At the ​center of an army which stood a few hundred meters away from the forest of evil, a man who looked to be in his late twenties, sporting glasses and unruly brown hair, sat on the grassy plains surrounded by the coalition army’s reserves. Though his eyes were closed, he could distinctly perceive his surroundings and lurked his sight beyond. 

“Have you found anything, Sir?”

“No, not yet. But I’ll let you know once I see something.”

The man turned as he replied to the voice beside him. However, all he saw were the vast plains that stretched as far as his eye could see and the thick sea of trees that lay in front of him. 

“I’m entering the forest.”

Currently, Jullsariah, the magic engineer, operated his latest invention from afar after receiving permission from his superiors to join the army in subduing a rogue state. Despite their warnings, Jullsariah passionately declared his intent to showcase their invention to the military, hoping to receive more funding. After suffering from one of Jullsariah’s rigorous sessions as he expounded on the merits of their invention, his superiors granted him permission to ride alongside the reserve army from the rear.

Due to him being relegated to the rear, Jullsariah figured he could instead demonstrate the prototype’s value as a scout that needed neither rest nor refreshments. In this way, there was only a minimal risk to the prototype, but at the same time, there was also a high probability that he won’t be able to showcase their invention's abilities. While he mulled over the pros and cons of his assignment, Jullsariah caught a glimpse of a moving object with his peripheral vision.

His heart leapt upon the possibility of finally allowing the prototype to see some action. As his gaze snapped towards the direction where he saw movement, he noticed a handful of soldiers inside the forest.

“I found them! Eh? Uwah!?”

One of the stragglers, a soldier mounted on a horse, threw something towards him. At that moment, Jullsariah thought that he was dead. In an instant, the connection was severed and he had returned to using his own eyes. 

“Are you alright, Sir!?”

The soldiers crowded around Jullsariah as he breathed in quick paces. Though his physical body was unharmed, the same could not be said for his mind. It took him some time before he was able to calm himself, assured that he was still alive. He tried to reconnect his senses with the prototype, but was unable to.

“I-I’m fine… I found some stragglers…”

Jullsariah alerted the army’s commander who then sent the order for the army to mobilize towards the part of the forest where the prototype was presumably destroyed. 

"Even after layering it with reinforced steel, it was still pierced. If whoever broke it is still here, it'll be pretty bad..."

Upon hearing Jullsariah’s remark, the soldiers formed up and marched forth with extreme vigilance. The soldiers entered the forest, grouping up in fives as they spread out. The surroundings were deathly quiet and the air within the forest gave off an ominous feel. The sight of the trees shrouded by the darkness meddled with the soldiers’ minds, while the eerie noises, which grew stronger as they went deeper, served to discourage some more.

"FORWARD!"

A fully-armored man mounted a horse, yelling from the rear before taking up the front to lead the cowering soldiers. Hearing his voice, the soldiers slowly advanced. Jullsariah, on the other hand, was near the back end of the army, surrounded by cavalry and heavy infantry. To have him perish would be much too great a loss for their kingdom. If it were to happen, the commander of the reserve army would be forced to face severe consequences, hence why he was placed near the rear, surrounded by bodyguards.

As the soldiers went deeper into the forest, faint scuttling noises emerged from multiple directions. The commander halted the soldiers, assembling the troops in order to confront their enemies. The noises abruptly vanished as if they were hushed. The eerie placidity of the forest stilled not only their breaths, but nearly their hearts, for the shadows lurked upon every corner, holding the unknown imperceivable to the army. The commander ordered a squad to survey the area for a possible ambush. The brave group of soldiers obeyed and went deeper into the forest in an attempt to find the sources of the noise. Their search, however, bore no fruit. There were no signs of the enemy, no trails they could follow, not even the slightest hint of life presented itself to them. As the squad leader sent a signal expressing that the area was clear, a whistling sound came from the forest alarming the soldiers. Moments later, the squad leader's body powerlessly fell to the ground along with a newly opened hole at the back of his head.

"ARCHERS!"

Having been alerted of the danger, the commander bellowed his commands and strode forth to pursue the opposition. As they went deeper and deeper, the commander noticed that the vines became more and more abundant while mist had begun to emerge from the ground. Despite their best efforts, the archers weren’t found, and many more succumbed to the same fate as the squad leader. As the commander was about to signal for the army to retreat, vines appeared from every possible direction and crept towards them.

"ENEMIES!"

The commander shouted at the top of his lungs and swung down at the vine. The cut portion dried up to a husk, but the vine itself instantly regenerated. Within a few seconds, the men were hedged by the sentient vines. However, the commander’s weapon suddenly started to give off a fiery glow, wreathing the blade in flames. In one stroke, the commander cleaved a path from the vines which sought to enclose them, freeing the soldiers.

"Men! Retreat to the entrance! We need to call for reinforcements! Don’t let them surround you, keep moving! If you stop, you will die! Now, GO!"

The commander’s voice snapped the soldiers out of their fear, making them assume a formation. With the commander in front of the charge, the army fought furiously as they sought to escape the unexpected deathtrap, hoping to reunite with their comrades and mount a counterattack.

**

“We’re back, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, what of the battle’s situation?”

"At first, we managed to take down some of their forces along with the dryads’ help. However, they were able to escape the trap with minimal casualties. They were able to escape the forest and managed to call for reinforcements.”

“I see…”

“By my estimation, the enemy’s entire force seemed to be 4 to 5 times bigger than ours. Even with the additional forces from the forest.”

The Lieutenant thanked the scouts for the information and sent them back to the squad. With the trap they’ve set having achieved minimal results, it was time to fend the army off by themselves. Their only chance for survival, although slim, was to mount a full frontal offensive and somehow slay the officers to throw the large army into disarray. Though it may be pointless, the Lieutenant was thankful that their enemies committed to the same full-frontal maneuver. 

"STAND TALL, WARRIORS!"

The Lieutenant’s voice rang across the small army, all the way to the rear. His sword raised high, the Lieutenant made a speech in an attempt to rouse the people

"BURN THIS INTO YOUR MINDS! WE ARE NOT HERE TO DIE! WE WILL FIGHT OUR WAY OUT! THIS IS BUT ANOTHER TRIAL THAT WE FACE!"

In response, everyone raised their own weapons and roared as one. They had no time for strategies nor formations. In this one battle, the battle of their lives, all that mattered was conviction and morale. 

(“Everyone… lend us your strength!”)

He took in one big breath and opened his eyes as he yelled with every fiber of his being.

"CHAAAAAAAARGE!"

The army howled in a frenzy as they followed the lieutenant’s lead, fiercely crashing into the soldiers of the opposing army who had entered the forest.

**

The moon shone brightly, illuminating the land as if to shed light on the events that occurred. A horrid smell filled the air as the forest and the enemy’s corpses were being burned by the reserve army after claiming victory over the stragglers. For some reason, however, the flames did not spread well and only the forest’s exterior burned, hence the continuous casting of fire magic.

"Keep the flames burning. I can’t wait to get out of this place and rest all day..."

The mages acknowledged their orders as the commander went back to the rear end of the army. His armor showed signs of a hard-fought battle as made clear by the multiple gashes and arrows lodged in the armor. Scratches, burn marks, and dents could be seen covering the armor all around. They expected the battle to be over in a few minutes as they planned to overwhelm them with their numbers. But, never in their wildest dreams did they anticipate that the army would be capable of wiping out close to half of their fellow soldiers.

It was a huge blunder on his part, having misjudged the strength and forces of their enemy. The battle conducted inside the forest nearly proved too much for the army as the forest itself was an enemy as well. The forest attacked with every move possible; spores, thorns, leaves, even the trees uprooted themselves in order to participate in the battle that transpired.

The commander was so shocked at the chaos unfurling so quickly that his orders were delayed. Though they immediately switched to luring their enemies out in the open, the stragglers pursued them with a ferocity that matched a cornered wild animal's. In the end, the coalition’s clean-up forces were able to triumph against the remnants of the city, in exchange for a huge amount of their own troops.

The commander heard the sound of multiple hooves from a distance. Thinking that it was one of the backup cavalry carrying more mages to burn the forest, he urged his horse to move forward so as to meet them. However, when the commander squinted his eyes, he immediately realized it wasn’t cavalry. It was a lone horseman being chased by about 5 more horsemen.

"C-Commander! Stop! Cease this burning at once! The plants—the lifeforms inside it! They may help our research advance! Please, extinguish the flames this instant!"

Jullsariah, who came by horseback, was tired for some reason, even though he was riding a horse.

"Whoa whoa, you can't, sir! The forest is dangerous. Please return to headquarters for the time being!"

The commander placed his hand on Jullsariah's chest, stopping him. The commander longed to finish their tasks and go home as his body craved rest. Jullsariah coming here with his banter only served to irritate him further.

"Please understand, if you die at the frontlines the responsibility falls upon us and to our families. We cannot risk you going inside a forest of unknown origins, for your sake and ours."

Jullsariah dismounted and approached the commander.

"Let me through, Commander. I have permission to tour the battlefield so long as I don’t participate in the battlefield. Judging from the situation, this isn’t a battlefield anymore."

The commander remained steadfast as he blocked his path.

"Sir, please. Go back to headquarters and we’ll try to bring back what we can find in the forest. Will that suffice?"

However, both the commander and Jullsariah refused to back down, the soldiers were becoming uneasy and were readying themselves to step in should a fight break out. Before things could escalate, Jullsariah suddenly turned back and began walking away. The soldiers were relieved to see Jullsariah back away.

*Clink* *Clink*

As he was walking, two small, ball-like objects dropped near Jullsariah.

*Fwoom*

The area was engulfed in smoke as the ball-like objects exploded. The commander frantically grasped within the smoke, trying to grab Jullsariah. After having survived the great battle from earlier, meeting his death by the hands of his own countrymen due to the magic engineer’s selfishness was no laughing matter.

By some miracle, he caught something with his arm and proceeded to pull it close to him. He breathed a sigh of relief as Jullsariah appeared before him, still trying to break free from his clutches.

"Somebody! Take him away, bring him back to headquarters!"

"I’m sorry, sir!”

Two soldiers held Jullsariah and proceeded to drag him away from the scene. 

“Watch him carefully. If he escapes, consider your lives forfeit.”

The soldiers saluted the commander as they firmly held Jullsariah, guiding him back to their headquarters. Jullsariah remained silent along their way back to headquarters. Contrary to what happened earlier, he stopped struggling and allowed the soldiers to take him back.

"Sir?"

The soldier tried to see if there was something wrong with him, when all of a sudden, Jullsariah melted. The soldiers were surprised and immediately tried to help him up but to no avail. The soldiers panicked as they watched the cloak slump onto the ground. When the soldiers removed the cloak, all that remained was a puddle of viscous blue fluid.

**

The forest’s entrance burned fiercely and the fire was starting to spread along the inside as well. The escaped Jullsariah removed his camouflage and withdrew a scroll. He unfurled the scroll and touched it. A bluish light surrounded his body as the scroll activated a spell called “Water barrier”. He ventured deeper into the forest and collected everything he took an interest in.

Minutes later, Jullsariah reached a great tree that stood at the center of the forest. Underneath, lay a clump of silver leaves.

"What is this? I've never seen such leaves before..."

In response to his touch, the leaves parted. Inside, an infant was placed on a bed made of beautiful flowers. To his surprise, The child still drew breath and started crying for some reason. Jullsariah panicked and tried to hush the baby, slowly reaching his hand inside, as the baby softly grasped his finger. The baby cooed with a sound similar to laughter. Jullsariah couldn't resist smiling after hearing its voice and gently carried the baby in his arms.

Jullsariah pondered about the risks of suddenly emerging from the forest with a child and after coming back from the battlefield. If he becomes suspected of aiding the enemy, his rank and privileges will be stripped, not to mention imprisonment or the death penalty. However, as he stared at the infant, his own memories as a child resurfaced. Alone and with no one to love him.

"No matter, I’ll just make up an excuse and take him."

​Having made up his mind, Jullsariah ran from the forest, carrying the child. He collected a lot of plants from the forest and left with a bundle of special leaves. Though he had a lot of things in his mind, he shook them all off and only thought of how to escape the burning forest for the time being. Jullsariah activated the cloak of invisibility once more and vanished under the cover of night.