Chapter 54: Corrupted Forest 6

"A-are you sure?" Elaniel's voice was laced with concern, and her eyes reflected her worry.

"Yes," I Confirmed, my tone steady despite the alarming revelation.

"Since when?" she pressed, clearly trying to grasp the gravity of the situation.

"I don't know" I admitted with a heavy sigh. "I just sensed his presence today." The uncertainty in my voice mirrored the uncertainty that had now clouded the fate of the forest.

As Elaniel's mind teemed with concerns and pressing thoughts, her rationality remained steadfast. She understood the gravity of the situation and acted promptly, sending a telepathic message to Elowyn, urgently summoning her to their location.

Her eyes, etched with worry, remained fixed on Adrian.

"Were you the one who unsealed him?" she inquired; her voice laced with concern.

Adrian shook his head.

"No, not really, but I guess I'm indirectly the reason his seal was broken faster"

"What do you mean—" Elaniel's question was abruptly halted as the grand doors to the throne room were forcefully thrown open.

"Mother? I mean, Your Majesty, you've called for me" Elowyn hurriedly entered the room, spurred by the overwhelming sense of dread and fear she had felt in her mother's telepathic message. She braced herself for the worst.

Elowyn's eyes widened as she took in the scene before her: Adrian standing atop the staircase leading to her mother's throne. She observed the state of her mother, her strained breath, and trembling hands. It was only natural for her to suspect that Adrian had done something to cause this. Without hesitation, a beam of green light emanated from her outstretched hand, hurtling toward Adrian.

However, to her astonishment, the beam split in two as it approached him, harmlessly veering to the sides, while Adrian raised his hands nonchalantly.

"Well, that was kind of rude, you know, Princess?" Adrian commented in a nonchalant tone.

Adrian's casual dismissal left Elowyn seething with irritation. She couldn't quite comprehend how he had effortlessly severed her attack—a pure, compressed beam of mana. His smirk and nonchalant demeanor only fueled her anger. She clenched her fists and gathered her energy once more.

As tension continued to mount, Adrian's insouciance grated on her nerves. His smug expression provoked her further. Green lightning sparks swirled around her, and her unique, heterochromatic eyes blazed with a mix of different hues. Her patience had worn thin.

"Stop, Elowyn! What are you doing?" Elaniel's voice echoed through the quiet room.

The realization of the potentially dire consequences of her actions snapped Elowyn back to reality, prompting her to immediately quell her power. The room felt charged with a thick, lingering tension, like a storm held at bay.

Though Elowyn obeyed her mother's orders, the remnants of her mana lingered in the air like a silent threat. Her eyes remained fixed on Adrian, her wariness unshaken.

"What did you do to Her Majesty?" Her voice trembled with anger and concern.

Adrian merely chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender, clearly enjoying the chaos he'd stirred. "I did nothing, Princess."

Elowyn's patience wore thin as his cavalier attitude grated on her. "Don't lie to me! You clearly did something!"

Adrian smiled as he followed the mother and daughter down the hallways, his steps echoing with a subtle confidence.

...

In the heart of the impenetrable Kaksan forest, where even the dimmest vestiges of sunlight struggled to penetrate, an eerie atmosphere prevailed. Shadows clung to the ancient trees like shrouds, and the silence was pervasive, disrupted only by the occasional rustling of leaves and the somber whispers of the restless, ethereal spirits that frequented the woods.

concealed beneath its tenebrous canopy, a malevolent presence stirred. This enigmatic entity was draped in an inky shroud, and from its back, a cluster of writhing tentacles protruded.

The oppressive density of the forest's flora pressed in on all sides, creating an oppressive closeness that amplified the surreal nature of the creature's deeds. Twisted vines and thorny brambles threatened to ensnare any who dared to venture deeper into the abyss, making it evident that the forest itself had become tainted by this menacing presence.

As it navigated through the dark underbrush, it carried with it the lifeless remains of various creatures, both mundane and magical. With uncanny dexterity, it deposited the defiled carcasses into a colossal pit it had diligently excavated.

This pit, once a serene glade, had been grotesquely transformed into a macabre monument to death. A sinister mound rose from the chasm, composed of intertwined bodies in various states of decay, creating a haunting tableau of demise. Though the dense canopy above hid the scene from the sun's probing rays, if any beams were to pierce through, the sight of this morbid creation would be a testament to the horrors lurking within the forest.

The creature, with its visage reminiscent of a wolf's, gazed upon its abominable handiwork with an unsettling air of purpose. Despite its apparent otherworldly nature, its actions seemed meticulous, as though it were systematically counting the contributions to its growing necropolis.

The entity struggled to articulate its thoughts, emitting a guttural, strained utterance.

"No... T...EN... Ough!" The sounds resembled those of a person teetering on the precipice of death, struggling to convey a message.

As the enigmatic entity settled down on the forest floor, an eerie transformation occurred around it. The vibrant green grass that once carpeted the forest floor began to wither and darken, its lush vitality giving way to a sallow, unhealthy hue. The very earth seemed to shudder in response to the monster's unholy presence.

A creeping corruption radiated outward from the creature, like sinister ripples in a malevolent pond. It was as though the very essence of life was recoiling from the entity, leaving a blight in its wake. The natural world, once teeming with vibrant flora and fauna, was now succumbing to this creeping decay.

As the entity's malevolence infiltrated the once-thriving forest, the air grew thick with an acrid, noxious scent that stung the nostrils. The corruption left a bitter taste in the atmosphere, as if the very life essence of the woods was being consumed by this otherworldly menace.

The sky above grew overcast, as if the heavens themselves mourned the desecration taking place on the forest floor. The whispering winds, once filled with the sounds of nature's symphony, now carried an eerie, mournful wail, as if the very spirits of the forest lamented the grim transformation.

The boundary between light and shadow became blurred, and the once-sacred heart of the forest was shrouded in an oppressive darkness that seemed to seep from the entity itself. Birds and creatures that had once found solace in the sanctuary of the woods now dared not venture near, for even the most resilient of life forms knew to avoid the encroaching maw of this malevolent force.

And so, as the entity continued its sinister work amidst the putrid pit of death, the very essence of the forest itself crumbled, tainted by its overwhelming corruption. The aura of darkness that clung to the creature was an indomitable force that defied the natural order, leaving the Kaksan forest forever scarred by its unholy presence.

The monster's dark, lifeless eyes gazed upward at the skies, a malevolent void within them. Suddenly, it parted its grotesque maw, and a sickening cacophony erupted, like an unholy scream from the depths of the abyss. As the sound reverberated through the air, an explosion of ethereal light burst forth, shattering the form of a spirit in the heavens. The shockwave of its annihilation rippled through the surrounding atmosphere, causing the other spirits to panic and scatter.

Spirits, as the very personification of nature, had an innate connection to the world tree. When they sensed a rupture in this sacred connection, they were drawn to it, like a heartbeat calling them to action. The spirits converged on the scene, their ethereal presence carrying an aura of disquiet.

What lay before them was an abomination: a shroud of darkness emerging from the shadows, like a malignant barrier that devoured the forest, weaving an ominous, inky mist. The spirits, beings straddling the boundary between the living world and the ethereal realm, knew that they were beyond the reach of physical and magical harm. But even they were not immune to a sense of trepidation and awe in the face of this grotesque anomaly.

Curiosity drove the younger, more adventurous spirits to approach the source of this malevolent presence. Their luminous forms glided nearer, compelled by an innate desire to understand and confront the darkness. But, like moths drawn to a fatal flame, their curiosity came at a terrible cost. The moment one spirit ventured too close, the creature's horrifying maw snapped shut, like a giant carnivorous trap, reducing the spirit to naught but flickering, ethereal remnants.

The older, wiser spirits, who had borne witness to such horrors before, recognized the enigmatic force that now plagued the forest. With eerie knowledge, they quickly retreated, leaving the younger spirits to grapple with their own hubris, and the gruesome fate that awaited those who ventured too near the unknown menace.

The beast of the night, Kaksan, unleashed its mana signature once more as it sought its intended target.

With a primal and predatory instinct, Kaksan's wolf-like features twisted into a human-like semblance turning into a sinister smile as it pinpointed the precise location of its target.