Moreover, the energy impact was far from over; it finally pierced through layers of black tree barriers, passing by the hiding spot of Gauss and the others, and continued toward the deeper parts of the forest.
"Eh?"
Gauss only felt a wave of cool yet life-force-filled energy sweep across his body, invigorating his spirit and soothing him entirely.
Aaliyah and Serdur also cast their eyes toward the black tree barrier in astonishment.
Inside the forest encircled by the black tree barrier, intense changes were taking place.
All the followers and short tree-men, even the three huge tall tree-men in the middle, became more fervent and terrified at this moment.
They did not understand what was happening to the sacred object.
All they could do was to be even more devout, as the demons that initially prostrated were now almost glued to the ground.
"Boom!"
Just as the demons were piously kneeling, the giant egg slowly rose into the air.
"Ugh—"
This scene immediately caused an uproar among the demons, as in their perception, this sacred object that bestowed the power of evolution had never moved before.
Indestructible, immovable, and like a divine existence.
And now, it’s moving!
This change was enough to shatter their perception, if they indeed had one.
After the giant egg floated into the air, it briefly locked onto a direction.
Then it quickly flew out of the forest, and Gauss discovered through the clay follower’s perspective that it was floating toward his location.
Combining that wonderful sense of summoning.
Gauss could no longer doubt that it was approaching him!
Before he could think further, within a few more breaths.
The giant egg arrived above Gauss’s head, emitting a gentle and reassuring glow, as if reuniting with an old friend not seen for years, sparkling with light.
In the next moment.
Without any warning, it hurtled down toward Gauss.
Reflexively, Gauss stepped back two steps, trying to dodge, but the egg’s speed was faster.
"No! No, no..."
He had no time to evade as it crashed straight into his chest.
Next, an odd phenomenon occurred.
The Gauss Force Field, which should have activated, lost its effect.
It rippled like it was dissolving on the surface and then quickly merged into Gauss’s body, disappearing.
"..."
After a brief moment of shock.
Gauss touched his chest, confirmed it was unharmed, and breathed a sigh of relief.
"It fused into your body!" Aaliyah exclaimed incredulously, her eyes wide.
A hint of surprise flashed in Serdur’s eyes as well.
But he acted quicker, getting up to move away.
"We need to go! The demons inside are about to riot!"
He glanced at the black tree barrier.
At this moment, the previously quiet forest had become chaotic.
Just after the giant egg left the black tree barrier, the demons in the rear part of the forest finally awoke from their reverence and unease.
The sacred object has flown away!
Realizing this, the tree-men controlled the black tree barrier to slowly open a gap.
Subsequently, the demons inside swarmed out.
Meanwhile, Gauss and his two companions had already started to retreat ahead of time.
Gauss quickly dashed through the forest.
Hearing the dense and angry roars behind him and the sounds of pursuit following closely.
The entire Black Forest seemed to be boiling.
Outraged roars akin to a tsunami exploded in the forest.
Especially the three huge tree-men at the back; one could vaguely see a faint red glow in their originally deep-set eye sockets, and as they moved their legs composed of thick roots, the earth roared and trembled beneath their steps.
Their speed was not slow.
Gauss, Aaliyah, and Serdur changed directions several times, finding the noise behind still pursued tightly.
He knew, most likely these demons had locked onto them using some special method.
And it’s probably the fault of that giant egg.
Otherwise, it couldn’t explain why they were fine earlier, but after the egg hid in his body, the demons pursued them relentlessly, like encountering the enemy who killed their father.
"Aaliyah, Serdur, I’m carrying the egg, so we’re likely being targeted. You two head towards the direction of the chocobos. We’ll separate for now, and meet at Outpost 11." Reasoning the situation, Gauss quickly used Communication Technique to send his words into their ears.
Having the two of them here actually prevented him from unleashing his full speed.
In terms of short bursts, his speed was actually faster than the other two, even with Serdur’s various blessings.
"Gauss! You..."
Before Aaliyah could finish, Gauss exploded with full speed, veering off in another direction.
Serdur hesitated for a moment.
"Aaliyah, let’s go out first and then talk."
His thinking was more rational than Aaliyah’s.
Especially seeing Gauss’s explosive speed, he further speculated Gauss’s intentions.
Gauss being singled out, it was actually better for him to act alone; against this demonic army, let alone their two-man squad, even a master-level Professional would have to flee, and they could offer no help at all.
The greatest help would be to leave this place as soon as possible.
Meet at Station 11, and if Gauss hasn’t emerged, report the situation to Master Rich to call for reinforcements.
"Alright."
Aaliyah glanced at Gauss’s disappearing figure, was momentarily lost, then continued toward the direction of the mounts.
...
Gauss listened to the pursuing sounds behind him that were still hot on his trail, and not concerned about Aaliyah and Serdur, he couldn’t help but feel relieved.
His guess was right.
His "theft" of the giant egg had driven this group of demons utterly mad!
Even returning the egg now wouldn’t resolve anything.