Inside the fog forest, the trees stand like silent phantoms, and a thick mist wraps them in secrecy, as the name suggests. The landscape is shrouded in shadow by low visibility; sharp, creeping calls of birds echo with menace, their talons cracking the fallen leaves and branches beneath their feet. Shapes dart through the fog as they make cautious passage.
"Let's all stick together, and none of you should dissolve from the formation," Sam warns, his voice cutting through the fog like steel. "If any of you see anything suspicious, bring it to our attention. Don't act recklessly." They proceed in a tight, circular formation.
After ten tense minutes winding through the mist, Drake feels a sudden prickling pain in his head, compelling him to turn toward his right. "I sense a presence over there," he whispers-the finger tracing through the fog like a compass needle.
They all turn, eyes narrowing, but they see nothing except a wall of fog. "Are you talking about the snake between your feet? " Ben teases slyly, his voice pointing downward. In a startled jerk, Drake lifts his foot off the ground as if he has stepped on embers. "Haa, haa, huuu!
Where is it?
He wheezes, his leg jigging up and down in panic, before falling flat on his rear, dignity scattered with the fallen leaves. Larry walks over, tugging a grin up from the corners of his mouth. "I know you're scared, but we're strong enough for you to rely on," he says, patting Drake's shoulder with a hearty thump.
"Joke aside, get back into position on the formation. Let's move on." Sam's brow furrows and his teeth grit in a glare toward them.
Larry looks embarrassed, ducking his head to fall back into formation. Drake's gaze clings to the place, an unease gnawing at him like a phantom until he realizes he's falling behind.
They trudge on for another hour deeper into the forest, wending their way upwards in a southeasterly direction. Again, a sharp pain knives through Drake's head; a warning pulsates through his senses. "Guys, I think they're coming from the back," he whispers, his words as taut as bowstrings.
They spin around, suspicion flickering in their eyes. "Drake, however brilliant you are, don't start with tricks here," Sam snaps, his tone tight and frayed.
"I'm telling you; I feel it-something's coming from back there," Drake insists, clenching his fist and pointing with a determined hand. Just then, as they would have dismissed him, two gleaming yellow orbs pierce through the fog behind them.
A chill drips down their spines. Gagga, gagga, gagga, the menacing sound claws at their ears. "That sound … it's a Crimson Rot Fox," Lilly mutters, shaking like the fogs around them, her teeth chattering with fear. "Don't you worry, there's just one fox," Sam says, hefting his axe.
"But. I have this bad feeling," Drake says, stroking his chin deep in reflection.
"What do you mean?
They turn to him, their eyes wide, hanging on his words like worshippers waiting for divine revelation. Their suspense is broken as Lilly's shaking hand rises toward the same direction as the fox. "Everyone." She mutters, fear freezing her voice.
Turning, they see not just two eyes but dozens, multiplying before their horrified gaze. "What. twenty crimson rot foxes?" Ben mutters, his voice barely a breath. "How can this place harbor such a swarm? Is this your 'uneasy feeling'?\" Sam asks, turning to Drake, whose hands lift in a helpless shrug. "Maybe. Not sure."
Sam's gaze tightens. "Watch out; don't let them cleave your skin. Everyone into position!" Sam's eyes, hard as flint, shift to Drake. "Drake, don't act rashly, but help when the time calls for it.
The foxes creep up, their eyes shining like cursed jewels, as they begin to envelop the group in a pincer move-the Fox King held menacingly in the back. "Ggrooow," he orders with a guttural snarl, and the pack surges toward them, teeth bared in a vicious wave.
Larry-the tank-moves to the front, his shield held high. "Water aura: Aqua Resonance Tsunami Pulse, 3 circle." he hollers, his mana flaring.
A mana circle glows beneath his shield, and with one great smash, a shockwave ripples out, foxes scattering like leaves in its path. "Water aura: Aqua Piercers, Ocean's Fang, " Sam calls, his sword glinting as another circle solidifies at its tip. It gleams lethally sharp and cuts through the air, striking down three foxes mid-leap.
Ben covers their flank, firing arrows as Binter amplifies their magic. Another guttural growl echoes-a crimson rot fox closing in on Lilly. "Yell, yell! " she screams, voice hoarse with fear.
Ben, Drake, and Binter spin to face the fox as it launches itself. There is no time to cast, and Ben fires, his arrow barely grazing its hide. In less than a heartbeat, the fox's wounds seal, and it leaps at Lilly.
Just then, "Water spell: Aqua Dragon's Roar," blasts it back in a surge of water, flipping it through the air.
They manage to dispatch the foxes, but the Crimson Rot Fox King remains, his eerie gaze fixed on them, stalking forward as their breaths come ragged and shallow, stamina waning.
They step back-the ground gritty underfoot-but the fox king lets out a resounding "Gruooow, gruooow," summoning a twisted force. All the foxes that have fallen melt into a living dark fluid, trickling down like cursed rivers toward their king as the earth shrivels under its touch.
The dark fluid permeated the Fox King, his form distorting in an ugly manner into an ugly transformation. "Gruooow, gruooow, gruooow," it screamed while its body grew to double the size.
A third, fiery-red eye appeared on its forehead, the mouth splitting into three monstrous segments lined with serrated teeth. They are left speechless, with horror etched into their faces, while corrosive saliva drools out of its jaws, sizzling where it hits the ground.