Meanwhile , back inside the forest, the group huddled together, sitting in uneasy silence. The oppressive atmosphere weighed on them, each passing second amplifying their fears as they waited for news from Theodore and their instructor.
Noah paced back and forth, his face a storm of frustration and self-loathing. His clenched fists trembled as he muttered angrily to himself. Every time he glanced at the distant figure of the slime queen towering over the forest, his chest burned with shame. How could Theodore, someone the same age as him, be fighting that monstrous 12-foot queen while he sat here doing nothing?
He glared at the palm of his hand as if it held the answers to his failures. Raising it to the sky in defiance, he muttered under his breath, "Why is nobody saying anything? Why am I the only one who cares? Why can't I be like Theodore? What am I so afraid of?" His voice cracked as he bit down on his lip, his frustration boiling over. "If I keep going like this, I won't be able to face him anymore..."
"Noah, stop!" Elisa's voice broke through his spiral of thoughts, startling him. She stood trembling, her face pale but her expression firm. "I know we feel powerless, but we can't do anything... We're just ten-year-old kids! We can't!" Her voice wavered, and her eyes shone with unshed tears.
Noah spun around, his frustration exploding. "And isn't Theodore ten years old too?! He's out there fighting that monster! Fighting for us! And you're all just sitting here doing nothing! Am I the only one worried about him?!"
"Noah, look around you!" Elisa shouted back, her voice rising with anger and despair. "You're not the only one who feels this way! Do you think I want to be sitting here, waiting like this?!"
Noah paused, his breath heavy, and glanced around at the others. For the first time, he noticed the weight of their emotions. Elisa's hands trembled as she wiped at her eyes, her frustration and helplessness etched into her expression. Vivian sat apart from the group, her lips moving in a quiet mantra, her fingers nervously tracing patterns on the ground as if to distract herself from the horror of what was happening. Jin sat slumped against a tree, hugging his knees, his face pale and his eyes darting nervously around their surroundings.
Jin finally broke the silence, his voice barely above a whisper. "I... I think we shouldn't fight. If we go out there, we'll just get in the way. We should wait near the gate, avoid the slimes, and survive. Prince Theodore... he'll save us. He's the hero, right? Like in Daunt Village?"
Those words ignited something in Noah. His frustration boiled over, and he stormed toward Jin, grabbing him roughly by the collar and yanking him to his feet. "Save us?! You want to sit here and wait for him to save us while he risks his life for everyone?! You can't fight. You can't even try! What are you even doing here?!"
"Noah, stop!" Elisa shouted, running to intervene, but her voice fell on deaf ears.
Jin adjusted his glasses shakily, his voice trembling. "Noah, calm down! It's not my fault I'm like this. I... I'm scared—"
Before Jin could finish, Noah's fist collided with his face, sending him flying into the trunk of a nearby tree. The sickening sound of impact was followed by Jin coughing up blood as he struggled to get back to his feet, trembling.
"Noah, that's enough!" Elisa yelled, rushing toward him. She grabbed his arm, trying to pull him back, but Noah shook her off, his glare fixed on Jin.
Vivian knelt beside Jin, checking him for injuries, her face pale with shock. "What is wrong with you?!" she snapped, her quiet demeanor cracking.
Noah didn't respond to her. Instead, he pointed at Jin, his voice dripping with contempt. "Stop fighting? You mean I should stop kicking this useless weakling in the guts? He can't do anything but whine all day like a baby. How did Theodore even pick someone like him as a partner?!" His voice grew harsher, cutting like a blade. "People like you—leeches who drag others down—should just rot in hell. No one in this world would ever want you anyway!"
A loud slap echoed through the forest.
Elisa stood before Noah, her hand still raised, trembling. Tears streamed down her face as she glared at him. "You don't have the right to say that to anyone. Not to Jin, not to anyone. No matter how angry you are. No matter what the situation is."
Noah stared at her, stunned into silence, his cheek stinging from the slap. For a moment, he said nothing. Then, without a word, he turned and began walking deeper into the forest.
"Where are you going?!" Elisa called after him, her voice breaking.
Noah paused, his back to the group. "I'm going to help the prince and our instructor. At least I'll be doing something useful instead of sitting here, waiting like a coward."
"You'll die if you go alone!" Elisa cried, taking a step toward him, but her legs gave out beneath her, and she fell to the ground.
Noah rushed over to Elisa. "Are you okay?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry.
Elisa nodded weakly, brushing herself off. "Yeah... but it's strange. I don't feel scared anymore," she murmured, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Noah paused, realizing that he felt the same. The fear that had been gripping him moments ago had suddenly lifted, leaving him with an odd sense of calm. He glanced at Vivian, who was studying them both with a sharp, calculating gaze. Jin, on the other hand, was still trembling, his face pale and his hands clutching the small potion bottle like a lifeline.
"How is that possible?" Vivian muttered, her eyes narrowing as they locked onto the two potion in Jin's hands. "Give me that recovery potion Mr. Lenny gave us."
Jin clutched the two bottle tighter, his voice shaky. "But... Vivi, we might need it. What if we run out of strength later?"
Vivian's expression hardened, and she stepped forward, yanking the bottle from his hands with a force that startled everyone. "Give it to me!" she snapped, her usual quiet demeanor replaced by something sharper, more commanding.
Noah and Elisa exchanged uneasy glances, confused by Vivian's sudden intensity.
"Oh, how rare," Elisa said, her tone wavering between curiosity and unease. "What did you find this time, Miss Quiet Girl?"
Vivian turned to Elisa, her icy glare silencing her instantly. "The truth," she said coldly. "There's something wrong with this potion Mr. Lenny gave us. I think... I know it's not what it seems."
Elisa and Noah looked at each other, their confusion deepening. "What do you mean?" Noah asked cautiously.
Vivian took a deep breath, her hands tightening around the small bottle. "Back in my territory, my father taught me how to identify bad potions. And the best way to reveal their true nature is through ice."
"Ice?" Elisa and Noah said in unison, their voices filled with disbelief.
"Yes," Vivian said firmly, her tone laced with urgency. She raised the bottle, her hand glowing faintly with her mana. "Our family's ice magic can expose hidden substances by freezing their components. Watch."
Vivian concentrated, channeling her mana into the bottle. Frost began to spread across its surface, and within seconds, the liquid inside started to react violently. The potion bubbled and burned, the red liquid transforming into a sickly green sludge. Vivian poured it onto the ground, where it hissed and evaporated into a foul-smelling mist.
"I knew it," she muttered, her voice trembling with both anger and fear. "It's slime liquid. That's why we were all paralyzed with fear earlier. Slimes have the ability to inflict terror through their essence, and this potion was meant to keep us from going anywhere near the queen."
Noah's eyes widened, his fists clenching at his sides. Elisa's face turned pale, her lips trembling as she tried to process the revelation.
"But... why would Mr. Lenny do that?" Elisa asked, her voice shaking. "Doesn't he want us to fight? Doesn't he want us to survive?"
Noah's jaw tightened as pieces of the puzzle began falling into place. "Now that I think about it, Lenny's been acting strange this whole time," he said. "When we were fighting the slimes earlier, he was holding back."
Vivian nodded grimly. "Exactly. And I noticed his eagle, too. It wasn't just watching for threats—it was spying on us. Especially Theodore."
"That's impossible!" Jin shouted, his voice rising in panic. "You're all insane! Are you seriously accusing Mr. Lenny? He's been our instructor for two years! He's protected us, taught us everything we know. He wouldn't do this!"
Noah turned on Jin, his glare sharp enough to cut. "Of course, you'd defend him. You're too weak to see what's right in front of you. You're nothing but a useless coward who clings to others for protection!"
Jin flinched, his hands trembling as he tried to form a rebuttal, but the words wouldn't come.
"Stop it, both of you!" Vivian snapped, her voice uncharacteristically commanding. She turned to the group, her expression resolute. "There's no time to argue. Theodore could be in danger. We need to move now."
Elisa hesitated, her gaze flickering to Vivian. (Since when is she this decisive? It's like she's a completely different person...) Despite her suspicion, Elisa nodded. "Alright. Let's go. We need to save that stubborn idiot."
The group nodded in agreement and began running deeper into the forest, their steps careful as they tried to mask their presence. Jin lingered behind for a moment, his body shaking with fear.
"Hey, guys, wait for me!" he finally shouted, stumbling after them as the eerie silence of the forest seemed to close in around him.
___________
Meanwhile, Theodore stood alone, his sword glowing with ominous purple flames. His breaths came heavy and uneven, but his crimson eyes burned with determination as he faced both the slime queen and the man who had betrayed him.
Lenny stood a few feet away, the queen's massive figure looming behind him like a shadow. He wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes, a dangerous glint in his gaze as he watched Theodore.
Despite his exhaustion, Theodore raised his sword and pointed it at Lenny, masking his fatigue with unwavering confidence. "Before we start, let me guess—you want to stall for time? For what, Lenny?" His voice dripped with venom, and the killing intent radiating off him made Lenny's hair stand on end.
Lenny chuckled nervously, wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. "Now, now, let's not be hasty, my prince. Surely, we can—"
"Enough with the games," Theodore snapped, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade. "Whatever your plan is, it ends here."
The forest seemed to hold its breath, the weight of betrayal and the promise of battle hanging heavy in the air.