The trip back from the Crystal Coast started off pretty well. The Crimson Falcons were in a positive mood after their successful exploration, and Greg felt better than he had in months. Marina walked next to him for most of the morning, sometimes pointing out intriguing plants or telling stories about things that had happened to them in the past.
"Hey," Kael said from his scouting position ahead, "this is the most peaceful job we've had in a long time. No problems, no bandits, just a lovely, quiet trip to the beach."
Greg was shocked hearing that from Kael. If someone said that, it always meant he challenged the red flag itself that always brings problems or even chaos at any time without any coincidence.
Greg mumbled in his mind. "Oh fuck me... I know damn well what he's saying could go wrong for us in the worst way possible."
"Don't say that," Denna said with a groan. "You're going to ruin it for us."
Ryn said, "That's not how things work in the real world," as he adjusted his pack. "Just saying that peace exists doesn't make danger appear out of nowhere."
"Fucking hell! That's twice the red flags raised so far?! Are the Crimson Falcons reckless or what?!" Greg repeated it in his mind, and his expression changed slightly.
A howl echoed through the forest, as if the universe had been waiting for that exact sentence. Then one more came. And even more are coming. The quiet afternoon air was filled with the sounds of something moving through the underbrush in large numbers in just a few seconds.
Denna said, "I hate being right," and she was already pulling her axe.
Kael's face was serious as he looked at the trees and said, "That's not normal."
"That's a hunting call, but the way it sounds is wrong. There are too many different voices, even from different species."
"Yes, goblins," Marina said, seeing movement through the trees. "At least a dozen, maybe more. But they're doing something else."
"Shadow wolves?"
Ryn pulled out her staff and said, "Shadow wolves don't hunt with goblins."
"They hunt alone. This doesn't make any sense at all."
When the creatures came into view, it made even less sense. A bunch of goblins, shadow wolves, and what looked like corrupted deer were all running together in a messy group. But they weren't after the party. They were running away from something, and their movements showed pure panic.
"GET DOWN!" Kael yelled.
The horde rushed past them, so focused on getting away from whatever was behind them that they hardly even noticed the adventurers. One goblin accidentally ran right into Denna, bounced off her armor, and kept going without looking back.
"What the hell?" Denna saw them go into the woods. "Since when do monsters not eat easy prey?"
"Because they're being chased by something scarier," Marina said. "Everyone, get into defensive positions. Whatever scared them is on its way here."
They quickly got into formation because they had done it so many times before. Greg was in the middle of their formation, which made sense because he was the only one who wasn't fighting.
"Do you think any of your famous household items would help in a fight?" Kael wanted to know.
"I have a butter knife that spreads things out perfectly?" Greg said.
"That's not helpful right now," Marina said, but her voice had a hint of humor in it, even though things were tense.
There were more sounds coming from the monsters' escape route. Loud footsteps, branches breaking, and something that sounded like rocks scraping against each other. It was big, whatever it was.
"Ryn, do you know what we're up against?" Marina wanted to know.
Ryn's face had turned white as she looked at the magic signatures in the air. "The mana is all over the place. There are many different sources that all interact with each other."
"Someone dumped a year's worth of magical trash into the environment all at once."
"Can you explain that to those of us who don't have magic degrees?" Denna said.
Ryn said simply, "There is something very wrong with this forest."
"The natural order has been completely upset." That's why the monsters are acting weird.
They didn't have an opportunity to talk about it more. Greg's first thought when something crashed through the trees was that it couldn't be real.
The thing was at least fifteen feet tall, and its body looked like it had been carved out of living stone. Its jaw was huge and had teeth that could crush rocks. Its eyes glowed with a strange red light.
"Stonejaw Behemoth," Kael said, keeping his voice steady. "That monster is class A. They build their nests in the deep mountains and never leave them."
"Well, this one left," Denna said, holding her axe tighter. "Any ideas?"
"Run?" Ryn said. "We're not ready for this level of danger."
"It's already seen us," Marina said. "Running just makes us food. We have to..."
She stopped talking when the Behemoth's attention turned to them. It opened its giant mouth and roared.
The noise was so loud that Greg could feel it in his bones. The ground shook when the creature stepped forward.
Then it took another step, picking up speed and clearly getting ready to charge right through them like they were made of paper.
"SCATTER!" Marina yelled.
They dove in different directions just as the Behemoth was about to hit them. It moved so quickly for something enormous that its stone body plowed through trees like they were twigs. Greg got up quickly, his heart racing, and started to think about whether any of his tools could be useful against something that was literally made of rock.
Kael was already shooting arrows, but they bounced off the creature's skin without leaving a mark. Denna's axe hit its leg and even chipped the stone, but the Behemoth didn't seem to care. Ryn's magic hit its body, searching for any weak spot.
"This isn't working!" Denna screamed, narrowly evading the creature's massive claw.
Marina was responsible for their attacks, trying to keep the Behemoth's attention split, but it was clear they were outmatched. They couldn't defeat this monster, which resembled a natural disaster.
Greg watched the fight happen, his mind racing. He had a hammer in his bag, like he always did, but what could he make in the middle of a fight that would help with something like this? His creations took time, focus, and real materials to make.
The Behemoth focused on Marina, who was the most annoying target because she kept moving around. It raised one giant foot to stomp her flat. Time seemed to move more slowly.
Greg saw Marina rolling away, but not fast enough. And then he saw Denna trying to help, but she was too far away. Though he knew it wouldn't be sufficient, he saw Ryn gathering mana to use magic.
"Fuck...! How am I supposed to do in this situation rather than being useless?!"