The Author's POV

"Haaa… Haa…"

Within the confines of a large forest, the echo of two rough breaths could be heard. They belonged to none other than Hein and Ava, and they had been running for what seemed like an eternity at that point.

Their lungs burned, their legs ached, and their hearts pounded so loudly that it was a wonder the creatures chasing them hadn't heard.

"Over here!"

They found themselves in the middle of a thick forest, with the trees towering high above them and their leaves obscuring the majority of the sunlight. They had a hard time seeing where they were going, but they dared not slow down.

"This wa-no, shit! This way!"

The intense fight that they had only moments before evaded left visible damage on Hein's armor in the form of cracks and dents.

Ava's clothes were torn and bloodied, her hair a tangled mess. They were both exhausted, but they knew they couldn't stop yet.

"Shit... there's too many..."

Hein muttered, his breath coming out in ragged gasps.

"Where the fuck are we?"

Ava cursed under her breath, her legs feeling like they were made of lead.

Rustle! Rustle!

The sound of leaves rustling in the wind froze them in their tracks. They turned to see more than a dozen creatures emerging from the underbrush, their eyes blazing with an insatiable hunger. Ava and Hein's expressions crumbled at that moment.

"Shit, they're already here. Hurry and run; I'll hold back their first attack!"

Hein shouted, his voice laced with desperation.

Clank―! Clank―! Clank―!

In spite of his anxiety, he took a step forward, and as he did so, his shield broke up into nine separate pieces and floated in front of him.

A translucent green field connected each individual section of the shield, and the result was the formation of a rectangular barrier that covered a large portion of the land in front of him.

Boom―! Boom―!

"Urkghh!"

When the creatures first began their assault, the shield shook violently. Hein could taste something sweet at the very back of his throat, but he gritted his teeth and retracted his shield away.

The pieces found their way back to him and pieced themselves together again.

"Let's go."

Hein immediately changed course and made a beeline for the woods without wasting a single second of time. Although Ava was already quite a ways ahead, he was able to catch up to her in no time at all.

"Rooar!"

"Huarrr!"

"Khiek!"

after them, their snarls and roars echoing through the forest. It was a relentless pursuit, and despite their best efforts, Ava and Hein

haaa... This is

forward with all

at it for several hours, and despite the fact that they had a number of potions available to them, she found that her

they'd be able to emerge from

feel the weight

first wave of attacks, but they knew that more creatures were

wasn't all... What truly made the situation difficult for them was the

breaths

to

low so as

have to get out of the forest. Whatever is here, we have to get away from it. We're fucked if we don't get out of

over her face. Together, they pushed on through the dense forest, their feet pounding against the ground as they

can you not use

I'd here

and her feet began to gradually slow down until they

"Uh? Why are yo―"

Hein, who looked ahead and found

had gone dry, he turned to look at

"We're fucked, aren't we?"

where there were at least a dozen and

"Yeah…"

her eyes wandering over the beasts that the demons were

teeth and claws, and their fur was a dark, matted gray or black. Their eyes were yellow and glowing, making them

weren't exactly the best looking wolves, but…

"…We're totally fucked."

"You're fine."

two of them froze on the spot. Upon recognizing to whom the voice belonged, both of their heads jerked abruptly to the side, and their eyes widened

color returned to their previously pale faces, and the expressions

"Angelica!"

"Angelica!"

like the two of

had been a while since she had last seen them, and

lot

his head, finally letting his breath out as he did so. He wasn't quite able to

she was unquestionably more powerful

"Young Matriarch?"

abrupt halt and looked at Angelica

"Young Matriarch?"

and Hein exchanged looks with one another after hearing Angelica's title. They had a lot of questions in their minds at the moment,

were in no condition

"Stay back, you two."

two were getting ready to fight, Angelica quickly intervened and stopped them in their tracks by stepping forward. She stared at the demons

"Haa…"

sigh, she extended her hand

demonic energy erupted from her entire body and engulfed the space that they were

"Young Matriarch?"

you

just as they were beginning to understand what