Chapter 154: Chapter 78.2

“say it straight. who entered the hallucination forest?”

“it’s major ricardo! he’s the one.” he stammered, gasping for breath.

yernia raised her head as soon as she heard the name. major ricardo? that’s cassian!

“what? why is the major there?”

“a witness had reported that the captured scout was taken there. another crew member was also captured right under his nose… the major went in to save the soldiers.”

she was speechless for a minute before letting out a short scream.

“however, the major seemed strange now! according to a guy who managed to escape the forest, the major is attacking random people. oh, just over there! he’s over there.”

after a while, an unfamiliar voice spoke. “i’m not crazy. no, i’m not.

“are you sure you went there? besides, it’s a random attack.”

at felix’s words, the first man who ran towards him shouted once again. “we need to bring the major’s guide quickly. come on!”

“i hope the major… are you saying he went on a rampage?”

her hand stung.

yernia stared at the blood trickling from her finger to the cloth in a daze. she felt pain, but most importantly, she hadn’t stabbed her hand with the needle.

she hurriedly pulled up the tent.

“the runaway—— lady!”

“are you saying that cassian is on a rampage? tell me the details.”

the man who looked at yernia seemed happy as if he could finally survive.

“i don’t know.”

“what do you mean you don’t know?”

“it’s… major is turning the forest into a field of mug worts. he doesn’t even check if we’re on the same side, so it seems like he is really on a rampage. nevertheless, it appeared like he still has reason left.”

her heart dropped.  attacking a colleague? cassian wasn’t the type of man who would do that. the situation was definitely not normal.

she wanted to know why. she knew she didn’t have time for that, so she blindly followed the man and asked him. “what’s wrong with him all of a sudden?”

captain felix followed yernia as well as the other knights with grim expressions.

“it’s because of the hallucination forest.”

“forest of hallucinations?”

“yes. here, there’s an area you should never enter in lance. even the palace declared the hallucinations forest forbidden. nobody knows how many people had gotten in there. it’s a forest full of magic and mystery where people who walked in might never get out. only people with formidable mental strength could get through it.”

unlike the man who urgently led the way, captain felix seemed calm as if nothing monumental had happened and it made her envious.

yernia was also calm but it didn’t feel real since she was forcing it.

her composure would probably break as soon as she saw cassian.

in truth, captain felix, who was relatively familiar with this, seemed calm but worried as well.

the man walking ahead of them spoke anxiously.  “the guys who said they’d bring the major back followed him.”

yernia grasped the situation right away and didn’t ask any more questions.

she perfectly understood that she would witness cassian going insane from hallucinations.

“there you go.”

the forest of hallucinations was known to dig deep into a human’s subconscious and take advantage of its weakest points. right now, it was intensifying the anxiety she had in mind without even knowing it. those who were horrified by their family’s death, these people could have vivid experiences of that same scenario in this cursed place. however, some of them who had witnessed their worst fears come to life could have either died of injuries or gone insane. no one knew of people who had gotten out of this prohibited forest.

warning: forest of hallucinations

no entry- prohibited area

she saw a sign on the way to the forest. even white smoke was coming from there. the atmosphere seemed strange as if it was a different place from where they were.

captain felix grabbed her arm to stop her when she tried to go inside.

“you’d better return to the barracks now, my lady. you can’t be hurt.”

“no, i’ll be fine.”

she had no idea what her fears were so she wasn’t really looking forward to the kinds of misfortune she would have to face.

would she be able to get herself together after seeing it while guiding cassian despite the risks?

it wasn’t a guarantee but she still had to go.

she must stop cassian from going insane and bring him out of the forest.

“if i don’t go, what about cassian?”

she was the only one who could help him right now since she was his only guide.

“but…”

“i’ll be back. i can do it. we will make it.”

she was scared to go alone but she must catch him no matter what.

it was her sole duty to keep him safe just like how he kept her safe.

yernia must also prevent further damage but what took over her head more than that was the image of cassian, all alone while shivering in fear.

she shook off captain felix’s grip and walked slowly into the forest of hallucinations.

captain felix had no choice but to follow since he couldn’t send her there alone so the two sailed through their misfortunes.