

"Yeah, let\'s."

Coating his blades in his extended reinforcement, Ren took the first step forward.

Keep your eyes on him. Just him. Only him.

He urged himself, begged to keep his attention solely on Butcher. As haunting as his appearance was, it was nothing in comparison to the scenery of death and flesh.

"Yes! You! You! You! I want those determined, scalding eyes of yours!"

Wiggling his arms, Butcher almost looked as if he was going to let the snow-haired fighter attack him for free, only to counter before Ren could draw near.