Camp Ambush

Back to the present.

The moon was already out and illuminating the empty wastelands.

During this starry night, Judi confessed what happened on the day Gerard and the others went missing.

She was now sitting on a seat instead of the floor, but her head still hung low.

"So that's what happened..." Mika murmured dejectedly.

From what he heard, the three were taken away by the demons.

However, it was still unclear if they were alive by now.

"Still, thanks for telling us everything, Judi-"

"Wait." Ophelia cut Mika off.

The carriage started to slow down.

"The last arrow you shot. Was it deliberate?" she asked.

She was frowning as she glared at the weak Judi intensely.

"Ms. Ross, what-"

"Be quiet."

Mika tried to protect Judi, but was told off by Ophelia in an instant.

"I..."

Judi searched for the right words.

The carriage came to a halt.

"Yes..." she admitted regretfully as she clenched the ends of her skirt.

"W-what...?" Mika was taken aback.

"You're joking, right?"

He smiled nervously.

"Mika, come with me."

Ophelia grabbed him by the collar and went outside.

"Hey, Ophelia! We're planning to rest here for the night. The fortress is only a few hours away from here, but it may be wise to replenish-"

"Got it. Can you excuse us for a moment?"

Zack was waiting outside of their carriage to notify them, however, he was brushed off by Ophelia coldly as she walked away from the others with Mika.

"H-hey! I can walk on my own!" Mika complained while Ophelia was still holding him by his collar.

Bewildered, Zack looked at them.

"Sure..."

They went in the direction they came from with the carriages because the others started to come out in the other directions.

"Ms. Ross, what's your deal?!"

Then, Ophelia tossed him ruthlessly to the ground.

"I will be honest with you. That one demon was screwing around with Judi. She intentionally said that they could have escaped if they had used magic or if they were not injured. However, even if that would be the case, there would be no way that they could manage that with their powers yet."

"No matter what their conditions would have been or what they would have done, they couldn't flee from them." she added.

"Then why did that demon say that?"

"Maybe to play with her mentally. Maybe she wanted her to feel despair, however in the end Judi just felt guilty for what she did to Gerard."

"Then, let's cheer her up-"

"No. I'm just telling you all this so that you won't say anything to her."

"But why?"

"Attacking Gerard didn't affect the outcome. However, what's done is done. She assaulted her own teammate so she should reflect on it."

"..."

Mika averted his gaze.

He understood what Ophelia was trying to achieve, but it did not feel right for him to let his friend suffer.

"Are we clear on this?" Ophelia asked in a strict tone.

"Yes." Mika replied a bit reluctantly.

"Good. Let's head back."

The two went back to the carriages, where the others already put up their tents.

Only then, Mika noticed that they were currently near a forest.

"You two done talking?" Zack asked free-spirited.

"Yes."

"Great, because we're just about to divide the group for the night shifts."

He shifted his head to the others signaling Ophelia and Mika to join them.

Excluding Judi, everyone from the troupe quickly decided who would sleep first.

"What about Judi?" Mika posed this question to Ophelia.

"We can't let someone be on guard duty if said person is still mentally unstable."

"..."

She sighed when she saw Mika's dejected face.

"The others and I will stay guard so just get some rest now. Tomorrow will be a long day." she added.

After her suggestion, Mika went into one of the tents and tried to get as much sleep as possible.

And after 4 hours passed, he was woken up by Ophelia.

"Sorry, but now is your turn~" she said with a yawn.

"Sure." Mika responded weakly as he rubbed his still-sleepy eyes.

Ophelia instantly fell asleep while Mika got ready for his night duty.

He left the tent and joined his night companions at the campfire.

They got the wood for the campfire from the nearby forest.

The only persons he knew among those sitting with him were Wendy, Carl and Ray.

To make sure that they would not bother the others sleeping, they sat near the fire in silence.

Sitting with a group of people in silence was awkward enough for Mika, but to top it off he did not really feel comfortable with them.

From his perspective, Wendy was seemingly hiding something from him concerning Ophelia.

Carl was obviously harboring hostility towards Mika.

And Ray was someone he could not figure out yet.

At first glance, he appeared like a kind guy, but he still did not understand why his body reacted this way back then when they shook hands.

Mika unconsciously took a glance at Ray.

He, however, suddenly stood up.

"Is something wrong?" Carl whispered.

With a fierce glare, Ray stared in the direction of the dark forest.

"Didn't you sense anything from there?" Ray asked tensely.

"Hmm... I sense nothing." Wendy said after concentrating hard.

Despite her statement, Ray moved in that direction.

"I feel a bit uneasy about this... I will go check things out quickly."

"Huh? Are you going alone?" Wendy asked perplexed.

"Wait, let me tag along, then. We can't let you go alone when it's so deep in the night." Carl stated stern and concerned.

"Thanks."

Thus, the two entered the forest void from light with great caution.

"I hope it's just a normal animal." Wendy whispered concerned.

It turned silent again.

There was only the sound of the campfire's crackling.

5 minutes passed. Then 10 minutes. And then 20 minutes.

Now 30 minutes went by.

"Did something really happen?" Mika muttered to Wendy.

"..."

She stared sternly into the direction they went to.

"I will-"

Before she could finish her sentence, she heard rustling from the forest.

Someone or something was approaching them.

The rustling got louder and came closer to them rapidly.

Everyone awake noticed that and got up.

They were all putting up their guards.

Some took out their weapon and some prepared a magic attack.

"Everyone!"

This voice belonged to Ray.

"This is bad!" he continued to shout in panic.

Finally, he was in sight, when he emerged from the bushes.

"Ray!"

He was covered in injuries and held his bleeding arm tightly.

From his head blood also flowed down.

"Monsters... Monsters are coming at a tremendous speed!" he warned anxiously.

Wendy quickly turned to the rest.

"Wake up the others and get ready! We will have to fight!" she commanded in a tone unfit for her tiny appearance.

"Yes!" her comrades shouted.

Mika hurried to Ophelia's tent, but before he or anyone else could call out to the others, they sensed the monsters Ray was mentioning.

"As if..." Mika turned pale as he smiled nervously at the monsters.

Facing the troupe was a group of five monsters.

Monsters, Mika had to face not too long ago.

However, he thought that that kind of monster could only appear if a certain someone was there.

Spreading their four long and thin hairy arms, the tall monsters roared.

"It's those apes again..." Mika said in disbelief.

They were exactly like the ape-like monsters Zantar was creating in the Great Jungle of Malnor.

"But how is that possible?!"

Only Zatar was able to create this ape monster variation.

Before Zantar took shelter in the Great Jungle, there did not exist a single report about that monster.

'Did he survive?', Mika thought.

He was sure that he killed him back then.

But why would they appear in such a place then?

"Ray, where's Carl?" Wendy asked.

Her stern glare was still directed towards the monsters.

"..."

Ray did not say anything and just averted his gaze mournfully.

"I see..."

His silence was enough to make her understand.

"Jeez, why are you all waking us up so early?" Zack complained without a care in the world as he was yawning.

His eyes were still half-asleep.

"Huh?"

He looked at the monsters and rubbed his eyes multiple times.

"Why the heck are those monsters here?!" he screamed in surprise.

"How should I know?! Just be ready to fight! Those monsters seem tough!" Wendy remarked.

Shortly after that, Ophelia joined the fray.

"It's those things again, huh?"

She sounded annoyed.

Either it was because she did not like the monsters or because her sleep was disrupted.

"Don't underestimate them. They can be a pain in the ass, especially in groups."

Ophelia equipped herself with her relic from the get-go.

"Do you have experience fighting them?" Wendy asked.

She nodded her head while she was loosening her wrists.

"Heh, you're already using your relic? Isn't this overkill considering that Wendy and I are also here?" Zack joked shrugging his shoulders.

"People who say this die first, you know?" Ophelia retorted composed.

Meanwhile, Mika stood back with the others.

With the others, he was about to witness three S-ranks handling this situation.