Island King: My Nine Foreign Brides

Chapter 3

The forest behind the beach was lush and dense, like a giant hand blotting out the sky. Its oppressive presence weighed heavily on their hearts, making it hard to breathe.

Randy held a torch aloft as he led the way, with Adela close behind. Her sharp eyes scanned their surroundings, alert for any signs of danger. If she spotted traces of venomous snakes or insects, she would immediately warn Randy.

The two moved cautiously through the forest, inching toward the source of the strange noises. As they advanced, the sounds grew clearer, resembling some kind of primitive language.

"Wait, what's that?" Adela called out, halting abruptly and causing Randy to stop as well. She pointed at something on the ground, and Randy followed her gaze.

Beneath a tree lay an object that looked like a stone axe. Its handle was blackened, and there were traces of blood staining its surface.

Randy's expression darkened as he crouched down to examine the axe more closely.

"This stone axe must have been left behind by the people making those noises," Randy said, his tone serious.

"Should we still go forward?" Adela asked, her voice tinged with hesitation as her eyes lingered on the bloodstains.

Randy didn't respond immediately. They had already come this far, and no matter the risks, they needed to press on and uncover the truth of what lay ahead.

The presence of the stone axe was undeniable proof of human craftsmanship. No creature without intelligence could have made such a tool.

After a brief pause, the two resumed their journey toward the source of the sounds.

Moments later, they pushed through a dense thicket and were met with the most unbelievable and shocking scene they had ever encountered. In a small clearing not far ahead stood two figures with their backs to them. The figures wore animal hides around their waists, their yellowish skin smeared with red dye. Feathers were stuck in their disheveled hair, and they held spears in their hands.

Opposite them loomed a mass of pitch-black mist, deep and impenetrable like a black hole. The mist seemed unaffected by the wind, constantly shifting its shape, sometimes spreading out as if to block the sky.

The two savages were shouting in high-pitched, urgent tones, but their words were incomprehensible.

"What is that..." Adela whispered, craning her neck to get a better view. Her voice was filled with disbelief.

She wasn't alone in her shock. Randy held his breath, crouching lower and using the bushes for cover.

Having spent most of his life in a modern era, Randy found the scene before him utterly illogical and inexplicable. His mind raced with countless questions. 'What is happening on this island? What is that black mist? Are those two people truly savages?' He had no answers.

Just as he was about to voice his thoughts to Adela, the black mist suddenly surged with fury. It twisted into a small tornado, causing the surrounding trees to shake violently as their leaves were sucked into the vortex.

The two savages let out furious roars and charged forward, their spears raised.

The black mist, now a spiraling whirlwind, descended upon them with terrifying speed, swallowing them whole.

Through the swirling darkness, Randy could see the savages' faces contorted in terror and helplessness.

The black mist's whirlwind spun violently for less than a minute before dissipating like smoke. The two savages, like puppets with broken strings, plummeted to the ground, lifeless.

A long while later, Randy and Adela finally dared to stand up. Their backs were drenched in sweat, and sweat dotted their foreheads.

Randy appeared slightly more composed, but Adela's legs were trembling visibly, and she looked utterly shaken.

"What... What was that..." Adela stammered, her voice still quivering with fear.

Randy didn't have an answer. He simply shook his head.

After confirming that the black mist showed no signs of returning, Randy summoned his courage and cautiously approached the fallen savages. Their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths were bleeding, leaving no doubt that they were dead. Their bodies were adorned with bone ornaments, and their spears lay shattered, seemingly destroyed by the black mist.

"Are they savage natives? Judging by their clothing and ornaments, they don't seem like modern people," Adela mustered the courage to step closer and examine the bodies alongside Randy.

Randy shook his head. "I don't know. Let's head back. We can't stay here too long."

After confirming the source of the sound and encountering the unknown black mist, Randy felt completely unsettled, his thoughts in chaos. On the way back, his mind replayed everything inexplicable that had just happened, like a looping slideshow he couldn't turn off.

Adela wasn't in much better shape. Several times, her legs gave out, and she could barely stay upright. If Randy hadn't been supporting her, she might not have made it out of the forest at all.

Finally, the two retraced their steps and saw the faint glow of the campfire near the beach.

"Should we tell the others about what happened today?" Adela asked as soon as the firelight came into view. She couldn't hold back her anxiety any longer.

Randy shook his head. "No. You can tell them if you want, but do you think anyone's going to believe your story?"

Adela fell silent. She knew he was right. If someone else had told her about the savages and the black mist, she wouldn't have believed it either.

As they approached the campfire, Randy suddenly heard rustling in the bushes. He stopped dead in his tracks, forcing himself to shake off his shaken state. Grabbing Adela's arm, he pulled her down with him so they both crouched low.

"What's wrong?" Adela asked, still dazed. Randy's sudden pull nearly caused her to fall to the ground.

"Shh, did you hear that?" Randy whispered. His military background had trained him to pick up on even the faintest sounds, and his instincts were on high alert.

They crouched there in silence. Randy quickly confirmed that the noise wasn't coming from their side. It was coming from the campfire ahead.

Randy's mind raced. 'Could it be that the fish I roasted earlier has attracted some kind of wild animal?' This island was so strange that wolves—or worse—wouldn't be out of the question. He couldn't afford to take any chances. Tightening his grip on the stone axe, he prepared for the worst.

Leading Adela carefully, Randy moved forward. If there was real danger, they wouldn't even make it back to the beach and would be trapped in this eerie place.

Then, he heard a familiar voice. Looking up, Randy froze in shock. Standing there, by his campfire, was his fiancée, Bonnie!

Around his campfire were Isabella and Bonnie's group, lounging comfortably. They were even eating the food Randy had worked so hard to haul back from the rocky shore. It was infuriating to see them so casually enjoying the fruits of his hard labor.

Randy's grip on the stone axe tightened even more, his knuckles bloodless as they cracked audibly. He had painstakingly built that campfire and gathered all that food, only for them to swoop in and take it without asking. And now they were sitting there, laughing and chatting as if it were theirs.

Overcome with rage, Randy stormed forward. In one swift motion, he snatched the food right out of Bonnie's hands.

This food was his. Taking it without permission was nothing short of theft.

Randy didn't even know what he would eat tomorrow, while they were greedily devouring everything he had gathered.

The others froze, the cheerful atmosphere shattering as they stared at Randy in stunned silence.

Bonnie, who had been enjoying her meal, lifted her eyes furiously when the food was ripped from her hands. When her eyes met Randy's, her anger only deepened. "Randy! It's you again!"