CHAPTER 249: CHAPTER 248 - “I THOUGHT IT WAS A PICNIC SPOT.”

The corrupted beast twitched, one of its remaining heads rising slowly with a guttural screech, jaws snapping in defiance. But before it could make a move—

CRUNCH.

A black blur blurred past Raven, trailing flickers of purple flame, and smashed into the beast’s flank.

"Yeehaw, ugly!" A voice came as Graye erupted from the treeline like a sentient firework. She landed directly on the beast’s back, riding it like a bull. "I always wanted to mount a triple-headed murder nightmare!"

"Graye?" Raven blinked.

Graye stabbed downward with her flaming sword, sending magma-like fire rippling into the creature’s spine.

One of the monster’s heads screeched in agony and exploded into ash, flailing wildly.

From the ridge above, the soldiers could only gape as a second figure leapt into the clearing—this time, a blur of vibrating motion.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM.

Clara landed beside Raven, her blade extended, splitting into a dozen illusionary copies that hovered like ghostly serpents.

"What’s wrong?" She asked, grinning. "Can’t we also have cool entries?"

Raven rubbed his temples. "I said to stay back."

"Technically," Jessy’s voice replied as she landed behind them with a thump, magnetic rings spinning lazily around her arms. "You said you’ll go check. You didn’t order us to stay."

One by one, more shadows joined the clearing—Selena flowing out of the mist like liquid ink, Jake blinking into existence from the monster’s blind spot, and Rufus descending from above like a comet wrapped in crimson-black light.

Rufus landed hard enough to crater the ground, his nano-suit reshaping around him. "Signal flare was bright," he said, dusting off his gloves. "Would’ve been rude to ignore it."

Alex followed, riding on a wave of lava like a surfer on hell’s tide, symbiote writhing on his shoulder. "Blargh said this thing looked tasty. I disagree."

"Definitely not tea material," Blargh added, voice wet and gurgling.

"It’s good that Cluckles and Nibbles aren’t here right now. We already have Alex to make us look weird," Selena said calmly, unsheathing her dark crescent blades.

The monster, furious and somehow still alive, roared again—its last head pulsing with venomous energy. It reared up to attack.

But then—

Silence.

It froze.

Mid-motion, mid-snarl. As if someone had pressed pause on reality.

Steam rose from its skin. Frost spread from its mouth. Its joints locked.

A sneering voice followed.

"You all took long enough."

Siris stepped from the shadow of a tree, her blades already slick with frozen corruption. Her hair whipped in invisible wind, eyes glowing with frost and void.

"I even had time to do the pre-slaughter freeze."

The monster shattered in the next breath.

One moment, it was a living abomination, and the next, it was breaking apart like a crumbling statue of obsidian.

When the silence returned, only their footsteps remained.

It was then that Graye tilted her head. "Hey, where’s Li—?"

Before she could complete her words, Raven clapped his hands. "You must be looking for Leafy."

Graye and everyone else tilted their heads as Raven smiled.

"Behind you," he said.

They turned.

From the treeline stepped what could only be described as a walking shrub.

Roughly humanoid in shape but wrapped entirely in various leaves, vines, and moss, the "plant man" stood silently beside Raven like an obedient summon.

"...What in the horticultural hell is that?" Rufus asked.

"That," Raven said with a smirk, "is my summon. Name’s... Leafy."

"Leafy?" Selena echoed, raising a brow.

Lia—deep inside the walking salad—resisted the urge to groan. She had agreed to this.

Everyone other than Graye and Alex could tell who it was.

"It’s the only way she can appear before the Hector Kingdom’s soldiers without being recognized," Raven muttered under his breath to the group. "She’s technically supposed to be dead. Like us."

It wasn’t the only way, as there were many other ways to disguise her, but since Raven had planned the disguise, it had to be something good.

Graye circled the "summon," poking at a leaf. "It’s pretty realistic. Is it conscious?"

"Leafy only speaks in rustles," Raven said solemnly. "And only when the wind is right."

Jessy leaned in, amused. "Is this your idea of subtlety?"

"It’s working," Raven said. "Look."

He gestured toward the edge of the clearing where the soldiers from Hector Kingdom were finally approaching—cautious, wary, but no longer in panic mode.

Darion, slack-jawed, staring between the pile of monstrous remains and Lia, who was disguised as Leafy, spoke.

"...what..." He croaked, his voice hoarse. "What are you people?"

Jake, standing beside him now, whispered, "Houseflies."

"...What?"

Jake didn’t elaborate.

Raven turned, walking past the stunned soldiers. "You can breathe normally now. The corruption won’t affect you while we’re here."

Torman, the senior-most, finally found his voice. "Wh... who...?"

Rufus leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. "We’re the ’Ashen Night Mosquito Squad.’"

Jessy rolled her eyes. "No, we’re not. Don’t listen to him."

Selena stepped forward, brushing hair behind one ear, eyes icy. "We’re travelers. Let’s leave it at that."

Malik frowned, wary. "Travelers? You think Ashen Expanse is a picnic spot?"

"Is it not?" Graye tilted her head at that question, genuinely confused. "We were camping some distance away from here. So, I thought it was a picnic spot."

"Wha..." Malik didn’t know what to say.

Riel, the healer soldier, remained silent because she could sense what others couldn’t.

She could tell that Raven and his group were stronger than anyone or anything they had seen.

The silence remained for a while as the soldiers didn’t know what to do.

They couldn’t run away—they knew that for sure.

So, Torman decided to talk to them again.

"So... travelers," he began slowly, tone guarded. "Mind telling us what kind of travelers show up with enough firepower to flatten an army?"

Clara yawned audibly. "The touristy kind."

Graye gave a thumbs-up. "We’re big on local culture."

"Very respectful," Rufus added solemnly, flexing his nano-suit. "We even recycle our enemies into fertilizer."

Torman’s lips twitched into a deep frown.

Selena stepped forward, her long black dress shifting like liquid shadow.

"We’re travelers," she repeated calmly. "Let’s leave it at that."

"But—" Torman started, only for Raven to interrupt, voice matching hers in tone and chill.

"Let’s leave it at that."

He met the soldier’s gaze directly, unreadable and immovable.

Torman’s words caught in his throat, and he stepped back without realizing it.

Malik narrowed his eyes. "Even if you saved us, how do we know you’re not the ones who sent those assassins after us?"

Jessy, still lounging by a tree, raised her hand. "If we were the assassins, we wouldn’t have gone through the trouble to send a monster at you and then come rescue you."

Rufus nodded. "Yeah, we’re more of a one-and-done kind of group. We would’ve killed you if we wanted you dead."

Jake nodded, his scythe making him look intimidating.

"We like fast service," Alex added.

"And style," Graye chimed, still poking ’Leafy.’

"Is that thing blinking?" Malik asked, staring at Leafy suspiciously.

"Wind’s strong today," Raven said seriously.

"Very strong," Selena confirmed with a perfectly straight face.

But before anyone could press further—

A sudden hiss was heard.

A blur of movement at the tree line.

The shrubs parted like torn cloth as ten dark-cloaked figures emerged, their boots silent, their faces obscured by bone-white masks.

They skidded to a halt upon seeing the massacre site—the ashes, the crater, and the dozen figures standing amidst it all.

They weren’t stupid.

Trained killers recognized signs of something far above their pay grade.

One of them, taller than the rest, began slowly backing away.

But before he could—

"Oh, no. You don’t."

Raven’s voice echoed across the clearing like a god’s whisper in a chapel.

It was calm and final.

The assassins froze.

Like insects caught in a spider’s web.

One reached for a smoke bomb.

Jake, appearing behind him, casually placed his huge scythe on his neck, shaking his head as if warning him.

Another began forming hand seals.

Selena tilted her head, and a low growl echoed from the darkness behind her. Something massive slithered just beneath the surface of every shadow around them.

Leafy slowly raised a leafy arm and pointed at them. Menacingly.

Alex waved lazily. "Even the bush says you’re screwed."

Clara smirked. "Guess we’re not done camping."

Rufus cracked his neck. "Welcome to the Ashen Expanse. We’ve got snacks, nightmares, and bad career choices."

Graye ignited her sword again with a giddy grin. "Let’s play."

The wind shifted.