BTCATL 23

Chapter 23

Unlike the outside, the forest was so densely packed with trees and vines that the light was blocked out, leaving it eerily dark like night—and strangely silent.

There wasn’t a single sound typical of nature: no chirping birds, no rustling animals, not even insects crying in the brush.

The forest was lush, but somehow it evoked the paradoxical feeling of being barren.

To make things worse, with every step forward, the stench grew more and more unbearable.

“There are two main ways spiritists can tell if a monster is nearby,”

Just as Asilla was frowning from the smell, Redin, who had been walking silently beside her, finally spoke.

“To a spiritist, someone deeply attuned to nature and closest to the spirits, monsters are unbearably revolting.”

His sudden, contextless explanation made Asilla blink.

“Some hear wailing, as if someone is screaming in their ear. Others see black smoke writhing in the air. For me, I can clearly see the lingering grudges that cling to this forest. What about you, Asilla?”

“…It reeks. The whole forest does.”

Redin nodded as if that were expected.

“That’s the first method to sense the presence of monsters. Even before the spirits warn us, our own senses react. But this doesn’t always apply.”

Most of the requests that came to the Spirit Towers were the kind that knights, mercenaries, and mages couldn’t handle.

And the majority of them involved monsters.

Because nearly all requests were related to monsters, knowing how to detect their presence was considered essential.

“Monsters are categorized by rank.”

There were C-rank monsters, devoid of intelligence and possessing only brute force. They moved in swarms.

B-rank monsters were similar in strength but acted with intelligence.

Then there were A-rank and S-rank monsters, which not only had intelligence but also special abilities, making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

Even spiritists could usually only sense B- and C-rank monsters. A- and S-rank monsters were so adept at hiding their presence that even spirits had difficulty detecting them.

So even powerful spiritists found it hard to handle such creatures without enough experience.

Then how do you detect an A- or S-rank monster?

Redin pulled out a familiar item from his pocket—a silver pocket watch attached to a delicate chain, the identification used by spiritists of the North Tower.

It glittered softly as it swung.

Asilla hurriedly pulled out her own from her belt.

“Have you ever opened it?” Redin asked.

She shook her head.

She had taken it out before, watching the simple engraved circle on its surface subtly shift into geometric patterns, but she’d never thought to open it.

Wasn’t it just a watch?

She pressed the small latch, and with a click, the pocket watch opened.

“…This…”

It was a watch, yes. But in addition to the hour and minute hands, there was a third needle—glowing red and trembling faintly.

“When something unnatural to nature is nearby, the needle glows red. The North uses a watch, and while the designs differ, the other towers use items with the same function.”

Callios, who had been silently listening, wiggled his pinky finger.

“The West uses rings.”

A ring glinting with a bright red glow was on his finger.

“Then what’s ahead of us…” Asilla began.

Callios shrugged with a glint in his red eyes.

“I’ve been saying it from the beginning, haven’t I? It’s a monster. Those people who entered the forest? If they’re lucky, they’re just missing. But with a monster around, it’s safer to assume they’re all dead.”

Asilla’s body tensed.

Even though Callios seemed relaxed as always, and Redin smiled reassuringly beside her, and even though she wasn’t the one who had to deal with this mission directly…

The idea of confronting an unknown entity made her body stiffen.

Especially if that entity had caused all those people to vanish—or worse, had killed them.

Monsters were terrifying beings in the North, where she had lived for the past three years.

Every time the Grand Duke set out on a monster subjugation campaign, he came back injured.

Watching someone you loved return unconscious—or covered in blood—was never easy.

It had hurt more than the wounds left by his cold indifference. If she could’ve taken his place and suffered instead, she would’ve.

Though not anymore.

—Tap.

“…?”

Lost in thought, Asilla snapped out of it as Callios flicked her forehead with his finger.

It didn’t hurt, but it annoyed her.

When she glared at him, he quickly stepped back with a chuckle.

“Don’t think with a normal person’s standards. You’re not some weakling.”

Redin, walking ahead, nodded in agreement.

“You’re the one who made a contract with Nyx. It hasn’t been long, so you can’t use the full extent of your power yet, but in a few years, it’ll be incredible. Honestly, even the power you’re using now isn’t weak. So there’s no need to fear some monster.”

Asilla slowly nodded.

If they were saying this much, she must be doing well.

Everything she thought she knew had been upended during her month at the Tower.

Why should monsters be any different?

[Asilla, above!]

A sudden voice from one of her butterfly spirits made her flinch.

“Move!”

Thud!

A heavy impact hit the ground with a dull boom.

When she opened her eyes, something large and white—taller than she was—was blocking the path.

“Asilla, are you alright!?” Redin rushed over.

She nodded and looked around.

Her feet were sinking into something wet, like mud.

[There’s a lot.]

[Look up, Asilla.]

Her eyes, now adjusted to the dark, spotted strange shapes hanging from the giant trees.

The butterflies flew high, and the soft glow from their wings illuminated the white shapes dangling like fruit.

They looked just like the thing that had fallen in front of her. Only varying slightly in size. They resembled massive cocoons.

Tap.

As she backed away, staring at the trees laden with cocoons, she bumped into something.

She turned around—

—and gasped.

She saw something that shouldn’t be seen.

[Asilla!]

As she almost fell, the butterflies rushed in to catch her.

“…Redin.”

“Yes?”

She looked down at the wet substance she had thought was mud.

The scattered light from the spirits faintly illuminated the area.

Black, sticky fluid had pooled thickly on the ground.

Unlike the intact cocoons above, the one she bumped into was torn open.

And inside—

“Urgh…”

Her stomach turned as she retched.

She couldn’t make out the exact form in the dark, but she could clearly see something drenched in black liquid.

It looked like… a person, soaked in black ooze…

“…!”

Redin, who had been approaching her in concern, saw the split cocoon and froze.

Cocoons.

Shells spun from the secretions of insects.

Now they knew where the missing people had gone.

Then—

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

The ground shook, followed by loud crashes like trees falling.

[They’re getting closer.]

[They feel awful.]

[They crush nature beneath them.]

[There are so many.]

[Very close. Very, very close.]

The whispers from the butterflies around her told her she wasn’t the only one sensing it.

“I’ll handle it,” Callios said, stepping forward with a chuckle, unfazed.

“…Understood. Asilla, excuse me. Nymphs.”

[Yes!]

[Let’s gooo!]

Redin gently lifted her frozen body.

She was too stunned to even feel surprised.

The vibrations grew louder.

As the nymphs circling Redin lit up brightly, thick vines burst forth, linking tree to tree.

Despite carrying her, Redin easily climbed up the vines and landed steadily on a thick branch high above.

Asilla swallowed hard as she looked down from the dizzying height.

Now she could clearly see what was approaching.

“…Spiders?”

Giant spider-like creatures were charging toward Callios at terrifying speed.

Monsters. Dark smoke seeped from their bodies, surrounding them like a shroud.

Her mouth went dry.

“They don’t seem very strong.”

That?!

The shadows around Callios flared black.

“KUEEEEHH!!”

With a screech, one of the spider monsters lunged to impale him with its legs.

In that instant, he vanished.

A beam of dark light sliced through the monster.

Crack.

With a sharp shattering sound, the monster crumbled into dust.

Asilla blinked in disbelief at how quickly it was over.

Redin smiled gently at her dazed face.

“Didn’t I say it looked weak?”

She stared blankly at the remains of what had been a monster just seconds ago.

It wasn’t even a battle. More like a hunter finishing off a rabbit in one blow.

Then—

Callios swore under his breath.

THUD! THUD THUD!

Cocoons began to fall from the trees one by one, then all at once.

As shadows cloaked his figure, he appeared beside Redin and Asilla in a flash.

“Hey, Redin. Get ready to wipe them out.”

“…What?”

A sharp cracking sound echoed as a tough cocoon split open.

“…Aren’t the missing people inside those?” Redin echoed Asilla’s thought aloud.

Callios frowned and pointed at the cocoons below.

“Those?”

“KUEEEEHH!!”

Smaller, but similarly shaped monsters burst from the cocoons.

Dozens of cries echoed from within them.

They weren’t cocoons.

They were monster eggs.