Elven Forest (12)
“Mom, what are the things around us?!
“Wolves, wild beasts, carnivores. Normally, they won’t attack elves, but it seems that they’ve gone mad.”
There was an odd, robotic vibe to Mom’s response, but I didn’t have the luxury to concern myself with it. Surrounding us were rustling leaves, swaying grass and so forth. Their blood-red eyes glowed similarly to a wink of fireflies. Accompanying them was wild beasts’ howls and threatening footsteps. Mom and I stood on air with our backs against each other. I drew my handgun. Admittedly, I regretted not bringing a sword with me at all times.
With a flash, a blue light appeared before us. Mom cast a barrier that prevented the animals from leaping at us.
I didn’t have time to deal with the crazy young girl next to me for the meantime, so I kicked her aside. I tensely watched my surroundings. The wolves slowly emerged from behind the trees and bushes. Every single wolf wore savage expressions. I vigilantly surveyed the surroundings. There were dozens of them surrounding us, but they couldn’t approach us thanks to Mom’s magic wall. They slammed the magic wall with their paws and howled out of irritation.
We were stuck. Mom didn’t attack despite us being surrounded as elves refused to destroy forests. Plus, they were the leaders of other creatures. Elves held other magic creatures in high regard. Fundamentally, as long as they didn’t threaten the elves, then the elves wouldn’t exterminate their race. My guess was that all of the wolves in the forest were assembled around us.
I didn’t want to kill all the wolves in retaliation to the girl’s faults. The wolves didn’t attack us when we entered the forest. It clearly isn’t their fault. It wasn’t the best idea to immediately eradicate all the wolves in the forest no matter how I thought about it about it. If we were trapped inside the barrier until the sun rose, the creatures would no longer be in a crazed state. Although the pack of wolves were eager to attack us, it was impossible for them to destroy Mommy Vyvyan’s magic fortress due to their inferior mana. We were safe inside the barrier.
Suddenly, a long and sharp whistle came from overhead. I instinctively looked up. To my astonishment, I saw a white figure similar to a miniature meteor leap at me. I took aim and punctured it with a bullet.
Like fireworks, blood sprayed from the hole I blasted in the assailant. The white figure juddered. It turned from a meteor to a wilted leaf and landed in front of me. I blankly looked at the corpse at my feet. Not long ago, it was just an ordinary bird singing overhead. I didn’t expect harmless birds to attack us.
“Son, get down!!” Mom yelled out.
I looked up and swiftly ducked my head. Mom sealed the area overhead with a wave of her hand. The instant the wall was shut, the flock of birds crashed onto the surface sequentially one after another, sounding comparable to torrential rain. The magic wall didn’t have a physical form but was impregnable, nonetheless. Therefore, crashing into it resulted in injury. With the way the birds flew down at top speed, they became mushes of blood upon crashing into the wall. Their falling bloody feathers were akin to heavy snowfall. Their brethren’s blood didn’t scare them. Instead, they continued smashing into the wall as if they were mindless zombies.
The stench of blood stirred the wolves’ bloodlust. The wolves that had us surrounded, but were inactive, began to smash against the wall as if they’d lost their minds. Their sharp teeth and angry howls were right in my face. They stood up and fervently licked the blood of the birds coursing down the wall. How much blood could a bird have? Yet, there was enough to resemble a waterfall of bird blood. I didn’t even know how many birds crashed to their death overhead. The birds weren’t carnivores, yet they were willing to put their lives on the line to attack us. Words failed me.
I reasoned, “If these birds have turned crazy, doesn’t that mean everything in this forest is now our enemy? The rabbits must be violent now, too, wouldn’t they? Wait a second… If the creatures here have become violent due to mana… then… then… then that means there won’t be any exceptions. As the strongest magic creatures in this forest… the white deer…”
“Shit!!”
My heart nearly stopped. I realised that Mom’s initial plan was rational. By bringing the problematic white deer to her side, Mom was able to protect the forest and white deer, but that meant she brought danger through her own door! She brought the white deer into the imperial palace!! Lucia was in the imperial palace! Lucia was in danger! The white deer might try to harm her!
“Mom!! Mom!”
“What is it?”
Mom turned her head to look at me. Seeing her blood-red eyes all of a sudden startled me, but I knew her eyes would look that way every month on full-moon nights, so I was quite used to it.
“Mom, let’s hurry back!! Hurry and let me return!!”
“Hmm? Why?”
Confused, Mom tilted her head and looked at me in a somewhat strange way. Her question stumped me. I looked at Mom feeling stupefied: “What do you mean why…? To protect Lucia and the girls, of course… The white deer are in the palace at the moment. It’s obviously dangerous!”
“Why do we have to save Lucia?”
“What?!”
I was completely dumbfounded. Mommy Vyvyan was bewildered. She looked at me with her head tilted: “Son, isn’t having Mommy alone enough? Lucia or whatever can just die. We have Vera now; what’s the point of keeping Lucia? We should just wait here. Why can’t you stay at Mommy’s side without letting your mind wander?”
I had no idea what to say. I was so terrified that I couldn’t utter a word. Mom, in absolutely serious tone, stated, “Why can’t you stay with Mommy? Don’t think about her. You, Vera and I are enough.”
If my memory did me justice… Mom… drank… the water from the small creek.
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