CHAPTER 512: CAVE

"Coco, wait— stop choking him!" Heiren hissed and tried to snatch Coco’s hand away from the monster’s neck, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Why are you trying to kill him?! You were crying for beating up someone earlier, but now you’re determined to kill this one?" The mediator exclaimed, his grip on Coco’s wrist tightening.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Coco countered back, her gaze narrowing at Heiren.

The sight of her glare made Heiren freeze, his breath caught in his throat out of fear. "You.. You’re going to kill him.. If you continue choking him.."

The response came out weak, but it got the message across to Coco.

"So? That’s what I’m told to do." Coco grunted out and focused her eyes back on the monster. "He’s an unknown type of monster that I must kill, if not, his kind will wreak havoc on the city."

Hearing her words, the monster under Coco started to thrash around.

"How did you know that, you human?!" The monster hissed and tried to struggle out of her grip, but she got a tight grip on his neck. "Only my kind knows that— wait, don’t tell me that we have a mole?!"

Coco scoffed. "You basically admitted that it was what you wanted to do."

Heiren’s eyes went wide in shock as he stared at the monster, his lips parted from disbelief. "Your.. Your kind? You’re a monster?"

The monster stopped struggling and shot Heiren a grin. "Oh, no.. Is that what we’re called by you humans? A monster? When all of you are the monsters here?"

"Enough chitchat, bastard!" Coco growled and brought the monster close to her face. "Where’s Kairo?!"

However, before the monster could speak, Sinclair’s voice rang out in the air and caught the attention of the three who whipped their heads in his direction.

"I found a cave, master!" Sinclair called with a triumphant grin. "I can hear your mediator inside!"

The monster struggled violently against Coco’s grip, but Coco merely tightened her grip until she finally squeezed the monster’s neck with the help of [Purification] skill.

"You monster—" The beast cried out before he disintegrated in the air, the remnants of his body turning into ashes.

Ding!

[ Hidden Quest {1} done! Receiving rewards.. ]

Coco stood up and grabbed Heiren again, picking him up and sweeping him off his feet.

"I can walk just fine—" Heiren said, struggling slightly on Coco’s arms, but he cut himself off with a scream when Coco sprinted towards the entrance of the cave where Sinclair disappeared into.

"Cocoooooo!" Heiren cried out, his arms wrapping around Coco’s neck to support himself.

Coco dashed through the entrance of the dark and eerie cave, her footsteps echoing off the damp stone walls.

The low ceiling of the place and dim lighting from the entrance made it difficult to see far ahead, casting shadows that flickered and danced across her path, but it was enough to drive her further inside.

The air inside the cave was heavy with the musty scent of water and decaying plants, creating a thick, oppressive smell that seemed to cling to her skin like a damp cloth.

Despite the scary surroundings, Coco continued her run, her determination to find Kairo as soon as possible untampered by the creepiness of the cave.

Then, Coco heard a series of rustles and guttural grunts accompanied by muffled cries as she ventured further into the cave, the sound echoed through the narrow tunnel, the noises growing in intensity as she drew nearer to their source.

Each rustle and grunt sent a chill down her spine, evoking a sense of unease.

The muffled cries, barely perceptible, hinted at the presence of distress or struggling within the cave, but the cries..

They sounded a little too pained for Coco to continue to pay attention to.

Coco’s heart thudded erratically in her chest, its rapid beats hammering against her ribcage with each thundering thump.

Coco’s eyes were wide in panic, her anxiety propelling her to run ever faster through the confining cave, not caring if she almost slipped a couple of times.

Fear gripped her tightly, the darkness enveloping her in a a blanket of horrifying thoughts.

Each movement forward was driven by a desperate urge to find the source of the sounds, to uncover what could have possibly caused it and who it came from.

She wanted to shout so bad, to call for Kairo, but she knew that her footsteps were enough to set off the monsters inside.

She’s relieved enough to know that Sinclair probably got ahold of other monsters, but it wasn’t enough for her to be reassured— she just needed to see Kairo safe and sound.

Coco burst into a spacious clearing, her eyes quickly scanning the surrounding and when her emerald irises landed on familia figures, her eyes went wide with surprise and relief.

"Kairo!" Coco exclaimed, her face bright with the way she looked so thankful upon seeing him.

Unfortunately, Kairo was tremblinv uncontrollably, his lean frame supported by a protective embrace of Sinclair,who stood firm beside him with clenched fist.

"Wait.." Coco slowly came into a stop, his grip on Heiren loosening. "What happened?"

Littered around Kairo and Sinclair were a collection of unconscious monsters, their forms crumpled and motionless on the ground.

It was clear that a battle had taken place within the clearing, but she couldn’t think of what could have happened for every single one of the monsters, who was quite larger than four of them, and have them laid on the ground, unconscious.

Sinclair who stood guard like a vigilant bodyguard, his attention now focused on Coco as she approached them.

Heiren started struggling in Coco’s arms so Coco put him down on his feet, she was about to tell Heiren to take it easy, but before she could speak, the mediator already ran up to Kairo and tackled him into a hug.

Sinclair promptly let go of Kairo’s frame and walked to Coco, a serious expression on his face.