6 Chapter 6: The Hobbit

He looked around him, observing his surroundings. 

"Hmm? A bear?"

His eyes soon fell on the bear that was brutally killed by someone. He stepped closer to the bear and observed the wounds, even touching them. 

"These are the fresh wounds received from a Wolf's attack. It should be our work too. Albeit, we don't have any memory of it. So the fresh blood on our hands was his and not that human's."

"It must be after we attacked that man in the town. The memories after that moment are blank. If we're not wrong, we were being chased by someone?"

"Even those memories are vague, mixed with some illusions. We remember seeing a metallic box chasing after us? Strange. Maybe because it was our first Transformation."

He shook his head and wiped his blood covered hands on the skin of the beast which was still clean. He even wiped his blood covered lips.

"We crave a bath. This is a forest so there should certainly be a pond or lake nearby. We can clean our body there. We also need some clothes. We can't run around naked in this mortal body. Sigh, so many things to do before we can be on our way back."

"We also need to find that town again so we can ask for directions."

He decided to search for a source of water inside the forest so he could clean the blood that was still on his hands but he wasn't sure where to go. He didn't even know which forest it was. It was his first time here. 

He didn't remember what he did after attacking the drunk man. The memories from that point onwards were a blur in his head. That was also why he didn't know the direction he needed to take to get back to the town. 

Once again, he randomly selected a direction and started walking since he had no better choice.

As he was completely naked, he felt a bit strange. It was odd walking naked in the open, having the cold winds brush gently against his body. It was even more awkward because of his identity. 

As he walked through the forest, he raised his right hand again to test something.

"Overco Mestisco!" he muttered softly and waited for a few seconds.

Disappointment once again graced his handsome face as he saw the spell fail. 

"The spells really don't work. Whatever that witch did, she certainly succeeded in stopping our spells too. Spells aren't affected by the body. It depends on the soul. Even if we don't have our old body, we should have been able to use our spells. It's definitely outside interference that is stopping us!"

"One day, we're certainly going to find that witch. She'll definitely regret toying with us like this. And then we shall show her what toying truly means! That witch not only interrupted our sleep, but she even disgraced us by placing us inside the body of this wild beast!"

As Artemis walked through the forest alone, he started talking to himself once again, angry at his situation. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.  

"We should've wiped all the witches when we had the opportunity! We made a grave sin by having mercy on them! And while we were at it, we should've wiped all the wolves too so no wolf would've been left to continue his heritage! If no Wolf heritage existed, we couldn't be in a Wolf's body either!"

In his anger, Artemis had started having really negative thoughts. It was as if he was changing, being affected by characteristics of a wolf since previously, he used to be calm in all situations, even when surrounded by enemies. 

Walking bare-feet, he was able to feel the grass and the stones make it uncomfortable. Some stone even stabbed him under his foot, but he didn't care. He was too engrossed in his thoughts. 

The sky was already covered in dark clouds but it also started making some noises by now, as if heavy rain was on the horizon, ready to grace the forest. 

Drip~

"Hmm?" Even though Artemis was lost in thoughts of revenge, he felt a water droplet fall on his bare shoulders. 

He looked towards the sky only to have another water droplet fall on his pale lips. 

"Rain? Goddess of Water, your grace came at the right time. This rain honestly couldn't have come at a better time. Even the Goddess of Water can't bear to see us covered in blood!" 

He didn't know if he was going to find a water source and how long it was going to take so the rain was like a boon for him. 

What started as a light shower, intensified within minutes. The droplets of water washed the well-chiseled body of Artemis. 

He first rubbed his hands, cleaning all the blood. It was only after his hands were clean that he breathed a sigh of relief. He started rubbing his chest and stomach as if he was taking a shower in his bathroom. 

As Artemis cleaned his body, he could feel abs on his stomach which were similar to the ones he had in his past life. 

His muscles were also more well-toned. It looked like he was in the body of a man who regularly exercised and cared for his physique. 

"Our body is different now, but then again, it's only temporary and not too bad. We shall soon get our real body back. In the meantime, we have to make do with this creature's body."

Artemis cleaned his body and left the place, leaving a red puddle behind. 

The rain continued for a long time as Artemis tried to find a way out of the first.  However, even after walking for half an hour he couldn't find an exit. Every direction looked the same. Sometimes he even felt that he was going in circles. 

Moreover the rain which lasted for close to half an hour had made the ground wet. Most of the place inside the forest was muddy now. Artemis tried to avoid the muddy water, but he couldn't avoid it entirely. 

His feet were already dirty. Fortunately, his upper body was clean now and the rain had stopped. 

"We have a feeling that we aren't far from the town. Hopefully this feeling isn't a lie. It would certainly be undignified to walk in a town without clothes, but we have no choice. We can only bear with this shame for the moment."

Since he was all alone and slightly distressed, he had started talking to himself more than he usually did. In the past, he rarely talked to anyone. And even when he wanted to talk, there were people prepared to listen. He missed those days now. Anything was better than this. 

"Tsk, what a shameless man. Walking in the forest naked? He must be a pervert!" Came a sharp voice from somewhere. 

"Hmm?" Artemis felt like he heard a voice. And it didn't sound like the voice that he heard when he woke up. It wasn't a voice which originated inside his head. It was coming from a distance. 

He turned his head to the left as his eyes searched for the source of the voice. 

He soon saw a person sitting under the shade of the tree, eating an apple. But something was different about that person. 

It was like a man who was only three feet tall. Moreover he was dressed in what appeared to be an attire from an old time. He wore baggy leather pants and a green shirt. There was also a hat on his head which was red in color. 

The man had an apple in his hand which had one bite missing, as if the little guy had eaten some.