It was finally day three of Round Two and things were looking good. Xavier and Lance's arrival was a blessing in disguise for them. After Chrono had easily defeated them, they gained an additional 30 scrolls. Due to this, they now had a total of 42 Scrolls Of Life.
They walked calmly through the Forest Of Mortem with bags strapped across their backs. They were now in the middle of the forest where the sunlight could hardly reach them. The canopy of the large trees filtered the sunlight, making it almost look as if it was nighttime.
Shadows zoomed in and around the trees, watching them closely. The air was chilly and a slight sense of danger lurked in the air.
"We have a lot of scrolls now. Do you think we have enough to secure a spot in the top 50?" Queried Eliisabet.
"Maybe. But I think we should gather a few more just to be safe," answered Custos.
"Then afterward we can head to the finish line..?"
"That's the most reasonable option."
Eliisabet then shifted her gaze onto Chrono who had been quiet for quite a while now. He had an almost unreadable expression on his face as if something was bothering him.
"Chrono? Are you okay?" She asked.
"I can't shake the feeling that something bad is going to happen."
"Isn't that the reason we're walking in the open like this? We're supposed to attract players who might think we're an easy kill. Though, I can also detect a few monsters on the hunt for us as well. It almost feels like we're surrounded..."
"That's not it. Something else is in the air. Something dark that feels like it shouldn't be here."
As the words left Chrono's lips, an ominous wind blew through the forest. The leaves of trees rustled and the grass around them danced to its rhythm.
Suddenly, a knife came whistling past Eliisabet's face, barely missing her. Seeing this, she quickly grabbed her yari, ready for battle. Custos and Chrono also came to a stop— both with their hands stuffed calmly in their pockets.
"It seems they've finally decided to make their move," muttered Custos.
In a matter of seconds, they found themselves surrounded by at least 15 enemies. They were all armed with weapons, ready to rob them of their scrolls.
However, the attackers all seemed confused.
"Why are there so many of us?" Asked one girl in confusion.
"Damn it..! Don't tell me these other idiots were also targeting these guys..!?" Cursed another male.
"The rest of you can all back off! We found these three first! They're ours! We'll deal with the rest of you after we're done with them!" Argued another.
Just then, one of the attackers let out a blood-curdling scream. He ran around, desperately trying to remove something from his back.
'What is this?! It hurts! It f****** hurts!!"
Everyone watched in bewilderment. Even Custos, Chrono, and Eliisabet were confused about what was happening. This wasn't a part of their plan.
However, by the next second, the screaming man fell to the ground with a thump. His body had shriveled and become old as if he had suddenly aged by 60 years. Crawling from over his shoulder was a large leech-like monster. It was the size of a house cat and had a strange brown color.
"A Hemo Leech..!" Muttered Eliisabet in shock.
Just then, everyone began to panic as Hemo Leeches fell from the tree atop them. They grabbed, kicked, and cut them down in fear of their lives but the more they killed, the more that fell. It was as if it was raining Hemo Leeches.
Little by little, the leeches sucked the Hemo Energy right out of their victims, leaving nothing but a trail of dried corpses.
"Damn it! Don't let them bite you! It will drain your Hemo Energy!" Warned Custos.
Just as things looked like they couldn't get any worse, a massive three-headed wolf came crashing through a large tree. It had glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. It stood at least 6 meters tall and had claws that were specially designed to kill its prey. It had been stalking the other competitors up until now.
While everyone was busy trying to avoid the Hemo Leeches, the three-headed wolf attacked. It zipped through a few of the competitors, tearing them to pieces.
"It's coming at us next!" Warned Custos.
"It's okay! I'll deal with it!" Shouted Eliisabet as she charged forward with her yari. "Bloodline Art: Lightning Spear!"
Purple lightning coated the blade of Eliisabet's yari and a slight rumbling like that of thunder could be heard. With a powerful jab of her yari, Eliisabet shoved her blade into one of the wolf's three heads, piercing its eye. It let out a loud yelp in agony as pain shot through its head.
However, this also infuriated the other two heads. The wolf came down with a powerful swing of its paws, ready to tear Eliisabet to pieces. Custos and Chronos wasted no time as soon as they saw this. They immediately jumped toward the massive monster, intercepting its attack at the last moment, saving Eliisabet's life.
"Thanks! You two saved me there!"
"Don't be too reckless! We're going to need to work together if we hope to take this one down!" Declared Chrono.
Chrono and Custos then immediately regrouped by Eliisabet's side. They looked up at the massive wolf which was now flaming with rage. Its three heads bared their razor-sharp teeth and drool fell from their mouths like a waterfall. They growled and snarled, putting their aggression on full display.
It then got ready to commence another attack. However, as soon as it was about to run toward them, it was slammed into the ground with tremendous force. The ground trembled as if a bomb had exploded and dust erupted into the air.
Custos, Chrono, and Eliisabet looked on in bewilderment. They weren't sure what had happened.
As soon as the dust began to clear, they noticed that the three-headed wolf now laid lifelessly before them. Blood ran from the mouths of its three heads and its back seemed to be broken. Taking a closer look, they also noticed that someone was standing on the wolf's back.
He looked around his early twenties and had slick silver hair and strange peppery eyes. He also wore a uniform which showed that he was also a student at Regnum's School Of Sicarius. However, for some reason, none of his teammates seemed to be with him.
"How interesting. It looks like I've finally come across just what I was looking for," he chuckled in a strange voice.
"W-who is this guy..? He killed that three-headed wolf in a single blow..!" Exclaimed Custos.
Chrono gritted his teeth, "Something isn't right about him... Is this guy the reason I've been having such a bad feeling all day..?"