The deeper we traveled into the forest, the quieter it became. The slight wind from the beginning of the journey seized. No insects or animals prowled about. If a pin dropped, a coward would race through this forest faster than a beast could appear.
There was more reoccurrence of the Detection Bug than any other beast. The other beasts were even uglier.
Sabastian didn't mind. He fought them all. Well, when he was in the mood. He harvested their souls when he was not in the attitude. He often studied the beasts when they presented themselves. If the critter was not up to his standard, he harvested its powers and had the bandit devour the poor thing's soul. He never fought the same type of beast twice.
"I'm so tired," Angel whined. "I give props to you poor creatures that don't have wings. We have been walking for miles. My tender feet. It feels like… oh, it's dying."
Unlike her, there was no feeling in one of my feet. The black ointment Sabastian kept rubbing on the wound on my foot made the entire limb numb. I could walk with ease. Well, kind of. But, the wound was taking its time to heal. I had to be extra careful or it would get worse without me being aware of it.
Thank goodness Doctor Sabastian checked it every night. Ever since the incident at the stream, Sabastian has been acting weird. His good side was more prominent than the darkness. I couldn't say it was not something to enjoy. Regardless, I was still on alert. There was no telling with him. He could switch to the dark side at any time.
Sabastian groaned. "Oh, would you shut up? If your feet hurt, then you fly. You said it yourself, you have wings. Use them."
Angel narrowed her eyes at him. "You know I can't. We are in the middle of the forest, getting into the most dangerous parts. We can never tell what vicious species is lurking around."
These beasts were clever. Most of the time we never detected them when they were near until they attacked. They often knew where to attack us or who to target. We had to be on constant alert.
"Don't worry, it will be dark soon. We just have to find a safe place to set up camp for the night." I pointed at the orange and red leaves on the trees above us.
"Yeah, mark the key phrase in your statement," Angel whined. "We still have to find a safe place to end the night. That means more walking. Something I want to stop doing."
She had a point. We could never tell when a camp space would appear. We had to find it before nightfall, though. It was better to wander this forest in the safety of daylight when we could see the beast. Being cocooned in the comfort of a magical barrier at night was the sensible route.
"Don't you know this forest like the back of your hand?" Sabastian sneered. "Can't you search in that deity brain of yours and whip out a camping spot for us? After all, weren't you there when your goddess was creating this place?"
Angel huffed. "First of all, Goddess Oscuro only made this place to protect something the Supreme God gave her. We didn't have a choice. Second of all, I hate how right you are right now. Wait, and for your information, I'm not a walking map."
It had to be something precious for the goddess to create such creatures. It would make sense this place didn't have calm animals. She was called the Goddess of Darkness for a reason. Anger, bitterness, viciousness, and fear were some of the sensations centered around darkness. One would never escape the dark without some sort of scar.
My gaze strayed to the Alpha. Fear emitted from his presence. He was most happy during a fight and the animals never came out of it without a scar or two.
Angel continued to rant but Sabastian ignored her. I shook my head at the two and caught a glimpse of the bandit behind me. He had stopped. His eyes were glowing.
"What's wrong?"
The others caught on to my question and halted.
The ghost and the alpha's eyes made four. Soon after his eyes gleamed as the bandit's.
The rest of us never had the chance to ask what it was. A crash blasted to our left. Debris flew. The bandit jumped in front of me.
A beast with shimmering white fur flew down onto another creature. When its wing flapped they portrayed an array of rainbow colors. The beast's large white wings were aligned with a cold color. Two lightning designs also in gold glowed on its side. It resembled a lion yet held the appearance of a wolf at the same time.
Another beast came out of nowhere and pranced at the beautiful animal. It slapped the beast with one of its three tails. The animal returned to the beast under its front feet. One bite and the beast's throat was ripped out.
The fight was far from over. More beasts kept attacking. They came from every direction. The animal fought and killed them one by one. It was not until she turned that I realized she was protecting a little creature that resembled her.
The realization had me moving. Before my subconsciousness could process what was going on, I was in the center of the fight. Two large critters that resembled lizards prowled towards me and the little beautiful creature. The large one was cut off by a beast with four wings on its back. Two larger than the lower two. Its six legs were thick.
The two lizards launched. Their fork tongue slithered out their mouths as a snake's. I called a barrier, protecting me and the baby creature. The beasts slammed into it with a weird sound. One of them knocked it down with its tail. The next jammed at us with its pointy tail.
I pushed the animal out of the way. Energy squirted from my fingers and blasted the beast's tail. It made another screeching noise. The previous beast detoured to where the smaller animal was. I dragged the essence of the atmosphere to me until it was a large ball and threw it at the beast in a sequence of attacks. The lizard beast dashed behind a tree to avoid the assaults.
On my way around, the other lizard's pointed tail came at me. However, the bandit sliced off the limb and stabbed the beast in its back. Sabastian's laughter alerted me. He was behind me, launching a series of attacks on the critter with the six legs. He hadn't turned into a wolf but was utilizing his other powers. One jump and he ended up on the beast's back. He grabbed the critter's lower wing and flicked. The move tore the beast's wing out of the flesh. The beast went flying into a tree.
The bigger beautiful animal cried out, catching both me and the smaller creature's attention. A monstrous two-headed snake wrapped its red and black body around the animal. It squeezed its victim, eliciting cries from the animal. We attempted to help but were intercepted by an overgrown rat.
Once again, I defended the small animal. The bandit helped, devouring all he could. He utilized his skills, protecting us. The alpha was enjoying himself. The air smelt of blood and his laughs.
The large animal bit through the snake's grip. They tossed about and threw bites after bites. In the latter end, the animal won out. The snake collapsed motionless in the middle of the battle. The winning animal got to his feet and targeted another beast.
With all the adrenaline coursing through my veins, the anesthetic drained out of my wound. All the built-up pain came rushing back. I forced through it and fought to keep the baby safe. Something changed and the beasts froze. The small animal behind me opened its wings and shielded me.
Confusion did not have time to settle in. A red-orange, yellow, and green flame blasted everything. It was the bigger creature. Fire vomited from its jaws. The animal was up in the air, torching everything below.
It was a good thing the bandit was near us. He crouched behind the smaller animal, sheltering himself from the flames.
The alpha was a different catastrophe. He levitated over us, enjoying the show. A bright gold light swirled around him. His hair danced in the air and his eyes shimmered brighter than I have ever seen them. He appeared to be the creature he was. A powerful God. He held out his hand as if he was calling the fire to him. It soaked through his fingers. For some reason, he and the animal in the air seemed in sync.
The fire didn't cease until all the cries of the beasts ended. Sabastian and his pet landed on the ground with grace. Then the smaller creature retracted its wings and dashed to his mother. They rubbed against each other. The interaction warmed my heart.
"Well, that's a beautiful sight," the bandit cooed.
Sabastian scoffed. I smiled at how cold-blooded he could seem. Kyleon was a sweetheart. Sabastian had a good side, too. It was somewhere beyond the darkness.