Alina felt her body become heavier as the miasma in the air thickened. She put her hands on the scabbard of her sword in vigilance as she glanced around her surrounding.
Tall trees stood around her with their long creepy branches, extending towards the sky in a crooked manner. Light barely grazed the earth as thick dark gray clouds monopolized the sky.
The mist around her hadn't faded as it continued to obscure her vision. She however, stood unfazed as she continued to move forward in steady steps.
She stopped as creaking sounds resounded now and then, accompanied by low pitched laughters.
Alina's lips curved up slightly as she uncovered her sword. Her hands trailed on it's blade as she unhurriedly chanted words in an unknown language. The sword suddenly shimmered after she finished her chant. The white light it emitted was blinding, even making Alina squint slightly in order to shield her eyes.
Deafening shrill cries reverberated from the distance. Followich which, several white, dark eyed and boney humanoid figures appeared from above, jumping of the trees as they continued to screech maniacally.
The light in Alinas sword immediately disappeared, making the creatures less agitated than before. However, they still had their hands, armed with long nails, reaching out towards her.
Alina only brought out a red orb in a size of a marble. Inside it was a liquid substance of similar color, swirling around the orb's confined space. She tossed it high in the air as she said in a booming voice.
"EXPELL! "
Flames bursted from the small orb as it engulfed the creatures mid-air. Several burnt corpses landed on the ground until turning to dust, leaving no trace of their existence.
Alina hadn't showed it on her face but she was actually confused and baffled. Why was there so many lower beings in these part of the forbidden lands?
Lower beings were not beasts nor demons but rather former humans that had already succumbed to the curse surrounding the forbidden lands.
Nobody knew the origin of the curse but the misfortune it instill were known by every citizen of the Agaris Kingdom.
When someone dies in these lands, their soul would would be devoured by the unknown while their corpses turns into creatures, cursed to forever crave the taste of gore.
But what baffled Alina is why were there so many of them? The lesser beings should have all been exterminated in the holy crusade by the church a couple of months ago. It would atleast take a while before lesser beings increase in number even now that the church has issued a ban on entering these lands, so why were there suddenly a huge number of them?
Her thoughts were interrupted by loud, rhythmic thumping, issuing slight tremors onto the ground.She traightened her back as she position her sword infront of her. Her eyes were anchored towards the direction, where the incessant thumping came from.
The tumultuous sound stopped but Alina was even more vigilant than before. Her thoughts were unreadable as she just stood there with her eyes closed and her sword glistening with a sharp light. The eerie silence was deafening, even making a drop of sweat trickle from Alinas forehead.
She abruptly opened her eyes as her body dodged forward like electricity. The ground in which she stood before, shattered, sending dust flying into the air. A round humungous figure stood in her previous position.
The dust eventually cleared up as the creature revealed itself. Dread immediately swallowed her heart as she stared at the creature in front of her in complete horror. How can this be? Why is it here?
The creature had no facial features, only a thin long line that curled up slightly was drawn on it's face. It's body was as pale as death, with scars enveloping it's entire body.
Tears found it's way to her eyes as she stared
at the huge creature.
'What are you getting dazed for? Run! ' A booming voice resounded inside her head. She retained some of her rationality as she started to run towards the heart of the forbidden lands. The creature chased after her. Not All losing out to her speed despite it's round and heavy body.
She knew she can never truly outrun this creature. She had learnt it the hard way herself. Her eyes flashed with resolution as she made her decision.
She ran for what felt as if eternity. Moments later, a deafening hiss reached her, assimilating her eardrums until it almost reached the point of bursting, but she onlyfelt relief flood her body as she resumed running with doubled effort.
She ran against a shrub and as she expected the venomous phyton was there.
The creature chasing after her revealed it's bloody shark like teeth as it saw the venomius phyton in it's intimidating pose.
The snake stood tall with it's tongue sticking out while the creature laughed in a low tone with it's bloody teeth out, creating a nightmarish sight.
Alina maneuvered around the snake while it was preoccupied but she hadn't expected to strike her with it's scales ,instilling an unsightly wound on her back. She however only gritted her teeth, forcing her feet to carry her out of sight.
She encountered many low level monsters afterwards but she mowed them all down with her sword. She didn't stop to breathe as she ran forward with determination.
She just ran not even noticing that the atmosphere around her changed. The initially gloomy sky, cleared up, revealing a light blue hue. The trees that had lost most of their leaves and even started to rot has been changed with green lush vegetation that brimmed with life and vitality.
Alina felt her consciousness fading as her eyes started to get blurry. Her running had already deminished into mere staggering as she forced herself to move forward.
She finally gave in as her body lost all strength.However, she didn't feel any pain or any impact before her consciousness finally faded.
A/N: I apologize for the late update. It took a while before I got my clearance signed (;ω;) Thank you Ed_The _Reader, KatieMoDonathan, Boraxaa, and Theteadybeargirl for supporting this book!