“It’d be better if they come for us,” Yulian said, releasing the maximum limit allowed by his Beast Koa.

  “Brother, what’s wrong with you? You’re acting really aggressive,” Damien asked, startled by the sudden change in attitude.

  “No… this isn’t right. I’m going back,” Carlo exclaimed in fear.

  A thunderous crash shook the air. When they turned, enormous red eyes pierced through the fog.

  “Shit… we can’t go back that way,” Edward complained.

  Terrified, Carlo began running in another direction.

  “Carlo, stop!” Edward shouted, chasing after him, with Yulian and Damien following a bit farther behind.

  “This damn mountain and its supernatural aura make me sick,” Yulian growled.

  The dense fog caused them to lose sight of Edward and Carlo, even though they felt close.

  They ran a few more meters when a piercing sound sent chills down their spines, forcing them to stop dead in their tracks. A heavy impact against the ground announced the arrival of three insectoid creatures, roughly two meters tall. Their red eyes seemed to stare deep into their minds, and their enormous wings made them look even more threatening. They spoke no words—only emitted shrill screeches that crawled beneath the skin.

  “That’s the one I saw in the tree outside my window the other night,” Damien exclaimed, releasing his Legend Koa: Lancelot.

  “They’re Mothmen… I thought there was only one,” Yulian said as he slashed with his Bear Koa.

  The creatures took flight. Their wingbeats released a fine powder that blended with the fog. They were fast, and from the sky they continued emitting that same piercing sound.

  “Cover your mouth. That powder causes fear and confusion, similar to your Dragon Koa. Which, by the way… why aren’t you using it?” Yulian asked.

  “What little I recovered, I spent hitting the Wampus. But I still have this…” Damien manifested it. “Arondight.”

  “I’m more of a firearms guy, but it’ll have to do.”

  The Mothmen released their Beast Koa from above and dove simultaneously. They managed to dodge the first two, but the third struck Damien and slammed him into a tree.

  “Damn it… Grizzly Fury!” Yulian counterattacked, but the creatures soared back up at incredible speed. Their slender bodies made them extremely light.

  “Grr… they hit hard. That Koa enhances their physical strength…” Damien muttered as he recovered.

  “Get up! See? That’s why all these damn things have to be eliminated… now the question is how,” Yulian snarled.

  “I don’t agree with killing them… stopping them, yes. But you’re the genius,” Damien replied, taking a fighting stance again.

  “A genius, huh? Then cover me from their attacks,” Yulian said, deactivating his Beast Koa and releasing his Legend Koa: Socrates.

  ‘I only know that I know nothing.’

  The Koa began analyzing sound, wind direction, how it struck tree trunks and grass— even the fog itself—forming a mental map of the area.

  “I don’t think getting philosophical is going to help against these things…”

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  Due to his lack of training with a sword, Damien fought clumsily. He used Arondight however he could, blocking attacks aimed at Yulian, but still took blows himself as the Mothmen repeated their cycle of rising and striking, each attack stronger than the last.

  “You’d better hurry…” Damien shouted as he forced himself back to his feet.

  “I’ve got it! We’ll use this fog to our advantage. Run that way.”

  They boosted their speed with Koa as sonic attacks rained down from above.

  “All that time mastering that damn ability, and your plan is to run?” Damien grumbled.

  “My ability isn’t for direct combat—it’s analysis. And according to my analysis, this will work. Run straight ahead. Don’t stop until I say so… and when I do, turn around,” Yulian replied.

  They reached the designated point and stopped. The screeches followed them, then began to descend rapidly.

  “I hope you’ve got a ranged attack with Arondight,” Yulian said, placing his hands against two massive tree trunks.

  “The Passage of Time.”

  A deafening rumble seemed to rise from within the trees themselves. The wood cracked like breaking bones. Branches grew at an unnatural speed, though the fog prevented a clear view.

  “Damien, a specific sound will be your signal,” Yulian warned.

  A brutal crunch of bodies being crushed shook the air. Leaves whipped violently. For a few seconds, the fog dispersed.

  There they were—the Mothmen.

  The branches, like enormous fingers, had trapped them. They had fallen into Yulian’s snare and couldn’t break free.

  “You really are a genius… Blade of the Lake.”

  Damien swung his sword, releasing a slash of blue light that split the fog in two. Direct hit. Two of the creatures were severely injured but still managed to flee, flying with great effort. The third fell with a shattered wing and leg, escaping by crawling into the mist.

  “We have to go after that one—it won’t get far!” Yulian shouted.

  “Hey, stop! It’s injured. It’s not a threat. We need to find Carlo and Edward,” Damien stepped in. “What’s your problem with monsters, man?”

  “A monkey attacks you, a goblin, a damn shapeshifting jaguar, three giant bugs—and you still defend them?”

  The rage in Yulian’s voice was so intense it sent chills through Damien.

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” Damien deactivated his Koa. “I’m not looking for a fight. I’m your best friend. What is it?”

  Yulian cast one last hatred-filled glance toward the Mothman disappearing into the fog. Finally, he calmed down.

  Reluctantly, he told Damien that when he was four or five years old, a shadow-like creature used to stalk him in his home. Sometimes it was large, sometimes small. He would wake up with unexplained scratches. One day, it simply vanished—along with his memories of it. Until César’s story brought them all back.

  Damien watched as Yulian rubbed his arms with anger and disgust, as if the wounds were still there. He knew he wasn’t lying… but also that he wasn’t telling the whole truth.

  A distant growl interrupted them.

  “Edward and Carlo should be over there. Let’s move—now.”

  Meanwhile, Edward and Carlo were facing their own hell.

  They had been surrounded and cornered by Bigfoots and White Thangs—massive, hulking simians of monstrous strength. Their eyes burned with hatred.

  “Damn it… there are too many,” Edward growled, backing away. Several cryptid bodies lay unconscious on the ground. He had taken down a couple with great effort, but he was injured and exhausted.

  “Leave me, friend… you can still escape,” Carlo murmured. He could barely walk; several bones were broken. When he fled in panic, he unknowingly entered enemy territory and was brutally beaten. He survived by using Koa, but fear had paralyzed him.

  “Heh… wouldn’t look good on me to leave you behind,” Edward said with a nervous smile. “Why are these things so angry?”

  The creatures didn’t attack immediately. They advanced slowly, savoring the despair on the boys’ faces.

  “Carlo, damn it… you’re a thaumaturge. Get up and keep moving!”

  For the first time, the words reached Carlo—though even breathing was becoming too difficult.

  “That look… that same look our friends had when that thing attacked them. Must’ve been human,” one of the creatures bellowed, its strained speech making clear how difficult human language was for it.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. We haven’t attacked anyone here,” Edward replied, manifesting Medusa with the last remnants of his Legend Koa.

  “I imagine so. My brothers on the ground. They just passed out on their own…” the creature replied sarcastically, stepping closer.

  “You started the attack. I only defended myself.” Edward stood his ground.

  “Friend… wait… what are you doing?” Carlo asked.

  “Well,” the cryptid said, wrapping his right fist in Beast Koa, “now defend yourself from this.”

  He lunged at them.

  “God… give us a miracle,” Carlo whispered.

  At that exact moment, something stepped between the Bigfoot’s punch and Edward.