Thea and Asuren returned to Barren Forest and was surprised when they saw Henry examining the ground.
"What are you doing here?" Thea asked and looked around with caution. "This place is dangerous."
"This place is cursed," Henry did not look away from the grasses he was examining. "That must be the reason I kept transporting here. Like how I keep transporting in front of you, Asuren."
"What? Your ability is attracted to powerful curses?" Thea raised an eyebrow.
"Probably," Henry replied. "This is the place where I first met Riz, Gia, and Sel."
Thea sighed and then asked, "Can you counter this curse?"
"I don't know," Henry got up on his feet and examined the nearest tree. "Vital information about this ancient curse is elusive to me. I might need a lot of time to figure this one out."
"I will help you with that," Gia landed beside Henry. Juliann was right behind her. "Thea, Asuren, you should find the boar seal and stop him from creating another cursed place like this."
"I will guard them with my life," Juliann promised. "Focus on the boar seal."
"Call us if you need backup," Gia reminded them.
"We will," Thea nodded and then asked, "How is Sel? Did she calm down?"
"She will be okay," Gia reassured her. "She only needs time to grieve."
"Calix is with her. He will keep her safe," Juliann added.
"You need to return here by nightfall," Henry finally looked away from the grasses and glanced at Asuren. "If you miss a dose of your medicine, everything that you endured so far will be for nothing and it will be harder for us to undo that ancient curse."
"He will return here on time," Thea promised. "We will see you tonight."
^##########^
Thea and Asuren searched the deepest area of the Barren Forest and found a faint trace of the boar seal. They trailed it with caution and it led them to another forest, back to Foliage Forest. As they walked further into the woodland, they found Riz and Ayhan. Both looked exhausted while sitting on the ground and leaning on a tree.
"What happened?" Thea checked on the two. They had some cuts but no serious injuries.
"We encountered more disciples of the boar seal. We managed to defeat them but we are too tired to move. I'm sorry, Thea. I ignored your call," Riz looked ashamed of herself.
"It's okay," Thea observed the traces lingering around the area. "I know how strong these disciples are."
"You fought them too?" Riz looked even worse. "I should have helped."
"Asuren is with me. He kept me safe," Thea grinned.
Riz rolled her eyes and then asked, "What are you doing here. Did you leave Barren Forest to Sel and Calix?"
"Asuren and I are trailing traces of the boar seal. It brought us here," Thea explained and then sighed.
"We've been searching this area for hours but only encountered his disciples," Ayhan said with his eyes closed.
"We need to find him soon. More fairies will die if he keeps creating those cursed spaces," Thea looked up and hoped that Greyleaf could be reborn in a much better world.
"Should we call everyone and focus on this forest?" Riz shakily got up on her feet but quickly slumped back to the ground.
"Gia, Henry, and Juliann are trying to find a cure to the flesh eater curse. Sel needs some time alone. Calix is watching over her," Thea informed them.
"Sel need some time alone? Why? What happened to her?" Riz raised an eyebrow.
Thea told Riz what happened to Blue Vine Ville.
"Let's find the boar seal," Riz bolted up on her feet. "We can recover our strength while walking."
"Riz is right," Ayhan straightened up. "We need to keep moving."
^########^
Their search led them to another cave filled with healthy vegetations. There was no sign of the boar seal or his disciples anywhere in the area but they found an unconscious female fairy lying on the ground.
Thea approached her with caution. With only a light tap on the shoulder, unconscious fairy jerked awake and her eyes filled with terror.
"What are you doing here?" she crawled away from them until she hit the wall.
"We're not going to hurt you," Thea tried to comfort the female fairy that seemed centuries older than them.
"Please… leave…" the horrified fairy leaned closer to the wall and cried, "I don't want to hurt you."
"There are four of us here," Riz said. "Even if you turn into a flesh eater, you cannot easily hurt any of us."
"Flesh eater…" the eyes of the fairy widened with horror. "Is that what Jenna turned into?" she covered her eyes and wept harder. "I don't want to become a monster…" she glanced desperately at them. "Please… help me…"
"Did you eat any of these?" Ayhan pointed at the vegetations around them.
"My friends and I stumbled upon this cave and… and were enticed by the healthy vegetations here. We wanted to share everything with our fellow villagers and gathered as much food as we could. It took us hours. We got tired and hungry. We picked a few more fruits and... ate them," the female fairy shed more tears as she continued with her story, "Everything was fresh… and delicious. My stomach never felt that satisfied for centuries. I ate until I had fallen asleep. When I woke up… Jenna…" more tears poured from her eyes as she said, "Jenna… devoured all our friends… and… and she turned… she turned into a monster…"
"She didn't eat you?" Riz looked at the terrified fairy with suspicion. "You also consumed the same fruits as your friends. Why are you still a fairy? Why are you still alive?"
"I don't know..." the fairy sobbed. "When I woke up, I feel hungry… but when I saw Jenna… I was terrified…" she covered her face in shame as she confessed, "I hid under the bushes until everything had quiet down. I tried to get out of the cave when Jenna had left but… there was a lot of blood and I… I fainted…"
"We didn't see any blood in this cave," Riz was still suspicious.
The terrified fairy looked around her and was confused. "Was it all… just a dream?" She suddenly looked hopeful. "I probably had a nightmare because I ate a lot. It seems I also slept long because the bushes and even the grasses had grown thicker and taller. That's it. Everything that had happened was only a nightmare. I need to return to Foliage Ville and checked on my friends."
"Stay here for now," Riz advised. "You ate these cursed vegetations. We need to get you checked."
"I already called Gia. They will be here soon."
"I will check Foliage Ville," Riz spread her wings and soared out of the cave.
"I will help her," Ayhan quickly followed Riz.
"What is your name?" Thea sat beside the terrified fairy while Asuren guarded the entrance of the cave.
"Gemma…" the fairy sobbed and then held her rumbling stomach.
"Like you, I had been cursed with the flesh eater curse. I starved for twenty-four hours but after that, the curse had disappeared. You only need to stay strong and refrain from eating meat or anything from this cave. My friends will bring food that you can eat. They are also trying to find a better cure to this curse. They are the best. I'm sure they can help you."
^###############^