Forest

The location of the group changed as they went along. The car had entered a valley, and the further they went, the fewer houses there were. It seemed that even the road was getting a little narrower...

The sun had already set, and the darkness had fallen. According to the time shown on the clock inside the car, it was 9:00 p.m.

The darkened road was illuminated by the high beams of the limousine. Still, the world within a short distance was covered in darkness. The number of nearby trees increased, becoming a forest for the first time until they finally travelled along a forest road.

Even with the cars it was different, as the vehicles that used to circulate were no longer there.

"uwaa...This is certainly not a popular place."

As they looked out the window, Natsume expressed some of her thoughts.

This limousine could have been similar to the coffin of a reckless person sinking into hell. The view outside was enough to give anyone the creeps. Perhaps it was because they were invalidly covered by several unknown trees. Still, the atmosphere was enveloped in peculiar darkness.

"Are we, by any chance, fighting in a forest for the first time?" Tobio muttered as he looked out over the forest.

Upon hearing that, the expression of Sae, who stood beside him, darkened instantly.

A battle in a forest in the dead of night. It seemed to be an intense fight compared to the average conditions above the shopping center or department store.

Tall grasses, not knowing what was underfoot, and trees that gave rise to shadows and cover. For them, these would become dangerous factors.

"A forest... this brings back memories," Drako muttered.

"Yes, Master, I miss it a little too." Mordred, who was driving the limo, told Drako.

Drako and Mordred had spent a long time together with Shirone, Kuroka and Tiamat living in the forest. That is why this type of terrain was the one they were most familiar with.

Under normal circumstances, trees could be used by their opponents as cover. But... that didn't work with Drako. After all, he had the ability [The One Who Is Loved By Nature].

"We're close," Mordred warned.

The cursor on the navigation system was constantly overlapping with the destination point.

It was at this point that Drako noticed a presence in front of them, about fifty meters away.

"Stop!"

Mordred braked immediately, and the car came to a forced stop. With everyone in the car hit by the sudden break, Sae and Natsume let out "Kyah" reflexes!

Kouki leaned forward from the back seat to ask.

"What's going on?"

"There's a person in front of us."

Drako responded calmly.

Unbuckling his belt, Drako stepped out of the limousine. The rest followed a little later.

"We're already in enemy territory, so be careful." Drako reminded them.

Natsume carried a lantern in her hand, lighting the way. Drako, Mordred and Valina didn't need it, but it wasn't the same for the rest.

They advanced a few yards, but there didn't seem to be anyone in the area. The group tensed instantly, as they could be facing an enemy trap.

"You can come out, we won't hurt you. Unless you're our enemy, of course." Drako spoke in a particular direction.

Natsume pointed in the direction Drako had headed. When the light came on, a lonely girl appeared.

She was blond, part of her long hair had been braided, with dark features that suggested she was a foreigner.

They had barely arrived and had already found their first target.

The colour of her eyes did not match. The right eye was blue, and the left eye was black.

With a beautiful face, she was Shigune Nanadaru. It is said that she was the most beautiful girl at Ryoukou High School. She was a biracial girl who was part Japanese and part Western. She was called "Shigune" by her closest friends.

Shigune wore the school uniform of the school to which she had transferred... but she had gotten dirty in various places, and there were even parts that were broken. Some mud had been left on her face. She was breathing hard, which made it clear that she had just run for her life.

She addressed Drako in a weak voice.

"...Please help."

Drako nodded with a smile.

"Relax, we are your allies."

Shigune visibly relaxed, and began to pay attention to the rest. She recognized Natsume and Sae instantly.

"...Minagawa-san, and Toujou-san...?"

With two of her former companions appearing before her eyes, perhaps feeling relieved as well as surprised, Shigune ended up sinking to the ground just where she was.

"Woah woah woah! Are you okay!?"

"Relax, Nanadaru-san."

Natsume and Sae rushed over to the now seated Shigune to give her a gentle hand.

At the same time, Tobio and Kouki, who had also exited the vehicle, faced with the safety of one of their remaining companions, relaxed their tension to some extent and let out slight smiles.

Kouki noticed something that was held in Shigune's arms, however, and turned to Tobio.

"...is it the Sacred Gear of Nanadaru?"

Shigune was holding a small four-legged animal in her arms, wearing something like a mask over his face, and two horns were growing from his head. The mask had a strange sort of pattern... that Drako recognized.

This was the pattern of Toutetsu of the Shi Akuma. In other words, that which Shigune held was the Sacred Gear Toutetsu.

Shigune, after she had been attended to and had recovered her disposition, told Drako and the others.

"We have to get out of here! People who are using strange techniques..."

Shigune could say no more as Jin, Tobio's dog, had interrupted her with a grunt. Drako had noticed a threat there as well.

The man was quite adept at hiding his presence, it seemed, as Drako barely noticed where he was hiding. It was only when the enemy had let his intent to kill slip that Drako had sensed his presence.

Seeing how alert Jin was, they all prepared for combat.

"Jin..."

At Tobio's call, the dog drew a distorted sword from the shadows at his feet and prepared to use his mouth.

"Hmph, such an obvious attempt to kill. Interesting." Valina said arrogantly.

"This... this presence is not a magic formula," Lavinia added.

What appeared in the area illuminated by the headlights was a strange, one-legged, two-foot stone statue. The creature had small wings growing from its back and a single horn on its head, its appearance undeniably grotesque.

Drako shuddered when he saw the statue shaking violently.

"CLOSE YOUR EYES, ALL OF YOU!"

When he screamed, everyone did those and covered their eyes with their arms.

In an instant, the area was filled entirely with dazzlingly intense light.

When the light stopped, Valina and the others timidly opened their eyes. The strange creature was gone.

"It was written in those files, remember? CURSED STATUE OF RADIANCE LOST. BRAIN SHINE STATUE. As for their characteristic, if one directly receives that light which it releases, it gradually steals their sight. Depending on the circumstances, a person's eyes would be completely unable to see anything." Valina reminded them.

It was frightening what the young woman said, but her expression was serene.

Natsume swallowed her saliva and said.

"Isn't that more than terrifying?"

Valina answered again.

"It was written in the file. Abyss Team is made up of members with these kinds of skills."

That's right. The Abyss Team was made up of Sacred Gears users who inflicted damage that their opponents could not recover from.

If they had been hit by the attack like the one just now, they would have been robbed of their sight or possibly lost their hearing. Features that impose severe mental contamination with serious side effects, or others that use insects that parasitize the opponent's body gradually from the inside.

Murder, torture, the Abyss Team was made up of a collection of possessors who were completely inhumane.

It had been explained to Tobio and the others that, if one were to fight them in advance, one's mind and body would be severely damaged in some way.

The statue at this time was a Sacred Gear that, when it opened its eyes, would release a light and take away a person's sight.

"... A team that kills at first sight, if that's the truth, I'd rather not have them as opponents..."

While paying attention to her surroundings, Natsume muttered.

Then Valina and Lavinia turned their gaze to a single point. All the others agreed with their glances.

From the silent darkness of the road, laughter could be heard.

"Pupupu, upupupu."

As for what appeared as he let out such an unpleasant laugh, it was a thin man. He was dressed in something similar to the 'Nephilim' uniform worn by Tobio and the others.

The man was wearing sunglasses, had a crooked mouth and an ugly smile on his face. At his feet was the aforementioned mystery stone statue. His eyes were closed once more.

"... I wish your eyes would quickly become blind... I wish to make you understand the feeling of having blind eyes..."

While the man was talking, he had the eyes of the stone statue at his feet open.

Tobio and the others did not allow the silent attack, and Tobio, Natsume and Kouki moved quickly.

"Slash!"

"Do it!"

"Spread out!"

Jin charged at high speed with a sword in his mouth, Griffon took to the air, and the tip of Byakusa's long tail shot out towards the opponent.

It was a simultaneous triple attack, but even in the midst of this, the man's unpleasant smile did not cease.

Shigune shouted.

"That statue! There are two of them!"

Hearing that scream, Valina immediately took a quick look behind them and fired a silver aura from her hand.

There was another stone statue, but Tobio and the others were covered.

Lavinia spread a magic circle and attacked her opponent. The man was enveloped by the blue aura released from the magic circle... but there was no damage.

The simultaneous strikes taken from Jin's sword and Byakusa's tail were insufficient to break the stone statue in front of them. Still, the stone statue behind them was destroyed with a single attack from Valina.

The man avoided Griffon's direct high-speed attack.

"Die."

The boy opened his eyes for the first time when he heard the emotionless voice from behind him. He felt the sharp, cold arrowhead on his neck before he felt it pierce his neck easily.

Drako had taken advantage of Tobio and the others distracting the boy from disappearing into the trees. Communicating with them mentally, his presence had vanished completely.

With one of the Sacred Gears unusable because of Valina, and the other facing Tobio and the rest, Drako had a clear path to attack the boy.

With Lavinia's attack, Drako had discovered that the boy had some sort of protection, and was quite adept at dodging attacks as he had demonstrated with Griffon. To secure the One-shot, Drako had positioned himself directly behind him.

[550 experience points have been obtained.]

[Because of the effects of Title Skill [Walking Egg]. Another 550 experience points were obtained.]

[The level of [Nephilim Dragon] raised from 65 to 66.]