Soon, Stark, Matteo, and Hafen followed a trail of half-eaten carcasses and deep, muddy tracks.
Hafen wrinkled his nose and coughed. "What's that smell? It's like rotten fruit or something else... Rotting," he noted.
"It's coming from over there," Matteo pointed out with a nod. He pushed through a thicket of ferns and stumbled upon a clearing. He quickly turned back, looking nervous, and nudged himself into the bush.
Hafen and Stark joined him. They crouched and squinted ahead.
In the clearing's center, a grotesque banquet was laid out on a massive, makeshift table made of fallen logs. The table was laden with the carcasses of various forest monsters. Some were half-eaten, and their entrails spilled onto the ground. Others were whole, and their glassy eyes stared vacantly at the sky.
A giant baby zombie sat in a throne made of bones. A bloodstained, white dress clung to her rotting body, and a golden crown with rubies settled upon her head. Her rotting flesh was a sickly green, and her eyes were a menacing red. She was as big as Prince Kain, but her hunger was no less ravenous. She jammed a handful of bloody flesh into her mouth and chewed with her lips smacking. "More," she gurgled between bites.
"Is that her," Matteo whispered in disbelief.
"It must be. Baby Zombie Princess," Hafen deduced with a wary expression.
"Let's go," Stark urged and readied his elemental pistol.
"Wait," Hafen commanded. "Look. There are too many of them. We need a plan," he insisted, and he narrowed his eyes in thought.
A circle of bulky zombies stood guard around the giant baby zombie, and their bodies were bloated and distended. Their stomachs gurgled with an unnerving sound.
One of them knelt in front of Baby Zombie Princess. "Hungry... Princess Bera," he informed.
Princess Bera held a leg of a boar-like monster and gnawed on it with a satisfied smirk. She let out a garbled giggle and tore a chunk of flesh from the bone. She tossed the rest to the pleading zombie guard and commanded, "Eat."
The zombie guard caught the meat and gobbled it down. He burped loudly, and a wave of foul-smelling gas escaped his lips. The others scurried and shoveled meat into their mouths with their hands. They chewed with their mouths open and made a wet, smacking sound.
Hafen gagged and turned away. He questioned, "Did their leaders not teach them any manners?"
At the same time, Stark looked at Hafen and scoffed. "The plan is to blast them with our new elemental guns," he declared and stood up.
"No, Stark. Let's not rely on them. We're novices, and we might make things worse by using them," Hafen cautioned and pulled him back down.
Stark reluctantly knelt and huffed.
Matteo nervously fiddled with one of the attachments for his elemental gun. "Then, what's the plan," he inquired with a stammer.
Hafen scanned the area and noted, "Princess Bera is our target. Her guards are loyal to her. If we can distract her and draw her away from the group, we can ambush and kill her off." He paused for a moment before suggesting, "You'll be a perfect distraction, Matteo."
Matteo's face went pale, and he stammered, "What? Me?"
"Yes, you. Now, go," Hafen affirmed and pushed him forward.
Stark chimed in, "Hafen, Matteo doesn't do well under pressure."
Matteo gasped and clumsily stumbled out of the bushes.
The zombie guards turned and glared at him with their hungry eyes.
"Um, hello," Matteo greeted with a wave.
Princess Bera stopped chewing and glared at the intruder. She convulsed, and her frizzy hair stood on end. She lifted her head and commanded, "Feast on all... Humans!" She shook her head and let out a deafening roar. Her massive, quadruped body towered over the clearing, and she charged like a mindless juggernaut.
Matteo froze and shivered in terror. His eyes opened impossibly wide.
"Run," Hafen whispered and gestured behind him.
Matteo snapped out of his daze and ran for his life.
Princess Bera pursued him with a relentless hunger. Each thunderous footstep shook the ground. She knocked down trees and trampled through bushes as she closed the distance.
"Hafen! Stark! Help," Matteo cried out in panic. He slid down a giant root as a horrifying bite missed him.
The zombie guards also scrambled after him.
In the meantime, Stark frowned. "This may be a bad idea of yours. We need to help him," he claimed. He stood up and rushed after them.
"Stark, wait," Hafen called out with frustration and followed them.
The zombie guards turned their attention to Stark and Hafen.
"I remember... You... At school," a zombie guard noted and pointed.
"You... Food," a zombie guard with claws threatened. She lunged with a gait and swiped with purpose.
Stark grasped her wrist and twisted it. He pushed her to the ground and punched her face.
The clawed zombie guard's head exploded in a shower of gore. Black blood gushed out and pooled on the ground.
"Gross," Stark gagged and stepped back. He wiped the liquid off his face. He glared at the remaining zombie guards. "Is that all you got," he taunted.
The other zombie guards snarled back.
"Stark, let's use our elemental swords," Hafen ordered as he unsheathed his elemental katana.
Stark nodded and grabbed the elemental claymore from his back. With a confident grin, he swung his claymore in a wide arc.
A vine grew out of his claymore and constricted around a zombie guard's waist.
Stark pulled hard and drove his claymore into his foe. Then, he threw the zombie at the others.
The zombies tumbled to the ground in a heap.
At the same time, Hafen unleashed a lightning bolt with a swing from his elemental katana.
The lightning bolt struck and electrocuted the downed zombies with a deafening crack. Smoke billowed from their charred bodies.
Meanwhile, Matteo scrambled up a steep embankment and slipped in the loose soil and fallen leaves. His breath came in ragged gasps. He chanced a look over his shoulder and saw her grotesque form looming through the trees.
"I... Eat you," Princess Bera bellowed. She gnashed her teeth, and a long, thick rope of drool swung from her chin. She swatted at a tree, and it splintered into a shower of wood and leaves. Her thunderous footfalls crashed with a relentless, primal beat. In a turn of events, a silence ensued as she pounced into the air. In her descent, a monstrous shadow consumed Matteo.
Matteo yelped and dove away. He rolled down the embankment and crashed into a thicket of thorns. He winced in pain and crawled to his feet. He glanced back and saw her massive fists slam into the ground where he had just been.
A cloud of dirt and debris erupted into the air.
Princess Bera looked at Matteo with a sinister glare. She opened her grotesque mouth wide, and a torrent of corrosive acid burst from her throat.
Matteo's eyes widened, and he scrambled away.
The acid splattered against the ground, and the plants sizzled and melted into a foul-smelling steam. It paved a blackened trail as it flowed down the embankment.
Matteo coughed and covered his nose. He stared at the steaming river with a look of horror. "That was too close," he whimpered.
Princess Bera charged again, and a guttural roar escaped her lips.
Matteo held his breath and ran. Just as a shadow fell over him, he made a sudden turn.
Princess Bera's head dove into a large boulder with a huge crash.
The boulder cracked, and dust flew into the air.
Princess Bera stumbled back with a dazed look.
Matteo gripped his elemental rapier and readied himself. He recalled how Cassandra wielded it. With a fast thrust, he pointed the rapier at her. "Fire," he commanded.
A jet of flames shot out and struck Princess Bera's chest. Rocks also flew and slammed against her head. Smoke scattered.
Covered in burns and bruises, Princess Bera cried in agony and backed away. Afterwards, she glared at Matteo with pure hatred and pounced towards him.
Matteo successfully dodged.
However, this time, Princess Bera changed her footing when she landed. She immediately turned, smashing through another tree, and lunged at Matteo.
Matteo scrambled back but tripped over a thick root. He landed hard and went sprawling with his rapier clattering beside him. He stared up at the descending horror, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
Over him, Princess Bera leaned closer and sniffed him. "You made... Brother Kain... Dead," she growled, and her red eyes flickered with vengeance. She raised him in a fist and prepared to crush him.
"Help! Please," Matteo pleaded in panic. He pointlessly reached for his rapier.
Princess Bera tightened her grip to crush Matteo, and she prepared to drink the insides of her prey.
"Matteo! No! Let go of my brother," Stark roared and charged from the side.
Hafen narrowed his eyes. In range, he raised his elemental katana, and lightning crackled along the blade. "I have to do something," he murmured. He swung the katana down.
A lightning bolt struck Princess Bera's back and coursed through her body.
Princess Bera convulsed and dropped Matteo. With her hair frizzed, she let out a pained sob and stumbled back.
Just then, Stark arrived and jumped into the fray. He delivered a powerful punch to her face with all his might.
Princess Bera flew back and crashed through a tree. She rolled around on the ground and wailed louder, sending shockwaves through the clearing. Cuts and bruises covered her body.
Will Matteo survive the onslaught from Princess Bera? Will Stark and Hafen be able to rescue him in time? What new revelations await them as they continue their mission as protectors of The Sacred Forest?