Chapter 13
Istar Forest
Tokiya continued to stare at the intimidating trees. The forest exuded an ominous aura that made him a bit uneasy. A forest this thick would be the perfect environment for an assassin to take him by surprise. He remembered that Berserker was with him and felt a wave of relief. Berserker walked to the back of the wagon.
"As you can see, it's a very thick forest, so there's no way we'll be able to get the wagon through."
Berserker pulled out his sword. Tokiya gawked at Berserker's casual statement.
"You really want us to just stroll through the forest. That's basically telling all the assassins in the world we want to die!"
Berserker scoffed.
"Assassins are the last thing you need to be worried about. The real threat in this forest is the creatures."
Tokiya stared at him blankly.
"So, you're just trying to scare me now."
"I warned you about this before we left, and you accepted it. Don't switch up now."
Tokiya couldn't argue with that, but things were a bit different when he was actually standing in front of the ominous forest. Berserker walked over to the back of the wagon and pulled out his giant sword.
"This thing is pretty heavy, and in order to be able to use it properly, it's best that I don't carry anything else. That means we'll put as much stuff on your back as possible."
Tokiya sighed.
"I guess I can't complain. I want you to be able to protect me as best as possible."
"That's the spirit."
Berserker pulled out a large backpack from the wagon and began stuffing it with supplies.
"We don't need to go too heavy on the food. The forest is filled with things to eat like animals and berries, so we'll be fine on that end. I guess we should bring a little food just in case."
As Berserker continued stuffing the bag, Tokiya suddenly thought of something very important in terms of the logistics of their trip.
"Hey, Berserker."
Berserker paused.
"What's up?"
"When we do make it out on the other side of Istar Forest, what are we going to do? We can't just walk to Ardston, let alone without any supplies."
Berserker raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't we go over this?"
Tokiya frowned.
"No."
"I'm sure we did, but whatever."
Berserker reached into the wagon and pulled out the map.
"On the other side of the forest is a military outpost. It's a short walking distance away. Once there, we should be able to hire someone to take us to Ardston."
Tokiya stared at the place on the map where Berserker's finger hovered over.
"I guess having an ex-Imperial Knight with a bunch of knowledge about the country's geography does help. Wait. You said we're going to hire someone, but with what money? We don't have enough left over from the places we stopped at in order to hire a transportation service."
"Of course I took that into account. Using my natural intimidation factor, discounts have always been a given in my life."
Tokiya sucked his teeth.
"Yeah, because trying to intimidate people in a military outpost as a war criminal is a great idea."
Berserker struck the top of Tokiya's head.
"I don't see you with any better ideas!"
Tokiya barely flinched this time but definitely still felt the pain. He sighed and turned away.
"Whatever, we'll worry about that later. We have to worry about the death forest first."
"Let's get going then. Just standing here won't do us any good."
Tokiya definitely agreed with Berserker, but he wasn't sure if he was completely ready to face the monster infested forest without the security of the wagon. However, Berserker was already walking towards the trees. Tokiya remained frozen.
"Stay close to me Tokiya."
His fear of being out of the range of Berserker's protection overwhelmed his fear of the forest and Tokiya jogged towards Berserker. However, as he did, he remembered his promise to Berserker. He clenched his fists.
"I know Berserker is my bodyguard, but I won't allow myself to be a burden to him. I can't rely on him. I'll use this forest and learn to become strong!"
With that, the two entered the forest. There was no gradual buildup of trees, so they were immediately enveloped by densely packed trees, bushes, and other plants. For a while, the two walked in complete silence until Berserker spoke.
"This certainly is boring, but it's better than driving a wagon for hours. Besides, this is nothing compared to being in a cell for as long as I was."
Tokiya shot Berserker a sharp look. He scolded Berserker in a whispering voice.
"If you want to talk to yourself, do it in your head."
Berserker frowned.
"What's your problem?"
Tokiya half whispered, half yelled.
"There are deadly beasts in this forest! If they hear us, swarms of them will probably come to tear us to pieces."
It was clear Berserker wasn't taking this as seriously as Tokiya, for he just scoffed.
"Even you admitted how dangerous they are, so why aren't you taking this seriously?"
Berserker continued walking forward confidently.
"It's simple, really. These creatures are dangerous, but so am I. And by the way, I can be as loud as I want. If anything wants to attack me, my detection magic will notify me of their presence, so you don't have to worry about us being taken by surprise."
Tokiya couldn't argue with that, but he still refused to accept Berserker's casualness.
"What if your loud ass causes us to get attacked by a pack of monsters. Let's say about thirty of them. There's no way you could take them all at once."
"You haven't seen me fight, so how would you know."
Tokiya frowned.
"It's always the arrogant ones who die first, you know?"
Berserker let out a booming scoff.
"Ha! As if I would die here! The guy who slaughtered two armies at once dying to some weak monsters!"
Tokiya put a shushing finger up to his lips and stomped up to Berserker.
"Keep your voice down. I'm serious."
Berserker kept walking ahead of Tokiya without looking back.
"Fine, fine, but I'll talk whenever I feel like it."
Now that quiet had returned, Tokiya began to think. I guess Berserker has a point. He did take out a Kankaran army as well as part of his own squad at the same time.
"Maybe I should have more trust in him."
"..."
"..."
"Hey, Berserker."
"I thought you didn't want me to talk."
"When we get out of this forest, will you teach me to fight?"
Berserker smiled. Tokiya recognized it as a similar smile as to what Gremory would give to Tokiya a lot when he was younger. It was a proud smile.
"Sure, but don't think I'll go easy on you. You'll have the privilege of going through some of the toughest regiments from when I was training to be a knight."
Tokiya returned a smile, excited by the opportunity to prove himself.
"I'm sure I can handle it."
They laughed together. Once the laughter subsided, they continued their silent walk. Barely seconds later, Berserker broke the silence once again.
"Hey, Tokiya."
"Yeah?"
"There's something following us."
Tokiya's heart sank. Berserker's calm tone did not help to pass along this terrifying information. He didn't want to cower. He didn't want to shrink, but in the face of real danger, what could he possibly do? Berserker continued walking casually, so Tokiya followed him.
"It's stalking us right now. It doesn't know that we know it's here. It's lurking in the bushes to our left."
Tokiya was now basically riding Berserker's back.
"Stop it, Tokiya. Stop. You made a promise!"
"Could you get off my back?"
"Yeah...Sorry"
Tokiya created a minuscule space between him and Berserker. The two didn't stop. They continued walking as if they didn't know the beast was stalking them.
Suddenly, a giant black wolf with hungry red eyes, about 200 pounds, leaped out of the bushes on their left. Despite Tokiya knowing it was there, the creature was so fast that he barely had time to react. The vicious fangs of the beast approached.
SHING
Blood flew everywhere as the wolf was split in half. Without even looking its way, Berserker managed to effortlessly slice the beast with his giant sword. The slice was so very simple and clean that there was no jaggedness on the split of the wolf.
Tokiya fell back on his butt, and at the same time the two pieces of the wolf hit the ground. Tokiya briefly stared at the bloody viscera of the creature before looking away in disgust. Even after seeing Mors' body be destroyed twice, he still wasn't comfortable with this sight.
A shadow was cast over Tokiya. He looked up to see Berserker offering a hand to him which he accepted.
"See? These things are nothing compared to me."
Tokiya scoffed.
"I'm impressed but also disgusted."
"I'll take that. Let's get moving. After what just happened, it's best to not stay in the same place."
Tokiya nodded and the two began marching forward. Tokiya now had more confidence in Berserker. Soon, the split body of the giant wolf was far behind them. Berserker and Tokiya continued pushing past bushes and low hanging tree branches. As Tokiya pushed one branch out of his way, a small bright purple spider fell on his hand. Tokiya stared at it. The little bug was actually cute to him.
"You know that thing is poisonous?"
At what seemed like a faster time than Berserker had reacted to the wolf, Tokiya flung the bug off his hand. Tokiya didn't know where it went, but it was definitely far away from him. Berserker let out a booming laugh.
"Haha, you were just staring at it. Were you waiting for it to bite you?"
Tokiya took on a defensive tone.
"How was I supposed to know it was poisonous? I didn't go to school, you know?"
"It's pretty common knowledge that anything that is bright purple is probably poisonous! Wait...Did you say you never went to school?"
"Yeah."
Berserker stopped walking.
"You're serious?"
Berserker chuckled.
"You know there's no animal class in school, right? You think there's a class that just teaches what spiders are poisonous or not? Wait, I got something for you. What's two plus two?"
Tokiya sucked his teeth and frowned.
"Just because I didn't go to school doesn't mean I'm stupid! It's four by the way!"
Berserker tauntingly clapped his hands.
"Good job, ok next question."
"This isn't a quiz!"
Berserker's eyes widened.
"Wait you know what those are?"
Tokiya charged at Berserker in anger, but Berserker simply held his hand out, easily keeping Tokiya away. Berserker laughed at the display. Tokiya soon gave up, realizing the futility of his attack. Berserker finished laughing and retracted his arm.
"Ok, let's keep moving. But later you're going to tell me more about your education."
Tokiya sighed.
"Whatever."
Their march continued. The pair encountered more bugs and even some small snakes and mammals. After a bit, Berserker spoke.
"Hey, Tokiya."
Just from their past experience, Tokiya could surmise what Berserker was about to tell him.
"Is something following us again?"
"Not just one thing. I guess that wolf's friends want revenge."
Tokiya gulped a bit.
"How many are there?"
"About thirteen. Just so you know, idiot, that's kinda large for a wolf pack."
"Tsk, just focus on them. Got it?"
They continued walking. Although Tokiya could only really see Berserker's back, he could tell that Berserker was less calm than he was last time. This caused Tokiya to be a bit more on edge too.
"Tokiya."
"Hm?"
"They're getting closer, and there's enough of them to surround us. I'm going to shout commands at you, and you better be ready to adhere to them."
"Yeah, sure."
Berserker turned his head and shot Tokiya a piercing look.
"Don't try to be a hero either. Listen to my commands and nothing more."
This statement only added more tension to the moment. Tokiya had never Berserker like this. The ex-Imperial Knight was nervous. However, Tokiya knew he was not nervous for himself, but for Tokiya's safety.
About fifteen wolves jumped out of the bushes to their sides. Some of them cut off the two off in the front and the back, making them completely surrounded. It was almost as if the beasts had adapted to the death of their fallen comrade. Berserker took note of this.
As the fangs of all fifteen beasts approached, Tokiya stood frozen behind Berserker waiting for a command.
"Damn it! Damn it! There's nothing I can do! I'm just sitting here waiting for a command. Like this, I'll never get stronger, but I can't just throw my life away."
"Duck.'
The voice was so focused and stern that Tokiya almost instinctively responded to it. He rapidly brought his head down, and if were even a second late, he would've been it by the giant sword that flew over him.
Berserker had managed to land a 360 degree attack, slicing through all of the giant wolves. The bodies of the beasts hit the ground with a thud. Tokiya was about to lift his head before Berserker shouted.
"Stay down!"
Another wolf leapt out of the thicket launching straight at Tokiya. Berserker sliced it. Three more wolves revealed themselves, coming from behind Berserker. He dug his feet into the ground and pivoted around to kill them.
At this point, Tokiya was now crouched on the ground, fearing that if he stood, his head would be sliced like butter. Meanwhile, Berserker planted his feet into the ground. There was a slight rumble at his feet, and a white energy formed around his sword. The energy soon completely enveloped it. Tokiya stared on in awe.
This was magic.
Berserker let out a scream as he performed another 360 degree attack, this time not aiming for wolves, but for the trees. As he spun, the energy on his sword enhanced the range of his attack, slicing all the trees within about a thirty foot radius. If this was what basic magic was capable of, Tokiya could only imagine what the stronger kinds could do.
The trees collapsed, revealing anywhere around 50 to 75 giant wolves in all directions. Tokiya stared up at Berserker.
"You said there were only thirteen!"
Berserker looked around just as confused as Tokiya.
"There were."
Berserker thought for a bit.
"This isn't normal. The original pack of thirteen was unusually large for a wolf pack, but this is insane. And the fact that they're still attacking after already seeing eighteen of them being slaughtered isn't normal either."
Tokiya frowned.
"Is there a point you're trying to make, mister animal expert? If so, spit it out."
Berserker's grip on his sword tightened.
"What I'm trying to say is that everything about this is unnatural. My guess is that it's magic."
"Magic?"
The wolves charged at the two. Berserker jumped to Tokiya's side, who was still crouched on the ground. He began slicing through the wolves. Their attack patterns became more irregular, making it so that Berserker couldn't clear them with his 360 spin. Berserker thought to himself.
"It's almost as if these wolves are adapting to my attacks. It's like they're being controlled."
As Berserker continued his slashes, which became more and more wild and desperate, the number of wolves coming from all directions seemed endless. Three wolves lunged at Berserker, but simultaneously one made its move on Tokiya. Without hesitation, Berserker prioritized his duty and slashed through the wolf attacking Tokiya, allowing the other three to tear the flesh on his back.
"Aaaaaaaa!"
Tokiya stared up in disbelief.
"Berserker!"
Berserker's expression turned into a manic grin. He was now berserk. He sharply turned around, slicing the wolves that were on his back. More wolves attacked but met the same fate as their comrades. Tokiya noticed that the number of wolves had seemed to grow with their now being what seemed like more than 100 being alive. However, Berserker continued slashing through them.
"They're not letting up! There's no way Berserker can keep up like this."
"Berserker! We have to run. You can't fight all of them."
Berserker responded while still keeping his attention on the relentless creatures.
"Yeah, I'll create an opening, then we'll bolt in that direction, ok?"
Tokiya prepared to stand.
"Yeah."
Just then, two wolves lunged out of the crowd and clamped their jaws onto Berserker's arms, weighing them down.
"Damn it!"
With an obvious opening, the sea of wolves made their way to get a taste of human flesh. Berserker tried to swing his sword, but the two wolves attached to his arms wouldn't let him.
Tokiya stared on with horror, realizing the fate that awaited them. He wanted to get up a fling himself at the wolves to save Berserker, the only active thing he could really do in this situation. However, he doubted even that would have any effect.
The saliva filled jaws of the giant wolves grew closer. However, Tokiya found himself a little more prepared in the face of death this time. This was his fate after all.
He blinked. Before he had closed his eyes, all of the wolves were lunging in midair, ready for their feast. However, when his eyes opened, Tokiya saw all the wolves laying on the ground, including the ones previously on Berserker's arms.
Some were decapitated, and others simply lost limbs. However, they were all undoubtably dead. Tokiya and Berserker stared in awe as they saw all of the vicious predators' deceased bodies. They looked around and saw nothing. Tokiya looked closer at one of the bodies to see a purple feather sticking out of its head like a knife.
Tokiya recognized the feather. Berserker felt a presence behind them, and swiftly turned around, prepared to slice another wolf. Instead, he saw a beautiful young lady with long purple hair and bright yellow eyes.
It was Karasu.