The party in Authea lasted a full week. When morning came the following week, Getau, Altair, and Derima were ready to leave the city.
The townspeople wished them farewell and safe travels. The trio waved back and returned their goodbyes as the carriage began moving – Altair still waving at the crowd while Derima smiled warmly.
•At the Titius Organization•
Canis had teleported away to escape Tzukaga's interference, arriving at the Titius Organization headquarters. There, a man sat upon what was known as "The Curse Throne."
He had long black hair, black eyes with purple decagon-shaped pupils, and wore a black-grey outfit with long sleeves – dark curses swirling around him. His attire included grey trousers, black shoes, and "Curse Wearer Gloves" to help him control his powers. The throne itself was forged from the curses he wielded, a testament to his rule as the Ruler of All Curses.
Canis bowed before him, his voice shaking with fear.
[Canis]: "I failed the mission, Master Scuti."
Yui Scuti – the Ethereal of Curse, and one of the strongest beings alive – spoke coldly, his tone sharp with anger.
[Scuti]: "How foolish of you, losing to a mere knight..?"
Sweat poured down Canis's face as he stood nervously. His pride had driven him to take the mission alone, and now it lay shattered by Tzukaga's intervention. He clenched his fists in fury.
[Canis]: "I'm sorry master, but will you give me another cha--"
Before he could finish, Scuti flicked his pinky finger gently – slicing through Canis's jaw. Blood flowed freely, but Canis did not scream; it was against the Titius Organization's rules for any of the Five Majors to cry out for help.
[Scuti]: "I'll give you another chance, but.. if you fail again, i'll have to tear you apart while cancelling your regeneration."
Canis bowed deeply, nodding respectfully before straightening up and placing a hand over his chest.
[Canis]: "Yes sir!.."
He teleported away as Scuti picked up his cursed drink, taking a sip before closing his eyes in thought.
•Back to the Trio•
They arrived at Gethsemane's Forest – a well-known woodland with abundant wildlife, though beasts and monsters were rare, appearing only occasionally at night. A sign read "Welcome to Gethsemane's Forest" – the land belonged to Gethsemane, the Ethereal of Nature.
As they entered, a warm, beaming light filtered through majestic trees. Birds chirped overhead, squirrels darted between branches, and flowers bloomed everywhere. Altair's eyes lit up instantly at the sight, while Derima smiled in amazement – they planned to set camp here.
Getau climbed down from the driver's seat, tying the horse and carriage securely to prevent it from wandering off. As they ventured deeper into the woods, the System appeared before them.
[System]: Gethsemane's Forest
[System]: - It is a 1000 year old forest that has been cared for by the Ethereal of Nature every century. If the current Ethereal passes, their daughters take over guardianship.
[System]: - A small village named Gethsemane Village lies within it, with roughly 120 inhabitants.
[System]: - The forest spans 3 miles in diameter and is located southeast of Shaul City.
Derima was surprised to learn about the prosperous village hidden within. The forest's beauty was breathtaking – but suddenly, a hostile curse wolf lunged at them. Derima dodged swiftly and stabbed it through its core.
Altair examined the creature and found a curse embedded in its chest.
[Altair]: "That's why it's hostile.."
Derima sheathed his dark-colored sword and looked ahead.
[Derima]: "Come on, we still have time, let's go."
He began walking, with Altair following close behind and Getau trailing last. Getau paused to look at the wolf, then activated his secret skill – "Animal Hearing." A faint whisper reached his ears.
[Wolf]: "Retreat.. back.."
Shocked that a dying, cursed wolf could speak, Getau called out urgently.
[Getau]: "WAIT!, Guys!, stop!!."
Derima and Altair halted immediately, surprised by his outburst.
[Derima]: "What do you mean..?"
Getau spoke with a shaky voice as he revealed his ability.
[Getau]: "I have an Animal Hearing ability.. that lets me communicate with and understand animals. The wolf said to retreat.."
Altair gasped, feeling a tingle run down her spine. Derima glanced toward the forest's depths, sighed, then nodded.
[Derima]: "Alright fine, we can retreat – but can't we wait a bit first..?"
Altair nodded in agreement.
[Altair]: "Mhm!!.. we should wait first, Derima is strong anyways!."
Getau shook his head, worry clouding his thoughts. "What if we run into another monster..?" he wondered, rubbing his temples anxiously.
Suddenly, a deafening scream echoed through the forest, shaking the ground with a small earthquake. Altair and Getau froze in fear, but Derima stood calm, staring toward the sound's source.
[Derima]: "Let's explore deeper."
He began walking toward the scream, and Altair shouted after him in shock.
[Altair]: "Are you insane?!!, that creature is probably 100 meters tall you idiot!."
Getau agreed, his voice full of concern.
[Getau]: "Yeah!, we might even die if we get too close!!.."
Derima ignored them, his face set with determination. Altair groaned loudly but followed anyway, while Getau sighed deeply.
[Getau]: "I swear i'll haunt you if i die."
After walking for several minutes, they spotted a village in the distance – a sign confirmed it:
But when they entered, the streets and houses were completely empty. All 120 villagers had vanished without a trace. Even the System remained silent, seemingly as confused as they were.
They searched every house – furniture was left behind, lamps were still lit, but there were no signs of clothing, personal items, or any indication of where the people had gone.
Getau sighed and scratched his head.
[Getau]: "I'm going out for a bit.."
As he opened the door, he flinched in horror. A pack of cursed wolves with glowing purple eyes stood outside. Getau stumbled backward in fear, leaving the door wide open as he fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Altair ran to check on him first, finding him cowering on the ground. She saw the wolves pouring in and noticed the open door, shooting Getau a frustrated look. Derima arrived moments later, drawing his sword and cutting down the manipulated beasts with ease.
But when Derima stepped outside, he found their house surrounded by hundreds of cursed wolves. Getau and Altair peered out, their faces pale with terror.
Derima's pupils turned red and heptagonal, his blade glowing with the power of the Dark Angel. He twisted his sword at a 120-degree angle and unleashed "Overwhelming Tide" – a massive wave of air pressure that struck the horde. Most wolves were killed instantly, their bones shattered by the force, but many dodged or somehow survived.
Suddenly, Altair's eyes began to sparkle bright white. She placed a hand on Derima's shoulder.
[Altair]: "Let.. me handle this.."
Derima stared in shock at her glowing eyes, but she gently pushed him back. Her hair turned snow-white, and her pupils shifted to blue decagons – her scared expression replaced by one of cold majesty.
The remaining wolves charged at full speed, but Altair froze them instantly, dropping their body temperature to -3,433 degrees Celsius. The System appeared before Derima, its message confirming what he'd suspected.
[System]: There are currently 500,000 wolves around you.
In less than a second, all 500,000 were frozen solid – a testament to her power as the Snow Princess, the Ethereal of Snow. As her powers faded, her hair returned to blonde and her eyes to their usual crystal blue with white diamond pupils.
She looked around at the frozen horde, then back at Derima and Getau – both staring at her in pure shock, having only ever seen her as a kind, sometimes timid girl. Altair gave a silly grin, scratching the back of her head and sticking out her tongue.
Derima walked over and hugged her tightly.
[Derima]: "I didn't know you we're that powerful.."
Surprised but happy, Altair hugged him back with a soft smile. Getau, feeling a bit left out, gave a thumbs up.
[Getau]: "Cool, nice."
He began inspecting the frozen wolves while Derima chuckled, then walked over to his friend.
[Derima]: "Hey dude!, you did great with your animal communication skill!!"
Getau smiled and looked away, slightly embarrassed.
[Getau]: "Thanks... i guess."
Derima patted his back and laughed, and soon all three were sharing joyful laughter after surviving the curse wolf attack.
They pressed deeper into the forest, determined to find the source of the scream that had caused the earthquake. The further they went, the more dangerous monsters they encountered – though Derima dispatched most of them with ease.
When they finally reached the spot where the scream had originated, their eyes widened in disbelief. Before them stood an 80-meter tall lion-like beast known as "Jagoza."
Derima's confidence surged. He activated his wings – though not his halo – and flew toward the beast's head. Jagoza swung a massive paw to crush him, but Derima's precision and agility let him dodge easily, landing on the beast's thick fur.
He raised his sword high, channeling mana into the blade to amplify its power. For a split second, his pupils shifted to decagons before returning to heptagons. Then he plunged the sword into the lion's skull, unleashing his new technique: "Dark Voltex."
[System]: Dark Voltex is an evolved form of Dark Stride. Its invisible dark force is so powerful that it could level a town or city in under a minute.
Altair and Getau watched from a safe distance as the beast let out a scream of agony and pain, triggering a massive earthquake strong enough to shatter buildings. The trio held on tightly until the ground stopped shaking – and the lion finally fell still.
[Derima]: "Finally.. that earthquake was brutal.."
He sighed, pulling his sword from the beast's head and sheathing it. Getau collapsed onto the grass, gasping for breath.
[Getau]: "Can't this journey end?!, this is why we should've brought Tzukaga.."
Altair crossed her arms and nodded in agreement.
[Altair]: "Mhm!, we should've brought Tzukaga!!--"
Derima cut her off with a look of mild annoyance.
[Derima]: "That guy is literally on duty – he took an oath to protect Shaul.."
His expression grew serious as he stared at his hand.
[Derima]: "But it's weird – when he gave Altair and me Divine Protection, it didn't work at all when I fought Canis."
Altair's eyes widened in realization.
[Altair]: "Now that you mention it.. how come?"
The System appeared before Derima.
[System]: VY Canis Major
[System]: Real name: Tsukahara Mitzu
[System]: He can break any form of protection – including Tzukaga's supposedly unbreakable Divine Protection that was meant to last 5 days.
Getau clapped a hand on Derima's shoulder, interrupting him.
[Getau]: "We should go now – an ant just told me.. 'our journey here is over'.."
Altair stretched, wincing slightly as she did so.
[Altair]: "Finally!.. ah, everything aches."
Derima scanned the area, then turned to see Altair and Getau ready to leave. He sighed and nodded.
[Derima]: "Alright.. let's leave.."
The trio spent an hour walking out of the forest, then prepared for their next adventure – ready to take on even more dangerous missions ahead!