Clank!
Rattle. Rattle.
The wheels on the wooden cart hit a rock on the road, tilting the vehicle and shaking it.
Chad ground his teeth while holding the harness tight.
Even though he had confidently told Vick to leave it to him, he had to admit. Driving, especially at such a quick pace, is not an easy task.
His hands, wrapped around in white clothing, started bleeding again from the friction. Chad bit his lower lip as the stinging sensation ran through his palms.
It was his first time driving a cart and he just had to do it in such an urgent situation. He almost wanted to whine but there was no time for it.
"Mr. Chad, keep going straight!"
The little kid behind him kept giving him directions, not noticing Chad's expression.
– G, et awa, y!
– He, lp!
The dark forest yells at them, telling them to go back.
The bloody trees shifted their shape into a head with hollowed eyes and mouth, continuously threatening them.
"Ugh–!"
Eli narrowed his eyes. Having kept his mark activated for about an hour, it was starting to take a toll on his small body.
Forcing himself not to blink caused his eyes to get dry. The mental fatigue he carries is making him dizzy, and the image of demons swallowing him is making it even worse.
Normally, he would have already cowered and hid himself in a corner, but the current situation gave him no leeway to do that. The only way to finish this is to get away from the forest as fast as they can.
Chad clicked his tongue,
"Tsk, these darn imps. Don't ever let me get my hands on you!"
The cart went straight ahead full speed, completely ignoring the illusionary trees in front of them.
"W, woah!"
Vick stumbled and held onto the edge of the cart as tight as he could, doing his best not to fall off.
Eli clenched onto Mr. Chad's clothes as they slammed onto the illusory monster trees. The impact made him close his eyes for a single moment.
'Oh no!'
He quickly opened his eyes.
Different from his expectations, the dark forest cleared up.
Even when he silently used the spell, he still couldn't find a trace of blood or illusions they saw a few minutes earlier.
"...Is it over?"
He muttered to himself.
"Haa…"
Chad heaved a sigh of relief.
His grip loosened and the cart finally slowed down.
He looked around the forest.
The giant sequoia tree Vick used before as a landmark is now behind them.
All three of them instinctively know that they were finally out of the hellish illusion of the bloody forest.
Chad took a glimpse at the dark sky. The moon is finally lighting up their dark path.
However, he still couldn't relax.
"Mr. Chad, are we safe now?"
Eli anxiously asked him.
Chad glanced at the dark road ahead of them,
"...Who knows?"
"What does that mean–?"
"Ha! Good Almighty God, I thought I was gonna die! Seriously, what was that just now? Did someone casted a curse on us or something?!"
Vick heaved loudly, his hand on his chest while trying to catch his breath.
He added,
"Are they gonna come for us? Whoever did all of it. This forest is giving me chills. Even though it just ended, we won't know if they'll chase us later, right?"
Eli clasped his trembling hands together,
"I, I hope not…"
He didn't want to experience that terrifying situation again. It was too much for him, both on his mind and body. He cannot even imagine what would happen if it kept on going, and his divine power exhausted.
He turned to Mr. Chad,
"Mr. Chad, w, what was that just now? Is it really… a demon? Are we cursed?"
Chad got off the driver seat and gestured for Vick to replace him,
"They're imps. It's just a lesser demon. They like playing tricks on humans but don't necessarily cause harm. If we mind our own business, then we should be fine."
He then narrowed his eyes. Even though that's what he said, there's still something that bothers him.
– Get a, way!
– N, no! Kiek–!
– H, help! Plea, se!
That's what the demons were yelling at them earlier. They kept on leading them in wrong directions, but not physically attacking. Typically, he wouldn't have minded what those lesser demons said, but something was bothering him.
Imps are a bunch of lesser demons who band together as they have little physical combat ability individually. They are not capable of speaking their own thoughts. However, they could copy words they hear.
They usually live in hiding, staying away from humans and demigods. There should have been no imps residing in Velmire.
At first, Chad thought the sighting at Neval is just a low-level demon that got separated from its pack, but the illusions at the forest earlier were clearly done by a group of imps. It seems to be more serious than he initially thought.
'...What a headache.'
Chad let out a tired breath.
Eli sat beside him, clearly exhausted after using his divine power for a whole hour without resting. The child rubbed both of his eyes.
After forcing himself not to blink for a whole hour while his mark is activated, Eli's eyes started aching from dryness.
Was it fear and adrenaline that made him do the things he had done this day alone? Regardless, he knew it wasn't something he could normally do on his own.
"Drink water, and rinse your eyes. They must have gotten dry."
Chad spoke to him.
"Ah, yes, sir."
Eli nodded as he opened the jug of water that his grandpa gave him before their trip.
His body finally started to relax. Eli recalled the divine mark, divine power, Archeions, demigods, and demons.
'Even the Atlas of Verse…'
It was too much for a 12 year old to digest them all at once.
Eli glanced at the man who has the same hair color sitting beside him.
'He's frowning again.'
His right index finger twitched.
The corner of his lips curled into a small smile. Seeing Mr. Chad, wearing his usual expression, Eli felt relieved.
Mr. Chad does not appear to be as anxious or as worried as him, and that made him calm as well.
"Mr. Chad, the demons earlier, didn't it sound like a cry for help or a warning rather than them playing tricks on us?"
Chad stared at him for a moment before answering,
"Hmm, about that…"
"Oh, no!"
They both snapped their heads to look at Vick, who abruptly stopped the cart and shouted.
"What's wrong, uncle–? Huh?"
Eli's eyes widened.
Although the moon is their only source of light in the dark forest, they could clearly see a human figure in front of them.
A woman with long, black, and flowy hair all the way to her waist. She's wearing tattered clothes while her body's trembling.
Vick and Eli didn't hesitate to go down from the cart and approached the lady in front of them.
"Miss, what are you doing here? No, why are you here at this time?"
Vick looked at her in worry.
"Are you okay, miss? Are you lost?"
Eli asked.
The trembling woman dressed in rags clasped her hands in quiver. She carefully lifted her head, giving light to her dark, black eyes.
She opened her mouth,
"P, please… he, lp me…"
"Oh dear, what happened to you?"
Vick took off his vest and put it on her shoulders.
"Come here, we'll take you with us."
He supported her while walking, feeling an incredible amount of pity for her.
For a woman to be walking alone in this dark and scary forest, how scared she must have been?
'She must be shaking in fear…'
Vick couldn't help but frown.
They just got out of a scary bloody forest earlier. He wondered if she also went through something similar. His conscience would not let him sleep if he just let her be like this.
When they started walking, the woman noticed a young man sitting on top of the cart.
She flinched.
Although he's not moving, his golden eyes stared at her with clear discontent, as if his eyes were piercing through her soul. He's sitting casually but his gaze seemed quietly threatening.
The woman looked around. The old man and the child don't seem to notice anything at all.
She gulped down nervously.
"What's wrong?"
Vick asked. He noticed the woman looking at Chad as her legs trembled even more.
"Ah, he's a nice guy. Don't worry, miss, we're all good here! You have nothing to worry about!"
He tried to reassure her.
She bit her lip and nodded her head.
Eli sat her down next to Chad. The young man still hasn't said anything about the situation but he quietly closed his eyes as he flicked his hair.
Such acts are very much in human nature. He couldn't care less enough to say anything about Vick and Eli's decision to help a struggling woman in this dark forest.