Sis immediately tenses up and scowls, showing her white fangs. Her tail becomes completely still as her fur stands on end, then I see her pull out her claws and spread her fingers apart, ready to scratch away at these scum. Her glare is actually so intense and her pose so threatening that the three of them stop, struck by fear.

I mean, even I'm a bit scared of her.

Then she lets out a low growl that gives me (and likely the other three) a chill. I forget that we tigers can make such a threatening sound.

"Easy. We only need guidance," the older man gently requests as he extends a palm forward. He's a rather thin and mature man with common brown hair and sunken, tired-looking eyes, but his gaze is strikingly sharp, making him look smart.

Bearded and braided bright blonde tries to look tough and unfazed as he crosses his arm and assumes a stern pose, but I saw him freeze in fear, so he earns zero respect. At least he doesn't put a hand over his sword or pistol, so this means that they really aren't trying to look aggressive.

"Then speak," Sis snarls before I can find less hostile words as I spend too long in my analysis.

The older man lowers his hand, then calmly begins his request, "We need you to take us where you found that tainted monster. We're in search of the source of the taint, but it's been proving very elusive to us."

Then the grumpy blonde opens his mouth and starts to spew obnoxious shit, "You'll be rewarded fairly, but we also don't advise refusing this request because you're the only ones with information about demonic taint, so we will hound you until you give in."

The older man seems annoyed at his companion, but he doesn't chastise him, instead, he tries to mollify us, "This is important for the town. You're hunters, so you surely noticed a change in the monsters haven't you? It'll get worse, very worse, and Hatarvros might even get attacked one day."

Yeah, I'm not dumb, I get that the appearance of the demonic taint is bad, like, really fucking bad.

So I grab Sis' hand to calm her down, and she immediately retracts her claws, then I lay down the truth onto them before Sis can say something that makes them mad, "You want us to go deep into the dangerous part of the forest while accompanied by a pair of suspicious-looking dudes and basically the scummiest member of the militia?"

"Ay! Fuck you! I ain't no crook!" the shitstain spits back.

I mean, I didn't say I wasn't trying to offend them, I just think that I'm able to anger them less while negotiating.

"You're just a wretch's cunt!" Sis snarls and shows her fangs.

The pair of Explorers give their militia companion a rather angry look, which immediately shuts him up, and that makes me feel a bit of respect for them.

"We're Crusaders, so our identity is assured," Blondie haughtily states, as if that was enough.

Fucking knew it.

"Where's the glowing armor, then?" Sis skeptically questions as she scans them up and down.

And Blondie raises a bushy eyebrow at her. "That's for ceremonial purposes. Unless you mean enchanted armor, but nobody here is worthy of even witnessing its glory."

"You've read too many romances, young girl," the older man adds with an old grandpa tone.

Sis freezes for a second, then her tail suddenly drops, and she hunches over in embarrassment. "Fucking books tricked me," she angrily mutters under her breath.

But I don't blame her. They look like rugged Tear Explorers with a thing for leather, not fucking Crusaders.

Then the tired older man puts a hand over his chest as he introduces himself and Blondie, "I'm Arpad, and this is my partner, Gedeon. I'm a Bestower focused on Aid, and he's a Destroyer focused on Smiting. We can prove we have these powers with a brief demonstration."

Oh, oh, oh…! Magic!

I tense up and glance at Sis, but she gives me a stink eye because she knows my weakness.

"Fine, it shouldn't hurt," she gives in with a frown and crosses her arms impatiently.

"Not for you," Blondie remarks with a grin, making us confused, then he suddenly grabs Fodor's hand and pulls him forward. "Wound!"

Fodor's hand is covered in a light, and my magicsight triggers, then he screams like a little girl as the skin on top of his hand disappears, revealing red flesh that immediately starts to bleed.

I'm both horrified and fascinated. His hand exudes a very thick golden smoke, almost covering his hand from view, and I try to stare as hard as I can at it, but my magicsight gives me no new information.

"Wow, your skin is so weak," Gedeon remarks with a frown, seemingly surprised at the result.

Arpad grabs Fodor's wrist, who begins to cry as he gives the old man a frightened look, but this Crusader isn't so sadistic.

"Soothe!" he shouts, and Fodor's hand is covered in light again, but he immediately stops crying and stares in surprise at the light.

I also stare at it and see wisps of blue smoke come out, but again, I can't make out any detail of the magical energy being used, for some reason. I think I just don't have an affinity for it?

"Sorry, Arpad. I used more power than I wanted, I think," Gedeon apologizes, and it feels really weird to see the scummy man look like he's sorry.

"Hmph…" the older man grunts annoyedly, making his partner wince. Then he releases Fodor's hand, which now looks completely healed again, though it still has a rather sickly-looking paleness to it.

I glance at Sis and see that she's both impressed and pleased.

"We have to accept," I whisper quietly to her.

And she frowns at me. "Do we?"

So I insist, "Get this over with as fast as possible so we can focus on the flowers."

But then she sends me a fierce glare and gives my chest a painful poke with a clawed finger. "So we can focus on you. You said you wanted to read the Scriptures again, and maybe I could get priest Caliban to help?"

I shrug. "Sure, but do you agree with this request?"

She crosses her arms and glances at the Crusaders again. Arpad seems calm and patient, but Gedeon looks like he wants to complain about our whispering. But even though they're both annoying, she can't find a way to shake them off.

"I hate it, but I guess you're right," she grumbles stubbornly.

I pat her head, making her pout at me. Then I turn to the pair and boldly ask, "What's the reward?"

And Arpad calmly answers, "A thousand leaves. But if you help us find the source of the taint, then the bounty for the information is twenty thousand."

"A thousand for each of us," Sis demands as she impatiently taps a clawed foot against the stone floor.

Gedeon glares at my brave sister for her audacity, but Arpad puts a hand on his shoulder and soothes him, "It's fine, Gedeon."

"Whoa, I'm part of the group, too!" Fodor suddenly yells desperately and steps forward.

Both of the Crusaders glare at him again, as if they were looking at human garbage, and Arpad's tone turns cold as he harshly states, "You'll be paid the thousand, but you don't have the skills to help us find the source."

"Why is he even coming with us?" Sis questions, her cute little nose wrinkled in disgust.

And Blondie follows up with the verbal bashing, "The… militia comrade over here will also accompany us because he's the only one who's had formal training in traversing the Dark Forest, and he seemed very eager to help us, so we'll ensure he sees this to the end."

Serves you right, bitch.

Fodor scowls like a cornered rat, making me wonder how he hasn't died of shame yet. But at least it seems that the Crusaders know that the cockroach didn't come to them with good intentions, so they have some integrity.

But the mention of a rat helps me remember something very important, and I whisper to Sis again, "Sis, I know where the source might be. I found something with my veins when we were chasing the monster rat."

And she seems to know exactly what I'm talking about because her cat pupils open wide as she whisper-shouts, "Oh…! Twenty is a fortune, bro!"

"I just don't know what we'll find there," I worriedly caution her.

Which instantly kills her excitement, but not even she has an answer to this problem. We're both too tempted by the money. "Fuck… just don't get us killed, bro," she quietly requests, as if that needed to be said.

Mom is gonna kill-us.

"I'll try," I wryly hum back and look forward again.

"Are you ready to go?" Gedeon immediately asks impatiently.

I sigh and accept, "Sure. Just let us put some armor on."

And he shrugs. "Suit yourselves."

Literally.

 

Now, the problem of taking them where the source of the taint might be is that I'm not sure where it is, so the easiest way is to just try to stumble upon it with my veins. But is the chance of twenty thousand leafies worth the risk of showing my "taboo" energy to fucking Crusaders?

We take them directly to the brook the monster rat cunt took. We don't get anywhere close to the cliff that we use to hide the flowers, so Fodor shouldn't have any idea of where our little garden might be. Then we follow the water for a bit, and Sis finds the point where it got off because her memory is better than mine.

And all the while, I'm still stuck on my question, but at least the silence has let us all calm down from the tense first meeting. We actually spend so long without saying a word that I just know that Sis is about to make conversation with someone.

Then my prophecy becomes true because, not even a minute later, she slows down for a second so that the Crusaders can catch up, then she starts walking beside Arpad.

He raises a curious, brown eyebrow at her, and she bluntly begins, "What does 'Crusader' even mean? The others are easy to understand, even Dewies and Blossomites, but not yours."

I'm surprised that this is what she wants to talk about, and even Arpad chuckles, but then he kindly answers, "It means an impassioned person who works for a noble cause, so we, Crusaders of the Words of the Gods, are their strongest soldiers and most fervent preachers." Then he lowers his voice and makes a mischievous smile. "There's also another meaning in old Angless, but don't ask the priests, or else they'll get mad."

What doesn't make the priests mad? A lot of things, yeah, but also the list of things they don't like is pretty big.

Sis hums thoughtfully and nods in understanding, but his tone incites her, and then her tail starts to wave mischievously, so I just brace myself for what she's going to say next. "Why are you so cool while your partner is so grumpy?"

Wow, that's actually quite the respectful phrase considering it's Sis. And Gedeon is so surprised he even forgets to glare at her.

But Arpad chuckles again, a lot more heartily this time. "We require strong emotions to use our magic, so Destroyers and Ruiners are cursed with eternal bad mood."

This tickles my curiosity, so I also slow down and join them, "Is that why you shouted when you used your magic?"

He nods and glances away with a bitter smile. "Yeah. It sounds silly, but it really does make it easier for us to use our powers. We don't shout when fighting people, though, as that'd reveal what we're doing."

And both Sis and I hum in understanding as we nod.

But this little exchange has helped me come to a decision: fuck it, I'm going to use the energy. I feel like I can trust Arpad.

So I tell them my intentions, "I think I can take us somewhere that could be the source of the taint, but first, I have to find it using my magic."

"What magic can you use?" Gedeon immediately questions with a skeptical tone.

But I just flash a cheeky smile. "I'm not telling, but it's related to nature."

"I sensed something like that the first time we met," Arpad hums as he gives me a curious look.

Now I become serious. "I'd appreciate it if you kept quiet about it," I request and subtly tilt my head towards Fodor. "Especially from a certain kind of people."

Arpad immediately gets it and agrees, "I understand." And Fodor just glares at me.

So I kneel and spread my veins around.

"What are you seeing?" Gedeon quietly questions his partner.

"Roots," he hums back, sounding mildly impressed.

It makes me very uncomfortable that he can see what I'm doing with so much clarity, but at least he doesn't seem to know what I'm really doing.

The veins spread underground just as fast as last time, which is faster than even I can run, and that's fucking crazy to me. Magic is just awe-giving.

But Gedeon is a wet fungus and questions skeptically again, "Is this actually a good idea?"

Unfortunately, he's kind of right. "No. Whatever is out there will definitely notice my 'roots,'" I stiffly warn them.

Arpad rubs his shaved chin thoughtfully as he considers, then he curiously asks, "Did you sense a type of 'rot' with your roots?"

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "I did."

And his tone lowers grimly. "Then it's most likely the demonic taint."

Well, shit.

I glance at Sis as I swallow heavily, and I see that her expression is complicated, but I already know what she's thinking.

I'll do my best to not get us killed. Also, I'm sorry for messing with dangerous shit.

But we're already kind of close to that "rotten" area, so it doesn't take long for me to find it again, then I promptly cut off my veins because I'd rather not touch this fucking taint ever again.

"It's in that direction," I state as I point with a claw.

 

It really surprises me how fast my veins can spread because it takes us over ten minutes to get there while it took my veins about one. But then I forget all about that because the way that the forest starts to change makes us all very creeped out.

"This is dangerous territory," Fodor quietly states, and he's right.

The normal trees of the Dark Forest are crooked, thin, and tall, with a dark bark and dark green leaves, and covered in multi-colored moss. They aren't pretty, but I feel it's comforting to look at them. The grass is also dark and soft on the feet, and even though most of the floor is covered in just moss and bushes, everything still has a cozy aura, as long as you avoid any moss that's a bit excessively brightly colored as they're likely toxic.

But in this area, the trees here have become thick, showing that they're old, and nothing old is good as it had time to become magical, while the leaves have become even darker and turned brown, which is worrying as it could be a sign of sickness. The grass and bushes have also completely disappeared, showing how inhospitable this place is because only the moss and trees are sturdy enough to grow here.

Not only that, but what worries me the most is that even though it's still early in the day and the leaves don't fully block the sky, it feels like there's little actual sunlight here.

We're taught since we're little the warning signs of danger, and as beastmen addicted to the great outdoors, we take them seriously. The Dark Forest isn't named like this just because of its color, there are many actually dark areas that not even experienced hunters delve into as it isn't worth it. And for the first time in my and Sis' lives, we're willingly taking a stroll right into one.

"Gedeon, you should take the lead," Arpad suddenly states. I glance back and see him draw his sword as he puts a closed fist over his heart, and then he suddenly shouts, "Stalwart!"

A blue flash of light almost blinds me, but then a shiny blue smoke spreads out from him, and it grows so wide that it covers my view. Once the smoke hits my skin, it's like we're enveloped in a comforting warm blanket, and I'm suddenly able to see much better than before.

Blondie also draws his shortsword then lifts it up towards the sky and strikes a silly pose as he shouts, "Awe!" And the blade flashes with light, then it starts to let out a faint, dangerous-looking golden glow as it exudes a semi-transparent golden fire, and I'm pretty sure Sis can't see the flame.

"Anything moves, and you get behind me," he states sternly as he begins walking forward, and Sis and I instinctively step aside, which makes us surprised with ourselves. There's just something about his sword that screams "stay away!", so we do just that.

I still stare at it as much as I can because magic! But this holy golden energy seems even more obscure to me than the blue one, making me certain that I'm totally unfit to ever become a Crusader. At least with my sources, my magicsight gives me an idea of what they're about just by looking at them, but to me, this golden flame is just that… a golden flame.

"Don't stumble now, you stupid brother," Sis whispers in warning, and I just flash a guilty smile because I'm definitely going to stumble as I stare at the sword.

"I guess there's some truth to the myth of glowing Crusaders," I wryly remark to her.

"Looks like a small cock compared to how they were described," she grumbles sourly and stares at the sword for a brief moment.

Well, no description does justice to the feeling of danger that I get when I look at it, so I guess the writers had to embellish things to compensate.

 

We continue our way through the increasingly creepy woods in silence, only speaking to guide Gedeon when he starts turning to one side. It seems like we have a better sense of direction in the forest than him since he simply can't walk in a straight line for longer than a minute.

Fortunately, nothing attacks us along the way, and then Sis and I smell something foul.

"Ugh, it smells like death," she hisses with a disgusted frown.

"It's beyond just rotten, yes," I agree with a nod, then I even sneeze as the smell starts to irritate my nose.

"Is it close?" Gedeon soberly asks.

"Not very, but very soon we should be able to make it out from the trees… whatever it is that's over there," I dreadfully answer, starting to regret ever coming here.

"Alright," the blonde assuredly hums, making me feel a bit of shame at my own fear.

Still, fuck this place with a rake.

And then the Crusaders increase our pace, but we obediently follow as a dreadful curiosity starts to settle in.

The humans then also notice the smell of death, and shortly after, we come out in a small clearing, but there's no obvious source for the smell.

"Is it really here?" Fodor skeptically answers, his pose so hunched over he looks like a fucking rat.

But Arpad shushes him.

"That tree is suspicious," Gedeon whispers sternly and points at the one directly in front of us.

Yeah, it does look a bit thicker and even more twisted than others, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Then Arpad stops beside me and quietly questions as he keeps an eye around us, "Didn't you say that whatever was here would be alerted?"

I shrug and explain myself, "I thought so, but I don't even know what was supposed to be here. Just that it was something bad."

Then he turns to me and stares intensely. "Are we even in the right place?"

And I slowly nod. "Yeah, but I can confirm it, I think."

"Then do it," he orders and pats my shoulder, which feels oddly comforting, though he has to stretch himself a bit to reach me.

I sigh softly and conjure my bravery, then I kneel and put my palm against the moist, soft moss. I hesitatingly push my veins out and into the earth, then I spread them out in all directions, but I don't even go a meter away before I feel the rot again, and it's clearly in the direction of the suspicious tree.

Then the rot penetrates my veins so fast that I feel a horrible chill, so I cut them off and step back.

"It's there! Just underground!" I exclaim and point to the tree, then a root bursts out of the ground exactly where I was, and our nostrils are attacked by a heavy stench of death.

The root wiggles about, as if it's searching for me. Then it suddenly stops, and I see that it has an ominous dark red color.

"It's the tree! Kids, get behind me!" the older Crusader yells as he steps forward, then points his sword at the root.

Sis desperately pulls me further back and away from it, and I eagerly obey, then we hide behind him along with Fodor.

Suddenly, the root pulsates, as if it was a real vein, and then it bends, pointing the tip directly towards me.

Oh, fuck.

Then things happen so fast that all I can do is stare in awe.

Gedeon turns around and leaps towards the tree, sword up high as he shouts, "SMITE!" Then we hear the roar of thunder along with a blinding lightning strike just as the root suddenly launches forward.

"HIIIIII!" a high-pitched screech makes our ears ring, but the root doesn't even slow down, so Arpad lunges and chops the tip off so easily it makes me afraid of how fast he could dice a real person.

But then I see that the tree is now covered in actual golden flame, and it even starts to sway from side to side as if it's trying to put out the fire. But Gedeon hesitates, and I believe it's because not even he knows how to actually kill something as big and sturdy as a tree, while just waiting for it to burn down might not be the best idea.

So Arpad gives his partner a hand, "Might!" And now Blondie becomes Goldie as his whole body is covered in a golden sheen.

"SMITE!" he roars again as he leaps and strikes the tree once more. But the thunder and lightning are so powerful this time that my bones shake in pain and my ears bleed, then Sis, Fodor, and I simply fall upon our asses.

We're suddenly hit by flaming splinters, so we close our eyes and look away, but I immediately open them again and see that Gedeon is now back to being Blondie while the huge tree has been split into two, and a stream of bubbling, dark red blood slowly seeps out from the wound. Then the smell hits us, and it isn't just death anymore, it's also acid and pain.

The stump of the root that Arpad cut off now falls limp, so he glances at us and shouts, "Stay back!" Then he rushes forward and immediately kneels before the seeping toxic blood as he desperately begins to pray, "Overseer, Lord of All, I humbly request your aid! We've found another dreadful infestation by our enemy, but we lack the power to deal with it ourselves! So I offer my body as a vessel and my vigor as fuel!" Then he stands up and howls, "LET ME PURIFY THIS FILTH THROUGH FLAMES!"

And his body is enveloped in a golden fire.

"HAAAAH!" he roars in pain and anger as he extends his arms forward and sends a torrent of flames at the toxic blood.

"Hiiii…!" the tree screeches again, but now it sounds like the pathetic cries of a dying small animal, and then it stops after just a few seconds.

The three of us watch in fear as the split tree turns into a golden bonfire. And once it's fully covered in the holy fire, the flames covering Arpad's body are extinguished, revealing that neither he nor his clothes have a single burn. He steps back and suddenly stumbles, but Gedeon catches him and starts to drag him away, then the exhausted Crusader lets his limbs go limp.

The toxic smell of the blood quickly fades away, but not the rot, and this makes me concerned. The tree is burning completely, but what about the roots underground?

Gedeon drags his partner to us, then gently deposits the older man onto the soft, mossy floor. But the younger Crusader doesn't relax yet and keeps watch, his sword still glowing with the dangerous golden flame.

"Is it over…?" Fodor meekly questions.

"If it isn't… then we run…" Arpad slowly replies, out of breath.

The word "run" snaps me out of my stunned state, so I grab Sis' hand and pull her up, which makes her also return to the world of the living. We're both tense and wary because we know that we're definitely not ready to face whatever else is there in this part of the forest, so running really is the only thing we can do right now.

I turn to the severed piece of root and see that it has started to melt into a foul black substance, similar to the one that I threw away when I purified my water source. Just getting a whiff of the smell makes my eyes water, so I drag Sis away from it.

But as we turn away from the tree, we see something that makes our blood run cold. It's like a huge spider, but made of dark wood, and there's a big, round, pink sac simply floating above it.

"SPIDER!" Sis screams in horror and draws her hand cannon. I'm actually so fucking frightened by this thing that all I can do is conjure a water spear and point it forward.

"Beastmen, stop," the pink sac speaks sternly with a deep voice.

"What the fuck?! A dryad!" Gedeon shouts as he rushes forward then gets in front of us and motions for us to move back with his free hand while he points his glowing sword at the… thing.

"I'm no Fae," the sac speaks again, its voice awfully soothing considering how horrifying it looks.

"Then what are you?!" he angrily questions.

"An Ascended Beast, but I'm no animal," the sac calmly answers.

I grab Sis' wrist and have her lower the hand cannon while I un-conjure the spear, and Gedeon also lowers his glowing sword, so the tension in the air quickly dissipates.

"We wish no harm," Gedeon states with a baffling amount of politeness.

"Neither do I," the sac answers, and then the spider… bows? I can barely even guess what it's doing.

"What's your name?" the Crusader continues, sounding calmer but also a bit suspicious.

"Brishka," the sac replies as the spider stops bowing.

And Gedeon snorts. "A beastman name."

But then I swear that the sac starts to sound mildly offended. "They're more welcoming than humans, yes."

The rude human doesn't seem to notice it and continues his questioning, "Who taught you our language?"

"Many people did," it answers vaguely.

"I'm Arpad… and this is Gedeon… we're Crusaders," the older man interjects as he limps forward.

Then the sac's offense suddenly becomes painfully obvious, "All that the humans sent were two Crusaders? Even after the tigermen hunted down a tainted one?"

Wait, it knows about us? Maybe it talked to that black cat?

Gedeon is just dumbfounded while even Arpad becomes defensive, "We were just scouting for the source of the taint. We didn't know where it was."

The spider then seems to anxiously shift on its many feet, and its voice becomes sorrowful as it criticizes, "I've overestimated you, humans. You stumble upon your own neglect and then recklessly awaken the demonic beings."

"What do you mean?" Gedeon blurts out as it seems that Arpad has fallen silent.

The spider takes a step back and the sac lowers its tone further. "Get out of here and warn the rest of your kind. The taint has grown deep underground, and you've stirred it."

"Okay, do we run now?!" Fodor suddenly exclaims, starting to panic.

But Gedeon ignores him and sternly questions further, "How deep?"

The sac slowly shakes its… head? "I don't know, but there are fifty-three other trees like the one you've burned."

"This is bad," Blondie blurts out, and he actually gives a frightened look to his partner.

"They might attack… by nightfall…" Arpad grimly states, suddenly looking a bit paler than he already is.

"Can we leave, then? Do you need me to carry you?" I immediately offer, also starting to panic.

But the older man waves me away. "I'll be fine, boy… I can still walk."

"Don't forget this is the result of your neglect, humans," Brishka states with a heavily disapproving tone. I might even dare to say it sounds disgusted.

Gedeon clenches his fist and his jaw in anger, maybe offended at the sac's audacity, but then he declares with a dark tone, "The mayor will pay…" Then he turns to Fodor and glares. "As will the militia."

And the scrawny little shit-rat simply shrinks his posture in fear and shame.

"Thank you for the warning… Brishka," Arpad whispers gloomily.

"Thank me by keeping my existence a secret," it dryly replies.

"We will," Gedeon affirms and turns to us, still looking pretty damn angry, so we just silently nod.

And then we quickly leave, but Sis and I have to slow down because both Arpad and Fodor can't keep up with us. I also have the Strangler energy to boost me, so I can just carry Sis and run in case the shithole floods.

 

Once we leave the dangerous area, Sis worriedly asks out loud, "Is the town going to be okay?"

"I can't say for certain, but you'll have to hide in the nearest church or school," Gedeon answers with surprising kindness.

"You two are big and strong… you should help the militia!" Fodor suddenly exclaims, starting to wheeze.

But Gedeon points out, "They should defend their hiding place. Some demons can fly."

Oh, fuck…

"We'll first go to the inn and get everyone," I state. We should have plenty of time to take Mom and our friends to safety.

And Sis makes herself useful, "I know where Margit lives, so I'll get her."

Our home is near the school, so I add, "I'll also help our neighbors run."

Then we fall silent again and focus on not stumbling on a raised root.

 

We soon find the brook again and go up along it until Sis finds the area where we get off. Then the forest returns to being familiar to me, which is extremely comforting after this stupid fucking adventure into this nightmare. We're so close to the city, so close to safety.

"Wait…! What's that…?!" Fodor suddenly shouts and immediately runs off to the side.

"Oh, what now?!" I growl in anguish.

"Come back here, you fucking scum!" Gedeon yells and runs after him while the rest of us stop.

"Let's go…" Arpad bravely requests even though he's almost fully exhausted.

I might have to actually carry him soon.

We run after them, but then a cold shiver runs down my spine as I recognize where they're going. I glance at Sis and see her horrified face mirrors mine. Then we speed up, leaving Arpad behind.

But it's just for a couple of seconds as we soon find the other two, and they're standing still as they stare right at our flower garden… but there's something very wrong with it.

The blue flower patch hidden by the shadow of the cliff is now surrounded by a number of wiggly tentacles poking out of the dirt, and they're glowing red. A demonic red.

We stop and join the other two as we stare in confusion.

"See? I told you I saw… something glow," Fodor smugly states, still out of breath.

Arpad then joins us, and he gasps, but not because he's out of breath. "Stranglers…!" he shouts, and Gedeon also seems to understand something, for both of them slowly turn to me.

"Tiger boy, where did you get your magical energy?" the fucking blonde scum immediately starts an interrogation.

No, no, no, no, no!

"I found fruits full of Bloomen!" I immediately lie using the first thing that comes to my mind.

And Fodor points a dirty little finger at me as he harshly accuses, "Liar. I'm a gatekeeper… and I heard nothing about magical fruits growing after the Wandering Storm passed… but flowers, on the other hand…"

I turn to the fucking cockroach and scowl. He's such a fucking shit stain. Such a fucking wretched cunt! How did he even know where the patch was?! And he brings fucking Crusaders right to it just as it gets corrupted?!

I'm getting so godsdamn angry that I'm even starting to growl.

"You didn't see shit! You fucking corrupted them!" Sis accuses right back in rage, and I can't even get angry at her because I was about to shout the same.

And Fodor's smug grin is so... godsdamn infuriating that I start to lose myself.

"So you admit they're yours?" Gedeon slowly questions, and I simply ignore his tone and glare, too focused on my… prey.

Then Arpad simply puts his hand over Gedeon's wrist, but I don't notice that because all I can think about is how much I want to claw the little cunt's face until there's nothing but raw, bleeding flesh.

And then my body suddenly moves on its own. It floods my muscles with the Strangler's energy and launches itself toward the rat. I even forget all about my magical sources because the only thing I want is to feel my claws rake his skin, so I swipe at him, but I use so much force that I tear off a chunk of his cheek.

"AAAAAAAH!" he screams like a little girl as he falls to the floor while holding what remains of the left side of his face. He didn't even try to defend himself.

But now he's too low for me to rake him again, so I grab his throat and lift him up.

I hesitate before attacking again because I notice that he's grinning. Then his whole body suddenly inflates, and he explodes, throwing warm blood everywhere, even into my eyes.

All I can do is stumble away and desperately rub my eyes as I hear Sis scream. Then I feel her claws sink into the padding of my body armor as she desperately pulls me back.

"DEMON!" Gedeon bellows, and fear strikes my heart, so I extend my hand toward where I think he might be to try to catch his blade, but no attack comes.

I force my eyes open and see the glow of Gedeon's sword flicker as he attacks something big.

Then lightning strikes.

"RAAAAH!" a hellish, ear-piercing screech hurts my ears again.

"Boy! Water!" I hear Arpad yell at me, then he pushes my fists away and throws water on my face, which helps clear the sticky blood away.

"Gah!" Gedeon groans as he suddenly flies away, and his sword stops glowing as it falls onto the moss right before us.

Then I finally see what he was fighting. It's a naked human warped in the creepiest way I could imagine. Its limbs have been stretched until they're nothing but skin and bone, yet they still don't break under the body's weight; the hands and feet are swelled and leak pus from multiple wounds; huge claws stained with dried blood come out of its long fingers and toes; saggy breasts hang from its bony chest; its inflated, round, veiny belly jiggles with every step; a disgusting cock full of warts sways about as it moves; its neck is long but it's also broken, so the ugly bald head flops about upside-down as it sadistically grins at us.

The chest and belly are burning with golden flames, but the demon just squeezes his right hand with the left and drops enough pus to douse the flames, and the huge gash that Gedeon made begins to close.

"Boy! Fight!" Arpad desperately orders.

"SHOOT!" I roar as I glance back, and both Sis and Arpad immediately draw their guns, and then fire.

The demon winces and stumbles back as it receives a slug and a stream of bullets from the pistol on its chest, but then it immediately straightens up again, and now it has a smug grin that's eerily similar to Fodor's.

"Non-holy bullets do nothing," it brags and snickers as the holes close almost instantly. Then it suddenly advances toward us.

There's no time to speak or even make a plan. I simply react and conjure a water spear, then thrust.

The tip sinks into the demon's round belly, stopping its charge, but its long limbs can still reach me, so I force the spear to extend, pushing the demon away from me.

Its grin turns into a frown, and it slashes the water spear with its claws, destroying its cohesion, but I immediately reform it and keep the demon in place. I'm just reacting on instinct.

I see its eyes turn to the side, and I know that it's either Sis or Arpad, so I conjure a rock and throw it at its face, which makes a disgusting sound as the skull cracks, but the head also flops uncontrollably. Now the demon can't see properly as Sis gets close to its thin knee and then unloads beastshot at it point-blank, completely severing the leg.

"RAAYEUIAAAH! UNHOLY CUNTSIAAH NYEEHFUU!" it screams and babbles random shit while inserting insults in the middle as it writhes on the floor.

"PIN IT DOWN!" Arpad bellows, so I stab the demon's belly as hard as I can until I feel the tip come out on the other side and sink into the earth.

But now Sis and I don’t know what to do as we can't approach without being hit by the disgusting flailing limbs. It tries to destroy the water spear, but I easily reform it every time, so I'm confident I can at least keep it pinned.

I feel like my control of the water couldn't be better. It's like my mind has achieved full clarity, and I've never felt so secure in my own power as I am right now.

Suddenly, Arpad shouts, "MIGHT!"

Then I see golden Gedeon rush towards us, glowing sword in hand again, and he looks like a fucking majestic angel of death.

"ANNIHILATE!" he roars as he runs, his sword pointing forward like a lance, and then it starts to glow even brighter.

The demon turns to him, but then a hole opens in his face as Sis fires a slug at it, and it flaps about wildly again, giving the Crusader the opportunity to get in close.

So he sinks his glowing sword into the demon's chest, and the horrifying thing explodes into dust.

I cover my eyes, expecting to be hit by a shower of little bits of flesh, but I don't feel anything touch my body, so I look forward again. I see Gedeon kneeling on the moss while leaning on his sword to catch his breath, but the demon is gone.

There's Fodor's blood and body parts everywhere, but nothing that belonged to the demon remains. I look at Sis and see that she's just as stunned as I am, but neither of us are wounded, so we turn to Gedeon again.

Arpad limps forward and kneels before his comrade as we awkwardly approach. "Are you hurt?" the older Crusader asks the younger one.

"Ribs broken… maybe…" he replies, struggling to speak.

Arpad sighs. "I'm out of Benison."

And Gedeon snorts. "Same."

But there's no time to wait, so the older man continues, "Can you walk?"

He glances at me and stubbornly states, "I won't let the tiger carry me."

And I chuckle softly.

Then Arpad helps his partner stand up. "Then let's go. We have to warn the city."