Book 16: Chapter 15
We arrived inside the forest. Honestly speaking, the closer we got to the centre of the forest, the more prominent the eerie feeling grew. It wasn’t particularly oppressive, but there was a spooky ambience. It was akin to swimming in water and then suddenly seeing that the blue water was red. It was incorrect to say that the mana didn’t belong there. The mana was the one with the problem.
The magical creatures nearby continued with their lives as per usual, and they weren’t different to the animals outside the forest by any accounts. They ran when they were supposed to and did whatever else they were supposed to. Herbivores were afraid of us, not due to the eerie mana but due to them sensing bloodlust. In simple terms, if humans came to the area, they would be totally oblivious as to what happened. I, however, could sense it just as Mom could.
Mom scanned our surroundings with her eyebrows furrowed. She quietly noted, “Something’s wrong. If it was a rock, an area of grass or a river that had an issue, it wouldn’t have such an immense impact. This is abnormal. It’s an abnormal change.”
“In other words, an elf is plotting something? Mom, it seems your assumption is correct.”
Mommy Vyvyan lowered her voice: “I’m not certain, either… After all, we haven’t sighted any traces of an elf doing anything. There are no flames or footprints. Further, soldiers have cordoned this area. Where would they have come from? I even cast a spell here to prevent anyone from entering. The spell I cast is the same one that I cast at the imperial palace. If somebody forcibly trespassed, it would alert the soldiers, but they never reported anything, so nobody should have entered this place… What would they have obtained after entering…? Compared to the forests to the South and West, this forest isn’t rich, not to mention that it was once attacked…”
“That’s true… We don’t know what they’re thinking. This might be a secret black magic research lab for all we know.”
Mom shook her head: “That’s incorrect… Son, black magic has a discerning feature, which is that it takes effect fast and will use a life of some sort as a medium. Think about our journey here. Aside from what we killed, we haven’t seen any traces of blood or hunts. You and Mommy are dark elves, so we’re especially sensitive to blood. These creatures carry mana… but it’s clear this mana isn’t harmful; therefore, it isn’t a harmful spell. To be precise, mm… it’s a strange spell. It’s not a spell we use here.”
“So, similar to feeding household pets forage when the household pets are actually wild beasts in the wild?”
Mom nodded: “That’s a good way to put it. Whatever the case may be, you must be cautious, Son. I don’t know what else can happen to the creatures. We need to investigate it. Nevertheless, the good news is that we’ll soon get to the centre of where this is happening. If this really is the deliberate work of someone, we’ll soon have to face them. To be frank, Mommy is starting to feel angry.”