Chapter 40: Dark forest.
Wind blew from the southern mountains, bringing a thick scent of pine. Before them stood soaring ridges of trees, sunlight threading through leaves, casting dancing streaks of light on the ground.
After a long journey of traveling and grueling training, Kazuka's group crossed the border of the Sylvaren kingdom.
The three wore small, dark brown cloth bags at their hips. Inside were no belongings; each carried only a spare set of clothes for emergencies.
Kazuka raised his head. He watched the soaring treetops swaying gently above, as if enjoying a soft, carefree melody.
With protruding lips and eyes blinking in surprise, he exclaimed.
"My god, why are these trees so tall? They're huge!"
Walking on a large gravel road, footsteps treading on the stony ground crunched "crack crack" like the sound of breaking bones.
On both sides were massive, tall trees with trunks too wide for several people to embrace, coarse and sturdy with the characteristic brown bark of most trees.
Takeshi walked while leaning down to pick up a branch that caught his eye as a staff. The small branch resembled a sword; where he gripped it was like a hilt, with a protruding twig just above acting like a crossguard. The front was a long, straight section like a blade.
He walked leisurely, swinging the branch he had just scavenged back and forth.
His voice held nostalgia and surprise at how quickly time had passed.
"Come to think of it, we've grown up, haven't we?"
Airi nodded, her eyes narrowing slightly in a calm interval.
"You and I are 17 now."
Kazuka complained from behind. He was bit sad and dissatisfied being the only younger one.
"So sad, I'm only 15."
Airi walked ahead. Without seeing her expression, one knew from her voice she was arrogant and lightly smiling.
"You ought to call us 'brother' and 'sister' then."
Takeshi instantly nodded, wanting to tease Kazuka.
"That's right."
Kazuka stuck out his tongue in jest from behind.
"In your dreams!"
While walking and talking happily, a scream erupted from afar as if to tear apart the silence. A middle-aged man, somewhat luxuriously dressed and slightly fat, ran toward them from the distance, screaming incessantly in fear.
His appearance was wretched and terrified, as if something horrific had just happened.
A voice trembled in fear:
"Help... Help me, help me please!"
The three were bewildered, not understanding. The man's silhouette ran closer.
With a hint of worry, the three ran toward him simultaneously. The man collapsed to the ground, fear still vivid.
They immediately hurried close to examine the situation.
Airi knit her brows. She was tense and asked:
"Hey, are you okay? What happened?"
Takeshi took a water flask from his hip and handed it to the man.
"Here, drink. Then speak slowly."
The man hastily grabbed the small flask, gulped it down, then calmed himself.
Airi leaned down, trying to probe what happened. Her face was suspicious.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
The man's voice was urgent, trying to warn the three.
"You kids shouldn't go further. It's dangerous there. There are monsters."
Kazuka tried to cut in and pressed:
"Tell us the whole story."
He nodded and began to recount, his voice deepening to show the danger ahead.
"I am a merchant. I wanted to reach the kingdom's capital quickly. I heard there was a path that would lead me faster, and it was this road. So I decided to try it. Who knew, just as I approached the dense forest ahead... a strange tree... its roots erupted from the ground and attacked me. Then, I heard growling in the forest. So I ran here and met you."
Airi nodded as if understanding. But she remained quite skeptical:
"Oh, I see."
"I advise you kids not to approach the forest ahead. It's very dangerous."
Kazuka stood up. He knit his brows with a serious look, gazing into the distance. He wanted to see what was ahead trying to scare them.
"Let me go check it out."
The middle-aged man tried to reach out to stop Kazuka.
"Wait, I advise you not to go!"
Takeshi also stood up. He also wanted to see what was ahead.
And, following the group, he wasn't very afraid.
"Then let me go with him."
Airi's face was deep in thought. Her gaze directed toward the forest. Not to admire it, but as if temporarily placing her eyes there to think.
—"I've only just entered this country. If I turn back and avoid danger, that works too. There are plenty of other roads."
Airi raised her face, looking ahead for Kazuka and Takeshi. She stared blankly, eyes searching around, but the two had already gone and were standing right by the forest ahead, shrinking in Airi's vision.
"What? Why did you two go so fast?"
Airi immediately ran after them, abandoning the man who sat on the ground, still fearful with an unstable heart.
The man tried to call out to stop them:
"Don't... don't go..."
Before the three now was an extremely dense forest. Massive canopies intertwined, blocking the view, with deep green leaves as if much life dwelled there.
Kazuka was in awe, mouth protruding and eyes wide.
"My god, it's so overgrown."
Takeshi nodded.
"It really is dense."
Airi stood still observing. She knit her brows as to why these trees had leaves and grew this way. She glanced back; the trees outside were smaller and their leaves were paler.
While the three stood there observing.
Shred!!
A sound like something inside the dense canopy was tearing through them.
Suddenly, Kazuka's eyes widened. He knew something was rushing forth. An arrow pierced through the leaves, aimed straight at Kazuka's face.
But Kazuka easily snatched the incoming arrow.
The arrow had no energy, as if not meant to attack. It was meant to warn those approaching forbidden ground.
Takeshi and Airi knit their brows and turned, confused, then glanced into the forest.
Airi's face tightened. She knew someone was behind this.
She shouted:
"It's not a monster. It's a person!"
The moment she finished, Airi ran into the forest, wanting to find out who was inside.
Kazuka and Takeshi were surprised by Airi's sudden action, but they followed immediately behind.
The three ran through the thick leaves. The view was nothing but a single shade of green.
After a struggle with nature, they ran inside. The space was slightly more open. But still very dense.
Kazuka climbed a tree and leaped continuously across branches. His eyes from above observed constantly like a hawk watching prey below.
He saw no one, only some bushes shaking slightly.
The three suddenly ran into a place with withered, dead trees. Airi and Takeshi stopped instantly; Kazuka jumped down right behind. All three entered a state of alert, observing the surroundings.
The dead trees were not normal (1.5 tharn). On the trunks appeared what looked like faces—three deep, dark hollows. Two small hollows above like eyes, one large dark hollow below like a mouth. They seemed to be screaming in despair, pain, and anger.
Withered branches remaining on the trunks poked out in many directions like arms trying to reach for hope.
Kazuka's eyes darted continuously in their sockets. He was in a state of high alert
.
"Why does this place feel so gloomy?"
Airi glanced around at the motionless trees.
"Likely this is a cursed forest."
She felt a bit of regret, disappointed in herself.
"I was too hasty. Now I don't know if following the old path will lead us out."
Takeshi replied without hesitation:
"Just try it."
Where they stood was a clearing where tall trees did not grow. Therefore, the sun could shine down.
The group backed up while alert, eyes still glancing at the freakish trees. After two steps, the surrounding space suddenly turned dark.
The three panicked, eyes scanning around. Kazuka looked up at the sky, his expression terrified.
"Everyone, look up there!"
The other two also looked up. The bright sky had turned to night, and specifically, the moon directly above them was spinning in an incomprehensible way.
The darkened space added more gloom, like a psychological threat.
Airi gritted her teeth tightly, knowing the group would face danger here. She immediately calmed down; the panic on her face vanished.
She immediately shouted:
"Everyone, gather up!"
When looking down, the strange trees with grotesque shapes began moving from all directions, heading toward where Kazuka's group stood.
They moved bizarrely, as if sliding smoothly over the ground. And the ground showed no sign of being churned up at all.
The group's panic was clear, worried eyes glancing around. They didn't know if these things were strong. Though energy could be sensed, it was a measurement with many errors.
Takeshi panicked, glancing around.
"What the hell? They're moving toward us."
A haunting sound erupted as if from hell—the sound of fingernails scratching a wall, screams, and groans. It echoed throughout the space. It wanted to torture them with a lingering psychological blow.
The group was already panicked; now they were even more so.
"What devilish sound is that? It sounds horrific."
Suddenly, a phantom tree drew near Kazuka, right behind his back.
A shiver ran down his spine, a freezing sensation like being soaked in ice for a thousand years.
All living things have energy, and Kazuka sensed the phantom tree right behind him.
His left hand immediately gripped the sword hanging on his left hip. He yanked hard; the small cord tying the sword to his waistband snapped. Simultaneously, his right hand drew the sword. The sound of metal friction rang out.
Takeshi and Airi also sensed it and turned with panicked looks. They intended to warn Kazuka.
But he immediately spun his body. Energy flowed into the sword, coating it thickly in blue. He unleashed a horizontal sweeping slash toward his rear.
Whoosh!!
The slash instantly cut in half the tree intending to close in on him.
Boom!!!
"Everyone, I can hit them! Kill them!"
Airi and Takeshi felt a bit of relief seeing Kazuka could slash the trees.
The three split further apart to handle the trees.
In the dark forest, the three were fighting. They were like lanterns hung before a boat. Their bodies glowed as energy enveloped them. Takeshi with orange, Airi with red, and Kazuka with blue.
Takeshi swung a punch, piercing through a phantom tree. The tree stopped as if life were lost.
Airi summoned blood chains. She swung her arm; the chains lashed horizontally, destroying rows of trees.
Kazuka continuously unleashed energy slashes and destroyed the trees. But for every few trees slashed, others filled the gap as if there were no limit.
Kazuka stomped hard on the ground and leaped into the air, unleashing a standard energy slash that split vertically two phantom trees trying to approach him.
He gritted his teeth, glancing around while falling. His face changed slightly with worry seeing their numbers were vast.
"Why are there so many?"
Branches like arms began moving and attacking; they were like human arms and very flexible. Branches thought to be brittle and easily broken now became strangely supple as they moved.
They surrounded Kazuka like a giant army, obscuring his vision. He was like the last soldier left on a battlefield, facing overwhelming numbers.
Bizarre sounds continuously emitted, making them fight with the discomfort it brought.
Kazuka swung a horizontal slash in front of his face, wanting to destroy a large number at once.
Rows of phantom trees were sliced through by Kazuka's energy slash.
A branch of a tree behind his back swung toward Kazuka's rear. Small twigs poked out like fingers and sharp claws that could tear flesh.
Being hit made Kazuka ache. His pupils dilated, dazed that he had lost focus on his rear and only cared about his front.
But it was only a bit of pressure from the swing. The energy surrounding him had decreased somewhat, and the claw-like branch didn't even pierce his thick energy layer.
He gritted his teeth, eyes wide, and exerted strength to spin.
A circular sword sweep was unleashed. It slashed away all the trees surrounding him and behind; the slash continued and knocked away trees further back.
On Takeshi's side, he created a stone box and stayed inside. He closed his eyes, focusing to sense the other two.
—"Those people are too far. Now I will open a path, then they must run here themselves."
He knew the position his group would run to. Inside the box, a large hole opened. He roared to the outside:
"Everyone, I'm opening a path! Try to run out!"
Takeshi clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, eyes wide. Left foot before right, left hand placed forward by habit, right hand straining. More energy surged into his arm.
Before his face was the stone wall of the box he created. He wouldn't dissolve it, but would directly crush it to open the path outside. Because he knew which direction to exit.
A powerful punch was unleashed. Orange light from his energy lit up the dark space.
The stone box he was inside was blown away like an explosion. A massive blast echoed. The punch with its energy source traveled a wide range, crushing all trees in its path, heading toward the road the three had previously entered.
The black earth beneath his feet seemed to churn and part. A sunken path appeared.
Airi, swinging chains to destroy rows of trees, noticed.
She knit her brows and glanced. Her chains began moving, hovering in the air.
Airi leaped onto her chains. The chains formed even intervals. Airi leaped to them one by one carefully, heading out.
Takeshi also ran along the path he just created, heading outside.
Kazuka, being the furthest, turned and saw everyone escaping. He surged energy into his feet, stomped hard on the ground—the bizarre black earth cracked—and he leaped high.
A phantom tree below looked up. One of its branches, like an arm, snapped its other arm and threw it toward Kazuka above its head.
Kazuka was busy observing Airi and Takeshi running and didn't notice. The tree's arm hit his leg; it immediately latched onto his foot and gripped tight, not wanting him to escape.
Kazuka, in mid-air and unaware, lost balance and fell.
"Aaaahhhh!"
Airi and Takeshi had made it back to the dense forest. Both simultaneously heard the loud scream. Takeshi's eyes darted searching. His face showed clear worry.
Airi knit her brows, trying to find Kazuka through the large trunks of the trees.
"Kazuka!"
Takeshi was worried for his friend.
"Kazuka! Where is he?"
Kazuka fell from the air. He spun his body mid-air to regain balance, then stepped hard on the top of a phantom tree.
Then he leaped backward to a clearing.
His voice shouted in irritation and anger:
"Get away from me!"
Kazuka exerted strength and swung his sword. A vertical slash was unleashed to his left. The ground was split in two, creating a large, long trench running forward. It destroyed those in range.
"Damn it!"
Not over yet. After unleashing the slash, he spun with rage. His eyes turned red as if about to fall out.
A horizontal energy slash was unleashed. This energy slash destroyed a mass in range, making the space a bit empty as only stumps and upper trunks of trees lay scattered on the ground.
But afterward, they flocked in again as if without limit.
Immediately.
Kazuka spread his legs wide, stomping hard on the ground like two large pillars. He exerted even more strength, gritted his teeth, eyes glowing blue.
He leaped. The leap was stronger than before. The ground shattered like a giant spiderweb. He flew into the air, heading toward Takeshi and Airi.
Takeshi and Airi stood together, smiles of joy appearing as they saw Kazuka's silhouette again.
But Kazuka in the air was terrified. His eyes wide as if seeing something horrific ahead.
He screamed:
"Behind you! Watch out!"
A massive tree root was descending upon the spot where Airi and Takeshi stood. Gravel still on the root fell down with it.
Both turned, eyes wide in terror, but they didn't stand still out of fear. Both leaped in two directions and successfully avoided the lethal strike.
Boom!!
The giant tree root crushed the ground as if with a grudge.
But the root wasn't done attacking. While both were in mid-air, it swung again, tearing the wind as it rushed.
The strike aimed at Airi. She quickly summoned blood chains and wrapped her body like a silkworm cocoon, forming an unbreakable armor.
The root immediately struck Airi, but the chain layer absorbed all force, leaving her unharmed inside. But since she was in the air, she was like a ball hit far away, disappearing into the leaves.
It didn't stop. Immediately the root aimed at Takeshi. He couldn't react in time. The powerful strike made Takeshi spit blood and fly deep into the forest.
Kazuka landed on the ground. He was furious and roared.
"How dare you!"
He gritted his teeth in rage and swung his sword. An energy slash flew out and cut off that root. It only wobbled as if writhing and retreated into the forest.
Kazuka dashed toward where Takeshi was just blown away. Worry was clear on his face.
—"Airi can take care of herself. It looked like she used chains to protect herself then. Now I need Takeshi. That strike was definitely very strong."
—"Damn it, don't pass out. If you do, you're dead."
But the phantom trees did not spare him. They blocked his way, not wanting him to pass.
He gritted his teeth in irritation, used strength, and leaped again. But he was close to the dense forest.
Kazuka flew up without noticing what was above his head. He slammed his head into a protruding branch and fell.
"Ah!"
Kazuka fell down but still landed steadily. He stood up with difficulty, left hand clutching his head in pain and dizziness.
"Damn it, that cursed branch!"
The phantom trees swarmed around him again.
Kazuka gritted his teeth in anger. He exploded in fury. Energy erupted outward; the weight made the ground below shatter, and a wind blew in all directions.
"Why do you keep blocking me? I'll wipe you all out!"
He turned his head, held his sword, and flipped his grip. Gripping the sword tightly made veins bulge. Energy poured from him unceasingly. The massive amount of energy pressed the ground down and created more cracks spreading in all directions.
Kazuka raised his hand to the sky, the sword pointing its tip toward the earth.
Kazuka stabbed the sword hard into the ground, creating a terrain shock that shattered the earth, flinging dust and boulders into the sky.
Boom!!!!
The shockwave from the point of impact spread in a spoke pattern. The phantom trees were swept by the massive shockwave and completely destroyed.
Thud!!!
Kazuka panted. His hand slipped from the sword stuck in the ground. His body was exhausted.
He fell back on the ground, breathing heavily.
"Tired... so tired. My energy gate can output half an energy. And yet... yet I used nearly two parts of energy."