The morning under the tree crowns was gloomy and cool. Rosa moved swiftly through the wilderness. The undergrowth in these parts was relatively dense and packed together, but remaining clearings were enough to find a way even in this untouched forest quite easily. Usually the forests around the havens were lived-in. People laid roads between the forts, foresters cleared paths for their needs, and hunters and outriders regularly checked the area for uninvited guests. But so far Rosa saw no traces of civilization.

  “Where... Where...”

  Rosa cut off the muttering, it was disrupting her tempo. She thought she had gotten rid of this stupid, childish habit, but as soon as she found herself alone in the forest – everything came rushing back.

  She needed to find Gebbi. Or Tully. Or Arthena! Someone with whom she could easily get to the fort. Giving the estimates, this trek should take the whole day, although the students were clearly tasked to find out in practice how long it would take them.

  Having rounded a wide growth of tall bushes, Rosa jumped straight onto...

  The shadow barked hoarsely and jumped up in place, as if it had been caught off guard. Rosa threw her hand to the side – the scythe flashed and the beast parted with a front leg. Leaving the enemy behind, the girl unwittingly broke into a run.

  “Need to find someone soon...”

  The Shadows prowled in the half-darkness. There was danger in this forest.

  The twilight outside was quickly brightening, but under the canopy of trees there still laid thick darkness. Light clouds covered the sun from the east, not helping with the light. The forest around rustled its branches. Almost nothing else could be heard, only the wind, and rustling of grass, branches...

  Soon the rustling in the bushes became distinct from the others. Rosa chose a clearing and stopped, turning to face the opponent.

  The shadows jumped forward with confidence. The first one tried to dodge, but the scythe found it’s body, knocking it to the ground. The others spread out wide, but Rosa didn’t give them a chance, instantly descending on the second one. To her displeasure, the third one tried to back up and dive into the bushes...

  “No you don’t!”

  A deafening shot tore through the air. The shadow fell to the ground, oozing the haze. Rosa was rushing towards the trees...

  “Oh no.”

  The compass helped her check the direction. She turned slightly sideways.

  She managed to pass only about a hundred meters before she heard a distant shot somewhere far-off. Automatically she moved towards the sound.

  “No way...”

  The echo in the forest was distorting everything in here. Only by using the compass she could...

  A sharp crack to the side made her form the scythe. Something happened ten meters in that direction. The huntress ran, fully prepared to pounce on any shadow that turned out to be alive.

  She was already breaking through the bushes when an angry scream ringed out. Something flew past Rosie with a crunch, slicing through branches of the nearest bush.

  Rosa rashly barreled out into the clearing, raising her scythe...

  Lilum in alarm pointed the blade at her.

  “Lily?”

  A pair of shadows lay around the princess, oozing the haze. Girls froze, tensely staring at each other. Then Lilum wordlessly thrust the blade into its sheath and turned away, clearly intending to continue her exam solo.

  “Stop.”

  A firm tone abruptly cut off the sound of footsteps. Lilum half-turned to Rosa, annoyance on her face.

  “What is it now?”

  “Don't pretend.”

  Rosa came closer, not taking her eyes off the girl's face.

  “Are you seriously just going to leave like that?”

  “Of course,” Lilum said adamantly. “You're not planning to beg me to...”

  “We have to assemble in to groups. The Director said that the groups should be three people, but I think this is just a test. They probably expect us to all gather together, the more the better.”

  Rosa spoke with unexpected confidence. Lily felt a surge of irritation.

  “And how would you know what the university’s headmaster expects from us? If you need a partner, just find...”

  “We should all go together.”

  Rosa came closer, forcing Lilum to turn to her completely – and nervously back away.

  “Don't talk nonsense! You just...”

  “You are not going to say that I'm gonna slow you down, are you?” snapped Rosa with unexpected sharpness.

  “Of course you will!” Lilum automatically got indignant. “Do you think...”

  “I walk through the forest better than you, you should understand that.”

  Lilum's cheeks turned offended pink, almost invisible in the semi-darkness of the forest.

  “Such impudence! I'm not going to take your insults.”

  “But it's true, Lily,” the girl pressed desperately. “I grew up in Hai...”

  “I don't care!” the princess screamed. “And don't call me that!”

  “But we must go together! I won't leave you alone!..”

  Lilum unthinkingly stepped forward, raising her fist in anger.

  “I don't need your help!”

  Rosa responded with an equally stern gesture.

  “Of course you do! What are you going to do when you get to the outpost? Are you gonna sit there with single item like a total idiot?”

  Lilum choked with offense.

  “We need help!” Rosa continued. “We need other people, we need to complete the task! What do you have?”

  “What?” Diamas was taken aback.

  “Your item, what did they give you?”

  “I...” Lilum gradually recovered from the pressure. “I took the map.”

  “Great, I have a compass, now we need to...”

  “There is no "we", Rubin,” Lilum flared up. “Even if I will follow someone, I can guarantee that there are better options than you!”

  She turned sharply and rushed away... and, dissolving into thin air, Rosa appeared next to her. She grabbed Diamas by the hand. Feeling the grip, the garthian turned around fiercely.

  “I won't let you to leave alone.”

  Rosa's stern tone made Lilum falter. But she exhaled and pulled towards herself.

  “Let go!”

  The other one obeyed. Lilum hesitated, afraid that she would simply be caught again.

  “There are many shadows around, Lily,” Rosa said evenly. “We need to find the others. I wanted to find Gebbi and…”

  “Don't talk nonsense, they're on the other side of the forest,” Lilum cut off. “And stop calling me that! I'm leaving!”

  As she feared, Rosa simply grabbed her arm again.

  “What is wrong with you?!”

  Lilum sharply pulled away, but now Rosa held on tightly.

  “I won't let you to be alone!”

  Rosa almost screamed. Lilum froze, confused.

  “I won't…” Rosa stuttered. “I won't leave anyone behind. So we have to find the others. Come on, Lily, it will be for the best!”

  Diamas responded with a ferocious growl and forcefully broke free.

  "How many times do I have to tell you – don't call me that!"

  "Why?!" Rosa suddenly snapped angrily. "What of it?!"

  "Because we're not friends! You didn't even ask for permission!"

  "FINE! Can I PLEASE call you Lily?!"

  "NO!!!"

  Lilum was breathing heavily, like she was running. Her cheeks were burning hotly, she could only be glad that in the darkness it probably was invisible.

  "But since I can't do anything about it..." she said dryly, "then I suppose you can feel free..."

  "Ohhh..." Rosa hesitated, puzzled. "Um... Does that mean we can go together? I really think that..."

  "Urghhh!”

  Lily buried her face in her hands.

  “Why do you have to be this... this!”

  She exhaled angrily.

  “This what?” Rosa tilted her head questioningly, genuinely puzzled.

  “Suddenly competent,” Lily hissed through the clenched teeth. “Yes, now... I also think we should gather together.”

  Rosie gasped happily, clasping the hands at her chest. Lilum turned away, embarrassed.

  “Don't you dare to get a big head! I heard shots a little earlier, so maybe...”

  “They were mine! Probably. Shots in the forest are almost impossible to track,” Rosa interrupted. “I think we need to move that way...”

  She pointed a finger and ran up to the dense undergrowth.

  “We can go through here! Come on, if we hurry...”

  Lilum resignedly followed suit, still feeling her ears burning.

  “Oh, I do regretting it already...”

  Everything was going smoothly, at the beginning. The forest was light and almost familiar. Although the trees were different, not like at home, more conifers and undergrowth was not so dense, a couple of streams and...

  The shadows jumped out at him almost without warning. Artorius suppressed a panicked scream. The beasts were the size of wolves. He had never seen even wolves so close, and completely alive... A low screeching sound brought him abruptly back to the reality of things.

  The shadows attacked him. The guy felt how his hand almost of its own accord unsheathing the blade. His left hand felt the weight of the shield emerging from the bracelet.

  “I trained... I can handle it...”

  The shadows let out a sharp, seething roar and jumped to the sides, simultaneously closing the distance.

  Arthur lunged forward, making a sharp swing, the beast squealed briefly as the sword... sliced the air sideways. The shadow jumped back at the last moment. Almost playfully.

  “Damn you!”

  The second one came from the side, paws full of claws slashed at the shield that was barely raised at the last moment. Arthur staggered from the blow, the second beast roared and slashed his leg, he barely jumped back.

  The counter-blow went nowhere. The shadows, like bullies at the school playground, jumped from side to side, dodging his blows. Angry screams hardly resembled a battle cry, but the guy couldn’t stop himself. Maybe it was panic.

  A root got under his foot, Arthur staggered. In the hiss of the beast there was jubilation, the shadow lunged up close. White eyes were so close when Arthur in panic cracked it with his sword. The creature squealed, rolling on the ground like a wounded dog.

  “Aarghh...”

  The second shadow slashed at his side with the claws. The pain from the blow resounded as panic and horror. Arthur tried to wave the beast away, but it simply jumped aside. He lunged after it, swinging again and...

  The second shadow crashed into him with all its weight, knocking him off his feet. The sword hit a branch on the ground with a dull thud and bounced awkwardly to the side.

  “No-no-no!..”

  Arthur awkwardly jumped on all his limbs away from the claws and jaws. From such a maneuver shield jerked his arm off, dislocating it at a painful angle. Then it disappeared. Arthur was afraid for a second that his old focus had finally gave up and went under, but then realized that he had unwittingly formed the weapon into a bracelet...

  A one second of stupid doubt cost him another blow. The veil... even if it was there, it might as well have not been.

  The sword was so close, the guy rushed to it with his hand...

  And his eyes fell on the dark, low figures emerging from the bushes nearby. There were three more. No, five!

  Two shadows jumped up behind him. Arthur grabbed the sword almost without thinking. It was all useless...

  Here comes his first and last Hunt... useless...

  “At least one...”

  The guy gripped the sword tighter, awkwardly rising to his feet. From behind there was stomping of many light paws and...

  A sharp crunch pierced the bushes. The shadows in front, just like Arthur himself, got actually stunned by the blow. A couple of attacking beasts were swept away like with a broom, and with a crunch of twigs...

  ...pinned to the ground couple meters away. A powerful spear entwined with scarlet and gold pierced the monsters like a skewer. A tall figure in colors of a spring forest burst out of the undergrowth on the other side of the clearing. A short swing split the head of one shadow, another almost reached the paw of another. The shadows spread out with a yelping, jumping away, closer to the bushes, so that...

  “Oh no.”

  A long steel bow appeared in her hands – Arthena pulled the bowstring with a single motion. A short ringing merged into a vibrating sound. Shadows fell to the ground, pierced by arrows of yellowish steel with white fletching.

  Artorius froze in surprise. The movements were swift and deadly, it seemed that she was simply performing simple exercises in training.

  A sharp roar interrupted the fascination. He turned to reflect at the last moment aimed at him gaping maw. The beast unbelievably dodged the sword, then rammed into him with its entire body, crushing him under, the jaws was almost at his face...

  It was like someone else had jabbed his sword into the enemy, the blade entered the dark smoky flesh of the monster, right into the neck, the shield appearing on his hand covered his face from the claws at the last moment. The beast screeched angrily, scraping the ground and his shield with the claws. With an involuntary cry, Arthur threw the creature off himself and, messing the forest dust with his feet, crawled away.

  The shadow lay still on the ground. Footsteps from the side made him turn around sharply.

  “Are you okay?”

  Arthena looked worried. She extended her hand, offering to get up.

  “Ah... Yes... Yes, I...”

  Artorius swallowed convulsively and caught his breath. He had already taken her hand when it dawned on him that he’s just lying there, covered with dirt and dust, wheezing in terror. Hastily pulling himself together, the guy jumped to his feet.

  “That is! Everything is fine, yeah...”

  He put on the most confident possible grin, hiding his frustration.

  “They... The shadows, that is,” Arthur suppressed the desire to cowardly look around, “caught me by surprise. From the bushes, you know, ambushed me...”

  “Oohh...”

  If Arthena found him appallingly pitiable, she generously hid it. Her face was showing expression of understanding.

  “Of course. I'm just glad you're not hurt.”

  She walked to the shadows pinned to the ground and pulled the spear out with ease, then turned around:

  “You're not hurt, are you?”

  “No, no.” Arthur shook his head in panic.

  Arthena looked him over critically. Arthur automatically tried to shake himself off, looking as casual as possible. He really wasn't hurt, so Illios was satisfied with that.

  “Do you think we...” she said evenly, “should keep moving together?”

  And again, if she was doing it out of pity, she hid it perfectly. Arthur suppressed the feeling that now he had a new older sister with whom he must stick together for safety.

  “Do you think so?” He spoke as casually as it was possible. “Well, if... actually,” he caught himself, “the Director said that we need to gather in groups of three people, right?”

  “Right, I’m actually in the middle of trying to find someone with...”

  Arthena hesitated. The guy looked at her quizzically.

  “What item do you have?” she asked.

  “A compass.”

  Artorius showed the indicated item.

  “Father taught me to not get lost in the forest, he said: ‘One always need to know where one is knocking about’, so I took the compass.”

  It seemed like the perfect option at that moment, especially considering that he was not given the map which he planned to take originally...

  He didn’t notice the brief shadow of a smile on Arthena’s face.

  “I took the map,” the girl said neutrally. “I suppose all we have to do is find someone with a signal flare?”

  “That won’t be a problem, since you're here already...”

  Arthur stopped abruptly. Arthena’s face was expressionless, but he felt that the atmosphere had changed somewhat.

  “I mean that, you know, since you have a map and I have a compass,” guy blurted out, “It would be just stupid for someone with a signal to refuse an offer to come with us?”

  “Is that so?” She sounded suspiciously indifferent.

  “Of course,” Arthur spoke with forced cheerfulness. “I mean, you and I are almost a complete set, so to speak...”

  He fell awkwardly silent. Then he lowered his head.

  “If you throw me to the shadows, I won't blame you.”

  Arthena bit her lip for a second, then let out a ringing laughed. There were pleasant melodic notes in her voice, and Arthur knew instinctively that she wasn’t angry. Arthena gracefully tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and nudged him in the shoulder.

  "Hunters don't do that, buddy! Okay, I think I know where we need to go to find other people..."

  She gestured for him to follow. Artorius mournfully took note that her direction seemed to be quite different from his own choice. Of course, Illios would know exactly where to go...

  Moving skillfully through the forest Arthena led her ally after her.

  "So... you haven't met anyone else?" Arthur asked.

  "I..."

  The girl didn't miss a beat in her tempo, although it was clear that she was hesitating for some reason.

  "No. I didn't notice anyone."

  "I see... I guess I was just lucky then," Arthur noted.

  There was a brief, awkward silence for a time.

  "Thank you," he said finally, gathering courage. "For saving my skin, Arthena.”

  The girl stopped and half turned around.

  “You weren't planning on just dying... right?”

  The unexpectedly serious tone was strangely melancholic. Arthur almost involuntarily shook his head.

  “What?! Nooo...”

  “Good.”

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  She simply turned away and walked on. The guy decided that perhaps he should drop the subject. A sharp echo reached their ears, as if from somewhere far away. A loud, trembling scream. A thin female voice. Panic.

  Arthur looked around in fear, expecting... anything. Arthena froze abruptly, then turned slightly to the side with a hard expression on her face.

  “What was that?”

  “...what do you want, then?”

  “You did say you knew where to go!”

  The branch lashed out harshly, almost hitting Lilum on the nose. She panicky waved it away and rushed after the scarlet splash some way ahead.

  “Of course I know! We're going forward.”

  Rosa crushed into the bushes like a bear – an amazing achievement for a frail girl a head shorter than Lily, who herself was far from massive.

  “Urrrgh...”

  Fallowing that darting little pest was unbearable.

  Rosa pulled the branch away with the most innocent look, actively gesturing with her other hand to move closer. Lilum automatically ducked her head – Rosie immediately released the branch. A fierce "foorsh" passing her ear made Lily jerk away. Rosa busily ran on forward, completely unaware of her disastrous oversight. That was the last straw.

  “That's it!”

  Lilum stamped her foot in frustration, crushing a little twig with a crunch.

  “Rubin! Stop!”

  She peaked out of the bushes like some sort of a critter.

  “What?”

  “Enough! Enough jumping around like a mountain goat, it's unbearable!”

  “Awww, do you think I'm equally as agile?” The abuse didn’t ruffle Rosa at all.

  “And much more stupid, yes.” Lily remarked harshly. “We can't just rush forward like some blind mice.”

  “Relax, I...”

  Lily waved her hand sternly.

  “I know perfectly well what's going on! You have no idea where are you going.”

  “This again...” Rosa drawled. “I believe we've already decided that I'm a better guide through the forest than you are...”

  “Maybe so,” Lily interrupted again dryly, “but where exactly are we going? I'm not intended to follow you around like a dog on a leash!”

  She crossed her arms adamantly and said:

  “We need a plan.”

  “But we already have a plan,” Rosa replied, annoyed. “We'll find the rest of them, and we'll gather in a group, and...”

  “And how do you planning to do that?”

  Lily looked at her with a hint of superiority.

  “You have no idea how we'll going to gather the others, do you?”

  Rosa perked up.

  “But of course I do!..”

  “No, you don't. How do I know that? Because you have no idea where everyone went.”

  Diamas spread her arms, gesturing at surroundings.

  “We've been trotting around here for an hour now and we still haven't met anyone, have we?”

  Rosa stubbornly pressed her lips together. She did thought it had gotten quiet. They'd encountered a few more shadows, but that was all...

  “We just need to...”

  “Ugh, I'm so tired of your stubbornness, Rubin.”

  Lilum fished a map out of her pouch and silently grabbed Rosa by the collar.

  “Ow, cold fingers! Ngh...”

  “We need to carefully study the map, and think about what route the others might take, and...”

  “Ooh, it's a new topographic map!”

  Lilum sighed heavily – Rosa had lost all interest in their argument, now staring at the map.

  “I've never seen anything like it, I have no idea how to read it properly...”

  Lilum sighed even more heavily.

  “Oh, as if you know,” Rosa grumbled. “Have you been to the wilderness ever? On your own?”

  Lily pouted fiercely, not wanting to admit that she hadn’t. Not on her own.

  “You’re such a!.. For your information, I know perfectly well how to read maps with can be used by hunt…”

  “But they did draw old marks.”

  Completely ignoring her partner, Rosa poked the map with her finger.

  “These here, these are marks for handmade maps that hunters draw for themselves. Dad showed us his old maps… Well, he didn't want to, obviously, but when we found them anyway he told us everything…”

  Interrupting each other in mid-sentence, the girls leaned over the map in discussion. A couple of minutes later, conclusions were reached.

  “Here.”

  Lilum poked at a small area near the grove, a small picture of clustered trees.

  “Yes, it looks like it's somewhere between the hills…” Rosa mused. “Do you think most people will pass through there?”

  “It's close to halfway, at least a few students should be going down...” Lilum said thoughtfully. “We might even find most of the group. Oh, that would explain why we haven't found anyone yet... Thouuu...”

  The unexpectedly harsh tone put Rosa on her guard.

  “You led us on a short cut, didn't you?” Lily observed coldly.

  Rosa nervously looked away, planning some excuse...

  “You led us like that because you... You're trying to find your sister.”

  “What's wrong with that?” Rosie flared up. “I... Yeah, fine! I'm worried, okay?”

  Lilum was already preparing an acidic jab, but the girl's voice was so... lonely without her sister's support. Diamas suppressed her resentment.

  “I'm sure she's in no danger...” she said reservedly. And she couldn't help it: “With a skull as thick as hers...”

  She expected Rosa to flare up. But girl only snorted under her breath and simply nudged Lily in the shoulder. The gesture puzzled the garthian more than she would expect. Completely dull-witted, but in it there was something... captivatingly sincere.

  The echo reached them from far away, but there was no mistake. Somewhere out there, in the depths of the forest, judging by the direction, someone was screaming.

  “What was?...”

  Rosa was already dozen meters away, moving through the undergrowth.

  “We must find out who was screaming!”

  Lilum made a tired sigh, putting the map away.

  “So much for the plan...”

  They didn't manage to get far. The first beast burst out of the bushes, as if it had been waiting for them and...

  With a powerful kick Rosa sent it way back into the ambush. The scythe cut the air harshly, chopping off a couple of branches. Another beast barely managed to miss the blade – Rosa twirled around, and the second pass swept the shadow away like a blade of grass.

  “I bet it’s you who lured them all...” Lily muttered, drawing an arc in the air.

  Ice arrows entered the beasts, forcing them to fall flat. But they were immediately replaced by their kin. The bushes were rustling menacingly. Rosa knocked down a couple, aiming at the shadows shuffling behind them. One fell, the rest were pelted with branches.

  “Lily!”

  Rosa turned and rushed towards her partner. Lily cried nervously when the shadow appeared next to her like out of nowhere – on reflection, it simply crept up from behind. Perhaps they had been pursued for some time, and Rosa was simply didn’t pay attention...

  “Get off!”

  A short wave of ice swept the enemy. Lily shaped the ice into spikes on the fly and hit another shadow at a distance. The third dodged the ice and jumped right up to…

  Rosa manifested in the wave of the strokes, sharply lowering her scythe diagonally.

  “You’re using resonance too much!” Rosa exclaimed.

  “Speak for yourself!” answered Lily, offended.

  The shadows were gathering around from all sides, as if deliberately surrounding their prey. The girls stood back to back.

  Lilum took a deep breath.

  “There are too many of them!”

  The shadows still kept at the distance, but for some reason the corpses of their kin didn’t bothered them as much as before.

  “Here!”

  Rosa rushed in a direction known only to her. Lily quickly ran after her, dodging the beast’s charge – the miss left the shadow far behind. Rosie broke through the undergrowth to a narrow but rather deep ditch in the ground, some kind of gully, stretching about a hundred meters away from their previous path.

  “Aha! We passed here a little higher...”

  She pointed somewhere, but Lily just caught her breath.

  “What are you?..”

  “Here, like this!”

  To Diamas's shock, Rosa, like some kind of squirrel or a cat, simply ran along a thin rotten tree crossing the gully.

  “Lily!”

  “Grrgh!”

  How Lilum managed to keep her sanity in such a chaotic situation, she could personally only guess. Gathering all her composure, the garthian stepped onto the "bridge", desperately balancing with her hands. Years of training in ballet school, all her balance, all her grace, all her endurance – everything just flew out of her head. At one point she was sure she would fall, but... then she stepped onto solid ground. Rosa swung the scythe at her.

  “What?!”

  “Get awaayy!”

  Lilum dashed aside, slipping past the nightmarish swing. There was a crunch, then screams of the shadows.

  A dozen of shadowbeasts, those that clung to the tree, plummeted into the gully in a huge pile of dark flesh and claws.

  “Ha! Losers!”

  Rosa twirled her scythe, forming her shotgun on the fly.

  “What are you?..” Lily breathed out.

  She was interrupted by a loud shot.

  “Waste ‘em, Lily!”

  Rosa was happily blasting the shadows like a child with an air rifle at a shooting range. Having overcome the shock of such a maneuver, Lilum twirled her blade and summoned a dozen ice spears, then fiercely sent them into the mass of shadows.

  “I think we need to...”

  Lilum stopped short. There were still great many shadows on the other side... but they were just shuffling in place. Most were already moving away, dissolving into the forest.

  “The fewer the better,” Rosa said, pleased, clicking cartridges in. “Awww, I hope they give us free ammo, I don't have that many...”

  Lilum suddenly realized that the answer could be simple – the trees along the gully were spread thin. They stood in a strip of sunlight.

  “Come on, Lily!”

  Rosa tugged at her shoulder, forcing to come to her senses. They were heading somewhere...

  “Yes, that's right...”

  Someone somewhere was screaming.

  The leader of the pack. At least Arthur simply assumed that a shadow twice the size of its relatives was a pack leader here. A sharp roar seemed to serve as a command, the shadows rushed towards the intruders. Arthena silently formed her bow, the bowstring clanged angrily, sending an arrow at the enemy.

  They stumbled right into a bunch of shadows. The clearing lay on the round slope of one of the many surrounding hills. The hunters had rushed out on the lower side, and now the shadows were rolling down at them like a black monster-fall. Arthur quickly raised his shield, repelling two creatures at once. They jerked back from the swing the sword. Nearby, Arthena, now with a spear in her hands, pierced the beast, then swung it with a guttural roar – the monster crashed into its kin like a huge mace, sweeping it to the ground.

  The beasts pressed Arthur again, forcing him into a panicky retreat from their jaws and claws. With an unexpected surge of anger, he abruptly rushed forward, the shield crashed into the nearest beast and the sword slashed its head. The shadow squealed and crookedly jumped aside where it fell.

  “That’s right! Oh-aah!..”

  Arthur quickly dodged away – there were still many more customers left. The shadows were pressing on them, as if they knew that victory was theirs. The leader lunged at Arthena, planning to crush her. The beast plopped into nothing, Illios rushed out, away from the attack and, sweeping smaller shadow with an diagonal swing, turned around in a powerful lunge. The large shadow roared when the spear entered the flesh. White eyes flashed from the side, the girl threw out her hand without looking – a discharge thundered, and a miniature lightning tore out of the beast a cloud of smoke and squeals.

  “Oh no!”

  The huntress sharply turned around – the shadows were pressing Arthur. Having formed a bow, she... but the leader interrupted, clawing the air where she stood. An arrow entered enemy's side. Arthena angrily clicked her tongue – at this occasion she only took simple arrows. The spear drew an arc, falling down like a halberd, and the shadow to the side fell to the ground with a slashed muzzle. A quick glance around, and she dodged the leader's lunge again.

  Luckily, her partner wriggled out of the enemy's grip – the bushes into which Arthur dived broke the shadows into pairs. He unexpectedly deftly slashed one across its mug, the second hit the shield with it claws and received a blade in the belly. The guy convulsively caught his breath. Two more jumped up from both sides...

  “Woah!”

  Arthena glanced back – and immediately jumped aside, letting the burly shadow pass by her. Another lunge left another wound on the monster. Black smoke was noticeably seeping from a couple of places.

  “Enough!”

  With an angry huff, Arthena threw out her hand – lightning left her fingers with a thunder. The shadow let out a strangled roar. Then a wide blade pierced it head.

  There was a crunch of branches, Arthur trip over the bushes with a yelp, dodging the beasts attention. Arthena formed her sword – a short one, with a wide leaf-shaped blade, ideal for cutting – and sharply raised it.

  Arthur jerked nervously when something rustled to the side. He almost got caught – his swing went in the attacking shadow's head at the last moment. He houndedly looked around...

  The last shadow fell, its head slapped on the ground separately. Arthena looked around sharply.

  “Arthur, you’re not hurt?”

  The shout was businesslike. The guy caught his breath, calming the nervous trembling of the fight.

  “Yes... Yes, I'm fine.”

  He looked at the leader's corpse with a doubt.

  “Where this... It's bigger than the others, isn’t it?”

  Arthena didn't answer, abruptly rushing away.

  “Gerda!”

  A girl was lying on the ground next to them. At first it seemed like it was just a pile of leaves, but on closer inspection it was clear that it was her dull coat. And the dirty lump to the side turned out to be a large fluffy tail.

  Arthena ran up to the girl, horridly turned her face up.

  “It is fine, there isn’t any blood on her...” she breathed out. “It looks like she’s not injured.”

  “We made it at the last moment,” Arthur said thinly. “Light save us...”

  It seemed that Venur was simply unconscious. Arthena carefully stroked Gerda's face, trying to bring her to her senses. With a pitiful moan, girl wrinkled her face. Then she opened her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Arthena said kindly. “Everything is fine, you are safe...”

  Gerda looked at her with noticeable confusion. Then her eyes widened.

  “The Shadows!”

  Arthena held her down, not allowing to flinch away. Gerda awkwardly raised herself on her hands and sat up.

  “I didn't!.. What happened? I...”

  Her voice broke, she fell silent.

  “I did faint, didn't I?”

  Her tone was strangely depressed, as if she was disappointed.

  “I think so. We...” Arthena tried to sound as confident as possible, “we killed all the shadows nearby, everything is fine.”

  “No...”

  There was an unexpected bitterness in Gerda's voice. She pressed her tail to her body, impulsively holding her hands around it.

  “Nothing is fine... What a fool I am, I should’ve stayed... with the others.”

  “Everything... will be fine.”

  Arthena clearly had no idea what to do exactly, she was simply trying to calm down the person who was almost being taken by the Shadows.

  “Maybe we should, um...”

  The girls looked at Arthur in unison, getting him embarrassed.

  “Maybe we should call the... Well. The red signal flare. So they could take you out?”

  Venur bitterly tinned her lips. Arthur looked down, feeling that he had blabbed something stupid.

  “Then she will fail the exam,” Arthena noted. “Although... Gerda...”

  “No, that is right...”

  The girl groped around with her hand, as if looking for something.

  “My bag is somewhere... I'll send out a signal, it was a stupid idea anyway... Me – a Hunter? What rubbish...”

  Arthena caught her hand.

  “Gerda.” She looked the girl in the eyes. “You... You didn't want to leave the Academy, did you?”

  “But it doesn't work, Arthy,” she said miserably. “I thought... Oh, the shadows take it all...”

  She groped around with her hand again.

  “Oh no,” she whispered exasperated. “I lost it, didn't I? You haven't seen my bag?”

  They shook their heads, Arthur looked around just in case.

  “Maybe it was trampled into the ground?”

  Illios glared at him, causing to fall silent in confusion.

  “Probably when I saw Pavrelis...”

  Arthena turned to her sharply.

  “What?” Her tone was noticeably tense. “You... You met that...” Illios clearly swallowed the obscene epithet. “Him?”

  “Yes, I...”

  Gerda suddenly fell silent and drooped, visibly depressed. Arthena abruptly rose to her feet, looking somewhere away.

  “If he dared...” she hissed. “This is over the line! How they even!.. Grrgh, I'll gonna rip him to bits off if he’s!..”

  “No, no, I ran away!” Gerda exclaimed hastily. “I just...”

  She looked down, clearly going red.

  “I just saw him, and one of his buddies... and they noticed me, but I...”

  She let out a pitiful, miserable groan.

  “And I ran away!”

  “Well, it's probably for the best.”

  Arthena pierced Arthur with a menacing stare, causing him to nervously flinch away.

  “That is... I didn't... I didn't mean that...”

  He fell silent, lost for words. Arthena raised an eyebrow expressively, approving such a decision.

  A sharp crack a bit away made everyone wary. Arthur stepped forward almost automatically. The thought that it was Arthena who needed to be pushed forward – like, is there even danger for her? – flashed through his mind, leaving a feeling of shame in many facets… but then Arthena instantly got in front herself, covering Gerda with her body.

  “…ere here!”

  The crunching grew louder, bringing an exclamation. The voice was female…

  “Aha!”

  A powerful swing knocked down a small tree, and Fjora Avaren barreled out into the clearing, seething with battle fervor, her axe in a threatening swing.

  “Anyone else?!”

  She saw stunned faces.

  “Oh. You're here too?”

  Fjora looked around.

  “So who was screaming?” She looked closely at Arthur. “It wasn't you, was it?”

  “Oh, aha-ha, very funny,” he grumbled.

  “It was probably me...” Gerda said honestly.

  She had already risen to her feet, and was awkwardly picking out trash from her tail. Fjora came closer, hiding the mighty axe back in focus – a short rod, which she returned to her belt. Following her, Lin Zhao appeared from the undergrowth.

  “We heard a scream and hurried to help.” His tone was calmed, as always. “Unfortunately, my companion refused to listen to me and we went slightly astray.”

  “It was the shadows, Lin!” said Fjora, irritated.

  “We could have been late.” Now Zhao's tone was noticeably annoyed. “You need to be more mindful with such things.”

  “Yes, yes...”

  After making sure that no one was injured and listening to the story of what was happening, Fjora swelled up like a puffer fish.

  “What the?!.. How dare he!”

  “But they didn't do anything, actually,” Gerda interjected uncertainly.

  “Nonsense!”

  Fjora grabbed her in a hug, causing the girl to make a startled yelp.

  “Of course he did, don't even think about excusing that low bastard. Girls shouldn't run away at the sight of him! Scum-sucking asshole...”

  “Yes, that's my opinion pretty much,” said Arthena distantly. “Lin, what items do you have?”

  “I have a flare!” happily declared Fjora.

  “A map.”

  Gerda's face dropped.

  “I lost my bag, so...” she perked up. “Although...”

  She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a compass.

  “Maybe you... I mean, one of you could lend me...” Gerda was desperately embarrassed, “a red signal flare?”

  “Gerda...” Arthena spoke ruefully.

  “I'll just... I'll just wait for the evacuation. For the professors these beasts are probably no bother at all...”

  “But you wanted to study at the Academy,” Arthena reminded softly.

  Arthur realized that Illios was not acting like this just out of politeness, she clearly knew something. She often helped him, and Arthur knew that Rubin was always pestering the girl with her friendliness. But it was obvious that Arthena was close to the other students as well.

  Gerda looked down.

  “I didn't think that everything would be so...” Gerda broke off and sighed. “I never wanted to chase the Shadows in the wilderness, you know that...”

  “What?”

  Fjora moved her eyes from Arthena to the Gerda and back.

  “Something happened? I mean, why would you study at the Academy of Shadowlore if...”

  “Can you, perhaps, stay with her?” Arthena reservedly interrupted her. “You have an appropriate set, as far as I can see.”

  Gerda wanted to protest, but Fjora interrupted, matter-of-factly grabbing her by the shoulders. Animata make a nervous squeak.

  “Exactly! We can get to the outpost, especially now that Lin has a compass.

  Fjora carefully took out some of sticks and leaves from Gerda's disheveled hair, making her blush. Lin shook his head, but a shadow of a smile crossed his face.

  “It would really be easier for me if someone would lend a compass,” he said. “If you don't mind, I suggest we team up.”

  Gerda looked at them. It seemed that she was about to burst into tears again. Either from helplessness, or from joy.

  “Uh-huh...” she nodded, pressing her ears to her head. “If you don't mind...”

  “In that case, take care of her,” Arthena summed it up. “By the way...”

  After checking the direction, Arthena and Lin discussed the route. It was worth going along the lowland not far from their current position. From there they could simply follow the curve of a couple of hills – and then the outpost should be visible. According to the map, at least.

  As Arthur and Arthena left, the guy briefly glanced back. Gerda looked much more confident, in the company of new friends. He hurried after Illios.

  The ice made a mighty cracking noise… and gave way, crumbling into a pile of shards.

  “I so totally did say you will run out of huff.”

  “Uggh! Just get rid of them!”

  Lilum lunged forward, slicing the shadow's head with her blade. The maneuver was crude, and she almost tripped over a rock like some oaf. The shadow squealed angrily and fell to the ground. Rosa was nearby, drawing circles and ovals with the silver of her scythe.

  The shadows did not retreat. Another group caught up with them in a bad place. The undergrowth was thick and the weapons were catching on something all the time. After Rosa's efforts, however, a noticeable clearing formed around them, sprinkled with branches.

  Rosa secretly caught her breath.

  “What wrong, run out of huff?”

  An acrid remark from the side made her snort angrily.

  “Meanie!”

  “You started it!”

  Lilum waved furiously at the beast in front of her. A short flash of her resonance froze the paws, a short thrust of the blade pierced the monster's head.

  Unexpectedly, the wounded shadow suddenly jumped, slashing her leg. Lily screamed, more from surprise than from pain, the veil protected her perfectly. The scythe fell like a pick on a stone, and the shadow was silent.

  “Prrff...” Rosa drawn in breath. “I don't understand, we should have found the...”

  She looked around in confusion, Lilum snorted fiercely.

  “Well, of course we should have. Except we are lost, Rubin. That's enough, we're just moving on!”

  “Lily, how could you...”

  “I don't care if someone is being eaten alive, we're not going to run around the forest anymore like headless chickens!”

  Rosa froze in shock, Lilum looming over her like a mountain. Like an iceberg, perhaps.

  “But...”

  “We're already too late!” Lily cut her off. “If she was in danger, then...”

  Lilum fell silent. Of course, it was unpleasant to think that someone had... that someone was...

  “We have to hope that someone helped her,” Lilum finished calmingly. “After all... we didn't hear anything else. Actually... I don't like that we didn't even heard the shots. Most hunters carry guns...”

  The girls were silent for a second. Then Rosa fished out a compass.

  “Let's check...”

  She didn't have time to finish. As was the case several times during this past couple of hours, they were rudely interrupted by a sharp crack in the distance. Then there was a short scream. Very close. Diamas sighed curtly.

  “Lily!”

  “No need to screech every time, I'm right behind you..."

  Rosa plowed through the bushes. Lilum followed suit quickly, trying to measure her strength as best as she could. She really was a little out of breath.

  “Too much...”

  Maybe they all were right? Maybe she relied on the resonance way too much? Maybe...

  They tumbled straight into trouble.

  The first shadow, caught off guard, jumped up almost comically, turning around to face them. Rosa swept it away with one sweeping blow. The ice spear crashed into another – Lily instinctively bit down a swearing. She didn't even think about stopping herself...

  In the middle of a small clearing, covered with thick grass and thin stalks of young trees, lay a fallen trunk.

  “Whoa, that’s a big one.”

  On the other side of the windfall, the shadow with the dimensions and general build of a bear quickly turned its muzzle towards them. Its flat, wide mouth opened slightly. With a running start, Rosa skipped onto a fallen tree trunk and soared upwards. Lily gasped in shock.

  “She's mental!”

  With a surprisingly angry roar, Rosa plunged her scythe onto the shadow, leaning with her entire body. As if turning into a blurry dark spot, the beast slipped out. The speed was almost unreal. Even in comparison with Rosa’s stunt.

  The scythe sank into the ground shaft deep. Rosa froze in an awkward pose.

  “Oh, shit...”

  “Leave the weapon!”

  Lily rushed towards her, summoning ice... and abruptly jumped away – the small shadow almost slashed its claws across her face. A sharp swing of the blade drove it away. Lily squeezed the trigger, releasing a wave of steam from the blade... and only then remembered that she wanted to conserve her strength.

  “Ngrgh!”

  The charge was spent, and a swarm of furious ice fragments, sharp as razors, flew into the shadows. The shadows screeched.

  The large shadow almost tore her in half – Rosa dodged the powerful paw into the air. Focus returned to her hand as a strip of flickering.

  An unexpected wave of determination made everything crystal clear for a moment. The shadow bent down, planning a charge. Rosa rushed into a suicidal attack right into the claws of the monster, the scythe rising over her head...

  A double blow with it paws passed through the air – powerlessly cutting through a wave of scarlet strokes!

  Rosa mightily plunged the scythe right into the monster's head. The blade entered the back of the beast’s neck like it was butter. She pressed her foot to the wide muzzle and sharply straightened her whole body.

  “Rosa!”

  A short roar broke off mid-note. The creature went limp, Rosa staggered and plopped down on the ground side by side with the carcass.

  “Hufff...”

  Rosa raised herself to see Lilum tearing her blade out of the beast. With panicked face the white-haired girl ran up to her partner.

  “Awww... You called me by my name!”

  Lilum let out a sigh full of cosmic torment.

  “I absolutely hate you.”

  Rosa accepted her hand with pleasure and rose up from the ground... a short crunch to the side made them turn around sharply.

  “Oh!”

  The girl froze in fear, raising her hands in response to all the weapons pointed at her. And three ice blades.

  Long puffy hair of the color of an evening dawn pleasantly set off a pale, thin face with graceful features. She was short, no taller than Lilum, dressed in a dark green pinafore dress made of thick fabric and thick black tights. On her feet were beautiful suede boots with shiny clasps. They looked surprisingly heavy for a girl, but on the other hand, they were standing in the middle of a wild forest.

  “Are you hurt?”

  Rosa was next to her in an instant. Sometimes Lilum had a feeling that girl can do teleporting without any resonance.

  “What are you doing here? Are you lost? Where is your group, you are not alone here, are you? It's strange, I don't remember you... It's so dangerous up here, did the shadows attack you? What are you-waaagh...”

  Lilum sternly pulled her away by the scruff of her neck. The stranger had an expression shock on her face.

  “Enough! The situation is already quite unclear, without your fidgeting.”

  Rosa grumbled in discontent, but allowed to push herself aside. The girl caught her breath, but Lily stood over her herself, making the girl to nervously stand at attention.

  “So then, how did you end up here? What happened? You're not alone, are you?”

  Rosa let out an indignant screech. The girl guiltily lowered her green eyes. A slight blush hid the adorable scattering of freckles on the white cheeks.

  “Oh no, I'm not... not lost at all. I just was...”

  She stuttered strangely, as if trying to remember something. Lily narrowed her eyes.

  Or was she trying to lie?

  “Please, I didn't think that anyone would be here,” the girl began guiltily. “I thought... That if I ran here, then...”

  The stranger cut herself off sharply.

  “That is, I didn't think, but...”

  The huntresses watched her carefully. Lily with growing suspicion, Rosa slightly puzzled.

  “I thought I'd just... take a stroll.”

  Silence fell. Lacking the birds singing, but with the wind in the branches. Somewhere in the distance, a strange hum was heard, like the rumble of distant thunder.

  Rosa pointed the finger at her.

  “You're lost!”

  The girl gave a thin gasp and desperately waved her hands in panic.

  “Not at all! No!”

  There was a pause.

  “Not... not quite?” she added painfully.

  Rosa pointed the finger at her.

  “You're lost!”

  Lilum dropped all the manners and simply smacked the back of her head.

  “Oi!”

  “I assumed your record got broken,” she said with acid and, ignoring the angry glare, added to the girl: “Look here, we're a little busy, and the forest, going by everything, is ridiculously dangerous. You should immediately go back wherever you ran away from.”

  “I didn't run away!” the girl howled, reddening like a dawn. “I just was...”

  She suddenly stopped short, her face falling. Then she decisively turned around and was clearly about to... just walk back into the forest.

  “You're right, I really just need to go back and apologize...”

  “No way!”

  Rosa grabbed the girl's hand, causing her to gasp, startled.

  “Just look at what you've gone and did! First time you’re seeing her in your life, and you're already bulling her.”

  “What in the...?” Lilum was taken aback. “I don't... It's perfectly normal to ask such questions!”

  “We can't just leave her in the middle of the forest!” bellowed Rosa.

  She pulled the stranger close to her with anguish, hugging her hand. The girl looked at Lily in shock.

  “Don't talk nonsense, of course I wasn't going to just send her away,” Lilum said. “And yet...”

  The girl slowly blushed more and more, awkwardly trying to pry Rosa off herself. Diamas came closer, getting her to freeze.

  “It's quite strange that a child was found in the middle of the forest, surrounded by the shadows,” she observed in an even tone.

  “I’m sorry...”

  “I don't understand why would you're apologize. But I'd like to know what are you doing here.”

  Under the gaze of the hunters, the girl hung her head, clearly not wanting to answer.

  “I hope you didn't run away from home or something?” Lilum suggested.

  Girl jumped a little, shaking her head.

  “Not at all, I didn't want to run away! Just to take a walk, that's all.”

  The girl hesitated, looking at Lily awkwardly. The longer Diamas looked at the girl, the more convinced she became that the stranger was definitely not a part in the exam. If she were a student, Lilum would certainly remember her.

  “I probably shouldn't have told you that.”

  “And why not?” Lily asked skeptically.

  “My dad said that I cannot talk to strangers.”

  Her eyes, a deep emerald shade, were crystally clear.

  “Awww,” Rosa said adoringly, for a moment pressing closer to her. “How can you suspect her, look how honest she is?”

  Lily pursed her lips.

  “Yes, honest indeed. In fact, she reminds me of someone.”

  “Who?”

  Lilum looked into Rosa's crystally clear eyes.

  “Oh yes, definitely,” she shook her head. Then she turned to the girl: “Okay, just tell me where you came from and...”

  “Oh, no!”

  The girl impulsively leaned forward, with unexpected force pulling Rosa behind with her.

  “Sorry, I didn't... They told me it was a secret, and I... Oh!”

  She covered her mouth with her hand like a little girl. Then she looked down.

  “Umff... I always blabber. I'm not allowed to say this.”

  “Darling, this all is extremely strange,” Lily stated. “And we don't have time. We need to get to the outpost before dark, Rosa!”

  The last was addressed to Rosie, who frowned, having all of the assumptions about how heartlessness princess is.

  “Oh, so you know?”

  The huntresses stared at the girl. She again widened her eyes, realizing that she once more blurted out too much.

  “Aw...”

  “You came from the outpost in the forest?” Lily asked sternly. “Don't you dare to lie!”

  “Yes...” the stranger muttered miserably.

  “But that's just great!

  Rosa let her go and happily took her hand in hers. The girl responded with a startled look.

  “We'll take you back! What's your name?”

  “Gala...”

  She stopped short. Then she gave in and sighed.

  “Thea.”

  “Gala Thea?” Rosa drawled. “You're not an elysian?”

  She shook her head with resignation. Rosa pulled her along with a biggest smile.

  “Hey, Lily, do you figure what this means? We're almost there!”

  “That's right... I doubt she walked that far.”

  “Actually...”

  They looked at Gala. She hid her gaze, embarrassed.

  “I, um... I walked quite far, and when I was att…”

  She stopped for the hundredth time during this conversation. Then she collected her thoughts again.

  “I think we're quite far away,” Gala said, choosing her words carefully. “And I'm not sure where we need to go...”

  The Hunters exchanged glances. Then Rosa waved her hand.

  “Ehh, we'll get un-lost.”

  The girl pulled Gala along by the hand like a small child. Lilum rolled her eyes exasperated, feeling that just a little longer, and she’s going to stay that way.

  But now, at least, their goal was quite tangible.