"ROAR!!!"
A sharp howl, powerful enough to shake one's soul, emanated from the center of the largest tree directly in front of them. The sound reminded Lucas Reeve of the shrieks of ghosts from a horror movie he'd once seen, but this was countless times more terrifying.
Furthermore.
This howl seemed to carry a soul-level intimidation.
Even Lucas Reeve felt his soul tremble slightly, let alone Franka and the others. Under the force of that howl, the three of them were stunned for a moment... only Jessica was fine. After all, she had two souls in her body, and Lucas had blocked the soul shock for her.
Under everyone's utterly shocked gaze.
The ancient tree in the center of the Blackflow Sea of Trees, roughly estimated to be over a hundred meters tall and as thick as many people holding hands, actually began to move on its own. The dense branches on its trunk, like a spider's web, started to twist like monstrous snakes, giving off an incredibly sinister feeling.
"What the hell!! What is this thing!!!"
Even Franka, an elite mercenary, couldn't keep her composure at this moment. Her eyes widened, her mouth agape, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
This strange, tree-like creature before her was beyond her personal comprehension. She had seen many Originium creatures, but this was the first time she had seen a hundred-meter-tall tree that could move on its own, especially with those snake-like, flexible branches intertwining together. It was an instant SANity drop, utterly nauseating.
Liskarm and Jessica were in no better shape.
Liskarm remained relatively calm. As an elite mercenary, she had to stay composed in such a situation.
Jessica, however, couldn't show the same composure as her seniors. A look of fear had already appeared on her face, and she continuously called out to Lucas in her mind. At a time like this, only Lucas could give her a full sense of security.
"Everyone, be careful. The dream earlier was likely caused by this monster. It seems to be incredibly skilled at attacking on a spiritual level..."
Lucas, occupying Jessica's body, spoke quickly.
Although he didn't know how this monster came to be, he roughly understood that the remnant souls he saw last night and the monsters they encountered in the village were very likely connected to this creature.
Suddenly~
Clusters of pale blue flames lit up on every branch of the giant tree monster. In an instant, the vast sea of branches was illuminated by these flames, and the large cave was filled with a faint, eerie blue glow.
Lucas Reeve had a bad feeling.
These pale blue flames were all too familiar.
With a few shakes from the monster.
The pale blue flames fell from the branches onto the shallow river surface.
And in the next second.
Accompanied by the sound of something emerging from the water.
Terrifying skeletons slowly rose from beneath the water's surface. Each skeleton's bones were semi-transparent, and the pale blue flames from before burned continuously on their heads, identical to the monsters they had encountered in Podenco's village.
However.
The number was much, much greater...
A dense circle of them, almost filling the entire cave, surrounded them in countless layers, stretching as far as the eye could see.
*Gulp...*
Liskarm swallowed hard.
She took a deep breath, trying to force herself to remain calm.
It wasn't just her.
No one present could smile. Even the naturally optimistic Franka now wore an incredibly grim expression.
They were surrounded by a conservative estimate of several thousand monsters. Forget monsters... even several thousand ordinary people with weapons could crush them with sheer numbers, let alone these skeletal monsters whose individual strength was much greater than that of ordinary people....
"Looks like this money won't be easy to earn..."
Franka gave a bitter smile, drawing her rapier with one hand and her shortsword with the other, joking.
"Several thousand? If we can survive this, I'm definitely submitting a promotion application to the higher-ups."
However.
Liskarm, as was her habit, threw cold water on Franka's comment.
"Fat Fox, don't forget, the enemies aren't just these. There's also that..."
Her gaze shifted to the giant tree monster in the distance.
"Tsk... this is giving me a headache... There are still so many places I haven't explored. I don't want to die young...."
Magallan scratched her cute bob cut, vexed.
"Miss Macbeth..."
Franka rapped her on the head forcefully.
"Don't say such discouraging things at a time like this. Can we say something positive? As the client, can't you have a little more faith in your mercenaries?"
"....."
Magallan was utterly speechless.
"I'm telling you, can we just get my name right for once, little Franka? Just once! If something really happens, I think I might not be able to rest in peace...."
"Huh?!"
Franka was stunned.
"Isn't your name Macbeth?"
".....You only got one character right..."
"McCree?"
"....."
"Maltesers!"
"..."
"Oatmeal Bro!"
Lucas Reeve: "???"
"Jay Cee!!"
After a round of guessing from Franka, she still hadn't gotten the second character of Magallan's name right.
Magallan was already in despair.
She suddenly didn't want to die...
At least not until someone could say her name correctly.
"Magallan..."
Finally, Lucas couldn't help himself.
"Hahahaha!"
Franka burst out laughing.
"That name's even more ridiculous! How could she possibly be called Magallan..."
"*Sob sob sob*~"
Hearing 'Jessica' actually say her name correctly, Magallan couldn't hold it in. She felt like she could finally rest in peace.
In such a situation, an ordinary person would probably be trembling with despair or have already fainted from fear.
But Franka and the others still had the energy to guess names here, completely pushing the crisis to the back of their minds. Perhaps this was the benefit of being big-hearted.
For them, from the moment they entered this profession, they were prepared to die at any time. Basically, before every mission, they would habitually leave a new version of their will, prepared for the possibility of not returning. If they died, it wasn't a loss; if they didn't, it was a huge win.
"Mr. Reeve~"
Jessica, inside the necklace, was a little scared.
Lucas smiled and comforted her.
"Don't worry, I'll take you back to Columbia with me."
"Mhm!! I believe in you, Mr. Reeve!"
The next second.
Lucas Reeve took a deep breath.
In an instant, a terrifying amount of air filled his lungs. Under the state of Total Concentration Breathing, Jessica's body was also augmented to some extent.
Transparent World.
When Transparent World was activated.
The world before Lucas's eyes changed drastically. Not only could he see the movement of muscles, but he could also clearly see the flow of energy and the trajectory of souls, including a glowing, gem-like object embedded in the center of the huge ancient tree's trunk.
This glowing object was like a human heart, with countless 'veins' connected to it.
He didn't say anything.
Because he wasn't sure if the tree monster could understand human speech, nor was he sure if it knew that he had seen through to its core. Only a sudden surprise attack had a chance of success. Only by using his strongest move could he pierce the tree monster's core in an instant...
He let out a long breath.
Within the white mist of his breath, a faint blue lightning was wrapped.
Lucas's right hand slowly rested on the hilt of the longsword at his waist, his body bending down, preparing to draw his sword.
[Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash!]
[Godspeed!!]
With a low rumble of thunder in the cave, the river water at Lucas's feet splashed. His entire body once again turned into lightning, instantly reaching the tree monster. The longsword cut into the monster's thick trunk, unstoppable.
However, as Lucas was cutting its body, the tree monster let out an incredibly shrill roar. This roar contained a powerful spiritual force, which shot directly into the depths of Lucas's soul.
For a moment.
Lucas's soul was severely shaken, and the hand holding the sword became unsteady, making it impossible to complete the rest of the cut. If not for the fact that the remnant soul Lucas had left in Jessica was quite strong, he would have likely fainted on the spot.
"Damn it!!!"
The tree monster seemed to have been enraged by Lucas.
Countless tree trunks, like the legs of an octopus, flailed about randomly, trying to crush this ant-like creature into smithereens.
At the same time.
The skeletal monsters that had been watching menacingly from the sidelines also roared and launched their attack.
The heavy, overlapping footsteps were enough to make even Franka's scalp tingle.
"This money really is hard to earn... If I can get back alive after this mission, I'm contacting an agency to debut as an idol. Being a star is so much more profitable...."
Franka grumbled.
"..."
Liskarm didn't even want to retort anymore.
Because...
Basically, every time Franka faced a life-threatening situation, she would say the same thing.
Then, after the mission was over, when Liskarm teased her about it, her answer would be, 'next time for sure'.