Prelude to mayhem

Hex pulled the reins. His mount scaled the steep wall, jumping behind the bear. Trapped in green vines, the beast couldn't hurt it.

Puchi!

Hex pierced his sword in the back of the bear. The faint outline of a bear's paw empowered his strike. The sword went into the bear, till its tip could be seen from the front.

The bear roared a last time before falling to the ground.

Hex jumped onto its body and cut deep into it. Within a few seconds, he found its crystal and pulled it out.

"Well done everyone," Hestia shouted. "Clean up and we move."

Hex looked around him. Three corpses of beasts lay on the path. His suspicions grew stronger over time.

'After finishing the pack of wolves, we encountered a mountain lizard and two groups of bears.'

'If the outer regions had this many demonic beasts in the past, there would be no way I would have survived for so long.'

Hex wasn't the only one worried. The team was on high alert. They refrained from talking or resting too much.

As soon as they were done they gathered their harvests and loaded one of the mounts. Once again Hex would take the lead.

"Hestia, after a hundred meters we will reach a fork. One side will lead us deeper into the mountains, the other will keep us in the outer region."

Based on his intuition Hex would prefer to stay in the outer region. No matter how many beasts roamed in the outer region, the inner regions would certainly have more.

The other reason, the more important reason, was the familiarity Hex had with the outer region. He believed he could lead them to safety if things got worse.

He still left the choice to the team.

"We will stay in the outer regions," Hestia said firmly. "There seems to be enough beasts outside to cover our debt and even make some coins. There is no need to take unnecessary risks."

They soon reached the fork and turned to the left. But they barely turned when they heard sounds of battle.

"It should be one of the other teams," said Hestia. "Let's take a look, but carefully."

After a turn, they could see the battle.

A group of ten were encircled by a large pack of wolves.

'This area is in the middle of a few paths crossing from the outer to the inner regions. Different packs must have gathered here,' Hex lamented the fate of the other team. He turned to look at Hestia.

"Let's help," she said after giving it a thought. The reason she hesitated was because teams didn't always appreciate help. It led to conflicts about the distribution of spoils.

The team left their mounts behind and ran over to help.

Hex was the first to arrive. A young man was fending off two wolves.

Puchi!

Hex jumped up, piercing one of the wolf's neck. He didn't wait to check if it died or not. The young man looked surprised by Hex's arrival, but didn't stop his attacks. He soon finished the other wolf.

"Hestia, can you restrict them?" An old man with a white beard shouted. Hex suspected him to be the leader of the other team.

"Old man, be ready. And remember, we will get a share," Hestia shouted in response. The old man just grunted.

Soon, green vines slithered over the ground and the walls. It was not enough to bind all the wolves. But it did hinder their movements.

Hex continued to move and wound the beasts. If he had a chance, he killed the beasts. Greg and Vin teamed up.

Duter was at the center, killing and guarding Hestia. Hex had noticed that Hestia needed both hands to control her vines. It left her open to attacks.

The other team had quite a few archers. But the steep walls were far to reach and difficult to get a foothold on.

But now, with the help of the vines, they easily gained height. They were finally able to unleash their powers. Alice had joined them.

Hex mixed with the other team well. He started to gain a better understanding of the importance of controlling his strength.

This battle was one where they didn't only need to kill, they also needed to hold on. If they tired too quickly, they would die miserably.

He noticed some of the young Squires looking tired and desperate. They were barely holding on.

Hex suddenly saw a wolf attack someone. The girl was with her back to him. He noticed she wouldn't make it.

The wolf howled and pounced. The girl was horrified by the fangs closing in.

Slash!

The wolf fell on the ground. Hex jumped on it and pierced his sword into the beast.

"Hex?"

Hearing his name, Hex turned.

Allie looked at him frozen in place. She couldn't believe seeing Hex here. And he saved her!

'How is he strong this soon?'

"Watch out."

She was so stunned, she forgot she was being besieged by demonic beasts. If Hex didn't intervene, she would have died. Again.

"We can talk later. Let's kill these monsters."

Allie nodded.

With the two teams working together, they were killing the beasts in rapid tempo. It was only a matter of time they would triumph.

…

A group of hooded men stood at the edge of a canyon.

Behind them lay a huge pile of corpses. Most were corpses of beasts such as wolves and bears. But at some places, even human corpses could be spotted.

The canyon lay at the line where the inner region began.

The sound of distant howls could be heard.

"Elron, it seems your concoction has done its job. The wolves sound very pissed," the man standing in the middle of the group chuckled.

"Thank you, Lord Ronan," Elron said with a smile.

"But what if the teams wipe all those beasts out?" Another of the hooded asked in concern.

"Let them kill or be killed. We only care about gathering their essence," Ronan sneered.

They fell silent once again. The only sound came from the other side of the canyon.

The wall was filled with holes of different sizes. A gauze-like net spanned around the entire wall.

Now and then a few dark silhouettes crawled around the holes.

"Elron, start."

Elron bowed slightly. He pulled a small box from under his robe.

The box contained vials, all filled with glowing purple vaporous substance.

"Help him," Ronan ordered the others.

Together they took the vials and stood around the pile of corpses. At Ronan's signal they all broke their vials and splattered the substance on the pile.

Ronan raised his hands, with his palms facing the pile.

A gentle breeze formed in the air. Gradually the air started to flow faster and faster.

The purple vapor spread out in a circular manner.

After some time it reached the other wall.

At first nothing happened.

Screech!

Suddenly a sound akin to a sharp object scraping on the floor was heard.

Soon, a dark figure appeared at the largest opening.

Ronan signaled the group to retreat. They disappeared in the cave behind him, leaving Roran's voice.

"Enjoy the feast, you fiend."