Chapter 51
"Hey, look," Gazel said, pointing into the distance.
Blaze scoffed at first, thinking it was another trick. But when he followed Gazel’s finger, his breath caught.
Far away stood a mountain so massive it felt unreal, too large to exist on earth at all. Yet there it was. And carved into its body was a structure, faint but unmistakable.
Blaze’s face lit up instantly. All thoughts of burning Gazel vanished.
"That’s it," he whispered.
The Bulwark.
They had made it. Or at least, they were close. Close enough to see it with their own eyes.
But reality struck just as fast.
Between them and the mountain stretched a vast, deep sea. Endless water. Dark and heavy. Swimming was not an option. For Gazel, it was because he could not last long in water. For Blaze, it was simpler.
He hated water to the core.
Feeling miserable, Blaze paced back and forth, muttering to himself, mind racing for a solution.
Gazel placed a hand on his shoulder. When he spoke, his voice was filled with exasperation.
"You’re looking for a way to cross, right. Then why don’t we just cross the river."
Blaze’s eyes widened. He stared at Gazel in disbelief.
"Wait. Are you saying we should split the water in two and walk through it or what."
Gazel looked at him flatly.
Was he so kind of god.
He shook his head and pointed to the side.
"I’m talking about the bridge. The one right there."
Blaze turned.
There really was a bridge.
"Oh."
He coughed lightly. "Sorry. Let’s be quick then."
He walked ahead without hesitation.
Gazel watched him go, then shook his head, muttering under his breath. If anyone could read his lips, they would have clearly understood the words.
Who in the world gave birth to such a crazy heroic fool.
What a headache.
They crossed the bridge together. Gazel stayed alert the entire ti, hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. He had no idea what awaited them on the other side. The only thing easing his worry was the distant sight of the Bulwark still burned into his mind.
At least they knew where they were going.
Or so he thought.
They encountered no monsters. No traps. No danger at all.
The crossing was smooth.
Too smooth.
The mont they stepped off the bridge, the world changed.
As far as the eye could see, vast land stretched endlessly in every direction. Tall forests surrounded them. Massive trees. Scattered boulders. Wild, untouched terrain.
And the worst part.
The Bulwark was gone.
Completely gone.
Blaze and Gazel gulped at the sa ti.
"Tell this is so kind of bad joke," Blaze muttered, staring around in disbelief.
It was as if they had been thrown back into the forest again. As if instead of moving closer, they had been pushed farther away. All that effort. All that travel.
Wasted.
The thought was bitter.
Blaze dropped onto the ground, rubbing his head furiously like an enraged child.
"You know what, Gazel," he said through clenched teeth. "Just go back to whatever you were doing before. Before you were told to co to the Bulwark."
He laughed bitterly.
"That sounds way better than standing here and getting disappointed."
Gazel gave him a blank look.
"What about you," he asked. "Don’t tell all those big words about saving the world from demons are just going to vanish like that."
He expected Blaze to shake his head. To say sothing heroic. Sothing stupidly confident. A hero’s resolve never wavers, never breaks.
What he did not expect was this.
The red haired lunatic nodded.
"I guess it’s not my destiny then," Blaze said, his tone perfectly even. "If it was, fate wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop ."
That was the bad part. The worst part...
Blaze, the eternal optimist, was already planning other ways to spend his life. Other dreams. Other paths. As if giving up on becoming a Shural was no big deal at all.
That level of optimism shook Gazel to his core.
That was not humane.
He had seriously underestimated the depth of this guy’s insanity.
Just then, Gazel’s ears twitched. He frowned.
"Did you sense that," he asked.
Blaze stopped mid life planning and looked at him, expression turning sharp.
"What do you an. Is there trouble," he asked as he jumped to his feet. A small fireball ford in his palm, his fighting instinct kicking in instantly.
"You don’t need that," Gazel said, watching him.
Blaze raised an eyebrow. "Why."
Gazel sighed. Travelling with him felt like dragging around a five year old.
"Because what I sensed is nothing," he said. "Nothing at all."
Blaze froze, staring at him blankly. His eyes went still, unblinking. Gazel already knew that look. Blaze was thinking.
After a while, his eyes moved again, his face growing serious.
"You an there’s no humans around," Blaze said slowly. "Well, that makes sense. We’re far from any settlent."
Gazel shook his head.
Being a demon, he could sense life force. Any living creature. Humans. Animals. Insects. Even small things like squirrels or birds.
If anything had passed through this place, he would have felt it.
But there was nothing.
Nothing at all.
The unease in his chest deepened.
It was as if this forest had no life whatsoever.
That thought was terrifying.
Refusing to accept it, they set out together, trying to find a way out of the forest. Any way. Back to a city. Back to people.
But the more they walked, the clearer it beca.
Sothing was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
No matter how far they went, they saw no settlent. No clearing. No sign of civilization. Not even a broken path or a footprint.
That was not even the worst part.
There were no animals.
No birds. No insects. No beasts, big or small. Not a single living thing.
As Gazel and Blaze realized this, their bodies stiffened.
There was no more arguing. Wherever they had been sent to, this place had no life. None except trees, stone, and silence.
They looked at each other and nodded, understanding the sa thought.
They needed to get the hell out of here.
They turned toward one of the clearer paths and sprinted at full speed, charging forward without hesitation.
Minutes passed.
When they finally slowed, both of their faces were pale. Their bodies trembled, hearts pounding violently.
If their fear before had been small, now it was overwhelming.
The reason was simple.
They were not getting out of here anyti soon.
They had run as far as their legs could carry them, lungs burning, hearts pounding. And what greeted them every single ti was the sa forest. Endless trees. Endless paths. No edge. No break.
They tried again.
And again.
The result never changed.
It was as if the forest had no end. As if it was infinite. As if reaching its boundary was impossible.
"What the hell is all this," Blaze grunted, clutching his knees. "Where the hell are we."
For once, Gazel had no answer.
He stared at the forest that kept them trapped for reasons completely unknown. After a mont, he forced himself to calm down and sat on a nearby boulder, leaning against it.
"Don’t fight it," he said. "We’ll wait here until soone finds us and saves us."
He paused, then added with a strained smile,
"Best case scenario, soone shows up. Worst case scenario, we both starve to death before that happens."
He tried to keep smiling.
But when he looked at Blaze, the smile almost broke.
Blaze’s face was deadpan and panicked at the sa ti. His eyes burned with sothing heavy. His voice ca out low, filled with tangled emotion.
"No," he said. "I can’t stay here."
He stood up slowly.
"I still have the world to protect. Demons to end. I still have to take them down. All of them."
His voice grew deeper, steadier.
"I can’t die here. Not before I even take the first step and beco a Shural."
Flas began gathering around his hand.
"I’m getting the hell out of here," he said. "Even if it ans burning this entire forest down."
Fire erupted.
Blaze hurled flas into the trees, burning them, reducing them to ash. One after another, trunks collapsed, branches crackled, embers spread.
Seconds passed.
Nothing changed.
The forest remained.
"No," Blaze muttered. "No no no no."
He attacked harder, more violently.
"I can’t die here. I still have things to do. Responsibilities to fulfill."
His voice cracked.
"I promised to make my family proud. I won’t be a disappointnt anymore. I won’t quit. I still have more to do. Everyone is counting on ."
A tear slipped down his face as he continued attacking relentlessly.
But he was burning out.
Without his Radiance Core supporting his azura, his body was overheating fast. His strength was draining.
Gazel, who had been resting quietly, frowned as he watched Blaze struggle against what felt like an unbreakable cage.
He could not deny it anymore.
Blaze’s words were getting to him.
Gazel still had his own goals. His own target. Too many things left undone. He had not co this far just to die before even reaching the Bulwark.
Then it happened.
A loud bang echoed through the forest.
Trees toppled.
Blaze turned his head slightly.
There stood the white haired lunatic, fist stretched forward, having ripped a massive tree straight from its base.
Blaze stared.
It seed he had never truly seen the monster hiding behind Gazel’s calm face.
Gazel turned to him, a small smile forming.
"You know what," he said. "Screw waiting for help."
His eyes hardened.
"I’m getting the hell out of here."
He clenched his fist. Ready to threw forward another devastating punch.
"And our best bet is destroying this damn forest."
To be continued.
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