By Zephyria 
Startled for a moment, Leonardo reflexively waved his arm through the air. At that, the swarming shapes scattered in all directions like a small school of fish. But only for a moment; like moths drawn to a flame, they lunged at Leonardo once again.
“Fuck, what the hell is this….”
Shuddering at the grotesque sight, Leonardo immediately looked around him. However, there was nothing there except for Finder, whose eyes met his. This meant that their true forms were invisible outside of the water.
With his pupils constricted, he looked back at the surface of the water. Before he knew it, his reflection in the water had been completely covered by dark, murky things. Those formless entities gaped their mouths, attempting to tear into his flesh. More specifically, they thrust their heads forward as if to burrow into his neck, twisting their bodies violently.
“Captain, get back!”
After a brief moment of being dazed by the eerie phenomenon, Nero ignited a flame in his palm and hurled a fireball.
K-boom—!
As the fireball slammed into the ground, the reeds, pushed by the blast, all lay flat in one direction as if suffering from a storm. The shoreline, which had been shallow enough to barely cover the ankles, met the boiling high temperature, and the moisture evaporated in an instant. Sshhh, acrid ash and pale white smoke fluttered violently, obscuring the vision. The muddy ground dried out instantly, and the black shapes that had been undulating beneath the water vanished.
“Leo, are you okay?”
Before he knew it, Taylor was standing in front of him. Deploying an Aura as she looked back at him, she called him by his name for the first time in a while. In the moment Leonardo, who had been instinctively protected, managed to nod.
Screeeech—
This time, a spine-chilling scream struck his ears. Combined with the sound of burning reeds, it was a horrific voice, as if someone were being burned at the stake. It sounded like the death throes of those vanished ‘things’ just before they were annihilated.
The peaceful atmosphere was shattered, and an unidentified sense of dissonance rapidly sharpened his nerves.
Scanning the surroundings with a tense expression, Leonardo snatched Nero’s luggage.
“Let’s go.”
The four of them left the spot swiftly, without anyone needing to be told.
Splash, step. Splosh—
“Where are we going, Captain?”
He heard Taylor’s urgent question following behind, but Leonardo did not answer. Without even knowing the destination himself, he simply trudged forward, blindly searching for a place where the ground was dry and the elevation was high.
The careful steps he once took to avoid getting his clothes wet and making his body heavy were gone. Eventually, a thick darkness descended over their heads, and because of it, not a single inch in front of them was visible without lighting a Light Ball. It felt as if the time that had been frozen was now crashing over him like a tidal wave, triggered by the strange phenomenon from moments ago.
‘What was that?’
In place of the composure that had washed away, anxiety rushed in twofold.
‘Could it be… that the lingering thoughts dwelling in the curse are those things?’
Whether they were real or hallucinations, those things were clearly trying to devour him. Leonardo kept brushing his head and neck with his hand, trying to shake off the unpleasant sensation. However, the dissonance, like insects crawling on him, would not disappear.
It wasn’t as if he had only seen strange monsters once or twice, but today, a lingering dread remained that made him shiver. To make matters worse, whispers began to echo in his ears.
‘You are a calamity.’
Leonardo knew this cliché line all too well.
“Get lost.”
‘That river of blood was all created by you.’
“I said get lost.”
It had stopped for a while, but it was starting again. Gritting his teeth and muttering, he barely managed to curl his fingers, resisting the urge to scratch his own neck. He couldn’t break down here. He had to keep his wits about him to safely lead his comrades out of this fucking place.
He repeated his responsibility as a captain to find a way out, but the curse of the vengeful spirits continued like a midnight nightmare. Eventually, they began screaming frantically into his ear, to the point where his overwhelmed hearing lost function for a few seconds. When he could no longer hear even the friction of the water parting beneath his feet, Leonardo opened his palm and struck the side of his own face hard.
Smack—
“…tain!”
For a moment, a ringing sound echoed in his ear. It was a blow fierce enough to possibly burst an eardrum. A vivid red mark appeared on his cheek, which was drenched in cold sweat, but he felt no pain at all.
‘You will never live to your….’
“Stop it!”
“Captain!”
Shouting in frustration, Leonardo gripped his Flame Sword and ruthlessly slashed through the swamp stretching across his vision. The ground, sliced by the blazing Flame Demon, momentarily vaporized and then fell away as dry clumps of earth.
The center of the swamp instantly revealed its bottom, then cracked with threatening sounds as if venting gas. However, before long, water flowing in from all directions filled the empty space, creating an even deeper swamp.
The mud rose past Leonardo’s ankles and shins, reaching up to his knees. His struggle to escape only served to tighten the noose around his breath. Through that deep, dark mire, Nero and Taylor came running.
“Ugh, seriously! Why do you walk so fast? Why do you keep doing this? I told you to stay with us!”
Nero, whose face was splattered with muddy water, raised his voice. He grabbed Leonardo’s forearm to prevent him from harming himself and pulled him toward him. At the same time, he reclaimed the luggage that the captain had practically snatched away. Taylor, who had followed immediately behind, abruptly pulled Leonardo’s bewildered face into an embrace.
“You dummy, we’re right here.”
She roughly wrapped her arms around the back of his head and left shoulder, pressing him firmly into her chest.
“We can find the way, so why are you in such a rush?”
Taylor comforted him calmly, intentionally curving her lips and using a playful, aegyo-laced voice. However, her hair was also damp with sweat, clinging in strands to her face. The makeup she had carefully applied had long since smudged.
It was out of place given the situation, but the damp scent of his comrades, which he had once found stifling, felt fragrant at this moment. Leonardo, who had been panting without realizing it, leaned his head awkwardly on her shoulder, guided by her hand. He looked as if he were being held by someone smaller than himself.
After catching his breath for a while, he closed his eyes tight and then opened them, speaking.
“…Haa, sorry. I just for a moment—.”
“We’re all together, so what’s the problem? Just think of it as traveling for a few days.”
“…….”
“Captain, remember that? When we were stranded in the Risendor flood before, we spent a whole week just swimming and playing. You said we didn’t have to work for a while.”
Taylor intentionally brought up an old story to settle Leonardo down with practiced ease. Nero added a sigh of agreement, saying, “Ah, that time.”
“You said it was annoying at first because it was so humid and hot, but looking back, it felt like paradise. Maybe it’ll be like that here too. Why don’t we just live here together?”
“Senior, that’s a bit….”
Just as Nero, who had been nodding along, interrupted with a dubious expression.
“Sorry to interrupt your future plans.”
Finder, who had been watching the rear, shouldered his rifle and approached with long strides. Catching his breath, he gestured with his chin toward the back and tilted the muzzle of his gun.
“Looks like there’s already a landlord. And they seem pretty pissed off.”
At that moment, the widely spread reeds shook eerily. From within them, a suspicious sound could be heard, like something moving quickly through the brush. It wasn’t just one or two. Judging by the movement, it was a species that hunted in packs.
Upon receiving Finder’s lackluster report, Taylor punched him in the chest.
“All that bragging about your price tag. Did you fail to handle a single demon beast and lead them all the way here?”
With an annoyed expression, she first handed the recovering Leonardo over to Nero. Seeing this, Finder shrugged and took a step back.
“I specialize in precision sniping; slaughtering small fry isn’t my style.”
“You’re really picky, aren’t you?”
Twisting her lips in disgust, she removed the lapis lazuli earring that had been dangling from her ear. Then, she spread her legs shoulder-width apart, gripped the earring in her hand, and raised her bent arm high. After taking a deep breath with wide eyes, she slammed her fist into the bottom of the swamp.
Splash—
A blue light spread from the lapis lazuli engraved with a Magic Circle, and following a powerful surge, the muddy water was pushed away in all directions. Water droplets, bouncing like sonic vibrations, instantly turned into a fierce wave that struck overhead. With a refreshing friction sound, it took the form of a sharp saw blade and overflowed endlessly across the vast land.
Subsequently, it swallowed the demon beasts that had been closing in silently within a 100-meter radius in one fell swoop.
Screeeech—
Wherever the noisy foam rose, the screams of the creatures inevitably followed. Their limbs were torn and bones crushed, returning them to be part of the swamp. As the entire area, except for where they stood, was engulfed in spray, Taylor straightened her bent waist and refreshedly wiped her forehead.
“They won’t attack now, right?”