Lucas Aoki POV –
After I told Marcus to guard the bridge, he immediately went there and took his position near the bridge, waiting for Daxel and the other soldiers to arrive.
Tira, Luka, and I slowly approached the barrier, stopping just a step away from it.
"Should we break it?" Luka asked.
"Yeah. There's no point in keeping it anymore."
I raised my right hand toward the barrier. As expected, it rejected me again. I pushed more energy into my palm and forced my way through.
The barrier shattered instantly, breaking apart the moment I increased my power. The path leading into the forest opened before us.
"Is it really that easy for you?" Tira asked. "You didn't even break a sweat."
"I disappointed you, didn't I? Guess I'll have to prove myself now."
"I never said that!" she snapped, crossing her arms.
"Actually, you did," Luka replied calmly.
"When exactly?"
"You literally said it. I quote you—and you call yourself one of the three S's of Nivalis," he said, imitating her voice.
I couldn't hold it in. I burst out laughing as Tira started shouting at him.
"Who gave you permission to imitate me, redhead?!" she yelled.
"Okay, okay! Sorry, miss, my life is ruined because of you! Please accept my apology!"
"Hahaha!" I laughed for a bit.
"That's enough, you two," I said. "Let's move."
"Hmph." Tira crossed her arms and looked away. "Fine."
"You people are really hopeless," I muttered as I stepped into the forest.
The others followed close behind. Snow crunched beneath our feet with every step. The forest was just as it always was—quiet, still, unmoving.
It reminded me of my early days as an essencer.
"Hmph… the good old times."
"Did you say something?" Tira asked.
"Nah," I replied. "Must be the silence messing with your head."
"I could've sworn you said something," she insisted. "Luka, did you hear him?"
"No," He answered coldly.
We moved deeper into the forest, snow-covered branches blocking out the sunlight above us. We followed the tracks in the snow, though they grew thinner the further we went.
I looked down.
Hmm?
…These tracks look different from the ones on the bridge.
Something felt off.
There are fewer tracks. Probably because of that intruder.
But what do I do? He already proved he's above Red Rank.
If I leave them alone, can they handle him?
And where is the Curse? It shouldn't be alive after what I did to it…
Did I underestimate it?
"Is it just me," Tira said, "or are the tracks getting harder to see?"
"You're right," Luka replied. "There are fewer and fewer."
"What's wrong, Lucas?" Tira asked. "You've been thinking really hard."
I activated my mana and used one of my techniques.
The space around us turned pale blue. A circular domain formed, revealing everything within it as we continued walking.
They both stopped, staring at my back. I sensed their mana instinctively compressing within their channels.
"Don't stop moving," I said, my voice echoing inside the space.
"Act normal. Don't use mana. Speak only in your thoughts, just like this."
"What is this?" Luka asked.
"Don't worry about it. Just one of my techniques."
"WOW!" Tira's excitement was obvious. "This is amazing! We can talk like this?!"
"Can anyone else see this space?" Luka asked.
"No. Only me and those affected by the technique are able to see it."
"Why did you use it?"
"The tracks are fake," I said. "They're the intruder's work."
"What do you mean?" Luka asked.
"The troll tracks from the bridge were different. These changed slightly. We have to do something about this intruder as soon as possible."
"What do we do?" Tira asked.
"If I were to leave you two now and he attacks, would you two be able to hold him back by yourself or perhaps capture him if such an opportunity arose?"
I paused.
"He's skilled. His essence control is comparable to mine. He proved it with the barrier he placed at the entry of forest, that we broke couple minutes ago."
Silence followed. Only the sound of snow beneath our feet remained, alongisde with the wind that blew around.
Finally, Luka spoke breaking the silence.
"That's a hard question to answer sir, We might be able to hold him. Maybe a 30% chance. Capturing him? One percent at best. It's not like we can capture you."
"My techniques mostly focus on defense," he continued. "So yes—we could hold him. But I can't guarantee for how long."
"Alright," I said. "I won't split from you until the area is secured. Channel your mana. Check our surroundings, once that's secured, I will go ahead."
"Yes, sir."
I let the technique fade. The blue space slowly dissolved into the cold air as if nothing had happened.
"Sir," Luka whispered.
I reactivated the technique.
„What is it Luka?"
"I sensed something to our right."
"Let's check it."
We moved carefully. We approached the soft woods trees to our right, I pushed aside the snow-covered branches with my hand and stepped through.
Footprints.
A lot of them.
„What is this?" Tira asked.
"…He's doing this on purpose," I clenched my teeth.
„He is delaying us on purpose."
"He's stalling us?" Tira said.
"Yes, he wants to keep us as much as much away as he can so the trolls have time to escape."
"Can we do something about it?" Luka asked.
"Like I told you, I could leave you here and chase him," I said. "But will you be able to stand him if he attacks, I cannot risk losing you two."
"Then let's go together," Tira said. "We can run." Tira said.
"…Fine. But don't regret it later. I won't hold back. Think of this as extreme training."
"Yes, sir."
With it said, I pushed energy into my legs, and began sprinting through the forest. The other two immediately followed sprinting behind me, they wasn't as fast I am, but they didn't lacked that much, just a couple steps behind.
They seem to have picked up something from my trainings.
Well done, you two.
Kiyokazu Lazar POV –
As we walked through the forest, I noticed Sarah hadn't said a word since I teased her earlier.
I thought for what could I do to make her feel better, and one idea came up to my mind.
I gently took her right hand and held it tightly.
She froze.
"W-What are you doing?!" she asked, her face turning bright red.
"Holding your hand?"
"Y-Yeah, I can see that! But why now?"
"You seemed stressed," I said honestly. "I thought this might help you calm a little.."
"W-why would you think this would relax somebody after what have happened a few minutes ago Kiyokazu?"
what happened earlier… I thought, her face so close to mine…
Her turquoise eyes, looking at mine... Her hair falling onto my face...
I felt warmth rising inside me, it became stronger as i thought more about it. It forced me to look away.
"Just forget about it," I said, speeding up, still holding her hand.
I couldn't help but notice Sarah's warm, her hand was very warm unlike mine which was cold due to being here longer then her.
We walked through forest for a while, until I felt a blight vibration on my left hand.
"What's wrong? Your hand—are you okay?"
I turned around, It wasn't a vibration, it was her hand... It was trembling.
"It's just… this is where something chased me," she whispered. "I feel uneasy." She said her voice slowly weakening .
Her warmth slowly began to cool.
This isn't good, we have to get to the village faster, she does not look good at all.
"We have to go this way," I said. "That leads to the village."
"But what if it appears again?"
"It won't."
"How can you be so sure?"
"I just have such a feeling."
"And if it does appear, I'll hold it off. You run."
"Is that mana shard still working?" I said pointing at her hand.
She took the crystal in front of her, holding it tightly. The crystal shone brightly in her left hand, its glow was so strong that it could be seen, I think, from a distance. Its glow was so strong that her hand glowed a bright blue color, it looked like the crystal would burst from the glow it emitted.
"Yes." She answered slowly.
"See? The crystal looks like it's going to burst from the light it produce."
"But still…"
"Also, didn't my mother told you that as long as it shines you will be safe."
"Yes she did Lazar, but you don't understand… It just went completely off, it shined just like this and then when I looked at it again, it wasn't glowing anymore and that thing appeared and started to chase me."
I looked at her, she was clearly worried.
She was scared.
This is exactly why you shouldn't have come to the forest, it doesn't tolerate the weak. A thought ran through my mind.
"Sarah," I said, "You should've knew this could happen any moment you stepped into the forest."
"I know…"
"Have you heard all the rumors they say about forests?"
"Yes…"
"Then, let me ask you something, if it really is so scary for you why did you decided to come here?" I continued. "And was it really worth it now when you look about it?"
"Of course it was worth it!" she shouted.
"Your mom was worried about you!"
„You haven't come back for a long time."
"I'm sorry for worrying you, but everything is fine, I come here often." She knows that well.
"That is not a good enough reason to justify yourself."
"You worried many, including me Kiyokazu."
"…I'm sorry." I said looking at the ground.
"Why do you even come here?" she asked.
I thought for a couple seconds, I looked up at the sky then around us thinking for an answer. "It gives me peace." I answered.
"You already have peace at home."
I started stepping ahead, letting go of Sarah's hand.
"Then what should I do?" I asked, looking ahead at the horizon.
Behind me I heard snow crunching, in the corner of my left eye I saw strand of Sarah's hair passing by.
"Not go to the forest of course, stay home and talk to your mom."
My mother face ran up my mind, and the conversations I had with her as well.
"I already talk to her every day, she needs a break from me."
"But she worry about you Kiyokazu, every time you go to the forest she is home hoping you come back safe."
"She just worry for nothing, how many times have I come here and come back safe."
"Ehhh…" I sighed. „Is this an interrogation?"
"No! We're just talking!"
"You are asking too many questions Sarah."
I just want to know kiyokazu, nothing more. I don't mean anything bad by this.
I ignored her walking the path, we passed the intersection of the paths and walked towards our village. On our way on the left side of the path, stood a clear tree, its branches clear without any snow on it.
Sarah hide behind my back, stepping closer to me, almost leaning literally on my back.
"Is this the place you talked about?" I asked looking at the ground.
Down at the path were strange footprints. So humans. So Animal. And something else. A footprints of something that I have never seen before.
It seems what she said is truth.
"…You were right."
"Y-yes…" her voice cracking.
"Why would I even lie about something like this Kiyokazu."
"This is the place where the thing started to chase me."
I stepped closer to the tree, trying to look for some clues
"Where are you going!?" she shouted.
The tree itself seemed perfectly normal. It was the ground beneath it that caught my attention — snow had fallen in such quantity from its branches that small white mounds had formed around the base, like uneven hills in the otherwise flat path.
"Can you stop being that close to that cursed tree?" She asked.
"It doesn't look cursed at all to me."
"Let's just go home, please." She said holding her sweater.
I looked around the tree, I couldn't find anything suspicious about it, but it is a fact that something happened here. Also this footsteps here are from something else, this is not something that you see every day.
I moved away from that tree and approached her, she came closer to me and grabbed my right hand, holding it tightly with her both hands, pushing me in the process.
"Okay, okay we are going don't rush now, we are not that much away from the village."
„We walked like this for a while, I was still thinking about the tree and footsteps, but when i bring my head up, I could see the gates of our village.
„So how was it in the forest today, did you have a great time being alone here?
„No." She answered instantly.
Ehh, expected answer.
We approached the gates of the village. From the very moment I put my foot behind the gates, the atmosphere changed. The wind blew less, air smelled different as well.
We continued walking forward. We were going to my house alongside the path we passed a wooden banch and another house.
I could see my house, it wasn't that big, but it was quite enough for the 3 people who lived in it.
We slowly approached the front door and knocked.
"Here I come!"
From the inside a female voice answered, the sound of footsteps coming closer to the door.
The door opened, and my mother head peaked, before opening the whole door. She instantly come closer and hugged me, she was warm, her gentle touch becoming tougher as she hugged me.
"You came back." She said softly.
"Yes I did mom."
"You are so cold, come inside and warm yourself."
As she pulled off from hug, I glanced over at Sarah, there was a long smile found on her face. She held her hands behind her sweater and watched me and my mother.
When did they become this close? I thought, stepping toward the front door.
I went inside and started taking off my boots. It was much warmer inside the house than outside. As I was taking off my boots, I heard whispering coming from outside the front door.
It looks like they must have gotten really close. I thought.
As I was stepping toward the stairs that leads to my room, a sudden thought hit me.
Of course they will Lazar, they are both females. Of course they will get close.
I was already three steps on the stairs, when a sudden voice cut me from walking.
"Where are you going?" My mother asked.
"To my room of course, where would I go?"
"You just came home and you are already leaving us?" Sarah asked.
"I mean, I could stay with you, but what could we even talk about? You're both women, what would a man be doing there?"
"Do you want to play a game?" my mom asked.
Sarah immediately said yes, waving her hand around.
"Okay, then everything is ready, we'll play," she said, as she approached the wooden drawer to her right.
"Come Lazar, you are going to be first."
"Huh?" I blasted,
"When did I said I am going to play?"
"Come on, don't be such a party breaker, no one likes people like that. Kiyokazu, come here right now." She said taking some small cube from the wooden drawer.
"Ehhh… Fine, when you insist so much." I said.
We slowly approached the sofa, I sat in the middle of the sofa, a small wooden table being in front of me. To my right sit my mom and Sarah sit next to her.
"I will go first then." She said throwing the cube on the table, the cube rolled over the small table and fell on the floor.
"Oh my, it fell off the table, let me go get it," she said, slowly getting up from the sofa.
She took the cube from the floor, and sat to my left.
Huh? I looked towards Sarah, she had her hands on her knees looking at the floor.
What's happening? I thought.
"I can't throw cube like this" my mom said as she began to move closer to me, pulling me with her body closer to Sarah.
"That's it, now I can throw it."
Oh, I see what it is.
"What are we going to play?" I asked.
"Question game of course." Mom answered
"Then why are we throwing cube with three colors then?" I asked.
"It's simple, you see the cube it has three colors, blue, red and green. If it lands on red, you will have to answer a question asked by the person closest to you. If it lands on green you will be safe, and you will avoid the question."
"Then what about a blue one?" Sarah asked.
"If the cube lands on blue color, then the person who threw the cube will have to answer 2 questions from both players, 1 each."
"Simple isn't it?" she asked smiling.
"Yes" Sarah answered.
"Let's play."
"You will go first Lazar." My mom said.
"Huh? But isn't it your turn right now?" I asked.
"The cube fell on green." She added.
"I'm safe." She said handling me the cube.
"But where is the proof, we couldn't see the color it landed on." I said glancing toward Sarah.
She was still in the same position, her hands being on her knees.
"Ahh… Forget it." I said picking the cube from my mother hand.