The Flower Is Finished

We all fell silent. Especially Alrich, who seemed to know the truth.

"What is it about the Moon Festival?" Xanders asked while looking at Alrich in confusion.

"You don't know about it?" Alrich asked, staring at Xanders in disbelief.

"Does the lady know about it?" Alrich asked Mishael.

She nodded.

"You know about it?" I asked, looking at Mishael in disbelief.

"What is it actually?" I asked again.

Both of them sighed heavily. I truly didn't know anything about it.

"The Moon Festival is believed to bring blessings," Alrich said. "Because during that time the gods come and the demons will be imprisoned."

To me, that didn't sound strange.

"When the Moon Festival happens, demons are indeed imprisoned. But one day after that, they will hunt the human clans."

I had heard about it before, but I never realized that it was actually a curse for humans. It was a curse—or perhaps a blessing—wrapped in fear.

"So what will they do?" I asked, because I didn't know the details.

"The demons will enter human clans. Not everyone will be possessed, but if a person has bad traits or feels emptiness in their heart, a demon can enter them. That is what causes chaos every year."

After hearing Alrich's explanation, I finally understood. The Moon Festival was actually meant to keep people joyful so demons would not enter their hearts.

"Those who are possessed will become violent and savage."

I understood then that during that time demons would make humans attack each other.

"We must arrive before the demons enter the human clans," I said to Alrich.

Michelle nodded.

"We must find a way out of here immediately," I said, remembering that time was running out and the sky was growing darker.

We went down and the water had already receded. That made me confused. How could it disappear so quickly?

Was I hallucinating? Or were all of us imagining it because we panicked?

But I could see the plants that had been submerged earlier. They looked wilted, and the ground still showed signs that a flood had indeed struck the Elf clan.

"You didn't experience the flood?" Mishael asked Alrich.

Alrich frowned.

"A flood?"

"When did that happen?"

It seemed he truly didn't realize anything. Maybe he had left before the flood happened. But that didn't make sense either. The road here was steep and uphill. Even for a trained soldier, it would take time to reach this place.

"You didn't experience the water that almost drowned us?" Michelle asked again.

I stayed silent, listening to what Alrich would say.

"You really didn't experience it?" I asked while staring at him.

He shook his head.

"My lord, what actually happened?" he asked with a confused face.

Michelle and I exchanged glances. Then Mishael stepped forward and explained.

"Before we met you, we experienced something that almost drowned us. A flood."

"A flood?"

"Yes. But now I don't know how the water could disappear so quickly."

"I'm sorry, Lord Xanders… I don't know anything."

I was confused. There was no smell of blood or any foul scent from his clothes.

Perhaps this had been planned before—or after.

It was not impossible that Alrich didn't experience it. Maybe some kind of magic had influenced us and made it seem as if we had been drowning.

"Alright, let's leave this place," I said.

The path we were walking on was rarely used by people, so I didn't see any human footprints.

The hill was steep, and we almost slipped several times. The descending path forced us to be careful, holding onto trees for support.

We kept searching for a way out while following the marks we had made earlier. But for the first time, I felt something different.

We were trapped in the labyrinth again.

I didn't understand how we could be trapped in a labyrinth like this.

But one thing was certain—someone was watching us.

"It seems we're lost in the labyrinth," Michelle said.

I cleared my throat softly. I stayed silent, remembering the labyrinth I had once passed through.

"It seems so. The Moon Festival is approaching, so foreign forces are entering this territory."

"And this time they're targeting the Elf clan."

"Damn… we're trapped at the wrong time," Alrich cursed as he sat down on the ground.

"This isn't an ordinary forest. This is a trap," I said while looking around.

I had tied several blades of grass earlier to mark our path. But when I returned, I saw the same grass again as if nothing had been touched.

It was as if this place had been created deliberately to lure me deeper into the forest.

Suddenly my red necklace began to pulse, glowing with a crimson light.

Both of them stared at me.

"What is going to happen?" Michelle asked while looking around.

My necklace kept glowing red.

I looked around, wondering if a demon was nearby.

But I saw nothing except a soft wind blowing.

"It seems someone is watching us," I said while narrowing my eyes.

Then a rustling sound came from the bushes.

Suddenly a tiger leapt out and attacked us.

Luckily we moved quickly, and the tiger crashed onto the ground.

Its eyes glowed red as it stared at me.

My necklace pulsed again.

This wasn't an ordinary tiger.

It was as if a demon had possessed it, making it move with terrifying agility.

"Step aside," I said.

I knew its target was me, not the two of them.

I told them to move away since they had nothing to do with it.

I drew my sword and faced it.

The forest suddenly fell silent.

No birds chirped.

Even the wind seemed to stop.

I understood then that this battle was not a coincidence—it had been planned by someone.

Our eyes met, and I could see hatred burning in its gaze.

Its body was wet, and white patches on its fur showed it had been soaked by the rain.

The tiger leapt toward me and tried to strike my chest, but I blocked it with my sword. The more I resisted, the more savage it became, pressing harder against me.

I managed to throw it aside and send it crashing to the ground.

But it refused to give up.

It leapt again and attacked my chest.

I raised my sword again, but this time it was stronger than before. It almost bit my neck, but instead its jaws sank into my shoulder.

BRAKK!

"Xanders!"

"Lord Xanders!"

My body was thrown backward.

They shouted as I fell to the ground, the tiger's teeth still tearing into my shoulder.

I growled in anger and forced myself to stand, using my sword to support my body.

The tiger stared at me with fury, circling slowly, preparing to attack again.

When it jumped toward me, I caught it with my hands and struck its leg with my right arm. It screamed in pain, the sound echoing through the silent forest.

It stood up again even though blood was pouring from its leg.

It still tried to attack me.

It still had its claws.

As if it refused to be defeated.

I broke its hind leg, forcing it to stagger.

Yet it still lunged toward me again. Before I could dodge, it knocked me down once more, and the foul smell of blood filled the air.

It tried to bite my neck.

I held it back with my sword, and when it hesitated for a moment, I kicked its stomach.

The tiger rolled away.

I jumped up and attacked.

It dodged my sword and stood again, staring at me.

Between us there was no longer any sound—only ambition. Whoever killed the other would be the victor.

It leapt toward me again.

This time I lowered my body and drove my sword into its stomach.

Its scream echoed loudly.

I stabbed its chest, and the more it struggled, the deeper my blade sank.

Blood flowed down my sword and onto my hands, dripping onto the ground.

When the forest finally became silent again, I pulled my sword out.

The tiger collapsed.

Breathing heavily, I stared at its body beside me.

"You're hurt!" Michelle said.

I held my shoulder, which throbbed with pain.

"It's nothing," I replied while looking at the tiger.

It seemed this tiger had been controlled by someone.

"Let's treat your wound first," Mishael said as she took out the medicine Alex had prepared.

"Let's continue our journey afterward."

Before we left, Mishael insisted on treating my wound, and eventually I cleaned the injury before we continued our journey.