The Florist: This Tree Requires Scary Offerings!

Chapter 21: Curious Forest

Malik watched the papers piling up over the table in the library. He scratched his head and tilted it backwards, sighing.

“Still no luck?” Michael peeked at him from behind a book aisle. “Are you angry?”

“I’m not.” Malik pattered the table. “However, something is bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“My flames stopped eating human flesh.”

Michael frowned. “Doesn’t that mean that... It’s happening again?”

“Not in the present, no,” Malik rubbed his temples. “I’m missing an episode.”

“We all do...” Michael’s gaze saddened. “After all, we too... We were... disconnected from the higher realms.”

Malik clenched his fists. “Yes.”

Michael pursed his lips. “Some of us even...”

“More importantly,” Malik pointed at a book. “Apparently, not all kings arrived at Earth at the same time.”

“Yes, since not all woke up together.”

“That’s not what I meant...” Malik spoke, “Not all originated on Earth.”

“So, the extra two kings are aliens?”

“Possibly.” Malik stood up. “But then, I don’t know any more than this. It’s not enough.”

“I think you need a rest,” Michael said, ordering the books. “You’ve been working too hard. You need a change of scenery.”

Malik left the library and narrowed his eyes, blinded by the sun. “Bright. I hate it.”

“You’re exaggerating... The sun is pretty!”

Malik folded his arms. “I’ll go back to the dorms. I heard that Jibreel could save Iblis. I want to see him.”

Michael smiled brightly. “Yes! Let’s go! You will see. He became so gentle and fluffy!”

“Is that so? How awkward.” Malik walked ahead. “After all the things he did, that’s how he ends up. It’s worse than death, to tell the truth.”

“Well, be sure not to say that to his face. He doesn’t know anything about his past. He’s not even aware that he lost his memories,” Michael warned, “Be nice.”

“Ugh. Fine.” Malik pushed his hands in his pockets. “So, how’s babysitting him going anyway?”

“Jibreel has work to do, just like us, so he leaves him in his room during the day. At night, he can keep an eye on him,” Michael explained.

“I see.”

They entered the room and found the blue-haired lying on the bed with a dagger planted in his neck and heart. Michael gasped and rushed to his side, calling his name. Malik stared at the blood-stained sheets. “This isn’t something we can hide from Jibreel. Once he finds out, he won’t be happy.”

“Help me... He’s still not dead yet,” Michael announced, feeling Iblis’s temperature and pulse. “Even as a human, he’s more resistant than normal humans. I also assume Jibreel’s clothes helped alleviate the damage.”

He pulled the dagger out of the blue-haired’s neck and started healing him. “Take care of his heart.”

Malik sat beside them and began healing Iblis’s heart. He watched the dagger meanwhile. “I definitely see fingerprints on it. However...” He took Iblis’s hand. “It’s the same...”

Michael raised his eyebrows. “D-Don’t tell me, he... did this...”

“It’s quite impossible,” Malik lowered Iblis’s hand gently. “The neck and the heart are both fatal spots. Once you stab one, you will lose the ability to move your limbs at a precision that will allow you to stab the other. The order doesn’t matter. To begin with, stabbing one’s heart is quite challenging. The ribcage is quite the obstacle. In Iblis’s case...” Malik pressed his free hand against Iblis’s chest gently as blood ran from the blue-haired’s mouth. “It seems like half of his ribs are broken. It’s not very possible to do this through suicide unless the person jumps from a high place or gets crushed by something.”

“So, how?”

“It’s fairly easy to change the fingerprints on anything really.” Malik picked up the dagger. “If the person whipped his own and put Iblis’s hand over it, it would do the job.” 

He snorted, hearing Iblis whining in pain. “It seems like he’s back from the dead.”

The blue-haired opened his tired eyes and coughed blood several times before relaxing on the bed, panting. Michael cupped his cheek. “How do you feel?” he asked, “Can you hear me?”

“Sl... lee... p...”

“It’s all right. You can sleep,” Michael smiled weakly. “We will take care of you.”

Iblis’s eyes started closing. “Hu... hur... ts...”

He gasped softly, drifting back to sleep. Malik bandaged his chest after healing him and walked around the room. “Strange... Not a single trace of anything at all. There’s hardly a thing to grab onto.”

Michael treated his neck and looked at the blood on the sheets and the clothes. He carried Iblis in his arms and sighed, irritated as he didn’t find any other spot to use. “Jibreel really put a minimum of furniture in his room. I’ll take care of this later. Malik, hold Iblis for a second.”

Malik took Iblis from Michael’s arms and watched the angel change the sheets. “You’re good with housework. That’s surprising.”

“Why?” Michael pouted. “I’m good at everything!”

“Can you cook?”

“No! Why should I know that?”

“Right...” Malik looked away.

Michael hissed at him. “I know you’re laughing on the inside. I KNOW IT!”

“Nonsense. I would never.”

Malik lowered his gaze to Iblis and saw the pain on his face as he struggled to breathe. “He’s a bit feverish.”

“At least he’s alive. Give him here.”

Michael removed Iblis’s cloak and Jacket. “This is better. Let’s hope Jibreel doesn’t find out.”

“Find out about what?”

They glanced at the door and found Jibreel standing, watching them from the door. He frowned, seeing Iblis’s state.

Michael smiled nervously. “A-Are you done with work early?”

“Yes.” Jibreel sat beside Iblis and touched his neck and chest. Iblis gasped, throwing up blood. Tears rolled down his cheeks. 

“His core is poisoned.”

Jibreel took out a colourless sphere. He pushed his hand into Iblis’s chest and pulled out a purplish sphere without spilling a drop of blood. He replaced the core, and Iblis’s features relaxed as he returned to sound sleep. Jibreel stared at the corrupted core. “This aura is familiar.”

He lowered his head. “I’m really not fit to take care of him. I wasn’t there to heal him, even. If you didn’t show up, I would have lost him again.”

He clenched his fists as Iblis whispered his name. He stood up. “I will–”

“Do y-you... hate... me?”

Jibreel raised his eyebrows as he glanced at Iblis. He saw tears on his cheeks as he shuddered. “You always... leave... me.” 

Iblis stood up, squeezing his chest. “I will... leave...” He walked past Jibreel. “This is your... house... I–”

His eyes watered as Jibreel pulled him in a tight hug. “I...” He buried his face in Iblis’s shoulder. “Please forgive me... for giving you the wrong idea. It’s not because I hate you that I do this. I feel so incompetent. After promising I would protect you, I let this happen.”

Iblis hugged him back, forcing a smile. “But... you didn’t know...” 

He caressed Jibreel’s hair. “You did... nothing... wrong.”

He sat down, panting. Exhaustion was showing on his face as he gripped his heart. Jibreel rested a hand on his. “Go to bed. I’ll stay here. I won’t go.”

Iblis slept almost instantly. Jibreel replaced his sphere again. “Something keeps on corrupting him. It means that...” He blocked a knife from Iblis his hand and grabbed him by the neck. Iblis gasped in pain, clinging to Jibreel’s arm. Jibreel stared at the purple ring inside of Iblis’s clear blue eyes. “He’s being manipulated.”

He squeezed his grip around Iblis’s neck. The blue-haired gasped, his head tilting forward. Jibreel then healed him and put him back to bed. Michael looked at him, worried. “We need to break this spell.”

“No.” Jibreel objected. “We will use this. It may take us to the mastermind. It’s good that there’s still a link.”

He rested a hand over Iblis’s forehead. “Let’s see who’s behind all of this.”

Iblis gasped as purple chains appeared around him and flew out of the window. Jibreel followed them with his eyes. Malik and Michael exchanged glances. “Seems like it’s a long ride,” Malik started, “This is quite problematic. It goes beyond our area of influence.”

“What are you three doing?”

They glanced to the door and found Mawt there, watching the chains. “This line is extending as far as four worlds or more. It would be very challenging to track. What’s the point?”

“It’s a feint,” Malik grabbed the chains, and they started disintegrating. “Probably a trap.”

“I was in the new world,” Mawt sat on the ground, “Ivy fell in a coma. He will be out of the picture for a few months unless something unexpected happens,” he whispered to himself, remembering the stranger they met in the forest.

“Until his child is born?”

“It’s not about the child.” Mawt shrugged. “Rather, it’s about Ivy escaping the old world twice. There’s a penalty for that.”

“Do they know about this?”

“Probably not?” Mawt folded his legs. “The more mysteries we solve, the more questions arise.”

“A tree that has the ability to decimate a person, it’s like it’s got a will of its own.”

“That tree wasn’t there in the old world,” Jibreel spoke, “How did it appear?”

“It’s not the same tree in the higher realm. It’s different.”

“Why is it not attacking us?” Mawt asked, “We have been there for a while, and it didn’t try to attack us at all.”

He stood up. “I want to go there again. Maybe this time, it will.”

“Are you out of your mind?!” Jibreel slammed the door. “What if it does? Do you have the confidence that you can save yourself?”

“No. I will probably be taken in,” Mawt replied, “But if we don’t do anything, nothing will happen. Answers don’t grow on trees...” He smiled. “Probably.”

“I will go with you.” 

Jibreel held his hand. “Now.”

“I’ll go with you,” Malik volunteered, “Michael, stay with Iblis. He might be attacked again.”

They teleported back inside of the forest; it was nighttime. They glanced at the green fireflies shining in the darkness. Strange herbs and mushrooms shined on the ground and tree trunks. Beetles and frogs sang the melody of the night.

“This forest... I’ve never seen anything like it.” Malik touched the tree trunk beside him carefully. “This is underground... with a sky.”

They heard chimes far in the distance. They noticed squirrels and gazelles peeking at them curiously from behind the trees. 

“When was this made?” whispered Jibreel, “Last time, I was too preoccupied to take a good look at my surroundings.”

 Malik knelt in front of a squirrel and picked up the animal in his palms. He stared at it for a few seconds then glanced at the others. “It appears that there are other life forms that dwell within this forest. It might explain the bells.”

“Let’s go to the dome.”

They walked along the forest and stopped after what seemed like hours. They heard the owls and bats hissing at them. 

“It seems like the forest doesn’t want us to be here.”

“Mawt,” Jibreel started, “I saw you put the evil side of Iblis in a glass prison. What happened after that?”

“Yes, I forgot to mention. He disappeared.”

“Disappeared?”

Mawt shrugged. “I have a lot of things to do. I can’t supervise him forever.”

“Aren’t you a bit too nonchalant? What if he’s the one who stabbed Iblis?” Jibreel scolded, “Are you serious about this?”

Mawt smiled. “I’m serious, believe it or not.”

“Stop this useless quarrelling,” Malik stepped between them. “There’s something strange about the forest. It was purposefully leading us away from the dome.”

“But last time, we got there so quickly!”

“It must be because of that man who guided us. He did say only a select few can navigate through this forest.” Mawt explained, “I guess back then, the forest didn’t attack us because it wanted us to save the child. But, now, we’re dangerous intruders to be eliminated.”

Jibreel observed the greenish smog that surrounded them gradually. Jibreel touched it. “It’s acidic. Anyone else would have melted by now.”

Malik huffed. “The killing intent can’t be clearer.”

“Should we leave?” Mawt asked.

“No. This is too strange. The forest is hiding something.” A golden aura condensed in Jibreel’s fists. He punched the ground, blowing the fog away instantly. He straightened, staring ahead. “I sense something. A heartbeat.”

“Could be the foetus,” Mawt walked ahead. “Let’s hurry.”

They ran to the source of the sound and found a dome. They exchanged glances. “Is this... the dome?”

They entered and found a tree inside. “It’s not the same one we visited last time,” Jibreel announced, “This one is much bigger and very... unkempt. The tree roots are taking up the entire space.”

Malik touched the bulging roots carefully and blinked as vines sprouted from the tree and wrapped around his arm. “Interesting.”

“Those shouldn’t be your last words.”