Garden Of The Abyss

Reaching the castle gates, a trail of lacyrie bodies were left in the path they took, with him leading at the front as he stepped on the stone bridge that led to the tall gates of Castle Desmas.

"That's twenty-six," Memo said, retrieving the edge of his greatsword from the back of a fallen lacyrie.

"Huh?" Samfrey looked at him, taking his dagger from the skull of one of the brutes, "Are you bloating your kill-count, smart guy?"

Memo huffed, though his facial expression was half-hidden from his mask, "Don't blame me for your lack of skill, geezer."

"Geezer?! Don't you have any respect for your superiors?!" Samfrey popped a vein, stomping towards the mouthy, cardinal-haired adventurer.

Though Samfrey was promptly held back as Archard took hold of his arms, with Memo looking unphased though a glimmer of satisfaction was left in his light-golden irises.

"I don't remember you being my "superior". Having gray hairs doesn't automatically give you any authority over me," Memo continued to taunt him with his monotone, bored words.

He finally stepped in after listening to their bickering, putting distance between the two, "Alright, alright, that's about enough…what's up with you two? This is your trial for the guild, you know. If you aren't going to take it seriously, you can kiss your spot in Gladiolus good-bye."

His words prompted both Memo and Samfrey's fighting to stop as the two men silently glared at each other before facing away from one another.

If there was one person who enjoyed their bickering, it was Calytrix, who laughed with such a humiliating pitch that it would've stopped them itself.

Sheesh, why has this turned into a babysitting job…? He thought.

As he returned his attention to the gates, folding his arms across his chest, Arched stood next to him.

"Thanks for holding them back," he thanked the veteran adventurer.

"It is nothing," Archard replied through his helmet that obscured his face completely, "It is normal for hot-headed ones like them to clash."

"Yeah, but you'd think they'd read the room, ya' know?" He scratched his head, "Anyway, I'm trying to see a way around that huge gate, but I don't really see any other option besides blasting it."

"What's stopping you from doing just that?" Archard asked.

"I agree," Calytrix suddenly added herself into the conversation, catching him by surprise, "using the grace of darkness, such gates are nothing."

He expected such an answer from the mysterious, gothic lolita, but he somehow expected the wizened man dressed in armor to have a different solution.

"...Well, it's not that I'm against it, really…I mean, the idea of a bonus is long gone, anyway," he said, looking up towards the castle, "but, something else is bothering me."

"What is it?" Archard asked.

"There hasn't been a single lacyrie seen since we got here," he answered, "You'd think maybe that meant they didn't overrun the castle, but…that's clearly not the case."

"I see," Calytrix said with her hands behind her back, looking at Castle Desmas with her sparkling eyes, "that's indeed the case; the air of darkness resides over the castle."

"Alright, enough of your ominous talk…give it to me straight," he told the frilled-dressed girl.

Calytrix seemed almost confused on what he meant, as if her way of speaking was completely normal and concise. Though as she tilted her head, with her dark pigtails swaying, supplemented by black-and-crimson ribbons, Calytrix smiled before adjusting her answer.

"What I mean to say is…there is not a single person alive in there," she told, "not a single human, anyway."

It was daunting news for the group, but it was something he came to expect after seeing the state of the road that led to the castle.

The silence that emanated from the gray stone of the castle filled him with an unease, but eventually, he began to cross the bridge with the others following.

"What's the plan? That gate isn't exactly welcoming us warmly in," Samfrey asked.

"I know," he answered, watching the castle as they crossed the lengthy, curved bridge, "we should check for another entrance."

"You won't find one," Calytrix told him.

Just as they crossed the bridge, he looked back at the girl in response to her clear, but seemingly unfounded words.

"Huh? How do you know that?" He asked.

Calytrix shrugged with a small grin, "It's the knowledge of darkness, is all."

"Great…very reliable," he sighed out.

"Yeah, I'd take my chances with my own eyes," Memo muttered.

They all came to the conclusion than rather than trusting the enigmatic words for the young-seeming girl, they'd inspect the perimeter of the castle to confirm it for themselves.

"So? What have your eyes found you?" Calytrix asked, still waiting in front of the castle gates as the four men returned.

Samfrey huffed, "It was a fifty-fifty guess, doesn't mean you were right."

"What definition of "right" are we looking at, exactly?" Calytrix asked with a sly smile.

"Enough," he broke up the bickering before it scaled any higher, "what matters is that this gate is our only way inside. And…"

"And?" Memo looked at him.

"And," he continued, "blasting it down is probably our only way past it…"

Without missing a beat, Calytrix stepped forward, or rather, skipped forward frivolously before stopping a few meters before the giant gates with her hand held forward.

"Urr, what're you–?"

Just as he asked the question they all had in mind, the darkly-dressed young girl spoke, but not to them.

"Nyx: Lightless Seeds of The Shadows," Calytrix said with a smile.

Before any further discussion could be had, the sapphire-ranked girl unleashed an array of what looked like black, sooty pollen that glowed with a magenta vibrance; they floated gently towards the gate before–

KABOOM.

In an impact that naturally brought all of them to cover their ears, the shadowy pollen unleashed into a volatile reaction against the gates, unleashing a destructive explosion of shadowy mass.

The aftermatch left a temporary cloud of smoke that dissipated within moments, though Samfrey was left coughing.

"Give us a warning or something, would you?!" Samfrey coughed out.

Calytrix smiled, "Efficiency is key, no?"

As if cementing her words, the bursted gates croaked as they slowly descended, falling innards with another, ear-ringing impact against the floor.

"....I guess I can't deny that," he muttered.