Chương 47: It's you???

After what felt like hours of walking, the trees finally became thicker. Amelia stopped and looked ahead.

"Finally! That was so much walking. I'm tired..." Ace looked around.

"Yeah, but here it is." They stood before a massive forest entrance. An old wooden sign hung between two trees. WARNING: NO TRESPASSERS Ace read it twice.

"... You sure you wanna do this?" Amelia looked at the forest.

"Mochi's whole career is on the line. We have to." She tightened her grip on the bottle.

"It's his dream to lead the strongest guild in the world, after all. Without his magic, that's going to be pretty hard to accomplish." Ace sighed.

"I guess so..." He stepped forward.

"Alright. Let's get in, grab the flower, and get out. Quick and easy." Amelia nodded.

"Alright." They entered the forest. Almost immediately, Amelia covered her nose.

"Eww! It smells awful in here!" Ace looked around.

"Well, it is a forest. We shouldn't expect it to smell like sunshine and rainbows."

"I know, but it seriously stinks!" Amelia continued walking before suddenly freezing. Ace noticed.

"What's wrong now?" Amelia slowly pointed toward a nearby tree.

"A... a..." She trembled.

"A-A-A BUG!" She screamed and immediately hid behind Ace. Ace stared at the tiny insect.

"... Seriously?"

"It's a bug!"

"It's literally just sitting there."

"I know! That's the problem!" Amelia peeked over his shoulder.

"They're so icky and small and creepy!" Ace sighed. He reached out and flicked the insect away.

"There. Happy now?" Amelia cautiously looked around.

"Is it gone yet?" The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"Yeah. It's gone." Ace shook his head.

"Why did you even want to come into a forest? It should've been obvious there'd be bugs and insects everywhere." Amelia looked away awkwardly.

"Well... I wasn't really thinking about that part." Ace raised an eyebrow.

"What were you thinking about?" Amelia looked ahead.

"I heard Mochi needed help and I instantly wanted to help, you know?" She smiled softly.

"He's my closest friend. He saved my people back in the Wild West. I practically owe him my life." Ace's expression softened slightly.

"Well... aren't you a nice person." Amelia blushed.

"Well, it's just what I feel is the right thing to do." Ace nodded.

"Alright then." He looked deeper into the forest.

"Let's keep moving. Surely the Chroma Flower can't be too far now." Amelia smiled.

"Yeah! You're right!" They continued deeper into Herwasha Forest, unaware of just how dangerous the path ahead would become. They continued deeper into the forest, the trees becoming denser with every step. Ace suddenly stopped.

"GET DOWN!" Amelia barely had time to react before Ace grabbed her and pulled her behind a fallen tree.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Ace lowered his voice.

"Something's here... We're not alone." Amelia peeked over the log. Three enormous creatures slowly emerged from the trees. They looked like gigantic wild boars, each one standing several feet tall with massive tusks protruding from their mouths. They sniffed the ground, searching for something. Amelia whispered,"What are those things?"

"Great Bores." Ace kept his eyes on them.

"One of the most dangerous species of pig in the world. They cause around fifty thousand deaths every year." Amelia's eyes widened.

"Fifty thousand?!"

"You see those tusks?" She nodded.

"They're made from a special bone marrow called Nullum. It completely nullifies magic." Amelia gulped.

"So even Voyagers have trouble fighting them?"

"Exactly." She looked at the beasts.

"Alright... then what do you plan on doing?"

"We attack from behind. Their tusks won't be much of an issue if we stay away from them." Amelia nodded.

"Alright. I got it." Ace carefully began moving around the creatures. Then suddenly...

"Ah!" He winced and looked down. Something was clamped around his ankle. Amelia whispered,"Ace! Are you okay?!" Ace looked down at a strange plant with a small mouth biting his leg.

"Yeah." He tore it off.

"It's just a Bug Eater. They try to eat anything that moves." He tossed it aside.

"They can only eat small insects, but their teeth are sharp enough to hurt." Ace rubbed his ankle.

"Let's just keep moving okay?" No response.

"Amelia?" He turned around.

"Hey, c'mon we need to focus." He stopped. Amelia stood completely frozen. A caterpillar was slowly crawling up her left thigh. Her entire body trembled. Ace's eyes widened.

"Oh no..." He slowly approached.

"Please don't..." Amelia's eyes were locked onto the caterpillar.

"Keep calm. Please."

"I... I..." Ace held out his hand.

"I can get it off you." Amelia shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Ace..."

"What?"

"I can't."

"Yes, you can. You don't have to do anything." Ace reached toward her.

"I'll get it off. We can keep our lives intact, thank you very much." Amelia's face scrunched up.

"I apologize for what I'm about to do." Ace's eyes widened.

"No." Amelia took a deep breath.

"Don't..."

"Amelia, don't!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Her scream exploded through the forest. Birds scattered from the trees. The ground seemed to tremble from the sheer volume. The Great Bores immediately turned toward them. Ace slowly looked at Amelia.

"You fool..." Amelia gave an awkward smile.

"Sorry... I couldn't help it." The Great Bores charged. And suddenly, the bushes around them erupted with movement. More creatures emerged from the forest. Ace's face went pale.

"Yeah. We're leaving. NOW!" He grabbed Amelia's hand and ran.

"Wait, hold on!" Behind them, the animals gave chase. Amelia looked over her shoulder.

"Can't we just blast them with magic?!"

"If we try, we'll get stomped out before we even finish an attack!" Ace pulled her along faster.

"When I say these beasts are crazy, I mean they're CRAZY!" They sprinted through the forest. Then Ace suddenly stopped.

"OH CRAP!" A massive stone wall stood directly in front of them. They were trapped. Amelia skidded to a stop.

"... Guess we'll have to fight." Ace slowly turned around. The beasts surrounded them. Amelia raised her fists. Ace reached for his blades. But before either of them could move... The creatures began collapsing. One after another, the Great Bores fell to the ground. Ace froze.

"... What?" Amelia stared.

"What just happened?" A figure landed in front of them. A young boy. He couldn't have been older than twelve. Red hair. Bright red eyes. A sword rested in his hand. He casually looked over the fallen beasts.

"Is that it?" He sounded almost disappointed.

"They called this place Dead Man's Bush..." The boy glanced around.

"... Yet the animals in the bush are the ones who ended up dead." He sheathed his sword.

"How pathetic." He turned toward Ace and Amelia.

"Anyways..." The boy tilted his head.

"Who are you two?" Ace's eyes widened. His entire expression changed.

"... It can't be." The boy raised an eyebrow. Ace stared at him in disbelief.

"Is it really you...?" A nervous silence followed. Ace whispered the name.

"... Hearts?"