The Forest Would Accept Every Lost Soul...

Back in the safe house hall, Vane and Gregor quickly explained Ten Percent Off's origins and its remarkable function as a "translator" to Gorth.

Before Gorth could ask for details, Vane was already urging him to return at once.

"Is it really that urgent..." Gorth was still hesitant.

"Once you understand what kind of scum the patrol squad is, you'll be even more desperate than I am!"

Vane looked indignant as he slapped Gorth hard on the arm.

"Do it for me—use Tree World Descent on them!"

[Don't listen to Fourth's nonsense,] Gregor's steady voice rang out.

[Third, make your own judgment. If you feel they truly pose a threat, then killing them is fine.]

Gorth gave Gregor a slightly surprised look. Gregor tilted his head.

[What is it?]

"...Nothing. I'll consider it carefully." Taking Ten Percent Off from Vane, Gorth spoke softly.

"I'm counting on you, little guy."

"(•̀ᴗ•́)و"

The next instant, Gorth vanished in a flash of light.

Ursus Snowfield, edge of the Black Forest.

Bang—!

The dull crash of metal striking hardwood echoed through the air.

"[Ursus profanity]! Why is this wood so damn hard?!"

A patrol squad member cursed as he pulled back his saber, his arm throbbing from the recoil.

He stared in disbelief at the pitch-black trunk before him. Not even a faint white mark had been left on it.

"Useless idiot, move aside! Let me do it!"

Another squad member spat contemptuously, gripping his saber with both hands and bringing it down with all his strength.

Clang!

Another teeth-grating crack rang out. The saber bounced high into the air, and the squad member staggered back two steps, nearly losing his grip.

"Hahaha! You can't do it either!"

"[Ursus profanity]! What kind of freak tree is this?!"

The second squad member was both shocked and furious. How could wood possibly be harder than steel?!

A faint glimmer flashed, and Gorth's figure quietly appeared once more.

Ten Percent Off's screen lit up, translating the patrol squad members' conversation below into information he could understand.

(The wood is too hard!)

(Useless idiot!)

(Can't chop it down!)

(What kind of tree is this?)

Gorth listened quietly without making a move for the moment.

The patrol captain stepped forward with a gloomy expression and growled impatiently.

"Forget these trees! That infected must have hidden inside! Spread out and search! Even if we have to turn this whole forest upside down, drag him out!"

(Don't mind trees. Find sick person.)

(Turn over. Find him.)

Ten Percent Off translated faithfully. Gorth gave it a puzzled look.

Isn't this translation a little too economical?

Below, another squad member looked hesitantly at the gloomy forest.

"Captain... this forest is too strange. Wouldn't it be dangerous to just go in...?"

"What are you afraid of?!" the captain cut him off roughly.

"It's just a weird-looking forest! What, do you think there are monsters inside that'll eat you?"

"But after all this time, that infected might have already run far away."

"If you know that, then hurry up! If we fail to meet our quota, are you going to pay us?"

The captain punched his subordinate without ceremony. Another squad member raised a question.

"What if we don't find him?"

"Don't find him? Isn't there a village nearby? Just grab someone from there and infect them with Originium fragments."

"But I heard the nearest village has been acting strange. Several patrol squads went there, and there's been no word from any of them..."

"What are you afraid of? What could some remote little village possibly have? Kill anyone who dares resist!"

(Forest, strange...)

Ten Percent Off continued translating as Gorth pieced together the information from its brief phrases.

Yeah, I think it's strange too.

(Not afraid.)

The forest... it really is a little scary.

(Can't find.)

An infected? He's right beside me.

(Nearby village, grab people.)

Mm-hm, grab people... Wait! Where are they grabbing them from?

Ten Percent Off's translation made Gorth jerk in alarm. The nearby village—wasn't that Alina's...?!

(Village strange, no news.)

Gorth's hand dug tightly into the tree trunk, and his calm state of mind began to churn.

Why are they going there...

(Not afraid. Village. Kill them all...)

Gorth: "..."

Crack—!

"Who's there?!"

A crisp breaking sound suddenly rang through the forest. The captain snapped his head up, one hand already resting on the saber at his waist.

The other squad members tensed instantly, raising their blades and looking around.

Yet all they saw were lightly swaying branches. There was nothing there.

"Gulp..."

One squad member swallowed, the sound unnaturally clear in the excessive silence.

"C-Captain... how about we forget it? This place is seriously creepy... I-I keep feeling like there are countless eyes watching us!"

"[Ursus profanity]! With guts like that, why are you even in the patrol squad?!"

A strange chill rose in the captain's heart. He cursed fiercely despite his inner fear, trying to use his volume to dispel the eerie atmosphere around them.

"C-Captain!"

"What now?!"

"Y-You should look around! W-Weren't we just at the edge of the forest?"

"?"

The captain followed the direction he pointed, and his pupils abruptly contracted.

At some point, the trees surrounding them had become abnormally dense. Their gnarled branches nearly blocked out all light.

The snowfield that had been right beside them could now only be seen as a blurry patch of white through gaps in layer after layer of branches.

Even more scalp-numbing was the absolute silence that had fallen over the area.

Even the wind they had heard before had vanished without a trace.

All they could hear were their own increasingly hurried heartbeats and breaths, as well as... that faint, intermittent rustling.

"Back to back! Form a circle!"

The captain finally realized something was terribly wrong. The squad members hurriedly gathered together, staring around in terror at the slowly writhing dark forest.

"[Ursus profanity]! What's going on?! Is this that infected's Originium Arts?!"

The captain was shocked and furious, trying to find an explanation for the bizarre phenomenon before his eyes.

The squad members stood back to back, cold sweat soaking their clothes. The fear brought by the unknown was far more suffocating than facing blades.

Just as they were considering whether to break through in one direction at all costs—

"Rustle..."

The dense trees slowly shifted apart, actually opening a passage on their own!

At the end of that passage lay the familiar, vast white snowfield. Light streamed in unobstructed, driving away the forest's darkness.

"An exit!"

One squad member cried out in delight, nearly rushing toward it at once.

"Wait!"

The captain grabbed him, staring fixedly at the passage that appeared to offer a way out. Years of experience made him instinctively feel that something was wrong.

It was too convenient, like... like bait in a trap.

Yet in the instant he hesitated—

Whoosh!

A somewhat staggering figure flashed through the shadows not far away, running deeper into the forest.

"Captain! It's that infected!"

The captain looked in that direction and indeed caught sight of the fleeing figure. It was the very target they had been hunting.

"[Ursus profanity]! It really is that bastard's Originium Arts! He's controlling this forest!"

The captain understood everything at once, his anger overwhelming his doubts.

He believed the infected was struggling desperately, using the last of his strength to create illusions and obstacles.

Now that he was running out of strength, he had finally revealed an opening—and had even tried to lure them away with a fake exit!

"After him! Don't let him get away again!"

With an angry roar, the captain led his men toward the direction where the figure had vanished.

"C-Captain..."

One squad member beside him was still hesitant. He looked at the open passage leading to the snowfield, then at the sinister, terrifying forest.

"But... when we were chasing him before, we never saw him use Originium Arts on this scale... This forest is too creepy..."

"Are you fucking coming or not?!"

The captain suddenly grabbed him by the collar and roared with a ferocious expression.

"The eastern mine is short on workers! An infected with Originium Arts on this scale is worth far more than ordinary trash!"

"Do you want the brothers to make this trip for nothing and go home empty-handed?! Or do you want to go fill the vacancy at the mine yourself?!"

"...I'm coming."

Driven by the threat and profit before him, his last trace of hesitation was crushed.

"Good! Get your heads in the game! Catch that infected, then go back and collect the reward!"

The captain charged ahead, leading the remaining squad members headlong into the depths of the forest.

They kept moving forward. The more they pursued, the denser the trees around them grew, their twisted branches nearly swallowing every scrap of light.

Rather than being alarmed, the captain became even more excited, a twisted smile appearing on his face.

"[Ursus profanity]! That bastard is out of strength! All he can do now is use these rotten branches to stall for time!"

The other squad members grew excited as well. They pushed aside the vines blocking their way while shouting the filthiest things they would do to the infected once they caught him.

Only one squad member felt a chill run down his spine.

The surrounding trees were constantly closing in, and the gaps between them were narrowing by the moment. But whenever they tried to pass through, the branches silently drew back as though they were alive...

He opened his mouth to warn the others, but when he saw the feverish, twisted expressions on their faces, he ultimately closed it in silence.

When he looked back, the white of the snowfield was slowly shrinking, gradually being swallowed by the forest's darkness.

He instinctively stopped, wanting to flee back the way he had come.

But the captain's ferocious face flashed through his mind—if he backed down now, not only would he get no share of the reward, everyone would shun him...

Where could I go if I left the patrol squad?

Remembering the infected they had personally sent to the mines, howling and begging for mercy, he shuddered, gritted his teeth, and hurried after them.

"I don't want to become like that!"

The patrol squad sank ever deeper into the forest, the trees around them almost completely impenetrable.

Countless branches swayed before their eyes, yet always silently retreated just before touching them, like a carefully staged play.

At last, they were led to the end of a clearing—

More than a dozen thick ancient trees formed a circle, like a fortress.

"Captain, this..."

"Who cares what this thing is!"

The captain strode forward with a savage grin and swung his saber hard at the wall of trees.

"Come out! You infected scum!"

The blade struck the black bark without leaving so much as a mark.

The other squad members also gathered around, searching for a possible entrance.

"Here! There's a gap!" someone suddenly shouted.

Everyone immediately crowded over and thrust their long blades into the narrow crevice amid a stream of curses.

"How long do you think you can hide?!"

"Once we catch you, we'll chop off your legs first!"

The captain panted heavily, repeatedly stabbing his blade deeper inside until one of the squad members reminded him:

"Captain, don't kill them! They're only worth money alive!"

The captain withdrew his hand and snarled at the gap:

"Are you crawling out yourself, or are you waiting for us to drag you out and beat you half to death?"

The surroundings fell silent for a moment.

Rustle...

The encircling trees slowly moved aside. Before they could see what was inside, the captain raised his knife with a vicious grin and brought it down.

"Fooled you!"

Clang—!

The blade stopped in midair, gripped by a massive black claw.

Under everyone's terrified gazes, the metal let out a piercing screech as it twisted, then shattered with a crack.

The enormous crouching figure slowly rose, its shadow engulfing them all.

The Infected they had been hunting poked their head out from behind the giant shadow, their eyes filled with mockery.

"I gave you a chance..."

Only when Gorth's low voice rang out did the patrol squad remember to run, but by then, roots that had burst from the ground had tightly wrapped around their ankles.

"[Ursus profanity!] Why is there a Wendigo here?!"

The captain screamed as Gorth seized his head and lifted him up.

Amid his screams, Gorth slowly pulled him before his eyes. One claw slowly lifted the red cloth covering them—

Within the hollow darkness, two scarlet points of light stared fixedly at the trembling human in his hand.

"Now..."

"Explain to me—"

Gorth's voice turned increasingly violent as his grip tightened.

"What do you mean by 'kill everyone in the village'?!"

The Lord of the Forest had granted the vile the right to live...

Yet the vile's greed had ultimately surpassed mercy...

It didn't matter.

The forest would accept every lost soul, regardless of whether it...

Was good or evil.