Unseen Forces

Leo felt a trickle of cold sweat dripping down his back as he led his companions into the forest. It hadn't even been a day, and they were back in the forest that had nearly claimed his life as well as his friends'.

While the goblins were gone, he could sense an ominous presence within the forest now that he was stronger. While he had two new companions, he was unsure how they would fit in.

The two new girls were like complete opposites of each other. Nyx radiated confidence as she draped her staff over her shoulder in a leisurely manner.

Combined with her eyes that gleamed with fiery intent, her silver circlet, and her monkey-like tail, she almost looked like a whimsical sage that would defy the heavens themselves.

On the other hand, Sonata was a lot more nervous as she kept glancing around, her hands clasped together, her shoulders scrunched. Lily, however, was walking with her, talking to her while trying to distract the young bard.

"Oh, I almost forgot. We should probably know what our new members are capable of, yeah?"

Luna's sudden question was indeed valid as most of their gazes gravitated toward Nyx. Seeing the gazes directed at her, she puffed up her chest and proclaimed,

"Well, I am a level 5 Shadow Mage. Though I would say I am more of a close combat specialist~"

Horo narrowed his eyes at that response. Didn't she just start playing today too?

"Did… did you meet someone you could only describe as a 'god'?"

Rachel and Sonata flinched as they both looked surprised at that sudden question.

"Did you, Snakey? I thought I was crazy and was going to keep it to myself~"

Nyx was the first to recover her composure and played it off nonchalantly while Luna and Lily were surprised. They hadn't witnessed anything like that. Lily noticed that both Horo and Leo looked uncomfortable. Perhaps…

"Boys… what aren't you telling us?"

Lily put her hands on her hips as she glared as fiercely as she could at Leo and Horo. In response, Leo scratched his cheek while Horo averted his gaze.

"I don't really know much, but I believe that they were called ..."

Leo's eyes widened in shock as, despite trying to say the name Discordia, no words came out as if he were silenced, the words dying as soon as they left his tongue. His eyes widened as he opened and shut his mouth, trying again and again to no avail.

'Why can't I say her name? It's like the world itself doesn't let me say it!'

'This is interesting~! The Lion Cub's god is her? The world won't let him say her name. The powers that be don't want her to regain any of her power~!'

Horo's eyes widened as Arachne seemed to know what Leo had said, while everyone else heard nothing.

"Leo, there is no point in saying it. Apparently, there is a restriction or something on your god's name."

Luna crossed her arms as she glared at Horo. Perhaps because she was feeling a bit left out, her words were a bit harsher than she intended.

"And pray tell, how do you know about that, huh? What aren't you telling us?"

Horo was about to say something when Arachne interrupted him.

'Let me do it this time, child. I wonder how they will react~'

'What are you talking about, Arac–?'

The presence in his mind seemed to expand in that moment as his breath hitched. His head tilted to the side as an eerie aura began to emanate from his body.

"This little snake is my host, you tiny rabbit girl~!"

Luna's eyes widened as the voice that came out of Horo's mouth, while feminine, was also taunting and mischievous, like a predator that was just playing with its food. Despite that, Luna didn't feel any fear; instead, fighting intent began to kindle inside her heart.

"Who are you calling tiny, you bitch?!"

She roared as she pulled out her massive axe from her inventory, causing Arachne to click her tongue.

"This is why I don't like those brats blessed by that himbo of a god. They're no fun to tease."

Horo's amber eyes had split into four sets of ruby-colored eyes like a spider, but nobody besides Sonata reacted too strongly, having already experienced it with Mors and Astra taking over Leo.

Meanwhile, Sonata covered her mouth with surprise but didn't think too much of it since nobody else freaked out.

Luna cocked her head as she asked with her axe raised,

"What did you say? Are you calling me a himbo?! Do you want to die?!"

Nyx held her stomach with one hand as she trembled in place, trying her best not to burst out into laughter.

Meanwhile, Arachne furrowed Horo's brow and growled.

"What I am saying is you have been blessed by an idiotic god. I can smell him on you. I can also smell that forest-hugging hippie on you, little tiger cub…"

Arachne looked unimpressed even in the face of Luna's threat. However, before the situation could escalate any further, Horo's strained voice slipped from his lips.

"Everyone… meet Arachne… the… gremlin… living in my head."

"You insolent whelp! Who are you calling a gremlin?!"

Lily chuckled softly as she remarked,

"Leave it to Horo to mock something living in his head. He is either brave or stupid~!"

There was a moment of silence before Leo, Luna, Nyx, Arachne, and Lily spoke in perfect unison.

"Stupid."

Horo's body twitched as he felt wronged. Why was everyone insulting him?

Arachne's eyes twitched as she seemed to notice something. The rustling of leaves caused Sonata to jump a bit. Something was there.

"All right, children, I shall return for now. It seems like you have company. Let's see how you all fight as a team~!"

The red pupils merged back into Horo's amber eyes as a loud howl rang out from the forest. From behind the trees, wolves slinked out while humanoid dogs wielding weapons followed behind them.

"Wolves, and what are those? They look kinda cute… in a rabid dog kind of way, y'know?"

Nyx readied her staff as she mouthed off again, while Luna broke into a manic grin, ready for a fight. Leo readied his gauntlets, while Lily stood next to Sonata, her back to the group as she witnessed more wolves and mysterious monsters appearing.

"Guys, I don't know how, but it looks like we got surrounded…"

Horo groaned as he pulled out his dagger.

"Stupid Arachne… doing that shit really hurts my head…"

'No use complaining, brat. These kobolds seem to have tamed the wildlife somehow… wait, no… what is this? These kobolds are unnatural… artificial? Hmm…'

Arachne seemed to have noticed something off about the monsters that seemed to be kobolds, but before he could ask about it, the monsters howled and charged.

The fight had begun.