195 Chapter 195: Fores

The forest was...vacant? which was unreal. 

Normally, even if she was still in the outer regions, there should have been lots of rabbits hopping around. But, alas not even rabbits were around making her furrow her brows.

Hazel stopped at the red line in front of her which indicated the beginning of the middle regions. She knitted her brows thinking whether she should try to go deeper or not. But her ears perked up when she heard the snarls and growls within the regions.

Taking a deep breath, Hazel crossed the line while unsheathing the dagger strapped to her waist. Her eyes wandered cautiously as she stepped further in, allowing the darkness to swallow her up. 

Her heart was beating at a rather calm pace making her wary of her surroundings. The eerie silence and her footsteps echoing did nothing but give her goosebumps. Her hair on her arms stood up as she felt something staring at her intensely making her shiver.

Moving her feet in the snow, she studied her surroundings carefully and didn't find anything amiss. She could swear that she felt an intense gaze on her. Frowning, she turned to continue walking. Her heart was beating quickly as she tightened the hold on her dagger. 

She moved through the darkness which gave a little light to walk forward until she came to a stop. Before her, was a plain opening in the middle of the densely clustered trees. She couldn't see well as she stopped by the trees and gazed at the spot.

For some reason, she was feeling a sense of trepidation as if stepping further in was akin to falling for her death. She hesitated to take a step forward until the winter sun came out from its hiding, shining over the opening.

A small pathway of light in the middle of the opening illuminated its surroundings. And, what laid around was snow and nothing else. 

Furrowing her brows, she looked at the small shower of light in the surrounding darkness and moved forward.

Upon reaching the lit spot, she glanced up and saw the small gap between the densely packed trees allowing the little light to seep through the leaves. Shaking her head, she looked around and saw that apart from bushes, nothing was new.

'Were the beasts scared of something that they went to hiding?'

Even though the middle regions were less dangerous compared to the inner regions, the beasts at this level could still put up a draining fight. Feeling nothing out of ordinary, she decided to return to Usui. As she turned around and took a step, her feet hit something with a soft thud.

Knitting her brows, Hazel looked down at her feet buried and frowned. Bending down, she moved the snow away from her feet. Her body froze when she saw the wide eyes of a wolf staring back at her. Her fingers shook before she realized that the wolf was dead. 

'What the-?'

She couldn't finish her thought when she finally grasped the soft footsteps behind her. Widening her eyes, she turned around swiftly her dagger in front of her, protecting her from the attack. Her heart skipped a beat when she glanced at those ferocious eyes screaming murder.

'Saber-tooth tiger?!'

'How come they are wandering in the middle regions?'

Saber-tooth tigers usually wander around in the inner regions and seldom come out of their comfort zone. But now, not only did it come down, it even killed off the wolf pack in the middle regions.

Hazel pursed her lips as she pushed the tiger which was trying to bite her. Shoving it away from her forcefully, she panted as she watched the saber tooth tiger threw her a menacing glare. His teeth were dripping blood as it roared startling the remaining birds hiding in the area.

Shaking its head, the saber tooth tiger growled before it launched at her. Hazel gripped her dagger tightly as she avoided its paws and moved further back. Her feet hit something and knew it was the dead bodies. 

Her heart was hanging on a string as she watched the tiger crazily run towards her. It raised its paw to strike her down. 

Hazel moved away from its striking point and leaped towards its back. But the saber tooth tiger figured her strategy as it turned around to bite her. 

Instantly, Hazel blocked its attack with her dagger. Her stomach lurched when the blood from its teeth dripped on her hand. Holding her breath, her eyes squinted as she raised her leg to kick it. 

The saber-tooth tiger snarled as it looked at Hazel who had already moved back after the kick. Hazel rotated the dagger in her hand, holding it in a way that the blade faced her arm and the hilt to her face. 

Her eyes narrowed as she decided to kill this saber-tooth tiger here and get back outside. She crouched slightly before she raced towards the tiger quickly. The saber-tooth tiger roared as it watched the human coming towards it.

When Hazel reached a distance near the tiger, she leaped towards the tiger. The tiger opened its mouth to bite her when she dodged its teeth and slashed its body. She looked back at the tiger growling in pain before it shifted its eyes at her.

It threw her a threatening glare before it started rushing towards her. Hazel clutched her dagger tightly as she met with the saber tooth tiger's attack. She tried to dodge its paws and slashed at its body whenever she could. 

As she was hitting it at its weak spots, she didn't notice its tail coming at her. Hazel crashed against the tree and coughed. Her chest was in pain.

Gritting her teeth, she looked up to see the bloodied saber tooth tiger roaring with its face facing upwards. 

Her eyes squinted when she realized it was calling its pack. She quickly raced toward it to end it and escape before the rest of the pack came at her. 

Reaching the saber tooth tiger, she dodged its paw and scratched its face making it roar. Hazel's eyes emitted a glint before she rotated and slashed at it continuously. 

Her white dress was now tainted with blood and her arms had some scratches from the fight. Her eyes glinted as she stabbed the tiger on its chest. Since she couldn't muster enough strength, she used her hands to push the dagger deeper. 

The saber-tooth tiger wrestled in pain before it bit down her hand making her eyebrows furrow in pain. Clenching her teeth, she ignored the teeth digging into her arm as she pushed the dagger deep into its chest until it stopped moving. 

Hazel released her hold on the beast and saw the saber tooth body falling back onto the snow. She released a huge breath before falling to the snow. She winced when the snow touched her injured arm. Holding her arm, which was bleeding profusely dying the snow under her blood. She walked towards the carcass and frowned. 

Her dagger was deep into its body and she wouldn't be able to pull it with her arm injured. But she also didn't want to leave her dagger here which was one of the items her brother left her.

She gripped its hilt and pulled it with all her strength, only for her to hiss in pain. The dagger didn't move an inch as it remained buried inside the tiger. 

Shaking her head, she decided to come later with everyone to get her dagger back when she froze. She gulped when she saw a pair of yellow eyes staring at her from the bushes. She staggered a step back in shock. 

Her eyes widened in horror when the second pair of yellow eyes stared at her from the bushes. Simultaneously, numerous pairs of yellow eyes began to show up in her perception. Her heart fell when she heard a growl behind her. 

Biting her lips, she knew without turning around that she was surrounded. 

'Damn it'

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ATTENTION

Love, 

_Rain