In the middle of the night, a lone glimmer of light floated on the air, approaching the site where a group of seven people slept peacefully under the cover of the forest.

... Please wake up.

... Please help us. We can't escape.

They whispered into their ears, but to no avail did its messages come across.

The adventurers remained deep in slumber, except for one.

One of the two who slept outside without a tent, having curled up into a ball, not daring to even take a peek from her blanket, which served as her own physical barrier from the outside world.

The ball of light approached the girl, emitting a light that slowly began to fade.

"Please help us. They are angry, and she needs your help. We are all trapped in here."

She responded with a suppressed shriek, one that made her shiver even more, questioning her sanity as she began hearing things at this time of night.

(Is it the lord of the forest? Will he make us into trees?!)

She remained awake as she had already slept at noon, having energy to spare, and none to use because of her idleness.

The terror of her companion's tale gripped her, denying her any chance of sleep as she knew well that this would always happen whenever stories such as those came to her ears.

Her mind became chaotic, bursting with thoughts of terror, letting her imagination run wild.

Suddenly, the light faded, and it could not be seen anymore from the fabric she hid behind.

Reminiscent of a lantern being turned off, she became curious, taking a minuscule of a peek from her blanket, readying a spell from her hand to serve as her only line of defense.

But, she saw nothing except the same surroundings around her before everybody slept, and before she decided to hide herself under her blanket.

As she fully took off the covers as to take a good look around her, a flicker of light came about from below her line of sight, taking her attention by surprise as she backed away from what she saw.

"Pl-please help us escape."

The small being's light faded, and so did their energy, its arms giving out and flopping to the ground.

Cecil took a closer look at the being, cautiously examining it as she recognized the being.

"My, what is a Faerie doing here?"

After realizing that her worries were dumbfounded, she picked up the small, fragile being and decided to cast a spell to heal any living being's energy and life force, including creatures like this one.

After having recovered a substantial amount of energy, the little female sprite flew around with her small wings, emitting a weaker light than the one she had before. But all that mattered was that she had life and her light.

Seemingly brimming with energy, she quickly came around to Cecil's ear, whispering something whereas Cecil simply listened to her words.

"Is that true?!"

Cecil reeled in shock about the revelation she had just heard.

"Yes, the forest is angry. It trapped me and many of our friends inside the forest, unable to find a way out, only in."

"What should we do then?"

"Defeat the lord of the forest."

Cecil remembered the story, which only made her shiver after hearing the name of the forest's lord, which was said to be rampaging in his domain.

"Hurry! Helena is in trouble! The lord of the forest abducted her, and soon she'll be lost forever!"

The faerie flew about, displaying a clear worry that could be obviously seen with the way she was moving.

"Wait, who is Helena?"

"My friend. Please, she needs your help! I'll give you anything, please!"

"Calm down. We'll help your friend, but I can't do it alone. But I know someone who can save your friend."

She took a glance to Laruse, who slept peacefully on the ground beside her.

The faerie followed her sight and took a glance as well, tilting her head in suspicion whether this person could be more capable than her.

"But, you're strong. I can feel it in you. Energy flows everywhere around you!"

"No, you've got it all wrong. I can use magic and he can't. But he's still stronger than me."

She smiled in reminiscence of the times she had seen just how capable of a person Laruse is.

But, she is immediately interrupted by the loud rustling of leaves, and the sound of snarling and other noises creeping around them.

"Oh no! They've found me!"

The faerie hid behind Cecil, who also cowered in fear of the unknown.

At a loss for words, Cecil readied herself and at the same time trying to awaken Laruse, who still slept soundly despite the violent shaking being given to him.

"Mhmn, Cecil, what do you need... zzz."

"Laruse! Wake up!"

Managing to finally break the man's slumber, he slowly opened his eyes, which then opened wide as he felt a sharp sense of bloodlust coming from around him, instinctively moving him to draw his sword and take a stance, removing all sense of exhaustion in his body.

From the bushes emerged a large giant, round blue monster with lumbering arms and shark like teeth, rushing at Laruse with great speed, shaking the ground it walked upon.

"Damn it!"

Assessing the situation, he looked back at Cecil, taking her instead and evading the monster's charge as it rams a nearby tree, forcing it to lean.

Once he had set her down, he lunged forward, taking a clean slash followed by a downward cleave at the monster's back, forcing it to arch in pain.

Laruse backed away, avoiding the monster's sudden surprise attack as it twisted its massive body to swing behind it using its arms, creating a draft of wind which seemed to push back Larrus a bit from where he stood.

"A Jibriel? What's a strong monster like this doing here of all parts?"

The monster reeled from the attack it had received from Laruse's blade, giving the man his opportunity to cut the monster down with righteous prejudice, finally making it fall to the ground with a loud thud.

The sound of it falling awakened the sleeping adventurers, oblivious to what had taken place while they were sleeping.

"What happened here?"

Remuil came out first, still looking groggy from his rude awakening.

Once his eyes focused on the fallen monster, he woke up and drew his sword from its sheath, running towards Laruse to inquire about what had happened.

"Can't say I know. Cecil woke me up, fortunately. But we're not safe yet. Wake the others up. There'll be more coming soon."

Remuil returned a simple nod, followed by him entering the tents of his companions, alerting them of the situation, in which they scramble to arm themselves, but is unable to do so with ease because of the panic and urgency of the situation around them.

Upon exiting, the campsite was filled with the numerous eviscerated remains of monsters strewn about; their blood covering most of the soil and green.

In the midst of the mess was Laruse, who had blood on his blade, and Cecil, who stood on guard behind him.

Looking at them in awe, they were unable to realize that there were eyes creeping up from behind them, lurking around.

Cecil noticed the party and the threat behind them, giving a warning as she pointed to the opposite direction that they faced.

"Behind you!"

What was in the shadows then suddenly burst out from the thick overgrowth, where a green skinned reptile weaved towards them with great tenacity, quickly closing the distance between the adventurers.

Clair readied and fired her bow, missing the monster, who evaded effectively as if it was used to such things.

"Andersen, fortify and enhance Remuil as he makes his charge!"

With that signal, the leader of the group took the helm, rushing towards the monster with his weapon ready.

Andersen strummed his lyre, creating a short, harmonic tune that made Remuil slightly glow.

As he ran, he felt a surge of energy flow through him, enhancing his movement and constitution, resulting in him defeating the monster as it tried to bite at him, resulting in the monster getting cut cleanly in half.

Soon, more monsters emerged from the shadows, not giving the adventurers time to rest as they were quickly being surrounded by them.

"Where's Sir Laruse and Miss Cecil? We need to get out of here!"

Andersen wondered as he simultaneously enhanced his allies and struck the enemies that tried to come near him, only injuring them slightly as he did not possess strength like his allies, Zafra, Remuil, and Robin, who fought like a first-class adventurer, using her spear like a honed master, different from her nature of being sleepy and tired.

"Claire, what's the plan?! There's too many of them, shit!"

Zafra spoke, barely handling the enemy in front of him, another Jibriel, who did not seem to take any damage from Zafra's continuous attacks.

Every one of them were occupied with fending off monsters as they were unaccustomed with fighting off strong ones, only having experience fighting those below or equal to them in the hierarchy.

Their strategist remained calm in the chaos quickly surrounding them, thinking as she drew her bow and released it each time.

"Zafra, take Remuil and defeat that monster, or injure it. Robin, have Andersen enhance you and we'll stall the oncoming monsters until they defeat the Jibriel. We're going to push through and find a safe spot to recuperate."

Voicing her plans, her allies began doing what she had said.

Needless to say that their exhaustion was catching up to them, but their only choice was to take down the giant blocking their path, and go through it.

But, unable to take into account that they had little experience fighting strong monsters, and that this was a plan at the spur of the moment with no other options, they began to crumble.

The Jibriel slammed its fist to the ground, creating a small fissure that destroyed the two fighter's balance, resulting in them to fall down in disorientation.

"Claire, Robin and I can't handle any more. There is just too many of them pouring out from the forest. Robin's injured as well."

Claire's attention is once again shifted to Andersen and Robin, whom despite having done what they have been ordered, are now barely holding back the massive horde in front of them, which was only a few a while ago but seem to have multiplied in numbers.

(There's just too many. Is this it?)

Her mind began losing all hope for escape, seeing as how their window of success was disappearing quickly.

Suddenly, a large primate with white fur descended from the trees above Claire, showing its fangs and sharp claws as its eyes glowed.

Claire reacted, but it was too late for her to make any other movement to defend herself with.

Her cooled demeanor broke once more, and she cowered, covering her head with her hands, shrieking in fear.

Zafra and Remuil noticed this and tried to get back on their feet but were unable to as the Jibriel towered over them, forcibly taking their attentions and refusing them to leave.

"Damn this. Claire!"

The rest were only able to shout her name.

Just then, a series of sizable balls of fire came flying towards the primate, the third ball hitting it, sending it flying.

"Are you alright, Claire?"

Laruse came from Andersen and Robin's direction, cleaving and cutting the monsters around him with ease, putting Andersen's and Robin's efforts to shame as they could only see how he made a path towards them skillfully.

More monsters came from above, attacking Claire once more, forcing her to cower again, creating a small yelp.

Increasing his speed, Laruse leapt forward, cutting down the monsters.

After landing, he took a glance at Claire, offering his hand to her, smiling optimistically.

"Come. There's too many. We need to get out of here, and fast."

She looked at him with a soft expression, a polar opposite of her usual personality, similar to that of a child's.

She slowly reached out to take his hand, taking in its warmth, rivaling the damp cold that filled the dark forest.

Flames resembling arrows fired from a distance, impacting the Jibriel, giving the two enough time to get back on their feet and finally finish off the disturbed monster, creating a way out of the campsite.

Getting back up, Claire dusted herself off, but is unable to take her eyes off Laruse, who she seemed to have developed a newfound admiration for, despite the ensuing chaos.

"Remuil, lead the others out of here. I'll fend the monsters off our backs."

Laruse called over Cecil, who urged the dazed Claire, to join Remuil and Zafra in making a way out as Andersen accompanies the injured Robin.

"Will you be alright, Laruse."

Andersen asked, having lagged behind as he held concern for the man.

"Worry about yourselves first. I'll manage somehow. Now go!"

Once he sent them away, he faced the monsters, who's eyes glowed menacingly, filling much of the now ruined campsite with their numbers.

"This was a terrible idea. But, why do they look so angry. I don't think I've seen monsters this angry before."

With a single step to the side, the monsters then all rushed Laruse, followed by him yelling as to empower himself as he threw himself into the horde of monsters, savagely barreling forward with an insane emission of bloodlust in their eyes, which glowed red.

Meanwhile, the five adventurers along with Cecil and the Faerie were running aimlessly through the forest, which seemed denser than usual.

The darkness was overwhelming, but Andersen had created a ball of light to guide them, including another ball, which was the Faerie.

"I think we can stop here."

Remuil panted as he tried to catch his breath, looking around him just to be safe.

"I Don't think that stopping here is the best idea."

Zafra suggested, keeping on guard with his fists, ready but shaking with his ragged breathing.

"We should be fine. I noticed that the farther we got, the less monsters we encountered."

"Fine, whatever you say."

Agreeing to Remuil, Zafra approached a nearby tree and sat on the ground, exhaling as he closed his eyes, resting.

"Is it truly alright to leave Laruse back there, Miss Cecil. I think we should have supported him at least."

"Don't worry, Andersen. I know Laruse. He can manage to do the impossible sometimes. I believe that he can do it."

"Is that so. Then I shall hold you to that, then. I will take a brief rest. The battle seems to have taken quite a great toll on me."

Andersen followed Zafra and sat down, breathing raggedly, but not as profusely.

Cecil noticed that Robin was already asleep by one of the trees, and Claire was absentmindedly staring at the path from which they came from.

"Are you alright, Claire? You seem worried about something."

She slightly jumped in surprise, but recovering and reverting back to her cold and distinguished state.

"Oh, it's only you, Miss Cecil. What can I do for you?"

"Nothing much. I thought that you were worrying about the monsters, or Laruse."

her body jerked a bit upon hearing the latter part of her sentence, dismissing it and playing it off.

"Take a rest, Claire. I'll keep watch. We have to move again soon. Who knows when they'll come for us again."

Nodding, she does as she is told and copies the rest of her party, resting their exhaustion off.

"I just have one concern."

Claire speaks as she sat, looking at Cecil with her stern expression.

"Don't you think that those monsters were even more terrifying and filled with malice, different from the ones outside the forest. It's as if they're two distinct things."

"I see. So you've noticed as well, Claire. I do think they're far from the ordinary. But, we have no proof. We'll find out once we find Laruse."

"Very well then. I still think that we should have helped Laruse even for a bit. No ordinary man can hold off something like that. It’s impossible."

She rested, setting her glasses down on her lap.

Cecil began wandering the perimeter, looking nervously at the darkness which her sight could not perceive.

Taking a look at the faerie, she remembered what it had said the first time they met.

"Hey, tell me. What did you mean by we're trapped? And who do you mean by we? Is it that Helena person that you spoke about earlier?"

She spoke softly as to not to wake the rest.

The faerie then flew to her shoulder, speaking into her ear.

"The lord of this forest had been corrupted, and now he’s angry. We need to stop him! But first, we need to find Helena! She knows what to do. But she’s been taken by the lord of the forest’s guardian!”

“How was the forest’s lord corrupted?”

“Dunno. We were sent here to find out. My name’s Pan, Helena’s friend!”

“Well it’s nice to meet you, Pan. My name’s Cecil. But first, I don’t think there’s a point in me keeping you to myself. I’d like to introduce you to everyone.”

Cecil showed the faerie, introducing it to the party of five, who looked in surprise as faeries were beings of secrecy, meaning that they cannot be easily seen, with the exception of this one.

“Now, please tell us what had happened here.”

Cecil and the others sat around the faeria as she began explaining the entirety of the situation.

In the meantime, Laruse had managed to fend off much of the monsters, accumulting various scratches and bruises, but nothing that hindered him.

He didn't stick around the campsite to fight, but instead he ran an aimless direction and fought off monsters here and there when he found a good location to stop at, catching his breath for a measly ten counts, or maybe less each time.

With more surrounding him, his breathing became ragged, and his eyes turned blurry.

"There's just too many of them. How? I don't think that there's this many of them that existed here."

Hebe's forest was a shortcut, but a small forest is what it was said to be.

His armor was bathed in blood, and so was his sword.

Little by little his movements became sluggish and out of sync.

Taking in a deep breath, he sprinted once more at an attempt to lose the monsters pursuing him.

The forest was thicker in the way he ran to, given that the darkness made it difficult to discern brances and roots of trees.

As he passed the dense part of the forest, he saw a tall, pale-skinned being with short azure hair, carrying someone on its shoulders.

The being looked at the man, pointing its finger at him, creating a strong gust of wind, which sent Laruse flying the moment he came out, slamming him to a tree.

"Argh! What the?!"

He fell to the ground with a thud, and the being walked away as if nothing had happened.

"Wait!"

He held out his hand, trying to stop the being, who then looked down on him with pity.

Suddenly, the one its shoulder began to wake up, realizing what had happened to her, resulting in a rash behavior of her flailing about, shouting "Let me go! Please, anyone, Helena, Savas! Help me!" which the being did not comply to.

Immidiately, monsters appeared beside the being, hostile to only Laruse.

"Are you the one causing this?"

The being did not respond, it did not find the reason in words.

It simply pointed his fingers to Laruse, causing the monsters to attack Laruse, who gripped his sword tightly, using his remaining energy to defeat the monsters that recklessly lunged at him with ease.

"I have more questions. Set her down, and let's talk."

The being's body now faced Laruse, entertaining him.

"I can see that you're no ordinary mortal. I shall let you leave. Further insolence will only kill you."

"I won't leave just yet. Not until I know what's happening here. But first, let that person go."

The being laughed highly and haughtily.

"Mortal truly not know the bounds in which they tread. You know nothing, and there is no need for you to know anything. But since you are so persistent. I shall grant you full audience once you defeat an envoy of mine."

The being turned around, followed by another being, slightly similar to the previous one, to come out from the shadows, wielding a spear and a strong stern attitude.

"I am Falk, an Envoy of Yavel lord Vincenthius. I shall not let you interfere with the lord's decisions."

The being spoke of the ancient Yavel, which made sense to Laruse, seeing as how he was taught about the race by his teacher in his youth.

"What is the old race of Yavel doing here? Is your domain not in the great forest near Ashur mountains?"

"I hae no reason to answer you, mortal. You and your kin are the reason for the lord's distress. I will eliminate you all!"

Falk rushed, using his well built, but lean body, to strike dorward with its spear, piercing true and straight with a fearul precision.

Managing to barely dodge the strike, Laruse fought back, delivering a series of cuts and slashes, proving worthess as Falk used the strong body of its spear to nullify Laruse's attacks.

The two continued to duel fiercly, not one giving up.

As the battle continued, Laruse's exhaustion began taking over, wheras Falk noticed this and took advantage, barraging him with strike after strike, cutting Laruse in various parts of his body.

"You are no match for a Yavel. The lord had graciously given you a pardon, and you waste in on curiosity. Such is the foolhardiness of humans and mortals. You deserve no solace!"

Falk began using an unorthodox method of fighting with the spear, sweeping using the momentum of his body, using it like a rod.

Utterly battered and on the brink of defeat, Laruse bended one knee, trying to figure a way to victory, which seemed bleak in his state.

The Yavel slowly walked up to Laruse, brandishing its weapon.

Before it could deliver the finishing blow a hail of icicles descneded upon Falk, who was bewildered as he was too focued on one thing only, resulting in him losing concentration, which Laruse took advantage of, attacking upwards, sending the Yavel flying, then to the ground, spewing and losing blood.

He looked around him, trying to find the source of the icicles, but to no avail did he find anyone.

Shifting his attention to the body of Falk, he is astonished to find someone examining it.

A azure, long haired girl with foreign, regal looking battle clothes was looking over Falk.

"Wait. Who are you?"

"It doesn't concern you, human."

She gave him a cold look, one which held a grudge far stronger than any.

"Why are the Yavel lords acting like this?"

"What do you know about the Yavel?! This is all because of you humans!"

"Tell me. Why? What did we do exactly? Saying we all did it confuses me all the more. Just clam down."

"Words are nothing but empty lies and promises to you. Trusting the human race was a mistake, yet my father believed in it. Look where it got him."

She approached the weakened Laruse, punching him in the stomach.

Laruse reeled from the blow and fell to the ground on his butt.

"If you really want to know mortal. I'll tell you. I shouldn't be wasting my time speaking with you anyway."

"The forest is being controlled by the lord, making it impossible to get out. It's like you go on and on forever without any bounds. Plus, day and night in here is distorted, confusing you to think that a day had passed when it has not. Time here is unmoving because of the lord. And the reason that he has gone mad is because of you humans killing the king of the Yavel, my Father!"

Her eyes stared daggers at Laruse, who had no idea that something this important had happened.

"How? Why?"

Those were the only words he could say for nothing else came to mind.

"You should know. You're human after all. Soon, the Yavel with exact our revenge against you humans, and you will all know the fault in your ways. It is because of you that the lords became maddened with the death of our king. Once I stop the rampage of lord Vincenthius, it shall come to fruition."

She walked away, heading for the same place the Yavel lord went to.

"Who did this? And why would they do this?"

He forced himself to stand.

"If the Yavel were to attack, then we'd stand little to no chance at all. A single, well-trained Yavel envoy can be enough to destroy a platoon... Needless to say that the Envoy is the lowest rank in the Yavel hierarchy."

Without thinking of a clear way to go about this, he followed the girl with the intention of helping her and possibly finding a way to resolve this.

Dawn slowly came, and the light aided him in discerning a path to act as his guide.

"Follow me! I know where Helena is! Let's follow her and help her."

Pan led the group, who was now well rested and prepared for any that might come.

Pan had explained much of the situation, but it was hard to take in for the rest, excluding Cecil, who had dealt with these kinds of situations before.

"I hope Sir Laruse is safe."

Andersen spoke up.

His worries seem to have resonated with the group, who saw his skill, and wished for him to be here if worse comes to worse.

Dawn slowly arrived, and the light appeared to pierce the leaves above them, providing a light to guide their path.

They became a bit more experienced thanks to the sudden chaos they fought.

The five of them, including the two guests, trudged on, knowing only a bit of what they might encounter.

Still, their hearts were convinced that this is what they had to do, and to escape mean to succeed.

There is no other way besides through.