The next morning, they set out again, walking north.
They encountered some Komodo dragons along the way, but this time, they were not in groups like the ones that attacked them yesterday. Instead, they hunted individually, as they normally would.
Seeing these creatures, the team members didn't disturb them. In turn, the creatures ignored them as well.
Everyone was silent, still haunted by the grief from Mason's death.
They walked until they reached a swamp, stretching two kilometers long and one kilometer wide. It was truly an expansive one.
Gabriel had told them on the first night they stayed at the shelter that they would pass through this place and meet the resident crocodiles.
To the right of the swamp, there were several small mountains, with gaps between them fed by the swamp.
According to Gabriel, these mountains couldn't be climbed because they were just piles of forest debris and could collapse under even a slight weight.
So, they had to cross the swamp on foot.
Ash followed them into the swamp, grumbling. He had to carry Jagu, who refused to walk on his own and instead asked to be carried.
So, Ash ended up carrying the mighty creature on his shoulder, wading through the waist-deep swamp water.
"Aren't you a statue? Why are you afraid of water?" Ash grumbled.
Jagu let out a sad whimper, which only made Ash grumble even more. "You're heavy, you know," Ash complained again.
The other team members walking ahead of him chuckled a bit when they heard Ash's grumbles, which lightened their mood a little.
They walked cautiously, dragging their feet through the swampy water. Except for Ash, now in the middle of the group, the others were ready with their weapons.
Albert had his bow drawn, alert for any movement from the swamp crocodiles.
Unbeknownst to them, a huge crocodile swam underwater toward them. Jagu, in Ash's arms, noticed the crocodile.
He whimpered softly, which was met with Ash's breathless grumbles.
"Can you be quiet? Don't make noise," Ash whispered.
Hearing his master still grumbling, Jagu fell silent, and suddenly his pupils flashed yellow for a second.
Suddenly, Ash's vision split into two screens—one showing his own view and one showing behind him.
Ash stood frozen, confused by what he saw.
"Ash, what's wrong?" Gabriel whispered, causing the team to halt briefly.
Still confused, Ash replied, "N-nothing." He resumed walking, followed by the others.
"Is this your doing, Jagu?" Ash asked Jagu silently.
Jagu whimpered softly, then directed his gaze to where the large crocodile was.
Ash, struggling to split his focus between the two images in his sight, finally saw what Jagu saw.
The swamp water behind them, calm after they had passed, started to move slowly again.
"What's that?" Ash asked Jagu again, mentally.
Jagu only whimpered and kept his gaze fixed on the moving water's surface.
Suddenly, Ash gasped, seeing small bumps appear briefly on the surface, then disappear back underwater.
All the team members looked at Ash simultaneously upon hearing his gasp, and Albert, slightly annoyed, asked, "What's the matter this time?"
"Something's following us from behind, under the water," Ash replied.
Ash's answer shocked all the team members, and they all looked back in unison.
They saw nothing but water, moss, swamp vegetation, and forest debris.
"Are you sure?" Gabriel asked Ash, his eyes cautiously scanning the surrounding area.
"Y-Yes," Ash replied.
Everyone else exchanged tense glances.
"We can't risk a crocodile silently biting our legs," Albert said, pointing his arrow in that direction.
"What should we do?" Liliana asked.
"We have to fight it, of course," Gabriel answered, then picked up a piece of wood floating on the swamp's surface.
He threw the wood to where Ash had pointed.
When the wood touched the water's surface, the crocodile that had been stalking them suddenly attacked it, causing swamp water to splash everywhere.
Ash gasped at the crocodile's size.
Albert immediately shot his arrow at the crocodile, hitting its eye. The crocodile thrashed, sending water, moss, and swamp debris flying.
With his greatsword raised, Gabriel advanced on the crocodile. When it exposed its belly, Gabriel drove his greatsword into it.
The crocodile thrashed even more violently, widening the wound caused by the greatsword still lodged in its belly.
Gabriel held onto the greatsword, continuing to widen the crocodile's wound. Before long, the crocodile stopped moving. Blood turned the swamp water red.
"Wow," Ash murmured in awe.
Gabriel walked back to the team, grinning at Ash. "You're going to enjoy some delicious crocodile meat later," he said.
"Gabriel," called Liliana. "We need to leave quickly. The smell of blood will attract more crocodiles."
Gabriel, as the team leader, thought for a moment, then said, "Ash, can you call your spider?"
"I will try," Ash replied, focusing on summoning Spidy, and soon he was standing before them.
Standing at seven meters tall, the humans below looked like dwarfs in comparison. Spidy's eight legs were firmly planted in the swamp's underwaterground.
"Can you ask Spidy to carry all of us, Ash?" Gabriel asked.
"I don't know, never done that before. But I'll try," Ash replied, and attempted to command Spidy to carry them through the swamp.
His eight eyes moved around, looking at Ash, then he lowered his body. Ash looked at his hairy body, shuddered, but set aside his discomfort.
He walked to his side and, with Gabriel's help, lifted the pampered Jagu on Spidy's back. Ash then climbed up with Gabriel's assistance.
However, Gabriel, Albert, and Maya easily jumped onto Spidy.
Once everyone was on board, Spidy swiftly moved through the swamp, passing all the crocodiles gathering due to the scent of blood.
After about half an hour, they finally reached the edge of the swamp.
Spidy carefully lowered them, and Ash quickly commanded him to return to the grimoire. If they took too long, Ash's magic stat would deplete, and it would take a long time to replenish.
All the team members sat down, exhausted, by the swamp's edge. After catching their breath, they began walking again.
By the time they reached a cave by the seaside, the sun was already starting to set.