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But Zeff was obviously doing it just fine, which was probably thanks to the man’s passive soul defense being so much greater than Hector’s.

He wondered if there might be some way to make up for the difference in soul power with only his materialization skill. And of course, there was still the matter of that drilling technique that Zeff had showed off, too. Hector definitely wanted to try that out, soon.

All in all, it gave Hector plenty to mull over as they rushed toward Capaporo, even if he had to battle to keep his own thoughts clear in his mind. Garovel, for the most part, seemed content to leave Hector to his half-conscious deliberations, apparently finding something to talk about with Axiolis and Yangéra.

Hector couldn’t tell how long it took to catch up to Manuel. It was all a bit of a blur by the time his head finally began to clear again, and he found himself already walking on his own two feet.

He concentrated on trying to regain his bearings. According to movement in the air, there was a lot of... empty space around him. Similar to the last cavern they’d been in, he supposed. The walls were too far away for him to sense them.

But the ground ahead was different, he noticed. There was a very steep drop off, like that of a cliff, almost. He searched for greater detail and sensed a narrow staircase far to his right.

‘--ector?’ came Garovel’s echoing voice.

He opened his eyes, not even sure when he’d closed them. The reaper was right there in front of him. ‘Yeah?’

‘You okay there, buddy?’

‘Y-yeah...’

Garovel’s bony face twisted a little. ‘Did you tune me out again?’

‘N-no.’

‘Yes, you did.’

‘...Yes, I did. Sorry. Didn’t mean to.’

‘How does that even--?’ The reaper’s private words were cut off, however, when Diego Redwater’s voice interrupted.

“What’s the best way to go about this?” he said, seemingly to everyone, though he was standing next to Zeff near the edge of the cliff.

Hector decided to join them and discovered a view that was not what he was expecting.

‘Cautiously,’ advised Axiolis. ‘I know that may not be our forte, at the moment, but if our kin are truly being held prisoner like Hector said, then jumping in without thinking is a good way of getting ourselves captured, too.’

As he listened, Hector couldn’t help marveling a little at the sight of what must have been the entirety of Capaporo. He hadn’t sensed the city at all before seeing it, and now he had an idea of why that was.

It sat in a giant hole. And at the moment, Hector was standing above it, right on the edge. The countless lights of civilization shone like stars in an otherwise pitch black night, not so much illuminating the hole as simply revealing its shape. A massive cylinder, going straight down.