My world-tree system-Chapter 65 - 64: Death lurks again

POV: Giovanni and his band

As Giovanni and his group tried to move away, their footsteps barely crunched on the carpet of dead leaves. The air was heavy, laden with an invisible threat that seemed to seep into their bones. Their breath came in short, irregular gasps, not only from running, but also from the oppressive sensation that enveloped them.

Malia was casting panicked glances over her shoulder, trying to discern their pursuers in the shifting darkness of the forest. Orwen, bow in hand, kept an arrow notched, ready to shoot at the slightest shadow.

- Faster... Giovanni breathed through clenched teeth.

His legs were already burning, but he ignored the pain. They had to put as much distance as possible between themselves and this legion of darkness.

But they weren’t fast enough.

A gut-wrenching howl sounded at their backs, followed by the distinct sound of breaking branches. Giovanni felt his stomach knot. They were gaining on us.

- Shit... They’re gaining on us!" let out Orwen, panic rising in her voice.

Giovanni searched desperately for a way out. The forest was becoming a labyrinth of black trunks, each tree seeming both a shelter and a trap. Malia stumbled over a root, only just catching herself. Her breath was ragged, fear overpowering her stamina.

Then all hell broke loose.

A bestial scream split the air directly in front of them.

They stopped dead in their tracks.

Red eyes glinted in the shadows. An icy wave swept through Giovanni’s body. He understood before he could even see their distinct silhouettes: the Obscurus had already surrounded them.

The trap had closed.

- Fuck..." Malia murmured, clutching her daggers.

Silence fell abruptly, as if the whole world were holding its breath. Only their own heartbeats echoed in their ears.

Giovanni pressed himself against a tree trunk, his breath coming in short, jerky gasps. Around him, his two companions, Malia and Orwen, did their best to blend into the shadows. But it was no use.

The ground vibrated beneath their feet. An overwhelming presence was approaching, implacable. Every beat of their hearts echoed in their ribcages like a war drum. Malia, her eyes wide, clutched Giovanni’s arm, her fingers trembling.

- They’ve spotted us...

Her voice was a whisper, barely audible, choked with fear. Orwen, crouching behind a bush, gave Giovanni a feverish look. His hand tightened on his bow, almost trembling.

There could be no doubt. The Obscurus were advancing on them. Not a random patrol. Not a simple hunt. No... This was a hunt.

- There’s no escape. They’re too fast," Giovanni muttered through clenched teeth.

- I’d rather die fighting," replied Orwen.

They exchanged glances. An unequal, desperate struggle, but they had no other choice.

An icy breeze swept across the trees.

Then, silence.

A heavy, unhealthy silence.

A figure emerged from the darkness. Ebony armor with a bloody sheen, a helmet adorned with curved horns.

- One of Hell’s generals. Damn! Giovanni shouted.

He didn’t draw his weapon. He didn’t need to. With a simple wave of his hand, he ordered the tide of Obscurus to fall upon them.

The creatures’ roar echoed through the night.

- Scatter!" shouted Giovanni.

Malia leapt to the side, rolling to dodge the first wave of sharp claws. Her breath was short, her muscles already tense from the pressure. Orwen, bow already bandaged, unleashed a volley of luminous arrows. The projectiles whistled through the air before striking their targets. Several Obscurus vanished in a swirl of shadows, but others immediately took their place.

The general didn’t move. He watched impassively as his troops carried out his implacable sentence.

- They never stop!" Malia shouted as she stepped back, a glint of panic in her eyes.

Giovanni slashed at an Obscurus who tried to bite him, his sword tearing through the dark flesh in a burst of black smoke. He could already feel the sweat trickling down the back of his neck. For every monster that fell, three more pounced. Exhaustion began to weigh down his arms, each blow becoming harder to bear.

A bestial howl erupted behind him. He pivoted just in time to see a massive Obscurus leap at him, its claws gleaming with malevolence. He barely raised his weapon and the monster impaled himself on it with a hellish snarl. But the impact was brutal. He fell backwards, rolling on the ground, breathless.

- Giovanni!

Malia split the air with her two daggers, releasing a wave of magic that temporarily repelled their attackers. Her body was screaming with fatigue, her energy reserves dwindling dangerously. She held out a hand to Giovanni, who sat up, grunting. His arm was bleeding. The pain was sharp, burning, but he gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain.

- We can’t hold on!" shouted Malia, pushing back an Obscurus with a magical shockwave.

- Keep moving! Stay together!

But it was a storm.

The Obscurus surrounded and overwhelmed them, striking from all sides. Orwen, with a flick of his blade, managed to fend off one assailant, but a second mowed him down immediately.

He fell to his knees, a stunned expression frozen on his face. A dark claw had pierced his side.

- ORWEN!" Giovanni shouted.

But he had no time to act.

A violent blow threw him to the ground. His vision wavered. He tried to get up, but a massive boot slammed into his torso, crushing him to the damp earth.

Above him, the general of Hell stood unperturbed.

- Interesting," he breathed, his tone dismissive.

Giovanni felt a cold sweat run down his temple. Around him, Malia was still struggling, but her energy was waning. Orwen stopped moving.

The general waved his hand.

The Obscurus stopped attacking. A shiver ran through the air as they retreated slightly, letting the silence fall like a leaden blanket.

Giovanni, half-conscious, tried to gather his strength. His hand tightened on his weapon. One last attack, one last attempt...

The general smiled.

- Go... to... hell... Giovanni murmured under his breath.

The general didn’t reply. He merely lowered his hand.

The Obscurus swooped down on him.

Then everything went black.

Foster’s POV:

Foster, Köflik and Kassandra ran at full speed, the urgency of the situation pressing down on them.

- Foster! cried Kassandra

- I felt it," he replied darkly.

Foster’s expression became a cold mask, the sudden rupture of one of the roots of his world-tree could only mean one thing: death.

One of his companions had fallen, it remained to be seen who.

- We’ve got to hurry, I can feel through the link that two of our own are weakening too. Said Köflik.

- Catch me," Foster replied.

His golden tattoos lit up and his eyes became pure energy, losing their natural iris.

His power increased tenfold and his speed tripled, leaving his companions behind. He zigzagged between trees and branches, deftly avoiding obstacles in his path.

- Faster, faster, FASTER, he urged himself.

His senses suddenly picked up numerous energy signatures directly in front of him, hundreds of them quite dark and not very powerful, two others very bright and like a firefly flickering, their energy signatures fading away.

- DAMN!

He suddenly burst into the clearing in an explosion of dust, his grimoire lit up as immense roots sprang up from the ground in great circular movements, sweeping the crowd of obscurus towards other skies.

A root then sprang up at breakneck speed under the arm of the hell general holding Giovanni, wrapping itself around his wrist and gradually tightening its grip, forcing the hell general to let go.

- AAAARGH, you stupid root! he raged.

In a fit of rage, he let go of Giovanni’s body and pulled forcefully towards the sky, completely uprooting Foster’s spell.

- Cocoon of the world tree," said Foster.

Three extremely hard and resistant wooden cocoons surrounded the bodies of Giovanni, Malia and even Orwen, already dead in his pool of blood.

- You’ll pay for this, you stupid elf!

- Shut your mouth," was Foster’s only reply as he drew his katana at rapid speed.

He suddenly lunged, his body horizontal to the ground, to maximize his aerodynamics and his katana in a position ready to deliver a powerful backhand blow.

His footsteps barely touched the ground, striking the earth with force, sending sprays of grass flying around. Foster quickly shortened the distance and struck, aiming at the hell general’s neck.

The hell general reacted swiftly, quickly bringing his claws into a cross position in front of his neck, protecting his vital point.

CLANG

A clang of metal echoed through the clearing.

Foster did a back-flip and quickly got back on guard.

- What’s your name? So I know what name to put on the gift bag I’m sending to the Lord of the Apocalypse. Foster said suddenly.

- How do you know about them ???? he replied with astonishment.

- It’s none of your business, but get ready to spill everything you know about them and what you’re after!!! he said, dashing off again.

- I’d like to see you try, you stupid elf," he replied with a cruel smile, darting towards Foster.

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Non-Chapter :

PSSS : Did you know ? Foster loves endives...