Chapter 321: Into the Forest (1)
Everly flew to New Osebuch State with Misha and Orff.
She never returned to classes.
Instead, armed with a medical certificate obtained through the power of money, she applied for a leave of absence from the university on the grounds that she was suffering from health problems and required a prolonged period of recuperation.
The reason was simple.
The event she had been waiting for was almost here.
December 11 of this year would mark the last Transit of Venus of this century. If she missed this opportunity, the next Transit of Venus wouldn’t occur for well over a hundred years.
Neither Everly nor Old John would still be alive by then.
The journey to find the Fountain of Youth would be dangerous, and no one could predict how it would end. Besides, Misha herself had no interest in the Fountain of Youth.
So, although Misha was more than willing to accompany Everly on the adventure, Everly refused.
She intended to undertake the journey alone.
One line from Orff’s poem read:
“At the foot of the mountains that encircle the world, Aurelbis has laid His trial.”
The tale of the warrior Gesar, told by the Winton tribal priest, said much the same. After landing on the island, the Native American warrior Gesar endured countless hardships before finally reaching the staircase that led to the heavens.
From this, Everly concluded that setting foot on the island was only the beginning.
To actually reach the staircase, she would first have to overcome a series of trials.
She had no idea what form those trials would take.
But if an Indigenous warrior from several centuries ago had been able to pass them, then with the advantages of modern technology, there was no reason she couldn’t do the same.
Worry and fear were meaningless.
The only thing she needed to do was keep improving herself until she was capable of facing any challenge without being defeated.
The Transit of Venus would occur on December 11.
The star chart given to her by the Star Chart Witch could only be used during the seven days before the island surfaced.
There were still several months before the expedition began, and Everly had no intention of wasting such a valuable opportunity to prepare.
After taking care of all the administrative matters at the university, she enrolled in several wilderness survival and hand-to-hand combat training centers across New Osebuch State.
From then on, she spent every day moving from one training facility to another, undergoing intensive instruction.
In her spare time, Everly also binge-watched a huge number of archaeological treasure-hunt horror films, cramming every survival lesson and cautionary tale she could find.
This was a special subgenre of horror films.
It combined the thrills of exploring ancient ruins with supernatural horror elements—ghosts, curses, and other paranormal phenomena—giving audiences a double dose of excitement and an experience quite different from that of ordinary horror movies.
In her previous life, there had been a classic film called The Mummy, one of the defining examples of the archaeological adventure horror genre.
Everly felt that her own search for the Fountain of Youth on the island in the sea could be viewed as a similar kind of treasure-hunting expedition.
If everything she encountered on the island still followed the usual rules of horror movies, then perhaps watching more films of the same genre would allow her to pick up some useful survival tips.
And even if those rules didn’t apply, it wouldn’t hurt to familiarize herself with the common traps, puzzles, and mechanisms that tended to appear in fictional ruins.
Besides, most of those movies were genuinely entertaining.
Even if none of the knowledge proved useful in the end, Everly was more than happy to spend her breaks watching them to unwind.
Time passed quickly in a routine of daily training and constant learning.
By the middle of November, Everly packed the meteorite fragment she had brought back from home during the summer vacation and boarded a flight to Dalifer State.
Based on the information she had gathered, the island that concealed the Fountain of Youth was most likely somewhere within the Bahamas, south of Dalifer State and north of Haiti.
The Bahamas was an independent nation.
Everly had researched the country’s public security situation beforehand, and her conclusion was simple:
It was bad.
Separated from the United States by only a stretch of sea, the Bahamas saw a steady influx of illegal firearms smuggled in from across the water every year. As a result, violent crimes—including dr*g trafficking, armed robbery, and murder for profit—were alarmingly common.
Even in the relatively safe tourist areas, thefts and robberies still occurred with unsettling frequency.
Haiti, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
Since February of that year, the country had been mired in prolonged political turmoil due to escalating conflict between the incumbent president and the opposition.
Violent demonstrations accompanied by looting had broken out repeatedly across the country. To make matters worse, Haiti’s police force was severely understaffed, and much of the country was effectively under the control of armed gangs, leaving no one capable of maintaining public order.
In short, the people of both countries were living under extremely difficult conditions.
Although Everly was more than capable of defending herself, she wasn’t foolish enough to walk straight into danger without good reason.
After carefully weighing her options, she settled on a plan.
She would first travel to Dalifer State, the southernmost part of the U.S. mainland. From there, she would hire a broker at the local harbor to rent a boat and take care of all the paperwork required to enter Bahamian waters. Then she would sail herself into the waters around the Bahamas. Seven days before the Transit of Venus, she would use the reward she had received from the Curse Witch to determine the island’s exact coordinates and arrive at the designated location ahead of time to wait for the island to emerge.
The plan itself wasn’t particularly complicated.
With extensive connections and enough money, none of it was especially difficult to arrange.
As it happened, Everly had both.
She knew plenty of people, and her bank account was more than healthy.
As a result, what would have been a logistical nightmare for most people turned into something resembling easy mode in her hands.
Before she had even boarded her flight, Everly received a call from the broker.
He informed her that he had already found a suitable boat waiting for her at Miant Harbor in Dalifer State. Once she inspected it and confirmed everything was in order, all she had to do was sign the paperwork to receive the keys. As for the necessary permits, they were expected to be completed within a week.
There were still more than twenty days before the Transit of Venus.
That was more than enough time.
With everything proceeding so smoothly, Everly found herself in an excellent mood.
The boarding announcement echoed through the terminal.
She ended the call, slung the small shoulder bag containing her important belongings across her body, and followed a flight attendant into the spacious first-class cabin.
After settling into her seat, she reclined it, pulled on an eye mask, and stretched out comfortably, letting the built-in massage function knead her back as she closed her eyes to rest.
This should have been a perfectly relaxing flight.
But two and a half hours after takeoff, while drifting between sleep and wakefulness, Everly suddenly felt the aircraft shudder.
Her eyes snapped open.
She sat upright and instinctively pressed a hand against her chest.
Beneath the thin layer of flesh, her heart was pounding at an abnormal pace. A chill rose from the soles of her feet, climbed her spine, and spread throughout her body.
“Woof! Woof! Woof, woof!”
Not far from her came Buddy’s shrill warning barks.
Each urgent bark scraped across her already taut nerves like invisible fingers, making the unease in her heart grow even stronger.
Then the plane jolted again.
Through the thin curtain separating first class from the main cabin, Everly could hear objects tumbling to the floor one after another.
“What’s going on? Turbulence?”
“No idea…”
Murmurs of dissatisfaction spread through the cabin.
Everly frowned.
Her danger sense had been triggered.
If this were nothing more than ordinary turbulence, there was no way she would feel this level of panic.
Something far more terrifying was about to happen.
A terrorist hijacking?
Probably not.
Before boarding, Everly had made a habit of discreetly observing the other passengers on the flight. Given what had happened to her as a baby, if there had been terrorists among them, her sixth sense would have sounded the alarm long before they ever boarded the plane.
So what was it?
Extreme weather?
Or had something gone wrong with the aircraft itself?
As her mind raced through the possibilities, Everly reached into the storage compartment beneath her armrest and pulled out her backpack.
The first thing she did was retrieve the meteorite fragment—the most important item she was carrying—and slip it into her pocket so it rested directly against her body.
Then she began searching through her bag for the hand mirror she always carried.
Everly had an agreement with Bloody Mary.
Back during the “Client Disappearance” incident at Mauster Academy, the Curse Witch Natalie had intended to eliminate Bloody Mary once and for all, sending the infamous witch back to hell where she belonged.
At the critical moment, Bloody Mary had used her divination ability and foreseen that Everly might one day need her power.
Using that vision as leverage, she had immediately swallowed her pride and begged for mercy, convincing Natalie to spare her life.
Later, after privately asking Bloody Mary about her abilities, Everly realized that she might someday need to hide in the Mirror World to escape danger.
So she had stood before the mirror where Bloody Mary resided, called out “Bloody Mary” three times, and entered into a Mirror Pact with her.
As long as someone bound by the Mirror Pact stood before a mirror, Bloody Mary could use it to perform a mirror exchange, swapping places with that person.
Bloody Mary had promised to keep an eye on Everly whenever possible.
Whenever Everly needed her, all she had to do was call Bloody Mary’s name into a mirror, and the witch would answer.
Everly suspected that the unknown disaster unfolding now might be the very scene Bloody Mary had foreseen.
Since the “Client Disappearance” incident, Everly had gone through the chain letter case, the deadly survival game, the cabin-in-the-woods incident, the cursed paintings, and numerous other supernatural events.
But in those situations, either Bloody Mary’s power wasn’t useful, or Misha had been with her and Everly couldn’t abandon her companion to save herself, or she had been trapped inside a painting and unable to contact Bloody Mary at all…
In short, until now, she had never once had the opportunity to make use of their agreement.
Even during the Gary incident, that strange ball of yarn had accidentally blocked the path needed for the exchange.
But this time, nothing was stopping her.
She could simply swap places with Bloody Mary through the mirror.
Once the exchange was complete, Everly would briefly enter the Mirror World, while Bloody Mary would take her place aboard the aircraft and bear whatever unknown catastrophe was about to occur.
After the danger had passed, the two of them could simply switch back, allowing Everly to emerge completely unharmed.
It was a good plan.
Unfortunately, reality gave her no time to carry it out.
Before her fingers could even reach the mirror—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted from the left side of the aircraft.
Then the entire aircraft lurched violently, as though struck by an immense force, pitching sharply to the left.
Even with her seatbelt fastened, Everly’s body was thrown sideways. Her head slammed toward the cabin wall, and only because she managed to throw up an arm to cushion the impact did she avoid splitting her head open.
The cabin announcement came on immediately afterward.
A male voice, tinged with panic, informed the passengers that the aircraft’s left wing had suffered a sudden malfunction. The crew had initiated emergency procedures and requested that everyone immediately—
The announcement had barely begun when another deafening boom interrupted it.
Through the window, Everly saw the aircraft’s left wing, slightly behind her line of sight, erupt in a violent explosion.
Towering flames burst from the ruptured wing, while thick black smoke billowed into the sky, trailing behind the aircraft in a ribbon that was both terrifying and strangely magnificent.
The explosion completely destroyed the plane’s balance.
It spun wildly through the sky like a badly folded paper airplane.
There was nothing anyone could do.
People screamed.
They cried.
They wailed in terror as they watched the aircraft roll uncontrollably—from level flight to nearly vertical with the left wing pointing toward the earth, then continuing over until the belly of the plane faced the sky…
As the aircraft tumbled without end, countless objects—including the oxygen masks—came crashing down from the ceiling and overhead compartments, raining onto the passengers below.
Some passengers were no longer held securely in their seats.
They broke free and bounced helplessly around the cabin like beans inside a tin can, smashing into walls, seats, and one another until many were left bleeding from head wounds.
Everly managed to keep hold of her backpack.
But amid the chaos, someone else’s laptop came hurtling across the cabin, striking her bag hard enough to yank the zipper open.
Everything inside spilled out.
Among the scattered belongings was the small hand mirror that could have saved her life.
Everly reached for it—
Only to have another passenger’s carry-on bag slam into her hand, knocking it aside.
The mirror slipped just beyond her reach.
Then the cabin descended into complete chaos.
Everything inside the aircraft was tossed about as though it had been thrown into the drum of a washing machine, rolling in every direction as the plane tumbled through the sky.
The seatbelt only secured her waist.
In this kind of violent rotation, Everly had to devote every ounce of strength just to keep herself from being flung out of her seat. There was no chance of finding the mirror or anything else she needed.
Even worse, the aircraft was plunging toward the ground at incredible speed while it spun.
Out of the corner of her eye, Everly noticed the white clouds outside the window disappearing.
The moment the plane burst through the cloud layer, the scenery changed dramatically.
An endless sea of green filled her vision.
It was a vast forest stretching farther than the eye could see.
The aircraft continued to roll.
Its descent was so rapid that with every complete rotation, the green landscape outside drew noticeably closer.
By the end, through the window, Everly could clearly make out the dark green leaves crowning the treetops.
Crack… Crack! Crack!
The aircraft slammed into the forest canopy.
The snapping of branches rang out one after another. Outside the fuselage, it sounded as though countless razor-sharp claws were scraping relentlessly against the plane, producing an endless chorus of shrill screeches.
The dense trees finally did what nothing else had managed to do.
They stopped the aircraft from rolling.
The plane plunged downward like a colossal axe dropped from the heavens, carving diagonally through the forest, shearing off vast swaths of treetops and leaving ancient giants that had stood for untold years shattered beyond recognition.
As it dropped even lower, however, the unstoppable aircraft finally met its nemesis.
The trunks.
One.
Two.
Three…
Towering trees, their massive trunks thick and unyielding, stood directly in its path.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The impacts came in rapid succession.
The fuselage quickly crumpled inward under the repeated collisions.
Inside the cabin, torn sheets of metal and shattered glass exploded in every direction.
Some of the unluckiest passengers were impaled outright as broken branches speared through the aircraft from outside.
Everly herself was showered with flying debris, leaving her body covered in cuts and wounds.
Seeing that the aircraft was still skidding forward, Everly made a split-second decision.
She immediately unbuckled her seatbelt, curled herself into the space beneath the seat, wrapped both arms around her head, and used her backpack and forearms to shield the most vulnerable parts of her body.
She had only just managed to tuck herself into position when—
Boom!
A thunderous explosion erupted.
Flames burst violently from the wing and the middle section of the aircraft.
The impact was several times stronger than before.
Everly felt as though she’d been hit by a speeding vehicle. Her body was hurled into the air uncontrollably, only to slam into the underside of the seats above before bouncing violently between the floor and the seat frame.
The world spun.
Her ears rang.
Darkness flooded her vision.
And she lost consciousness.