"This is not my place," that's what I feel right now. I decided to leave the institution. With the help of a walking stick, I stepped forward.
The institution was in the middle of a forest, so when I was outside; before me was a forest with dense trees.
I heard the sound of horse hooves. I hid in the bushes.
Two horses pulled a carriage out of the institution, walking on the forest road. I didn't know who was inside. Whoever it was, I shouldn't be seen by them.
I decided to walk in the forest. Although I had to be careful because the ground below was not always flat. The sunlight shone brightly, penetrating deep into the forest.
The aroma of leaves and fertile soil permeated my nose. The wind blew softly, carrying the leaves around me.
"Thud!!"
I fell, tripping over a tree root. Because I was paying too much attention to the leaves, I lost focus on my steps.
I had to be more careful. Fortunately, it was just a light fall, I thought as I tried to get up with the help of my stick.
I continued to walk slowly until my ears caught a sound. What was that, I thought, when I saw something green behind the trees.
I approached it.
Ah, just a tree.
It turned out that the sound I heard and the green color was a large tree. But there was something strange; this tree seemed to breathe and move, if looked at closely.
I tried to touch it.
Wow, it's true, this tree seemed to be throbbing.
I thought for a moment afterwards. Could there be a record about this tree in the book? I tried to take out the book.
When I was about to open my bag and take out the book, my leg was wrapped by something.
Eh, what is this?
I fell before I could open my bag. Looking down; something like a root wrapped around my leg and slowly climbed up my body.
I wanted to scream for help, but I knew there was no one here, and I couldn't speak. Instead of doing something I couldn't, I'd better do what I could right now.
I tried to grip the ground with both hands. As much as possible so as not to be pulled.
This is useless, I thought. My efforts to free myself were fruitless.
The root pulled me until I was hanging above the tree, and at that moment I realized that the tree I had touched earlier was a Monster.
No wonder I didn't see it. It turned out to be hiding above. From my hanging position, I saw a terrifying face that had been hidden behind the leaves all this time.
Now what? I couldn't move, my whole body was tied by roots and hanging above.
What would it do to me? Would it eat me? Or... I glanced at something bigger than the root that was wrapped around me. It appeared below, breaking through the surface of the ground.
My body shivered when I saw it starting to take shape. It's better to be eaten than to imagine what that thing would do to me.
The object began to approach.
This is not good, I have to get away quickly. But how? I couldn't even move anything but my eyes and mouth.
Please don't come closer, stay away.
I closed my eyes, and something touched my cheek; bringing a sticky, slimy sensation, and a slightly chewy feeling from its touch.
My heart began to pound when that something tried to enter my mouth.
N-no, don't force it. I felt a slimy and sticky sensation around my mouth, and a disgusting smell that stung my nose.
I hoped it wouldn't try to enter my nose. Because I couldn't do anything about it, especially since its size would immediately destroy my nostrils if forced.
Eh, it stopped.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw something long moving upwards; towards the lower part of my body. It wrapped around my waist and tried to lift my skirt.
My chest felt stabbed, beating fast accompanied by broken breaths. I couldn't do anything about that part.
I closed my eyes; not wanting to see, hoping it would just eat me, rather than do that to me.
"You perverted monster!!!"
Suddenly a sound was heard, and the sound of a sharp object slashing something, followed by a loud roar. My body could move, the roots that were wrapped around me slowly came loose.
I opened my eyes, my surroundings moved quickly; my body plunged down after the roots came loose. I was afraid to open my eyes so I closed them again, as my body was almost touching the ground.
Afterwards, I thought I would feel pain, or even die. But in reality, I didn't feel any pain from falling, on the contrary, there was no feeling at all. When I opened my eyes, a woman with short red hair; looked at me. She hugged and caught my body.
"There, you're safe now, bestie."
Why was she here, what was she doing outside the institution? I wasn't surprised by who she was, but by what she was doing here.
Besides, not far from where I was, I saw another figure with a magical aura all over her body. That was my sister; who was standing facing the monster tree. She didn't speak, just stared at the tree.
"We have to get out of here, your sister is very angry right now, bestie."
My friend took me a little further away, to a place that felt safe; behind my sister.
"Now, I also have to go away, you stay here."
She asked me to sit right behind my sister, while she hid in a place far enough away, behind the bushes.
After she left, I saw my sister's back. I was very close to her. Her long silver hair flowed fluctuating, with her magical energy. Delivering static electricity in every strand of hair, creeping into the air around her.
She didn't move, didn't speak, just stood still.
The monster tree roared angrily, sending its roots creeping into the air.
Sis... what are you doing? It will attack you. Do something quickly or dodge. I closed my eyes as the roots almost touched my sister.
But there was no loud sound, only a hissing sound. I opened my eyes again and saw my sister still standing. She was not hurt or moved at all, on the contrary, the tree roots disappeared without a trace.
Then a loud sound was heard; the monster tree roared in pain. It tried to attack my sister again. This time with more and larger roots.
When the roots approached; my sister just stood still. She didn't even fight back. All the coming tree roots disappeared before they could touch her.
But when I paid attention, my sister was not just standing still. I saw something like small lightning, which touched the roots and made them disappear instantly.
The monster tree roared again after its second attack failed. It attacked my sister again, in the same way. But this time continuously without pause; creating shock waves in the air, as the roots and my sister's lightning element magic touched each other and annihilated each other.
The monster tree's attacks became more intense, their number increasing over time. One of its roots managed to pass through my sister's lightning protective barrier. It headed straight for me.
My sister reacted to it, and immediately destroyed the root, before it could touch me.
After that, I felt my sister getting angrier. Now she was not just passively defending. Previously it was only her hair, but now her whole body was emitting static electricity.
The ground around her turned black as if burned, with random patterns. Both her palms opened, then lightning was created in each hand.
It was like a whip, I thought. It was long and white, and slightly curved.
My sister swung the lightning in her hand, destroying the coming tree roots in one swing.
Then launched a counterattack. Hitting the top of the monster tree; stripping its leaves. The monster tree did not remain silent, it defended and also retaliated. But its efforts were futile, its roots could not withstand my sister's lightning whip.
Now its head was bald without leaves, its branches and trunk were completely pruned. The monster tree moved backward, dragging its body which was stuck in the ground.
My sister did not chase it, she just chanted a spell. Then a lightning spear floated above her head. She raised her hand, and pointed towards the fleeing monster tree. Then the lightning spear shot, pierced and exploded instantly; delivering shock waves and wind blowing in all directions.
Making the surrounding trees scorched black, and some of them tilted due to the effect of the explosion carried by the wind.
I imagined what would happen if an ordinary human was hit by that lightning spear. My body trembled when I thought and imagined the possibility; my sister would use it on ordinary humans.
After that, my sister turned and looked at me.
"It didn't do anything strange, did it?"
Then immediately approached me, and examined my whole body. She even tried to look inside my skirt.
I held her back and shook my head.
"Thank goodness..."
She hugged me, then helped me stand up. A rustling sound was heard from the bushes. My sister's hair immediately lit up in alarm, and she prepared to attack.
"Eh... wait, it's me."
A figure emerged from behind the bushes. My friend stepped out from behind the bushes, with her hands raised.
My sister lowered her guard.
"It would be better if you didn't come out of there."
"Do you want to kill me, old witch?"
They started a verbal argument. I continued to walk, leaving both of them.
Suddenly their noisy voices stopped, and when I turned; they were both already walking behind me. No sound, no more arguing, just walking along.
I stopped walking, looking at both of them. Then took out a book and wrote something:
"Both of you, go back."
The content of my writing asked them to go back. Because I knew both of them would get into trouble if they left without permission. And of course, they were here without asking for permission first.
Both of them read it. My sister smiled and said.
"I already asked for permission, and mother allowed it."
Mother? Wait... who is her mother? She never said that her mother was at the institution. I wrote again.
Through writing, I asked.
"Mother?"
"Ah... you don't know, bestie? Alpha Warding is her mother, while Alpha Annihilation is my sister."
I asked my sister, but she just smiled. My friend answered.
Her answer only made me not want them to come, but here my sister said she had received permission. Now what about the other one?
I looked at my friend. She turned her face away, she knew what I wanted to ask her.
"I don't dare to ask for permission."
She said, lowering her head, her body trembling.
"My sister is very scary when she's angry. But I don't care. I'm coming."
She would still force herself to come if it was like this. Oh well, I couldn't do anything considering her stubborn nature, just like my sister.
Suddenly something was heard from behind the bushes. My sister and my friend were already preparing to attack.
"W-wait a minute."
A woman with short blue hair appeared from behind the bushes. She wore Chronicler clothes, with leaves attached to her hair and clothes.
"What are you doing here?"
Seeing the woman emerge from behind the bushes. My sister shouted at her.
"Let me introduce myself, I am Beta level one, from the Warding division."
She introduced herself as a beta. If I remember correctly, beta is the second rank after alpha, but what is level one? And what was a beta doing here?
"You two... left without asking for permission."
Ah... so that's how it was. I looked at the two people behind me. Both of them turned their faces away.
"I was sent to pick you up. Don't get me into trouble, let's go back."
"I'm not going back, tell mother. If she forces me, I won't call her mother anymore."
"Let's go, little sister, just leave her."
My sister helped me walk, followed by my friend behind me. I wondered, is this okay? She's a Beta and was sent directly...
"Hey, wait..."
"Thud!!!"
A sound was heard from behind. I turned and saw the Chronicler beta fall.
"Don't worry about her."
My sister asked me to focus on walking, rather than paying attention to the fallen Chronicler beta.
She got up again, tidied her clothes and chased us.
"Don't leave me..."