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,

This

running forward with all of

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

to emerge from the forest alive. The creatures did not show any

was starting to feel

they knew that more creatures were lurking

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

reason, they found their breaths

have to keep

his voice low so as not to attract any

to get away from it.

over her face. Together, they pushed on through the dense forest, their feet

you not use your

think I'd

middle of her sentence, and her feet began to gradually slow down until they came to a

"Uh? Why are yo―"

and found that his already pale face had become

dry, he

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

smiled and nodded her head as she looked up ahead, where there were at least a dozen and possibly even more demons. She then covertly swallowed her

"Yeah…"

the beasts that

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

looking wolves, but… they sure

"…We're totally fucked."

"You're fine."

their ears, and the two of them froze on the spot. Upon recognizing to whom the

previously pale faces,

"Angelica!"

"Angelica!"

the two of you have

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

lot of time to

head, finally letting his breath out as he did so. He wasn't quite able to sense Angelica's strength, but he could tell that she was stronger than the last time

powerful than the demons that were

"Young Matriarch?"

that had surrounded them came to an abrupt halt and looked at Angelica with bewildered expressions on their

"Young Matriarch?"

a lot of questions in their minds at the moment, but they decided to voice them out

were in no condition

"Stay back, you two."

by stepping forward. She stared at the demons that were in

"Haa…"

a sigh, she extended her hand

instantly, demonic energy erupted from her entire body and

"Young Matriarch?"

are you

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