"The whole forest is made of magic. Just add a little bit of yours to it and it will show you a part… that is the only way to leave the forest… that's all I know." Replied the leader, his voice barely audible.
"Oh? And which kingdom is the nearest to this forest? Village, any place habitable." Ethan asked.
"Uhmm… that would be Wingx Kingdom and the Union Kingdom, both are still far but the nearest, two days at most".
"I haven't heard of any of those kingdoms, you sick bastard. You really took me so far into the other side of the world?!"
"We didn't have a choice, the old lady would have tracked us down." The bandit cried.
"You disgust me." Ethan clicked his tongue.
"....".
"Add a little bit of magic and it will show me that way? That's quite dramatic for a bunch of trees and dry land." Ethan uttered, letting go of the bandit's shirt for him to drop to the ground.
"Add a little bit of magic…" He repeated as he slowly walked away, looking left and right as if trying to spot something.
The instant the bandit felt Ethan was far away, he stood up from the ground, and turned around to take to the woods. But the moment he turned around, he was met with Alpha, who was on her legs and arms, growling violently.
He was startled. The bandit dropped to his butt, his eyes widened in fear.
"H..hold on, I wasn't trying to get away, I promise." Pleaded the bandit with his hands stretched forward, despite it falling due to no bones to hold it.
It didn't take Alpha less than a second, to suddenly sprint forward and kick him right in the head. The force sent his head flying from his shoulder and so far into the forests, while his body laid on the ground with blood rushing from the opening.
"Haaaaaaa! I got it!" Ethan said with a smile while slamming his hands together, "All I have to do is transfer a bit of my magic ajd and that solves it! There we go, aren't you smar-".
The moment he turned around to address the bandit, he was met with a headless opponent and Alpha who was happily walking towards him.
"You killed my prey?" Ethan squeaked, "New rule, no killing master's prey".
"Alpha didn't mean to, but the bandit was annoying." She replied, standing in front of him with her head lowered and her tail wagging.
Being a demon lord in his past life, and having a general who was also a demi human, Ethan was able to guess exactly what she was asking for.
Sighing, Ethan gently placed his hand on her head and began petting her, "There there, you did good." He said, as he watched her smile innocently.
After their petting session, Ethan and Alpha focused on the next thing at hand, which was getting out of the forest and moving to the nearest kingdom.
Passing his magic through the forest was the only lead Ethan had to get out of the forest and so he proceeded with that. First he found a random tree and placed it hand on it.
And then gently, he began passing his magic into the tree. Like a glass, he felt the illusion shatter in front of him, and seconds later, he could see a golden trial, leading him somewhere.
That was the path that led out of the forest.
Wasting no time, Ethan pressed forward along the trail, Alpha following in his wake. Uncertain of what lay ahead, they forged ahead with the only option available to them.
Minutes dragged on, the tension thick in the air as Ethan sensed the subtle shift of the wind and the warm embrace of sunlight filtering through the foliage.
As he pushed through the final barrier of leaves, a breathtaking sight unfolded before him. Layers of golden sand stretched out, punctuated by imposing rock formations that reached towards the horizon, their jagged peaks casting long shadows in the afternoon sun.
"Finally… I can see the light!!!" Ethan exclaimed, walking out of the forest and towards the rising sand with a smile on his face.
Alpha, who had been in the forest all her life, stood at the end, her eyes widened in amazement and fear as she saw the sand for the first time since she was born.
"Yesss!!! Haha, in your face!" Ethan fell on his back, enjoying the warm sand against this skin while looking up at the sun.
Suddenly, he noticed he couldn't hear Alpha's voice, so he sat up right, and that was when he saw her contemplating stepping on the sand with her bare foot.
"What are you doing? Come on!!!" He yelled.
"Eh… Alpha doesn't know about this. Maybe she should stay in the forest…" She replied.
"Stay in the forest… What are you talking about?! Didn't you say you went to follow me?" Ethen asked, slowly rising from the sand.
"Y-Yes".
"Then take that step woman! I promise it's fine… see?! I'm fine." Ethan tried to convince her, stepping on the sand multiple times for her to see it was safe.
"O-Okay…"
She gulped down her saliva and closed her eyes. Taking one step, she could feel the warm crunchy sand filling her feet before she took another step.
"See, you're doing great!!!, you've got this.. come closer".
A smile formed on Alpha's face as she walked on the sand, something she had never felt before since all her life, she had only been surrounded by grasses and trees.
"Yes, that's it. You're going great."
"Alpha is walking on these tiny warm thingys!!!" Alpha exclaimed excitedly.
"They are called sand sweetie. And you're doing great, just like I said, nothing bad happen-"
Whoop!
From nowhere, a giant bird grabbed Alpha from the ground and whooshed her to the sky in the blink of an eye.