Chapter 45 - Unexpected Disturbance

Until something unexpected happened. Something which to be fair happened all the time in the world, yet still surprised me anew. Something slammed onto the ground next to the tree stump I was residing in. With no way out I thought to myself what it could be making all this ruckus outside. Curious and afraid at the same time for the unknown…

A second rumble resonated through the ground as the slam could be heard far and wide.

*SLAM*

*Crackle*

*Crunch*

To my imagination, there should be either two quite large beasts near the stump or it could be one gigantic one, like the one who perished from its overabundance of wounds all around its body. Could it be? The more I thought about it, the more my body stiffens as a result. It couldn't be… Was the guardian attack by one of the Kings? Not to mention;

"Who are these Kings!! Damnit!?"

Without realizing I had shouted this sentence over the top of my lungs, hoping it had not produced too much noise I quickly latched on to the inside of the stump while stretching my body to its limits. At that moment I felt the stump shake, gigantic razor-sharp claws shot through the bottom part of the stump, thankfully I latched on to the side, barely evading these razor-sharp monstrosities…

I really couldn't believe my eyes as they lifted the stump without much effort.

Looking down a hole revealed itself on the ground, it seemed I could have escaped through there. At the same time I realized never being alone in the stump, countless little insects ran for their lives, their home had been invaded, destroyed even. What I saw happened next could no one have imagined…

The stump kept being raised into the air, giving me the perfect seat to witness the gruesome events that followed. Within seconds I realized just how insane this forest truly was.

Because what revealed itself underneath the stump could be categorized as worse than the guardian… Other than the claw which held up the stump, another had created a small crater on impact at the other side where the stump previously stood all alone.

The claw was not just covered with scales, but doing up its joints were covered by something similar to fur. Before I could make the connection the other claw hurled us in the air with one fell swoop hurling the stump effortlessly into the air, within the next few seconds which felt like an eternity I could only see small glimpses of what decided to hoard the underground insect storage.

The beast had lowered its head making it unable to see much, although I was certain of seeing the same fur spreading over the entirety of its head and back. The second time I pulled myself together taking in whatever I could. This time horns revealed themselves on top of its head, not normal horns, more like spikes, spikes that covered a line from the tip of its head to the end of its back.

This wasn't too surprising anymore seeing at what I had encountered throughout the dungeon. On the other hand, what baffled me more was the fact that it had wings.

Wings which were like those of an eagle, but covered with scales on the back of them.

"Might I ever fight such a beast, then I have to find a way to fight flying animals.

Even with those hornets back then… I truly was lucky… If I let such a huge demon come up close to me, I'll be done for this time!"

My survival instinct kicked in, telling me there was no way, at least for now.

To beat it. I had to gain strength, fighting those I had a chance against gaining more and more strength until I can pose a challenge to them.

I had to run away, not to mention, find a way out of this still skyrocketed tree stump.

We had flown past the trees now, I could see that the dungeon area we were in had become larger than the previous ones… But there was no way to tell time… Although it looked like it was bright as the blue sky I remembered from my previous life, what gave away the dungeon ecstatic was the fact that gigantic crystals could be seen glistering on top of the surface. With the speed slowly dwindling as the seconds flew by, each second felt like an eternity. The trump had stopped spinning making it less air resistant.

That was when the realization of imminent destruction crept in.

"Wait what?! Glistering Crystals?! Oh no! I'm going to crash into the ceiling this way!"

I had to find a way out of this mess, maybe even away from the insane beast who only had eyes for its next meal. The cavern of the insects. I looked down, seeing the beast's face in horrifying detail. I remembered these animals were part of the traditional fantasy genre in books, movies, series, and games. They were extremely brutal and territorial there too.

Its head covered in soft feathers revealed a majestic white even silverish color which reflected the artificial sunlight that shined upon it. The horns on its head felt out of place when I finally saw what kind of mouth the creature had.

With a sharp beak, most would recognize this beast as the majestic griffin in tales of old.

But was that truly what it was? Its eyes felt out of place… they looked lifeless almost like a lizard. But why?

I instantly regretted asking that question as a loud shriek shot through the entire area,

even at an almost maximum altitude, it could be heard. It was…

The shriek of a bird that I knew all too well. The shriek of those damned seagulls…

Shortly after the beast looked up, at the stump, stopped its shrieking, and prepared for the attack. Or so I thought.

It must have been aware of my presence within the stump because what happened next felt like it was mocking me… Our eyes had met for a moment, or at least that was how it felt to me, after we had locked eyes its beak did something that could only happen in horror movies or someone's freaky over imagination. Because the beast didn't just open its beak…

It opened to five different directions revealing that within the beak had been razor-sharp teeth all along. Not only that, but imagine it latching onto something, then nothing could escape it.

But it didn't stop there, the horrifying scene which unfolded on the ground almost made me think like it wasn't of this world. Its mouth revealed something similar to a tongue stretching out for at least three times my size, imagining it was possibly around one and a half or two meters, yet from this height, it could very well be even larger.

It twirled with its tongue around all sides of its beak, without eyes locked onto each other this must have felt like an eternity until it began to feast…

It slammed its claws onto the ground with such force that the insects didn't know what to do anymore. Quickly the beast lowered its contraption of a mouth into the hole and began sucking as if it would be his last meal. Within moments what looked like an insect-invested tunnel had been sucked dry, without any sign of life ever being there.

I knew those within the stump would be next, I had to find a way out of here…

Was that even possible? The stump had come to a standstill in the air. I quickly climbed on top, hoping the beast had not seen me move. This was the only way I could think of finding a way out.

Knowing the beast could fly, this must have been some kind of playtime for it.

And I wasn't going to be part of it any longer… As I tried to look around, hoping to find a way to escape I noticed that the forest spread far and wide, in the air it was impossible to spot something similar to an exit, so for now finding the path of least resistance should be the way to go. I tried to focus on my escape as a top priority…

Survival, which had always been my top priority should also find a way to help me out of this mess. I had to trust myself because one wrong move could mean that I would fall to my death before getting devoured by that monster.

Knowing I was close to an entrance something similar should be on the other side.

I quickly looked in the opposite direction and spotted a gigantic tree that stood out far above the others.

"That should be my way out of here! Now think Mira! Think! What can you do to get away unnoticed? Confrontation? Escape? Use your creativity!"

Ideas began flooding my brain, but were they realistic? Could I pull any of them off?

One who doesn't try never finds salvation! Never give up until you have done everything you could.