Chapter 127: Did you know?

This one realisation was all that Fen required to understand the truth behind this area.

In fact, it wasn't a fire flower garden in the first place. While everything seemed to be perfectly in place for the area to be considered as one, the nauseating stench of the blood that deeply permeated every last piece of this place proved that rather than being a garden, it was a damned trap for those who came to obtain the flower petals!

The young man didn't need to think for a long time to figure out the reason behind the existence of this place. In a country like Kinar, where humans managed to come to an agreement with monsters, everyone seemed to miss one important thing.

As great and progressive as it was to cooperate instead of fight, there were some reasons why humans and monsters across the world were on relatively negative terms. Just like no pig would like a human, no human would really care about a pig. The fact that Fen was on the border of being a human and monster allowed him to dabble in both of the groups, yet he wasn't as naive as to believe that others would be as friendly towards monsters as he was.

Just because of the fact that humans and monsters belonged to two different species, meaning that their position on the food chain also varied. And just like arcanists in Akhaz practised and developed their craft by absorbing the small spirits… There was absolutely nothing wrong with monsters doing the same with weak humans!

At least, in terms of the natural course of events. In reality, though, it would be hard to find anything that would rile Fen even stronger. After all, he barely missed falling prey to this damned place!

"What happened. Tell. Me. Now."

Noticing the obvious changes appearing on Fen's face once he returned from emotionless daze he assumed while he was experiencing his visions, the girl he had sex with just a few moments ago instantly put her guard up. Even though they shared joy and happiness just a few seconds? Minutes? Hours ago, that didn't mean she was willing to completely trust the young man once something strange started happening to him.

"We need to destroy this place."

Looking around, Fen was barely capable of discerning what was the reality that his eyes noticed and what was the aura that his changed body was somehow capable of perceiving. A small stone that he used as a seat during the intercourse, was, in fact, a tombstone to over seven different arcanists that laid dead beneath it, only for the ground of this place to absorb the entirety of their corpses!

"Wait… what? Didn't you stop us from plucking a single petal while ready to risk your life just a few moments ago?"

The answer to the girl's stupefied inquiry was obvious. Yes, Fen did stop them from destroying a cradle of the monsters, all according to what he believed to be right. But now, the situation changed.

"This isn't the fire flower garden. This place only pretends to be one, as to lure arcanists like you or your friends before killing them and consuming them. Look, you see this small bush?"

Scanning the area around them, Fen pointed his hand at one of the nearby balls of green that made the entire area look way more fertile than the very middle of the scorched earth should be.

"Yeah, what about it?"

With her guard still up, most likely not in fear of Fen but of the meaning behind his words, the girl looked to the side at the bush the young man pointed out.

"It grew from the bones of thirteen arcanists. That stone over there, seven arcanists. But the lake…"

Faltering on his knees, Fen plummeted to the ground, avoiding decorating the ground with the bits of skin ripped off from his face only thanks to the girl's timely intervention. With her hand catching the collar of his robe, Fen saved his face from the brutal touch of the ground…

Only to start puking his guts out.

The lake was the centre of this entire area, both in terms of importance and in terms of the number of different blood auras that lingered around it. The feeling of death was so dense there, that Fen failed to even estimate how many people died in this place!

"Are you back to your senses?"

Even though the young man was no stranger to death, it was something entirely else to see someone lose his life or even take it himself than experiencing the aura of the entire damned battlefield condensed to just a few square meters!

"Yeah. Any ideas on how to fuck this place up?"

Raising up while using the hand the girl offered to him, Fen swept his mouth with his hand before spitting at the ground. The annoying feeling of his throat burning after puke only made his fury greater, as if this area just added a direct transgression against him.

"Given how this place is constructed around the fire arcana… We only have our physical strength to speak off, unless you are capable of overpowering the entire might that this place wields. If your words are correct… Then rather than thinking how to defeat this place, we should ditch right away!"

Looking to the side at the girl's face, Fen didn't notice any signs of fear. To be precise, the girl was suddenly overwhelmed with terror, clearly unwilling to linger in this place for any longer than necessary.

'What should I do…'

Troubled by the current situation, Fen cast a gaze towards the lake. His morality was trying to force him into staying back and completely devastating this place, but his sense of reason…

Thankfully, this time it turned victorious.

"You are right, let's ditch."

Shaking his head to regain the clarity of his thoughts, Fen summoned his catalyst. While according to his senior words its purpose was only to be more proficient at wielding designed forms of his own flames, right now Fen couldn't care less about the lessons of fellow phoenixian. 

"I think I'm about to give up and just stay here. Can you give me a tight hug before you go?"

Looking up directly into the girl's eyes, Fen spread out his arms in the obvious gesture. Yet, despite what he just said, his eyes were filled not with depression and sense of loss, but a determination instead!

"Sure…"

While the girl's face proved that she was puzzled by the duality of her newly met sexual partner behaviour, the potentially dangerous situation the two of them were in forced her to make her decisions swiftly. Moving a few paces forward, the girl sank into Fen's embrace, instantly tightening her hold around his upper waist.

"Hold on to me as if your life depended on it. To be perfectly honest, it actually does."

Locking his arms behind her back, Fen whispered before lowering himself on his knees. With his fire wings spreading out as far as they could, Fen suddenly kicked against the ground, pulling his wings down at the same time!

Once again, a monstrous roar of the air nearly turned the two of them mute, making them unable to think about anything for as long as it took them to reach the breaking point of Fen's initial skydive. But instead of lingering above the dangerous area, Fen quickly jerked his wings once again, pushing them towards the direction where his group of mercenaries would be.

"Wait, what about my…"

Given how she experienced Fen's power firsthand, the girl had no other choice but to acknowledge his potential. Seeing how even someone as strong as the young man that held her in his arms was doing his absolute best to leave the place, the face of the girl suddenly twisted in a worry.

"If they left soon enough, then you will join them later. If not, they are already dead and there is no point in bothering your pretty head with them."

Including the first option just for the sake of comforting the girl, Fen himself didn't have any delusions. While flying over the barrier of the area, Fen could clearly feel a weak force trying to stop his movement. Thankfully, so high in the sky, said force was way too weak to hinder his movements at all… But that also meant that the two male friends of the girl in Fen's arms would face way greater challenge while attempting to leave the area!

"Okay, we are here."

Noticing the camp of his group, Fen quickly pulled his wings around the two of them, before quickly diving towards the ground. By the time he had to spread his wings against to lose the momentum of the dive, he could see that all of the mercenaries were already ready to shoot him down.

After all, they were veterans. 

"You can let go of me now."

Patting the girl's back, Fen looked through the mass of the faces, before locating the person he was most interested in. Feeling the girl sliding out of his reach, Fen simply marched forward, still coated with the fire of his wings, ignoring all the deathly stares of the mercenaries.

"Did you fucking know?"

Standing in front of his employer, Fen squinted his eyes as he asked the simple question.

"Know about what?"

The look of utter surprise and confusing of the burly warrior's face was simply too genuine to be true. That was all that the young man needed to know.

"I brought the petal with me. But if you want to have it, you will write a statement that you are offering me your house in exchange for my exceptional service. You will also use your troops to spread the news in the area. Do we have a deal, or should I just ditch you in this place before leaving to report what you did to the academy?"