Maids VS Apocalypse

Once a Fallen reaches the Demon Rank, they tend to develop the concept referred to as a Domain. By using a unique set of Abilities they transform their surroundings into a terrain that grants them an advantage in battle. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

King Scorpion’s domain was the toxic swamp it created around the category B Dimensional Rift it came out of. Though it only proved to be a mild inconvenience at first, the members of Squad Four soon learned that it dealt them more damage than they had anticipated.

The truck Natalie lent Mark and the one originally belonging to the squad were melted away. It should’ve been obvious that something similar would happen yet no one noticed until the battle was over.

"Damn it..."

Mark hunched over with his hands on a wall. His gas mask was on the ground and right beside it was the half-digested breakfast he had that morning.

Heights never scared him before, but after experiencing a free fall twice in the span of a few minutes, the acrophobia carved a place for itself in the depths of his mind.

"You got a long way to go, lad!" Ben held his round belly and laughed, showing no remorse for his actions.

With no vehicles to ride the squad had to rely on their feet. That wasn’t much of a problem for everyone except the only person who couldn’t cross the city in a few leaps.

Someone had to carry him all the way, and though he refused the offer, saying he would rather walk the distance, the big guy didn’t give him the chance to choose.

"Never... never do that again..." Mark spat on the ground in an attempt to get the taste of vomit out of his mouth.

"I won’t make promises!" Ben gave him a toothy grin.

"Don’t worry, Newbie! I will go find us a working car!" Alex’s voice was as cheerful as ever. "I’ll be back in a minute!"

The blonde Peace Keeper took off running. Mark watched him go then turned his gaze to the opposite direction.

At the end of the block, a black stain floated a couple of meters above the ground looking like a hole in an invisible glass wall. It was another one of the category E gates Mark was tasked with closing.

The big guy had decided to strike two birds with one stone, heading for the closest Rift while getting them out of the areas that had merged with the Dark Mountain as well.

"Say, how do I know it won’t spit anything out this time?"

"Peek your had inside. That’s the only way." Elya answered.

"I really don’t want to get close to those things anymore..."

The Exo-apes and King Scorpion had given him quite the scare. It was his fault for letting his guard down even though he had been warned that the lack of monsters was just a coincidence.

Mark fought the reluctance to move and went to complete the task. Lara followed right behind him. Her spear remained equipped, though she had already dismissed her halo.

Mark thought back to the battle from earlier and a question formed in his mind. He considered bringing it up but decided otherwise, having previously concluded that it was too sensitive of a topic to breach casually.

Once the drones were set the two quickly retreated back to where the other Peace Keepers were waiting for them. Leaning against the slightly bent guardrail, Mark glanced at the Rift and frowned.

"I’ve been thinking this for some time now, but... why are we even bothering with all of this?"

After making the rounds yesterday he had checked the countdown and saw that it wasn’t pushed back by much. That made him wonder what’s the point of what they have been doing.

"You tell me." Franco shrugged. "The quest is yours. We’re only tagging along."

Mark fixed him with a glare and let the silence linger.

"Hey, now that I look at it, doesn’t this place have a lot of shops?"

Elya’s excited voice prompted them to reexamine their surroundings. Turns out they made it to one of the shopping streets on the western side of Stonegate City.

The monster invasion had left its mark on the area, but compared to the part that had been swallowed by the Underworld it still looked relatively intact.

"Now that you said it..."

Mark’s mind went back to the gun shop he looted the previous day and an idea lit up in his mind.

"Let’s go pick up some stuff!" Elya said it before he could.

"Good idea." A devious grin spread across Mark’s face. "There is something I would like to try."

"Hey now, you shouldn’t be wandering around." Franco grimaced.

"C’mon," Ben tapped him on the shoulder. "Let the kids have some fun."

The only reason for concern was once again Mark himself. The others had nothing to worry about and could go wherever they wanted, but if he wanted to wander around someone beside Lara had to be around just in case something happened.

He was the ever-so-valuable Level 5, after all. Even if they were confident in the safety of their surroundings, leaving him to wander alone was a recipe for disaster.

After a short walk, Mark found what he came to look for and his heart sank when he saw the demolished storefront.

"You aren’t going to loot a jewelry store, are you?" The biting remark came from Elya who was giving him a disappointed look.

Mark frowned in return.

"Go ahead" she gestured toward the shop with her head. "Place something in your Inventory and check its grade. You’ll see what I mean."

A pang of annoyance struck Mark. Glass shards cracked under his foot as he made his way inside. Upon further inspection, it became clear that the shop wasn’t looted as he had feared, but instead was ravaged by a monster that had rushed inside for one reason or another.

[Would you like to store this item in your inventory?

>YES NO]

He didn’t waste time and picked a random necklace that was lying inside one of the broken display cases. His face scrunched soon after.

"Told you." His petite squadmate raised her nose and smiled smugly.

Mark understood what she was trying to say, but the reason for his displeasure differed entirely.

[Item: Gold Necklace.

Type: accessory.

Grade: F

Description:

A random piece of jewelry with no special characteristics.

Would you like to sell this item for 7G?

>YES NO

]