They all knew the fight was inevitable now. No one grumbled about it — though their faces showed the same weary acceptance. It wasn't fear that settled over them but the shared thought that this was a nuisance they'd rather have avoided so early in the journey.
Weapons came free from sheaths with smooth practiced motions. Selene's gloved fingers crackled with a quiet surge of flame. Kaela rolled her shoulders and flexed her grip on her twin daggers, their edges catching faint glints from the golden light.
Thorne dragged his sword free with a faint rasp, his face blank except for a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, like a man about to get through an unpleasant chore.
Even Mark, always the steady one, pulled his sword around with a grunt and a muttered, "Let's get this over with."
Jan's sharp gaze flicked over them all, then turned back to Annette and Eccar.
"Annette, stay back here with Eccar," Jan ordered with firm voice. His eyes shifted to Eccar, and there was a weight behind his words now. "And you, I know you're strong. But let us handle this first. We take care of our own trouble. You don't need to step in. At least for now. We want to maintain our pride as adventureres after all."
Eccar's eyes met Jan's stare and he gave a calm, easy smile, as if the swirling fog and prowling monsters didn't bother him at all.
"You got this, guys. Just remember don't look them in the eyes directly. That's where they hit your soul," Eccar said.
The reminder made the whole group give the smallest nods as if they'd just quietly locked that fact into their battle plans.
Annette glanced sideways at Eccar then, and her smile this time was faint but warm. "So now it seems like you'll be protecting me."
Eccar gave a small shrug. "I don't mind."
But Annette's smile faded for a moment. She suddenly felt a strange sensation now that she was standing this close to him. It stirred at the edge of her senses, subtle but distinct.
She felt a flicker of Magic power inside Eccar's presence like it was something she knew she had sensed before in her life in the distant past. Her brows knit slightly as her mind fumbled to catch the memory but it remained slippery.
Not important now, she told herself. The present moment mattered more.
She shook her head lightly, clearing the fog of thought and lifted her pendant once again.
Annette exhaled deeply. Her fingers flexed and she whispered a final word that only she knew.
The golden dome around them trembled, light rippling like a disturbed pool of water. Then, slowly, it collapsed inward like petals folding and vanished in a soft pulse of fading glow.
As the protective barrier dropped the cold mist rushed back in and the monsters beyond the perimeter instantly sensed the change. The lion-serpent beasts let out low, wet growls, and their glowing green eyes blazed brighter in anticipation.
The group tightened their formation, stepping forward with weapons raised, their breath steady.
"Alright. Don't let them circle behind. We finish this clean," Jan's voice cut through the mist.
The next moment, Jan moved like a taut wire snapping loose — no hesitation, only speed and precision.
He leapt up with a sharp exhale and loosed an enchanted arrow before his boots even kissed the ground again.
The shaft hissed through the mist, golden runes flaring as it struck the lion head of the beast square in its left eye. The creature reared back with a guttural snarl, its eye already dark and ruined.
But Jan wasn't done. He snapped his fingers and the arrow detonated with a muffled sound, a flash of light and force blooming outward. The beast's other eye burst in a wet spray, and the monster roared in blind fury now, staggering but still very much alive.
Its twin serpent heads writhed above its shoulders and they turned toward him, their emerald eyes burning with anger and hunger.
That's when Hund charged. He came from behind Jan, his big body become a blur of speed that didn't match his size. His boots hammered the ground.
The snakes snapped toward him, their glowing eyes locking on ready to tear at his soul with their cursed gaze.
But Hund's eyes were shut tight from the start and he don't even need to see to kill, his face set in a grim line of focus. He wasn't going to give them that chance.
With a powerful step, he closed the distance. His sword came up in an arcing swing fueled by sheer momentum. The edge met one of the snake heads with a crunch, cleaving through scale and bone in one blow.
The head dropped while black blood sprayed across the mist.
The remaining serpent head let out a high-pitched screech, snapping toward Hund now with furious speed.
The blinded lion head lunged as well and it swiping its claws through the foggy air.
Jan shifted his weight smoothly, his sharp eyes tracking the chaos in front of him. From behind, he spotted Esther —her hands already crackling with heat.
"Now, Esther. Burn it," Jan said calmly but enough for her to hear.
Esther didn't need more than that. Her hands swept together and with a practiced move she conjured a dense fireball, compact and roaring with tight controlled power. She hurled it forward with a sharp thrust.
The blazing sphere struck the remaining serpent head. Flame erupted, engulfing its face in a curtain of searing heat. The beast let out an awful wet scream as its scales blackened and its eyes boiled.
The beast were completely and utterly blinded now. It thrashed in confusion, its strikes wide and frantic, claws tearing at nothing but air and dirt.
Hund, already prepared, kicked off and leapt back, landing lightly out of range. Black blood dripped from his blade, his face stayed calm as stone.
"Finish it," Jan's voice came again, low and final.
Esther's answer was a short nod. Her hand lifted and this time she conjured not a ball, but a bolt — thin, sharp, and glowing with dense, condensed flame. It looked like an arrow made of molten light, and it quivered in the air as she aimed.
With a sharp word, she released it.
The firebolt shot forward faster than an arrow. It punched through the blinded lion head first, the burning tip bursting out the back of its skull in a spray of flame and gore. The next bolt hit straight through the base of the remaining serpent neck, and then again, through the beast's massive chest.
The monster's body jerked violently once then it collapsed, limbs twitching as the fire consumed from within. Black smoke curled upward, mixing with the cold mist until both faded together.
Silence fell. The first beast was dead. But there were still beasts around them.