The forest swallowed the light as they moved deeper, roots twisting over the path like veins.

Trafalgar glanced at Garrika ahead. Her ears flicked, tail tense, every step light and deliberate. Sylven followed behind her, bow half-raised, eyes flicking from shadow to shadow.

"She's tracking something," Sylven murmured.

"Yeah," Trafalgar replied, voice low. "She's been sniffing the air for a while."

Garrika crouched near a patch of torn moss, brushing her fingers against faint claw marks. "Fresh. Big ones. Three at least."

Sylven's eyes glowed faintly silver as he activated [Aether Trace]. Lines of blue light spread over the ground, sketching spectral silhouettes that circled their position. "They're close. One to the left, two flanking from the front."

Trafalgar cracked his neck. "Then we don't wait." He brushed his thumb against his palm — and Maledicta materialized in his grasp, humming like a contained growl.

The first creature lunged through the undergrowth — a massive, bark-covered beast with tusks of stone and hollow eyes dripping sap. The impact shook the ground. Trafalgar met it head-on, steel against bone.

The blow rattled his arm to the shoulder. He gritted his teeth, pivoting his stance. 'Strong… heavier than expected.'

The beast reared again; he sidestepped, boots grinding dirt, then dashed forward with [Severance Step]. His form blurred, the sword carving a clean arc across its torso — only to leave a shallow gash.

Garrika leapt in beside him, claws flashing. [Beast Claw Barrage] ripped across the creature's flank, spraying dark sap. Sylven's arrows followed, each one glowing faintly as [Spirit Mark] tethered their positions.

The second monster barreled out of the brush. Trafalgar turned just in time to block, but the impact forced him back several steps, boots skidding through the mud.

He surged forward again, movements sharper, reading the creature's rhythm as if dissecting it mid-battle. Garrika tackled the third one before it reached Sylven, her claws sparking against its hide.

Minutes later, the forest went still again — three corpses collapsing in sequence, their breath fading into wet silence.

Trafalgar exhaled hard, sweat sliding down his jaw. His arm throbbed from the recoil of every strike, but his eyes were alight.

Garrika stretched, wiping blood from her cheek. "You alright?"

He nodded once. "Better than alright." He rolled his shoulder, smirk barely visible.

The ground was slick with sap and blood by the time they moved on. Garrika led them along a ridge that overlooked a shallow glade, the air shimmering faintly with mana residue — a perfect spawning ground.

Trafalgar wiped his blade clean against a patch of moss and exhaled, rolling his neck until it cracked. His pulse was steady now, but every muscle in his body screamed from the earlier exchange. He flexed his hand once, feeling the tremor in his fingers.

'Fuck… if I didn't have the Primordial Body, I'd be wrecked already. Fighting Flow ranks while I'm still Pulse? That's fucking suicide. No way I could stand toe-to-toe with them otherwise.'

He stepped forward anyway. The thought didn't slow him — it grounded him. Reminded him why he was here.

The next wave came faster. Shadows darted through the trees — leaner creatures this time, four-legged things with elongated limbs and needle-like spines running down their backs. Their eyes burned a faint violet as they circled the trio.

Sylven drew first blood. His arrow shimmered with [Spirit Mark], punching through the skull of the closest one. Garrika charged before it even hit the ground, claws flashing. [Lupine Rush] turned her into a blur of motion, carving through two beasts in one breath.

Trafalgar broke from their flank, reading the monsters' rhythm. He planted his heel, twisted his hips, and brought Maledicta down with [Earthsplitter]. The ground cracked open, sending a shockwave that threw three creatures off balance.

He followed through with a sweeping counter, [Arc Slash] slicing clean through one's torso — but the remaining two lunged simultaneously. One's claws grazed his shoulder, tearing his armor; the other slammed into his ribs hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

He stumbled, boots scraping mud. Garrika's shout echoed behind him — but Trafalgar didn't retreat. He drove his knee into the beast's gut, snarling under his breath. His sword arm blurred, cutting deep across its neck in a clean, practiced motion.

The creature collapsed, its ichor soaking into the earth.

Sylven dropped the last one with a shot between the eyes. The silence that followed was thick — broken only by their breathing.

Garrika turned toward him. "You're bleeding again."

Trafalgar glanced at the thin line of blood trickling from his shoulder, then at her. "Yeah. Not the first time." He straightened up, rotating his arm until it stopped hurting.

Trafalgar glanced at the corpses, scanning the ground. "Any drops of what we need?"

Garrika crouched, digging her claws gently into the remains of one creature. "Yeah," she said, pulling out a faintly glowing crystal. "Got one of the resin materials—and…" She paused, reaching deeper into the carcass before tugging something free. "An accessory."

She held up a small ring, its band dark silver and etched with faint runes that pulsed with residual mana. "Not bad. Looks like a rare drop."

Trafalgar arched a brow. "A ring, huh? Guess they're generous when they feel like it."

Garrika smirked. "Lucky day, Traf. You want it?"

He shook his head. "Let's gather everything first — we'll check the stats later."

They pressed further in, the air thickening with every step. Verdant Hollow changed fast — what had been a hunting ground became a labyrinth of towering roots and mist. The faint light from above could barely pierce the canopy now; everything smelled of wet moss and old mana.

Sylven's voice dropped to a whisper. "We're close to the inner zone. Beasts here are smarter — they stalk rather than charge."

"Good," Trafalgar murmured. "I'm in the mood for something that fights back."

Garrika's nose twitched. "Smell that? Blood… and metal. Someone fought here recently."

They followed the scent until the trees thinned into a small clearing. Several corpses lay sprawled across the mud — hunters, their armor torn apart like paper. The wounds were deep, precise, almost surgical.

Sylven crouched beside one of them, frowning. "Flow-tier creatures couldn't have done this. These cuts… are too clean."

Trafalgar's eyes narrowed. "So, something stronger." He raised his hand slightly, summoning Maledicta once more. The black blade formed in his grasp, its hum low and steady.

The forest answered. A sharp crack split the silence — then movement.

Something burst from the right: a creature like a centaur twisted with insect anatomy, its body plated in pale chitin, its mouth a jagged spiral of teeth. A second crawled from the canopy, dripping venom that hissed against the soil.

"Two of them," Garrika hissed, baring her fangs.

Trafalgar stepped forward without hesitation. "[Severance Step]." His figure flickered — one instant there, the next behind the first beast. Maledicta slashed upward in a clean arc, splitting through the chitin shell. Dark ichor sprayed.

The creature shrieked, reeling, but not dead. It turned with vicious speed, swiping its clawed limb across his chest. The impact sent him stumbling, armor tearing under the force.

'Fuck, strong… that was almost Prime-level strength.'

Garrika slammed into the second beast with [Lupine Rush], claws digging deep into its torso. Sylven's arrows rained from behind, striking the exposed joints, glowing faintly with [Spirit Mark].

Trafalgar steadied himself and pivoted. [Earthsplitter]. The ground erupted in a shockwave, cracking the soil and throwing the wounded creature off its balance. He didn't hesitate — stepped forward again, the world slowing in his focus, and brought Maledicta down with brutal precision.

Both beasts fell within seconds of each other, twitching before collapsing into silence.

A scream ripped through the forest. Not a roar — human.

The three of them froze, heads snapping toward the sound. Leaves trembled as something crashed through the brush: a hunter, limping, drenched in blood. His right shoulder was half gone, torn clean through. He stumbled forward, dragging himself with what strength he had left.

"Run—! The rift— it just opened—!"

He didn't make it another step. His knees buckled, body collapsing into the mud with a dull thud.

For a moment, no one spoke. Then a low hum rolled through the air — deep, unnatural, like the forest itself was groaning in pain.

Garrika's ears flattened. "That sound…"

"Yeah," Trafalgar muttered. "I hear it."

They turned toward the source — a clearing just ahead, where the air shimmered like boiling glass. A jagged tear hung there, suspended midair, black and pulsing. The trees around it bent unnaturally, bark cracking under invisible pressure.

Sylven's voice was barely a whisper. "It must've formed minutes ago."

"Which means," Trafalgar said quietly, eyes narrowing, "whatever came through is still around."

The rift pulsed again — once, twice — and the first creature clawed its way out. Its body was long and boneless, humanoid but horribly wrong, skin a slick gray that swallowed light. Its face was blank, no eyes, no mouth — just smooth nothing.

Another followed, and another. Silent, twitching shapes that moved like shadows half-formed.

Garrika tensed, claws unsheathing. "We can't let them multiply. If too many come through—"

"I know," Trafalgar cut in. His hand clenched, and Maledicta materialized in his grip, humming with quiet hunger. "To close it, we kill everything that steps out. Simple enough."

He exhaled slowly, heartbeat steadying as the first faceless creature lunged toward them.

'Perfect timing,' he thought, stepping forward into its path. 'Let's see what [Riftborn Feast] can really do.'

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