Chaos Guide [Evil Mc, No Romance]

CG Chapter 84: The Scourge of the Forest

 

In the pitch-black night, Tom rode on the back of his white wolf toward the center of the forest, heading to the place where the infamous shaman lived.

 

The closer he got to the center, the stronger the feeling of strangeness he sensed got, he felt like he was being watched by something.

 

The odd thing about this was that he didn’t sense any danger or hostile intent from this being. Instead, he felt the curiosity of a young child encountering a stranger for the first time.

 

Suddenly, the creature leaped from a tree. It looked at Tom for a few seconds before running away.

 

For some reason he sensed that the creature was leading him to the shaman, so he followed it carefully.

 

Tom kept his pace with it, wanting to confirm whether his senses were correct.

 

As he ran beside it, he finally had a chance to take a closer look at its features.

 

From afar, the creature might have seemed like a lost child, but up close, anyone could tell that this was no child.

 

It had long ears, with its left ear missing a large portion as if it had been bitten off, and its right ear had golden rings hanging from it.

 

In contrast to the shiny earring, its clothes looked like they were carelessly stitched together.

 

After they had run for an unknown amount of time, Tom finally reached his destination.

 

An old-looking hut in the middle of nowhere.

 

By its appearance alone, one would think that the lowest of all peasants lived there.

 

Yet, when he approached the hut, Tom’s instincts screamed at him that a powerful entity was inside.

Although this entity didn’t reach the level of the merchant who sent him to this world or the beggar outside the shop, the aura it emitted rivaled that of the seven statues under the Attrio palace, and it might even have surpassed it.

 

Seeing all of this, Tom gathered his thoughts. He was not about to hesitate now that he had reached his destination.

 

He was prepared for anything that might come at him as he kept his sword close by and remained alert for any sudden movements.

 

Once he entered the hut, he heard the voice of an old woman calling out to him.

This voice belonged to an old lady who had her left eye missing. As he looked down at her body, Tom noticed that her eye wasn’t the only thing missing from it.

 

The more he looked at her, the stranger she seemed. She had an arm and an eye missing, and her intact right eye was extremely cloudy, which could have only meant that she was completely blind.

 

"Welcome, traveler. It is an honor to have you at my humble home. Your journey to this world must have been a long and difficult one."

 

Hearing her words, Tom’s eyes nearly flinched, and he took a deep breath, not letting the words affect him.

 

In the midst of his thoughts, he saw the creature that led him there watching him curiously while hiding behind the old woman.

 

"Oh my, you must have already met Bogu. This little fellow might look scary to those who see him for the first time, but don’t let his appearance fool you; he is extremely playful."

 

The woman paused before continuing.

 

"As for me, you may call me Buya Ulaga. The people of the outside world call me the Scourge of The Luminara Forest, but I prefer the title of The Mother of Lost Souls."

 

'The Mother of Lost Souls, huh? She must be referring to the Thorn Sisterhood,' Tom thought as he waited for her to finish.

 

In the middle of his thoughts, the shaman’s companion, Bogu, came from behind her, handing Tom a bowl filled with a greenish liquid, its surface filled with dead and some still-twitching insects.

 

Glaring at the bowl with suspicion, Tom asked, "What is this?"

 

"It seems Bogu already likes you. This is his favorite tea, and he wants to give it to you."

 

The shaman smiled at Bogu while scratching his head.

 

"Thanks for the drink; I think I will keep it for later. Meanwhile, can you tell me why you wanted to meet me?"

 

Tom felt that he didn’t have enough information about the person in front of him, and he didn’t like that feeling at all--it made him feel exposed.

 

"You must have many questions, my friend from afar. But before I answer any of them, please let me assure you that I hold nothing but goodwill for you. In fact, our goals align, as I also want you to get to the core."

 

When he heard that, Tom knew the shaman knew too much about him. The thought of attacking her crossed his mind, but he wanted to gather as much information as possible before taking any action.

 

"You have been watching me since I came to this world, haven’t you? No, that’s actually not important. What I want to know even more is how you figured out what I was looking for, even though I’m sure I didn’t leave any trace behind."

 

"Even though you come from a completely different background, you really remind me of a boy who came here for answers, just like yourself, years ago. Unfortunately, that boy strayed onto the wrong path."

 

The shaman spoke in riddles, not answering any of his questions directly, but for some reason, Tom didn’t think she was playing with him.

 

It felt to him like she couldn’t rather than wouldn’t answer his questions.

 

At the same time, it seemed like she was using riddles to guide him to find the answer himself.