"Arise, my Treants! Arise and do the bidding of your mistress– kyaak! Damn it, this is the umpteenth time this has happened! I mean, what's going on with this land? All the Treants I raise up end up committing treason, and I don't know why!? Is it something to do with the ground? Or is it the fact that my emotions are unstable...?"
Kicking up a cloud of dust, Vylara leapt back, before unleashing Nature's Laser, chopping the corrupted Treant into firewood. Dusting off her hands, she chucked the fire logs away, watching them slowly turn to ash, just like the shadows they once were. "Damn it, what on Aeronia is exactly going on here!? The land here is completely corrupted to the core! Even my tracking spells fail here, going haywire the moment it goes three feet away from me. Heck, even my familiars end up trying to kill me! Damn it, what to do, what to do..."
Unable to comprehend their situation, Vylara turned her attention towards the young hatchling. "Kid, getting any 'tingly' senses on where to go next?"
Gulping at how sexy Vylara looked at the moment, with sweat pouring down her naked nape, Natsuki was bamboozled for a few seconds, unable to utter any response to the sight before him. "Umm, ah, w-well, I can't handle great responsibilities- wait, look over there!"
Just as Vylara was about to smack Natsuki about his impromptu Spider-Man act, she froze at Natsuki's sudden yelp, quickly whirling her neck towards where Natsuki was shakily pointing his fingers...
And what she saw next froze her already cold blood colder
Floating in complete silence was one of the men they had picked up on their journey: Borfin, a stalwart man serving as one of their many porters. Screams frozen on his pale face, Vylara and Natsuki could only watch in silent horror as dark, shadowy tendrils began sprouting from the ground, rapidly entwining across his frozen body. Entering through every single one of his orifices, they watched in abject horror as the dark tendrils began modifying his body, his screaming face becoming more and more distorted in each passing second, culminating in the hearty man being encased in a dark cocoon.
"Shit, this has gone waaaaay beyond what our paycheck is worth. We should quickly move out of here and make our way towards the entrance of the portal. Though I may not be as techie as Scaramond, I still have the basic knowledge on how to restart the 'stargate' and escape the hell out of here. Now, all we've got to do is make sure that the damn cocoon does not shatter before we leave, so you'd better be quiet, or else-"
"Or else what, my little cuties~"
Standing on top of an old telephone line, Elinare was seen licking her fingers, lapping the shadow energy that permeated the realm. "Y'know, I should be really thanking you lot for what you did - without you dumbfucks, I wouldn't have been able to enter here at all. Now, thanks to you, we can finally finish what my beloved wanted to for eons- conquering all of Stratonus! Oh, and as a thank you gift, I have prepared something... special for you..."
Growling could be heard coming from beside them, as many different Shadow Demons began materialising in front of them, dark drool flowing down their wretched mouths...
"It's as they say, what happens in Las Treifen, stays in Las Treifen!"