Mountain Pass

The two groups had taken different routes as they went deeper into the forest which had been very quiet.

There was no traces of monsters nearby which was very strange almost like they had been cleared out or had moved to another area.

If there was a lack of monsters in a territory where there had been known monster sightings in the past then it was likely that there had been something that had happened that had an influence over it.

The most likely cases was a stronger predator moving into their territory and driving them out or there being another presence that had moved in and actively hunted the monsters.

Once Mallory had been able catch up to the others, she had seen Nia taking the lead as she cautiously stepped forward with her black cat ears raised alertly.

Her movements were very agile and each step she had taken was very light without creating much noise.

She had kept her senses alert as she has sniffed the air occasionally and listened in to her surroundings.

Mallory had not yet shown herself to the others but Nia had turned to face her direction. "No use hiding-nya~."

Mallory was surprised upon being found out but it was to be expected from a more experienced adventurer of her Familia who was more familiar with tracking and detection as she made use of her innate abilities.

Having someone reliable around her was comforting and had let her be a little more enthusiastic about gaining some new allies.

Mallory stepped out holding Valis at her side then walked towards them. "Pick up on anything?"

Nia shook her head. "No traces yet but we should see some soon-nya~."

Swaine stood back with a slightly grumpy look on his face. "Hmph.. forgetting me already."

Mallory rolled her eyes and warned him. "Stay focussed."

Swaine turned away and went back to his duties as he was searching the area just like the others.

Hiiro and Tia were both trying to offer their own assistance in keeping watch over different directions but they had mostly been carrying some supplies and extra weapons.

The group continued forward as they took several turns until they were deeper into the forest and were facing a mountain pass.

The path had started to take several turns which had led towards the mountain or beyond it depending on which direction was taken from the available routes.

Mallory saw that her group was stuck so she had taken out her compass and looked at the pointed which had turned around before settling in one direction. "That way."

Nia was confused why Mallory had made such a decision since she was new to the tool Mallory was using. "Why that way-nya~?"

Mallory showed the compass. "This may not show the way exactly but it is good at finding danger and trouble. Where it has pointed will be where there may be danger for us and perhaps even the source of the trouble we are here to investigate."

Nia's eyes had narrowed as she studied it then she nodded excitedly. "So cool-nya~."

Tia looked towards it like it was a strange looking invention while Hiiro seemed to be focussed on his duties as he walked behind everyone.

Once they followed the path that Mallory had led them onto, there were several footprints that had been spotted that were still fresh which meant that there had been people walking around the area not too long ago.

The compass had suddenly made a large turn towards one direction all of a sudden and Mallory jumped in front of Tia and raised Valis forward.

The magic power in her body started to travel down the handle of Valis towards the magic crystal that had been slotted in place then moved further down to the tip of the spear of Valis.

Her words were spoken clearly and followed a certain rhythm as she started to chant. "Form a screen of shining light."

The shining white light gathered on the end of the tip of Valis that was pointed forward and slowly began to form a round and flat shape. "Deflecting mirror of averting evil."

Just as she had completed the main part of the incantation there was a circular light screen that had taken shape in front of the tip of her spear that had covered a large area in front of her. "Warding Mirror!"

The mirror or barrier that had formed had remained in place where Valis had pointed and just as it had formed, there was a sudden impact that hit against it before falling down to the ground after bouncing off it.

It was an arrow that had fallen down to the ground after being blocked by the barrier Mallory had set up.

If she had not acted in time then it was very likely that Tia may have been harmed.

There were other precautions in place to protect her in her time of need but it was much better for Mallory to practice the use of her magic spell in real combat situations.

If she kept relying on the talismans to protect others and gather more Excelia then there would be a point where she would begin to show less improvement in her overall abilities.

The talismans were very useful for herself and others but they could become a crutch for them too.

Being too reliant on them was a very bad thing especially when they could run out so Mallory had acted first upon seeing that Tia was the one that had started to look like she had some harm approaching her.

Upon detecting where the harm was coming from with the help of the compass and her own ability to see the nearby murderous aura, she was quick to move in front of Tia to block the arrow from the correct angle and direction. "Prepare for battle."

Having such a deadly welcome had further confirmed that the people who were remaining in the mountains had been a hostile force.

The large sword on the back of Nia was removed from its sheath and she jumped forward excitedly. "You protect the kids-nya~"

Mallory nodded in response and watched as Nia jumped forward to go after the archer that had failed to land their first shot and was hurrying to put another arrow on the string of his bow.

There were several other arrows that had started to come from other directions all of a sudden but most of them had come from above. "Get close and get low."

Nia and Hiiro quickly rushed close to Mallory and put their bodies lower while Mallory lowered her body a little too.

Valis was pointed up into the air and was facing forward enough to block in front of her too. "Form a screen of shining light. Deflecting mirror of averting evil. Warding Mirror!"

Her chant was faster than before and was raised at a different angle than before so there was a small space that could be targeted but it covered enough of herself and the two others she was protecting.

Many arrows rained down from above while some came straight towards their upper bodies but collided with the barrier before rebounding back towards the ground.

Another arrow had surprisingly slipped under the barrier but the movements of Mallory were very fast as Valis had made a turn downward and collided with the arrow. "Phew.."

There was a certain sense of accomplishment that she felt as she had achieved a feat that she had not been able to do before and there were several rewards that came to her in the form of the Excelia that had come from protecting the lives of those around her from many fatal wounds.