Aurora had a nice dream and when she finally woke up she was feeling much better than before. Ava was gone when she woke up but that had to be expected.
The trail of the floor master was one Ava needed to take up on her own.
Aurora formed a fist with her hand as she tried to stand up but there was something familiar in her hand when she looked down.
"A core. Is it Ava's core? Why would she leave it here?"
Aurora had no idea what Ava was thinking about. Leaving her core behind like this was akin to suicide for her.
"I should find her and talk with her. I wanted Ava to become the outlooker for this floor, not go on a suicide mission. How long will she be able to live without a core?"
Every core that had been taken this far had been done by force. As such, there was no way for a divine being to survive the force on their core. But maybe it was something different when the core was removed with consent.
However, even if Ava had taken out her consent, it would not be possible for her to survive for long.
Aurora was about to go after Ava when a familiar 'ding' of her system stopped her. She quickly opened it to see who had sent her a message.
[Ava: Take good care of my core. Unlike those weaklings, I will be able to live for long because I have a bond with you. Don't follow after me please.]
Those words made Aurora jolt and she quickly felt around for the space where her bond had been. It was still intact and the other side of her bond felt strong.
"I guess I will trust Ava this time. Now then, I should look for the rest of our gang."
Aurora could see Rita's location shining brightly on her system screen. The illusion faded from around her and it was time to get to work again.
There were a lot of beasts around the way to Rita but Aurora easily killed them off. Her body was feeling lighter on her feet as Aurora moved around. Her blade killed off anyone who came in her way.
The wind was gathering beneath Aurora's feet, propelling her forward at a neck-breaking speed. She was going through monsters as if they were tofu, their hard shells giving way beneath her sword.
She could see Angela trying to run away from a monster at a distance. She was trying hard to get away from the jaws of death.
Elysia quickly jumped over the wall and slashed the beast in half. Its blood was splattered all around the road and that sticky sensation caused Angela to stop in her tracks as well.
"Aurora, look out."
Rita cried out but Aurora did not need that warning. She could see the monster that was trying to attack her and her sword easily slashed through that soft body. Once again, Aurora had taken care of a monster with ease.
Both Rita and Ur made their way toward Aurora. Quince was sitting on Ur's back, his wonder dressed nicely.
He seemed to be looking much healthier than before. Even his face had gained more color than before.
"Where did you leave Ava? I was so sure she fell with you."
Quince asked the question, his sharp eyes not missing the absence of one person. Rita 'tsk'' at the news was expected. She had never meshed well with Ava before.
"She will not be joining us for some time since Ava has some work to do. We should find the floor exit as soon as we can."
Ava will need time and effort to capture this floor. And then she will need to overcome more trials to gain access to other floors. This was a truth Aurora had not told her before but she knew that Ava will not blame her for this.
Because even if Ava did blame her now, there was no other choice for Ava but to become the sole owner of the abyss.
There was a lack of outlookers right now and Aurora needed to press this advantage if she wanted to be successful in the end.
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"There are too many monsters. I know we were asked to tay here but we will become beast food if he don't move now."
Rita knew that but she still wanted to not move from thier camp. Aurora had asked her to stay put which was what she needed to do.
"It will be alright. Aurora can track us down with her system, right? Besides, we will all be exposed if we stay in this save for any longer."
Quince's words made a lot of sense. They had already been attacked twice by these small monsters and more were on their way.
Rita had killed off the first wave with ease but Ur had to help her out during the second raid. His large body as well as his aura had scared away most of the beasts.
But the more time they spend in these ruins, the bolder these mosnters would become. There was also a lack ofwater access available to them,
"I knew I should have learned how to summon water when I had the chance."
Rita complained as she shot another small beast. Her summons were lookig after the area and keeping watch. They were Rita's biggest asset right about now.
"It won't have helped even if you were able to summon water. Such water cannot provide human body any benefit as it tends to disappear soon. The reason Aurora is able to provide you with water is because of her divine nature."
Quince was right once again. As a member of the tower, it was a given that he knew all this beforehand. Rita was not bitter about his knowledge, just of the opportunities he had been handed this far.
She knew that she would have gotten the same amount of opportunities had she not left with Aurora but Rita had never regretted her decision to leave.
"Oh let me complain in peace for now. I know we need to leave but that does not mean I like it anymore than necessary."
Rita spoke as she peaked out to look at the situation. There were a lot of beasts roaming around and it would be difficult to pass them.
"Listen, I will take care to distract these monsters so try to get to the other spot in the meantime. You will get a small window of opportunity once that happens. Take it when it happens."
Rita did not wait around to see whether the other three got her words or not. The beasts were beginning to gather around them again. It was time to let go of her restraints.
Rita could feel her familiars getting tenser as they sensed more beasts headed their way. Rita gave them the go ahead to start killing.
She could see both Ur and Angela dashing out of their hiding spots and running on full speed. The beasts had not noticed them yet which gave Rita enough confidence to be able to concentrate.
But that confidence did not last long. The beasts finally noticed the running group and managed to corner them at the opposite side of the hallway.
Ur attacked back but it casued him to become separated from Angela. Quince tried to help but his boundings left him useless.
Angela had no other choice but to run for her life. The beasts were following after her since she was the easiest target right now. Her small body was winded already and she was about to be shredded from those huge claws.
However, the heavens seemed to be on Angela's side because she was saved before those claws could mince her into pieces.
The beast was cut into two by Aurora who also proceeded to take care of other beasts. Even the one that had escaped Rita was no match for Aurora.
There was something heavy about Aurora's presence that caused every other beast to back down. Ur and the others quickly made thier way toward Aurora's location and their group was full once again.
"Where did you leave Ava? I was so sure she fell with you."
Quince was genuinely curious to know. He had some curiosity when it came to Ava since she was an overlooker. Those people were even rarer to come by and did not like humans or the divine beings.
"She will not be joining us for some time since Ava has some work to do. We should find the floor exit as soon as we can."
The group fell silent, not knowing what to say to that.
"Ava will take care of her work. Meanwhile, we should focus on what we can do and that is to clear this floor. I know where the exit is."
Aurora opened her map that showed the location. And it was time to get started with things.
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