The umbral aegis of the giant violet trees had already swallowed the figures of a dozen other prisoners by the time Cyrus reached the entrance of the Amethyst Forest.
He was among the last few to make it in time, followed by a panting young girl with long red hair and a limping young man whose right leg had clearly been injured– before the battlefield behind them exploded once more.
By now, the two guards in the underground tunnel seemed to have realized what was going on and had already made their way out, doing their best to contain as many of the fleeing prisoners as possible.
But even their roars and shouting threats could barely be heard anymore, as Cyrus and the two prisoners made their way deeper into the forest.
''S-senior?'' The young girl stammered, almost tripping over herself when she realized how bad Cyrus's condition was. She'd heard the whispers of some of the other slaves saying that the final fight had been interrupted, but she didn't have a chance to take a look at Cyrus or the slender youth called 298.
The moment she climbed out of the tunnel, she was just in time to witness the chaos around her unfold before she absent-mindedly chased after him.
But now, noticing his bruised neck and staggering footsteps, her eyes widened.
''You didn't die, huh…?'' The limping youth behind them muttered under his breath, clearly just as surprised as she was. His gaze flickered between Cyrus and the girl —a strange mix of awe, curiosity, and something unreadable— before he shook his head and made his way deeper into the violet gloom.
For a moment, Cyrus's body tensed up as the two of them locked eyes. He could feel the youth's hostility towards him as he sized him up, clearly debating whether he could take him on at that moment. Was that envy? Hatred? Cyrus didn't know but he wasn't in a situation to care about it either. He'd never interacted with that guy even in the Slaves' Pen, let alone the Bloodpit. There should have been no bad blood between them as far as he was concerned. Still, as long as the other party didn't make a move, he wasn't going to unnecessarily waste his strength either.
The two of them didn't say anything. They just watched the youth disappear into the forest. But that silence only lasted for a minute before the red-haired girl turned around and said in an urgent voice
''Senior, we have to go too! We can't stay here! The guards won't let us get away so easily!''
Cyrus glanced at the girl who'd already started scanning the forest ahead of them, looking like she was trying to ascertain the best path they could take. It was unknown if she hadn't sensed the limping youth's hostility towards him or if she didn't consider him a threat in the first place.
Was it because he was limping?
Drawing a slow breath, Cyrus pushed back another wave of pain that had just assaulted his neck and nodded as he said
''Let's go. If we can make it to the other side of the forest, we should be free from their pursuit. Also, you can stop calling me senior.'' Without another word, he began to walk further into the forest, with the red-haired girl following behind him.
The night had already grown quieter by now, the sounds of fighting and the guards' threats having been left far behind. And yet, despite the impending danger, Cyrus couldn't help but feel his heart beating faster, threatening to almost burst out of his chest. Maybe it was the adrenaline he felt or maybe it was the fact that he was still on the run, but his mind had yet to register that he was now out of that godforsaken place and was getting further away from it with every passing moment.
He also had to admit– he was quite satisfied with his new companion. Even if it was due to luck that they both made it to the Amethyst Forest, he couldn't have asked for a better partner.
The girl was weak. At least weaker than him, to the point where she wouldn't be a threat… even in his current condition. At the same time, though, she was smart. Smart enough to tell that it would be too dangerous for both her and Cyrus to go into the forest alone.
So, even if Cyrus didn't fully trust her, he knew that they shared the same interests for now. They both needed to stay alive, and unless one of them proved to be a burden, traversing the forest together was the sensible choice.
Cyrus had no idea what kind of dangers the forest hid, but he doubted this place was as harmless as it looked from the outside. At the very least, the guards who'd soon chase after them were a threat that couldn't be ignored.
…
The thick underbrush of the forest was quieter than he thought it would be… so quiet that it was almost unsettling. The lush vegetation occasionally blocked his vision, making it hard to traverse the thicker areas, but there was nothing that threatened his or the girl's life.
Aside from a few stray birds, there weren't even any animals around, let alone any dangerous beasts. Even snakes that usually thrived in this environment were basically nonexistent here, making their journey purely a battle of attrition.
Of course, upon second thought, Cyrus realized that this made sense, too.
After all, more than a dozen other prisoners had also entered the forest before him and the girl, so most of the weaker animals should have already been scared off.
A few of those prisoners were also rumored to be as strong as the guards, and even if those rumors were a bit exaggerated, Cyrus knew that no ordinary animal could possibly pose a threat to them. Unless there were any powerful beasts that could rival an Ironbound warrior, nothing else would be able to stop those guys.
''This is weird.'' The red-haired girl mumbled as they walked past another giant tree. ''My father always said that the Amethyst Forest was a dangerous place, one that even Bloodsworn experts have to be careful of when they go out. So how come it's so quiet?''
Cyrus couldn't help but turn his gaze towards the girl, this time clearly surprised by what she'd just told him
''Bloodsworn experts? Even Bloodsworn experts have to be careful in this place?''
The girl nodded seriously and continued ''Yeah. My father is a Bloodsworn warrior, so I know at least this much. Well… I guess I can't call him father anymore.''
The forlorn look on the girl's face as she lowered her head only lasted for a few seconds, before she looked at Cyrus again and added in
''Still, as long as we travel around the outer area of the forest, we should be safe, I think. My father said that it's mostly the inner area that's dangerous.''
Cyrus fell quiet, but his mind worked in overdrive as he realized the implications behind the girl's words. If the inner area of the forest was dangerous enough to scare off even Bloodsworn experts, neither he nor any of the other prisoners had any chance of surviving there.
So, even though he didn't know how dangerous the rest of the forest was, if the girl's words were true, this outer ring was the safest path they could take.
Of course, the possibility that she'd lied to him had already crossed his mind, but he dismissed that thought before it could even take form. In the end, her situation was the same as his. If the two of them didn't escape this place quickly enough, they were bound to die either to starvation, the dangers of the forest, or the guards of the Red Arena. Going forward was the only choice they had.
…
Cyrus had no idea how long they'd been walking for, but his throat had already started to hurt again. The lack of food and water only made things harder, and apparently, the violet trees didn't seem to bear any fruits he or the girl could pluck to satiate their hunger.
Still, he forced himself to keep going, hoping that the exit of the forest would be just around the corner.
The red-haired girl on the other hand, seemed to have an abundance of energy despite not eating, completely different from how she was in the Red Arena. When she was first thrown into the Slaves' pen, she had been shaking, fearful, and uneasy, barely even breathing too loudly. But as they walked around the outer ring of the Amethyst Forest, she seemed to find her voice again.
Cyrus also realized that he had severely underestimated his new companion. Yes, Sylvie may not have been a born fighter, but the information she had about the outside world was something Cyrus could never obtain in the Red Arena.
From useless information about her family, to valuable intel about the city on the other side of the forest, Sylvie seemed to share everything with him as they walked forward. The only thing she didn't share with him was how she, the daughter of a Bloodsworn warrior, had ended up kidnapped and sold as a slave to the Zyvarros family. Still, the girl seemed like she could continue talking until they reached the exit of the forest.
However, just as the first light of dawn crept through the leaves of the violet trees, the peace Cyrus and Sylvie had been enjoying finally shattered. A sharp, shrill cry rang out from the sky above them, heralding the end of their good luck.