Savage Forest - Chapter 114.2

Soon, the dense forest scenery gave way to an open view she had never seen before. The sound of rushing water, which had been grating on her nerves, now hit her ears with overwhelming intensity. Directly below, the river roared as though it would engulf her.

In that moment, Enya let go of the trunk.

Splash—!

Her body, suspended in mid-air, plummeted downward in an instant. With a shiver, Enya screamed. No matter how hard she tried to cover her mouth, it was of no use.

“Ahhh…!”

From a distance, she heard the sound of a wolf howling.

Immediately afterward, an indescribable noise filled the air as cold, fierce currents enveloped her body.

The river swallowed her up.

Enya thrashed around desperately, trying to survive. She couldn’t breathe.

Recalling her childhood memory of Tarhan taking her to the river, she struggled to pull her body up above the water. All she could remember was Tarhan’s gentle face, smiling as he washed her legs in the river.

…To think that this was all she could remember now.

In the hazy darkness, Enya called out Tarhan’s name.

She thought.

‘Please let me see Tarhan one more time.’

Without knowing to whom she was praying, she drifted into unconsciousness.

How much time had passed?

Enya woke up to the sensation of something heavy crushing her chest.

“Cough, cough, cough…! Huhp!”

She coughed violently, not even sure how she managed to lift her body and vomit on the ground. Enya focused on regaining her composure. Someone was watching over her right beside her.

“Enya!”

A huge figure, a familiar voice. The warmth of their presence was right next to her.

“Enya, are you awake…?”

The voice called her name again and touched her body.

Enya instinctively pushed the hand away. Then, she recognized the voice and opened her eyes wide.

“Reyhald…?”

Before her was the familiar young man kneeling beside her. Reyhald’s mouth widened in relief.

“Wow, you’re alive! Oh, I was really scared. I thought you were a goner! Isn’t it insane? To think you’d dive into the river of Nervana without even being from the forest!”

Enya exhaled in relief.

To see Reyhald here.

And in the same old form.

He continued to ramble on without a pause, recounting what had happened.

“Well, I hadn’t fallen from the waterfall long before you did, but at least it wasn’t intentional. You two—no, the two of you and one more—if it weren’t for me, you’d really be in trouble! If I hadn’t been idly looking for food downstream, I wouldn’t have noticed what was flowing down from upstream. I mean, you look the most harmless, but your actions are ridiculously provocative…”

“And, and Silanda?”

Enya quickly grabbed Reyhald’s arm and asked. He looked startled for a moment before answering.

“Silanda? Oh, you mean that woman? She just woke up.”

Indeed, when Enya looked in the direction Reyhald pointed, she saw Silanda sitting on a gravel bed, inspecting her weapon.

Reyhald opened his mouth.

“While you were unconscious, that woman filled me in on everything that had happened.”

Silanda glanced at her and muttered sharply,

“Finally awake, huh? You should have said from the start that you didn’t know how to swim. All you did was worry people…”

Enya felt embarrassed and mumbled back.

“I thought it would be easy. Tarhan always made it look so simple. I thought it would just work out if my legs were fine…”

Silanda snorted and turned her gaze back to her weapon. The weapon was soaked, but the surface looked polished, as if she had cleaned it thoroughly. As Enya quickly tried to get up and move towards her, Reyhald swiftly helped her up.

“Hey, Enya. Be careful. You just woke up.”

Enya blinked, trying to recall Reyhald’s presence.

“Rey, Reyhald, how are you here…?”

She then remembered that he wasn’t supposed to be here. Looking at Reyhald with wide eyes, he gave an awkward smile.

“Reyhald should be back in Aquilea… So, did everyone from Nervana Forest come back? Kiyan too? Did you get a message from Yaru? How did Reyhald… What about the others?”

Enya bombarded Reyhald with questions, gesturing frantically.

Kyan, the forest leader, or Yaru, the strong warrior, would have been a great help in the current situation. However, contrary to Enya’s expectations, Reyhald looked uncomfortable and answered,

“Sorry, Enya. Kyan and Yaru didn’t come.”

Enya nodded, hiding her disappointment.

Just then, Reyhald’s eyes lit up.

“But I did come with someone you’d be really happy to hear about. Although we parted ways, he’s close by.”

Enya’s head shot up. Her heart began to race at Reyhald’s words.

‘…Could it be? It couldn’t be true.’

Nevertheless, Enya rushed up to him as if she were about to grab him by the collar and shouted, “Who, who’s here? Who could it be that I’d be most pleased to see?”

Reyhald seemed to be enjoying the situation. Even in such a tense moment, his tendency to relish the fun was maddening.

Enya grasped his face, shouting.

“Reyhald, stop joking!”

Silanda had also stopped tending to her weapon and was now watching the two. Reyhald chuckled, his face now showing a hint of seriousness as he replied. His voice was sincere.

“Alright, alright. I’ll stop messing around.”

Enya, forgetting that she wasn’t even breathing, fixed her gaze on Reyhald’s lips.

“Tarhan is here.”

Finally, he answered.

“Tarhan is in this forest.”