Fire raged within the forest, yet it seemed controlled; it burned the bushes among the trees without spreading outward.
The air heated rapidly.
Sweat drenched the backs of the group, but none dared relax.
Argon held the longer katana in his right hand, while his left rested on the shorter katana's hilt at his waist.
Blake and Gor stood side by side, their faces twisted in pain.
Veins bulged on their foreheads as sweat poured down.
Blood oozed from their ears.
They were pushing their abilities to the limit.
"Here it comes."
They muttered simultaneously, their eyes snapping open.
Swoosh!
Argon disappeared.
Swoosh!
A silhouette jumped from the burning bushes.
Clang!
Argon clashed.
Sparks flew.
Shriek!
The creature screamed as it was forced back into the burning bushes.
But it jumped out again.
Argon jumped a step back, and the creature followed with another jump forward, intending to attack him.
Clang!
They collided.
"Die."
Argon's grip on his short blade at his waist tightened.
Shluck!
He slashed.
Blood flew in the air.
'NO!'
His eyes widened.
The creature disappeared from before his eyes.
He felt the back of his head tingling.
Without even looking, he slashed back.
CLANG!
Sparks flew as he collided with the creature.
Thud!
Then, it collapsed to the ground, finally revealing its true form as it twitched on the ground with its throat slit.
A rabbit-like beast more than twice the size of a normal hare.
Blood soaked its grey fur, and its green eyes slowly dimmed.
"Just…a rabbit?"
The group couldn't help but feel shocked and a bit disappointed.
Whispers spread among the group.
But Argon remained silent.
Cold sweat drenched his back.
'What was that?' His heart raced, but he kept his face still. 'I'm sure I slashed its throat, so how did it burst with such power?'
If not for his survival instincts, that last attack could've been fatal.
"It's nothing to worry about."
"It's just a rabbit."
The group commented, trying to dismiss the threat.
Swoosh!
Argon glared at them.
Everyone fell silent.
"Never underestimate your enemy. Especially not when you are in enemy territory."
"Yes, sir!" The group lowered their heads.
"We'll rest for half an hour and reorganize."
"Yes, sir!"
Immediately, they distanced themselves from the area, dropped their heavy backpacks, and sat on the ground.
The fire- and wind-element units collapsed, and so did Blake and Gor.
Under Argon's orders, the healers got into action.
Even if they were minor injuries, Argon ordered them to be healed.
Their journey was far from over, and they were far from home. He wanted everyone, including himself, in top condition.
The healers healed his scratches,
He glanced at the bushes ahead.
The fire stopped burning, but he needed to wait for the area to cool down before moving on.
Thus, he used the time to reorganize the group.
He arranged the group in a massive rectangle, with the exhausted soldiers protected in the center.
He replaced the two men clearing the way with five, and they resumed moving once the area cooled.
This time Samuel walked with Argon at the front.
Although Samuel lacked sensory skills like Gor and Blake, he was still fit to serve as the vanguard with Argon.
Of course, without sensors, the group had to stay alert at all times, which slowed them down.
…
Swoosh!
A hare jumped out of a bush.
"Aghhh!"
One of the men clearing the way groaned.
A deep claw wound opened on his arm.
He couldn't react in time.
And before Argon could charge, the hare slipped back into the bushes.
"Healers,"
Under Argon's command, two healers rushed forward to heal the man.
"Soldiers, prepare your rifles!"
Argon was ready to unleash a rain of bullets.
"Sir Argon, please leave this to me."
But before he could give the order, Samuel volunteered.
Argon raised an eyebrow in surprise.
But he still decided to let him try.
After all, he didn't want to waste hundreds of bullets just for one hare.
If Samuel had a better solution, he didn't mind it.
"Be careful."
Samuel nodded as he stepped forward, while Argon clenched his blades, ready to guard him.
Thud!
He slammed his palms on the ground.
Hundreds of small roots emerged from the ground and connected to the bushes.
'Now, where are you?'
He exhaled all the air in his lungs and concentrated, connecting his senses to the plants.
The seconds ticked.
His bodily senses disappeared; now he sensed only through the plants, as if he had truly become one with them.
Swoosh!
He felt a disturbance.
"Found you!"
His eyes snapped open.
The bushes ahead moved in unnatural ways.
Shriiiek!
A scream of a hare tore the air.
"Caught you."
Samuel smiled triumphantly.
The bushes before them parted, revealing the hare in the distance.
The plants entangled it, trapping it tighter with every struggle.
"Not bad," Argon smiled, nodding approvingly.
Samuel had solved the problem before it became one.
"I'll strangle it."
Samuel announced, his confidence soaring, thirsty to show off.
Skriik-Skriik!
The hare cried weakly as, under Samuel's control, the plants tightened around its neck.
Its body began trembling.
SHRIIIEEEEK!
A cry escaped its lips—angry, almost demonic.
"End it quickly."
Argon roared, feeling something off, but too late.
Snap!
The plants trapping the hare snapped.
It landed on the ground.
Its eyes turned blood-red, bulging, almost popping out of their sockets.
Blood splashed onto the ground as its claws elongated, tearing through the flesh and growing into long, jagged blades.
Its fur fell off, and veins bulged across its body like worms crawling beneath the skin.
It became nothing like a hare, but a nightmarish monster.
Swoosh!
It disappeared.
'No!'
Samuel's eyes trembled, and his heart sank.
Although he couldn't see it, he knew it was coming for him.
And the worst?
He couldn't escape.
It was the downside of his ability.
When connected to the plants, he couldn't move.
'I'll die.'
He closed his eyes.
Clang!
Once again, Argon saved him.
"Want to kill him on my watch?"
Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal colliding tore the air.
The soldiers could barely keep up with Argon's and the hare's attacks.
One thing was certain: the hare had become much stronger.
'What's this?'
Argon tried to make sense of the situation while focusing on blocking.
Sweat formed on his forehead.
The hare was pushing him.
'Is this what I felt when killing the last one? If I had not ended it quickly, would it have become like this?'
'Its power doubled. No…tripled!'
Bum!
A halo of white energy erupted from him.
A sharp, white aura enveloped his arms, spreading to his swords and coating them.
Goosebumps crawled on the skin of anyone who came into contact with the white halo.
'Such sword intent,' Jim frowned. 'Full of killing intent.'
'Sword intent!' Argon's eyes flashed with sharpness.
Clang!
They collided.
Something flew in the air.
A part of the hare's claw.
It couldn't handle the sharpness of the katanas anymore.
Immediately, it retreated.
"Hmph!"
Argon scoffed.
He slashed his long katana.
A half-moon shape of energy flew out, chasing the hare.
Swuush!
Wind appeared. It swirled around the hare's remaining front claw.
Swoosh!
A wind blade flew out.
The sword energy and wind blade collided.
The wind blade instantly dissipated, and the sword energy continued chasing, though greatly diminished.
The hare's eyes shone with bloodlust.
Several more wind blades flew out, colliding.
They neutralized the sword energy.
'It can use the wind element?'
Argon's eyes widened in shock.
'It's strong in this form; it can deal with most of the members of this group.'
His frown deepened.
If he were not here, he couldn't imagine the losses the group would suffer.
'I need to end this.'
Determination flashed in his eyes.
He dashed!
The hare retreated, swirling wind blades.
Argon didn't even slow down. He just swung his katanas.
"I got you!"
Samuel suddenly shouted, joining the fight.
The hare entered the bushes,
Although Samuel couldn't follow its speed, he didn't need to.
His eyes flashed with madness.
He had to make up for his mistake.
"The plants are my domain!!!"
Blood splashed down his nose;
The bushes twisted violently.
Swush!
Argon slashed.
A crescent-shaped sword energy flew out.
The bushes shook.
The hare was trying to break free. Even the entire bush couldn't hold it.
"Haha…"
But Samuel's mad grin only widened, his teeth red from his nosebleed.
SHLUCK!
The sword energy slashed the bush, disappearing into the distance.
Crimson red blood splashed into the air.
The bush collapsed to the ground along with all the bushes the sword energy cut.
The metallic scent immediately contaminated the air.
"Got you."
Samuel collapsed to the ground, his breath heavy.
He had never intended to capture it; he knew he could not hold it.
But he delayed it enough for Argon's attack to connect.
"Aghh…"
His head rang, and his vision blurred.
"Keep him awake."
Argon's order rang.
As his eyes weighed, he saw feet rushing toward him.
'Ahhh…'
A comfortable feeling washed over him, and he let go of the struggle, closing his eyes to sleep.
Swoosh!
Coldness assaulted him.
His eyes snapped open.
"Yo," A somehow lazy yet cold voice greeted him.
A white-haired youngster.
"Frost!"
Samuel groaned, dissatisfied.
"We must continue."
Argon's commanding voice rang.
'Damn! Let me rest!'
Samuel complained internally, but still obeyed and got up.
Argon walked ahead to the blood-stained ground.
The corpse of the hare lay motionless, intestines splattered around, warm blood flowing from its body.
The sword slash had cut it in half.
Yet even in death, it remained in the monstrous form.
"Rest for fifteen minutes."
Argon commanded, giving Samuel time to recover and to go over the new tactic.
"Yes, Sir!"
The soldiers obeyed and lowered the heavy packs.
…
Fifteen minutes later, they burned the corpse of the hare and continued walking.
The front of the group took the form of an arrowhead.
Samuel and Argon walked inside, side by side, while bulky men cleared the way before them and armed men walked around them.
Swoosh!
Suddenly, a hare flew out of the dense vegetation.
Clang!
The front man reacted quickly and managed to block.
Argon half-unsheathed his katana.
Murderous intent erupted from him.
The hare instantly retreated.
Swoosh!
The men in front retreated behind Argon and Samuel.
Samuel slammed his palms on the ground.
Shrieeek!
The bushes twisted violently, and the hare let out a scream as it was caught.
The bush parted, revealing the entangled hare.
RATATATATATAT!
The artificial, thundering firing of the automatic rifles tore the tranquility of nature.
Shriiiek!
The cries of the hare drowned in the rapid fire, and its struggle quickly died down.
The soldiers stopped, and Samuel released his control.
Thud!
The corpse of the hare slumped down, riddled with holes, oozing with blood.
They took it down before it could transform.
"Continue moving!"
Argon roared.
The group fell back into formation.
Under Argon's orders, a fire manipulator burned the hare to ash, killing the scent of blood.
Had it been a normal hare, they could eat it. But this evolved version, they had no way of knowing if it was edible, and even less luxury to experiment.
And in this unexplored forest, Argon didn't dare gamble on what the scent of blood could attract.
…
They continued moving.
But as they ventured deeper, the vegetation grew increasingly lush and troublesome, slowing them down.
The hare attacks grew more frequent.
But they also grew used to dealing with them.
They posed no danger as long as they remained in their normal form.
In such a way, several hours passed.
They faced no grave danger or any new surprises.
But Argon's expression grew increasingly grim.
They were losing daylight.
The massive, lush trees blocked the sunlight.
Although sunset was a few more hours away, the forest had already grown dark.
He wanted to avoid moving at night, but time was running out.
A decision weighed on him.
Risk going forward at night, or rest here, in the middle of nowhere?
As he contemplated, the men before him continued clearing the way.
A bulky man swung a sword.
Thud!
As he took a step forward, his foot slammed into a thick vine on the ground.
"Fu.ck!!'
He stumbled forward.
Argon glanced at him but quickly ignored him.
Swoosh!
Boom!
"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The man disappeared.
Only his scream echoed in the dark forest.
Booom!
'What was that?'
Argon drew his katana, sword energy pulsating from him.
His heart raced, and for the first time, he felt fear.
'I couldn't see it? Or sense it? Or feel it?'
His eyes darted around, his back drenched in cold sweat/
The entire group tensed up, feeling their heartbeats in their throat.
And as the last echoes died, an eerie silence descended.
The lush forest was dead silent.
'When did the birds go away? The insects?'
Argon noticed the anomaly.
The bad feeling in his gut grew.
"Sir Argon,"
Blake and Gor ran to him.
Argon didn't even glance at them and kept looking around.
"Speak."
"Sir, we can hear his screams."
"Where?"
"About 150 meters ahead."
Argon's calves tightened, ready to unleash explosive power.
But suddenly, his eyes widened in realization.
He stopped from rushing to the rescue.
For the first time, he turned and looked them in the eyes.
"Can you hear anything else? Birds, insects, animals?"
Blake and Gor looked at each other in confusion and then closed their eyes.
Five seconds, ten, thirty….
Their expression grew darker.
"Nothing."
A whisper escaped their lips.
It's as if everything vanished.
BOOOOM!
A crescent of sword energy erupted forward, carrying monstrous killing intent.
"Aghh!" Blake and Gor groaned in pain, their hearts skipping a beat.
Their life flashed before their eyes, even though the killing intent wasn't directed at them.
…
"RETREAT!"
Argon ordered immediately.
"But sir, the man…" Gor tried to persuade.
"Retreat! Now!"
Murderous intent flashed in Argon's eyes, interrupting him.
Whoever disobeys, die!
The group immediately started retreating.
Argon positioned Samuel in the center while Blake and Gor remained with him.
He oversaw the entire group as they retreated, glancing back occasionally.
It weighed on him.
It pained him to abandon a perfectly good soldier. IT was no different than killing him himself.
But!
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.
His grip on the katana tightened.
Going forward meant possible annihilation.
One man or the entire group?
It was not even a choice.
…
They retreated several hundred meters back, before stopping and setting a temporary camp.
Argon gave up on reaching the village. It was too dangerous to go ahead at night, while the unknown danger loomed over them.
And in this new forest, he doubted anything of the village remained.
Night completely descended in the forest.
Argon didn't allow even a small fire.
The soldiers lay on the ground while several patrolled, wide awake, seemingly prepared for the terrors of the incoming night.