Jellal steps out of the cave, scanning the surrounding area with his eyes. High above the forest, dreary rainclouds block the sun’s rays as a soft drizzle seeps between the leaves falling to the ground below. The liveliness the rain brings can’t stop the pervading ominous atmosphere that looms over the forest giving all its residents a terrible sense of foreboding.

Feeling something off about the forest today Jellal immediately unsheathes his saw. His plan to carry it at his waist while he navigates the forest is discarded without a second thought in favor of keeping it in his hands.

Originally he was reluctant to spread the news of a shadow wolf finding its way to the forest’s edge because he thought it wasn’t a big deal. However, after leaving the hideout for only a moment he could see the atmosphere that’s enveloping the forest. The worries his subordinates had about something awful looming on the horizon, which he thought was nothing more than baseless nonsense, seems to have hit the nail on the head.

In order to maximize his chances of finding someone to pass the evidence to he heads toward the road which is the only place nearby that he knows of that should consistently have people in its vicinity. As he moves he gets farther from the center of the forest. The greater the distance he is from the center of the forest the less noticeable the oppressive atmosphere is leading him to believe whatever’s causing the phenomenon is moving in his general direction from the center of the forest.

With light steps he careens through the forest, all the while maintaining his vigilance. He only makes it a short distance before he comes across a group of ten goblins heading the same way he is. At first he ignores them and tries to slip past them without them noticing but when he was bypassing them something caught his eye.

The goblins attacked anything that moved in front of them whether it was a horned rabbit or a falling leaf. Even if goblins aren’t the most intelligent monsters they aren’t dumb enough to seriously attack a falling leaf as if it were their mortal enemy.

Knowing something’s seriously wrong with the goblins he decides to stay hidden and watch them a bit more. If he’d come across this scene on another day he wouldn’t have wasted his time observing mere goblins but today’s different. Unlike a normal day there’s a strange atmosphere in the forest and now he comes across a bunch of goblins acting strange as well. Even if a reputable scholar told him it was just a coincidence it would go in one ear and out the other.

Concealing himself he circled around in front of the goblins. Looking closely at each of them he tried to gleam a clue about their abnormal behavior. The thing that stuck out the most was their eyes. It isn’t uncommon for goblins to have red pupils but he had never heard of or seen a goblin with entirely red eyes until now. On closer inspection he could see that the part of the eye where the pupil would be seemed clouded over.

Making a mental note of the goblins’ eyes he continued silently moving along with them as they went on their way. In less than ten minutes he had come across an unusually high number of monsters while following the goblins.

The mystery only got deeper the longer he followed them. Sometimes they would attack the monsters the bumped into the moment they noticed their existence but as time droned on such an event became less common. Attacking the monsters they came across was replaced with joining together in an ever expanding horde which currently numbered over sixty.

Paying close attention to the eyes of the monsters he came across Jellal was able to notice an obvious pattern. Without exception, the monsters that joined the group all had blood red eyes with clouded pupils. On the other hand, the ones that were attacked on site all had normal eyes and behavior.

‘It seems like things are worse than I thought. If groups like this are forming in other area it would be bad enough but what would happen if a couple groups like this ran into each other? Worse yet, what if some monsters that are actually strong end up forming a horde? With enough numbers even these scrubs would be a pain in the ass to deal with so I can only imagine what it’d be like if they weren’t so unbearably weak.

At this point it’s safe to say them grouping up has something to do with whatever’s causing the ominous atmosphere that’s spreading out from the depths of the forest. So who or what’s causing the strange atmosphere and is it only effecting monsters? But what doesn’t make sense is why it’s happening now? Was it unable to occur until now because it needed certain conditions to occur or due to having some sort of limit on when it could occur?

No matter how I think about it something seems fishy, as if the whole thing is planned. But that still leaves who and why. There’s also the possibility of it being a natural, occurrence. … If a certain unworthy scum lord con artist was involved everything would fall into place quite nicely wouldn’t it? That’s definitely if! That bastard is definitely responsible for this mess falling in my lap, I know it!’

While pondering over the cause of the phenomenon Jellal noticed another group of ten or so monsters join the horde. Seeing the mass of monsters continually growing he decided to do a small test to see whether they would attack him the same way they had attacked normal monster before taking care of them so they wouldn’t have a chance to become a threat.

He takes off his backpack and sets it aside so it won’t get in the way during the fight. Stepping out into the open he revealed himself in front of the horde. A contingent of goblins noticed him instantaneously and started shrieking as they charged at him wildly. The shrieks alerted the rest of the horde resulting in a continuous chain of shrill howls and shrieks as they followed suit madly rushing at him.

With his suspicions confirmed he began gathering wind mana from the surrounding environment. Not knowing when he’ll have a chance to gain experience fighting against a large number of enemies like this again, he planned to use the opportunity as practice since he was only dealing with small fries. To that effect, he decided to focus on physical close quarters combat. Instead of using magic to wipe out the crowd of monsters he kept it as a reserve he would only use if he was left with no other choice.

The first of the monsters quickly arrived in front of Jellal. Attacking blindly without any sort of cooperation the goblins were even weaker than they would normally have been if they were in their right minds. This made it easy for him to avoid their telegraphed attacks and counter with a strike of his own. Each attack took the life of a goblin but the majority of the horde had yet to arrive.

Three goblins in, he realized that killing one enemy per strike wouldn’t cut it. In the mere seconds he’d wasted a pair of boars had managed to build up a head of steam. They came barreling at him forcing him to dodge, yet no matter where he went he was met with another monster be it a wolf, goblin, or boar.

The onslaught of attacks from all directions caused his offensive to slow to a crawl. Goblins swung their clubs down with vertical attacks while wolves circled around to flank. He could feel the temptation to use magic and wipe away everything that stood in his path, but he stubbornly persevered while trying to adapt to the chaotic brawl.

A few minutes passed just like that. Despite being far stronger than any of his opponents individually, he could only manage to take down a couple enemies. Even if he wasn’t able to kill many of them the time didn’t go to waste. While dodging and blocking attacks from every angle imaginable he was continuously learning and improving. He no longer focused on attack or defense. In his mind the two concepts ceased to exist and he was left with only a singular flowing saw; neither attack nor defense, yet both at the same time. He stopped focusing on going for the kill with every strike, instead dealing damage wherever he could get it. His attacks weren’t limited to single enemies either; in fact he had even started placing increased emphasis on injuring multiple enemies rather than killing one.

Finally he found a gap in the enemies’ offensive. Taking advantage of the opening he rushed forward killing a group of goblins. Instead of staying in one place and taking a beating, like he had at the beginning of the fight, he bounced around from one enemy to the next. Never allowing himself to stay in one place he was able to prevent his adversaries from closing in to tightly giving him much warranted breathing room.

Weaving through the ranks of the horde he used their numbers advantage against them. The monsters running purely on their instincts to destroy tried turning and chasing after him only to collide with their comrades. Whenever he had the chance he would take advantage of the opening from them foolishly running into one another to deal fatal blows and reduce their numbers. No matter how juicy a chance presented in front of him was he never forced himself to take advantage of it, instead focusing on maintaining his flow in combat.

Once he found his rhythm he achieved a breakthrough. He was no longer the one reacting to his opponents’ moves. Actively seeking out his enemies he started gaining momentum and forcing the fight into his pace. As things fell into place he was getting more and more comfortable fighting large groups of enemies. This led to him moving through their ranks faster and more freely than ever before. Every step he takes blood soars into the sky like flowers spontaneously sprouting in a field of monsters.

After hitting his stride the fight turned completely one sided. Sliding by a tree he would use it as cover while cutting through a wolf’s neck, slinging the blood into the eyes of a charging boar causing it to turn its head shifting off course and leaving its throat open to an inevitable counter. Using trees and bodies as obstacles he separated his pursuers and whittled down their numbers until a lone goblin was left standing. The poor thing foolishly rushed forward as if it hadn’t seen the deaths of the other monsters that had been with it less than an hour ago. Slipping past the club Jellal slides his saw past its throat mercifully ending its life in a singles strike.

With the fight finished Jellal stands in the middle of the battle field reflecting on the experience. The blood caking his body completely covers his skin making him look as if he were made of blood. Only his glowing violet eyes remain untainted by the blood of his enemies.

The surrounding area doesn’t look much different. Bodies, limbs, and body parts are strewn about everywhere. The drizzle leaking through the leaves splashes in the puddles of blood left behind in the aftermath of the battle. The parts of the ground that haven’t turned into puddles of blood are dyed red making this part of the forest look as if it was a passage to hell.

Grabbing his backpack he starts heading toward the stream. As he’s traveling he notices more groups of red eyed monsters wandering about. Rather than leave them to cause trouble later he bites the bullet and prepares to take care of them now.

Since he’s already confirmed they’ll be hostile on site with the last group he doesn’t attack them head on and instead takes a stealthier approach. Using wind magic he silently floats up and hides amongst the branches of a tree. With wind magic as an aid he moves silently across the tree tops until he’s directly above the group of over a dozen monsters.

Without a sound he drops into the middle of the groups. Spinning on the way down he kills the five central goblins before his feet even come in contact with the ground. The moment they do he shoots forward like a rocket slashing a pair of boars at the back of the pack.

A single swift strike finishes off the boars as a triad of wolves try to flank him from the sides. Noticing the commotion the boar and goblins at the front spin around to help their comrades. With a quick change of direction he darts toward the front of the pack, taking out a wolf along the way. Jumping into the air he soars over the goblins’ heads, removing them with a spinning slash of his saw. He lands a short distance behind the boar that had just finished turning around.

Dashing at the wolf that’s circled around to try flanking him from his left, he narrowly avoids its claws while the teeth of his saw tears at its throat as he passes by its side. Changing his course slightly he continues on to the boar. Without giving it a chance to charge he circles around to its side. The last wolf lunges at him from his right. Sidestepping at the last moment Jellal brushes past the wolf as its throat spurts blood from the freshly made wound. The body carries on and collides with the boar leaving its throat vulnerable.

Finishing off the final enemy Jellal collects his backpack and continues his quest to clean himself in the stream.

When the stream is in sight he rushes over to the bank. After a quick check of the surroundings he drops his backpack and hops in the water. Using his hands he scrubs away at the blood while the flowing water gently washes it away.

When he’s cleaned away all the blood he pulls himself onto the bank and goes to grab his backpack. With all of the distractions out of the way he jumps across to the other side of the stream so he can take care of what he originally ventured out to do.

After wondering about in the thinned out woodlands he finally finds people. In the distance a familiar grey haired old man is helping a group of fledgling adventurers deal with a small group of monsters. The party consists of only three people. The two youths wielding swords are covered in blood which seems to be a mixture of their opponents and their own.

Concealing himself, Jellal moves closer to check out the fight. When he finds a suitable spot he returns to his old habit of setting up shop in a tree. From his perch he carefully studies the battle.

Mac stands a short distance in front of Silica making sure none of the monsters are able to reach her. Whenever the other members of the party are at risk of being seriously injured by an attack he protects them by throwing rocks at the attackers. In this way he’s able to keep them alive without robbing them of valuable life and death experience.

While Mac is playing the role of defender and mentor, Silica is muttering an incantation. She puts all her focus into preparing her magic not bothering with her surroundings at all, showing the extraordinary trust she has in him.

The frontline duo breathe heavily while defending themselves from a combination of wolves and goblins. After fighting for over half an hour they’re on their last legs. The compounding exhaustion and mental fatigue is causing them to make mistakes more frequently, leaving them more susceptible to enemy attacks. A wolf slips through they’re guard and is about to bite one of them when a rock flies in from the back slamming into the wolf’s eye and disrupting its attack.

Knowing their mentor has saved them countless times in such a fashion, they find the pride in their skills they held onto so dearly has shattered into a million pieces. Even though their pride has been broken they still do everything they can to take advantage of the opportunity and counter attack.

Working in tandem they push back their aggressors. While one of them attacks the other focuses on defending the both of them. When the attacker’s momentum stops they switch rolls. Unfortunately the number of enemies they’re facing is too much and they’re soon overrun and both forced back on the defensive.

While the pair’s struggling with all their might to hold back the monsters, Silica is finishing the preparations for her magic. As she begins to launch her magic the rain that had been coming down in a light drizzle comes to a standstill in midair. The rainwater pools together into a myriad of floating bubbles in front of Silica’s outstretched hands before being drawn into thin cones. A light mist rises from the water as it starts freezing, causing a crackle to pervade the air.

When the icicles have finished forming Silica tilts her hands downward. In sync with the gesture the icicles fly forward skewering the monsters that’ve been stalled by the frontline duo. Most of the monsters have either been killed from the attack or sustained heavy injuries making it difficult for them to fight properly.

With the reduction in numbers the monsters are no longer able to push past the duo. Rather than wait for them to finish off the remaining enemies Mac steps forward to do it himself. Like a bolt of lightning he blitzes the enemies. His sword arcs through multiple monsters with each swing, quickly finishing off the spent enemies.

The group of young adventurers let out a sigh of relief after the last monster’s been killed. The duo drops to the ground and stare up at the sky exhausted, while Silica sways like a willow in the wind just barely managing to stay standing.

Mac looks at the youths, reminiscing about his younger days. Just as he’s about to suggest they leave the forest he senses a presence a short ways away.