Trefor Pradhan took a quick count of the youth, while Junior-Elder Jaqueline Calloway got the flying-boat that their group had used to come out of here, up and running. Then Trefor had to get Junior-Elder Hong Mirae under control because he could literally see her melting down before his eyes. It was an eerie thing to watch because her expression and mannerisms stayed the same as when she was calm. It was just all her reactions that became increasingly off. It was like seeing one of those old-world machines, and constructs, break down...Or like watching a clockwork doll with a broken spring.

“C-, Calm down, Junior-Elder Hong...I know this is a difficult time for you, but there’s nothing we can do. Now we have to go before the kapok-octopi reach us and over-run us,” said Trefor. Trying to be the voice of reason.

“Y-, yes….I understand. Let us go,” said Hong Mirae. Her voice was filled with an oppressive flatness.

Trefor watched as the Kapok-Octopi continued to approach and the hoard of pseudo-trees knocked aside the real trees that stood in their way. Making the mighty forest look like no more than a slightly outsized patch of tall grass, with a collection of predators wading through its depths.

“Wait, where’s Junior-Elder Calloway, where’s the other Junior-Elder Calloway?” said Trefor. Noting that one of his co-workers was missing.

“Huh? Oh, Jill’s gone to get our missing lambs,” said Jack. Looking up from the control panel for the flying boat. Looking surprisingly unperturbed considering that the world seemed to literally be slowly burning down, and the beasts had almost reached their group.

“What?!” said Trefor. Alarmed.

“What?!” said Hong Mirae. Breaking out of her fugue, and finally showing a bit of proper emotion.

*************************************************************************************************************

I ran through the forest, flying over tree roots, and hurtling past tree trunks. Narrowly avoiding the under-growth and branches that could trip me up, as I made my way to the missing youths. I travelled as the crow flies, heading straight towards my target. I used my matter-manipulation to disintegrate any obstacles that I couldn’t quickly maneuver myself around.

Within a few fractions of a second, I reached my goal. There were three youths there. Two females, one male. One of the young women was trapped under a fallen tree trunk. It was Hong Soomin. Junior-Elder Hong’s niece. The other young woman was trying to lift the trunk with the help of the young man.

Considering that neither youth was below the Ocean-rank, and thus should have had the strength of 50 men, you’d think they’d have been able to manage easily enough, but magical trees often were heavier than the regular kind. To make matters worse, I could see at a glance that the part of the tree had managed to impale Hong Soomin. Which meant the two youth weren’t just trying to save their teammate from being impaled by an ultra-heavy tree, they had to do so carefully lest Hong Soomin get injured even worse.

“Move…” I said. Commanding the two youths to step aside.

They did as they were told and with a thought, the tree trunk ceased to be. As I de-materialized it, I noted that it was more than just some tree trunk. It was part of a trap. Probably some kind of gravity-based device. I looked down and saw through the girl who lay on the ground. Noting that there was some kind of secret compartment underneath her. A compartment that had been opened.

“What happened?” I said. Unable to help my curiosity.

Then I said,

“Nevermind, we need to move.” The kapok-octopi would soon be upon us, and I’d just caught sight of the thing that they’d been running from.

I healed Hong Soomin with a restoration spell and tossed her over my shoulder. Then I cast a spell of haste on all four of us, so we could move faster. I led the charge. This wasn’t the Bellgrave, but the forest still grew thick, and these kids lacked the necessary agility, and spatial awareness, to keep from stumbling over themselves. So, I used my matter-manipulation to erase everything in front of us.

We reached the clearing where the others, and our flying-boat, were waiting. Hong Mirae all but teleported in front of me, and I had to turn, spin, and pivot to avoid colliding with her. Her face was ice, but her eyes were bloodshot. She didn’t need to speak for me to know what she wanted. I handed over Hong Soomin. Hong Mirae took her and her cold facade thawed just the littlest bit.

“Thank you…” her voice barely a whisper.

“Er...Don’t mention it. It’s part of the job,” I said. Feeling awkward.

“Oh, shit they’re on us! Everyone on the boat! Everyone on the fucking boat!” cried Trefor.

We did as we were told, and the entire forest seemed to explode, as trees, plants, and soil were knocked aside, and energetically tossed into the air, by the rampaging horde of kapok-octopi. Hong Mirae got the remaining youths piled into the flying boat.

A pair of kapok-octopi slithered towards us. Elder Trefor grabbed a bunch of the youths and drew out his core-tree. A long, thick, staff. Made of dark-blue metal and wood. He struck the ground with it, and a wide shield made of his aura, and water-element spiritual energy drawn from the air, appeared around him and the kids. Then Jack slammed her hands together, and a dome of shadow appeared around us and the flying-boat.

The two kapok-octopi that were coming our way bounced off Jack’s dome. Seeing that his shield was no longer needed. Elder Trefor went back to the task of getting us all airborne. Then suddenly there was a deafening roar as something “else” came stomping out of the forest. It was the thing that had been chasing the stampeding kapok-octopi.

There was a man. A humanoid figure but all twisted up. His skin and flesh were blackened into coal, and his bones glowed in the evening gloom. His entire body was on fire, and his eyes were embers of agony and hate.

“Oh, fuck…Jack, it’s one of ‘them’,” I said. Instantly recognizing the creature for what it was.

“I can see that, hon. Now be a dear and help us get this tub off the ground before it kills us,” said Jack. Snark and desperation mingling in her tone.

“Wh-, what the hell is that thing?” said Elder Trefor.

“It’s...It...I don’t know what to tell you. Those things don’t have a name,” said Jack. Not daring to look away from the creature as it ambled out of the wood, with long, staggering strides, that crossed far too much distance for the length of its legs. The kapok-octopi that don’t flee from its presence in time instantly became heaps of ash.

“What do you mean they don’t have a name? Wild One. Broken one. Small God. Dark fae...Devil. I know what that thing is...It’s something that’s crawled in from the space between the worlds. We need to get out of here and now,” said Hong Mirae. Back to being herself. All business.

The [Tale of the Fool] tells me that we’re not going to get the ship up into the air in time. I sighed as I followed the hunch to its logical conclusion.

“Jack, I’m going to have to do something stupid,” I said.

“Mhm...Fuck, hold on a sec, let me try something ‘not’ suicidal first,” said Jack.

A dark aperture appeared at her back and an unending stream of fadeling soldiers came rushing out. All of them kitted in shadowy armor and holding spears and swords of shadow. All of them prepared for war. They charged out of the dome of shadow and threw themselves at the burning man.

Have you ever seen a shadow die? It’s not a pleasant thing. Neither in the sound. Nor the smell. Over 1000 fadelings threw themselves on the burning man. Piling on top of the creature in a big heap of bulky, shadowy, bodies. Then in a single instant, all 1000 went up in smoke.

“Fuck! Okay...It looks like ‘that’ didn’t work,” said Jack. Still sending more because she had millions of fadeling pre-made and ready for deployment, and the only cost was the cost of bringing them over from our private dimension.

“Yeah...and it’s looking like it's not going to work either. Jack, I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to do this? That thing hasn’t even aggroed yet, I’m worried that even if we get in the air, it’ll still be able to chase us down,” I said. Watching as fadeling heap, after fadeling heap, were instantly incinerated.

“Fuck~! Really? You useless things can’t even slow it down...Fine. Fine! But if you die, you better believe that I will find you in whatever hell or paradise you end up in and give you quite the earful,” snarled Jack. Chiding her fadelings and then chiding me.

I chuckled.

“Deal,” I said. Before jumping down and throwing myself at the burning-man.