Mysteries of the Soul (1)

"Haa... Haa..."

Sebastian gripped his spear tightly and cut down another beast.

Strewn across his surroundings were dead beasts numbering over a hundred. It was a stampede, a large gathering of monsters of all shapes and sizes. It happens when a high-ranked beast settles down at a different place. Though there are also other reasons, this still holds the majority case.

How many had he killed already? Sebastian had lost count after the first group.

It started when Sebastian saw a group of ogres. It as strange enough when he saw them in a big group but it was even stranger to see them migrating. Nevertheless, a target was still a target. Sebastian dealt with the ogres skillfully.

Before he could even check his spoils, dozens of winged beasts attacked him. Sebastian shot most of them down with his bow and took down the diving beasts with his spear. As if they had planned it all along, several other beasts began to surround him. He wanted to escape but before he could even turn the other direction, he was attacked.

The majority of the beasts that attacked him were agile. They weren't very strong individually, but they were way superior in numbers. Even the beasts that were each other's natural enemies had cooperated to try and tear him apart.

"Urgh!"

Sebastian's mask was broken by a panther's claws. He had narrowly managed to avoid getting his face slashed. He used the moment that the beast was preparing to attack again to strike. A fatal blow to the heart.

However, he couldn't rest just yet. Although there were numerous dead bodies surrounding him, the hordes of enemies never seemed to end. He tried using flames to open a path but there were beasts that could control wind and extinguished his flames.

The other elements and tricks up his sleeve were all futile. His quiver had already run out of arrows long ago and the spear was beginning to crack. He had used it to defend against one too many attacks.

"Flame Cage!"

Sebastian set his left arm ablaze and punched the floor. Starting from the point of impact, a humongous torrent of flame rose up to the sky and spread outwards. All of the beasts that surrounded him were burnt to a crisp.

"Huff..."

But, there was a price. His stigma had been drained of an entire third of its supply already. He did manage to buy himself some time to catch his breath but it didn't mean he was safe forever.

"I have around a minute before this cage disappears. Until then..."

Sebastian was about to execute one of his plans but several beasts leaped through the flames.

Beasts are innately afraid of fire.

Those words held true until today.

The beasts that had jumped through were those that had thick skin and hairs.

Sebastian gripped his spear even tighter than before and calmed his breathing. He had to keep his emotions under control. The more frenzied he was, the less rational he would think.

"Monochrome Flame Thrust."

Sebastian thrust his spear forward. His arms and spear were set aflame in vibrant orange and the beasts didn't even have time to cry out before turning into ashes.

It was the technique that he had done once yet couldn't do again. With the training regimen pounded into him by Wisteria, Sebastian perfected the technique. No, he had to perfect it. If he hadn't, then he'd have lost his life during training.

The only problem with his technique was that it still consumed too much energy. The energy in the stigma dropped by another five percent. An amount he could usually ignore, but in this dire situation, every drop of energy he had counted.

Unfortunately, his spear couldn't last any longer and the cracks became more evident. Sebastian returned the spear to its holster and took out his twin daggers. He hadn't used them as much as his other two weapons, but he had confidence in them.

Sebastian looked for an opening in the wall of flames and when he saw it, he dashed.

'There!' Sebastian leaped through the flames. He was met with the sight of a dozen beasts pouncing towards him. He flipped the daggers in his hand in reverse with the pointed ends facing away from his opponents and muttered, "Scorching Dance."

It was as if the entire world had slowed down to a crawl save for Sebastian. He lightly stepped forward while cutting down the beasts with flaming daggers. It looked just like a dance when viewed from afar.

"Huff..."

Sebastian managed to escape from the encirclement but he was far from escaping the stampede. A few of the beasts with keen eyes had already spotted him escaping and began their pursuit.

'This isn't a stampede...!'

Normally, the monsters in a stampede would prioritize running and would take down any threats in the way, Sebastian, for example. However, they wouldn't go as far as to chase a person that hadn't done anything to them.

Wolves valued their pack, the same principle applied to wolf-like beasts but, during a stampede, ties were unnecessary to them. They would not care about their kin, it was the same for all of the other beasts as well. They would be driven by instinctual fear to flee from the source as far as possible. They would only stop when killed or when they're unable to sense the threat anymore.

"Fireball."

Sebastian muttered. He kicked the ground to boost his body forward and then turned around to shoot the fireball towards the incoming beasts.

BOOM

Though the attack had connected, Sebastian wasn't optimistic enough to think that all of the beasts were taken care of. At best, they were slowed down.

"Something's definitely wrong with this forest!"

'When I get back, I'm going to force an investigation!'

Luckily, he had already memorized all of the obstacles in the immediate area. He didn't slow down from his initial pace and there was still quite a distance between him and the beasts.

—Get down.

"Huh?"

Sebastian had heard that voice many times before. His body subconsciously followed the voice and crouched down.

WHOOSH

A sharp blade of wind brushed past his hair and without even being able to let out a cry, the dozen or so beasts that had been chasing him were cut in half.

"Balanos?!"

—You're still quite the bane, I see...

A woman, all too familiar with how she looked, Sebastian answered.

"It's not my fault that I keep getting caught up with these strange events! Don't make it sound like they only happen when I'm around!"

—First, let's get out of the forest. We'll talk as we go.

"Okay."

There were no complaints coming from Sebastian, he didn't want to face the stampede again. His spear was chipped and the pole was cracked. The black bow was in a pristine condition but he was already out of arrows. And, his daggers weren't exactly much of a solution with the number of beasts.

"—and because of that, you are now able to act independently from the tree for an extended period of time?"

—That's correct.

"An artificial body..."

Sebastian looked Balanos over. Save for the roots and leaves on her body, Balanos' artificial body looked exactly like her real body inside the tree, like a beautiful human woman.

"Then, why are you still speaking to me through telepathy? You can speak normally with your real body..."

—Though it's possible, it's still more convenient to speak like this. The body is only newly-formed and its vocals aren't perfectly tuned as of yet.

Sebastian sat down on a nearby tree and took out a skewer wrapped in cloth. He ate it in just a few seconds and gestured at Balanos with the stick and mouth still half-full, "so, why did you have to go so far as to create this artificial body to go into the forest?"

Balanos had told him on the way that she was planning to head into the forest regardless of his presence.

—I've detected a presence similar to my own, a hamadryad. I feel that deep within this forest, the source of the anomalies is another hamadryad. When you first stepped into this forest with me, I had already felt something, though I wasn't sure what. My power kept on getting expended by staying near you so when I separated, I was able to sense it. It was only for a fraction of a second but I felt it, my kin.

As always, she had no expression on her face as she talked Sebastian felt that it was a pity. If she at least showed some emotions, many would swoon over her.

—I'm irritated for some reason, are you thinking of something stupid again?

'Can women really read minds?'

—In any case, it's fortunate that you're here. I will meld with this body with your soul and give you temporary power, help me find the cause of the anomaly. Whether it be my kin or not, I still need to get rid of it, to protect you and my tree.

"...Temporary power?"