The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds, then Ye Chui reacted first, grabbing Debbie’s arm and heading out, “Run!”
Green and Debbie snapped awake, hurriedly scrambling out of the tree hollow to follow Ye Chui towards the withered forest. The terrifying creature emerged from the hollow too, her asymmetrical black and white wings flapping as she pursued them unsteadily.
Ye Chui had already summoned his iPad magic book, ready to cast the [Wind Walk] spell to escape quickly, but the spell could only take one other person with him. He glanced at Green, limping with a drooping arm, looking utterly wretched, and made up his mind instantly. He said to Green hurriedly, “We split up, you go that way, Debbie and I go this way, we’ll draw the creature away!”
Green, face full of urgency and fear, paused at Ye Chui’s words, then understood their kindness. A touch of gratitude appeared on his face, “How can I let you do that!? I…”
“No time for nonsense, we dragged you into this, so your safety is our responsibility!” Debbie said sternly, her small face filled with the solemnity and heroism of an adventurer’s code.
“You guys are too good…” Green felt deeply moved. He never liked adventuring, as it meant danger, and he preferred comfort. But having such companions made adventuring seem less repulsive. His mood surged with passion as he shouted, “You, you have to survive!”
With that, he rushed towards one side of the withered forest, turning back just in time to see Ye Chui and Debbie stop in place, giving him a thumbs-up.
Ye Chui and Debbie decided to stay and tangle with the creature, drawing its attention before leading it in another direction.
Though Debbie said the creature didn’t harm people, only chased them, its appearance was far too terrifying. Even with Ye Chui’s quirky sense of aesthetics, it was hardly friendly. During their first encounter, Green had panicked and fled, drawing the creature’s attention, so Ye Chui hadn’t had a chance to fight it.
He wasn’t the type to flee at the first sign of danger, and now he had a chance to face it.
“Come on!”
Ye Chui’s magic book floated before him, his fingers on the screen, ready to unleash a spell.
A colourful summoning gate appeared before Debbie, who was preparing to summon her Jester Spirit.
The creature, wobbling in mid-air, soon reached them.
“Chirp chirp, clack clack?” The creature’s mismatched eyes glanced at Ye Chui and Debbie.
Then, it darted past them, chasing after Green…
Ye Chui and Debbie, poised for battle, froze. They looked at each other, “Huh?” Then turned to where Green and the creature had gone, “Huh?”
“No way?” Debbie’s small face was filled with shock, “Does it really think Green is handsome?”
“Is it actually planning to keep Green as a companion?” Ye Chui said, equally stunned.
After a moment of shock, they snapped back to reality and hurriedly chased after them, but it was too late. They soon heard Green’s loud roar. Looking up, they saw the creature’s figure faintly in the distant sky, flying unsteadily, her uneven hands clutching one of Green’s legs.
Green, upside down, struggled wildly, his shouts echoing, “Why!? Why is this happening!?”
Neither Ye Chui nor Debbie could fly. Hearing Green’s cries, guilt surged within them, but they too wanted to ask why. Ye Chui activated [Wind Walk], carrying Debbie as they chased, but his magic ran out, and they lost sight of the creature and Green. They stopped to rest.
A bad feeling crept over them.
“The creature’s body, it’s pieced together from parts,” Ye Chui said grimly.
Debbie nodded, realising something, “We’re both only sixteen, our bodies aren’t fully developed yet (saying this, the girl glanced at her chest with a hint of inexplicable confidence), so the creature isn’t interested in us. But Green is in his twenties, his body fully matured, so…”
They didn’t finish, but they felt this might be the truth.
Exhausted from using up his magic, Ye Chui leaned against a tree to rest. Looking ahead, he realised they had unknowingly returned to Dragon Head Mountain, but from another side.
The severed dragon head had crashed sideways into the ground. Previously, Ye Chui and Debbie had climbed the mountain from the dragon’s upturned mouth, but now they were on the opposite side.
Nearby, he saw a massive, slanted black tree, oddly shaped, thick and round at the base, pointed at the end, with no branches. After staring for a while, Ye Chui stood up in shock, “That looks like the Black Gold Flame Dragon’s horn!”
Debbie looked too. She had seen this strange tree before but never thought it was a dragon’s horn. Now, seeing the mountain as a dragon’s head, she felt awe, “That dragon is massive!”
“That horn would take a dozen people to encircle…” Ye Chui marvelled, walking towards it.
He knew Green was likely beyond saving. Though this was the Garden of the Gods, it was vast, and who knew where the creature had taken Green. With his magic depleted and Debbie’s summonable spirits limited to the Jester and Gilga, the Jester was useless here, and Gilga could only be summoned once or twice, as they had no gold coins. Gilga was their last resort.
“Wait!” Debbie said gravely, “Don’t go over there, something’s off. Something scary lives here.”
“You’ve seen it?” Ye Chui looked at Debbie.
Debbie nodded, “Only two or three times. They live near that horn. Once, while picking mushrooms nearby, I saw a cave under the horn, and one of their heads popped out. I ran fast, and I never came back here, only seeing them crawling from afar!”
Though decayed, some shadowy creatures survived here. Curious, Ye Chui asked, “What are they?”
“Ants,” Debbie said, her face paling at the memory.
“Ants?” Ye Chui was stunned.
“Ants as big as wolves!” Debbie continued, “They must have fed on the dragon’s flesh to grow that big! I only saw them once, but they’re definitely not to be messed with. Luckily, they only appear near the horn.”
“I see,” Ye Chui agreed it was best to avoid them, but a crucial thought struck him, “You said they only appear near the horn? That means they claim this as their territory. And now we’re in their territory!”
Ants are territorial. Though this was a fantastical world, some things, like birds, trees, and insects, were similar.
Ye Chui’s words sent a chill through them both.
As if to confirm, a crunching sound, like scythes clashing, rang out. Near Ye Chui, from the grey-brown soil, a pair of massive, black, scissor-like mandibles emerged.
Undoubtedly, they were the jaws of a giant ant!
