Cron sat at the helm of the carriages, navigating through the dense trees of the Dereen forest to the main HQ.
Dereen was at the most eastern corner of the Pembrok, stretching for almost 1500 km in all three cardinal directions; north, west and south except the east, where the great sea of Parcholus was.
Finding the way in the forest of Dereen was a humongous task in itself, as one could lose their way pretty quickly. That is why Cron was finding specific trees with glowing fruits to locate the general area of the HQ, then calling his boss to get them.
'Damn, the trees really are huge.'
He slowly moved forward with his men behind him every time he saw a tree with glowing fruits. They were pretty easy to spot, as the shades of the big tree made the surrounding space dim.
He was happy with how his task was progressing.
'Lady Luck might have really blessed me. I swear to donate after this mission.'
Happy enough to promise a donation despite the despicable acts he did.
Swoosh!
He caught a sudden movement of the shadows, turning his head.
"Did you see that? "
"See what, sir? "
"The shadows."
"No, sir. I saw nothing. Did something happen? "
"No, nothing. You don't have to concern yourself."
'I swear I saw the shadows move, or was it just my imagination? '
As he passed through the long trees, strange things started to happen. Like a sudden movement of the shadows and weird voices. At first, he dismissed it as hallucinations, yet the situation began to get stranger.
'What is happening? Did I see a moving shadow again?'
Then…
Du-da-du~
Da-da~
He heard a soft melody of the flute. His body tensed, and sweat started to form on his forehead unknowingly. He took out his saber and turned to look toward his men, giving them a signal to prepare for the fight.
"Who is there! "
"..."
He inquired, yet no response came.
He halted his carriage and jumped onto the damp mud with a dull 'thud.' His men followed his lead as they started to climb down one by one after stopping their carriages.
His back tensed as soon as his shoes touched the mud; every muscle coiled like a spring, ready to snap at any moment instinctively.
The grip on his weapon tightened without him realizing it. He looked towards his men, who were ready to act on his commands at any moment; they nodded at his gaze.
"Come out now, and we'll spare you! "
He tried to warn him and get him out to attack, yet all he got was...
Du-di-da~
Da-du-da-du~
The soft melody of the flute still echoed.
No…
If before it felt like someone was playing the flute from a distance, now… it was as if they were playing it right next to his ear.
He started to feel fear.
Fear of the unknown.
And the atmosphere of the forest didn't help to ease it. As they were surrounded by long trees that blocked sunlight, making the space beneath dimly lit, dense bushes that occasionally moved in the wind, and the damp mud beneath their feet.
Suddenly, a strong stench of iron assaulted their nostrils, all heads snapped to look at what had happened, and to their horror, one of them was missing.
'What! ... What happened? '
The fear grew more.
Yet…
Da-du-di~
Di-da~
The damn music continued without stopping even once, as if it thrived and grew more on their fear.
"S-show yourself! "
Cron's grip over his weapon tightened so much that his knuckles turned white. His breath hitched, and an invisible hand clutched his heart as if it were being squeezed for every ounce of blood.
He didn't make a sound.
Nor did he move.
Gulp~
He slowly looked towards his men with side-eyes, and they were not faring much better than him. They had paled, losing all colour from their faces, their legs trembled, and they looked terrified.
"S-s-sir, what sh-h-hould we d-do? "
One of his men, who was closer to him, asked with a clear fear in his voice.
"I don't know. " He mumbled to himself.
He really didn't know.
How could he know about something unknown?
He didn't know... That is why he got more frightened by the whole situation, and the strong stench of the iron still lingered in the air, making his skin crawl.
'Dammit! Get a grip on the situation, Cron! '
But then…
It stopped.
The music.
Yet, instead of easing. He tensed even more, his heart beating so fast that it felt like it would burst out of his chest.
Cron, who was supposed to be the leader and maintain the morale of his men, felt a primal fear, as if he were standing in front of a catastrophe.
Forget the morale of his men.
He was even struggling to stand properly, with his legs trembling.
'Fuck! Fuck! What the hell is going on? '
But…
Squelch!
A sickening voice came, and he turned his sight downwards, and to his utter horror, tentacles sprouted from the mud, twisting and writhing like a living being with pulsating veins covered over its purple surface.
Squelch!
Cron and his men flicked their feet, jumping back from the horrifying tentacles.
'What are they? '
Cron was confused.
Confused by the whole situation, from how his luck turned into misfortune to the strange events leading him, but more than confusion, his mind was dominated by fear.
"Get hold of yourselves! And attack."
He ordered his men despite the shaking in his hand.
Swoosh~
A tentacle shot towards him right after his command, and he cut it down pretty easily, which made him happy for the first time.
'Yes, I can—
His thoughts halted mid-sentence, his head snapped down, and more of the tentacles came out.
Squelch... Squelch...
His expression stiffened, and he started to swing his sword more, cutting the new tentacles. Yet, each time he cut, two more came out.
'Why are they multiplying? Shouldn't they die?
The previous fear was gone; his mind was now occupied by the tentacles. He started to think of ways to kill.
So... He infused mana into his saber, making a thin veil out of mana around it.
Swish~
He cut a tentacle.
Thud~
And to his surprise, it dropped dead. He got excited and shouted to his men, "Infuse your weapons with mana! " They did as he told them.
And it worked; it killed the tentacles.
The situation started to ease, and their morale came back.
"Yes!"
"Hahaa!"
"They are dying! "
They started to burn through their stamina and mana more quickly to kill them all and start their journey once again.
But...
Who knew it was just a show to give them a glimpse of hope and snatch it back, taking all hope away and throwing them in the pit of despair?
Cron looked around and saw his men's pale faces gaining some colour.
Bang!
Cron was blasted, crashing into a tree. He spat blood, his vision blurry, and a strong scream gave some clarity. He lifted his gaze, only to be met with despair.
"How? Weren't they dead? "
He saw the tentacles.
Squelch... squelch...
He watched with his battered and bloody body as the tentacles twisted and slithered like a snake over his men, devouring them.
'Heh, is this how it ends? '
Squelch!
His men started to shout as the tentacles devoured them.
"AHhhhh…!"
"No non noon ono nono non on! "
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die."
"I'm sorry for all the sins! "
They pleaded.
Cried.
Confessed.
And…
Hoped… that some angel would come to give them solace and a warm embrace, and to say it was all… a nightmare.
No, an angel came.
All that was left was…
Despair.
And hopelessness.
Squelch!
Cron felt a sickening and gooey texture over his ankle. He slowly turned his head down; purple tentacles wrapped around his leg, slithering like a snake over him.
It slowly covered his entire body.
"I wish... I had been a... better man." He slowly mumbled to himself.
Before the darkness devoured his vision, he saw…
…A small demon wearing a black suit, accented with a white shirt with a tie so red that it seemed it was dyed in fresh blood. Two horns rested on his forehead as a crown, and four fangs were coming out beside his mouth; his face was black, and a beautiful silver flute was near his mouth.
Squelch!
Light faded, and complete darkness embraced him.