Yuurei and Renji were on a quest in Talaz Lagaar. The Seraphim had learned much of his history, which brought him to want to better himself. It was interesting how someone with such power found ways to make themselves better as they pushed forward into the future. Their goal today was the same as the last time they were here. They were going to excavate more parts that had been attached to Zero. They figured that someone would try to stop them, which was fine. The hunter didn’t mind as it would only be right with what they were doing.

The two of them would make their way to the monument without hesitation. They figured that their friends would arrive at this place as well. This would be good because it would seem like he wasn’t the only one who decided to do this. The hunter looked as if he was not ready for any situation, but why would he need to be when his stuff was in his own dimension? Of course, Yuurei wore his everyday accessory, and Renji stood near his partner, so he couldn’t be caught off guard.

They trekked through the place as the sun was out, brightening the day. It allowed them to see what they were pillaging in the immediate area. It was really early around the crack of dawn, which he felt would be best, so there were fewer people around. Renji looked around as he couldn’t help but see how fascinating this thing still was.

“What did you think this thing use to do Yuu?” He asked him curious to hear what he had to say.

Yuurei would look at Renji and then he would look at the Machinery before him. He would rub his chin as they were getting ever so close to it. When he did, he would come to a conclusion as this was probably used for battle a long time ago and stopped working right here.

“If I have to guess, then it would be, that they had a huge battle once. This was used in the battle, and it crashed here. I guess they figured it would be a nice resting place for it and it was why it was never moved.” He said to Renji.

Renji would nod as he could see that being a reason why it was here. It wouldn’t take long, but soon they would be in front of Zero. The huge thing was bigger than anything Yuurei could ever fathom as he figured he would get started. He would start taking things apart from the machine and examining Zero to make sure he wasn’t recklessly pulling things out.

Renji would do the same thing, but he would make sure that he stayed close to Yuurei. He didn’t have the same abilities as his friend, so he would be caught easily. It was even harder for him to get things out, but he did his best and was able to hand the stuff he found to Yuurei.

His knowledge as a toy maker his entire life, allowed him to see what was important as well within machinery like this. Yes, it was far too advance for him, but the concept was similar to what he was used to. The Exceed did wonder if he would see Revy today and if she would actually talk to him today.

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Kaito walked into the poisoned lands once again to go and collect more pieces of this place as the metal seemed to be odd and not natural like it was different from the world around it. He had to wonder what this thing was made of and when it was made as it seemed eerie and slightly put Kaito on edge as he got closer to it he sees Yuurei and Renji who seemed to already be ready to get back to it. Revy was walking beside him and he hopes that she was alright but she seemed to be a bit slower today maybe something was wrong with her but she was too proud to say anything about it or to ask Kaito for help but he knows that there needed to be some space between himself and the woman as she needed to make sure that she was ready to take those steps and tell him without him forcing her.

He hoped that their years together would have made them have some form of mutual trust in the other but Kaito never did think very highly of himself but that was normal for him as he was not one to feel like he belonged among people even if they tell him that he is able to be among them, his curse held him back in that way but also that dark voice in his head telling him that he had the power to do what ever he wanted and that he should just shrug off the consequences later. He himself didn't think he was that strong but that voice gnawed at him some times making him wonder if really he was never meant to be a hero he was suppose to be the bad guy that they all feared and would find themselves on the other side of all of this good guy stuff. Revy tugged on his pantleg to get his attention and he lifts her up and carries her as she was feeling very tired. Kaito guessed it was time for Revy to nap while he was the busy on this time. He put Revy in his hood as he walked over to where Yuurei and Renji were and the air felt a bit like walking through water as this place seemed to just be a bad place over all to be.

He waved at Yuurei and Renji and he had a thought about something that he would keep to himself as it was really none of his business to know what was going on in other peoples lives but he knows that sooner or later he will probably be told about it and have to do something about it as he walked over and he looked at the place as he got his tools back out again and he readied himself to get back to collecting more of what this place hid and he would try to make the most of what he could with this place as he hoped to make a good item or two from it and hopefully find it useful in some way.
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Brone Heavyaxe grumbled beneath his face mask as he made his way a busy street as the vehicles were waiting, irritably for him to fully cross, though the dwarf was stomping his way through, not paying any mind to traffic or the sounds of beeps and horns that came from the metallic horseless vehicles.

"Why are you so grumpy this morning?" Gnicholas yawned as he popped out from the dwarf's brown cowl. The noise of traffic had awoken the gnome and realized what was happening around him.

"Brone has to wear the mask again" Benimaru chuckled as he floated beside the dwarf. He had enjoyed the dwarf's grumpiness and the sight of the irritable people in traffic.

"These masks are suffocating and restraining" the dwarf grumbled as he finally made it across the street; the vehicles stopped the blaring of their horns and traffic began to continue.

"The plague will kill you if you breath it in" Gnicholas said in a matter-of-fact tone, though it was sarcastic.

"Meh, politics" The dwarf replied dismissively.

"It has nothing to do with politics!! You breath it in, you die!!" the gnome shouted, already fed up with the dwarf given that he's only been awake for a few minutes. From the distance, Yuurei and Kaito along with the exceeds should be able to hear the ruckus of the gnome shouting and Benimaru laughing out loud before they would come into sight.

By the time they were in view, Brone had waved at them, "Morning" the dwarf said, slightly in a better mood, given that they could get back to work on their salvaging mission. He took a look at the large mechanism that was named 'Zero' for whatever reason. The gnome, got tired of trying to lecture the dwarf, given that Brone had stopped listening to him some time ago, so he would go back into the cowl of the brown hood.

Benimaru floated up to Yuurei, though intimately close to his face, "Good morning, Starlight... tell me... what do angel souls taste like?" once again his ominous voice was very off-putting, which was why Brone tend to ignore him much of the time, like simply ignoring a ghost that tries to get your attention, to which Gnicholas had pointed out at one point: "Beni is a ghost, idiot".

"I'm going to head in deeper, maybe I might fine something more valuable or high tech" The dwarf told his friends as he summoned forth his black axe from the magical ring.

"Your idea of 'high tech' is a coffee machine" the gnome poked his head out from the cowl again, unable to fall back to sleep.

"That's not high tech, that's witchcraft" the dwarf replied before he walked up to the base of the statue-like machine and began caressing it, trying to figure out where exactly he should start and where would he go; last time they were there, they didn't really have a plan or direction.

506

Yuurei and Renji would continue their work on getting parts from the contraption in front of them. While they were doing this, it would seem like a pair would appear first. He would look back for a bit, which would cause Renji to do the same thing. He would see Kaito waving at them and he would wave back at him. He knew that Revy was in his hoodie as he had moved her up there when they were coming.

Renji would look at them and he would wave at Kaito and he was wondering where Revy was. He scratched the side of his head and figured she was in the hoodie she loved to be in. He would turn back and he would get back to work as it was what he was going to do for now.

The two of them were working hard and while doing that the trio would arrive. It would seem like they were rowdy in the morning, but what made it creepy was the sword and shield that approached him. It would seem like Benimaru approached him and he would ask him a rather stupid and weird question. He would shake his head at him and he would look at Benimaru.

“I wouldn’t know how they taste Benimaru. Still, I don’t think any soul would taste as good as you think they would.” He said to him as he would turn and he would continue to work on salving more things for himself.

Renji would look at Benimaru and shake his head.

“Why won’t you try and take Yuu’s soul Benimaru? You might perish though, so take a chance or not.” He said to him as he would continue working as well.

Yuurei would look over to Brone as he said he was going to go deeper within Zero. The hunter would stretch his arms into the air as he would look at Brone. He didn’t want him to go alone and he figured that going deeper within the area might reward them with better technology.

“How about we all go together? It should be rewarding, but at the same time we got to make sure that we don’t get caught off guard with anybody following us.” He said to Brone.

Renji would hear this and he would stop salvaging the stuff that was here. He figured that they were all going to go, which was fine by him. He wondered what awaited for them in there, and if something would happen now that they were all going together.

“I guess, I don’t know need to say it, but I’m going to anyways. Be on your toes everyone and don’t get caught off guard by anything down there.” He said this to the group.

Yuurei would nod as if he was okay with the warning and he would go inside with Brone. He would move around the place as he could only be in awe of everything that was around him. It was beautiful and it was beyond his understanding. He figured that with time with the pieces he pillaged that he would be able to understand how things functioned and were made.

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Kaito looks up and sees Brone coming with his companions and he watched the ghostly one go up to Yuurei and speak and heard Yuurei speak back to it and he thought about it. "From what I have seen young innocent souls taste the best and replenish more, older pure souls like a fine wine taste ages with it. So Yuurei's soul would probably taste some where around a surf and turf with a side of mashed potatoes." Kaito was only half kidding about what he had just said to the ghastly companion. This thing had so many parts and where every thing was it was a marvel to watch, as for something that seemed defunct it still on the inside seemed like something with the right amount of care and resources they might be able to get back to working but Kaito has never even seen the type of things that were in this machine to even try and see if he could find the resources to make this thing work.

Kaito wondered what him making that off handed comment might have made Yuurei and Brone thing of him as he was probably the last person they expected to be saying crazy shit like how a soul would taste, but he had in a way taken a bite of knowledge from the book that he had found doing their search for pages in that crazy maze like place. So in a way he was not the one that was doing anything wrong just looking at some random bits. He starts getting some more pieces of the giant machine and he keeps his chin up as he needed to make sure that he was not the one that was on the hook in the end if things get hot but he also knows that he is strong enough to take anyone that dared step in his way down so he guessed that it was just that simple if it really came to that it is at least. Really the only people he thinks he would have to worry about are Yuurei and Brone turning on him but he knows they would never turn on him unless he majorly messed up.

Kaito looked back and he saw Revy looking at him and she looks very tired and he opened a portal and he put her in his domain so she can rest as her in this shape and this place being so bad for her health it was a bad mix for the day and Revy tried to stop him from sending her in but in the end she relented as she knew he was doing it for her safety and not just cause he was trying to get rid of her so she went into the little house in the domain and laid down on the couch. Kaito sends parts across and he looks down to the other two. "How is the search going for you two?" He wondered if they were finding good pieces or if they had found anything they wished to speak on from the piles and pieces that this beautiful machine had to offer to them as this was more than just a machine it seems but Kaito has no idea what it could really be. He hopes that it was not something that could at the drop of a hat mind control the robot people of this country like some gang of brainless zombies as they had reached to close to the mecha gods realm and they needed to be taught a lesson not to fly to close to the sun.
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"I might just take your advice one day" Benimaru chuckled in reply to Renji's sarcastic statement. Though Kaito's input had made the deal sound interesting, truth be told, the spirit wasn't interested in eating souls, but did enjoy playing the ominous character and putting everyone on their toes, though there was a moment he wondered what he would do on Yuurei's deathbed.

"Oi! Enough about eating souls and come on already!" Brone shouted back as he already descended down a ladder to a deeper level. Even though the dwarf didn't think there would be any sign of danger within the 'dead' machine, he did enjoy the idea of continuing as a group, especially with Kaito around since the dragon slayer is not part of their guild, "Can any of ye tell me why Benimaru and Kaito are planning on eating Yuurei's soul?" the dwarf asked as he inspected some odd flat screen with odd keys like a mutated piano.

"They're obviously joking around, Brone" Gnicholas said as he hopped down from the dwarf's shoulder and onto a small desk where the keys were and began typing which caused the black screen to light up and provide information.

"Joke or not, Kaito made it sound tasty, I might join in on feasting on his soul then" Brone laughed as he walked away from the monitor now that he realized it was some kind of information machine that he grew to be annoyed with since he arrived on the island.

"Good, we can all wait at his deathbed, and after he says his dying words, we'll feast' Benimaru caught up with the gnome and dwarf.

"Right before the funeral too" Brone laughed as he began to remove a set of pipes, realizing they were made of some form of reinforced copper which would be great use to transport water from the waterfalls around the guild to the Great Forge deep within the mountain.

Gnicholas rolled his eyes, choosing not to join in on the ridiculous joke, hoping that Yuurei would order them to shut up already. He typed away on the computer, given that he had basic knowledge of using interfaces given his experience meeting an archive wizard in his earlier day and because this seem to be common sense to him, though he couldn't say the same for the dwarf, "Looks like there's a great power conductor at the core" he inspected the screen, "But it seems to be kept within a locked chamber made of adamantine".

Brone didn't care for what Gnicholas was saying, nor did he pay full attention until the moment he heard the word 'adamantine', "Where!?" he turned around, nearly startling the gnome.

"The core is all the way up located in the chest cavity in sector H7 to H8" The gnome explained, but as he noticed the dwarf was quiet and seemed confused by what the gnome had just said, so he explained it further in a way the dwarf would understand, "Its the heart of Zero".

"Alright then!" Brone rushed down the hall until he stopped at an intersection, already lost. Gnicholas sighed as he tapped on the keys again, activating a guidance system that caused a series of lights to turn on, leading down the hall and towards the direction where the heart was. Before Gnicholas could say 'follow the lights', Brone was already doing just that. Benimaru laughed as he floated on after the dwarf. As for the gnome, he sat upon the desk and continued to look through the interface, trying to see if he could find anything else, if Yuurei, Kaito or the Exceeds asked if he would be joining them, he would simply reply "No, no, I think I'd be better providing support here".

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Yuurei and Renji had heard what Kaito had said to Benimaru and he would shake his head. He knew that his friend was only joking, but still, he didn’t want the weird shield to get the idea. It was probably too late though and there was nothing he could do about it. It would also seem like Brone would join in on this as well, which brought him to shake his head.

“You guys play too much.” He said to them as he would laugh a bit.

Renji would only shake his head as they were moving around this place. It was indeed a place that seemed like it was kept right even though it seemed abandoned. He would move around and he would look to see if there was anything worth taking. Yuurei was doing the same thing as he was following Brone who seemed to enjoy going on his own. He would take whatever parts he could find and he would put them in his weapon dimension.

Renji would hand Yuurei whatever he could get, so he did the same thing. The hunter would hear Gnicholas tell Brone something, and it would seem like he was off to obtain the core of Zero. He would shake his head when he saw him running off.

He would look over to Kaito as he had asked how their search was going.

“It’s going just fine. There are a lot of things still intact here, but it seems like Brone wants to go for the core of Zero.” He said to Kaito as he would start heading in the direction that Brone had gone.

Renji would look up to Kaito and he wondered if Revy was okay.

“Is Revy doing okay Kaito? It seems like she wasn’t very talkative today and was wondering if it was my fault?” He asked him.

Yuurei would look at Gnicholas, and before he could say anything, the little guy beat him to it. It would seem like he was fine where he was, which was okay. He figured Renji, and Kaito could help him fight anything or anybody that appeared down here with them. Yuurei would move around the place as he would take apart whatever caught his glance that seemed interesting. While he was doing that, he was quickening his pace to catch up to Brone. He didn’t notice, but his friend was getting faster, which was scary because he could only wonder how that would work in battle.

“So, what are we going to do with the core, if we get our hands on it, Brone?” He asked him curious to hear what he had to say.

While he waited for an answer, Yuurei would continue to pillage the machinery that surrounded him. He, of course, made sure not to ruin the foundation of this place. He didn’t want to be caved in this place and ruin valuable loot.

Renji had stood behind Kaito as he was waiting for the man to give him an answer. Of course, he would work at the same time as there were things around for him to collect for Yuurei. The Exceed had been able to do a lot of things better ever since that day in his parent’s house. He would pull out another part without a problem and he would set it down within the collection that he was creating now. He hoped that Revy didn’t get sick or else he would be royally pissed.

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Kaito heard the dwarf say that he would want to attempt to eat a soul as it sounded tasty and he nearly fell from laughing at hearing the dwarf say that he would think about eating a soul as that was not the response that he was expecting from Brone of all people. Kaito then stops laughing as he thinks about how that might be a way that Brone could power up and advance his races skills, Soul eater Dwarf has a neat ring to it. He is unsure if he would not want to attempt to upgrade himself as well but not by eating Yuurei's soul. He grabs a few more of the random odd shaped pieces then he gets down and he follows them and he hears the exceed ask him that question. "Yeah she is fine I think. She started feeling a bit unwell soon after we finished off the Vampires. Thinking about that she did follow after you after that, anything you want to confess to?" He smirked at Renji.

Kaito was teasing the exceed as Kaito was trying to be more friendly if he can as he knows that he often comes off as scary and standoffish to many people that are around him. He is unsure if him being more joking is the right move or if that will just make it worse but the dark world him seemed more friendly and jokey and he seemed to have strongly loyal friends that helped him fight against them, He wondered if that was a better answer to this, that him being like that would make him more approachable. He focused his attention back forward and he looked around. "Not sure if going for the heart is in the best interests of us depending on what powers it, we may release some kind of ancient evil onto the world." It was kind of funny that Kaito the one that caused the last world changing problem is the one saying this but he would never confess to Yuurei or Brone that the dark universe invasions was his fault but he had helped to close it so that means that he is cleared of that crime right?

Kaito is not even fooling himself about the excuse that he had just said in his own mind. He knows that the only one that really knows that him being the cause is probably Revy as she was around when he had totally caused it and set that loose on the world but he doubted that she would tell anyone that he had been the one that had caused that issue. He collects some of the looser parts as they walk and he tosses them into his domain at a distance that he was not disturbing the sleeping exceed that was also inside of the domain. He watched the others as he has to wonder what this heart will be like or if it is even safe to be near it or if it was the real cause of the plague instead of the scientists that he had been lead to believe had caused it and Kaito hopes that Revy will be okay as he had never seen her really ever be like she had been being.
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As Brone was following the lights that were imbedded in the ceiling and walls, he heard Yuurei catch up to him, asking him his intent, "I care not for the core itself, whatever it does, I just want the adamantine metal that houses the core, such a durable metal would be valuable for a blacksmith" he would give a simple smile to the half-elf before continuing his trek. Dwarves are normally well knowledgeable when it comes to metals, including adamantine, though it is quite rare, but Yuurei, being a descendant of a lineage of blacksmiths and being a learning blacksmith as well, should be able to appreciate the hunt for a rare metal... hopefully.

The dwarf laughed as he climbed up a set of stairs to a higher platform, "An ancient evil, Kaito my friend? Don't fret, if that would happen, I'm sure it wouldn't stand a chance against our might" He wasn't doubting the possibility, for he has seen very odd happenings within the world, but he feared not of such dangers, for the trio that walked the halls of this large machine were monsters in their own right and have fought against monstrosities and demi-gods, so it would be very interesting to the dwarf if they had fought against a being they couldn't defeat.

Eventually, at the end of one of the halls, they've reached a small room where the walls and ceiling were gated, but the guiding lights ran up the wall, "I guess we should fly up?" he said as he looked up, but suddenly, something buzzed and the doorway that Brone walked through began to slowly close, "Oi! A trap!" Brone said as he drew his black axe.

"Don't destroy anything!" Gnicholas' voice came through a loudspeaker within the area, "It's an elevator that'll take you up to level H. The dwarf relaxed a bit, though he looked about the area to try and find the gnome.

"Gnich, where are ye?"

"I'm speaking through a microphone, I'm not with you at the moment" the voice echoed as if he was all about them.

"Ah, yes, here-and-there magic" Brone nodded his head. After the gate closed, the room would begin to move. The dwarf looked through the gate to see that the room, or elevator, was rising, the sound of whirling gears was all about like the gnome's voice. Eventually the elevator would stop and the gate would open. The lights led down another hallway and Brone followed them.

At the end of the hall was a set of large double doors that had a different sheen on their surface. Brone ran his hand over it as he inspected the metal, after a few seconds he nodded with great excitement, "This is it!" he bellowed as he drew his black axe again and began to slice through the surrounding walls in order to separate the doors, but he then noticed that the entire chamber was like a cube, the walls and the doors holding the core inside was made of adamantine, "Kaito... can you take this entire room with you with your magic?" The dwarf wasn't looking away from the glorious metal, a bit of drool was escaping his lips, for this was the second time he has seen adamantine, but the first time he has seen it in such much quantity.

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Renji would wait for an answer from Kaito. It would seem like Revy had been feeling sick for some time, and he would rub the back of his head. It would seem like it happened when they finished off the vampires in the North. He felt bad because he wasn’t sure what it was, but he was glad that it wasn’t the disease that was on this island. Still, it seemed like Kaito was insinuating something and he would look at him.

“Nope, I didn’t do anything, but if she is feeling sick, then she might be doing what Yuurei and I did, ascending. I wasn’t feeling well, and then my orange color started turning brown.” He said to Kaito.

Renji would move in the direction where Brone and Yuurei had gone as he figured that he would catch up to them. Yuurei would hear Brone’s words and he would smile at him as if that was smart of him. If he wasn’t going to take the core, then the hunter wouldn’t mind taking it.

“I see you go for the metal then. I will take the core then?” He said this as if he was asking a question, but he was going to take it if it were there.

Renji would catch up to the group and he would hear Kaito’s warning to the group. The Hunter would look at him and he would chuckle as he was fine with anybody going against them. They would meet the same results in the end. It wouldn’t take long for the group to walk into an elevator and it would start rising, which would cause Brone to react. He would chuckle and he was glad that Gnicholas was able to calm him down. Renji would shake his head at this as Brone was quick to react and destroy.

Yuurei would look around as he was waiting for them to reach the floor they were supposed to go to. When it did, he would step out of it with Brone and the dwarf was happy to see that they had made to the place. He would smile when he saw Brone slice and dice the doors and it would reveal a cube. It would seem like the cube was protecting the core. His eyes blinked a bit as he would walk over to it. He would examine it and he would look over to Brone.

He had the only weapon that could open this thing up. Still, he wasn’t sure if Brone wanted to do that right now.

“Well, if Kaito can’t get it out of here there, then we have no choice, but to leave it alone. I got enough of what I wanted here. If I could get the core that would be better, but I can live without it.” He said as he was ready to leave for the day.

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[exit]

Kaito followed them to the doors as they shut Brone in and he can hear the gnome talking to Brone but he is unsure where the creature is at, at this very moment but he waits to see what happens as he followed them to the room as Brone cleaved it open and he looks at the room and it was a sight to see and it seemed that Brone was very interested in the metal that the room was made of and he wonders what it is. Brone then asked him if he could use his magic to take the metal out of this room and Kaito wondered if he could really do it, he was willing to try as the dwarf did seem very keen on getting the metal. "Okay stand back so you don't get caught up in it." Kaito transforms taking on his more humanoid dragon form and growing by a around a meter then, after Brone was clear Kaito pointed both of his hands moving them and the metal was stripped from the room and stored into his domain. He was surprised that he had been able to do that as that seemed like a lot of metal.

Once Kaito had finished getting the metal out of the room for the dwarf he reverts to his normal human form and he stretched. "Was that the metal you were talking about earlier cause it was pretty solid and looked special." He wasn't sure of what the stuff was but it must be super rare for the dwarf to have made this type of request of Kaito as usually the dwarf doesn't seem to ever really ask for help so this in it self was a rare happening at least for Kaito that is. He would make sure that this metal made it's way to Brone as it was the dwarves request to take of it so that means that the dwarf had claim to it, Kaito was just the tool he picked to help gather it as Kaito's magic worked fast and was clean about this kind of task and Kaito as well was done for the day as that last trick had taken a good bit of his power to do as it might have looked easy that kind of thing takes a toll.
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Brone watched as the metal was stripped from the room due to Kaito’s dimensional magic. He grounded his feet and bent his legs in order to head himself in case he would end up being accidentally pulled in. He had once passed through Kaito’s dimensional space and witnessed true array of colors and energy and especially because there was no up or down, or even a floor, the dwarf feared ever getting caught in such a situation again.

After the metal was retrieved like a magical vacuum, he answered Kaito, telling him the adamantine metal is highly dense, though heavy, and would create great durable things, like weapons and armor; there was even theories that the metal is a great conductor for magical energy.

Brone intended on cracking open the cube, but with Yuureri’s hesitation and Kaito’s decision not to take the core, whatever it was, the dwarf figure it would be too out of the way, at least for the moment, so he turned about and began to head back to the elevator so they could make their way out of the giant machine before something would happen. Suddenly, as Brone was just in the hallway, he began to hear the creaking of bending metal… so he began running forwards the elevator.

Meanwhile, Gnicholas was watching the security system and grunted in irrritation because the ‘knucklehads’ not only stripped the support beams, but also the speakers in area H so the gnome couldn’t warn them about the structural integrity was failing.

Benimaru had appeared behind the gnome, asking whether or not they had a good chance of escaping and the gnome replied that if they didn’t, it would be their own idiocy that would get them killed.

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[Exit]