The Legend of the Flower Demon Lord

Chapter 22 - The Pretty Thoughts in a Demon Lord's Mind

Chapter 22 – The Pretty Thoughts in a Demon Lord's Mind

An elegant bird with luminescent white feathers twisted and turned in a bright blue sky, before pulling down and perching upon an equally luminescent golden tree branch. Twitching its little head left and right, its bright blue eyes examined the distance, where a group of oddly shaped people approached.

The image reflected in the bright bird's eye was in stark contrast to its background. Behind it was a luscious, yet oddly bright and golden forest, with a bright blue sky surrounding it in a bubble. In the distance reflected, was a dark, murky forest, the moon giving off the only light in a dark night sky.

The thieves who had captured me finally arrived at that place. It was the Forest of Light – a place of legend, ever-lasting daylight, and oddly enough, terror. With its idyllic image, it lured travelers into its deceptive shiny depths, never to be seen again. It was a trap. And, apparently, my prison.

"We have arrived!"

With that statement, the sack that carried me was thrown to the ground.

"Wow...this place..."

"Come on! Don't let it fool you. You all know the legends. Let's hurry this up before we get distracted and pulled in."

The boss tried to pull his team together and focus on their task, while they stared with shiny, mesmerized eyes at the forest that seemed to sparkle with a fierceness that reviled Edward's. Even the boss glanced at it now and then, before snapping his head away to focus.

"No one gets pulled in!"

"No, they get distracted and walk in like idiots. Now hurry up and retrieve the necklace so we can get rid of this baggage."

Finally, they emptied the sack of its 'baggage,' aka – me. With a plop, I fell to the ground, and everything turned silent.

"..."

They stared.

"..."

And they stared.

"..."

And they stared...

Gaining a hint of consciousness, my brow twitched in pain as I laid on the dirt ground, my hair sprawled around me.

"Hn..."

"This...T-This is..."

"...It can't be..."

"A beauty!"

One of them finally exclaimed, mirroring everyone's thoughts. They thought back to the moments they had seen me – through the gaps of falling rubble and in the darkness of pitch black night – and realized... they had never seen what I looked like!

"...Was she always this pretty?"

Drool was starting to form on their agape mouths, hearts replacing eyes as they stared stupidly at the girl twitching in pain on the ground.

The boss seemed to finally wake up, shaking his head to clear it, while shutting his eyes tightly.

"Don't be tricked! It's the effect of the forest! Close your eyes! There is no way someone could be this beautiful!"

Using their psychic powers to strengthen their minds, everyone quickly shut their eyes.

"Y-Yeah...that makes sense!"

"As expected of the boss! He saw right through it..."

"We have much to learn..."

With muttered agreements, they only slightly opened their eyes enough to see now and then, went to the line of carts neatly placed at the entrance of the forest, and gingerly placed me over it with a care I had not received until now. Once I was in it, they sighed as if in relief. The one who had placed me had even averted his face from me, as if I were a delicate, dangerous substance.