The two stood before a bleak scene ahead of them, as if this forest had been cursed by some unknown force. It appeared dark and completely devoid of life. This sight was extremely repulsive to Carlos.
In complete contrast, Ryan paid no attention to this situation; instead, he stared deeply into the forest, carefully searching for prey to hunt.
The two soon entered the forest and began advancing deeper inside. Under normal circumstances, they had no clue or guiding sign leading them to Raven's location within this forest—assuming he was inside it at all. However, the situation was different with Carlos present; tracking within forests was his specialty.
Carlos took two steps to the right, then placed his right palm against the branch of one of the trees and gently closed his eyes, attempting to trace Raven's path by following the traces or remnants of his ether.
While Carlos immersed himself deeper and deeper into tracking, Ryan stood beside him, fully alert for any sudden danger and ready to crush any monster that might approach. However, Carlos took quite a long time in this search—at least from Ryan's perspective.
Ryan: "Carlos, aren't you done yet? You've been searching for a full minute already. This is getting even more boring."
Although a minute was not a long time, for Ryan—who longed to plunge into battles against ferocious monsters—standing idle for a whole minute without doing anything was unbearably dull.
A radiance like the morning sun, accompanied by a gentle breeze, swept away the gloomy atmosphere. A sudden surge occurred the moment Carlos opened his closed eyes. This power—it was truly the power of a mutant at the peak of the third stage, strong enough to influence the entire region. Ryan quickly asked:
"Did your search yield any results?"
Carlos answered decisively, "Yes.
Indeed, I've determined that we are already at the intended location. Based on the memories of these trees in this part of the forest, Raven passed through here. Even traces of his energy are still partially clinging to the ground. Let's hurry—he took this path north, going deeper into the forest."
Thus, once their next destination was confirmed, the duo charged forward with all their strength, following the path their friend had taken. They ran at an incredibly high speed; it was difficult to track them with the naked eye as they ventured deeper and deeper into the darkness…
Amid an oppressive gloom, darker than the blackness of night itself, whispers of voices began to grow sharper little by little.
"Are you saying that another hideout has fallen into the hands of unknown individuals once again?"
The owner of the voice spoke with a terrifying tone filled with hatred, malice, and intense rage, then continued:
"How is this possible? One after another—what is happening? You must find an explanation for these events as quickly as possible."
"Yes, I promise you, my lord. Just grant me a little more time, and I will discover who is behind these recent events."
"Hmph. Very well—get out of my sight, and do not return empty-handed again."
Returning to our duo, they continued advancing further and further, yet their facial expressions were far from calm, instead filled with doubt and unease.
Ryan: "Don't you think this has become very strange? Ever since we entered this forest, everything has been fine so far. We haven't encountered a single monster of any kind. It's as if this forest is dead, containing no life at all. Since entering, I haven't seen a single living being other than us."
Ryan's concern was valid. Given the forest's infamous reputation, it was strange not to encounter even one monster. Both of them were fully convinced that something was wrong.
Carlos: "Yes, it's very strange. This path stretches on in a way that invites suspicion and doubt, but that doesn't matter now. We will continue toward our destination no matter what happens."
The moment Carlos finished speaking, he noticed something gleaming in the air, heading straight toward them. It startled him; he immediately halted and changed his trajectory toward the object. Grabbing a tree branch, he used it to anchor himself and alter his course, then quickly released his grip. In a single instant, the object closed in, and while Carlos was still airborne, he managed to catch it.
It resembled an arrow—but it wasn't one. It looked more like a spike fired by a monster. But from that distance, what kind of monster could possibly do that?
The two rushed toward the direction from which the attack had come. Within moments, they arrived—but the surprising thing was that the creature responsible immediately fled upon seeing Carlos and Ryan. However, Ryan did not allow it to escape, using his fastest technique to pounce. He swiftly blocked its path and stood directly in front of it.
There was no doubt—it was a monster. But why was it behaving like this? Afraid? That was the most fitting description of its state. Fear was deeply rooted in its veins, reflected clearly in its actions. It quickly turned toward the opposite direction, but the moment it tilted its head, Carlos was already standing before its eyes. This situation sparked pure panic within the monster.
Carlos: "Haaah… this monster doesn't seem unfamiliar to me. Doesn't it resemble the chimera we encountered during our last mission? But why is it here? And what's driving it to behave like this?"
While Carlos pondered, his appearance suggested that his guard had slightly dropped. The terrified chimera turned toward Ryan. Ryan, unlike Carlos, appeared completely prepared. The monster took advantage of Carlos's brief lapse in focus and believed it had found its chance to escape.
It suddenly leapt toward Carlos at high speed, as if attempting to kill him with a swift strike before fleeing in the opposite direction of Ryan. What was strange for the monster was that Ryan didn't move at all—he stood perfectly still, staring with an expression devoid of emotion.
While still in midair, the chimera turned its gaze forward again, ignoring Ryan. But what it saw was no longer Carlos—what it saw was as if the world itself had begun to twist around it. Before it could even realize what was happening, its head was sent flying through the air, severed by one of Carlos's daggers.
Ryan: "Tch. It would've been better if there were stronger monsters than this trash nearby, wouldn't it, Carlos?"
Carlos: "I don't care about that. Still, this monster's behavior bothers me. It seemed to be terrified of something beforehand—as if there's something in this forest that frightens it to this extent."
End of the Chapter