The land seems to shift as a maw-shaped path opens on the murky lands just ahead of the dark swamp.

As if feeling threatened by the large numbers of soldiers marching forward, the swamp had opened its jaw like never before. A dark and deep stench filled the land with a mix of blood and rotten flesh. Under the soldiers' feet the musky feeling continued the closer they got to the swamp.

And then the swamp again opened.

An earth-shattering roar followed after as the land trembled down below.

From the swamp covering the lands, monsters began to appear one after the other as they were woven into existence. They number in the hundreds, if not more. However, it was far less compared to before, when they had attacked the walls in numbers reaching above thousands.

It was obvious that the swamp was in a weakened state and couldn't produce the army it needed. However, it didn't mean it was weak either. The monsters that had emerged looked bigger, their scythe-like arms longer and sharper, like the deadliest blade to exist, coming and cutting through the air.

The humans, the awakeneds and the awakeners alike held their breaths as they saw them emerge. The process was almost instantaneous and left no time to interfere. As the swamp thinned down, wrapping the land and spreading itself below. The army of abominations and the humans clashed.

Abilities flared through the terrain.

A mix of flames and burned flesh rose from the ground.

Asher amidst battle stood at the back, further away from the fight.

His gaze first went to look for Bob, who stood at the middle with flowers bursting around him in a deadly dance of fire and mist. His sword clung to charred flesh as they clashed with scythe-like hands of the monsters.

It had taken almost a week for Asher and the others to travel through the dark forest. The main reason for that was the swamp's presence. They had taken a detour and moved away from the swamp and entered the forest through another route. This cost them a day or two of travel and the other three went to set up the trap.

In any case, if Asher had taken the route from the swamp he and his team would have been crushed without any chances of escape; that was certainly true from the clashes happening ahead. Asher shuddered thinking as such and changed his thoughts.

'Anyways Bob turned out to be a pretty good fighter.'

Asher thought and raised his hand high in the air. In the next moment a dark bolt coming at a fast pace stopped midair.

Asher took two counted steps forward and freed the bolt and let it fly past him, hitting another monster behind as it died with the dark bolt tearing through its back, killing it with a crushing sound as it fell to the ground.

The monster had fled past the fights happening ahead, taking the chance to plunge terror towards the wall. Its hopes were big and its demise even quicker.

Asher gave it a brief glance before returning his gaze to the swamp.

The goal of this legion was to move towards the dark forest and search for the reasons behind the appearance of new monsters. This was one of the reasons why such a huge number of soldiers were brought.

'Not a very shabby reason, I must say.'

Asher scowled and tried to look for vice captain Sion or even the captain of the 2nd division, Lenz.

'They are not as flashy as Clonas.'

He searched for seconds… then for minutes. However, it remains as impossible as before.

In the end Asher gave up and stopped searching for them. His focus remained on Bob to keep him safe in case they needed to run away. He knew he couldn't save anyone, but at least one. That would also satisfy him somewhat, though never completely.

Thinking for a while longer, Asher finally decided to join the fights himself. His knees bent as he took half a step forward before leaping in the air. His feet defied the pull below as he stepped on the sky, as if walking on solid ground.

In his hand the crystal sword soon appeared, shimmering with a dark gleam. The sword shimmered as it sensed the blood of calamity flowing down below. Asher scoffed, feeling the intention of his crystal sword.

"You sure are getting greedy."

Pssss!

The blood sprayed as the sword cleaved through the flesh of monsters, twisting and turning inside with each stab. Asher landed doing so, crossing half the field in seconds.

Asher suddenly frowned as his hand holding the sword again shivered.

"Why are you acting like this?"

The sword felt sentient as it continued to shiver with dark green blood covering its body.

Obviously he couldn't get any answers, not from a sword living off sucking blood. Even when he had traversed through the dark forest previously, the sword had been fed with blood, tons of it at that. Asher shouldn't have needed to feed it anything else for the next week, or, if lucky, even the one after that. However, that didn't seem to be the case anymore; no matter how much blood was given to the crystal sword, its hunger to consume more remained unsated.

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'It's not going to go out of control, right?'

It was certainly a possibility. A possibility that couldn't be ignored.

Asher knew how strong this artifact truly was and, to his own feeling, the negative effect seemed even stranger. Asher's understanding regarding it remained quite vague. From the description of the enchantments, he understood just one line.

If not fed with blood, those around it shall die a painful death if not sealed.

The words were vague; however, it remained a mystery to Asher.

'They feel like a warning.'

He didn't know what could truly happen. Will the sword float and stab those around or will something mystical happen that causes unnatural death?

Asher pressed his lips as he again swung his sword like wind, cutting the enemies around him.

'I should not let it take blood for a while.'

In the next instant the monsters woven toward him slowed down. Asher simultaneously let go of the crystal sword and summoned another spare sword. It wasn't anything special and held a rather normal appearance aside from the white cloth wrapped at the end of the handle.

The only thing considerably special was the slightly curved blade and the materials from beasts to create it.

Asher felt a slight reluctance but didn't fret over it for long. He has time, a lot of it actually, since his abilities make sure he never runs out of it.

Feeling the sword's weight, Asher again sighed. It felt heavy, a lot heavier compared to the crystal sword he had been using. A normal person could only dream of swinging it twice and not getting their wrist broken.

"I should end this soon… Sigh."

Asher let go of the monsters moving at a snail's pace and rushed forward with a blitz of speed. He had lost the tremendous support of the enchantment the crystal sword provided, so he needed to be more focused.

A lot faster and a lot sharper as well.

Asher raised his sword as he reached the beast coming toward the center of the swamp. The size of it remained uncertain as greenish dark mist had covered its visage.

With a frustrated look, Asher took a step back, letting the beast strike first. The claws, or more scythes, came through the mist in the blink of an eye. Asher was startled, though not for long, as he also swung his blade toward the scythe, parrying the attack.

For a moment he saw the monster's hideous looks. A dark green liquid was dripping from its stingers, its eyes round and deep, covering its head. A disgusting sight was waiting behind the mist; for a second Asher even felt grateful for the mist. Though not for long, as the monster froze on its spot, unmoving.

At the same time Asher took two steps forward.

His sword also moved along, slicing through air before its tip touched the monster's neck. Time again started to move as before; the monster could understand dark green blood splashed, clotting through its neck, and a choking sound came at the same time.

Not long after, the monster returned to the swamp's embrace, returning to the calamity sleeping below.

The war of attrition continued for the next few hours; the monsters had fought fiercely but the humans did the same. Their clashes had made the swamp open and close several times as it had continued to spew monsters out.

However, it couldn't last forever.

The monsters thinned.

The swamp army was swallowed.

The greenish and dark land was flooding with blood.

This blood, however, didn't just belong to monsters. Humans had equally fallen. However, no one could tell who had won the war.

If one looked through the piles of flesh and blood. Only human bodies would be seen floating on the swamp.

No monsters could be seen, as if they never existed.

A chill went through my spine as I witnessed this drenched in dark blood myself.

"Ah, Captain Asher. Good work; your contribution has helped end this battle early as well."

A voice called, pulling my attention back; unknowingly, I straightened my back and raised my sword.

The owner of the voice didn't flinch, as if used to my actions.

"You are very cautious. That's great as well!"

The voice continued.

I relaxed considerably, as her voice was soft, almost reminding me of something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

Seeing the grim look on my face, she took a step forward. Her face and clothes were covered in blood as well.

I studied her for a moment before opening my mouth.

"Are you injured?"

Sion shook her head.

"I am not… but are you injured?"

I, too, shook my head, showing an equal indifference to the blood.

"This scene is always bad." I whispered.

Sion blinked and nodded softly.

"I can never get used to it, but I have come to accept it."

"I don't think I can do that… but I too have come to terms with that."

Silence…

It stretched for as long as the blood below us started to sink in the swamp, just like before as the swamp opened its maw.

The path for the dark forest was clear.

'We should move soon as well then.' I thought, glancing at Bob, who stood watching the same scene as usual not very far away.

Then it's as if it's a never-ending cycle.

Sion walked even closer, forcing me to take a step back.

"Huh?"

Sion chuckled, her hair fluttering around with the wind.

Under the grey sky and above the swamp, she looked like a being I couldn't understand.

"Captain Asher… You will guide us through the dark forest, right?"

Ah….

Maybe I knew who was on my side.

However, dark clouds had covered my heart.

"I will."

I nodded, pushing my hand forward to grip hers in return.

At this moment I felt this road will lead to nowhere.

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