Fernando's POV
'Well, just because I thought that doesn't mean the worst will actually happen.'
Yeah, let's think this way, it's better.
After a quick self-hypnosis, I called Lumi and Impeto to discuss something I'd thought of while wandering around the house.
"Very well, you two, we have two paths to follow from here."
Impeto turned his head, just as Lumi didn't understand.
'Seriously, dog?. You've been here several times, you should know the way!'
I've heard that dogs don't have very good memories for things that don't involve scent, but he's already smelled a lot of things over the years Mari and I have brought him here.
Rolling my eyes, I began to explain.
"Ahead, we'll come to a crossroads. If we turn left and go up, we'll come out directly into the UPA on the park's left side, but that will leave us exposed to whatever's there since there's no cover, no trees or large houses, just a few small, one-story houses huddled together."
Lumi nodded. At least he remembered that.
"But if we continue straight ahead at the crossroads, we'll start descending the hill. Near the base, there are some houses with higher walls, and it's the most wooded part of the park."
"There's even a metropolitan guard post on that side. So, we could sneak around there, enter the post, see if there's any kind of weapon (which I doubt), and use the place to attack from afar without worrying too much about counterattacks."
I tried to be as concise as I could so they'd understand the situation.
"Both options have merits and drawbacks. Going straight up to the UPA is faster, but it leaves us almost completely exposed. If we continue straight ahead, it takes longer. And even with the trees, we can still be hit by the attacks of the monsters. But there would also be the guard post there to use as a barricade. Which do you think is better?"
Impeto seemed to understand, but not entirely, while Lumi kept placing his paws above her head. After a while, they both gave their answers.
"Krrookkooo kooó" (I'll follow the packmaster's orders.)
"Aarrrwwwuuu"
I didn't understand what Lumi said, but from the look on his face, he agreed with Impeto.
'Why did I bother explaining it to them when it was pretty obvious that this would be their answer?'
Aside from Impeto, Lumi was always more passive, except when one of my cousins' dogs came over (then he'd become a bit of a snob, charging whenever someone turned their back). But other than that, he always stayed put, waiting for something to happen.
Good for a calmer home, bad for our current situation.
And Impeto, despite being basically the "alpha" among the chickens, would still be a rooster from an urban farm who'd never set foot outside the house. If I'd been careless, he'd never even set foot outside our neighbor's backyard.
Well, since the responsibility fell to me, I'll have to face it. Considering everything I've said, I think it's best if we try to move forward and make the detour underneath and then climb back up. It'll take longer, but we'll be safer that way.
"Okay, let's go."
First, just check the HP and MP.
[HP: 51/65
MP: 42/50]
Still not at 100%, but Impeto's blood helped a lot, and the poisoning and burn status are finally gone.
Okay, now it should be around 5:10 PM to 5:30, let's try to be quick and get back before 7:00 PM. For me, the lack of light wouldn't make much of a difference, but there's still something unsettling about fighting in the dark when you don't have the advantage.
We soon left the house, passed the last block, and reached the crossroads I'd mentioned. As soon as I saw the place, I knew it didn't matter which option we chose.
Why?
Simply because all the houses at the top of the first hill were destroyed.
Not broken with holes in the walls and windows, but completely destroyed, almost like a hurricane had passed. Only a few walls, some trees, and a few houses were still "standing," but it was as bad as when a hurricane hits the United States.
'...Actually, I should have expected this. Like, I really thought a fight between TWO creatures, who could leave a magical stone almost the size of a Toyota C+ (no matter how small it was), wouldn't cause widespread destruction?. Yes, of course I did, but not to this extent.'
I believe my shock is justified, since from here to the park where Pomo said the stone would be, it would still be at least three blocks, or a brisk walk of almost 10 minutes. And from there, things already look like they've been devastated by a storm.
'How bad must the park be?.'
Impeto lightly pecked my hand to shake me out of the stupor I'd entered upon seeing the devastation before me. He nodded for us to move on, and I took a deep breath and followed suit. We don't have much of a choice in this case.
Even though everything as far as I could see had been basically "planned," there were still several areas with poor coverage. I thought it would be safer for us to be as careful as possible, so I decided to go straight through the area where the houses had been.
Unlike the path leading up, this part was more... complicated. For obvious reasons.
Broken glass on the ground, pieces of wall and ceiling scattered across the floor, sharp pieces of wood, nails, and so on—everything that could hurt someone's feet or paws was scattered across the ground. The noise they made when someone bumped into them (Lumi) also made me nervous with every step.
At least we managed to get there even faster than if we had chosen the first option, and even the street wasn't much better. Less than 5 minutes later I could already see the park and especially the red magic stone on top of a pile of cement rubble.
To the left of where we were, I could also see the remains of the Emergency Care Unit (UPA). It looked like a demolished sandcastle, with only the strangely still-standing entrance, the waiting area, and a bit of what I think was the garage.
To the right, I could see that the guard building was unexpectedly still mostly intact. But almost all the trees had been uprooted and thrown into the middle of the street below, onto the buildings (which were still standing) around the park, and onto the street in front of us.
'Well, we still managed to find a barricade, just not the kind I'd like.'
Still being careful where we stepped (except for Lumi), we approached the tree in front of us as quickly as possible. As I crouched down, I ended up stepping on something hard. Bending down, I picked up a piece of what looked like armor or... a piece of a toy?
It wasn't metal, wood, or anything common like that. It felt like plastic, but it wasn't that either. It was a bit more elastic, and at the same time, fibrous, a strange material.
'Good thing I have an easy way to at least get an idea of what this is.'
I thought, putting the piece of whatever it was in the [item box].
[Myrmidon Carapace Fragment x 1]