In the periphery of light, he could barely make out something moving. It had just been a glimpse, him seeing it had been a wonder in itself as the structure of the forest made it difficult to see anything past the immediate area he was currently in. He controlled his steps making sure no sound could alert them and when he got closer he dropped the torch behind. It darkness thickened immediately but he could still barely make out the something moving. Just a bit more, he decided. Moving closer he readied himself, calculating their position. The darkness was nearly absolute, the faint rays of light the only thing that allowed him some sense of visibility, no matter how useless it was.

He pressured the capsule while exciting the sparks within. Readjusting his aim he removed some pressure from the appropriate side causing the sparks to rush forward like a torrent. The ones in the front of the collision quickly caught fire as most of the sparks exploded upon them. With them acting as living torches, his eyesight came back. He took out a morningstar and rushed in.

He swung, it’s stomach slightly bending nearly dodging the blow but he let go foweapon go. The spikes cut into its stomach and before it could try to run away he threw a knife. Its mouth wide open, it jumped. His hands moved, grabbing its neck and with a yank twisting it.

He quickly turned to the other monster but suddenly paused when he saw movement in the darkness. There were too many of them. He was sure he had inspected the surroundings. He quickly checked the area behind. Thankfully, for now, there seemed to be no monsters there.

He cursed as a barrier formed around him but now that they had weapons extending their reach the barrier could not protect him like before. A flame appeared, he waited, then some more. They were nearly upon him. Thankfully the burning monsters had started burning the moss making the surroundings even brighter.

Now, he thought and reduced the pressure in the front. He swung his arm, left to right and he could see a red wave rushing forwards. Though the power was greatlyreduced due to the sparks spreading,itheyaccomplished what iwasneeded tof them With the monsters in front burning the momentum suddenly collapsed and the monsters behind tried to control their momentum. Some of them were successful but he grinned, a morningstar in one hand and a war hammer in the other. Each strike caused a skull to burst apart.

They quickly reformed making him retreat as they closed in. aAsword swung at him. At the last moment, he squatted. The monster tried to retract it but it was stuck in the tree. He swung the morningstar but it backflipped. Flexing his other arm his hammer tore through the air but it slightly rotated mid-air still the hammer grazed by. It disrupted its flow and he could not let it be regained. Leg twisting, he stabbed with the sword that had taken out but at the last moment, it got its sword free, deflecting his attack.

He was forced to retreat while cursing them with every word within his vocabulary.

Painting like a dog he was taking a rest but before he could even sit down they came. And then more monsters attacked again. It kept on happening repeatedly and he could just watch as the fire started spreading. At the start, there were just small patches here and there but the fire quickly started using the moss to fuel itself.

The area lit up with light and the whole surrounding came into view. Also coming within his sight was another group of monsters rushing at him with their weapons. This created an urgency as he tried to get rid of the group before the next group could arrive. This made the expenditure of energy sharply increase as he let go of any restraint but was quickly forced to reconsider as the headach came with full force.

Each battle only contributed to the fire. It was now reaching a point that he could feel the area becoming hotter. It was a vicious cycle. He needed the fire to kill the monsters but it made the fire spread even more rapidly. Even in this situation, the monster seemed unwilling to let go as he was attacked wave after wave.

At the start, there were only small patches of fire. Small though they were, it did not mean they were harmless as they contained enough power to burn a person. That energy was used to consume the ever-present white moss that let itself be consumed without any apparent struggle. So the patches quickly grew. They then spread, even more, merging with the others nearby. The forest bed was washed by a wave of bright red as the white was quickly consumed.

The trees were not saved from a similar fate. They too were covered with the moss allowing the fire to make a foothold upon the massive trunks. The speed was frightening, unlike anything he had seen or heard of.

A burning smell invaded his nostrils while he heard a sizzling sound along with a familiar pain. His hands clenched tightly the weapons and this time he rushed at the monster intent on breaking through.

The forest was filled with roots, holes, hills, trees, creepers, and many more. All joined to create a complex environment. The pivotal in which was the role of the giant trees that limited the vision and with them growing so close to each other it made the whole forest feel like a maze where all the paths were connected to each other, endlessly looping with no way out.

Fast, surgical attacks all with the objective of creating a path out from the waves monsters that kept on crashing upon him trying to drown him in the wave of the red that was never to far behind. He diverted an attack, feeling dull pain in his arm but that did not stop him as he sidestepped the monster and ran away.

His mind quickly put together a plan and he kept on running and running until he was going to crash into the tree. With an extra powerful strike, he jumped, landing up the tree trunk with his legs and they bent and then he released, ricocheting to another nearby tree and then to another. Unlike what he ha imagened it did not exhaust him too much.

Below the monster started throwing their weapons, sometimes he was able to twist his body but most of the time he had to deflect the attacks while keeping jumping. The load was sudden but his brain had been in so many tense situations since he came here that he was able to quickly adapt.

He eventually adapted to the situation, keeping on jumping from tree to tree until the fire was far away though the monsters still showed no sign of giving up, instead their numbers only kept on increasing. Occasionally he started lobbing flames at them, with his knife stabbed into the trunk while he hanged above. They kept on throwing their weapons while he kept on raining down fire.

His muscles were becoming exhausted but the ground below him was crawling with monsters as they showed no sign of giving up. Not wanting to completely exhaust himself, he ricocheted once again and when he was in the air the flaming barrier covered him and then he landed and ricocheted downwards holding the sword with both hands.

A wide swing cut open a few heads while others were burnt as the color of the barrier dimmed when he landed on the bodies below. The mess stated. All around the monster attacked and pierced the barrier. He hurriedly poured in the energy but there seemed to be no end to attacks as whatever he put in was quickly used up. Red hot weapons burnt, cut, broke into his body, and screams left his mouth, his mouth quickly becoming raw. He still had to push forward.

A headache started developing making him hurry even more. The attacks continued as he was surrounded from all sides. He tried his best to attack and sometimes pushed them back but like the waves of the sea, they returned unchanged. The monster had been gathering as he had been busy running and now had to face them at once.

Seeing no change he summoned a spark, with much difficulty he connected with the capsule and reinforced it while pouring energy into the beads that were inside making them excited. He wanted to create a big blast akin to the result that appeared after vigorously shaking a soda bottle.

A weapon penetrated the barrier, its color changing but the owner seemed not to care as the weapon was pushed in deeper, the red hot weapon burnt his flesh as it penetrated into his body. His gums were bleeding as he bit onto the crystal. Surveying he confirmed the place with the highest density and the flame shot there. When it reached their middle a firework exploded, it was a failure. There seemed to be no difference in power but it did not matter much. Even its default power was destructive enough.

He felt a sudden shift for the first time and forced his body to move. Like a broken puppet his body moved. Though broken, the enhancement his body had gone through after the 10th floor made him a deadly machine as his sword pierced through the neck. He stole a war hammer, grabbing it with both hands and then a massive swing popped the head of the monsters like a watermelon.

An idea suddenly came and so he pumped the energy in the barrier. It shined brighter, it's bright red changing into orangish color. He ran, the weapons penetrated but melted soon, allowing him to run away without any worries. He could not scream despite the intense desire to. The crystal within his mouth could not be dropped so he bit on it instead. The molten metal splashed upon his body, burning and quickly attaching to his flesh. He did not have any time to get it out, so he ran. With bloodshot eyes, tears, and snot flowing uncontrollably and with burns, cuts, stabs, and all other manners of wounds covering his whole body he looked nothing like a human.

By the time he got rid of all that were chasing him, he was nearly dead. His disfigured body had gained newer wounds and he stumbled through the forest as some old memories resurfaced.

He had joined the police force after witnessing the police solving a murder case in his village. It had inspired a dreamless man like him to do something to finally start finding his path. Passing the tests he had joined in as a constable while foolishly dreaming of the days he too would help others. He had woken up fairly quickly, quicker than others that were not so fortunate.

The police had power but only against the weak, the strong never cared for them and neither could the police do anything against them. This slowly created an environment that promoted corruption and injustice. By the time he had come there were few that wanted to do anything good knowing the fates that would await them.

He too would have become like that. He always believed that. Only if not for the terrorism that had suddenly erupted all across. After years of being crushed down the justice within had taken that time to erupt forth and he had volunteered to be posted to the most dangerous of the areas.

During those days officers rushed away from those hotspots as they squeezed every last bit of their influence to have themselves transferred. Thus, in the void of the officers willing to go in those areas the post had to be filled and in those turbulent times those that stood in the front like idiots either got killed/broken or were molded into something greater. Fortunately for him he came out from those hazy days a changed man.

He slipped, crashing on the floor. After practicing upon himself for hundreds of times he had mastered the art of burning himself, inflicting surface level burns that only cauterized the bleeding parts while avoiding the healthy tissues.

He grabbed his arm as pain struck him like a hammer, it was only a start as other parts of his body too started screaming in his brain. Melted metal had attached itself to his flesh and the sudden fall had disturbed the balance his body had instinctively achieved to cause him the least amount of pain.