Eric spun in place, keeping his balance as if the wagon weren't moving at all.
Shot.
The light arrow pierced straight through the Moblin's eye.
The creature's massive body, well over two meters tall, collapsed backward with a brutal splash that sent ripples through the swamp.
—One less.
There was no time to celebrate.
An electric hiss cut through the air the very next second.
—Lizalfos! —someone shouted—
Three scaly silhouettes leapt down from an elevated rock, curved blades gleaming in their hands beneath the rain.
Eric ducked just in time as a blade whistled over his head.
—Tsk… you really are a plague—
He rolled, rose in the same motion, and fired point-blank.
The arrow detonated in light as it struck the first one in the torso.
The second Lizalfos tried to leap straight onto the wagon—
only to take an arrow straight through the neck midair.
The last one fled the moment it realized the odds.
Eric didn't give it the chance.
Shazz!
The arrow struck squarely in its head.
—Clear —he said, scanning the now-quiet surroundings—
The convoy pushed forward into a narrower stretch, twisted trees crowding in on both sides.
Then a tall, thin figure raised a staff in the distance.
An Invoker.
—Ah… —Eric said—. The brains of the group.
He recognized it instantly.
Even if it wasn't common knowledge taught to children, the improvised school in Hateno covered these things—
albeit with far more… friendly illustrations.
The monster began to mutter, electricity gathering around its staff.
Eric, naturally, didn't give it time to call down lightning.
He inhaled and fired.
The arrow tore through the air and struck the staff before the spell could finish forming.
The explosion of light swallowed the Invoker and erased it from the swamp as if it had never existed.
The remaining monsters hesitated.
Eric did not.
He fired in rapid bursts.
Left. Right. Every arrow found a target.
Every impact was final.
The wagon kept rolling as the weather worsened, rain hammering down harder with each passing second.
When the last blue Bokoblin collapsed into the mud, Eric slowly lowered the bow and remained standing, steady, his cloak soaked and clinging to his body, breath slightly heavy.
—Everyone alright? —he asked after several deep breaths—
—Yeah… —one of the villagers replied, wide-eyed—.
—But you're insane.
Eric smiled beneath his hood.
—No —he corrected—.
—They were just badly organized.
He jumped down from the roof in a clean motion and gave the side of the wagon a proud pat.
—Let's keep moving. The swamp isn't done with us yet, and it's still dangerous.
The convoy pushed deeper in.
The Zonai wheels kept spinning without pause, slicing through mud and puddles as if the swamp had no right to stand in their way.
While rain rendered boots useless and pack horses helpless, the Zonai wheels continued to turn, steadily burning through battery energy.
From atop a rocky ledge, a pair of eyes watched the convoy.
A Zora.
He had witnessed the entire monster ambush. In fact, he himself had been hiding, waiting for reinforcements to deal with them.
But the boy hadn't even given him time to warn anyone.
The speed.
The precision.
The way monsters fell before ever getting close to the convoy.
—What an astonishing Hylian… —he murmured under his breath—
Eric felt him before he saw him.
He turned atop the wagon, drew the bow, and aimed straight at the bluish reflection shimmering through the rain.
—Come out —he ordered—. Slowly.
The Zora stepped forward… and raised both hands.
—I'm not an enemy! —he said—. Don't shoot!
Eric held the bow for one more second.
Then he recognized the silhouette. The equipment. The posture.
—You're a Zora —he murmured—
He lowered the bow.
—Get on —Eric said—
The Zora hesitated only a moment before jumping onto the lead wagon.
The vehicle kept moving as if nothing had happened.
—I'm Lareph —he said, taking a deep breath—. I watch over these routes… or what's left of them. But with the relentless rain, electric Lizalfos crawl out from under every rock. Even the water is full of those disgusting beasts!
Eric more or less understood.
—Then tell me how bad things really are in this region.
Lareph looked at the flooded road, the endless rain, the sky offering no sign of mercy.
—Worse than it looks —he replied—. Ruta gives us no rest.
Eric listened without interrupting.
—The rain doesn't stop —the Zora continued—. Rivers swell, roads collapse, electric Lizalfos grow more aggressive. Merchants stopped coming. Messengers… don't come back.
He clenched his fists.
—The king.… —he swallowed— the king's hands are tied. No one can approach the Divine Beast without being severely injured.
—No one can stop it.
Eric frowned.
—Vah… Ruta?
Lareph looked at him with genuine surprise.
—You don't know what it is?
Eric shook his head.
—I've heard rumors. Storms. Endless rain over Zora's Domain. But no one ever takes the time to explain it properly.
In Hateno, little was said about these matters—at least during the short time he'd attended the improvised school.
The Zora fell silent for a few seconds, as if the story itself hurt to arrange.
—One hundred years ago —he began—, when the world still believed it could prepare for the cataclysm, the king and his people uncovered ancient technology. Giant machines created to face the evil that always returns.
Eric listened in silence.
—One of them was Vah Ruta —he continued—.
—Elephant-shaped. Designed to control water, alongside our princess Mipha… who tragically fell during the calamity.
Eric remained quiet.
—Vah Ruta was our guardian. It regulated the rivers. Calmed the rains. Prevented floods. And it was meant to aid Princess Zelda against the Calamity.
Lareph clenched his teeth.
—But when the Demon King returned… everything changed.
The convoy rolled through a stretch where water slammed violently against the wheels.
Even so, they kept moving.