Akai held his green blade with valor and might against the creatures of the forest. Every second, the blade felt heavier. He needed to put more weight into his swing with every slash. Worms with mouths filled with rows of human teeth came at him from underneath the dirt, but Akai held his ground and faced the creatures. As they approached with speeds faster than any horse, Akai took his blade and cut them down in seconds. White eyes watched him the dark glared at him, but without malicious intent as if they didn't want to attack. However, whatever the creatures were still chose to surround Akai from every corner of the forest. The branches above began to move and block out any hint of the moon. The moonlight shrank as time passed and while Akai could see the creatures, they also saw his eyes turning yellow through his visor among the darkness. His dragon instincts never left him.

Akai began to sprint dragging his green blade with great strength. If he wasn't a dragon, the sword would have already been pulled down to the ground. His armor looked to be heavy, but barely weighed him down compared to the sword. While sprinting away , he struck against any creature that would jump within the shadows. Akai could somewhat see human-like hands with claws coming from the shadows and he would immediately cut them down. When he did so, the hand would drop to the dirt and vanish into thin air as if it never was there. One of the arms reached out among the hundreds and scratched against his armor. Akai noticed that it left a scratch mark even through the dragon scales of an ancient dragon. He thought about using his wings, but upon seeing that they could scratch dragon scale armor, he didn't bother giving them a bigger target.

He wanted to head back towards King's City, but even the forest impeded his movements. As he ran faster, the tree roots sprouted up towards his legs as if it was alive with a grudge against Akai.

Without his keen senses, he would have tripped over them. He jumped over any vine or root that came up from the dirt, but as his concentration focused on the plants, more creatures began their assault. Akai took his blade and with great power, blew away the creatures with a gust of wing created by his swing. The force of his strike threw the bushes and grass away, and even tipped over trees from the ground that surrounded his immediate area. For a second, the moonlight reflected off of the red and black dragonscale armor. His yellow eyes glowed amidst both light and dark. The green blade continued to resist Akai and only became heavier. Soon, the tip of the blade touched the dirt below. Akai noticed the shadowy creatures' eyes as they shook afraid for their life.

"I can smell your fear, ones hidden in shadow," Akai said, "If you fear me so, then you should just leave."

As they heard Akai speak, they reacted with uncertain eyes and he realized that these monsters were sentient. The creatures paused their advance as if they didn't want to come in contact with the light of the moon, but as Akai waited, the trees started to fix themselves. Their branches started to close the gaps of light and Akai sprinted once more. He ran through the dark forest avoiding any of their strikes as well as attacking back whenever he saw an opportunity to do so.

The creatures were hard to see even for Akai and this puzzled him. The creatures within the shadows were unlike anything he has ever fought, but that did not deter him. The forest trying to impede him was more worrying. He would have suspected treants as the cause of the rising roots trying to trip him, but there were no signs of any walking trees. But as he first saw the black mud, he assumed that everything that was going against him was the work of a dark mage. However, he didn't know any besides Miura who he found to only have powers over crows, lightning, and the occasional future vision. The monsters he was fighting and running away from was something that was both a perversion of nature and nature itself.

As he ran further away, he saw an opening within the dark forests and sliced his way through.

As soon as he got to the small clearing, the shadowy creatures stopped just before they could touch the moonlight. Akai could still not see them, except for their white eyes. However, he had time to breathe. A short respite before he could continue. As he relaxed, he noticed the branches from the surrounding trees to slither and grow above the field. They moved alongside and over each other creating shade from the full moon, however it was slow and would take a couple of minutes before they would reach the middle. Leaves formed in seconds right in front of Akai's yellow eyes. Akai leaned on his heavy blade and took a breather. Upon relaxation, his yellow eyes ceased. He noticed a small lake of water near the ground. Dragonflies still flew over while getting devoured by frogs. Akai went over to the lake and stuck his blade into the ground. He unequipped his helmet and grabbed a handful of clear water. He drank it in one gulp. He sat down next to the pond and drank peacefully as the creatures watched. As Akai looked around him, the white eyes continued to stare, but there was neither hate nor love in them. There was nothing. An empty void. However, as he watched the forest, he noticed the trees turning black and as he put his hand on the green blade, he could feel the hate emanating from the trees. The bushes. The grass he sat upon. The forest had strength, but it was slow. As the green blade connected itself to the roots underneath it, Akai could tell what the plants around him was thinking. He was unaware that the green blade had that ability. All of them with only one desire. To kill the Crimson Black Knight. To kill Akai. But the creatures chasing him were not a part of the forest's desire or plan. They were a variable outside of the plants' control, yet they both worked synonymous against Akai unintentionally.

Akai looked at the white eyes from within the shadows and said, "It is strange to see such monsters working together with nature even if it's by accident."

As he watched, the creatures only continued to glare without taking any step outside of the darkness in which they hide, but he could tell that they understood language. While Akai held the green blade, he could even tell that the plants were listening.

"I know both sides can hear me. I would like to know why either of you want to attack me. Perhaps one of you hiding in the corner could come out and explain. Or maybe even a piece of wild grass, at this point," he said with a joking attitude. He didn't make conversation like this for 30 years, and it felt good to be like how he acted before becoming the great Crimson Black Knight. But even though it felt refreshing, he still remembered his duty. He still believed that only he can save the world.

The eyes moved slightly, but none of the creatures came out. The trees continued to grow their branches overhead, but their speed was slowed.

They listened, but none talked. Akai sighed and and drank one more handful from the pond. He stood up and put his helmet back on. His hand still held the green blade's hilt, and he continued to monitor what the plants were feeling. Only hate poured through them endlessly. But for a moment, he was able to sense that the plants wanted revenge against him, but Akai was unsure of why. He never knew that the forests were alive, before, so why would they want revenge against him, he wondered, but no answers came to him. Within seconds, his senses perked up. A dragon was nearby.

He looked up at the clear sky and grew out his large black wings three times his size and a tail.

Akai grabbed the green blade breaking away the roots that attached themselves to it. It took considerable strength to wield let alone hold it. As he flapped his wings, the blade became heavier. He was barely able to lift himself 2 inches above the ground. Eventually, his wings tired and he dropped to the ground. He breathed heavily trying to lift the blade, with no idea on why it was heavier. He retracted his wings and tail, and suddenly the blade became lighter.

Was the sword aware of Akai's wings, he questioned, but he found it ridiculous that a sword would be able to act on it's own.

"There must be some strange magic going on in this forest. Did a mage put a curse on my blade? Would one of you white-eyed freaks tell me?" he asked towards the creatures hidden in the dark, but there was no response.

"It's like I'm talking to a wall," he commented to himself.

He was still able to wield the blade, but it took all of his strength to be able to swing it.

The trees rustled, but there was no wind. Plant life moved away creating a clearing that surprised both Akai and the shadowy creatures. A creature came out from the darkness and into the moonlight walking on two legs. It was three times the size of Akai. It's gaping mouth with rows of jagged teeth. Six bulbous eyes stared down at Akai. The monster had six arms each holding a cage made up of roses. Within each cage was a trapped wisp. The creature had the wings of a rotten butterfly. Purple mushrooms grew on the back of the creature as well. It had long black hair and was clearly a female by it's moss-covered breasts. The wisps were erratic trying to break free of their rose cages to no avail. Akai could recognize the creature or what it was supposed to be. It was like a tremendous pixie, but corrupted by disease. She salivated all over the grass accelerating their growth process until eventually they withered away. She had a pugnant odor that smelled of death. It smiled yet at the same time it groaned with pain.

Akai looked at it like any other monster that needed be hunted. He suspected that it was a product of the forest and the shadowy creatures' unintentional alliance. Akai's eyes didn't fool him. He knew that the trees moved out their way for it. They must have decided to let this creature through. But he also noticed that the shadow creatures were surprised by it, as well, so he thought that nature took it upon themselves to create this creature.

"A perversion of nature yet accepted by nature. I knew that the forest and dark creatures were working together, but to think that they would merge themselves. You trees must be desperate if they would go that low," Akai said as he prepared to fight against the corrupted pixie.

The pixie flew towards Akai flapping it's wings with unparralleled speed. As the monster came closer, the blade became lighter as if it too wanted to end the creature's miserable life. Akai didn't understand why his sword was acting the way it is, but had no time to question it.

The pixie attacked Akai by hitting him with her cages of wisps. Akai stood his ground blocking against the her flailing. The pixie continued to strike at him with her thorny cages and Akai would dodge each one. When she was about spit a ball of saliva at Akai, the Crimson Black Knight shot out flames within his helmet. The fire went through the visor and straight towards the pixie's head. The saliva turned to gas in seconds and the pixie's head was covered in burns. The fire caught onto it's eyes and wings. She dropped two of her cages and tried to wipe the flames away from her face. In that moment, Akai had his opportunity. His eyes turned yellow with rage that seeped through his visor. His green blade became light as a feather and with all of his strength, he cut off the monster's head like half-melted butter. Maggots and worms sprung out of the creature's neck and it fell to the ground. Every plant around it's corpse began to whither away. The nearby pond turned green. The frogs died where they stood while dragonflies ripped themselves free of their bellies. The mushrooms on the creature's back burst into purple acid melting the creature leaving no trace of it's existence.

Akai's yellow eyes looked back at the white eyes staring from the shadows. He could still see their fear, yet they refused to run away. His eyes reverted now that the immediate threat was taken care of. He knew that he couldn't lose control and jump straight into the dark forests, but he also knew that he couldn't solve anything by waiting around.

The green blade became heavier once more, and Akai wondered why. He still sensed the nearby dragon, but there was no sign of any around. For a moment, he thought that the blade he held was still alive. A part of Kytlmyne still lived within the green scales, but he had no proof of it. It felt like the sword had a personality that was just recently awakened. A personality that despised Akai, yet at the same time allowed him to kill that godforsaken monster.

The full moon continued to shine. As Akai pondered, he thought that it was still ridiculous for a blade to be alive. It was just a sword made of scales. The blade never did anything to warrant having a mind of it's own before that day. Nothing about it could make it a living creature. The blade must be under some magic curse, he thought. He thought about letting Miura take a look at it when he got back to confirm and, if need be, fix it.

As he took a couple of steps, he heard a loud roar echo through the skies. A roar filled with rage covering up any hint of sorrow. The trees and ground shook for a moment. The white eyes disappeared into the shadows in a panic. Akai looked in the direction of the sound and with a skip of a heartbeat knew that it was coming from King's City.

Akai grew his wings and tail. However, the blade gave resistance. It became heavier. Too heavy to fly with, but once he touched the ground, the blade was bearable. He questioned what kind of curse acted this way, but he had no time to think about it. He retracted his wings and tail, and instead dashed through the forests no longer being impeded by the trees or shadowy creatures. Only being slowed by the weight of his green blade.