"Mei Gui, any ideas as to how to wipe out all these Monsters?" I asked. "The Flood I used was only a temporary measure to get us out of that situation. It didn't actually kill any Thistle Walkers. Besides, we can only use that spell so much before our mana reserves run out. Using Conjoined Release to cast a Level Three spell drains mana, after all. The only way I can think of is using Fire Magic to burn this whole place down, but...that's out of the question."

"Master, I still think there is something suspicious about these Thistle Walkers. They are moving in such a controlled, organized fashion - if there is not someone purposely controlling them to attack us, then they must have a leader amongst them giving out directions and serving as the commander for their attack. If we are able to take that leader out..."

"...Then the pack would fall into chaos, making it easy for us to clean them up one by one," I concluded. "But what if there really is someone behind this ordeal, controlling the Thistle Walkers to attack us?"

"Even in that case, there is no way the mastermind is controlling all of these Thistle Walkers at the same time," Mei Gui replied. "The amount of mana and energy required for that is unimaginable. In other words, they have to be controlling just one Thistle Walker, who has control over the rest."

"Huh...now that I think about it, I do remember reading somewhere that most Monsters that travel in packs have some sort of leader among them," I murmured.

"Then we will have to locate and eliminate that leader," Mei Gui said firmly.

I nodded, and looked down below once more, where the Thistle Walkers were gathered, collectively staring at us, patiently waiting for us to come down.

"Yeah, but...that's easier said than done. How do we even tell who's the leader?"

"Master, the leader will obviously want to protect itself - as the leader, that is its privilege. Therefore..."

"Ah...I see," I murmured. "Then, following that theory...the leader should be among one of the Thistle Walkers who were on the trees - that's the safest spot, after all."

Mei Gui nodded, and together, we flew downwards, disappearing from the sight of the Thistle Walkers as we vanished into the cover of the trees.

They used the cover of the trees against us...now it's time we beat them at their own game.

Mei Gui and I landed on a branch, and began leaping from one tree to another. With the use of Potentia Excitant: Salire plus the power multiplier granted by the Chaos in our bodies, these leaps were no problem for us at all. There were Thistle Walkers below us that were heading back in the same direction we were going, possibly because they lost sight of us and were now waiting on further instructions from their 'leader'.

If that's the case, then...if we just follow them...

Mei Gui, who was about to jump onto the next tree, paused when I blocked her way with my hand. Immediately understanding my intentions, she nodded, and waited for the Thistle Walkers below us to pass. Once they did, we followed them from the trees, careful to take it slow and quiet.

*****

Soon enough, we found ourselves back at the area where we were first ambushed - I knew this because I noticed the dead carcass of a Thistle Walker lying on the forest soil below. The still alive Thistle Walkers, which was pretty much all of them, had gathered all around one tree. Mei Gui and I glanced at the tree they were all gazing at, and spotted a single Thistle Walker on it. However...this one seemed a little different. I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but something felt odd about this one - and not just the fact that it was the leader of this pack.

I pulled out Ace, but then put it back in its holster. We were too far away from our target right now for a hand cannon like Ace to be effective. Unfortunately, there were other Thistle Walkers on the trees near us too, so we couldn't get any closer.

[Master, what do we do now?] Mei Gui asked through our telepathic connection.

[Just wait...for an opportunity.] I replied briskly, before turning my full attention to the Thistle Walkers once more.

[Understood, Master.]

We refrained from talking out loud here, since that could possibly give away our position and alert the Thistle Walkers to our presence. That wouldn't be good.

The Thistle Walker leader made some screeching noises that I obviously couldn't comprehend, then the Thistle Walkers around him suddenly all disbanded, each going in different directions.

Searching for us, perhaps? Well...their targets are closer than they think. In any case, this gives us an opening...

The Thistle Walkers on the trees near us all left to join the search as well, so we could began moving freely through the trees again, getting closer to the Thistle Walker leader, who had now dropped down from the tree to stand still beside the carcass of its comrade, who we killed earlier.

Discretely, I got on the tree right beside the one the leader had just been on, and pulled out Ace once more.

Taking careful aim, I pulled the trigger, and let the bullet fly.

However-

My eyes widened. I couldn't believe what just happened.

The Thistle Walker leader...had just dodged my shot.

Right before the bullet was about to hit it, the accursed Monster had ducked down, planting its roots deep into the soil so it wouldn't get struck by my attack.

What the hell...?!

Mei Gui, who had been watching from beside me, was shocked at this sudden turn of events as well. Neither of us had expected this mere Rank 2 Monster to avoid a bullet with such insane reaction speeds. It had moved so fast that I could only barely track its movements with my eyes.

Quickly, not letting my shock get the better of me, I shot another bullet, and this time, the shot hit true, since the leader had rooted itself within the soil in a panic, causing its roots to go too deep, hence why it couldn't escape from the soil in time to avoid my bullet once more. The creature, now impaled, let out a high-pitched scream, before collapsing for good. I sighed in relief, and dropped down from the tree. Mei Gui followed.

As I approached the corpse of the dead leader, laying beside its comrade that we killed earlier, I kept a firm grip on Ace, and held it out in front of me, just in the case the Monster wasn't fully dead. I remember reading that some Monsters will pretend to be dead in order to trick their enemy, after all.

But not in this case, it seems.

The Thistle Walker leader seemed to be truly dead for good, as it didn't budge a single inch even when I was well within its attacking range.

Okay...now, cleaning up the rest of the Thistle Walkers should be easy, especially since they are all spread out to search for me right now. They will be disorganized without their leader, just like any pack.

And then, I spotted something nested within the flower part of the Thistle Walker. It seemed to be...a bug? But...it was dead. Or rather, about to be dead. It seemed to be just barely hanging on to life right now. It had a narrow body, with countless tiny legs below it - like a centipede.

"Hey, Mei Gui, come check this out," I said, calling my trusty partner over. "You recognize this thing?"

Mei Gui frowned, then shook her head. "Unfortunately not, Master. Why?"

"Hm...I just found it kind of odd that it was hiding within the Thistle Walker. I feel like there's more to this incident then what we see on the surface...especially since that leader dodged my first bullet."

There was no way the leader should've been able to react to my silenced shot. It's just a mere Rank 2 Monster - the equivalent of an Intermediate Mage in strength. Not to mention, Thistle Walkers individually were practically the weakest Monster in all of existence. One dodging a bullet was never heard of before.

"Shall we take it back to examine it, Master?" Mei Gui suggested.

I nodded. "Yeah. Let's do that..."

I turned to look at the half-dead bug, then averted my gaze.

Mei Gui tilted her head upon seeing my weird actions. "What's wrong, Master?"

"U-Uh...you see, the thing is...I have entomophobia," I admitted after some hesitation.

"Entohmohfobia?" Mei Gui asked in confusion.

"Er...it's a fear of insects," I explained. "I...I can't go near that thing."

Mei Gui blinked twice. "Understood, Master."

Then, she bravely strode over to the bug and picked it up without any hesitation. I dropped my jaw in shock.

She then walked over to me, the near-dead centipede-like creature crawling slowly on her hand. "Where should I keep this, Master?"

I quickly stepped away instinctively. "Uh..."

Taking out my Space Locket and taking out a plastic bag out of it, I tossed it at her. "Here. Use that."

Mei Gui caught it with her free hand, and without any delay, threw the bug into the bag quite violently, and tied the bag up.

"All done, Master."

I nodded. "R-Right...good job."

I patted her head, since I knew that's what she wanted for a reward. Mei Gui smiled happily at this, and enjoyed the moment.