As the cerulean skies became obscured by clouds, a strong breeze ruffled through the East Leaf Wilderness.
In a certain part of the woodland, a chaotic scene was playing out. Enraged growls filled with boundless ferocity streamed together in a jarring, but deafening cacophony.
Two fighters stood against the mass of creatures opposing them.
The first was a white-haired man, who had a scar that travelled down the left side of his face. His sword flashed unrelentingly, making easy work of the creatures that dared come near him. William maintained a sombre expression as he slowly but surely went about dealing with the beast horde.
The first few seconds were the toughest, because of being assaulted by the full momentum of the approaching creatures. However, thanks to his partner, the Head instructor came out relatively unscathed and even thinned a considerable number of the beast's ranks.
Blood tainted the moss-covered floor of the forest crimson. The corpses of the beast were piling up, which helped the scarred man funnel the creatures into more manageable chunks.
To his left, Nix utilised the sledgehammer in his hands with harrowing proficiency. Around him, destruction and death encircled his figure. Numerous corpses crushed to a paste and even some apes, wolves, and boars had their skulls caved in after a mighty blow from the former soldier.
The surrounding carnage suggested the grey-haired man possessed herculean strength. And it wasn't wrong to think so, as the muscles beneath his black attire rippled once more.
This time, the unfortunate creature in his path, a wolf with silver fur. It roared revealing a menacing maw of sharp teeth, before pouncing toward him.
Endless lust for blood swirled ominously in its eyes.
Unfazed, Nix merely shifted his weapon and sent it barrelling towards his deranged foe. Just like the beasts before it, the silver wolf met its end at the stalwart Hammer instructor.
As the duo continued fighting, feeling like it might never end, William gritted his teeth, dodged the outstretched claw of an ape that sought to maim him, and sent a devastating slash of his sword in return.
As his steel weapon sliced through the neck of the beast, he allowed his thoughts to stray towards his students.
'I hope they're doing okay.'
Bolstered by the thought, William fought with greater intensity, hoping that the trainees were safe. However, a seed of unease couldn't help but bloom within his heart.
He had to make it back to his students.
And fast.
***
In another section of the Wilderness, this area wrought with greater destruction and carnage, a man with an eyepatch clashed against a creature that stood on all fours. Brown fur covered its hide, and two bloodshot eyes stared at Phantom with undisguised aggression.
Stocky legs, long snout and small rounded ears combined to give a grizzly sight.
As the bear roared in defiance, a green hue suddenly covered Phantom's spear before he swiftly thrust. The black-haired man's speed doubled, before his weapon converged within inches of the Mana Beast.
Yet the creature used its claws to deflect the attack at the last second, before using its other paw to swipe at the human before it. Knowing he would be in trouble if the bear's strike connected with his body, the Spear instructor summoned a gust of wind to push himself out of the way.
A small dust cloud kicked up in the air.
With the natural smokescreen obscuring the bear's location for a few moments, Phantom inhaled deeply, before a pale green hue covered his figure. Numerous wind slashes sped forward, cleaving the dust cloud seeking to impale the beast.
The bear roared once more, this time a few octaves higher. Phantom guessed a few of his attacks must have stuck true.
'Heh, this is what you get, you overgrown teddy bear.'
Currently, they were in a small clearing, surrounded by a dense copse of trees. Already a vast portion of the verdant behemoths lay on the floor, toppled from the aftershocks of his battle with the bear.
As the wind howled and a pale, viridescent armour enveloped Phantom's figure, the bearded man turned his thoughts towards his little hen for a moment.
'You better stay put, my little hen... Transcendents help me if even one hair on your head gets harmed…'
The Spear instructor's movements hastened, while his solemn expression deepened. He had to deal with this pesky Mana Beast and get back to the trainees as soon as possible.
With a fierce bellow, Phantom gripped his spear and rushed toward the brown bear.
He would teach the overgrown teddy bear a lesson. It would pay for separating him from his little hen.
***
Back in the clearing where the trainees gathered, a tense silence enveloped the place. At the noble's declaration, all the youngsters apart from Nico and Henry moved out of the way. One or two clenched their fists, hesitation gripping their hearts.
Ultimately, though, once they thought of their families back home, the decision became clear. They sent apologetic glances towards the half-blood, to which Leon nodded and smiled softly in return.
He bore no grudge with these people and understood why they couldn't help him.
They had their families to think about, after all. Unlike him… well, maybe not so much… the half-blood gazed at his two companions warmly.
If there was anything that resembled an ounce of what family felt like, it was them.
On the other side of the verdant expanse, Lucas, satisfied by the number of his peers who had surrendered, watched as the Boss retrieved an intricate-looking glass from his pocket.
Then, the bald man rummaged through the small pouch for an iridescent crystal and placed it inside a groove at the bottom of the mirror.
As he observed the Boss's actions, Nico's intuition blared at him in alarm. Something was up with that mirror… something wrong, perverse and dangerous.
"It is just your luck that you have antagonised Master Lucas…" the Boss's wicked voice echoed. "May your souls return to the Lord of Death…"
Just as the lavishly dressed man finished speaking, Nico saw a crimson light slowly seep out of the mirror. His heart skipped a beat.
His mind went into overdrive, feverishly trying to put together the pieces his intuition wanted him to. That was when he recalled a certain memory back during their mission.
Demetri had warned them of the White Cobras, stating that the members of the fallen merchant caravan had their faces perpetually frozen in fear.
Sally's face also flashed through his eyes, pale white in fright.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl. The light from the mirror grew stronger with every passing second. Just as the radiance peaked, almost resembling the intense wave from the Sun Charm…
"CLOSE YOUR EYES!'
… Nico bellowed urgently toward Henry and Leon.
He hastily closed his eyes. He did not have any time to check whether the farmer or half-blood had done the same.
An ominous wave of crimson light flooded the clearing. Nico struggled to keep his eyes closed. Through his closed eyelids, he gradually sensed the light dim, before he cautiously opened them.
"Nice reactions," Nico heard one of the cloaked men praise. He squinted, eyes still marginally needing to recover after being assaulted by the eerie radiance.
He shifted his head, scanning his companions from head to toe anxiously. Luckily, his worries were unfounded. Leon and Henry had closed their eyes in the nick of time.
"Phew, that was a close one…" the green-eyed farmer muttered under his breath. His eyes widened for a moment, before he turned and stared at his fellow peers.
"N-Nico," Henry extended a trembling finger toward the rest of the trainees.
The remaining forty-six youths stood frozen in place, eyes glassy, and an expression of deep horror marring their features. Tears streamed down their cheeks, and quite a few had their faces twisted into a nasty grimace, no doubt experiencing their most horrid nightmares.
Nico's expression turned grim at the sight. He clenched his right fist tightly, the other hand gripping the spear, and whirled around to face Lucas and the White Cobras.
The Stanburg heir entered another crazed cackling fit. "Hahahahaha, how do you like that?"
Nico shook his head and gritted his teeth. They outnumbered his group six to three, not to mention the fact that his opponents were battle-hardened bandits, probably possessing vast degrees of experience.
A bead of sweat slid down his face.
Things weren't looking too good.