In one of the safe zones located in the Darknar Forest, four men sat around a campfire, their gazes fixed in the same direction, along with a cloaked man standing behind them. None of them had spoken for over five minutes. "Is it over? W-what, what the hell was that?" a well-built man finally blurted out, his voice hurried. He had greenish-grey skin but no other outstanding features. He was tall, muscular, and carried a large brown axe on his back.
The other three men turned to look at him, then shifted their expectant gazes to the cloaked man. The cloaked figure sighed loudly and walked over to sit on one of the logs around the campfire. After settling down, he looked at the four men and asked, "What do you guys think that was?"
"A monster," the shortest man spoke up. He was thin, with green spiky hair and green eyes, and looked human.
The cloaked man shook his head in disbelief, muttering under his breath, "How did I get stuck with such idiots?" He then raised his head and spoke. "I told you before, that was not a monster. Did I stutter?"
The green-haired man flustered, nervously replying, "Ah, sorry, boss," as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and stared at the ground.
The cloaked man sighed and continued, "That was most likely a demon noble."
Gasps filled the air as the four men were visibly shocked, unable to hide their nerves.
"I-Isn't this bad? Shouldn't we be doing something?" Bam, the two-horned brother, said hurriedly, his voice lacking confidence.
The cloaked man looked at all four of them and chuckled. "Relax. They most likely encountered a high-level monster and had to fight using their full power—or something close to it. Even if they were trying to sneak into the castle for some reason, they would leave immediately after that display. They know there are scouts in all the safe zones around the forest near the castle. They wouldn't risk their identities—or their family's identity—being revealed."
The man glanced at the two brothers for a moment, then smiled and continued, "Still, we need to report this to Lord Aur. Bam and Bor, you two can deliver the message. Make sure you repeat what I just told you," he added, emphasizing his point.
The brothers were startled when they heard their names. "Ah, yes, boss!" they replied hurriedly, standing up in a rush.
The cloaked man nodded in approval. "What are you waiting for? Leave now," he commanded, watching the brothers stumble as they left the forest.
He then turned his head back in the direction they had all been staring. "I wonder who that was. They might even be stronger than Lord Aur," he said in a low voice, though the two remaining men heard him clearly. They gulped nervously, remaining silent.
Meanwhile, in the Forest...
As the area rapidly defrosted, Rain slowly opened her eyes, taking in the scene around her. Ice surrounded her as far as she could see, melting away at an unnatural pace.
Several melting ice walls stood around her, likely protecting her while she was unconscious.
Feeling a sharp pain in her shoulder, she snapped out of her daze and placed her hand on the wound, noticing she was bleeding. The blade-like horn that had impaled her was still lodged in her shoulder. Struggling to stand, she tried to make sense of what had happened after she passed out.
Walking a few steps, she saw a woman crouched by a tree, staring at some wildflowers. The woman had long bluish-white hair and skin as white as snow. The flowers around her were speckled with ice, making her look like she had stepped out of a fairy tale.
Rain almost didn't recognize her friend Liz, if not for the clothes she was wearing. Everything finally clicked, and Rain hesitated for a moment before slowly walking toward Liz. "Liz, is that you? Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly.
As she spoke, Liz turned her cold, emotionless eyes toward Rain. Pausing for over 30 seconds, Rain took a step forward, then another, until she was embracing Liz from behind. Tears streamed down her face as she apologized deeply. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I wasn't strong enough to protect you. Forgive me..." she sobbed.
As Rain knelt, weeping, Liz didn't respond. She remained in her original position, undisturbed by the weight on her shoulders, her expression blank as she continued to stare at the ground.
Elsewhere in the Darknar Forest...
Tyler carefully walked in the general direction from which he had felt the strange sensation. For some reason, he could tell it wasn't a beast—it was likely a humanoid creature.
He planned to observe whatever it was from afar and assess its danger level. If they were demons, he would immediately flee and try to observe the castle from a distance, which was his main objective. However, if they were humans or sub-races, he would attempt to approach them for information—as long as they weren't mercenaries.
Tyler had just entered the forest from the same direction he had exited earlier. Now, with a clearer mind, he noticed things he hadn't before—the towering trees, the ground covered in roots and vines, and occasional strange wildflowers he had never seen.
Although there were no monsters or magic beasts, he spotted some wild birds perched in the trees. They were large, brown, hawk-like birds that occasionally flew away when they saw him.
These birds were neither monsters nor magic beasts; he had seen them before on the outskirts of the Human Continent. They were rare creatures that adventurers hunted for a decent sum of money, as they were considered exotic.
As Tyler ventured deeper into the forest, the atmosphere grew darker and gloomier. I'm starting to get creeped out here. Why am I even doing this? Is this the kind of dumb thing characters in a horror movie do right before one of them gets dragged into the dark? he thought, doubting his own decisions.
Just as he was about to give in to his nerves, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. To the right, a tree had been frozen solid and was rapidly defrosting, as if a large heat source were nearby.
As he approached, he saw the ice visibly melting in front of him. He turned his head and noticed similar scenes ahead, with puddles of water forming on the ground. "What happened here?" he muttered to himself as he followed the trail of defrosting trees and puddles deeper into the forest.
After walking for about five minutes, he finally saw something other than defrosting trees. Two figures stood near a tree. He was too far away to see what they were doing, but not wanting to be careless, he hid in the bushes and slowly approached to get a better view.
As he got closer, he noticed one of the figures crouched down, staring at some frozen wildflowers, while the other wrapped her arms around her. He couldn't see their faces, but he could tell they were both women—one with dark skin and the other as white as snow.
Feeling something was off, he looked around and noticed another figure several meters away from the women. Although the figure wasn't moving and seemed stuck in place, he could still sense an imposing aura emanating from it, even without any extraordinary senses.
Concentrating, he tried to identify what he was looking at. It resembled a statue or sculpture, with part of its body glowing, but it wasn't humanoid.
He could only think of one thing based on the situation: Is that a magic beast? Did those two women kill it? Is that what I sensed earlier? Tyler was alarmed and shocked. A magic beast was at least Tier 3—a level at the peak of human strength—and he doubted a weak magic beast would be in the central region of the Demon Continent. That was most likely an ultra-rare and extremely dangerous Tier 4 Magic Beast.
Having never seen a magic beast in person, he didn't know much about them except for what the Adventurer Guild had reported. He knew they were stronger and more intelligent than other monsters of the same tier.
Since this was the Demon Continent, if the two women had killed a magic beast of that level, they would have to be at least Tier 4 Mages, Magic Swordsmen, or Warriors. Either way, this might not bode well for him.
The only mages and magic swordsmen around would be high-level demons. With that realization, all his optimistic plans went out the window. If those two wanted to take the castle, there was no way his measly Tier 1 spells would stop them.
Having no idea about the current relationship between humans and demons, he didn't think it was a good idea to stick around any longer. He needed to retreat to the underground tunnels for now before attempting to keep an eye on the castle later.
However, just as he took a step, the bushes and dried leaves around him rustled, startling him. His first reaction was to hide, but before he could do anything, the white-haired woman turned her gaze toward him. Her stare pierced the distance, landing directly on him.