"Will they attack us?" Rasie asked. Her eyes widened, her neck craning to look at the sight above.
"At least for now... they are not dangerous," Zaefal said softly. His eyes never left the giant whale. "But... once again, don’t let your guard down."
His hand slowly lowered, gripping the hilt of the sword at his belt.
The transparent whale circled slowly in the air. Its fins paddled the void, leaving a trail of fading blue light. It swam away, piercing through the aurora mist in the distance.
Seeing the creature leave, Zaefal let out a long breath. His shoulders slumped slightly.
He turned back to his party.
"Let’s go," he said briefly.
Fyar, Rasie, Illya, and Cyhas nodded in unison.
They formed a line again. Zaefal in front, followed by Rasie, Cyhas, Illya, and Fyar in the back.
They walked carefully between the sharp crystals.
However, they had only taken three steps.
A gentle vibration was felt under the soles of their feet.
Wuuung... wuuung...
The white sand ground beneath them vibrated. The crystal stalks around them vibrated along, producing a fine, irregular chiming sound.
Zaefal’s steps stopped abruptly.
He looked down at the ground. Small white pebbles near his shoes jumped slightly.
"Do you feel that?" Zaefal asked. His voice was low.
Slowly, he drew his broken sword. His neck muscles tensed. His eyes swept the crystal field horizon sharply.
"Yes..." Rasie said. She drew her dagger from her belt. Her stance lowered.
Earthquake? What is this? Fyar thought.
He looked around. The field was empty as far as the eye could see. There were only crystals and sand.
Slowly, Fyar drew his pistol from the holster under his coat.
"Take cover behind me, Cyhas," Illya said. She raised her hand, ready to cast magic.
The vibration grew stronger.
Thump... Thump... Thump...
The ground shook harder. The crystals around them began to crack. A low rumbling sound was heard approaching from the front.
"That!" Illya shouted while pointing forward.
In the distance, four large round objects rolled at high speed over the white sand. They sped like giant bowling balls covered in crystal spikes, destroying anything they hit.
They were heading straight for Fyar’s party.
"T-They are heading here?" Rasie narrowed her eyes.
"Could be... could be, look at their movement direction!" Fyar said frantically.
"What should we do?! Prepare to attack them?! Maybe they are harmless like the creature above?" Illya said, her eyes glaring at the creatures. Cold sweat began to trickle down her neck.
Bastard, are those dungeon monsters?!! Fyar narrowed his eyes. Damn, they are so fast!
"Should we wait first?!" Rasie said.
"Idiot!! Don’t be stupid!" Fyar snapped.
"But they might feel offended if we run!" Rasie shouted.
On the other side, Zaefal watched the creatures carefully.
Observing their movements and possible directions.
After a few seconds of thinking, Zaefal concluded.
They are heading here!
"Run, everyone! Over there!!" Zaefal shouted while pointing towards a gap between giant crystal formations on the right.
There, white crystals grew much larger, towering high like building pillars. In between them, strange pale blue giant mushroom plants grew wild.
Without thinking twice, they ran.
Fyar and his party sprinted as fast as they could over the sand. Their breathing was ragged.
Behind them, the rumbling sound grew closer. The monsters rolled faster than a human could run. The sound of their bodies scraping against the ground sounded like a chainsaw.
Fyar and his party reached the giant crystal area. They jumped behind a large mushroom stem for cover.
Their breathing was gasping.
The rumbling sound stopped abruptly.
Silence.
Fyar peeked from behind the mushroom.
The four spiky balls stopped rolling about twenty meters from them.
Slowly, the balls opened.
Short legs with long tails emerged. A head with a sharp, clear beak appeared.
Large crystal wings spread out.
They were monsters resembling penguins, but their bodies were covered in hard, sharp blue crystal scales.
Their eyes glowed neon blue, staring straight ahead, as if looking for lost prey.
"Do they see us?" Rasie whispered.
"Who else, you idiot," Fyar replied softly.
"Is their purpose coming here because they sensed our presence?" Zaefal said, narrowing his brows.
One of the monsters turned its head with jerky movements.
Suddenly, two of the monsters bent their knees.
"Oi, bastard, what is it doing!!" Rasie panicked.
"They are coming here! They are coming here!!"
Whoosh!
They jumped high into the air, passing over the heads of Fyar and his friends.
They landed with a loud thud behind Fyar’s party, blocking the retreat path.
The other two monsters in front began to growl, showing off their glass beaks.
Fyar exhaled a long breath. His breath formed thin steam in the cold air. He raised his pistol, aiming straight ahead.
"Illya," Fyar said calmly.
"Yes, Fyar?" Illya replied, her voice slightly trembling but ready.
"Can you teleport Cyhas to the top of that hill?" Fyar motioned with his chin towards a high mound in the distance that was safe from the monsters’ reach.
Illya glanced briefly. The distance was quite far.
She placed her hand on her chest, feeling the mana reserve inside her body. Still enough.
Illya nodded firmly. "Yes."
"Please."
Illya turned quickly to Cyhas. "Cyhas."
Cyhas understood. Without asking, she plucked a strand of her own white hair and gave it to Illya as a focus catalyst. Illya gripped the hair tightly, her eyes glaring at the destination hill.
"Go!"
Green light enveloped Cyhas’s body.
Whoosh.
In an instant, Cyhas vanished from their position and reappeared on the distant hill. Safe.
At the same time, the four crystal penguin monsters moved.
They lunged forward from two sides, sliding on their bellies at high speed. The sound of crystal scales scraping against the ground was piercing.
Two monsters targeted the left side.
"Void!"
Zaefal stomped his foot. Pitch black aura enveloped the blade of his broken sword. The light around the sword seemed to be sucked in.
One monster jumped, aiming its sharp beak at Zaefal’s neck.
Zaefal twisted his body. He swung the black sword to cut the attack path.
Boom.
Impact occurred. The void aura withstood the hardness of the crystal beak. Zaefal was pushed back one step, his shoes grinding the sand.
"Fire!"
Next to him, Rasie dashed forward. Her sword burned with bright red fire. She jumped, dodging the slash of the second monster’s crystal wing, then thrust her sword into the gap in the scales on the monster’s neck.
Hot steam hissed as fire met crystal ice.
On the opposite side, Fyar faced two monsters at once.
They slid zig-zag, trying to confuse Fyar’s aim.
Fyar was calm. His eyes followed the movement of the foremost monster.
Bang! Bang!
Two bullets shot out. The projectiles were enveloped in gray Neutralize energy.
The bullets hit the first monster’s shoulder.
Instantly, the monster’s movement locked. Its body stiffened in mid-air while jumping. The stun effect worked.
Fyar took advantage of the opening. His left hand drew the katana. He stepped forward one step, slashing horizontally.
Slash!
The katana blade sliced the monster’s crystal chest, creating a large crack. The monster was flung to the side.
However, the second monster was already in front of him. Its beak opened, ready to tear Fyar’s face.
Whoosh!!
Sharp wind was felt on Fyar’s face.
Bang! Bang!
Fyar shot blindly at the monster’s chest from close range. The bullet impact forced the monster back, failing to bite.
The monster landed, then opened its mouth wide.
Blue light gathered in its throat.
"Fyar!!"
Illya shouted. Her body vanished and appeared right in front of Fyar.
She raised both her hands.
A transparent earth wall solidified with protective magic appeared out of nowhere.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A barrage of crystal bullets was fired from the monster’s mouth like a machine gun. Sharp shards hit Illya’s shield repeatedly.
Cracks began to appear on the surface of the magic shield. Illya’s face paled holding back the impact.
"Fyar, get on! Carry me quickly!" Illya shouted.
Without arguing, Fyar sheathed his katana and turned around. Illya jumped onto Fyar’s back, wrapping her legs around the young man’s waist.
"Hold on!"
Illya closed her eyes.
Whoosh.
The world spun.
In the blink of an eye, they switched positions. They were now right behind the two monsters that were busy shooting at the empty shield.
Fyar immediately aimed at the monsters’ backs. Illya still clung to his back, her breath ragged in Fyar’s ear.
Bang! Bang!
Direct hits on the blind spot.
The two monsters jerked stiffly. Their bodies froze again due to the Neutralize effect.
Meanwhile, on the other side,
Zaefal and Rasie were cornered.
The monster they faced was more aggressive. The creature spun its body like a top, turning its crystal wings into deadly rotating blades.
"Watch out!" Zaefal pushed Rasie aside.
Slash!
The tip of the crystal wing scratched Zaefal’s sleeve, tearing the fabric and a bit of skin.
The other monster opened its mouth. A burst of sharp crystals was fired at them.
"Tch!" Rasie rolled on the sand, dodging the rain of crystal needles with difficulty. Her cheek was scratched by a bouncing shard.
Zaefal jumped back, deflecting the shards with his sword. Cling, cling, cling. The sound was ear-splitting.
"They don’t give any opening!" Rasie shouted.
The monster’s attacks became more intense. They didn’t stop moving, continuing to press Zaefal and Rasie back.
Zaefal saw a giant crystal stalk growing at an angle not far from them.
"Run there! Take cover!" Zaefal ordered.
They both ran as fast as they could towards the giant crystal. Behind them, the ground exploded as it was hit by the monster’s crystal shots.
Zaefal and Rasie slid behind the giant crystal cover just in time.
Crash! Crash!
Monster shots hit the outside of their shelter, creating violent vibrations that knocked down dust.