"Let him lead the way, and escape will definitely be possible."
"..."
Hearing the strange supernatural entity’s remark, Marcus could not help but frown.
’This entity... does it know about what I can do?’
Marcus tried not to let his vigilance become suspicious to his teammates. He instead gave the rest of the Response Unit a knowing look as they communicated through their devices.
— "Let Marcus lead? What does that mean?"
— "Is this some type of supernatural creature that can see the future...? Or does Marcus have a trait we don’t know about?"
— "W-what do we do...? Should we do as it says and trust it?"
Hearing their speculation about him having some kind of secret trait, Marcus immediately steered the conversation away. He did not want their attention lingering on him.
’I can’t let them figure me out that deeply yet...’
He immediately sent out a reply.
— "It should be the former. I think this is a supernatural creature capable of foreseeing a certain type of future. Or perhaps it’s a creature that knows who exactly can find the exit within the Neverending Staircase. In any case, we have no other option but to trust its words. We’ve already tried every other option..."
Hearing this, the others replied.
— "Yes... Marcus is right. Keep your vigilance and continue recording data about this creature. Since it’s friendly and capable of communication, we might be able to lessen the burden of losing F-299 by providing information on a potential new friendly supernatural creature..."
No one had any objections to Elias’ statement.
Thus, they proceeded with caution.
Looking toward the supernatural creature in the formal suit standing above the staircase, Marcus asked,
"Is there anything in particular you want me to do?"
His tone remained formal, though there was a hint of curiosity in his voice.
"Just walk. You’ll eventually figure it out."
The suited supernatural creature spoke with a cold expression as he extended an arm toward the endless staircase.
"Go ahead and lead the way."
The Response Unit began walking.
Yet even as they continued up the staircase, none of them were capable of relaxing.
It was completely different from F-299.
They were familiar with F-299. They knew its habits, its behavior, its capabilities, and even the procedures they needed to follow when dealing with it.
This creature was completely different.
It was something they had never encountered before.
They had no information about its abilities, its nature, or even whether the friendly behavior it displayed was genuine.
Worse still, they did not even understand what kind of supernatural space they had entered.
They were simply walking through an endless staircase while following the directions of a supernatural creature that seemed to understand the place far better than they did.
Even Jonathan, who had initially wanted to complain about how exhausting the endless climbing was, kept his mouth shut.
The tension was enough to make even him remain silent.
After walking for some time, the suited supernatural creature suddenly spoke.
"Hm."
He glanced toward them.
"I’ve been wondering about something for a while now."
The Response Unit immediately became alert.
"You should have one more companion, correct?"
None of them answered as Moon continued looking at them.
He had been wondering about this for quite some time.
He remembered reading about A.E.G.I.S. and its Response Units in the [Arcana] wiki. When a Response Unit was officially deployed into a supernatural space, standard protocol required them to bring a registered friendly supernatural entity with them whenever one was available.
It was not something every ordinary A.E.G.I.S. team necessarily had, but specialized Response Units assigned to supernatural spaces often worked alongside one.
These entities could assist with detecting supernatural phenomena, communicating with other entities, or simply surviving in environments where humans were at a disadvantage.
So if this really was a Response Unit... They should have another supernatural companion with them.
Moon looked around, there was no one else.
’Where’s their supernatural companion?’
The Response Unit remained completely silent.
Marcus’ expression gradually became more serious. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
’By "companion"... does it mean F-299?’
His thoughts raced.
’How does it know that Response Units are supposed to be accompanied by a supernatural creature...?’
The one who replied this time was Clara, who was, as always, polite and appeasing with her words.
"We lost it somewhere in here... We were exploring a different area when F-299, our supernatural companion, suddenly flew into this staircase. We haven’t been able to find it ever since. It’s been a few hours since we entered this place."
Elias interjected as well.
"Sir... ahem, I don’t know what to call you..."
Moon thought for a moment before answering.
"You may call me Moon."
After revealing his name, Moon felt a slight sense of nervousness.
There were quite a few dangers associated with revealing one’s true name in [Arcana]. Some supernatural entities were said to possess abilities that could exploit a person’s name, while others treated names as something far more significant than humans normally did.
However, if this truly was the world of [Arcana], then revealing his name should also have its own benefits...
Thus, Moon was not particularly opposed to sharing it.
The Response Unit did not react strangely to the name.
"Moon" was rather ordinary compared to some of the names they had encountered in their research.
There were supernatural entities that named themselves after strings of seemingly random numbers. Others used incredibly long and descriptive titles instead of names, while some had names spoken in languages that humans could not even comprehend.
Compared to those, Moon sounded almost normal.
Marcus, however, was the only one who seemed to think differently.
’Moon?’
He frowned.
’...A creature named after a Major Arcana...? Could it be...’
Marcus could not help but feel a drop of cold sweat slide down his face as countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
He glanced at the supernatural creature walking right beside them.
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.