Zephyr found a spot high in one of the trees. The forest was always teeming with life and was something made of nightmares, but this was exactly the place he was going to wait out the night and allow his body to heal. As long as the Fae didn't discover him or whatever unsightly creatures were in these woods, then he'd be fine.
The Dark Forest was vast, offering ample concealment and the ability to sneak to new hiding spots if he needed to. Zephyr's powers were sporadic, so he couldn't solely rely on them to always work. Still, his skills as a thief provided a significant advantage—or so he hoped. Anything could happen in these woods.
Although the Slinktail was lanky, Zephyr managed to squeeze himself into the hollow of the tree trunk, his long legs stretching out on the branch as he watched the forest floor, sword and dagger resting on his lap. At dawn, he would move from the spot.
His head drooped to the side a few times, sleep surprisingly finding him. The haunting cries began to resemble a lullaby. It was only the occasional shouts and clashing of swords echoing back to him that roused him from sleep. But it wasn't until the noises grew louder, closer, that Zephyr became more alert.
Zephyr blinked away the sleep from his eyes and clutched his weapons. Slinktails raced across the ground, and many were injured. Some Draegorths followed, and a few stopped to kill armoured men. Zephyr froze. They wore the hunter armour.
Were these the Slinktails he helped free, or did they flee from the towns and villages much closer? Sorgaran was a lord and might have told more than his group to flee. The Dark Forest was risky, but it was better to escape to these haunting woods where humans wouldn't follow—or so he thought.
These hunters proved him wrong.
They chased after the demons, their numbers greater than the Slinktails and Draegorths. The level 3 demons managed to keep them at bay for a while before falling or giving up and running away. Zephyr continued to watch from high above, waiting for them to pass before he would make his own escape.
"Retreat!" A deep voice called out. "We will burn this place to the ground!"
Zephyr sprang to his feet, alarmed by the man's words. His alarm doubled when he saw who was shouting—Ace Chance, the one who had nearly killed Maz.
Ace swiped his blades through some of the thicket, and beside him was a gleaming little redhead, the Spymaster. Bruising coloured down the side of her face and neck, her lip busted up. Still, she smirked.
"Everyone will flee their hiding spots," The Spymaster shouted out.
They were trying to encourage the cowards of their men. These were the ones following them, acting spooked, clutching at their weapons and looking around the forest like it might swallow them whole. It was possible; Zephyr was sure of that.
"The Dark Forest will be no more," The Spymaster continued. "The fae, elves, creatures, demons, everyone will die here tonight."
He thought they only had an issue with the demons, but the other creatures as well? These were the humans' so-called heroes.
Zephyr stealthily snuck along the branches. The enforcers' words had awakened the forest. He wasn't one with the place like the elves and Fae and whatever else was in this shitshow, but the vibration of the ground, swirling of the wind and sudden burst of starlight erupted in the centre of where Ace and the Spymaster were. They stumbled back, arms covering their eyes as they peered up.
In the middle of the woods, no, dotted all over, suspended in the air were creatures with moth-like wings. Dark laughter rumbled through the woods, making Zephyr freeze in motion, almost slipping from the branch. One of those creatures appeared directly in front of him, yet it did not pay him any mind, laughing along with the others.
It was oddly beautiful in a petrifying and enchantingly engrossing way.
With pointed ears adorned in black diamante dangling earrings, sharpened by a blade at the end, black ink had been dragged down their faces, made from simple handprints, accentuating their pale, ghostly skin. A black line of ink swiped through their lips and down their chin, dotting down their elegant throats.
Men and women strikingly terrifying with sharp jawlines and pointed cheeks to the point they looked to be hollow and starving while their eyes were a vivid green. Long black, navy or moss green hair fell down in shimmering, silky waves down their back.
The man in the middle wore a thorned crown, while others wore black feathers. He spoke in a language Zephyr couldn't understand, his voice resounding, almost piercing his ears with its quality. The others laughed as he pointed at Ace and the Spymaster with a cruel smile on his lips.
"Humans, so pitiful and untrustworthy," he remarked snidely as he looked down at them all like they were insignificant beings taking up his precious time.
"F-fuckin' 'ell…" One of the hunters directly below Zephyr stuttered. He was pretty sure he could smell the piss from here. "F-Fae?"
His words were no more than a muttering mess that Zephyr heard with his superior hearing. Otherwise, nobody heard him.
"Do not enter the Dark Forest was our warning…" The Fae in charge continued in a dark, spine-chilling voice. "Yet your arrogance has brought you to your deaths. Not only are there humans trampling over what is sacred and ours, but you brought… Devils." He looked directly at Zephyr, his eyes piercing through him. The Slinktail almost fell to the ground from the look alone.
"Kill them. Rip their spines from their bodies and hang them up at the entrances of the forest for all to see."
The creature in front of Zephyr turned its head in his direction as the others dove towards the hunters, weapons of spears, bows and arrows and black shimmering swords aimed at their bodies. Zephyr stared back at this creature, sword raising, ready for its strike, but it flew past him and slammed into someone behind him.
Zephyr released a slow, long breath as he stared at one of the spies belonging to the Spymaster. The masked man must have begun following him in the midst of these creatures arriving. Now, his skull had been crushed in this humanoid's hand like it was jelly.
He needed to go, NOW.
Shots rang out, one after the other, and one by one, these creatures fell to the ground. But the bullets did not stop them. Amidst the chaos, Zephyr dashed forward, sliding along branches, leaping from tree to tree until he finally landed on the forest floor. With swift, powerful strides, he raced through the underbrush, swiping his sword across backs, striking his enemy down as he fled.
The sight of a Slinktail's abilities surpassing some of the hunters caught Ace Chance's attention. He dived behind a tree, dodging the faes' attacks and leaned against the bark, watching the low-levelled demon beelining for the forest and away from the madness.
"That's him." The Spymaster released the Fae's chin from where she stood over it and had sliced its throat. The creature collapsed beneath her, and she wiped her blade on the back of its carcass, staring in the same direction as Ace. "It has to be him! He wasn't normal, Ace."
Ace narrowed his eyes before dishing out his orders. "Stay here. Keep as many as you can alive!" The enforcer then raced after the demon, whose figure was almost lost in the darkness.
"You're not getting away," Ace promised himself, unsheathing his swords as he closed in on the demon.