Natalia wiped her daggers clean on the carcass of a fallen Critter.
“We’ve already taken down so many, and yet… not a single Beast-type in sight,” she complained, irritation lacing her tone.
Takeshi sheathed his sword and gave a calm, measured glance around the forest.
“Relax. We’ve only killed eleven Critters so far. There are four more to go. No reason to panic.”
Serafina’s hands trembled as she gripped her weapon, her wide eyes scanning the shadows nervously.
“Y-yeah… Beast-types… they’re… scary… I-I don’t want to see one…”
Natalia turned sharply, her gaze sharp and commanding.
“Serafina! You’re on the front lines. You’ve got a tank-class armor and a Scarlet Lion for a spirit creature, for heaven’s sake. You can’t just freeze up because of fear.”
Serafina swallowed hard, her nervousness clashing with her sense of duty. Takeshi, noticing the tension, stepped closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
“Listen, just focus on what you can control. Keep your stance, watch your surroundings. We’ve got this.”
Natalia smirked, regaining her confidence.
“That’s better. Beast-type or not, we finish the mission. No excuses.”
The forest seemed to shift as a distant rustle echoed through the trees, hinting that their first Beast-type encounter was closer than any of them anticipated.
A sudden rustle tore through the bushes behind them.
Before anyone could react, a pack of Rabbit-type Critter Abberants burst out, leaping straight toward Natalia with snapping fangs and glowing red eyes.
“Serafina!!” Natalia shouted, instantly shifting into a defensive stance.
Serafina jolted, instincts kicking in.
“Q–Quick Guard!”
A faint crimson glow erupted around her circlet as she flickered forward, placing herself between Natalia and the incoming pack. Her shield-like armguard slammed into the first rabbit, deflecting it mid-air.
Takeshi had already drawn his sword.
“Entrapment Web!”
Spirit energy shot from his blade, spreading into a glowing net that snapped shut around the entire pack. The rabbits shrieked and thrashed, but the web held firm, tight, binding, unbreakable.
Natalia smirked, flipping her daggers into a reverse grip.
“Perfect.”
She stepped in and dispatched each immobilized rabbit with clean, efficient strikes, one, two, three… until the forest fell silent again.
Takeshi exhaled and lowered his sword.
“That makes sixteen Critter-types,” he said calmly. “We only needed fifteen.”
Natalia rolled her eyes. “Great. Extra credit, I guess.”
Serafina released her Quick Guard, shoulders rising and falling as she caught her breath. “A-at least… we handled it.”
But Takeshi’s expression darkened as he stared deeper into the trees.
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“…Something’s off. These critter-types doesn’t look like they are aiming for a fight, it looks like they were running.”
The forest around them grew unnervingly quiet, too quiet.
Whatever caused these abnormal behaviors… was still out there.
They followed the trail from where the rabbit critter abberants had emerged, pushing through dense brush and hanging roots. The further they went, the heavier the atmosphere became, the air felt colder, and even the distant chirping of forest spirits fell silent.
Then Serafina froze.
“T-Takeshi… Natalia…” she whispered, pointing with a trembling finger.
There, slumped against a broken tree trunk, was a massive tiger-type beast abberant, its striped body torn open, fur matted with darkened blood, and deep chunks of flesh missing as if something had eaten it alive.
Natalia’s dagger hand stiffened.
“W-What the…? That’s a beast type abberant. And it’s huge.”
Takeshi approached slowly, eyes narrowed, pushing up his glasses as he knelt beside the corpse. Serafina stayed behind, hugging herself and shaking with every breath.
Up close, the injuries were even more disturbing, savage, uneven, and wild.
“This… doesn’t make sense,” Takeshi muttered, placing two fingers to the corpse’s neck area. “There’s no core.”
Natalia raised a brow. “Maybe the other group killed it first? Kael’s squad is strong. They probably got here before us.”
Takeshi shook his head immediately.
“No. Look at these.” He pointed to the massive gashes and half-chewed muscle. “These wounds aren’t from weapons. They’re bite marks. Big ones. And there’s no clean cuts, no burns, no weapon residue.”
Serafina whimpered, taking a step back. “S-So something… something stronger than a tiger beast type is in here?” Her voice cracked. “L-Lieutenant Cain said this place only has critters and beasts—nothing higher!”
Takeshi stood up, face grim.
“That was the rule. But this… this means something broke the rule.”
The forest rustled behind them, not the light skittering of critters, but a slow, heavy movement.
Natalia gripped her daggers tighter. “We need to alert General Ryker. Now.”
Serafina nodded quickly, fear written all over her face.
“Y-Yes! L-Let’s go! I don’t want to meet whatever did that!”
Takeshi stepped away from the corpse, eyes still scanning the shadows around them.
“Agreed. Whatever killed this tiger… it’s still in here.”
A low growl echoed from behind them.
Takeshi’s eyes widened, he didn’t even get to turn fully.
Something burst out of the shadows.
A blur of black and bone slammed into Natalia, sending her crashing into a tree. Serafina screamed as a massive claw swiped toward her, only barely blocked by her circlet as she stumbled backward.
Takeshi swung his sword, activating Entrapment Web, but the creature leapt back with unnatural speed. Only a few strands of the restraining threads stuck to its hide, hide that was dark, mangled, and covered in dried blood.
Two glowing red eyes stared at them hungrily.
“W-What is that?!” Serafina cried, voice shaking violently.
Natalia coughed, wiping blood from her lip as she struggled up.
“That’s no beast abberant… It’s something else.”
Before Takeshi could answer, the creature roared, raw, feral, and wrong, and charged again.
Meanwhile…
Kael’s group pushed through a section of the forest, facing down another beast-type abberant, a towering raven-like creature with jagged feathers and slicing wind talons.
Kyle swung his scythe upward, Kael struck its flank, and Anya’s arrows pierced its wings. With coordinated attacks, the beast collapsed, falling down. Kyle then cut up its carcass and retrieve its core.
Kyle tossed the core toward Anya. “This one’s yours. Raven type. You’ll get more out of it than us.”
Anya’s face brightened. “Really? Thanks!”
Kael wiped his brow and opened his system notifications.
[MISSION STATUS]
Tracking mission targets…
- Critter-Type Abberants: 15 / 15
- Beast-Type Abberants: 2 / 3
“Looks like we’ve completed all critters,” Kael said, closing the screen. “And two beasts. We only need one more to finish.”
Anya smiled with excitement.
Kyle flashed a confident grin. “Easy.”
Then…
A scream ripped through the forest.
High-pitched. Terrified.
Anya froze. “That was, was that Serafina?!”
Kyle tensed immediately. “Yeah. That was her.”
Without hesitation, he bolted toward the direction of the scream.
“Kyle! Wait!” Anya shouted, but he didn’t even turn back.
Kael cursed under his breath. “Damn it, Anya, go follow him! The others might be in trouble!”
Anya nodded and sprinted after Kyle.
Kael took a deep breath, tightened his fist, and followed close behind, branches cracking beneath his feet as the forest trembled with the distant sounds of chaos.
Kylon’s voice echoed inside Kael’s mind, sharper than ever.
“Dear holder. I feel a strong surge of energy ahead. Dangerous. Take precaution.”
Kael’s chest tightened, but he nodded as he ran.
“Got it.”
Kyle and Anya slowed as the forest thinned, the trail widening into a small clearing.
What they saw froze them.
Serafina was on the ground, shaking, desperately holding an unconscious Natalia in her arms. Tears streamed down her face as she tried to shield her sister with her trembling body.
A few meters ahead
Takeshi, breathing heavily, blood dripping down his arm, fought alone against a towering, grotesque Rat-like Aberrant, its body swollen and twisted like it fed on too much, too fast. Bone spikes jutted from its spine, its jaw distended, eyes glowing sickly yellow.
Then…
Kael’s system chimed.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
?? HIGH-THREAT ABBERANT DETECTED ??
Scanning…
…
TYPE IDENTIFIED: Mutated Rat-Type Beast Aberrant
STATUS: On the verge of Evolving into Semi-Human Abberant
DANGER LEVEL: Severe
This abberant’s spirit signature is unstable and rapidly rising.
Behavior predicted to become unpredictable, aggressive, and highly lethal.
?? WARNING: Proceed with extreme caution.
?? RECOMMENDATION: Maintain distance until Spirit Energy stabilizes or reinforcement arrives.
?? “Evolution in motion is evolution at its most dangerous.”
[Battle Protocol Options]
? Engage Carefully | ? Retreat
Before Kael could respond
Kyle roared.
“LIKE HELL I’M LETTING THIS THING KILL THEM!”
He leapt high, scythe raised overhead, aura burning red
But the Rat aberrant whipped its mutated tail with terrifying force.
BAM!
Kyle was swatted mid-air and thrown across the clearing, crashing through a bush.
“KYLE!” Anya screamed.
Kael clenched his teeth. The situation was spiraling.
He snapped into command.
“Anya! Send a flare arrow, call Lieutenant Cain and General Ryker NOW!”
Anya didn’t hesitate. She pulled back her bow, aura gathering around a glowing arrow, and shot it into the sky, exploding into a blazing signal.
Kael inhaled sharply.
He selected to engage carefully.
“Kylon… let’s do this.”
A gentle warmth pulsed from the spirit card at Kael’s chest.
“I’m with you,” Kylon whispered.
Kael sprinted forward, sliding beside Takeshi.
“We’ll handle this together!”
Takeshi gripped his sword, panting but determined.
“Good… because this thing is evolving. Fast.”
Kyle staggered back into the fight, wiping blood from his forehead.
“Tch… that all you got, rat bastard? Round two.”
The Rat aberrant screeched, its body shifting, bones cracking, fur splitting, muscles bulging unnaturally, its evolution edging closer.
Kael raised his clawed gauntlet, eyes narrowing.
“Alright… Let’s finish this before it transforms into something worse.”
The three boys stood side by side.
Kael. Kyle. Takeshi.
Facing the rapidly mutating monster as the forest held its breath.