Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 293 (Part 2):

It’s human nature to call out to a higher power when in a crisis, even if one doesn’t believe.

Sian reached out needlessly and grasped the dark spirit. As if saying he only trusted it to hide him. Or as if saying if he dies, it’s over for the spirit too.

The dark spirit tilted its head and diligently sprayed darkness. To protect its terrified master.

Crunch, crunch.

The footsteps drew closer and closer.

It was like a scene from a horror movie. Sian could barely even breathe properly now.

The moment the lynx brushed past him!

Grrrr.

A low growl crawling up from its throat chillingly penetrated his eardrums.

The lynx’s flashing red eyes turned towards Sian. Something had caught its senses.

Unlike other demonic beasts that just tilted their heads and passed by, this one didn’t.

At such close range, sensitive demonic beasts could detect disturbances in concealment magic.

Roooaar!

The demonic beast let out a roar infused with demonic energy. That wave disrupted the dark spirit’s concealment magic.

As if a thick fog had suddenly cleared, Sian’s scent and appearance were fully revealed to the creature’s sight.

A human! A rare human in the Forest of Roots!

The pale human staring at it was delicious prey. What a windfall!

The creature’s red eyes gleamed with bloodlust at the anticipation of a feast.

Frozen in place, Sian stared at the lynx baring its teeth at him. Those white fangs were sharper and more threatening than any sword he had ever seen.

The dark spirit looked to Sian for direction. As if asking, ‘What should we do? Fight? Run?’

Sian, unable to think clearly, mumbled an incantation. His mind had completely frozen, and he was casting magic purely on instinct.

Just as the lynx was about to attack Sian, planting its foot firmly on the ground.

Boom! Crack!

A meteor, no, something like a huge boulder fell from somewhere and crushed the creature.

It happened so fast that Sian barely had time to register the shadow that appeared just before the impact. It was quicker than a hawk swooping down on its prey.

The ground shook as though an earthquake had struck.

Sian, in the middle of casting his spell, lost his balance and fell onto his backside.

He nearly bit his tongue.

“W-What?”

[A hero appears at the critical moment, as they say.]

Elaga snorted arrogantly, uttering words from who knows where it’d heard them.

At its feet was the lynx, flattened and either unconscious or dead.

Crushed under Elaga, it looked pathetic – no longer a lynx or even a cat, but as pitiful as the squirrel it had eaten.

Elaga tilted its head as it looked at Sian.

[Why do you look like a drenched rabbit? You already look weak, but you couldn’t even handle a minor issue like this?]

Sian stared at Elaga blankly before slightly bowing his head.

“Th-Thank you.”

Sian had nothing to say. He too had just realized how small his courage was.

The Forest of Roots clearly did not suit his disposition.

Elaga spoke condescendingly with lowered eyes.

[If it were Helmut, he would’ve taken care of this on his own and reached the central territory by now. Humans really are such needy creatures. Even if that guy is special, you should try to step it up, seeing as you’re his friend.]

What started as one verse kept going, intertwined with bragging about its own child. Sian felt a bit annoyed.

Did he have to be nagged at by a demonic beast on top of his parents?

But there was one thing he was curious about.

“How… how did you know I was here? With the dark spirit’s protection, I should’ve been nearly invisible.”

Sian had thought that he would have to signal Elaga when the giant leopard passed by to reunite.

Fortunately, Elaga was such a huge leopard that you could hear it running even from far away. Elaga snorted.

[You flew here so you wouldn’t know, but this is the only passable path on this side. Unless you want to take a huge detour. I knew you’d come this way eventually. And that spirit thing of yours or whatever is pretty weak. I could smell you the whole time.]

Having swallowed Naho’s core, Elaga’s demonic nature had developed, sharpening its senses as well.

To Elaga, Sian was an unremarkable mage. Hiding from Elaga was a futile effort.

Elaga suddenly stretched out its tail and snatched up Sian without warning.

“Whoa! What are you doing?”

[We’re heading back. By the time I bring you back, the others should have mostly returned as well.]

“Did the mission in the west succeed?”

[Of course, isn’t that obvious? I went there after all. From what I sensed, there were four disturbances in the barrier. Seems like everyone succeeded, including Helmut and Alea who went north.

Kantara. The turtle that rules the northern territory. It seemed sensitive, so I’m not sure how the talk went.]

Given the mess that had come out of Baharek in the west, Elaga suspected they might have run into trouble in the north as well. However, the timing seemed too short for a full battle. It decided it’d have to hear the story firsthand.

Having decided, Elaga advised Sian:

[Hold on tight. If you fall, I’m leaving you behind.]

And soon, Sian would experience the same pain that Asuka had endured.

And so, Sian was about to experience the same agony Asuka had gone through.

Thus, those who had achieved their goals in the four cardinal directions of the sacred barrier – east, west, south, and north – were returning to the Central Region.

Forces suppressing the sacred barrier arose from four directions. This was something that had never happened since the barrier was formed.

When the Adamantium was activated to shake the foundation of the barrier at four points with almost no time difference, the tremors were noticeably large.

Large enough that even the temple, which hadn’t been paying much attention to managing the sacred barrier, couldn’t help but notice.

One of the temple’s important duties was to maintain and manage the Forest of Roots. That was the justification for why the temple could reign supreme over humans.

The Forest of Roots, the land where the Demon King was sealed. If any signs appeared there, it could be a harbinger of the calamity from a thousand years ago being revived.

A second Demon King War!

The weight of this threat finally stirred the temple into action.

Otaku_Tensei

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