Lost Fantasy-The Flowers of Stelis (Arc 2) [Hiatus]

Chapter 13

Loganel followed behind Kaz and Tetsuya as they neared the Behemoth's den. He was careful to not step on any dried twigs that laid on the ground and in his way so as to not create a sudden noise to alert the behemoth of his arrival. Behind him, Sheriel and Marilin were careful in their steps as well, and in front of him, Kaz moved almost effortlessly as he discovered a path that would elicit the least amount of noise with Tetsuya stepping in Kaz's footsteps so as to guarantee the silence.

It has been two days since Tetsuya and Kaz has reported the Behemoth sighting to the Guild, and when their party had returned from the day of hunting in the Southern Plains, they discovered that the Behemoth was in fact confirmed and a Hunt quest has been posted for it. Tetsuya immediately accepted the mission and informed his party members of the decision to head out early the next morning so as to beat others to the beast.

Now that they were on their way to battle the Behemoth, Tetsuya realized that they were the only party that's headed in that direction. The explanation for this incident is simple, and that is not too many people would dare challenge a Behemoth in battle, not even the more experienced Adventurer parties. A Behemoth is classified as an S rank monster, meaning that it is extremely dangerous even to the most experienced of Adventurers. However, Tetsuya believes that his party has what it takes to defeat the beast.

Tetsuya's assumptions were based off of two factors. The first one was the way his party coordinates and worked together. From the countless battles that they had shared together, Tetsuya could see that the teamwork between everyone were all top notch. Loganel still has some issues when cooperating with others that were not Tetsuya himself and Azura, but Tetsuya believes that the issue was just temporary and will be resolved with more time together. 

The second factor that affected Tetsuya in making this decision was Loganel himself. Tetsuya had always viewed Loganel as the strongest force in his party, the final ace when it comes to it. Tetsuya has seen Loganel engage himself in demanding battles, especially the one with the armored figure in the Ruins of Ekeletas a year ago during the Ekeletas Expedition that was led by the Flora, Marsha Merilot, who was a former student of Avelin Beras, Loganel's current teacher and former apprentice to his mother. Tetsuya has seen how Loganel was able to keep up with the inhuman speed of the armored figure, and even ending up defeating him in a one-on-one duel. In addition, it would appear that Loganel was able to learn new spells during the battle with the armored figure, which was of great help in propelling Tetsuya's confidence in his party.

With the decision made to hunt the Behemoth, here they are on this sunny winter morning. On the ground was a thin layer of snow that glistened as the sun above shined its rays on it. The nearby wildlife had all been covered by this thin layer of snow, and the bald treetop tree branches bore the weight of the snow as it piled up on it. In this white wonderland, where the trees and bushes had been rendered into a lump of branches, there were no where to hide. Therefore, the only chance for the party to catch the Behemoth by surprise is when it is resting. 

After doing some research on the behavioral habits of Behemoths, Kaz had learned that the creature often would nap after securing a kill and consuming its meal back at its den. Kaz intentionally chosen this time period, which is right after the Behemoth had consumed its morning meal, to lead his party mates to the Behemoth's den and take it by surprise.

When the party arrived at the front entrance of the Behemoth's den, they got to work immediately. They had devised a plan before they set off earlier this morning, and they worked to establish the desired conditions for the battle like clockwork.

First, it was the traps that must be laid so as to help shift the battle in their favor. Kaz immediately started setting down poisoned spikes in a thick line right in front of the entrance to the den. Then, he mixed into the already laid down poisonous spikes with some regular ones so as to deliver some scratch damage to the Behemoth.