NOVPUBThe five Aurelius operatives moved quickly through the dense white fog, slashing and striking in silence.
Mist beasts came from all sides.
But they were no longer surprised.
The fifth operative ducked a flying mist hound and stabbed upward, clean through its neck.
The beast scattered like smoke.
Another beast lunged low, but the second operative turned without looking, his blades already swinging.
"This pattern again?"
The blade hit. Another mist beast gone.
"Their moves are repeating," said the third. "Easy now."
The leader said nothing but his eyes glowed brighter.
Their systems were fully engaged now.
Their [Adaptive Kill Memory] trait kicked in.
It recorded each attack, each dodge, each creature's weakness.
With every second, their movements grew faster, cleaner, deadlier.
Within minutes, the five of them were cutting through waves of mist beasts like machines.
A single strike ended each one.
They didn't speak unless they needed to.
But then the fourth stopped moving for a moment.
"…Wait."
More mist rolled in.
Twice as fast.
Beasts started to reform almost instantly.
Just right after being dispersed.
The third frowned. "They're coming back faster."
The fifth slashed one that had reappeared in the same spot he'd cleared seconds ago.
"I just killed this one."
The leader scowled behind his helmet. "The mist is learning too."
The second operative's claws locked into place. "It's copying our speed."
Now every time they cleared a space, two more beasts appeared.
And the fog? Thicker than before.
The fourth operative growled. "We can't keep doing this."
"Damn it," said the fifth, cutting down another.
"They're endless."
The leader looked ahead.
The fog was dense, but through it, he could see faint shadows.
"Forget the beasts," he said coldly. "We break through."
"Straight line," said the third. "Cut the shortest path."
The leader raised his hand.
"Activate [Void Phase Dive]. Ignore everything."
One by one, they melted into the ground, bypassing the beasts entirely.
They rushed forward in pure silence, slipping under tree roots, rocks, and fog beasts alike.
The mist moved with them.
But even in that voided state, they felt it.
Pressure.
A new force pushing back.
One of them reappeared for just a second.
To be met by a mist creature already standing in front of him, fully formed and ready.
"How?!" he hissed, phasing back under.
The fifth shouted, "It's predicting our path now!"
The leader snarled. "Then we move faster."
They pushed harder.
Dashing through terrain in fragmented bursts of shadow.
They passed through boulders. Tree trunks. Streams of vapor. Nothing slowed them now.
---
In the deepest part of the Mist Forest, Nebelis floated silently above the trees.
Beside it hovered Liline, hands folded neatly behind her back.
She was watching the screen on her floating clipboard.
She was tracking the five intruders' movement as they slipped through the lower layers of fog.
Nebelis spoke first, its voice quiet but heavy.
"So… they thought they could break through by ignoring my mist beasts?"
Liline nodded, eyes still on the screen. "Yes. I believe that's their best option."
She smiled faintly.
"You sent too many at once. Naturally, they'd want to skip the fight."
Nebelis's silver eyes narrowed.
"Of course I did," it said. "They are not guests."
Its voice rolled like fog over stone.
"They are not here to test themselves. They are not here for peace."
"They are enemies."
The mist below thickened as it spoke.
"And this Mist Forest is my territory."
Its eyes glowed brighter.
"I can do anything I want to them."
Liline finally looked up.
"Well, they've broken through the front. They reached the deeper layers."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Are you planning to go straight to them now?"
Nebelis didn't move.
"No," it answered slowly. "I won't waste effort."
It looked down at the forest below.
"What they fought before… those were just weak mist beasts."
It closed its eyes for a moment.
"Now, I'll send the real ones."
Liline raised one eyebrow. "Oh?"
Nebelis's long form began to curl, like a cloud drawing breath.
"I'll show them what it means to step too deep into fog they cannot control."
Liline gave a polite smile.
"I see then."
She turned to float beside Nebelis, just out of reach of its swirling mist.
"Well…"
She sipped from a freshly summoned teacup.
"Let's enjoy the show, shall we?"
---
The five intruders moved deeper into the forest, their steps fast and quiet.
The white mist wrapped around them like a cage, but they kept going.
Their sensors flickered, but they pushed forward.
"We're almost through this layer," the fourth operative said.
But then... something shifted.
A sharp blast of mist hit them from the side.
It wasn't soft like before.
Instead it was dense and fast, like a punch of air made of steel.
The five froze.
"What was that?" the second whispered.
The mist swirled, then gathered ahead of them.
It was faster than anything they'd seen before.
It began to take shape.
First legs.
Then a torso.
Then arms—one holding a long mist-forged sword, the other carrying a sleek, vapor-built gun. 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
The head formed last, no face, only glowing white eyes.
A mist human, standing still.
The leader frowned. "Ignore it. Go around."
They tried to move left but the mist warrior moved before they did.
In one blur, it stood right in front of them again.
The fifth swung his blade.
The mist warrior blocked it with the flat of its sword, then fired its gun point-blank at his chest.
The shot was silent but hit like a hammer, blasting him back into a tree.
The second shouted, "It's fast!"
The third leapt in to strike but the mist human spun, sword slicing across his thigh before vanishing again.
The leader growled. "It's not like the others. It's smarter. Stronger."
The fourth stabbed forward, aiming for the chest.
But the blade passed through as the mist warrior split its body.
Then he reformed behind him and kicked him hard into the dirt.
The mist solidified again, pointing its gun.
"They're learning," the leader muttered. "Fine."
He raised his own weapons.
"Then we fight."
