Queen Of Adis

ACK! UGH!

HELP MEEEE!

Haru could hear several guildsmen groaning and shouting from behind while she ran like her life depended on it, which it really did. In her arms was Fenrir, sleeping and oblivious of the chaos lurking around, while in front was Vladimir, using his scythe skillfully to clear their path and slashing the crawling thorny vines.

The groaning and shouting continued and became desperate as more and more beings were caught by the thorny vines and dragged back in the middle of the woods, gradually turning into stone in the process.

Then, they suddenly heard a hair-raising shriek, and everyone instantly knew that something huge and malevolent was coming after them. By the sound of it, the feral was getting closer every passing moment.

"Shit! What the hell is that?" The centaur hollered in fear.

"That must be the monster confined in this woods." Mr. Bear shouted while his fluffy hands clutched on Vladimir's hair. "Seems like it will not allow anyone of us to escape."

When Mr. Bear inadvertently looked behind, his enchanted soul almost left his stuffed body. "Aaahh! Brat, run faster! Run fast like you never did before. IT'S A F.U.C.K.I.N.G *BASILISK!"

"Damn it! The entire woods behind is now completely petrified. It's going to eat all of us!" Pier grunted as he turned his head while riding on the centaur's back.

Haru didn't respond to all the screams and just picked up her pace. They were already in the spot where she saw the Cheshire cat, which means they're nearing the entrance. Speaking of the grinning cat, and as if on cue, she saw it on her peripheral vision and her eyes grew wide in surprise.

She was about to yell out for it to run when she saw the cat's lips mouthed, "Come out alive, it's your win." Then it giggled without a sound and disappeared.

"Argh!"

As soon as it was out of her sight, a loud groan traveled to her ears then came a fishy scent of blood. For the first time since she ran out of the frozen lake, she looked back and saw Pier fell on the ground with an arrow pierced on his t.h.i.g.h.

Then she saw the nobleman and his mistress replaced Pier on the centaur's back and hovered a poisonous knife on his neck.

The nobleman yanked the centaur's long hair and shouted his threat, "Move your stupid a.s.s, moron! My darling is tired and we can't run anymore. Leave that useless peasant. I will give you 10 gold bars as a reward if you can take us out of this hell, or else, I will cut your filthy head!"

"Pier!" The centaur yelled out while his muscles tensed. His eyes glared sideways as he gritted to the baldy nobleman. "You greedy bastard! This is all your fault! You should have offered your wretched life to that feral monster instead of my comrades!"

"Hmph! It was obviously the giant wolf's fault. Why are you blaming us?" The mistress harumphed with her arms crossed in front of her c.h.e.s.t.

"Ugh! I'm okay, Zolteos," Pier chimed in after he recovered from the intense pain. "Don't waste your breath arguing with those hopeless people. Save yourself, my friend. If the gods allow it, I shall see you again."

Zolteos clenched his fist, tempted to kick the villains to the ground and drag his friend out of here. However, justice needed to be served and he's determined to bring the two immoral humans to the royal court and be punished.

"I shall await you outside, my friend. Don't be too comfortable there." Zolteos remarked then lifted his mighty hooves and ran away.

Pier curled on the dirt and struggled to pull the arrow out from his t.h.i.g.h. Blood spurted and the disturbing sound of muscle tissues tearing could be heard amidst the chaotic surrounding.

"F.u.c.kin' hell! That hurts like a bitch!" He cursed under his breath.

His body stiffened when he heard the wailing of the basilisk grew closer while the thorny vines rushed towards him. He could see the grayish color of death slowly creeping from within the back of the woods, petrifying anything it touched.

Pier's eyes widened in fear as he scurried backward. Beads of sweat dripped from his head and his surroundings suddenly became deadly silent. As the thorny vines neared, he shut his eyes and just prayed for a painless death.

Slashing sounds made his ears perked and the feeling of someone's arms dragged his bulky body up awakened him from his stupor.

"For heaven's sake, Pier, you broke your arm, not your feet! What are you dilly-dallying here, stupid?" Haru exasperated as she dragged his physique with great difficulty. "Haul your a.s.s, now!"

"Mademoiselle, hurry!" Mr. Bear cried out. He was now on top of Vladimir's head, holding Fenrir beneath his fluffy body.

While Pier was contemplating whether to run or die, Haru moved quickly and shoved Fenrir into Vladimir's hands.

When the vampire kid saw his mother braving the thorny vines to save the bulky man, he placed Fenrir on top of his head and ordered Mr. Bear to hold the pup tight as he swiftly cut the vines with his scythe. Then he took several steps backward as the grayish tone inched forward.

Haru pulled Pier up and made him leaned his body on her side and placed his working arm over her shoulders.

"RAWRRR!"

Before Haru's team could move out, a massive eight-legged serpent with a large, red chicken comb on top of its head slithered from the grayish backdrop and opened its mouth full of sharp, poisonous fangs to look for its prey. As the acid saliva trickled from its mouth down to the ground, the surface instantly sizzled then turned to stone.

"T-t-the... m-m-monster is... here!" Mr. Bear stuttered as he felt his button eyes would snap out of his head any minute. He gulped as he repeatedly tapped Vladimir's head. "H-hey, brat, c-can you defeat it?"

Vladimir bit his thumb again and materialized another weapon through the use of his blood, a *gunblade. He aimed for its jaw while the basilisk was still preoccupied with its stone collections. "Probably, but the petrification will swallow me first before I can even defeat it. Its poison was more brutal than wolfsbane. Father can definitely kill it in just a flick of his fingers, though."

The kid honestly answered before finally pulling the trigger of his gunblade. The blood bullet ricocheted and pierced through one of its eyes, and exploded inside, attacking its head with his paralyzing blood.

The serpent let out an ear-deafening howl before it fell and jerked on the ground.

"That should give us half a minute to move out," Vladimir exclaimed and ran towards Haru. "Let's hurry, mother, once it recovered from paralysis, its rage will make it stronger."

Haru nodded and carried half of Pier's weight on her shoulders while Pier limped on her side.

However, before half a minute passed, the basilisk shook its head and looked at their direction in fury. It quickly slithered to chase after them, feeling unreconciled from the sudden attack and determined to exact its revenge by confining them for eternity.

Up ahead, Haru and the boys could finally see the light at the end of the darkness. However, they were shocked to see that the vines were gradually sealing the exit.

"Vladimir, hurry and run faster! Don't mind me, I'll be right behind you." Haru shouted when she saw the vines were thickening and closing in from behind, too.

"But, mother--"

"Just go! Two lives are depending on you, Mr. Bear and Fenrir. I can take care of myself. Listen to your mother!" She ordered with a voice laced with determination. Her limbs were starting to numb and fail her due to fatigue, but she'd rather die alone that take her son with her.

Afraid he would incur his mother's wrath, Vladimir unwillingly nodded. "Don't let Vladimir lose his home again, mother!" he pleaded then ran faster while tears and snots stained his cute face.

Haru adjusted Pier's body on her side then gritted her teeth and fought any weariness she was feeling.

"Haru, I know I am wearing you down. Go and leave me here. I have accepted my fate earlier. I can at least buy you some time with my weakened body." Pier suggested as he saw the sweat on her head and the exhaustion in her eyes.

"Shut up! I already wasted too much strength on you to give up now at the very last minute." Haru exclaimed as she dragged her feet to move forward. "As long as you don't give up on yourself, I will not give up on you, too."

Pier's face softened and his eyes glistened in emotion that even he couldn't explain. "Thank you, Haru," was all he could utter while still limping and enduring the pain his body was experiencing.

The basilisk swept Haru's legs with its long tail, tripping her to fall to the ground and shattering all her resilience.

As she dreadfully looked behind, she saw a white rabbit unexpectedly appeared from the dark bushes and obliviously walked towards the feral monster. The rabbit's sudden movement caught the basilisk's attention for a moment and looked at it. When the rabbit met the monster's gaze, it instantly turned to stone.

Haru inhaled sharply from the sight and hastily pulled herself up. She glanced at Pier and commanded. "Hurry and crawl your way out. I will buy you some time."

"W-wait, what?!" He was flabbergasted from her sudden order.

Haru stood straight in front of the monster with her back facing him. "Don't ask, just move! Don't worry, I have a big meanie devil waiting for me back home. I won't let myself die at this early stage in my journey."

Pier knew that she was the kind of person who would live up to her statement. He swallowed the lump that instantly formed on his throat then started limping out of the woods without any second thoughts.

She fished out something from her space ring. It was round and a bit bigger than her head, and bell chimes with tassel dangled on its jade handle.

Then, with a resolute expression and astute eyes, she whistled to get the basilisk's attention.

As soon as the feral monster saw her, it promptly pounced at her. Haru closed her eyes to avoid its petrifying gaze and raised the mirror in her hand. As the bell chimes tinkled, it instantly distracted the basilisk and inadvertently looked at it. Just as Haru expected, the monster's body stiffened and it gradually turned to stone.

When she saw how the rabbit became a stone earlier, she assumed that the monster's gaze could petrify anything and anyone, even its own self. And the only way to do that was for the monster to see its gaze in a mirror.

"Even if you are not with me, you never ceased to help me." Haru giggled in relief as she talked to the mirror that was gifted by Adis and even kissed it as though she had lost her mind.

'You are brave, bold and you can outsmart your enemy with your brilliant mind.' Adis' words suddenly echoed in her mind.

However, if Adis found out that she made a decision based on a mere assumption again, he would definitely whack her brains with his endless nagging. So she'd better keep it to herself.

"Mother!"

"Haru!"

The desperate call of Vladimir and Pier woked her up from her daze and remembered that the woods were still slowly being engulfed in petrification spell.

Afterward, she reflexively ducked down then jumped up when numerous thorny vines started to attack her from different angles. Now that Pier was not with her, she could now move freely. With lightning speed, she zigzagged her way towards the exit, dodging the simultaneous assaults with precise movements.

In front, she saw Vladimir was tirelessly slashing the vines at the exit to give her a way out. However, each side had completely petrified and only left a very narrow opening for her.

"Move out!" She yelled as she ran faster.

Haru covered her face with her arms and braced herself from the strong impact as she rammed her body on the thorny vines, breaking it from the force of the momentum and causing her to roll on the snowy ground.

When she finally stopped rolling, her body was already full of cuts and bruises from the thorns. She decided to lay stiff the ground for a moment. Vladimir instantly knelt on her side and checked her wounds.

Despite the pain that her every cell was screaming, Haru felt so grateful to still be alive as she panted and looked in the sky.

"I won," she breathed out with a wide grin and watery eyes. Subsequently, she lifted her hand and reached for the first sign of dawn. "Adis, I'm going home."