ESMLT 24

Chapter 24

I gave the male leads one last look.

“If ‘Darkness’ appears, stick back-to-back and stay in one place. If the terrain starts shifting, hold hands and endure it together.”

“Hold hands? We don’t even know who’ll be standing next to who.”

The Crown Prince shot Sien an uncomfortable glance.

Sien tilted his head lazily and stared back at him with dead fish eyes, as if to say So what? I pretended not to notice.

“Then link arms instead.”

After explaining the movement route through the Dawn Forest, I rolled up the map and slipped it into the front pocket of my pouch.

Then I rummaged through it until I found what I was looking for.

‘Ah, here it is.’

Luckily, I found it quickly and handed one to each of them.

“I hope you won’t need to use it, but keep it with you just in case.”

They asked what it was, but when I told them to just carry it for now, they looked at it suspiciously before pocketing it.

I tightened my belt, checked my pouch again, rolled up my sleeves, adjusted my boots, and finally turned back to them.

“Alright. Let’s cross the boundary.”

The Dawn Forest was colder and more ominous than the Sacred Forest.

The air was heavy, making it hard to breathe.

‘It’s probably because the tombs of past Tower Masters are here.’

That pressure weighed down on me unconsciously.

We had walked for a while after entering the forest, but no zombies had appeared yet.

Then the Crown Prince spoke, scanning the surroundings.

“Nothing’s shown up yet. No zombies, no darkness.”

He just had to say it.

And of course—

The moment after, my vision flickered like a blinking light.

A sign of Darkness.

“Back to back!”

At my shout, the four of us turned simultaneously and pressed our backs together.

Pop—!

The instant we formed our formation, darkness swallowed everything like a blown fuse. At the same time, the ground began to twist violently.

“Link arms! Hurry!”

I heard everyone react at once. I hooked one arm around someone’s arm blindly and flailed my free hand around.

But the person I grabbed had their arm pressed tightly to their body, making it impossible to link arms.

So I slid my hand down and grabbed their hand instead.

I felt them flinch, but I didn’t care.

‘My Dragon Balls are about to scatter—this is no time to worry about that!’

Crack!

That was when it happened.

Kreeeak—! Crack! Crack!

The sound of thick trees snapping echoed from all directions.

The ground warped more violently. My body lurched up and down like I was on a sinking ship, unable to keep balance.

The earth beneath my feet shot forward like a magic carpet.

“Ugh—!”

My grip broke naturally, and both hands slipped free.

“Ria!”

“Redria!”

Sien and Jaeger’s voices rang out.

I must’ve been standing between them.

I reached out desperately, but all I caught was air, dead leaves, and broken branches.

Thud!

Something heavy slammed into the back of my head.

Pain exploded behind my eyes.

I staggered, clutching the back of my head.

By the time I could no longer tell whether it was the ground or my body that was moving—

Everything went dark.

“…Damn it.”

And when I opened my eyes again, I was standing before a fog-covered graveyard.

“Ugh…”

I rubbed the swelling on my head and pushed myself up.

The pain hadn’t faded much, so I couldn’t have been unconscious for long.

All around me was a dense, pitch-black forest.

‘So I really got separated from them.’

I couldn’t exactly shout their names like a lost kid in a supermarket—zombies might hear.

Sighing, I pulled out a light stone from my pouch.

Visibility came first.

“Kiiing!”

Something suddenly scratched at the back of my knee.

I shone the light downward and saw a rabbit standing upright, scratching at my leg while hopping.

“You followed me too?”

Good little thing.

Holding the rabbit in my arms, I shone the light around.

Ahead was a straight forest path.

Behind me—
A graveyard surrounded by pale mist.

The fog wrapped around the fenced tombs, making the place feel even more eerie.

‘Looks like something’s about to pop out.’

I swallowed hard.

For the record, I’m afraid of exactly two things.

Spiders and ghosts.

And of course I’d end up here.

Caw—!

A crow’s cry made my shoulders jump.

Flap!

The crow landed neatly atop a gravestone and stared straight at me.

Given this was the grave of a former Tower Master, the atmosphere was beyond unsettling.

‘Still… this is actually lucky.’

I had suggested to Sien that we find the previous Tower Master’s remains, but honestly, I hadn’t known how we’d do that.

With the terrain warped by Darkness, I thought we’d have to give up.

Yet here it was, right in front of me.

But…

I slowly looked around the pitch-black surroundings.

‘This is way too scary…’

My eyes trembled.

I shut them tightly and took a deep breath.

‘Calm down. Think rationally.’

Right now, Sien is unusually friendly toward me.

But human emotions are fragile. He could turn cold and return to the Sacred Forest at any moment.

And if I fulfill my promise and settle that debt, it’ll benefit me later when we return to the Empire.

‘Right. This is my chance to keep my promise.’

Having reached that conclusion, I steeled myself.

I set the rabbit down and walked toward the grave, rummaging through my pouch.

‘Where’s the shovel…’

I found the palm-sized shovel and enlarged it, then read the name carved on the tombstone.

[ Ashtalt Deon Maneger ]

Found it.

I shut my eyes tightly and raised the shovel.

‘I’m sorry for digging up your grave. It’s for your adopted son.’

Thud—

Just as I brought the shovel down—

[ You’ve lost your way. ]

I snapped my eyes open.

Creak, creak—I turned slowly.

Nothing but trees and pale mist.

‘Don’t tell me…?’

I looked down at the rabbit, but it only blinked innocently.

‘Then who—?’

[ Shall I guide you? ]

The voice came again.

I flinched hard.

Clenching my lips, I scanned the area wildly.

‘Can you please pick one genre—occult or apocalypse?!’

I raised the shovel defensively and stepped back.

[ Child, where are you going? Come here. ]

I can’t hear it. I can’t hear it.

[ Come closer. ]

Hallelujah. Amen. Hallelujah. Amen.

[ I can only help you if you come closer… ]

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘I really didn’t want to do this…’

Trembling, I muttered quietly:

“Glo—ry, glory hallelujah… glo—ry, glory hallelujah…”

I kept my voice low. I still had some dignity.

[ Oh dear, I startled you. It’s me. ]

‘WHO is “me”?!’

I glanced around nervously.

[ Enough teasing. He is urging me to help you quickly. ]

‘He?’

[ That’s enough chatter. I’ll send you back. ]

Suddenly, the ground beneath my feet turned soft like jelly and yanked me backward.

“Ahhh!”

I fell onto it as it cradled me like a cushion.

[ Come visit again in the daylight. I’ll be waiting. ]

Ssssh—

The grave faded into the distance like a white dot, swallowed by trees.

Only then did I come to my senses.

None of this was in the original story.

My transmigrator instincts were screaming.

‘That ghost… was the former Tower Master, wasn’t he? Then who was “he”…?’

Just realizing I’d been talking to a ghost made my skin crawl.

I nearly committed grave desecration right in front of an ancestor.

I rubbed my arms and looked around.

‘But… he said he’d help me. So where am I now?’

I put away the shovel and lit the area with the light stone.

Still a forest.

Then I remembered something I’d forgotten.

“Ah. The monster rabbit.”