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 their best efforts, Ava

This

complained, running forward with all

several hours, and despite the fact that they had a number

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

to feel the weight of their

but they knew that more creatures were lurking in

all... What truly made the situation difficult for them was the

some reason, they found their breaths

to

so as not to

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

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

can you not use your flute at

think I'd

the middle of her sentence, and her feet

"Uh? Why are yo―"

looked ahead and found that his already pale face had become even

his lips, which had gone dry, he turned to look at

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

and nodded her head as she looked up ahead, where there were at least a dozen

"Yeah…"

eyes wandering over the beasts that

had sharp, long teeth and claws, and their fur was a dark, matted gray or black. Their eyes were yellow

wolves, but… they sure as hell looked menacing to

"…We're totally fucked."

"You're fine."

froze on the spot. Upon recognizing to whom

previously pale faces, and the expressions on their faces

"Angelica!"

"Angelica!"

like 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 the two of them looked stronger than

had a lot of time

did so. He wasn't quite able to sense Angelica's strength, but he could tell that she was stronger than the last time he had

was unquestionably more powerful than

"Young Matriarch?"

demons that had surrounded them came to an abrupt halt and looked at

"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 they

no condition to

"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…"

out a sigh, she extended her

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

"Young Matriarch?"

you doing, Young

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