Aidan looked at Sofiel's back and sighed.
He wanted to walk side by side with her. See her smile, and hear her laugh. But he worried that she didn't like him. Gomon said Sofiel was into him, but he was still in doubt.
A mosquito landed on his neck. Aidan slapped it without much thought.
Dark clouds started to gather, covering the sky and blocking the eels from view. The world turned darker.
Lightning flashed.
Then the air turned cold. At first, the wind whistled through the trees, then it started to scream.
The leafs fluttered as the violent breeze passed blew them.
Aidan shivered. He looked at Sofiel. She was shivering too. He wished he could go there and give her a hug to warm her. But that thought disappeared as doubts flooded his mind.
In the distance, amid the noise of rumbling clouds and shaking trees, a group of wolves howled.
Feval raised his fist and the group stopped. He looked at the clouds, frowning. Then the rain fell. It doesn't start small like any other rain. No. The water poured on them like it was thrown by a bucket of water.
There was something wrong with the clouds.
"Feval, what's wrong?" Somebody asked.
"Retreat," Feval said, still staring at the clouds.
"Retreat where?"
"Anywhere but here!" Feval turned around, and looked at them with horror on his face. "RUN!"
"Ci Kel Ngalin"
A hoarse voice said. It reverberated through the forest and rippled the sky.
Suddenly, numerous footsteps stomped in the distance. It got louder and louder until the trees ahead of them rotted, cracked, and fell to the side.
They revealed hundreds of hideous creatures with bones protruding out of their skulls. They growled as green liquid oozed out of their mouth.
And they're coming towards the group.
Aidan stepped back. "What is that."
Feval pulled out his sword. "I told you all to run! Ledrind and I will buy you time, now go!"
Thunder struck ahead. And a creature with the head of a skull appeared at the back of the monster's horde. He had a staff with him. Black crows perched on his hideous horns. His arms looked like it was made out of roots.
Aidan shivered. He wasn't sure if it was cold or fear, but he felt like he couldn't move just by looking at him.
"The Shaman," Feval said. He brandished his long sword. The luxurious crossguard shone even with the clouds blocking the lights. The blade sheened.
So that was the shaman. The fourth-level existence of this world! How strong was this man? He wanted to see. He wanted to see how strong he needed to become.
The horde of monsters was approaching.
The shaman raised its staff. At the top of the staff, the serpent skull's hollow eyes glowed in dark-red color before it turned into gas and scattered towards the horde of beasts.
The dark-red energy enveloped the beast. And to Aidan's horror, he saw the beast changed. Their forms morphed into something bigger. Their bones, muscles, and skin enlarged until each and every monster was as large as a doomhound.
And there were hundreds of them.
GROWL!
The beasts charged forward with ferocious steps. Their bodies glowed dark red. Seemingly more alive with it, their speed increased. Their muscles burst with energy.
"Aidan, what should we do?" Sofiel hugged his arm and hide behind him.
Siraye and Kalukaga approached.
"We should escape," Siraye said. "I don't think we can win against those."
Aidan nodded. "You guys run away as fast as possible. I will stay with Feval and buy time for you guys."
"Aidan, Don't," Sofiel said, she stared at him with worry and tears in her eyes.
"We should run, Aidan," Gomon said. "Feval and Ledrind can escape, but we can't."
Aidan turned to Kalukaga. "What do you think, big guy?"
Kalukaga pulled out his huge hamaxe. "You run. Me stay."
Earlier in the mountain, Kalukaga had said that he couldn't defeat a fourth-level shaman. Now he decided to stay.
Was it foolish or brave? It all depended on who was judging it.
Most will say it was foolish. It might be.
But Aidan had enough of being smart. A lot of people had done foolish things to save him and his father. His mother made a foolish decision too.
Maybe now it was time for him to do so. He would be foolish for once.
"You all run away as fast as you can," Aidan said.
"You're going to die!" Gomon said.
Aidan knew that. He had seen the consequences of doing something stupid. Many times in fact.
"Don't talk anymore. Just go." Aidan stepped forward.
"Then, I'll stay too," Sofiel said.
Gomon sighed. "Me too."
Siraye clicked her tongue. "I'll run and leave you guys to die if the beasts defeated us."
Aidan was confused. Why did they decide to stay?
"Why?" Aidan asked.
Gomon pointed towards the other. "No one else run away. If they know that Gomon the Great Tinkerer of Bleassephere run away from a mere shaman, then all the girls would avoid me."
Aidan looked to the side. And yes. None of them ran away. Why? It didn't make sense. They're all going to die.
They didn't know each other. It's only been less than three days since they met. So why? Even the soldiers from the Grimm Empire stayed.
What made them stay?
The beasts came in waves.
Feval turned his head and gritted his teeth. "If you aren't leaving then be prepared for battle! Stick together! Don't let the beasts isolate you!"
"Attack!"
Men and beast charged toward each other. Men raised their swords and spears, while beasts opened their jaws and bared their claws. With strength and speed, the beast pounced and attacked.
The weight and speed of the beasts felled many men. Some of them were the Chosen. But Feval and Ledrind came to the rescue.
Feval was a beast himself. He charged inside the enemy line, and wreak havoc there. Whenever he swung his swords, dozens of beasts would be cut off.