The Flower Is Finished

The wooden door was already worn out and even looked as though it was about to collapse.

"This is my underground room!" After we saw the door, I finally realized that this was a room deliberately built by William.

"You already prepared everything?" Farel asked, and William replied with a nod.

"Yes. For someone who has lived for thousands of years, I have memorized every strategic path of life." He said proudly, making me smile faintly.

"Come in, even though it's a little difficult to get inside." William entered first, and we followed him. Even though this room looked very small and narrow, the deeper we went, the larger it became. At the entrance we couldn't stand upright and had to lower our heads. The atmosphere was gloomy and cold. Even though there was air coming in, it wasn't as cold as outside, but even so I was still slightly astonished after going deeper inside.

We walked for five minutes before arriving at a room that surprised me.

There was a very large candle being used as a source of light. There were several books that looked very ancient, but I remained silent. I observed everything carefully, and this room seemed well maintained, with William taking good care of it. He handed a very long spear to Farel.

"Why are you giving this spear to me?" Farel asked with a confused look.

"It will be useful for you, so keep it and take good care of it." Farel accepted it, and after that William handed me a powder whose purpose I didn't know.

"Keep this powder." William handed the powder to me, and I accepted it.

"Let's leave this place."

Before we could leave, a sound suddenly came from outside, and the ground began to shake. Every now and then we staggered as the tremors became stronger, and on the other hand we began to panic about what would happen next.

"I think we've already been detected by the demons. That's why their tremors have reached this place," William said, and we immediately panicked after learning that the demons and witches were close to us.

"Then how are we supposed to get out if they're probably waiting to capture us now?" There was no way we could leave through the same entrance because that would be the same as exposing ourselves to them, but William immediately pushed aside a rather large cabinet.

"Before you start panicking, I already prepared everything in detail. This is one of the emergency exits I prepared." Hearing that made me smile faintly. Farel gently patted William's shoulder, but William immediately clicked his tongue at him.

"Show some respect to your elder." William glared at Farel, while Farel only smiled faintly.

"Let's hurry and leave this place."

"Come help me move this cabinet." After that we quickly helped him push the cabinet aside.

Even though the cabinet wasn't very big, it felt extremely heavy. Once it had been moved, a small door suddenly appeared.

"Hurry, get in and move the cabinet back." William immediately opened the door, and sure enough there was a tunnel. Perhaps this was the last escape route so we wouldn't be detected by the witches or the demons.

Even though it was difficult because the tunnel was narrow, we still managed to move the cabinet back into place so they wouldn't notice it.

Footsteps became clearer and clearer, and my necklace pulsed violently.

"Aaaa... Hurry... let's move it quickly."

After saying that, William continued pushing it, and finally the cabinet returned to its original position.

The tunnel was pitch black with no light after the cabinet was closed. William walked ahead as if he could see something, while the two of us simply followed his footsteps. Every now and then we heard the sound of objects shattering as they were thrown. Perhaps they had already entered William's underground room.

"Are we heading to the summit?" Farel asked after we emerged from the underground room, now quite far from the original location. The cold air was so intense that we stopped for a moment to warm ourselves.

"Are you tired already?" William asked as he looked at Farel, but Farel shook his head.

"I'm not tired. It's just that the cold weather is making my body freeze." I turned toward him, and indeed Farel was shivering.

I stretched out my hand, and Farel looked at me in confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked, but I kept my hand extended.

"You're cold. Hold my hand. Maybe it'll make you feel warmer." William and Farel looked at each other.

"You... don't do something like that." Farel narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back, making me roll my eyes in annoyance.

"My temperature is stable," I replied, but he still shook his head.

"Thank you for trying to help me, but I don't want to hold hands with you," Farel answered, making me nod, while William continued staring at me.

"Xanders... I know you don't like women, but couldn't you stop saying things like that?" I raised an eyebrow after hearing William's question.

"I still like women, so stop thinking dirty thoughts." After saying that, I immediately continued the journey, but William and Farel were still staring at me from behind.

"Do you think that's normal?" Farel asked William, who shook his head.

"I don't think he's normal!" William said as he walked away, making Farel immediately shout as he chased after us.

"Damn it... Xanders...!"

"Wait for me!"

After that, Farel caught up with us, and we continued our journey.

Because the snow was getting thicker, we struggled to move, especially Farel, who was freezing.

"Are you sure you can still make it to the top?" William asked after seeing Farel's condition, and Farel answered with a nod.

"I can still do it. Come on, let's continue our journey," Farel said.

William actually looked very doubtful because everyone's physical condition was different, especially for someone from the Elf Clan, but Farel still wanted to accompany us until the end.

"Are you really coming with us?" William asked once again, and Farel nodded. After that we decided to continue climbing toward the summit.

The wind became very strong, and suddenly the ground shook, causing us to stop.

William told us to remain still and not move at all.

We obeyed him, and at that very moment the ground trembled violently.

"What's happening?" We panicked, and I noticed that my necklace wasn't glowing, which meant this wasn't caused by demons or witches. So where were these tremors coming from?

"Yes... we've encountered a herd of mountain cattle," William muttered under his breath, but I could still hear him. We immediately looked for a place to hide from the herd.

"Find shelter. Those cattle will be coming down, and they'll charge at us if we don't hide."

Sure enough, the tremors became stronger.

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

Dug

For the first time, I witnessed a sight that made me think they were creatures mentioned only in legends. How could there be cattle much larger than normal? They had white fur, and antlers that resembled those of deer, leaving me astonished.

We hid behind a tree and observed the cattle that lived in the icy mountains.

Their bodies were much larger than ordinary cattle, and at the front there was a leader guiding them. Even so, the herd seemed to be disturbed by something, and they were running wildly without any clear direction.

"I think something happened to them. We really have to stay hidden and never let them see us," William reminded us.

But as I looked at one of the cattle, it suddenly started running straight toward me.

Farel, who was beside me, was about to scream, but William immediately covered his mouth.

"Aaaa...!"

"Keep your mouth shut," William said firmly, covering Farel's mouth with his hand.

Before we could react, one of the cattle was already approaching us.

It stared at us with hostility, and we immediately ran for our lives as it charged toward us.

"Split up... run...!"

Hearing William's shout, the three of us immediately scattered in different directions.

One way to deal with a wild beast was to avoid it. Killing it could attract enemies to this place and only make everything more complicated.

I glanced behind me, and it was still chasing me.

After running as fast as I could, I managed to hide, but it seemed to notice where I had gone and began looking around.

"What exactly is wrong with it?" I muttered in confusion.

Just as I was watching it, someone suddenly covered my mouth.

I immediately froze, realizing the hand covering my mouth was the hand of a small child.

I turned around, and sure enough, it was Mikaila.

"What are you doing here?" I asked softly.

She slowly removed her hand from my mouth.

"Be quiet. I'll talk to you later."

After that I remained silent and watched as the cattle slowly left the area.

I let out a sigh of relief. It had finally gone, and now only the two of us remained.

I looked into her eyes, and she swallowed hard.

"Why did you follow us?"