Due to my rather good experience with Amizanima Forest, I didn't expect myself to feel lost prior to entering it. After all, I know how to escape the Forest and the people who reside in it—the Dark Elves.
As usual however, the world is always there to humble you and prove that you are wrong. My confidence ended up leading me astray; I am lost in the forest that I thought I knew.
"Have I accidentally brought myself to the area that no one has ever visited before?" I muse. "This place doesn't feel like Amizanima Forest at all, and I hope it is still Amizanima Forest since finding out it is not is not funny."
"It is Amizanima Forest," Luxia confirms. "I can tell for sure by the nature of our surrounding. I am as floored as you however, since I can't tell our exact location in the forest."
Despite being a Forest Spirit, Luxia has made it clear to me that she doesn't have any "authority" over Amizanima Forest. Her connection with the land is severed the moment she enters it, so she is not that different from me.
She still knows more things about nature than me though; but regardless, she can't help me get out of here.
Rustle.
Upon hearing the sound of someone brushing past a bush from behind, I step aside, and wait for the person to pass in front of me. My presence is heavily suppressed, so I believe whoever this person is won't be able to notice me.
A few seconds after, I can see a shining head. When I look keenly, rather than being a mystifying flying shining head, it is just a girl who has a shining necklace around her neck.
The light the necklace produces is too weak to illuminate the rest of her body. Given how dark Amizanima Forest is, looking like a flying shining head is something you would end up in that situation.
Anyway, the girl is facing my right, which is her front in her perspective. She doesn't notice me yet even though I am just a few inches from her.
I have never pranked anyone, but seeing an opportunity, I can't help the urge to do it. I walk behind the girl sneakily and soundlessly, then lean my head forward to whisper in her ears.
"Peek-a-boo..."
I know this is not the best catchphrase to use in this situation, but in my opinion, this is what makes it even more suitable to use it in this situation. It is so uncannily ordinary, it makes you feel scared.
"Kyaaaa! No! Go away, ghost! I am only into handsome living creatures!"
My prank is a success—I can tell by how scared the girl is—but her reaction is not quite the one I expected. Regardless, she managed to actually amuse me.
Shrugging lightly, I walk toward the girl, and flick her forehead to stop her rap about how a relationship between the living and the dead will never work. She is too scared to spout something logical, and it is as funny as it is annoying.
"It's me, your Master. Stop cowering, and stand up, Winerva."
The girl, Winerva stops rapping, then instantly looks up to me. Various emotions run through her face in a span of 5 seconds.
Many of them contradict each other—it is quite confusing to conclude what she is actually thinking about. Nonetheless, she managed to calm herself down, and immediately stands beside me.
"Is that necklace still working?" I ask about the Necklace of Blessing the Temple gave her.
"Yes, it is still working."
"Well, I should ask you to lead the way then." Utilizing my Mana, I cast a simple Light Spell. "[Illustambian]!" The light immediately illuminates me and the area of 3 square feet around me.
Winerva is surprised by what I can do if her face expression represents what she feels. Ignoring that, I tell her to lead the way.
She nods her head, and immediately walks a couple of steps ahead of me. I keep myself vigilant the whole time, looking around and watching for the endemic species of Wild Beasts of the forest.
The last time I visited this forest, I met a panther that looked like a mole called Pantherapid. This time, I don't know what I will meet, but I hope it won't be a panther looking elephant.
Boom!
A faint thump originating from miles away ahead of us shakes the ground faintly. My eyes immediately darkened as I imagine how big of a Beast it is for it to be able to cause such a disturbance.
"Is it a panther looking elephant?" I muse as I summon Rexorem. I look down at Winerva, who is hugging my waist tightly, and say, "If you don't want us to die, don't hold me down like that."
"O-Oh... Sorry. It is something I do out of habit when I am scared," Winerva says bashfully as she lets go of my waist.
Musing if she has been hugging trees before meeting me, I reply, "Well, better change your habit then."
Boom! Boom!
The thump is getting louder and heavier. In my calculation, if I run now, I will be able to clash with it in 20 seconds.
I won't run, of course; I don't want to risk alarming it, and exacerbate the situation. I am going to approach it slowly, and attack it the moment I can make of half of its appearance.
Boom! Boom!
"This fucker..."
Unfortunately, the creature thinks the otherwise. It is running toward me now, fully intending to obliterate me by crashing into me.
I won't stand still or get out of the way. It has managed to irk me by how obnoxious it behaves, so I am going to end its obnoxious ass.
Kicking the ground after I channeled my Mana into my feet, I dash toward the Beast. I rush through the ground like a bullet, and I am sure I am just a streak of light from other's perspective.
"Oh, here it is." I see the Beast a couple of seconds after. Much to my bafflement, it is what I expected it to be "... How could even an elephant and a panther produce an offspring?"
It has an elephant's body, a panther's skin and fur, a panther's head, and an elephant's tusks. It looks like a perfect and horrifying mix of a panther and an elephant.
Shrugging off the fact immediately, I swing Rexorem and activate [Great Impact] midway. This is when the panther looking elephant Beast raises its tusks, and a familiar voice enters my ears.
"Wait! This is me!"
"Holy shit! Arieda?!"
Deactivating [Great Impact], I abruptly stop in my tracks, and slam Rexorem to the ground beside the Beast.
Boom!
The ground is still split apart even though I have negated most of my power, but I managed to avoid hitting Arieda nonetheless. The Beast also doesn't do anything to me, so I can conclude that Arieda is in control of it.
Jumping down the Beast, the Dark Elf Princess jumps at me in the next moment. I am slightly surprised, but I still managed to catch her.
When I am about to ask what happened, I feel her trembling as she hugs me tighter. Hoping that she is just excited to meet me again, my eyes darken the moment I sense her fear, anxiousness, and relief.
"What kind of danger you are in?"
"Iorael... He has finally decided to rebel against us, Envenaddle Family. All of the Elders also betrayed us, so me and mother have no choice but to flee the Kingdom."
My mouth tastes bitter at the revelation. Here I am trying to slowly lay my hands on Lysimork by establishing a good relationship with the main family, but I have already lost it by the time I know it.
I am not that surprised though. I have half expected that annoying bastard, Iorael, to do something like that.
I knew since the moment I met him—from the way he treats Haletha—he had already gotten everything to take control over Lysimork. His face was that of someone who knew he had won, but was waiting for the perfect time to declare it.
"Where is Haletha?"
"... Mother is in the run from Iorael's people with Elorand and those loyal to us," Arieda answers through her sob. "T-They distracted Iorael's people just so I could run away. Layland, please... Help us."
Smiling bitterly as I see Arieda's eyes that glisten due to her tears, I shake my head faintly. No matter how confident I am in my power, there is still nothing I can do about it.
I have grown stronger indeed, but I am nowhere near strong enough to be a one man army whose mere presence can affect the flow of the battle. I will be in the future; but currently, I am no different from an above average human Knight.
"I can't help you much, but I guarantee you that my troop mates can." Of course, there is no need to take on the matter myself.
Grasping my Rank Necklace, I contact Eliseus and tell her about the situation. She stays silent the entire time, then reveals about something that I can't rejoice at when I am done speaking.
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