Just like that, a few hours passed quietly. The cars kept moving across the highway, nothing bizarre happened the entire time which made the group even more alert. The lack of enemies around them made them feel very uncomfortable.
For the first time since the integration happened, everyone wished at least one monster would show up in front of the group. But, nothing of that sort occurred. If anything, nobody could even see a trace of any monster moving on the highway or around it.
"What is going on?" Talon murmured as he looked around him. "Where is everyone?... There is something off."
"What is happening in this place?" Looking outside the window, Hyun-Jae noticed that the plains around them were slowly merging with the forest ahead. What was vast open fields was now a rather thick forest that surrounded them from both sides.
"Keep yourself alert, we should be reaching the next town any time now."
Hyun-Jae, Sophie, and Chin-Hwa nodded their heads. Being on high alert in such a situation is the only thing they can do.
Then, Talon picked up his communication device and informed everyone to stay ready for any possible changes.
The vehicles moved slowly through the road as the sun slowly went down beyond the trees. The darkness slowly engulfed them and the temperature grew colder. Turning the headlights of the car on, Talon continued moving after the first vehicle.
Eventually, the sight of a town finally appeared in the distance. Due to the lack of lighting, the town appeared vague, dark, and eerie to a high degree.
The vehicles approached the town till they were at the entrance. Then, everyone stopped as Talon got out of the car and stepped forward.
"What an eerie place." He murmured before he turned to Acrypha. "Do you sense anything odd?"
The woman looked around her before she sighed. "I can't tell you or I will be punished. All that I can say is you have to be careful."
"Hmm, that's more than enough of an advice." He replied as he approached the first vehicle in the line.
"Hey..." Knocking in the window, he signaled for the driver to push it down.
"Y-Yes, sir?"
"Where did you spend the night here?" He asked.
"We did not spend the night here, sir. We simply took the fuel we found in the town and continued moving as fast as we could."
"Is that so?"
"We knew staying could be dangerous so we simply didn't stop at all."
'That would've been a good idea if we didn't have tens of people with us. It would turn really messy really quickly.'
"Tell everyone to come out." Talon turned around. "Hyun-Jae, come with me. We're going to check this town." He said.
"Oh? What about me?" Sophie asked.
*Swish*
Without wasting a single moment, Talon moved his hand at lightning speed at the exact moment when a black figure stormed through him.
'It reached me?! When? I didn't notice it... I was certain that it left...' His eyes widened as he quickly deflected the attack threatening to tear his face off.
*CLING*
The sound of two metal objects clashing echoed in the vicinity. Then, out of nowhere, blood splashed from Talon's cheek.
"Talon!!" Hyun-Jae quickly channeled her Aetheris, ready to rush toward him.
"Don't move!" He yelled back as he quickly wiped his face. "It's too fast and I can't see it. Stay focused on your surroundings."
With a calm mind, Talon kept looking around, ignoring the stinging pain from the injury.
'Dammit, if I was a split second late, it would've decapitated me.'
The feeling of threat grew in his heart. But, he oddly didn't feel despair in that moment. Even when the monster was clearly very strong, Talon found himself rather focused.
'Come on, try me again, bastard.'
A few slow seconds passed with nothing happening. Then, in a split moment, the black figure emerged out of nowhere and dashed toward the duo. Its speed was way faster than before, to the point where neither of them could follow it with their eyes.
*Swish*
This time, instead of targeting Talon, it instead shifted the direction to Hyun-Jae.
As it was about to attack, it suddenly felt something fly through the air as it stabbed it in the side. The monster immediately jumped back as it vanished like a ghost.
"Riiiiii!!!!" The sound of its painful groan echoed in the vicinity.
Hyun-Jae blinked in shock as her eyes shifted to the shiny object floating in front of her. A very beautiful and graceful blue blade quietly levitated where the monster was. Black, gooey substance dripping from it.
"Even if I can't see it or feel it... That doesn't mean I can't predict where it would attack." Talon said coldly as he moved the blade away.
'Future Sight came in clutch here... I had a hunch it might attack Hyun-Jae next but I didn't know where it would come from.' His eyes flickered with an ominous light before they returned to normal.
"What... was that?"
"I don't know. But, it's certainly something that isn't human. It's way faster than anything we've fought. Even worse, it somehow has a way of moving through my senses without triggering them. Almost as if... It can teleport...'
A//N: Don't forget to support the book if you enjoyed reading ??