‎The beautiful stranger responded to the incoming assault, quietly and serenely conjuring an ice spike before it could reach them. Owing to its bluntness, it drove itself into the spike, thus causing it to burst through and out of its skull in a gruesome manner, splattering blood everywhere.

‎'Damned bloody.'

‎With that, she dispelled the ice spike so other creatures would not catch sight of it while fleeing from the lethal rain. However, one thing was notable about this environmental hazard; it was solely annihilating any flesh it encountered. Splattering upon the jagged rock above them, it inflicted no damage upon it, thereby augmenting the security of their current position.

‎Na-Ri grimaced.

‎"We may have to remain here all night without a single movement, until that deadly rain ceases."

‎Unable to discern her face clearly in the darkness, Kyle shook his head.

‎"...You mean an hour, correct? Because that is how long a night endures in the Trial Zone."

‎She nodded without uttering another word. Orion sighed, then cast his gaze about. From his vantage, it was remarkably easy for him to perceive them all distinctly, as though an invisible light radiated from his eyes.

‎As he was unable to obtain a clear view of their entire surroundings, he shifted to his Shadow's perspective, permitting it to ascend and explore all the way to the summit of the small mountain.

‎He gasped at what he beheld. At the summit lay a vast cavern, and within it resided two Titan-type creatures. The handsome youth could not ascertain the species, yet merely from the dormant posture they both maintained without engaging one another, he readily discerned they belonged to the same kind.

‎Many of the fleeing creatures dared not approach the cavern, so some either sought another refuge or burrowed into the earth — those capable of doing so — whilst the remainder were annihilated by the rain.

‎Reverting to his own perspective, he turned towards Adela, who was presently clasping herself against the fierce wind the rain had brought. Unluckily, she was positioned on the more exposed side where the gale struck with greater force.

‎Before alerting the party to the peril awaiting them should they ascend the summit, he first attended to her by draping his dark cloak over her. She stiffened slightly when it brushed against her at first.

‎"It's me," Orion whispered.

‎She smiled.

‎"Thank you."

‎He inclined his head, then steeled himself to deliver the dire news. Their former plan had been to scale the summit in order to obtain a clearer view of the vast expanse, thereby discerning what threats might be concealed, most particularly the vantage points where they could position themselves.

‎Orion's Shadow was a useful guide, yet it bore many limitations unlike the beautiful stranger's floating orb, which could detect peril from a mile away. The Shadow's shortcomings had been demonstrated on numerous occasions, and in such moments they were compelled to rely upon their own foresight to safeguard themselves.

‎In a word, it was unreliable. If only there were more than one, or if it possessed a broader grasp of every location it traversed through any darkened space, it would have been flawless.

‎But of course, the handsome youth's Element was not nearly potent enough to accomplish such a feat within its aspect.

‎"Umm, guys. I believe we require a change of plans," Orion whispered, but loud enough for them all to hear with clarity.

‎Kyle scowled, then slowly asked:

‎"Why? Did you perceive anything at the summit?"

‎Intrigued, the beautiful stranger cast a glance towards the source of their hushed voices. For a moment, she too had sensed that peculiar pounding sensation of danger, yet she had not surmised it to be at the summit, particularly after the horde of beasts suddenly surged forth from disparate corners of the terrain.

‎By that reasoning, she conjectured that the strange gnawing sensation had emanated from this horde. Naturally, the capacity to perceive a creature's aura from any distance would signify that the creature was either a Mental type, employing its speciality to instil terror in its prey so as to render them incapable of resistance and thus an effortless meal, or alternatively, that the creature was Stage Three or higher.

‎There were three cases of such beings. The first was the Demon. They had been unable to perceive its aura, likely because it suppressed it, which was possible for exalted entities of its calibre. The same held true for the horseman. Though its race was unconfirmed, one could readily discern its might, and the sole reason they were unable to sense its aura was akin to the Demon's. Lastly, there was the creature that had fled when they had been traversing the terrain. Although they could not identify it with certainty, it was evident that it was a Mental type, one that had attempted to employ its speciality to incapacitate them. Upon realising that its attempt had failed, it had retreated.

‎Of course, that was merely the most probable explanation, not one fully verified. For this reason, and for another besides, Na-Ri knew better than to pursue it and simply let it be. It might not have been a high ranked beast, yet its mutation type was still as perilous as a Titan type, Elemental type, or Chimera type.

‎After a moment of silence, Orion finally spoke of what he had witnessed. The instant he conveyed his information, the three of them grew as tense as he had been when he first beheld those two entities.

‎For a time, they uttered nothing to one another, instinctively recognising that their next course would be to withdraw from the mountain and continue their passage along another route, all the while remaining armed and vigilant.

‎Even if the horde of beasts emerged in troops chiefly at night to prey upon one another or upon any unfortunate passer-by, they were not confined solely to the hours of darkness. Should anyone trespass into their domain, the outcome scarcely required elaboration.

‎***

‎A while later, the night sky cleared of the clouds of the deadly red rain, and with it came the new morning. The four remained in their position as various creatures hurried back to their respective territories. However, some, being witless, trampled upon the small puddles where the red rain had collected, and were instantly vaporised.

‎'Phew. We would have been pieces of meat had we stepped on those puddles.' Kyle and Orion could not help but offer praises to the dead gods.

‎Had they ventured outside immediately, their resulting state would have been indescribable.

‎But soon something peculiar began to occur with the numerous puddles. They all started to converge into one, then seeped away into the ground as though being drawn downwards. Nevertheless, the devastation they had inflicted upon the now lifeless beasts remained scattered across the area.

‎Unfortunately, it left behind no free Essence core for them to claim for the road. Na-Ri was the first to emerge from the makeshift sanctuary.

‎Realising that they were now free to resume their journey across the terrain and abandon their former plan of ascending the mountain, she declared as she began descending:

‎"It's time to continue, and this time we are hunting."

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