Crimson also dipped into the lake to remove the blood. At first, Crimson just stood in the middle and wait for the lake's miracle to happened.
Nothing.
He submerged his body up to the neck. That's when the lake do its magic. A tickling sensation climb into his arms. It engulf his body and crawl in the surface of his skin. He can feel his muscles relaxing, his vitality energizing.
Kyra was also feeling the same sensation. Her weary muscles gain back its strength, the tiredness subsided and her body relaxed. Welcoming the sweet comfort spreading in her nerves.
After a few minutes, they were done cleansing their bodies. Both did not remove their clothes. They tried to not mind the wetness after they emerged from the lake. They thought they would just go on their paths with their clothes wet.
"Let's go?" Crimson asked. Kyra nodded.
They turned their backs on the lake, leaving the premises. But they did not expect a curving vine-like object to stop them. What's worse, it's purely made of water.
Crimson's eyes dimmed. Did the lake finally decide to attack them because they do not belong on this land?
Crimson was prepared to run at any moment's notice. But he did not expect a warm breath of wind to blow from the water vines. It penetrated their clothes.
Because his feet are tied, Crimson can't move from his spot. But he did not detect any malice coming from the water vines. He just stood there, waiting for the warm breath to subside.
After a few minutes, the breath stops and the water vines let them go. He was shocked when he saw his clothes were completely dried and cleaned. No more blood from his black robe and belt.
Kyra's blue robe is also dried.
"For a moment there, I thought it was going to kill us." Crimson commented, before laughing out loud.
Unexpectedly, Kyra nodded. "Does the lake always do that?"
Crimson shook his head. "No. That was the first time. I came here once with Verdant. He tried to wash off his sword in the lake, but a beast attacked him from behind. That was our first attempt. We did not try again. It seems the lake itself from Half Peak Mountain won't harm anyone who dips into its waters. It even lends a hand to dry our clothes. So convenient." Crimson remarked appreciatively.
After that, Kyra left with Crimson and went on the road. For a few kilometers, it seemed the surroundings did not change. It's still full of towering trees, and the area is covered with heavy white mist.
Crimson and Kyra did not talk again as they walked. Their ears are straining to detect any movement in the environment. A twig snapping, leaves rustling, a distant howl, nothing escapes their ears.
It was only for a few kilometers that they kept walking. This time, Crimson was on the front and Kyra was at the rear. They'd been fighting the giant spider beasts all night and had taken a few hours to rest in the lake. That is why, when they started to travel, the sun had come up. But the heat can't penetrate the giant trees.
Crimson had walked a few meters when he finally noticed that Kyra's footsteps disappeared from his back.
"Little faery?" He turned around and saw no one. Crimson raised his brows.
"Faery?" Crimson's eyes raked the whole forest. That little faery is not someone who loves to pull a prank. If she disappeared at his side without him noticing, that could only mean one thing.
She was caught by something in this forest. Something that was able to hide its presence from his sensitive senses.
Crimson sickly grinned and began to search the perimeter. Every vine, every root, every trunk, nothing escapes from his eyes.
He pried open some giant trunks with his sword. It caused the towering tree to grumble and attempt to hit him with its roots. But he managed to evade them and abandoned the tree.
For half an hour he looked. Still nothing. Until his eyes caught a shin of blue on his left. Kyra was definitely wearing a blue robe when they got here.
Crimson ran in the direction of where he saw the color blue. But he ended up at the foot of a small hill.
There was nothing except giant grass for miles.
Crimson was a bit lost as to where Kyra's current location is. He glanced around, looking for the blue shin of clothes he had glimpsed earlier.
His eyes scanned the giant trees until his eyes landed on the wriggling, thick vines on the ground at the side. The bulge in it is the same height as humans. And vines don't usually develop a bump like that except when they catch their prey.
Crimson immediately sheathed his sword and struck into the vines, cutting deeper into their flesh. He could hear the vines' ugly shriek, but it did not stop him.
He continued to pry it open, until a hole in the ground was revealed. He cut off the remaining thick vines to widen the hole. Just like he thought, when he glanced below, Kyra's blank eyes stared back at him.
It seems the dip in the lake was useless. She was covered in dirt and grime. Her sword was smudged with dirty blood, some of her clothes too.
"What caught you?" Crimson casually inquired. He bent one knee to pull Kyra up.
"Amphibian monsters. The one with the long tail."
Kyra was successfully pulled out of the hole and her sorry, disheveled figure was revealed. Crimson stared at her from head to toe before shrugging.
"Got any wounds?"
Kyra shakes her head. Crimson hummed.
"Good. At least you won't explode. Some of the Level 1-9 species carried toxins and poisons on their own that mutate the other species.
"Mutate?"
"Yes. Once the prey has a wound and it has been exposed to the blood of the other, they will be poisoned."