Seraph was looking at Smiling Shadow through his mask. His eyes were deprived of any emotions and his expression was blank.
"Aghh... Fine, damn it!! I'll tell you! Stop looking at me like that!"
Seraph didn't say anything, instead, he held out his hand and a glass bottle full of red liquor appeared. He handed it to Smiling Shadow and said:
"Take this and drink it... It's a full recovery potion."
"Thanks... I guess..."
"Dark Witch, please give us some silence."
"Ok."
Lucy snapped her fingers and a transparent bubble appeared around Trickster and Smiling Shadow. Soon enough, the rest of the group followed inside.
"Talk", said Seraph.
"Don't order me around, I'm not your underling. And don't think that I'm just going to tell you how to beat me to the first Clue. I have a condition."
"So there is Maya civilization in the forest, huh", Kai.
"What condition are you talking about?!? Seraph has beaten you fair and square and you agreed to tell him how to get to the center!", Morgan.
"Oh... You want to know how I got to the center? It's easy, I was just faster than the forest."
"How does that even make sense?!?", Kai.
"If you want a detailed explanation, you have to agree to my condition."
"What is it?", Seraph.
"I want a tempoary allaince. If you promise to help me at the center of the forest, I will tell you how to get there."
"Ok...You got it."
"But Trickster!! How are you sure he won't betray us after he gets what he wants? You can manage, but what about us? We can't beat him!", Kai.
"That's for Dark Witch to take care of. Use Brand of Loyalty, please."
"Of course."
"What's that?", Smiling Shadow.
"It's a spell I use that places a curse on you if you betray someone. I'll use it now."
Lucy ordered the rest to form a circle around her. Then, she started chanting:
"Oh Magical Power, with your wisdom, I place a brand. With your might, I place a curse. Whoever is loyal, shall be blessed. And whoever is not, shall suffer your wrath. Until we find the first of the Clues, let there be loyalty."
In reality, Lucy didn't have to chant to activate the spell, but it helped her focus, thus making it easier. After she finished, a mark appeared on everybody's right hand, including her. She explained:
"With this, you won't be able to lie, betray, or abandon any of the others. Of course, you can do it, but you will instantly die and you won't be able to enter the Forest of Oblivion ever again. When we find the first Clue and get out safely, the mark will disappear, however, it will still be there even if you wake up and log in again. Any questions?"
"Yeah... How on earth can you have such a strong mentality when I don't?? We're twins!!!"
"I guess it's true that introverted people are stronger mentally, yet socially awkward...", Kai.
"Well, that's not fair!!!", Morgan.
"You can ignore them... Instead, tell me what you mean by being faster than the forest.", Seraph.
"For you turtle guys, the forest is like a maze that can't be solved because you can't even remember from where you entered... But for me who usually runs at the speed of light, the forest is exactly that same speed. Its growth, its Dream Walkers, and even the time that flows there is at the speed of light. But just being as fast as light wasn't enough for me to get to its center, that's why I pushed myself to the limit and ran faster than light. Do you know what that means?"
"You... made you mass... negative?"
"That's right... But it puts a lot on the mentality, that Nameless brat won't be able to do it."
"Hey, who are you calling a brat, you scumbag?"
"It's you, you stupid bitch!"
"Ok, both of you stop, we have to head now. Go to the Teleportation Hub and head to the Forest right now", Seraph.
All of them returned to the energy dome and headed for the structure that was at the center. One by one they entered with Seraphim being the last one. But before that, he turned around and scanned the people who were looking at him.
'Took you long enough to notice. Well, what did I expect from you?'
'Shut up! I knew from the start that people were spying on us... That's why I asked Lucy for Silence.'
'Huh... and you think that worked? Tsk, tsk, tsk...'
With that, Seraph entered the Hub and closed his eyes. Soon enough, he heard the familiar voice of the Dream Host:
[Dreamer... Change your Dream!]
"Danger Zone N. 2"
After he was teleported, three men gathered and one of them said:
"I was with them inside the bubble, invisible... I've confirmed that the first Clue is inside the forest. And I've even known the way to get to its center."
"Great job... Now we only have to gather our men and head there to steal the Clue."
"Don't rush things... Don't forget, the world's top two Dreamers are with them. If we're reckless, we'll bite the dust."
***
Seraph opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the unbelievably tall trees o the forest.
'Here we go... Let's see what waiting for us inside the Oblivion.'