This crying sound was more like screaming.
Screams of a woman and more than anything, I could feel the great pain in them.
I had a bad feeling just from hearing them and my heart was beating faster than it ever had.
Almost on the verge of jumping out.
Even though I was disguised as a tree branch, the dark pressure of this presence was negative.
[[ Master?! What the hell is that!? ]] Celes asked when a humongous figure floated towards the area before us.
This was a presence that I felt from the mama bear, but this was dark, sticky, and angry.
The sorrow, dread, and anger it contained were something that only send one name to my mind.
[ "A female ghost who has lost someone dear to her. Some of the very dangerous undead monsters and something that only seek revenge from whatever it sees. A… Banshee." ]
Some creatures were born because of corruption and many of them were already recorded in books.
The only thing that wasn't mentioned in books was that this process is called corruption.
Maybe this was some sort of secret or something that normal books shouldn't contain.
This was my first time seeing a corrupted creature anyway and, from anything it could have been, it was a screaming ghost.
-Kyaaaaaaaaaa!
The sound waves from her voice were something that can blast a normal human like a popping balloon.
But, thankfully, I could hold on to them.
My strong physic and Mana inside my body made this ear-piercing sound bearable.
But this was still not that good.
'Appraisal.'
============
Race- Flame fairy (Corrupted)
Strength: 142
Dexterity: 132
Stamina: 121
Magic Power: 124
Intelligence: 76
[Skills: Screams of agony, Sorrow of past, Astral body, Void eyes, Warning of death, Shapeshift, Fier of the battlefield, Undead's wreath.]
============
'The hell?' I gasped as I studied those numbers and skills.
Just the numbers alone were enough to send shivers down my spine, and the unknown skills this had were... strong.
But more than anything, when I used this skill, this corrupted spirit looked in my direction, still screaming her heart out.
This was something that I thought was only possible by high-ranking creatures, but... this ghost was that strong?
Probably because it was a spirit and not a full body of flesh and blood?
Yes, that might be the biggest reason, but... what was the reason it started floating towards me?!
My heart was already beating fast, almost jumping out of my chest, and this lady was constantly walking toward me.
-Kyaaaaaaaaaa!
This female voice, piercing, heavy with anguish, made me shudder as the sound traveled through my spine and penetrated the base of my skull.
This sound seemed enough to wake up the dead itself.
This woman had a pale white body, her jet black hair seemed as if a threadbare cloak.
They were long, nodded, and wild and flowed down her thin shoulders and brushed the ground.
She was floating in the air, and her hair was something that looked special.
Her face was also pale but strangely enough, when her mouth was closed, she was… pretty?
But that can't be said when she opened that sharp teeth filled mouth like some monster every few seconds.
Her face, when screaming, was waxy and pale. Her skin would stretch to the point I could see every gruesome detail of that skull beneath.
From time to time, she grinned, and those black teeth were like death itself.
This was horrible, and she was constantly coming in this direction.
But this was a bit different.
A banshee was a creature that mourned death.
Appearing on the battlefields or before someone's death, this fairy 'mourned' the death.
And... this one before me only looked like a banshee.
From the name in the appraisal to the bad feeling of death, these were a bit different from what I knew.
But those weren't the things to think about right now.
This thing was now just a few meters ahead of me and I didn't know what to do now.
'Huuu...'
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down.
This banshee or fire fairy or whatever it was… was dangerous.
The very first creature that I saw in this forest was something like this.
And it hadn't even been a day.
That was just terrifying to think and right now... the danger seems to finally go away.
The banshee-like thing came as close as three trees in front of me and then screamed again.
Maybe corruption can turn beasts into something else, but the situation I just escaped now spoke for itself.
Passing this forest would be a bigger thing and I should just forget about sleeping peacefully.
-Kyaaaaaaa!
The sound of the banshee going away from here was calming my heart, not healthy. I was feeling somewhat dizzy.
The death fiery was now gone and my head started hurting.
Looking at her departing figure, I warned Celes that was worried for quite a while now.
Worried, not afraid or anxious, just worried about me.
[ "There will be many things here like this, Celes. Unknown, known, familiar, unfamiliar anything might pop up here." ]
But there was no need to worry as long as we maintained our disguise. No beast under at least (Indigo) rank should be a problem.
And... the appraisal skill.
I had to use that mindfully or else something like now will happen and I might get caught by that thing.
Like most appraisal skills, this one sends some of the energy to scan the targeted thing.
Some might be able to feel the disturbance in the overall energy flow of their body.
If something like this banshee or similar beast appears, it will be up to me to appraise or just stay still for it to disappear.
[ "Let's go, Celes." ] I said warmly.
If not for her being an important part of this story's plot, I might have died.
[[ Yes... ]] And as expected, her reply was full of anguish.
She was powerless aside from creating these disguises.
With a small helpless sigh, I jumped onto another tree with my silent steps.
I had started with a demon in this hell of a forest and now, I will start with this bringer of death as my new start in this forest.
But I knew this will be uneventful and slow, unlike the green forest.
If I were some author writing a novel, I would put some time skips as the main objective in this dark forest is to survive and reach the other side.
There should be something, a path, a new place, or at least someone else to guide me to the exit of this place.
'I hope...'
I hoped with all my heart, mind, and soul that this... this is the last part of being in this forest.
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