Realm Wars

"It's an old Stinkeye," Rosa said and added, "It's usually doesn't attack as long as we stay clear at least ten meters from it. Once you stray too close to it, it'll cast sickness upon you."

There was silence for a time, and all looked at Lucian since he was the group leader.

"Should we look for another route?" Cecily asked, hoping with all hope that they would. She didn't want to cross the swamp if she didn't have to. Who knows what dangers and what creatures were lurking beneath its shallow waters?

Suppose it was even shallow in the first place. There might be some area where the level of water suddenly turned deep.

Lucian looked at the map in his hands. Deadman's Rock was just a tiny island, but the creatures who only ate moss and other creatures survived in the place. 

Lucian didn't know nor care how Skull acquired the knowledge of the lost Jewel of Tethy's and a map. But according to it, the lost Jewel of Tethy's was just past this swamp and the Bloody Lagoon.

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It was just a journey that would take one day. One day was enough. If they had to stay in the night, they would, but if they could finish it while the rays were still up, then that's the best outcome. 

They couldn't afford to dally longer.

"We'll cross it," Lucian said in a determined voice, and Cecily's shoulders sagged.

"Of course we will," Cecily murmured to the side.

Lucian was the first to step foot on the murky waters. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when he felt nothing out of the ordinary, he began to thread its shallow depths.

Rosa beamed at Cecily when she passed her. She looked at Cecily from head to toe and smacked her lips. "Good luck with your boots."

Rosa summoned her staff, and a gust of wind enveloped her whole body. She floated midair and went to Lucian's side.

Cecily shivered at the sight of the water, but she ignored the goosebumps erupting on her skin.

"Should I carry you?" Ryu offered without any malice, but Cecily just shut him up with a scowl.

Cecily then threaded into the swamp. She had to force herself not to think of the marsh as she gazed ahead.

Ryu didn't think anything of it and casually went behind Cecily while Ferris followed near Ryu. 

On the other hand, Kai observed the relationship within the group, and a dopy smiled made its way on his face. It seemed like he would not be bored on this journey.

Kai just cast a spell, and anything he walked on turned to ice. There was no way that he would wet his feet. He gets stomached if he walks with wet feet. Who knows if the water was even safe?

The Stinkeye was watching them from the sides. It contended to eat the moss on the dead barks and decaying wood while its gaze never left Lucian's group.

"Follow my trail, and don't stray from the person in front of you," Lucian said. 

"How far is this swamp going to be?" Cecily felt like they were walking for hours already.

Rosa sweetly smiled. "More walking and less complaining, and we should be on the other side in no time." 

Cecily ignored Rosa. She was too busy checking her boots if she stepped into something disgusting. He only sighed in relief when she saw mud.

On the other hand, Ryu was enjoying the feeling of the wet dump mud on his bare feet. If he could, he would stay a little longer and enjoy the feeling.

"Is he a kid?" Kai shook his head and went ahead. He peeked at Ferris when he went past her. But her glare quickly averted his gaze forward.

"What a grumpy little demon girl," Kai chirped between his breath, but Ferris still heard it.

Ferris's shadow then grabbed Kai's foot from the water and pulled him.

"Argh!" Kai slipped from his ice steps, and he fell straight on his butt. Half his body was wet, and his clothes were covered with mud. "No!"

"Shush!" Lucian, Rosa, and Cecily all hushed him up, and Kai could only cry in silence.

Kai shot Ferris a look, and the latter just challenged him with a smirk.

"I'll get you one of these days, you midget," Kai promised to himself. He then winced and checked his palm. Blood was oozing from his hand, and it mixed with the murky water.

His hand must have graze some twig or rock when he stumbled. Kai immediately healed her hand and got up. "Damn it." Now he was wet all over!

"Don't dally and get a move on."

Kai heard Lucian called, and he was shocked to know that the group was already meters ahead from him. He squeezed the water from his clothes in a weak attempt to dry them and didn't bother with his wet feet anymore as he rash to the others.

"Wait for me," Kai said in hush restraint as he hurried along.

"Don't be too loud. You might attract something."

As the group continued, Kai's blood remained stagnant on the swamp. A ripple appeared, and a small monstrosity peeked from the marsh. Its bulbous head was camouflage green. Its eyes were squeaky and unsettled as its mouth occupied half its face.

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The taste of blood attracted it, and not before long, thousands like it appeared on the swamp.

Ryu looked over his shoulder when he felt ripples, but all he saw were rocks covered in moss and clumps of seaweeds and driftwoods.

It was foggy in a dump way, making visibility limited. The trees also hindered his sight. Ryu took a whiffed, and fishy rotten smell almost made him gag.

Taking a last look behind him, Ryu strolled forward, and as he did so, cries and shrieks startled the silence.

Everyone looked back and was alarmed to see thousands and thousands of tiny creatures hopping towards them with mouths gaping and jagged sharp teeth barring.

"Grindylows!"