Spider Demon
Deputy leader Na Seoyu spoke to Captain Seolpung.
"Now, please look straight into my eyes."
But even at those words, the captain couldn't bring himself to look at Lady Na. He just shifted his gaze nervously here and there, unable to meet her eyes.
The men of our squad laughed and enjoyed watching him squirm.
I spoke with a smile.
"Judging by the fact that he can't look her in the eyes, I'd say it's certain the captain hasn't been soul-enslaved."
At that, Bisa yeong chimed in.
"Exactly. This is completely our usual captain. Captain, shouldn't you at least get soul-enslaved a little? You need to marry someday, don't you?"
Bae Jonggwan laughed and cut in.
"Sa yeong, you can't even talk properly in front of women. Does that mean you need to be soul-enslaved to get married too?"
Bisa yeong flared up.
"Wh-what nonsense is that?! It's not that I can't speak—I just didn't bother! Because there was no need!"
I smirked and asked back.
"Oh, really?"
"Of course!"
At that moment, Lady Na Seoyu said to Bisa yeong:
"Perfect then. You'll be the next one, Young Master Bi. Come here and look into my eyes."
"Hmph! Do you think I can't?!"
Right now, we were at our quarters, checking whether any of the men had been soul-enslaved.
A notice had come down from the Ten Flying Dragons after one of their members was discovered to be soul-enslaved, ordering us to check all Flying Dragon troops.
On the frontlines, it wasn't rare for people to fall victim to the Blood Sect's soul-enslavement.
And that was far more terrifying than encountering demons or dark masters.
Because not only did you lose a trusted comrade—you were forced to kill that very comrade with your own hands.
The method to undo the Blood Sect's soul-enslavement was still completely unknown.
"Now, look directly at my eyes."
"I-I looked."
"Oh come now, what was that? Don't just sneak glances—you have to keep looking."
"Yeah, Sa yeong. Keep your eyes there. Where's all that confidence from earlier?"
"Right, you were mocking me before, but you look just the same as I did now."
"N-no! Honestly, isn't it already confirmed I'm not soul-enslaved at this point?! Don't you agree, Deputy?"
"Well, yes. Judging by how you can't keep eye contact, it's clear you're fine, Young Master Bi."
"What?! I did make eye contact!"
"Yes, yes. For a very short moment."
The way to tell if someone was soul-enslaved was usually through their eyes.
Those who were enslaved lost all vitality from their gaze.
And it was usually the women who judged this best. They were far more sensitive to subtle changes in comrades' appearances. In fact, this was the very reason all frontline squads were mixed-gender.
"Now, it's Young Master Seonu's turn."
At Lady Na's words, I swallowed hard and stepped forward.
So… I had to keep eye contact with Lady Na?
My heart pounded relentlessly.
Honestly, I felt like I could keep looking not just for a short moment, but for a whole watch.
From the side, Bisa yeong and Bae Jonggwan called out to me:
"Hmph! Jin, let's see just how confident you are!"
"Good luck, Jin!"
I suddenly smiled at their words.
Why would I need luck?
This was my chance to look straight into Lady Na's eyes.
I could take this opportunity to admire her face all I wanted.
But that thought vanished the moment she smiled warmly at me, her gentle eyes locking with mine.
Her smile pierced straight into my heart through my eyes.
Eyes like those of a gentle puppy, soft and accepting as though she could embrace the whole world.
She might not have been a supreme beauty like Lady Tang Yeoeun, but her kind, pretty face alone was enough to make anyone feel happy.
Bang!
Something inside me seemed to explode.
The comrades who had been watching me with amusement immediately burst into laughter.
"Pwahahaha! What's that?! How can someone's face turn that red?!"
"Hahaha! Jin, how could you turn crimson even before looking at her properly?!"
"Sorry, Jin. I should've told you to calm down instead."
Only then did I realize what had happened. I touched my face—my skin burned as if it were on fire.
Lady Na stifled her laughter as she spoke to me.
"There's no need to even check. I never imagined there'd be someone even worse than the captain."
Wh-what?! Wait! No need to check?!
No, this can't be, Lady Na!
I hurried to protest.
"N-no, I…!"
But she only smiled softly and said:
"Don't push yourself too hard, Young Master Seonu. You must be tired. Sorry for teasing you."
"N-no, that's not what I meant…!"
And just like that, my rightful chance to gaze upon her face was gone.
I felt like the world had collapsed.
How could such an absurd thing happen…?
While I was still drowning in despair, Bisa yeong suddenly asked:
"By the way, Deputy, did you check Lady Cheongyeon's eyes as well?"
At that, I too lifted my head and looked toward Lady Na. I was deeply curious myself.
Now, Lady Cheongyeon had become friendly with the female squad members, but truthfully, I was the closest to her. She often followed me around wherever I went.
And yet, even I had never once seen above her nose. Whenever asked why she kept her bangs down, she only said it was to cover a scar.
A scar…
If that were true, then there was nothing more to say.
But somehow, I doubted it.
'My name is Cheongyeon. Family name Cheong, given name Yeon.'
That's how she introduced herself to the squad.
But surely, she had another surname. Considering she was friends with Jegal Seoyul—the daughter of Jegal Jigang, the Alliance's Chief Strategist—it was clear she came from a prestigious family. And yet she hid her origins, and likewise, perhaps her face.
So naturally, I was very curious whether Lady Na had seen her eyes.
At the question, Lady Na looked as though she suddenly recalled something.
She nodded absentmindedly and murmured:
"Yes, I have. It was truly…"
"Truly what?"
As we focused on her with keen curiosity, Lady Na suddenly snapped back, hurriedly shaking her head with a flustered smile.
"No, nothing. Jueun and I saw them together, but Yeon had no choice but to cover her face."
"Huh? Why is that?"
"Well… because if she didn't, it would cause great chaos."
"…What?"
That incomprehensible remark made us frown, but Lady Na clearly had no intention of explaining further.
"Well, it's just one of those things. Anyway, thank you all for your efforts. Ah, Captain, are you heading out right away?"
At her question, Captain Seolpung smiled faintly and nodded.
"That's my plan."
Lady Na's expression turned concerned.
"Please be careful. They say it might not just be a single Spider Demon this time."
"Thank you for your concern, Lady. I'll be sure not to let my guard down."
Captain Seolpung, along with the Thirteen Squads' peak experts, was scheduled to depart immediately.
Their mission was to hunt down the most dangerous demon currently prowling the jungle—the Spider Demon.
This demon, which grew stronger by draining the essence blood of humans, usually possessed the abilities of a top-class first-rate fighter. But once it absorbed the essence blood of three or more people, it was known to grow into a peak master level opponent.
Of course, it can't wield internal energy, but its physical abilities even surpass those of early-stage peak experts.
Worse still, the more it grew, the more cunning it became, making it nearly impossible to track down. Truly one of the worst fiends imaginable.
The intelligence this time reported that such a Spider Demon had already drained at least five people from the Fourteenth Squad, east of the Thirteenth, and was now heading in our direction.
Naturally, the alarm was raised.
"All the peak experts are heading out, right?"
"Yes. A Spider Demon that's drained five people can only be handled by those at the peak."
"Please be careful, Captain."
"Thank you."
We watched heavily as Captain Seolpung left the room.
As in my past life, after the Ghoul Horde attack incident, demons had begun appearing more frequently and more dangerously.
Where once a Spider Demon might appear once every few months, now one or two would surface every month.
Not to mention the constant appearance of Ghouls and Blood Ghouls.
I turned to Lady Na.
"Lady Cheon Jueun… no, what will you ladies be doing?"
"Us? In this kind of atmosphere, it doesn't seem wise to enter the forest, so we'll just be training near the quarters."
"I see."
At her words, I secretly let out a sigh of relief.
From what I recalled of my past life, it was around this time that Lady Cheon Jueun—who wasn't part of our squad then—had died.
I didn't remember the details clearly since I'd been too overwhelmed to care about others, but I distinctly remembered she had been found in the forest, torn apart by Ghouls, and that had filled me with terror.
But this time, she was part of our squad, and since she always stuck close to Lady Na and Lady Cheongyeon, such a tragedy seemed unlikely.
Still, I gave a warning.
"Whatever happens, please don't go into the forest or to dangerous places alone. If anything happened to you ladies while the captain is away, we'd have no face left to show him."
Lady Na smiled sweetly.
"Don't worry. We have no such intentions. And thank you for your concern, Young Master Seonu."
At the time, I thought that was enough.
But later, I recalled that it wasn't only Lady Cheon Jueun who had died back then—and that there must have been another reason she'd entered the forest during such a dangerous period.
That afternoon, while I was training external arts with Bisa yeong and Bae Jonggwan, I suddenly noticed Deputy Mae Yeogyeong of the Fourth Squad hurrying about, as if searching for someone.
I couldn't take my eyes off her.
She was one of the people I, along with Tang Yeoeun and Ma Yugyeom, had been keeping an eye on.
She was the very one who, in the near future, would be killed by a Spider Demon—an incident that left her captain, Ma Yugyeom, a broken man.
Of course, that would happen later, after the Essence Blood Assembly. But I couldn't help being wary.
I threw on a robe and approached her.
"Lady Mae, who are you searching for?"
Her expression, somewhat gloomy despite her pretty face, stiffened in surprise. Then, with a hint of caution, she answered:
"Oh, I'm looking for one of my squad members—Son Harang. She's been struggling a lot lately, and I've been worried. But I haven't seen her since earlier."
"I see. Lady Son Harang, you say? If I run into her, I'll tell her you're looking for her."
"Thank you."
After she left, Bae Jonggwan suddenly spoke.
"Lady Son Harang—that's the sweetheart of Young Master Jeong, the one who was killed by the Twin Evil Blades, right?"
Bisa yeong replied with a bitter look.
"Yes. I heard she's been struggling ever since, unable to forget him."
It was the first I'd heard of either her or her story.
I asked quickly:
"What do you mean? She lost her lover?"
"Yeah. It happened right before you arrived. Lady Son's lover was slain by the demonic masters known as the Twin Evil Blades. They were a famous couple, known for their devotion to one another. But after his death, she's been in great pain."
A tragic story.
But on the frontlines, such tales were far from rare.
Countless soldiers had lost lovers, only to form new relationships with others. That was simply how life went here.
So much so that one of the frontline's iron rules of romance was never to meddle in a comrade's past relationships—whether their lover was alive or dead.
"I see. How unfortunate."
I nodded and started to walk away—but then froze mid-step as a thought struck me.
Wait. Which squad was Lady Cheon in, back then?
I couldn't recall clearly.
But faintly, I remembered hearing something like that.
That she had gone into the forest to console a struggling comrade—and perished there.
If that was true… could it be?
As I stood rooted in place, thinking with a grave expression, Bisa yeong asked:
"What is it, Jin? Why the sudden serious look? Don't spook us."
"Yeah, don't tell me some Immortal came to you again in a dream?"
Ever since I'd claimed that an Immortal had appeared in my dream and warned me of the Ghoul Horde attack, my comrades had believed me implicitly.
Which made convincing them easy enough.
"I have a bad feeling. We'd better go look for this Lady Son."
Bisa yeong and Bae Jonggwan exchanged glances, then asked me:
"If it's your feeling, Jin, we can trust it… but where do we even look for her?"
At their question, I pointed toward the western forest.
"Let's start over there."
It was the opposite direction of where the captains had gone to hunt the Spider Demon.