The battle stretched onward relentlessly as the Wights kept on coming endlessly.

Time passe by, blurring into blood and shrieks that echoed beneath the darkness.

Ten minutes...

Then twenty minutes...

Then thirty minutes...

The clearing around the teleportation platform had long since become littered with black ash and dissolving corpses while the twisted trees themselves looked scorched by the flames and battle.

Yet despite the slaughter going on, Regaleon’s attention never fully remained on the fight.

He was counting, watching and measuring time carefully.

Yesterday had been odd. Just as the Wights had began to overwhelm them, they suddenly retreated.

At that time, desperation prevented him from thinking deeply about it. But now, he wanted answers.

According to Kaeloris’ words, Wights were creatures driven by their hunger for flesh and blood. That instinct to feed defined their existence and purpose...

So why would such monsters suddenly retreat from prey?

The more he thought about it, the more it felt unnatural. Which meant one thing, there was something else going on...

Another Wight charged at him.

SHING!

It’s body split apart instantly before dissolving into black smoke.

Regaleon watched the smoke fade with narrowed eyes as he counted the time that passed by...

Then finally, it happened was again.

The Wights suddenly stopped. As though an invisible command had echoed through the forest.

Valmyr was mid-swing when he awkwardly halted. "...Huh?"

The failed Vanguard scratched the back of his head in confusion.

Aureleah emerged silently from the shadows once more while Vaelorin cautiously lowered his Staff...

The group slowly regrouped around Regaleon and watched the nightmarish creatures silently.

The Wights also stood there, staring back at them with their horrifying eyeless faces; with their mouth still stretched into twisted grins.

Suddenly, the forest eerily became still as the two sides watched one another in silence.

Then, all at once, the creatures shrieked loudly. It was an awful sound. Like corpses screaming beneath graves.

And immediately afterward, they turned and fled into the forest...

The eight forgotten children stared in stunned silence as the horde vanished between trees and crimson fog.

Regaleon narrowed his eyes sharply beneath his helmet. So it really happened again.

Exactly like yesterday; it was the same exact time and the same exactly retreat.

This was not some coincidence. Either the Wights possessed enough instinct to understand when continuing battle was disadvantageous...

Or, something had called them back.

And Regaleon greatly doubted the first explanation.

Veyrath looked toward him. "So... What are we going to do now?"

Earlier, back at the cave, Regaleon had told them about his plan.

He had explained that they were going to use themselves to bait the Wights out and afterward, use the Wights to lead them back to their lair. Provided that the same scenario as yesterday occurred.

If it wasn’t because of that, the group would have long since wiped out the creatures and ended the battle sooner...

Hearing Veyrath’s question, for the second time that night, Regaleon smiled once more. It was the smile of a hunter finally spotting cracks.

"Now," He said calmly. "We pursue."

With that, he jumped off the platform and charged into the forest, after the Wights.

The group exchanged glances, and then followed after him...

They chased the retreating Wights into the depths of the forest. The deeper the went... The worse the Nether Lands became.

The atmosphere itself changed as the air grew heavier and oppressive.

The crimson mist thickened until it resembled oceans of blood drifting between the trees. Twisted roots coiled across the ground like dead serpents while the trees themselves appeared increasingly grotesque.

Some trunks looked almost human, while others pulsed faintly beneath the cracked bark.

At one point, Sylveris nearly screamed when she noticed what looked like faces embedded within the wood...

Kaeloris’ Lantern became the only lifeline as without it golden glow, they would have lost direction long ago.

Even then, the darkness beyond the light felt alive. And the deeper they ventured, the more the group realized something terrifying.

They forest they encountered near the teleportation platform could merely be considered as the outskirts. That is, the safer edge.

This... This was the true nature of the Nether Lands.

At one point during their pursuit, the forest had suddenly exploded beside them...

A massive creature burst from beneath the earth...

It looked like a cursed fusion between a scorpion, a crab, and a beetle.

It’s shell was deep red, almost appearing black, like dried blood while countless ragged limbs scraped against the ground violently.

A massive stinger curved above it’s back while multiple glowing crimson eyes stared hungrily at the eight exiles.

The creature shrieked horribly... Then attacked.

The battle that followed was brutal.

Vaelorin’s flames barely scratched it’s body...

Valmyr’s sword strikes merely bounced off it’s hardened shell...

Even Aureleah struggled to find weak points upon it’s armoured body...

Eventually, it took Regaleon, Valmyr and Vaelorin working together to finally bring down the monstrous arthropod.

Regaleon had distracted it head on, while Valmyr had seized a chance to shatter one of it’s legs with overwhelming force.

Then Vaelorin had unleashed concentrated flames directly into that crack...

The creature had died while screaming as flames devoured it from the inside out...

Afterward, solemn silence followed as no one boasted anymore nor did they laugh again.

The confidence they gained from slaughtering the Wights earlier had vanished completely as reality settled back upon them once more.

This was the Nether Lands. And this Lands was not a place that rewarded arrogance or complacency.

Even Regaleon became vigilant afterward as they moved through the forest.

Because of that battle, the group had lost track of the retreating Wights. Yet despite that mishap, Regaleon continued tracking...

Sometimes he crouched low to inspect the ground for prints.

Other times, he touched broken branches or scraped fingers across claw marks carved into barks of trees.

At one point, he even picked up the crimson soil and smelled it carefully.

The others had watched him with growing amazement as Regaleon moved like a predator following invisible trails...

And like a knight who had survived countless hunts before this one.

At this point, Veyrath nearly worshipped him openly.

"Regaleon, you are actually incredible," He whispered in admiration.

But the silver-haired Knight didn’t give a response as he moved through the trails.

Two hours passed and then, the forest finally ended.

The crimson mist receded slightly... And the group froze...

Before them stood a mountain. Not a normal mountain. No!

This thing looked cursed...

The peak stretched high into the dark sky, almost touching storm clouds which were illuminated by flashes of crimson lightning.

The mountain itself was blood-red; not from vegetation nor rocks.

It genuinely looked as though the earth itself had been soaked endlessly in scarlet blood. Jagged cliffs rose like broken fangs while dark caverns opened across it’s surface like the maws of primordial beasts...

Just looking at it filled the group with unprecedented dread!

Unlike the sacred beauty of the waterfall cave, this place radiated pure horror.

It looked like something born from the depths of hell itself...

Caelestra stared upward quietly. "Looks like we’ve arrived." She muttered softly.

Veyrath swallowed hard. "...Are we absolutely sure that we want to go in there?"

No one answered immediately. Instead, they all turned toward Regaleon.

The silver-haired Knight stood silently before the mountain while storm light reflected against his Armour...

Then slowly, he exhaled. Like someone accepting the weight of what stood before them.

"Yes." He said calmly.

Without saying another word, he began walking toward the massive black opening at the base of the mountain.

And the group followed after him into the darkness...

However, what none of them failed to notice was that several meters away, atop a twisted crimson tree... Two shadowed figures watched their silhouettes silently.