They began walking toward the south, but the sign for "Road No. 29" was nowhere to be found.
An hour passed.
Fatigue crept in. Doubt followed.
Just as they were about to give up, Shizuku stopped.
Shizuku: "Wait."
She pointed ahead. At first, the sign was barely visible—worn down, half-covered, almost erased by time. But as they moved closer, the letters became clear.
"Road No. 29."
They turned right.
The moment they stepped forward, a heavy presence surrounded them.
The forest felt alive—too alive. Every sound scraped against their nerves. Leaves rustled without wind. Distant growls echoed from all directions. It felt like the forest itself was watching them.
Shino: "Hey, Waku… just asking—will you help us if those monsters charge?"
Waku didn't even slow his pace.
Waku: "No. I don't sense any high-reberu monsters."
He glanced around, calm as ever.
Waku: "You deal with them. If they start seriously hurting you… then I might consider stepping in."
They continued walking deeper into the forest.
After a moment, Waku spoke again—this time as a warning.
Waku: "Those low-reberu monsters are following us."
Everyone tensed.
Waku: "They're waiting for the right moment. They may charge all at once when we're deeper inside."
He stopped briefly and looked back at them.
Waku: "Be careful. I'm not helping you fight them right now."
They walked for another thirty minutes.
Then—
Waku: "Stop. Be careful."
His voice dropped.
Waku: "They're charging."
Seconds later, the forest erupted.
From every direction—between trees, from behind rocks, out of the shadows—twenty… no, maybe forty low-reberu monsters burst forward, howling as they rushed the group.
Instinct kicked in.
Everyone immediately formed a circle around Akaimo.