"Okay, is everybody ready?" Anna questioned.

On her back was a bag, filled with different supplies. We each had a bag, however Angela's bag and my bag were worn on the side instead of on the back like Anna, Dawn and Krystal. This was in case we needed to use our wings, which we probably would.

"I am." Dawn nodded.

"Me too!" Krystal grinned.

"You alright going back there?" I whispered to Angela.

"Yes." Angela nodded, lightly clutching her bag. "I know I will be alright. I have you all."

"Alright then." I smiled at her.

"Hey." Anna elbowed me in the stomach. "Let's go."

I nodded, extending my arm towards the wall. Concentrating, I activated [Hollow Wanderer] and opened a portal to the Hollow.

We all took a deep breath, before entering through the purple portal. Our environment changed, leaving us in the dark Hollow.

We were in a forest, the leaves being a dark purple. The grass was a lighter shade, but it was tough to see with the purple fog which clouded the air.

Overall, the Hollow just gave an aura of mystery.

Angela shifted uncomfortably. I gave her a light pat on the shoulder, before she smiled at me in gratitude. She clenched her fists, and got in front of us.

A howl rang through our ears. I recognized this howl all too well...the howl of a Corrupted. But, more specifically, a Corrupted Werebeast.

I saw their eyes through the trees. Anna's legs unfurled from her back as Dawn grinned, her fangs shining. The three of them stood on all sides of Krystal, the only one of us who didn't have a skill for direct confrontation.

"I wish I knew how to use my foxfire..." Krystal grumbled.

"It'll be fine." Dawn replied. "Your illusions will be useful if we get in a pinch."

"Alright..." Krystal sighed.

Multiple of the Werebeasts revealed themselves, knowing that they had been noticed. There were about seven of them. I stepped up to the front, standing next to Angela.

I glanced back at the other three. "Watch our backs. Werebeasts like to stalk and do sneak attacks."

"Got it." Dawn nodded, focusing her attention to the area behind us.

"Angela, leave most of them to Jack." Anna stated.

"I know, I will." Angela nodded, her fists lighting up with a ferocious white fire.

I extended my arm, manifesting my [Iron Sword] into my demon arm. I watched as one of the Werebeasts snarled at me, before dashing forwards.

I took a deep breath, making sure to stay calm. I held out the [Iron Sword] in front of me like Krystal's Grandpa had instructed, and I kept my feet planted.

It roared, lunging towards me. I felt [Danger Sense] warn me of it's approach. I twisted my body around the Werebeast, slicing it with my sword.

It was completely cleaned in half, collapsing to the floor. It crumbled down into purple dust, leaving no evidence that it used to be there.

The other Werebeasts growled at me as they rushed at me. Whether it was for their fallen friend or just instinct, I wasn't sure.

I sliced the head off of one of the Werebeasts, before stabbing another in the gut. I kicked it off of the sword, swinging around and slicing another across the chest.

Only the first one faded down to dust. The others growled, getting back to their feet. Unless it was well placed, I would need more than one strike.

Unless...

"What are you doing?" Sally questioned.

I have an idea.

"I'm scared." She muttered.

I summoned my chains, letting them crawl up and wrap around the base of the sword. Igniting the chains with holy fire, it travelled from the chains to the sword, now making it burn with white fire.

It worked!

"Wow..." The others muttered in awe.

The Werebeasts hissed at the weapon, approaching me once more. With [Danger Sense] I avoided them and sliced each of them once with the flaming sword, making them crumble down into purple dust.

Holy Fire was incredibly effective against the Corrupteds...

Angela punched one in the stomach, her fist going straight through the Werebeast. It crumbled, making her move on and absolutely destroy more.

More Werebeasts stalked out from the forest, growling with gnarled teeth. They rushed me, but sending a slash towards each one quickly dispatched them.

Learning the sword techniques from Krystal's Grandpa really was useful. I can use my sword effectively now.

I looked around. Dawn kicked the crap out of two Werebeasts which had snuck behind. Anna finished them off , making them into dust like the rest.

Angela was done with her enemies, so it looks like we took care of them. I took this moment to check my [Inventory] to see if somehow the [Iron Sword]'s level changed.

[Inventory]

[Deathbane Bow] Level 6 - A Bow made from the bones of a Grim Reaper.

[Iron Sword] Level 8 - An medieval European styled common sword made from iron.

[Combat Outfit] Level 1 - An outfit gifted from Madam Webb.

[Firebolt X] Level 2 - The newest motorcycle from the Firebolt line, known for their flaming wheels and intense speeds.

"Woah!" I gasped "It already went up a level!"

"Seriously?" Anna asked, walking over. "Fighting actual enemies makes such a big difference...we haven't even been here for ten minutes."

"I don't think this will be as hard as we thought." Dawn commented.

"What...is this?" Krystal curiously asked, picking up a small, purple crystal that one of the Werebeasts had dropped.

"It's some sort of crystal." Dawn noted.

"Well, I know that..." Krystal sweatdropped.

"That's a Chaos Crystal." Sally stated, making Krystal jump in surprise.

"I'm still not used to that..." She sighed.

"Why did it come from a Corrupted?" Dawn curiosity asked.

"Enemies can drop items." Sally stated. "So sometimes a Corrupted might drop an item."

"Interesting..." Anna muttered. "Can we use it for anything?"

"I can sell it for AP." I stated. "But I'm not sure if they can do anything else."

"That's useful. How much?" Anna asked.

"5 AP." I stated.

"I take it back..." She sighed. "That isn't a lot..."

"Unless we gather a lot." Dawn shrugged. "Besides, it's free AP."

"Fair." Anna replied.

"Jack! Here!" Krystal yelled, tossing me the crystal. I caught it, before depositing it into my [Inventory].

"Here's some more." Dawn stated, grabbing two more crystals that had been dropped. She walked over to me, placing them into my hands.

I put them into the [Inventory], giving me a grand total of three. I'll sell those later.

"It'd be good if we could find...my prison." Angela suddenly stated, shivering as she muttered those final words.

"What? Why?" Anna asked, looking towards Angela confused.

"Oh!" I remembered. "There were a bunch of crystals inside of the cave that led to where she was stuck. Before they got too large and strong, but now that I'm stronger I should be able to grab some of the larger ones..."

"Let's do that." Anna nodded. "And you can kill any Corrupted on the way. But we'll help if there's too much."

"You okay with going there?" Dawn glanced to Angela.

"It'll be fine." She smiled. "While it was where I was sealed...it's also where I met Jack. Things will be alright, I know it."

"I hope you didn't just jinx us..." Anna sweatdropped. "Any idea which direction?"

"..." Nobody said a word.

"Great..." Anna sighed. "Jack, pick a way..."

I looked around. We seemed to be straight in the middle of a forest, because all I could see were the purple trees in every direction.

"Uh....this way?" I said, pointing in a random direction.

We started to walk through the forest, heading to somewhere. Anna unraveled a string as we walked, something she had prepared in advance.

On our way we encountered multiple more Corrupted Werebeasts. After a whole hour, I had slayed a bunch more, increased the [Iron Sword] by two more levels, and gathered five more Chaos Crystals.

"We haven't found anything..." Anna sighed as we all took a break next to a tree.

"Well, this still works out for us." I stated. "We've been able to take out a lot of Werebeasts."

"Yeah, but..." Anna trailed off.

"I don't know about you two, but it feels like the amount of Werebeasts have been decreasing as we travel further." Dawn stated.

"Maybe it's just a less populated area?" Krystal asked.

"I hope so." Dawn stated.

Suddenly the floor started to shake as sounds came from far away. I couldn't tell what they were, but those sounds were incredibly frantic.

"You jinxed it." Anna facepalmed.

The shaking increased as the sounds got closer. Now I was able to make out that they were actually something...no, a lot of somethings running.

I got my sword ready, facing the direction of the frantic footsteps. Suddenly a bunch of Corrupted Werebeasts, a whole pack, went rushing by.

"Uh...what?" Krystal asked, confused.

"This isn't good..." Dawn muttered. "We need to go. Now."

"Why?" Krystal asked.

"They were running from something, and I'd rather not find out what it was." Dawn replied.

The ground shook once more as something else approached us through the trees. Something very, very large.

"...I think it's too late for that." I stated, clutching the sword.