I gaze around again, searching for any trace of Alexandra. But there is no blood or anything. Only marks of a slash on tree trunks, arrows stuck on random places, and cut off colossal leaves.
[Seems like a fight happened here recently.] The childish voice commented.
I nodded in agreement, jogging in a haste back to the unconscious short-red haired woman, resting under the shade of the Banyan Trees.
I rolled Amana's body to her stomach, then placing my hand under her armpits, I lifted her body to stand. I positioned my right footing between her legs, grabbing her right hand with my left, then I squatted down, wrapping my right arm around the back of her knee.
With one deep breath, I rose up, lifting Amana's right thigh over my shoulder as I kept my back straight.
Thinking in a dilemma whether to return or to continue.
Suddenly, the sky roared in thunder, blaring in echoes. One by one, the loud pitter pattering rain dripped down on the hills.
[So where are you headed, puny human?] The childish voice questioned curiously.
I remain silent as my head is in a predicament. I don't know whether to return first and call for back-up support from Joan and Agatha. Or to continue on searching alone.
If I return there, I don't know what decisions both Joan and Agatha will make. Will they let Amana live, or will they deem her irredeemable?
What's more, the more I waste time going back, the more Alexandra will be left alone in this forest.
Looking up, the showering water from the gloomy clouds bathed me and Amana, permeating through our clothes, soaking us wet.
Hold on, the rain will soon erase the traces left by Alexandra on the ground. If that happens, It would be more difficult to find her.
Clenching my jaw, I trudge forward, following the tracks on the mountain hill. "I need to quickly find Professor AC."
[Good choice puny human, up ahead is a feast.] The childish voice commented in joy and anticipation.
"You mean, the Aswang Tribe?" I questioned, walking slowly with heavy steps.
[Not exactly, but I smell something more delicious than a cheap low-quality Aswang.] The childish voice answered excitedly. [Hasten your feet, puny human, we'll bring the masacre party to them!]
"..." I gaze blankly at my hips, staring at the resting black dagger.
[What? Aren't you excited as well? I could feel your blood also craving for it, you know.] The childish voice said.
Shit. Did I just partnered with a fellow psychopath?
Shaking my head, I continued on with a deadpan face, panting deeply as the air became less breathable.
After passing the first hill, I stopped as I stared blankly at the two paths in front of me. The one on the left is full of sinister aura, meanwhile, the other also holds pressure but there is no malice.
Gazing down, I followed the tracks from Alexandra.
[Where are you going?! You're heading the wrong way, puny human!]
I ignored the childish voice as I continued, carrying the unconscious woman on my shoulders, gasping through panting breaths.
After a long hour. The sole of my boots left traces on the mud as I trudge up the second hill once more. Rain is still dripping down and drenching the slopes, making it slippery to walk. Amana rested her stomach over my shoulder as I hugged her legs, carrying her unconscious body like a sack of potatoes.
[Geez, puny human. I already took a nap and all, but you still haven't arrived there…?!] The childish voice muttered dissatisfied with my progress. [It's because you went the wrong way!]
I ignored the loud child as I gasped, feeling out of breath and exhausted. My eyelids are getting heavy, and my sight is starting to blur; I forgot that I also lost a lot of blood earlier when the Kamatayan Sword binded itself to my body.
I'm feeling the aftermath now as my flesh became numb and cold, penetrating every fibre of my muscles and bones.
Despite feeling dizzy, I moved my legs, which landed somewhat unstable, making my boots slip, and both Amana and I fell to the wet watery mud.
Rolling over, I gaze at the dark sky, flicking purplish lightning. Night time has already come, yet, except for the fading traces of those boots, there is still no sign of seeing the figure of Alexandra. I wonder if she is fine.
In truth, I should have gone back to the Cassidy Mansion and confirmed if Alexandra is not really there. However, I found her things and her satchel bag scattered randomly when I went to clean the area with Kamatayan. That satchel bag is constantly carried by Alexandra no matter where she goes.
In other words, Alexandra is still possibly lost somewhere in these woodlands, or that she had been taken forcibly. As for whom, I'm not sure yet. After all, I found arrows and sword's cut on the trees around the area, where I found Alexandra's things.
Those marks were left just recently. Which means that the group that took Alexandra is probably a set of people. Because the Aswang Tribe doesn't use human weapons according to Camilla; they pride themselves on the abilities granted to them by the Demons of the Diabolic race, and they look down with contempt at humans for resorting to such artificial things.
[Hey, puny human! Gather yourself together! Hurry!] The childish voice yelped in urgency.
I blink, half squinting as I rolled over, propping myself up on my elbow. Yet, my bones felt weak and feeble as I dropped to the ground again.
[Hurry up, human. We are surrounded!] The childish voice warned.
Surrounded? Again?
Oh, that's right. I felt it too. But it's fine.
Their aura is not sinister. Their scent is not from the city; it blends with nature. The sound of their footsteps are silent, but my keen ears could still hear them.
They've been following me the moment I crossed the right path earlier. I don't think they are the Aswang Tribe. Probably just ordinary humans, but I'm not sure since I could smell some animalistic scent from them.
Feeling my eyelids growing heavier by a second, I closed my eyes as I mumbled, "they're harmless, don't worry."
[What…? What are you talking about, are you stupid! Get up!] The childish voice muttered, annoyed.
But I could no longer move; my consciousness is also slowly slipping past me.
Clomping footsteps advancing near to me is the last thing I heard before I black out from exhaustion.
***
"Una-una, kaya-kaya, ay~"
Beating loud drums, and wind instruments echoed along with the repeated chants. The cheerful lyrical tribal song is what woke me up from sleeping. Jolting my eyes open, I found a blazing giant bonfire in front of me.
Sitting up, I stared blankly, blinking still half-asleep around me, feeling somewhat puzzled in my heart.
I stood up on my feet, searching for the unconscious body of Amana, who seems to be missing as of the moment. Even my Shadow Circlet ring and my newly acquired Kamatayan Sword are both missing.
Even my previous princely clothes are missing, but fortunately, they didn't leave me naked. Although my two feet were bare, I am still wearing a black silk fabric wrap around my thin waist like a loincloth, and my top is a dark collarless sleeve doublet. Tied around my forehead is a black bandana scarf.
Looking around, I seem to be surrounded by some tribe men and women. There are many bamboo structures around built from the ground and to the tall trees. Like a nipa hut with many floors and maze-like intricate architectural designs. The houses are all interconnected; there are wooden bamboo ladders that act as a bridge.
In the middle of it all is a burning giant bonfire, warming me and everyone from the cold night. Roaming my eyes on the locals, I grab the back of my neck with a blank face. "Where the hell am I?"
"Una una~" They voice out in a melodic tone, moving in a hypnotic dance in a circle around me and the bonfire, matching every movement to the rhythm of the music. "Una una~"
They are a group of tribe people with a height ranging from 5 feet to 9 feet tall, wearing colourful textile fabrics with intricate pattern design. Whether they are men or women, except for the young ones, all adults have ink black pattern-like tattoos painted all over their body.
Their warriors, may it be men or women, have bandanas tied around their forehead, and sharp blades resting on their hips; they wore a collarless sleeve doublet and a loincloth wrapped in their private parts; their skin is a blend of chestnut and almond colour.
Their dancing tribe men and women, on the other hand, wore a long fabric wrapped around their waist, and blouses or sleeves of the same colour as their top. Some even wore no tops at all, and only their long hair covered their naked breasts. While some wore even more conservative clothes; like a long ankle-length robe. Their skins are lighter brown than the warriors standing on the side, beating on the drums, and playing on the bamboo wood-wind instruments.
Meanwhile, sitting on a luxurious chair-like throne on top of the small podium, watching everything with calmness in their eyes. They have a golden crown resting on top of their head; a body adorned in extravagant ornaments, wearing a long ankle-length robe; a magenta and scarlet silk fabric in their smooth palebrown-coloured skin. Based on their elegant and matured upbringing, I presume that they are perhaps the royal family of this tribe.
However, they aren't exactly human either. It would be more precise to call them Beastfolk; a race that is composed of humanoid warm-blooded or mammal-like animals. They have a face, a figure, and tan-skin similar to the human race, but their ears are more animal-like; their eyes glowed bright in the dim of the night.
They have a tail sticking just slightly right above their butts; the tail comes from the base of their spine, which is the tail-bone in the human body. They have sharp canines or fangs, displaying when they radiantly smile to themselves as they sing-dance around me and the giant bonfire.
"Una una, kaya kaya, ay~"
At that, the song and dance ended; their chest were heaving up and down; their faces were sweaty and beaming with joy.
From the podium; a 6 feet tall woman stood up from sitting as she descended with grace in her movements; her long black wavy hair braided in a waterfall style would sway ever so lightly with one blow of the wind, making it seem like a fairy descending down from the mountains; her green forest eyes were narrowed on me, probing and curious; her tiger-like ears and tail with stripes of black and white would twitch or sway a little as if trying to sense me with her sharp animalistic senses; over all, the woman have an unsmiling face and intimidating aura like a royalty.
"First, you can," the tiger woman said as she stopped, standing in front of me, and I had to raise my head a little to look up and meet her forest green eyes.
With a deadpan face, I tilted my head to the side. "Pardon?"
"First, you can," the tiger-woman repeated.
I nodded blankly. "And? What does it mean?"
"It's the literal meaning of the lyrics earlier. In the song, the words are repeated like a mantra over and over to rejuvenate up the spirits, and in order for the listener to move on and succeed in life," the tiger-woman explained.
"It's a song representing the gleam of light and hope. The song is a performance that our tribe have been perfecting for 500 years; it's our Moonsun Tribe's welcoming gift for the Lady Moonlight. Thank you for finally arriving in these mountains," the tiger woman added.
So this is the Lost Mountains of Mount Mani, housing the Beastfolk race; who disappeared on the surface of the Nucleus for more than 500 years.
"Welcome to our humble abode, Lady Moonlight," the tiger-woman said again. "I hope that the performance is to your liking."
"Oh." I mouthed, then clapping my palms together, I applauded with my usual stoic face. "Thank you for the...welcoming nice performance, but..." I paused.
Staring around, I mumbled. "Can you explain to me what's going on here? My clothes and things are missing. Also, I was accompanied by a short red haired middle-aged woman. Can you tell me where she is?"
"Do not fret, Lady Moonlight," the tiger woman said in a cold tone; her face held a cunning smile; her glinting green eyes were full of probing. "Your friend and your other fellow humans are all safe along with the other infected races. We are isolating them, so they won't infect or harm others and increase the rate of infected individuals in these mountains."
"How did you manage to isolate them alive? Even the Majapahit Empire had a hard time capturing even one aswang, so how?" I stated inquiringly.
"Before that, let me introduce myself...my name is Tatiana Abot, the current Chieftain Leader of the Moonsun Tribe; I'm a soul wanderer like you," the tiger woman said, raising her hand for a formal greeting.
I lifted mine, clasping hers. "Nice to meet you, I'm Nasrin Urduja, ordinary and trying to be a decent human being."
Tatiana stared blankly at me. "Ordinary...?"
"Yes." I nodded. "And trying to be decent."
"Oh," Tatiana mumbled, staring at me amusedly.
Afterwards, we both retracted our hands.
"So about my questions," I stated.
"Well, I used to be a doctor in my past life, which means healer in this world, and with my past knowledge, I handled the infected races, isolating them so as to not infect us," Tatiana explained.
Tatiana referred to the Aswangs as infected like a disease of some sort.
"Are you from earth as well?" I asked.
Tatiana nodded. "I used to, but this is my home world now. I rather not reminisce on the past."
"Oh, that's fine," I mumbled. "I respect your choice."
Anyway, their tribe has a nicer approach in managing the Aswangs. Way better than how the Majapahit Empire handled things. But something is strange about it.
I gazed at the tiger woman with an inexpressive face. "Why didn't your tribe share this knowledge with the other races and empires? Why did your tribe stay cooped up in this place?" I questioned, feeling baffled.
"We do not have much choice," Tatiana answered, clenching her jaw. "For more than 500 years, we stayed in these mountains. We were unable to escape or get out."