Free Web NovelChapter 12: The Heart of the Dying Forest
"Of course children are important!" Elder Vax replied immediately, a little too passionately. "This world may be dying, but if we can still have more children, then this forest can survive!"
Maeve blinked at him in confusion, unable to understand how those two things were connected at all.
"That’s why, you must—"
"That’s enough, Elder Vax," Ikarus interrupted calmly. "You should go home now."
Elder Vax frowned, clearly offended by the dismissal. "But—"
"Go home," Ikarus repeated, his voice colder this time. "Now."
Elder Vax clicked his tongue in annoyance before finally standing up. "As you wish, Leader."
The moment he left the hut, Ikarus immediately asked Maeve, "Do you feel better now?" frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Maeve nodded without saying anything, so Ikarus asked again, "Can you walk?"
I can," she answered right away. "Why?"
"I want to show you something," Ikarus said. He then looked toward his brothers. "Take care of the tribe for me."
Axan and Cerus nodded at the same time. Neither of them even asked where he was taking Maeve, as if they already knew.
Meanwhile, Maeve felt even more nervous. ’Wait... are they planning to sacrifice me instead because I don’t want to have children?!’
[You haven’t even rejected them yet, Host,] Pinky corrected her immediately.
[And honestly, with how obsessed they are with you right now, sacrificing you would probably make them cry for the next fifty years,] Pinky added.
That did not make Maeve feel any better. ’Why does that somehow sound even scarier?!’
She slowly climbed out of the bed while keeping a suspicious eye on Ikarus, who stood near the entrance of the hut.
"The place I want to show you is quite far," Ikarus said. "Do you want me to carry you?"
Maeve immediately shook her head. "No need. I can walk by myself."
Back on Earth, she had gone through intense police training, so walking long distances was nothing difficult for her.
At least... that was what she thought at first. Well, yeah, walking itself wasn’t a problem, but trying to keep up with Ikarus was incredibly difficult.
He was only walking at a normal pace, but Maeve already had to speed up her steps just to stay beside him. Before long, she was almost jogging while Ikarus still looked completely relaxed.
Maeve stared at him in disbelief. Was this guy secretly competing in an Olympic race or something?!
[No, Host, he just has long legs,] Pinky said.
"Can you..." She stopped speaking for a moment to catch her breath first. "Can you walk slower?"
Ikarus immediately stopped walking and turned to look at her.
"Am I walking too fast?" he asked.
Maeve could only stare at him in disbelief. Too fast? This man was practically gliding through the forest like some kind of elegant deer!
"Yes!" she complained while trying to breathe normally again. "You have ridiculously long legs! Of course you’re walking too fast!"
For a moment, Ikarus stayed silent. Then, to Maeve’s shock, he lowered his head and looked at her legs.
"They are shorter," he admitted honestly.
Maeve gasped dramatically. "Why do you sound so serious while insulting me?!"
Ikarus then looked into her eyes again and said, "It would be easier if I carried you." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Maeve was about to reject the idea, but then she realized her heart would probably burst if she kept trying to keep up with Ikarus. Besides, it would probably be too difficult for him to walk any slower.
"Right! Right! Just carry me, alright?" Maeve said quickly. "But don’t walk too fast! It’s... it’s kind of scary looking down from up there."
Ikarus nodded calmly. "I will try."
And he really did try. Unfortunately, for someone with such long legs, walking slowly was almost impossible. In the end, Maeve still had to cling tightly to him even though Ikarus had already told her several times that he would never let her fall.
"Here we are," Ikarus said softly as he carefully put her down on the ground.
Maeve immediately shook her head, trying to get rid of the dizziness spinning inside it. After taking a moment to steady herself, she slowly lifted her gaze.
Moments later, she lifted her head, and the first thing she saw was a vast stretch of dry land.
She held her breath upon seeing the sight in front of her.
This place looked completely different from the part of the forest where the Azuryn Tribe lived. Every tree around them was dead. Some of the trunks had already cracked apart and collapsed onto the ground long ago. The dry earth beneath her feet was filled with deep cracks, almost like the land itself had broken apart from thirst.
Just looking at it made her feel uncomfortable, and it was obvious this place had been dying for far longer than the area near the Azuryn Tribe.
"Where... is this?" Maeve asked Ikarus hesitantly.
Ikarus didn’t answer right away. Instead, he walked a few more steps forward while still holding her hand, almost as if he was worried she might disappear the moment he let go.
"This place used to be the heart of the Lumivale Forest," he finally said. As he spoke, his golden eyes lowered toward the cracked ground beneath them.
"Why was it called that?" Maeve asked without thinking.
Ikarus finally turned toward her. "In this world, every tribe has a role in protecting the ecosystem of their homeland, and the Azuryn Tribe’s duty is to protect the Lumivale Forest."
[Pinky Dictionary to the rescue: Lumivale Forest is the largest forest on the Eryndra Continent. Its size can reach approximately ±5.5 million square kilometers.]
Maeve’s eyes widened in shock. ’That’s basically as big as the Amazon rainforest!’
No wonder moving to another forest wasn’t easy at all. If the nearest forest was located somewhere near the edge of the continent, the journey would probably take an unbelievably long time.
Suddenly, the reason why they had no choice but to leave the sick behind started making much more sense to her.
Meanwhile, Ikarus continued speaking. "Every tribe has its own method of protecting its territory," he explained calmly. "But to preserve nature, we use baby placentas."
The moment she heard those words, Maeve was instantly shocked and even started thinking that Ikarus was some kind of quack.
"Baby... placentas?" she repeated slowly, staring at him in complete disbelief.
