The gazes of the squad constricted. They had only just reached the location marked on the map and were about to turn back when the ground started to trembl.
Laila's eyes instinctively found Malakai's, only to see that his hands had already reached for his weapon.
'He knows what's coming.' She said it with more certainty than one would expect.
From Malakai's darkened expression, the bloodlust leaking from him, the seriousness of his gaze… he knew what was coming. But there was no time to ask.
As Laila's sharp command rang out, the squad exploded into motion. Renlo gripped his spear, sinking into a stance. Grunde's skin blackened as he began to grow.
Laila didn't waste any time. Her gaze flashed purple, dark purple veins tracing across her body. She narrowed her eyes just in time to see the cause of the sudden quake.
'Darkness creature.' Laila's narrowed eyes shot wide open. An ink of blackness was surging towards them.
But before she could begin to wonder just what the hell was happening, Malakai's sharp voice cut through her thoughts.
"They're trying to lead us deeper into the forest."
Laila's focus snapped back into place. She turned and met eyes with Malakai, before turning towards the approaching horde.
The horde of darkness creatures were coming from the direction of the stronghold.
'This is their way of sending us deeper into the forest.' Laila realized. So far, everything Malakai had predicted had been right. At this point, it was clear as day, this was a trap.
The odd Blood Guardians at the wall. The fact that the horde was coming from the stronghold, not away.
Laila shook her head one more time. 'Focus on this situation.' She reminded herself, her aura exploding from her figure.
"Up the trees!" she ordered. The group blasted forward with speed, each of them scaling a tree.
"Maintain tight formation. We'll use the tree branches to move back to the stronghold!" Laila ordered.
'Good.' As they began jumping from branch to branch, heading back towards the stronghold, Malakai allowed his thoughts to run.
Laila had made the right decision. If they allowed the horde to push them further into the forest, it would be their loss. Their goal now should be to return to the stronghold as soon as possible.
'The horde shouldn't be focused on us.' Malakai concluded. For whoever was planning this to get a horde this size to move together, they were being lured by a high vita source.
This meant that as long as they moved within the trees, they could only expect a few stray darkness creature attacks. If he didn't use the power of the life essence, they should get out of this unscathed.
Still, Malakai remained alert, ready to react to any surprises that may spring up. Sending brief glances towards Grunde and Renlo, he could feel the tension in the air, especially from the latter. Malakai released a breath and faced his front.
The horde soon reached them, a blackened army with sword like claws and gleaming teeth ready to rip and tear. But their ominous white irises weren't fixed on them.
Malakai didn't miss the sigh of relief that came from Renlo as the horde surged past them, the ground trembling and trees swaying beneath their march.
'Good.' Though he couldn't help but imagine all the vita he would have gained from the horde if they had fought, he knew fighting them was a bad idea.
Laila urged the squad to keep moving, not stopping for even a single moment. As he had expected, not all the creatures ignored them. There were still some strays that attacked.
They were put down by Laila and Grunde the instant they came. As the two synergy ranked evolved in the squad, they were the fastest and strongest amongst them.
Malakai fought down the intent to jump down and fight the horde and kept on moving. It was hard, missing up on so much vita.
Just up ahead, he could see an end to the horde.
They could stop moving through the trees. Now, they would be able to move at a faster pace and reach the stronghold even quicker.
Malakai released a sigh of relief. He could feel the same relief coming from the other squad members.
Malakai allowed himself to relax, only for a shudder to roar through his veins. His expression shifted.
The sound reached him before he could comprehend the events.
For a moment, Malakai felt as though a nuclear explosion had occurred right in front of him.
It was like a billion needles were piercing into his ears, burrowing deeper with every second, and just as it was about to reach the end, where Malakai anticipated his eardrums exploding followed by his brain imploding… the sound stopped.
Not just the sudden sound. The sounds of the darkness creatures rampaging through the earth had vanished. The sounds of nature… rustling of leaves, the gentle breeze sweeping through the forest… everything had vanished.
In that moment, Malakai experienced a silence he had never felt in his life. He had no idea how, but his world seemed to have… stilled.
Then, his eyes regained their clarity and he scanned his surroundings, only to see the cause of everything. The sound. The sudden silence.
'Nyx.' The thought thundered in his head. Malakai had no idea how he was seeing all of this. But he was, even if it was just a glimpse. His mind was just fast enough to comprehend it.
Nyx was in front of him, gaze flushed red, crimson veins igniting across her body. Her eyes radiated a bloodlust so intense it felt as though he had been submerged into an ocean of death.
And in front of Nyx, clashing against her fist, was an unknown figure. Malakai didn't recognize him. He was draped from head to toe in a pure black cloak, his face obscured by a black mask.
The man's bloodlust was just as intense, drenching the entire space. But Malakai wasn't focused on his appearance. He realized what had just happened.
'She blocked his strike.'