With the lighting of the moon and stars I led the whole team through the dark forest without using a torch or magic tool, and that made me very happy because that night there was very little light because the moonlight was too weak to properly light a forest. of that density.
If the moon was in its full phase the light wouldn't be such a problem, but a waning moon like tonight made Dean Sunshine's life unpleasant, he really doesn't like the dark. If using artificial light was going to get in the way of our mission, he would have already lit the forest with a magic tool or his flames.
To my surprise he is the only one on the team that has trouble seeing in the dark, most warriors with stronger cores already have an advantage in being able to see in a low light environment than mages, but on our team Ana and the archer who still hasn't discovered Nemo seem to have practiced some aura art that improves the ability of his eyes.
I'm actually very interested in the aura art that this archer is using, his aura circulates in his eyes in a very unique way and he's reacting in an unusual way, unfortunately I don't know why because I can't pay much attention to him anymore that my focus is on following the trail of the magical beast that is getting very close to us.
The light speech does not affect those who have the shadow element like Raven and the mage Luka who can walk at night as if it were day, and for me the night is illuminated by the mana and elemental energy of the environment that makes the beast's trail magic becomes easier to detect as the trees and grasses affected by the magic beast's drainage make a darker path in the night landscape.
Our leader Dean's discomfort made him shut his damn mouth and that's something that made the whole team happy, even the mage and archer who came with him from the capital were annoyed by his constant teasing with me. During the mission I displayed a professionalism that allowed me to earn some respect from the two companions who had just met me.
When I notice that the magical beast's footprints become deeper and mostly on the ground, I realize that its shape may have changed completely and this also causes the energy drained by it to become greater. It didn't take long for me to see the light emitted from the magic beast's mana and life element on the horizon, it was like a green and blue fire torch in my dark forest as the mana and elemental energy surrounding the creature is being drained by it.
I alert my team that we are approaching the magic beast and inform them of the direction and distance it is, Ana started to lead the team while I paid attention to the environment around the magic beast.
Even in scrutiny I can in the moonlight and enough for most of the team to notice that the trees are dying near the magic beast, even the attention sign I made to alert that the magic beast was nearby when I saw the light emitted by the magic beast was a little unnecessary.
The trees and grass around the clearing that the magical beast is resting on are dying, the trunks clearly drained of their vitality to the point that branches are piling up on the ground because the trees can no longer support them. The grass is only breaking when we step on them and not the sound of an insert or animal in this part of the forest.
The magical beast doesn't seem injured or sleeping to recover, but the energies within its body are too unique for me to make sure I can analyze it well enough to determine its true condition, but I can be sure that its condition is not completely stable.
I am absolutely sure that she is expending a lot of energy in the state she is in, and the environment around her will soon be 'dead' and when that happens, she will have to find a new nest or die from lack of energy.
At least that's what I thought, but when we got within a hundred meters of her, she started to move. Probably she is able to feel the strong vital energy of the team members and it looks like she is getting ready for the confrontation, I see several 'tentacles' coming out of her body and penetrating the ground.
It seems like she has no intention of running away at all this time, but the reason for that is because she can't or won't?"
I stop sneaking around behind the team and start walking normally, getting the attention of the entire team. The angry look Dean is giving me now is strangely pleasurable.
"She already knows we're here and not only is she preparing for direct combat, she's also setting a form of trap around her, and it's useless to try to hide us when she can feel our life force."
"There's no way you can be sure of that, brat. I will remember her carelessness in the report!"
"The rest of the team can easily see what you can't, leader. This area is almost completely drained and our life force is a torch in the dark for the magical beast."
"So not only can she devour the life force of other living beings, she can also sense the presence of life at such a great distance. If this thing is really an experiment the person, who did it must be designing a predator of everything that is alive, where would be the relationship with evolution that this secret society seems to want?
I understand Raven's point and it's really confusing to think that this magical beast is a viable evolution, a being that devours life to not only strengthen itself but maintain its existence is not a viable life form. Perhaps this magical beast is a failed experiment or is intended to be an experiment on a very precise feature of the life element that will one day be useful for a project that really has the purpose of evolving a life form.
Dean had a very different point of view.
"This is irrelevant now and we don't even know if this is a successful experiment or simply a failure that survived being discarded. Let's capture this magic beast now, let's follow the plan we've laid out before, the traps of this magic beast are irrelevant."
"Ana was chosen to be the main force in combat against the magic beast mainly because her earth element is strong enough to prevent the magic beast from absorbing her vitality, the rest of the team will stay behind the magic beast's territory boundary protecting Luka who If you can sweat your curses at a good distance from the magic beast, the less chance the magic beast has to absorb the vitality of someone on the team, the easier it will be for Ana to subdue the beast."
"Ready to fight the magic beast for a long time?"
"Yes, I have already brewed a high-level stamina and nutritional potion. I am confident that I can last long enough to subdue the magical beast."
Interesting, I didn't expect Ana to actually resort to potions, but at least she chose potions with low toxicity.
We continued on our way to the valley where the magic beast is, when we reached the edge of the magic beast's reach, I signaled the team to stop. We are almost twenty meters from the magic beast, the magic beast's territory is one meter from our position.
Raven was positioned in front of the group while Ana went ahead alone, Luka started to prepare to curse the magic beast he not only took out his staff but also took out a very peculiar black doll. The many runes attached to this doll and at the center of it is a core of the life element, this is the first time I've seen this type of item.
"What is the function of this puppet?"
"This is an accessory to a type of magic not so popular in the realm, to various ways to hit someone with curses, but the more normal method of releasing it as a blueprint is not always the best choice for a situation like ours. I gave our champion a fragment of wood that is part of this doll, by inserting it into the magic beast a link will be formed between the doll and the magic beast and through it I can channel my magic directly into the magic beast, but this trick only works with the element of curse, death and life."
"But what happens if the magic beast absorbs this shard of wood? Will the link still work?"
"Yes, the wood shard did not keep the link stable, but it helps to establish it. When the link is formed the core of the life element that is inside that doll is synchronized with the life that touched the wooden fragment, only when the target dies, the doll is destroyed or when I remove the life core of the doll the link can be broken."
"Impressive, why is this form of magic not so popular?"
"Everything has weaknesses, including the use of this doll.
"What weakness does using this doll have?"
"Why would I tell you this? Do you think I'm an idiot to tell anyone I meet my weakness of magic?"
I think I hit a sore spot for him. And I can't say he's right to protect his secrets either.
My thoughts are interrupted by an animalistic roar that comes from in front of us.
It seems that Ana has started to face the magical beast.