“My dears. How sweet of you to take charge of this battle.” An eerie voice reverberated in the forest. Two young children were on their knees, their gazes fixated on the ground. A small shiver went through their spines when the voice first spoke, but they stood still other than that.

“Mama, the forest is ready. Hatred and rage are cultivated to the level of explosion. We finally can attack.” The boy said as he looked at the figure across him. The boy was human once, not so much anymore. His eyes had more than one pupil, and it looked beastly.

Although clothed, one could see the unholy ramus coming out of his spine, and his arms and legs were too thick for his age.

“Mama, which one should we attack first? Humans are already aware of the stampede, and we cannot delay it any longer.” The little girl reported. She had a pair of wings coming out of her back, and her skin was covered with sparkling dots. She was a little younger than the boy before they got caught at the tender age of 12. At the time, they were living in a closed community of divine teaching. They were taught how God loved them and how he would always bless them.

They were to get strong and return to Earth. Bring glory and divine teaching back to the globe. But when they were following Seminarian Ivo, they were left behind and caught by Mama, who had turned them into something stronger. They learned what they have been taught was nothing but nonsense, fiction, lies of people to control people. Now, they had the freedom. Although they were working for Mama, it was because they wanted to.

Mama gave them strength, in exchange, they would help her back.

“My dears. You two have been my greatest creations. All the others had been plotting against me, their Mama. They ended up in my stomach.” The creature spoke once again from where she was hanging down. She looked like a giant butterfly, but between the wings was a human body.

Her wings were colorful and she was wearing a dress made of silk and leaves. Her eyes were just like the boy's. Each eye had 3 pupils, looking in every direction.

“We will always be grateful, Mama.” The boy kneeled once again.

“Good, my dear. Now that Ice Dragon is found dead, nothing in this forest can stop me.” The butterfly monster spoke eerily and looked afar. “Still, I will call your Daddy, so he can help me ascend.”

————

“Fuck you!” Miles spat out blood as he looked at the dead monster crying in pain. “I was just flying over. You fucking attacked me so stop crying like a bitch and die.”

Because of the stampede, the forests around the strongholds were boiling. Monsters everywhere had unprecedented solidarity, making it impossible to travel. With no other choice, Miles donned the wing orb and flew above the forest, but an albatross attacked him in mid-air.

While trying to escape, the damned monsters cried like a siren, and floating green dots started to surround his body. It was a scary yet amazing view. The glowworms, emitting cursed green light, illuminated the surrounding like it was Aurora. Then came the cold weather.

Frozen Polar Bears, who looked dead as the ghost ship, attacked him with freezing air and ice lances. Their ribs could be seen from their open chests, and it looked like the rim of a battered ship. Scarred, full of holes, and abandoned.

As Death and Life were gambling on his glossy eye, he battled with everything he had. Thankfully he still had the mask and now that he could use energy, he was able to kill the bears from a distance.

From one of the bears, dropped an orb. Luckily it was the pinnacle-tier and the orb was a crossbow. He didn’t have bolts but by using his arrows, he shot the bird from its wing, and all the glowing worms scattered away.

“Doesn’t matter how much you cry, I will not let you go. Even if it brings my downfall, you damned bird of misfortune!” Miles kicked the bird’s neck angrily and ended its misery. In its brain, he found another orb. After Coin charged it, the white liquid took the shape of a necklace and hung over his neck.

“In life and in death, cursed and troublesome! Albatross around my neck.” Miles cursed silently as he uncharged the orb. The necklace was able to form an air barrier around the person wearing it, but it was only good against poisonous fumes. Other than that, the barrier had no use at all.

“What now?” Coin asked as Miles calmed down.

“We are close to the mountain. From there, I can observe the forest and can rush to any stronghold monsters go.” Miles floated higher and higher as he looked at the mountain top. After spending lots of money he finally learned a spot where he could observe the monsters while keeping himself safe.

On top of this mountain, there was a ‘man’-made cave. It was probably carved by one of the ancient races of Portal World, but it was still standing. It was relatively safe, and the person who sold him the map told him that he would stay there without any problem whenever he was close.

“Can’t see any monsters.” Coin reported after he landed on top of the mountain and looked at the cave. Just like the person said, the cave was secure. There were also cooking appliances there.

“Seems secure enough. Now, all we can do is wait.” Miles sighed as he looked below. The forest looked peaceful but it was only a facade. Pretty soon, monsters would rush out of it to destroy whatever stands in their ways.