The journey continued peacefully for a few kilometers until Rem and the others neared the borders of Araniga. There, the gentle breeze that had caressed them in Arashia turned into biting winds, giving their bodies chills with every gust.
Ramona was wearing Asari's spare clothes, as hers were torn, and she wasn't planned for this journey anyway.
Rem and his sister Nadya didn't mind the cold; for the people of Dingo, these winds were considered warm. Luka refused to wear anything, claiming the cold helped him recover faster.
The only one whose head was throbbing with cold, whose feet were freezing, and who was left shivering by everyone else, was the person driving the cart.
"This is unbearable!! I'm freezing!" shouted Asari, huddled and trembling with every light breeze. His nose was running, his face pale, and he looked miserable.
Rem poked his head out of the cart, and Asari shot him a ridiculous, annoyed look.
"But Ramona is wearing your cold weather clothes. It's inappropriate to ask for them back."
"It's inappropriate to let me freeze here!" Everyone laughed at his angry outburst, but Asari found it anything but amusing.
"Come on! Drive!"
Asari reached into the cart, pulled Rem out, and shoved him onto the driver's seat. He quickly crawled inside, leaving Rem with the horse's reins.
Everyone froze, watching Asari rub his hands together and blow on them. "The cold is biting..."
Rem felt a sense of calm and peace. The laughter of everyone seeped into him, bringing a small smile to his face.
Despite all the troubles this group had faced, they had overcome them and found a way to smile again.
Memories flashed through Rem's mind: the day he lost his father, and his mother was taken from him.
The day he was helpless and alone, unable even to share his tears with anyone.
Then fate had him meet Asari, who in turn had lost loved ones. Asari became an older brother to Rem, his master.
As the Araniga breeze caressed Rem's short hair, he smiled and thanked the heavens for this family he had found, and for no longer being alone.
"Hey! Hurry up! At this rate, Rodan will die of old age before we even reach the edges of Araniga!" Asari shouted from inside the cart.
Rem paid no mind to Asari's shouts and hummed happily. Everyone's bodies were in a pitiful state, except Nadya, who had no combat experience.
Rem's calm was shattered by a powerful tremor that shook the cart and the ground beneath it, knocking the horse to the ground. It was as if the cart had been lifted off the ground, as if something had passed underneath it.
"What was that!" everyone called from the back.
Rem jumped from the cart and helped the horse up. Then he glimpsed something moving underground—it was enormous... and it was heading towards them.
"Guys! We have a problem!"
Asari quickly jumped out at Rem's shout, glaring in annoyance at the thing moving underground ahead of them.
"I wished we wouldn't encounter any of these..."
"What is that!"
"It's a Gronjar!"
"What?"
"They are beasts that live underground and love Araniga's moderately warm, moderately cold weather. The King and knights made sure these beasts didn't enter the city limits, but there are so many of them at the borders."
"And why did they allow them to stay at the borders?! Those things are huge!"
"Why do you think Araniga has no knights on its borders? Because these beasts are the natural defense and the original guardians of Mother Araniga."
The Gronjar came closer and closer. Asari jumped into the driver's seat of the cart and signaled Rem to get in quickly.
Asari drove the cart, trying to get away from the Gronjar's path as much as possible, but the single horse couldn't keep up with the Gronjar.
The moving hill approached them faster and faster. The rising dust covered the entire area, obscuring the road from Asari and Rem.
Luka was not in a suitable condition to fight. Asari and Rem were trying to avoid it as much as possible due to their exhausted physical state.
The cart and horse lifted high as the Gronjar passed underneath them. Everyone clung to the nearest thing they could find, and the horse whinnied in fear.
The Gronjar did not emerge from underground, but Asari was sweating from tension. For the Gronjar, this was just a warning for them to leave its territory, which is why it hadn't attacked them yet.
"This thing! How can we defeat it!"
"We can't... In my life, I've never heard of anyone who managed to kill a Gronjar or even scratch it. They have an armor of strong, spiky scales covering their skin that neither Enza nor physical attacks can penetrate."
"It must have a weak point!"
"It doesn't! The Gronjar stays underground, and even that is another defensive factor for it! It only emerges when it's sure it will eliminate its target! This is impossible, we'll go back."
Asari turned the horse around, moving away from Araniga's borders and the Gronjar's territory. The cart stopped far from the Gronjar's territory, and everyone got out, watching the Gronjar move around in its area.
"We have to find a way to cross it..." Rem said, looking at the tense and angry Asari.
"There's no way... We have to try to go around another way."
"But you said these things surround all of Araniga's borders."
"I'm trying, okay?!!"
"...."
"Sorry... but these monsters are a red line. If you meet one, you have to give up hope and turn back."
"But we need to reach Araniga! I need to meet your friend who will help us get to King Rodan."
"Between him and us is a legendary beast that has lived for thousands of years... I don't think hope can defeat something like that."
"But the sword can."
Rem drew the Judgment Blade, and the dark aura quickly flowed from its edge. The rot seeped into Rem's hands. As soon as the rot appeared on his fingertips, Rem felt a strong prickling sensation throughout his body and indescribable pain in his hands and chest.
Rem fell to the ground, writhing in pain, and let go of the Judgment Blade, which fell near him.
Ramona and Nadya quickly rushed to check on Rem, who could barely open his eyes from the pain, while Asari looked at him with regret, unable to think of a plan to help them get through this situation.
Away from everyone's sight, Asari tried to form a small wind tornado in his palms, but the winds gathering would vanish as soon as they got close. The Soul Tamer Form had consumed all of Asari's Enza, and he wouldn't be able to use his abilities anytime soon.
Asari and Rem were unable to use their powers, and Luka couldn't even move, so fighting wasn't an option that would get them out of their current situation.
"Maybe I can help..." Ramona said in a faint, unconfident voice.
"What do you mean!" Asari shouted at her. Ramona flinched in fear.
"Sorry... please explain."
"I'm also an Eathlth... I can use my Mirror ability to create a diversion for the Gronjar."
"Diversion?"
"My sword is called Mirror... I can create illusions and reflections of things, but it's not an offensive ability... the copies can't cause any damage."
"That's great! All we need is to get the Gronjar out of our way so we can cross safely! Once we're out of its territory, it will stop chasing us!"
Asari ordered Ramona and Nadya to get back in the cart. He picked up Rem and placed him near Luka.
Asari drove toward the Gronjar. As soon as their horse took a few steps into its territory, the Gronjar advanced toward them, kicking up dust.
"Now!"
Ramona pulled out a small dagger and held it with both hands, raising it high. A bright light shone from the sword, enveloping the cart and completely hiding it.
"Image Break!"
As the intense light faded, the cart continued to move away from the Gronjar.
"Did it work!" Asari called to Ramona, who was extremely tense, as was Asari.
"It should have! I haven't tried it on multiple people before!"
"What?! Are we your lab rats?!"
"Sorry!"
Asari continued to escape, but the Gronjar managed to catch up. Dust covered the cart, and the air grew thick. Fear was etched on Asari's face. Nadya and Ramona closed their eyes, hoping for the best, but then they heard a deep, ocean-like sound as the Gronjar leaped from underground. It was gigantic, the color of the earth, with a large fin at its end and covered in spiky, giant scales from top to bottom.
The Gronjar opened its mouth, and Asari felt the heat of its guts approaching them. Before the Gronjar swallowed the entire cart, Asari smiled.
"You fell into the trap..."
The Gronjar swallowed the cart and dove underground, moving away from the bite spot. From a distance, a veil of light dispersed, and the original cart emerged from behind it.
"Amazing technique, Ramona!" Asari cheered in joy, while Ramona's cheeks reddened as she repeatedly thanked him.
The cart was heading towards the numerous hills surrounding Araniga, and everyone felt absolute joy and safety.
Everyone, even Rem and Luka, let out small chuckles. Then something happened that wiped the expression off Asari's face, leaving him pale as a ghost... The hills moved.
The hills continued to merge and shift direction, rushing toward the group. It was a herd of Gronjars, a hundred times larger than the single Gronjar they had previously escaped.
Asari lost hope and said not a word. This sight was not clear to the people inside the cart, and Asari did not want to show it to them, but only smiled and looked at the ground.
Someone's voice made Asari turn. He heard someone calling nearby:
"Sir! Don't worry!" It was a person wearing strange clothes that looked like cowboy attire, complete with a cowboy hat. They were riding a dinosaur... a raptor.
"These beasts... they are nothing!"