I heard footsteps; immediately, the writings from the journal came to mind. Quickly drawing my sword, I went on guard.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became extremely cold; no breathing could be heard, as if the surroundings were engulfed in sepulchral silence. I felt uneasy; it was a very strange sensation, the first time this had happened to me.

I could still hear their footsteps, but suddenly, it stopped; through the same silence as before. Even the environment returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

"Elsa, did you feel it too, right?" I asked, not ceasing to activate my senses.

"Yes, it was terrifying, but it seems it's gone now," Elsa replied in a low voice.

"I think the same as you. That was strange. So, for now, we can't carry out the plan, as we only heard one step. It must be just one of the four."

"Leaving the house is the best option. Visibility outside is better than being trapped indoors," Elsa replied.

She has a point; having visual on your enemy is of vital importance. Since we are enclosed within walls, we can't see what's happening outside.

"Let's go outside, then."

We tried to make as little noise as possible. We exited the room we were in and approached the main door.

Opening the door, I looked outside; nothing seemed strange. Everything appeared normal. Slowly leaving the house, I headed towards where I heard the footsteps, at the other end of the place. Kneeling on the ground, I looked directly and saw footprints. There were footprints, but...

They are footprints of human feet! Literally, I felt the hairs on my body stand on end. I know what this is: corrupted humans, hybrids half monster, half human. Now I understand why it's intelligent; so, the one who visited us is our target. The other three must be complete beasts.

Touching the ground where the footprint was, it clearly is a human foot.

Elsa, touching my shoulder lightly, brought me out of my thoughts.

"What's happening?" I asked.

Silence. She didn't answer me. A little surprised, I turned my head and looked at Elsa, but all I saw was her hand pointing to a specific place.

Directing my gaze to the direction she was pointing, I could see it.

Hidden behind a tree, you could see a horse's head. It was also looking at us; its tongue was out, the color of its fur was gray, and it had vertical black pupils. It was bizarre; I couldn't feel it, but Elsa could see it.

Grabbing my sword tightly, I waited to see what move it would make. I won't attack first; I don't know where the other three are, and besides, it doesn't have a horn on its head, meaning it's one of the minions. It's not the target.

Looking at it, I don't let my guard down; we don't know their abilities, and I can't locate the others. Standing up slowly, I position myself in front of Elsa; for some reason, she is terrified.

"Breathe deeply and calm down. Don't let fear consume and blind you. You can't freeze in the middle of a battle. React and come back to your senses," I said with a serious voice.

Right now, it's useless for Elsa to be in that state.

"Okay, I'll try," she replied hesitantly.

"Come on, you can do it," I try to encourage her, not stopping to look at the creature behind the tree, staring at us.

But suddenly, it disappeared; it put its head behind the tree and disappeared from my perception. It didn't come out of the tree again.

It's as if it disappeared again; damn it, having an enemy whose position you don't know is a big problem.

For some reason, I'm suspecting that this house is a trap set by these things. Now I think I understand why this house still stands with such a deteriorated state.

"Elsa, let's get out of this place."

Starting to walk to leave this area in general, I have to get Elsa out of this place first.

Being 10 meters away to leave, my sense of danger goes crazy; quickly grabbing her arm, I throw her into the mist like a doll.

"STOP! DON'T COME OUT OF THAT PLACE!"

Turning quickly, I receive a blow.

"Aaagh!"

Tremendous brute force hits my side, the same way I threw Elsa, I was thrown.

"Bang!"

I felt tremendous pain in my back; I crashed against a tree to my right. I felt my ribs breaking.

"Aaargh!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, my sense of danger activates again; like a ball, I dodge another blow.

"Bang!" The place where I was created a deep crater.

Getting up with a little pain, I look around. I can't see him; I don't know where he is.

My senses can't detect him; given the strength, he must be the target.

I try to take a potion from my ring, but again, my danger senses activate; turning my sword to protect myself, I receive the blow directly.

"Clink! Clank!"

The sword couldn't withstand the impact, shattering instantly. The impact of the blow sends me a few steps back.

"Bang!"

Quickly taking another sword from my ring, covering it with aura like my body, I perform my footwork, disappearing from my position, and perceive an attack from my right, grabbing the hilt tightly.

"Clank! Swoosh!"

I perform an attack from behind; I feel it trying to run again, but I'm not going to let it. Performing my footwork, I follow its steps.

Running, I turn with the purpose of a diagonal attack.

"Clink!"

I see its center of gravity becoming unstable; taking advantage of this opportunity, I attack from above again.

"Clank! Bang!"

It falls to the ground, and finally, I can see its appearance completely. The upper part of its appearance is completely gray fur, with a horse's head, but on its forehead, there's a horn. Its head is smaller than the others; the lower part effectively has human legs and feet, wearing a loincloth.

"Hiiii! Hiiiiii!"

With a horrible screech, it jumps to its feet again. With my aura around me, I can feel three more presences, hidden in the house.