Now that Alister's leg is revigorated and functional, the assassin spends no more time into inaction.

The first order of business is to use that boost of confidence and catch up to the fallen pray. He directly charges at a nearby wall, grabs his katana and plants it firmly onto the rocks of the bottomless pit, decelerating his trajectory. This leaves him enough time to slow down and activate small spikes in his boots that will aid him to not fall from the surface of the walls. The rocks he's running on aren't the greatest. Lots of bumps to trip on, which means extreme care is necessary to keep the momentum going while controlling his balance. These rocks aren't really flattened and polished since rain forgot to fall down the pit over the decades and the process is also full of spikes that could also be a potential trip hazards. Alister proceeds to run on the walls as fast as he can, hoping to eventually eliminate the distance, kill the doctor and run back to the lands above.

How did his leg even healed in the first place? Doesn't matter.

What about the prodigy blacksmith brat with his big sword? Doesn't matter.

What about the bottomless pit? Matters even less.

In fact, the assassin is already thinking about never going back there by the time he's done. He can already taste the sweet bliss of snapping the neck of the next guy who even dares to give him a contract nearby this shit hole. No man, no dignified warrior, no one in fact should spend time here. There's a reason why that village, Gallows or whatever its name is, has been destroyed and left to rot in a desert of ruins. No one should stick around the pit and from now on Alister will follow that new rule to a tee.

But to leave this land of madness, he must first grab the doctor, and as far as he's concerned, it's a fifty-fifty chance between getting to him or dying in the act of trying. There's a lot of risks, but god, or more fittingly for him the devil, gave the hunter a second chance to redeem his arrogance and grab his target before it's too late.

Alister won't let that opportunity slip by his fingers.

And so he keeps on running...And he keeps running...And he keeps running.

At some point, the act of running turns into a routine, a quick succession of steps one after another. Alister is so focused on his goal that he even disremembers that he's running vertically on a wall. He's just going through the motions. His speed, his prowess, his arms swinging back and forth, the sweat and the blood leaking from his forehead, the wind blowing on his face. Everything is a part of the mechanism of running.

Alister just lost his train of thought.

He closes his eyes once...just...once, blinking one time like any human being...and suddenly hits a trans, a complete blackout... Just like that.

Almost instantly his brain picks back up where the subconscious led and he starts slowing down.

"Woah! Holy shit... What was that sensation...I just...Oh-Oh fuck!"

He was going so fast he almost crash landed on that gigantic platform just now. The assassin feels a mixture of tension and calm. His brain is tranquil for reasons he cannot put his finger on. It's almost alien to him how relaxed he is in this dire situation. It almost feels too good to be true...

The platform is far bigger than anticipated. His field of vision got stronger for a few seconds, but now it's back to darkness. He can't even see how far is the edge of the platform. The bottomless pit is a pitch black world and the dark purple rocks doesn't help with the vision. Alister can't see where his feet are walking on anymore. The obscurity is frightening, for he's pretty sure he can't see another living thing, but just the idea of someone or something abusing the dark to jump on him is enough to keep him on guard.

Wait...Another living thing...

"Damn! I forgot about the doctor! No no no he's gotta be nearby somewhere!" Alister starts to panic once more, wandering if he could even catch him anymore. He would need to fall down again, but spent too much time letting his curiosity get the best of him. He's breathing heavily and his eyes starts to burn slightly. He shakes these symptoms off and prepares to jump, but not before looking up.

Above him...

Above him, he can hear faint screeches from creatures. They are barely audible, but he can also hear the doctor's plights. He then looks to his right and can see a faint trail on the walls that goes to the top, like melted rock barely glowing in the dark.

"Wait...I can't...I couldn't possibly have overtaken them... Did I ?? I...No I must be hallucinating! It's the frustration, the fatigue and staying in this god damn pit that's getting to me! Some fucking mess this is."

He finishes his sentence just in time to catch a massive explosion above him, like somebody got a pack of TNT down the pit and tried to blow this place to smithereens. The detonation is so bright it illuminates the whole place enough that he can scarcely see the sky above them.

They are very far from getting back...too far.

Out of the gigantic pile of smoke, the doctor, the young blacksmith and the three small pets are falling down, somehow alive. Alister indeed passed through them, but he doesn't bother entertaining the idea. His eyes are wide and he smiles in a maniacal manner.

"DOC! YOU'RE MINE!

- Huh!? What now!? H-HUH!? HOW!? WHY ARE YOU HERE!?

- WHO CARES, DIPSHIT! TIME TO PERISH!" Screams the assassin, ecstatic to slash his target in half after all this time. 

Riley is crying tears of terror at this point, while the three pets, in all of their quirky mannerisms, tries to wake up an unconscious Zephyr, whose whole body is black like charcoal and red hot like magma. Touching him directly will probably result in third degree burns, which means Alister's armour is probably the only thing that can sustain such heat for a short period of time.

The hunter couldn't give less of a crap about the boy. In Alister's perspective, that fool jumped in the maw of the wolf like a baby eager to get his toy back. The assassin wasn't about to let this opportunity go to waste because of that child. 

The reward for the doctor's capture, dead or alive, is one million dollars. 

If Alister's good side wanted to avenge the failed experiments that rots in the doctor's lab, his greedy side is having the time of his life thinking about that sum of money.

Leg miraculously restored, blacksmith boy no longer a threat and the animals too much in a frenzy while falling mid-air to give a crap, it's only Alister and his gorgeous price. Another victory in the books and at least he can't say it was easy money. That scientist sure put up a good fight, but the victory is going to the hunter's pockets.

It's over....

" - Ŷ̸͔o̵̻̊ṵ̴͘ ̴̋͜w̵̪̕ï̵̡l̵̼͊l̵̳̃ ̷̊͜l̷̙̿é̴̝t̴̲͝ ̴̮̈́ẗ̸̟́h̸̘͛e̸̓ͅm̴̻͑ ̵̗́l̷̳̀ǐ̵̠v̸̼̏ȩ̶̑. "

Something...Someone spoke just now. 

It's not Zephyr. Speaking in his coma with this much power and dominance in his voice would be nonsense even in the current context. Riley is literally curved into a ball at the moment. Maybe the animals can talk now?...Surprisingly not. That would have been slightly more fulfilling for the assassin.

Instead, what he finds in that split second is that his body moves despite his will. His mind knows the objective: Stab the doctor, let the kid and the animals die in the giant pit and come back to the surface. Yet, he places the katana back in his sheath... and saves both of them and the animals, with El Boyo dropping the torch blade in the process.

Alister, after dropping everyone on the grand platform safely, gets control of his body back. His fury triumphs the confusion. Immediately, Riley steps back as far away as he can, with the animals watching the scene nearby charcoal boy's unconscious body. The torch blade falls on the platform. Alister acknowledges its existence for 2 seconds, then goes back to the doctor.

"- W-w-wait! We can talk this out young man! We do not have to resort to such conflicts! I know my value has skyrocketed and the price is, hum, enticing! B-But I swear we can come to a nice little compromise!" says the doctor who drops on his knees as he begs for mercy.

- What a joke... I don't know how you did it, doc, but you telepathically controlling my goddamn moves!? Now THAT was the last straw! You already got enough puppets as his.

- Hold on, that...wasn't you just now!? Well...I-I mean I have no clue how I could have made the telepathic technology for-!

- BULLSHIT! You killed civilians and turned them into bioweapons for your own benefit! How the fuck can you not do mind-bending shenanigans huh!? Got any explanation for that lack of foresight!?" Alister is letting his rage get the best of him again.

"- Ah....You...How...How dare you!?" Retaliates the scientist. Although he is still afraid for his life, this remark let a bitter taste of disgust in the doctor's mouth. Insulted, he gets up with his shaking legs. "The audacity to say I do this for my own benefit!? These sacrifices will serve me well yes, but it's bigger than that! I will finally discover the truth!

- Huh!?

- Yes, you heard me, you mouth breather! I will discover what's really down there, even...Even if I have to put my own life on the line for it!" The scientist voice trembles while saying these last few words. Actually, his whole body is quaking.

- AH! Yeah right! Well guess what, you've bargained with the wrong guy!" 

The assassin feels this sudden dizziness, as he's about to fall unconscious himself. 

"Argh! You...You motherfucker...I'm going to kiiiii....". Alister drops on the floor.

Both the hunter and the blacksmith is unconscious, leaving the doctor to ponder by himself.

 Safe to say that Riley is puzzled.

Shorty, Browski and El Boyo take the time to examine Zephyr's body. The heat has ceased to be an issue and his skin has reformed. The doctor leaves them to their own devices.

He looks around. He can barely see a thing because of the tears and his goggles. He gets rid of that and his mask. What he hides behind his face wear is a scrubby beard and a well kept moustache, as well as heavy bangs beneath his blue eyes signifying how tired he his currently. The expedition shouldn't have been as gruesome at the beginning...But he's here...

He is inside the infamous bottomless pit... With unwanted guests...