With Clampa secured over my shoulder, I stood my ground, protecting him from the endless onslaught of monster trees alongside Talis, who'd swoop down at immense speeds, carving a large path within the battlefield with her wind mana, though every tree she destroyed would be quickly replaced.
My [Firestorm] was proving to be immensely helpful, but it was also akin to a lighthouse in the darkness, and every monster that could see was swarming my direction, including various types of trees that were able to resist or even nullify the flames, wind, or both. So, the longer the time passed, the worse the situation became; for now, I was still able to hold out, but if things continued, protecting Clampa would be difficult. However, it was good we weren't alone then.
Dodging a swarm of metallic, razor-sharp leaves, I swung upwards and placed Trina behind me as I cut through a large, metallic branch while defending from a fiery one; however, just as I tree covered in a layer of water neared me, I suddenly heard a loud, angry, and mocking roar, one that garnered nearly every monster's attention as they shifted their gazes, only for a wall to steamroll a path just outside my flaming tornado, crashing through monsters without slowing down.
Following behind the wall was a silverish flash that cut down trees, her movements akin to a ghost, as none were able to close the distance, and alongside her was a walking mage casting multiple spells at the same time before launching them into the swarms of monsters, obliterating them with accurate attacks. Coming in from behind was a being of pure motivation, casting blessings and widespread curses, strengthening our allies and weakening our enemies.
"W-Who are they?" As Clampa's nervous question reached my eyes, I faintly smirked as I waved my sword, dispelling the flaming tornado, allowing the newly arrived group to quickly arrive beside me. "They're the Apostles… Took you long enough to arrive! Did you guys have a tea party on the way here?" Smirking at them, I slashed forward, launching a [Void Slash], cutting through a group of tree-monsters while Vanye snorted, clearly unamused.
"Thanks to SOMEONE, we had to carve a path through the trees to get to you." Flicking the katana, Vanye briefly lifted her helmet and eyed me, while several trees that surrounded her suddenly collapsed into several pieces. "Oh, I'm sorry. It was either that, or let myself end up like Clampa here… No offense." "Some taken." Shooting Vanye a glare, she again snorted before promptly ignoring me, causing me to roll my eyes as I glanced at Jasmine, who approached me.
"I'll take care of him, Alex." Nodding at the sliming Jasmine, I handed him to her, causing her to toss Clampa over her shoulder with ease. Jasmine may have been the physically weakest among us, but through the years of being an adventurer, she had long since surpassed the physical strength of an average man. "T-This is embarrassing." Ignoring the loss of masculinity from Clampa, I let Jasmine take care of him while I dashed towards Yuki, who was definitely taking on the biggest group of monsters.
"Haha, c'mon, bring more!" Seeing Yuki pummel a tree-monster into the ground with her two tower-shields, I couldn't help but sigh for some reason as I leaped onto her shoulder. Jumping into the air, I enveloped Trina in shimmering space mana, while Zartha in fire and wind mana, before landing on the ground. I slashed outwards, launching a blade of enhanced fire mana and one of space mana that cut through nearly half of the horde.
"Eh, why did you do that, Alex? I was having fun." "Sorry, but we're not exactly on a mission to have fun; it's to get Clampa out of here, and we need you to lead the way out… You can enjoy yourself next time." Eyeing Yuki, I couldn't see her expression because of the helmet, but given the slumping of her shoulders, I was pretty confident she was sulking.
Thankfully, she wasn't an actual child and quickly shifted to completing our task. "Oi, follow me! I'm carving a path for us out of here!" Just as we all gathered around Yuki, who was about to steamroll through the forest, something I'd never seen in my fourteen years as an adventurer just happened.
Before our very eyes, the monsters, which should want nothing but to kill and devour us, didn't swarm us; no, they suddenly stopped before turning around and leaving, causing us to freeze. "Y-Yuki, what the hell is happening?" Looking at the most experienced one among us, I was hoping for some sort of response, but when I saw her lift her helmet with an equally confused expression, I clicked my tongue.
'Zartha-' 'I'm sorry, Master, I, too, have no idea what is occurring.' Yuki's confusion was one thing, but the fact that these two, several thousand-year-old spirits, were also confused was more than just unsettling; it was frightening.
"C'mon, let's just get the fuck out of here, I don't like this one bit." Everyone mirrored my own confusion and fear as we decided to leave; we could report this to the Adventurer Guild when we returned. However, just as I turned my back in the direction the monsters had fled to, I suddenly froze as my heart began to beat so rapidly it started to hurt, as if it were on the verge of exploding.
Following that was a sense of dread, a kind of overwhelming dread that caused my whole body to run cold. 'T-The hell is this?' I was finally snapped out of my daze as I felt a hand touch my shoulder, causing me to snap my gaze upwards at Lazuli, who was looking at me in concern. "Alex, your heart is beating-" "I'M TELEPORTING US!"
My words caused everyone to stop and look at me, but it was my voice that really caught their attention, which was full of desperation, urgency, and fear. They didn't try to ask questions; they were clearly able to tell that something was wrong. It only took a few seconds to form a circle as I used [Mass Teleportation], trying to get us as far as possible.
Just as I had pinpointed the farthest location possible, a thunderous, powerful, and familiar roar echoed from the depths of the forest, breaking my concentration. Briefly glancing at Yuki, I could see her eyes widen in fear as she remembered that familiar roar, though quickly she maneuvered in front of us, planting her two tower-shields into the ground.
Using [Blink], I appeared directly in front of Yuki while crossing my swords, just in time for the powerful aftershocks to reach us. Despite being much stronger than last time, we were far closer, so the results were the same, if not worse.
Taking the brunt of the attack, my whole body violently shook, followed by my organs nearly exploding as they ruptured, next was my skeleton, which received numerous cracks, especially my arms, which were broken. Once the wave passed me, I coughed blood and collapsed to one knee while I heard Yuki's groaning from behind. "A-Alex, you okay?"
Brushing aside Yuki's hand from my shoulder, I stood up and quickly tried to grab everyone's hands, though they were still recovering from the shock of the attack. "My ears hurt." "A destructive long-range attack through a roar. Sounds familiar."
Ignoring their concerns, I once again tried to teleport us out of here, yet again, that monster roared, forcing my body, which hadn't fully recovered, to once again bear the brunt of the attack. 'F-Fuck. I-It knows.' I don't know how a mindless monster knew we were trying to escape, but somehow it knew, and it wasn't allowing us to.
"T-Talis, take Jasmine and Clampa! Everyone else, run!" Forcing myself onto my feet with the help of Zartha, I turned around and began to do as I'd just ordered everyone to do… To run. "Tsk, that monster… C'mon, Jasmine." Muttering, Talis swooped down, picking up Jasmine and Clampa before speedily taking them out of the forest while the rest of us ran through it.
"Vanye, I told you to run!" Glaring at Vanye, who was running alongside us, she glanced at me before lowering her head and dashing off into the distance. Shifting my gaze to Lazuli, she glanced at Yuki and I before suddenly teleporting away, leaving just Yuki and I.
"A-Alex, you should also go–" "Shut the fuck up." If I truly wanted to, I could've kept up with Vanye, but there wasn't any way in hell I'd have left Yuki. Not only was she my wife, but I was the leader.
"Urgh, Dammit! Why is that thing here!? Shouldn't it still be near Hyphen!?" "No clue, just keep running." Once my body had finally fully healed, I picked up Yuki onto my shoulders and used every skill that increased my speed to get us out of here; though, despite how fast we were going, it still didn't feel fast enough.