Chapter 15; Trapped

The black sphere had a crescent-shaped bronze beneath it, the whole item stank in a gloomy flash.

Alex jumped down from Momo's trunk, jogged toward the item then stopped a couple of feet away. Even from here, he sensed the robust mana within the item. Momo also landed on the wide tree, followed with Shizuka before she stood at the edge, pacing her eyes between the item and the situation below, the three soldiers climbed the trunk and crouched beside her.

Momo pushed the trunk and let it fall to the ground, losing a portion of the threat that possibly climbed up the tree.

"Mr. Star, whatever you plan to do, you better do it quickly," Dick said, he saw perhaps dozens of monkeys, spiders, raccoons, and other climbers made their way toward them, although with their altitude, those animals posed not much danger.

Alex inspected the black sphere on the ground, unlike the red shard which connected with several veins, this item simply as if didn't have any influence whatsoever. did it really the cause of the unnatural behavior of the wildlife?

He thought for a while; if the black sphere was the culprit, shouldn't he feel its effect far from the hot spot? Was it because buried below the ground thus making it undetectable?

"Alex?" Momo stood on his side, noticed his troubled expression.

"Momo, did you feel like... something amiss?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, it's like we purposely being lead to here..." Alex frowned deeply, somewhat became agitated, "I just... couldn't shake the feeling..."

"Well, it was the trees that guided us here, so basically you suspicious of their behavior..." Momo shook her head, "Alex, the plant doesn't tell lies, they are not a being like animals, let alone us."

"A plant only knows of two things; consume and produce, whatever nutrient they could gain either from the water on the ground or in the treant's case, a creature's flesh, they processed them to become fruits, peanuts, nectars, and others. My ability to talk with them doesn't suddenly enable their intelligence to do any difficult feat, let alone a complex task such as lying."

Right, why human lie? Was it simply only a defense mechanism? Or we are afraid of telling the truth? Maybe we want to make someone happy? In any case, someone didn't lie because it was part of their character, but he or she did it while maintaining a complex reason to support it.

Even only a few animals could perform such a feat, and mostly either if their life in danger, or to get food.

*Pit pat pit pat pit pat!*

The sounds of firearms resounded from behind them, telling that he didn't have much time.

"I am going to help, don't hesitate for too long," Momo held his shoulder before turning around and ran toward the edge.

She saw the soldiers had pointed down the barrel of their rifle and rained down bullets on the animals, Momo glad Nana wasn't here, otherwise, she would have a broken heart.

It was the same for her when they had to kill the treants; those monsters were simply hungry, but they got in Alex's way, she didn't have a choice but to harden her own heart and killed them herself.

The soldiers did a great job preventing the animals from climbing the tree, but they spilled out from all directions now, Shizuka knitted her eyebrows, looked at Momo and said, "I'll guard the east side!"

She went without waiting for Momo's response, making her way toward the tree's edge and turned around to run along the surface, a tide of spiders, monkeys, and birds soon entered her sight, Shizuka stopped running and began to throw a barrage of kunai to kill them, yet she couldn't prevent the tide from advancing.

Their situation was complicated now, it's like all the animals converged in their direction, making it difficult for them to cover four directions, Momo had used her power to grow extra branches that created obstacles and killed the hostiles at the same time, but didn't work on all of them.

The soldiers had separated into three, each protected North, West, and South, but all they did only slow them down.

Shizuka retreated from time to time, had used her technique to blow them away, yet it was still not enough.

"Alex, any time now will be appreciated!" Momo said as she clenched one bullet in hand and pasted it onto the tree, Shibarisugi was also on her side, they both utilized vines and branches toward all sides.

Alex deeply frowned till his forehead wrinkled like a crumpled blanket, began to pour down sweat as he felt something worse was just going to happen.

"..."

With clenched teeth, Alex took out a long pincer from the system storage, slowly reaching out toward the black sphere, and he pinched it with the tool, inwardly expressed gratitude as the black sphere showed no indication of going to explode while Alex lifted it upward.

"Alex, the animals still on a rampage!" Momo urgently said.

"What?" the older man couldn't help but startled, back with the red shard, it shut down immediately after he ripped it off from its pedestal, but this black sphere still active?

Should it be destroyed?

Alex thought for a while, then an idea popped into his head, what if he just stored it inside the system?

Without wasting time, he put the long pincer along with the black sphere to the special dimension of his limitless storage, then suddenly, the noisy and angry roar of the surrounding animals disappeared as if it had vanished into the thin air.

The animals' crazed appearance replaced with confusion, probably wondering what the heck just happened to them?

The gang was about to sigh in relief, but the trouble was not quite done with them, because at this moment... the sky turned dark...

"!" they all startled, this was not the case of a night where there were moon or stars, it's a complete pitch black without a single shred of light.

"What... what happe-" Momo's words were cut almost in an instant, her face froze with eyes widened to the extent.

"What's going on here?" Alex took out his phone and lit up the flashlight, sweeping the surrounding area then pointing out the flash upward, but all he saw was black.

"Now... you all die..."

"Hm?" Alex heard Momo's voice, but it was faint thus he couldn't make the words, he directed the flashlight into Momo's figure, he saw her face was blank and entire light skin turned pale, her purple eyes fiercely shrank.

Her condition stunned Alex, he quickly approached her while saying, "Momo, a-are you alright?"

She didn't answer, instead, she mumbled with a louder voice, even could be heard by Shizuka who climbed slowly toward the top.

"Now... you all die..."

The soldiers couldn't help but got their scalp turned cold, stimulated from both her bland tone and the words, also the sudden shift of environment.

Alex closed down to Momo, he crouched to her level and gently grabbed her shoulders, making her face to face with him.

"Momo, tell me..." Alex softly said, his voice full of worry.

She looked at him, terror was all over her irises, her chest heaved up and down, mouth gaped occasionally.

"The tree... Alex..." she said in shivered, the tender body trembled, "all of them sing these words."

"Shut up, Alex, make them shut up, make them stop!" she covered her ears, shaking her head while desperately saying.

Alex widened his eyes, his heart couldn't bear to jump madly, and what comes after only made things worse...

"Awoooo!!!"

The soldiers trembled, they remembered now the danger that lurked once the day was cast aside, the very thing Alexis mentioned before, and what Momo had warned them before entering the forest.

"The hellhounds..." Dick slowly said, then he heard more howling from various directions, followed by a loud growl before multiple yelped resounded numerously.

They heard sounds of broken branches, from one spot to another was only miserably yelped and desperate distress.

"Stop it, stop it, why you keep singing this, why you want all of us died?!" Momo began to scream, but her voice as if dissipated into the dark, the response she got was only a breeze of winds that swaying the leaves.

Alex quickly pulled her into his embrace, stroking her hair to calm down her nerve, the princess entire body was cold, trembling all over.

The soldiers and Shizuka walked into their position with the guidance of Alex's flashlight, each of them expressed worries and uncomfortable's notion, not only they lacked light to see their surrounding area, but also there were hellhounds waiting to sprang at them.

Alex kept brushing her hair while having a calm expression, but inwardly very anxious at the moment.

If they couldn't see and now couldn't trust the trees, then how should they get out from here?

(***)

In the Dawn Forest, Elliot and Alexis were surrounded by three Wild Hogs, the she-knight put her brother behind while she tightly gripped the handle of her sword, the blue surface on its edge made a great contrast with the surrounding green environment.

After blowing out one steam from their nose, the three monsters immediately dashed toward their position, their huge tusks readied to tear them apart.

Alexis grabbed Elliot's cloth before she flung him several feet toward the air, flying high and over the monsters. She swiftly dashed ahead and at the moment of collision, she jumped only a few inches above the middle Wild Hog's head, stomping it hard to help her reached higher altitude. Alexis arrived at the back of the monster, she swung her sword in 360 degrees as she spun, butchering a large portion of its back.

Blood splatter, the white bone of the monster was exposed into the air, Alexis kicked the monster's back and quickly headed toward Elliot's position in the air, she grabbed him then both of them landed safely on the ground.

Didn't tarry longer, the pair of brother and sister made their way to escape the area, swiftly disappeared into the bushes.

After running for a while and confirmed they had lost the Wild Hogs, they exhaled a mouthful of air, Elliot wiped the sweat over his eyebrows, Alexis fished out the mineral water and took a sip.

"Next time... if you want to bring me far... may I suggest a beach... or literally where I might not die..." Elliot said through the heavy gasp.

"Ok, I will remember that... hmm, a place with zero death opportunity... oh, wait, such a place does not exist!" Alexis rolled her eyes, "you ought to choke on your meat or slip and bang your head even in your room!"

"How dare you, my room is the safest place in the entire world!"

"Elliot, please don't force my hand to knock some sense into your head..." Alexis sighed, "let's just go home and accompany mother, she would like us to be around before..."

"..."

Alexis abruptly stopped talking, she declined her face then took a deep breath, began to walk away from the area, Elliot followed her a few seconds later, didn't utter a single comment, they got grim and depressing aura coating them.

"Alexis... have you uhh... where we should..." Elliot stuttered in his words, they now climbed a sort of a hill.

"Anywhere but Royal's Memorial," Alexis knitted her eyebrows, "I would rather have her buried in some random forests than that foul place."

"But she had to, otherwise the ancestors would punish us, so they said..."

"Elliot, please don't talk about this right now..." she shook her head, "my mood is not stable, I may resort to some violence in any degree."

"Got it, zip, I stop!" Elliot slightly distanced himself from Alexis' position, had assumed a fearful expression.

They soon met a high ground, Alexis blew her gloves and started climbing, Elliot waited on the ground.

She arrived at the top, looking at the clear view ahead with a plain field appeared at the horizon, she smiled in bitterness, 'Mother, please forgive us, tis our lack of strength to overcome the task to rescue you.'

Alexis took out a rope, she turned around and prepared to drop the other end of the rope for Elliot, but then she suddenly froze.

"?" Elliot wrinkled his eyebrows, said, "what is it?"

"The direction of the Old Woodland, there is a black dome!" Alexis sharply squinted her eyes, "that's a legendary spell [ World of Darkness ]"

"A legendary spell?" Elliot flabbergasted, couldn't help but also snapped his head toward the back, but his level of the land made him unable to see anything.

"[ World of Darkness ] was meant to trap a whole city of people from going out, or at least, can also be used as a barrier to prevent a repercussion between the fight of Grandmasters or above!"

"Alexis didn't Sir Star and his companion heading toward the Old Woodland? Was this possibly a magic cast by him?" Elliot worriedly said.

She shook her head, said, "Sir Star is an astounding mage, but he is not at the level of Grandmaster yet."

"How do you know?" Elliot started.

Alexis declined her eyes, remembered how Alex's struggle; when he almost broke down to end those poor women's life, there was no way a Grandmaster level of a mage was that inexperienced.

"It doesn't matter how I know about it, Elliot, they are possibly in trouble!" Alexis grit her teeth, she was afraid of two things that might happen to Alex, first, he got caught of in a fight between two Grandmaster, this meant his life was in the utmost peril, second, the hellhounds, they were the creature of a night, usually people would have climbed a tree to avoid their attack and waited until dawn to continue their journey across the Old Woodland.

But if it was [ World of Darkness ], not only they couldn't get out, it will be forever darkness inside, a paradise for the hellhounds!

Alexis clenched her fists, her honor said she must come to rescue Alex, that man had saved her and Elliot's life, this was a life benevolent that she was impossible to forget, but with Elliot here, she couldn't risk endangering his life.

"..." Elliot looked at Alexis, the corner of his lips widened, said, "sister... let's rescue Sir Star and his group."

"Elliot..." she declined her head, her inner feeling completely in turmoil, her [ Will ] and desire clashed against each other.

"Sister, you know that your [ Will ] is always dragging you down, I always drag you down, this task, for example, if you hadn't taken me with you, probably you had arrived at the other side of the Old Woodlands by now..."

Alexis shook her head, but she stubbornly looked toward the black dome ahead.

"Sister, for once, do not obey it, let your heart thought what's best for you, not the [ Will ]..." Elliot said, "besides, I won't enter the Black Dome with you, the area between Dawn Forest and Old Woodlands are pretty safe, right?"

"But... what if you experience some sort of dangers while I am gone... I..."

"Well, I almost died yesterday, but I didn't, Sir Star came and rescued me... and he rescued you also..." Elliot said, "sister, we owe him our lives."

"..." Alexis's heaving breath slowly came to relax, her doubtful expression disappeared, replaced with conviction and fierceness.

"Let's go!" she jumped down from the top and safely landed, immediately rushed ahead while Elliot followed from behind.

They met the previous three Wild Hogs, the monster as if recognized them, quickly charged without the slightest mercy.

"Oh, we don't have time with you!" Alexis drew her sword, she dodged the first monster then swung down her sword vertically, the blade cut off the monster's head without so much of effort, then a second came upon her, Alexis used her sword to meet its tusks, slid back slightly but managed to stop its motion, then she lifted the hog's body with the sword before sending full effort on her swing, divided the hog's big tusk into half.

The third one came to the side and was about to hit her when Alexis scrapped its brain with the blue edge, then she charged ahead, stabbed the second hog right on its stomach, causing the monster to flip and fall onto the ground with its back.

Bathing in their blood, she didn't faze, pulled out the sword from the hog's belly, Alexis hopped onto the ground, glanced toward Elliot who wore an awkward disgusted expression.

"Come on," Alexis continued running, followed by Elliot as he carefully stepped on the ground that free from the pool of blood.

Meanwhile...

At the entrance of the Dawn Forest, a person clad in white attire appeared, his wrinkled eyes looked ahead and immediately widened, said, "[ World of Darkness ]?"