[Team 3] Protect and Destroy (Hero, Garnet & Emperor, Song, Yuzuki)

Mura got up on his feet quickly along with Fey after the attack from the brute shark monster. One of the sharks were closer to the group now, and while Song appeared to have evaded its tail, it didn’t look good for Garnet. Mura’s eyes widened in shock as he could see the injured guildmate of his along with Emperor, but if he let his concentration die down now, then the sharks would only be even more mobile than they already were now. At last, he could hope that Song’s magic could aid in giving him time to go to Garnet and tend to his wound. She made it clear that she had no experience in creating a spell that would stun or entrap the enemy, which in all honesty left Mura mildly blind due to his ignorance of her own magical experience that was bound to be different from his or anyone else’s. He felt pressured, really. He didn’t want to let these monsters harm his teammates, but it was as if his efforts as a group leader only worsened their objective to clear the area of these exact dangers. The needles from Song’s trap planted firmly inside the shark’s mouth, its weak point, and it did appear that one of the sharks finally hit the ground in a slight defeat. And as Song was weaving a new, reddish type of silk, the other shark only increased its ferocity and violent jabs and movements.

T-This is going to take a lot, but I have to-

A huge surprise, the pinkish flesh of a tentacle erupted from the waters behind them back at the lake. Mura couldn’t believe that another creature was heading towards them, but that was where the surprise laid; its tentacle flung around the shark that wasn’t bound down by the combined efforts of Mura’s earth magic and Song’s needle trap, lifting it up with quite some effort before pulling it back deep into the lake again. Mura waved the drops of water away from the shore, but the disappearance did leave a huge wave from the center of the lake that indicated the unknown entity’s enormous size. Now, a weakened shark with needles of saliva-covered web in its mouth was found in front of them, and Mura did a last effort to bury it deep down under the sand and wet dirt, on top of metallic spikes that he didn’t leave out impaling its body through the ground.

It had reduced its resistance due to the needles in its mouth, luckily. Mura lowered his hands and only had to jab them right back up by the sounds of events happening further away behind their tracks. It was Song’s previously set traps that got activated, and Mura could only hope that their foresight had freed them of more trouble than absolutely necessary. The sounds were… eerie, if you took a moment to thoroughly listen to them. But Song stated a rather curious inability, and as a proper leader, Mura should consider his next commands and actions upon the capabilities of the others too.

“T-That was a close one… whatever that was, some large squid helped us,” he spoke in relief. He immediately turned around and moved towards Garnet and Emperor, throwing himself on his knees in front of the injured Inkling. It was… was that ink? Coming out of his large wound? Mura had never dealt with people who bled ink, but it was no large matter as he looked at Emperor. “I… I’m sorry. Here, let me help…” he asked, putting one hand above the wounded Garnet. It hurt him to see his guildmate in this condition; he should’ve been more careful, and Mura should’ve been more cautious of the events around him. A strange, purple aura escaped his palm and entered Garnet, speeding up his recovery by a margin. Mura could only thank the years that it took for him to gain Hades’ powers under control, for it came handy in dire situations such as these.

For now, the lake reeked with silence. No more entities made their presence known, but they were likely nearby. Mura would have to change their strategy… and Song’s words earlier gave him an idea. “Everyone. The effects of these diseases on whatever we’ve faced up until now… they seem to give them the upper hand if we face them head-on,” he tried to explain whilst sheathing his katana, “Let’s try and take a stealthy method from now on. A quick ambush is more effective, but for some with thicker hides and minimal weak points, they can quickly rise their guards… but if we also set up traps from here and across our next path, then we can lure the toughest creatures all back to the lake and let them fall on the way.” He moved over to Song and continued: “I can set up traps too, but mine are often easy to notice. Yours are much more hidden… can you do with whatever amount of mana that you have left? I don’t know how many monsters are left, or how long the path is going to be…”

On the other side of the large lake, deep in the shore-edging forests, two crabs were walking around. Tall, infected crabs with hostile intents yet little sense or awareness of whoever was nearby them.

WC: 892
TWC: 4816 + 892 = 5708

It seemed the danger ebbed away as quickly as it has arrived, only with less warning. The leader called the thing in the lake help, but wasn't that more danger? It only attacked the shark thing by chance, right? It could have just as easily aimed in their direction. Was she wrong on this? Maybe, though right now there wasn't a hint of it coming back up. She wasn't the leader, so it wasn't up for her to decide what was friend or foe. Getting out alive at this point would be nice enough, especially after the close call the group had only a moment ago. At the least it seemed the wounded teammate was treated not long after the active danger was gone. Song was a bit confused with her leaders words, but kept it to herself this time. It just seemed like an obvious point that the enemy would have a natural upper hand when this is their land? But she had thought they would have planning that would help them overcome that. Maybe they did? It was sometimes hard to figure out all the details of things when you can't see everything. Was Mura asking her to set up traps? The sand spider looked over, feeling a bit surprised.

That didn't make her stay still like a stunned statue though. The young girl moved towards one of the many dead trees, moving up it with her quiet and nimble movements. The eight spider legs were good at being silent and swift. She was small and lightweight, capable of moving along even something as weakened and decayed as the plant life in this land. The girl discarded the long rope of high quality spider silk, finding it to be useless concerning any plants at that time. "If you want me to set up traps then it might be good for me to be ahead of the team. I don't know the direction we are supposed to go in, but I was build and trained to blend in." How much did she know about traps that weren't from her type of magic? She had read about them, but the girls experience with traps were different than how she experienced them. Then again it was the same way with basically everything. The young Talea didn't really have any good suggestions for how she would go ahead without knowing where they were going. This was a reminder that she would be a terrible leader, maybe after more life experience?

Though she felt far more comfortable with following. Blind eyes looked over at Mura. She was still curious, then again that was more than likely just the girls constant state of being at this point. One would be hard pressed to find a time where Song didn't want to ask about at least one thing. "Why would you make easy to spot traps? Oh! Does anyone want me to mark them? Then it would be easier to avoid stepping on them, unless everyone knows where I'm going to put them beforehand? My traps are designed to blend, that's why they're hard to notice. I used to trip on them when I was younger, before I learned to memorize their location. Does anyone want me to weave them any clothing items? Teleporting and invisibility sounds really useful. I bet you're really stealthy Yuzuki." Two people here were designed for stealth? Though invisibility sounded far superior to a suppressed presence and quiet movements. How would they find you if they can't see you? Why was she over thinking everything now?Was it fear? A bit, part of her was still thinking of the monster shark things.

"Is everyone okay? I still feel sort of shaken, the shark things were crazy." Maybe it was a stupid thing to ask or admit. It wasn't very warrior like to admit to feeling afraid, why was she even asking anyway? What would the reddish blond do if they were the only one feeling scared? It was too late to take back the question and admittance now.

Words: 677
Total: 6,195