"My lady, I know I've asked this perhaps a dozen times in the last few days but… Are you sure you want to limit our vision like this?" Pandarus asked.
"I understand it is difficult for you to accept, but I grow tired of your pestering," Ophelia said, before yawning loudly.
"But it's hard for us to plan a safe route ahead of time when Dokkebi can't fly around freely."
"I understand; I am no fool," Ophelia said, to which Mathew immediately coughed. She tracked him with the corner of her eye for a few moments before adding: "Did you not say that the forest has been unusually quiet since we left that town?"
"I did say that…"
"And are we not only a few days from leaving the forest? Surely the danger of running into a concentrated group of Nightspawn is less likely toward the edge of these woods."
"You would be right to guess that," Pandarus admitted. "However, not sensing any Nightspawn at all for almost a week now has got me worried. The Forest of Terror is where the largest number of beasties in the world dwell. Why haven't I sensed even one?"
"I hear your warning, and I am choosing to move forward. There is no other way to transport this powerful Numen," Ophelia said.
The discussion at hand was about the strange lantern they had found in the Nightkeeper temple. Because no one could hold it except Dokkebi, Ophelia had decided that the winged scout would hold it for the rest of the journey through the forest.
The one issue, though, was that Dokkebi was still a Nightspawn, and Ophelia did not fully trust the creature. Therefore, they had decided that Dokkebi would fly directly over their heads until they exited the Forest of Terror and rely on his ability to sense other Nightspawn, rather than scouting ahead to find the most optimal path.
"I understand, but what happens if we run into Nightspawn that we didn't see coming? Some of them can be rather quick."
Ophelia placed a hand on her hip.
"We have enough capable fighters here. We can protect ourselves," Pandarus did not press further; he merely sighed.
Mathew glanced forward, trying to scan the woods to see if anything was up ahead, then he glanced over both of his shoulders and saw nothing behind either.
"Stop doing that. You are making me nervous," said Beyah, who was hugging herself as she walked.
"Sorry," Mathew said. "I'm doing it because I'm nervous."
"Why infect the rest of us?"
"I get it. I'll stop," Mathew replied. She gave a long exhale. "What about you, Siyah, are you nervous too?" She was also hugging herself, rubbing her arms up and down like she had the chills.
"A little. Mostly I am just cold. These dresses aren't the warmest." She was referring to the simple, maid dresses Beyah and she wore, though they looked less like Mathew's image of a modern maid uniform, and closer to what a medieval servant would wear.
"I imagine they aren't the best for traveling through the forest either," He said. And she shrugged.
"Aren't you cold?" she asked.
"Just my neck really. I'm trying not to touch my face, because it's probably the temperature of ice right now."
Siyah nodded, then looked at Era Belle, who was riding the horse, a question in her eyes. Era Belle shook her head.
"I'm not very cold either." She responded, understanding the intention. Mathew thought about how freezing her hand had been when he'd tried to help her down the stairs. Perhaps her natural body temperature was just so low she didn't feel it.
"What about your legs? Are they sore?" Siyah pressed.
"Only a little. He walks at such a gentle gait," Era Belle said in reference to the horse. "What was his name?"
Siyah and Beyah looked at each other, then at Ophelia's back.
"Um, my Lady…" Siyah called out hesitantly
"Call it whatever you wish, I have no care in the matter," Ophelia said without looking back.
Beyah tilted her head in thought for a moment. Then reached over to place a hand on the horse's mane, her face deadly serious.
"I shall call you Hamlet," She said, her tone filled with gravitas.
"Don't I even get a say?" Siyah asked.
"No. This is a binding contract." Beyah said, giving a quick nod. Siyah sighed as she looked to the sky, then her eyebrows knitted together.
Dokkebi had begun to fly lower and lower, until he was almost touching Pandarus. He released a few strange cooing sounds, and Pandarus stiffened.
"My lady," he said in a low tone, though everyone could hear his words, "There is a Nightspawn ahead of us, a large one."
"Then we must simply adjust our course," She responded. Dokkebi cooed again. Pandarus looked sharply over his shoulder, much like Mathew had done earlier. This made Beyah yelp softly.
"A large group of them are closing in from behind us. We will be surrounded."
"Then I suggest we prepare for a fight. This shall be over soon," Siyah pulled on the reins of the horse, causing him to slow.
"You two, stay close to the horse and keep the girl safe," Ordered Argus to the sisters. "Dread, you and I will guard the rear." Everyone complied, with the girls huddled around the newly named Hamlet.
Mathew summoned his spear and held it at the ready. He had the flame-thrower wrench thing as well, but he left it in the Divine realm, confident that Mathias's training didn't cover such a weapon.
Argus summoned in his hand a sword that Mathew had never seen before, one that seemed to be made out of the same rose-gold metal as his spear.
"Not going to use your axe?" Mathew asked.
"Not enough light to absorb. If I did, it would be much more effective." Mathew thought for a minute, looking back at the lantern in Dokkebi's grasp. The distinctive magenta flame burned brightly in both the physical realm and the divine realm.
"What about the light from that lantern? It has been burning underneath the temple for who knows how many years, with no one to refuel it."
"Yes… I suppose it could be as you say." Argus replied, and then dropped his sword, summoning his axe the moment it vanished.
Rustling sounds came from the bushes in front of them.
Mathew peered into the divine realm with one eye, allowing him to pierce through the trees and foliage and see any Nightspawn that could be hiding within.
The inky-black creatures resembled jackals, with skinny limbs and tall, thin ears that stood up like antennae. Their faces were flat and had no features other than white pinpricks of light for eyes. Mathew did a quick head count under his breath.
"Thirty-three," He said to Argus. "That's how many there are." Argus raised an eyebrow, but did not question the source.
"Keep them at bay whilst I charge my weapon," Argus said. Mathew nodded, and took a few steps forward, his spear pointed downward so that the tip would be eye-level with the creatures.
They started to pour in like a line of ants. Silently, expressionlessly, the Night-spawn rushed in one after another.
The first few disintegrated into black vapor at Mathew's thrusts, and the rest responded by fanning out into a wider formation. Mathew stabbed to his left, then to his right, not letting a single one get around him. But they were fast.
He thought of Siyah, Biyah, and Era Belle behind him, and it reinvigorated his movements. He let the muscle memory of his body do most of the work, his mind becoming calm and focused as he entered into a state of flow.
"Mathias!" Shouted Beyah, and he looked behind him to see one of the creatures had snuck through the forest to get at the girls from the side.
Without hesitation, he threw the spear in his hands, skewering the creature. It had happened so easily, like he had practiced the move a thousand times… Which Mathias most likely had.
Unable to retrieve his weapon, Mathew summoned the fire-wrench and hoped it would be enough. A sudden immense wave of heat and light hit him from behind, and he glanced back for only a moment to look at Argus.
The large man was holding his axe in the air, and a stream of light was siphoning to it from the lantern. The Axe was growing brighter each moment, until it was so bright that everything else around it appeared to be merely a shadow.
Sparks flew from the weapon, shooting in every direction, as if it couldn't contain the energy inside.
"Dread, Move!" Said Argus through gritted teeth. Mathew quickly jumped to the side as Argus released the stored light in one massive blade of luminance, cutting through all the remaining Nightspawn at once and leaving nothing but black vapor.
"Wow… You really… finished the job," Mathew said between breaths. Now that he had stopped moving, he became aware of his lungs heaving with exertion.
"That was quite powerful," Argus commented. "Perhaps this is the purpose of the lantern?" Mathew shrugged.
"Not sure." Then he looked to his other companions that were still in combat. "Do they need our help?"
Argus shook his head. "They should be fine."
The Nightspawn that Pandarus and Ophelia were engaging resembled a massive scorpion. The monster was easily the size of a small house, and It stinger might as well have been a lance. Ophelia was keeping her distance, trying to toss her flaming chakram at its face. Unfortunately, the weapon was bouncing off its armored carapace, not able to find any vital areas to strike.
Pandarus was duel-wielding his bone dagger and the flaming sword he took from the Nightkeeper temple skeleton.
The creature's large claw swung at him, and he activated the dagger, an invisible force pulling him to one side. He maneuvered around the attack, hovering a few centimeters above the ground, then surged forward to get an attack on its vulnerable eyes.
"Pull back!" Shouted Ophelia, and he heeded her warning instantly, His body being jerked backward like a rag-doll by his own knife. The scorpion's stinger impaled the ground right where Pandarus had just been.
Ophelia quickly threw her chakram at the stinger, trying to cut it off from the tail of the creature. The attack left a deep gash in the appendage, but it was still connected.
Pandarus saw the opportunity and darted in quickly, severing the stinger completely with his sword.
The Nightspawn shrieked loudly, and Pandarus immediately pulled out as quickly as he had gone in.
"Use your sword!" Mathew shouted. "The lantern will power it!" He heard Ophelia click her tongue in annoyance at his advice.
She complied, though, trading the chakram for the sword. She began to absorb the lantern's light.
The guide was still moving around the creature in unpredictable patterns, trying to keep its attention. Then Ophelia rushed in, holding her blade up and releasing all the charged light and blinding the creature.
Unable to see its opponents, the Nightspawn began to swing wildly, one of its claws catching Ophelia in her chest and sending her flying. The wind was knocked out of her, but her golden breastplate kept her from taking any actual damage.
Pandarus hovered just outside the creature's range, and as soon as there was an opening in its erratic movements, he took the opportunity to fly towards it at full speed, stabbing its eyes with his sword.
It screeched again, and the guide threw himself to the ground as both of the scorpion's claws came to grab him at once.
He was now lying on his back, still hovering just above the ground. He activated his dagger, pointing it towards his own feet, and he shot under the Nightspawn's belly. As he did so, he thrust upward with his flaming sword, gutting the creature.
Black vapor poured from the massive wound, and the creature gave one last wail as it disintegrated into dust.
"See?" Mathew said to Beyah. "No reason to be nervous."
She was not amused.