Chapter 23
Unlike the outside, the forest was pitch-dark, the dense trees and trunks blocking the light, and it was eerily silent.
Normally, one would hear birds, animals passing by, or insects crying in nature, but here, there was nothing.
The trees were lush, yet dry, an oddly paradoxical impression. With every step forward, the stench hitting my nose grew stronger.
“The way spirit mages detect nearby monsters is mainly twofold,” said Lerdin, who had been walking silently beside me, as I finally grimaced.
“Monsters are extremely unpleasant to spirits, and spirit mages are closest to the spirits of nature,” he continued without preamble. I blinked at his words.
“Some say they hear ringing as if someone is screaming, others see black smoke billowing. In my case, I can clearly see the lingering malice enveloping this forest. How about you, Asila?”
“…It smells. The whole forest.”
Lerdin nodded as if it were obvious.
“That’s the first way to tell if monsters are present. Our senses react before the spirits even alert us. But it’s not always reliable.”
Most requests that reached the Spirit Tower were things knights, mercenaries, or mages could not handle.
Among them, most involved monsters, so knowing how to determine their presence was essential.
“Monsters are classified by rank.”
C-rank were unintelligent and solely destructive, often moving in packs. B-rank had similar strength but acted with intelligence.
A-rank and S-rank possessed intelligence and special abilities, making them extremely difficult to deal with.
Even spirit mages could detect B and C ranks easily, but A and S ranks could hide their presence from spirits.
Even experienced spirit mages could not always handle them immediately.
“So how do you detect A and S ranks?”
Lerdin took out a familiar object from his pocket, a silver pocket watch on a thin chain, the mark and proof of spirit mages in the Northern Tower. I quickly took mine from my waist.
“Have you opened it before?”
I shook my head. I had only held it, waiting for the geometric patterns on its engraved surface to shift, never thinking to open it.
I pressed the small protruding latch, and it clicked open.
“…This is…”
It was indeed a watch, but at the center, along with the hour and minute hands, there was a long red needle shaking and glowing.
“When unnatural entities are near, this needle glows red. The Northern Tower uses watches, other towers have similar tools, just in different forms,” Lerdin explained.
Kallios, who had been silent, waved his pinky finger.
“The West uses rings.”
The ring on his finger glowed red.
“Then what’s in front of us…”
Kallios shrugged, his eyes glowing red.
“I’ve been telling you all along. These are monsters. People who enter this forest either go missing if they’re lucky or die outright.”
My body stiffened. Kallios, always seemingly relaxed, and Lerdin, smiling as if there was nothing to worry about, were beside me.
And yet, I wasn’t the one assigned to this mission. Facing the unknown made me tense.
If this being had caused the disappearance or worse, death of all who entered the forest, I felt a chill run through me. For the past three years, monsters had kept the North in fear.
Whenever the Duke went on a monster hunt, he returned injured. Seeing someone you love bloodied or unconscious was far worse than being ignored or hurt emotionally. I had wanted to bear the pain in their place.
But not anymore.
A tap.
“…?”
Lost in thought, Kallios poked my forehead with his finger. It didn’t hurt, but it annoyed me. I frowned, and he darted away, giggling.
“Don’t think by ordinary standards. You’re not weak like them.”
Lerdin, walking ahead, nodded.
“You’re contracted with Nyx. You haven’t fully mastered your power yet, but in a few years, you’ll be incredibly strong. Honestly, your current strength isn’t weak. So there’s no need to fear monsters.”
I nodded slowly. If they said that, I must have been doing well. All my prior assumptions had been shattered during my month at the tower. Facing monsters was no different.
[Asila, up!]
A sudden voice from the butterflies made me jump.
“Move!”
Thud!
Something huge fell to the ground. When I opened my eyes, a white object taller than me blocked my path.
“Asila, are you okay!?”
I nodded at Lerdin, who rushed over, and looked around. The ground was soaked in something that looked like mud.
[There are so many.]
[Look up, Asila.]
My eyes, now used to the dark, detected something hanging from the enormous trees. The butterflies rose, scattering a soft glow over the white objects dangling like fruit.
The object that had fallen in front of me was the same. Only the size differed slightly. They looked like huge cocoons.
I stepped back, colliding with something. Turning around, I inhaled sharply. I saw something I shouldn’t.
[Asila!]
The butterflies caught me as I nearly fell backward.
“…Lerdin.”
“Yeah?”
I looked down at the wet substance I thought was mud. The faint light from the spirits revealed it to be black, viscous liquid.
The cocoon I had bumped into was split in half. Inside…
“Ugh…”
I felt sick. It was dark, but it was full of black liquid, forming something resembling a human shape.
“…!”
Lerdin approached, noticing the torn cocoon, his face stiffening. A cocoon, the shell insects make with their secretions. Now I knew where all the missing people were.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The ground shook. Trees fell with a thunderous noise.
[They’re coming closer.]
[Extremely unpleasant.]
[Destroying nature.]
[There are many.]
[They’re very close.]
It wasn’t just me. The butterflies flitting around me whispered their warnings.
“I’ll do it.”
While I froze, Kallios stepped forward, chuckling.
“…Understood. Asila, excuse me. Nymphs.”
[Yes!]
[Let’s go!]
Lerdin lifted my stiff body with ease and called the spirits. I barely had time to be surprised. The sound of movement grew louder.
The nymphs spun around us, suddenly glowing brightly. Thick vines sprouted, connecting tree to tree.
Even while holding me, Lerdin climbed lightly along the vines to a thick branch, and gently set me down.
Sitting at this dizzying height, I swallowed hard. I could now see clearly what was approaching.
“…A spider?”
Something enormous, spider-like, was rushing toward Kallios. It was a monster, shrouded in dark smoke. My mouth went dry.
“It doesn’t look very strong.”
That? The shadow wrapping around Kallios glowed black.
“Kuuuueeeek!!”
The spider-like monster lunged at Kallios with its legs. In that instant, he disappeared. A dark beam sliced through the monster.
-Crack.
The sound of something breaking, and the monster turned to dust.
I blinked at how quickly it was over, considering the tension. Lerdin smiled at me.
“I told you it looked weak.”
I stared blankly at the remnants of what had moments ago been a monster. It was over as quickly as a hunter catching a rabbit.
But then, Kallios muttered a low curse.
-Thud! Thud! Thud!
The cocoons hanging from the trees began to fall, one by one, then in torrents.
Shadows seemed to engulf him, and he appeared right where Lerdin and I were.
“Hey, Lazerin. Get ready to sweep them away.”
“…What?”
The hard cocoon creaked and cracked.
“…Are the missing people inside?”
Lerdin voiced exactly what I had been thinking. Kallios frowned and pointed at the cocoons below.
“Those?”
“Kuuuueeeek!!”
Smaller than the previous monster but with the same shape, monsters began to break out from the cocoons. Their cries echoed from dozens of cocoons.
They weren’t cocoons at all. They were monster eggs.
T/N – From this chapter on, the POV will be aligned with the original!! :-)
