Mila skipped over the debris-strewn floor, and she stopped inches from Aether, leaning in to stare at his face with detail.
Lyria sighed. "Stop being rude, Mila."
"I am just analyzing the treasure, of course." Mila said lightly with a grin. "We worked so hard to find him."
Aether's smile as he leaned in as well, closing the distance she had established. "And what do you think? Is it worth the effort?"
Mila giggled. "The appearance passes the test. But the value still needs to be evaluated." Her eyes danced over him as if she was trying to do everything that made him special.
Aether chuckled. "Well. I am sure I will fly with passing colors."
"I really hope so." Mila words came softly, the playful edge softening for a bare instant. "At the very least, you could recover quickly from seeing a Nightmare creature. That definitely raises the value!" She clapped her hands together, the motion brisk, dispelling the moment. "Now then. Let's go find our cold-faced Rhianna."
"She is still in the Observation Ring," Lyria said, already moving toward the opposite door.
Mila blinked. She shook her head, a sigh escaping her lips that was more fond than exasperated. "Didn't we tell her to move down after a bit?"
"She didn't get the hint."
Mila giggled again, the desperate tension of the vault bleeding away under her manufactured levity. "Our dear Rhianna truly is the best." She turned that sun-bright grin on Aether. "Come on, Chief."
The three of them moved and soon the corridor ahead was altered, what had once been clean walls. Now lay buried beneath a grotesque mold that shines under the dim lights.
Lyria's eyes narrowed before she said. "Shoot the mold, Chief."
Aether nodded before he aimed the Etheric Firearm and a beam of blue light rushed out, piercing through the air and smashing into the mold.
Then a screech rang out before the mold parted and colossal domes of corroded iron mixed with bones rose up from it.
"Barnacles? Didn't expect them to be the sneaky type." Aether said with a tilt of his head.
"They aren't being sneaky but draining the aether around the area. But when they do this, they spread mold that becomes toxic to any touch." Lyria says swiftly as she grips her Etheric Sword.
Aether watched as the section of wall clung to by the Barnacle began to crumble after a cracking sound. The creature was devouring the building itself, drawing sustenance from steel and stone.
"We don't need to waste time dealing with so many of them." Lyria gestured toward a narrower service passage branching off to the left.
They managed three steps before the corridor was illuminated by a purple glow of the Barnacles. A low-frequency vibration thrummed through the floor and up through their boots, more felt in the chest than heard.
From a dome positioned directly above the service passage entrance, a tendril lashed out. It rushed down towards the doorframe before wrapping around it and then squeezing it.
The entire frame bent inward with a shriek of stressed alloy, collapsing the entrance in an eruption of dust and twisted rebar.
The Barnacle retracted its tendril with almost casual slowness. The metal where it had touched was now pitted and brittle.
"So much for escaping." Aether said with a hum.
"The other Barnacles are preparing to attack as well." Mila says, her gaze shifting between the multiple molds that were already parting to the side.
Lyria didn't hesitate. "Mila, cover the Chief. I'll deal with them."
"Team Leader..."
"Now."
Lyria rushed forward before the protest could form. She didn't run toward the creatures but parallel to them, a swift, darting target designed to pull their attention.
Her sword glowed as magic flowed over it, coating the blade in solid blue light that cut through the oppressive gloom. Two tendrils from the Barnacle on the side whipped toward her with startling speed.
She didn't slow.
Lyria swung her blade down, severing the first tendril with a sharp crack.
In one fluid motion she pivoted and let the enchanted edge trace a glowing arc through the air, slicing the second limb before it could coil around her arm.
Both severed ends whipped to the floor.
Aether raised his gun without hesitation. His gaze locked onto a Barnacle to his left whose purple-lit dome was pulsing as tendrils writhed beneath it. He squeezed the trigger.
The bolt struck the center of the dome. The violet glow flickered and collapsed; before the creature trembling, its remaining tendrils thrashing in panic.
Spotting the opening, Lyria sprang forward, blade already arcing for another cut.
Meanwhile, Aether tracked a second Barnacle extending its reach toward Mila. He shifted his stance, angling his aim without taking his eyes off a third target ahead, and fired.
The shot cleaved the outstretched tentacle cleanly; it recoiled with a high-pitched shriek.
"Thanks, Chief!" Mila shouted. She spun, twin blades flashing as she carved through the creature's remaining appendages.
The central Barnacle recoiled in response, its mass of limbs retracting beneath its bulk with a low, resonant pop that vibrated through the chamber.
"Down!" Mila ordered.
Lyria dropped into a slide, momentum carrying her across the debris-strewn floor. Just as the beast unleashed a sphere of distorted air from its underbelly and it rushed past Lyria a few inches above.
Aether saw the blast coming and sidestepped the attack wit. The sphere tore through the spot he'd vacated, missing him by inches.
The blast skimmed Lyria's hair, lifting strands, then slammed into the far wall. The panels shattered, sending rock fragments skittering across the ground and leaving a deep crater in the concrete.
In the instant before the creature could recover, Lyria was already moving again. She pressed her hand to the floor, moved into three powerful strides, then launched herself upward.
Both hands gripped her blade as she aimed it straight down.
She drove the magic-coated steel into the heart of the dome. The Barnacle released an ear-splitting screech as the blue glow from the blade illuminated its interior, casting jagged shadows across the chamber.
With a swift pull, she freed her sword and sprinted back toward her allies.
Two Barnacles on the upper walls began gathering power at the same time. Their domes lit up purple, arms reaching out.
Aether's gun moved smoothly between them before shooting the left and right one in two shots.
Both hits were perfect and both attacks stopped.
He turned slightly, his body flowing with the move as another Barnacle was behind him.
But Aether fired over his shoulder without looking and the bolt smashed into it. The Barnacles arms went limp before its figure broke apart.
Lyria threw her blade straight at the next Barnacle.
The creature quickly raised its arms to block but the sword, glowing with magic, cut through the arms like they were paper.
It sank deep into the middle of the dome before another scream rang out, filling the room. Then more Noct-Eels appeared before rushing toward Lyria, passing through walls like they were fog.
A blue shot of light flew through the air and hit one in the head.
It broke apart into static.
Lyria spotted her chance as she became a blue flash, darting between the four swimming eels Her sword cut one eel in half, then she sliced across the second's body and the third died from a clean stab through its head.
The fourth tried to escape but Lyria spun and cut it in two as it fled.
At the same time, an eel rose through the floor behind Aether. It moved silently, starting to wrap around his arm.
Aether shifted his arm smoothly with his gun and was already touching the eel's head before it could finish coiling.
He pulled the trigger, and then a blue bolt hit point-blank. The eel shrieked and burst into mist that quickly faded away.