Chapter 30

"Ma'am..." said one of the knights closely following Elizabeth. "May I ask you something...?"

The hesitation and fear are evident on the faces and voices of all those following her, and Elizabeth is fully aware of it.

"Ask, but don't stop walking," Elizabeth replied, looking back at all those following, slowing down their pace and gradually falling behind.

"Why are we turning back? If we're going around, wouldn't it be better to go the other way?"

"The other way...?" Elizabeth questioned, briefly glancing at the knight beside her. "Why do you say that?"

"Well..., there's nothing around here, so unless we're going to circle back and attack them from behind, which would take a lot of time. Going in this direction, our only option would be..."

The knights who can hear the conversation clearly repeated a gesture they all made, both when they arrived and now, leaving the camp.

All of them, hesitant and trembling, shifted their gaze and observed the gigantic, haunting trees towering beside them.

At that moment, as they hear their mothers' voices in their minds, all the knights remembered; "They will get you..." sending a shiver through all of their bodies simultaneously.

"It may not be the best path... But it's the safest."

"...Safest...?"

The knights exchanged glances, all doubting the words they had just heard.

The Great Forest, the home of creatures that their parents used to instill fear in them and, in a way, correct any wrong behavior they may have exhibited at some point.

The house of their nightmares.

However, the knights may not know, but Elizabeth also didn't want to do this. The mere idea of stepping into that place sends shivers down her spine and immediately sets her mind in conflict.

"If we went the other way, we would be too exposed since the area is completely open. The trees could serve as potential cover in case of confrontation."

Each step toward the trees casts a huge and eerie shadow beneath their feet.

Elizabeth constantly struggles not to look at them, knowing that if she did, her body would no longer obey her.

The shadows shape themselves, forming black wings that tear the knights around them with the slightest of movements.

Behind her, red eyes emerge in the darkness and gleam as the bodies of the knights fall to the ground one after another.

Elizabeth knows it's all just an illusion, nothing more than images created by her own mind.

But what to do?

She feels warm blood spreading through the air and dripping over her skin, and as darkness envelops her, she also feels the wings covering her body while the red eyes draw near.

Elizabeth stopped for a moment.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Attention!"

A sigh came, futilely attempting to clear her mind.

"As you enter the forest, all of you, without exception, must remain absolutely silent. Your footsteps should not be heard, and if you cannot hide your breathing, do not breathe."

The knights trembled as Elizabeth's words reached them. There was no more time for training. They understood, any mistake meant certain death.

Elizabeth looked around, searching for the only one who had the courage to address her.

"You, what's your name?"

Terrified, the knight looked around;

"Did I make a mistake?" he wondered. "Damn! What did I do differently from the others?!"

"...I'm Luke, ma'am."

After hearing his answer, Elizabeth turned to the crowd and ordered, "Split into two groups, quickly!"

The knights moved swiftly, some even stumbling over each other. But it didn't take long for the groups to be formed.

"You'll be group A," Elizabeth said, pointing to the group on the left. "While the other will be group B."

"Group A will be led by me, and B by the knight beside me, Luke."

Luke shuddered.

In moments, hundreds of eyes turned towards him. Many of them filled with unfounded hatred.

He felt a sudden knot forming in his stomach and throat, making it difficult to even swallow the saliva in his mouth.

"We, group A, will now proceed silently to the enemy base. Meanwhile, the rest, group B, without straying too far from the edges, will stay in the forest and gather as many creatures as possible. Remember, killing them is not the goal; you don't need to fight unless strictly necessary. In fact..."

For a brief moment, Elizabeth froze.

The red glow appeared again beside her, as black feathers slowly scratched her neck.

"...I recommend you don't fight, as it will surely alert our enemies. When the signal appears in the sky, you must run directly towards it, leading all the beasts with you. Any questions?"

"Ha..! I wonder which of us is more screwed," murmured one of the knights belonging to group B, his hands trembling and his teeth chattering, not because of the cold.

"Probably all... equally."

The knights trembled, their breaths heavy, and sweat dripped constantly to the ground.

"Are you ready?!"

There was no response.

The knights closed their minds. If they thought, they wouldn't act, so the simple answer they all found was to simply close their minds and try to ignore the fact that they were entering such a place.

The trembling persisted, and the sweat still dripped, again and again, onto the dark, cold ground. But lying to themselves, they at least tried to deceive themselves and follow that order.

Elizabeth closed her eyes once more and drew in a deep breath again.

It was possible to see the small white cloud escaping from her lips and disappearing into the air.

"Let's go."

There was no time to think, and they all knew it was better that way. For reasoning that decision at that moment would bring them nothing good.

As ordered, silent and swift steps were taken. Even with their large numbers, amidst the towering trees, at first, no creature saw them.

The groups split up, and Elizabeth followed with her group towards the demons' base.

In the darkness, the large, spacious trunks passed quickly through their eyes.

There was almost no light in that place, except for some trees and plants that glow in the dark and are the only things that give Elizabeth and the knights a sense of where they're stepping.

At times, with no sign of shout or speech, strange noises of something closing rapidly reached their ears.

Those near the source of the sound felt droplets splashing on their faces and slowly trickling down, carrying a faint smell of iron.

But they couldn't stop, they couldn't look.

If they did, none of them would be able to leave that place.

These sounds repeated and could be heard a total of twenty times.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, one of the knights brought one arm to his face to wipe away the tears.

Without any sound or attempt at defense, his body was quickly enveloped by something scaly and cold, and all that could be seen next was pure darkness.

Without his head, the rest of his body fell to the ground.

"Damn...!"

Everyone felt and knew what was happening. One by one, they were dying.

The trees are large, and their roots are very thick, so thick that they easily protrude from the ground, which can easily lead to unwanted events.

As they run, their feet suddenly become entangled in something rigid and immobile.

Upon hearing the sound of something nearby, the knights quickly turn, only to look at each other.

A brief smile is exchanged between them. The relief at not encountering any creatures from that place is quite evident and is plastered on their faces.

They try to stand up, but as they do so, they realize that their legs no longer respond to them.

Looking back simultaneously, they see that their feet no longer exist, or rather, they are no longer in contact with the rest of their bodies.

Their companions are quickly moving away, but they cannot call out to them, they cannot scream.

After drawing their swords, the knights briefly lock eyes. The same idea had occurred to both of them.

However, before they could do anything, something caught hold of what remained of their legs and began pulling them slowly. The creature slithered through their bodies.

Attacking it would make noise; fighting was not an option.

As tears welled up in their eyes, the two knights dropped their swords and silently allowed the creature to take them.

There were no screams or cries.

As the roots penetrated their skins and spread throughout their bodies, everything inside them was slowly absorbed, but the sound of tears hitting their surroundings was the only noise in that place besides the natural disturbance caused by the movement of the roots.

Moving forward, those who survived didn't let anything escape their eyes, whether on land or in the air, it didn't matter, their eyes saw everything.

"Huh..? What the..."

Their bodies didn't move, but it wasn't fear or anything like that.

Looking up, the knights saw a beautiful woman descending, walking on air and heading towards them.

They couldn't believe it; it couldn't be real.

"Damn..., so they really exist...?"

The fear in everyone's hearts intensified immensely as the beautiful woman before them began to transform into something grotesque and terrifying.

Her enormous fangs resembled extremely sharp pliers capable of crushing a human in a single blow.

Gigantic were her numerous legs, as well as her body, which seemingly carried some thorns.

Upon seeing that creature, the five knights, despite the growing fear, couldn't help but let smiles form on their faces.

"...Don't sneak out the window at night just to play a little longer, or you'll end up trapped in the invisible webs of the spider queen..." they remembered in their minds.

"I shouldn't have doubted her..." one of the knights thought.

"Arachnea..."

Being a creature greatly feared even without ever having been seen by the vast majority of people, essentially becoming a fairy tale used to scare children, this is one of the legends of the Great Forest.

Seeing her, the knights understood that there was no reason to fight, it was no longer possible.

As the creature approached through the air while their bodies seemed to be paralyzed, they immediately realized that;

Just like in the stories they were told, they were all trapped in her invisible web.