Day Twenty-Seven: Escape the Seira Forest
1459 Words
"Run! Don't look back and run!"
"John!"
"Rabbit! Create a wall of earth now!"
"Okay!"
Why...?
Why did it have to be now?!
"Where almost there!"
"GROOAAAAA!"
"It's gaining on us! C'mon run faster! Don't even think of fighting that thing!"
Of all the places to be... why does it have to be here!?
This monster... Of all time to show up!
"Why now?!"
-----
A few minutes ago.
Moving in the dense forestry of the Seira Forest is a boy with onyx black hair and eyes devoid of emotions, accompanied by a brown rabbit with white spot on its head and leading the two is a girl with honey blonde hair and fierce electric blue eyes. She gazed around the surrounding while holding the hilt of her sword that is sheathed at her waist as she moved forward.
The trio just moved out of there temporary shelter to get out of the accursed forest full of monster to the village a few kilometers away from the forest.
'It has been a week since we began traversing the forest, yet we are nowhere near the outer part of the forest...' grumbled the black haired boy, John, as he followed the honey blonde haired girl.
Yes, it has been a week since they started moving, yet it seems like the forest seems to become denser as they moved.
'I suspected this at first, but now I'm sure that this girl does not know our way out...' Knowing or perhaps not knowing what's inside Johns' head, the girl look back at him, before pointing to the front.
John and Rabbit at his shoulder peeked their heads and saw light coming from the front.
Due to the great number and size of the trees surrounding them, light does not penetrate the place where they are currently at, and due to that, it makes the light at the place where the girl is pointing at to be much stronger.
John nodded his head as he took out his Haki Reindeer Dagger that made his two companions to tilt their heads.
"For safety purposes" He answer the two, before he step forward and moved as the new lead.
The girl and the rabbit both looked at each other, before shrugging their shoulders, the girl followed as it's all she can do.
The relationship between the girl and John is no longer a trivial one, and they can now trust each other for their backs. It's due to the fight that they experience before they decide to leave the cave.
As they were practicing and training their strength infront of their house(cave) a group of Night Wolves suddenly appeared accompanied by a Killer Bear that stood in 3 meters tall. They are a group of monsters form due to John's excessive hatred towards Night Wolves, that made him hunt the poor creatures to almost the verge of extinction inside the Seira Forest.
The three of them were able to kill the leader, the Killer Bear and were able to repel the group. John at this time decided to ask the girl for the compensation for the training that he barely taught her at. John once again screamed as the girl began to strip, but Rabbit immediately stopped her, and he was able to say what the compensation really is, the girl thought for a moment before she nodded her head. And at that day, they packed their things and moved out.
"Stop" A cold chilly voice was heard as the group move, the two companions of the boy, immediately stopped moving as they heard the voice.
John, went on his knees and glared infront of him. The girl peeked from behind as she can't see what was there, but wasn't able make out what was there.
'There's something there...' The girl thought.
"John" The rabbit whispered.
"I know" He answered.
Through the short exchange the two immediately understood what their roles are.
The rabbit went down from his shoulder and went to the girl.
"Girl. Fight. Don't" He said, as he looked at the fierce eyes of the girl.
She nodded 'I know, whatever's there, I can't fight it...' she thought.
The sheer presence of the creature at their front, made the whole area silent. And this familiar yet crushing silence struck John.
'.!! Don't tell me that monster's here?! I knew something was up the moment the surrounding turned silent, but I didn't expect this!' John, turning the gears inside his head to come up with the appropriate solution was interrupted as he felt the presence of the same 5 meter monster from his first day in Ashura.
Shivers run down his spine as he looked to the front. It was there.
Smiling towards him, that face of a middle aged man, smiling at him, the corners of it's mouth almost reached its ears.
"Kukkk!" The sound it made, made it seems like it's mocking him.
The girl standing slightly farther from where John is, froze the moment she saw the monstrosity infront of her. It was not looking at her at all, yet it gave the pressure like it can kill her in a matter of seconds.
Gripping the hilt of her sword tightly she glared at the monster, she wouldn't let her fear dominate her.
Rabbit knowing the existence of the monster already, held the girls hand that was holding the sword, it was as if he was telling her, not to be provoked.
Rabbit already, encountered the said monstrosity while travelling with John, at their 3rd day together, they saw it, but it was far from this place, the opposite side of this place was where they saw the monster.
Shaking, the rabbit put his hands on top to the girls' and looked at John.
He, unlike them was calm, he was looking straight at the monster, unmoving. It may seem like he was afraid from the perspective of those who know nothing about him, but in the eyes of rabbit, he looked like a veteran warrior unfazed by the aura of death.
But what was the truth?
'Sh*t! It's looking at me...! Did it remember me from before? F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, what to do???' John was already panicking inside as he formulate plan after plan, but he wasn't able to form any safe one, all of it lead to death.
"Rabbit" John spoke without looking back.
"Alright" Rabbit answered. He already know what John wanted from him, they weren't companions for a few months for nothing.
Rabbit looked at the girl then spoke "Girl. Run"
The girl tilted her head as she heard the rabbit, she didn't know what to do. She was told to run, but she can't move her body, she didn't know where to run to either.
And as if answering the girls' questions, rabbit pointed infront. To where the monster is.
'I'm gonna be the bait?' she thought.
But knowing the two with her, she shook her head. Yet, she still couldn't removed the doubt, from her heart. She then turned her gazed to the boy accompanying her.
He, John, was still unmoving, he didn't looked back either. She couldn't read his intentions at all. Until she saw the shadow below him.
'Assassinate?' She thought.
[Assassinate - An ability to blend in the darkness, to move towards your targets' shadow.]
She have already seen the skill a few times while they were together, so she was familiar about it, but she still couldn't figure out the reason for her running at towards the monster...
'!!' At that time, like a lightning, it struck her. She was not going to be the bait...!
'He's planning on distracting that monster?!' Shock on the absurdity of John's plan, she reflexively looked at rabbit, which rabbit only nodded at.
Like her, he already figured out the plan.
"Girl. Run. On. Signal"
'Gulp' Gulping dry saliva, she readied herself to run.
'Looks like she noticed it, and that bastard over there too...' John infront of the smiling monster is sweating cold sweat. The bastard's just looking and not even trying to move, 'It was as if we are nothing more than insects infront of it... Well I do agree, but looking down on me that much?'
Angered, John, immediately used his 'Enhance Discerning Eyes' after describing the monster.
'Human head, large hairy body, tail of a scorpion, body and mane of a lion, and wings of a bat, sharp teeth'
[Notification]
-Manticore-
Seira Forest's Reaper.
'F*ck...'
The notification added more trouble than the monster itself.
'There's no weakness or clue whatsoever?!' John grumbled inside his head, before readying his magic.
'It's all or nothing!' John vanished from where he was, before reappearing behind the Manticore.
He then stab the monster.
- Writer
