Then—a towering black creature as tall as a house stood before them.
It was a massive, muscular being with glossy pitch-black skin. The creature wore black pants that reached its knees and no shirt at all.
On its head were two horns like those of a bull. Its face looked terrifying, with fangs protruding from both sides of its mouth, and its eyes glowed bright red. White smoke poured from its nostrils.
The creature wore a blazing red crown adorned with black gemstones around it. Above the crown, crimson flames twisted and swayed.
"You lowly creatures belong to me!"
Its deep, echoing voice filled the area, making their hearts feel as if they would leap out of their chests.
The five people could not move under the mystical pressure emitted by the horrifying creature. They could not even scream—their voices would not come out.
Slowly, the five of them were lifted into the air by an unseen force.
The black creature raised its right hand.
Then—thin white smoke slowly emerged from their bodies.
Their bodies trembled violently before they were thrown to the ground. Their entire bodies turned white as cotton, even their hair and eyes becoming pale white.
Moments later, the surroundings returned to normal. The thick clouds covering the sun disappeared. The creature growled and vanished from sight.
Meanwhile, another large group of around thirty people consisting of several SAR teams, three police officers, village volunteers, and several scout students walked along the trail, following the markers left behind by the first search team.
"Inspector Jayadi, still no information from the team ahead?" the village chief asked the police officer.
"Not yet. We're following the flag markers they left behind. Everyone, stay alert and don't leave the group, or you might get lost," Inspector Jayadi explained. "I'll try contacting them again."
Inspector Jayadi took out his phone and attempted to call the first search team.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
After several attempts—
"No one's answering. What are they doing?" Inspector Jayadi said in confusion.
"Inspector Jayadi, perhaps we should continue following the markers they left. Maybe they're too busy to notice the phone," Officer Irwan suggested.
"All right, let's continue the search," Inspector Jayadi shouted loudly enough for everyone to hear.
After walking through the forest for some time, they arrived at a fairly open area with a massive towering tree—a gigantic banyan tree.
Everyone who reached the place felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand up, and a chilling sensation crawled through their scalps at the sight before them.
The five members of the first search team lay scattered on the ground, lifeless, their entire bodies, hair, and eyes white as cotton.
They stood there as if hypnotized, unable to believe what they were seeing.
"Hurry! Help them! Maybe some of them are still alive!" the village chief shouted, snapping everyone back to their senses.
Several people rushed toward the victims, intending to check whether any of them were still breathing.
But—just as they took several steps closer to the bodies, everything suddenly grew dark. The sunlight above them was blocked by thick storm clouds.
In front of the banyan tree facing them, black smoke began rising from the ground as though being sprayed through a pipe. The smoke hissed like bamboo flutes being blown.
Strangely, red and blue sparks burst from the smoke like metal being scraped together, producing sounds like tiny firecrackers.
Then—the black smoke transformed into a horrifying black creature.
Panic instantly erupted.
Without hesitation, Officer Irwan fired his revolver.
The bullet struck the creature, producing a metallic clang like a bullet hitting solid rock.
The creature remained standing firmly. It growled and moved toward Officer Irwan. In a flash, it was already in front of him, its hand gripping the officer's throat.
Officer Irwan's body was lifted into the air.
But more gunshots rang out.
Inspector Jayadi did not remain idle. As he charged toward the creature, he gripped a baton in his left hand.
Two SAR officers rushed forward and struck the creature with axes.
Clang!
Again, something bizarre happened. The iron axes sounded as though they had struck solid stone. The weapons were completely useless. The creature did not seem to feel anything at all.
The creature growled.
A moment later, Officer Irwan and the two SAR officers were hurled fifteen feet away.
The scout children who had accompanied them, frozen in terror moments earlier, suddenly regained their senses and screamed for help in fear.
Meanwhile, the remaining village volunteers grabbed sticks and wooden clubs, charging at the creature together.
The village chief, who had been stunned in confusion, finally drew a machete from his waist and attacked the creature. The remaining police officer grabbed a baton and joined the assault.
The creature growled at the sight of several people daring to gang up on it.
"Useless!. None of you can hurt me,"
its heavy, echoing voice thundered throughout the area.
***
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest, another search group was not far from the commotion.
"Brother, I heard gunshots. It sounds like a battle," Mr. Ahmada said in shock after hearing gunfire in the distance. Birds scattered into the sky from that direction.
"You're right. We need to be careful. Let's investigate," Fariq's father said quietly.
"I'll tell the scout children to stay here. We can't let them get caught in danger," Mr. Ahmada reminded him.
He gestured before walking toward the group of scout children.
"Kids, stay here and build a shelter to rest in. We'll go find out what's happening."
"All right, sir. We'll wait here," they replied. The group consisted of four girls and two boys.
The two men hurried toward the sound of gunfire.
***
The black creature raised its hand, and Officer Irwan was lifted into the air.
Thin white smoke slowly emerged from his body.
But then—a black shadow shot forward.
Clang!
A spear with a black blade slammed into the creature's body. The creature staggered backward several steps from the impact.
Officer Irwan fell to the ground, writhing in pain, his face twisted in agony.
Standing before the creature was an old man holding a spear tipped with a black blade streaked with silvery patterns, showing that the blade had been forged from meteorite metal.
Beside the old man stood a young man gripping a long black kris dagger with nine curves.
"Mr. Broto! Help us!" the village chief shouted as he struggled to rise from the ground.
"This creature is a demon spirit. Everyone, be careful. I'll try to drive it away."
"All of you belong to me! Hahaha!"
The creature laughed deeply before releasing something resembling a sphere.
The sphere glowed bluish and flickered faintly.
Once released, it shot vertically into the sky. At cloud level, around two kilometers high, the object emitted a bluish light that formed a nearly invisible dome-like barrier.
The dome seemed to seal off the entire Alas Purwo forest area.
"This demon spirit is using its power to seal the Alas Purwo forest. It seems it plans to slaughter everyone who enters this forest. This is bad!" Mr. Broto thought as he watched the object released by the creature.
"You evil demon! What have you done? Were you the one who kidnapped those children?" Mr. Broto shouted while pointing at the creature.
***