“It's time for the hunt.”

  Anya stared at Azuma, her face etched with disbelief. “Are you insane?”

  “Don't get angry, Aunty,” Azuma said, his voice calm. “I’ll explain the plan. First, tell me—how is the illusion activated?”

  Anya's impatience flared. “The illusion activates when you look into the eyes of the cobra.”

  Azuma frowned. Her answer didn’t match the incident report he had read. He thought back to the report: the entire team had fallen under the illusion at the same time, even though they hadn't felt the cobra nearby. Rufe, with his heightened senses, was the only one to escape.

  That means the cobra made them fall into the trap even before it showed itself, he realised. “Aunty, please calm down and think carefully,” he urged. “Did you get trapped in the illusion when you saw the snake, or before that?”

  Anya closed her eyes, forcing herself back to that night. The terror she had felt was a visceral memory, but now, with Azuma's calm question, she approached the memory objectively. And then it hit her. “No,” she said, her eyes snapping open. “We were in the illusion trap even before seeing the snake.” Her heart skipped a beat as the implications set in. A variant, she thought, a fresh wave of fear washing over her.

  “All except Rufe were in the illusion,” she continued. “He broke the illusion and got us away in a moment’s notice, and your mom fought the cobra under his guidance. They both saved us from impending death.”

  “So you actually didn't see the snake?” Azuma pressed.

  Anya thought again, digging into the foggy details of that night. All she had ever known was that it was a snake, but had she truly seen it? No. She shook her head. “No.”

  “Who saw the snake?”

  “It was Rufe. Rather, he felt the snake.”

  Azuma nodded. “The incident report said the snake was nowhere near you when the illusion trap was sprung. Rufe's blindness was the reason he was the only one who escaped. That means the illusion works by the sense of sight. It confirms you saw something, something peculiar that trapped you. Think, Aunty. Did you see anything different from what should normally be in the swamp?”

  She shook her head, unable to recall any specific detail that stood out. “Not that I remember.”

  Azuma was silent, his hand on his chin as he pondered. “So far, we know our enemy is a snake. It can create illusions, and it doesn’t need to be there to create one. The snake is a she who is having a baby, so there might be a he as well. There is no other threat apart from the snake.”

  “What makes you say that?” Shizu interjected.

  “If there were a herd living in the swamp, there would be no Lumeri left,” Azuma explained. “The only monsters who have no attraction to the nectar are evolved ones who eat only Stone Hearts or Spirit Stones. The fact that no attack was made on my family even after they were caught in the illusion tells me there are no minions to do the snake’s bidding. Since it’s an evolved monster that moves alone or in a pair, we can be sure of that assumption. The illusion is the trigger. Aunty, this time, make sure you look for it specifically.”

  He clapped his hands together. “Now, we make a plan. Anya, Goar, your task is to continue plucking Lumeri as you move forward. You must make it look as if that is your only intention. Since this is an evolved monster, it will be able to reason. It knows the value of Lumeri to humans. It will be watching you, and if it sees you focused only on getting the flowers, it will assume you have no other motive. The cobra will lower its guard, thinking you’re just harmless collectors, not a threat to its eggs.”

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  Azuma looked at the demons, waiting. “I need the strengths and weaknesses of our team. I will start first.”

  “My name is Azuma. I am strong-willed but have a fragile body compared to your standards. But I am a formation master like my father, and with Vikram's help, I am a good hunter and good with archery. My aunt is a great scout, with a great sense of direction and great at finding a safe path, no matter how perilous the situation is. I will bet my life on her.”

  Shizu was amazed by the child’s brilliance. She corrected her posture and said, “He is strong, and I am fast.”

  “Eyes closed?” Azuma asked.

  “What?” Shizu replied.

  “Judging from your long ears, can I assume you can reach a destination by hearing alone?”

  “Ah… yes… I can.”

  “What about him?”

  “His hearing ability is not as good as mine,” Shizu said, motioning to Goar.

  “Then what about smelling?”

  “His sense of smell is good, but I don’t think he can travel a long distance using it.”

  Seeing Azuma ponder, Shizu grew uneasy, afraid that Goar might be left out. “But he’s got one hell of an instinct,” she added. “And his single punch can kill an A-class monster.”

  Azuma didn't question her, and for now, decided to trust the duo.

  “I need time to think of the full plan, but before that, I need you to check if you hear or smell anything weird. Go inside the swamp with your eyes closed and set a marker,” he said.

  He took a long stick, tied a red cloth to it, and handed it to Shizu. “Plant this and go as deep as you can, but only by hearing. Map your way in, and as soon as you see or feel something, you run out of there. The best time to attack is at 3:00 AM; we will assemble here by 2:30 AM.”

  He turned toward the Anya. “I need to make the formation. Aunty, use your Pathfinder ability to point the direction at which the cobra resides.”

  Around 3:00 AM, as the moons climbed high, Anya and Goar moved silently through the swamp, following the faint trail Shizu had forged by pushing the dense Lumeri grass aside. The journey, while still unnerving, was easier as the clear path, a single line in the swamp, made their movements swift. Each step was a gamble; the soft, sucking sound of their feet pulling from the mud was the only noise besides the rhythmic croaking of unseen frogs. Anya, with her pathfinder ability, moved with a purpose, but her hands never left the hilt of her short sword. Goar followed close behind, his steps steady, relying on instinct rather than sight. Their task was simple: to get as many Lumeri as possible before the cobra noticed them.

  Suddenly, a cold dread shot down her spine. The air shifted. It was a subtle change, a feeling rather than a sound, but it was unmistakable. “The cobra has noticed us,” she whispered, her voice barely a breath. “It is watching us.”

  Goar gave a small, grim nod.

  Anya’s heart hammered against her ribs, but she forced herself to keep moving, her pathfinder ability guiding her forward, forgetting to pick the Lumeri. She felt the weight of the cobra's unseen gaze on her back, a silent, predatory assessment.

  She felt something on the sole of her boot—hard, smooth, and oddly out of place. She stopped, her eyes scanning the ground. Near a clump of Lumeri grass, something white and luminous reflected the moonlight. She knelt, curiosity overriding her fear. A scale. A single, pearlescent scale from the cobra. A whisper of thought ran through her mind. Is this it? Is this the illusion trigger?

  The thought brought a new, bone-deep terror. A silent dread, like a tightening vine, squeezed her chest as the world in front of her began to darken. The moonlight vanished, the luminous scale went dim, and the details of the swamp around her melted into a formless gray. The terror she had felt before was a shadow of this. She dropped the scale.

  “Now I know how the illusion trap is sprung,” she thought, her mind racing. “We are being attacked!” she said in a panicked whisper, but she couldn’t hear her own voice. Her vision was gone, replaced by a suffocating darkness. She couldn’t see Goar, but she could feel his presence close behind her. He hadn't moved. She stood her ground, her body coiled with tension. A rustling of leaves broke the silence, coming from the direction of the Lumeri.

  “We are already in its illusion trap, and the cobra is coming for us,” she said in a low, strained voice. She unsheathed her short sword and readied herself, despite the ice in her veins. She was a veteran. She had been in this situation before. But she was worried about Goar. She was worried he would falter and abandon the plan.

  In the suffocating darkness, she turned toward the sound of the approaching rustle. She gripped her short sword, her knuckles white. The sound came closer, faster. She pivoted, her senses on high alert, and as she turned, two golden eyes like burning suns appeared before her, suspended in the black void. Their burning gaze was mesmerizing, and when she looked into them, her body froze. She needed to move, to act, but her limbs were stiff as stone.

  Dammit, move! she screamed at herself internally, but her body wouldn’t obey. Oh no, she thought, the dreadful realization sinking in. She had been so afraid Goar would sabotage the plan… but it was she who faltered.