I saw something rocketing in my direction. I quickly reacted and repelled some of them with a wooden stick I found on the ground.
However, some got through and sliced through my skin. Albeit small but deep.
I forgot to take my hunting tools with me since they were confiscated by those people.
The surroundings go silent all of a sudden, and the forest is completely still.
For some reason, I can't hear anything.
My ears are ringing. My head is spinning.
I'm gradually losing consciousness. That thing is patiently watching me. I can't fall now.
I used the stick I picked up as a stand to keep my balance. I can feel my energy sapping away from me as my legs began to shake.
I looked up in my direction and, I saw him. I can't make up for what he looks like.
However, it seems like he's wearing something. An iron mask with a grey tint it seems like, there are no holes for vision. With horns protruding out of the center of its head.
His body frame is unreal. It's like it's just a stickman. Its right hand is a cleaver rooting from its elbow. The blade is absolutely large, it looks like it's much heavier than its whole body.
Ahh. My sense of vision is warping.
My nose is bleeding. I heard someone calling out for me.
Someone immediately grabbed my body and fled in the other direction.
She's saying something, But I can't make out any of it, and that thing fled into the darkness.
I saw Alpha and that purple-haired girl chasing that thing deeper into the woods.
That is the last thing I saw before my mind goes blank.
...
"Hey, Kash! Keep yourself together!" Eta said while carrying Kash.
Eta then fled from the scene with the unconscious Kash. They went to the Tent where Eta was sleeping.
She then took a box from her inventory. She opened it to reveal first-aid types of equipment.
She grabbed the clean, empty needle beside some medicines and herbs. And tried to extract some blood.
"Why won't it inject?!" Eta said while trying to inject Kash. It kept sliding and bending when forcing the tip of the needle onto his skin.
Alpha and The Stranger went to the scene where it's located.
"We got company," Alpha informed The Stranger.
He then pulled a Crossbow out of thin air and proceeded to fire 8 shots simultaneously at the sky without delay.
The Stranger then pulled out a sword twice the size of hers and threw it in the air. She then shattered it into small shards and dust and held it in her right hand.
"Stop." Several pitch-black spears manifested below the ground, floating directly facing Alpha and The Stranger, followed by archers wearing grey cloaks with a bandage strapped on their eyes, charging the tip of their Arrows.
"Hey hey hey you've got to be kidding me" The Stranger nervously said while grasping tightly the sword dust on her right hand.
"To think that we will already face one of the Umbra Conciliums, Neksha," Alpha said, with a terrifying grin on his face.
The man in his 50s walked towards both of them out of the woods. Wearing a gray tuxedo and pants to match it.
"Oh! If it isn't Yara! How have you been?" Neksha said while trying to hide his smirk.
"Get the hell away from me, you creep," Yara said with a disgusted look.
"Well, it wasn't easy getting here you know. To think that you have improved your barrier skills to another level is just... MAGNIFICENT!!" Neksha laughed while covering his mouth.
Neksha wiped his face and revealed a dark eye with a serious face.
"Get her." The Archers fired as soon as they heard the order.
"Ma'am!" Alpha immediately pulled down the Sticks that he fired at the start, hitting all the Arrows mid-flight and splitting it in half.
"don't fucking interfere." Neksha pointed at Alpha with 3 fingers and shot out a bullet, hitting Alpha in both his shoulders and left thighs.
"NEKSHA!!" Yara immediately threw her sword dust in a circular motion.
"Release!" The dust grew larger, eventually forming small swords to giant swords twice as high as the trees in the blink of an eye. Neksha reacted and took 2 steps backward.
Between Yara and Neksha, is a towering Wall of Swords, filled to the brim with smaller swords to fill the gap.
"Wow, you've improved." Neksha applauded Yara.
Yara took his words as mockery. She then turned around and helped Alpha recover from the wounds.
"Ma'am! Behind!" Alpha shouted. Before Yara could react, she had been pierced with the arrow from before, rendering her right arm useless. She immediately retaliated by throwing back the arrow and hitting the Archer in the head.
Yara dropped most of her dust to form a cocoon around Alpha. They are now surrounded by several archers, and their backup has arrived.
"Protecting your comrade till the end. That's just like you" Neksha smiled as he looked at Yara's bleeding right arm.
"Oh, shut the hell up. If he dies I won't be able to look at that old man's face." Yara said with a grin on her face.
Neksha replied, "I'll help your friend, just come to us"
"How about Fuck off," Yara said while showing her middle finger toward the sword wall.
"What an unhinged answer. Farewell." Numerous fireballs and Arrows are being launched directed at Yara, like a heavy downpour.
Yara looked up at the oncoming volley and closed her eyes. She then threw her remaining dust and grabbed a knife to stab herself in the right palm.
She inhaled heavily and clenched her right hand. Yara then blew air onto her right hand to the end of the hilt.
Blood started forming from the hilt, eventually turning into a long blade. The blade of the knife shattered and became dust, combining with the formed blood.
Eventually, the blood began to solidify and became a sharp blade. Yara then grabbed the blood sword with both hands and pointed at the sky.
"I can't believe I'm risking my life just to save some child. I hope your intuition is correct" Yara muttered.
"However!" The blood blade began to violently shake and Yara is in her Schlussel Stance.
"If he is the one who will break this world, THEN I'M ALL FOR IT!" The blood blade grew quadrupled the size of Yara, her body began to shine with purple light.
Let's show those bastards what I'm capable of. I can feel the heat of my body as it is circulating with my purple aura.
This feeling, my senses, my muscles, and my perception are now at their peak. I can't hold this for long, I have to finish this in 10 steps.
Gather some of my aura to my feet, and propel myself upwards! Even though I gathered a small amount, the effects are tremendous!
I can see the aerial view of the Forest. The 'Kingdom of Phantasma' and The 'Kingdom of Sanctus' are both on the horizon.
I can see the tent where we had set camp. There are a few weak lurkers waiting for their chance to pounce, but Eta can handle that.
Well, anyways. Let's absolutely clean the shit out of the sky. Starting off with a swing.
Yara then gathered some of her aura and transferred it to the blood blade. The blood blade began to violently shake and began to flatten and widen.
"Get a taste of my cutie and scram!" Yara then swung her blood blade towards the volley of fireballs and arrows.
"Vermillion Wing!" As the tip of the blood blade gets closer to the volley, the numerous arrows get melted into scraps, and the fireballs began to get siphoned to the blood blade.
The sky temporarily turned purple as Yara swung her sword in motion. Neksha watched in awe as he saw something beautiful.
"Whew," Neksha whistled while staring into the purple sky. The sword wall began to get smaller until it returned to dust again. The cocoon also began to return to dust, revealing Alpha mostly recovered.
Yara dropped down in front of Neksha, holding the Blood blade still shining in purple light.
"Do you plan to kill me?" Neksha asked Yara.
Yara replied, "Yeah. If it wasn't for your contributions, I would've done that a long time ago"
"I have already joined this side. Why are you hesitating on killing me?" Neksha questioned.
"How about asking my comrade over there?" Yara pointed at the ground, which confused Neksha. Alpha then suddenly appear at the side of Neksha and threw a heavy punch to his face, making him fly a few studs.
"Well, since you lost. How about a little punishment?" Alpha grinned menacingly while clenching his fist.
"Since we can't kill you because of that stupid body of yours, and you can regenerate, why not we sever you limb by limb and put you in a sack and continue to throw you on a sharp ro-"
"Ok, that's enough Alpha. We'll just keep this guy imprisoned for life." Yara said to Alpha.
Hearing the conversation, Neksha couldn't help but laugh at Yara's naiveté in certain situations.
"Do you really think that you can keep me here? Come closer, I'll let you in a little secret" Neksha said.