Regaleon: The Forgotten Knight

The crimson sky above the Crimson Forest had already brightened beneath its perpetual scarlet haze, heralding the beginning of another day. Unlike the skies of Valor, where dawn painted the heavens in warm gold, or the Frozen North, where endless silver-gray clouds drifted across the horizon, the heavens above the Nether Lands never truly changed.

Instead, as usual, they simply grew brighter, casting the forest beneath in an ominous crimson glow that never allowed anyone to forget where they truly were.

A cool breeze swept through the towering crimson trees, setting countless blood-red leaves rustling in soft whispers.

Strange cries echoed from somewhere deep within the forest, while distant roars rose and fell like reminders that the Nether Lands had already awakened. Yet those were not the only things that made this day noteworthy.

Instead, it was the fact that today marked the exiles’ first full week...

Exactly seven days had passed since the eight young nobles had been stripped of everything and cast into this merciless land.

Seven days of struggling to survive. Seven days spent hunting for food, or nearly becoming food themselves. Seven days of narrow escapes, desperate battles, and brushes with death.

To ordinary people, a single week was hardly worth mentioning. To them, however, it felt as though months had gone by.

Because within those seven days, they had changed more than they ever had in years of privileged living.

The frightened nobles who had stumbled helplessly into the Crimson Forest no longer existed. In their place stood survivors, individuals who had adapted to a world where hesitation meant death...

Several hundred meters away from the cave, three figures raced through the dense crimson undergrowth...

Branches lashed against their bodies while tangled roots and jagged stones flashed beneath their feet. But none of them slowed as their eyes remained fixed upon the crimson beast fleeing ahead.

At first glance, it resembled an antelope; but that was only at first glance...

Standing nearly two meters at the shoulder, the creature possessed a sleek crimson hide adorned with elegant silver markings that flowed across its body like streams of molten metal.

Four long horns curved gracefully backward from its head, while every bound launched it astonishing distances across the uneven terrain.

Its greatest weapon, however, was neither its horns nor its powerful physique. Instead, it was its speed.

The creature seemed less like a living beast and more like a crimson streak flashing between the trees...

”It’s speeding up again!” one of the pursuers shouted between ragged breaths, legs moving rapidly beneath him as he stayed on the beast’s trail.

”Don’t let it reach the thicker trees!” another yelled, refusing to break formation.

However, the young man leading the chase remained silent.

His golden eyes never left the fleeing Anima for even an instant. And unlike the other two, his breathing remained remarkably steady despite the relentless pursuit.

That alone was astonishing.

After all, they had been chasing this beast through the Crimson Forest for nearly half an hour.

Twice they had managed to corner it... And twice it had escaped. This was not because it was overwhelmingly powerful; but because it was absurdly fast.

This Rank One Anima was known as the Scarlet Streak Antelope, a name so unimaginative that a certain failed Gnost had stubbornly insisted upon keeping it.

The group had first encountered the creatures while training beside the waterfall. One had wandered to the lakeside for a drink, revealing something they had never considered before.

They were not the only inhabitants that relied upon the lake as over the following days, numerous creatures came to drink from the water. And surprisingly, many of them were turned out to be herbivores.

The discovery had caught them off guard because until then, they had all subconsciously assumed that every creature born within the Nether Lands would be a bloodthirsty monster.

But apparently, even in the harshest environments, it seems that nature still clung to its original design...

After that discovery, the Scarlet Streak Antelope had quickly become their preferred prey because compared to most Rank One Anima they had encountered, it carried considerably more meat while lacking the savage aggression of predatory beasts.

Unfortunately, catching one was an entirely different matter as their incredible speed made every hunt a nightmare.

The first successful hunt had been painfully difficult, forcing them to devise countless strategies before finally succeeding.

After that, however, experience slowly transformed chaos into coordination. And today, they intended to prove just how much they had improved...

The antelope suddenly leapt over a fallen crimson tree...

The instant its hooves left the ground, a silver-haired young man moved.

”I’ve got it!” He shouted at the others.

Then, a brilliant silver radiance erupted across the axe blade of his Halberd as ”Silver Sheen” surged to life.

Without the slightest hesitation, he hurled the Soul Essence at the leaping beast...

SWOOSH!

The halberd became a streak of silver light as it tore through the air...

Yet the Scarlet Streak Antelope reacted with terrifying instincts.

Its body twisted with impossible flexibility, narrowly avoiding the blade by mere inches.

The halberd missed it’s neck and continued onward, cleaving clean through several crimson trees before embedding itself deep into the earth.

Wood exploded into splinters, and although the attack had failed to kill, it had never been intended to...

Forced into an awkward dodge, the beast’s momentum faltered for a crucial moment and that single opening was all its pursuers needed.

Crimson flames suddenly erupted from another direction...

WHOOSH!

A blazing torrent surged across the forest floor like a rolling inferno, cutting off the beast’s escape route...

Unable to continue forward, the antelope instinctively veered sharply to the left. But unfortunately, someone had already been waiting there...

At that instant, a massive bronze Cauldron spun through the air with a deafening whistle, the enormous Soul Essence resembling a falling boulder more than a weapon.

The antelope’s pupils contracted the moment it saw it. Instinct screamed at it and without thinking, it’s powerful legs exploded with strength as it vaulted high into the air...

The bronze Cauldron thundered beneath its body before crashing violently into the earth...

Boom!

The impact blasted dirt and shattered stone in every direction, leaving behind a shallow crater.

But despite evading the attack, the beast still could not escape because the instant it began descending, another torrent of crimson flames surged upward, forcing it to twist awkwardly in midair...

And by the time it’s hooves even touched the ground, the silver-haired knight was already there.

Having retrieved his Halberd moments earlier, he now stepped forward without hesitation. A silver arc flashed through the air as he swung his weapon...

SLASH!

The Halberd carved deeply across one of the antelope’s hind legs...

Instantly, dark crimson blood sprayed across the grass and the beast cried out in agony before stumbling forward.

It desperately tried to regain its balance, it’s injured leg buckling beneath it’s own weight.

The Scarlet Streak Antelope turned its head toward the knight, its four elegant horns beginning to glow with an ominous crimson light.

Clearly, it was preparing to unleash an Impulse but unfortunately, it was already too late...

Silver radiance blazed once more along the halberd’s edge. The knight took a single step within range, then, his weapon descended again in one clean, decisive strike...

SLASH!

The blade pierced straight through the creature’s throat...

The crimson glow surrounding its horns flickered momentarily, then it vanished just like it appeared.

Meanwhile, the antelope itself convulsed violently before collapsing onto the forest floor with a heavy thud...

After that, silence gradually reclaimed the forest as the beast finally breathed it last.

Then, only the sound of three young men breathing heavily remained, drifting through the crimson woods as the hunt finally came to an end...