Chapter 3 - Sisters (1/2)

Slaughter of the Multicolor Leaf Forest.

Thus was called the episode that involved the death of a dozen merchants along with about twenty armed bandits.

This event had sparked a great uproar in Leaf City as it was a city far from war zones, so accidents with such a large number of people involved rarely happened.

When the mercenaries returned to the city with wagons full of corpses in such terrifying conditions, they communicated what had happened to the city authorities. Soon the rumor that this massacre was the work of some powerful spirit beast spread among the ordinary people.

The thought that it was some dangerous spirit beast aroused the citizens' terror who had grown up as children with stories about the dangerousness of such creatures.

However, the rumor that it was the work of some powerful martial artist who was passing there circulated too. Although people much more appreciated that rumor, those in power were more afraid of it than the idea of having to deal with some dangerous spirit beast.

So they waited for several days, organizing teams to limit the outer perimeter of the forest around the accident's area and blocking that stretch of road.

After several days of useless waiting and with the anxiety of the people who spurred on the beast to be taken out, the authorities gave the task to the guards dedicated to the city's management to send a team to explore inside the forest.

In order to motivate them, rewards were also set up for mercenaries and volunteers of all kinds who weren't afraid to enter that place.

So, after several meetings and arrangements, the exploration team was sent with the task of finding tracks of the beast and killing it. But in the end, their exploration was unsuccessful.

They scoured the outskirts of the forest without finding anything that might resemble the culprit. It had probably escaped into the heart of the forest.

However, penetrating so deep involved a very high risk for the soldiers and mercenaries who made up the team, and, although it wasn't an impossible undertaking, the price to be paid would have been high. Not even the proposed money could convince them to commit such madness. So they could do nothing but return.

The authorities at that point, to calm the rumors, decided to opt to say that it was the work of a strong martial artist, hoping that this expert wasn't real and wouldn't appear suddenly with strange intentions.

Fortunately, as time went on, this ruckus soon calmed down gradually and was quickly forgotten by the people who resumed their activities.

*

Three years after the Massacre of the Multicolor Leaf Forest

On a sunny spring day, a child was chasing some butterflies through the vegetation.

Although at first glance, this was a rather ordinary image, the place where he was, was far from being ordinary as a place to play. It was the heart of the Multicolor Leaf Forest, where spirit beasts of various kinds could be found, many of which were dangerous to humans. But, even though there was an inviting morsel running around, none of the spirit beasts in the surroundings dared to make a move towards that strange little animal that was running on two feet.

In fact, in the heart of the forest, dwelt the most dangerous creature they had ever seen. And, after many deaths, they realized that it was better not to approach that area or try to attack that strange little animal that was protected by that monstrous creature that had spread death to anyone who wanted to attack the little man or tried to get too close to that area. Only insects or small beasts could approach even if they would always remain under observation.

The child, despite being only three years old, outwardly looked like a 5-6-year-old. He had dark brown skin with black hair and dark brown eyes, tending to black. He was dressed entirely in silvery silk dresses that sparkled in the sunlight.

Although he was in this forest, dangerous for ordinary people, he didn't seem to be very worried while he was chasing butterflies. He was so engrossed in his game that he was about to get out of the perimeter designated by his mother.

At that moment, he heard a sharp sound, and suddenly he heard a voice inside his head. To normal humans, this sound would have seemed only a series of incomprehensible noises produced by some beast, but for the child, it was as understandable as the language spoken by people.

'Don't go any further, come back. I forbade you to go beyond the borders I showed you. You have to pay attention to your surroundings even when you are playing, do you understand?' Said the strange voice in his head with a reproaching voice.

The child, surprised by the voice, immediately stopped worried and with a sad tone, produced a series of sounds that meant. 'Yes, you are right, mother. I am sorry, I'll be right back.'

With this, the child rushed to his home, where he lived with his mother.

This child was the same newborn rescued during the accident three years ago, while his mother was the spirit beast spider who had saved him, and for the past three years, they had been living in the middle of the forest.

The house in question was a huge dome-shaped spiderweb, 10 meters in radius and 5 meters high, that had been firmly tied to the ground. At the center of this spiderweb, there was a large recess on the ground where he could pass inside, which would then be closed during the hours of sleep.

When the kid crawled through that slit, his mother immediately came into his sight and looked at him intently before saying.

'Don't be afraid; I'm not angry. I just want you to be careful. Anyway, it's time to eat, come.'

Hearing this, the child smiled happily and ran to hug his mother. Although the sight of such a large spider would generally have frightened people, for the child, it was the most comforting and enjoyable sight in the world.

With a smile on his face, he prepared himself to eat the food prepared by his mother. It consisted of a fish and some insects cooked on a small fire that had been lit on one side.

Although usually, the fire would have destroyed the web, this wasn't an ordinary spiderweb. Therefore, there was no fear that it would catch fire. There was also a large hole at the top that served to disperse the smoke, which would be closed during the night, creating an isolated environment.

While mother and son were happily enjoying the meal, suddenly, two sharp noises could be heard as if something was breaking.

Upon hearing this, the mother jumped and turned quickly, looking in the direction of her two eggs sheltered in their silk bags. These were vigorously shaking as they continued to make such noises. Not long after, the silk bags were broken, and two small spirit beasts came out from inside them.

One was a small dark purple spider with silver patterns, while the other was a small black snake with gold patterns. They were panting as they devoured part of their shell.

Soon, they noticed the presence of the enormous spider and immediately realized that it was their mother. Then, they curiously looked at the strange creature beside their mother while they finished eating the eggs and the silk sacks that had contained them for all these years.

'Finally, they came out. Come, child, come and meet your siblings.' The adult spider motioned for the little human in the den to follow her to meet the two newcomers. The child with a bit of uncertainty did anyway what he was asked to do and approached.

The mother spider examined her two little ones and discovered that they were both females, then she took some water from some roughly made wooden buckets to clean the little spider and the little snake. Once finished, she prepared to introduce her two cubs to the human child.