Chapter 793 Arriving At The Elven Forest
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"We're back!" Emeraldine smiled. "Uncle, everyone…" She glanced into the far away forest, and the big tree in there.
We all did at the same time, expecting a view that would blow us away.
Yet…
When we landed eyes on that place, we felt… completely devastated.
The forest was dark, and several trees were leafless.
The ground was pitch black, with swamps everywhere.
And the smell of miasma spread everywhere.
At the same time, the big tree in the middle of the forest was darkened, as a strange, powerful evil energy constantly surged from within…
"N-No…" Emeraldine muttered. "W-What's going on?! This is not the forest… Is this another place?!"
"No, this is it!" Said Lucifer. "This… something has happened here for sure."
"I can feel the presence of one of my Fragments." Tyr appeared at my side. "Maria, this place has become a complete wasteland… A Danger Zone filled with monsters!"
"N-No way… Why? There was no such thing as a fragment here!" Emeraldine cried. "AH! My uncle… everyone! Lucifer please go down!"
"O-Okay!" Lucifer nodded.
We descended into the forest's entrance, finding the same appearance we saw from within the skies. Barely a few living trees were in the further outside area, while everything else inside had grown black and corrupted.
The ground was pitch black too, and grass was nowhere to be seen. Black and poisonous mushrooms were growing everywhere, and there were even signs of small Demonite Crystals growing around.
"W-We need to go to the village quickly!" Emeraldine cried.
"Alright, let's go then." I nodded.
FLAAASH!
I quickly shapeshifted my shadows, grabbing everyone with myself and flying across the forest in just a few seconds, reaching where I could sense several very weak signs of life, and where I was able to detect what looked like buildings.
"We're here!" I said, quickly putting everyone in the floor.
We glanced around, the entire village looked in ruins. The houses were destroyed, the big trees where the elves were living were drying out, and the houses on top were also destroyed.
"W-Where is everyone?" Wondered Takeshi.
"It's all destroyed…" Nyx sighed.
"D-Did everyone…?" Emeraldine looked like she was slowly falling into despair. "Ah! Uncle's house!"
We followed Emeraldine as we ran towards a large house in the middle of the village, it was in ruins, covered on miasma. Everything was completely destroyed.
"N-No… It can't be…" Emeraldine fell to her knees. "W-Why did this had to happen to us…?! Uncle… Uncle?! Where are you?! UNCLE!"
Emeraldine started looking around, and I helped her, but we couldn't find a single thing. And the weird part was that… I couldn't find any soul or ghost either.
At least if someone died here, I would be able to sense that, but there was just nothing. It was as if they had all been sucked into something else.
And I could sense that that "something else" might be the huge tree, the Great Spirit Tree that Emeraldine talked so dearly about… It had grown strange, twisted. It was no longer the same as before.
There was a strong malice emerging from within its roots, absorbing all souls and ghosts into its core. Whatever it is… we have to stop it before it becomes even stronger.
"Don't worry, I can sense a lot of people still alive, they're around here…" I said, looking down. "Nobody's on the buildings, but underground…"
I quickly grew a gigantic palm made of darkness and hit the floor with a huge punch.
BAAAAAAMMM!!!
CRAAASH!
The ground shattered open, as the path towards an underground cave was revealed. The first thing we saw down there were countless colorful mushrooms everywhere.
"We're going down!" I dragged everyone down using my shadows until we reached the floor.
BAAM!
"T-This is really a cave…" Said Lucifer. "Did you elves made this?"
"N-No… This is new- Ah! I can sense it too!" Emeraldine said. "The life signs of everyone…" She was speaking with her Divine Spirits, that danced around her body. "It seems they know where they are, can you guide us there?"
"Of course!"
"We are just as worried as you are!"
The two Divine Spirits, now able to speak, nodded and quickly flew across the caves, which were covered on colorful, venomous mushrooms, ponds of miasma, and Demonite crystals growing everywhere.
We followed the Divine Spirits while giving a few turns, until we finally arrived at a large room filled with mushrooms. In there… there were over fifty people on the floor. Some were stuck on the walls and ceiling.
And they were all covered on mold and mushrooms, from head to toe, as if their living bodies were being used to feed on these parasitic things.
"W-What is this?! Everyone?! Why… Who did this?!" Emeraldine cried in shock.
And that's when they emerged. The gigantic mushrooms we saw along the way weren't just that. After Emeraldine screamed, and after they pretended to be just normal, they emerged.
Starting to move, the huge mushrooms sprouted arms, legs, and monstrous, vicious vertical jaws filled with sharp fangs, opening them widely, as a single red eye glared at us from within their caps.
"Gyoooooogghh!"
"Gruoooghhh!"
"Gryyyeeeggh!"
"W-What are these things?!" Emeraldine cried in anger and surprise.
"Walking Mushrooms?!" Jonathan wondered. "No… They're much stronger than normal Walking Mushrooms… T-They're all B Rank?! Insane! Such monsters are usually F Rank at most…"
"It seems these buddies have been powered up with Miasma." I said. "Alright team, looks like we found our culprits. Time to clean this place out of this mold infestation."
The monsters were named "Miasmic Giant Mushroom Aberration" and were all B++ Rank as Jonathan said. I guess that explains why people were completely hopeless against these beasts.
"GRYYEEEH!" One of them opened their jaws, as countless tentacle-like tongue surged from within, attempting to catch us with them.
However, before we could react, a giant arrow made of light pierced the mushroom's open jaws, making its entire body explode into pieces!
"Gryyyyyygghhh!"
BOOOOOMM!
"You bastards… I won't forgive what you've done…" Emeraldine had completely lost it.
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