"W-What kind of i-inhuman strength do you h-have?" Samuel asked as he was tossed around by the demoness who held her. She looked fragile but she was anything but delicate. She was moving with Samuel in her arms like he weighed nothing.

"I'm a demon. The strength comes with the territory of being one" Suna explained as she dodged another hoard of zombies below them. It was getting more and more difficult to get away from them since their number kept on increasing.

However, halfway through the chase, the zombies decided to give up on them and move toward the other direction Maria had taken. Something had attracted their attention and Suna could only guess what it was. She just knew it had something to do with Maria.

"We're safe. Let's make our way out now" Nao took charge as she corrected the kid in her arms. She was having an easier time navigating since her charge was smaller and allowed Nao more room to work with.

She had gotten used to carrying Maria around in her fish firm so this weight in her arms felt familiar to her. Samuel was not a difficult passenger to carry around either but Suna just preferred something softer and heavier in her arms.

Maybe she should get Nao to agree to be carried by her? It would be an amusing image since Nao was taller than her. But Suna wanted to carry Nao and then drop her into bed and the-

"-not right. Maria is rejecting my attempts to contact her. Should we follow after her?" Nao asked in an almost hesitant tone. They were almost at the meet-up spot and they should head toward it. Maria also had the means necessary to contact them if things got bad.

But the air of hesitation could never be taken away fully from inside the group. Maria was important to the pair and this world so she could not be allowed to come to harm.

"Go back? No. Not. Never'' there was only one of them who had a problem with this plan really and that was Samuel. The poor guy had been freaked out this whole time and there was no way he would allow these fools to lead him toward certain death.

Suna wanted to smack the man so badly for overreacting. The situation was not half as bad as he was making it out to be but he was getting irritated now. The only reason Suna had not knocked him out was that then he would be an even bigger hindrance.

"Excuse me. This has been buzzing for some time now and I don't know what to do?" Daniel, the kid brother, was much more useful in overall regards as he handed the communicator to Nao. The female demon had put it aside when Maria had not answered her the first few times.

It looked like whatever the problem with Maria was, it had been solved already and the other female finally found time to contact her back.

"Nao, there might be a bigger problem here than we first anticipated. Avoid the zombies at all costs since some of them have woken up their previous consciousness. I just faced a zombie that could speak and even think on its own" Maria warned and Nao felt her eyes narrow.

"Reanimation? Isn't that a taboo practice? Things just keep on getting worse and worse" Nao hissed out. She had heard of the practice but had never seen it being successfully carried out before.

A single attempt required a lot of resources and magic at one's disposal. To have such a massive outbreak was asking for trouble. And all this had to happen at the Grand Canyon as well. What a mess of things it was all turning out to be.historical

"Have you heard of this practice?" Maria asked in surprise. The surprise took Nao back as well before she remembered the golden rules Lady Silvya had implemented over Maria's study.

"Yes. But it's not important enough to discuss for now. What are you thinking of doing now? The situation just changed for us all" if those zombies could think then it would get difficult to avoid them all the time.

"Let's not change the initial plan. Head for the lower level of the canyon entry as planned. I'll follow after you at my own pace" Maria suggested and Nao was about to agree before she remembered an important detail.

It would not matter how fast they tried to move ahead down the pathway, it would not matter in the end because they did not have the key permit with them. The only one who could enter the depths without any precaution was Maria. No one else was strong enough.

And if they did somehow make it down, then it would make them a contender for the demonic war which would be worse than actual death.

"We can't. You have the key to the node" Nao reminded and she almost heard Maria curse before she caught herself. Nao could hear light footsteps from behind Maria as the speakers softly captured the noise on the other side.

"Head to the entrance for now. We'll see what we can do once we are all there" Maria sounded like she was in a hurry. The noise must have not escaped her notice as well and the need to move must be overwhelming for her as well.

Nao was worried but she also knew it would be best to head to their meet-up spot for now.

"Let's head in. Maria would catch up with is" Suna had full confidence in Maria and her abilities which helped Noa relax as well. Suna was right after all. Maria would somehow pull through it all in the end.

"Huh? WE'RE STILL HEADING DOWN? ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Samuel asked as he panicked. It was unfortunate for him that the other three had started to build immunity toward his behavior.

Even his younger brother chose to ignore him and took Nao's hand to follow her. The elder brother was quite outnumbered in this department and the thought of being left alone was worse.

"N-No wait. Don't leave me here" and just as Nao had thought, the man quickly followed after them. He might have been a coward but he had survived this long and with a kid as well.

Though, Nao had to give props to the younger brother in this situation. He was unnaturally calm for such a situation and had even found a trick to make the elder follow after him to safety.

And Nao could not help but feel suspicious of the situation. Wasn't the kid brother way too calm? Just how calm can a human kid be in such a horrific situation?

(Only one chapter/day for some time because I actually managed to write)