Chapter 13
Julius and Natasha advanced slowly toward the beast, an inexplicable confidence radiating from them.
Especially Julius, who showed no signs of pressure. After all, he had been facing that creature for ten years now.
Within moments, his figure vanished into the trees. The beast's growls and shrieks faded shortly after. They must've started clashing already.
Their absence, at the very least, gave the others a chance to process the revelations that had just been dropped on them.
Several seconds passed, but no one spoke. A heavy silence settled over the group.
Their expressions were blank, their thoughts adrift, none more so than Celestia, who seemed to be struggling the most to accept what she had just learned.
She had discovered that the forest she had walked through, the trees she had rested against, and the wood she had used to light fires… was a graveyard.
She was afraid. The thought of lying forgotten beneath those trees… it chilled her more than any monster or darkness could.
A massive tomb for countless souls, people who, like them, had likely clung to hope before ultimately succumbing.
As for Ice and Ray, though the truth about the forest shook them just as much, what weighed on them even more was what Julius had said with such unwavering conviction:
That escaping this place was impossible.
And from someone who had just demonstrated overwhelming strength, the words hit like a hammer.
So what choices were left to them now?
"Well, this isn't looking good, isn't it?" Ray said, his voice unusually calm.
His tone was light, but Ice caught the tension in his jaw.
Ice turned to look at him, then let out a short laugh. He was glad Ray could still maintain that laid-back attitude, or at least pretend to, even as the situation grew darker by the second.
He shrugged.
"If even strong people like him can't escape, then we'll just have to be smarter. That's all."
Celestia stared at them like they were aliens. She couldn't understand how they could stay so calm, how they could even joke, amid such overwhelming despair.
Ice stood up and began walking in the direction Julius had taken.
Celestia glared at him. "Where do you think you're going?"
Without even glancing back, Ice replied:
"To the fight. I need to see it."
Her voice rose, filled with concern. "Are you insane? Can't you hear the noise they're making? You're going to get yourself killed."
Ice smirked. "Relax. I'm not suicidal. Just curious."
Celestia opened her mouth to protest, but Ice waved casually and took off at a run.
"I have to hurry," he called out with a grin, "or I'll miss the show."
Ray smiled and reassured her. "Don't worry. He'll be back."
Celestia let out a long, irritated sigh and sat down, arms crossed.
Meanwhile, Ice sprinted with everything he had, following the direction of the beast's distant roars and the occasional clash of steel.
The sounds grew louder with each step, and after a few minutes, he finally caught sight of the battle.
He slowed his pace and crept closer, eventually ducking behind a tree to watch from cover.
The creature Julius was fighting looked like another scaled beast, but unlike the one Ice had encountered before, this one was on a whole different level.
It was massive, its hide tinged with a faint reddish hue. One of its arms had morphed into a jagged, blade-like appendage. But what stood out most was the aura it gave off—menacing, suffocating, and utterly unnatural.
This was no ordinary monster.
The way it tore through trees like paper left no doubt about its raw power.
Julius stood alone against it, while Natasha remained several meters back.
The beast appeared far more powerful, and each of its blows seemed capable of tearing him apart.
But Julius resisted, and more than that. Despite the difference in size, he barely backed down, countering the beast's onslaught with perfect precision.
He seemed to predict its every movement and always positioned his sword exactly where it needed to be.
And Natasha, though not as strong as Julius, played a vital role in maintaining the balance of the fight. She moved with perfect timing, striking at every small opening.
Even now, as the beast turned its back on her, she lunged forward and slashed deeply at its leg.
The beast howled and whipped around to find its attacker, but she had already vanished. It turned back to Julius, but it was already too late.
He lowered his stance, grounding himself like a spring, and the sword in his hand pulsed with a blinding white light, pure and lethal, with a bright white light.
Then he lunged forward at a speed Ice could barely follow, slicing off the beast's arm in one precise blow.
The beast roared and charged again, undeterred by the wound or the black liquid, presumably its blood, pouring from the severed limb.
Weakened by the missing arm and slowed by the gash on its leg, it made one final desperate attempt.
But it was pointless.
Julius severed both of its legs in a flash, and the beast collapsed, helpless, lying on the ground and staring at its executioners.
Julius sheathed his sword and looked at the beast with a neutral expression, showing no sign of joy or pride.
Hidden behind the tree, Ice's hands trembled with excitement at the scene he had just witnessed.
Yes, the beast had clearly been stronger than them.
But Julius and Natasha had something else. Something far more valuable in a place like this.
They were evolving.
They had faced that monster countless times and had triumphed again and again, perfecting their strategy and understanding of it.
That was their advantage in this hostile world.
The advantage of simply being human.