What Shouldn’t Be There

Inside the cave, the group casually packed their stuff. An hour ago, the beasts should have already started leaving, so they could already exit the cave whenever they want. For the moment, they could take their time as much as possible.

"Are we all set?" Suri asked. If all of them were ready, he would start carrying Aeon out of the cave.

By the side, Samuel was stretching. He had already recovered and was in his best condition after a good night's sleep. The huge meal cooked by Levi last night really helped him. Although he was reluctant to eat food from that person, he had no choice. It was just too temping.

"I'm good," he said.

"We're ready as well," Levi replied for himself and Selena.

"I'm ready," Korona said.

"Okay so we're all set," Suri replied. He hauled Aeon over his shoulder. Instead of putting Aeon's swords in their own leather strap, Suri secured them on his belt. They were indeed quite heavy, but it was manageable. He started walking towards the exit.

Once again, like any other day, during that time, the area outside the cave was peaceful. They walked outside without any worry and Suri casually chatted with Korona like he usually does when they were on patrol duties. Levi was reading his book while Selena was following closely behind like an attendant to a young master. The lax atmosphere rubbed off on Samuel and his tension eased as well.

They had been observing the area for a few days now so they were actually quite familiar with the area. They knew where some beasts stayed, and they knew where birds built up their nests.

After confirming that the area was indeed clear, the group picked up the pace and started running. They couldn't waste any more time, after all. After half a day, they should be able to reach the camp.

Not much really happened along the way. It was quite peaceful and quiet. The sun was also high up so the temperature was just right.

The five of them ran silently for seven minutes. Then, Suri thought about something. He moved closer to Korona as he ran forward.

"You think we'll be cutting our trip short?" Suri asked Korona. He paid little attention to the direction they were heading due to his familiarity with the area.

"Probably. They should also send a group to investigate the matter," Korona replied while looking at Suri.

"Yeah. They should really look into it. They have a lot of capable people there so it might not take too long. I'm quite curious about the investigation result, though."

"Me too. What do you think it—"

The two were running at high speed when their advance was suddenly stopped. To be exact, they were stopped by something. Both groaned from the sudden impact. They stumbled backward and rolled a few times before they settled on the ground.

When Suri looked up, he saw that the three behind them, Levi, Selena and Samuel had already stopped running. Levi had his fist froze in front of him from casting a spell. His magic was responsible for stopping both him and Korona. He was about to lecture Levi about being a bit more controlled when doing such things because he was carrying Aeon, but then he realized that the three were looking at something in the front. They all looked quite surprised. Even afraid…

Suri looked towards the front.

There, a colossal white lay, sleeping. Just below its head was a gigantic lump. It must be napping after a big lunch.

Beside Suri, Korona was also stunned.

What the hell?

Weren't they supposed to be in a meeting at the lake?!

Slowly, Suri gaze wandered, and he felt horror suddenly creep in. There were other Lake Beasts! The term "Lake Beast" was what they decided to call those who were extremely dangerous beasts that appeared to be friends with each other.

Aside from the white snake, there were five others. They were quite far so they could only make out their figures. But one thing's for sure, unlike the snake who had to sleep after a meal, they were all conscious. All of them had their head bowed and were probably eating. They must've caught the other beasts that wandered around the area. Those who fell victim to them were probably not expecting the Lake Beasts to be present.

Now that Suri thought about it, weren't they just like the beasts that were currently being eaten?

Wandering around because they thought that there wouldn't be any danger around the area?

Thankfully, they haven't been noticed just yet. Suri and Korona stood up and backed away as silently as possible.

Suri looked back and saw that Samuel was gesturing for the nearest wall. They immediately understood what he was implying. The group nodded in agreement.

They needed to get past the huge snake by moving inside the wall since they didn't want to circle around the thing and get closer to the other five beasts. It would be much slower, but at least it was much safer. The wall wasn't that far away, anyway, only about 50 meters away.

The problem was that, except for a few trees around the area, they had absolutely no cover. In order to get to the wall safely, they could only rely on being discreet. They all moved synchronously, matching each other's footsteps while trying to move quietly which was, in fact, a great challenge.

They weren't moving on a rocky surface. They were moving in an area where the grass was knee-high. Moving the slightest bit would cause the grass to make a subtle rustling sound. Samuel couldn't shift the ground either because it might cause some slight tremors, causing the snake to wake up.

Thankfully, the forest wasn't actually dead quiet. The wind was blowing so the trees swayed. Their leaves brushed against each other creating a low, scraping sound. This gave them the insurance that they needed in order to move their feet.

They inched closer to the wall one step at a time with Suri at the forefront.

40 meters left.

30 meters.

Just a bit more, Suri thought.

20 meters.

Drip!

Suri suddenly felt something drop on his head, probably a dew from the leaf of a tree. Subconsciously, he ran a hand through his hair. His movements slowed, even more, when he realized that the feeling he felt was quite different. The liquid was stickier than water. Suri placed his hand in front of him and saw blood.

He froze in place.

The others also stopped, curious about what happened to Suri. When the latter slowly looked up, they all looked up simultaneously.

Just above Suri, perched on a tree branch was a gigantic green bird. It was staring straight at him with its head cocked on one side. A brown horse-like beast hung on its beak, dead, its blood slowly dripping all the way down to its hooves. They had failed to see the beast because its color completely blended with the leaves of the tree. Moreover, it must've noticed them earlier, because it stopped chewing on the horse, and just observed them move.

Suri was overwhelmed with shock and terror. It was the worst outcome they could imagine. Suddenly, Suri heard a sharp whistling sound.

Fwip!

Thud!

A C-ranked wind blade cleanly severed the bird's head from its beak. When the head dropped to the ground, Levi rushed towards the wall. The others woke up from their stupor and also ran.

Contrary to what they were expecting, they were rather calm. They might encounter danger, but at least they had options. They had either escaped or fended off many beasts, even colossal ones, already. The beasts there should not be exceptions.

Not long after, the gigantic body of the bird also fell down.

Boom!

From afar, the other beasts looked over.

They were already discovered.

Thankfully, they were already close to their destination. The wall.

Samuel ran at a much faster speed, he had to be at the forefront if they wanted to move smoothly. He went past Suri who gave way and started casting a spell on his gauntlet. In no time, the spell was ready. Earth Tunneling! He put his hand in front of him as he ran.

When he was about to touch the wall and open up a path, he suddenly saw something move on the wall. Immediately, he jumped back, barely dodging the attack that just came. A gigantic komodo dragon bit at the spot where Samuel was supposed to touch. Its mouth caught a mouthful of earth, but it didn't seem to mind. It chomped on it a few times as it slowly moved down from the wall. Then, it growled at the group.

The situation took a turn for the worse and their confidence dropped.

But that didn't mean that they would stop trying now.

Suri ground his teeth. Without thinking twice, he deployed their emergency strategy. He dropped Aeon to the ground, took out a thick rope from his fanny pack, and started tying Aeon up. After finishing the few knots he was supposed to tie, he turned around, removed his broadsword from his back, and wore Aeon like a backpack. The latter's arms and legs were secured enough to not hinder Suri's movements, but not too tight to the point where Aeon could not move them.

He immediately rushed towards the back to engage with the other five beasts. Although it was realistically impossible for him to stop them, someone had to. He was also expecting the support of Korona and Selena.

From left to right was a bear, a large rat, a tiger, a moose, and a leopard.

The one at the front was the gigantic leopard that moved at a very high speed. Suri did not dare meet the beast head-on. Instead, he casted a D-rank spell on his broadsword, Dragon Slash. Suri slashed from a distance. A wave of thick roaring flames emerged from the sword's blade. It moved forward at an extreme speed, catching the leopard off guard. Despite this, the leopard displayed surprising agility, turning around at the last moment. The spell exploded just behind the leopard, hitting nothing but a tree. Just like that, a D-ranked spell was wasted.

Suri clenched his teeth. If he wasn't carrying Aeon, his attack might've hit. Samuel and Levi needed to kill the komodo dragon as fast as possible, so they could escape. Suri was too focused on the front when something suddenly…

Thud!

Eh?

"SURI!" Korona yelled.

A rock as big as Suri's head came out of nowhere, hitting him square on his right temple!

Suri felt his head spin as his body wobbled. Blood dripped from his head down to his chin. Every time he was about to fall, he would take a step in an attempt to stabilize himself. He looked towards his right and saw a monkey hanging on a branch of a tree. Several rocks peeked from the pouch on its belly.

Suri struggled to fight the dizziness he felt.

When his consciousness was about to fade, he saw the mouth of the leopard open wide, meaning to devour him.

Suri fell.

….