Beginning

"Commander, we have failed to capture the demon who stole the last mana stone. He immediately hid in the Witch's Forest upon noticing our presence. What should we do now?"

Before I could say anything, the ground rumbled, shaking like a 5.6 magnitude earthquake occurred. The lamps shattered, birds flew in chaos, and suddenly, the atmosphere became eerie. The gush of wind blew more chilly than usual, and I could feel the energy around me being agitated.

"The forest knows everything," I whispered, remembering what the old man had told me.

I went deep inside the heart of the Elder Woods, where the energies of nature are concentrated. Upon arriving, I placed my palm on the cold ground, eagerly focusing on this forest's energy.

"Commander, what are you doing?"

Every tree in this world is connected, so this method will eventually lead me to what's happening inside the Witch's Forest. I gently closed my eyes, concentrating on the energy.

As I connected to the Witch's Forest, the sky was slowly becoming bloody red, strange thunder crackling, and I couldn't feel any life forms inside. I went deeper into the forest and saw a giant whirlpool in the lake.

All these occurrences in the forest are unusual because of the distorted energy around them. After looking around, the lake turned red like the sky, and the air around got heavier. The whirlpool became more extensive, and something came out.

I don't need to check who it is as I can feel it with their demonic energy. This demon feels extremely dangerous compared to the ones we've faced.

"Your Highness, the preparations are complete," said the lesser demon, floating towards the devil who emerged.

All hairs on my body stood on their ends as I saw the demon smile wickedly before devouring the lesser demon who stole the last mana stone.

"Ah, such a delectable soul," he said while licking the remains of the lesser demon. "It seems like a little rat is hiding."

I gasped when our eyes met, and he creepily smiled from ear to ear.

"Commander! Are you okay? Your nose is bleeding."

I wiped the blood dripping from my nose and stood up. "We need to inform the empire of the upcoming danger."

"A bigger threat has emerged from the Witch's Forest."

After that, the four empires were in chaos upon discovering the identity of the demon who emerged. The corruption these demon worshippers brought is slowly tainting this world, and I'm the only one who can stop them.

How did it end up like this? Before I transmigrated here, I couldn't even imagine I could experience all of these, but somehow the Gods chose me to defeat these dreadful creatures.

Before that, let me tell you how it all started…

*****

[Sacred Doctor's College, Philippines]

I fidgeted as I stared at the classroom's door. I unconsciously squeezed the strap of my bag. Am I presentable enough?

As I hesitated to enter, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around and saw a tall guy with chocolate-colored hair, deep brown eyes, and two dimples popping as he smiled. He looks like your typical green-flag male lead in novels.

"Good morning! I haven't seen you before." He looked at me from head to toe without showing any intentions of being rude. "Perhaps you are our new classmate?"

I nodded. "Yes." I scratched my head and gave him an awkward smile. "I'm too nervous to enter the room. I'm afraid that I'll ruin the mood."

He lightly slapped me on the back. "Oh, don't be silly! They will be delighted to meet you." He got closer to my ear. "They are excited to see you since we haven't had any new classmates since we were in senior high school, but don't tell them I told you this."

He grabbed my hand. "My name is Jerome. Let's enter the room! They're waiting."

I wasn't given a moment to hesitate when he suddenly pulled me into the room. Because of our sudden presence, the whole room was filled with silence. That's why I didn't want to enter so abruptly!

Jerome released my hand from his grasp, but I grabbed it again.

"Don't leave me here! You were the one who suddenly grabbed my hand and forced me to enter the room! Now, they're giving me the looks!" I whispered.

He gave me a playful smirk. "Oh, I didn't know you were such a flirtatious woman, newbie. If you wanted to hold my hand, you could've just asked me."

I annoyingly squeezed his hand with force. "My name is Chesah, not 'newbie.' I'm not interested in you, and I'm not being flirty!"

"Ow ow ow! Okay okay! Sheesh..." He massaged his hand while glaring at me. "Settle down, everyone! The professor isn't available today to give us any orientation about his subject, but aside from that.."

He grabbed my shoulders while pulling me towards the front. "She is our new classmate. Kindly introduce yourself."

"Hello, I'm Chesah Dani Manalo, but you can call me Chesah."

A woman with short jet-black hair, black eyes, and a cute dimple on her right cheek approached me. "You're the one who's scaring her, Jerome! Just look how stiff she is."

Jerome rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! I was the first person who met her. That poor girl was standing outside the room while all of you kept bickering and shouting like you were in a bar."

She stuck her tongue out. "Whatever you say, Mr. Nice Guy." She turned her gaze towards me.

"Hello! I'm Jessa! If you need help in class, you can approach me. Better yet, you can approach me anytime if you want someone to talk to."

I nodded, and my other classmates also approached me. What is this feeling? I've never felt like this before. Why are they so nice to me?

As someone who never felt any warmth from other people, this may be one of the best memories I've had in a while. It was a good call that I ran away from home since I knew that if I stayed there any longer, I probably wouldn't make it.

I really shouldn't be thinking about this. It only makes my anxiety even worse, and I don't want to have a panic attack in this place.

"Hey, Chesah."

"A-ah... Yes?" Oh, shoot! I didn't notice that Jessa was calling for me. I'm so out of it.

"Are you okay? You look pale," she asked in a worried tone.

"Are you perhaps worried?" I bluntly asked.

She tapped my shoulder. "Of course, Chesah. Why wouldn't I be? Isn't that a normal thing between friends?"

Hearing those words from her made my chest tighten. Why do I feel happy and sad at the same time?

"Are you okay? You've been out of it since you entered the room. Did we do something that made you feel uncomfortable?"

What am I doing? They are worried about me while I'm here, doubting their intentions.

"I feel wonderful." I smiled. "I'm just nervous. That's all."

Jessa giggled. "Oh, don't be! We're going outside for lunch since Jerome announced earlier that our professor won't be available today. The same goes for our professor for our second subject."

My other classmate said, "I hope they have a valid excuse for being absent from class. I hate it when a professor is always absent, and yet they give unreasonable grades!"

"You're coming with us, right, Chesah?" Jessa asked with anticipation.

"Uh..." Jessa looked at me with her cutest puppy and glittery eyes. "If everybody agrees, then I'm up for it. I don't know anyone here besides you guys, anyway."

Jessa clapped her hands. "Yey! Let's wait for the time, then off we go!"

As we waited for lunch, we talked like we hadn't seen each other for a long time.

*****

I opened the door to my room and let myself fall onto the bed.

"I'm so tired," I said grumpily.

After conversing with my classmates the whole day, I ran out of social battery. They asked me a bunch of stuff about my background, but I have yet to respond directly.

"I'm always the problem," I said, facing the ceiling. "I hope I won't screw up this time. I want to maintain our friendship a little longer."

While overstimulating my brain by thinking about many things, I slowly dozed off.

"Chesah..."

Huh?

"Chesah, wake up."

I just got home from school! Who's waking me at this hour?

I slowly opened my eyes, and I felt coldness surrounding my body. Why is it so cold? I don't remember turning on the AC in my room. As the blurriness of my vision starts to go away, my eyes widen in shock when I see an unfamiliar room.

Where am I? The ground has many cracks and looks old due to the moss covering it. The ceiling of this place is also rifted, and water is dripping between them. I can't describe the scent in this place, but it smells rotten! This looks like an underground prison cell! How did I end up here?

I quickly got up. Why am I in a prison cell? This must be a goddamn dream.

"Ew, what the f*ck?" I felt stickiness when I touched the jail grate.

I looked at my hand, trembling in fear, as I realized what it was. "Is this... blood?"

I heard the movement of chains behind me, so I didn't hesitate to look back.

"Oh my god!" I screamed when I saw a woman being chained down before me.

Most of the parts of her dress are tainted with blood, and her body has tons of bruises and open wounds. I can't imagine how painful it is for her to endure that many injuries. Her body isn't in the best state, but I can see her royal-blue hair, lips pale like her skin tone, and lifeless eyes.

Who would do something like this? But, importantly, how do I get out of here? Did someone kidnap me while I was taking a nap?

"Is someone there?"

Her voice was hoarse and faint, but I heard her. Seeing her in this state breaks my heart. Why do I feel like I've seen her before? This feeling of familiarity with her is making my heart quiver in confusion.

Something was drawing me into her, so I slowly walked toward her. Everything was quiet. I can only hear the water dripping from the ceiling and my footsteps.

I kneeled to reach her level and asked, "Who are you? Who did this to you?"

I saw her smile, but it was a cold one. Her smile is full of despair and agony.

"Whoever you are, get out of here while you still can," the woman warned.

I got chills down my spine when she looked at me and said, "They're going to kill me soon. Save yourself."

After she said that, I suddenly felt something on my cheeks.

"Huh?" I touched my cheeks as a tear dripped from my eye.

Why... Am I crying? I felt a painful pang in my chest. It feels suffocating like I'm out of breath.

I looked at her once again. She was opening her mouth like she was trying to say something.

I can hear voices coming from afar, and their footsteps are getting louder. What should I do? Are they going to kill her? I turned to look at her again, but I froze in shock when I saw her face so close to me.

The woman whispered, "...revenge."

"AH!"

I quickly got up as my heart kept beating like a drum.

What on Earth was that dream?