I was still hugging Ruru when a creature approached me. Whatever it was doing, my brain warned me that the creature before me was dangerous. I tried to push the creature away with my hands.

"Go away! Aww!!!" I groaned in pain.

I looked down at my hand. Fresh blood was flowing from my hand. As soon as I looked back at the creature, it turned its fur into thorns. Then slowly, the same thing was done by the other oval creatures. Now, they had thousands of thorns surrounding their bodies.

Damn! Don't say I'm going to die silly. Seeing the changes in the creatures, I felt my blood rushing. I must admit, I was scared looking at the creatures before me. Are they going to hurt us?I endured the pain in my hand still hugging the ruru. The oval creatures began to surround me. I looked around. Shit! There was no way out. The oval creatures have surrounded us.I noticed that Ruru's color was turning white. That's when I realized. Ruru won't be able to be saved if I stay here. I took a deep breath and dived into the lake. I hope that creature doesn't like water. I hope they don't chase us.

I ignored my surroundings. I kept swimming in the lake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of red. I stopped swimming. My left hand hugged the ruru tightly. The longer I swam, the more obvious the red flash became. I finally realized that the red flash was an oval creature.

As soon as I came to my senses, I again exerted my strength to swim to the bottom. I didn't know what I would get if I swam to the bottom. But, my body kept moving, pushing me to the bottom of the lake.

Faintly, the moonlight penetrating the lake helped me see my surroundings. Once I reached the lake, I swam to the golden yellow grass of the lake.

Not knowing what I was thinking, I moved into the grass. The oval creatures had reached the bottom. I hugged Ruru tightly. His fur is no longer white. For some reason, I pet Ruru. I, for one, don't want to lose the little furry creature in my arms. I mean, don't I need her to reach Paravel Bay?

I glanced back at Ruru. Slowly, Ruru's fur returned to its original color. I looked at Ruru. It was a relief to see him back to his old self.

Not long after, his big eyes looked back at me. I smiled. She released herself from my embrace. She looked into my eyes. Her tiny lips moved. Surprisingly, I knew what Ruru was going to say.

"Anymous!" we said simultaneously. Although the lake water muffled our voices.

Suddenly, the grass where we were shaking and hiding shone brightly. Seeing the light, the oval creature approached us again. Damn! We had attracted their attention. Surprisingly, I didn't feel scared at all. I stared at the furry creature calmly. In another strange turn of events, I was walking freely at the bottom of the lake. Crazy, right?

I noticed dozens of oval creatures before me. Even its small fangs no longer scared me. I felt a push inside my body. I knew I was going to make it through this. Then, I saw a flash. A woman was wearing a sword fight, on the rocks by the lake. Then, the sword was thrown and sank to the bottom of the lake. I have a feeling, that sword is here. I don't know how to explain it, but I felt my feet moving by themselves until they stopped. I felt a strong pull from under my feet. I hope this isn't just my imagination.

As soon as the creature came closer, I picked up the sand of the lake. The moment I picked it up, the sand crystallized into a golden sword. Although, I'm not sure I can use a sword in the water myself. But hey! I just got a sword that was impossible to get before!

The oval creature approached. With all my might, I swung my sword. Then, along with the sword slash, everything shone brightly. The light spread to all corners of the lake.

Some of the oval creatures changed color back to their original color, purple. The rest remained red. Its small eyes narrowed then thousands of thorns escaped from its body to strike right at me. I froze trying to protect my body with my sword. But, I wasn't sure my sword could protect us.

For some reason, I looked at the golden grass. I ran back to the grass. I looked back. Damn! Just like a missile, the thorns were following us.

I ducked down to hide in the grass. As the thorns approached, the grass around me moved together to form a shield that enveloped us.

Moments later, the grass returned to its original shape. It moved with the current of the lake. I looked at the plant in disbelief. Even though I had to admit, the plant had helped us.

The discolored oval creature stopped attacking me. Did that mean I had tamed them? I glanced at my sword hoping what I thought was right.

Then, I flicked the sword once more. But, the light produced was not like before. I flicked it again. Still no luck! I glanced at the sword in annoyance. Swinging it repeatedly in desperation while the angry oval creature approached me again.

In that moment of despair, Ruru floated before me and took out a blue grain. Just like he did before. Just as my body absorbed the blue grain, I flicked my sword again. At that instant, light spread across the lake again.

The oval creatures turned purple again. Their feathers waved delicately in the water and I lost my ability to walk in the lake. I was floating in the water again. I glanced at my sword, it faded into a speck of dust.

Is it all over?