"Captain!" Tione said as she and the others approached. "And… who is this?" Tione tilted her head, looking at me.
"Um... a masked man? And Arin.' Ais tilted her head, somehow recognizing me instantly.
"Why did you recognize Arin and not the Captain?! His weapon, his physique, his butt… It's unmistakable!" Tione said, though no one pointed out her remark on Finn's butt.
"Because Arin is taller and has a different build...?" Ais replied, not sure of her own words.
"Ahaha, that's some funny mask. What's wrong, Arin, Finn? You look like Lord Ganesha." Tiona circled us, her laugh echoing through the dungeon.
"Finn… what the hell are you doing?" Bete looked at Finn like he had seen a weirdo on the street.
"Finn? Captain? What are you talking about?" Finn replied calmly, "I am a masked adventurer, nothing more and nothing less."
"Me too, I am not the man you call Arin either," I said, supporting Finn in our feeble attempts to hide our identity. "Just like him, I am also a masked adventurer."
"Masked adventurer?" Ais repeated those words, looking at me, and gave a subtle nod. Hm? Did she get the wrong idea or something? I thought, but refrained from asking.
"So… who are you then?" Bete asked, annoyed at the exchange.
"We can't tell you that," I said.
"I see, I guess we got the wrong people," Ais frowned, looking lost.
"Ais! How can you get fooled by this?!" Bete said in shock.
"They're the Captain and Arin, no matter how you look at them," said Tione, not buying our excuses, "Though Arin did a pretty decent job of hiding it."
"But they say otherwise," replied Ais, "Maybe they are someone who looks like them?"
"I wonder where they bought those masks?" said Tiona, "I wanted to try one too."
Finn and I slipped away during their argument, their voices fading.
"Hey, they are gone!" I could hear Tione's startled voice followed by Bete's.
"Did they get away?!" he yelled.
"Let's go after them!" said Tiona.
"Crap! Finn, let's hurry!" I said, and Finn nodded as we raced down the dungeon faster than ever before and only stopped to take a breather after we had reached the seventeenth floor.
Finn looked back toward the stairs we'd just descended. "I am sorry, everyone. I can't abandon my project just yet," he said and looked back at me, "So, Arin, are you going to say why you decided to tag along beyond finding it fun?" he asked.
Before I could answer, we noticed a single adventurer running towards us.
"What happened?" I asked as he approached, "Did you encounter a strong monster?"
"I am sorry…!" But instead of answering, the adventurer rushed past us, shouting an apology.
"A pass parade, huh?" Finn deduced as he looked in the direction the man had been running away from, I followed his gaze to find a huge horde of monsters approaching us.
"I will take them on," I said as I conjured dozens of fire and wind attacks and rained them down on the monsters, turning all of them into magic stones in mere seconds.
"What… all those monsters?!" The man who had rushed past us stopped in his tracks, seeing the spectacle.
"That's nothing," Finn said dismissively.
"I was in danger… I had no choice! F-Forgive me!" The adventurer bowed deeply, showing his sincerity.
"We won't do anything," said Finn, "You just have to do your part."
"My part?" the adventurer asked, confused by Finn's words.
"Your part is to spread word about the masked adventurers," Finn replied.
"Hey, purple mask," I interrupted, "Let's think of some better names than whatever you made up,"
"But aren't Masked Adventurers fine?" he asked. "At least it's better than simply using our mask colors."
"Ugh, you don't have to attack me like that, but I guess you are right." I conceded, not like I have any better suggestions.
"Found them." We looked up to see Ais and others descending the stairs.
"There you are. Finally," said Bete.
"Ack! Loki Familia?!" the adventurer cried, looking at the Loki familia members.
"Captain! Why are you running away?!" Tione's words made the adventurer connect the dots rather quickly.
"Captain? Loki Familia's Captain? That means…" the adventurer muttered, only to get interrupted by Tiona.
"C'mon, Arin, Finn, let's go home. Riveria and Gareth are waiting for you." Tiona said.
"So, you ARE… Braver and Astralis!" The adventurer finally realized our identity. "What the heck are the First-class adventurers doing here?!"
"Finn Diemne? You are wrong." Finn once again denied the identity and continued, "My name is… The Masked Prum,"
"Whaa!" Bete and the others cried at the strange name, and at this point, I realized Finn was as bad with names as I was, or even worse. But seeing him so adamant, I decided to play along.
"And I am his sidekick, Shadow!" I declared, "And we work day and night for the restoration of the Prum and for world peace. Farewell!!" Taking advantage of their momentary shock, Finn and I ran away again. And just as we were running, I heard Ais mutter under her breath.
"Shadow… that's kind of… hot?" she said, momentarily stopping me mid-rush. Did she just? No, I must have misheard. There's no way— Finn's hand clamped on my arm, dragging me forward.
____________________________________________________________________________
We raced through corridors, taking twisting paths through the dungeon. For a few glorious minutes, I thought we'd actually escaped. But our escape didn't last long as we were caught once again.
"Already surrounded, huh? Of course," said Finn as we looked at Ais and others surrounding us in a circle.
"Cut it out, Finn. I don't know about him, but it's not like you to pull a prank," said Bete.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the wolf.
"I'll have you stop defaming us; we are not Finn and Arin," Finn defended.
"The Captain is Captain." Tione said, "Please be my Captain again."
Guess they are not going to let us go. sighing, I spoke, "Won't you guys pretend we are not the same people and let us go?" I proposed a compromise.
"You can't fool us? Why would I get the Captain scent wrong?" said Tione.
"Besides, you are not going to fool anyone with that disguise," Tiona spoke, completely forgetting about the time she failed to recognize me.
"Maybe they are really someone else?" Ais said doubtfully, trying to help us out, or so I think. Maybe she thought I was doing something important and had to hide my identity.
"O-Other than Ais." Tiona's voice faltered at being proven wrong.
"Tch! What a waste of time." Bete became annoyed at the exchange, "I am going to rip that mask off by force!"
"Heh… do you think you can do that?" I asked. Bete, receiving the challenge, stepped forward.
"All right, it's on. I am not holding back, both of you," Declaring that, Bete lunged at us, becoming a blur to normal human eyes.
But to me, after the recent level up, his speed wasn't something I couldn't react to. His claws came at my face from three angles simultaneously, a technique I'd seen him practice. I deflected two strikes, slipped past the third, and used his overextension to grab his arm. I threw him over my shoulder."
"Orya!" Tiona shouted and launched a kick at my face. Without looking back, I ducked low to avoid her kick. A rush of air passed where my head had been. Using the momentum from my dodge, I swept at her leg. Tiona twisted her body mid-air, her left hand planted on the ground as she regained her balance. Before I could pursue the attack, Bete leaped from behind again, throwing punches and kicks, with Tiona joining the fight as well.
Despite the arguments Bete and the Amazon sisters had daily, there was no denying their teamwork. Whenever I tried to attack Bete, Tiona would jump in with her own attack, and vice versa. Both of them worked together to cover up the other's blind spot.
Between our intense exchange, A glimpse to my left showed Finn dancing between Tione's dual blades and Ais's Desperate, his spear a blur of deflections. His combat experience showed clearly. He barely moved, making them come to him, expending their energy while conserving his own.
"Looking away when fighting us?" Bete's snarl turned into a roar. "Are you looking down on us?!" The intensity of their attack increased.
Having no other choice, I got serious. Catching Bete's fist with my left hand, and Tiona kicks with my right hand. I threw Bete towards the dungeon wall, and a loud boom echoed as he hit the wall. He was already struggling back to his feet. I looked at Tiona, her leg still caught in my hand.
"Ah-ahaha. Arin, why don't we stop here?" Tiona gave me the puppy dog eyes, "You won, okay, so let's stop here, hm—Kyaa!?"
Seeing her like that, I could only mutter an apology, "Sorry," I said, and threw her toward Bete, who was trying to walk out of the rubble. The force behind the throw was enough to create another big cavity in the dungeon walls.
"Aww…!" Shortly after, both Bete and Tiona emerged from the rubble, both of them in a battered state.
"Shit!" Bete scowled as he dusted himself off.
"Aaahh! I can't stand it!" Tiona whined at being defeated.
I turned to see Tione and Ais standing at a distance away from Finn. Both of them were breathing hard after the intense battle.
"The masked Prum… he's so strong…" Ais said in wonder.
"I don't need you to understand," Finn spoke, looking at Tione and others, "I am the masked prum, let's leave it at that."
Silence fell until Tione spoke again, "Captain…" Tione's voice was barely audible.
Finn faced her, "You are still here?" he asked, "Will you be convinced if we fight more?"
"That won't convince me," she replied, "Please tell me why you are doing this?"
"Do you hate Loki familia now? Or have you grown tired of me?" she asked, "Are you willing to fight with your friends to become someone else?" Okay, things are starting to get out of hand now. I thought as I saw that Tione was genuinely upset. "Please tell us, Arin, Captain. We won't let you go until you tell us why."
…Finn and I exchanged a look, and I gave a nod. Since we'd done this partly on a whim and partly to find our own answers, there was no point in continuing this act if it was going to hurt our friends.
Finn and I removed our masks. Ais's eyes widened as she spoke, "So, it WAS Finn?"
"You have left us no choice, we were doing it…" I said, "on a whim!"
For a moment, everyone was quiet until Tione spoke again, "Do you honestly think that reason is going to convince us?" She stepped forward, ready to throw hands again, the difference being that now she'd be attacking me instead of Finn.
I jerked my head towards Finn, motioning him to speak up before things could heat up again.
"Dear, oh dear… It really was just a whim at first," he said, "We wanted to put on a mask and become nameless adventurers. It was an idle thought at first until something came to mind."
"And that thought was the masked adventurers?" Tione concluded.
"Oh, the Shadow mentioned that," Ais said, remembering my words.
"Ahaha! That's so childish." Said Tiona.
"That makes no sense at all." Bete followed.
"The Prum need a hero. Someone they can admire and aspire to." Finn's voice grew serious.
"The Captain of Loki familia ought to be good enough!" Bete cried.
"That's not good enough. I need to be even more famous." Finn said, "I am not good enough. The prum need as many heroes as they can get."
"I can't see the masked prum having any effect," Tione stated her point.
"I don't agree," I interjected, "A masked adventurer going around saving and helping people, it will at least create some buzz."
"That's not a good look for the Captain." Tione refused to yield.
"Not me, the Masked Prum." He said.
"Lame!" Bete cried, followed by Tiona.
"It's a bit childish," she said.
"I think it's cool…" Only Ais showed her support.
"That's part of the plan." I gestured towards Finn, "His character has status and an official position attached. He has to behave like the captain of Loki familia, like the Braver."
"Yes," Finn agreed, "We need someone approachable who arrives in time of need. A hero for the children. I would do anything for the Prum. I don't care if I am laughed at for being silly."
"So that's what it was…" Tione sighed, accepting the explanation.
"What about you, Arin?" Tiona looked at me expectantly.
"Me?" I pointed at myself.
"Yes, I can understand the Captain's goal, but why did you do that?" Tione asked as well, and while Bete and Ais remained quiet, their attention was on me.
"Do I really have to explain?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes!!" The chorus came from everyone, even Finn.
I sighed and decided to confess, "I was just looking for an answer." I said, "I thought doing this might bring me closer to that truth." Bete growled in annoyance at my cryptic words.
"Don't beat around the bush and spit it out!" he yelled.
"Ugh, fine, I was just trying to find what being a hero is," I admitted, embarrassed at my own words, "I thought doing this might make me understand what being a hero signifies."
The silence that followed was too heavy for me. "Hey, say something!" I said.
"Ah, oh, I mean, I thought you were really doing it just for the heck of it," Tione said, "But… That's actually kind of profound," She admitted.
"Still unexpected coming from you," Tiona added quickly, earning a glare from me.
"What do you mean by unexpected?" I asked, "Are you saying I am not usually serious?"
"Haha," Finn laughed, trying to make the awkwardness go away, "I think she meant you are usually more easygoing."
"Yes!" Tiona cried, "Yes, that's what I mean."
"Tch, I feel stupid," said Bete. "Let's go home!"
"I still enjoyed fighting with you." Finn addressed everyone. "Please keep what I said a secret."
"Okay, it's the secret of the Masked Prum." Tiona nodded.
"The secret of the mask is a mystery. Got it." Ais agreed as well.
"I won't cause trouble next time. I promise," said Finn.
"Yes, me too," I promised as well, which seemed to have irked Bete.
"Next time?! You are still doing that?!" he roared.
"Then I will join as well, the Masked Amazon!" Tione squealed.
"That would be a problem," I said, "you'd get more attention than the Masked Prum."
"An Amazon in a mask would look just like an assassin," Bete said.
"Hey, Bete, you are starting to get the appeal of a masked adventurer, huh?" I poked fun at him.
"Hell no!" Bete's fists clenched.
Everyone laughed at his outburst as we started to make our way towards the surface. As we walked back, I caught Ais looking at me. When our eyes met, she quickly looked away, a faint blush on her cheeks. Was she thinking about that 'Shadow' comment? I thought as we started ascending the stairs.