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!"

roars echoing through the forest. It was a relentless pursuit, and despite their best efforts, Ava and Hein were struggling to keep

This is too

forward with all of

that they had a number of potions available to them, she found that her strength was waning rather

to worry about whether or not they'd be able to emerge from the forest alive. The creatures did not show

feel the weight

but they knew that more creatures were lurking in the shadows,

situation difficult for them was the strange scent that

they found their breaths become heavier and heavier because of

to keep

voice low so

is here, we have to get away from it. We're fucked

Together, they pushed on through the dense forest, their feet

use

think I'd here

and her feet began to gradually slow

"Uh? Why are yo―"

same was true for Hein, who looked ahead and found that his already pale face

which had gone dry, he turned to

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

up ahead, where there were at least a dozen and possibly even more demons. She then covertly swallowed her

"Yeah…"

eyes wandering over the

and claws, and their fur was a dark, matted gray or black. Their eyes were

the best looking wolves, but… they sure as hell looked

"…We're totally fucked."

"You're fine."

them froze on the spot. Upon recognizing to whom the voice belonged, both of their heads jerked abruptly

returned to their previously pale faces, and the expressions on their faces became

"Angelica!"

"Angelica!"

two of you have

with a thin smile on her face, Angelica gazed at the two of them. It had been a while since

lot of time

he did so. He wasn't quite able to sense Angelica's strength, but he could

importantly, she was unquestionably more powerful than the demons that were pursuing

"Young Matriarch?"

abrupt halt and looked at Angelica with

"Young Matriarch?"

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

no condition to

"Stay back, you two."

stepping forward. She stared at the demons that

"Haa…"

a sigh, she extended her hand

entire body and

"Young Matriarch?"

are you doing,

state of shock as a result of Angelica's actions, and just as they were