The Wrong Hero Has Been Summoned-Chapter 15: Trouble

A Forest loomed ahead, its trees reaching toward the sky like gnarled fingers. Even in daylight, shadows seemed to pulse between the massive trunks, hiding secrets older than the kingdom itself.

"You're sure the trail leads here?" Selene asked, adjusting the twin daggers at her hips. Her silver-streaked black hair was pulled back in a tight braid, revealing a face marked by a thin scar that ran from temple to jaw.

Dominic nodded, consulting the weathered map in his hands. "According to the village elder, the beast has made its lair somewhere near the center of the forest." He rolled the parchment carefully, tucking it into his pack.

Unlike Selene's light leather armor, he wore reinforced plates over vital areas, marking him as a Bulwark—one of the rare defensive mages who could create barriers of solid energy.

"Void Renders aren't supposed to exist anymore," she said, eyeing the forest with caution. "Not since the Purging Wars."

"Tell that to the families of the seven dead travelers," he replied grimly. "Whatever it is, it's feeding on mana. The bodies were... drained."

She suppressed a shudder. As a Pathfinder blessed by the king, she was responsible for tracking and eliminating threats to travelers. This mission had come directly from the kingdom—high priority, maximum discretion.

"Let's move," she said. "I want to find this thing before nightfall."

They entered the forest in silence, immediately engulfed by the canopy's green twilight. The air felt heavy, almost oppressive, carrying scents of decay and something else—something acrid and wrong.

She closed her eyes briefly, using her power. When she opened them again, faint silver lines appeared on the forest floor—traces of those who had passed this way before. Most were animals, their paths meandering naturally through the undergrowth. But one trail stood out—straight, purposeful, leaving behind a residue that made her power flicker when she got too close.

"This way," she whispered, pointing to the disturbing trail. "And be careful. The energy signature is... corrupted somehow."

He nodded, summoning a faint blue shield around his forearm. "Lead on."

They followed the trail deeper into the forest, the light growing dimmer with each passing hour. The wildlife had gone eerily silent—no birds called, no insects hummed. Even the wind seemed reluctant to disturb the leaves overhead.

"Something's wrong," Dominic murmured, his voice barely audible. "Can you feel it?"

She nodded. The deeper they went, the more the air itself seemed to resist them, as if they were walking through invisible cobwebs. Her power was working harder now, the silver lines flickering erratically.

"The trail's getting fresher," she said. "Whatever this is, it passed through here recently."

They crested a small rise and stopped abruptly. Before them lay a clearing that shouldn't have existed—the massive trees had been sheared off at the trunk, creating a perfect circle of destruction. At the center stood what remained of an ancient stone altar, now cracked and covered in a pulsing, oily substance.

She moved closer to the destroyed altar, her hand hovering above her daggers. The black substance covering the stone seemed to move, as if alive.

"Don't touch it," he warned, stepping carefully around fallen trees. "Look at the ground."

Around the altar, the earth was cracked and dry. All plant life had withered away in a perfect circle. The air felt wrong here - heavy and hard to breathe.

"Something terrible happened in this place," she whispered. "The energy is... twisted."

Dominic knelt to examine one of the fallen trees. "These weren't cut. They were... drained. Like the bodies."

A low rumble shook the ground beneath them. Selene spun around, daggers now in hand. "Did you hear that?"

"We need to leave," he said, rising quickly. "Whatever made this clearing is—"

The words died in his throat as a massive shape emerged from between the trees. It had no fixed form—its body shifted and flowed like dark water, but solid enough to crush anything in its path. Where a face might be, there were only swirling voids that seemed to pull in the surrounding light.

"Void Render," she breathed, her voice barely audible.

The creature sensed them immediately. It reared up, towering over the clearing. Its body rippled, revealing glimpses of bones and weapons embedded within—remains of its victims.

"Defensive formation!" He shouted, throwing up a blue energy shield between them and the monster.

Selene darted to his side, daggers glowing with silver light. "We can't outrun it. We fight."

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The monster struck with surprising speed. A massive tendril smashed against Dominic's shield, the impact sending cracks through the shield. He grunted, pouring more power into the barrier.

"It's strong," he gasped. "Stronger than anything I've faced."

Selene moved first, ducking around the shield and slashing at the creature's side. Her enchanted daggers cut through its outer layer, but the wound simply closed again, the black substance reforming instantly.

The monster roared—a sound that seemed to come from everywhere at once. It lashed out again, this time from multiple directions. Tendrils whipped around Dominic's shield, trying to reach them.

"I can't hold it much longer," he warned, sweat pouring down his face.

Selene tried another approach, channeling her energy into the ground. Silver lines spread outward, attempting to trap the creature in a binding circle.

For a moment, it worked. The monster hesitated, its form twisting away from the silver light. But then it seemed to understand the threat. Instead of fighting against the binding, it plunged downward, disappearing into the earth itself.

"Where did it—"

The ground beneath them exploded upward. The monster erupted from below, shattering Dominic's shield completely. The force threw him backward, his body slamming against a tree trunk with a sickening crack.

"Dominic!" She screamed, trying to reach him.

The monster blocked her path, its massive form now between her and him. She could hear him groaning in pain, still alive but badly injured.

She attacked with everything she had. Her daggers flashed with silver fire as she struck again and again, each blow barely slowing the creature. For every wound she inflicted, the monster seemed to grow stronger, absorbing her energy attacks and using them to heal itself.

"It feeds on mana," she remembered too late. Her own attacks were making it more powerful.

It surged forward. A tendril caught her leg, yanking her off her feet. Another wrapped around her waist, squeezing until she couldn't breathe. Her daggers fell from her grasp as the monster lifted her high into the air.

Through pain-blurred vision, she saw Dominic trying to stand, blood streaming down his face. He was attempting to form another shield, but his power flickered weakly.

The monster pulled her closer to its center, where the swirling voids pulsed hungrily. She could feel her energy being drawn out, her strength fading with each passing second.

"We... we can't beat it," she thought as darkness crept into the edges of her vision. Their mission, their confidence, had been misplaced. This creature was beyond their abilities.

Just as consciousness began to slip away, a blinding flash of yellow light cut through the clearing. The monster shrieked, its grip on Selene loosening enough for her to fall to the ground.

Through the spots in her vision, she made out three figures entering the clearing. One held a sword that pulsed with unnatural yellow light, sending the monster recoiling backward.

"Well," said a voice she didn't recognize, "looks like we found trouble after all."