Volume 2 – 8. Prey and Predator
Lucien immediately changed gears.
His eyes locked onto the Thicket-Cutter, lingering on the rows of thorn-like spines covering its body. His lips pressed into a thin line.
I really don't want to do this... but I can't think of a better option right now.
“Kira,” he said without taking his eyes off the beast, “I'm going to use a shadow-based Skill to move to its left side. I'm almost certain it'll react to me the moment I appear. When it does, you and Sylphie move in and kill it in one move if you can. Understood?”
“Got it.”
Kira answered without the slightest hesitation, tightening his grip on the bastard sword already poised at his side.
Sylphie, however, looked at Lucien with unconcealed concern.
“Will you be alright?”
“I'll be fine.” He gave her a reassuring nod before adding, “Do you understand the plan?”
She hesitated for only a moment. Although uncertainty still lingered in her eyes, she nodded nonetheless.
“...Yes.”
“Then let's do it.”
Lucien drew a slow, steady breath and forced himself to focus. His attention shifted to the System instinctively.
[Corruption Points (CP): 113 / 300]
After converting a large portion of his CP into SP yesterday and spending three SP to unlock Shadowstep, he had been left with barely a hundred points. The passive purification from Seren, the active purification from Ava despite her already low Corruption, and the trickle generated from his own relatively low Corruption had only replenished a small amount overnight.
Twenty CP... just for a single use.
It was expensive.
Still, this was exactly why he had wanted the Skill in the first place.
Pushing the thought aside, Lucien fixed his eyes on the shadow cast beside the Thicket-Cutter. He imagined himself slipping into darkness and emerging from that patch of shade.
The world vanished.
Darkness engulfed his vision for the briefest instant before peeling away just as suddenly.
He reappeared exactly where he had intended.
“—!”
Just as he had expected, the Thicket-Cutter reacted immediately.
Its head snapped toward him, and before Lucien had fully settled into his stance, its left foreleg whipped toward him. The wood-like thorns lining its forearm shot forward with the strike, turning the swipe into something closer to a volley of spears.
“Ngh!”
Lucien threw himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the attack as the thorns sliced through the air where his chest had been only a fraction of a second earlier.
At almost the same instant, Kira burst in from the opposite side with impeccable timing. His bastard sword carved a powerful vertical arc through the air, aiming straight for the beast's back.
CRACK!
One of the hardened thorns lining the Thicket-Cutter's spine snapped cleanly beneath the blow, but another caught the blade before it could sink any deeper.
Sylphie followed close behind, rushing out of the protective dome with her staff raised.
FWOOOM!
As the shimmering barrier advanced toward it, the Thicket-Cutter reacted with astonishing speed. It sprang backward in a single fluid motion, disappearing into the dense undergrowth almost as quickly as it had emerged.
Is it giving up on us?
Lucien's gaze swept across the surrounding brush, searching for the slightest hint of movement.
No…
Through a gap in the tangled bushes, he caught the unmistakable glint of a pair of amber eyes, still watching them without blinking.
He clicked his tongue in frustration before turning toward Sylphie.
“How long can you keep this dome up?”
“If we're moving, about four hours.” She tightened her grip on her staff before adding, “If we stay in one place, around sixteen.”
Seeing the puzzled look on Lucien's face, she quickly elaborated.
“When the barrier remains stationary, it can devote most of its Weave to minor healing.” She gestured toward the softly shimmering dome enclosing them. “But while we're moving, it has to constantly reshape itself, so it can only serve as a repellent.”
“Ah.” Lucien nodded in understanding. “In that case, it shouldn't take us long to reach Mistwood Watch, right?”
“No.”
“Then let's move.”
Without another word, the three of them resumed their march.
For the next several minutes, the only sounds were the steady crunch of leaves beneath their boots and the faint, constant hum of the moving barrier as it glided through the forest.
Kira broke the silence first.
His ears flicked once before swiveling toward the trees to their right.
“It's still following us.”
“Yeah,” Lucien replied calmly, never slowing his pace. “I expected as much.”
Beside him, Sylphie lowered her gaze.
“...I'm sorry.”
“No.” Lucien shook his head immediately. “You made the right call. Even if it's only a temporary solution, that barrier bought us time.” A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “It's just a shame we couldn't finish it off. My plan was for you to drop the dome after Kira landed the hit.”
“Lucien's right. Don't beat yourself up over it,” Kira added with an easy shrug, though his hand never left the hilt of his sword and his ears remained alert. “I could've killed it back there if my aim had been better. I messed up too.”
A faint smile finally returned to Sylphie's face.
“...Thank you.”
The three of them continued deeper into the forest.
As he walked, Lucien found himself estimating the distance again.
The Riverfork Region covered roughly a hundred and fifty square kilometers—large enough that crossing it on foot was no small undertaking. Even moving at a steady pace, reaching Mistwood Watch from their current position would take at least an hour and a half, and likely closer to two if the terrain forced them to make detours.
They had left Vel'Sharim at around seven in the morning.
Less than half an hour had passed.
Their route still followed one of the Ironflow River's branching channels, which meant they were also traveling along part of the old Fawnridge Trail.
Lucien's gaze drifted toward several towering trees standing a short distance from the riverbank.
Whispering Pines.
Fine, hair-like fibers covered their bark and branches, swaying even in the absence of wind. The strands hummed with faint, erratic vibrations that caused dust, spores, and loose leaves nearby to dance in tiny static patterns.
They should still be within the safe exposure window.
Even so, Lucien could already feel a slight ringing in his ears accompanied by the beginnings of nausea.
What a nauseating feeling.
Lucien forced himself to ignore the discomfort and kept moving.
The forest floor was uneven in places, its path broken by massive exposed roots, fallen branches, and the occasional moss-covered log. Even so, it wasn't particularly difficult to navigate as long as they stayed focused. The thick layer of damp leaves and centuries-old leaf mold gave the ground a soft, spongy texture that swallowed their footsteps and muffled nearly every sound they made.
Rustle... rustle...
Several Stactians—large, majestic herbivores crowned with sprawling antlers—glided silently through the dim forest. Their broad hooves barely made a sound as they crossed the cushioned ground before disappearing between the trees as gracefully as ghosts.
Lucien's eyes never stopped moving.
...She wasn't exaggerating. This dome really is popular.
The wry thought passed through Lucien's mind, but it did little to ease his tension.
While nothing obvious revealed itself, subtle details refused to leave him alone. Branches near the edge of his vision quivered for no apparent reason before falling still. Every so often, he caught what looked like a fleeting silhouette slipping behind one of the enormous trunks, only for it to vanish the moment he focused on it. The shadowed spaces between the trees seemed unnaturally deep, offering countless places where an ambush predator could remain completely unseen.
If not for the protective dome surrounding them, there was no way he would have dared move at this pace.
Even knowing the barrier should keep Stage 3 Hollows at bay, he couldn't shake the oppressive feeling settling over his chest. Every instinct insisted that he was prey—that countless unseen eyes were tracking their every step, patiently waiting for the moment the protection disappeared.
Beside him, Sylphie's voice came out strained.
“C-Can we get out of this situation once we're past the Temperate Mixed Forest?”
“It should get better,” Kira replied, his ears still swiveling from side to side. “Mistwood Watch is too rocky and too open for predators like these. We can drop the dome as soon as we reach it.” He flashed her a reassuring grin. “Don't worry. Even corrupted, they won't dare attack us there.”
As they continued west for what felt like forever, the perpetual twilight beneath the canopy gradually began to lighten.
The air, however, grew noticeably colder.
A deep blue-gray mist, heavy with moisture and carrying the scent of wet stone, drifted down from the higher ground ahead. It rolled across the forest floor in slow waves, clinging to the earth like thick, freezing wool.
The towering oaks slowly gave way to twisted, stunted firs, while dense walls of iron-black briars swallowed what remained of the old stone trails. Thorny vines sprawled across the ground and climbed over boulders with relentless vigor, choking every obvious path forward. Wherever the cold mist settled against exposed rock, bluish lichen hung in damp, weeping sheets.
The change in the landscape was abrupt.
They had reached the edge of Mistwood Watch.
“They've stopped following us...” Sylphie murmured, only now realizing that the suffocating sensation of being watched had disappeared. Her shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Told you.” Kira laughed, sounding remarkably at ease after everything that had happened.
Lucien gave the surrounding terrain another careful sweep before nodding.
“Let's keep moving, but watch the briars. Kira, take the lead and clear a path if you have to. Sylphie, stay in the middle. I'll cover the rear.”
Kira had just opened his mouth to answer when a distant sound echoed through the mist.
Awooooo—!
He froze.
Lucien and Sylphie both looked up at the same time, their expressions tightening.
“...Wolves?”