The Destructive Adventures of the Lovers-Chapter 55: Hide and Seeked

The morning light bathed the village in a warm, golden glow as Gabriel, Margo, Matt, Ella, and Lila rode through the cobbled streets, the clatter of their horses' hooves echoing against the stone walls. Villagers paused their morning routines to wave them off, their eyes filled with a mix of hope and worry, whispers trailing in the air like ghostly echoes.

"Be safe!" a baker called, his flour-dusted hands raised in farewell.

"May the gods protect you!" an elderly woman whispered, clutching a string of wooden beads.

"We'll be back!" Matt shouted back, flashing a grin as he tightened his grip on the reins. "Don't worry about us."

"Just keep the bread warm," Margo added with a smirk, her eyes glinting beneath her dark hair.

They pushed on, their steeds galloping into the dense, whispering embrace of the forest. The trees grew thicker, their gnarled branches twisting into skeletal shapes, blocking the sun's warmth. Shadows danced along the forest floor, and the air grew colder, tinged with the damp, earthy scent of moss and decay.

"This place gives me the creeps," Lila muttered, her tiny fists crackling with faint blue sparks as she peered into the shadows. "Feels like something's watching us."

"Stay sharp," Gabriel said, his voice steady and calm. "This is the edge of the known world. We can't afford to let our guard down."

Suddenly, a strange, ethereal light cut through the gloom. A towering tree stood ahead, its bark shimmering with an unearthly, greenish glow, like veins of emerald pulsing beneath the surface. Its massive roots twisted around ancient stones, and its branches spread wide, their leaves glowing with a ghostly radiance.

"What... is that?" Matt whispered, his voice tinged with awe as he reined in his horse, the beast snorting nervously.

"The Mara Tree," Lila breathed, her wide eyes reflecting the eerie glow. "One of the rarest trees in all the realms. Legend says it holds the memories of the world."

"Does it bite?" Matt joked, earning a half-hearted chuckle from Ella.

"Focus," Margo said sharply, her hand already tightening around the hilt of the Death Blade. "Something's not right."

Before they could take another step, the tree shuddered, its massive branches creaking as dark shapes leapt down from above. Goblins, their twisted, sinewy forms clad in scraps of leather and bone, landed around them, their red eyes gleaming with hunger.

"Here they come!" Margo growled, stepping forward, her blade gleaming in the ghostly light.

A goblin lunged at Matt, its serrated teeth snapping inches from his throat. He reacted instantly, his body igniting in a blaze of red-orange flames. He seized the creature by the throat, his burning grip scorching its flesh. "Not today, ugly," he snarled, hurling it into the nearest tree. It hit the trunk with a sickening crunch, its charred form crumpling to the ground.

Ella flicked her wrist, and shards of ice erupted from the ground, freezing two goblins mid-leap, their snarling faces locked in expressions of eternal rage. She smirked, her breath misting in the chill air. "Stay cool."

Gabriel's body began to glow, a blinding white light radiating from his skin. He charged into a cluster of goblins, his powerful fists smashing into their chests, sending them flying like ragdolls. The ground trembled beneath his feet, cracks spiderwebbing through the dirt. "Stay together! Don't let them surround you!" freēwēbηovel.c૦m

Margo's blade cut through the air with a fierce, metallic whisper, slicing through goblin flesh and bone, her movements sharp and precise. Blood sprayed across the leaves, splattering the ground in dark arcs. She ducked under a wild swing from a goblin, spinning around to cleave its head from its shoulders. "Is this all you've got?"

Lila, tiny but fierce, darted between the chaos, her fists crackling with bright, crackling blue energy. She punched a goblin in the face, its head exploding in a burst of electricity, its body collapsing into a smoking heap. "I need a bigger challenge," she huffed, ducking under a goblin's rusty blade.

Amidst the chaos, Ella's gaze caught a flicker of movement in the shadows. A masked figure, half-hidden behind the glowing tree, watching them. Her heart skipped a beat, her breath catching in her throat. Without a second thought, she broke from the battle, sprinting toward the figure.

"Ella, where are you going?!" Matt shouted, his fiery fists slamming into another goblin.

But just as she reached the spot, the masked figure vanished, like smoke in the wind.

A sudden, sharp kick to her side sent Ella sprawling into the dirt, a goblin's clawed foot smashing into her ribs. She gasped, pain flaring through her chest. Before the creature could strike again, Margo's blade whipped through the air, decapitating the goblin in a single, fluid motion. Its head hit the ground with a wet thud, rolling to a stop beside Ella.

"You alright?" Margo asked, offering her a hand.

Ella nodded, brushing the dirt from her armor, her eyes flicking back to the spot where the masked figure had stood. But there was nothing there now—only shadows and the flicker of dying sunlight through the trees.

"Rest," Gabriel said, his deep voice echoing through the clearing. "We'll move on soon."

They slumped against the roots of the Mara Tree, their breaths heavy, the adrenaline still thrumming through their veins. As the forest around them fell back into uneasy silence, they mounted their horses once more and continued their journey, the memory of the masked figure burning in Ella's mind.