Chapter 1297 - Staying Back After having had to fight off waves of Masked during the start of their attack, now it felt bizzare not encountering any. The lack of enemies didn't ease their minds, if anything it made them be on edge even more. There were two possibilities the Cursed group had come up with as to why this was the case. One of them was that the Masked were no longer interested in them, most likely busy trying to subdue the Demon tier beast now that it was back on the ground. After all, that had always been their primary goal. The second theory was that Raten was simply doing a far better job than any of them had expected, so well that not a single Masked had managed to get past him. Whichever it was, it had allowed them to reach the Temple in a reasonable amount of time. There were no beasts nor any Masked outside, only a small person standing there to greet them. "I expected that you would come eventually. It sounds like things have gotten rough out there." Logan said, leading the way inside… The group noticed the turrets he had set up, as he showed them where the teleporter was. "There have been no signs of the enemy coming this way. Most likely because the Temple is too far away from where the Demon tier and the tablet were. Their group seems to be focusing only on their goal, which made my job easier." "Why haven't you turned on the teleporter, Green?" Mona asked Logan. "That six spiked Dalki that took out my Kraken has managed to knock down the Dragon. After they're done, they'll most likely come after us and I doubt they'll be interested in capturing us. We shouldn't waste any more time and should be getting out of here!" "It's on standby to avoid risking the enemy picking up anything to locate it. Besides, I can see that not everyone is present. First we should discuss what to do. I can't risk anyone panicking, going through, and destroying the teleporter on the other side, that would be disastrous for all of us still on the island." Logan explained. "What do you mean?" Agent 11 questioned. "I thought we came here for all of us to just go through the teleporter? That other beast said he was getting one of you guys to bring him here, so what's the problem?" It at least seemed like Mona and Agent 11 were on the same wavelength, but as for the rest of them… they looked at each other and it seemed like they all had already made up their mind. Layla stood forward as if she was to speak for the others. "Quinn's Shadow ability might allow him to return to the Cursed faction at any point and time, and I honestly couldn't care less about Eno and his servant, but I still worry about Vorden and Peter. There's a chance that they might not be able to meet with Quinn, this could be the only way for them back." "I will be staying here, protecting this place until the two of them return. We've already lost one person in our group. I don't want to lose anymore." The others just nodded along with what Layla had said, they were going to stay on the island and protect the teleporter until their friends would return, so they could escape together. "So does that mean we all stay here?" Logan asked. Agent 11 raised his hand, but as quick as he did, Fex gave him a nudge. "You don't get a say in this, as my puppet you'll have to come everywhere I go." "I can't stay, guys." Mona shook her head. "I understand that you all care for each other, and truly I envy you for your camaraderie, but I didn't come here because of a higher calling. I came to repay a favour and I feel like I have done more than enough." "I have cheated death twice already, so I don't wish to push my luck any further. Once they capture that Dragon, and believe me they will, it wouldn't surprise me if they destroy this island outright. If you're lucky they might come looking for us before that though." "They shouldn't know anything about this teleportation yet, so they'll assume we're on the island. Your people might be here, but I have people waiting for me too." The others agreed that it was unfair for them to ask Mona to stay. However, she was a strong ally for the group. Her staying behind would increase their chances of survival, but nobody felt it fair to ask that much of her. "Can you at least take them?" Sam asked. "Please, take them back to the Cursed ship. Inform Megan and she will know what to do." Mona looked at the large box that had Wevil's body inside, and Linda who had been placed on a few cushions that had been found in the room. "It will be my pleasure." Mona replied. "I will leave Snakey and the Gorilla to the both of you to help out as much as possible. They seem to have grown a liking to your group. If possible, bring them back." When the Roseus tree had been destroyed the Marking had naturally disappeared from the Gorilla, but due to how helpful it had been, Mona had decided to tame the beast with her ability and now it would follow any command or order she gave it. Keeping to her promise, she strapped the large crate on her back, while holding Linda in her arms. The teleporter had been turned on and was set for the Cursed ship. Just before Mona was to step in she turned around to the group. "Good luck to you all… make sure to come back alive! I'll treat you to something nice after this is all over." With the rest having agreed to stay, everyone had decided to split up, to cover certain areas of the Temple. They mostly stayed on top of the roofs where the turrets had been set up. Sam and Logan remained in the teleporter room discussing what they had seen on the island, and everything said so far. "I see, so it looks like they will successfully take the Dragon after all." Logan said. "It must be hard on everybody. They fought so hard, and we even lost Wevil. It will feel like they just wasted their time since there was no result." "There is one thing that we have learned about the enemy, though." Sam replied, trying to look for some silver lining in the whole event. "We know that there are six spike Dalki's capable of destroying Demon tier beasts, and that's most likely what they will be using to take care of the Dragon as well. On top of that all the vampire clones." When Sam said this out loud, Logan didn't say anything either, because they both knew, although they now possessed this information, they had no clue how it was going to help them. If anything it just made them realise how hopeless the situation was for humanity. "What do you thin-" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖 "Don't ask a question you don't want the answer to." Logan cut Sam off before he could ask. "Let me point out something that will give everyone hope. There is still a chance of us winning this thing. Even if they successfully get the Dragon, there is still one thing we can do to win the war." Logan stressed. As to what that was, Sam had an idea but how likely would that happen. ------ Layla and Nate were both at the south gate of the Temple. This was the main entrance with an open pathway in front of the Temple. All the other sides were mostly blocked by the heavy jungle. Nate had decided to meditate, hoping to recover as much of his Qi as possible. Layla acted as the lookout and spotted ruffling of trees in the distance and quickly drew her bow, ready to attack. When she finally saw who was coming out of the forest she put her bow back down, as a man drenched in blood from head to toe was seen, and he had a smile on his face. Both of them seeing this, there was a shiver that had been sent down their spine, they were just happy that this one is on their side. "I would put that bow back up if I were you." Raten called out, as he turned around again, acting like a gatekeeper. "They're coming for this place."