Forest Chase II

"Ph~phantoms?!" Aurelia gasped, shuddering. A chill ran down her spine, making her tremble.

"I think I know where we are. The Dark Forest, Mirehaven, Western Germund," Friederich told her, a mischievous grin spreading across his dimly lit face.

"Why are you smiling like a total creep?" Aurelia asked, her fingers gripping the cape of his arc coat.

"Because I didn't mess up my portal spell, Aurelia. We're just 20 kilometres off the mark," He explained proudly.

"That's not really impressive," She replied, tilting her head in confusion. "But how can you be so certain we're in the great dark forest of Mirehaven?"

"Hehehe," Friederich chuckled, not answering directly. "I bet you've noticed something for a while now. Things are taking the shape of humanoid figures, but when we look directly at them, they disappear. Kind of like a trick of the light. But it's been happening every single time." He wore a smug expression.

"But wouldn't that mean this is every Phantom-haunting ground?" She questioned, unconvinced.

"Not really, Mirehaven is different," He replied. "First, I had a hunch. I recognised the flora and bird species as being from the western part of Germund. But there's something else... I've noticed it for a while now," He paused dramatically, his eyes locked onto the distance. In reality, he was using his elven vision to fixate on the location of the defence tower.

"What? Don't just grin! Come on, tell me!" Aurelia urged, her fear growing.

"I can still see the tower, you know," Friederich said, pointing at his glowing eyes. "We've been walking for hours now, but we're not a single step closer to our destination."

"Mother Gaia…" Aurelia gasped in shock, her eyes wide, almost dropping to her knees. "What should we do?" Her eyes turned glassy.

"We set it on fire!" Friederich suggested coolly, grabbing her shoulders.

Friederich chanted, "Lampospatha!" and soon, swords of light materialised in the air. He nimbly ascended into the sky, perched atop the highest one, about ten metres in the air. He swung the static sword a few times to build enough momentum and, with a powerful push, landed atop his blade, crouching, and signalling for Aurelia to stay below.

The red-haired girl nodded, closing her eyes, her hair fluttering in the wind as she imagined a burning forest in her mind. "Empyrion!" She chanted, her divine voice resonating through the forest. Red ancient runes stormed outward, shifting into flames that engulfed her and burst out in every direction, incinerating everything within a five-metre radius into charcoal.

The smoke swirled around her, and the scent of burning wood filled the air. She covered her mouth, coughing a few times.

Friederich nimbly descended with his sword. "Hmm?" He pondered aloud, landing softly. Nothing had happened after all.

"Must you be so harsh on us?" An echoing voice suddenly reverberated from all directions. Friederich stood his ground, listening intently, but the source remained elusive.

"O' Phantoms of Mirehaven, grant us passage or else!" Friederich shouted, unfazed.

"We'll burn you down!" Aurelia added, finishing his sentence. Her tone had grown more confident.

"Fine…" The echoing voice replied, almost surreal.

Soon, the forest appeared to move by itself, the trees shifting aside to reveal a single path leading to the defence tower.

"Fried! You're a genius! How did you know the fire spell would work?" Aurelia exclaimed.

"It's a wood phantom… It wouldn't take a genius to figure out its weakness," Friederich replied, humbly, though his eyes sparkled with pride.

The two managed to step out of the haunted forest without much issue. As they exited the tree line, they saw a figure of a woman kneeling on the ground, her face serene.

Friederich and Aurelia exchanged a strange look before approaching cautiously.

The woman wore a veil over her head, and her dark robes, resembling those of a nun, wrapped around her from head to toe. Her face lit up with joy as she tilted her head to meet their gaze. "O' Mighty Mother Gaia, you've arrived safely," She said, as though she had sensed their arrival before it happened.

"Umm? Do you know us?" Friederich asked sternly, slowly edging closer to the kneeling woman, his hands ready to cast spells.

"O' there's no need to be hostile, Sir Friederich Eir Regis, and Princess Aurelia Sol Solara of Solis Aeternum," She replied softly. "I'm just here to pray for you. I'm but a humble Novictius of the Virgo division, Terissa Mercier, but you can call me Triss Mercy."

When Friederich finally examined the woman, he noticed her beautiful green eyes and dark green hair braided into a tail beneath the veil. A Virgo medallion dangled over her ample chest. As his eyes lingered there longer than intended, he quickly averted his gaze sheepishly.

"Umm… Thanks, I guess?" Aurelia scoffed, but was nudged by Friederich, signalling her to behave properly. She straightened up, gathering her regal composure. "Oh well, Virgo disciple, I appreciate your thoughts and prayers," She said, her voice overly sweet and sarcastic.

Friederich exhaled deeply, putting a hand on his hip. "Well, Triss Mercy, it's a pleasure to meet you," He said firmly as the woman rose to her feet. She was slightly shorter than Aurelia, about 158 centimetres tall.

"Please come this way. Our castle hasn't fallen, unlike most of Germund," Triss said, politely motioning them to follow, which they did obediently.

"Hmm? Why do you think the enemies didn't attack your garrison?" Aurelia asked as Triss led them along the dirt path toward the ancient dark rock walls of the defence tower. Its pointed tip soared high into the sky, with interconnected buildings inside the three-metre-high walls.

"Well… I guess it's because they lost in the forest? Fufu," Triss replied, chuckling softly.

"Stop asking the obvious. It just makes people question your intellect," Friederich whispered to his princess, but she waved him off dismissively.

"It's called small talk, Fried. Try it sometimes. It'll make you more likeable," She quipped, winking at him.

"Hades's hell!" He grumbled, his face sour in exasperation.