After finally locating the entrance to the underground station, Lyss slowed down and carefully surveyed the area. However, something caught her attention almost immediately. A short distance away, two teenagers were standing near the entrance, seemingly engaged in a conversation. She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out their appearance before recognizing the uniforms they were wearing.
"Why are they here? They shouldn't be..." she muttered under her breath.
It didn't take long for her to identify them. They were Vanguard Institute students. "Those uniforms... Shouldn't they be attending classes right now? What are they doing all the way out here?" Despite her growing curiosity, Lyss remained hidden, keeping herself out of their line of sight as she listened.
"The academy seriously thinks we're just a bunch of low-rank rookies. Typical. They act like we're some helpless trainees who can't handle a little danger on our own," the short-haired boy with brown hair complained, his voice carrying a noticeable hint of resentment.
"Yeah, no kidding," his companion chimed in, casually flipping a knife in his hand. His expression twisted into a rebellious grin. "Those academy suits can shove their stupid expectations. We'll show 'em what we're made of. Let's see how strong us students really are!"
The moment Lyss connected the dots, she realized just how ridiculous the two students' intentions were. They weren't simply wandering around the abandoned station out of curiosity. Judging by their conversation, they genuinely intended to venture inside and prove themselves. Unfortunately, the place they were heading toward was precisely where her target was hiding. If they continued any further, it was only a matter of time before they encountered the Malform.
"Those idiots!" she hissed quietly, briefly pinching the bridge of her nose. "Are they seriously planning on taking it on?!"
She leaned slightly to get a better view of the entrance, watching as the two boys continued their preparations without the slightest hint of hesitation. Their confidence was almost impressive, if not for the fact that they had absolutely no idea what awaited them below. Lyss could already imagine how badly things might turn out if they stumbled upon the creature unprepared.
"Second-years, and they're walking around with that much confidence?! Crap, I've gotta get them out of there."
Her original plan had been fairly straightforward. Locate the Malform, approach it while it was still recovering, collect a blood sample, and leave without attracting unnecessary attention. Now, however, she had two reckless students threatening to turn a relatively simple assignment into a complete disaster. As frustrating as the situation was, she couldn't exactly leave them to fend for themselves. Getting involved would complicate her mission, but allowing them to get killed would be considerably worse.
With little time to spare, Lyss stepped away from the rooftop's edge and prepared to descend. She dropped down toward a nearby tree, catching one of its sturdy branches with both hands to slow her fall. The branch bent slightly beneath her weight before she released it, landing on the pavement in a low crouch. A brief glance confirmed that nobody had noticed her arrival, allowing her to straighten up and immediately turn toward the tunnel.
Unfortunately, the two boys were already making their way inside. They had climbed over the guardrails and disappeared beyond the entrance, leaving Lyss with very little time to catch up. She clicked her tongue in annoyance, her earlier confidence slowly giving way to genuine frustration.
"Can't one job ever go smoothly? I just wanted to get in, grab the sample, and get out. Now these two idiots have to show up and complicate everything. With that kind of approach, they're gonna get themselves killed..."
She broke into a sprint, her footsteps growing quicker as she approached the entrance. Reaching the guardrails, she grabbed the metal bars and leaned forward, hoping to catch their attention before they ventured too far.
"Hey! You two!"
Her voice travelled into the tunnel, but the boys were already too deep inside to hear her. Lyss stopped for a brief moment, considering whether to call out again, before realizing how foolish that would be. The entire point of approaching the Malform quietly was to avoid disturbing it, and shouting into an abandoned underground station was hardly going to help.
She exhaled through her nose, clearly displeased with how quickly her assignment had gone off course. There was no point wasting any more time standing around while the two students wandered closer to danger. Gripping the guardrail, she swung one leg over and carefully climbed down to the other side.
Once her feet touched the ground, Lyss adjusted her clothes and took a moment to peer into the darkness ahead. The entrance seemed to swallow what little daylight reached it, while the distant silence offered no indication of what awaited further inside. She tightened her expression and followed the boys into the tunnel, keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible.
Whatever happened next, she would have to deal with it. And preferably without waking up the big, supposedly sleepy bastard waiting underground.
At the same time, the mysterious old man wearing a top hat watched the unfolding situation from a distance, his face partially illuminated by the warm sunlight. His gaze remained fixed on the area Lyss had just entered, and a mischievous grin slowly spread across his face. It seemed he had been following the events with considerable interest, almost as though everything was unfolding exactly as he had hoped.
"Oh? Now this should be interesting to watch. Quite a predicament they've found themselves in. Perhaps I'll interfere once things get a little dicey." He chuckled to himself, seemingly amused by the thought.
A passing car briefly obstructed the man's view as it drove along the road. Yet, when it had passed and the sidewalk came back into view, there was no trace of him. He had simply vanished into thin air, leaving behind nothing but the faintest suggestion that someone had been standing there moments earlier.
Meanwhile, Lyss continued deeper into the underground passage, making certain to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible. She maintained a reasonable distance from the two second-year students, carefully following their movements while avoiding anything that might make unnecessary noise. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself, especially with a potentially injured Malform somewhere ahead.
From the boys' perspective, however, navigating the tunnel was proving to be considerably more difficult than they had anticipated. The further they ventured, the thicker the darkness became, swallowing what little light managed to reach the abandoned passage. A faint mist lingered close to the ground, making the already unpleasant surroundings feel even more suffocating.
"Damn... What's with all this fog down here? I can't see shit, and the smell is nasty. It's gross, makes me wanna puke," complained the boy carrying the knife, scrunching up his face as he tried to make out the path ahead.
His companion seemed to share the sentiment, though he wasn't particularly interested in entertaining the complaint.
"Yeah, smells like shit. Just use your phone's flashlight, you dumbass."
"Right, right..."
The boy quickly pulled out his phone and switched on its flashlight, directing the beam toward the tunnel ahead. The sudden light revealed just how badly the place had deteriorated over the years. Cracked concrete covered the walls, while chunks of broken material and layers of dust had accumulated across the floor. With the government having long since abandoned any attempts to restore the station, nature and neglect had gradually reclaimed what remained of it.
He swept the light from side to side, inspecting the surrounding area before looking further down the passage.
"Seems empty so far," he remarked, apparently satisfied that nothing was immediately threatening them.
The two continued onward, their footsteps echoing through the otherwise silent tunnel. Neither seemed particularly concerned about keeping their voices down, despite the possibility that something might be lurking nearby. If anything, their conversation grew more confident as they ventured further into the darkness.
"Nah. I'm sure it's here. I saw it move in this direction last time."
The boy carrying the knife glanced over at his companion, raising an eyebrow at his certainty.
"How do you know it didn't move already? Days have passed, y'know."
The brown-haired boy shook his head, seemingly unwilling to entertain the possibility. He continued looking ahead, occasionally glancing toward the ground as though searching for some indication of the creature's presence.
"It was in pain, hurting. It didn't have much time or space to move. That kid did quite a number on it."
He spoke with a surprising amount of confidence, seemingly convinced that the Malform was still somewhere within the abandoned station. What neither of them realized was that their assumption might have been correct. And if it was, they were steadily approaching something they were nowhere near prepared to face.
To be continued...