Chapter 116: 118:Hidden Danger
The fog had crept in so slowly that no one had noticed at first. It curled around their feet like pale tendrils, damp and chilling, rising to obscure the dense forest ahead.
The air felt heavier, the faint rustle of leaves replaced by an unnatural silence. Even their footsteps seem muffled. The faint outlines of trees looked distorted, their silhouettes merging with the swirling mist, making it hard to distinguish where one began and the other ended.
TANG!
"Oops!"
"Sorry!"
"Hey, watch where you are walking."
The team fought off a bit before pausing.
"Why is there so much fog?" Gerald asked, using his large shield to wave some of it away.
The reddish fog shook a bit exposing faint outlines.
"It's strange... feels suspicious.I don't think it's natural at all," Anit agreed, his spear at the ready as his eyes darted around the shrouded surroundings.
The two boys at the front moved cautiously, their tension rising with every step.
"Mona, what do you think?" asked one of the cadets, looking nervously at the blue-haired girl.
Instead of answering immediately, Mona glanced at Ava, the red-haired fighter, who was casually sauntering behind them with an almost carefree expression. "Ava, what do you think?" she asked, hoping for some insight.
Ava tilted her head slightly, her face blank, before replying, "It does seem odd."
Mona sighed, her bitter smile betraying her thoughts. Of course. Expecting her to think beyond fighting is asking too much.
"It's hard to see ahead," another cadet complained. "Does anyone have a way to light things up?"
"Doesn't anyone carry lamps?" Mona asked, glancing at the group. Their blank expressions gave her the answer. She sighed again before grabbing a dry branch from the forest floor. "Ava, light this," she ordered, holding it out.
Ava nodded and clenched her fist, her knuckles glowing faintly.
"Not too much!" Mona yelped, throwing up a hand in warning. "Just a little!"
Ava paused, then made a flicking motion with her fingers. A small ember shot from her hand, landing on the branch.
SWISH!
The flame grew into a faint, flickering light. Mona waved it around, illuminating the fog-drenched area. "We should all carry one of these. Otherwise, someone might wander off and get lost."
"Good idea," one of the cadets agreed, bending to find a branch. But just as he stepped forward, a low, guttural growl echoed from the fog.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered, his face paling.
Before anyone could answer, something massive slammed into Gerald's shield.
QUANG!
The impact made Gerald stumble, but he held his ground, gritting his teeth.
"What's happening?" Mona called out, waving the torchlight toward the source of the noise.
Her eyes widened as she saw the beast—a massive tiger-like creature with half of its body missing. Ragged flesh and bone jutted out from its side, and yet it moved as if nothing was wrong.
"What... what is that?" Mona stammered, taking an instinctive step back.
Anit, who had narrowly avoided the attack, charged forward and drove his spear into the beast's side. The weapon pierced through its fur and sank into its flesh, but there was no resistance, no solid impact.
"It doesn't feel right!" Anit shouted, his panic rising. The beast didn't roar in pain; it didn't react at all. Instead, it turned its glowing, hollow eyes toward him.
Anit tried to yank his spear free, but it was stuck fast. "Something's not right!" he cried, abandoning the weapon and leaping back just as the tiger lunged at him.
Before the beast could land its attack, a blur of red shot past Anit.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled through the fog as the tiger's massive body smashed into the ground. Standing on top of it, her fist raised, was Ava.
Without hesitation, she brought her fist down on the creature's face.
BANG!
The ground trembled beneath the impact, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the fog. The tiger's skull fractured visibly, but it still moved, its grotesque form writhing beneath her.
Ava tilted her head, her blank expression unchanging as she raised her fist again.
And again.
And again.
Each strike sent a small burst of air rippling outward, the sound of shattering bone mingling with the muffled blasts. The cadets could only watch in stunned silence as Ava method
The aftermath of Ava's onslaught was gruesome. What remained of the tiger was unrecognizable—crushed bones and shriveled flesh flattened into the dirt like a grotesque painting.
Mona, Gerald, and Anit stood frozen, their breaths shallow as a cold shiver ran down their spines. Mona hesitated before stepping closer to Ava, only to halt when she caught sight of her expression.
Ava's usually blank face had twisted into something unrecognizable. Her lips curled into a wide, unsettling grin, and her shoulders trembled with soft, manic laughter.
"Heheheheheh!"
"Ava... what's going on?" Mona asked, swallowing hard. Her voice wavered, betraying her unease.
"OHH!Sorry!"
Ava wiped off that weird laughter that had already terrified everyone out there.
Ava tilted her head, her eyes glinting with a strange light. "Undead," she muttered, her body tensing as her fists flared with flames.
Before anyone could react, Ava whipped her head around, her sharp gaze locking onto the forest. Dozens of greenish eyes blinked into existence from the surrounding mist, glowing ominously.
Without warning, Ava lunged at the horde with a crazed laugh.
BOOM!
Her flaming fists collided with the first creature—a wolf-like beast—smashing its skull into fragments. She grabbed its limp body midair and swung it like a weapon, slamming it into another undead. Bones cracked and scattered like dry branches.
"This is it!" Ava yelled, her voice dripping with twisted excitement. She dropped the shattered remains of the wolf and ran at the next monster, flames licking up her arms. Her bare hands plunged into the chest of a hulking bear-like undead, tearing through decayed muscle. With a vicious yank, she ripped out its ribcage and used it to batter another beast into submission.
"This is what I've been waiting for!" she cried, her laughter echoing eerily through the fog.
What do you think?
Total Responses: 0