Entering the forest, Jin's body flinches upon feeling something was not right coming below him. A black magic circle appeared before it swallowed his feet, but Jin was faster and focused all the mana into his feet to create another step.
"Airwalk!".
His body launched up, but above him, four magic circles appeared from all directions surrounding him. Jin unsheathed his Katana blade and slashed all the incoming tentacle hands, which were made of black mud.
'Tch, full of traps'. Ji landed on the ground, which caused a rustle to invoke other traps plastered across the tree around him.
"Such troublesome personality you have!".
All the black magic circles shone in ominous color before it released hundreds of black arrows, darts, and even all tiny deadly weapons that relentlessly aimed at Jin. He slashed all the incoming spells and dodged some of them, utilizing his footwork and geography.
However, with numerous traps that the enemy had prepared, the advantage of using trees as shields was a bit hard to implement.
Jin maneuvers across the maze trees and sometimes has to deal with the incoming traps that keep harassing him. Another black magic circle shone, and the ground beneath him sank, revealing a big enough hole with pointy steel bare its sharpness.
"That's it, I've had enough!".
A blue vein popped out from Jin's temple. As Jin slammed his fist to the ground, a huge green magic circle appeared. The flow of the wind began to change, and all the surrounding trees began to sway, followed by the howl of the disasters that blew away the surrounding trees in the form of a huge cyclone.
"Whirlwind!".
In the center, Jin poured a tremendous amount of mana into the circles, strengthening the spell and causing a small destruction in the surrounding area.
After the cyclone disappeared, the forest turned eerily death-quiet as the surrounding view became much brighter, and the ground was filled with nothing of strong earthy scent.
"I don't think that the young master of the Midnight family will have no brain like this". Footsteps rang in front of him, and a robed person appeared, holding Nina in his grasp.
"Don't try to play words with me! What was that, sarcasm? Then, there is no way a magnanimous person such as yourself will let a little girl be involved in danger, right? That was your mission from the start to take the girl away and deliver it to someone…".
The robed person keeps his mouth shut as Jin continues his rambling.
"...So, there is no way that her life was in danger!".
"Kehehe, I don't know about that!".
"Let's see how long you can cover that face of yours!".
Jin disappeared from his place and arrived within the robe person's sight in a blink. He extended his hand forward, trying to snatch Nina's back, but a shadow moved in a fluid motion and slapped his palm as Jin jolted back.
"A tentacle?! What are you, Slender-man?".
Under the hood, the person smirked in glee, and then, from behind the robbed person's back, eight mollusk hands stretched toward Jin's in all directions.
Under the pressure of the enemy's bombardment, Jin's mental state was perfectly calm, and a flash of image appeared before his eyes. Jin leaped back before sheathing his blade and preparing his Iai posture.
[Black Heaven style Swordsmanship - Lightning Flash]
All the tentacles that had arrived within his blade range had all been cut into pieces, opening up a wide enough gap for Jin to lunge toward his enemies. Then, arriving before his enemy, Jin unleashed another swordsmanship technique.
[Black Heaven style Swordsmanship - Lightning Flash]
In a blink, Nina's body was falling along the robed person's hand. Jin hurriedly took Nina in hand and leaped back to gain some distance. Once he landed, Jin checked Nina's condition, and her breathing and complexion were normal. She was only asleep.
"Khehehehahaha… Aaah, your swordsmanship was truly superb. Even I couldn't follow it with my eyes!".
With a thud, the robbed person's hand landed on the ground, and then it started to convulse like a tail that had been cut. Jin's eyes opened wide as he saw the abnormal situation happening before him.
*Awooo!
A loud howl that shook the entire forest and atmosphere resonated in the world. Jin's body shuddered under the chilling pressure that pierced his skin. He hugged Nina tight in his chest and let the madness stop.
"So, it began, huh?! But…". The robbed person smirked under his hood, connected his thoughts, and began to instruct the monster to come to its place. 'This place seemed more fun!'.
Jin could feel on his skin that the flow of the wind had changed twice, and he wondered what was happening. All the hair in his body jerked up, prickling up his nerves as the monstrous being approached his place.
'This scent of death!'. He looked in a certain direction before a looming shadow covered the open space as it landed in the middle, raising a cloud of dust over the field.
The vibration crawl along his nerves informed Jin that the being that came was pretty massive in size. He opened his eyes and found an elongated mouth facing his way with its ferocious gaze, ready to tear his flesh any time. 'A wolf?'.
After ensuring the chance of victory is big, the robbed person opens up the hood and reveals his pale white average face. The man looks unhealthy, with bags under his eyes and a lanky figure.
"Now, Let's see how long you can survive our onslaught, Khehehehahaha…".
Two monstrous figures stood imposingly before Jin along the sunken light. Darkness was slowly creeping out of the world, enhancing the whispering shadows that laughed at Jin for being alone at this moment.
'Damn it!'. Jin cursed under his breath and glanced at the girl's figure in his hand.
'Huuf, calm down. I must prevail.' Jin exhaled all the tension in his body as he lay Nina's body under the shade of the tree and slipped her into the corner of the roots. He placed his palm on the girl and evoked his spells.
"Barrier!".
He released his hand, and a swirling wind began to gather at Nina's place, creating a thin layer of protective film. But Jin's spell was not stopping from that; another and another layer added to the barrier, making it thick enough to protect her from the fight.
[Elemental Enhancement activates]
The glow in Jin's body intensified before it compressed into a thick layer of aura surrounding it. He glanced at the enemies before him, who were willingly waiting as he prepared his middle stance.
"Bring it on!".
Several magic circles appeared surrounding Jin, and the howl that shook the entire forest bare its fangs to Jin, and he began his defensive battle.
A black magician opened its first attack in the form of an arrow, which rained down above Jin. He dashed forward and tried to take care of the lanky man swiftly, but white fur coated in crimson veins blocked his vision, and sharp claws descended diagonally, almost ripping apart his body.
Jin leaped backward and swung his blade sideways while launching his wind spell.
"Go! Wind Slashes".
With no magic circles, Jin did it as if breathing, and multiple slashes created by compressed wind flew toward the enemy group. The lanky man who excels in magic spread his hand wide to create a black ominous barrier that devoured Jin's spell.
Meanwhile, the wolf circled toward Jin's left side. The monster smirked before its tail glowed in an ominous crimson-mixed-green aura.
It was so fast, and Jin, who barely sidestepped to the side, was sweating because of the damage it had caused. A straight trail of gouged earth and uprooted trees drenched his back, but Jin had no leeway to take his breath as another attack from the man intensified.
Jin was painfully aware of his condition. The ferocious and aggressive approach from the wolf disturbed him each time he tried to cast a spell. Also, the man's high-speed cast of spell made Jin think twice before clashing head-on because of the traps that had been re-established.
Despite having trained for so long, Jin, who barely retains his complete memory, had to endure and must experience another growth that will take him one step closer to his goal of achieving unparalleled strength and protecting what's important to him.
He deflected the incoming claws and used the wolf's massive body to protect his unguarded back from the spell the man cast. 'I'm getting the hang of this!'. Jin could feel it instinctively that the longer he fought, the greater his battle sense returned.
The wolf's fur stood as it released a tiny crackle from its four limbs. Jin jumped backward and prepared his spell, but the wolf started pursuing him. 'Tch, persistence wolf!'.
Jin canceled his spell and sheathed his blade, but another disturbance came from below him. A black magic circle appeared as it spewed black mud that turned into chains and restrained his limbs.
"Shit?!". Jin looked toward the man, who hid behind the shadow of a tree, with a gleeful expression on his face.
Meanwhile, the wolf opened its maw wide, its jagged red teeth. The foul scent of a rotting corpse, mixed with the pungent smell of blood, made his face contort in disgust.
"Whirl…?". Jin's spell was canceled.
"Go!".
A clear, soft voice belonging to the woman echoed within the battlefield as a green arrow coated by elemental energy flew toward the wolf's head.