-=Warning Signs=-

The L Forest, as it was called simply by being to the left of Kerning City, wasn’t too different in appearance from the rest of the green, open parts of Victoria Island, despite it’s higher number of trees and a small ruin or two. It was tricky to navigate, however. The floating land masses here were very oddly placed, and in different shapes, forcing a few difficult jumps out of anyone who navigated them. Adventurers were always thankful for the handy ladders and ropes, all of them ideally placed for getting past the somewhat confounding forest.

There were a few new monstrous faces, though. In addition to past monsters newcomers were familiar with, there were newer, tougher beings as well, including one-eyed stumps, bouncing slimes, and green and blue mushrooms. They were all formidable foes for up-and-coming adventurers.

One adventurer, however, found them hardly any more dangerous than the others he’d faced.

A small group of various monsters were mingling around in relaxation until they saw a blue mushroom soar through the air above them. They knew the fungus was flying too far to have simply jumped as they stiffened up, looking for danger. They found it in the form of a slender human, dressed in a traditional ninja outfit. His black hair wafted through the wind as he glared at them.

The snails among the group were instantly frightened and ran off. The bigger monsters, made up of green mushrooms and stumps, weren’t so quick to leave, as they gathered in hostility at their attacker. Slowly but surely, they advanced, ready for a fight.

The rougish human was unfazed. Instead, he simply twirled his dagger around a bit. One second later, in an attack of unseen speed, his dagger was thrust in the eye of the lead stump, splitting the iris perfectly. The eye disappeared, the stump split in half, and both pieces clattered to the floor.

The other stumps stopped moving, as though nervousness clutched them. The green mushrooms, however, charged forward at a higher speed. Their opponent was much faster, however, as he moved to each of them one by one at such speeds that could be mistaken as teleporting. After he had passed by all of them, they fell on their sides at once, and their caps fell off.

The stumps mutely scurried off elsewhere.

Satisfied, Shadow Viper sheathed his dagger and began climbing up a nearby ladder to higher ground. He looked around, taking in the blue sky and numerous plant life. Adventurers of varying skill levels were busy hunting much of the forest’s denizens. All was fairly peaceful in the world right now. Still, the bandit held doubt. *I wonder how long this can all really last,* he thought grimly.

Shadow was about to take another leap when he suddenly saw a blue glow out of the corner of his eye. It took him a moment to remember that this came from the marble in his pocket that he’d been unknowingly supplied with. He took it out and held it up. Like before, it became a blue flame, with an image of Lord Scorpion in it.

“Ah, Scorpion, good to see you again,” Shadow said with a grin.

“Likewise,” Scorpion replied. “Good to see you’re still safe. Still, I had a feeling you’d be okay; you’re the best of us since Ryu.” Scorpion was one to always have faith in his friends, no matter how tough things seemed to be. Shadow was one he held the greatest faith in, since he was the only one better than Scorpion.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Shadow said amidst a bit of laughter. “To be honest, however, I probably wouldn’t have gotten this far in my quest without some much-needed help.”

Scorpion was rather astonished by this; Shadow hardly ever needed aid on missions back home, though he did have assistance from the start when he knew they were too tough for him alone. “Really?” the star-thrower asked. “How so?”

Shadow went on to explain the events that took place after landing on Lith Harbor, including the attack from Olaf and the aid given by Emma and Genya, as well as the dozen of ribboned pigs he and the magic sister fought not long after.

“Holy crap,” Scorpion said in disbelief. “This is unbelieveable. You’ve been gone less than a day and already you’re seeing action. Still, it’s unthinkable; townspeople going against you for one less arm? After he helped in our defense against the first attack long ago, Ryu said that the inhabitants were overall very friendly, including everyone from Lith Harbor.”

Shadow thought about his friend’s words for a moment. “I don’t know about any of it myself,” he contemplated aloud, “but if I could guess, I’d say I came at a good time; there may be something evil in the air influencing these people somehow. I myself don’t know the Victorian inhabitants, but I doubt they could be this hostile by choice.”

“I don’t know,” Scorpion pondered. “If you ask me, maybe Olaf’s just not as friendly as he seems, and that the people who took his side figured he was making a good point. If you ask me, you’d better be careful around towns. Who knows who else could have that much unfair judgment in them?”

“Speaking of which, what about someone name Empress Victoria?” Shadow asked. “Do you think she can be trusted?”

“The inhabitants would probably know more than me, but from what I heard, she is indeed a benevolent and kind person,” Scorpion explained, recalling more of Ryu’s past words. “If you ask me, I think Olaf was just making a stupid excuse to back up his actions.”

Shadow took the words in. Perhaps Scorpion was right; perhaps this wasn’t as bad as he thought. Still, something inside Shadow was telling him there was a strange influence going on, and someone had to be behind it all. From what he was gathering, Olaf and the townspeople were really good people that were being put under some curse. However, he would never know for certain until he uncovered the force behind it. As for the empress, Shadow was overall uncertain about her, though for now he’d stick with the benefit of the doubt. After all, it would make no sense for an island leader to enforce such injustices as he was faced with. It would give the overall island a bad image.

“All right, then, I’ll keep everything in mind,” Shadow concluded. “Thanks for your advice. For now, I need to get to Kerning City so I can finally find the good Dark Lord.”

“Understood,” Scorpion acknowledged. “It is good to know that you were able to find him. Trust him, Shadow. He’s a good man, recognized in our part of our world. If anyone can help you with these troubles you mentioned, it’s him. Good luck, man.” The blue flame in Shadow’s hand reformed into the marble.

The one-armed bandit had managed to traverse a great deal of the forest quickly after his conversation with Scorpion, easily laying waste to any monsters that got in his way. Eventually, amidst the numerous trees, he was able to make out what appeared to be some tall buildings in the distance. His heart leapt; his goal was in sight! *Very soon, I’ll finally get to meet the true Dark Lord,* he thought with strong anticipation.

Before he continued, Shadow’s ears perked at the sound of a commotion. He looked over at a separate floating land massto hear courage-filled war cries from two warrior adventurers taking down a horde of slimes and pigs with ease. He couldn’t help but watch the duo fight the monsters. *Amazing,* he thought in awe. *It’s simply awesome how this island seems to make adventurers out of everyone here.* When the monsters were finished, the warriors, one male, the other female, with the look of red-headed twins between them, saw him watching and waved. The bandit was about to wave when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. It was someone dressed in black and green, hiding in the bushes, watching, waiting-

“LOOK OUT!” He screamed. Unfortunately, his words would never outrun what happened next. A green flash passed his gaze in the blink of an eye. The two adventurers fell to the ground in mortal pain, their hands clutching their throats. Shadow’s eyes went their widest as he quickly bounded over to the land mass. As he got closer, the image of the dying Yuka flashed briefly in his mind, followed by the image of a fallen Kira. *No,* his mind cried out. *They can’t…not these two, please…not them!*

By the time he reached them, however, Shadow was far too late. The boy had stopped moving, calm waves of blood spewing from his neck. The girl was shaking badly, her eyes full of fear, knowing her time of adventuring was over too soon. The bandit rushed to her side, offering a final dose of comfort. The girl looked up at him. Mustering her final ounces of strength, she managed a vital clue through a whisper. “I…..I s…saw it….it….wasn’t…..a n…normal….mon…mons….” Her eyes closed and her head fell back. Two more were in finality’s cold embrace.

Like before, a feeling of intense fury shot through Shadow as he looked around the forest, staring accusingly at the green around him. “You weren’t a simple creature,” he spat. “You weren’t a simple creature! Were you a HUMAN? A HUMAN WITHOUT A HEART!? Who were you? WHO ARE YOU?!”

A haunting hiss that rang through the air answered in reply.

————————————————————-

And the adventure continues! Kerning City looms over the horizon, and Dark Lord does too. Other things will also happen there, so expect a good few chapters of Kerning-y goodness. Enjoy this chappie’s suspense and angst with a Mountain Dew. Later!

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