From that point forth, the group was in disarray. No longer did the hard-won trust between each party exist, and 3 distinct cliques were formed. It went as follows:
Cane, Cassidy, James, Rake, Dalton and Susie in the first clique.
Hoffmann, Isaac and Nick in the second clique.
Finally... Heddler, aka The Wanderer, in the very last clique. All alone, by himself.
Of course, it wasn't his fault for looking so suspicious, and it also wasn't anyone else's fault for suspecting him. Especially Cane, who had already noticed that "Heddler" had moved his way to Alex's corpse, as if he'd already known where it was.
That being said, it wasn't over yet. In such a tough environment, the wisdom of sticking together in tough times could only be applied, even between mortal enemies, let alone some mere distrust. Everyone stayed in the same building, the original camp, and The Wanderer was put on the second floor. As for the others, Cane and his friends took the third floor, and Nick's group was on the ground floor. With such an arrangement, time passed quickly once more.
Being sandwiched between the two groups was new, and it was done because no one felt like they could trust The Wanderer. If before, a modicum of politeness had still existed, it was now more like he was being imprisoned and forced to become a 24/7 water dispenser.
Really damn troublesome.
...
"Look out above!"
Hearing the warning call from Rake, Cassidy quickly shifted backward using Teleport. Only a few moments later did a large lizard-like monster crash into her previous position, creating a crater and causing a large amount of dust!
It was another hunt, as always. Ever since Nick had discovered the location of the reigning Rank 5 in the area, everyone became much more motivated to grow stronger - choosing to hunt higher ranked monsters for increased power instead of lower ranked ones, which were mere food.
This time they were hunting a Rank 3 Steelback Gecko, over 3 metres long, not only boasting immense agility, but also an absolutely disgusting amount of defence. It was only in times like this where Cane would be missed, but it was increasingly clear, even to him, that he'd been slowly estranged from his once-friends.
In fact, this wasn't unreasonable. A stranger who'd integrated himself into a decade-long friendship, no more than half a year ago, how much friendship truly ever existed? Not to mention, Cane held too many secrets, and felt a little... evil sometimes.
Especially now, in the struggle for strength, such small things like friendship could be directly overlooked. What mattered, at least for Cassidy and the others, was knocking potential competitors out of the competition.
Swish!
After a momentary daze from the impact, the Steelback Gecko's tail followed up with a whip that broke through the air with sheer speed. In response, James quickly positioned himself to take the blow, and with a resounding Crack!, his ribs caved in.
"F*ck!"
Now injured, James' Desperation came in full effect, boosting his power as he retaliated by slamming both of his fists down onto the Steelback Gecko's head!
Instead of a sickening crunch, as it would've sounded on any regular monster, a Dong! sound echoed instead, as if he had hit a bell with a hammer. The crater grew more cracks, deepening due to the immense forces.
Following this, while the Steelback Gecko was still dazed, Rake dashed past, grabbed onto the tail and with a lift...
SLAM!
The monster was on its back, and cracks even began to show on the metallic skin of it. It began to wiggle, as most reptiles do, creating gusts of wind from the tail. Everyone backed off, and then the Steelback Gecko's body seized up.
Cassidy had activated Nightmare.
"Shhh... go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep my sweet baby..."
James paused. "... Do you think it's good to sing lullabies to someone after giving them a Nightmare?"
"..."
Anyway.
With the Steelback Gecko completely downed, it was now a simple job of walking over, finding an eye to stab through and bringing the food back. Susie was still in the camp, healing Dalton who'd gotten some injuries in a previous hunt. It could be estimated that James would end up as Dalton's hospital bed neighbour soon.
Cane, of course, was keeping watch over everything back at the camp, feeling just as bored as The Wanderer. The two had resorted to sitting back to back near the fire - The Wanderer would create steam by melting ice, and then Cane would try to form shapes with the steam using his hands.
Officially, Cane was keeping watch over the suspicious "Heddler", but in reality he was mostly bored. And truthfully, after a month of no new deaths, he started to become quite lax in his vigilance.
Arriving back, such a scene was what greeted them. Rake lifted an eyebrow and stepped forward.
"Doing a good job keeping watch, I see?"
Hearing this, Cane turned around to reply, saying, "Well, it's nothing to worry about. One of my abilities can basically be used as a radar, and the range is more than enough to cover this building."
Cassidy suddenly had a realisation.
"Doesn't that mean that you knew who killed Alex? Why didn't you say anything?"
Cane paused, narrowing his eyes warily.
The sudden question felt like an accusation, and even worse, he had no good excuse. Whether telling a truth or a lie, it'd seem suspicious.
"I was outside the camp at that time, to enjoy some fresh air. I only decided to come back when foreshadowing struck, and I felt there was something suspicious going on."
The air became tense, and the tension was even thick enough to cut through. Behind the backs of the others, The Wanderer quietly took out a knife, cut some of the tense air, and stuffed it into his pocket as a souvenir.
"What's the matter? Can you guys not argue while James' ribs are currently still caved inward??"
The tense air was collected just in time - as Susie had walked over, dispelling the previous tension. She took James, and supported him in limping his way toward a bed. Dalton raised a hand in greeting, seeing as they were soon-to-be neighbours.
In the recent days, Susie looked much less stressed, and her hair even returned back to its light-blonde of the past. Cane surmised that it must be because she didn't need to take care of so many people anymore.
Regardless, Cane wasn't bothered to think about it for much longer. Feeling annoyed at being accused of murder, he decided to go outside for some fresh air. Susie and Heddler went down the stairs after him - perhaps also feeling overworked.
As for Cane, he shot out like a bullet after reaching the entrance. One of the good aspects in the City was the streets, which were all straight and uniform. In certain Mechanical Districts, it was rumoured that delinquents would have motor races down the streets, for hours at times. Cane didn't have any cars, but his legs weren't far from reaching similar speeds, so he decided to enjoy a small marathon.
Along the way, Cane enjoyed the various different apocalypse sceneries that the Empty Districts had to offer. Over to the left at one point, he saw a ruined MCV, which looked like it was quite luxurious in it's time. Or, over to the right, he saw-
Splat!
"Hmm?"
In the midst of his thoughts, Cane hadn't noticed, but accidentally ran headfirst into a Rat Slave, a Rank 1 Monster. They looked no different to ordinary rats, but were the size of large dogs, with a mane of metal growing from their necks. It was said that the appearance, similar to a collar, was where the name came from.
Upon impact, the Rat Slave immediately exploded into a shower of flesh and blood, making Cane wince at the sudden sight and smell. He paused for a moment, and then picked up a strip of flesh that had landed on his shoulder.
"Well... I am a bit hungry, now that I think about it."
Cane decided to stop for a barbecue, and took his trusty dagger from Hiding Spot using Steal. He activated the heating function, watching the blade turn red-hot, and placed the strip of meat onto the flat of the blade.
Sizzle...
Before long, an aroma similar to cooked bacon wafted out, almost enticing him to close his eyes and follow the scent by floating mid-air. Cane leaned down and was about to take the first bite, but-
"Cane...!"
A tiny voice, very quiet, almost imperceptible were it not for Cane's status as a full rank Warrior.
???
Who's calling?
Cane turned his head to hear better, and... it seemed to be coming from the camp?
Grumbling, begrudgingly, he decided to postpone the meal, and turned to run back to the base.
...
"What the hell. Another died??"
"Yeah... This time, it was Isaac. He was found in the same condition as Alex, like a dried husk of a corpse."
Cane arrived back to witness Dalton and Susie discussing the event. Upon appearing, Susie greeted him.
"Cane, you actually managed to hear the call! I thought it might've been too far, that's quite impressive." She paused. "Anyway, I... found Isaac, dead, just like how Alex had died."
"... You won't be suspecting me, right?"
"Of course not! Don't worry about it, I've never suspected you anyway."
That was a relief. Cane smiled, feeling pleasantly surprised for once, and then asked back, feeling curious.
"Then, who do think could've done it?"
At this, Susie paused to think.
"Hmm, well... I guess Heddler? I mean, the killings didn't start until he came, and we don't really know the specifics of his abilities anyway. No matter how you cut it, I really don't think it could be anyone else."
At this, Cane also inwardly agreed, although his face didn't show any changes - to not show bias.
It was at this time that a loud voice rang out from within the building.
"HEY! Can someone give me a f*cking explanation for why Isaac is DEAD??"
Cane turned to see Nick billow out from a window, looking like a mass of dark, rolling thunderclouds. Well, except for his head, which was corporeal, the rest of his body was in mist form.
"Nick."
Cassidy spoke up, having left the building at the same time.
"We don't know why Isaac is dead. Furthermore, we still don't know who the killer is. This is not a time for you to be angry - it'll only make it harder to think."
At these words, Nick's mist billowed even more.
"What's there to f*cking think! It's obviously Heddler, that conniving bastard!"
Everyone else had already gathered at this time, and hearing Nick, they all paused. In fact, everyone did think that The Wanderer was the culprit. Even he himself would've thought so, if he were looking at it from someone else's perspective.
But, The Wanderer knew that it wasn't him who'd been killing them.
So, who was it?
Before The Wanderer had any time to explain himself, Nick had already burst forward and enveloped him in the black mist.