The trees of the arabisel forest were receding little by little as ryo and shimoro advanced toward the east. The air became more humid, and the light piercing through the branches took on a faint blue hue, as if the place were preparing for something strange.
Throughout the journey, only a few minutes passed between each monster encounter.
A gray Rank E monster appeared between the bushes, so ryo lifted his sword lightly, saying:
"Step back, shimoro… this is my turn."
shimoro grumbled, raising his hands in surrender:
"Again?! Let me fight at least one…"
But ryo disappeared before he could finish his sentence, leaped over the monster, then spun around it three lightning-fast times, each strike creating a silver line in the air.
He sliced the monster in half before it even understood what happened.
ryo landed lightly and said with an annoying confidence:
"See? Even these creatures aren't worth your time; leave them to me."
shimoro frowned:
"Actually, they are worth my time! I am a fighter too!"
ryo laughed:
"Maybe later… when you're not being annoying."
Midway, a larger monster appeared, mucus dripping from its mouth, its eyes red.
shimoro said enthusiastically:
"This is my turn!"
But ryo raised his hand in front of him:
"Don't move."
Then he pounced on the monster with the speed of a spider lunging at its prey.
A jump—
A spin—
A diagonal strike—
A backflip—
Then a deep cut from the shoulder to the abdomen.
The monster fell like a dismantled doll.
ryo waved his sword with admiration:
"This sword… it's like an extension of my hand. Its only problem is that it might break over time; it's not extremely solid."
shimoro pursed his lips in resentment:
"You're doing this on purpose just to spite me."
ryo smiled a provocative smile without regret:
"Yes."
After an hour of walking, the trees began to thin and a strange, shimmering light appeared, resembling small fires moving in the air.
Then… the view widened before them.
The Sea of Fireflies stretched before them like a calm lake, its color between nocturnal blue and silver, reflecting thousands of glowing fireflies.
The fireflies flew slowly, creating paths of green and golden light in the air.
The water was semi-clear… and beneath it, something like small stars glowed.
shimoro opened his mouth in awe:
"This place… it's like it's from another world. How magnificent!."
ryo said with rare calmness:
"Yes. Here lives the red scale fish… our target."
The two continued walking along the edge of the lake, tense for any sudden attack.
The place was beautiful… but its silence held something suspicious.
While ryo was clearing some tall grass with his foot, he stopped suddenly.
"Hmm?"
He lowered himself…
Extended his hand…
And touched something sticky.
When he raised his fingers… they were stained a dark red.
He leaned closer… smelled it…
And his face hardened completely.
"Blood…"
shimoro's heart pounded faster:
"Blood?! Here?!! Whose?"
ryo stared toward the dark forest behind them…
"... This isn't old blood. It's fresh."
He raised his eyes forward...
shimoro froze in place, his eyes wide and his lip trembling slightly as he stared at the blood on ryo's hand.
"H-human blood?!!"
His voice was faint, as if he were afraid of being heard by something unknown in the darkness.
ryo looked at the spot again, wiped his fingers on some grass, and said with heavy seriousness:
"Yes, this isn't monster blood…
It's human. Just like us."
shimoro's trembling increased, his shoulders shaking like a child lost in a forest for the first time.
ryo raised his eyebrow, then slapped him with words without mercy:
"Heh… what is this? Why are you shaking like that? Have you become a child afraid of shadows again?"
A blink… then two…
And shimoro's fear turned into an internal fire of embarrassment and provocation as he tried to hide his dread.
"I..i am not a child! I was just… just surprised..."
ryo gave a short laugh:
"Alright, Mr. Surprised… let's move forward."
ryo advanced first, his steps steady, while shimoro followed him at a small distance, looking around cautiously, trembling with fear…
The fireflies lit the path as if guiding them… or warning them.
After some time, ryo stopped again.
On the ground… larger bloodstains, scattered in an unnatural pattern.
He raised his head, looking at the sky where the moon had begun to rise… its full disk shining with a cold silver color.
"This… is not good."
shimoro asked in a low voice while trembling behind ryo:
"Why?.. What does this mean?!"
ryo replied while examining the ground:
"The more bloodstains there are… the closer we are. Either to the red scale fish… or to a worse monster… or to a wounded person who is still breathing."
shimoro swallowed hard:
"I hope for the third possibility…"
ryo smiled a small smile:
"I hope for the first… the tastiest for a fight."
The two moved forward, ryo in front and shimoro in the back, both ready…
And they both froze.
There was a pile of human bones… completely clean, as if something had ripped the flesh off them.
shimoro's knees were trembling this time without him pretending otherwise:
"Th-th-this… a human. It ...itwas a h...hu...human..!"
ryo leaned down slightly, looked at the bones, touched one with the back of his sword, and then said:
"The flesh was devoured very quickly… this is the work of a beast with long teeth… or a powerful jaw.."
shimoro raised his gaze toward him, though he was still trembling:
"Are ...are we… are we approaching something… somthing.. we cannot face?!.."
ryo answered coldly with a crooked smile, as if he were used to seeing such sights…
"Maybe. And maybe that would be better."
The moon rose until it fully ascended the sky.
The silver light reflected on the surface of the sea, making the water look like a moving mirror.
Then…
DOOOOM!
The sound of a massive water explosion shook the ground beneath their feet.
The two looked toward the sea…
In a split second, a giant monster pierced the surface, leaping upward, as if it wanted to swallow the moon itself.
The fish was terrifying and beautiful at the same time:
Shiny red scales, resembling polished iron.
Crimson eyes glowing with the intent to kill.
Long, sharp teeth like rows of knives.
On both sides of its body, massive gills in the middle of the torso that extended almost beyond its natural length.
These gills ended in sharp edges of scales, as if they were blades fused with the flesh.
Its body glistened under the moonlight, like a legendary beast emerged from an ancient book.
Water fell around it like a waterfall.
shimoro stood stunned and afraid, his eyes reflecting the red light of its scales:
"It's… it's beautiful… but it's terrifying… much more than I expected… I don't want to die.."
Meanwhile, ryo…
Not a single trace of fear appeared on him.
Instead, the first real smile since their meeting appeared on his face.
A smile of wonder… full of excitement… and charged with instinct.
"Finally…"
He raised the sword, his grip tightened.
"Finally we get to fight it, shimoro… let's give everything we have… even unto death!."
shimoro swallowed the air, his body tense but strangely excited, gripping his dagger tightly.
"A-alright… let's begin…"
And the giant fish opens its mouth…
The rows of its teeth reflect the moonlight…
And the chapter ends at the moment it approaches the shore….