Chapter 9

"...Get up! Come on, we have to leave! Now!"

Autumn slowly opened her eyes, glaring at Ember. "It's too early to set out, look! The sun is barely even visible!"

In the dim lighting of the sunrise, Autumn could vaguely make out Ember's worried face.

"I would never get up this early on my own accord, but this is important! Shift back quickly, adventurers are exploring the forest! They aren't far away..."

"Why didn't you say so?!" Autumn quickly shifted back into her humanoid form and lifted the hood of her cloak to cover her ears. Ember had similarly hidden her ears under her hood.

Aided with their impeccable hearing and light footsteps, Autumn and Ember cautiously snuck past the adventurers.

"Any idea why they're here? This is the very core of the forest, after all." Ember questioned curiously.

"It might be those two adventurers who ran away...I knew I should've chased them..." Autumn regretfully stated.

"Tch. No use crying over spilled milk. From the sounds of it, they brought reinforcements. We better leave quickly."

Autumn nodded, a serious expression on her childish face. Tugging the hood of her cloak lower, she silently sprinted ahead with Ember close on her heels.

Tap, tap, tap. The footsteps of the adventurers slowly came closer as they not-so-subtly intercepted the two.

A strange expression covered Ember's face. Muttering unhappily, Ember growled, "We're obviously traveling away from them, but why is it that every step we take only brings us closer to them?"

"Magic. They must have a powerful mage with them," Autumn whispered breathlessly.

Ember nodded, inching closer to Autumn. "Either they're targeting things at random, or it's us specifically. From what we've done, it's probably the latter."

Autumn nodded her head, her stance changing into something defensive and flighty. "Be ready to run at any moment."

The duo stood in silence as the sun cast its bright rays over the forest. Small streams of light trickled through the leaves and illuminated their surroundings.

Crunch. Two pairs of eyes darted towards the thick undergrowth. More footsteps sounded as the adventurers made their presence known.

Autumn locked her eyes onto the group of adventurers, taking in their appearance and likewise, their combat skills.

Shooting Autumn a questioning glance, Ember conveyed her question through her eyes. Subtly shaking her head, Autumn responded. They were not the same adventurers she had encountered.

These were a far cry from the weak, shrimp-like excuses of adventurers she had slaughtered in the forest. These adventurers were battle-hardened veterans.

Autumn scanned the group of four with her emerald-green eyes. They looked young, and if not for the ruthless light in their eyes that showed they would not hesitate to kill, she would have mistaken them for novices.

At the forefront of the group, a brown-haired youth stood. His brown eyes twinkled with mirth as Autumn and Ember scrutinized the group. Two children, all alone in the core area of the Dark Forest, looking over his team with vigilant gazes.

The swordsman, with his unremarkable hair and eye color, seemed to be the epitome of ordinary, yet his deadly aura proclaimed him otherwise. 'The leader of the group,' Autumn concluded before moving her gaze to the archer.

With bright, sunny hair and an energetic smile, Autumn wished she could wipe that grin off his face. As if knowing her intentions, his forest-green eyes squinted slightly as his grin grew wider.

'Annoying and stupid, yet, that bow on his back tells enough of his strength.' Slung over the archer's back was a pure white recurve bow. Golden runes covered every inch of the bow, giving it an elegant and powerful feel. Surprisingly, the archer held no arrows. Perhaps he had forgotten them.

Unknowingly, Autumn had labeled the archer as an easy target.

Moving her gaze to the mage, Autumn was stunned by what she saw. With pure white hair and icy blue eyes, Autumn blinked in shock. Was it even possible for looks like that to exist?

'An angel,' Autumn thought. With a slight smile gracing his face as he curiously scrutinized the children, Autumn was captivated, almost forgetting how much danger the mage represented. With an aura as kind and warm as his, it would make everyone involuntarily trust him, and that was what scared her.

Autumn then turned her gaze to the dark figure carefully hidden in the shadows. An assassin. If the mage reminded Autumn of an angel, then the assassin was a demon. Even with the dark-haired assassin suppressing his aura, it gave Autumn goosebumps. Moving her line of sight to his face, she locked eyes with him for a brief moment. Stiffening at the sight of his blood-colored gaze, Autumn looked away. 'His eyes,' She thought, 'So cold, expressionless, ruthless...'

Autumn scanned her gaze over the group once more. 'All of them. We are not their match.' Panic filled her and she unwillingly took a small step back. Ember glanced at her frightened figure and stepped in front of her protectively.

Autumn's heart was pounding against her ribcage, yet was filled with warmth when she saw Ember's action. Autumn knew that Ember could sense how powerful the adventurers were, yet she managed to stand her ground and reached out to protect her as well.

'I will get stronger. Strong enough to protect those I care for,' Autumn vowed.

A serene voice sounded. "Done looking?"