Chapter 48 "Knight Heart"

A loud thumping sound was created as the wisp of wind smashed against the wall and caused part of the ceiling to collapse. Luminous rocks, dirt, and pebbles rained down from above. Half of the vast square was covered in thick dust, making it impossible to guess where Dimas was.

My energy was gone. Chill ran down the spine and gave this body a feeling of intense horror. While hanging on to the root fibers of the Hanarusa tree, my eyes widened. Looking down, hoping that Dimas would immediately come out of the dust and attack the monster's feet like before.

However, he still didn't appear even though time had passed. Beads of sweat dripped from my forehead. Not a word was spoken from this mouth while hoping for the best possibility.

But when? Until when should I keep hoping? What if that hope never appeared?

Negative questions kept coming to my head, making me unable to think clearly. Coupled with excessive indecision and anxiety, my fear is getting worse. I looked up. The exit was just a few meters above me. I could just go upstairs and get out of here right away.

Nevertheless, such an action wasn't right. I still couldn't do anything even though I was on the surface.

No, not like that. To be honest, I couldn't leave Dimas alone here. I just couldn't. He was my best friend so far. He was the only one who was always with me and kept me by his side. I couldn't lose him no matter what happened.

Without thinking any longer, I released my grip on the root of the Hanarusa tree and made my body slide down. I climbed down the steep and rocky wall before finally crashing to the ground. My hands and feet hurt from scratching against the rock, but I didn't care about that. Compared to what I would feel when I lost Dimas, the scratch was just a small issue.

I immediately ran up to the monster from behind. I realized from its fight with Dimas that the giant owl used its sharp eyes to see the opponent's movements. It shouldn't be able to see me coming from the blind spot. My hand quickly took Viglet of Hope out of my pocket and aimed it at the monster's back.

"Vitr Bris!"

At the same time, a wisp of wind concentrated at the tip of my magical wand. It only took a few seconds for a wisp of wind the size of a baseball to swell to the size of a watermelon. If I was holding a normal viglet, it would take a long time for a vortex to form that big. It would be a different story if I used the weapon the Elvian West Kingdom's Third Prince used. I could swear this was the largest wisp of wind I've ever created with the 'Vitr Bris' spell.

I quickly released the Esze a moment later, right at the monster's back. A loud shrill scream echoed inside the giant room when a wisp of wind smacked against his body. Some loose and fallen feathers fall to the ground.

The giant owl immediately looked back, watching the culprit who had just attacked it silently, right at me.

Its gaze was so sharp as if to stab the heart. If only a look could kill, I'd probably have been killed hundreds of times. My head had to look up to meet its gaze. If you looked closely, it was undoubtedly enormous. My legs were shaking when I saw its from this distance.

The monster turned its body, and it expanded its lungs forward. This pose! The same pose as the attack he just did on Dimas. It would attack me with wisps of wind from its mouth!

My eyes reflexively darted left and right, trying to find rocks to take cover. But it was useless. It was too far away, and I wasn't sure I could reach it before this monster hit me. My instinct moved my right arm right at the ugly bird's beak. Instead of running away with a low percentage of success or surrendering to the situation. I'd better use this opportunity to fight back with my Esze.

I would use the 'Vitr Blast' spell. This technique was the enhancement from 'Vitr Brist' I used before. This technique has a broader range and more severe damage. I once cast the spell with an old viglet from Almira's, and it worked amazingly. I dared not imagine its effect if I cast the spell with this Viglet of Hope in my hand.

"Eat this! Vitr Blast!" I shouted loudly.

In just a few seconds, the tip of my staff had already manifested a wisp of wind that was small enough that it was only the size of a fist. In the next blink of an eye, I instantly released magical energy upwards. At the same time, the monster owl that had stored its wind energy in its beak released it toward me.

Its attack and my wind Esze clashed in the air. Creating airwaves as well as shockwaves throughout the room. Made me have to fall very far back.

"Ah...! Dammit!" I cursed when my back hit a rock with a rough surface. Then my body was lying on the ground.

My strength suddenly ran out when I wanted to get up. I could only lift half of my body by resting on my elbows. The whole room was filled with thick dust, preventing the eyes from seeing the surroundings. The shockwave that was created was massive. The monster's body might have also been blown away because I had heard the loud crash earlier.

I have to move from here soon. It could be bad if the monster saw me helpless first, it might launch another attack before I could stand up.

Suddenly my ears heard the sound of footsteps coming from the dust. Then he looked down and stretched his hand to me with that familiar look of worry.

"Dimas! I'm glad you're okay," I exclaimed happily after realizing my childhood friend had escaped the monster's attack.

"Look at you now! You better worry about yourself," he replied while helping me up. For some reason, seeing his figure in good shape made my strength replenished. "How foolish you are! Why are you coming back? If you had followed the plan earlier, we might have been able to escape from here."

"Forgive me. I was so scared! I thought you didn't survive after that monster owl attacked you with magic."

"I told you not to take me lightly!" he said while flicking my forehead. "I managed to dodge at the last moment. But instead, I bounced toward the edge of the small river. Luckily I didn't faint! When I was about to get up, you foolishly lunged straight at Joni."

"Joni?" I asked in confusion.

"I named that ugly bird. Looks like it won't be friendly with my little bird, Kevin," he replied with a straight face.

I was flabbergasted. A few seconds later, I laughed so hard I had to cover my mouth with my hand when I understood what Dimas was saying. "What the hell is that? How can you joke at a time like this?"

"There's nothing wrong with joking while we're alive."

"You mean we're going to die here? It's not funny, Man!"

"I didn't order you to laugh. Now, all we have to do is think of another way to get out of here!"

"That's right, we should go as fa-."

"KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Suddenly a strong gust of wind came from nowhere, picking up the dust that filled the entire room. I squinted to avoid getting dust or small particles into my eyes. Coinciding with the disappearance of the dust, my vision became very clear. The monster owl flew up to half the room's height. Its eyes fixed on us. The monster flapped its four enormous wings and created endless gusts of wind.

Dimas laughed bitterly. "Hmph, if my memory is right, we only fought Elvian soldiers in tutorial mode. Then why do we immediately fight the boss when we just pressed the New Game button?"

I understand what Dimas said. Those were all video game terms that existed in our world before. To be honest, I also didn't know why we had to face strong monsters like this when we had just started our journey.

"You have another plan?" I asked, still staring at the figure flying above. I didn't want to let our guard down for a second that might end up hurting us.

"Is there any choice but to fight?"

"Very simple, but you do have a point."

"We don't need to defeat Joni, just immobilize it and get out of here. Anggi, use your Esze again to bring that jerk down from above! I'll take care of it when I can reach it."

"Well. Let's do it!"

***

Time flies and the day will turn into night. The violet evening sky blended with the dark sky studded with stars and cosmic dust in the sky. Create a beautiful panorama that wouldn't be satisfied to be seen only once. The golden sunlight swept across Arnest City to the North Latitude Mountains.

While standing majestically on top of one of the mountains, two cavalry knights closely observed this scenery. One of the knights had a muscular body with a bald head that could reflect the sun's glow from the western horizon. While the others had slightly thinner bodies compared to the bald ones, his body was quite athletic. The two people were Indra and Erik, Anggi's comrades who were members of the Elite Knights of the Kingdom of Lurivia.

Indra 'The Bald' got down from his horse and looked at the charm of Arnest City at dusk. His eyes looked mesmerized by the sight in front of him.

"So, this is Arnest City? Amazing!" he said in a calm tone. His face was so flat that no one would have guessed that the man was drowning in his own amazement.

"This is the first time I've seen this," said Erik' The Javaman', who was still on his horse.

Both Indra and Erik were wearing armor that looked luxurious with all the military attributes. Likewise, with the horses they rode, those animals also wore special war horse armor that functioned as protection from enemy attacks. Combined with war horses, the appearance of those two knights was elegant and dignified. In this half a year, they became the honored knights that all the boys in Lurivia dreamed of.

"We've come this far. I hope Anggi and the others are here," Indra said as he climbed onto his horse's saddle. Then the bald man galloped down the sloping side of the mountain at moderate speed, followed by his partner beside him.

"Seriously, I can't believe we abandoned such a bright future in Elite Knights just for this. I thought that, finally, I could live comfortably in this damned world. I didn't think I would just throw it away," Erik grumbled annoyedly.

"Well, it's a shame. But do you have the heart to sacrifice your own friends?" replied Indra with a thin smile. The man then looked at his partner. "If you don't want to throw it away, why don't you just stay?"

"Are you stupid? We have been friends for a long time and will be together forever. After all, who can I trust in this ridiculous world? And one thing. All Elite Knights will suspect me of your sudden loss if I stay. It's also possible that I will be tortured until I open my mouth."

Indra laughed lightly. "Then you've made the right decision. Don't regret it!"

Erik took a deep breath. "Putting that aside! Are you sure those kids are here?"

"It seems so. You remember those spider monsters we encountered in the meadow earlier?"

"Ah, that ugly monster that I sliced ​​in half? What's wrong with it?"

"The monsters weren't in top condition. Several parts of its leg are broken. So that's why we managed to kill them easily. I suspect that it was Anggi and the others who caused the wound," explained Indra with a serious face. He scratched his chin while thinking deeply about something. "Besides that, I'm sure they managed to escape from that monsters."

Erik was silent for a while. He had started to understand what Indra was explaining and got several possibilities in his head. "Let's just say they're safe and heading this way. How do we find them? I'm not sure those long ears would be so kind as to let three humans into their town. Eh, maybe two because Anggi is Haier-Elvian. Wait, doesn't that make it two and a half humans? Arrrgh, whatever!"

"That's what I thought earlier. Maybe those kids are still in the woods on the outskirts of town. I doubt they made it inside the Elvian city."

After a few minutes of climbing down the sloping road, the two arrived at the foot of the mountain. The landscape around them began to change where previously surrounded by fir and pine trees, they now faced Hanarusa trees and the ground surface covered with giant tree roots.

Terrain like this may be difficult to traverse on foot. But not with riding a horse, let alone on the best horse chosen as the Elite Knight's mount. Their horses were able to jump high through the giant transverse tree roots and had extraordinary stamina and endurance.

"I must admit that even though the terrain is difficult, this horse can easily overcome it. I can't imagine having to walk through this forest," Erik said, looking happy on a horse jumping over tree roots.

"Then we have shortened the distance with Anggi and the others. We should be able to meet them soon," replied Indra. He rolled his eyes around. "Besides, do you notice anything odd here?"

"Sure, I'm not blind. I don't know why water suddenly came out of the ground in all corners of this forest. At this rate, we have to quickly find them before we sink."

It was already getting dark. The sun's orange light was very thin and almost disappeared into the sky. When night came, this forest had quite a unique phenomenon. Water would come out of the ground and flood the Hanarusa Forest. The exact cause of this natural phenomenon has yet to be discovered. The Elvians didn't care about logic and science. In contrast, humans who were always interested in science were forbidden from entering this area. That was the reason why no one knew for sure the facts behind this miracle.

It didn't take long. The two of them had arrived at the outskirts of Arnest City. For a moment, they stopped to observe the surroundings of Arnest City, which was built above the trees. They were lucky this time because they didn't run into any Elvians. Those Long Ears prefer to stay above the trees rather than hang around in a forest that would be flooded.

"What are we going to do next? The whole forest will be flooded. We can't stay here any longer!" shouted Erik, who was already starting to panic. The water had started to pool up to thirty centimeters.

Indra looked around, and he found a giant tree trunk dangling down. Above the Hanarusa tree, a wooden hut was quite large but almost collapsed with a broken roof. It was obvious that the place was abandoned.

"Look at that!" said the man while pointing upwards. "That tree trunk is quite big, maybe we can climb up there and tether the horses in the hut. We will continue our search on foot. After I noticed these gigantic trees had interconnected trunks. There are also several wooden bridges between the trees. I must admit, the concept of a city above the trees is amazing!"

"Then we-"

*DRRRRRRRR!!!!

Suddenly there was a roar that echoed in the sky. The ground shook violently as if it was going to knock down whatever was on the surface. The water that flooded the forest rippled harshly like beer in a glass in the hands of drunkards. Birds flew from the perched tree branches. The animals were running here and there aimlessly to save themselves. Meanwhile, Indra and Erik only survived on the roots of a giant tree with their panicked horse.

But the shock did not last long. After things got better, the two of them glanced at each other.

"What was that?" asked a confused Erik.

"Look above the sky!" exclaimed Indra while pointing upwards.

Right up in the sky, an enormous owl flew low over the trees. Indra estimated that the size of the bird was tens of meters high because it looked big even though it was pretty far away. The monster's physical features were almost identical to the owl he knew from the previous world. If you put aside the matter of size and the two pairs of wings on its body. It also had a couple of large eyes, although now one of them was crushed and bleeding.

The monster flew past the two knights below. The flapping of its large and broad wings caused a strong gust of wind that almost shook the war horse from its position. The monster's scream shrieked through the sky, causing anyone who heard it to feel an intense horror.

The owl flew close to Arnest City and circled around it for a few seconds. The Arnest City residents stopped their activities, and some people left their houses, curious about what was happening outside. Everyone in town looked at the monster in fear. The owl then flew right above Arnest City.

A moment later, the thing that everyone feared the most happened. The owl monster spat wisps of wind from its mouth towards the city. The magical energy hit some of Hanarusa's trees and hit them down. Even though above the tree was a market full of citizens. Screams echoed everywhere. The people there before were now running away to save themselves. Some unlucky people died instantly, with their bodies torn apart when hit by the monster attack.

The atmosphere in the city became chaotic. The residents of Arnest City started fleeing from the city. Because the access road consisted only of tree trunks and wooden bridges, they were also fighting for each other and crowded. When the condition was critical, the selfish nature of everyone appeared. People didn't hesitate to elbow each other or trample others to save themselves. Not a few people also fell from high trees.

The situation got even tenser when the owl monster launched the second attack. This time the target was a busy residential area. Three to four Hanarusa trees were uprooted. Many people had their bodies scattered from being directly hit by magical energy. Even though the power was only in the form of wind, its strength was so great that it could overthrow the sturdiness of the Hanarusa tree.

The city of Arnest was now in chaos. Screams, cries of pain, and asks for help were heard everywhere. No one who had a heart would be able to see it. Moreover, the heart of a true knight had been imprinted in the soul to protect others.

"We have to help them," said Indra, who saw the chaos clearly from a distance.

"Wait! what do you want? Are you crazy?" prevented Erik by holding his partner's hand, who wanted to dash towards Arnest City without considering.

"Don't stop me! There are many people who need help!" shouted Indra, who looked so emotional.

"Why can't you even think straight at this point? Think again, you idiot! The Elvians would get suspicious if two human knights in armor suddenly appeared in their town! There should be an Elvian army in that city anyway. Leave this matter to them! Besides, look where the monsters are coming from!" Erik pointed at the Giant Hanarusa Sacred Tree, which was bigger than the others. Now the tree was almost uprooted from the ground. "Did you see one of the monster's eyes destroyed? I'm pretty sure someone crushed that monster's eye. Maybe it's Anggi and the others."

"You mean Anggi was there?" replied Indra in disbelief.

Erik nodded slightly. "It seems so. Just my guess, the reason why the monster went berserk was that someone crushed its eye. So better leave the trouble here for the Elvian soldiers. Meanwhile, we pick up Anggi and the others. Didn't you say that you don't want to leave your friends?"

After calming down a bit, Indra began to think clearly. "Okay. We'll check the place first, then come back here to help people if no one else does."

"Agree."

"Then let's go!"