Using the Nirvanic Wind Sprinter technique, the girl's body shot forward as though carried by the wind. Her feet landed not only on the ground but also on the branches of towering trees. Feeling as light as cotton, Fatheema didn't hesitate to leap across even the steepest slopes. It wasn't long before she reached the edge of the Alas Purwo Forest.
She stood at the entrance to the forest, where dense, towering trees crowded together, blocking the path ahead. A strange sensation hung over the entire forest.
Then her eyes reacted to the mysterious energy. A violet glow radiated from them, while her irises turned a deep crimson. "Reveal yourself, hidden one. Show me the secrets you conceal."
And then— Before her appeared an immense black veil, like a gigantic dome covering the entire forest. It looked like a mysterious force manipulating the space within. After observing the supernatural barrier surrounding the forest, she wasted no more time and sprinted straight into it. Upon reaching a slightly elevated area, she leaped onto a high tree branch. Using several smaller trees as stepping stones, she climbed onto a massive tree that towered above the rest. From the top of the giant tree, Fatheema carefully surveyed every part of the forest within her field of vision. She sharpened her hearing, hoping to catch any clue.
In the distance, she spotted a small yellow triangular flag. It looked like a marker left behind by the search team. Without hesitation, she jumped down and dashed toward it. "Good. Finally, a lead. These must be trail markers left by the search party. I'll follow them. Hopefully they'll lead me to something." Once again, she bounded from one tree branch to another. Traveling above the forest floor gave her a significant advantage. It was not only faster, but it also allowed her to avoid the rocky terrain and dense undergrowth below.
"Ah... someone set up a temporary camp. Looks like it's the Scouts." Muttering to herself, Fatheema jumped down and approached a small group wearing Scout uniforms. Several of the faces looked familiar.
"Anik, Andi, and Odah! What are you guys doing here?" she asked.
The three of them flinched and quickly turned toward the voice behind them, "Fatty?! Oh my God, you scared me! You suddenly spoke out of nowhere. I thought you were a ghost!" Odah exclaimed, "Why are you here by yourself? Did you get lost too?"
"I'm not lost. I came here on purpose. I'm looking for my father. He joined the search team because the missing child is his nephew. Have you seen him?" Fatheema asked, looking from one friend to another.
"Yeah... your dad, Mr. Ahmada, and the others told us to stay here. They headed deeper into the forest after hearing gunshots and people shouting over there." Andi pointed toward the direction Mr. Ahmada had gone.
"We haven't heard anything since then," Anik added. "The fighting stopped completely, but no one's come back yet. Even though a lot of people went that way... and—"
Before she could finish, Fatheema had already vanished, sprinting toward the direction they had indicated. Within seconds, she disappeared behind the thick trees.
"Hey! Fatty! Where are you going?! Don't go! Your dad told us to wait here!" Anik shouted in disbelief. She couldn't understand why her friend had suddenly appeared... only to disappear just as suddenly.
"Hey, Anik..." Odah whispered nervously. "Did you notice something? Fatty showed up out of nowhere... and then she disappeared just as fast. That's not normal. She's like a ghost... What if that really was a ghost?"
"Stop saying things like that! You're scaring me!" Anik replied, shivering.
"I'm not trying to scare you. Ever since we entered this forest, I've had goosebumps that won't go away," Odah muttered. The two of them grew even more uneasy.
Meanwhile, Fatheema raced in the direction her friends had pointed out. Along the way, she found more small yellow triangular trail markers. The deeper she ventured into the forest, the denser the strange energy surrounding it became.
After running for some time, she heard distant sounds of battle—shouting, violent impacts, and the clash of weapons.
She accelerated toward the noise. When she reached a wide clearing, she leaped behind a massive tree to assess the situation.
The sight before her left her stunned.
The members of the search team lay scattered across the ground. Some writhed in pain, while others lay motionless, either unconscious... or dead. Among them were police officers and members of the search-and-rescue team. Many of the surrounding trees had been snapped in half or uprooted.
The sounds of battle she had heard were coming from this very clearing. Standing in the middle of it was a gigantic black monster, nearly fifteen feet tall, with blazing red eyes. Upon its head rested a crimson crown adorned with black gemstones, and flames burned fiercely above it. The creature wielded a massive spiked mace-like staff.
Opposing it were two men fighting side by side—an elderly man and a middle-aged man. The old man wielded a short spear tipped with a black blade. Though completely exhausted and breathing heavily, he continued launching relentless attacks against the monster. Several strikes landed squarely on the creature's body, but the spear might as well have struck solid bedrock. Instead, the old man was repeatedly sent flying by the monster's powerful blows. Yet strangely enough, he kept getting back up every single time, completely unharmed.
The middle-aged man was in even worse condition. Fatheema felt her heart nearly stop.
His body was covered in bruises and wounds, with blood streaming from countless cuts. By all logic, he should have collapsed long ago from blood loss. Yet despite enduring one crushing blow after another, he stubbornly rose to his feet each time.
Fatheema's shock wasn't because of his impossible endurance—it was because that middle-aged man was Mr. Ahmada...
Her father.
Unable to restrain herself any longer, Fatheema swiftly pulled a horsebow and several arrows from the storage bracelet Akane had once given her. Within moments, she loosed more than five arrows in rapid succession.
The arrows whistled through the air toward the black monster.
Clang! Clang!
Every single arrow struck its target. Yet the moment they hit the creature's body, they bounced away as though they had struck solid stone.
Without a moment's hesitation, Fatheema launched herself into the air toward the monster. In both hands, she gripped a pair of bladed kusarigama.
***