Apocalypse: Building And Hoarding My Way Through.
Chapter 121: Death Forest.

Chapter 121: Death Forest.

Meanwhile, back at the cave where Scarlett and the others had left Louise and Maya behind. Louise sat silently on one of the chairs, panting heavily as he struggled to catch his breath. He had already attempted to leave the cave multiple times but to no avail. He felt trapped in the cave and needed to take some fresh air and of course stretch his legs far beyond the cave.

Scarlett hadn’t informed him about the protective formation surrounding the cave, leaving him to assume the worst. He couldn’t help but think that both he and Maya were in grave danger.

"Where did they go?" Louise muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed deeply. "Is killing two or three monsters really that difficult? Or have they walked straight into danger again?" His voice trembled slightly as his wide eyes darted around the cave, terror gripping his thoughts.

With a heavy sigh, he leaned back against the chair. "I guess I have no choice but to wait for them to come back. Either whoever set up this formation gets to us first and kill I and Maya, or Scarlett and the others return and somehow get us out of this mess alive."

Bang!

The deafening sound of shattering glass broke his train of thought. Louise snapped his head toward the entry of the bus they had repurposed as their home. The door crashed to the ground with a metallic thud, fragments of glass glittering across the floor.

"What the heck!" Louise gasped, his voice barely audible as he instinctively leaned forward.

At the bus’s shattered entry stood Maya. Her hands glowed with an intense, pulsating blue light, radiating raw energy that lit up the dim cave. Louise’s eyes widened in shock, his mind racing. Whatever that light was, it was undoubtedly responsible for the destroyed bus door.

"I’ll kill them all!" Maya screamed, her voice trembling with a mix of fury and despair. Tears streaked her face, and her wild, grief-stricken eyes locked onto Louise. "I’ll kill you all!"

Her glowing hands shifted, and the burning blue energy in her palms began to channel toward him.

"Maya, wait...!" Louise shouted, scrambling to his feet.

Boom!

________________

At the monster domain, Kato let out a sharp exhale, his arms falling to his sides. "Maybe the pregnant woman was wrong," he muttered, his voice tinged with frustration. "There might not be anyone down here after all. Maybe all we needed to do was kill those monsters in the cemetery and leave."

Scarlett’s fists clenched tightly, her glowing eyes narrowing as she scanned the barren, crumbling surroundings. "The system wouldn’t lie," she said through gritted teeth, more to herself than anyone else. "And neither would the pregnant woman. There are people down here. They’re just hiding somewhere the monsters wouldn’t think to look."

Larry nodded thoughtfully, his gaze darting toward the distant shadows where monstrous growls echoed ominously. "If there really are survivors with powers hiding here, I can’t help but think they’re also responsible for keeping others safe. Maybe they’ve set up defenses to avoid being detected."

Kato sighed heavily, folding his arms over his chest. "If that’s true, then they wouldn’t be anywhere near the cemetery. No one in their right mind would stay close to a place swarming with those creatures. It’s likely they’re much farther away from here."

Scarlett nodded in agreement. The shimmering map floating above her glowed faintly, but every path it displayed was marked with ominous red warnings. No matter which direction they chose, danger loomed at every turn. It was only thanks to her invisibility spell that they had managed to avoid the monsters so far.

Larry groaned loudly, the weariness evident in his voice. "So we still have to keep walking? We can’t even get a bus to speed this up. Guess we’re really stuck walking on foot until we find these people."

Reluctantly, the group resumed their journey, trudging deeper into the eerily deserted streets. The oppressive silence was broken only by distant growls and the faint crunch of their footsteps. After what felt like hours, they arrived at the edge of a forest, but it was unlike any forest they had ever seen.

The skeletal trees stretched endlessly into the horizon, their branches in horror shapes. Instead of leaves, the branches were draped with patches of pale, decaying human flesh that rustled eerily in the cold wind.

"What in the world...?" Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible as he instinctively covered his nose to block the pungent stench wafting from the forest.

Kato stepped closer, his glowing eyes flickering with unease. "This... isn’t natural. Whatever this place is, it’s not just a forest. It’s a graveyard. Are we sure the survivors are beyond this place? Because if they are, I don’t think they’re normal survivors anymore."

"Just where in the fuck are we?" Gavin asked, his voice trembling as he stepped back cautiously.

Scarlett swallowed hard, her crimson eyes glowing faintly as she addressed the system in her mind. Just where are we, system?

Ding!

{Welcome to Death Forest.}

"Death Forest," Scarlett repeated aloud, her voice steady but unnervingly cold. The words sent a ripple of fear through the group, further amplifying the unease gnawing at their minds.

"Are we completely doomed?" Larry muttered, his hands trembling uncontrollably as his gaze darted to every shadow.

Scarlett’s crimson eyes flared brighter as she activated her scanning ability, her gaze meticulously sweeping the forest. She focused, searching for any sign of life. The scent of humans lingered faintly in the air, mingling with the unmistakable aura of chosen members, those with powers. Her instincts honed in on a specific spot on the forest floor, a subtle indentation that seemed almost too deliberate.

Is there another pit leading to where the humans are hiding? she wondered, her sharp gaze fixed on the ground. The earth beneath her seemed to beckon, as though urging her to step forward.

"We need to get the hell out of here. That’s just it!" Gavin snapped, breaking the tense silence. He stepped forward, now facing the group, his frustration boiling over. "Or do we have to turn this entire forest upside down just to prove there aren’t any humans here? Maybe the monsters got to them before we arrived!" He let out a frustrated sigh, turning back to the group.

Just as he was about to rejoin Scarlett and the others, his foot caught on something loose. His balance faltered, and his body tilted forward. A startled cry escaped his lips as he began to fall into a deep pit concealed by the forest floor.

"Gavin!" Scarlett shouted, her reflexes kicking in. She lunged forward, grabbing him by the waist just in time. With a grunt of effort, she hauled him back up onto solid ground.

"That was way too close," Gavin panted, clutching his chest as he stared wide-eyed at the pit below.

The group gathered around the edge of the pit, their eyes widening in disbelief. Gazing up at them from the depths of the pit were human faces...survivors.

"Humans?" Larry breathed, leaning closer as though trying to confirm what he was seeing. "Am I imagining things, or are there really people down there?"

Before anyone could respond, two men emerged from the pit, scaling the walls with an agility that betrayed their supernatural abilities. They landed gracefully before the group, their movements fluid and deliberate.

One of them, a young man in his twenties with short black hair, wore a simple blue shirt and black shorts. His dark eyes gleamed with a mixture of curiosity and caution. The other man, with curly blonde hair, was dressed in black pants and a sleeveless singlet. His expression was warm, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he surveyed Scarlett and her companions.

"There’s no doubt you people are with powers except for that guy you just saved," the blonde man said, his gaze briefly flicking to Kato, Ethan, and Larry before returning to Scarlett. "Judging from your quick reflexes ... it’s obvious."

The black-haired man nodded in agreement, his tone calm but firm as his gaze was fixed on Scarlett, Kato, Ethan and Larry. "We could sense you all presence, even though we couldn’t sense the lady own but her action now proved that she’s a chosen member."

He gestured toward the pit. "You wouldn’t want to linger up here for long. Monsters could come here soon. Let’s head down and talk."

Scarlett exchanged a glance with her team before giving a curt nod. Kato, Larry, and Ethan activated their abilities, descending into the pit with ease. Scarlett followed, wrapping an arm around Gavin’s waist to guide him down safely.

Once everyone had reached the bottom, the blonde man raised his hand. Using his earth element, he sealed the pit’s opening above them, transforming it into what appeared to be solid ground. A few survivors in the pit turned on makeshift torches, illuminating the cavern.

Scarlett’s group took a moment to absorb their surroundings. At the center of the pit was a massive trap, a lethal construct bristling with swords glowing faintly with a fire-and-earth energy mix. The aura was menacing, radiating enough power to annihilate any intruder, monster specifically.

Gavin gulped audibly, the realization hitting him like a punch to the gut. "I... I could’ve died if I’d fallen in there completely," he stammered, his voice shaking.