From the ground, a small, rough blue hand emerged. It grasped the dirty ground and slowly pulled from the ground a woman with disheveled hair and a swollen stomach. Her big yellow eyes were shaken as she scanned her surroundings. "
The woman prowled about, keeping low. As she peeked over the hill in the forest of purple and black, her eyes caught sight of a deer that pranced about.
"
The woman, Beretta, reached. But just before she could get any closer, the roar of goblins spooked her. In a panic, she drove herself back into her hole, where she watched the goblins storm in, trapping the deer and capturing the animal in an overwhelming number.
The goblins cheered and celebrated their victory. And with their newly acquired spoils, they tied it up and started to deport the deer with them.
With the goblins gone, Beretta crept back out, her eyes laser-focused on the deer in their custody. "
********
A small pool of crimson flowed from the blue cheeks to the stone ground. Visions of the forest echoed through the mind as Zelak wiped his face clean for the seventh time. It was a bitter defeat he didn't want to swallow, and so he pushed on, searching through the forest lands with determined resolve, as he clenched a black piece of parchment in his hand.
"
"Why does a demon like him even care that his stupid village was destroyed… It's not like demons care anyway." Kalika watched Zelak from atop a tree, then turned her gaze to Donovan and Bjorn.
"Yeah. To be honest, I was expecting anything to happen at all, at least not to the extent of spitting out a bunch of fire."
"Then explain to me again what you were expecting."
"U-uh… we remember when you were talking about Kalika's power? W-well, I thought I'd be able to do something similar if I attached a magic crystal to the stick as a way to charge it with magic. But I think it worked out better than I thought. I didn't even need the other Magic crystal in my hand."
"But that didn't stop you from almost dying, did it?"
"Well, that's how it's been since we arrived at the pit anyway."
Kalika rolled her eyes at the remark as Donovan and Bjorn continued their conversation..
Kalika's mind quickly flashed to Rhonda, then to Ek as he begged for mercy. She promptly waved the thoughts away and brought her gaze to her dagger. "At least no one else died…"
"Ugghh!!" Donovan suddenly sighed. "Do I have to?"
A sharp pain in his foot shot out. He winced and glanced back at his bandaged feet.
"Yes, since Charla is a succubus, she can heal your skin with a lick. It should stem the bleeding. It just won't heal any of your muscles."
"You but that'll make me horny, wouldn't it?"
"Don't worry. I can tie you up if the worst comes to it."
"Th-that doesn't bring me any confidence." Donovan sighed as a cold sweat ran down his face. "By the way, do you know when we'll be able to move again? Zelak's been at this for a while now. Since we… You know."
"I couldn't say. There's no doubt that Rakon is aware that there's at least a demon strong enough to kill Magnus. So staying in one place wouldn't be optimal. Even Zelak knows this."
"Then it's probably faster if we split up and look around the forest then. He's looking for some women, right?"
"In your condition, no. But Kalika could probably go and look around."
"I think you might be right. Maybe Charla could look around, too?"
Bjorn scoffed. "In this forest. I wouldn't recommend it."
Donovan fell silent and glanced into the forest. " I guess we don't have many options then…
"No. We don't"
"Alright then…" Donovan turned to Kalika, who stared into space atop the tree above. "Hey, Kalika!"
Curious, Kalika looked at Donovan. "What is it?"
"D-do you mind lending Zelak a hand. He's looking for a woman in the forest, and she might be in danger."
"He's looking for a woman?"
"Y-yeah. I think he talked about her the other day about her being his mate. I think she's supposed to be pregnant-"
"She is pregnant!" Zelak interrupted. "Just leave this to me, Champion. Beretta's my responsibility to find. Not yours."
"So that's what all this fuss is about?" Kalika looked into the forest with a newly peaked curiosity. "I haven't gone hunting for a while, so I guess I'll go out. And I'll keep my eyes open if I see anything,"
Kalika dropped from the tree and sheathed her dagger.
As she began her departure, Zelak spoke once again.
"Champion, don't have to waste your energy on looking."
Kalika glanced back. "I'm going hunting. If I find anything interesting, I'll bring it back." Without another word, Kalika departed, brushing past Charla, who carried a bundle of sticks.
Charla turned and watched as Kalika entered deeper into the forest.
"Looks like Charla," Donovan said.
Excited, Charla perked. "
Charla ran to Donovan, presenting the sticks, both excited and confused.
Donovan exchanged a nervous smile. "G-good work, Charla. Th-thanks."
"You had her gathering sticks?" Bjorn questioned.
Without responding, Donovan pushed past Charla and raced to the cart. He quick, glanced back and pointed to the ground. "Just leave it right there," he ordered.
Charla obeyed and watched alongside Bjorn as Donovan fished around his bags and pouches of stuff.
"Donovan?"
"I want to experiment a little. Ah! Here it is." Donovan pulled out a long iron pipe that once belonged to his pipe weapon. He hopped down and reconvened with Bjorn and Charla.
Charla looked on, curious about the pipe. "
"
Charla stopped. She looked at Bjorn, confused.
"
Donovan shifted through the piles of sticks, each one more disappointing than the last. "Hmm, I guess this is the closest out of everything…"
"What are you doing?" Bjorn asked.
"Oh. I'm seeing if I can fix the pipe. But none of these really fit."
"Plus the pipe is too heavy too."
"Yeah. There's that too." Donovan sighed. "I guess the only thing I can do for now is experiment with these sticks and the magic crystal."
Donovan sharpened his eyes on the pile of sticks and softly stroked his chin. "Maybe we can use this to help Kalika, too."
Suddenly, Bjorn took the stick in hand and set them right beside him. "Speaking of which. I think it's a good time to hone your magic."
"R… Right…"
********
Kalika slowly wandered through the forest, treading with care not to step into the murky waters that laced the increasingly changing forest.
"There's no deer or rabbits around… maybe I should just kill one of those frog things…"
Hearing the sound of splashing, Kalika glanced and saw a large frog monster devouring an entire horned deer hole. The sight was nearly enough for her to lose her appetite.
"No." Kalika quietly distanced herself as far from the water as possible as she continued her prowl up a hill. As she reached the top, she was greeted by a familiar landscape of trees.
She looked around and felt the forest tree right beside her. "Weird…Oh well." Kalika quickly unsheathed her dagger, marked the tree, and moved on.
She clawed and climbed her way up another tree, jumping branch to branch as silently as possible.
As she caught a glimpse of a horde of goblins. She ceased and watched them keenly from the trees. They all carry horned rabbits with them, along with a single deer that attempted to wiggle free.
Eventually, one of the goblins became aggravated and whacked the deer with its club, rendering it unconscious. Strangely enough, the goblin went on to dance in front of the unconscious deer.
"Is he… Taunting it…?"
Not long after, the goblin was smacked upside its head by another of its companions.
Kalika watched on in silent disbelief as a squabble erupted between the two goblins. The other goblins cheered as the two fought fiercely.
"Hmm… at least these things are a little entertaining."
The fight was long and drawn out, as the goblins engaged in a war of sticks. They blocked, dodged, and attacked, with the winner being the goblin who earlier struck the deer.
Unexpectedly, Kalika caught a glimpse of something brushing past the trees. "O-oh?" She laser focused her gaze to the tree trying to identify the hidden assailant.
Suddenly, the Goblins broke into a strange ritualistic dance around the loser. They snarled and snickered as the other goblin celebrated.
"Eh?... Now this dream is getting weird again…"
Eventually, the goblins ceased their activities, marking an end to the entertainment Kalika had keenly watched. Just as Kalika prepared to depart, screams of the goblins erupted.
She turned back in time to witness a horned wolf attacking the group of goblins. The wolf bit into another of the goblins, whipping it around in its powerful jaw. It bit in harder, killing the goblin. The wolf then tossed the goblin aside like trash.
As the wolf turned, it revealed a familiar scar at its side.
"Oh… What are you doing here?" Kalika wondered.
The wolf rammed it's horn into another goblin and tore through another. The battle was bloody and one-sided, ending in a clear victor.
With a deep calmness, Kalika dropped down from the tree, spooking the wolf. They exchanged eye contact, and as if to show respect, the wolf backed away and laid flat on her plump stomach.
Kalika approached and sat by the large wolf. "Did you follow me out here, just to protect me like Donovan and Zelak did?"
Kalika let out an exhausted sigh. "Honestly, it's really annoying. It's not like I'm going to die in this stupid dream anyways. So what if that stupid ogre was going to take me? At least then I would have a chance to kill Rakon… Now that that demon is dead I won't know where Rakon will be."
Kalika laid back, looking through the purple and black leaves above. She pondered to herself, feeling the tickling of the short yellow grass. "Hmm… actually. Maybe Zelak could help. I suppose finding that women wouldn't hurt much, would it?"
She sat back up and turned back to the wolf. "You wouldn't know where a demon woman would be in this forest, would you?"
The wolf gave out a subtle whine, disappointing Kalika.
"I guess not… then maybe I should just roam around until I find her, then. If this dream is consistent, I'll find her." Kalika raised her hand and patted the wolf on the head. She then stood back up with a new mission in mind. "Make sure to eat to your heart's content. Except the deer. I'll be taking that."
Kalika quickly and cleanly cut the deer's neck and marked it as her own. "See. So don't touch."
With her warning in place, Kalika leapt back into the tree leaving the wolf behind.
Unknown to her, a demon woman peered from behind the tree. She eyed the dead deer with a drool practically rolling down her lips. "
Beretta watched carefully, and as the wolf went on to consume the cluster of rabbits, she crept forth. She slowly and quietly moved for the deer and grasped it by the horn and without hesitation, dragged it away as far as possible. She dragged the deer through the tree and behind a rock where she could silently enjoy her newly acquired meal
She bit in at once into the neck of the deer and as she poised to rip out the meat, she froze.
She shuddered as she looked at Kalika who gazed upon her, dumbfounded.
"My…My deer…"
Beretta's large yellow pupils widened, recognizing Kalika. Memories flashing of the trail of destruction left behind from her rampage their the village. A terror shot through, and her breathing stopped as she bellowed a shriek. "Ye-ye… Yaaaahhhhaa!!!"
The woman attempted to scurry away from Kalika. She brushed past the tree and hid behind the biggest one she saw, and out of desperation she clawed at the ground, digging a hole.
Not long after, Kalika found the woman and eyed her swollen stomach as she struck the stone.
Kalika could only look on from the tree top, unsure what to make of Bretta as she continued to try to dig a hole from desperation.
"Is she the woman Zelak was worried about?" Kalika wondered.
Eventually, after a while, Bretta made a hole for herself and hid inside. Only to realize she had cornered herself as discovered Kalika in the tree above.
Kalika could only sigh at the woman. "This dream keeps getting weirder and weirder sometimes…"