Oscar ran ahead to rejoin the battle. Piles and mounds of algae, grass, and branches littered the sacrificial chamber, the fallen remains of many Grovekeepers. In the center, near the stone altar, Serena and the others were fighting and holding on. Seeing their tired faces, Oscar felt the outlook of the current battle was bad.
Entering the state of Adamasreis, his muscles flexed and tightened under his clothes. He formed Silver Lances around his fists, using ordinary Ein, not Eirin. There was no need to use Eirin and tire himself out faster unless a powerful Grovekeeper like the large ones in Tectusen was here.
"Keep fighting!" Oscar shouted to his peers in the distance.
Then, the chamber started to tremble. Screeches, roars, groans, and caws echoed and made everyone and everything pause and turn toward Oscar. Behind him, several Exalt Beasts crashed out of their prison, tossing rubble and moss everywhere. Oscar jumped onto his deer anima, and by his side was the deer beast he freed.
Leading the charge with the savage beasts behind him, they rampaged around the chamber, crushing, gnawing, biting, clawing, and stomping the Grovekeepers. The men of moss and algae were helpless before the enraged beasts. Relaxing
"Oscar, where did these beasts come from?" Serena glanced around at the beasts frothing at the mouths. Her breathing slowly recovered from the respite of reinforcements.
"They were sacrificing beasts to this altar. Luckily, there were some left alive. Look at them go! We have a good chance now." Oscar got off his deer Anima and turned to the others. "Don't attack the beasts; we don't want to make ourselves a target."
Everyone nodded. Their eyes darted around at the commotion surrounding the altar. Torn bodies of Grovekeepers plopped near their feet. With careful aim, they fought not to harm the beasts, aiming for the Grovekeepers.
"How sure are you that these beasts won't attack us?" Serena chopped at nearby Grovekeepers.
Her worry was not unwarranted, and Oscar thought the same. They couldn't trust these beasts that moved on instinct, but at the same time, they were not being targeted. For certain, it was strange. The beasts seemed focused on only the Grovekeepers; they knew who to exact vengeance on. Very fortunate for Oscar and the rest.
"Orange spheres, up above!" Someone shouted.
Oscar snapped upward. A scattered cluster of orange spheres was about to rain down on them, so many that the gas would certainly fill the entire place. Oscar reacted quickly, forming several Silver Stars and aiming for the spheres. The other students and Serena matched him with their spells.
As delicate as the orange spheres were, similar to bubbles, the spells destroyed every single one. The sleeping gas that exploded from the orange spheres did not float down. It stayed afloat in mid-air. Seeing the clouds of potent sleeping gas, Oscar turned his attention to the beasts and Grovekeepers.
Just how many were there? Oscar felt short of breath as more Grovekeepers poured out of their tunnels, crevices, and halls. One of these openings had to be an exit. Oscar hoped to find it. Back when he fought above as Demon, he noticed the entrance to the Lotus Lake was completely sealed off as though it had caved in.
'The beasts had to have come from somewhere else. The hydra was the only beast in Lotus Lake, and these beasts don't seem aquatic in nature.'
As he contemplated the problem and his fellow students fought to help the beasts and deter the orange spheres, the deer beast trotted to his side with a grunt and a breath of hot air. Oscar glanced at the deer beast, a hint of intelligence sparking in its deep gold eyes. It pointed its antlers toward a direction. Oscar turned and saw a small tunnel where Grovekeepers were streaming out.
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"That's the way out?" Oscar's words were met with a grunt and stomp from the deer beast. Its actions cried out to trust it. Oscar couldn't help but chuckle and nod.
"Everyone! We're getting out of here through that tunnel. Prepare to charge and follow my lead!" Oscar shouted to the rest of his peers.
They all froze with obvious confusion evident from the frowns on their lips and the furrowed wrinkles on their brows, except Serena, who seemed to be eyeing him in a different way. He ignored the strange gaze she was giving him for now and turned his attention back to the others.
"Follow me or stay here. You decide." Not wasting any more time, Oscar sprinted. His lances skewered through several Grovekeepers, leaving behind a trail of their corpses. His eyes fixated on the tunnel. Hearing several footsteps behind him, his chest felt light with relief. To his sides were his anima and the deer beast. Behind him was Serena, followed by the others. Not a single one wished to stay here.
In one fell swoop, they all entered the tunnel. Oscar did as he said he would. He rode atop his deer anima and led from the front. Thanks to the elevated view from atop his deer anima, his eyes narrowed to gaze far into the tunnel of moss, roots, and algae. Grovekeepers flowed like blood through veins.
Many different colors of Ein sparked around the tunnels, overwhelming the dim glow of the plants. Coming upon a series of forks and divided routes, Oscar relied on the deer beast to lead the way. After tens of minutes passed, heavy breaths and groans filled the tunnels. Oscar and his group were getting tired, which was natural considering the poor circumstances and endless fighting.
"Damn it," Oscar murmured as he saw a group of Grovekeepers holding more of the orange spheres. He reached into his space pocket, took out the blue vial, and drank some of it. There was not enough for everyone, so he had to improvise. It appeared he had to improvise a lot today, from the hydra to this great escape. A bothersome task as always, risking and gambling it all on a slim chance from his improvisation.
He sped up and hoped to the heavens this would work. His fist became heavy from the Eirin building in it, and he unleashed it all in a combination of Ripple Shroud and Shattering Wave. The resulting shockwave acted as a moving barrier. His technique imploded the Grovekeepers and dispersed the sleeping gas to the tunnel walls. The orange gas wafted around with an opening in the middle.
Leaping over the lingering orange gas on the floor, Oscar got off his deer anima and breathed in. He tightened his stance and recalled every move he learned from sparring against Demon. As the constant mass of Grovekeepers approached, Oscar flung several of them away, threw some in the air, and punctured holes with his sharp kicks.
'There is a constant flow I can maintain from fighting a crowd. Combine that with Demon's free-willed motions, and I'll be able to get through without using as much Reis and Ein.' Oscar consistently took Reis from other Grovekeepers, chaining it onto the next attack, then to the next, and the next. The Grovekeepers were helpless before his and his group's onslaught.
After another few minutes of killing off as many Grovekeepers in the tunnel, Oscar trembled and laughed weakly. Light. Not the light from the colorful moss and algae and not the light from everyone's spells. Light that drowned in from a hole, a bed of flowers blooming and basking under its radiant gift. It was the light from outside, from the sun.
"We're almost there!" Oscar and the others rampaged, gaining more ground and getting closer to their goal. Their feet did not care about the flowers they trampled on as they jumped out.
The familiar fluttering breeze tickled his damp skin. The sky was a scattering of orange, yellow, and red. In the distance, the sun could barely be seen over some trees as it set. What a wonderful view. Oscar felt it was a shame it was ruined by the group of Grovekeepers outside.
"The sun is setting in this direction, so the base should be this way," Serena knew the base well and could point Oscar and the others in the correct direction.
Oscar heard the others groaning but saw smiles on their faces. Some were about to cry but held it in. They weren't free yet. With a final rallying cry, Oscar went headfirst with the deers by his side. The enclosure wasn't perfect, and they escaped shortly.
Next to him, the deer beast grunted as if saying farewell. Oscar patted it on its head.
"Thank you," Oscar nodded to the deer beast, and it nodded back. The deer beast turned and ran, disappearing into the woods. Oscar sighed, feeling slightly lost at losing his newfound companion. Maybe they will meet later. Oscar hoped that would be the case.
Finally, after a long day of going through the lake, facing the hydra, ending up in a Grovekeeper's abode, getting knocked out, and fighting his way out, Oscar saw the walls of the Pavilion's base.
"We made it," Oscar wiped his face.
"We made it!" The others cheered. They were finally safe.