Chapter 40: Disappearance

Hum—

At this moment, Sannan felt as though he had been hurled back to that single night before his transmigration.

Driven by an immense, overwhelming force, his tiptoes left the ground, and his body was tossed high into the air like a ragdoll in the hands of a toddler.

The searing agony erupting from his back exceeded the human body's tolerance limit, vanishing entirely from his perception to be replaced by a gradually fading consciousness.

Stars danced before his eyes; his viscera felt as though they had all shifted positions. Before him was no longer the dense, lush expanse of shrubbery and forest, but instead that roaring, blaring semi-truck, alongside the flushed, alcohol-drenched face of the truck driver.

"Ptui!"

His lips parted, and the startling crimson blood spilling from his mouth, mingled with the thick scent of iron in his nasal cavity, snapped him back to reality instantly.

His body, coated in blades of grass and shattered leaves, spun and rolled across the ground like a torn burlap sack.

After a momentary suspension, the excruciating pain rushed over Sannan's mind and body like a tidal wave.

He could not assess the exact severity of the injuries he had sustained, but without a doubt, the agonizing combination of dizziness, sharp stings, burning swelling, and numbness radiating from his entire body had completely stripped him of his combat capability.

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!"

The rapidly deteriorating situation caused Sannan to curse instinctively in his heart.

He thought of the healing potion stored in the small pouch at his waist, but his limbs, sprawled across the grassy meadow, refused to muster the slightest ounce of strength.

Due to the plummeting state of his body's owner, the grayish-white petrification at his fingertips spread at a visible pace.

Within a single breath, it had already crept past the first knuckle.

Thud—

Heavy footsteps echoed from the dense forest just beyond his line of sight.

The massive shadow cast by the basilisk gradually enveloped Sannan where he lay on the ground.

"Am I going to die?"

In this instant, following the panic and resentment, a profound and unusual calmness settled within his heart.

Flashbacks danced before his eyes: the rusted nail embedded in the dwarf Elki's skull, the ankle of Gagu dangling upside down in the grip of the hobgoblin, and the snapped wooden bow clutched in Magi's arms.

Though he had never seriously contemplated the ultimate conclusion of his life as a "transmigrator," having witnessed the tragic fates of everyone in the Stinking Fish and Rotten Shrimp Squad, it seemed that deep within his subconscious, he had already prepared himself for every possible outcome.

"Swish!"

The miserable, piercing lament of the air being torn apart suddenly erupted from the treetops not far beside him.

A razor-sharp arrowhead gleamed with cold light, violently stirring up the mist.

The half-elf's signature white-feathered arrow quivered as it spun at high speed, flying straight toward the basilisk at a velocity that left only a fleeting afterimage to the naked eye.

"Clang!"

The accuracy was lacking.

Whether intentional or accidental, the wooden arrow missed the basilisk's eyes, striking instead the rock-thick, grayish-green scales along its flank.

Sparks scattered. The rough, solid scales, boasting a defense comparable to steel, effortlessly blocked the arrowhead from reaching the flesh beneath, leaving behind nothing more than a shallow, pale scratch.

Yet precisely because of this, the basilisk's attention was momentarily diverted away from Sannan.

Its neck, a dense mass of muscle and stony armor, turned slowly. The basilisk directed its gaze toward the origin of the wooden arrow, a faint glow shimmering within its dark green pupils as its "Petrifying Gaze" was invisibly cast.

And right at that moment, within the blind spot beyond the basilisk's field of vision, shadows twisted, and a palm-sized brown earthen jar was abruptly hurled through the air.

"Bang!"

It struck the basilisk squarely on the bridge of its snout, right between its brow.

The pitch-black, viscous oil and murky powder ignited instantly upon contact with a single stray spark, bursting and detonating like a miniature bomb.

Roar—

Flames instantly consumed the basilisk's head.

A pained, shrieking howl echoed through the forest canopy.

Naturally, Sannan would not waste the kind intentions of his teammates who had risked danger to come to his rescue, even though his body had already entered a state of severe injury from the basilisk's assault.

The sudden calmness he had felt when facing death just moments before allowed him to recover his capacity for thought and reaction.

Almost within the next second after the half-elf's wood-splitting arrow pierced his ears, Sannan mustered a tremendous force of will. Clenching his teeth and pushing through the boundless agony coursing through his entire frame, he forcefully controlled his somewhat distorted arm.

Trembling, he pulled the glowing, fluorescent vial of healing potion from his waist pouch.

He bit off the wooden cork.

And drank.

Swallowing half of it in a single gulp.

The liquid was ice-cold, carrying a faint, sweet fragrance.

As it flowed down his esophagus into his abdomen, it transformed into currents of warmth, urging his blood to circulate throughout his entire body.

It felt as though he were suddenly bathing in a hot spring; the pain racking his body subsided within a mere few breaths.

He regained control of his physical form.

A grayish-green figure wreathed in flames flashed in the corner of his eye.

At this moment, Sannan had no time to wait for the healing potion to take further effect.

The instant his mobility returned, he propped himself up with both hands, forcing himself to scramble up from the ground.

Then, without looking back, he bolted deeper into the dense forest.

The wooden arrow, the incendiary bomb, and the half-elf pair who had vanished once more after initiating their attack made Sannan instinctively realize that this was not a counterattack horn sounded by Haian and Wood.

It was merely a delaying tactic purely executed to rescue him from the basilisk's claws.

He had to seize the opportunity to put as much distance between them as possible.

And indeed, the facts proved him right.

The sudden flames and the intense, burning pain on its sensitive snout caused the basilisk to thrash its head instinctively like a wild bull.

Yet its facial scales, though relatively vulnerable, remained tough and solid enough to play a considerable protective role.

Ten seconds? Or twenty?

The flames that had burned so fiercely a moment before were extinguished as the monster trampled and crushed the surrounding trees and underbrush.

Hot steam puffed from its thick nostrils.

The two presences atop the treetops had long since vanished; its perception registered only a distant figure ahead, stumbling yet maintaining a certain speed as it rapidly fled.

Feeling as though it had been toyed with by a weak piece of prey, the fierce, savage wrath unique to beasts ignited deep within the heart of this tyrannical monstrosity.

"Roar—"

It let out a fierce shriek toward the sky.

Then, charging forward like a tank with reckless and brutal momentum, it resumed its pursuit in the direction Sannan had escaped.

...

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The heavy, drum-like footsteps echoed once more through the forest behind him.

Sannan felt the tremors of the ground and the violent commotion of falling trees in his wake.

He wanted to quicken his pace, but his body had already reached its absolute limit.

His stride slowed; the soft meadow beneath his feet felt like a mud-choked swamp, making it increasingly arduous to lift his legs.

Half a vial of healing potion had allowed him to temporarily recover from his critical condition and regain a degree of mobility.

Yet returning to peak condition in such a short span of time was obviously beyond the power of a single small vial of potion, especially since its name lacked prefixes like "Potent" or "Maximum."

Still, he kept running forward as best as he could, even as the mist in the air grew denser, visibility plummeted rapidly, and the trees within his line of sight grew increasingly clustered.

Clearly, he had already broken past the boundaries of the "Outer Reaches" of the Misty Forest.

Beyond that, Sannan noticed something else.

The direction he had instinctively chosen in the nick of time seemed to be precisely the source of the otherworldly artifacts he had hesitated over before deciding to turn back.

The architectural ruins of bizarre styles, intertwined among the branches of the shrubs along the roadside, appeared with growing frequency.

There were not only the once-towering wooden taverns, but even dilapidated temples hung with half a bronze bell, and magnificent palaces collapsed by more than half...

It was as though he were gradually drawing closer to the very epicenter of it all.

His highly focused concentration seemed to accelerate the passage of time.

He had no idea how much time had passed.

Not until the currents of warmth originating from the healing potion gradually dissolved and faded away, leaving no trace, did Sannan—driven by his exhausted stamina—slow his pace.

"Hoo... hoo... hoo..."

Panting heavily and rapidly, his consciousness and awareness rushed back into his brain on the heels of the incoming air.

"Did I... did I escape?"

He subconsciously wondered in astonishment.

Clearly, while fleeing just moments before, he had still been able to clearly perceive the basilisk's pursuit, which, fueled by rage, had grown even more ferocious than at the beginning.

Judging by the speed he had sensed in his heart at the time, there had even been a moment when he felt all his previous efforts were in vain.

Yet...

"When?"

When had the basilisk's footsteps suddenly vanished?

It was not that he had slipped out of its sensory range, prompting the creature to slow its pace in order to search for him.

It was the abrupt cessation of the sound, as sudden as a sharp slam on the brakes.

Panting heavily, a daze brought on by intense exertion etched across his face, Sannan cast his gaze around.

The mist hanging in the air had grown much thicker, dimming even the sunlight filtering from above.

Suddenly, a trace of wrongness struck him.

"Where are those buildings?"

The broken walls and ruins that had been scattered everywhere just moments before seemed to have vanished entirely now, not leaving behind so much as a single broken tile.

Dim and quiet.

Sannan was suddenly struck by an illusion.

At this moment, he felt as though he were standing right at the dead-center of a catastrophic storm raging across the land—the calmest, yet most perilous, eye of the storm.

Subconsciously turning his body, he took a gentle step forward.

Hum—

Without the slightest warning, with extreme abruptness—

The space around Sannan twisted and blurred for a fleeting instant.

The next second, his figure vanished entirely into the mist.

...

"Sannan? Sannan?"

Deep within the gloomy, silent forest, a lowered, urgent voice rang out.

Haian ducked low, carefully picking his way through the trees.

Beside him was Wood, his bodyguard, clinging to him like a shadow.

Unlike their polished and pristine appearance upon first meeting, the two of them now looked rather disheveled.

Not only were their clothes covered in grass seeds and leaf fragments, but even the hair at their temples was matted together with sweat.

Haian's silvery-gray eyes emitted a faint, ethereal glow in the darkness as he meticulously searched for his companion.

His dark vision, inherited from his elven bloodline, allowed him to perceive things within sixty feet as clearly as in broad daylight, even in the dim environment.

Nothing found.

Wood remained silent, yet he was exerting himself just as much.

While maintaining his vigilance, he utilized his rich baseline experience to carefully inspect the details of the surrounding forest floor.

One of them possessed ranger-related combat techniques and carried the elven bloodline renowned as "nature's darling";

The other was a rogue who naturally excelled at stealth and operated adeptly within the shadows.

Having merely slipped out of the basilisk's line of sight, they had easily evaded its perception.

Precisely because of this, they had been able to launch a surprise attack while the basilisk was distracted, rescuing Sannan from its clutches, and then circling around to follow the commotion all the way to this spot.

"Young Master, over here!"

Seeming to have discovered something, Wood crouched down and alerted the half-elf beside him.

Before him, upon the soft, damp meadow, a trail of footprints was clearly imprinted.

Judging by the short, dense stride, as if fleeing from something behind while exhausted of stamina, and the crushed plant stems left alongside them, the owner of the footprints was unmistakable.

Yet the bizarre part was that the tracks abruptly terminated at a certain patch of ground, as though the traveler had simply vanished into thin air.

Haian the half-elf suddenly raised his head, his gaze scanning and capturing the dense tree crowns.

"Young Master, this area already belongs to the depths of the Misty Forest. We..."

Wood's face betrayed hesitation as he offered a warning.

Hearing this, Haian's expression remained unchanged.

He glanced at the dimming sky overhead, then lowered his gaze back to the abruptly severed footprint.

Slowly and resolutely, he spoke:

"We'll search for two more hours. If we still find nothing... we'll temporarily retreat to the outer ring."

"Understood."

...

Meanwhile, on the other side.

"Boom!"

The grayish-green scales, as rough as rock, slammed heavily into a tree trunk.

The thick, brownish bark—tough enough to withstand axes and blades—was instantly pierced, and the wooden fibers tore apart, exposing the pale, tender heartwood within.

The basilisk, Basilisk, was wantonly venting the accumulated wrath in its heart upon this innocent oak tree.

Mud splashed everywhere.

The massive root system buried deep within the soil was violently ripped upward, dragging half a broken trunk with it under the monster's steel-crushing strength.

It roared, a ghost-fire-like greenish-green light flickering incessantly within its eyes.

On the scales of its brow and snout, as well as around its brown crystalline bone spurs, faint scorch marks from the burns remained visible.

The basilisk could sense that human presence in the dense forest far ahead was gradually dissipating.

It also knew clearly that such weak creatures were no match for it at all.

Even if they happened to survive the onslaught of its "Petrifying Gaze," it would only take a gentle swipe of a claw, or a casual bite, for these cunning preys to become its dinner.

Yet, despite this, the basilisk showed no intention of continuing the pursuit.

It merely lingered at the outer fringes of the increasingly dense cluster of ruins, futilely and powerlessly battering the surrounding bushes and thickets.

It was as though an invisible boundary line existed between it and those architectural ruins.

A boundary that prevented it from stepping forward even a single inch.

Until finally, after knocking dozens of towering trees crashing to the ground and turning countless startled creatures in the forest into cold stone statues, the basilisk cast one last distant, hesitant, and wary glance in the direction where Sannan had vanished.

It turned.

Dragging its bloated body, it faded away into the mist and the depths of the forest.