"We're finally here!" Ava panted as she jumped down from her broomstick, and so did Shawn. "Where's my brother?" she asked, looking around.
She saw him ahead, sitting on the ground with Alice and the old man. They were in a vast grassland. She walked towards them and noticed that his face was full of bruises, as if he had been in a shootout.
"I told you not to do that, Ash!" Ava scolded. "Look what happened to your face!" She was so worried that she couldn't stop herself from rebuking him.
"Don't worry, sister!" Ash smiled, showing that he lost one of his fore teeth, making him look like a badass anime kid. "That was a great rehearsal for me."
"Great rehearsal?" Ava asked angrily. "After what happened to your face, you'll call it a rehearsal. Where's your brain, Ash? Have you lost it?"
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we don't have much time left, guys!" Alice interrupted when she saw something beyond the grassland. "The monsters are approaching this way."
"Ash, please don't fight for now," Ava told her brother. "Go hide somewhere with Shawn."
"But sis—" Ash wanted to argue with his sister, but she cut him off.
"No more buts," Ava said impatiently. "You're no longer a kid, so don't make any trouble again. Be obedient to your sister even just this time."
Ash could do nothing but follow his sister's command. How could he master his skills if she wouldn't allow him to fight? He wondered. He thought he could finally fight those monsters.
"I really hate you!" Ash shouted as he ran towards the thick bushes to hide.
"Don't shout, or you'll attract the monsters!" Ava warned him before leaving. She was going to fight the monsters face-to-face with the old man and Alice.
Shawn followed Ash behind the bushes, while Ava, the old man, and Alice fought the monsters. There were around five hundred monsters; some were ogres and huge orcs, but it wouldn't be difficult because the three of them were all strong and powerful.
The old man was a master, while Ava and Alice were both elites, so they could easily defeat those low-level monsters, unlike Shawn and Ash, who were both warriors but weren't given the chance to fight.
"I'm so sick of this hide-and-seek!" Ash complained. He suddenly stood up from the bush and shot some wind strokes towards the goblins, but he hadn't hit them and instead attracted them.
"Ash, what are you doing?" Shawn asked.
"I'm fighting the goblins. If you don't want to fight, then you can hide here forever," Ash replied. "But I'm not a coward who'd do that."
Shawn was shocked to hear those words from Ash. He didn't expect him to have this kind of personality. This could be the reason why Ava was so strict with him, or maybe Ava's strictness was the reason why Ash was doing this.
Ash tried his best to hit the goblins, but it was hopeless. The wind wouldn't follow his command; it was going in a different direction. Until then, the goblins were so close to them.
Shawn was surprised by what Ash did. He didn't know what to do as the goblins ran towards them. His knees were shaking in fear again. He thought it would be his last, but a spark of hope suddenly shone.
Ash manages to hit the enemies. However, they were many and fast. His mana was also draining. He realized that he shouldn't have done that. He should have followed what his sister told him to do.
"I'm so sorry, sister! I made a mistake!" Ash cried. "I'm stubborn! Please help me!"
Having no mana would weaken a mage's body, restraining his feet from moving, so he couldn't run from danger. That was exactly what happened to Ash.
Shawn couldn't leave him either. He thought he would die with him rather than run away. Besides, he didn't want him to be called a coward. He was so tired of his old life. He was no longer the same person who kept running away from his problems.
Ava heard her brother screaming. She wanted to help him, but she was also preoccupied with the monsters around her. There were so many, and she didn't know where they were coming from.
She didn't want to do this, but she had no other choice but to ask for Alice's help. She thought she would never ask for her help.
"Alice, can you help my brother?" Ava requested.
Alice smiled and made her way through the crowd of monsters. She used her skills very well by moving swiftly around without being noticed.
Shawn, on the other hand, couldn't think clearly. He could hear the monsters again. He covered his ears, which slightly grew longer and pointed. His head was aching as if it was going to burst.
"You destroyed our home. Now we're coming together to attack your town!" Shawn heard an ogre growl. "You destroyed our home!"
Hearing those voices, Shawn understood the reason why these monsters attacked them. Their home was destroyed, and they were taking revenge.
It was the forbidden forest, the largest jungle in the world. It supplies half of the world's oxygen and serves as a home for thousands of creatures.
Perhaps the monsters were angered by the people cutting down trees in the forest to make their houses. He felt sorry for them.
Alice came to help Shawn and Ash. She smiled at them, saying that she came for their rescue. Then she attempted to kill the goblins.
"Wait!" Shawn said. "Don't kill them!"
"Not again," Alice replied. "Why not, Mister Strange? Are you hearing something weird again?"
"Exactly!" Shawn remarked. "I know the reason why they are attacking us."
"What?" Ash asked loudly. Shawn had never mentioned something like this to him before. "How do you know, brother?"
"Okay, I won't kill them, and I will listen to your statements later, but for now, we should escape from here," Alice replied.
Alice used her skills to bring Shawn and Ash to a safer place. She was sweating so hard as she sat on the ground. It seemed like she had used all her mana to carry the two of them.
"Thank you, Alice, for saving us," Ash said. "I'm sorry for causing trouble again. I didn't listen to my sister's instructions." His voice was low and apologetic.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'm not mad. Your sister asked me to save you, so I'm obliged. She'll skin me alive if you get killed by those goblins. By the way, I want to hear Shawn's explanation," Alice replied.
"These monsters are attacking us because we destroyed their home, the forbidden forest," Shawn said. He took a deep breath and continued, "They are taking revenge."
Alice was quite surprised by what she heard from Shawn. She didn't want to believe him, but she knew he didn't have the power to lie.
"So, what do you think is the best way to stop their assault?" Alice asked. What she meant was, what could Shawn do to stop this war between monsters and humans? He was just an ordinary boy.
"Now that we've come into this, I think negotiating with their king will solve this problem," Shawn replied, although he was a bit doubtful.
"What?" Ash was surprised. "Do you mean you'd talk with King Orc the Great? But how would you do that?" Ash was confused.
Although he had heard about the king of orcs who lived in the dungeon located in the deepest part of Forbidden Forest, Ash knew that there was no way to negotiate with him because of his ferocious identity and fierce bodyguards. No one would ever get near him unless that person was ready to die.
"Yup, Ash is right. How could you talk with a monster?" Alice agreed. "That sounds crazy."
"Don't worry, leave this to me," Shawn replied with a smile on his face, saying that he had some plans.
Alice wasn't comfortable with this. Shawn could be killed if he talks with the king of the orcs. Perhaps he didn't know how ferocious those monsters could be. He was really a weird stranger.
"Well, if it could stop the war between humans and monsters, then why won't we give it a shot?" Alice asked. "Don't worry, I'll bring you to their king."
Alice knew that Ava would skin her alive if she let Shawn get killed, so after a few moments of recharging her mana, she brought him to the orcs' territory to meet King Orc the Great.
They halted at the front of a dungeon in the forbidden forest. It was the settlement of orcs. Inside were hundreds of huge orcs and their king.
"It's your time to shine, Shawn," Alice told him. "You should be brave to face their king. There are more than a hundred of my orcs inside, so you better be careful. Don't forget to get out alive."
"You won't go with me?" Shawn asked. Just looking at the dungeon sent shivers through his flesh. He didn't know what would happen to him inside or if he could get out, but he'd try his best to convince their king to stop this war.
"No, I can't," Alice replied. "They can sense my mana if I go with you—that'll cause more trouble. But don't worry, I'll wait for you here."
Alice was still against Shawn's plan. He didn't have any power. If he'd angered the king, for sure he wouldn't be able to go out alive.