The wheels of the carriage gyrated blissfully despite the rocky terrain. The Mana Basts dragging it foward stomped foward relentlessly at a consistent pace. Their dripping saliva and sweat showed their exhaustion after pulling the carriage for hours, but even so their pace never dropped.

Trey and Jerry who sat directly on top of said Beasts enjoyed the gentle breeze that washed past their figures. The breeze was strong enough to even blow away Trey's hoodie.

Trey allowed his hoodie to rest while he enjoyed the fresh air. He gave himself a moment to just breathe. His ocean blue eyes looked into the distance with optimism and also excitement despite the daunting task ahead of then.

Trey was going to explore a land beyond, Suveny. For better or worse he knew by leaving Suveny, he was free to explore the world. He knew about his objectives though and he was keen to see them through to the end. If that meant exploring the world as he did, then It was a win-win scenario.

He hoped he'd get to explore these lands with Lucy one day but it wasn't meant to be. The road infront of him was open with no trees or houses in sight, just open land with nothing to obstruct his view.

He enjoyed this peace for another set of minutes before his attention turned to Jerry next to him. Even though Jerry explained their task well, Trey still had questions that persisted in his mind. For his own sake, he was keen to release these questions.

"So, Jerry i rember you saying the old man had the sword in his store. Are you telling me he had the blade with him the entire time and no one in Suveny knew?"

Jerry's eyes remained on the road infront him, but having heard Trey's question, he was willing to respond.

"It's hard to believe but Yes, for decades the old man kept the blade in that very store. The blade had a seal placed on it so most of its mana was sealed away making it a simple thing to hide in plain sight, as for where the old man even got the blade, that I do not know"

Trey was familiar with the different types of magic, Lucy made sure to cram it in his brain during their two years together. He wasn't an expert in the different types, but he knew the basics. The idea of sealing magic being used to store a blade's mana was something that made sense to him. Considering it was also used on him to store the King of Demons himself.

"The seal on the blade got weaker and weaker as the years went by though, in the last ten years grandpa used to say the seal was on its last legs. And that it would break at any moment. I don't know how the Rogue Magicians knew about the location of the blade but one thing is certain, if they manage to break the seal on the blade. All hell will break loose." Jerry stated, with a blank expression on his face.

"We just have to get it back before they break it then. How will we find them though, how certain are you that they are in Krey?" Trey ask still looking to piece the banks in his mind.

"The blade Is in Krey, I have multiple reasons to believe that. The most being this.."

Jerry showed Trey a glowing stone, he handed it over to him for closer inspection. The stone had a red glowing color but it was faint.

"That stone right there, is a pathfinder. There are many of them in the world. You just take any object and you register its mana signature on the pathfinder. As long as the said mana is powerful enough and the distance isn't something obsurd, the pathfinder will help you find it."

Trey inspected the rock from all angles, it was really fascinating to him. He didn't even know such a cool item, even existed.

"The colour right now is faint, but the closer we get to the blade, the brighter it will become. Based on its current glow, I can tell the blade is not far. It's definitely at Krey at least for the time being."

Trey handed it back to Jerry after he was satisfied with his inspection.

"Why Krey though? Out of all the possible cities why would they choose to stay located at Krey? Especially with such a powerful item?" Trey asked.

The carriage was moving faster and as the road got more and more rough, it made sitting on the beasts uncomfortable since they could feel their butts vibrating every few minutes.

"I can think of a few reasons, but this is merely speculation on my part. They went to Krey to regroup before they moved on to the next city. Another option would be they are actually based in Krey and aren't willing to move. The most likely one is that they're looking for the priestess."

"The priestess?" Trey asked.

"Yes, the priestess. Krey is famous for being known as the impenetrable city, a major reason for that is because of the priestess. She maintains the barrier around Krey making it impossible for even mana beasts or rogue magicians to find their way into the city. She is also skilled in sealing magic, her sealing magic according to my grandpa at least has potential to even surpass that of the Fauna family leader."

Trey was stunned, someone whose sealing magic could even surpass one of the strongest magicians in existence. Could such a person even exist.

"If the rogue magicians get their hands on the priestess they can force her to undo the already weak seal on the blade, if that happens we'll really be in trouble"

"So what are you going to do after we retrieve the blade?" Trey asked.

"That's where things get really tricky. In krey there exists a stone called, the Shining Jewel of Light. It's the prized treasure of Krey and its the reason the priestess is able to create such a powerful barrier around Krey. The stone is located in the White Temple at the center of Krey, if we can get the blade and get the priestess to seal it inside the Temple using the Jewel of Light. Then we might have a chance at sealing it permanently "

Trey nodded, "so who ever gets the priestess and the blade is the one who wins?"

"Exactly, that's why no matter what happens we must retrieve the blade and protect the priestess at all costs"

"That's something we can definitely do" Trey seemed certain.

The small window at the front end of the carriage opened, this allowed Akira to peak her head out of it.

"This carriage Is really uncomfortable with all these boxes around. How long before we reach Krey?" Akira asked with an annoyed expression.

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"Those boxes are important, I'll be selling them once we reach Krey. Every year Krey holds a tournament for warriors in Krey to determine who is the strongest. Those boxes contain my grandfather's blades which I will be selling just before the start of the tournament" Jerry had a playful grin on his face just thinking about all the gold he would make.

"We better reach Krey fast because the carriage is very crowded we can barely move around in here." Akira complained.

"We'll reach it soon, we just have to go through the Forest of Madness"

"I hope you're right because I don't know how long I can last in here, not only is it crowded but Ten's smelly butt also isn't helping"

Akira decided to leave the small opening open just to allow fresh air to enter the carriage.

"Hey its not my fault I didn't get to bathe, you should blame Jerry for rushing me to leave" Ten defended himself.

"Well you'll have to get a bath soon otherwise I may just end up dying from the smell, my nose is really sensitive you know"

Akira tried to find a comfortable way to sit. Due to the carriage moving so fast, the boxes also moved around quite frequently and the carriage was so full both her and Ten had to sit on top of the boxes.

"Yea I know, trust me I hate being dirty more than anything, even my flawless haircut is starting to loose its shape. That potion store was a scam." Ten complained.

"Say, Ten. Why are you so hell bent on going after Shelly and Duram? Is it because they imprisoned you and forced you to be George's toy for a while?" Akira asked, a little curious.

Ten's expression changed after he heard her questions. His mind wondered back to all those years ago.

"I want revenge for them imprisoning me but that's not the main reason I'm after them." Ten frowned as his memories started to surface.

"My sister is a prisoner of the Fauna family, the only way I can get her back is if I somehow persuade Duram and Shelly to tell me where she is. After they broke their promise to me, i'm done playing nice. I'll get the information that I want even if I have to tear them limb by limb." Ten grimaced with each word he released.

Akira looked at her with concerned eyes, "I know how you feel, I'm searching for someone as well. To find them I'm willing to search the entire world."

Ten felt the weight that's been slowly crushing him all these years begin to lessen after he spoke about his past.

"I'm sure, you'll find them Akira because unlike me, you're not a spineless coward"

"No, we'll both find them" Akira extended her clenched fist.

Trey couldn't help but smile a little before he extended his own fist to give Akira a fist pump. As their fists connected, Trey uttered in a much lively voice, "yea we'll definitely find them"

The carriage was approaching the Forest of Doom and Jerry gave everyone a warning, "look alive guys this place is the Forest of Doom, one of the most dangerous forests in the world."

The Forest of Doom was a well known location to magicians, it was known as a magician's graveyard. It was one of the many reasons why Krey was such a hard city to enter because one had to pass the forest of doom.

The forest had a gloomy atmosphere to it, the trees dwarfed everything and smothered it in darkness. The trees had no leaves, only really thick branches that refused to move an inch even against the wind. The forest looked massive from its entry point, one would compare it to a giant maze with no ending in sight.

The carriage found itself entering the belly of the forest. Almost immediately the Mana Beasts began to slow down, almost as if they knew that if they kept moving. Death was certain.

Trey held his blade after Jerry's warning, his eyes had returned to their battle hungry gaze. He braced himself for what was to come.

As the beasts continued foward the ground began to rumble, the creatures of the forest let out haunting cries.

Without warning almost like marching soldiers, the trees moved all on their own. Like soldiers closing in on their targets they began to close in on the carriage from every angle. A brilliant green light covered them in their approach.

"Here they come, these are the Carnivorous Trees of the Forest of Doom. If we allow them to touch us, we're dead." Jerry's expression told the story.

Trey simply gripped his blade "then I guess..."

From Trey's left side a tree launched its branches towards the carriage. Its pointy branches acted like spears that seeked to destroy everything in their path.

"I'll just have to cut them down"

Anticipating the assault, Trey already launched himself towards the tree. With just one swing, a razor arc of dark mana sliced through the branches and the tree itself. Not only that, that single slash went on to decimate almost every tree it came across. It severed one tree, then the next. Like a weapon sent by a God it diced numerous trees like butter.

Trey landed on the ground as he watched the devastation of his assault. His eyes already shifted to another target in less than a second.

The carriage Ten, Jerry and Akira still occupied found itself the prime target of a vicious assault. Gigantic roots sprouted from the ground as they looked to catch the carriage in a deadly snare.

Akira burst through the ceiling of the carriage, effectively destroying the roof.

Her limbs became consumed by a golden fur that replaced her flawless skin. Her eyes were also glowing a golden colour. Akira's claws produced a golden light. She gyrated in midair swinging her claws in an omnidirectional pattern.

Golden claw shaped slashes erupted from her figure and they launched themselves in every direction. Instantly they tore through the gigantic branches like a piece of paper. Not only that, their remaining parts were also reduced by the golden glow to nothing.

Akira landed next to Trey after her flawless display.

"Say Trey, how about we turn this forest on its head." Her fangs shone brightly as she spoke.

"You got it"

In a spectacular display of power Akira and Trey almost reduced the forest to nothing. Jerry and Ten were forced to watch in awe.

The Forest of Doom was not done though. A gigantic tree, a tree bigger than all of the trees before it appeard. Its trunk had a gaping hole, almost acting like a mouth. Inside that hole was nothing but a bottomless abyss.

It's branches were red and were constantly dripping blood. Unlike the previous tress, this tree had small crimson leaves that decorated its branches.

"That's the Mother Tree" Jerry said in disbelief.

"That tree is the original tree of the Forest of Doom. I thought it was just a legend. For every leaf on that tree, a hundred souls were devoured. No doubt about it, that tree is a calamity created by Mother Nature herself"

The ground dried up and began to crack at the appearance of that tree almost as if its life was being slowly devoured.

The tree's branches glowed before they launched themselves at Akira and Trey. Giant red thorns protruded from each branch adding to the feeling of danger.

Without saying a word, both Trey and Akira approached the numerous branches. Trey swung his blade to slice them one by one and Akira used her claws to shread them.

As they advanced closer to the trees, the tempo changed and the branches increased their speed ready to cut through everything. Both Akira and Trey leaped towards the tree.

Trey's body was covered in darkness as he zipped past branch after branch cutting everything else that followed.

Akira was covered in a golden light as she tore through them all. The branches did manage to slightly graze her left arm but that didn't stop her. She ripped through them all.

As both of them approached the giant trunk. The tree entered its last resort, from its gaping hole a green light manifested. Like a cannon the tree released its gigantic mana blast.

It blew more ferocious than a hurricane ready to annihilate Trey and Akira.

The two did not waver, Trey pointed his staff before he fired an orb of darkness.

"Black Orb"

Akira transitioned into a midair kick producing a golden crescent shaped slash that approached the blast.

Both Trey and Akira's attacks made contact with the tree's blast. They easily tore their way through it before they consumed the tree in a glorious blast.

When the dust disappeared, the Mother Tree was annihilated.

Trey and Akira stood unfazed before they gave each other a fist pump.

The forest of doom. Was destroyed.

Jerry and Trey watched in disbelief of what they had just witnessed.

With the forest out of the way, the carriage made its to the outside of Krey.

A giant barrier in the form of a red dome covered the entire city, and walls as tall as giants encased everything inside the city.

"This is it, the impenetrable city. Krey" Jerry stated.

Before they could take another step a giant roar shook the surface they inhabited. From the heavens a dark shadow was cast on them.

Like a fallen diety, the creature crashed just infront of them.

Massive dust consumed it as a result, followed by cracks on the ground itself.

The dust cleared to reveal a giant black Dragon.

With dark scales that span its entire body and its raggered teeth and red eyes. A creature straight out of a nightmare appeared.

"That's Krey's guardian. The Great Devour"

Krey's mighty guardian had arrived.