The shut-eye rest time ended in a blink, like it was nothing. The sleep was a sweet retreat from each of their worries they had to shoulder. But they had to rest before the important mission tomorrow. So they tried their best.

  Yet the morning revealed quite a disturbing picture. The only one who looked somewhat fresh was Corella; despite the weird dreams, she could not recall rolling in her sleep.

  Wishing them a good morning, the feline maiden could not help but observe the massive bags under their eyes. Smiling widely with her fangs visible, she pretended not to notice. Both Valentina and Helena agreed that the feline woman had quite an easygoing demeanor. Despite everything she had to endure, she was merrier than anyone else they've known.

  Jeen joined them later; his face showed signs of late-night deep contemplations. A painful reminder for them about Drake, their leader, who had pulled more than one all-nighter strategizing before every quest.

  The swordmaiden spent half of the night debating with the demonkin mage. They were still not sure how much they could trust the elf, trying their best not to show it on their faces. The knowledge of his high stature only added to the overall sense of confusion. They could only wish for their thoughtful leader to be here.

  It all felt odd to them; they could not name the unruly emotions. The undeniable conclusion they made was that there was no sense of security when that young man was not around. Both women agreed that it was just the result of the time and comforts shared together for quite some time. Their thoughts still wandered this early in the morning; there was something else, but it was not the time to dwell on it. Soon the sun would rise, and their mission awaited.

  Wasting no time, they reached the main building fast. The first rays only started to appear from below the horizon. But the morning was already far too busy and hectic. Clerks, knights, adventurers. Everyone was rushing somewhere. Not only the main hall but the entire plaza in front of the Adventurers Company building was ready to burst.

  The shouts were drowned within the clanging of the steel as everyone geared up. A massive group of at least twenty knights were saluting their commander while the tall man in shining composite armor was explaining something, waving his hands, and clenching his fist. A resounding roar filled the air when he finished, and the group departed.

  Falrog Kriegrock met them right at the entrance, inviting them inside. The massive man’s office is such a mess. Swords, maces, axes, the steel, composite, and even mithril armor pieces. Scrolls and maps were haphazardly covering his table.

  It was evident that the man was trying his best to support everyone and take care of everything. Three adventurers they had never seen before swiftly left.

  “Don’t forget to come back after you grab a bite!” He called them out with the booming voice.

  The man’s face was tired; despite his powerful aura, he now looked older somehow. Or at least less vigorous, something that the entire party was able to recognize. It was a stark contrast for anyone who saw the man at least once. But for Helena and Valentina, it stung even more as they exchanged gazes. A sense of unease crept inside their hearts, something they could not shake off from the moment the day started, no matter how hard they tried.

  “Good, you’re right on time! Are you ready?” Falrog finally asked, swiping half of the books and scrolls from the table to free some space.

  One of the clerks immediately dashed forward, picking up the mess from the floor.

  “Yeah, I suppose we are. We took our time yesterday to discuss the gravity of the matter.” Jeen replied as he looked over to his new party members. Both the swordmaiden and the ice mage nodded, while the beastwoman slightly tilted her head and flapped her ears, looking confused.

  “Huh, I see, I see. Good to know!” The headmaster noted, unrolling another yellow parchment scroll and placing it in the newly acquired space. “Now, come closer!” He called out the group.

  Before them was a freshly drafted map in an apparent hurry. Jeen noticed that the ink was barely dry; a few dark fingerprints and blots covered its surface.

  Must be quite recent. Good, the more we know, the better. I don’t want to go completely blind into that. The elf thought to himself as he once again studied the concentrated faces of two women; the third one’s eyes rested elsewhere. Ah, she’s going to be quite the nuisance. Can’t blame her, though.

  “Here, this is the place where you have to go.” The mighty voice snapped everyone out of their contemplation, attracting their attention.

  “This is the village of Spingeveil at the northwest edge of this domain. Relatively small. Our latest reports indicate that further into the thick forest, strange tracks were found. Along with missing game and a decreased amount of monsters.” Falrog raised his head. “You know what that means?!”

  The party nodded in coordination.

  “Ah yes, so that is where we should look first.” The elf brushed his finger over the surface, stopping over a massive mark. Falrog agreed.

  “Headmaster, I would rather not delay any further. Is there anything else we should know?” Jeen asked, slightly distraught.

  “Huh, so eager to get it done with? We are indeed pressed for time, and everything is a mess right now. But I would ask you to be cautious and reserved.I don’t want to demand more than you can handle. You all are quite green.” The massive paladin said, half growling, putting his humongous palm over the elf’s shoulder.

  The weight of the limb felt like a boulder pressing over. Oh, so, that’s how you want to play this. Expected no less from the famed Headmaster.

  Jeen raised his eyes, locking the gaze with the headmaster, who continued to press on the young elf ever so lightly. Yet every subtle change in movements felt like another half of the mountain came crashing over his shoulder. He could already hear the wooden floor creaking under his soles. Just a little more and his knees would crack.

  But he did not move. He simply raised his hand and brushed the paladin’s palm off. It all appeared to be done without any visible significant efforts. Yet his party mates clearly saw a hint of aura radiating for less than half a moment around the elf’s wrist.

  “I believe I…khm, we are capable enough to deal with it. All of us are more than eager to get this done.” Jeen blurted out.

  “So still not willing to listen to this old man rambling, I see…” The man signed. “Alright, this should be fine, for now. I have no need to delay you any further. Just make sure you return in one piece.” He waved his hand dismissively.

  The Jeen raised his brow, Valentina clutched her staff, Helenda brushed the hilt of her katana, while Corella simply scratched her head.

  Falrog stayed closer to the elf, towering over him like a mountain; his furrowed forehead looked like cracked dust after the rain as he drilled the young man with his piercing gaze one more time.

  “Arkh, here, just take this and depart. There’s so much more I have to deal with now; my head’s buzzing.” He rolled the map and shoved it to the elf with another envelope.

  “What’s that?” The elf asked, fiddling with the papers in his hands.

  “The notes from our scouts and my personal orders. Make sure to read them more than once before you reach Spingeveil, and even better, memorize every single letter of it. I prepared this beforehand. Suspecting that you would ignore the briefing.” Disappointment was traceable within his tone.

  “Oh, thank you, Headmaster. That’s it! We will depart now.” The elf nodded and slightly bowed, waving for everyone to move out.

  “Take the green diligence. The driver knows the route well.” Was the last thing the Falrog shouted before the group slipped through the doorframe. Leaving the massive man inside a messy room while a few young clerks tried to reorganize the papers.

  “Ugh, the young ones…” Falrog Kriegrock murmured to himself, moving a few papers aside, revealing the massive colorful map. His eyes darted over its surface.

  “What a mess… Monsters, cults… Nobles… Lord Adonis… Welberg. How did I end up entangled in all of this?!”

  The wheels were kicking dust while the early rays of sunlight finally emerged over the horizon. The entire party was seated comfortably in sight on the cushioned benches.

  Through the windows they could witness the yellow field to the right, moving like waves with the wind. And a tapestry of green and thick,Gleaming Forest to the left. It was undoubtedly huge, since its edge reached the northwest, curving all the way here from the Borok Mountain range.

  It was the first time for Jeen to be so far away from his home. And the massive tree crowns reminded him of his land. The unpleasant feeling still pressed over his chest. Was it the right decision? Can we find them later, really?! And that Drake guy, can he really be alive? After what we saw there.

  He looked over to the three gorgeous maidens talking to each other. They looked lively and energetic despite everything. Their real party leader was missing, possibly dead, while the third one spent weeks in captivity. They fared themselves with decency in such dire circumstances, so he could do no less, making him straighten up.

  Yet the elf once again drowned himself in contemplations. Opening the envelope, he read through the orders and notes. Nothing of much significance was with what Falrog left them. The headmaster just emphasized that if the danger is too much, they must disengage without receiving any penalties to their rewards, as long as they got the vital information. The paladin could not ask them to try to protect the villagers on their own. Yet Jeen knew that it was nothing but a courtesy from the man. True adventurers would never retread. Well, he tried…

  The notes from the scouts were much more worrisome. The group managed to find a few strange and stray footprints that did not belong to hunters or villagers. That exact location was marked on the map, as well as their rendezvous point.

  Jeen looked out of the window into the distance, trying to pinpoint where exactly it was. He knew that the absence of any game and monsters was the most disturbing discovery. Talking to the villagers is a must, but I doubt we will get anything useful out of the common folk.

  And their entire party knew exactly what that meant. Another den of those despicable bastards was around. Threatening the security of both the village and the town of Veloss. Jeen thought that he did not care much about that; no matter what, his heart and his thoughts were with his brethren. Yet at the same time he could not turn a blind eye to all those people in need, even if it meant sticking his neck out for danger.

  As an aspiring adventurer, his resolve was clear. While everything was just another step on the way to reaching his goals. Yet they had to succeed and survive first.

  “Hold on!” The man at the reins suddenly cried out.

  A powerful bump threw the diligence up with a loud crack, tilting it to the side. Two girls tumbled on top of Corella. While Jeen nearly lost his balance, throwing the pacers into the air.

  “Hey, what was that!” Valentina shouted, looking through the small window at the gentleman with the rails.

  The man with the black top hat simply replied. “Road’s been bad today, young lady. I beg your pardon; it seems like a massive monster migration happened a while ago. Can’t avoid everything without scarring ma horses!”

  “Okay, okay, whatever, just try to warn us earlier.” Helena added, pushing herself up from the feline girl that did not seem to be bothered by such a close interaction.

  “Listen, Corealla,” Jeen’s voice pierced the air while he picked up a few yellow papers from the floor.

  “Uh, yeah, need something?” The feral maiden responded, her big eyes glimmering with curiosity.

  “Well, I spoke with Helenad and Vlantina yesterday, while you took your time to rest, and…” The elf started his question.

  “Do you have a problem with that?!” Corella cut the man off with a frustrated look. “You know, I spent a long time… i-in captivity!”

  “Hey buddy, don’t be a jerk!” Helena gave him a judgmental glance.

  “Yeah, cut it out. Can’t you see that you’re making her uncomfortable?” Valentina added, while she brushed the beastwoman’s shoulder lightly.

  The air felt as if they were ready to gang up on him and rip him into shreds at that moment. But without the apparent pressuring killing intent. Still, he understood the overall frustration was far more explicit than usual.

  “Why is it suddenly so bothersome? What's with this mood… Aren’t we going to? Ah, should have anticipated this,” he murmured to himself, slapping his palm over his face. They must have been discussing something behind my back. Anyway, that’s not important, fo now.

  “Girls, just wait! Let me explain.” He raised his voice. The women studied his face; the young man looked genuinely conflicted, so none had cut him off.

  “Whatever you thought. I did not mean anything like that.” He scratched his temple. “She had all the right to rest without a single worry, and I did not bother her for that said reason. I wish you to know that I’m not that insensitive.” He paused, gathering more air.

  “Just give me a break; don’t give me that look! We have an important mission to fulfill. Let me know straight to my face if you don’t like it; that’s fine!” Jeen tried to rebuke without releasing too much anxiety in his voice.

  The women looked at each other, blinking, wearing bewildered expressions.

  “Well, okay. I just thought…” Corella’s voice sounded bashful as she tried to smooth things out.

  “Don’t bother too much; just forget about that. What I meant was that if we’re going to work together, I have to know your current skillset. I’m pretty sure you talked with the girls. But I’m currently the leader of this group.” The man attempted to sound reasonable, carefully pressing on.

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  “Oooh, ekum, so that was about it.” The feline maiden lowered her gaze. “Sure, what exactly do you need to know?”

  “Just tell me more about your class and fighting style. Also, need to know your strongest ability. Our current party composition is more than decent.” He waved with his hands, leaning closer.

  “I specialize in long-range, powerful attacks with my bow; I even have a multishot. And can also wield short swords, but I will not be as good with them as Helena with her katana; you have to bear that in mind.” They glanced at the long-haired swordmaiden, nodding. She managed a reserved smile in return.

  “Hmm… Let me think about it.” Corella raised her gaze, her ears slightly twitching while she fiddled with her fingers, tapping one leg on the floor.

  The feline woman tilted her head from side to side a few times, putting one finger to her lips before she could muster a response.

  “Well, you know that my class is a monk. I specialize in martial arts and close combat, so my range is very limited. But I compensate for that with my agility and speed.” She shadowboxed the air with a few punches; even the elven ranger had a hard time tracing her movements perfectly. The speed was indeed impressive.

  “Hmm, and my aura is not yet powerful, and I… To be honest, struggle to control it. That’s the only reason I’m still a C-rank. Not for long thou, I’m right on the edge of a B-rank promotion.” She smiled with pride mixed in with embarrassment.

  “Well, to be honest, this sounds great!” Jeen suddenly exclaimed, making all the girls straighten up. “We have great balance! Could not dream of anything better; this must be luck, a real fortune, ha-ha!” The young elf laughed. Or maybe it was someone else’s good judgment. Still, Corella was not originally from the party, so…

  “And what about your best skill?” The elf studied her from tip to toe with his gaze.

  “That… I’m from the school of the mountain lion. Which defines my stance and physical enhancement buffs I can use. Aside from that, I have my retractable claws.” She opened her fist, and long, sharp, shining claws as long as her fingers appeared from her nails.

  Everyone inside watched in awe as they leaned to examine those closer. Those were long and shining, almost steel-looking small blades. Mostly straight, but slightly curved at the edges that looked like needles.

  “Those are my pride. With them, I can use the Clawmarks. That skill can penetrate the hardest shells, skins, and furs, and the bleeding will become quite disgusting. But it is not very effective against tempered steel and good armor.” Corella leaned closer, admiring her hands, before hiding the claws back.

  “Well, I hope we won’t have to fight any armored opponents. But if we will, Helena can take care of those, especially with my aura-enhanced piercing shots. Don’t bother about it.” Jeen articulated.

  Corella noticed intrigued gazes from the two other girls. “Ha-ha, I can see you like it! Do you want me to show it again?” She moved herself closer.

  “No, no need. How are you always so lively?” Helena asked.

  “Is there any reason not to be? I don’t have many friends.” The feline girl replied, surprised.

  “Khe khe. The atmosphere is great, but don’t you want to hear about the orders?’ Jeen tried to keep everyone on the right track, including himself.

  The group of girls slowly turned their heads. Their eyes waited for an answer. They had no more time to waste as their destination was getting closer.

  First things first. The young elf explained that they had to meet a group of rangers, while upon arrival talking to the village elder and common folk will not hurt and help them gather more information.

  Everyone acknowledged that they would have to retreat in case they encountered powerful enemies, yet it was challenging to judge what they could deal with. So they just agreed to voice their concerns immediately. While with such a good party, they knew that the opposition had to be formidable to give them a beating.

  The young adventurers were confident going beyond what the headmaster expected of them and smashing those expectations, raising the bar to beat even the best of the best. Or so they believed.

  That was the reason they had spent most of the time on the road discussing their options and battle plans. They did not even have a single chance to train together, not to mention having an actual fight before. So Jeen had strong reservations regarding their real capabilities.

  His worries were only solidified by the easy-going mood of the three maidens. He knew they were already seasoned adventurers, but the amount of confidence they radiated was bizarre, even by the seventh son’s standards. It was the luxury he could not allow, and it was the thing he could not simply overlook.

  “Okay, did you get the last part? We never should overextend in such situations.” Jeen nearly burst, but quickly held his frustration back. Only a small vein popped on his temple while he once again showed them the formation scribbled on the yellowed piece of parchment.

  “Yeah, of course! No need to bother, we are simply going to destroy them all in no time!” The three maidens eagerly agreed, giggling.

  Jeen could no longer take it and gave up. He spent the last part of the way silently thinking to himself, while the lively maidens discussed some silly stuff he barely gave any attention to. The trees outside continued to remind him of his homeland, while the road dust caused an uncomfortable itching inside his nostrils, making him sneeze more than once.

  This will be a handful. Man, Drake, I don’t know where you are, but, you need to be alive! The elf thought to himself, a loud sigh left his lips uncontrollably.

  The village was modest. Aside from having a forge, stables, and a small inn, there were not many houses. Around two hundred people lived there. They spent most of the time tending to the crops in the fields to the west. The small stream helped them grind the floor. And only two families of hunters lived in here.

  They did not get much of the useful information from the village chief. It appeared that the man was not bothered about the danger in any way. Putting all his faith into the Groddberth knight. Yet the old man had no means to know how occupied the knight corps currently was.

  While the appearance of a group of adventurers, instead of adding to his worries, just solidified his laid-back approach to the matter of safety. He scratched his head and wished them luck on their quests.

  Damn, this old man must have gone senile. Yeah, the knights must have always done a fantastic job, but he was so complicit, making me angry. What if…? Jeen’s deep contemplations were cut short by Helena’s conversation with one of the hunters.

  He told them that the game on the east side disappeared over three weeks ago. They had to either move north or get dangerously close to the Borok Mountain range to even think about getting any catch. That alone was far too dangerous for a mere hunter to accomplish. So they had not been going out for the past week at all. Waiting for the lord and his knights to find the root cause of the problem while the village still had substantial food stores.

  Based on their observations, it should have been just a usual sign of a powerful monster roaming around. Yet they were unable to find any concrete traces whatsoever. There were no actual signs of anything like that anywhere close enough. No fallen trees, no massive bald patches or tracks.

  Still, they mentioned something that caught Jeen's ear. A few nights ago they heard an unusual howling. Not the standard wolf-like, but more of the hybrid, closer to barking yet somehow sinister. In the morning they went to check the direction it was coming from. And once again, they could not find anything significant. Just a few broken branches at the height of a human shoulder.

  One of them noticed a patch of dark fabric estranged inside the thick branches, something that looked like the part of the attire. The group of hunters gladly let go of the small cloth, offering it to the party of adventurers.

  “We have no use for this; you’re going to be dealing with it anyway. Good luck!” The middle-aged, scarred man said urgently before departing.

  The party carefully examined the fabric. Jean’s heartbeat intensified with every passing moment; the more he looked at it, the more he touched. Not a single doubt was left that this was the same material as the robes of the hooded men's bodies left in the caves.

  Corella’s eyes were open wide, slowly filling with blood as she clutched her fists. The elf noticed that he himself did not want to waste any time, yet caution was advised. As a ranger, he was far more aware of potential traps that could have been laid out to lure them in.

  “Okay, it's the right time to meet with the scouts. Don’t think we can get more out of the folks here; let’s go!” He announced, pointing towards the forest trail leading forward out of the village. The three women followed his lead without hesitation. Each was left to their devices, struggling with heavy thoughts dancing inside their minds.

  Passing into the cold shadows between the trees, the young elf adopted a moderate pace. Making sure the entire party could keep up. He was fairly sure that Corealla could easily follow him at top speed, while Helena would be able to keep up with something above average. But there was no way that the ice mage Valentina could keep up. So he chose the rhythm even the timid demonkin could follow.

  While traversing the thick wood and navigating vegetation, the young ranger picked the easiest, yet the fastest, route. He was the prince of the forest, and it did not matter that he had never been in this place before; the woodland itself would whisper him the right way.

  His eyes darted around, devouring the surroundings, dissecting every trunk, branch, or pile of fallen leaves. There was no way he could miss anything. His keen eyes were the best tools at his disposal. He read the forest like a map, seeing many paces ahead; at this speed, he could plan for all of them.

  Just as they were told, the place was empty. No beasts, no game, no fresh tracks. The freshest ones were indeed three or more weeks older. It seemed like the sinister intent cleared them out.

  Suddenly, he noticed something far ahead. “Everyone! Get ready! There’s something there, and it’s definitely bad news!” Jeen announced.

  “Something that bad, how far?” Helena asked, lightly huffing.

  “Three hundred paces. Some branches are in the way, but I’m sure there’s blood.” The young elf replied, peeking back over his shoulder, urging everyone to catch up.

  “You can see that far?!” Valentina asked, gasping for her breath like a lifeline.

  “Blood does not sound good!” Corella leveled up with the elf at his right shoulder. Nodding, ready to take a fight as she clutched her fists at the ready.

  “Don’t be too hasty; let’s approach and observe first. I’ll give you the signal.” The Young elf moved himself forward with exceptional caution.

  The group stopped at the dense brushwood patch. Peeking into the opening in front. The picture painted before their eyes was straight out of the nightmares. It made their worst worries come true.

  There was so much blood that the entire clearing of green grass was painted dark. Limbs and body parts, torn and beheaded torsos, split-in-half bodies, and severed heads were haphazardly laid on the ground.

  Helena’s eyes opened wide, slowly soaking in the surroundings. Valentina covered her mouth, battling the vomit at her throat as she averted her gaze. Corella’s gaze darted around while she gritted her teeth; her eyes turned red with rage.

  Jeen carefully studied the woman’s reactions. The feline one will be too hasty, the mage barely holding it in. At least the swordmaiden is composed. That’s something to work on. He quickly made the assessment in his mind. The situation was indeed dire.

  “Those are the scouts… we were to meet.” He said, half-whispering.

  “What the hell happened here? Did you notice anything with those eyes of yours?” Helena moved closer and ducked near the elf, leaning over.

  “It’s much worse than one could imagine. All five of them are shredded into pieces. But… I can’t see any tracks around them. Was it a flying beast, or something?” The young elf tried to make sense. While the simple answer eluded him, there were no signs of struggle.

  “Do you know anything even remotely capable of this?” Corella cut him off.

  “I don’t think it’s possible either. Should we just check closer? Maybe they have something on their… b-bodies.” Valentina suggested hesitantly; she looked much paler than usual with a hint of green.

  “Good thinking. Corella, you’re with me. And you two stay here, watch the rear. I don’t like this at all.” Jeen pointed with his hand. The two women nodded, determination in their eyes.

  They slowly crept out of the cover of the thick bushes. Carefully navigating around the vivisection of a mess under their feet. The elf eye drilled the ground and surrounding area. Yet nothing could catch his eyes.

  He once again tried to reconstruct the fight using the tracks. But there were only the ones of scouts; the wounds were perfect slashes, and the limbs were cut clean as if with the sharpest blade. It appeared that they were swiped right where they stood while talking to each other, with barely any time to react.

  It looks like as they were covering up, hands in the air, something was coming from which direction…? He continued to run the simulations in his mind. His spatial awareness allowed him to paint a somehow coherent picture within his mind. The angles looked strange.

  “Watch out!” The elf suddenly cried as one of his ears twitched. Without hesitation he dashed forward, tackling the feline maiden down from her feet with a thud.

  “What are you doing!” Corella cried out; the other women were about to jump out to help, but the strange sound filled the air.

  They came crashing down to the ground, right into the pool of dark, half-dried blood. He could only raise his gaze to notice the slight vibration that distorted the air right at the height of where their heads were just a moment ago.

  The reverberating aftershock pressured their eardrums. Without losing momentum, Jeen jerked to his knee, taking out his bow. A charged, whistling arrow split the air in less than half a heartbeat. Connecting on the far side of the opening, somewhere deep within the shadow of one of the massive tree crowns.

  A hiss and a shriek filled the air. And something tumbled to the ground, breaking branches in its wake.

  “Don’t make a move! Stay absolutely still. They're camouflaged.” The young elf ordered his puzzled companions.

  Corella’s ears twitched, trying to pick something, a movement of wind or the leaves was everything she could catch, even with her heightened senses. Helena tried to see something between the dark crowns, but her vision was not enough. Valentina murmured something meanwhile, and the casting circle enveloped one of her palms, and another appeared at the tip of her staff.

  At that very moment, a faint green aura enveloped Jeen's wide-open eyes. He slowly moved his head around, scanning. One after the other, charged arrows flew into the deep shadows between the leaves and dense vegetation around.

  One, two, three, four, and five. Each of the projectiles connected with the same muffled shriek and a thud. And dead creatures fell to the ground.

  Finally, one of those hidden creatures happened to be somewhere close enough to land right into the opening so the rest of the party could see what it was.

  It was something none of them would have expected. The beast was half the size of an ordinary human. With fleshy, dark, long wings unevenly covered in black feathers at its belly. Its head was pierced by the arrow, perfectly hitting one of its completely black, massive eyes with open sockets. Instead of a beak, it had a snout resembling one of a pig or a boar.

  What the hell is that! And the thing it used, some kind of barely traceable spell. No wonder the cuts on the bodies looked so bad.

  “Prepare to fall back!” Jeen roared his next command. Looking at Corella down to his left.

  “What?! Are we retreating?!” The feline girl jerked her head toward the elf, dissatisfaction evident on her face.

  “There's no time to argue. Helena, Valentina, prepare to cover our retrea…” Before he could as much as finish his sentence, he saw two women at the rear take flight. The magic barrier prepared by the mage demonkin shattered with a loud bang from behind. While the released magical force struck both of the maidens, pushing them right into the clearance.

  Valentina was about to crash with her head hard, but Helena managed to stabilize herself midflight, extending her hand, clutching the ground, making an improvised somersault. That allowed her to maintain balance. She caught her demonkin friend with both arms in a strong clutch. Looking around, the swordmaiden gently put the mage on the ground.

  Both Jeen and Corella moved on reflex, making a four-directional back-to-back formation. Their standoff was about to begin. The only problem was they did not know who the enemy was, while the evening rays of orange sunlight started fading behind the tall trees.

  Cold shivers ran down their spines. Everyone was afraid to utter a word, breathing in the dreadful air, observing.

  Valentina started new incantations. Corella took a wide battle stance, rooting her legs firmly into the ground. Helena unsheathed her shining katana, solidifying her grip with both hands. While Jeen pulled the string on his bow hard, everyone could hear it creaking with tension. He felt his hands numbing.

  “This is bad… Prepare to fight!” Jeen muttered impatiently.

  “Death comes when least expected. You are keen ones, but it’s time to meet your end, young ones!” A sinister deep voice reached their ears. Gray mist appeared all around them, slowly creeping closer, like a snake crawling over the ground.

  From behind the shadows, a silhouette appeared. The hooded dark figure slowly approaches their location. One after the other, more shadows materialized in its wake. It was at least fifty paces away when Jeen was finally able to notice the ruby glowing eyes, locked in with his.

  “Death… Death… Death…” The whispers continued to hang in the air, with strange words of unknown origin they could hear as undertones within.

  “Prepare for the worst. Remember the formation! We need to survive; don’t do anything stupid!” The elf ranger tried his best to sound confident, but the cold clutches of fear were squeezing his throat.

  The skeleton-looking visage finally showed itself, forcing forth into the bloodied clearing, floating over the surface and the thick mist. Its eyes glowing with ruby crimson like torches.

  We’re seriously screwed! The party leader was ready to embrace the inevitable fight, his eyes focused, yet his hands slightly shaking. Damn this all!

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