Argh!

Nooo!

Droplets of sweat appeared on Ryu's face though the air was cold. He couldn't rely on his sight nor his nose and ears, so he put everything on the vibration of his surroundings.

Growl!

A dead wolf leaped forward. Its bones barged from its torn skin, eyes red and jaws thick with saliva. Ryu jabbed a fist into its mouth, and the beast whimpered when he grabbed its spine and pulled it out.

Another two came rushing forward, and Ryu was about to wiped them with his claws when specters rushed forward. With a tap of his toes, Ryu jumped to the side and rolled on the ground to avoid the incoming sharp claws of the dead wolves.

Four dead wolves came closer towards him, barring their sharp jaws and rotting flesh. He grabbed the first wolf, and using it as a weapon, Ryu swung it on the other three, and they were knocked meters away into the fog.

Ryu barely caught his breath when he realized that the air was rippling all around him. Specters surrounded him, and they came down at full speed.

He was about to evade when cries so loud made him immobile. He was paralyzed for seconds, and the specters zoomed on his body.

Ryu's eyes rounded when his bones shook to the core at the biting cold. He gasped when he felt his energy sapped from his body as the specters went in and out of him.

"Grr!" Ryu gnashed his teeth, and he went on his knees. His strength was leaving him. Fast. He didn't know how many specters passed through him, but it didn't matter since they went back and forth, stealing a bit of his life force each time.

Ryu's eyes turned to slit. Veins popped on his skin. His heartbeat doubled, and blood rushed through his every vein. With all his strength, he broke through the force that weighed him down and roared.

A loud snarl that overtook the cries resounded in the area, and the paralyzing effect broke. Ryu leaped from the ground, and he shot above until he reached a hazy form passed through the dense fog. It was different from the specter since it was whiter and thicker. Its eyes were hallowing, and its mouth stretched across its face, sharp jagged teeth protruding from its mouth.

A Banshee. (Pic)

It took notice of his approach, and Ryu quickly sliced it with his claws. Five claws marked its dense form before it reattached in a single figure. Its mouth widened in a mocking smile, and it flew behind the walls of the dark smog.

Ryu snarled as he came shooting down on the ground. He landed on his feet and grabbed the nearest beast that came his way, ripping it into two.

He couldn't kill the undead without magic. Ryu could only avoid them as they came.

If this kept up, he'd certainly die.

----

On the other side of the battlefield, Dorian and the other mercenaries were doing well. Isaac was a healer, and he was proficient with light magic. At least that kept the specters at bay while Dorian and the others wiped every beast that came their way. There were even some ghouls, which the others burned using fire magic.

"This is strange. Specters, Ghouls and Banshees don't work together, especially not together with these beasts."

"Does it matter?"

"This fog is also abnormal."

"I'm worried about the Princess."

"Valij, and the other B-class mercs are with her. She's the safest from all of us."

"Rather, if we don't do something about this situation, our mana will run out before we could wipe out this undead!"

"Isaac!" Dorian called. "Can't you do anything with your magic?!"

Isaac snapped back, "Easy for you to say! Just keeping this spell is already hard enough!"

Dorian wanted to say something but decided to keep his mouth shut. The only reason why they could see the enemies amidst the thick fog and keep the specters at bay was because of Isaac's [Radiant] spell. It's a spell that encompasses a certain area with particles of light. Thanks to it, they could see the enemies before they could sneak close to them.

But the drawback, it needed a continuous supply of mana to keep the light shining. With this dense fog and endless undead, who knew how long Isaac could hold on. Not to mention that mana was thin to none existent.

"We have to rendezvous with the Princess!" Dorian said and sliced another ghoul in half. Its rotten flesh splattered on the ground, worms crawled out from its severed limbs, but its body continued to move towards Dorian. Before it could come closer, it was burned by one of the fire mages in the group."

"Everyone, protect the mages as we find the carriage!" Dorian instructed and moved closer to the group.

Hopefully, they would find the others before they'd get separated for good. They were huddled together before, but with the dense fog and the banshees cries, most soldiers already ran far or to their doom. This was a mountain, and cliffs and ravines were prowling in every corner, waiting for their prey to fall to their death.

Dorian and the others moved closer and operated as a unit. Each step they took, blood and guts scattered. They found their soldiers, but either they were corpses with their souls sucked out from their hallowed eyes or food for the undead beasts.

"Damn." Dorian cursed and covered his nose. The stench was revolting, and some hurled the bile from their throats.

"Keep moving! We have to find the Princess!"

Dorian didn't understand. They were just meters away from the carriage, but when the fogs sit in, it was like they were transported to another area in the mountain.

Dorian skidded to a stop. It couldn't be!

But that explains the thick fog, the strange behavior of the undead. It could only be . . .

"Isaac! Cast [Ray], now!" Dorian bellowed.

Isaac's face crunched. "What? Do you know how much mana that spell needed?"

Dorian cursed. "Damn it! Just do it!"

Isaac's temper was bursting, but Dorian's face was warped in a twisted way. The happy-go-lucky smile he always had was gone, and Isaac knew that they were in serious shit.

"Damn. Who died and made him boss?" Isaac grumbled. With a lite thud of his staff, a large pentagram appeared, hovering above them, and they were warped in its faint white glow.

[Rays] is a light magic spell that exposed hidden spells and magic in a certain amount of area. They were levels of the spell depending on how big the casted range. Isaac cast the biggest he could with his level, depleting his mana in half.

"There's nothing here!" Isaac shouted, wanting to pierce the end of his staff on Dorian's face.

Dorian was silent. He opened his mouth but stopped when they were suddenly enveloped in darkness.

"What's going on?!"

"What's happening?!"

Dorian caught his breath, and his eyes widened. A trickle of sweat ran from his forehead to his nose and dropped onto the ground, where a colossal pentagram appeared. But unlike Isaac's white one, this one was dark as night, and they were plenty of them scattered all around.

"T-this is . . ." Isaac turned pale, and he held Pedro's hand.

Dorian shut his eyes closed. Things had become more troublesome. "The mountain of the dead . . . had become a domain."