The Corrupted Pioneer

"Whoosh—"

In the eerie, empty hall, Napomo trembled as she clasped her hands together and crept forward.

No one knew how she had come to this place, but curiosity still drove her onward.

"Whoosh—"

She breathed out another puff of cold air, yet every breath seemed to make her more nervous, more afraid.

It was as though...

As though someone—no, something—was breathing in sync with her.

The feeling nearly drove her mad.

But she would not stop.

Because she was a student at Star Torch Academy.

For all the absurd antics they got up to when they weren't being serious, most of its students were heroes.

They were true heroes, risking their lives to push civilization forward and carve out a path to survival beneath the Threnodian's threat.

Napomo was one of them.

"Whoosh—"

Thud, thud, thud!

As she breathed out again, she heard footsteps behind her.

Joy surged through her.

That meant Rover and the others must have caught up.

She might have reached this place through a hidden passage, but with their abilities, getting here would surely have been easy!

With them protecting her, no matter how strange this place was, it couldn't possibly be a match for—

"Whoosh—"

Just as Napomo imagined that, a noisy, rasping breath sounded beside her ear, sending a chill through her body.

That wasn't her breathing. It was...

Bang!

Napomo tried to turn and see who was there, but before she could, a monstrous force struck her waist.

"Napomo!"

Seeing a "person" in a bulky spacesuit send Napomo flying, Rover cried out in alarm.

With her frequency absorbed, she truly was nothing like she used to be.

Before, she would have been certain she could stop this bizarre "astronaut" from attacking Napomo.

Whoosh!

But as regret seized her, a figure swept past