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!"

snarls and roars echoing through the forest. It was a relentless pursuit, and despite

haaa... This is too

running forward with

that they had a number of

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

starting to feel the weight of their

but they knew that

truly made the situation difficult for them was the strange scent that

breaths become heavier

to keep

low so as not

have to get out of the forest. Whatever is here, we have to get away from

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

you not use your flute

think I'd here

sentence, and her feet

"Uh? Why are yo―"

Hein, who looked ahead and found that his

gone dry, he

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

head as she looked up ahead, where there were at least a dozen and possibly even more demons. She

"Yeah…"

the

like large wolves, but unlike them, they looked far more menacing and were a lot larger. They had sharp, long teeth and claws, and their fur was a dark, matted gray or black. Their eyes were yellow and glowing, making them

looking wolves, but… they sure as hell

"…We're totally fucked."

"You're fine."

soft voice reached their ears, and the 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

to their previously pale faces, and the expressions

"Angelica!"

"Angelica!"

like the two of you have improved

a while since she

a lot of

letting his breath out as he did so. He wasn't quite able

was unquestionably more powerful than the demons that

"Young Matriarch?"

halt and

"Young Matriarch?"

They had a lot of questions in their minds at the moment, but they

no

"Stay back, you two."

and stopped them in their tracks by stepping forward. She stared at the demons that were in front of her, and a perplexed

"Haa…"

sigh, she extended her

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

"Young Matriarch?"

you doing, Young

state of shock as a result of Angelica's actions, and just as they were beginning to understand what had just taken place, Angelica bowed