With Marie's ultimate gone, Isaac was on his own against the massive bear. He cursed, leaning out of the way of the beast's next swipe.

Time to use you then…

Without hesitation, he reached for the half-full blood reserves inside his core and activated Burnout. Power flooded his body, driving back the exhaustion threatening to take him down. He had to be fast.

As the bear lunged again, Isaac sidestepped and slammed his vambrace-covered wrist into its skull. It howled in pain and stumbled. That was the only opening he needed.

The Root vanished from his hand, replaced by a long, glowing Crimson Death. He plunged it into the bear's side and shifted forms mid-strike, not bothering to watch the explosion of blood behind him.

With his keen eyes, he quickly found his team. Marie and James were close to each other, still fighting off the horde. By some miracle, they didn't have any of the larger monsters near them. They would be fine for now.

The same couldn't be said about Elaine.

Aside from a couple of smaller and weaker beasts, she had two of the mutant-like shades circling her. And based on the fading white glow around the woman's body, she wasn't winning this one. Her speed and raw power could only carry her so far.

Just a bit longer, Isaac ordered, keeping Burnout active for the time being. He wasn't planning to overuse it like before, but he needed it if they wanted to come out of this alive. One… Two… Three…

As his mental countdown ended, he forced his transformation mid-air, the Root already in hand. Using the momentum from his flight, he crashed into the back of one mutant shade and drove his blade into its neck. A blood dagger to the head finished the job.

The beast vanished, and Isaac dropped to the ground, right in the middle of more monsters.

Crimson Death.

Two spears materialized above him, launching into nearby monsters. He ignored their dying shrieks and rushed toward his next target—the second mutant shade. Thankfully, it had left Elaine alone and also heading toward him.

Wrong choice, buddy.

Isaac brought up the Root, parrying a blade meant for his head. The shade's massive fist followed, but he simply pivoted, stepped into the beast's guard, and slammed his open left hand into its chest.

Obliteration.

Like a geyser, blood erupted out of his palm, tearing into the half-transparent body of the shade. It died on the spot. Moreover, this little show of force made the remaining beasts hesitate. Their crimson eyes continued to glare at him, but none dared to step forward.

"Isaac!" Elaine's voice reached his ears. "Throw me high and get to the others!"

His gaze snapped to the woman, who just finished another phantom boar. For a short second, he wanted to yell back, asking why the hell he would do that. But then he saw it: Elaine shifting into her fox form, light gathering around her snout.

Oh…

Genius Isaac was not, but he understood right away what the woman planned. And so, the moment she reached him, he grabbed her paw, spun once for momentum, and flung her skyward. In the blink of an eye, he transformed and shot toward James and Marie.

He definitely didn't want to stick around for what was coming.

And he was right.

Halfway to James and Marie, a blinding flash swallowed the entire forest. For a second, it was as if dawn had come early. Then darkness returned, followed by the earth's groan and a chorus of agonized shrieks. It was like music to his ears.

Mini nuke, indeed. Isaac chuckled inwardly as he once again had to blink away the glare from his vision. Even facing away from the blast, Elaine's ultimate was just on another level when it came to pure destructive power.

The next notification also confirmed that.

Swarm Stage 2 defeated. The shades of the Valley are fearful. The Guardians of the Valley are waking. Prepare for the final stage.

"Guys!" James shouted. "I think we gotta run!"

"Then get moving!" Elaine yelled, already back in her human form. "Doubt we have much time left. Isaac lead the way!"

Isaac cawed loudly and shot past his team, guiding them toward the next territory in their journey. Below, the remaining weaker shades parted before his teammates like the Red Sea. Some, however, were too slow to step back and were trampled beneath James' massive bull form. With his Legacy now at the Adult stage, he was practically the size of a small car.

Scary…

But Isaac didn't linger on the sight. He forced his focus on the path ahead. Even in this form, his muscles screamed with every beat of his wings. Worse still, after deactivating Burnout, the crushing exhaustion that had hit him when Marie's ultimate faded only worsened. If not for the Symphony playing in his veins, he would have fallen asleep mid-flight.

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His Viron reserves also weren't faring much better. That last Obliteration reduced them to a final tenth. There was no way he had enough to fight those "Guardians of the Valley."

So he did what he could, pushing all his remaining strength into weaving between the trees and keeping an eye for those new foes. He could only hope his teammates wouldn't have any trouble following.

They didn't. But that also didn't make their situation any better.

Final Swarm Stage begins. The Guardians are in pursuit.

With this notification, every remaining shade around them vanished, leaving the forest dark and bleak again. Only that didn't last for long.

About a minute later, maybe less, the distant thunder of galloping hooves echoed through the forest. Isaac didn't dare look back and instead sped up. A loud caw forced his team below to do the same.

Even if they all collapsed half-dead after this, they had to get out of this place.

Come on, come on!

As the seconds ticked by and the sound of pursuit grew closer, the forest also thinned before them. The hills around them began to flatten, giving way to plains he had seen from afar yesterday.

Just a bit more.

After what felt like hours of flying at full speed, Isaac burst out of the forest. The noises of the chase behind him didn't stop, but the notification that appeared before still filled him with some hope.

Now Entering: Faded Plains

You have escaped the Valleys of Whispers. The Guardians will no longer pursue you. You have survived the swarm. Rewards and level progression will be distributed soon.

Thank god, Isaac thought and transformed the moment his body hit the ground. Behind him, his teammates weren't fairing any better. Never again…

Even though most of the injuries he had received during the battle had already recovered, his regeneration did nothing to soothe the pain in his muscles. Or to get rid of the exhaustion threatening to overwhelm him. Now, with the last embers of Symphony of Blood flickering out, he had to actively fight himself to keep his eyes open.

Not yet.

On unsteady legs, he pushed himself upright and reached for his Storage Brand. A small tug of his Viron deposited three bottles of water into his hands. Without a word, he passed one to James, who accepted it with a grateful nod and drank like a man who hadn't seen water in years.

Isaac went to Marie next, who lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath. But before he could hand her the bottle, his eyes caught a flicker of indigo in the forest they had just left. He stiffened, dropped the water, and summoned the Root and one more item to his hands.

Energy potion. Which he drank in a blink.

His friends also noticed the shift. Despite their shaking limbs and ragged breaths, they scrambled to their feet and drew their weapons. If they had to fight again, so be it.

Soon, the source of the movement in the forest revealed itself.

Two phantom knights rode into view, halting at the forest's edge. Their horses easily dwarfed any human, and their six legs could probably crush one, too. The riders were just as large, and even though those were only shades, the outlines of their heavy armor were unmistakable. The same went for the long halberds in their hands.

Still, neither of the knights dared to ride out of the forest. They just watched them with their unblinking yellow eyes.

"On a scale of one to ten… how screwed are we?" James asked quietly. His voice didn't even make the knights flinch.

"Hopefully zero," Marie whispered back. "I don't think they can leave the forest."

"They better not," Isaac muttered as he read the results of Analyze.

Potential Threat: Moderate-High

Even in their current state, they could probably take down one of these knights, but two? Not a chance. Among them all, only James still had his ultimate. And the less said about their Viron reserves, the better. No, the only choice they had here if the monsters decided to attack was to run and hope for the best.

Just leave… Isaac begged silently. Come on. Go back to your home.

As if hearing his thoughts, the two phantom horses snorted and turned away, trotting back into the depths of the forest. Within seconds, their glow vanished, letting him breathe again.

"Holy shit." James chuckled as he fell to his knees. "That was exciting, no?"

"That's one way to put it," Elaine grumbled as she sat down in the grass. "We lost some supplies… and the tent."

They all grimaced. The loss wasn't crippling, but it stung. Not that there was much they could do about it. The Valley of Whispers was a no-go zone for them from now on. At least during the night. Isaac was half-convinced that the shades would vanish with sunrise, but he didn't really plan to test that theory.

At least we learned something new… He sighed, also lying back on the odd, grayish grass. Despite its dead-like appearance, it was pretty soft, almost like regular thick grass. Weird.

"So what now?" Maire spoke up, voicing the question that was probably on all of their minds. "We just rest here? In the middle of nowhere?"

"We don't have much of a choice," Elaine replied, sounding half-asleep. "Going back into the forest is a death wish. Same can be true for those Faded Plains. No, as bad as it sounds and looks, we're the safest here, at the border. And we must rest."

"Agreed," Isaac said. "Check your notifications if you have any, and then try to get some sleep. I will take the first watch. We will rotate every two hours."

Honestly, after voicing his plan, he expected some pushback. Yet none came. It seemed everybody was way too tired to argue. He understood that well. The next two hours would be quite challenging.

"What about the loot?" James asked after lying down.

"Tomorrow." Was Isaac's short answer.

The older man yawned, closing his eyes. "Fine by me. Sleep well, everybody."

Within moments, James was out cold. A quick glance at Marie showed she wasn't far behind. Only Elaine remained awake, staring into nothingness, her gaze unfocused.

Probably notifications, Isaac mused. Might as well check mine.

With a mental command, he did just that. It took a bit to get past all the kill notifications, but finally, he arrived where he wanted.

You have leveled up! You are now level 20. Distribution of Ascension Power has advanced the tier of the following attribute: Agility (IV->V). No further changes detected.

The following skills have advanced tiers: Blood Manipulation (I->II) Obliteration (I->II)

Now, all that was a welcome sight, especially the level-up. Yet, this time, it was the next notification that became the star of the show.

You have reached the requirements for the first evolution of your Legacy. Power gathering in progress. Time to completion: 24 hours.

Isaac smiled.

Finally.

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