The humans wore faces that were paled with fear. They all collectively took a step back fearfully but one woman with flowing robes and a staff adorned with colorful runes stepped forward with a scowl.

  "Enough of this foolishness," she declared, “We cannot allow this abomination to exist! We must neutralize her before she becomes a greater threat to humans. Kill her now!"

  Roselle’s knew she had to defend herself if she wanted to survive. She fired out a barrage of explosive shots from her massive cannon. Each shot found its mark with devastating precision filling the air with the deafening sound of explosions that shattered the tranquility of the forest.

  The frost mage raised her hands and the air around her grew deathly cold. Frost crawled along the ground and soon after, an icy beam shot forth with a crackling hiss, slicing through the air toward Roselle.

  Roselle twisted to the side to avoid the frost's chilling grasp. The beam struck a tree behind her, encasing its trunk in a shell of ice. Roselle didn’t have time to marvel at the display; the crowned mage was already chanting in a language she couldn’t understand.

  The ground beneath Roselle’s feet trembled. Jagged slabs of earth rose from the forest floor. The mage thrust her staff forward and sent the massive boulders hurtling toward Roselle like missiles.

  Roselle instinctively dove behind a cluster of trees. The first boulder smashed into the thick trunk she hid behind, sending splinters flying in every direction. The ground shook as more boulders crashed around her.

  Roselle's breaths were ragged. Her mind was in a storm. ‘Everyone is after me... What did I do to deserve this?’

  The shouts of the humans reached her ears even over the chaos.

  "She's just another of Kintovar's monstrosities!"

  "Take her down before she gets any stronger!"

  Their words cut deeper than any weapon. Roselle’s vision blurred and for a moment, she sunk into despair. “I didn’t ask…to be ….”

  The suffocating weight of their hatred pressed down on her like an iron shroud. She winced hard but then, something within her shifted.

  The sadness she was feeling turned into a molten heat that surged through her veins which burned away the despair. She clenched her teeth hard. Her vision sharpened. The faces of her enemies were now painted in startling clarity.

  A searing heat came from the base of her spine, traveling upward like a wildfire. Her golden hair started taking on streaks of fiery red that spread like veins. Her eyes, once blue and innocent flared crimson with an unearthly light.

  The humans stared at her with horror. Their speech grew frantic:

  “What... what’s happening to her?”

  “Her hair—her eyes—!”

  “She’s even worse than we thought!”

  When Roselle’s foot hit the ground, faint red static flickered at the impact, crackling and sparking like tiny lightning bolts. The air around her shifted unnaturally as a sudden chill swept through the clearing. The frost mage shivered involuntarily. The crowned mage glanced uneasily at the ground.

  “You wanted me to be a monster?” Roselle trembled, not with fear but with the overwhelming power coursing through her. “Fine. I’ll show you a monster!”

  Roselle raised her cannon which was glowing red faintly. The frost mage tried another ice beam but it fizzled against the wave of heat emanating from Roselle, who fired a shot that blasted the frost mage and completely destroyed her entire body. There was nothing left but blood falling into a heap.

  The crowned mage moved quickly and summoned another series of boulders. She hurled them toward Roselle with desperation etched into her face. Roselle countered her by firing in a relentless barrage. Explosions ripped through the forest which not only destroyed the boulders, but the crowned mage who was reduced to nothing like the frost mage.

  Roselle roared. “Disappear! Disappear!”

  The humans scattered like insects. Some fled while others were frozen in terror. Roselle did not let a single one of them escape. The humans fell one by one in various parts of the forest with bodies torn apart by the sheer force of Roselle's cannon fire.

  While Roselle unleashed her devastating onslaught on the remaining humans, a faint yet familiar voice began to echo within her mind.

  ‘Please... stop... this...’

  This inner voice was filled with desperation, but as Roselle hesitated for a moment, another voice, just like her own but sinister echoed in her mind.

  ‘You remember what happened the last time, don’t you? You trusted them, and what did they do?’

  Flashes of something fragmented flickered behind her eyes. Blood-streaked walls, screams and how she was when she ‘died’ . She gasped.

  The voice pressed venomously. ‘Do you want to feel that pain and lose everything…again? Finish them. You cannot disobey Dr. Kintovar!’

  The hesitation was gone, replaced by a cold, unyielding resolve.

  “Monsters don’t hesitate,” she muttered, devoid of emotion.

  Roselle chased after the last of the humans within a clearing within the forest and shot them down without mercy. With the last of the humans defeated, Roselle's cannon ceased firing and fell silent. The forest around her was now a bloodied battlefield, scarred by the devastation she had made.

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  The crimson glow in Roselle’s eyes dimmed and her hair gradually returned to its golden hue. Her body felt heavy. She leaned against the charred remains of a tree for support. The forest, once vibrant was now eerily silent with the stench of blood and burned wood.

  Roselle looked around with her blue eyes wide and trembling. The sight before her was something out of a nightmare. Half of bodies lay scattered, lifeless and broken with their blood soaking into the earth. Many trees were also split or charred beyond recognition.

  Her voice wavered, almost a whisper. "What... what have I done?"

  A familiar voice echoed within Roselle’s mind, cold yet soothing. “You survived."

  Roselle’s breathing hitched. "Survived? N-No…I…This is..." Her words faltered.

  The voice interjected. "The countdown timer stopped, didn’t it? Check your system, Roselle. See for yourself."

  Hesitating for a moment, Roselle wiped trembling hands against her fur coat, She focused and called out for the first time: "System... open diagnostics."

  A glowing red interface materialized before her eyes. She blinked at the display with her gaze locking on a timer. It read:

  [[SYSTEM MESSAGE]]

  Timer: Deactivated

  Threat Assessment: None

  Overheat State: Recovery in Progress

  Roselle’s lips parted upon reading the words. The relentless countdown that had haunted her was gone. She felt the best option now was to return to Dr.Kintovar.

  Before she could make it back to the lab, an unexpected barrier of magic sealed off the area she was in, trapping her within the magical barrier in the forest.

  Roselle looked around in alarm. Her mind raced with fear. She clenched her fists and trembled while looking around. “What is this? Wh-What's happening?" she stammered, "I can't get out! I'm stuck here..."

  Roselle's gaze darted around the barrier. She looked for any sign of hope but suddenly, a figure shrouded in dark robes materialized before Roselle. The figure's eyes held malevolence, and a sinister smile played upon her lips.

  "Well, well, well, what do we have here? “The figure said curiously." My acute senses can detect even the faintest traces of magic and I can’t sense any magic in you... You've caused quite a ruckus, haven't you?"

  Roselle shrank back with her fear intensifying. She stammered. Her tone took a higher pitch, "I-I... I was just trying to protect myself."

  The figure chuckled. "Protect yourself, you say? From what? The poor, defenseless humans?'' She took a menacing step closer, "You see, child, this forest was filled with promising mages, and then you came out of nowhere and eliminated them... without a hint of magic in you..."

  The figure removed her dark robes, revealing a forest-like outfit adorned with several runes and symbols. In her hand was a majestic, glowing staff that pulsed with magical energy.

  "I am Thalindra, the eternal guardian of these ancient woods. For centuries, I have observed this mystical realm, and now, you disrupt it..."

  Roselle swallowed hard. Thalindra's presence was overwhelming. Her very essence of magic seemed intertwined with the forest. "You've not only extinguished the lives of the mages but also disrupted the delicate balance of power in this forest,” Thalandria declared.

  Roselle knew that pleading alone would not save her against someone with such a title. This woman seemed stronger than all the others and the only thing she knew how to do right now was use her weapon. She thought carefully before saying with her arms over her chest and a small trembling smile coming to her face "Forgive me and let me go?"

  Thalindra's eyes widened in surprise and then a laughter rang out from her that spread through the enchanted forest.

  "WOW, child! Did you really think that was going to work? The damage has already been done, and the lives of the mages you took cannot be restored. Your fate has already been sealed."

  With a nervous chuckle, Roselle tilted her head with a slow response. "Well, I guess that my 'forgive and forget' strategy isn't going to cut it here, huh? Note to self: reevaluate my negotiation tactics."

  Thalindra's shifted to pure surprise by the audacity of this child. "You find humor in this situation, child? I was going to take things lightly, but now, I'm going to crush you!"

  With a wave of her staff, Thalindra summoned the very essence of the forest itself, causing trees to sprout and combine with the area.

  Roselle’s eyes widened. She felt the forest closing in on her with a sheer abundance of new trees being formed.

  Thalindra thrusted out her staff and a surge of magical energy coursed through it, creating a green blast that bounced off the trees and homed in on Roselle, regardless of where she hid.

  Roselle had little time to react. She aimed her cannon and fired a powerful shot at the energy hoping to intercept it. The collision between Roselle's cannon shot and Thalindra's blast created a blinding explosion of energy in the air.

  Thalindra wasted no time and began a gesture of her staff. Then she declared,

  “Nature’s Wrath!”

  The sky above darkened unnaturally and a torrential downpour began to fall but the drops were not water. They were heavy droplets of mud, thick and sticky coating everything they touched in a suffocating layer. The forest floor quickly became a mire, pulling at Roselle's feet and slowing her movements to a crawl.

  As Roselle struggled to keep her footing, Thalindra raised her staff again. Lightning bolts streaked down from the darkened sky. The electric strikes sought Roselle with precision, forcing her to dodge and weave despite the treacherous terrain.

  Thalindra boomed through the chaos. “You’ve defiled these woods and now, the forest itself will answer your crimes. Let’s see you survive the fury of the earth!”

  She thrust her staff downward, causing massive roots and vines to erupt from the ground. They writhed like serpents as they sought to entangle Roselle.

  Roselle’s narrowly avoided being ensnared. Her cannon hummed to life and she fired a shot into the mass of roots, blasting them apart but her footing slipped in the muck. A sharp jolt of pain shot through her once she hit the ground.

  Above her, Thalindra’s figure loomed like an unyielding force of nature. With a flourish of her staff, she summoned a whirlwind infused with mud and debris, tearing through the forest and lifting Roselle into the air. The storm spinned her around before violently releasing her.

  Roselle hit the ground hard. Her vision swam as a system message flickered before her eyes:

  System Status: Online

  LifeForce: 50% (Nearly Critical)

  Magic: 200%

  Cannon Charge: 32%

  Timer: Deactivated (All Humans eliminated)

  Location: Enchanted Forest

  Threat Assessment: Critical (Forest Guardian Thalindra)

  Kintovar's lab: Safe

  Roselle couldn't ignore the questions that swirled in her thoughts. ‘What... What's happening to me? They said that I had no magic, but... this Magic I’m seeing, it's real… isn’t it? How am I able to use it...?’ Roselle closed her eyes, and she murmured inwardly while gritting her teeth.

  'It’s no use! Dr.Kintovar didn’t teach me how to use it!’

  Thalindra she approached her with with lowered eyes. "I expected more from a creation of Dr. Kintovar. You are no match for the power of this forest."

  Roselle struggled to get up on her feet. “You…know...her..?”

  “Of course, I know her,” Thalindra spat with fury. “Kintovar has become a plague upon this realm, twisting life to suit her vile experiments. Somehow, she evaded capture and even escaped her rightful execution.”

  Roselle blinked though held her side in pain. “Escaped …?”

  Thalindra’s lips curled into a sneer. “One of her other abominations probably intervened. I will deal with it in time but for now, the destruction will begin with you.”

  With a wave of her staff, Thalindra directed her magic toward the forest. The ancient trees that had stood tall around them began to wither and crumble into dust. The remnants of the mages Roselle had defeated were turned to dust.

  "Now, let’s see what your kind leaves behind."

  Roselle watched in horror. Her life was now in danger. Roselle whispered through gritted teeth.

  “This ...Isn’t…good...”

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