Highschool DxD: Adventure Of Black Flash

by DarkDracul1252

Nawin Makasha, a boy, changed after a dark event occurred in the past that left him scarred. He and his family moved to Japan to start a new life, but when Nawin joined Kuoh Academy, things began to change for him when he is thrust into the world of supernatural by force. Past will come back and haunt, Evil will rain down, Bonds will be severed. Will Nawin and his friends be ready?

128. Past Haunts, A Bloody Night!

Sorry to keep all of you waiting for this chapter!

Hope everyone enjoys it! ^.^

"Aaaah!" Misako chomps down on a large slice of pepperoni pizza. Sited beside her is Wendy, who is nibbling on some spaghetti meatball in a plastic box. Rias, Koneko, Senna, Yuuto, Xenovia, Momo, Akame, and the rest are present, sited at the Hyoudou's house living room. All sited in a circle with two extra large size pizzas placed in the center along with three large bottles of coke, sprite, and pepsi.

"Geez, calm down there Hana, or you'll throw up!" Xenovia exclaims, watching the Hydra holding two slices of pizza in each hand, chomping down at them in each turn "Pizza gowd!" she replies with a mouthful, earning giggles from the others. "Koneko-chan," Misako calls out "Hmm?" "Where's Asia-chan? I believed you texted her. With her love for pizza, I thought she'd be here by now" "I don't know… Let me check."

Koneko pulls out her phone and opens the messenger app. The last message that sent was off was a picture that Gasper took of her. Instead of sending it to Asia, who rarely uses a phone now after becoming blind, so she sends the message to Lucy who can describe it to her. The picture shows Koneko taking a bite of the anchovy pizza while staring monotonously at the camera, giving a peace sign with the free hand. There is a bright red caption underneath the picture that reads 'Eating Pizzaa ;).' Koneko sees that the message has not been read yet "They might still be in the theater" she states, closing her phone and place it down "Lucy hasn't seen the message yet" "Ah, I see."

"This pizza is such an interesting cuisine!" Elise exclaims brightly, munching on the food with a smile plastered on her face "There's no pizza in Shigemi?" Yuuto question "No, these pizzas are unheard of. Also, pizza… Such a weird name" she replies, eyeing the food for a few seconds before resume chomping down for another bite.

"Ever had a meal called burgers?" Xenovia questions and receive a puzzled look from the Princess "Buurgeers?" "Goodness girl! You're missing out" Senna exclaims in flabbergast "Is burger good?" "It's quite good" Kokoro joins in, taking a sip of coke in a glass cup, "We can order that next time" "Thank you! I am greatly curious about this burger!" Elise reply, beamingly. "Where exactly is Shigemi?" Momo ask, tilting her head at the name "I've never heard of such a place" "It's a very old-style place that's cut away from society" Kokoro answers first before Elise have the chance, knowing the Princess is horrible when it comes to lying "Ah I see, so it's one of those places. Makes sense why she never had a chance to try foods such as pizzas and burgers."

Rias scan at the right side of the room, looking at all the bags place in front of the television, the bags that contained everyone's gift to Akeno for next week. "U-um, Rias," Wendy calls out, making the Princess turn to her "Yes?" "Where do we have this b-birthday surprise?" "Ah, yes" Rias smile "We are of course celebrating it in the Makasha's household" "We'll need to get her out of the house for a while then" Akame insert "We won't need to worry about that. That'll be Nawin-kun's job. He'll take her out on a date then return her to the house and that's when we can surprise her."

"Wow," Xenovia comment, impressed "You planned this through" "Of course!" Rias response with a proud smile "It's a special day for my friend, so I'll make it as good as possible with the power I have" "You're such a nice friend, Rias" Senna praise with a bright smile "Ahaha, thanks" the Gremory reply, blushing a bit.

Resume eating her pizza, Rias halt when spotting a cup of chocolate lava cake. She leans forward to take the cup then turns to Gasper, who is sited between Koneko and Yuuto, quietly nibbling on his third pizza that will surely be his last since she knows Gasper never really has a big appetite compare to the rest and certainly the Makasha's. "Here, Gasper" Rias smile, offering the cake to the boy, who blinks and turn to see it "A-ah, thank you, Buchou" he replies with a cute smile and takes the cake with more excitement then he would admit, undoubtedly happy by the gesture. Rias giggles a bit when seeing the smile on the boy's face grow wider. She knows he loves sweets and dessert just as much as Koneko and Asia 'No wonder those three become such close friends, practically inseparable at times. They have many of the same interests.'

Rias takes a drink of sprite before placing the glass down and turn to the rest. "After we're done eating let's begin wrapping our gifts" she announces, "Sounds good, but what do we do with it afterward?" Senna asks "You can leave it here. I'll keep it hidden, plus Akeno rarely comes by so there shouldn't be any trouble" "Alright." With that, the group continues to feed in their pizzas while chatting with each other.

Specbok Marsh

Murky green hue mist, dirty and unnerving massive ponds that gives off a feeling that something is lurking under, dead trees with black leaves scattered around, and muddy ground. These things are the spectacle that greeted the group the second they got through the smog and entered the swamp.

Issei's eyes shoot to the right to see a movement made in a murky pond, he could have sworn there was glowing yellow eyes spying at them, but when inspecting closer, there was nothing. "This place…" Erza whispers, her right hand firmly gripping the handle of her sword "Is lurking with creatures" "Yeah," Jellal reply, quietly "We need to stick together" he states, glancing at the rest "In a place like this separation may lead to our deaths… The creatures lurking here will hunt us down one by one if we split" "Did you have to say it like that?" Issei utters, shivering when feeling dozens of hungry eyes stalking them from every corner of the swamp.

"Jellel is right about sticking together," Nawin speaks, examining the green mist surrounding portions of the swamp "These mists are quite thick, and it can be used against us if there is a witch or necromancer here. They can use it to confuse us and ultimately separate us." Erza stands straight, nodding "Then we'll have to stay in a tight formation" she states and turn to the Hyoudou and Fernandes. "Issei, cover our back while Jellal, you take a right" she orders and both boys comply wordlessly.

Erza turns forward to look at the Makasha's back "Nawin, you take the front and continue following Bork while I'll take a left" "Understood" he replies with no complaints, eyes set forward at the depts of the swamp. Everyone gets in their position; all have their guards fully up. "Friends ready?" Bork asks, glancing back at them "Yeah, do you know this place well, Bork?" Nawin questions "Bork knows it kuite well, yesh" "Alright, then takes us to the center of the swamp… That may be the best place for us to find some sort of clues involving these Wraiths" "Speaking of Wraiths," Issei studies around "Where are they? I expected a greeting from them… Which I'm glad I got wrong."

"Perhaps we aren't deep enough in the swamp to alert them," Jellal assert "That could be the reason," Erza looks up to see no a sign of sun leaking through the trees "In here the Wraiths can come out anytime they pleased… This whole ravine and especially this swamp has no sunlight shining down, so not only will we be dealing with Wraiths no matter the time, but we are also dealing with them in their most numerous and strongest" she informs, her tone sharp and severe.

Bork begins taking a step forward, his large feet hit the muddy ground and splatter the dirt away while the devils follow closely, but their feet lightly walk the grounds, trying to not gain any attention to themselves. The five continue to go on a straight path, intending to get to the center and at the west, one of the trees start slowly turning, its trunk following the group, its thin branches rattle softly.

A sound of sprinting rings in Issei's ears, making him look up to seeing something that causes his heart to freeze. A long black color haired man with unhealthy pale complexion. His lanky body is naked, and the frightening part is that his lower body is twisted to the other, causing his legs to be facing backward while his head and arms remain forward. "Ahhh ahhh!" Issei stumbles back, screaming in terror when seeing the man sprinting towards him, staring with those bloodred eyes while saliva is drooling down his mouth.

Erza and Jellal snap their heads and gasp at horror by seeing the frightening man gaining distance. Quick to act, Erza takes out a dagger from a pouch and throws it forward in rapid speed. The dagger nail right in the middle of the man's forehead. He staggers before crashing face-first onto the ground and disperses in a transparent haze, like a ghost.

Nawin kneels beside the shaking Hyoudou, seeing the expression of fear on his face. "Hey," he utters, grasping the shoulder to make Issei turn to him "I-it's a g-ghost… A-a real ghost!" "It was some evil spirit, but we have to move on, Issei" Nawin reply in a soothing tone, giving a supportive squeeze on the shoulder "It will only get worse the deeper we move into the swamp" "Y-yeah, I know." Issei takes a deep breath to calm his heart. "Come now," Nawin speaks with a small smile forming on his lip "We have fought against many powerful enemies and have overcome them. Are you going to be screaming and cowering away in fear by just some evil spirits?" he questions and stands up, taking the Hyoudou's hand to pull him back up.

"Trust me," Nawin releases Issei's hand and flick him in the forehead "We will be facing much more fearsome and powerful adversaries in the future, so don't let these spirits get to you, Issei" he states and turns around to return to his position. Issei is caught surprised by the speech and the gesture from the Makasha. He touches his forehead, then slowly, a warm smile form on his lip. His once frighten eyes now brighten in determination and confidence. Jellal smile while Erza smirk when seeing this resolve. "So, you ready?" she questions and watch the Hyoudou turn to her with a big grin plastered on his face "Yeah, I'm more than ready!" "Excellent, then return to your position."

With a nod from the Makasha, Bork continues onwards and the four resumes following closely. As the group drew more rooted into the swamp, the more they felt eyes are watching them from the shadows and behind the trees. Jellal and Erza sweated a bit when they thought they caught trees sneakily moving, like its following their movements closely. Issei clenches his right hand tightly, ready to summon the boosted gear at any moment for an attack, but so far, fortunately, there hasn't been another incident yet like the last. Nawin kept a keen eye on the front, looking past Bork to watch the path ahead which prove quite hard with the green mist in the area. "Oh," Bork suddenly stops and speak, startling everyone, and they all turn to the direction where the Troll is pointing with their weapons out. Issei summoned the boosted gear, Erza unsheathed her sword, Jellal charged his mana up, and Nawin summoned a long shadow sword. The four halt and blinks when only spotting a vast and ancient looking tree in the direction. The tree holds a dent like some large body has rested on it.

Bork walks to the tree and taps it "This tree is Bork's friend!" he exclaims, turning to the group, smiling joyfully "Tree help Bork sleep peacefully when Bork is tired from journeys." The devils watch the Troll takes a sit and leans back on the trunk of the tree, releasing a pleasant sigh. They sweatdrops and slowly unsheathes/dispels their weapons, staring blankly at the peaceful Troll relaxing in a dangerous place such as the one they are currently standing.

"Goodness, Bork!" Issei exhales, placing his right hand on his chest "You were gonna give us a heart attack there, Buddy" "Oh?" the Troll opens his eyes and tilt his head "Issei and friends scare of tree? Don't worry" he taps the trunk "This tree won't hurt you like other trees" he states so convincingly that it starts to cause the group questioning if there are actual killer trees in this swamp.

Erza turns to the Makasha "Nawin," she calls "Hmm?" "These mists are causing us too much trouble with visibility… If we are to find clues on this phenomenon that's transpired in Specbok Marsh, then the first thing to do is get rid of this mist" "I agree… I've been thinking about that" he admits, staring into the distance, watching the swarm of thick green mist.

Issei scratch his head "How exactly do we get rid of them? Aren't they like naturally produced?" "They are in a place like this, but" Jellal inserts "The number of mists surrounding this swamp is unnatural… I suspect magic being in play." "Jellal is right," Erza nod "These mists are only half naturally made… The rest is magic, to produce even more of it and to cause the mists to thickened at such a degree that's challenging for even us to see through it."

Nawin turns to the Troll "Bork, has the mist here always been this high?" he questions, watching the creature blinks and looks forward toward the mist, squinting his eyes "Hmm, Bork don't remem it be this hard to see throu! Maybe swamp no like friends and now angry?" he answers, stroking his chin. Jellal crosses his arms on his chest "Well, that answers my theory of that someone or something has not taken a liking of us entering the swamp and made the mists even thicker to confuse us" "And possibly try to cause separation" Erza adds.

"Bork," the Scarlet face the Troll "Yesh?" "Do you know your way around this swamp, the truth please" "Well," he scratches his head and stare onwards "Bork is having a bit of a hard time… Swamp become very misty" "I thought as much" Erza exhales in dire and face up "This is going to prove much more difficult if our guide here can't find his way around this swamp." Nawin clicks his teeth, annoyance start building in him "If so then we need to get rid of these mists so that Bork can see the path clearer," "But how?" Issei questions "Is there a source of where these mists come from?"

Nawin exhales and quickly notice seeing his breath. The white cloud of cold air release from his mouth. 'What?' he looks up and raises his right arm, feeling the temperature in the swamp began dropping 'It's getting colder!' Nawin looks forward and sees the mists are getting even thicker. "What the hell?!" Issei exclaims, feeling a shrill of shiver running down his spine "Is it me or is this place getting colder?" "You aren't the only one," Jellal utters, noticing the mists in the distance growing "Damn," Erza cuss, gripping the handle of her sword "Seems like we've finally been noticed."

"Kyooooooouuu!" "Kyouuuuu!" "Kuoooooo!" a chilling sound of high-pitch wails comes from inside the mist, which slowly starts creeping towards the group. "That's…" Nawin start, sweat dripping down his forehead "Yeah, it's a banshee's cry" Erza unsheathes the sword and points it forward "That means we are about to have company."

Dark ghostly figures begin to emerge from the mist, not walking but floating. A dark shadow-like entities wearing black, hooded cloaks that seemed to be made of pure shadow. Bony and disturbing thin arms and legs protrudes from the cloak's sleeves. Pupil-Less glowing green eyes shine inside the hood and inside the hood is a skeletal-like face with grossly sharp teethes. Its long fingers have black nails that extend a meter long and is razor sharp, giving off an appearance that it could cut a human's flesh off like butter.

The group can feel the air around them has drastically changed. The feeling malevolent is felt by the wraiths from just staring at them. These specters have filled the once ominous and warm presence into a chilling air of hate, sorrow, and doom. Jellal takes a stance, charging up his mana to cause a hue of gold to emit around his body. Issei takes a deep breath before snapping his eyes open, now glowing in emerald while the boosted gear manifests on his right arm.

More wraiths start joining in and once only three specters are now six, all of them staring coldly at the group. The cry of banshee's stop momentarily when the sixth specter joins in. Nawin takes a step forward and summons the twisted etcher in his right hand "You wraiths love the shadows, right?" he comments, lifting the sword up, pointing it at the specters. "Well, I hold the power of shadows, so let's see which one of us is more accustomed to the darkness."

The wraith floating in front tilt its head to the right at a disturbing angle before snapping it back up and hover toward the group in rapid speed with the rest following closely. "Bork," Erza glance at the Troll "Stay back there, alright?" "Understood! Please be safe, friends." Nawin takes a step forward and breaks off in a sprint, signaling the rest to follow suit.

Nawin leaps in the air and comes down, pulling the clutch on the handle to startup the chains. Descending to the ground, he swings the sword down and cut the wraith in half, making the specter screech before dispersing in a puff of black haze. The wraith from the right snap toward the Makasha and launch its hands toward him, nails bared forward. "Not so fast!" the boosted gear comes swinging and smash at the specter's face, sending it flying back into the mist. Nawin glance to see Issei sending him a smirk, which he returns with his own before both separate, to deal with the rest of the specters.

Erza slides to the right to miss a downward slash from those dangerous nails. Adding her mana into the sword, causing the blade to glow in scarlet color. Erza sees the wraith launching toward her with its claw forward. She sprints towards it and at the last seconds, slid under the nail and leans up, swinging the forward to cleave right through the specter's midsection, effectively cutting it in half.

Another wraith creeps behind the Scarlet. "Don't even," Erza cock her head to the left to miss a hand. She throws the sword to her other hand and swings it upwards to sever the specter's arm. It screeches in pain before a sword is penetrate through its skeletal head, killing it instantly. Erza pulls the sword and watches the wraith explode in a puff of shadow-like smoke.

Three wraiths surround Jellal, all looking at him with their chilling green eyes. "You wraiths don't like bright colors, right?" Jellal question and the only response he gets is the specters advancing, trying to corner him. The gold aura around Jellal slowly glows brighter which cause the wraiths to halt, almost scared to go any closer to the bright aura. Seeing this cause a smirk to form on Jellal's face "I thought as much" he utters and blazes forward to the specter at the front. When near, Jellal thrust his right hand forward and utterly puncture through the specter's body, causing it to disperse away, spelling its demise. Jellal snaps his head to the rest and moves towards them in tremendous speed. The wraiths strike forward, thinking the Fernandes was going to a close combat rout, but instead, he stops and watches their swings contact nothing. "Gotcha" Jellal smirk and thrust his right arm forward to fire off a gold magic blast that eviscerates the two specters. Jellal returns his arm to the side and looks up to see more wraiths pouring out from the mist.

Issei takes out another specter by sending a dragon shot through their chest. He was about to move forward when three wraiths come from out of nowhere and grab him by the head and shoulders. "What the!" he shouts as the specters lift him off the ground, taking him toward the mist. Nawin cleave off the head of a wraith in front of him and turn to his friend's cry "Issei!" he bolts toward the Hyoudou and leaps in the air, bringing the twisted etcher to the side, ready for a swing. Before he can gain the distance to attack the wraiths that got a hold of the Hyoudou, more of them come from the bottom for an attack.

Nawin cuss and is forced to levitate back, narrowly missing from being pierced by those nails. The two specters halt in front, looking at him with those sickening green eyes. "I got him!" Erza shouts from under, sprinting toward the Hyoudou with haste as the wraiths holding him gain closer to the mist. A hand shoots from the ground and snatch on the Scarlet's ankle, causing her to tumble onto a puddle of mud. "Shit!" she cusses and swiftly pulls her right leg back to set free, then quickly return to her feet and turn to see decomposition hand in the ground, that just gripped on her ankle.

Suddenly, another hand shoots out, and both touch the ground, trying to pull itself up. Erza gasp when the upper body of a zombie emerges from the soil ground. The living dead has risen. It's milky and dead white eyes staring at Erza; its whole complexion is dead green to show it decomposes state, its rotten yellow teeth bared to give a sickening grin.

"Ahh ahh, guys!" Nawin takes out the last wraith by thrusting the sword through its chest and rip it back. He looks forward to seeing the three wraiths entering the thick mist, taking Issei along with them. "Fuck!" Nawin swears and quickly blasts forward "Nawin, wait!" Jellal and Erza shout, but it falls on deaf ears as they watch the Makasha didn't slow down and disappear into the mist.

Erza cuss and quickly dealt with the zombie by cleaving its head off with a blazing swing. Jellal extends his right arm and fires off another gold magic blast to get rid of the wraith flanking from the side. The two quickly head to the mist and stop in front of it. "What do we do?" Jellal asks "We can't recklessly head in there…" "Don't," the two are surprised to hear another voice joins and turn around to see Bork standing there, his expression plastered to seriousness instead of the cheerful and carefree that is usually displayed. "Bork will go in mist to save Nawin and Issei" he states, nodding then turns down to look at the bounty hunters "Erza and Jellal stay here to keep this place safe… If Undead and Wraiths surround here, no place is safe."

Erza and Jellal look forward, witnessing dozens of undead's arms exploding from the ground. Their groans emanate underneath to signal their awakening. "Are you sure, Bork?" Jellal questions, worry for the Troll's safety "You don't want to fight" "Bork will find Issei and Nawin, then guide them back here" he replies with a smile "Bork no fight" with that said, the Troll take a step forward. "Wait," Jellal calls, halting the Troll "Take this, Bork" he throws a vial that holds yellow colored oil "Just in case." Bork catch the vial and nod "Thank kou, Jellal" he said with a smile before facing the mists and enters.

Turning around to face the undead, Jellal charges up his mana while Erza swipes her sword to the side to splatter the blood on the blade to the ground. "Ready to battle a horde of the undead?" Jellal asks, getting to his stance "Huh," Erza crack a smirk, lowering her knees and have the blade points forward "It's not like we haven't done it before and we got out of it just fine" "Then let's repeat that!" "Right!" the two sprints toward the horde of the undead, releasing a battle cry that trounce the undead's groan.

Inside The Mist

"Damn, the mist is dense in here... I can't see a thing" Nawin halts midair to scan the surrounds, but all he can see is a world of green mist. "I shouldn't fly in this kind of place, or I might end up attraction attention of other creatures." Nawin descends to the ground and grunts when feeling and hearing himself landing on the muddy ground, his black combat boots now smeared in wet brown mud.

Keeping a firm grip on the twisted etcher, the Makasha slowly advances, his glowing red eyes scan the surrounding for any enemies that could jump from the mist. Worry slowly built in Nawin when noticing how quiet it is and not sensing or hearing from his friend. 'That's right,' he halts, noticing something wrong 'The moment Issei was taken into the mist his mana signature just vanished… Could it be that this mist is disrupting the victim's mana signature? Perhaps with some magic that's undoubtedly coursing through it."

"Get off me you stupid wraiths!" Issei voice booms from the left and Nawin immediately snap to the direction and breaks into a sprint. "Issei!" he calls out "Keep shouting so I know where you are!" Nawin cuss when hearing no reply or any more sound made by the Hyoudou 'Dammit.' He continues dashing in the direction until another body collides with him out of nowhere, slamming at his front and send both bouncing back, landing on the ground.

Grunting, Nawin quickly gets back up and glares "Issei, you idoi—" he stops dead cold when seeing who it is, his eyes snap wide open in shock. "Y-you," he whispers, staring at the young violet-haired girl groaning on the ground, rubbing her head "You sure have a hard body there, Nawin" she comments, looking up and wears that beautiful smile that causes the Makasha's heart to ache. Nawin takes a few steps back, ready to ignore this illusion created by either the mist or his mind, as much as he wishes the girl in front of him was real, he knows she is a fake.

Slowly, Nawin starts making way around the girl on the ground to advance. "Really?" he stops when she speaks up "You're not gonna help me up? That's rather rude of you" Nawin flinch when hearing the puff in disheartening made by the girl, sounding hurt by being ignored. Unable to walk away, Nawin turns around and offers the girl on the ground a hand "Here," he whispers, and by making the gesture, he is rewarded with that beautiful smile on her face and even though it's fake, Nawin couldn't help but smile back when seeing it.

"See," the girl beams "That wasn't so hard! No need to be so grumpy" she states and release the Makasha's hand, something he quickly notices and is sad about, not being able to feel her soft hand. 'Wait,' Nawin halts, a look of realization struck on his face 'I-I can touch her?!' "What's wrong?" the girl question, tilting her head by the look of speechlessness on the Makasha's face. Quickly snapping out of his shock, Nawin returns to his stoic expression "Nothing, sorry" he turns around "I can't stay here since I got a friend to find" "Is that so?" she replies with a smile making way to her lip. She hops forward, stopping beside the Makasha "Then I'll go with you!"

Nawin opens his mouth and is about to speak, but shuts it, stopping and resume striding forward, but now with a companion. "So, who's this friend of yours?" the girl question, looking at him "Before you even answer that!" she quickly adds "You finally decided to make friends! I'm so happy to hear that, Nawin" "Yeah…" is the reply the Makasha gives, finding it difficult to talk to the person beside him, knowing she isn't real, even after knowing that they can have physical contact.

Unable to take the uncomfortable silence after five minutes, Nawin decides to call out for the Hyoudou, not caring if it draws attention. "Issei! Where are you?!" he shouts, growing concern for his friend "Come on! Say anything, so I know where you are!" the only answer he receives is the uncomfortable silence the swamp produce. "Is this Issei important to you?" the girl suddenly question, catching Nawin by surprise "W-what?" "I said is this Issei person important to you?" she repeats "Yes… He is" Nawin answers, turning forward and resumes walking in the direction he last heard the voice of his friend.

Elsewhere

"You damn wraiths!" Issei shouts, thrusting the boosted gear forward to discharge a dragon shot at the incoming specters. The red blast utterly vaporizes one of them while the other two escapes by fleeing to the sides. The remaining wraiths quickly speed toward Issei, both coming from the sides and swings their claws. To counter, Issei charges up his mana into the boosted gear's claws, causing it to glow in vermilion.

"Haaah!" with a shout, the Hyoudou slash the gauntlet forward with its claw bared, slicing the specters in five pieces from a vertical angle. The wraiths burst in black smoke, signaling their deaths. Issei exhales in relief, lowering the boosted gear to the side, its claw reverts to normal. "Now," he turns to the right "I could have sworn I heard Nawin's voice a moment ago" 'Then follow it,' Ddraig joins 'This is no place for you to be wondering alone' 'I can see that.'

Taking a deep breath and exhale, Issei starts marching toward the west at a steady and careful pace, trying to avoid falling into the deep puddles or holes that are littered around the swamp. "Damn, this is ridiculous" Issei utters, squinting his eyes for a hope it helps him see the path better "This mist is not normal at all" 'Of course, it's clear magic is at plays. The user is very keen on making it incredibly difficult for you to traverse through this swamp and possible to find the Makasha' 'No kidding.' 'I suggest you quickly find the Makasha and get out of here, Partner, or you will end up getting picked out by whatever creatures that inhabit this swamp' 'Yeah… It's not like I don't know that, Ddraig' Issei reply in sarcasm 'Oh you see I was just worried you might have forgotten with that brain of yours' the Dragon retorts with a smirk, which widens when hearing the groan from his weirder.

Issei comes to a stop when a sound of a deep growl hits his ears. The growl sounds vicious and bloodlust. Issei turns around, and his eyes widen when spotting a large canine that's at a size comparable to a full-grown rhinoceros. Glowing red color eyes with slit pupils, razor-sharp fangs, enormous paws with extremely long and sharp claws, dreadful smelling droll drips down its mouth. The canine's wild fur is colored pitch abyss black.

"W-what the hell is that?" Issei takes a step back, getting to a stance 'That is a ferocious adversary. It's called Black Dog, an evil and violent specter that possessed the shape of a dog' Ddraig answers in a serious tone to signal just how dangerous the enemy is. The canine growls and takes a step forward then breaks out in a blazing sprint. Issei fires up a dragon shot and thrust the boosted gear forward to discharge it. The dog howls and jumps over the attack. It hovers in the air before coming down to the Hyoudou.

Issei quickly rolls forward to miss being pounced on by the humongous canine. He returns to his feet and turns around to only feel a hard blow to his chest by the specter ramming its hard and large head on it. Issei gasp and is send barreling away. The dog didn't halt and chase after the Hyoudou while releasing a loud howl. Seeing this, Issei quickly slam the boosted gear on the ground, its claws digging on the land and successfully stopping him in place. The Canine leaps forward with its enormous mouth wide open, intending to bite the Hyoudou's head off.

'Duck!' Ddraig advise, and without question, Issei does as told and narrowly misses the Canine's frightening mouth. Reacting instantly, Issei clenches the boosted gear into a fist and swings it up to deliver a vicious uppercut to the specter's stomach, sending it blasting up in the air. Not done, Issei charges up a Rotation and spring upwards, following the dog.

A high-pitch screech explodes from the right, causing Issei to turn and see a wraith flying towards him with its hands stretch forward. "Damn!" he cusses, and force to redirect the boosted gear to the specter, then throws the Rotation, changing it into a range-attack. The red sphere smashes at the wraith's chest and explodes, taking the specter away with it.

Howl rain from above and Issei looks to see the canine coming down and snap its mouth down on his right shoulder. "Gahhhh!" the Hyoudou scream in pain by several thousands of pounds bite force chomp on his body. The two comes down to the ground and crash into a medium-size puddle. Issei's whole upper body is in the water while the lower part is hanging by the edge of the surface. He screams in agony, feeling the dog's long teeth sinking into his skin, crushing his shoulder and reaching to the bones.

'Partner!' Ddraig shouts in worry, feeling the Hyoudou losing oxygen inside the water and with his heart-rate beating rapidly, it isn't helping the cause. Issei tries to move his right hand to use the boosted gear, but the dog is just snapping its head from side to side, trying to tear off his shoulder, causing him to unable to wield the sacred gear. Issei's kicks his legs around in panic; his vision starts darkening by the lack of air in his lungs, quickly losing strength. Blood begin clouding the muddy water.

Issei's legs stop kicking, his eyes grow heavy from the lack of oxygen in his body. Darkness slowly starts surrounding his vision. "Don't bully Issei!" Bork comes charging out of nowhere and slams his shoulder at the canine, sending it blasting away while releasing its bite on the Hyoudou by the shock of the sudden attack. Issei snaps his eyes open and quickly push himself out of the water. "Guahhhh!" he quickly breathes in air and exhales, coughing out some water "O-oh crap!" he hurls, gripping his chest and grimace at the disgusting taste in his mouth "Uek! That water is horrible."

Issei turns forward to see the Troll, causing him to smile "Bork!" "Heey" Bork reply with a smile, innocently waving "Bork save the day!" "Ehehe," Issei chuckle before halting to wince in pain, gripping his heavily bleeding shoulder "Y-yeah, you sure did, Buddy" he utters in gratitude. Issei examines the wound to see his skin is utterly ripped open, exposing the inner organ to the surface and damage flesh. The injury is worsened by being in contact with the dirty water of the puddle, creating a painful burning sensation and no doubt infecting it.

The canine quickly rolls up to its feet, growling at the Troll, showing no fear by the taller creature. "Bad dog," Bork scold "Sit!" he commends which cause Issei to mentally facepalm since he currently couldn't do it physically. No surprises, the canine ignores the Troll commend and instead howl before sprinting forward with intent to kill in its red eyes.

Issei notices the dog sight is utterly focused on the Troll, giving him a clear opening. Issei muster mana into the boosted gear to charge up another Rotation. When the dog is nearing the Troll, Issei sprint forward and jumps on Bork, landing on his shoulder before kicking off it to speed down to the canine "Take this you mutt!" he shouts and slams the Rotation down at the canine's head, sending it plummeting into the ground. Its body flies up by the sudden stop before falling to the ground, unmoved.

Issei dispels the rotation and the watch the dog explodes to a puff of black smoke that slowly disappears from existence. Smiling at slaying the specter, Issei drops to his knees and grips his wounded shoulder, panting softly. Bork stop besides, a look of concern worn on his face "Issei ok?" "Don't worry," the Hyoudou gives a reassure smile "I just need to head back to Jellal so he can get rid of the infection in my wounds" he states, looking at his shoulder. "Hopefully being a devil can keep it at bay for a while since we still got to look for Nawin."

Bork tilt his head "Nawin not with you?" "No," Issei turns "Did he head into the mist?" "Yesh, Nawin quickly entered the mist when seeing the wraiths captured you, he was very worried" "I-I see" Issei reply, slowly growing concern for his friend safety. It's because of him Nawin was forced to enter the mist and now must deal with the dangers in it. "Alright," Issei snap his eyes open, determination burning in them "Let's go find him, Bork."

Elsewhere

Annoyance starts building on the Makasha's face after walking on the path for the past twenty minutes, and it felt like he is getting nowhere. "I think you are lost" the girl beside him bluntly state, still present "Yeah… I figured" Nawin reply, halting to take a moment to think of a next plan. "Can we take a moment to rest and… talk, Nawin" the girl asks from behind "No, I rather focus on finding Issei" the Makasha replies.

"I see… That's sad," the girl comments, the sound of hurt heard in her tone which forces Nawin to turn around to only be greeted with horror by what he is saw. Blood leaking out from her mouth, her skin turns incredibly pale, her body slowly becomes thin, her eyes slowly losing its vibrant color and screaming in pain, but with all that, her smile remains "I-I thought we could c-catch up" she utters, stumbling back from the loss of strength.

Nawin reach his right arm out, his expression turns to regret "N-no, I'm sorry!" he quickly runs forward to catch the falling girl, but when coming in contact with her, she disburses into a splash of blood that splatter on the ground. The look of shock etched on Nawin's face, and he drops to his knees, staring at the fresh blood as images of that day start scrambling in his mind. "No!" he shouts, pushing the memory of that horrid day away "I don't want t-to… to relive the pain again" he whispers, clenching his shirt.

Nawin slowly opens his eyes to find himself standing in a middle of a dark hallway. Dozens of white sliding doors seen on each side of the wall, leading to rooms. Nawin silently gulps as cold sweat drips down his forehead, his brown eyes are wide, and emotions of anxious shines clear in them. "T-this…" he whispers, recognizing the hallway "No… I-it can't be."

With great hesitant, Nawin finally takes a step forward. His eyes are scanning at the number plates written on the doors that pass by. Stopping at the last door at the end of the hallway, Nawin looks up at the number plate and reads it "A25…" lights in the hall suddenly starts flickering, giving off an ominous sign. Nawin exhales out a shaky breath before clapping his hand on the door's handle, his heart rate racing.

Snapping his eyes open, Nawin slides the door open to witness what's inside the room. The look of grimace and grief form on the Makasha's face when seeing the scene in front. A single light in the ceiling shines down on a white bed with a sheet covering a figure underneath. The once clean white sheet is covered with blood. A thin arm hangs on the side of the bed, the complexion of the arm is incredibly pale, pale as death. A red light suddenly shines into the room from the single window. The once dark room now holds a crimson hue created by the bloody night from outside.

Tears slowly drip down the Makasha's eyes. Taking a shaky step forward, he starts walking toward the bed. "M—" Nawin stop himself, unable to say it as he stands beside the bed, staring at the bloodied sheet. Carefully, Nawin brings his right arm up, but stops for a second, wondering to himself if he could do this if he could stand to see her like this again. "I-i—" "Kid!" Nawin eyes widen when hearing Tairex's voice booming around the room "Snap out of it! It isn't real" "Listen to him, Nawin-kun! WAKE UP!" Sairex joins.

Nawin takes a step back, seeing the bed slowly evaporates into black petals. The whole room starts cracking with white light seeping in. 'This…' Nawin feels Sairex's mana pouring into the room, trying to destroy everything "Snap out!" the dragon roars. A sudden burst of mana surges in Nawin's body, his brown eyes changes to glowing golden, oval pupils sharpen into slits. A growl built in Nawin throat before he snaps upwards to the ceiling "Ahhhhhhh!" he roars, sparkling gold mana implodes around him, and the room shatters like crystals.

Nawin snaps his eyes open to find himself back in Specbok Marsh and sees a dark figure floating in front of him. "Lich," he utters in seething tone, glaring at the shadow entity. The skeleton specter dressed in a long cloak, the hood is left down to expose its skeletal head. The entity holds a scepter made entirely out of bones with the tip carrying a glowing emerald gem on it. The Lich is exceptionally tall compared to the wraiths, standing at seven-foot tall which helps with its menacing and intimidating appearance.

"You," Nawin points, his gold eyes glaring straight at the Lich's empty eye sockets "You will fucking pay for trapping me in that nightmare. I'll annihilate you to oblivion" he swears. The Lich snaps its mouth open "No such thing shall happen. You devils trespassed my territory, begone!" it shouts, "Your territory?" Nawin repeats, a look of realization cross on his face and a big smirk grow on his lip "So, you are responsible for all of this… Perfect."

The Makasha start striding toward the Lich, gold aura comes to life and surrounds him "I get to kill two birds with one stone. You should have just stayed hidden and let your minion do the work" he asserts and disappears in a golden flash. The Lich head perks up by the sudden disappearance of the Makasha. "You've made a mistake by pissing me off" a voice comments from behind followed by a massive blow smashing on the Lich's back, sending it blasting forward and crash onto the ground, sliding forward on the mud.

Nawin takes a step forward then halts when noticing the gold aura around him slowly dissipates, his eyes revert to brown. 'Sairex,' 'I can't lend you anymore. If you keep using it 'll only damage you' 'It isn't even five minutes yet,' 'I already given plenty of my mana for you to broke out of that illusion' the dragon state 'I see… Alright, I'll finish it off the other way.'

Nawin resumes walking toward the Lich. His eyes glow in red, and a menacing black aura explodes around him. The Lich returns to its feet and twists its head to the Makasha. Vines speed out of the water and wraps Nawin by his ankle before pulling him up. Seeing the vine taking him to a large tree, Nawin thrust his right arm towards it "Red Flame Cannon!" he exclaims and fires a flaming red magic ball that speeds toward the tree. The orb collides and ignites in an explosion that utterly wipes out the tree.

Summoning the twisted etcher, Nawin pulls the clutch to activate the chains and swing it to the vines wrapped around his ankles, easily cutting right through them with ease to set him free. Nawin quickly levitates in midair and return sight to the Lich, blasting towards it. The specter swings the scepter to summon numbers of massive water blast from the many puddles littered in the area.

Nawin watches the blasts comes flying towards him. To counteract, he summons countless weapons from thin air around him, acting as a wall of shield. The high-pressure water blasts come smashing from every side. Knowing he can't stay here forever, Nawin toss the twisted etcher up and teleports towards it. The wall of weapons shatter in sparkling shards, and the water blasts come clashing at each other.

Nawin snatches the twisted etcher in the air and maneuver his body toward the Lich before throwing the weapon forward. Not taking threat by the sword, the entity points its scepter at the Makasha, who's in midair, leaving himself wide open. A dozen of thick roots explodes from the ground and heads up toward the Makasha. The Lich tilts its head to the right to dodge the sword. It quickly takes note of the massive grin on the devil's face and notices him disappear in black flash as the root was inches away.

Nawin appears behind the Lich and snatches the twisted etcher by the handle then swings it forward with full force. A thick root explodes from the ground and ensnarl itself around the Makasha's right wrist and pulls him to the side in a sudden and violent force that sends the devil barreling in midair and smash onto the ground. The twisted etcher slides over the edge of the land and drops down into a deep puddle.

Cussing, Nawin slowly returns to his feet and feel more thick roots wrapping around his waist. The root lifts him high up before bringing him to the ground in a vicious manner, smashing him down before lifting him back up and resume the process several times. Seeing blood smearing down the Makasha's head cause the Lich to stop the assault, finding satisfy with the result and comment the root to throw the Makasha down to the ground and retract.

The Lich opens its skeletal mouth to speak "You shall die here, devil… You can join with that girl in death!" it exclaims and summons a boulder from the ground. Drawing a circle in the air with the scepter, the Lich cuts the boulder by its edges, curving it into a large spear. "Hehehe," a chuckle escapes from the Makasha's bloodied lip, and it causes the Lich to halt, closely examining him "You know… It actually wouldn't be a bad idea" he speaks, pushing himself off the ground to all fours "To join her in the afterlife… It doesn't sound that bad."

Nawin snaps his head up to look at the Lich "But, I have a reason to live on, and you aren't the person to screw that up!" he exclaims and charge up his mana, causing black aura to explode around him. The Lich quickly response by throwing the spear forward, intending to finish this. Nawin breaks into a sprint while extending his right arm to the side, charging up the demonic lightning. A sound of discharging electric is heard in the area as black lightning cracks into existence, charging on Makasha's palm.

Nawin thurst the demonic lightning toward the spear and utterly annihilates through it with ease. The Lich is shocked by what it sees and in a hasty act, quickly lift its scepter up "Oh no you don't!" a familiar voice explodes from the side, forcing the Lich to turn and see Issei flying towards them and snatch the scepter out of its hand before passing by. The Lich turns forward only to see the Demonic Lightning shoved forward, piercing through its body and ripping out from the back.

The Lich releases a high-pitch scream that rings through the swamp like a siren. Nawin notices the skeleton body start glowing and quickly tries to pull his hand out but find it stuck. "Shit!" he cusses and plants his feet hard on the ground, pulling hard "Come on!" "Bork save the day!" the Troll's voice comes from behind, and Nawin feels Bork's large hand grabbing his body and pulls, ripping him away from the Lich's clutch.

Bork quickly jumps away and turns around to have his back facing the specter, offering cover for the Makasha. The Lich's scream grows even louder before its whole body explodes in a blinding bright light that shines through the mist and out of the swamp. When the light dies down, Bork stands back up and step to the side to allow Nawin to look forward, seeing nothing left of the Lich. No cloak, no scepter, or even a piece of its bone. Like the evil specter was never there to begin.

"It's over," Nawin exhales in relief, his eyes revert to brown while the black aura dissipates in thin air. He turns around and looks up at the Troll "Thanks, Bork" he smiles "You saved me there" "No problem!" the Troll pet his chest "Bork can't allow a friend to die! It makes Bork sad" "Yeah… Seeing friends dying isn't something you ever want to witness."

"Hey," Issei lands beside Nawin, grinning "You ok there?" "It looks like I should be asking you that" Nawin reply, noticing the wound on the Hyoudou's right shoulder "It looks infected," "Because it is, but I couldn't return to Erza and Jellal until I find you" Issei state. "Huh," Nawin smile in gratitude "Well, thanks for coming to the rescue, Issei" "Hehe, no probs" Issei claps his left arm on his friend's shoulder "Now, let's head back to Erza and Jellal because my shoulder is killing me."

Elsewhere

"Hah!" Erza leaps down and cleaves through the undead's body with the sword, splitting it in half. She pulls and rotates around to chop through another two of the undead, slicing right through their midsection. Jellal jumps back to miss a zombie trying to tackle him from the side. Swiping his right arm, Jellal discharge four gold magic beam that heads toward the groups of zombies. Four explosion erupts in the area and wipes away dozens of the undead.

Erza hops and slides back next to Jellal "This is getting ridiculous" she pants, inspecting the piles among piles of corpses scattered around the area "Yeah, and it isn't slowing down" Jellal observe and raise his right arm. Before he could fire another attack, the horde of the undead suddenly stops and drops to the ground. Both blink at this and slowly leave their stance. "What?" Erza utters "Erza," Jellal calls, pointing forward "Look."

The Scarlet turns ahead and is surprised to see the mist slowly dissipating. The green hue that surrounds the swamp and created by the mist is lifting. Bringing the color of gray back into the swamp's ambiance, matching with the ravine. The two smiles when seeing Bork emerging out of the mist with Nawin and Issei following from the sides. Sheathing her sword, Erza quickly runs toward the three with Jellal following closely.

"Hey, guys!" Issei shouts, grinning "Awfully high spirit for an injured person" Erza reply, stopping in front of them "Jellal, quickly treat that wound would you" Nawin requests "It's infected," "Yeah, I can see." Jellal points at the spot beside him "Take a seat, Issei while I wash the wound. Luckily for you I already brew a potion for anti-infection" "Is it gonna hurt?" Issei asks, complying and takes a seat on the ground "Oh yeah, you are gonna scream" Jellal bluntly replies, kneeling behind the Hyoudou.

Erza turns to Nawin extend her right hand out to wipe the drips of blood that's threatening to roll down on the eyes. "You look a mess as well," she states, retracting her arm and smile "Yeah," Nawin reply, faintly smiling "It was a tough battle" "I'm guessing it was against an entity that was the cause of this phenomenon?" "Yeah, it was a L—" "Gahhhhhhhhhh!" an agonizing scream interrupts the conversation and the two turns to see Jellal pouring the antidote on Issei's wound, who is crying in pain.

Erza and Nawin sweatdrops while Bork stops in front of the two boys "It's ok, Puny Issei" he reassures, softly petting the Hyoudou on the head to hopefully bring some comfort. "T-thanks, Bork" Issei reply, wiping the tears with his left hand "You are so k-kind," "Get a grip, you aren't a baby" Jellal assert, shaking his head and reach around for one of the pouches that carry potions and items related to treatment "The wounds are going to heal itself so I'll just wrap a bandage around it to keep the process at ease" "Alright, thanks."

"Anyway," Erza coughs, returning to Nawin "Continue, please" "Yeah. So, the entity that was responsible for this mist and the sudden spurt of wraiths is a Lich. A very powerful Lich" "Lich?!" Jellal halts the process of bandaging to turn to the Makasha, an expression of stunned worn on his face "I never would expect such a powerful and dangerous specter to be the cause of this" "Yeah," Erza nod, thinking "But it does explain a lot. Why the mist here was so plentiful and so dense to the point that us devil can't see, and the ungodly number of wraiths summoned along with the resurrection of the horde of undead. A Lich, especially a powerful one would be able to accomplish such a thing."

Nawin nods "It was able to trap me in a world of illusion" he states and quickly see the look of concern form on Erza's face "Are you ok? Lich's illusion magic holds terrifying reputation. They strike the victims with their own worse fear, using it against them. Some people even go so far as to lose their minds in them" she states. Issei, Jellal, and Bork turn to look at Nawin, all concern as well. The Makasha slowly opens his eyes, and a reassuring smile form on his lip "Don't worry, I'm fine… I was able to broke out of the illusion before it could get worse" he replies "Good," Erza smile in relief "That's great to hear. Usually fighting against a Lich solo is unadvised because of their illusion spell. If fought with a partner then at least when one is trapped in the illusion the other can snap them out of it by giving a hard smack in the head" "Ahaha, that so" Nawin chuckles "Well, I'll keep that noted for the future."

Issei blinks in confusion and turns to the Troll "Hey, Bork" "Yesh?" "When you saved me from that Black Dog… How did you touch it?" "Oh," Bork smile and turns to the Fernandes "Jellal gave me that oil! When Bork sees Issei trouble, Bork smash oil on his body and charge at the bad dog" "Oh," Issei nods "I see" "Good thing I gave him that oil" Jellal state, after hearing the story "Yeah, he saved me there."

Erza smile and gives a tap on the Makasha's shoulder in a friendly gesture before turning around, facing the south. "So," she speaks "What do you want to do now? Head back to the village or continue onwards" "Onwards," Nawin stop beside her, staring ahead at the clear path. "We can return to Mirstone to inform of the good news after retrieving the Lightning Gemstone" "Yeah, that would be wise" Erza sigh "No doubt the bandits are not far behind us."

"Done," Jellal ties the bandage to keep it in place and move back "Hmm," Issei moves his right arm around, circling it "Hehe, it feels much better!" he states with a grin. Issei stands up and turns to the bounty hunter "Thanks, Jellal," "Don't mention" he replies with a dismissive wave and place the remaining roll of bandage back in the pouch.

Nawin turns to his friend "You good now, Issei?" "Yeah!" the other reply, giving a thump up with his right arm "I'm good to go" "Perfect." Nawin turns to the Troll "Bork, you ready to continue the journey?" he asks and receives a vigorous nod "Yesh! Bork is having fun in this journey" "I'm not sure if I would define this as… fun" Issei state, sweatdropping.

Bork turn to the Hyoudou and smile "Be with friends is very fun, Bork is happy" he states so sincerely that the group couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, it's great having you as our guide, Bork" Erza admits, petting the Troll on the arm "Yeah, it's been quite a journey, that's for sure" Issei insert with a grin "You are definitely the best Troll I have never met" Jellal state. Nawin smile, agreeing with the others comment "We couldn't do this without you, Bork" he states, making the already big smile on the Troll's face to widen "Bork happy to hear that! Let's continue onwards to the stone!" he exclaims and start marching south that leads to the exit of the swamp.

The four devils look at each other, nodding in ready and turns around to follow their optimistic guide.

Ravine

"Hmm," standing on one of the many grounds that protrudes from the side of the ravine are Schynzel and Ren. Both have their sight set downwards at Specbok Marsh, watching Bork lead the group out of the swamp and now marching through the narrow path of the ravine. "Everything is going as you predicted, Lord Schynzel" Ren comments, staring at Specbok Marsh, watching all the green mist being lifted and dispersing in thin air. "Yes," Schynzel lift his right palm and a green square form like a screen to show Daigo and his men striding up a rainy mountain "They drew closer to the Gemstone" "Thanks to your help" Ren adds.

Schynzel slower nods and returns his arm to the side, dispelling the screen. "I sense some conflict in you, Ren" he speaks, glancing at the girl "Speak of why this is" "… I'm concerned for your safety, Lord Schynzel" Ren reply in honest and respect, turning to her Master "Your interest in Nawin Makasha does agitate that Pureblood… She ordered you not to get involved with him." A dark smirk form on Schynzel's lip "And that's why I've taken an interest in Nawin Makasha… Because I believe that he may be the only thing in this world that can help me figure out the mystery of Sayomi Dracul."

Next Chapter: Race To The Stone! Battle With The Boss!