The sun was about to set, but there was still no sign of the evening glow in the sky.
Thick black clouds had completely covered the entire sky, and even the dazzling sunlight seemed unable to penetrate them.
The deeper they ventured into the forest, the darker their surroundings became.
All around them were the sounds of insects chirping and birds twittering, occasionally interrupted by a low growl from some unknown creature.
They all hoped it was just their imagination.
Saga seemed prepared for this and pulled two crystal spheres from her long sleeves. After infusing magic into one of them, the transparent orb began to emit a faint glow.
The greenery around them was dimly illuminated, and a few insects fluttered toward the light source.
Although it wasn’t as bright as the magic crystal lamps in the classroom, it was still better than nothing.
Saga lifted her basket and glanced at their current harvest.
“Hmm… we’re still missing one thing. Where could it be?”
Aurora came closer, her own basket already filled with herbs.
After looking at Saga’s basket, she curiously asked, “What herb are you still missing? Maybe I have it in mine?”
“Let me check… doesn’t look like it.”
“I want to make a stealth potion for the exam, but I still can’t find the most important herb—the Stealth Flower.”
“Stealth potion? You mean the one that reduces your body weight so you don’t make noise while walking?”
“I remember the teacher said that potion is really hard to make!” Aurora said in surprise.
Then Saga spoke proudly, “Hehe, Potion Making is my favorite subject! The teacher has high expectations for me.”
“Miss Saga is really amazing!”
“Hehe.”
Just as the two of them were exchanging compliments, Saga suddenly felt a chill on her wrist.
“Ah!”
Startled, she almost dropped the crystal sphere in her hand.
Seeing the bracelet on her wrist—the one she had given Saga—she realized it was Xiao Mo touching her.
“What are you doing, Xiao Mo—”
Her words were cut off as Xiao Mo quickly covered her mouth.
She made a ‘shh’ gesture to the others and extinguished the light in Saga’s crystal sphere.
Complete darkness fell around them.
Xiao Mo grabbed both their wrists and gently crouched down into the grass.
Only after settling did she release her hand from Saga’s.
“Keep your voices down. The paper bug told me there seems to be a large creature nearby.”
“A large creature?!” Saga whispered in shock.
She clutched Aurora’s arm tightly, shrinking closer to her, and trembled, “Could it be some kind of magical beast?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully it’s just a Stone Sprite or some other docile creature, but we still need to be careful.”
“Should we keep looking?” Aurora stroked Saga’s head gently as she asked.
“No more searching. Life’s more important!” Saga’s eyes were already wet with fear.
She tugged on Xiao Mo’s wrist quietly, “Can your paper bug tell us the direction it’s in?”
“I’ll try. It’s just ahead, not far.”
“Then let’s head back the way we came.”
The three of them crouched low and slowly made their way back.
When passing through thick bushes, they went out of their way to avoid making noise.
Boom!
A thunderous roar echoed across the sky.
The dark forest was briefly illuminated by the lightning.
Saga covered her mouth to keep from screaming, but the giant beast behind them couldn’t hold back.
A roar far more terrifying and deafening than thunder rang out behind them, followed by a rumble like an earthquake shaking the ground.
The sound grew closer and closer, the tremors stronger and stronger.
Only then did the three realize the giant beast was charging straight at them.
“Quick, fly up!”
Saga and Xiao Mo fumbled in the dark to pull out their brooms and quickly mounted them.
“Eve, get on behind me!” Saga shouted to Aurora.
But the forest at night was too dark.
Even after taking off smoothly, they couldn’t see the direction ahead.
They had hoped to fly above the forest canopy, but the branches were too dense.
Saga almost got caught up on a branch along with her broom.
With no other choice, they had to weave through the trees in the dark, occasionally bumping into a trunk or two.
Only after bruising and bleeding did they realize they had to come down.
“Do you think… we lost it?” Saga rubbed her bleeding nose and asked.
They couldn’t hear the beast’s roar anymore, but Saga still felt a chilling sensation behind her.
She suddenly glanced back but saw nothing.
Crack.
Just as she thought it was her imagination, she heard the sound of a breaking branch overhead, followed by a drop of crystal-clear liquid with a foul stench landing on her head.
“No! Get away!!”
Aurora shoved Saga aside but was crushed beneath a massive beast.
She couldn’t see the monster’s form in the darkness, but she could feel its predatory gaze fixed on her.
Accompanied by an eardrum-shattering roar, the beast opened its foul, bloodied maw wide over Aurora.
Even without seeing it, she could feel the sharp fangs mere inches from her cheek, ready to tear her apart in the next moment.
Was this really how she was going to die?
But her happy life with her little sister had only just begun!
She was unwilling. She couldn’t die like this. Not like this!
With all her strength, Aurora tried to pry apart the claw pressing down on her, but the harder she pushed, the deeper the claw sank into her flesh, drawing more blood.
“… Reverse… backflow…”
Familiar words suddenly echoed in her ears—no, in her mind.
The voice sounded confident but filled with sadness and pain.
For some reason, Aurora instinctively believed that these words could save her.
“River of time, reverse! Backflow!” she gritted her teeth and shouted with her last ounce of strength.
At the end of her shout, the blood pooling beneath her suddenly shimmered with a golden light.
A golden clock radiated from the blood’s center, spreading outward.
Both the hour and minute hands pointed to the twelfth hour, enveloping the forest within a fifty-meter radius.
The beast seemed to sense the danger.
It lunged forward and plunged its fangs straight into Aurora’s neck.
Blood sprayed out as Aurora’s pupils dilated, losing all light.
The monster tore through Aurora’s flesh ferociously.
Only after Aurora stopped moving did it relent.
Clang…
The golden clock beneath them suddenly chimed.
The forms of the monster, Aurora, and the unconscious Saga rapidly transformed, rewinding back to the moment before the beast had attacked.
When Aurora came to her senses, the roar overhead returned.
But this time, before the beast could strike, a massive black sword sliced through the air and struck the monster, sending it flying dozens of meters away.
“You two, hide behind me!”
A purple-haired girl withdrew the sword embedded in the creature’s chest and shielded the two.
A flickering orb of light hovered by the girl’s side.
When the light illuminated her face, Aurora finally recognized her—the same girl who had burst into the spatial magic earlier, the half-human, half-demon hybrid, Xia.