Chapter 57 – Witch’s Forest (1)

“What on earth is a level-up?” Instead of pointing out the strange word that sounded like an ancient language, Kara asked another question.

“Can we break through those guys?”

Around the castle, steep cliffs were also lined up. Only a winding single road was the sole path to get to that castle. And in that path, there were the jungle-like forest they had seen just now, a mountain of human bones, and a burning village.

Adel gritted her teeth and tightly gripped her scabbard. Because in the end, to reach their destination, they would inevitably have to clash with the monsters down below.

“It’s not a matter of whether we can break through. There is no other way.”

Belloc said, tightening the straps of the knapsack he carried on his shoulder. Then he slightly raised his head and looked at the sky. The moon was still red, and the purple clouds wriggled like spoiled entrails.

That bizarre sight presented the party not just with heavy air, but with a strange pressure.

There was nothing good about staying long in this kind of land. For humans could not live in the domain of monsters. At that moment, the moon flashed. Once again, the ground rumbled, and the growls of ghouls were heard.

It was heard not only from the graveyard behind them, but also from beneath the ground where they stood. Belloc smiled bitterly. “They are damn impatient. They are coming from all directions. Just how many did they bury?”

“It feels like we are being cornered. They keep chasing us.”

Kara muttered with a pale expression. Belloc sized up the forest below the cliff and the path to get there, then said.

“We run.”

The quick-witted Adel carried Kara on her back again. Having recovered her energy by now, Kara, hanging on her back, struggled even more violently.

“Let me down! I can run too! I…”

As Adel felt the weight on her back and the curly hair tickling her face, she frowned sharply. She slapped Kara on the buttocks. When the witch let out a sharp cry at the harsh touch, Adel whispered in her ear.

“Behave yourself. If you fall while moving, you will be seriously injured.”

‘Slapping me and then speaking so gently?’ Complaining inwardly, Kara shut her mouth tight, and the two knights ran to avoid the chasing undead army.

To Belloc, who had only killed monsters when facing them and had never run away, it was a somewhat unfamiliar experience, but in any case, they ran quickly and arrived at the forest below the cliff.

“Haah, haah.”

Adel exhaled heavily and let Kara down. Belloc shook his sword, which had cut down monsters that lunged at them along the way, with a flick. Soon, they discovered a person collapsed at the entrance of the forest.

No, looking closely, it was not a human. There were no humans with pointed ears. ‘Why is she over there?’ Seeing the flowing blonde hair and the skin-tight leather armor, Kara shouted.

“Isn’t that the elf from back then? Was her name Isabel?”

“It seems so. What happened?”

Didn’t she say she was wandering the kingdom to find clues about the plague affecting her kin? The party approached the collapsed elf.

She was not in a good state. Her bow was discarded somewhere, and she was only carrying her quiver. Along with scratches all over her body, she was tightly clutching a blood-stained sword in her hand. The situation seemed clear. After escaping the forest, she must have passed out from exhaustion. Adel asked.

“Should we wake her?”

“Yes, I am curious to know what she went through.”

Whether it was her personal details or information about that forest, there was much to hear. When Belloc nodded, Adel took action.

The two widened their eyes. Adel had grabbed Isabel’s hair, pulled her up, and slapped her cheek.

Slap!

The elf’s pale face swelled, and her body shook like a doll. Kara, who knew how fierce that touch was, cried out in horror.

“Wa… Wait! Isn’t that too harsh? It would be better to pour water, or with my magic…”

However, Adel did not stop. With a casual face, she slapped the elf’s cheek once more and said.

“Since we don’t know how the situation will turn out, we must save our food as much as possible. The same goes for your spells. Are you planning to pant and ride on my back again?”

“That…”

‘And why are you persuaded again? You could just shake her gently to wake her up.’ As Kara trailed off, Belloc was about to stop her this time. At that moment, a voice like a nightingale chimed in.

“Your hand is quite spicy… Even so, I thought our parting wasn’t too bad.”

“You’re awake. You liar elf.”

Adel let go of Isabel’s hair with a toss. The elf laid her head back on the ground with a limp movement. Through the dark sky, she saw the faces of the three people looking down at her.

Although their meeting had been short, that memory, which was more intense than any other in the elf’s life… to think they would meet again in a place like this. Isabel let out a sigh. Eventually, touching her swollen cheek, she said.

“Is this also fate?”

Flustered by that somewhat blank answer, Kara asked.

“Are you okay? You seem a bit out of it.”

Isabel slightly turned her gaze to look at the forest she had fallen into. Recalling the past from just a few hours ago, her eyes trembled. What was contained within them was clear terror. Because monsters incomparable to those in the Flowing Forest were lined up in there. Soon, her eyes rolled back.

Looking at Belloc’s party, her shaking green eyes regained their calm. ‘Right, if we’re talking about monsters, they are here too.’ She chuckled. For some reason, she felt reassured. Shaking her head, Isabel reached out one hand.

“I’m fine. First, could you help me up?”

Belloc helped her up, and Isabel, standing up, dusted herself off. Then, she pulled out a few herbs from the small backpack she was carrying, put them in her mouth, and munched on them.

Perhaps because the herbs were bitter, she frowned sharply, but she eventually chewed and swallowed them all. Soon, letting out a soft sigh, she touched her wounds and spoke.

“Nice to meet you again.”

“It’s been a while. I thought you had left.”

At Belloc’s words, which carried the nuance of ‘Why on earth are you here?’, Isabel sighed again and swept her hair with her hand.

There was nothing she couldn’t tell them. Since there were already many things she was entangled in with them. Looking at the way things were going, it seemed she would have to stay with them in the future too.

“I told you before, didn’t I? That I was investigating the plague.”

When Belloc silently nodded, she continued speaking.

“Actually, a rumor is circulating among some elves. That this plague currently spreading among us was spread by humans.”

“Nonsense! How long has it been since a peace treaty was established between the kingdom and the elves. Why on earth would they do such a thing?”

When Adel refuted it, Isabel also nodded.

“I think so too. It is a ridiculous speculation. However, a strange rumor was circulating. A rumor that the king of this country has gone mad.”

“That…”

“My superiors seem to have thought that a king fallen into madness could break the treaty at will and commit terrible deeds. Since they have lived long lives, their resentment toward humans is exceptional. As a result, I came all the way here. They told me to gather the source of the rumors.”

“But the situation was even worse.”

Isabel readily nodded.

“That’s right. The rumors were understated. The thing that possessed the king was not madness but a demon, and the ridiculous situation happened where the royal palace grounds, which have a long history, became a land of demons.”

As if her throat was dry, Isabel opened her bag. She pulled out a canteen, drank a sip of water, and spoke again.

“By this point, a hypothesis was built in my mind. Could it be that this plague spreading among us is also the trickery of demons, sowing seeds of discord between humans and elves? I began to wonder if all of this is a conspiracy of the dirty underground forces.”

It was plausible. Perhaps, as she said, it was indeed the doing of demons. Because there was nothing like war to cause chaos on the continent. Or it could be a terror attack committed by a xenophobic noble with extreme tendencies like her superiors.

Yes, it was certainly an interesting story. However, what he wanted was something else. Belloc said.

“Right, to prove your hypothesis, the fact remains that you must escape from here in any case. Tell me. What happened in that forest?”

Isabel’s face stiffened. She spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

“Since falling here through a strange magic circle seems to be the same situation for all of us, I will only state the main points. Specters, moving trees, giant mushrooms and spiders, and a witch who catches people and boils them into soup.”

‘What are you talking about?’ Just as Belloc tilted his head, Isabel said.

“Those are the monsters I saw in there. They are extremely dangerous bastards that cannot even be compared to the dead. The knights or mages of noble houses, and even the paladins of the church, couldn’t handle them.”

Ah, is that what she meant? Novel bastards. When Belloc showed interest, Kara asked.

“Can you tell us about them in detail?”

Isabel spoke in fragments about the monsters’ characteristics and her own experience in the forest. Kara nodded with a troubled face, and Adel burned with fighting spirit. Eventually, when Isabel’s words were all finished, Belloc shrugged his shoulders.

“I look forward to seeing how much experience points those guys will give. Will you follow us?”

Even at the proposal to enter the hell she had barely escaped from again, Isabel readily nodded.

“Gladly. Is there another place as safe as by your side?”

For the elf’s survival instinct whispered so.

#

Magical light radiated from Kara’s staff. Red moonlight leaked from the sky as well. The white and red dyes conflicted and mixed.

The party bravely made their way through the forest of a strange atmosphere that glowed colorfully. Isabel, with her sword drawn, took on the role of guide once again.

Seeing her ears twitching in front, Belloc felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It was familiar. However, the newly appearing monsters were unfamiliar. The movements of those guys caught in his senses.

They were moving slitheringly, targeting the party from the boundary where light did not reach.

Some were as large as a human torso, and some were likely dozens of times larger than that. Belloc’s five senses distinguished all of these.

Perhaps Isabel felt this too, as she twitched her ears ceaselessly. ‘That must be your radar. How is the performance?’ While Belloc was having silly thoughts, she stopped her steps and raised one hand. The elf’s green eyes stared into the darkness. She opened her mouth.

“They are coming. There are many. The types are…”

“I think they are the tree monsters, mushrooms, and… specters you mentioned.”

Belloc said, drawing his sword. Soon, shrieks were heard from all directions.

Kweeeeek

“They’re here. You filthy monsters.”

Adel, who growled, pulled out her sword and shield and recited a prayer.

“I’ll light up the surroundings!”

As Kara muttered something and cast a spell, several light spheres rose into the sky. When she gestured, the light sources flew and illuminated the surroundings brightly. The party stood back-to-back, scanning the directions. Soon, Kara shouted.

“My goodness.”

It was no wonder she said that. Just as Isabel had said, a tree was moving.

The thing emitted a blue glow from its eyes and mouth like a ghost. As its bizarrely extended limbs rattled, a thick cloud of dust rose and the surroundings vibrated.

Woooooo

“That’s not the end of them!”

At Isabel’s words, the party turned their gaze. Something like smoke was flying between the ordinary trees rising like awls. Belloc focused his vision.

A blurry human-shaped thing was crying tears of blood and screaming. ‘That’s a specter. Then that is…’ Lowering his gaze, mushrooms as large as a human torso were also approaching, flailing their limbs. Perhaps because they crawled on all fours, their speed was quite fast. ‘They look more like bugs than mushrooms.’

Keeeeeek

Suddenly, the beasts jumped. Then, the monstrosity dangling below revealed itself.

A skull was grinning. It was a hair-raising sight, but the party was not flustered. Adel raised her sword and shouted.

“O Goddess who watches over me!”

The flames of holy power exploded around her body. As the monsters turned to charcoal fell in heaps, Belloc dashed forward. Then, the glow of the evil-stained tree grew darker. It seemed to be laughing.

The beast swung its arm. It intended to crush him completely. As if it had already made numerous victims, human flesh, blood, and pieces of armor hung messily on its branches. However, Belloc snorted.

The knight’s greatsword flashed, and the monster split in half.