The woods of Little Woods extended around most of the entire area, making it a large nature reserve. In its long history, many mysteries and tales from the colonists to the natives to even the modern-day.

Adding to that was something reporting to have crashed several miles from the town. The information was suppressed as fast as it was reported, with a squad of ten soldiers making their way through the trees to the source.

Dressed in black ballistic vests and helmet, face covered by a balaclava, armed with M4 assault weapons, the soldiers danced around the trees. While their posture indicated they were not particularly on guard, their weapons had their safety off, ready to respond to the first sign of danger.

The sun was beginning to set, with what little light there was beginning to be lost as the squad continued, meandering through the trees. One of the soldiers in front held a large rectangle device, which let out pings as the man held it up around, following the various sounds as they traveled through the woods.

The pings got louder and louder, followed by a distinctive smell of burning. There, they found the source of the crash. In a clearing that was clearly made very recently, a strange object had embedded itself into the earth. Whatever it had fallen from, it had been smashed to beyond recognition, yet was distinctly alien in what little of the design was left intact.

"Holy shit... Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah... that's an alien ship. No question."

"Stall the chatter," the commander barked to his men in an assertive voice. "Call it in." He ordered another, who grabbed his radio fastened to his left shoulder.

"HQ. This is Foxtrot reporting. Over."

The response was met with static.

"HQ. This is Foxtrot. Over."

More static was heard.

"HQ. Do you read. Over."

By this point, all the soldiers were now looking at the man.

"Anyone on this frequency. Respond."

The latest message was then answered by a loud and deafening screech that blasted through the soldier's earpieces. The noise was so loud, everyone grabbed the earpieces and threw them on the ground, holding their affected ears.

"Shit! What the hell was that?"

"Radio's are completely fried,"

"What'ya mean fried!"

"HQ! Do you read?"

Panic set in as the soldiers began to question what was happening. It wasn't just the receivers. The radio's themselves began billowing smoke, some of them even bursting.

"Everyone calm down!" The CO called out, raising his rifle in the sky to attract his men's attention. "Foxtrot 4, fire the flairs. Delta should be-"

A blue light suddenly burst from a few miles away from the soldiers right, lasting only a moment. All at once, the soldiers raised their weapons in the direction of the light.

No word was spoken as the squad began to tighten their formation, keeping weapons primed. Silence befell the area as the CO slowly took point, his flashlight mounted on his rifle fighting back the darkness.

All of a sudden, blinking red lights began to emerge.

"Identify yourself!" The man said bravely. "We are armed with live rounds! If you do not show yourself we will-"

A red beam of energy suddenly struck the man in the chest, burning a large hole throw him. His finger jammed onto the trigger and he fired full automatic as he fell backward.

"CONTACT!"

"FOXTRO-"

A hale of red beams began firing (blasting the head of the closest man) as the soldiers began shooting back. More and more blue lights began to form around, adding to the hale of fire.

Four more soldiers went down as they shuffled backward, firing in random directions as the rain of beams grew more and more intense.

"WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"I CAN'T-" Another one was hit, dropping to the ground as three more beams struck his body.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!!"

The remaining three soldiers ran, ducking down as the hail intensified. As they ran, a large blue energy beam was shot towards them, slamming into the ground in the very center of the two back runners. A large blue blast erupted; incinerating the two men while the third was launched off his feet, tumbling as the red volley died down.

The man began crawling desperately. The blast had caught his left leg, which was steaming in the area affected. Despite the protective armor and rough canvas trousers, the blast had penetrated all the way through.

"Shit... shit shit shit..." The man swore as he dragged himself across the ground towards his fallen rifle. In less than a minute, his entire squad had been whipped out.

His weapon was laying on the ground a few feet away. He was only a few feet away when-

"GAH!"

- something caught him in the back.

The man could do nothing but gasp in his death throngs, unable to see the translucent blade of energy that had burrowed into him, burning his insides. With his life fading fast, he heard a horrific screech, like metal grinding against each other amplified, a sound that could only herald his passing.

****

"What was that?"

Light shone through from the wooden wand, fighting back the darkness. The owner, Dale, looked very nervous. He was only a man, a man with a few spells under his belt, a man with scruffy brown hair, large round glasses, wearing a white shirt and jeans.

".... Was that gunfire?"

Swallowing, Dale faced forwards, walking along the woods trail, keeping his wand held at the ready. The sun had long set, coating the entire woods in thick darkness.

There was an eerie silence, broken up by occasional bouts of gunfire that lasted only a moment. Taking in a deep breath of the cold winter night, Dale steeled himself, scanning the dark environments as he used his wand to fight off the darkness. "Damn... why do I have to be out here? I'm just the support guy..."

He cursed under his breath as he trudged through the forest. "Ok... don't get freaked out. Remember, you got a handful of monsters at your back who will actually be doing the work. You just find out whatever's out there, send the flair and get to support.

"..... Just hope whatever's out here gives me a chance to,"

"Woof!"

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!" With a defining scream, Dale flopped forwards, crawled to the nearest tree in a frenzy before aiming his wand. In the spot where he was stood a small, fiery dog, and standing by its side with a very narrow expression was his master; Melvin, the young ginger-haired wizard from Avalon.

Seeing his life wasn't in any danger, Dale let out a deep groan. "That scared the hell outta me you little beast!"

"He barely made a sound," Melvin pointed out. "I had a feeling you were a scary cat, but I didn't know it was this bad,"

"Hey! Fieldwork isn't my specialty! I barely have any offensive spells that actually do something so I gotta stay on my toes more than you guys!" Dale blurted out defensively.

"And that's why you scream like a little girl?" A new voice spoke up. Walking up to them was Yuki, a fair-haired man with a katana strapped to his belt.

"O-Of course not!" Dale flustered. "I may be as weak as a stick insect but I'm still a man."

"A man who screamed a lot like a little girl," Melvin said with a dead-pan expression, added by Cerberus giving a whine.

"I was not screaming like a little girl!" Dale barked furiously. "For all you know that could have been one of the girls. Sasha or that cat for example! Mary was trembling when we set foot here so-"

"Hey!" Interrupting him, three figures emerged from behind thick undergrowth; Mirage, a tall blond woman and the most agile member of the Hunters. Sasha, a small pigtailed girl, and hunter in training. Nel, the red-haired assassin with her blades at her hip.

"Everything ok?" Nel asked. "We heard a little girl screaming from this direction. Is it someone from the town?"

Dale sunk to the ground, trying his hardest to ignore the expressionless faces of Melvin and Yuki. "Not exactly," Yuki said, putting a hand to the hilt of his katana as he turned to face the girls. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing yet," Mirage said, shaking her head. "Although we keep hearing gunfire every now and then, though pretty spread out."

"Did you guys find anything?" Sasha asked, leaning out from behind Mirage with a curious look.

"No. Nothing," Melvin shook his head, looking down to Cerberus by his side. "Not even Cerberus has picked anything up yet."

With a grunt, Yuki looked to Nel, who seemed to have her head in the clouds. "Anything?"

Nel returned with a shake of her head. "I'm sensing... something." She said folding her arms. "I can't say what, but it certainly feels like something in this wood is off."

"Yeah. I know what you mean," Dale said, rubbing the side of his head. Both he and Nel were sensors, individuals who were able to detect mana from other sources like a sixth sense. Anything that emitted mana no matter how small the trace, both of them could pick it up. "Donno why, but I keep getting this weird vibe every now and then. And it's coinciding with those burst of gunfire."

"Guys!"

At that moment, the final group emerged from the woods. "There, see I told you it was just Dale." The first on the screen was Cliff, the large fair-haired hunter who became a part of Allisa's party shortly after they met.

"Whaho, your right. Could'a sworn that was a little girl for a sec." Following on was Rodger, a samiet (characterized by his short stature, bushy raccoon tail and furry ears) wearing overalls with a green helmet.

Following behind them was Max, a boy dressed in a shirt and shorts, a large X shaped scar hidden which identified him as a Salamander, a powerful human-dragon hybrid. "See, nothing to be scared about Mary."

"Nyewww...." Clinging to his back like a monkey was Meracle, timidly looking over the boy's shoulder.

"Didn't take you for being scared of a dark wood given that your home was in a similar place," Yuki said humorlessly as Meracle slowly crawled off Max's back, setting her feet on the ground.

"You would be if milady forced you to 'survive' in a dark forest while she teleported scary monsters until the sunrise."

With the search parties gathered, all eleven members continued walking through the forest with the uneasy tension added from the silence and the darkness. Rodger commented in how it reminded him of his own home, the dark forest of Serland. Of course, the woods around Little Wood was nothing compared to the large imposing monster-ridden forest where the only real danger would be from some of the wildlife, far below what could pose a threat to the party.

"Sure is creepy..." Melvin commented, moving alongside Cerberus.

"Nyew..." Meracle muttered, keeping her hands close to her chest.

"It does remind me of something," Nel said, putting her chin.

"Yeah, didn't you and Allisa have to trudge through the green woods when you first arrived in Avalon?" Max asked.

"Not that." Nel shook her head. "It's a funny story about a group of teenagers who ventured into a wood to eat mushrooms, one ate a strange hallucinogenic mushroom and ended up slaughtering all her friends."

Nel's recounting earned her a mix of strange looks from her companions. The assassin had strange tastes when it came to entertainment. It was known she loved to read books, all of which involved generally horrific tails. Added to that was now her fixation on watching movies, with the only ones she found 'funny' being grotesque, disturbing and particularly bloody flics.

"You have one messed up sense of humor," Cliff shook his head. "Hey Dale. Are you sure about this?"

Dale was located in the center of the formation (which he insisted), holding out his wand to fight back the darkness. "Well, the fact those black ops guys are here means there is merit to those reports."

"Yeah, but they say it's an alien spaceship that crashed," Sasha said, walking alongside the timid Meracle. "Everyone knows aliens don't exist."

"Wh-Wh-What are aliens?" Meracle asked, still shaking.

"Aliens?" Nel stared up in the sky with a ponderous look. "I believe their creatures that force mates with human females with tentacles,"

"SERIOUSLY, WHAT KIND OF MOVIES ARE YOU WATCHING?!" Cliff snapped. With a huff, he turned back to Dale. "Sasha does have a point. I mean... You got this from one of those conspiracy theory websites. An alien spaceship of all things?"

"We have two kids with tails behind us and you're questioning if aliens exist?" Dale said pointing over to the two none humans in the group.

"Hey!" Rodger puffed out his cheeks.

The information in question was regarding an object that was seen entering the planet's atmosphere, crashing close by Little Wood. For the hunters (and their unexpected guests), a strange phenomenon was not outside of the ordinary. However, to a lot of them, was a bit beyond even their own expectations. That being said, given that a lot of their adventures had been outside the realm of even common sense, it was not enough to rule it out completely.

"But there is something out here, right?" Max said, throwing his arms casually over his head as he walked. "And you said those black orc guys are here for a reason."

"Gonna side with the pyro," Yuki said, keeping a hand close to his katana's hilt. "Been hearing gunfire every now and then, which means they're fighting something out here."

"Not saying there's nothing out here," Cliff said, his eyes scanning the woods. "Given our luck, aliens aren't something I'd rule out."

Another burst of gunfire caused the party to halt in their tracks. The nose only lasted a moment before dying out, once again drowning the already nervous hunters and co in the uneasy silence.

"That sounded close by," Yuki said, his hand slowly drifting to the hilt of his katana.

"C-C-Close..." Meracle gulped, raising her arms closer to her chest. "H-H-How close? Like really really close?"

Nel drew out her twin blades and said "I'll check it out," as she slowly made her way to the forest edge.

"I'll come with you," Mirage added as she walked behind her.

"M-Mirage," Sasha spoke up, sounding concerned for her guardian's wellbeing. To that Mirage simply turned around and smiled at her.

"Don't worry. We won't be too long,"

With Nel leading the way, the two ladies disappeared into the darkness of the woods, leaving the reminder party alone, the silence blanketing them like a thick rug adding to the already uneasy tension the ordinary woods was providing them.

"You sure you're not picking anything up boy?" Melvin asked, kneeling to Cerberus, who responded with a simple whine and a shake of the head.

"Some help he is," Yuki grunted, keeping his distance from the small creature who growled at him. Cerberus was usually friendly to everyone around him that were friends with Melvin, but Yuki seemed to be the only exception.

"Hey! Don't be mean," Sasha snapped at Yuki, puffing her cheeks out.

"The mutt does nothing but bites me. I think I have the right,"

Dale was scanning the woods, using his wand to illuminate as much of the darkness as he could. "Damn... this is doing no favors to my heart." He said, feeling his chest pounding.

"Man, you're such a wuss," Rodger said to him unimpressed. "'A real man never cowers in the face of danger,' that's what Pa always says."

"Unfortunately, I'm the furthest thing from a 'real man' that you keep going on about," Dale said humorlessly at the young samiet. "I have a body build of a stick insect, barely any offensive powers with only these muscles bounced morons to keep for protection,"

"Hey! Who ya calling a monster!"

"Ah don't worry. Dale's not the bravest person in the world." Cliff shrugged.

"Well I didn't want to come here in the first place!" Dale snapped at Cliff. "The only reason I came out here is cause you dragged me along. I'm a support person, and in MMO's that's the poor loser with low stats to cast spells and healing on the frontline infantry while they fight raid bosses!"

"Raid.... Boss?" Rodger said, seeming lost, rubbing his chin as he was met with alien words to him.

"So in other words," Yuki chimed into the discussion, "you're the kind of guy who sits on his ass and lets other people do his own work for you."

"Cause all I can do is support!"

"Aw, suck it up!" Rodger said, folding his arms looking harty. "After all, 'a-'"

"If you say anything that has 'a real man' again I'm gonna get very unpleasant!"

"Meaning you're gonna keep whining like a little bitch?" Yuki grunted.

While Dale was yelling back and forth between Yuki and Rodger with Cliff acting as a very ineffective mediator, Meracle, Melvin, Sasha and Max sat watching the back and forth like watching a soap opera playing out with canned laughter to emphasize the punchlines.

"Nyew.... Is this normal?" Meracle ended up asking Sasha who returned with a nod.

"Whenever Dale has to go out he always says how he's a support guy and not a field guy," Sasha answered.

"In a way... I kinda understand how he feels," Melvin said slumping his head while Cerberus sat close by.

"Yeah. Kinda like a grown-up version of you," Max said, leaning back against a tree with his arms at the back of his head.

"I'd say I'm better than that.... But yeah, I do see it," Melvin sighed. Even though he could use offensive spells, he was physically weak compared to his companions and would often vear to the side of caution and self-preservation than the others. "Say Max, do you smell anything?"

Max gave the air a sniff. His salamander abilities greatly enhanced his senses to beyond those of normal humans. ".... I can smell burning, but not much else."

"Burning?" The three young children all looked puzzled.

"Yeah. Like when you cook meat. There's a-"

"Ok ok, we get it," Melvin said quickly.

"Hey guys!" Interrupting the group from their circles was a call from Mirage. Even though distant, there was definite urgency in her voice. "You might want to see this!"

The group made their way through the forest in the direction the two ladies had run off in. Barely a sound was made as they navigated the trees, keeping on high alert due to the unknown danger. Not far was Mirage waiting for them. The expression she had was very grim.

"Find something?" Cliff asked straight away.

".... You could say that," Mirage pointed behind her. When everyone looked none could hide a gasp. In a small space was ten of the black ops soldiers, all scattered from any reasonable formation, all dead.

"Wh-What happened here...?" Melvin asked out loud, putting a hand over his mouth in horror.

Sasha and Meracle looked uneasy at the sight of such death, with the former visibly shaking, not use to seeing such death before. Noticing, Mirage crouched to the ground and embraced the young girl while the men made their way over to Nel who was crouched by one of the men.

"How long ago was this?" Yuki said, drawing out his katana to stand at the ready.

"They’re still warm," Nel responded grimly, "I'd say a few minutes ago." She then looked up to Dale and Cliff who crouched to her level. "There's something else..."

She showed off a hole on the man's chest, large enough for her to fit her fist into. Slowly she reached into the wound, gently caressing the burnt edge.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Dale exclaimed, surprised. Nel drew out her hand. Her fingers, rather than being coated in blood, were instead covered in little blackened, crispy chunks.

"Same on all the other bodies," Nel said as she rubbed her fingers with her thumbs. "Whatever attacked them used a weapon that burnt through them."

"A spell?" Melvin asked, keeping a distance from the body.

"I don't think so," Nel shook her head. "If magic was used, I would have detected a trace left." She looked up to Cliff, who looked concerned, "Whatever attacked them, I don't think it's from Avalon."

"What do you mean not from Avalon?" Cliff asked.

"G-G-G-Guys!" Meracle called out. Her tail was sticking straight up, with all the blue hairs standing on end. "S-s-something's coming...."

"She's right..." Max said standing on alert, taking a sniff while scrunching his nose. "Not sure, but there's a very weird smell."

Cerberus let out a growl, joining in Max's caution and Miracle's shaking, all directed to something at their ten o'clock. Everyone stood at the ready, Nel drawing her blades, Rodger pulling out his silver hammer, Melvin and Dale readying their wands while the unarmed braced themselves.

In the direction they where facing, there was a sudden flash of blue light that shimmered in the gaps between the trees.

"Wh-What the...?" Cliff tensed, furrowing his brow.

"Everyone, get in close," Nel instructed. Everyone moved without question as the light began to die out. "Melvin, Dale. Barrier."

"Huh?"

"Barri-"

"NOW!!"

Nel's assertive warning snapped both wizards to erect a translucent sphere that surrounded all eleven of the wood explorers. The very second it was erected; a hale of red beams began firing out from behind the trees, each splattering against the shield.

"Wh-wh-what the hecks shooting at us?!" Melvin exclaimed. Only he and Dale were standing while everyone else had flopped onto the floor on instinct.

"MYAAAA!!!" Meracle cried as she smashed her cat ears down.

"What's happening?! What are these things?!" Rodger asked with both hands over his helmet.

"Opening fire without even a heads up! These guys mean business!" Yuki yelled over the barrage.

"Now we know what happened to the soldiers!" Mirage added, an arm thrown over Sasha keeping her lower to the ground.

"So what's the plan?!" Dale yelled to Nel. "This barrier isn't gonna hold forever! Once it goes, we're all dead!"

"I got a plan!" Max said, rising to his feet. He threw out his left hand, which began to ignite.

"M-Max, what are you planning?!" Melvin exclaimed, sounding very concerned with what could be going through his head. As far as strategy goes, it always involves something blowing up.

"Drop the barrier and hit the deck!" Max said as the flames in his hand began to coalesce into a large ball. "Then I'll throw this at them!"

"That's not a plan! That's improvising!" Dale snapped at him.

"Got a better idea!"

The silence that followed was telling enough that no one had an idea at the moment.

"Max!" Nel spoke up, getting lower to the ground. "Stand in the center and throw that ball!"

"Wait! You're not seriously going with that plan?!" Cliff yelled, hands over his head.

"Dale! Melvin!" Nel ignored the concern. "Drop the barrier on my mark!"

"..... Looks like we are," Melvin grounded his teeth in defeat.

"Well.... It wasn't a bad life," Dale said, a stream of tears flowing comically from behind his glasses. "At least I had a girlfriend at one point...."

"Ready!'

Max took a step back, raising his right hand as he lowered the fireball. With a growl, Max slammed a foot to the ground, putting all his straight into one arm.

"NOW!"

Melvin and Dale dropped to the ground as the barrier dropped, just as Max threw his orb, getting hit by two of the red beams. The flames traveled to where the barrage had originated from, hitting the nearby tree while exploding.

"Got em!" Max cheered, admiring his handy work.

"A-Are we still alive...?" Melvin stuttured, lifting his head slowly off the ground. Everyone followed, slowly crawling off of the ground. Rodger let out a squeal of relief and dread when he looked up from his hunched position to see a smoking hole inches from his head.

Max, however, had been hit twice by the incoming fire, which could be seen by the smoke rising from the two spots in his chest. Luckily for him, his dragon enhanced skin seemed to have mitigated the burns, with only his skin slightly flayed.

"Not sure if you planned that or just dumb luck," Yuki commented, taking note of the burnet area of the explosion. Max simply responded with a grin.

"So what the hell attacked us?" Cliff said as he, Mirage and Nel made their way over towards the area where Max had launched his fireball. When they got there, they saw something that they were not expecting. "Ok.... I'm gonna say that's definitely not something from Avalon."

"Not that I know of," Nel shook her head.

Laying on the ground, partly broken and from the fireball was a silver machine, standing just a few feet smaller than Cliff with a triangle in the center that was a dim blue. It's left hand was a three-pronged pincer with its right taking the form of a silver cylinder with a dark red hole at the end which indicated a cannon. Its legs were very thin with completely flat feet, and its head was nothing more than a single eye with plates on either side.

Scattered around where six of the constructs in total, four of them badly damaged beyond repair.

"What're these things?" Rodger said, poking one of the broken arms with his hammer.

"Whatever they are," Max picked up one that had lost half its torso, banging on it with his fist, "they're completely metal,"

Mirage had crouched to one of the destroyed machines, examining the arm cannon. ".... Maybe that aliens theory wasn't far off."

"... Part of me wished I was wrong," Dale said meekly as he tapped the metal construct with his foot.

"So what are these things?" Yuki said, his eyes fixed on one of the destroyed machines. "Some kind of weapon?"

"I wouldn't put it past that," Cliff said curiously. "Though I think a better question is, where did these things come from?"

Max suddenly dropped the construct he was carrying, looking alarmed by something off in the distance. Cerberus was growling intensely, barking at the air. Meracle's ears and tail stood on end, also alarmed by something.

"Guys..." Max said as he clenched his fists. "I think more are on the way!"

As though answering, four more blue flashes of light emerge from seemingly nowhere. This time there was no foliage to obscure them, appearing at the parties flank as shining blue lights with long white lines streams that looked like digital information.

"Everyone, be careful!" Mirage called out as everyone raised their guards just as the lights grew and burst. In a flash of light, sixteen machines began to materialize out of thin air, the white streams of digital images crafting them out of thin air, constructing them from forming rectangles until they formed the shape of the same design as those of what Max had destroyed moments ago.

"Wha- More?!" Rodger shouted his surprise, holding out his hammer.

"Scatter!" Nel yelled as the machines began to move, there metallic limbs beginning to move while firing red beams. Everyone dived for cover, with Nel, Yuki and Mirage charging forwards to the incoming groups.

"Incoming!" Rodger said as he slammed a hand to the ground, launching a spiked rock, shooting it up from the ground before slamming his hammer into the back, launching it towards the rear group. The rock hit two of them, destroying them both.

"There's more!" Max said as he skidded to a halt, moments before another blue sphere appeared, with four more machines appearing.

Among the first group, Nel leaped into the air, high above the firing machines, landing a roundhouse kick on the front machine, destroying the head in one kick. As she landed on the ground, she punched her short blade into the nearest machine's chest. Withdrawing her blade, she swept kicked the next machine's feet, toppling it to the ground before leaping off the ground as the final machine began firing at her, its red beams hitting the downed machine. Somersaulting, she landed behind the machine while punching her dagger deep into the machine's head. Sparks and a light ooze shot out as the machine began to spasm.

Mirage tackled the next group, rolling to avoid the incoming fire. Pulling back a fist, she threw out a right hook into the chest of the nearest machine. The enhanced hit broke the core before launching it backward into the nearest machine. She then pivoted, sending a sweeping kick to a machine on her right, her kick shattering the left arm as the machine shattered. The remaining two turned their cannons to her. Sidestepping, to avoid the read beams, Mirage pulled her fists in close to her chest as she lunged forwards. Up close, she punched the nearest machine twice, her first hit breaking the chest while the second ripped a hole through the chest, leaking out a shimmering ooze and sparks before it toppled to the ground. Pivoting back around, she grabbed the cannon, hoisting it over her shoulder before pulling it over her shoulder, pulling it down, breaking the arm off before pivoting around, kicking the machine in the chest.

Yuki had reached his group of four, swerving between the beams while holding his katana low, beginning with a forward sweep that cleaved through one of the machines, followed up with a downward strike that sliced off half a fraction of the machine's torso. He spun around, slicing through the third, severing its torso. With one machine left, bringing its full attention to the swordsman. Parting his legs, Yuki hoisted his katana, pointing its blade directly at the machine before lunging. His blade pierced through its core, causing the machine to spasm, wrenching his blade free-spinning clockwise before delivering a final blow with a powerful upwards strike.

Only two of the fourth group were left, they turned their attention to the three combatants. With her dagger still embedded in the head of one of the machines, Nel forced the machine around as it fired off beams in random directions, four of them hitting the machines; one hitting the head of one of them, while the remaining three blew off the right arm and punched holes into the final one. With the final machine down, Nel leaped from the ground, resting both her feet on the machine before ripping her dagger free backflipping before landing on the ground, pivoting around as she slammed her short blade into the back of the machine, finishing it off.

Meanwhile, Max laid into the newest group that materialized as more blue orbs began emerging around them. Taking on a few hits from the beams, he used a flaming fist to shatter one of the machines completely before letting out a fire roar that obliterated the remaining three.

Through the bursts of light, more machines materialized out of thin air, baring their weapons to continue fire on the now scattered party, each one breaking off from one another, fighting using their various skills to hold back the tied of metal.

Rodger ran, tumbling across the ground as a group of five machines concentrated fire on him. Slamming a hand to the ground, a wall of earth raised, blocking the beams. Pulling back his hammer, Rodger slammed it on the wall, which suddenly burst, peppering the advancing machines with a barrage of rocks, destroying them. Rodger then rolled away to avoid another barrage of beams, turning to face a group of newly materialized machines, slamming a hand to the group to call forth earth lances from beneath the feet of the machine.

A hoard of six machines stamped through the forest, firing their beams at Meracle who bounced around to avoid them, leaping on trees into the air, crouching her legs before leaping again in thin air. Landing vertically on a nearby branch above the machines, Meracle's green eyes snapped towards them.

Crouching her legs, she lunged forwards, performing a forward flip before landing on one of the machines with both feet, hitting the chest like a rocket, slamming it onto the ground. Leaping off the ground again to avoid the incoming fire, Meracle raised her left leg high into the nearest machine, cracking the head in one strike. Spinning on her axis, she performed a roundabout kick on the nearest machine, launching it away. Turning around, she leaned back as a beam trailed above her, narrowly avoiding the incoming projectile. Continuing leaning back, she performed a handstand and pushed herself into the air, backflipping before landing on the ground, facing the remaining three machines. Jumping in place, spinning clockwise kicking out her right foot, sending an invisible projectile, slamming into the nearest machine, rocketing it backward and slamming it into a tree. Pivoting on her axis to avoid the remaining machines firing at her, ducking behind a nearby tree.

Further back, Melvin had erected a barrier as a swarm of machines fired a concentrated barrage at the poor boy. Cerberus stood by his side, growling at the incoming machines.

"Just a little longer...."

Lighting began gathering at the tip of his wand as the young wizard charged his spell, waiting for the incoming machines to gather around, closing ranks.

"Raging gods of calamity unleash your might! Thunderstorm!"

At the right moment, just before the barrier failed, Melvin waved his wand. Black clouds gathered around the machines before lightning bore down onto the machines. The surge of electricity caused the constructs to spasms, a few bursting the shimmering liquid as they detonated, all crumbling to the ground. Melvin let out a sigh just as another wave appeared. Melvin leveled his wand, sending fireballs that hit and destroyed the freshly materialized machines. Another tried to approach from behind, aiming its cannon at the boy. Cerberus, however, had lunged towards it, biting its small jaws into the three-pronged hand, pulling it off target. Melvin swiveled around, firing another fireball at the machine, destroying it upon impact.

"HAAAA!" Cliff grunted as he unearthed a large fallen long, cupping it under his arm before swinging it like a bat, sweeping through the machines, slamming five of them into a nearby tree, squashing them like insects. Dropping the log, Cliff ducked, avoiding more fire from the machines, taking an immediate right, swerving around before landing a blow on an incoming machine, obliterating it in one hit.

"WHAAAA!!!" Dale screamed as he ran, his translucent shell bursting by each hit from the firing from the incoming machines, a group of six of them firing a consistent volley at him as he fired back with shining light from his wand that blasted the head off one of the machines. "THIS IS WHY I DON'T GO ON FIELD MISSIONS!!!"

As he turned a corner to find another five waiting for him. As he froze, a large rock flew at them, crushing all of them under it. Before Dale could even ask, Sasha landed on the rock, leaping off it to circle around the nearby tree, flanking the incoming five machines. Her little fist collided into the left side of one of the machine's chest, breaking through it. She swerved and grabbed a nearby machine's leg, focusing her mana to enhance her straight to lift it off its feet, using it as a bat to crash into another. She jumped up as the remaining two took note of her presence, punching the nearest one in the head breaking it, landing on the ground, pulling back both fists before crashing both palms into the chest of the final machine which convulsed as its frame cracked, collapsing to the ground.

"Dale!" Sasha called out, spotting the man gazing blankly at her. "Good. You're ok." She said with an innocent smile while waving.

"Y-Yeah...." Dale said, feeling his pride shatter at the sight of a girl barely twice his age standing amongst five strange robots she destroyed barehanded.

Four more than emerged from behind a tree, converging on the two hunters to fire. Then, their eyes glowed blue as all the remaining machines let out a metallic shriek. Then they all stopped as a blue light engulfed them, disintegrated the machines into nothingness. Yuki was in mid-swing with the intention of splitting the machine in half when his blade simply passed through it.

"What?" Looking around, the swordsman saw the machines, both functional and destroyed, vanishing as instantaneously as they appeared. Max had one grasped by the leg, swinging it like a bat at one of the machines only to have it vanish as he followed through. Everyone stopped at once, looking uneasy at the strange victory they achieved over the machines which left more questions than answers.

"Ok..." Cliff walked backward, raising his hand. "Everyone regroup around me!" Standing at a small clearing around a moss-covered rock, the Avalon team and the hunters reconvened around Cliff.

"Ha! They weren't so tough," Max said jolly, punching his fist into his palm with a large grin.

"No, but there were a lot of them," Yuki said, keeping his katana drawn.

"Not to mention they literally appeared out of thin air," Melvin said, Cerberus standing at his side letting out a small moan.

"..... I guess we now know what happened to those soldiers," Nel said grimly. "If Max, Mary and Cerberus hadn't given us an early warning, we could have easily have been killed without even knowing what was shooting at us,"

"This is why I don't do field work...." Dale groaned.

"..... We should keep going." Mirage said, folding her arms. "Those... machines, there must be something in the woods that's calling them here. If they make it into town the government will be the least of our worries."

Cliff brushed his hair, letting out a deep sigh. The battle didn't last long, nor was it difficult for the party. However, given how many were materializing and the sudden retreat didn't sit well with him. "Max," folding his arms he looked towards Max, "You could sense where they were coming, right."

"Well.... Kinda," Max said scratching his dark hair. "Wasn't really sensing. I could smell something off. Like a.... gassy kinda smell."

".... Good enough," Cliff looked down at Cerberus, who was squatting by his master's feet.

"Yeah... you sensed them two, right boy?" Melvin asked his familiar, who responded with a yelp and a nod.

"Ok. Looks like we have some early warning just in case." Cliff continued. "And Mary, you also-" As he looked around the group he then began to notice the blue-haired cait sith was not among them. "Mary?"

Everyone then took note of the young cat's absence, looking around for a sign of her.

"Mary? Where are you?" Sasha asked.

"Oh dear, looks like we lost the cat," Yuki said morbidly.

"Hey! Don't be mean Yaki!" Sasha pouted.

"Could you stop calling me Yaki you little brat,"

"MWAAAAOOOOOO!!!!" A familiar shriek erupted from an area just behind Max. As the boy turned around, a frantic Meracle leaped from behind a nearby hedge, hooking her legs around Max's torso as she flailed around to get on his back.

"Wh-Whoa! Mary- hey! What are you doing?!"

"TALKINGHEADTALKINGHEADTALKINGHEADTALKINGHEADTALKINGHEADTALKINGHEAD!" Wrapping one arm around Max's neck hard enough to choke him, tail petrified, ears sticking out from her blue hair with her eyes open wide, tearing up as she stuck out her free hand to point. "There's a talking head!"

A long silence followed as everyone looked blankly at the cait sith, ignoring the fact she was strangling Max who was starting to go blue.

"...... A talking head?" Cliff let out a sigh. "Look, alien robots are one thing," he said as he walked past Meracle and Max, parting the bushes. "But a talking head is-"

"Ah. Are you her companions? I do apologize, my current appearance must have frightened her."

Cliff froze in place, as though his internal clock had suddenly ground to a halt. The group peered past him, all catching a glimpse of what he had seen with a mixture of bewilderment and confusion (with Dale removing his glasses, rubbing them before putting them back on).

"Even so, to see a group such as yourselves fight off a wave of Enforcers is quite the feat,"

"HOLY CRAP! THERE IS A TALKING HEAD!!!"

Wedged in the hollow of a nearby tree was a single humanoid head with strange skin and blue lines, surrounded by a metal frame that seemed singed from some kind of extreme heat.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Markus. I am a Cyborg from the world of Sora." The head explained, moving his blue-rimmed eyes over the still shocked party. "Forgive me for sounding impatient, but have you perchance encountered a woman called Ion."