The same thing had happened to the offspring of Salaark and Tyris. Since the Guardians’ children were born with the capability of using all kinds of true magic and were gifted with a life that could span for almost a millennium, the Council considered them to be a threat of the highest level.
‘Well, the silver lining is that plants are the chattiest among living beings. The disguised Treantling might be able to point me in the right direction.’ Scarlett thought.
She handed several copper coins to pay for her meal to the waiter, enough to feed a small platoon, and almost as much as a tip.
“I’m flattered by your attentions, miss, but I’m strictly a waiter. You’re not even my type, sorry.” The young man said, yet he still pocketed all the money.
“Neither are you mine, smartass of a Treantling.” Scarlett’s voice was a low growl, her teeth shapeshifting for a second into fangs. She wanted to make sure the greenhorn would get her point.
“You’re lucky I’m a carnivore, otherwise I would be glad to make a salad out of you as a token of my appreciation.”
“How do you know who I am?” The waiter looked around, worried that someone might have noticed their exchange.
“You can call me Scarlett, little salad. Now if we are done playing, I’d like you to tell me everything you know about the creature that plagues this land.” Scarlett said.
“I’m sorry, but I only know what everyone does. A few months ago, right after the monster outbreak, a creature started to raid the Gheluan forest. At first, it only attacked the magical beasts, so we didn’t care.
“Then it killed even the Lord of the Forest and after that, everything went downhill. There’s nothing alive there anymore, most wildlife and flora have been wiped out.” The Treantling sighed.
“The Lord of the Forest is dead? Are you saying that thing killed Myshar the Unicorn too? How is it possible? She was young but quite powerful!”
“Why do you think I’m here? Every sane creature is running away from death. I’ve no idea what it is because no one who has seen it has survived the encounter. Allow me to give you a fair warning in exchange for the generous tip.
“Now that the Gheluan forest is nothing but an empty shell, the monster has started to attack nearby human settlements. It’s only a matter of time before it arrives here too, so don’t make yourself too comfortable.” The waiter went back to serving the tavern clients, keeping an ear out for rumors about the monster.
The idea of an Emperor Beast dying so easily at the hands of an unknown creature made the ancient Scorpicore worry. She returned to her hotel room and called Leegaain, hoping that the Guardian of the Gorgon Empire could help her.
Even though he had almost relinquished those lands, they were still his turf.
“What is it now? I’m kind of busy.” Leegaain sounded annoyed, but him responding immediately eased Scarlett’s fears.
“Why has no one taken care of the Gheluan Forest yet?” She asked.
“The Empire takes one good third of the Garlen continent, it’s not something as puny as your old forest was. I’m hunting down one of those insanely strong Eldritch Abominations, so I’ve no time to waste.
“Milea is busy dealing with a lich who got bored with his research and wants to conquer her lands. She can’t leave until she has destroyed him, but she has dispatched her troops already to take care of your problem.
“Unfortunately, the Gheluan forest is in the middle of nowhere. Do you have any idea how many crises Milea has to face on a daily basis? Cut her some slack. Over and out.”
‘Leegaain is having trouble tracking an Eldritch? Either it’s a master at hiding its presence or the situation is even worse than I thought. I need to achieve a frigging purple core or soon my power will not be enough to survive against the new breeds of Abominations.
‘Solving the Gheluan forest’s problem might trigger the breakthrough I’ve been looking for until now. To further evolve, I need a real challenge. Plus, if I do him a favor, Leegaain will owe me. I can’t pass on the opportunity to ask him for a reward.’ Scarlett thought.
A wide grin appeared on her face. At her level and age, the real challenge to further her magical research was the lack of very powerful and rare ingredients. Adamant and Davross were the only metals she looked for, and Guardians usually had quite a stockpile of them.
Even if the threat turned out to be a minor one, she could always ask Leegaain for a bit of his blood or one of his scales. The power of such powerful ingredients would allow her to finally upgrade her equipment.
Scarlett left the hotel and spread her membranous wings. Air magic filled them with wind, boosting her flight speed to sub sonic levels. She had been to the Gheluan forest in the past, but her memory of the place was foggy.
She didn’t remember enough to perform consecutive Warps and even if she did, the place was quite far.
Dimensional magic would make her travel shorter, yet at the same time, it would drain a lot of her mana, forcing Scarlett to use Invigoration more than once.
‘If this monster is so strong, I need all of my trump cards to beat it. I can’t risk being defeated just because I’m too tired to put up a decent fight.’ She thought.
Flying would take longer, but it would consume an insignificant amount of her energy. Only humans with their short life span would Warp even to go to the bathroom. Half an hour later, Scarlett had almost reached her destination.
A small caravan moving from Gheluan drew her attention. It was composed of humans, plants, and beasts. The caravan was too an odd mix to be normal.
Despite it still being several kilometers away from her, Scarlett could distinguish them clearly as if she was standing right beside them thanks to the Eyes of Menadion.
With just a flap of her wings, she reached their position and gracefully landed on the ground. The group was as heterogeneous as it was powerful.
There were Dryads, Thorns, who were creatures born from the Awakening of bushes whereas Dryads were born from flowers and Treantlings from trees, magical beasts of various species, and several human mages.
The weakest mana core among them was cyan, yet they were all on edge and armed to the teeth. As soon as they noticed Scarlett, they assumed a defensive formation.
“What the heck is going on here?” Scarlett retracted her wings, uncaring of the threat they posed. They were too weak and their equipment was of poor quality. She was quite surprised to notice that the humans weren’t all that impressed seeing a winged woman.
“Don’t worry, she’s one of us.” Said a big Ry, a wolf type magical beast, after sniffing the air for a second. A magical beast so easily giving away their ability to talk was also a bad sign.
“How can you be so sure this isn’t just another trick? I lost my wife by trusting a stranger.” Said a burly wizard who was holding a metal staff brimming with mana.
“Just as I lost my pack. Stop whining and keep moving, human!” The Ry growled and resumed his advance.
