'knock-knock'
"... The door is open." - As Mark collapsed wearily on the floor, he quickly fell asleep, and having just woken up, his response was slow.
"Sorry to bother you Mark, but Captain... wait, are you feeling alright?"
Entering the room, Raul wanted to explain why he had come, but when he saw the state of the room and Mark lying on stacks of papers strewn on the floor, he became concerned.
"Nothing much, do you need something?" -Still sleepy, he stretched his body, which had stiffened.
"The captain gave the order to regroup, it seems there was trouble in Melen."
"But it's only been three days, haaa." -Contemplating his misfortune, Mark tidied himself up before walking out with Raul.
Walking through the corridors, an awkward situation had developed. Even though they were part of the same Familia, they had interacted just to exchange greetings but had never had a real conversation.
"So, were you doing any research?" -Raul asked, breaking the ice.
"Yes, I was experimenting on magic, and thanks to the books Riveria lent me I got the result I wanted."
"You can understand Riveria's books?" -He asked visibly surprised.
"Not at first, but once I get into the optics it's easier."
"I envy you, you know? You have a good mind, you know how to use magic, swordplay, and you can interact with the captain and others without problems. On the other hand, I am completely normal." -He said dejectedly.
"You have no reason to be dejected because even you have something special."
"You're just saying that to make me feel better."
"Trust me, a normal person wouldn't have survived in this place for more than eight years, have more confidence." -Mark told him honestly.
A person who possessed neither skills nor magics had managed to live so long in the Loki Familia, while also gaining the trust of the various members, including Finn, could not be normal. Mark tried to imagine what would have happened if he had been reincarnated without possessing any special trait and all results led to his death, which was why he did not consider Raul ridiculous.
Seeing that there was no sign of mockery in his words, Raul scratched his head in embarrassment. He had seen Mark a few times in the canteen and apart from simple greetings he would always eat alone unless someone joined him, but even then, he would not talk much.
At first, he thought it was arrogance, which for Raul was more than justified. Someone who managed to kill a monster two levels apart and then rise to level 2 in less than two months had every right to be arrogant, but after talking to him today, he realized he had misjudged him.
With this last exchange and the atmosphere between them relaxed, the duo arrived at the meeting room, where the others seemed to be.
"Well, it looks like we're all here. I got a message from Loki, looks like there were some mishaps." -Said Finn seriously.
The message that Anakitty brought, had the following information. During the investigation in Melen, they found the passageway used by the Leviathan still sealed, but there were other problems, including the sighting of the violas, the name given to the plant monsters, and the Kali Familia, responsible for the disappearance of Lefiya and the amazon twins.
"As you can see, there is a connection between Melen and the Kali Familia and there is definitely a third subject we don't know about, but what we will have to focus on helping our companions. You have five minutes to prepare everything."
Finished speaking, Finn went out to get ready and everyone did the same, also taking the equipment the girls had left at the villa, and exactly 5 minutes later, everyone was outside the base, where carriages were waiting.
"Each carriage can hold four people, make it quick so we can leave right away!"
Mark entered a carriage together with Cruz, Raul, and Anakitty and had to admit he was quite intrigued about the carriage ride, as he had never had the opportunity.
'Who knows, maybe it will be enjoyable." -He thought naively.
(A few hours later.)
'This is a bloody nightmare.' -He thought irritably, as he rubbed his back.
Because of the constant shaking and jolting of the carriage, due to the poorly maintained road, Mark's body was beginning to ache. Initially, he wanted to use the opportunity to get some rest, but as soon as they left the streets of Orario, he realized that this would not be possible.
"Do you know what connections there are between the Kali Familia and the Amazon duo?" -Seeing that resting would not be possible, he preferred to get some information.
From what Mark knew, the Kali Familia resided in Telskyura, also known as the land of the amazons, which was located southeast of the continent, quite far from Orario. Since they lived in seclusion, not much was known about the country, except that men were denied access, except for those who already lived there, but were treated as sex slaves to procreate new generations of amazons, also the strength that Telskyura possessed was not to be underestimated.
"It seems that they initially belonged to their Familia, but that the living conditions were not the best." -Raul said, and Cruz also seemed to possess the same information.
"...I actually know something more." -Anakitty recounted what Riveria said when they were in Melen.
The reason why Telskyura was considered one of the world powers despite not having the dungeon was due to a ritual the Amazons underwent, which also allowed the creation of two-level 6 adventurers, who were also the captains of the Kali Familia. The ritual consisted of the amazons fighting to the death among themselves or against captured monsters and would be repeated every day.
'It is surprising that even though they lived in that environment, they did not go mad.'
Mark did not feel aversion to the sisters' past, because he would only be a hypocrite since he had killed people too. The world he lived in was not good for good-hearted people, he had to adapt quickly and take advantage of every opportunity to grow if he wanted to defend against the outside world.
It seemed that Raul and Cruz also had no particular problems with their past, after all, they had spent many years together and knew they could count on their help when in danger.
The carriages continued to speed through the streets, while the smell of saltiness grew stronger and stronger. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, it was getting dark, and although it was wonderful to see the sea shimmering in the moonlight, the chaos in the city denied such a spectacle.
Some buildings were on fire, while several violas were causing chaos in the middle of the streets, where the inhabitants were fleeing for protection; fortunately, there were some members of their Familia who were helping them.
Seeing the state of the city, everyone got out of their carriages and gathered towards Finn who had climbed on top of a building to get a view of the area.
"There is a warm audience to welcome us, even members of the Ishtar Familia are here." -With that line, he turned to them and spoke seriously.
"I won't say much, as our sisters seem to be in trouble. ATTACK!" -Shouted Finn pointing in front of him.
"OH!"(all)
Ready to be unleashed, they launched themselves from the building to fight in the fray.