Chương 5: 05: The Truth

"Are you certain that we can find the Leven Berry flower here, Mazzak? This mountain really gave me the creeps." A young man asked as he removed his straw hat and hugged it closer to his chest.

His long, white ears, which resembled those of a bunny, perked up as he slowly scanned their surroundings with heightened senses.

"I had no idea, Varroc. I only heard stories about the mysterious Leven Berries from my grandmother. Apparently, the juice from the berries had remarkable healing properties, but that was all I knew," Mazzak responded. His long, orange tail swayed back and forth behind him.

Despite his own unease, his young nephew's safety was at stake on this trip. This was their last resort. If they couldn't find it by tomorrow morning, then the boy would die.

Mazzak stared at the horizon. The sun would set in a few hours, so they had to be fast.

"Hey, did you smell that?"

His friend's sudden question jolted Mazzak out of his reverie. This got his attention.

"What is…" He did not get to finish his sentence when the smell of death and decay suddenly entered his nose. The two were instantly taken aback. It didn't help that their sense of smell was stronger than usual because of their race.

As the seconds passed, the putrid smell became even more intense. Somehow, it found its way into their system.

"What in the world was that?" Varroc could not help it anymore. He quickly ran to the side and started vomiting.

"I think it came from there. Come on." Mazzak pointed to his right, where the bushes and trees are thicker than the rest.

Though he was nauseous, he still had better control than Varroc, who was a Bunny Beastman.

"What? Are you serious? I swear. You Leopard Beastmen are nuts. Let's just go back!" Varroc's eyes widened at his friend's suggestion. He pinched his nose tightly.

"It would only take a minute. Come on."

"No! Let's just find the flower and get the hell out of here, fast!" Varroc said with a firm determination. As one of his race's doctors, he was certain that this particular odour was a bad omen.

"Alright. I will go and check the area. Don't move, and wait for me here. I'll be back before you know it."

Varroc's eyes immediately widened at what he heard. Especially when he witnessed Mazzak confidently sprint towards the dense trees. "What? Hey, Mazzak! Come back here!"

Left alone, Varroc hugged himself. Just the slight movements in his surroundings made his muscles stiffen, as fear instantly prickled all over his skin.

"On second thought, I'm coming. Wait for me!"

Varroc quickly ran as fast as he could. The pungent smell was preferable to being alone in the darkness.

"I thought I told you to wait." Mazzak raised his brows when he saw Varroc running towards him. The poor guy ran like a hundred demons were on his trail.

"I changed my mind. So what?" Varroc walked smugly past Mazzak.

Mazzak could only shake his head as he watched his friend disappear in the distance.

A foul and pungent odour of burnt flesh and blood filled the air as soon as they arrived. However, they had no time to react as their eyes instantly widened in extreme fear at the terrifying scene. They could not even divert their gaze, even if they wanted to. Suddenly, Varroc felt the hot liquid flowing down his legs.

From where they stood, they beheld a mountain of mutilated and butchered corpses of beasts and demons, splattered all over the ground, resembling an ocean of blood. The ravaging inferno rapidly engulfed the remaining trees with its black, hazardous flames, leaving nothing but charred flakes and thick smoke. However, their attention was drawn to something else. In the middle of the barren wasteland was the headless corpse of an adult Gargoyle.

Mazzak immediately collapsed onto his butt, his entire body trembling and paralysed with terror. Meanwhile, Varroc screamed as loud as he could before fainting.

It took awhile, but Mazzak finally came back to his senses and immediately grabbed Varroc.

Abruptly, he found himself on all fours, and in an instant, he sensed the crushing of his bones as he reverted to his leopard form. With only one thing in mind, he ran as fast as he could, securing Varroc at his back.

'What in the world happened here!'

----------------

Meanwhile, Kalliste carried the bloody Rowan towards a huge tree. Her face was extremely pale, but she needed to make sure that they would survive the night. She was already worn out. Her consciousness was like a switch, on and off. The only thing that kept her on her feet was their safety. She would not be able to handle another attack. The sun was already setting, and she felt her body giving in to the abyss. Fortunately, she saw a huge tree with a wide hole in it. They could hide in there for the night.

As soon as they got in, Kalliste slumped to the ground. Her heart raced rapidly. It was as if she had just finished a marathon. Every part of her body ached, as though her muscles and veins would explode at any moment. She had no energy left to even lift a finger.

"Being a child sucked." Kalliste could only lament her situation. During her prime, this much was nothing. She could be in a battle for a week straight before tiring out. However, she now had to accept this ruthless reality.

"I needed to train my body back to its prime."

As she lay unmoving on the cold ground, the events from a few hours ago replayed in her mind.

Killing the man named Lucas was an effortless feat. However, the technique that he employed captivated her interest. Rowan called it Sword Aura. She'd never heard or seen anything like it in her entire life. It fascinated her. She already harboured the suspicion that she had traversed a parallel universe, but witnessing the technique confirmed her theory. The question was, how? And why? She was certain that this was not reincarnation, as she still had her old body, despite having regressed as a child.

Meanwhile, she spared the life of a man named Porteur. With a condition, of course. Kalliste smiled. The man became her eyes and ears.

Kalliste thought the situation was resolved after Porteur's departure. However, the events that followed came like a bombshell. When a horde of monsters that she had never seen before suddenly surrounded them, the real problem began. Observing closely, she discovered that Rowan's blood somehow drew them in. Not only that, but their numbers grew even more as time passed. It seemed that her darling's blood was special. This left her with no choice but to fight. Despite her young body, she would not let anything bad happen to her darling.

A small smile suddenly etched on her face as she recalled how the boy had sacrificed his own safety to shield her from the slash. Kalliste glanced at the unconscious boy.

"I owed you one." It was the first time that someone did something like that for her, and it somehow melted her heart.

Though her body was still weak, she slowly ripped the boy's clothes. Her face wrinkled as soon as she saw the wound. The deep, inflamed gash oozed so much blood. The flesh around the wound swelled, but worst of all, the pungent odour of festering flesh.

"Don't worry, darling. I won't let anything bad happen to you." Taking a deep breath, Kalliste slowly held her hands on top of the wounded part of his body. It took a while for a green aura to surround her hands. It slowly seeped through the wound and healed instantly. Not even a scar was left behind.

Kalliste heaved a breath of relief. It was yet another mysterious ability of hers that she discovered later in her previous life. The only drawback was that she could never heal herself.

There was only one side effect, though. She could heal others, but all their pain and suffering would be multiplied and transferred to her instead.

"Urg!" Kalliste's pained scream suddenly filled the small area. She could only clutch her back as she spit up a lot of blood.

"Damn it! I knew it!" Her small body could not handle the pain. With her blurry visions, Kalliste clung unto Rowan and finally passed out.

----------------

"Mom, no! Don't go!" Rowan was awoken by that nightmare. He immediately clutched his head. It was throbbing. It felt like a massive hammer was continuously striking it.

"What happened?" It took a while before he managed to calm down. He slowly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the terribly low ceiling. The space was also narrow, and the smell was almost unbearable. He was lying on bare, cold ground. A sense of déjà vu washed over him instantly. That was when a flood of memories suddenly bombarded his mind.

His eyes widened in shock, and he shot up instantly. "Kalliste!" His loud voice echoed throughout the small space.

"Darling, you are finally awake. I was so worried."

A tight hug greeted him before he could react. The sudden action froze him for an instant. However, he diverted his attention.

"How did we get here? How about the assassin? My wound?" Rowan quickly reached for his back. His face contorted with confusion. He could no longer feel any pain. It was like a miracle that his wound suddenly vanished. The only evidence was the cold and hardened blood on his clothes.

"Would you believe me if I told you that a fairy saved us? She also treated your wounds and helped us find this place to cover our heads for the night."

Rowan's brows met at the centre at her explanations. He clearly did not believe her. However, seeing the sparkling eyes of the little girl in front of him made him speechless. He did not know how to respond and certainly did not want to ruin her fantasies, so he just inwardly sighed and went with the flow.

"Where is this fairy now? I would like to thank her for saving our lives."

"Uhm…"

Rowan secretly smirked when he saw her panicked face. He had many questions, but somehow he knew that she would not tell him the truth. Part of him wanted to believe what she was saying. If not, how could he explain how they managed to escape the clutch of an assassin of that caliber? He was sure that they would not survive if they were caught. How they arrived at this place. Even the wound he sustained miraculously vanished in just a few hours.

"Well? Where is she?" Rowan asked again.

"She disappeared after she healed you."

Rowan stayed silent for a few moments. Still analysing the situation before he fainted. In the end, he sighed, defeated. He was about to say something when he noticed Kalliste's pale complexion. He quickly leaned forward until their faces were only a few inches apart.

"What? What is it, darling?"

"Are you hurt somewhere? Why is your face as pale as snow?" As soon as the words escaped his lips, Rowan could not help but quickly scan her whole body. When he was sure that nothing was wrong, he sighed a breath of relief.

"By the way, darling. We have been together since last night, but I still don't know your full name. Or even where you came from?"

"I must apologise, lady Kally. However, I do not wish to divulge my full name or my real identity as of yet." Rowan had a serious expression. Though he wanted to tell her the truth, he did not want to get her involved in his messy life.

Kalliste frowned. She was looking forward to getting to know him better. However, if he did not want to reveal any information about himself, then she would not pry any further.

"Then could I ask where we are right now?" If she can't know his full name, then at least the place to where they are. Maybe then would she have an idea how far away she was from home.

"We are currently situated in the forbidden mountain of Macaram. The most notorious and largest mountain that served as the border between our Credia Empire and the other seven great nations in our continent."

Upon hearing the names, Kalliste almost laughed her ass out.

"Credia Empire? Seven nations? Just which part of Earth was it located to? Was there even a place with that name?" Being alive for over a century, Kalliste could confidently claim to have seen the whole world, but she had never heard of such a place.

She only stopped laughing when he saw the serious look on Rowan's face.

"Ahem." Kalliste lets out a small cough to ease the awkwardness.

"Pardon, but even I had no idea of this Earth that you talked about."

This piqued her interest even more.

'Has this kid lived his entire life under a rock? Even a five-year-old baby knew what Earth was.'

"Earth was none other than the name of our home planet, darling. Have you forgotten?"

Rowan slightly tilted his head. Completely confused. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"I must apologise again, lady Kally. However, you must still be perplexed and stunned by the events that transpired earlier. Our Empire was located on the Celestra Continent."

Upon hearing the word Celestra Continent, Kalliste thought for a second.

"The name sounds familiar."

'I heard of that name before. I'm sure of it, but I can't remember when or how.' She looked at Rowan again.

"What do you mean, Empire?"

"We are currently within the Credia Empire. The strongest and largest country among the seven kingdoms that made up the Celestra Continent."

As soon as the words escaped his lips, Kalliste's eyes widened in realization. She finally remembered where she heard the name. However, her mind protested strongly.

'I-impossible! But how? How did I get into the world within my book? This is definitely impossible!'

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