“W-what was that?” Suna asked as soon as the pressure of the man disappeared from their senses. The overwhelming aura of power and death was something Suna had never experienced before.

She had thought that the princess had been powerful when they had faced her but now Suna realized that the princess had nothing on this man and his aura. He had been in a league of his own. And he also had those vampire rabbits under his control.

That man had been beyond dangerous and Suna had a suspicion that they had survived only because the person had not been interested in killing them.

“T-Trishula. There was no mistaking that kind of control over vampire-rabbits” Nao’s scared voice reached Suna and she felt her blood freeze. They had survived an encounter with whom?

“Don’t joke around Nao. T-Tri, that person disappeared once the demon king dies. There is no way we just met him”

Suna denied but she knew that Nao’s words were true. That kind of fear had not been natural to feel and the aura had downright screamed murder.

‘Father would not believe me even if I told him about it’ Suna whined in her head at the injustice. Her father had told her that this would be a safe and uneventful journey. All Suna had to do was to stick around the group and report her findings.

Suna still had to do the second part once things calmed a little.

“Trishula or not, we cannot waste our time here. Every second counts from here on” Nao replied as she gathered her focus back.

As much as the elder demon’s presence had spooked her, Nao could not allow it to divide her focus. The elder demon had helped them out in their time of pinch and also taken out a major part of their problem. Nao might not have an idea what he wanted but he was not out to hurt them at the very least.

“R-Right. We should head back in” Suna nodded in confirmation but Nao could see the hesitation in her gaze. For the first time, Suns looked genuinely nervous and scared of the unknown which brought out a bitter feeling in Nao.

Maybe she should rescue Maria alone. Getting Suna involved when she was scared was not a good option.

“You can stay behind if you want to. Maria is my responsibility, not yours. You do not need to get involved in this mess” Nao tried to not come off as demanding. She did not want Suna to think that she was belittling her abilities.

But her tone did not come out as gentle as Nao had wanted it to and Suna looked pissed as a result. Nao knew she should have practiced her reassurance skill more but Maria had always understood what she meant and never taken any offense.

‘But maybe she did and had no way to express it to you. You were one of the only people who kept her in the constant company without any change’ her mind whispers and Nao tries to ignore it. Circumstantial or not, Maria had understood her the best.

“Oh Fuck you. I’m coming along as well and you can’t stop me” Suna declared before taking the lead. It left Maria with no other option but to follow after her.

This was bad since an angry Suna was likely to listen to her. Suna picked up speed as she sensed Nao catching up and hanging vines started to thicken which cut Nao’s access to Suna off.

“Suna, slow down. Don’t run or we’ll separate” Nao yelled, hoping that Suna would listen to her and calm down. Nao did not want to have to track Suna as well when she already had Maria to track down.

But of course, luck was not on her side and Suna was unable to hear her. The younger figure disappeared into the forest as Nao decided to catch up with her.

But there was a problem. Not only had she lost sight of Suna, but the veins around her also made it difficult for Nao to be able to navigate the forest. Even the height of the branches did not help her out since it only cut her off more.

Nao gritted her teeth in anger as she thought over her current circumstances. Nothing had gone right and it was all the fairy’s fault. Nao would beat it to a pulp as soon as she could find it.

And in her anger, Nao made the fatal mistake of getting distracted. She did not notice the root sneaking up over her legs and the tug caught her off guard. The root somehow managed to drag Nao into the river below and she barely avoided the claws heading for her neck.

The root on her leg made it impossible for Nao to be able to get away so she decided to attack it first. She barely got free when she felt claws dig into her shoulder. They broke skin but Nao was stubborn and kept swimming.

She broke the surface and quickly dragged herself out of the water where a pair of Siren watched her with angry eyes.

Suna was not having any better luck as well on her side. She had not been dragged into the water but she had to face ferocious animals that looked to be immune to her magic.

Suna had never heard of any animal being immune to magic before so she did not know how to deal with them. They slashed away at her and Suna had to continuously cast small-scale healing spells on herself.

She needed to hurry and find Maria. The oracle had their best healing supplies and best equipment as well.

Suna just managed to down a medium-sized animal when she felt a large shadow being cast over her form and felt pale. The claw was massive and reduced the land beneath Suna’s previous position into dust. Its eyes looked crazy and hungry.

It was hungry and Suna was the food it was eying. It would not stop as long as Suna was alive and that was a major problem for her.

“I guess it’s now or never” Suna gulped her fear down as she held her weapon with a determined expression. She would get out of this situation alive and stronger than before.

She had a mission to fulfill and she would make sure she survived first.

The creature was wild and fast but it did not have the same intelligence human opponents had. It made it possible for Suna to utilize it and take the monster down. It was no easy task but it did help Suna power up and become stronger.

(Remember to feed the author with PS and GT if you can. It helps the author release faster and also gives you extra chapters)