"Huh?"
The thought escaped Klen's mouth as he stared at the scene in utter bewilderment.
After a while he shook his head and forces himself to come to his senses. He practically jump down the tree in a hurry as he curse over and over again.
"Shit, literal shit! This is bad!"
So bad! Did the bastard start the fire? Does he wish to kill himself instead of escaping? Whatever the case, Klen cannot allow both to happen.
If he does, he wouldn't just fail himself but the priestess would also be disappointed and mad. And Klen… Klen can't have that.
His leg burns as he sprinted in a fast pace to reached the cage.
But just then, as his eyes finally met it, a wave hit his body and wooden fragments set aflame flew everywhere. The cage had plummeted to the ground and exploded into pieces.
Klen walked over a few more meters, his eyes wide and his mouth once again hung agape.
Then he was suddenly startled as a shadow suddenly jump out from the ruble, rolling on the ground a few moments, his body bleeding and serious burn marks could clearly be seen on his dark skin. Just looking at him, Klen could almost feel his pain and he even noticed one of his fingers seemingly missing. Leaving only a gush of blood that had been burn off by the flame.
Even the clothes Clay had given the beast was now just a piece of tattered burned tunic that could barely even be called clothes.
The bastard cough momentarily as he forced himself to stand up. After a while, he shook one of his hand who's still caught in a fire and smiled, he looked to his back as if talking to someone then jokingly uttered. All of it visible to Klen as he watch with wide eyes, still appalled.
"I guess we didn't die after all. Oh, and would you look at that, you didn't even have a scratch."
He chuckled, sending shivers to Klen's spine.
After a good moment, Klen forces himself to speak. Stuttering as he said.
"Y-youu…"
But he was cut off and the being, the beast, the monster in front of him, spoke as if everything that have transpired was just a normal day for him – or maybe it actually was.
The monster said.
"Ha! Would you look at that too, I guess I didn't need you to open the door for me after all!"
The monster laugh and just like that, he turned to his back and with a last word that said "Well then, goodbye" he waved for the last time making Klen paused even more than he already is and in the next moment.
The dark monster, Dein ran.
Dissapearing from Klen's sight as the trees surrouding him started to burn.
*****
Dein ran as fast as his wounded body can, his feet not as fast as he had hoped for but it was nevertheless fine. It was moving. His whole body was aching from dozens of his burned wounds and gush of blood left from cutting his finger off was now just burned flesh.
It was painful, so painful that every step Dein took his face twisted in grimace.
But it doesn't matter. All Dein needs to do was run and find a place to safely hide. After that, he'll think of his next move...
For now, all he has to do is run.
He breathed heavily before seeing the little girl suddenly appearing meters away in front of him, a frown on her face.
Dein ignored her and simply ran pass. But in the next moment, she was there again, meters away in front of him seemingly blinking out of nowhere.
The sight gives Dein chills but still he ignored it. Not wanting to waste his time confronting the little girl.
What can he say anyway? Question her? He could but right now, questioning would simply be a waste of time as he's trying his best to escape this harrowing forest as fast he could.
Then he ran pass her again, but this time, instead of appearing somewhere in front, the little girl appeared beside him, making Dein stopped abruptly as he was startled.
"What the…?" He blurted, jumping back slightly.
Meanwhile, the little girl, stared at him with a dark face and informed with a low voice.
"They're coming mister…"
What? He blinked a couple times. He wasn't bewildered because of what she said but instead because she said that.
'She wasn't attacking me?'
He thought, but it seems that she really wasn't planning on it and is even helping by informing him that the tribes people are coming.
Dein smiled. He doesn't know why the little girl would help him but he doesn't mind. If ever, he's even slightly grateful.
"Is that so?" He asked, preparing himself to run again. In the next moment, however, he stopped as a sudden, loud ringing sound of a bell erupted from somewhere behind him.
'The tribe?'
He thought. It seems that the tribe was already on their way deploying all of their warriors to find him. The thought made Dein chuckled nervously.
'Well… considering how I started a fire…'
Yeah it makes sense, an intelligent beast running around? Starting a fire where it wants? The tribe can't have that. Also, their forest is burning! Of course they'll need to alert everyone.
That said, it also made Dein even more anxious than he already is.
After all, it hadn't even been long since he manage to escape, few minutes at best, and yet, the whole tribe is already coming after him.
He sighed exhausted and a bit afraid.
"Haaa, one thing after another. Can I please get a rest?"
It was truly unfair.
He had just started a fire using his own finger whom he had cut off… well, bit off.
After that, he started tearing his own fricking clothes off, burned them, before then placing them on each of the four corner of his cage. And he wasn't even over he wasn't even over after that because in the next moment, he tore a good chunk of cloth from his pants before doing his best to somehow throw them on the four sections of his roof where the rope was tied on so he could burn them.
Then after THAT he used more parts of his clothes to throw some fire on the huge tree beside his cage. Then he sat there, trying his best not to die burning as he waited for the cage to plummet to the ground.
And when it did, it exploded into pieces, almost killing Dein in the process and now that he's out and had just escaped and ran, you're telling him that dozens of warriors are coming after him?
Damn, let the man take a break!
With a tired sigh, Dein suddenly cough blood. It seems that even though he was somehow on a good mood after the fall, even greeting his guard who has anger issues; Klen, Dein wasn't actually left unharmed.
Instead, some of if ribs were actually broken and even some his organs were damaged.
A fall from a height, even just from a tree, really wasn't a joke.
Dein took a deep breath. Thankfully, he doesn't have a concussion because if he does, he wouldn't be running right now. He manage to get hold of himself and once again took a step to run but just as he did, he felt it again.
The very same sensation he felt when Clara and Lei had attacked him that very night.
It was the strange, unbearably burning sensation assaulting his very being.
But this time… it was stronger. So much stronger than he ever felt before and Dein was instantly thrown kneeling on the ground, grimacing in extreme pain as he struggled to catch his breath that threatens to leave his lungs every second.
'Argh! W-what the hell is this…' His mind stuttered, going blank from the pain as one his hand started clutching his chest while the other mere inches away from his neck, afraid to fully touch it.
He started coughing, as if his body was going to vomit his whole stomach.
The little girl meanwhile, simply stood beside him and watch. Her eyes shadowed and dark, making it hard to know her intention.
Then, in the next seconf, a loud, ear shattering laugh erupted from behind. Alongside with it, the ground and trees started shaking, as if an earthquake was passing through each time the laugh reverberated through the forest.
Shaking and sweating, Dein finally glance behind him.
There, far into the wild, a huge fire was burning the forest, pushing the fog slightly. He had not notice it but as it turns out, Dein was actually already quite far from where he started.
Which makes it even stranger for whoever – or perhaps, whatever – it is to catch up to him in what seem like a blink of an eye considering the bell had just rang.
'How…?' he contemplated, confused and now terrified.
In response to his unvoiced question however, the laugh – a strange one as if coming from an old man – grew even more stronger. And it wasn't just the laugh too, each step of the being far behind Dein send tremor through the forest.
'I… I have to run, quick' that was all that's on Dein's mind at the moment. No matter what, he had to run… so that he could survive and return to his home...
He strained his muscle, fighting the pain that's pushing his body down and tried to stand up. But it was already too late as in the next second, he saw a shadow move at frightening speed and something solid hard, like rough metal, slammed on Dein's side sending him flying quite literally to the ground. Stopping only once his body hit one of tree, destroying both the tree and possibly Dein's bones.
Vomiting blood uncontrollably, Dein's body fell limply on the ground.
This time, he finally got his feared concussion and his sight doubled…maybe even tripled as he felt his head spun around.
'Ah… Shit…'
He tried to crawl up but it was to no avail. Loud ringing alongside the blood coming out from both his eyes and nose as well as his mouth permeated his body.
He grimaced, the sound in his surroundings now only a muffled.
But then, his tripled vision suddenly caught sight of the little girl's barefooted feet and the end of his long white dress that ended just right on his shin.
Then, the ringing on his ear slightly subsided and he heard the laugh once more, coming from the person who had just revealed himself.
"HAHA! Monster hunting! Finally! This old bones are so back into action. This is just! Exciting!"
The weird guy said and Dein's vision then returned too only for him to wish it hadn't.
In front of him, stood an old man with balding hair and long beard, beside him stood a gigantic tree that Dein couldn't be any less sure the bastard had just pulled out somewhere in this damn forest to use as a weapon.
The damn bastard did not even bother taking the trees branches and roots off the tree!
But that wasn't what made Dein regret ever seeing this weirdo. Instead, it was the fact that before him, laughing and grinning like a pervert, the old man continued on flexing his stupidly bulking muscles that did not even suit his head.
Much more, all the maniac was wearing– no, to be honest, he wasn't even wearing anything as he was just using a bunch of leaves stuck together to cover his lower body.
'What a maniac…'
After flexing for a long more time, the macho old man finally noticed Dein who's currently vomiting blood on the ground, it seems a lot of his organs were damage on that single hit and more of his bones were broken, including his left arm which was the first to take on the full impact of the old man's attack.
The old man then tilted his head and smiled, massaging his long weird beard. Then he said.
"Mmm. Little gremlin, that attack must've hurt doesn't it? Do not worry though, because I! Bon! With surely make your suffering as torturous as possible!"
The old man; Bon, said with unnerving confidence and a genuine smile on his ugly face as if what he said wasn't a threat but merely a fact.
Dein meanwhile, cough once more, grimacing in pain with a frown. On his side, the little girl watch Bon with the same dark look on her face.
After a while, the little girl muttered in a serious tone.
"I told you you were gonna get us killed."