Dark Corrupting Spear-
The attack was thrown, but it missed target.
She had the appearance of a young woman.
Her long green hair shone under the moonlight.
"You just won't coexist with me, huh?"
Her body was covered by a dress.
The dress' upper portion seemed to be made out of leaves and flowers.
Its lower portion. on the other hand, looked more ominous, as it was covered by bones. Mostly skulls.
Probably those of dead Monsters and Beasts that used to inhabit the Forest.
With malicious eyes, she stared.
Elisa immediately understood who she was.
The young woman turned around and started walking away.
Mark jumped up as he spread his wings, but the ceiling was closed before he could reach it.
Fists, claws, tail, feet.
He tried attacking with everything, but nothing seemed to damage the wooden ceiling.
"How the hell is that possible...?"
Elisa clicked her tongue.
"We need to think carefully." She said.
"Think carefully? About what?"
"About how we'll act from now on."
"And why is that? We just have to defeat the little shit that trapped-"
"That little shit is more than you think." Elisa interrupted with a stern term.
Mark thought quietly for a bit.
It clicked.
"Huh?"
Elisa nodded.
"You mean that's..." He directed his gaze towards the ceiling.
"Yarnha." Elisa took a deep breath in. "The Forest's Spirit, probably."
"What's the difference between this one and the Fire Spirit?" Mark asked, even though he had an idea.
"Totally different. The main thing is-"
Crunch-
Crunch-
Crunch-
The trees behind them broke.
And for the first time, the group saw them move.
The roots exited the ground and rose into the air.
Like whips, they hit the floor repeatedly.
Great Fire Ball-
The trees on each side bent to the ground and stacked on one another, taking up more and more space.
'No damage at all... Again.'
The trees at the back started moving quickly.
The three found no other solution than to run forward and away from them, lest they be swallowed and drowned under them.
They ran through the corridor designed by Yarnha.
'Fuck...' Elisa cursed internally.
The anxiety and fear made it easier to forget about it, but still.
Fatigue was building up.
"Are we supposed to defeat that Spirit then? What's our goal? If Fire doesn't work against trees then...? How do we-"
"Give me a second." Elisa interrupted.
She clicked her tongue as she looked around.
She looked around, but there was nothing new to see.
An endless path in front of them.
An unbreakable ceiling above, unbreakable walls to the sides.
'If she wanted us dead, this would have gone differently. The aggressiveness isn't there.' Elisa thought to herself.
You just won't coexist with me-
'Won't coexist. Which means she wants us to? Or has been trying to persuade us somehow? When... How? In any case, she's making us follow this path. Which means one of two thing.'
Elisa's lips parted.
"She's leading us somewhere-"
"Yeah, I can see that." Mark blurted
"In a straight line, which is strange." Elisa continued. "So she might want us to simply cross the Forest and get out of here."
"Is there any need to be that forceful if that's what it is?"
Elisa sighed.
"Let's keep going for now."
"Tsk. We don't have many choices right now. Krista, can you keep going?"
The Lioness was startled.
Perhaps because she didn't expect the question.
Perhaps because she had been running low on energy.
Out of all the Monsters and Beasts that Mark had crossed paths with, the Moonlit Feline seemed to need the most sleep.
He extended a hand towards Krista.
The latter took a leap.
Both Mark and Elisa turned away.
A blinding light was emitted.
The next second, a white-furred cat landed on Mark's palm and climbed up to his shoulder.
He continued running.
From the corner of her eye, Elisa watched them.
"It's nice seeing you like this." She commented after noticing that Mark wasn't moving the arm on Krista's side as much.
"You're saying that in this situation, really?"
Elisa chuckled.
She was nervous, but tried to hide it.
"I'm a friend of nature, aren't I?"
"So? You trust the Spirit somehow?"
"Only thing we can do."
Mark clicked his tongue.
The next second, a wall of trees appeared about fifteen meters away.
'Blocking the way?'
'No...'
The two noticed rather quickly.
Right or left?
But the trees behind them weren't keen on giving them time to think it over.
The speed at which they were running only gave them mere instants to decide.
Elisa lowered her pace slightly.
She was only half a step behind.
Mark noticed, and therefore decided.
Right-
That half a step was more than enough for Elisa to realize where he was going and choose accordingly.
'Is she trying to separate us? Or simply guiding us somewhere? If we're not going towards the outside of the forest then...'
The trees behind them broke, bent, and devoured more territory at a faster rate.
The distance between them and the group was about ten steps.
'If it's taking us somewhere which isn't outside the Forest...'
Elisa pressed her lips as she ran.
The path was blocked off once more.
Right or left?
This time, the wall of trees was even closer.
Elisa did the same as earlier.
"It wants to separate us. Any idea why?" Mark asked.
She shook her head.
"Think it has something to do with the Demon Lord?"
The second the last two words were uttered, the Forest came to a stop.
The trees immediately stopped moving.
Elisa and Mark, therefore, came to a stop.
They breathed heavily.
"If it stopped now, then-"
Crunch-
Crunch-
Crunch-
Howl-
Howl-
Growl-
Growl-
The succession of different sounds immediately startled the group.
The trees broke, opening the way for various Beats and Monsters.
Common Forest Wolves, Ayenas, Great Falcons, and others.
A disgusted expression was on Mark's face as he stared at them.
"This..."
