Faerie Mist

Cass Durant…

Liliana had heard of this name a few days ago when she returned to Thorn City.

For some reason, the former chief of the Bramble Mercenaries had become a lunatic who killed innocent citizens indiscriminately.

In just two months, he had killed 28 people and was currently wanted in the entire Blackwater Province.

Liliana looked past the black swordsman and at Rod, whose head had turned 180 degrees.

Was this the truth? Was the black swordsman hunting monsters disguised as humans?

"Can you stand?" Cass asked anxiously as he glanced at Liliana—who was sitting on the ground—from the corner of his eye.

The monster in front of him was on a completely different level from the opponents he had killed previously. Coupled with the seven or eight skeletons wearing half armor and shrouded in mist, he couldn't divert his attention at all.

Liliana stood up using the wall for support. Only then did she realize that her shoulder had been sliced open, and blood was flowing non-stop.

"No problem…"

Liliana held her wound and said through gritted teeth. Then, she chanted a healing spell, and a green light emitted from her palm healed the wound slowly.

"What a pity…"

The monster turned its stiff neck when it saw this.

"If only you had hesitated for a moment. In that case, my lovely junior's neck would have been snapped like a pole. What a pity. I still want to take that Kos Dynasty pendant back and study it."

"You knew I was following you?" Cass asked.

"Ever since that pet of yours followed me all the way yesterday, I knew that you would come looking for me in the next two days."

The monster sneered.

"Could it be that you took the initiative to take me to the enchantment shops and then the underground black market to lure him out…"

Liliana, who had stopped the bleeding, asked while enduring the pain.

"Ah, that was just by chance. After all, I really want to figure out the origins of this pendant. After all, the enchantment on it is a defensive barrier specially targeted at Moon Realm spirits."

The monster kept its face facing them while slowly turning its body around.

"You're a Lunar Monster?"

Liliana's eyes widened.

"Lunar Monster, what a nostalgic term. Who taught you this? The owner of this pendant?"

As the monster spoke, his face still had a stiff and warm smile.

Liliana's heart sank. She had seen how powerful the Lunar Monster named Stumbling Demon was. Even if this monster in Rod's skin was a few levels weaker, it wasn't an existence she could resist.

"Do you know what they are?" the black swordsman in front of her suddenly asked.

"I know a little. I've… heard a heretical mage mention it before," Liliana replied hesitantly.

"Run," the black swordsman ordered.

"Liz, use Faerie Mist to bring her out to the usual place. She knows clues about these monsters."

Before Liliana could ask who Liz was, a palm-sized girl with dragonfly wings on her back flew out of the black swordsman's chest pocket.

She flew to Cass's head and tugged at his ear.

"Faerie Mist can only bring one person out, so cut the big talk. Don't try to act cool by covering the retreat. If you want to run, run together."

"There's too many. I can't protect her here."

Cass looked at the seven or eight half-armored skeletons that were gradually approaching and hastily said,

"Take her first. I'll knock them all down here before returning."

Before he could finish speaking, the three skeletons closest to him had already rushed forward.

As the tunnel was narrow, Cass couldn't swing the door-like sword in his hand to his heart's content. Therefore, he held the sword horizontally in front of him as a shield, blocking the two skeletons' thrusts. Then, he leveraged the sword as a pivot before flying up and kicking the third skeleton to the wall.

With a whoosh, the skeleton scattered into bones on the ground.

"Go!"

Cass took this opportunity to turn around and shout at the two of them.

With that said, he raised his huge sword and swung it at the next skeleton.

Liz watched Cass rush out and cursed him for being an idiot before flying in front of Liliana.

"I'm taking you out. Remember not to speak during this process, and don't try to think about what happened. In fact, don't think about anything. Just empty your mind. Otherwise, you'll be thrown out of the mist."

Looking at the faerie in front of her whom she had only seen in textbooks, Liliana subconsciously nodded, but Liz still seemed a little worried.

"Why don't I let you sleep first? Nothing will go wrong that way."

"Ah? Wait a minute…"

Before Liliana could finish speaking, Liz suddenly flapped her wings, and some purple and black scale powder scattered over her face. Then, irresistible drowsiness surged into her heart, and she fell asleep in seconds.

"Sorry, I'm in a bad mood now. You'll probably have nightmares later, but there's nothing we can do about it."

With that said, Liz flew into the air and danced as if no one was around. As she danced, a mist emitted from her. This mist resembled the mist from the fields in the morning or the forest at night, giving off a dubious feeling.

When the mist was thick enough to envelop the two of them, Liz stopped and grabbed Liliana's hand. The human and fairy gradually became ethereal and dreamy in the mist as if they would disappear at any moment.

With a last gust of wind, the two of them disappeared into the dubious fog.

Faerie Mist was the only displacement spell that didn't require the use of lightning spells to tear through space and perform Teleportation. The faeries could temporarily vanish from the world by blurring their existence in the mist, and then use dubious memories to reappear in Currere.

This was also the reason why many rural legends said that children who ran into the forest's mist would be captured by the faeries. In fact, many children were only lost in the dubious mist created by the faeries and forgot their existence. It might only be a fleeting moment for them, but by the time they regained their memories, it might be dozens or hundreds of years later.

…

After shattering the last skeleton, Cass raised the sword in his hand and pointed it at the monster.

"Quite impressive. No wonder you could send so many of my compatriots back to the Moon Realm," the monster praised sincerely.

"It's your turn to die next."

"Die? We won't die. Don't misunderstand."

With that said, its hand bent into a few sections like an arthropod. Its palm bloomed like a flower of flesh and blood, and a sharp chitin bone blade extended from its wrist.

"Of course, it's indeed quite troublesome to have our bodies destroyed in Currere. After all, the contract over Currere's seal hasn't expired yet. We can only come here through loopholes. A single banishment might mean decades before we can come here again."

Cass ignored the other party's deliberate stalling and charged forward to slash at its head.

Clang!

The monster crossed its arms and blocked the strike with its bone blades. Its face revealed a pleasant smile under the shadow of the huge sword.

"Don't be anxious. It's still early."

As it spoke, it thrust its hands up, forcing Cass to take three steps back.

Then, its entire body began to expand. With the sound of flesh tearing, the human skin covering its true face fell off.

A moment later, a monster about the height of two people with six sharp spider spears on its back stood in front of Cass. Its entire body was covered in a shiny chitin shell, and it had compound eyes and a proboscis.

It spread its arms as if it was making a declaration.

"Now, Bramble's last swordsman, it's time for your long hunt to end."

As for Cass, he assumed a charging posture.

"It won't end until I kill all of you bastards."

"Kill us all?"

Although it no longer had a human face after ripping it off, Cass could tell that the monster's expression was a mocking smile.

Crack, crack, crack…

The skeletons that had been shattered by Cass reassembled as if time had reversed.

Around Cass, the skeletons shrouded in mist stood up one after another.

He was surrounded in the middle.

"This was the real trap meant for you."