"Ourang Gila (1)"

The birds were chirping as the sun started to show itself. Slowly, the illumination fell to a robe of a young mage who was casting magic.

[P'rlihatk'nlh jl'n pul'ng]

It was a spell to negate any illusion. This helped her a bit to find the way home from this forest. However, the forest magic was more powerful than her spell. So, her spell can only give her a clue about where to go next.

"Have people tried to burn the whole forest?" asked Raka to Nadia while they were walking through the forest.

"I believe once. We tried to burn it down once."

"What happened next?"

"We almost got into a war against White Elf."

Raka was silent for a moment. He put his hand to his chin and looking at the ground as if he were thinking. "There are other races other than human and monsters?" he turned his face to Nadia. Well, that was to be expected since I'm in a fantasy world.

"This continent was home for five races. Elvenlings, Human, Beastmen, Monsters, and Demigod."

"God lives here?"

"Their descendant to be precise. However, they didn't really meddle with us human unless we poked them."

"Has human tried to poke them?"

"Yes, once."

"What is going on with you people?"

"Have you ever heard curiosity? That's what makes human different from others. Ignorance is not a bliss for human. It's a disaster."

"What happened then? The demigod attacked?" asked Raka.

"Yes, and we almost lost."

"See?" remarked Raka. Then Nadia glared at him and send off a killing intent. However, to Raka, it was only anger he felt.

"How did you defeat them?"

"We didn't defeat them. We were only able to hold them off until they think it's no use to punish us."

Raka looked at the ground again. They were walking at a slow pace since it was morning and no strong monster were detected. That's why they were a bit relaxed this morning. "So, I'm guessing this demigod is almost as strong as a god."

"Yes. The fact is that they are the entity in this world that has the highest affinity to magic. If all demigod were united, they can rewrite the whole law of nature."

"So, they can erase human from existence?"

"Not that far. Rewriting the law of nature is basically rewriting the rules. However, the one that can judge if one race exists or not is the gods themselves. They are the one who chose the participant. Though, by rewriting the law, demigod could make us cornered and powerless. But they just couldn't do use that kind of magic."

"Why not?"

"Because Elvenlings would declare war on them."

Raka tilted his head as if he didn't understand something. "So, Elvenlings are stronger than Demigods?"

"No. They are wiser. Their power is on par since the wisdom elvenlings have can be a great weapon. But it's not about strength, it's about respect. Demigod holds high regard and respect to Elvenlings. They won't cross the line to break their promise to the Elvenlings."

"Hmm, I see." Raka Nodded. He continued to think about this world but suddenly, there was a thud sound. They went into battle stance as the sound become louder.

***

Za and Dan were wandering through the forest. With Za's ability, he was able to determine the residue of human's presence. Where did they go or where did they stay. Plus the fact that there is a saying that Forest's magic makes people didn't use the same track, his ability became useful.

But then, Za stopped walking. He was just standing there like a statue. Dan was confused by Za's act. "What are you doing, did we get lost?" asked Dan. But, Za didn't react or respond to him. "Za? What happened?"

"There's a presence …"

"Presence of what?" asked Dan in confusion. But Za was too scared to even react.

"Run…"

Then, from the shadow of the woods, a humanoid creature appeared. It stood with two legs and two long hands. Its face was deformed that it created a horrifying imagery of a twisted face. It shrieked creepily. Za just stood there dumbfounded. He faced his nightmare once more.

***

From the woods, they saw two people running towards them. At first glance, Nadia smiled when she saw the two people were his party. However, her smile faded when she saw their expression. And it was turned into a face of terror when she saw what they were running from.

"What in the world is that thing?" remarked Raka couldn't hide his surprise.

"That is Ourang Gila."

"Huh?"

"Ourang Gila is a monster that kidnaps kids from the village."

"Are they strong?"

"You really have to ask that? The guild putting up the request to slay that wicked creature but no one was able to kill it. The only time we almost kill it was when we go full force with Adventurer and Imperial Guard working together."

As the monster came closer, they started running. Then, Dan and Za finally caught up with them.

"Nadia! I'm glad you are alive!"

Nadia, with a smile upon her face, replied, "It's nice to see you guys too!"

"Where have you been? Are you okay?" asked Dan.

"I'm okay," answered Nadia. "Thanks to this guy. He saved me." She introduced Raka to them. Dan reaction was fine. He was very thankful even. However, Za didn't look satisfied and throw a glare to him.

"Za, I can explain later but for now, we need to run."

The Ourang Gila were chasing them. At first, it was running on the ground. Then, Nadia conjured a fireball and throw it to the monster. However, the monster dodged it by leaping to a tree while chasing them. Instead of getting slower, the monster gained speed every time it leaped from tree to tree and then to ground. It became creepier as the movement become erratic and unpredictable. Nadia losing her accuracy and decided to focus on running.

'We should do something,' thought Nadia. She glanced at Za who was terrified of the creature. Usually, Za would go behind a monster while the party were drawing its attention. It was their signature moves. However, things weren't going easy for Za.

"Za …," She touched Za's shoulder. He looked at her with terrible eyes weary of terror. "Are you okay?"

Za was quiet. He didn't even mutter a single word. His trauma of being kidnapped flooded his mind. The terror of his friend's face while eaten alive was lingering in his head. He can feel that he was about to throw up.

'This is bad,' she thought while racking her brain to find one possible solution.

"You three, go. I will hold this thing off," as if Dan read her thought, he stopped and readied his weapon.

"You can't hold it alone!" she refused the idea of leaving someone behind. That's why she kept thinking while running.

"I just have to be careful. That way I might hold it until you guys get reinforcement."

"It usually didn't work that way," Raka abruptly interfered their conversation.

"Then, what do you propose?"

"We will hold it off," Nadia readied her staff.

"But who's gonna call reinforcement?"

"I will," said Za with a tremor in his voice.

"We are counting on you Za," she said while lending an item to him. It was some kind of a beacon tracker and with that, he left.