That thing was still climbing the stairs—step by step—while the others had already noticed something unusual happening around Susan, Jessica, and Fiona.
Jessica was holding up okay. Fiona wasn't in too bad a shape either, but Susan had already started dry heaving, her body bleeding in strange and unnatural ways. Right next to her, Zara was clearly flustered and shouted, "Susan, if you die, our team loses a third of its combat power!"
Drake, standing off to the side, didn't let it slide. "How strong is she supposed to count for a third of the team's combat strength? If she dies, she dies."
Look at his expression—he didn't even spare Susan a glance. If there were anything that could catch his attention, it'd probably be a member of his team.
Facing Drake, Fiona quickly said, "That thing… it's trying to escape from my body. It's scared, but also excited—I don't know why..."
"Maybe whatever's coming is affecting them," Luis said as he pushed up his glasses with certainty.
