"Get behind me." Elisa ordered as she walked in front of Mark.
"Huh? Why should I-"
A green Aura enveloped the Elven Necklace as well as her eyes.
"I'll be able to react to it faster." Elisa explained.
"Fine." Mark said reluctantly as he scratched his head.
It was still night.
After being woken up by the approaching Pack of Forest Wolves, they decided to continue their journey through the forest for a bit longer before stopping to rest.
The fact that the Monsters and Beasts inhabiting the forest were more active in the night was something Elisa suspected.
This, was partly why she suggested walking a bit more.
The other reason, Elisa couldn't properly express it, even in her own mind.
But it definitely had something to do with the scene she had witnessed a bit earlier.
It wasn't much of a scene, really.
A Monster had a knee against a whimpering Beast on the ground.
The former's claws were inches away from the latter's neck.
Elisa's eyes widened as soon as she found them like that.
A stillness that wasn't expected.
An almost silent scene.
Frozen in time.
Her eyes had only found them a second ago, yet she couldn't help but wonder... No. She was convinced that the scene had been this way for a while.
Why weren't his claws moving?
Why were the Monster's and the Beast's eyes locked this way?
How long had they been this way?
And most importantly, the expression on the Monster's face...
Elisa only remained standing for a couple of seconds, before her lips parted.
"M..."
Monster?
Mark?
Elisa didn't know which one to go with. And so, she went with neither.
Only then, did the claws pierce the Beast's neck.
"You're okay?" She asked somewhat timidly
The Monster's words were supposed to reassure her, but its voice betrayed a certain 'something'.
Elisa couldn't tell what that 'something' was exactly.
She could tell it had something to do with Wolves.
Which Wolves in particular? It seemed obvious to her.
The Monster finished the rest of the Pack.
None rose from the dead.
One by one, they were turned into spheres of energy.
[You have acquired the Passive Skill "Night Vision[E]".]
The Monster scratched is head.
The spheres left a somewhat bitter aftertaste.
"Can you tell where it is?" Mark asked.
The rustling of leaves.
Bushes being brushed.
The sounds were becoming easier and easier to pick up.
It was approaching, but not in a straight line.
"Yeah." Elisa answered as she unsheathed her Timeworn Elven Daggers.
By Mark's side, a Lioness.
The Moonlit Feline's ears twitched while its eyes scanned the environment.
"It's fast. Very fast." Elisa warned.
Mark clenched his fists and waited.
His newly acquired "Night Vision" Passive Skill wasn't of much help. The target was too far to see.
He did his best to focus on his other senses.
Seconds later, the leaves' rustling stopped.
Bushes weren't brushed any longer.
The Lioness' nose twitched, just like the Elf's pointy ears.
"It's coming."
The next second, it jumped out from behind a tree.
'What the...?'
With incredible speed, it jumped into the air, came into contact with a tree to the group's side, and launched itself towards Mark.
His mind could barely register what had happened.
The Monster did not seem to be a Monster, but rather, some kind of Weapon.
A projectile.
Spherical, and flattened to a certain degree.
Mark raised his arms defensively, but before it could touch him, Elisa positioned herself in front of him.
She raised her crossed Timeworn Elven Daggers and the Wind enveloped them.
Sparks momentarily lit the area as the blades came into contact with the spinning Weapon.
Strain.
It was heavy.
Even though her goal wasn't to stop its momentum, her arms struggled.
Mark stepped forward, but before he could reach forward, it was deflected.
Elisa clicked her tongue.
She felt the deflection wasn't completely due to her.
That the enemy had accepted being deflected after the short struggle.
It flew above them, and the spinning lessened.
The group turned around with their guard raised.
'Ha... It was spinning around that fast? How?'
A smile appeared on Mark's face, as the Monster landed on all fours.
From head to tail, it measured about 16 feet.
It stood low and close to the ground.
Its limbs, covered by green scales, were shorter than those Mark was used to seeing.
The Monster's head, nape, back, and tail were protected.
Under the moonlight, it glistened.
As if it was a piece of Armor that had been relentlessly polished by renowned blacksmiths.
A smooth and thin carapace.
The Monster showed the yellowish frill around its neck menacingly as it opened its mouth.
A split tongue exited that mouth and,
Screech-
'Ugh...!'
Mark's left eye was forced shut due to the pain.
The higher the Sense Stat, and the more developed the sense of hearing, the more it hurt.
[Ayena: [D] Ranked Monster.]
That was all the information Mark needed.
The reptile-like Monster screeched endlessly.
Elisa pressed her head with her hands, while the pain forced Krista's eyes shut.
Mark stepped forward.
Being the less affected by the screech, he ran.
But before he could close the distance, he was overtaken on both sides.
From the right, an ice spike pierced the air.
From the left, a spinning Timeworn Elven Dagger.
[Your Title "Devourer" is waiting.]
[Your Title "Evolving Monster" stared with sparkling eyes!]
Attacked by the projectiles, the Ayena closed its mouth and folded its frills.
It couldn't move around while screeching.
They weren't mutually exclusive, but trying to do both at once would decrease the proficiency for both.
The Ayena jumped to the side, dodging the projectiles.
At the approaching Monster, it curled its tail.
The next second,
Slash-
The Ayena growled.
It had meant to pierce with its long tail, and not slash.
Mark had barely dodged the attack by bending his neck sideways.
He raised his right hand up, and the Ayena's eyes narrowed.
The next second,
Slash-
"It's not a Skill anymore but..."
The reptile-like Monster quickly jumped back, its left foreleg bleeding.
It growled while staring at the white-scaled Monster's lengthened tail.
"I have it too." Mark whispered as he lowered his hand.
With its surprise attack turning unsuccessful, its foreleg wounded, and it being outnumbered, Mark wasn't surprised that the Ayena would turn away.
He ran forward, but before he could catch up to it, the nimble Monster started running up a tree's trunk.
Mark took a deep breath in, and,
BAM-
Elisa clicked her tongue.
The trunk was decimated, and the tree started falling.
But as soon as the tree started falling, the Ayena jumped.
'It's already climbed this much...?' A surprised Mark asked himself.
The Ayena's body hung in the air with a slight backward spin to it.
Mark extended a hand towards it.
Great Fire Ball-
The attack was slowly coated red, as the "Flame Of Chaos" Magic Skill was activated.
The Lioness opened its mouth wide.
Elisa called out her Inventory. And with lightning speed, a Wind Arrow was formed and aimed at the Ayena.
The latter suddenly curled its body up.
It curled its body up into a ball, and the backspin increased in intensity.
Elisa's ears twitched, just like Krista's.
Mark, whose Sense Stat was lower, couldn't properly hear it. Instead, a feeling that something was wrong settled.
The Ayena's spinning became faster and faster as it fell.
As if on cue, the attacks were shot at once.
Great Fire Ball, Flame Of Chaos-
Wind Arrow-
Freezing Ice Spike-
And as soon as they were shot, the group exchanged glances.
It took less than a second for each one to understand that the others agreed.
Something was wrong, though they couldn't exactly tell what it was.
A great explosion took place in mid-air as the three Magic Attacks collided with the Ayena's body.
And before they had even collided with it, the group had started running away.
What happened to the Ayena was the last thing on their minds.
Whether it had being killed or not, whether the explosion had simply launched the Ayena away due to its spin acting as protection or not, they did not care.
As fast they could, they ran.
The Lioness moved with speed and feline agility.
The female Elf ran with grace and dignity.
"You absolute dumbass!" Elisa, almost shouting, reproached.
"What? How is it my fault?"
"Who the hell knocks down a tree in the middle of the night??"
"Ah."
The next second, a tree root that Mark only noticed at the last moment tripped him.
He rolled on the ground and continued running.
"Be careful." Elisa said as she threw an unruly lock of hair back.
"Yeah, right."
The next second,
'Shit-'
Mark could barely contain his laughter as Elisa's foot was caught by a tree root.
"Be careful-"
Before he could even get the words out, she was already up and running.
'How come I didn't notice that?' Elisa asked herself.
An instant later, her eyes widened.
"IT'S-"
Suddenly, the trees in the distance curled themselves.
The branches moved to form a wall, blocking the way.
The Lioness and Mark, obviously taken aback, came to a stop.
The next second, the trees around them started moving.
"Don't stop!" Elisa shouted as she passed them.
Messages appeared.
[The Forest Of Yarnha has judged your presence unwanted!]
Mark's eyes widened.
'The... What?'
The Forest around them had come alive.
It had come alive, to get rid of the intruders within it.
