The forest was far-reaching, shadowy, and prospering for animals. There was a reason why it was called a National Forest. Its canopy was ruled by sequoia, hawthorn, and poplar, who gave just enough light a chance to descent for dispersed sprouts to use the fertile soils below. Yet in the darkness, none of it mattered. There wasn't enough natural light to guide Forest's visitors to their destination. It was only 4 a.m., the sun wasn't going to rise for the next three hours, at the very least. 

Thick branches grasped every tree, and a range of flowers, which claimed quiet corners, looked almost out of place in the otherwise brown and green landscape. A mixture of beastly sounds, which were caused by a variety of mischievous animals brightened up the forest. Drowning out the sounds of several nocturnal birds in the distance. 

One could say it was a perfect spot for campers. But none of them were here to camp. Arnold and his team had just entered the forest, and the moment they did so, they were met with death.

They had tried contacting the forest department as soon as they could, however, there was no response. Everyone knew what had happened there, and when Arnold and the others went inside, their suspicions were confirmed. 

All of the rangers of the forest had been killed. Blood on their bodies had already dried, to them, it was certain that they were killed a while ago. Maybe, the were killed at the same time when the wolves attacked the estate. These people were all of C rank or below. They never stood a chance against their enemies. Sadly, their corpses were so mangled, it was difficult to say which limb belonged to whom. 

But the corpses confirmed one thing. The enemies were there. No one else could possibly have stooped low to such bestiality. Yet they couldn't find a single one of them. Arnold's forces were being secretive about their arrival. They didn't want the adversaries to be alerted but still... Arnold could tell something was off. It felt like someone was keeping tabs on them. Nina and Johnny too felt as much. Still, they had to keep moving forward. Each step leaves a fresh, crisp footprint on the forest floor.

Then, they saw it. Cerberus looked upwards, growling as he had never before. He had found the perpetrators. The next second, a loud voice was heard.

"Shoot at will!"

Innumerable arrows were shot down on them like a hailstorm.

"TAKE COVER!" Arnold roared in fury. He had been played yet again, 'Those bastards are camouflaged in trees! They were here all along! Motherfu*kers!

Arnold knew they couldn't afford to be discrete anymore. Either way, he was sure the others would've been alerted by now. 

Even with their defence, few arrows managed to find their marks. Many bodies were pierced. Most of the family members had been injured. Thankfully none of them were killed. Maybe the darkness was protecting them.

Cerberus, along with other hounds immediately charged at the foes. But they were hiding on higher branches, thus the hounds couldn't deal with them by themselves. Johnny and Kolt rose to the occasion and started knocking trees down. By the amount of noise they were making, it was certain the enemies were alerted now. 

One of the arrows managed to graze Nina's cheek. Arnold saw a drop of blood trickling down her cheeks. He. Was. Bewildered. 

"Alice, give me some kind of mana boost." Arnold mumbled, his voice cold with fury, "I'm gonna deal with those bastards in my way."

Alice nodded and did as her master requested. 

___

Your summon [Alice] is using, [Mana Regen] lvl 6 on you. Mana regeneration rate has increased by 50%

Your summon [Alice] is using, [Sorcerer's Bluff] lvl 4, on you. 

Your tiredness disappears. Your agility has increased by 5%. Damage reduction increased by 3%

___

Alice knew Arnold was about to call out the rest of his summons, thus she gave him another buff which would temporarily get rid of his tiredness. Arnold never mentioned about his tiredness to her but Alice was as observant as ever. She knew opening a portal to his domain would exhaust him and thus took precautions to prevent it from happening. 

Arnold thanked her, then quickly summoned the most ferocious of his summons, Dread and Asterios. So far no monster had been able to stop this deadly duo, what possibly could measly humans to them. Within the next few seconds, every single tree in their vicinity had been uprooted. The archers had lost their only advantage and fell on the ground like pinecones. Asterios was about to crush them all but Arnold had other plans.

He ordered the automatons to assemble the emitter. Once they were done, despite protests from a few, Arnold set the archers free.

"Run." He mumbled pointing his guns at them, "Or else."

The archers didn't need a second warning. All of them darted in the same direction. Everyone was sure they were headed towards the others. Towards the portal. They thought that's why Arnold decided to let them go. However, they were confused. If Arnold wanted to know the location of the portal, only one of the archers was enough to do that. Why did he let them all go? 

But that wasn't Arnold's plan. He wouldn't just let them go only to discover a location he was already bound to find out. He wanted to kill two birds with a single stone. People like them didn't deserve to live, and he was going to make sure they get the most gruesome death one could imagine. He told the others to stay there while he, Cerberus, and a few automatons chased after them. 

This led to more confusion. But they agreed. Either way, the injured needed to be treated first. Since Nina was one of the 'injured', she had to stay behind as well. 

The emitter was strapped tightly onto Cerberus and off they went chasing behind the archers. After chasing them for a while, he saw it.

A wide area had been cleared. In the distance, several beams of light were visible. The archers were approaching the camp. Up close the sound of heavy machinery clashing together overpowered all other sounds. The creaking of metal of the rapidly working engines and supply generators could be heard faintly. In some distance, a faint light could be seen as well. It was the light being emitted from the dungeon. 

Arnold's mouth twisted to let out a sinister smile. It was time to test the emitter. Cerberus halted and Arnold immediately calibrated the beam. But his aim wasn't on the dungeon. But in the opposite direction. 

"Humans are excellent Xenoic energy magnets, right? Let's see it for ourselves, shall we?"

After saying that, Arnold backed down. He couldn't risk it. After all, he too was a 'magnet'. The automatons took charge and without any further ado, fired the beam at the archers who were desperately running towards their comrades. However, by the time they got out of the forest they weren't humans anymore. 

Somewhere in between, their joy had been replaced by murderous screams. Screams loud enough for the others to hear. Their bodies changed into unrecognizable biomass. Not every one of them survived. But the few who did turn into gruesome monsters. Creatures Arnold had never seen before. 

Members of the White Wolves guild were prepared for an attack, but not something like this. They saw the people they knew turn into monsters. A fight ensued. But the monsters were more troublesome than they expected. But they managed to kill the 'monsters', even though most of the humans died during the confrontation. By the time it was all over, Arnold didn't need to do much. Cerberus and the automatons were enough to take care of them. 

The portal was saved. But it was only a temporary solution. There was only one permanent solution to the problem: Someone had to clear the dungeon. Nina and the others caught up to him now but before they could decide their next step, Nina's communicator buzzed...

The others couldn't secure the remaining portal... A dungeon break had occurred. A single monster had come out of the dungeon. However, it was no normal monster... It was a polycephalic monster. One having the form of a dragon. The observatory was already ablaze. Most of the team had been wiped out. (Author's note: Polycephaly is the condition of having more than one head.)