The blade was mere inches away when Selene arched backward, bending like a drawn bow. Her sword thrust against the platform for balance as her right leg snapped upward.
Jude's eyes widened as his sword sliced empty air.
A fraction later, her kick slammed against his temple, whipping his head sideways with enough force to send him spinning past her.
Selene flipped to her feet, zeroing in on Jude.
Jude was wobbling at the edge of the platform.
She dashed at him. A few meters from him, she slashed at his chest.
Jude had just found his footing, bursting with explosive speed away from the sword's range, and lashing out with a rope that materialized in his other hand.
But she ducked, and her sword abruptly zipped as if it teleported, ramming into Jude's chest with stunning force.
BANG!
Draven's eyes widened at the sight of Jude launched clean off the platform.
He slammed into the ground, tumbling shortly before coming to a stop. The crowd plunged into deafening silence.
Selene stopped aloofly, gazing at Jude's crumpled body.
Jude stirred and pushed himself to his feet. He stared at Selene.
Draven squinted as he observed him.
Jude was covered in dust, but what attracted his attention was the horizontal sword-shaped dent on his armor, where the sword had struck.
'She didn't slash but slapped it against him. That must be… Instant Burst—'
"Selene wins!" the Council representative yelled, and quickly left the crowd. The crowd began dispersing.
Selene hopped down from the platform, walking toward Vera, but Jude's voice sounded, "This is not over."
She replied without looking back, "And I don't think I will spare you again."
"See you around," Draven said to Vera before Selene could meet them, joining the dispersing crowd.
"Find a good bow," she said to his back.
Draven made it out of the Haven.
When he was a quite a distance from the Haven, he changed his armor to Obsidian Carapace, summoned his bow and arrow, and sprinted at full speed for the green mist region. He also hid his face behind his helmet.
He passed groups moving in different directions.
On his way, Draven pulled up his panel to check his Soul Vitalis. And there were only four remaining.
'I really paid the price for this arrow. Besides, this Soul Vitalis count…' he mused. 'From First to Third Order, I still receive the same amount—a single Soul Vitalis. Is everybody just a single Soul Vitalis?'
He did his periodic scan with the Soul Eyes and returned to his thoughts when he saw no flame. 'What if it changes with rank? Does it change with rank?' He pondered seriously.
'I suppose we'll never know—unless I kill a monster of a higher rank, which I'd never dare attempt. The terror of that Monkey—even though it was the same rank, merely of a higher order—is still fresh and vivid in my mind.'
With his blistering pace, he swiftly reached his destination. Draven's gaze swept across his surroundings.
Only a handful of people lingered near the border, clustered in small groups. They spoke in hushed tones, their eyes locked on the calm yet unsettling green fog as it stretched into the unknown. A few stood alone, gazing intently at the fog like focused hunters.
Draven retracted his gaze, inhaled deeply, activated Soul Eyes, and strolled into the fog.
He heard anxious yelling from behind, but he ignored it and rushed deeper, knowing there was nothing that stayed at the border. His steps were silent.
When he got a few meters deeper into the fog, he slowed down until he came to a stop. He squinted and listened to the surroundings.
The place was eerily silent—even more so than when he came last time—save for the occasional shushing of the wind and soft breathing.
Draven pondered, 'What's happening? There were distant noises when I came last time. Is it because I hunted here?'
Making up his mind, he edged forward, taking his time to scan his surroundings carefully.
Step by cautious step, Draven advanced deeper into the fog, but he halted a few minutes later. The distance he had covered felt nearly the same as where he had last hunted, yet the forest remained enveloped in a deathly, suffocating silence.
No distant howls. Not even the sound of snapping branches. Just silence, like an abandoned tomb.
He felt a prickling unease at the back of his neck.
'Should I go deeper?' Draven hesitated. 'Well… I waited around here for the monsters I saw in the distance to come to my position, so I might as well stay put to avoid dying foolishly. Plus, this spot is close to the entrance for a quick escape if things go south.'
Draven spotted a sturdy tree and climbed swiftly, settling onto a thick branch shrouded by a dense canopy of leaves.
With a thought, he activated Stasis—his breath, his warmth, even the weight of his presence dissolving into the shadows. He waited for his prey like a patient hunter.
Time trickled by, and Draven felt its sluggish passage acutely as he remained idle in a still position. He even felt the urge to break his passive wait and delve deeper to hunt, but he reined in that impulse. Later, when stiffness seeped into his limbs, he deactivated Stasis and stretched, rolling his shoulders. He decided to wait without activating Stasis again, as it only made the wait torturous.
His eyes remained locked on the surroundings. Minute by minute, time crawled slowly. Suddenly, he heard many muffled, distant roars, like the forest finally awakening from its slumber.
Draven felt the silent suffocation lift, and he exhaled the air he hadn't realized he was holding. Though he still remained in his position.
'Phew! Is this a normal thing?' Draven mused while observing his surroundings.
Despite rumbling to life, Draven waited for an agonizing hour without seeing any monster. Draven finally couldn't take it.
'It seems like the roars are coming from the other side of the fog region, so I need to venture deeper. Besides, my Soul Eyes will soon reach its limit. Hunting without Soul Eyes is a big risk I can't take.'
He leapt from the tree and landed silently. With his bow and arrow, Draven swiftly walked deeper into the fog, his head swiveling and eyes sweeping the vicinity. From his estimation, he needed to be out of the forest in thirty seconds.
After ten minutes, Draven found himself in a spot where the fog had thickened so much that he could barely see his hand in front of him. Only thick green fog occupied his vision.
He just thought of returning when he spotted two flames at that moment—one higher and another lower in position.
He paused and contemplated, 'The abruptness of their appearance and closer distance means the fog is already affecting my Soul Eyes. I will just kill these two and return. A big and a small Second Order Transient monster, judging from the intensity of the flame.'
He quickly closed the gap between them to a few meters. Then he raised his bow, aimed at the white flame, and pulled the string.
Instantly, the lower white flame vanished, and the higher flame shot in his direction.
'Shit!'
Draven released the shot, but the flame darted aside that moment, yet continued closing in on him. Gritting his teeth, he recalled the arrow back and fired again.
But the moment his fingers left the bow, the flame flitted aside.
'Damn! Is it seeing my hand? What is coming?'