Chapter – 25
Late afternoon.
The forest path leading to the Firefly Cavern.
‘What the hell is he trying to do?’
Ethan barely suppressed his churning stomach. He glared at the figure swaying a few steps ahead.
“Huff, hah.”
His name was Maxwell Black, if he remembered right.
He’d been tormented by that black-hearted bastard for five straight hours.
Based on his own experience, he thought this might be the right way, or he seemed to have seen something with records written on it.
And if even that didn’t work, he just had a bad feeling about something.
Anyway, he’d spouted all sorts of nonsense while making them circle the same spots. They’d encountered over thirty magical beasts in the process.
‘They say some people are unlucky enough to have instincts that only work in the wrong direction. I thought maybe he was that type, but…’
But not now.
He was advancing without a single complaint along a path they’d never seen before.
Was he trying to mess with him? Or was his temperament so absurdly self-centered it was beyond ridiculous?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
If not for the contract, he would’ve stormed off immediately.
“Ha…”
Ethan swallowed his bubbling frustration with a deep sigh. He shifted his gaze forward and advanced with forced composure.
But gradually.
Old memories kept surfacing.
“…”
Come to think of it, he’d been put through something similar a few years ago.
Someone who’d thrown him into situations without explanation and told him to defeat every enemy that appeared if he wanted to survive.
Something about how eagles have a method of dropping their young from cliffs to make them fly, or something like that.
Rustle.
That’s when it happened. The bushes to the side moved slightly.
The moment Ethan snapped awake from his thoughts, his hand was already on his scabbard. His blade flashed.
Slash!
What split in half was a carapace beetle.
Small and quick, an individual difficult to intercept. Ethan stared at the crumbling chitin, then raised his head.
Colin and Maxwell were looking this way.
“Ethan, what just happened…”
“…It’s nothing.”
When Ethan sheathed his sword, Maxwell turned his head away without additional comment.
He patted the hesitating Colin’s shoulder and quickened his pace.
The three moved again. After advancing for about ten minutes.
Ethan quietly looked down at his own hand.
“…”
The attack had felt somewhat easier to execute.
This time and earlier too.
‘Maybe I’ve improved.’
Ethan raised his head again. He stared at Maxwell walking ahead.
“Hah… hoo.”
Maxwell gasped for breath while dripping with sweat.
Yet he kept his mask and robe tightly wrapped around himself, never taking them off even if it killed him. He seemed to have no intention of revealing his identity at all.
So it would be right to be even more wary, but.
“—Here! We’re almost there! The entrance is right there! Now we just need to go down the valley…”
Ethan’s steps slowed slightly. His full attention remained fixed on Colin, who was waving his hands up ahead.
The dying look in his eyes from when they’d met at the teahouse was completely gone.
Colin’s eyes sparkled with vitality as if nothing had happened.
[The value of something can change endlessly depending on the other person. Because it’s not absolute.]
[What I’m buying is everything. The plants you brought. And even the knowledge you used to find the plants.]
Ethan looked at Maxwell’s back. The scene from a few hours ago overlapped with the swaying silhouette.
The image of him holding out gold coins to the cowering Colin and simply waiting without any pressure.
Colin had stared at Maxwell blankly, standing there like someone who’d lost their mind.
The hands that finally received the gold coin trembled finely. He sobbed while wiping his eyes.
Like someone whose dam of pent-up emotions had burst.
“…”
Ethan tilted his head back to look at the empty sky.
Deep-rooted loneliness resembles thirst. In that it doesn’t easily dull and only becomes more desperate.
That’s why the gold coin Maxwell handed to Colin held meaning beyond its monetary value. It implied a new relationship.
And that really.
Must have come to Colin as the quenching and comfort he’d desperately longed for.
“…”
It was a pointless hypothetical, but if a similar moment had come to his nine-year-old self.
Couldn’t something have been different?
Ethan had such thoughts as he walked.
About thirty minutes passed.
Mikhail, Ethan, and Colin entered the cavern.
Thud— Thud—
Footsteps echoed off the dome-shaped ceiling. Mikhail stopped at the entrance and surveyed the interior.
Sunset covered the tree roots surrounding the walls, and blue-green bedrock and water basins were placed at the circular edges.
Ancient characters were carved into the stone floor and walls, but most had become crude with age.
However, the property of purifying the surroundings by holding mana should still remain. According to the game’s settings, at least.
“Wow, I’ve never been inside here before.”
Colin, who’d approached Mikhail’s side at some point, let out a quiet exclamation. Colin looked around constantly, then soon showed a worried expression.
“B-but we might have to go back right away. Evening comes especially quickly in the forest, and lately there are strange rumors going around…”
Mikhail looked at the sky where the sunset was fading.
As Colin said, the forest darkness was approaching more quickly.
By now, the magical beasts’ appearance patterns had likely changed too.
‘I should wake it up soon.’
Clink.
Mikhail took out a bottle of mana water and hid it in his robe sleeve. He turned toward Ethan and Colin.
“Wait here. I’ll just check the records inside and we’ll head back.”
Ethan and Colin nodded. Mikhail approached the inside of the cavern and examined the carved characters.
At the same time, he quietly spilled the mana water.
Tssssss…
The mana water began flowing along the grooves in the floor. The blunt patterns began emitting a subtle light.
“Huh? Wh-what’s this! Why is this happening?”
That’s when it happened. At the cry that burst out from behind, Mikhail whipped his head around. Fist-sized droplets were rising from Colin’s cloth bag.
Blue, purple, yellow… emitting various colors of light. The mana from throughout the Singing Forest was reacting.
Rummmble…
The air rippled as the floor vibrated faintly.
At the sudden situation, Ethan drew his sword and surveyed the surroundings, while Colin crouched down, turning pale.
Mikhail approached Colin and gripped his wrist.
“You need to go somewhere safe.”
Mikhail turned his head to the right. Among the gathered bedrocks, there was one hollowed-out spot.
A space sufficient to hide a child, a blind spot the aftermath of the commotion wouldn’t reach.
Mikhail took Colin there and sat him down.
“Don’t move a single step from here. You need to stay put until the situation is resolved.”
“…Yes.”
Colin answered in a trembling voice. Mikhail patted Colin’s shoulder and turned toward Ethan.
While the tremor shaking the cavern only intensified, Ethan stood with his sword drawn, staring upward. He seemed to have sensed where the threat originated.
That’s when it happened.
Crash!
Sunset light poured down. The ceiling burst open as the tree roots surrounding it collapsed.
Dirt and dust cascaded down.
Along with it, a massive body tumbled down.
Boom!
With an impact that shook the floor, the giant body settled across the cavern. It was a moth that hadn’t yet fully spread its wings.
Large enough for three or four adults to surround. The moth wriggled its antennae while recovering its fallen body.
Mikhail withdrew his gaze from the moth and quickly surveyed the surroundings. He confirmed the points he needed to target.
“—Take cover first!”
At that moment, a warning was delivered.
Ethan leaped high toward the moth. He swung his sword like lightning and struck near the moth’s wings.
When the opponent hadn’t properly assumed its stance. He knew that was the opportune moment to attack.
Clang!
Instead of the sound of smooth cutting, a sharp scraping noise rang out ominously.
The blade that failed to sever the moth’s wing bounced outward.
A mana barrier generated on the luna moth’s surface at the moment of attack had blocked the impact.
“Kugh…”
Ethan used the recoil to turn his body and land on the floor. The moment his feet touched the ground, he leaped again.
Tap!
Ethan narrowed his eyes at the luna moth.
The moment the enemy appeared before his eyes, he instinctively knew it was an opponent he couldn’t defeat using proper methods.
Then creating an effective hit while he had even a slight advantage was the best course.
Clang, clang!
Flashing sword strikes struck the mana barrier several times.
The strikes targeting what he deduced to be vital points were fairly sharp, but the mana barrier didn’t break easily.
Ethan, who’d landed after the series of attacks, caught his breath while glancing sideways at his companions.
‘…One’s a child and the other’s a non-combatant. I need to buy time until they can escape.’
Grrr, grrrrrowl.
Meanwhile, the moth made bizarre sounds as it righted its body. Glinting compound eyes fixed on Ethan.
Vivid killing intent reached Ethan’s skin.
Ethan bit his lip. He instinctively felt that even a purely defensive response wouldn’t be easy.
“Maxwell. Please…”
Ethan whipped around and called out to Maxwell.
He’d planned to ask him to return to the village and request support while he blocked the attacks, but.
“…?”
Rather, it was Maxwell who approached first and spoke.
Despite facing a sudden threat, he showed not even a hint of agitation.
As if confused by that calm gaze instead, Ethan lost his words and stared blankly at Maxwell.
But he quickly came to his senses.
“Right now…!”
“No, listen to me.”
Maxwell—no, Mikhail—cut off the conversation in a flat tone.
It was content he could guess without hearing. He’d probably say they should retreat first since it wasn’t an easy magical beast.
He’d certainly realized early on that it was an opponent difficult to block alone. Yet he’d obviously thought of his safety first.
That was his nature.
Ethan Welton.
“…”
Mikhail shifted his gaze toward the luna moth. He stared at the massive figure emanating fierce intimidation and opened his mouth.
“That creature is a giant luna moth. Originally it would be the cavern’s guardian, but as you can see, it’s lost its reason now.”
“…”
“So I’m asking you.”
Rumble.
Mikhail’s eyes moved slightly, fixing on Ethan’s face.
“Buy me some time. I know a way to weaken it.”
