The Malign Forest - At Night time
The Malign Forest exuded a peculiar atmosphere - a haunting blend of dread and allure.
It was a place where the unknown lurked behind every shadow, promising both peril and hidden bounty.
Treacherous yet rewarding, the forest tested courage and cunning, blurring the line between bravery and recklessness. As the saying goes, "Discretion is the better part of valor," and nowhere was this truer than in the Malign Forest.
Its creatures, sneaky and merciless, thrived on the careless, ensuring the unprepared find them to be the last thing they see.
For Yel and Merika, however, the forest was not a place to tempt fate or seek fortune. Their mission was clear: to reach the other side as swiftly and safely as possible. Cutting corners was not an option.
Yel had guided Merika a fair way past the forest entrance as they laid in cover behind a vacated bush. All the while, Yel's hand held Merika's.
"We're here; for now we'll have to stay low as I get the lay of the area. Past this point we can't risk any careless movements" Yel said then steadied his breathing and turned to Merika
"Are you alright my lady?" he asked
"..."
Merika stood silent, her body was in the forest, but her mind was still out of it and standing besides Stella, watching Leon holding his own against the brute.
"My lady?" Yel called again, this time tightening his grip on her hand to get her attention
"huh?" she quickly pulls her hand away from his clutches
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Yel bowed as apology. "You seemed concerned so I-"
"Don't worry about it" she said, rubbing her hand softly.
"I should be more conscious of where we find ourselves" she continued
Though she said this, Yel could tell her mind yet lingered
"Are...you worried about Stella and the others?" Yel asked
"..." she remained silent
Yel pondered for a moment what to say.
He was in the presence of royalty, and loose tongues rarely went unpunished.
He had to choose his next words carefully, despite his good intentions to afford the lady some comfort
"umm...if it helps any my lady - Leon the Sun Hero is said to have never lost a 1v1 encounter in his adventurer career" Yel said, scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact.
"So umm...they're going to be just fine"
Merika stared at Yel in shock
"(Didn't Stella say something along those lines as well?)" Merika thought, then chuckled softly
"Oh is that a fact? I thought it went - he never lost a 1v1 in this season - not his career" said Merika, satisfied she might know more than an actual adventurer did
"haha, you know how it goes. The rumor mill often exaggerates the vagues"
"huh, It is in our nature to exaggerate, especially when it concerns figures we admire. But you're right Yel. I shouldn't let my focus drift so. Let's resume our mission"
Merika said, somehow finding more comfort in Yel's words, despite it being just an inaccurate echo of Stella's.
Yel nodded and turned around to survey
"(Just as planned, we got into the forest at night. Most of the sneaky creatures are fast asleep)"
He looked around some more, getting a lay of the area ahead.
"(If we take the silent route and avoid the poisonous swarms and pollinated airs around the vixen flowers we should be safe for now)"
Yel calculating their path of traversal, then turned to Merika
"My lady, please stay close and follow me"
she nodded. "Lead the way, Yel"
They left the bushes and carefully walked on, light on their step to ensure the hoots of owls and chirps of crickets remained the only sounds to be heard.
Meanwhile - the fields outside the forest
Leon and Jugo were squaring off with their weapons, as Jugo had recovered his spike club.
But,
"tsk...(what the hell is going on!?)" Jugo was becoming severely overpowered by Leon
"hmph!" Leon skillfully shifted his sword around and pushes Jugo back with a sideways stroke.
"urgh!" he struggled to regain his balance, having suffered multiple injuries
Then, he heard a voice,
A charming and alluring voice, humming a sweet melody.
The voice was getting louder
"Siren Priestess Skill - Siren Call!" Stella had suspended her staff mid-air, as she sung in a voice as captivating as a Siren's
"urgghhh..." Jugo's focus and defenses severely got hampered by the Siren skill as his body was not listening to him.
He also found himself slowly gravitating towards the pull of the Siren's call involuntarily
Leon saw this as an opportunity to continue the attack, making use of the opening that was created
"(Must be that woman!) STEEL SKIN!" Jugo activated the skill, reinforcing his defenses to withstand Leon's incoming attack, despite being distracted
"Sever his defenses, Atelier - Scorch!!" Leon though, was about to counter the Steel skin.
Atelier orb lit up as the rune sword heated up, radiating a hot vapor
"Tsk! (not this again, I have to step away or my defenses would be shattered!!)"
Jugo wanted to leap back but discovered he was unable to
"WHA!?" His feet was stepped on by Leon to hinder his movement.
"He-" Jugo did not see that coming
"Got you now!" Leon quickly transitioned from his initial attack to a different skill
"The scorch was a feint!!?" Jugo stunned as Leon unleashed a upward diagonal attack skill
"Atelier - Forward, Rising Sun!!!"
"ARGGGHHHH!!!"
The attack struck Jugo's chest, unleashing a magma wave that burned his flesh and hurled him into the distance, where it exploded into a towering pillar of fire
A powerful technique that clinched the bout as Jugo got knocked out.
The move was powerful, but exhausing as Leon had to support himself with Atelier to avoid falling down.
Stella stopped singing and rushed to his side
"DId that do it?" she asked, immediately activating the healing technique once again
"Hard to say... ugh! his steel skin can be troublesome to break through but I had to feint the Scorch, otherwise the Rising sun wouldn't have connected" Leon said, still feeling a bit of pain himself
"You think Al will make it in time?" Leon asked Stella
"I believe so. I still would've preferred you be the one to go after them you know" said Stella pouting
"heh. Al is quicker, and if it's between him and me, he'll navigate the treacherous forest faster, particularly during night time. Added to that, he'll also be the best to help them escape any threat however grave it might be"
Leon said, making use of some of the energy Stella just helped him recover to stand by himself once more
"We both know he was the best option" he concluded
"Huh, I guess. Still...I dunno, I still don't like it. Merika's not particularly fond of the guy"
"That's lady Merika, Stella. And yes, while that's true she doesn't have to be, and she's mature enough to pick what's important from what's not"
Leon said, putting away Atelier and staring at Jugo who laid on the ground, seemingly lifeless
"Let's check on the remaining survivors, once they can move we shall resume the mission" he concluded, heading towards the cleric on the far side
Stella lingered behind for a short while, pondering the situation
"(It's weird...why was this one so loose with the info of a partner lying in wait on the otherside...surely he's not so stupid to have exposed such a critical bit of information; one that if kept a secret would've easily caught us off guard)"
She stared at Jugo's body
"(Unless...he willingly told us this, expecting, no, wanting us to react. But why?)"
Stella started walking towards the cleric, still analyzing the situation
"(If there really is another partner, this...Maghull, and if he had the same menacing presence like Al said... a partner who was also capable of crafting this... scheme, surely said partner would've known teaming with the brute and attacking us out here would've increased their chances of success)"
Then Stella stopped walking
"(No...they couldn't do that, because we might've use the forest to pull clear. Only, they still could if they managed their element of surprise effectively...But then, they didn't, which means...)"
Stella stared at the forest ahead
"(They were many ways the shadow walkers could've played this but they chose not to... hmmm... something doesn't add up here... and the common denominator is this...unknown partner lying in wait...)"
"Stella? what's wrong?" Leon asked, interrupting her train of thought
"huh? oh...it's nothing" she lets out a fake smile
"Spare me your fake smiles and tell me what's going on in that head of yours"
"*sighs* I forget there's nothing I can hide from you Leon. I... just feel like we're missing something important here" Stella said, still thinking about the whole ordeal
"I agree; however we have a contigency"
"Contingency?" Stella asked suprised she heard nothing of this contigency
"Yes. the stones I gave to you and Al are fakes"
"huh!?" Stella quickly reached for the stones in her keeping.
The same she was talking to Al about back in the guild.
"fake!? what do you mean?" she asked
"Exactly that. The stones you 2 possess are presence intensifying stones. Crushing them will have the opposite effect to the invisibility stones"
"...that means while in the forest, if Al crushes this..."
"He'll attract the deadly creatures that slumbers therein" Leon said
"..." Stella stayed silent
She's not questioning Leon's decision
Instead, she's trying to figure out why he did it, why he gave them the wrong stones. That's how much she trusted him
"I gave the 2 invisibility stones to Yel. You see, when I went to the party room for the briefing, my intention was to scout for us a potential trump card, something to outmanoeuver whatever plans the shadow walkers could come up with"
"So if Yel and Merika crush the stones they'll be safe in the forest?" Stella asked
"Not only that, but if either you or Al crush the stones-"
"We will pull all the dangers to ourselves, giving Yel and Merika room to make it safely to the otherside. Also, if faced with a greater threat, with our experience, we can make use of the eventual chaos to turn the tables on any opposition" Stella interjected to reveal the result of her analysis
Leon nodded. "Exactly"
"...I see. Huh... It's a foolproof plan Leon, but was it really necessary to keep me out of the loop as well?" Stella asked, slightly aggrieved
"Yes, it was. To ensure the mission's success they're decisions I required of you both to make without thinking, and what better way than if you thought it was something else" he responded
"harsh! but I'd expect nothing less." Stella smiled, after realizing it was a decision not made out of distrust, but of circumstance
Then she caught up with him
"Still Al will be in for a nasty surprise when he crushes the stone after catching up to Yel and Merika" Stella said smiling
"heh, aren't you glad he was the eager one" Leon said turning back to the cleric
"Thank the shepherds he wa..." Stella's words trailed, as her mind froze for but a brief moment after coming to a sudden realization
"hm? Stella?" Leon noticed her shocked expression
"(An action...hidden by the thought of another...)" Stella thought. Then,
she recalls Jugo's words once more
"one of the lords of the shadow walkers anticipated this, and is currently making his move. Once they emerge-"
"It's goodbye lassie and hello true scripture. HAHAHAHAHA HOW FUNNY IS THAT!? HEHEHEHEHE"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA IT'S ACTUALLY MAD YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME! THIS IS TOO MUCH! HAHAHAHA"
and then Al's response
"...Actually, Leon"
"I can pick up a faint disturbance in the forest...bearing the same malicious intent as the brute in front of us"
"(What if...there really was no partner...and Al faked that... If that is the case then... the redclaw attack far away from their natural habitat, the brute's presence here and his loose tongue... everything will sum up...) Oh no...shepherds! no it can't be!!" Stella got frightened by the prospect
"Stella what is it?" Leon asked this time genuinely concerned
"Leon we have to go now!! Yel and Merika are in serious trouble and if we don't do anything they won't live long enough to make it out of the forests!!!" Stella said loudly
"!? what are you talking about -"
Before Leon could ask his question, they felt a tremor of the earth, and it growed in intensity every passing second.
"uh?" Leon runs in front of Stella and stands guard, looking at Jugo's direction
"tsk...so he yet lives but how! Atelier - Forward Rising Sun should've have finished him off!!"
Stella said as she looked back to find Jugo's body covered in a deep black malevolent aura.
It was a deep and terrifying energy
Then they heard crackling laughter
"hahaha...hahahahahahaha...HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The energy consumed the laughing Jugo as heavy winds resonated around a very large radius of the fields
Stella placed a barrier around themselves and the cleric to prevent any injuries the pressure might bring.
"Aaaahhhh" the Cleric screams, affected by the pressure building
"urgh!" Stella is strugging to keep her barrier active under the heavy winds the energy release was causing.
Then,
It slowly died down, however in it's wake, stood a being, a brutal and vile looking beast that was once Jugo the brute
It shared the split complexion of a Deilon and its properties.
Added to that, it had grown 2 more arms behind its back, summing up to a total of 4 arms, which evolved to violent looking claws, that looked more ferocious than that of the redclaw
Teeth elongated out of his mouth to form what can only be described as a vicious bull's tusk
Dressed only in rags, Jugo had just evolved to his violent true Deilon form
With a voice more deep and intimidating, he spoke
"To think I'd be push to my true form, I must commend your efforts, HOWEVER!"
Jugo said, concentrating as a dark vapor evaporated from his eyes, and his claws suddenly grew longer and turned deep black
"I SHALL NOT LET THIS INSULT GO UNPUNISHED!"
Jugo immediately vanished out of sight, almost unseen by Leon and Stella
"he disappeared!!?" Stella said, stunned
Then Jugo suddenly appeared infront of the barrier with his 4 arms ready to claw
"Allow me to reintroduce myself!!"
Jugo slashed on all 4 corners the barrier, shattering it to pieces completely
Stella, Leon, and the cleric were left exposed as Jugo prepared to strike again
"I AM JUGO - THE 4 ARMED BEAST OF SHADOW CIRCLE! AND THIS! SHALL BE YOUR GRAVE!!"