The shadow men

Kalaar looked at Hildegard and couldn't help but smile. The fact that Hildegard lost his map was a huge benefit for his survival, as the map's content could only be seen by the person it was given. The fewer maps within the group, the more map holders were valuable. Five more people had their maps, but Railan lost his map in the fight, and Hildegard's map seemed to be stolen.

As he walked back to the others, he saw the rest of his party seated on the ground. They weren't looking up, so they didn't see him approaching until he was standing just behind them.

"Did you find your map?" asked Johnatan.

"No. One of you guys stole it!' Hildegard said, trying to stay calm, but the rage bubbling inside him would not let him go quiet. He felt betrayed and angry.

"What?!" Rauk yelled, turning around. "Who?!"

"Hildegard has a bad habit of taking things," said Toren with a smirk. "Probably karma bit his ass!"

"What?!" Hildegard yelled again, this time louder than before. Everyone turned around, surprised by his outburst.

"Maybe that girl, who rejected you," Lothor approached Hildegard slowly, concerned. His hand reached out and caressed his shoulder. "managed to find an opportunity to steal it after we killed her brother?"

"Yeah, that must be it." Hildegard calmed down, now understanding what happened. The girl probably got lucky enough to steal his map and hide her own. She must have thought she'd never see me again after that." He sighed, running his hands through his hair.

"After finding her, we can take her entire group's maps. Then we will lead them deep into the forest and have some fun before leaving them. hehe!"

"Can't wait to cut their limbs off! "

Everyone started laughing. Even Johnatan had a big grin on his face, proud of him. Even though Hildegard had always been a reckless guy, this was one thing he wouldn't change about himself. He loved making enemies, getting revenge, and having some fun. He was also glad to know that his team was the same as him because he knew he wouldn't survive long without them. Especially Johnatan, who even killed his baby brother to get the full inheritance.

.

"Where do we go now, Johnatan?" asked Lothor, sitting near him and taking out the map.

"I don't know," shrugged Johnatan. "We need to find that girl."

"But where? Should I search for her? We should try to find her first. If she's smart, she'll use another path, and if bitch doesn't think much of us, she will come back."

"You're probably right," nodded Lothor. "If I ever found someone like that, I would leave her somewhere."

"Me too," agreed Hildegard. "That girl... she looks like a real tough cookie! You better not underestimate her."

"Oh, I won't! But I'm sure we will find her."

Hildegard shrugged. He knew it wasn't going to stop them from searching, though. The sooner they could find her, the better. He was starting to feel restless again as he suddenly heard a thunderstorm called outside of the forest. Everyone fell silent, carefully listening as thunder echoed throughout the area.

The sun began setting, casting the sky in red colours. The rain was coming—a storm.

Suddenly, Hildegard felt scared. This zone was not supposed to have rainy seasons. The forest was supposed to grow with thick foliage, covering any precipitation and keeping everyone safe from the harsh winds, without any weather changes in the atmosphere. This storm wasn't supposed to happen.

He glanced at the others, trying to gauge their reactions. Lothor was slightly shaking as if he was feeling cold or anxious. He gripped his spear tightly, making him look almost ready to strike anyone who tried to approach him. Suddenly the wind changed, and the lightning kept hitting the ground outside the forest.

"What the hell is going on?!" yelled Railan, watching in horror. It sounded like the trees were on fire. Suddenly, a fire blast hit the tree beside them and burnt it completely. It was then that they realized something was very wrong. It took a lot of concentration, but Hildegard managed to grab Lothor and pull him away from the tree. The two hid behind a tree.

"Are you alright?!" asked Hildegard, checking Lothor's condition. He was burnt heavily from his arm and knee.

"I'm fine..." replied Lothor softly. "Thank you."

The rest of the group started to panic. Railan was still shaking in fear, and Johnatan looked as if he had fainted. Toren was pacing back and forth, seemingly hyperventilating.

"It's alright, everybody," Hildegard said, "Someone will find us. Just stay put, okay?"

"How is it possible that we're in danger from an electrical storm when everything looks normal?" complained Rauk, "Do you think we're stupid?! Something is attacking us! The storm is outside of the forest! Someone is trying to kill us, and we don't even know it is!"

"I agree," Toren mumbled. "If it was just me... I think we should leave. If we stay here, we're dead!"

Suddenly, seven shadowy figures appeared. All were wearing long black cloaks. Each of them held a scythe. Their faces were covered in darkness, hiding every part of their bodies.

"Fuck!" cursed Hildegard, grabbing his sword. "Who sent you?! Did that commoner bitch sleep with you to get you to do her dirty work and avenge her brother?!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Hildegard realized what he said was very wrong. "Fuck, I-"

Before finishing his sentence, one of the shadowy figures pointed his finger at Hildegard. The rest of the creatures joined him and pointed to the rest of the people. The group was surrounded.

"To survive," one of the men spoke, "confess your sins."

"To confess," another one ordered. "You'll play the game."

"To play the game," screamed another one. "Escape the forest."

"To escape the forest," another man said, sounding amused. "Avoid the fire!"

"To avoid the fire", another one shouted, pointing his scythe at everyone, "Leave the injured."

"Leave the injured, or die in the forest!" the sixth man shouted.

"Leave the wounded or DIE!" shouted the last.

"Leave the injured or die in the forest!"

"Leave the injured or die in the forest!" yelled the men.

The cloaks of the creatures turned into shadowy wings, and the seventh monsters started flying around and swinging their scythes at the members of the group. Some flew above their heads, while others hit the ground where they stood, cutting open the trees and branches of the forest and the earth and rocks. Crashing wood echoed through the forest, filling it with dust, broken limbs, and splinters.

The group started running. Lothor grabbed Hildegard's leg, begging them not to leave him behind. However, he received a kick that knocked his front teeth out. When he fell backward, Hildegard spat at him.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" he growled. "You're nothing but trouble!"

Suddenly, a loud screech came, and a giant bat jumped through the air and smashed itself against another tree, sending debris everywhere. Noticing that the cloaked men started to focus on the monsters, they ran through the forest as fast as possible. They didn't even check maps anymore, just blindly ran in the direction of the screams. They ran until their legs gave up, and they collapsed on the grassy clearing in which the group was standing a moment ago.

"We escaped?" Jonathan asked, looking at Railan and Hildegard, confused.

"Yup, we survived." Hildegard smiled sarcastically. "At least most of us," he added after seeing that only the three of them were present.

He rolled his eyes and started massaging his knee. He felt a little dizzy, and he was sure a bruise was forming on his leg.