Cedar Forest.
"Pft! Pft! Pft! Pft!"
Dozens of splitting beams of light shot out, cutting through the air. The faint scent of blood reached the noses of the Magical Beasts. They whimpered and looked up, but before they could react, blood burst from their bodies and they collapsed with muffled groans.
"Hmph! That's all they've got!"
Descending gracefully from the air, Ishtar flipped her long hair and made a stylish, majestic entrance.
But as the blood scent spread, a strange vibration followed. Dull beastly roars echoed one after another.
"They're coming—they're coming again!"
With the feline sharpness of a Jaguar Warrior, she stared into the depths of the forest. Leaves rustled down, and her hackles rose as she muttered and rushed ahead.
Her claw blades swung, swatting down the two Ugallu at the front. But more Magical Beasts surged in like a dark tide, sweeping forward in dense waves. There were too many—she couldn't stop them all.
Fortunately, this time, they had brought elites. Even Samael, who usually lagged behind, could now hold his own against Leonidas.
Without hesitation, the team shifted formation and tightened ranks.
Ishtar and the Jaguar Warrior formed the spearhead, Ana and Samael covered the flanks, and Merlin supported from the center.
With sheer breakthrough force, the team pushed upstream, carving through the charge of hundreds of Magical Beasts.
However, just as they cleared out the last wave and took only a few steps forward, a massive rumble rose around them.
More Magical Beasts! And this time, even more than before!
Everyone's expressions hardened. They instantly tensed, preparing for another round.
Just as the hazy silhouettes of monsters appeared in the dense forest ahead, the ground began to tremble in a bizarre rhythm.
In a flash, rocks split apart, forming crisscrossing ravines. The earth buckled and shot up as jagged spikes.
The densely packed formation of Magical Beasts was thrown into chaos—cries echoed as they plunged into the valleys or were impaled by the spikes.
Then, red and black spear-like thorns burst from the ground.
Those monsters that had halted too suddenly were run through on the spot, unable to escape the sudden shift.
At the same time, a red-black glow rose from beneath the group's feet and scattered into specks that seeped into their bodies.
Protection of the Underworld!
The pulse of the land and the surge that awakened life's potential loosened the tension in Samael's brow.
"Everyone, Ere is clearing a path! Don't get bogged down!"
"There's movement already—we need to finish this before Kingu catches on. Move!"
At the ancient serpent's roar, the group gave up on clearing out the beasts and plunged deeper into the forest.
Sure enough, the way ahead was nearly unimpeded.
Even when small packs of beasts appeared, they were either eliminated by Ereshkigal's terrain manipulation or swiftly taken out by the group.
With coordinated support, the team advanced at impressive speed.
But as they neared the Blood Fort, the surroundings grew increasingly eerie.
Large swaths of grass had withered, exposing foul, red-black soil. Animal bones were scattered everywhere.
The once lush trees were now bare, their twisted trunks more grotesque and menacing than ever, like fingers clawing up from underground.
Even stranger, the bark of the dead trees shimmered with silver and gold lines, resembling human veins.
The deeper they went, the clearer and more defined these trees and their patterns became.
At last, the road ahead was nearly blocked by the bizarre growths—when suddenly, a cold, sharp voice rang out.
"Wait!"
As everyone instinctively slowed down, Samael used the leftover momentum to draw a spear and hurled it forward.
"Thud!"
A jarring, dull impact rang out as splinters flew everywhere.
But what was even more disturbing—red and black blood gushed from the wound.
These trees were alive!
Faces darkened across the group. In the split second of forewarning, crackling sounds echoed from all directions.
The skeletal trees, shaped like giant hands, lit up with magical runes along their trunks and began crashing down on the intruders.
"Maanna! Hit them with everything you've got!"
Soaring into the air, Ishtar raised her hand like a spear and shouted her command.
Her celestial bow drew taut, unleashing a dazzling tide of Ether that rained down in a fierce bombardment.
The hand-like deadwood shattered instantly, red-black blood spraying wildly as eerie, creaking screams rang out—like living things being violently torn apart.
But as the dust thickened, the ambient Mana signature suddenly spiked.
"Clang!"
Sensing danger, Merlin slammed his staff to the ground. A swirl of petals, both real and illusory, spread from beneath their feet and rapidly grew.
"Jaguar, get back!"
At the same time, Samael instinctively pulled back the impulsive Jaguar Warrior, who had been ready to scout ahead. He raised his round shield, placing himself between Ana and the incoming threat.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In an instant, volleys of silver-white and golden Mana blasts shot in from all directions, bombarding their position.
Samael braced behind the shield, his arms numb from the shock. His feet were driven deep into the ground, carving long trenches beneath him.
"How dare you ambush the Jaguar! That's low! This forest's under our rule!"
Almost caught by the ambush, the Jaguar Warrior fumed in humiliation. With a shout of rage, she darted out from the side, advancing in a zigzag blur toward the source of the blasts.
Ana wasn't about to be left behind. Swinging her chain, she anchored it into a chunk of tree debris and flung herself forward.
The two goddesses brandished their weapons, tearing into the twisted groaning trees with relentless force—like tireless lumberjacks in a chorus of creaks and shrieks.
As the dust cleared, the shattered tree-trunks—those with silver and gold vein-like patterns across their bark—revealed magic cores suspended above them, shaped like tiny stars.
Those earlier Mana blasts had come from these cores.
But after the goddesses' destructive assault, these creatures—somewhere between plant and beast—were felled one by one, leaking red-black sap as they fell.
"Arms of Dawn! So it really is them!"
Ishtar descended, her expression twisted with surprise.
"You've seen them before?" Samael asked, sensing her reaction.
"Only heard of them," she replied. "They're said to be strange lifeforms, mutated from divine blood."
"Back before humans existed, when the gods waged war endlessly, it was from those blood-soaked lands and corpses that these things were born."
"Why are they still around now...?"
Ishtar, whose domain involved growth and fertility, murmured in confusion. The closer they drew to the Blood Fort, the more intense that prickle of dread became.
Could it be? With so many Arms of Dawn appearing... was the blood flowing beneath the earth divine blood?
"In any case, stay alert."
Shuddering slightly, the goddess gave a solemn warning before stepping ahead to scout the path, wary of more dangerous threats.
"Everyone, stay sharp!"
At Samael's low command, the group gathered up and pushed forward quickly across this corpse-littered, tainted ground.
Fortunately, beyond the reach of the Arms of Dawn, the Blood Fort—built in grand Greek style—was now within sight.
And in honor of the Goddess of Demonic Beasts, no filthy Magical Beasts prowled near it.
Everyone exhaled in relief, took a moment to regroup, then advanced toward their final destination.
...
(50 Chapters Ahead)
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