At the entrance to the city's tunnel, Kris leaned against the wall.
With his arms crossed, he shook his head as he reflected on the conversation he had with Vasant, his eyes closed.
|Flashback|
"Hey, you said earlier that you sell just about everything, right?"
Vasant raised an eyebrow and let out a scoff.
"Yeah, I did."
"Do you have any information on vampires?"
"I've already given you things for free. Don't think I'm giving you any more."
From beneath his cloak, Kris pulled out the reward Prakash had given him.
"What if I buy it?"
"In that case, I'd be happy to accept! But you should know that information on vampires is very limited. I only know what passing travelers have told me."
"Right... let's see..."
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
I'd love to know about their routes and where they usually hunt, but he probably doesn't know that. Besides, I'm not sure this pouch alone would pay for that much information...
"Alright," he murmured, fixing Vasant with a serious look. "Do you know the whereabouts of any high-class vampires?"
The rat hummed, placing his hands on his hips.
"I know of two."
"Who?"
"The Empress and the Moon."
Jackpot.
"And what about the Hierophant?"
"He's a nomad who rarely appears," he explained, rubbing his snout. "He's only ever seen when acting under the Vampire King's orders."
"I see... then where are the Empress and the Moon?"
"In the eastern hills. The Empress resides in a secluded fortress with her personal army. There must be at least a few hundred of them."
Kris simply nodded.
I was already expecting that, but a sealed fortress? This is going to be more complicated than I thought.
"As for the Moon, they say she rests in one of Mo Co.'s factories during the day. No one knows exactly which one, since those who find her rarely live to tell the tale."
"But that's pretty vague. Don't you have anything more specific?"
"Let me think..." he hummed. "Oh! If I remember correctly, finding one of her pearls means you're close to her."
"Well... better than nothing."
|End Flashback|
He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming up the tunnel.
Patting her stomach, Marceline walked toward him with a satisfied look on her face.
"Looks like you had a good time."
He remarked with an amused smile.
"Definitely," she replied, returning the smile before growing slightly more serious. "What about you? You said you wanted to look around the city, but we're leaving already?"
"I got what I came for, and it'd be a little unfair to make you walk all the way back through it again."
"Ehh, I don't really mind..."
"Even so, we've already stayed longer than planned."
"Alright, alright."
Kris then opened the tunnel hatch and stepped out alongside her into the dark forest.
The whispers returned to his ears as the thoroughly unwelcoming air settled heavily around them.
"I'm already missing the sun," Kris complained, glancing up at the dark sky.
"So, what do we do now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He turned to her. "We're going after our next target: the Empress."
"Oh? You found something out?"
"Yeah. She's in the east."
"Nice."
After helping her climb up, he sealed the hatch and pulled a copy of the forest map from his cloak.
He studied it for a few seconds before lowering it.
"Alright, we entered from here," he said, pointing to the far western edge. "So our exit should theoretically be the exact opposite."
"Vasant?" she asked, confused.
"The rat who brought us here."
"Oh, that guy."
"Anyway, is there anything else you want to do here?"
"Nope."
"Alright. Then we should follow this trail." He pointed to a marked path on the map, some distance from their current location.
"I'm right behind you."
"Then let's go."
With that, they began their journey out of the forest.
The path was unusually calm.
Occasionally, they came across some of the forest's deformed animals.
How do they even survive out here?
Kris couldn't help but wonder.
There are only herbivores around. Is it because the sprouts act as the local predators?
He placed a hand beneath his chin.
Now that I think about it, the sprouts are the Neechari's main source of food and water.
He shook his head.
Then do the other animals depend on them too? If they do, the Neechari will need to find some way to support them as well.
If the sprouts lose their food source, then they'll lose theirs as well. Do they already know that?
Meh, they're smart enough to figure that ou—
He was pulled from his thoughts by a tug on his sleeve.
Looking to the side, he found Marceline staring at him strangely.
"You are paying attention to where we're going, right?"
"Uh... yeah, I am."
"Then where are we?"
He looked around, failing to find any recognizable landmark.
Pulling out the map, he checked the trails.
...
"Well?"
"I may have gotten a little distracted."
Sigh.
"That's what I thought..."
Still studying the map, he examined the possible routes.
"Alright, if we're here, then we're close to the southeastern lake. If we find it, we can take a trail back toward the northwest."
"And how are you so sure?"
"Because we probably took the wrong path at that crossroads."
"I see..."
Following the map, Kris headed down the trail with Marceline close behind.
After walking for some time without any sign of the lake, they briefly stopped at a crossroads.
"We should've reached the exit by now..."
"...My bad," he replied, lowering his head.
"Haah, not much we can do about it."
She grumbled, closing her eyes for a moment, before a chill ran down her spine.
"Is it just me, or is it getting colder around here?"
"You know I can't answer that."
"Oh, right."
Then, in an instant, he looked up from the map.
Wait, cold?
He glanced at Marceline in confusion as she rubbed her arms.
But ever since we got here, it's never been cold. It shouldn't even be possible for this forest to get cold.
A sudden sense of urgency washed over him, and he quickly scanned the surrounding area with his vision.
Everything seemed normal, as warm as before.
But amidst that warmth, something moved silently.
Focusing on the presence, he saw it.
The world seemed to change all at once.
Heat was being drawn into that entity, disappearing without a trace.
It was utterly colorless.
Or perhaps...
Utterly lifeless.
What is that?
Even without understanding what he was seeing, something deep inside him was screaming.
Run.
As he stared at the thing, a chill of alarm shot through him.
The thing seemed to be staring back.
"Hey."
He turned to Marceline, who was shivering, her teeth chattering.
"We need to get out of here."
The wide-eyed look he gave her was enough for her to immediately understand the urgency.
Without wasting another second, they took the path to the right at full speed.
As she flew alongside him, Marceline glanced over.
"What happened?"
"I don't know," he blurted out without even looking at her.
Yet through his vision, he could see it.
Whatever was following them was faster.
What the hell is that thing?
"We can't outrun it. We'll have to face it head-on."
"Huh? I don't even know what we're running from!"
As they ran, Kris noticed a green glow filtering through the trees.
We're near the lake? Good.
Grabbing Marceline, he cut through the undergrowth toward the light.
They quickly reached its source.
A green lake, smaller than the one they had encountered before.
Without slowing down, they rushed down the gentle slope and headed straight for it.
Once they reached the shore, they turned toward the direction they had come from.
From within the forest, a black mist began to manifest.
The whispers had fallen completely silent.
The only audible sound was the bubbling of the scalding lake.
Steam escaped Marceline's mouth as she struggled to keep herself from shivering in the cold.
A faint vapor rose from Kris's shell as he stared ahead with wide eyes.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the silence.
Something large was approaching.
Its jaw hung completely open.
Within the emptiness of its eyes, a green light stared back at them, devoid of life.
A massive charred hole gaped in its chest.
From its head protruded a new horn beside the lone one it had already possessed.
It was the same rat they had "killed" in the cave.
Every hair on Marceline's body stood on end.
Her breathing turned erratic, her eyes bloodshot.
A shock coursed through her entire body.
Kris's mind reeled.
From the deepest part of his being, a feeling surged through him.
Terror.
A familiar terror.
One he had felt only once before in his entire life.
W-what...?
Acting on pure instinct, Marceline lunged at it with her axe already engulfed in flames.
It merely stared at her for a moment.
Then a single whisper—more like a piercing scream—invaded their ears.
F A L L
In that very instant, she stopped where she stood.
Her eyes rolled back into her skull as she collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Kris dropped to his knees, completely motionless.
What happened?
He thought, struggling to regain control of his body.
Step.
The heavy footsteps echoed once more, like those of something walking through a dark corridor.
Its presence completely dominated the surroundings, pressing down upon Kris.
"I found you."
The words resounded in his ears like war drums.
"How insolent. For something like this to dare exist."
W-what?
"A complete taboo. An insult to Him."
Him? Who?
"Your eradication would be a service to the universe. Perhaps if I feed your soul to Him, He may forgive you."
I don't have time to think about this. Damn it, what do I do?
"Surrender your being, and allow the cycle to return to its natural order."
Damn it... I can still feel my body. It's as if my soul has been... displaced.
I know. After all, I've felt this before.
As he thought, the footsteps echoed closer and closer, utterly unhurried.
If I can still feel my body, then there must still be some degree of control left.
Don't focus on the physical. Focus on what's within.
Energy silently flowed through his torso and into his arms.
Gather it. Shape it.
The crystals embedded in his gauntlets connected through a thread of electricity.
A glow began to shine from beneath his hands.
The entity noticed and tried to pull away.
Now then... expand!
The ground beneath them exploded.
With a body so sluggish, the creature failed to move in time.
Its legs were obliterated, scattering rotten flesh across the area.
Kris was hurled backward, nearly falling into the lake.
His body was resistant to his own energy, but not immune to it.
Even so, his eyes snapped open.
I got my control back!
In a single leap, Kris sprang to his feet and charged straight toward the creature.
A glowing orb rapidly formed in his right hand.
Still lying on the ground, the creature slightly raised itself and emerald flames ignited in its palm.
With a casual motion, it unleashed a wave of fire across the ground.
Kris narrowly dodged to the right, spinning as he hurled the orb toward its face.
The orb struck, creating a brief curtain of smoke.
When it cleared, half of its face had been charred black.
It didn't seem to care in the slightest.
I need to build up a lot more energy.
He concluded without slowing his charge.
But I won't have time for that. I don't know how many times he can use that whisper.
If I don't keep the pressure on, we're dead.
Then I'll do this the old-fashioned way.
Still running, he formed another orb.
The creature noticed and swept its flaming hand horizontally.
Close enough now, the wave rushed toward him.
But with a forward roll, Kris vaulted over it and launched himself straight at the entity.
The orb faded from his hand.
Kris landed on top of its head and grabbed hold of its horns.
I'm ripping your head off.
Immediately, he braced his legs and pulled on the horns with all his strength.
The creature's head jerked upward, its neck slowly beginning to tear apart.
A distorted scream escaped it.
Then it rose into the air, dissolving into a cloud of black mist.
It accelerated rapidly, tearing through the forest.
Tree after tree shattered against its head—and against Kris, who still refused to let go, taking every impact as he continued pulling.
When it finally realized that wouldn't work, the creature laughed.
Then it turned back toward the lake.
Its deep, grotesque laughter never ceased.
It spun through the air and then—
let itself fall into the lake.
Kris's eyes widened.
Just before impact, he kicked away and leapt toward the shore as the lake swallowed the creature whole.
...
He slowly pushed himself to his feet.
His face was battered and misshapen from the impacts, and his cloak had been partially torn apart.
Damn it.
His eyes never left the lake, waiting for the worst.
...
Suddenly, the body emerged from the water, dragging itself onto the shore.
Its flesh was slowly melting away, and its bones could no longer support it.
It was falling apart.
And still, it laughed.
"You were fortunate this time."
"What a worthless vessel. A complete waste of time."
Kris could only watch as it dissolved away.
"It doesn't matter. Your fate has already been written."
Only the head remained.
"It is inevitable."
And then, at last, it was over.
The body vanished completely.
Slowly, the forest's whispers returned.
Kris immediately ran over to Marceline.
She was just snoring on the ground.
He let out a long sigh and fell onto his back.
Man...
Why does everyone want to kill me?