Deus Didymus: Sunder

Chapter Thirty-Two

Minju sighed as she felt each of Kami's steps.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Shin. I don't know why I'm feeling so tired..."

"It's okay," Kami replied, "It's probably your circadian rhythm. You can rest up for now."

Minju nodded as she closed her eyes. Suddenly, the surface below the girl changed. It no longer felt like the soft material of Kami's trench coat. When she opened her eyes, Minju gasped, grabbing the other three's attention.

"Oh, he swapped himself," Junho commented, "There's probably a monster or a patrol group somewhere near that he's diverting or taking care of."

"I didn't even feel him move..."

"He's a fast one," Hyeongjun smiled, "That's why Ms. Shen likes working with him."

Minju protruded her lips, "I didn't know that."

"Not many people do."

"We don't get to work together very often though," Kami commented.

"Welcome back," Hyeongjun greeted, "Whatcha find?"

"Nothing," Kami replied, "I thought I heard a patrol group."

Junho raised an eyebrow, "Thought?"

"I was just hearing things."

"That's unlike you," Hyeongjun chuckled.

"I thought it was an enemy Allele, so I went scouting."

Junho nodded, "That makes sense."

Throughout their walk Minju found herself dozing off on Kami's back while the group quietly approached the YG capital. Whenever they could, the team would stop at a town to restock on food and water, also letting Minju rest when her legs got tired.

As they neared another town, Minju felt a sense of relief as she needed to use the restroom, but didn't want to go in the woods again. Suddenly, Kami extended his arm in view of the team stopping their movement.

Nothing but the sound of leaves moving in the wind reached the young girl's ears, but she knew something was off. If Kami stopped the team without replacing himself, something had to be off.

Kami turned his head, facing the team. Without making a single sound, the young instructor mouthed his words.

"Step back. Quietly. Don't make a single noise."

Minju looked at her teammates, following their movements as she distanced herself from the small boy.

Mixing with the rustling leaves, Minju heard a faint sound of an object brushing against foliage--twigs snapping underneath the weight of the object, seemingly breaking whatever it moved through. The faint rustling grew louder and louder. Soon enough, footsteps shook the ground beneath the group as the shadow of a figure crept through the trees.

Just a few steps in front of Kami, a blue lizard-like creature with four legs on each side of its body--easily eclipsing Kami and the trees around it appeared in Minju's view. On its back, blue and green scales shimmered in the sunlight giving the impression of impenetrable armor.

Before she could gasp, Eunsang placed his hand over the girl's mouth, silencing her.

As the monster's green eyes laid on the group, the vertical slits for its pupils jolted--sending chills down Minju's spine. Every fiber in the girl's body begged her to move, but she knew if she did she would die.

With her eyes locked with the monster's Minju felt her legs tremble. Any longer and her legs would give out under the pressure of the towering beast before her.