As the light slowly healed the Captain's body, signs of his rejuvenation became evident; his skin looked healthier and healthier. However, it didn't stop there, William's skin began losing its natural hue, becoming whiter and whiter.
Rivered and the others watched from the sidelines, their hands on their weapons, sensing something was amiss.
The priest, unaware of the looming danger, continued his treatment. The light enveloped William, healing him slowly.
Dame Selina stood guard beside the priest, prepared for anything unusual that might occur.
Vigrath, holding his fire scrolls, stayed near the entrance, keeping watch.
Rivered split his focus, one part of his mind fixed on William, the other on Vigrath.
Although it was frustrating for him, his experience had taught him this skill, after all, he was someone who had survived the Night Championship.
Suddenly, a wailing noise tore through the sound barrier, its shriek so powerful that the entire camp reverberated. The forest came alive once again. The noise was so intense that it nearly extinguished all the torches, some of them did go out, especially near the tent of the newly arrived knights with Selina.
Selina instinctively held the priest down, shielding him in case of danger. The healing circle faltered slightly, with power now seeping out, and the golden light dimmed.
She glanced toward the entrance, noticing Vigrath and Rivered already outside, assessing the aftermath.
Turning back to the priest, she said, "Please stay here, Father."
With that, she slowly trudged toward the entrance.
Rivered scanned the area outside but found no one. The knights were nowhere to be seen. Most of the torches had been blown out; only a few still managed to hold their flames after the chilling screech.
"Vigrath, search for the team and gather them. Also, scout Selina's camp," Rivered ordered.
Vigrath gave a subtle nod and began moving stealthily through the darkness.
With the bare light from the glowing golden circles, Rivered looked inside as turned around to find Selina just behind him. "Dame, we need fire abilities to fight these creatures, if they're the same ones that attacked us before!"
Selina stepped past Rivered, looking into the darkness. There was nothing to see.
"What kind of creature was that? Is it the same as the shapeshifting one?" she asked, her worried voice revealing she was a little scared now.
With night falling upon them and no source of light in their hands, they were sitting ducks for the forest monsters. Most of these creatures thrived in the darkness of the forest itself, facing no difficulty in the dark; in fact, they were blessed by it.
Rivered knew this all too well. He was especially aware of the dangers posed by creatures that lived in darkness, for he had faced the similar in Sumant Dungeon, which was entirely engulfed in it. Its unending darkness still haunted the members of Yorwkisa.
"We have fire-based skill magic scrolls, and our members are quite adept at fighting in darkness, but not for too long. We have to run." His last sentence was spoken with a grim sadness.
Flashes of burned visages of people loomed in his mind as he said this. His voice quivered at the end, as if begging for something he dared not utter.
The Dame noticed as she slowly made her way down the path to her cabin, now shrouded in complete darkness.
She wielded her water style, and as it materialized, it formed a protective veil around her.
She turned abruptly and looked at Rivered. "Sorry, if someone without water affinity is covered by this veil, they will drown."
With that, she continued along the dark path. "Stick together, Rivered."
Rivered nodded and followed her cautiously down the shadowy trail. He moved as quietly as possible, his eyes already adjusted to the darkness. He could faintly make out silhouettes of objects, though they weren't very pronounced, and he tried to discern whether they were enemies or not.
Somewhere in the darkness, something stirred, slithering, sliding, and squelching as it crept from one tent to the next in search of prey. Its wet movements echoed faintly through the still night, a sound too deliberate to be the wind.Its path wound toward a cabin unlike the others, one marked with the sign of a household, an Aquarius.
Still, it dragged itself onward, slow and persistent, weaving its way from tent to tent.
Rivered and Selina closed in on the cabin, just a few meters away, when a wet, slogging sound tore through the quiet. Both froze. Their eyes darted toward the noise, but there was nothing, only the faint ripple of air, as if something massive had just passed unseen.
A shout rang out from behind them."In the sky!"
Selina looked up, too late. She barely had time to raise her hands and thicken her water barrier before it struck.
A heavy impact thundered through the air. A white, gelatinous mass slammed into her barrier, splattering across it with a wet hiss. The veil rippled under the weight, nearly collapsing as the goo pressed down, trying to engulf it whole.
Rivered clenched his teeth, unsheathed his sword, and charged ahead. He struck at the creature, the blade glinting in the darkness. The steel sliced effortlessly through, yet left no trace. The goo neither split nor recoiled; it only rippled, utterly unfazed.
"What…?" he muttered, disbelief cracking his voice.
With a snarl, he drew his black. Both blades drove deep into the mass, but there was no resistance, no pain, no response, just the unnerving, silent engulfing of metal. He yanked them back, watching as the holes sealed instantly, the surface smoothing over like tranquil water.
He stepped back, cold sweat trailing down his neck. Adjusting his stance, he crossed both swords, pouring his soul into them. A dark flame ignited, its white-hot core alive with flickering intensity.
"Fire of Eden: The Blasphemous END!"
"Burn," he whispered, and lunged.
But before his blade could pierce it, the goo convulsed violently. It recoiled as if sensing danger, then launched itself skyward in a blur of white and mist. The shockwave knocked dust and leaves into the air.
Selina dropped her barrier, gasping for breath. She raised her arms, shaping twin blades of compressed water and hurled them upward. They sliced through the air, grazing the creature's edge before vanishing into vapor. The goo twisted midair, its body parting, then rejoining seamlessly as it vanished into the clouds.
The night grew quiet once more, leaving only the sound of their labored breathing.