The next morning—
A pale haze drifted across the forest floor.
Within the Secret Realm, the time of dawn was quiet. Whisps of thin white mist lingered above the earth, while cold morning dew clung to the grass and roots beneath the trees. Somewhere in the distance, birds quietly chirped while the sound of flowing water echoed softly through the woods.
Near the edge of a shallow river, Rolilly, stripped nude, lazily soaked within the clear water.
Several of the combat maids who had entered with her stood guard nearby with indifferent expressions, quietly scanning the surroundings, while the dozen or so imperial guards stood much farther away, their silhouettes half-concealed in the distant haze, allowing the riverbank to remain peaceful and pure.
Rolilly leaned back against a smooth stone, while the chilly morning water flowed around her chest.
Her short blond hair was soaked and loose, while droplets that chilled the skin slowly slid down her back as the cold morning breeze brushed against her exposed skin.
With a hazy expression, she nibbled lightly on her finger, staring blankly toward the drifting fog.
"…This puppetry technique is still so annoying…" she muttered to herself quietly.
Her dark green eyes narrowed. "Second sister's talent in puppetry is completely different from mine, but even though we practice the same technique, why is there such a big difference…"
Rolilly slowly lifted one hand from the water.
She watched as thin strands of water flowed down. With a turn of her mind, a darkened spiritual energy briefly stretched between her fingers and followed the flowing water, reaching down, hitting the river, then disappearing soon after.
She pursed her lips.
"It's true that it's only an incomplete version of one of my Hellion Family's three legacies, but even then, my puppets are more like corpses…" she sighed. "I can force them to move… force them to obey… force them to become useful… but—"
A small ripple spread through the river.
"But Rorall's puppets are completely different…"
"Just what am I missing? This one technique can't really have so many derivatives, can it?"
Rolilly frowned.
"Why do hers still feel alive, but mine don't…"
That was the part she didn't understand…
Both sisters practiced the same technique, but the ability born from it was like yin and yang.
Rorall's puppets moved naturally, almost like living people, definitely a righteous technique, but Rolilly was closer to a corpse controller. Anyone affected by her puppetry became like a dead object, the complete opposite of her sister. Rorall's puppets fought naturally, and even preserved some habits and instincts, but hers were like a block of dead wood.
"Tsk! How troublesome!"
Rolilly leaned her head back against the stone and sighed heavily.
"…I just don't know how…" she muttered like a bitter brat. "I should've asked before she left… aaaaah~"
The water quietly flowed around her.
After a moment, she puffed out her cheeks slightly.
"Although my puppetry isn't as good as second sister's, it's still not that far behind!"
Suddenly—
Crunch!
Rolilly turned to see a figure stepping out from the forest.
This was a huge figure, a Telltera.
The tall and beastly hunter silently emerged from the fog, before his dark eyes naturally landed on Rolilly's naked body bathing in the river.
He did not blink, and neither did Rolilly.
She merely rolled her eyes lazily before shifting slightly in the water.
"…It's about time you arrived," she muttered. "But seriously… why is your timing always this bad…?"
* * *
Petra swaggered through the forest; her two little hands tucked snugly into her sleeves.
Behind her, the wind drifted lazily between the trees, while the morning light of the Secret Realm filtered down through the overhead canopy in scattered beams. The forest path beneath their feet was relatively flat, although roots and moss occasionally interrupted the beast-treaded path.
Wind walked on Petra's left, while Mell followed quietly from the right.
Petra continuously opened and closed her mouth.
"—And then boom! The old bald guy just stole it!" Petra laughed loudly, gesturing wildly with both hands. "Those idiots actually fought for half an hour for absolutely no reason! Nyahahahahaha!"
Wind sighed from the side.
"That's because that old man is actually very terrifying. If I'm not wrong, that old guy should be trying to create a monstrous foundation. He might even be a candidate with the qualifications to reach the ninth realm. Not everyone is like you, who can cultivate by just sleeping."
Petra rolled her eyes.
"Yep-yep! He's a very sneaky old man!"
As they continued, Petra began listening to Wind talk about the treasures that appeared so far.
"The first treasure that was discovered after entering the forest was that strange exploding sword." Wind explained in a good mood. "Apparently, some overly excited young master touched the sword the wrong way and the whole cliff blew up! Half the people nearby got blown to bits, dying on the spot, and then the actual treasure flew into the sky and escaped on its own!"
Mell nodded calmly.
"From the description, that should be a 'Fourth Order: Wind Spirit Sword Embryo'."
Petra puffed out her cheeks.
"…Mm, it does sound expensive! What a shame! What a shame!"
Her big black eyes flashed to Wind, then turned back.
They continued walking…
"Mm! The second thing that appeared was that ugly screaming tree-heart thingy, right?" Petra was naturally referring to the Soul Shaking Heartfruit.
Wind rubbed her forehead.
"You mean the Soul Shaking Heartfruit?"
"That! That!" Petra nodded vigorously.
She suddenly grinned.
"Honestly, the funniest part was watching all those Necromancers pretend to act calm while secretly going insane inside. They walked away in the end, but they definitely won't give up…"
Mell silently agreed.
Even now, those from the necromancer pathway that had been present were actively hunting down those with weak backgrounds. They would stop at nothing to figure out what had happened, even if the odds of finding out were slim.
"The third treasure appeared not that long ago…" Mell thoughtfully paused.
"It was that crystal lake!"
"You mean the lake with the underwater ruins? I don't think that was a treasure, right? If it was, you would have looked into it." Wind added from the side.
Petra nodded again.
"There was some kind of Fifth Order water-element spirit beast there, but that giant fish didn't look like it had a lot of meat, so I gave up."
"…Reasonable," Mell muttered, actually finding it very unreasonable…
At that moment—
Rustle!
A small head suddenly poked out from within the foliage of a tree beside the path.
It was Lira!
The small red-haired beastman glanced around cautiously while holding a bow nearly as large as herself.
"…Hm?"
Her eyes briefly met Petra's, then she pulled herself back into the tree.
Swoosh!
She vanished back into the canopy.
Petra blinked.
"…Where's Rose?"
Wind calmly replied, "She should be hunting lunch."
"Again? Didn't she do that not long ago?"
"She said she smelled something good nearby." Petra looked mildly disturbed. "…how very cat-like."
They continued walking for a while longer.
Eventually, Petra suddenly raised her hand dramatically.
"Ah! Speaking of important things!"
She knocked one fist into the other, making Wind and Mell immediately feel uneasy.
Petra pushed out her chest.
"It's time for, dun-da-da! Petra's Five Principles of Life, No.5: 'You can do anything if you're not the aggressor! Remember, always be in the right!'"
Wind slowly closed her eyes. "...Why does each of your so-called life principles sound worse than the last? Why are they all so problematic? Also, how does that apply to now? Who could you possibly offend out here, alone in the forest?"
Hump!
Just watch me!
Petra heroically pointed toward the sky.
"If somebody attacks you first, then anything you do afterwards is morally correct!"
Smack!
Her hand suddenly slapped to the side, striking something soft and furry hidden beside the path.
—Silence followed…
Petra: "..."
Wind: "..."
Mell: "..."
Soul Devouring Bark Beast: "..."
Slowly, very slowly…
A gigantic beast slowly stood up. It turned, its head craning from within the bushes to look towards its fat ass. Right there, it discovered a bright red handprint.
This creature resembled an enormous moss-covered ox mixed with the features of a forest boar. Thick bark-like armor covered its body, while glowing yellow eyes slowly locked onto Petra's petite person.
The massive creature's butt, still jiggling slightly from the slap, slipped away, replaced by a large head capable of devouring her in one bite.
Petra stared blankly upwards…
"…Ah?"
"...Ah!"
The beast inhaled deeply—
ROOOOOOOAR!!!
The surrounding forest exploded!
* * *
Boom!
Petra crashed through the thicket, her two little legs blurring with speed unbecoming of her small figure.
"Go go go!"
She continued running through the forest at top speed!
Branches whipped past her face while roots and rocks exploded beneath her feet. The fog blurred around her as she darted between the trees like a frightened little rabbit.
She really messed up this time!
Behind her—BOOM!!
The Soul Devouring Bark Beast, hot on her heels, smashed through another section of forest, its gigantic body bulldozing through the trees without showing even the slightest sign of slowing down. The horrifying creature continuously roared, while its bark-covered gnarled jaws snapped apart chunks of earth and wood.
"Why is it still following mmmeeeeeeeee!?" Petra cried.
Wind shot through the forest beside her with a black face.
"Because you assaulted it!"
"That was one slap!"
"That was not a normal slap!"
"What do you mmmeeeeeean!"
"You definitely did it on purpose!"
"Proof!?!?"
"I think its ass is still glowing red!"
Meanwhile, Lira looked extremely excited.
"Hahahaha! Run faster, run faster! Hahahaha!"
Rustle!
While running, Petra suddenly burst through a dense patch of shrubs and directly collided with another creature hidden within the undergrowth.
Bang!
"…Hm?"
A massive deer-like spirit beast slowly lifted its head.
It turned, its black eyes peering at the small figure that just crashed into its side.
Its body was covered in dark red fur while dozens of crystal-lime antlers spread outwards from its skull. The surrounding air immediately dropped several degrees.
Petra froze.
…The beast blinked!
Then, after an awkward pause, it slowly looked toward the massive Bark Beast rampaging behind her.
"…Ah?"
Petra pointed backward.
"That's not my friend! You deal with it!"
The Crimson Crystal Deer immediately screeched furiously!
Shriiiiek!!
Rumble!
A wild wave of blood colored spiritual energy exploded outwards from its body as the spirit beast instantly locked onto Petra instead.
Wind's expression collapsed.
"…Why!"
"Damn it!"
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The giant deer charged forward!
A few minutes later, the two enormous spirit beasts were simultaneously chasing them through the forest. For some reason, they both treated Petra like their mortal enemy!
Petra screamed, running even faster.
"I didn't even touch this one!"
"You definitely did!"
The surrounding morning forest became chaotic.
Trees shattered, fire and wood exploded, and roots rose and fell, reaching up to intertwine and entrap. Weaker spirit beasts fled in every direction, while Petra zigzagged through the forest like a criminal escaping a round of divine punishment.
Ba-bo-bonk!
The Crimson Crystal Deer, who had caught up, suddenly lowered its head and heavily booped Petra with one of its massive glowing antlers.
"…Eh?"
"…Eh!"
Petra's tiny body immediately flew through the air like a launched pebble.
"Aaaaaaaah!!"
Spin-spin-spin-spin~!
Splat!
Soon, she crashed through a cluster of vines before directly slamming face-first into a gigantic hanging nest hidden high up within the canopy.
Crack!
The sound of something breaking was heard, but soon, silence followed.
Petra slowly lifted her head.
"…Uh oh~? Ah! Mm… Crap?"
The nest trembled as dozens of glowing eyes slowly turned their heads one hundred and eighty degrees, then opened their piercing, slightly innocent eyes to look at her.
"…Creeee~?
Petra: "..."
"…Creeee~!
Petra's face went blank.
The next instant—
Skreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeech!!
An entire nest of giant, black-feathered bolder breaker chicks erupted into a choir of noise, appearing absolutely furious!
Petra immediately jumped away.
"I-I'm sorry!"
She ran, but the forest behind her became even louder.
Damn it!
-
Several minutes later…
Pant… pant!
After an unknown amount of time, Petra finally managed to hide herself inside the high hollow of a tree trunk. She was just below the canopy, tucked away neatly. Sweat dripped down her tiny forehead, while she hugged her knees tightly to her chest and listened carefully to the distant sounds of destruction that were endlessly echoing through the forest.
"…I think I lost them…"
She nodded as if to affirm this…
But her words were also followed by a series of loud roars. Clearly, although she had indeed lost them, they were aggressively searching for her!
Her little eyes squinted, wondering where the others had run off to...
Just then—
Tap?
Tap-tap!
Tap…?
Tap~tap~tap~
Hearing the sound, Petra slowly looked up…
Standing directly outside the tree hollow's entrance was a tall white crane.
It stood at about the height of a grown man, carrying itself with the regal poise of an immortal. Its snow-white feathers gleamed like polished jade, completely untouched by the dust of the mortal world, while its obsidian eyes flashed with a sharp, terrifyingly human light.
A heavy, suffocating wave of spiritual energy radiated from its slender frame, accompanied by faint wisps of pure light that swirled around its long legs. With a needle-like beak that reflected light like a finely honed sword, the creature moved in absolute silence, stepping through the wind as if moving through the very seams of space.
The crane calmly looked at her, making Petra feel odd.
Swoosh!
As she was processing this untimely visitor, it suddenly pulled out a rolled-up wanted poster from somewhere beneath its wing.
It unfurled it, then scanned it from top to bottom.
Petra: "…?"
The crane looked at the poster…
Then looked at Petra…
Then looked back at the poster…
Petra: "…"
Nod-nod!
Nod-nod?
Nod-nod-nod!!
Its eyes immediately lit up with understanding.
Petra's face slowly paled.
She felt like she knew what was coming!
She suddenly had a flashback to a certain beating that occurred on the way to the southern region!
Damn birds!
"…Wait!"
The crane dramatically spread both wings wide—
"…WAIT!"
Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawww!!!
The horrifyingly loud scream echoed throughout the entire forest, immediately calling everything here!