Dawn had barely touched the sky when Raizen, Haruka, Kaito, and Senji began their ascent into the mountains. Mist clung to the trees like a living shroud, and every step on the wet, rocky path demanded concentration. Raizen's hands were steady on his sword hilt, yet a faint tension coiled in his shoulders—the same tension that had haunted him in the village, staring at the bodies left by the first signs of Tsuchigumo.
"Quiet," Raizen murmured, his eyes scanning the treeline. "Stay alert. The first strike could come from anywhere."
Kaito chuckled, his tone almost defiant in the eerie morning. "You worry too much. What's the worst a few mountain bandits could do to us? Or do you really believe in these 'spider monsters' they whisper about?"
Haruka's gaze never left the forest. "Bandits? No. Something else. Look at the ground—web-like scratches, broken branches, signs of traps. They're careful, precise. Not human, at least not in the way we are."
Senji, moving slightly ahead like a shadow himself, crouched and traced a faint trail through the damp soil. "They've been here recently. Less than an hour, judging by footprints and drag marks. And… they know we're coming."
Raizen's jaw tightened. He had expected ambushes, of course. That was the Tsuchigumo way: strike from the shadows, vanish into the mountains, and let fear do the rest. But seeing the evidence firsthand made it all too real. He took a measured breath. "Keep close. Don't separate."
The path narrowed sharply, the forest pressing in from both sides. Raizen led, his eyes sharp, muscles ready to react at a moment's notice. Haruka flanked him to the right, her polearm held like a predator's claw. Kaito bounded ahead with his usual flair, but careful enough to avoid obvious traps, while Senji melted into the trees, scanning silently.
Then it came.
A sharp snapping of a branch, too deliberate to be the wind. Raizen froze, signaling the others with a flick of his hand. From the underbrush, a dark figure sprang—fast, low, and erratic. Raizen barely parried in time, the attacker's blade scraping along the edge of his sword and sending sparks into the mist.
"Ambush!" Kaito shouted, rushing forward. His sword cut through the air with practiced ease, cleaving toward another shadowy figure that darted from the trees.
Haruka spun, her polearm extending in a graceful arc. She struck at a bandit hiding behind a tree, the impact sending him sprawling into the fog. "Stay focused!" she barked. "They're testing us, not committing yet!"
Raizen's eyes narrowed. There were three attackers, all moving like coordinated predators. Their faces were masked, their movements unnervingly silent except for the occasional hiss. Raizen parried another strike, feeling the sting as the edge of a blade nicked his arm. Blood, warm and sudden, ran down his sleeve.
"Ha! You'll have to do better than that!" Kaito shouted, grinning as he leapt forward, cleaving through another foe. Yet his grin faltered as a second attacker slashed from behind, forcing him to dodge just in time.
Raizen felt a pang of unease. These were not ordinary bandits. Their precision, their timing, their knowledge of the forest—it all pointed to something far more dangerous. The Tsuchigumo were alive, hunting, and learning from their encounters.
"Haruka, cover the left flank!" Raizen barked, sidestepping a low swing aimed at his legs. She moved swiftly, placing herself between him and another attacker. Her movements were fluid, practiced, deadly. Raizen couldn't help but notice the way her eyes flashed when she struck, sharp with intelligence and instinct.
A flicker of warmth stirred in his chest—an unfamiliar sensation he immediately shoved aside. Now was not the time for thoughts of attraction. Survival came first.
Senji appeared from the treeline, dropping a small bundle of debris onto the attackers' path. One tripped, tumbling into the fog with a startled scream. "Keep pushing!" Senji hissed, disappearing again.
The battle moved like a living storm. Raizen blocked, thrust, and countered, each motion precise but cautious. Kaito's flashy attacks drew attention but left him vulnerable at times, and Raizen had to step in to prevent disaster. Haruka's strikes kept their enemies off-balance, and for a fleeting moment, Raizen caught sight of her expression—calm, focused, yet tinged with an intensity that made his chest tighten.
One attacker, faster and larger than the others, lunged directly at Raizen. Sword clashing against blade, he struggled to hold the man off. Blood streaked his arm, and a sharp pain flared in his side as the opponent slashed again. With a deep breath, Raizen shifted weight, feinting left before thrusting forward with all his strength. The blade sank through the attacker's defenses, striking cleanly. The man crumpled, leaving only the echo of his hiss in the forest.
The remaining foes hesitated, reassessing the situation. Kaito lunged, cleaving through one with a grin, while Haruka moved with deadly precision, her polearm knocking another into the brush. Within moments, the attackers fled into the fog, leaving the group bruised, bloodied, but alive.
Raizen stood amidst the quiet forest, chest heaving, sweat mixing with the blood on his arm. He wiped his blade on the grass, glancing at Haruka. She approached, removing her glove and inspecting a small nick on her own hand.
"You're reckless," she said softly, but there was no anger in her tone. Only observation.
"And you're terrifying," Raizen replied without thinking. His words hung in the mist, awkward and fleeting. Haruka's eyes flicked up at him, a faint smirk tugging at her lips before she looked away, returning to her stance.
Kaito, still grinning despite the blood on his tunic, clapped Raizen on the shoulder. "Not bad for your first skirmish with 'mountain monsters.' I'll admit, I didn't expect you to—" He froze, noticing Raizen's gaze lingering on Haruka. "Ah. Never mind. Focus, master. Focus."
Senji appeared silently, his face unreadable as he nodded. "They were scouts. The main force is ahead, deeper in the mountains. They're waiting, and they'll be prepared."
Raizen swallowed. His arm throbbed, but adrenaline kept him steady. "We keep moving. Stay alert. We can't underestimate them again."
The fog shifted, curling like smoke over the path. In it, Raizen could just make out the web-like markings on the trees—subtle, eerie, deliberate. A warning from the Tsuchigumo that this hunt had only just begun.
As they pressed onward, Raizen felt a strange mixture of fear and anticipation. The forest was alive with danger, and yet… beside him, Haruka moved with lethal grace. He was drawn to it, to her. A pull he couldn't name, not yet, but it was there, threading through the tension of the battle and the weight of the mountains.
Somewhere ahead, the true Tsuchigumo waited. And Raizen Takahiro, his retainers at his side, would have to face them—and everything they represented—if he hoped to survive.
The mountains had claimed many before them. Tonight, Raizen would prove that he would not be one of them.