[??? | The Forest]

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“Mm-mm-mm,” Sirius made sounds of satisfaction when slurping down the fine cuisine while walking into the tree-filled grasslands.

For the man who wielded lightning, the challenges of nature, no matter how supreme, were only a second thought to him; he instead chose to take the unknown situation as an opportunity to take his time, leisurely figuring it all out at his own pace.

‘Crab tastes like crab. No matter how big they are–yeah, good discovery,’ Sirius casually thought.

It was the combination of innate talent and experience that led the lightning-wielding reincarnator to maintain his calmness in the foreign situation. Through adventuring through completely unknown, unexplored areas, it wasn’t anything shocking to him.

“…I should probably find Emilio soon. Celly and Everette fell in too, I’m pretty sure,” he mumbled to himself as he casually walked through the luscious foliage, “If that’s the case, Emilio would probably prefer if I prioritize them. They aren’t all that strong, after all.”

Finishing off the crab leg, he tossed the hollow portion straight into the bushes before sliding his hands into his pockets, continuing his peaceful stroll through the forest. There were creatures watching from behind the foliage; critters and predators alike, such as gargantuan lions of crimson fur and stealthy jaguars, yet none of them dared to try and attack the man.

Sirius was well aware of their existence as he walked by without a worry in the world, knowing full well how the animal kingdom operates; they could sense the aura of superior power from him–for beasts, that sheer difference was enough to keep them at bay.

“Hmm?” Sirius smiled, glancing to the right as he came to a stop.

The moment he stopped moving, standing in the small, treeless area of the grassy land, the watchful inhabitants of the forest fled. However, Sirius was not convinced.

“Whoever is following me, you can come out now,” he yelled, carrying his voice through the stagnant leaves.

Waiting for a few seconds, there was nothing that revealed itself, yet Sirius stood there as if still fully aware of something remaining hidden.

“…Just my imagination, I guess,” Sirius closed his eyes for a moment with a smile.

The exact moment his eyes shut and he lowered his guard, the air whistled as a projectile pierced through the tree line, primed and loaded for a precise shot straight for the Stormheart’s skull. Before the tip of the arrow could so much as touch the man’s skin, Sirius caught it swiftly, opening his eyes again, “Just kidding.”

Snapping the arrow in his grip, he dropped the crumbled projectile with a smile, looking to the left, where the arrow was shot from.

‘Found you,’ Sirius thought.

Without him being seen to take a single step, he dashed through the treeline as a bolt of lightning, causing the branches to sway and the air to part briefly.

What he found, skulking in the bushes, was a silver-haired figure with sharp, pointy ears and pitch-black eyes, holding a sideways-made bow: a unique, mechanical crossbow.

“Oh, that’s a neat weapon you’ve got there–a bit ahead of the curve, yeah?” Sirius playfully said.

The speed at which he had appeared caused the silent, elven lurker to jump back, pulling the trigger on the crossbow as it shot towards Sirius again.

“–Ah, that won’t work, man,” Sirius said, catching the crossbow bolt out of the air easily, crushing it in his grip.

There was no guard raised on his part, though the same couldn’t be said from the silent, tall elf who cautiously kept his distance, readying his crossbow while maintaining eye contact.

‘Creepy. What’s with this guy? I’m talking to him but it’s like he can’t even hear me–is he ignoring me or is there a language barrier here?’ Sirius thought.

“I’ll give you one more chance to stop shooting that thing at me. Even a monkey would realize at this point, it just isn’t working,” Sirius warned, “Next time you shoot that, I’m punching you–and I punch real hard.”

Despite the clear warning he gave, a “click” resounded as the lanky, silver-haired hunter shot another projectile at the lightning-wielder, prompting Sirius to let out a quick sigh before dashing forward.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn y–”

Though as he sprung forward, allowing the tip of his boot to touch the ground for just a split-second, he sensed something amidst that second-between-seconds.

‘Oh?’ He thought.

There was a net trap, sprawled across the ground and hidden in the mix of grass and leaves, obscuring its existence until that very moment. Noticing it, Sirius bolted forward, evading it as the net sprung up.

Sirius momentarily pressed the soles of his boots against the side of a tree as electricity coiled his body, looking towards the net, “Looks like you were ready for me. I’m not game though, so why’re you hunting me? Got a liking for human meat or something?”

Of course, there was no response as another crossbow bolt was shot at him, which he weaved past with a simple movement of his head before launching from the tree directly towards the elven hunter.

Packing a surge of magenta energy into his fist, he tossed it forward as he slammed his knuckles into the elf’s stomach with thunderous force, blowing the figure back through multiple sets of trees. The impact left a wave of dust kicked up in the forest as the unfortunate trees in the way of the attack collapsed.

‘Ah, crap. Did I kill him? Didn’t mean to,’ Sirius thought, retreating his fist.

A portion of the ground in front of him was carved up from the shock wave of the blow, which had cut through the dirt like a spoon through ice cream. Still, despite the powerful blow, the pale-skinned, silent elf brought himself back to his feet without any sounds escaping his lips.

“–Hm?” Sirius narrowed his eyes, witnessing the odd turn of events.

Rather than being dead, the elf hardly seemed injured by the blow, only now having a hole through his black-and-brown coat where a purple bruise colored his abdomen.

Sirius smiled, “Interesting. You’re a tough one to break, aintcha?”