Hundreds of soldiers walked past them without even looking up once. Zero was glad that even in the game world, people did not have the knack for looking up.
Rumble! Rumble!
"What's that sound?" Russ called out to the soldier that was always next to him.
"I believe it's the guardian of the lake, sir." The soldier's voice squeaked in worry. "Sir, I suggest that we do not disturb the guardian."
"I'll kill you if you say another word." Russ's aura dangerously erupted around him, shutting up the soldier.
Crunch! Crack! Kathump!
Trees and plants began to fall to the sides. Something was coming straight towards Russ's groups. Whatever it was caused the trees to break and splinter apart. The heavy sound of footsteps breaking through the made everyone freeze with worry.
"What's causing that sound?" The soldiers called out in worry. They looked around them, wondering where the sound was coming from. The loud echoes of the trees falling around them became louder and louder.
"Ahhhhhh!" The sound of screaming could be heard throughout the forest. Each was dragged into the fog as if they were being swallowed up.
"Gahh!"
"Help!"
"Nooooooooo!"
Zero stared with wide eyes; he searched for the whereabouts of the unknown enemy. The soldiers were all being whisked away in rapid succession.
"Keep formation!" Russ called out. "Move together forward!"
While Zero was watching the scene before them, he did not see something sneak toward his neck.
"Zero!" Zeraph's hands were at his waist, and he drew his sword. Then, in a flash, the tendril wrapped around Zero's neck fell.
"What?" Zero gulped. He raised his hands, wondering what almost got him.
"Move!"
Out in the fog, a tendril whipped towards Zero. Zero jumped forward and grabbed onto the nearest branch. One of the tendrils grabbed Agnis' hand and pulled her off the tree.
"Kyyyyaaaaaaa!"
"Agnis!" Zero dropped to the lower branch and jumped towards her. Then, like a monkey, he swung from branch to branch.
M2 and Zeraph gave chase towards Agnis, trying their best to grab hold of her as well.
Through the thick fog, Agnis was pulled downwards. "Help!" She was continually dragged downwards until she hit the ground. Then, like a scene out of a horror movie, she was pulled into the darkness.
"What the hell?" Zeraph ran forward, jumped upwards, and came downwards with his sword. With a slash, he cut the tendril in half. Then, grabbing Agnis' hand, he quickly pulled her onto her feet.
"Thanks." Agnis brought her hand up to her face. She gently rubbed it, trying to get rid of the pain. "I thought I was a goner."
Zeraph quickly pulled her in into his arms. His sword strike is upwards, cutting the black tendrils that came towards Agnis again. "No time to thank me. There is more coming." He looked out towards the retreating tendrils.
Zero finally made it safely down, and M2 followed closely. They were slightly out of breath from the hurried step-down.
"Agnis, you okay?"
"Yea, thanks to Zeraph."
"Get back!" Zeraph jumped backward with Agnis in his arms. His sword was quickly blocking the attack of the tendrils that were attacking them both.
Zero pulled out his sword in hand and attacked. "It keeps coming back. We need to kill the source!"
"I don't see the body anywhere." M2 was hopping from one tendril to the next, chopping each like sushi.
At that moment, the fog slowly cleared up. A large crystal clear lake was open up for everyone to see and in the middle of the lake was a fairy-like being the size of a human. Her lower body was a mix of a water plant that floated on top of the water.
Hundred of green vines erupted from the waters and shot toward Zero's group. Zero dodged out of harm's way before he could be caught up in the vines. His sword slashed outwards, cutting down any that got in his way.
M2, Agnis, and Zeraph all split ways, trying their best to dodge or cut down the vines that were trying to grab them.
Swamp Fairy
Level 215. All other information was not able to be identified.
"Hellllllp!" A dozen soldiers emerged from the fog and were dragged toward the lake.
"Nooo!"
"I can't move!"
Agnis rushed in to save the soldiers coiled around the monster's vines. She hacked and slashed all around her saving them from death.
"Agnis! Why did you save them?" Zeraph hissed. He was giving her the death glare.
"They're people!"
"No, they're data, and you just saved your soon-to-be killers!" Zeraph jumped and stabbed the vine into the ground before it could trap him. "If you don't understand what you're doing, you will get all of us killed."
Agnis scowled at Zeraph's words. "You don't understand the concept of a life."
"I certainly do. I like mine, and I will keep it that way." Zeraph ran forward, and instead of helping the fellow soldier being dragged in by the monster, he went in for a strike.
"That's Zeraph for you." Zero came up next to Agnis. "He does have a point."
"Still!"
"It's your choice. I'm not going to say anything about it."
"So, are you going to help me?"
"That's a matter of opinion. I'm going to kill the monster so we can get out of here. If I save someone, so be it, but my priority is not the soldiers. As Zeraph said, they are enemies."
Agnis sighed; her sword was up to her as she slashed downwards, cutting the vines in half. "So be it." She ran in to save a soldier's life.
Zero was in a dilemma, he agreed with Zeraph, but at the same time, he knew that helping out the NPC could also bring in a favorable outcome. Right now, he scraped the thought out of his mind and instead focused on the Swamp Fairy.
"Holy Wrath!" Agnis yelled, her blades skidding across the vines and upwards toward the Swamp Fairy's body. A blazing trail of holy fire followed after burning the monster in seconds.
"I suggest that we aim for the weak points. At this rate, we won't do any damage to the Swamp Fairy." M2 spoke. He dashed in and struck multiple times. The vines that were encroaching were shredded in seconds.
"There is a crystal in its chest!" Zeraph jumped up onto a thick vine that shot at him. He ran
towards the Swamp Fairy at full speed. "Dance of the Lotus!"
A lightning-fast attack erupted from his blade, cutting in a flower pattern. Small chunks of the plants were scattered around Zeraph like a lotus petal as it drifted down onto the ground.
"Beautiful swordsmanship as always." M2 chuckled in happiness. He jumped up onto an anchored vine and ran up its side. "I do suggest it to have more power behind it." Then, like a storm, M2 carved a bloody magical seal over the Swamp fairy's body.
"Activate!"
Boom! An inferno raged around the Swamp Fairy, incinerating all her vines in seconds. She screamed an aching pain and huddled over into a fetus. M2 jumped off the Swamp Fairy and landed perfectly next to Zeraph.
"See, something like that would be considered a lot better. On the other hand, I'm positive I took a good chunk out of its health."
"Nope." Zeraph shook his head. "You just pissed it off. So now you're the target."
"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!" With a high pierced scream, the Swamp Fairy let out a painful scream that made everyone in the vicinity have a temporarily stunning effect placed on them.
"Good luck in keeping it off your back." Zeraph slapped M2 on his back and ran the opposite way away from M2.
The Swamp Fairy's lower half was merged with plants and burst apart, showing a horse's body.