The Source of All Evil

Chapter Nineteen

Michaela Walker.

“Oh, no! Oh, s**t!”

Michaela ran through the forest, gripping the princess’s hand tightly, trying her best to stay away from path of mayhem the beasts left behind them as they chased them. She was aware they were playing with their food, as they would’ve caught up to them in a heartbeat, so she was trying to find the Lunar tunnel and hope for the best.

The princess stumbled on her way, almost falling headfirst, as her heavy dress constricted her movement. Michaela groaned inwardly, wishing she never brought her here with her. She thought if Princess Nirvana were to face danger, she’d unleash her powers, which she presumed were extraordinary, as the book indicated. Yet, the Princess now seemed more of a liability than an advantage, driving Michaela to think of a way not to get them killed.

She hoped to find an opening where they could hide for a while until it was safe for Kirby to use its powers and transport them away, but the beasts were right on their toes, wreaking havoc in the forest, disturbing the wildlife, and destroying the greenery that was on their path.

Michaela heard a villainous chuckle closely behind her, and when she raised her head to glance above her, she yelped in surprise at how close one of the beasts’ lion head to her face, his red eyes glowing with disdain as if laughing at her attempt in fleeing.

“Oh s**t!” she cursed again, feeling her grip on the Princess’s hand loosening from how clammy it was, her heart hammering against her chest, her head felt heavy as if she was suffering from high blood pressure.

Michaela begged in her head to survive this one, and if she would find Rafe, she promised to stick to him no matter what. She admitted that she was just a weak woman, and she apologized inwardly to all those women she scorned for acting like damsels in distress.

I am a fricking damsel in distress, she thought grudgingly.

The beast swept his paw towards them, and Michaela had no chance of dodging his swift attack, staring with her wide eyes as the Princess shrieked as she flew towards a tree, while Michaela rolled down the dirt path, only stopping when her back hit a rock that was on her way.

Michaela groaned, feeling disoriented as she looked around, shook to see the Princess unconscious by a tree, and was bleeding from her head by the looks of it. Kirby was a few feet away from Michaela, looking just as battered, emitting heartbreaking whines. She finally garnered the courage to face the beasts that surrounded them. Their leader, the one with a golden mane, released a monstrous sound similar to that of a chuckle.

“It’s been a while since I leisurely enjoyed a chase,” the beast’s rough and dark voice resonated in her ears, bringing a shiver up her spine. “Even your friend couldn’t survive us, and she has a promising innate ability, unlike yours.”

Michaela could taste her bitter blood as it dripped down her lip, surely from the impact of hitting a rock. She swallowed thickly when the beast’s tail swished forward and the snake head on its end drew closer to her face, hissing. Michaela watched with horrified eyes as it flicked its slithering tongue and licked her lip, the beast letting out a sound like a hum, his red eyes glowing more.

Then, the beast paused, and his lion’s head expression morphed into that of a frightened kitten, watching her with careful eyes. One of his companions didn’t seem to notice, saying.

“How does she taste? You’ll share her with us, right?”

Another interjected. “You all fight over that one. I’ll just take the pretty little girl.”

“Don’t you dare touch her!” She growled, trying to stand up only to fall back on her behind, holding her aching ankle. She must’ve strained it, which made her situation much worse.

This was so cliché for her. She sprained her ankle while running from a dangerous situation, while the Princess and Kirby were in a worst shape than her. All that was left was for a hero to appear and save them.

Michaela shook her head at what crossed her mind, and the snickering beasts must’ve misunderstood, as one of them said. “Look, I think this brat still has guts, thinking she can stop us.”

“I may not be as strong as you are, but I can assure you that I won’t go down without a fight.” Quoting what any foolish, weak character would say in such a situation before getting kicked into oblivion, Michaela wished she could face-palm right now.

“Well, well, well. We got ourselves a fighter.” All the beasts morphed back into their human forms, the one who spoke was the most flamboyant and flashy of them all, flaunting a red, silky scarf as he toyed with it between his long fingers.

He stood in front of her, wearing a smug look, bending over as he gripped her chin. Michaela struggled a bit, but the more she did, the tighter his grip would get.

“Your friend will serve as a delicious feast to all of us. And you, well, will find out later what we have in store for you.”

Michaela fought the urge to cry, gritting her teeth as she said. “I see that there is no use to insult you, as it may take you a lifetime to get what I’m saying.”

He released her chin, laughing like a maniac, and the others joined him, entertained by her words. The only one who didn’t laugh nor move, looking shaken as he stared at her intently, was their leader. He finally snapped out of his daze when the flamboyant beast’s nails morphed into claws as he threateningly brought them closer to Michaela’s neck.

“Stop!”

Michaela, who has already finished her prayers and noted her will in her mind, giving up, sighed, feeling relieved. She tried her best not to let out a sound as the sharp claws were digging in the soft skin of her neck.

“What is it, Atlas?!”

They all looked puzzled, watching as their leader approached Michaela, and the latter flinched when he suddenly prostrated on the ground as if he was showing respect to an elder.

“I’m really sorry, your Majesty!”

“Huh?!”

“. . . Have I known that it was you, I wouldn’t dare to anger you.”

“Bow down to your queen, idiots!” He barked an order at his companions, who soon followed suits without raising any questions, begging for mercy.

Surprise morphed on Michaela’s expression, watching as seven Divine beasts bowed down to her in a scene out of a fantasy show. She didn’t know if they were mistaken or if they were toying with her still. But when their leader raised his head, sporting a horror-filled expression, Michaela felt certain that he was genuine.

“For daring to taste your blood, my queen, I’ll happily pay for it with my life.”

“Hold it!” She yelled, and she didn’t know why she stopped him. She could’ve let him kill himself, but she knew that the sight would haunt her forever. Even though he was a beast, he was still in his human form, and her mind would be able to cope with it.

“Y-You’re willing to forgive us?!” He sounded shocked, and Michaela held her head, feeling as if it would burst at this mind-boggling sight. She breathed in and out, calming herself to think wisely. She figured, if these beasts weren’t just faking these exaggerated reactions, then this must be the book’s doing.

She didn’t want to waste time or energy in thinking about why they were now acting like docile kittens instead of hungry beasts. Michaela slowly nodded, carefully watching them as they all stood up, bowing their heads once more before hastily fleeing the site.

It took Michaela a while to snap out of the shock, leaning on the rock as she stood up, careful not to put a lot of pressure and weight on her sprained ankle. She wobbled to Kirby first and carried it in her arms as she walked towards the unconscious Princess.

Michaela knew that Kirby would be able to recuperate on its own, but she wasn’t sure about the Princess. She checked on her to find her breathing, sighing relieved, looking around, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do.

“Those idiots left before giving us a hand,” she mumbled, softly patting the Princess's cheeks, hoping she’d wake up. Princess Nirvana had a deep cut on her temple. Though the bleeding seemed that it stopped, Michaela was still concerned if the damage was more than the eye could meet.

There was nothing she could do to heal her wound, and she hoped that Kirby would recover soon to help her. Michaela laid Kirby next to the Princess, lending support from a tree to stand up. She glared down at her leg, furrowing her eyebrows as she slowly leaned on her sprained ankle. There was no pain, nothing. Only a dark bruise covered the area of the injury, and it was as well slowly fading. Michaela got shocked that the swelling has vanished as if she’s used some magic remedy to heal it.

Her eyes darted towards Kirby, wondering if what the Chief and Malick have said once was true. Was her pet really using some healing powers even in its unconscious state?!

Michaela didn’t dwell on it, happy that she could now move freely with no restraints. She looked around the area for a place to spend the night, since the natural light was soon fading as the suns set in the west. She found a massive tree a few feet ahead of where she left the Princess and Kirby, and luckily it had a small opening that could serve them as a shelter.

Michaela panted, dragging her feet and mumbling under her breath, cursing the person on her back as she walked back towards the tree. The Princess was softly snoring, unaware of how heavy she was for the frail body of the person carrying her.

Michaela wondered how someone as small as the Princess was this heavy, debating if she should just leave her behind. She wasn’t strong to carry her all the way, and she sure wasn’t some hero with an unknown strength. She was just a damn author who got unlucky enough to get sent to this world. Did she know how unhealthy authors were? She wondered as she cursed the Princess, who kept sliding down her back, making her put a lot of effort into carrying her.

After she practically threw the Princess on the ground inside the hollowed tree, she laid on the ground as well, trying to catch her breath. She glanced at Kirby, who she brought here first, pouting that it was still sleeping. Michaela sat up, thinking of finding something to light a fire for the night. Though it was summertime in this world, some areas would get cooler at night.

Confident that she could start a fire, as she’s seen many survivalists’ videos back in her world, and even watched Rafe make one, on many occasions. Michaela gathered some wood and built a pit, putting her knowledge to a test.

Michaela gave up after trying multiple times, using different methods to start a fire. She didn’t know it was that difficult. The people in the videos she’s watched and Rafe, too, made it seem as if it was an easy task.

Michaela had no choice but to crowd the hole with the Princess and her pet, hoping for a peaceful night. She tried to rest, but her mind kept going back to those Divine beasts. She wondered if something in her blood made their leader, Atlas, hallucinate, thinking that she was his queen. And who was this queen?! Michaela only read about Princess Nirvana who became the Cursed queen after harboring overpowering techniques.

No way! She thought, her eyes widening. Could it be that now she was the Cursed queen since the story got rewritten?!

The more she thought about it, the more improbable it sounded, turning on her side, and staring at the Princess.

“What have I done?”

Michaela soon drifted to sleep, giving in to her tired mind, peacefully snoring.

A few miles away from where she took shelter, the scene that took place was far from peaceful as the seven beasts were facing a dire situation. A man dressed in a long, black robe, a scary mask covering his features, only his twisted smirk was showing. The man hovered high in the air, with his hands behind his back, glaring at the battered beasts on the ground, showing no sign of mercy, as in one swift move, a red beam as thin and deadly as laser cut through their several sturdy necks, beheading them.