The Forest Guardians

49. Wonderland Chapter 4

Omen's POV

Everyone stumbled out of the forest tiredly, with Hes walking by us leisurely. She even whistled and gasped loudly in excitement at the sight of the village in front of us. Without stopping to check on us, she ran towards it.

"How is she unscathed after all of that?" Envilia asked in shock.

The path to the village that Mad Hatter pointed out to us was not easy to tread. Along the way, we had to fight against giant venus flytraps and other human-eating plants. We were so preoccupied with fighting against those monsters that we nearly fell into quicksand. Had it not been for Hes who pulled us out of there and guided us back to our path, we would have fallen into it.

"Whatever the case is, it seemed she has no intention of harming us," Shiro noted. "Let's catch up with her. We can't lose her after promising Mad Hatter."

Once we entered the village, a peculiar feeling washed over me. I had difficulty pinpointing its cause until Yin grabbed her twin brother's arm and squeaked about how the villagers' faces were scary. As I looked properly at a passing villager's face, I had the shock of my life.

They had no face.

None at all.

There were no eyes, nose, mouth. It was like a clean slate plastered over a person's face. As though feeling my gaze, the blank face of the villager eerily stared straight at me. A chill ran down my spine while I pushed my desire to scream down my throat.

Then, I heard Shiro's voice in my mind.

<Don't stare at them. Just treat them normally and walk straight.>

Gulping, I followed her instructions, ignoring the burning gaze on me. My hands trembled as we walked away from the villager. However, as my eyes watched the rest of the villagers, they all had the same appearance. None of them have a face at all.

<Wh...Where is Hes? Let's just get her and get out here.> Yang cried silently, feeling creeped out by the lack of faces surrounding us.

<In front of us.> Envilia gestured towards the front where Hes was speaking cheerfully to a hunchbacked old man who was leaning on a stick.

<How are the both of you, Shiro and Envilia, not creeped out by their lack of faces at all?!> Yin shrieked while hiding her face behind her brother's back, refusing to see the villagers.

<That's because we already knew what was going to happen.> Envilia replied. <Besides, if you approached and talked to one of them, you would realize that their face isn't blank. You can see a faint outline of their faces once in a while. Similar to having you walk into a crowd, but you don't remember a single face in there. It's just hard to see their faces because they don't have a definite 'role' within this world.>

Then, Shiro picked up after Envilia.

<Except for the old man in front of us. Even from so far, we can see his face so clearly. It means that he is an essential figure in this world. Most likely the village head here.>

Hes turned around and saw us. In excitement, she waved at us before talking animatedly with the old man, who just nodded his head slowly. When we reached them, Hes confirmed Shiro's guess by introducing him as the village head after introducing us.

"I heard from this young lass that you needed a place to stay, is that correct?" The village head stroked his beard slowly as he smiled at us.

We simultaneously nodded at him.

The old man coughed a little before he grabbed the sleeve of a villager who was walking past. There were a few whispered words of exchange between them. It took a while before they finally reached a consensus. The head of the villager nodded in understanding before her blank face eerily turned towards us. There was a slight gasp from Yang before he hurriedly covered his mouth and stared straight at the floor.

"Just follow her," the village head continued. "She will show you the way, travelers from afar."

My ears perked at the way he addressed us before my eyes glanced at him. Nothing was amiss, but I could not shake off the nagging feeling. Then, my eyes turned to our surroundings. The villagers were going about their daily lives, ignoring our existence. It was like they did not notice us.

Yet, how is that possible?

I realized the crux of the problem. Immediately, I grabbed the arm of the village head. There was a sharp flash of light across his eyes, looking a little hostile. I blinked. They became a set of curious eyes staring at me in puzzlement.

"Village Head," I said slowly. "We would be honored if we lived with you and your family."

The more I spoke, the more sure I was as I watched his reactions. There was a subtle look of approval at my words. As for my mesias, I could hear the heap of questions coming from them. Yet, there was no time to explain. If I don't change our living quarters before the sun sets, we might not live.

"But my home is small. It would not be good to house all of you."

"It does not matter. As long as we have a roof above our heads, it will do."

"But I..."

I grabbed the village head's hand with both of my hands and looked straight into his eyes with as much sincerity as I could.

"Old man, nothing could delight us to experience the warm hospitality of such a great leader like you."

There was a pregnant pause in the air as I watched his reactions. If so much bootlicking didn't work, I would have to kiss my butt goodbye. I sucked in a breath as I waited. The old village head suddenly laughed heartily, grabbing his belly as he threw his head back. I breathed a sigh of relief as he nodded in agreement and led us to his house.

<What's happening? Why did we change places?> Yin asked.

<If we went with the female villager, none of us would make it tomorrow.> I answered frankly. <It's a trap. Remember what Envilia and Shiro warned us about? Envilia, Shiro, the both of you should have known! If we let our guards down, these villagers will try to take our lives.>

<...Shit! You're right! Look at the villagers now.> Envilia answered.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see all the blank faces staring right at us eerily. Previously, all of them ignored us as if we didn't exist. Now, they were openly looking at us. Like magnets, their faces slowly followed us as we walked towards the village head's house. As we could not see their expressions, it was hard to tell if they were hostile to us or not. But since we had foiled their plans, they must be feeling anger and frustration towards us.

<They... They weren't like that earlier...> Yang cried out in fear. "Help! We nearly fell into their trap.>

<Wait, then the village head's house isn't dangerous?> Yin asked fearfully.

<It seems like it. Judging from the village head's expressions, staying at his house for the night is the correct answer.> I answered. <To be safe, let's take turns to guard the room. Once it's daybreak, we will get information about Hes's brother's whereabouts and get out.>

"Hey guys, stop talking to one another! Let me in on your conversations too!" Hes pouted as she watched us.

Even though we were not speaking verbally, she must have felt some silent exchange between us. Luckily, we had already wrapped up our conversations.

"Hes, can you see how they look like?" Shiro suddenly asked her. "We can't see them."

At her question, Hes giggled. "What? Can't you see? Hehe, but I can though. Do you want me to tell you what they look like? Alright. All the villagers here except the village head are wearing a mask."

"What sort of mask?"

"A clown mask. All with happy faces." Hes replied honestly, her sparkling eyes watching our expressions.

We looked at each other with dread in our hearts. Just to confirm, Shiro asked Hes to draw the mask out. Once she was done, we crowded around it. Instantly, a chill settled in our hearts.

It was too alike.

The villagers' masks were just like the ones belonging to the Laughing Clowns. The ones which Damon Windsor brought into the world of Young Sherlock Holmes.

What exactly does this all mean?