Leni scraped the last bits of oatmeal porridge from the bottom of the bowl and drank the liquid from the bottle Gabriel had given her.
Soon, her body warmed, and drowsiness washed over her.
“You’ll feel better after a nap.”
Gabriel placed a hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
“Thank you, Gabriel. But where’s Sir Leharto? When is he leaving for the Shadow Lands?”
Leni asked, her mind fuzzy.
She needed to recover quickly if she wanted to follow Blayden.
“He’s already left.”
“What? When?”
“Just a little while ago. He crossed the bridge over the Shamut River, so he should be in Saint-Noire Forest by now.”
“Did he go alone?”
“Yes.”
“No!”
“Did you forget what Gustav said? The Shadow Tribe confuses the mind, right? They say evil energy accumulated in the soul appears as hallucinations. What if he goes alone?”
Blayden’s mind, having spent so long on the battlefield, must be a mass of terrible memories.
Her father had warned her not to leave Blayden alone.
If Blayden also met misfortune, having failed to protect Princess Kiabel, what would become of her and her father’s fate?
“It’s dangerous to go alone!”
Leni sprang up and ran.
It was a mystery where such strength came from.
Her legs pushed off the ground powerfully, and her body felt light as it cut through the wind.
Beyond the campsite, dark water flowed down a gentle slope.
It was the Shamut River, the gateway to the Shadow Lands.
Leni slid down the hill and leapt onto the narrow stone bridge spanning the river.
“Leni, where are you going in that state?”
“Don’t go alone!”
Sharino and William’s shouts came from behind, but Leni’s mind was filled only with the thought of catching up to Blayden.
On the hill, Sharino and William stared blankly at Leni, who had vanished like the wind, becoming a tiny speck.
“Wasn’t she sick?”
“Yeah. She’s like she’s possessed by something. Anyway, will she be okay?”
Beside them, Gustav shook his head.
“Like master, like subordinate.”
His right hand opened wide, and a flame ignited in his palm.
His lips, as white as ice, parted, and blue smoke drifted out.
The swirling flame transformed into a fireball and flew towards Leni.
Gustav smirked, confirming that the elongated fireball had absorbed into her fluttering red cloak and disappeared.
“It seems the new recruit will bring an interesting energy to the Captain’s utterly boring life.”
His upward-curving lips froze at Lentz’s furious shout from behind.
“What are you doing! Sending Leni off?”
Sharino made excuses to Lentz, who had rushed over, comprehending the situation.
“We didn’t send her. She went herself.”
“We’re going together. Everyone, move!”
Lentz, giving the order, dashed onto the bridge.
Sharino and William followed Lentz.
“This is troublesome.”
Gustav, who had been watching the three with his arms crossed over his chest, also descended the hill with a helpless expression.
“Where are you all going?”
Gabriel’s shout was heard from behind, and the grass rustled.
Lentz, leading the charge across the stone bridge, encountered fog.
Just a moment ago, the visibility had been clear, but suddenly, fog had swept in from somewhere, enveloping everything.
The fog, which only thickened when he waved his hands through it, surged up like a solid wall, blocking their path.
He drew his sword, but it merely clanged and bounced off.
“It’s a Shadow barrier. It won’t allow unpermitted humans into its territory,” Gustav said, feeling the fog wall with his hand.
“How did Leni get through?”
Sharino impatiently stamped her foot.
From behind, Gabriel shouted, “We can’t go back! The way we came is blocked too!”
Ash-grey fog descended, threatening to swallow Gabriel.
“Why is this fog so cold? It’s like ice.”
As a terrified voice echoed from within the fog, William grabbed Gabriel’s hand and pulled him closer.
Sharino looked down as her foot felt something squishy.
A stone had transformed into a giant python, coiling around her ankle.
She tried to lift her leg, but it wouldn’t budge.
The ash-grey python coiled upwards, climbing her calf.
The silver scales covering its body glittered like needles.
Sharino shrieked in terror as the python opened its mouth and flicked its long, red tongue.
“Aaaah!”
“Paracetime Shurachichita!”
Gustav chanted a spell.
The python scattered into smoke with a pop but quickly re-formed.
Now, all the unit members had a python attached to their legs.
The scales on the thicker, wetter body of the python, larger than before, stood erect like small horns.
As Lentz tried to cut the python with his sword, Gustav shouted,
“Don’t! It’s dark magic that makes you harm yourself. If you fall for it…”
Before he could finish speaking, the stone bridge groaned and cracked.
“Aargh!”
***
With a shriek, Sharino plummeted from the bridge.
From Lentz at the front to Gabriel at the rear, they all cut through the air.
Splash!
The black river, which had swallowed the unit members, began to swirl like a giant monster.
Leni, having reached the opposite side of the bridge, faced an empty railing.
They had said there was a guardian, but neither people nor animals were visible.
Only a faint darkness lay ahead.
She hesitated at the entrance to the unnervingly silent forest.
She feared what harm might befall her if she entered the spirit territory without permission.
Goosebumps broke out on her skin, wondering if this, too, was a trap.
Moreover, the bridge she had just run across was thick with fog.
The path had been clear just moments ago, but now she couldn’t see an inch ahead.
Leni extended her arm into the fog.
Her hand was blocked in mid-air as if hitting a solid wall.
A hallucination?
Or real?
She withdrew her hand and walked forward.
Her shoulder bumped squarely into something.
This wasn’t ordinary fog.
The Shadow Tribe’s dark magic had already begun.
Leni groped and then knocked on the solid fog.
Her skin stung as if scratched by stone.
Her hair stood on end, and when she turned around, the landscape of the forest beyond the bridge had changed.
Where there had been only darkness a moment ago, green trees now shone, bathed in sunlight.
Where on earth had those things appeared from?
Amidst the inexplicable phenomena, one thing was certain: she couldn’t go back the way she came.
She had to choose.
Stay here.
Or move forward.
Leni walked past the dense trees.
Leaves, as if made of gold and silver, sparkled in the sunlight.
Each time the wind spread a mystical resonance, flowers swayed at her feet.
The fully bloomed petals were so dazzlingly brilliant, like jewels, they hurt her eyes.
Leni recalled the advice she’d heard from Gustav and covered her ears with both hands.
It’s a trap to bewitch the mind.
Don’t be captivated.
Walking with her head down to avoid being enchanted by the scenery, regret washed over her.
She should have brought a weapon, but in her urgency, she had rushed here without thinking.
The fact that she was empty-handed, unsure of what danger awaited her, amplified her fear.
The nightmare kept resurfacing.
Why had she dreamed of Blayden dying?
Was she sensing some danger, as Gustav said?
Was the dream a premonition of disaster for Blayden?
The concern she felt for Blayden, regardless of personal gain or loss, was unfamiliar and perplexing.
But she couldn’t deny it.
He cut my hair, but he washed my hands.
He didn’t give me wine, but he taught me how to enjoy an apple.
He kept his promise not to attack me, and he taught me that pity could be an insult.
Since we left together, we must return together.
The moment she decided this, a subtle herbal scent was carried on the wind.
The heavy smell of cedar and the sharp scent of ginger.
It was Blayden’s scent.
He’s close!
Leni snapped her head up and looked around.
No one was visible.
Only the green trees seemed endless.
But the wind definitely carried Blayden’s scent.
Was it her nose deceiving her, or her eyes?
Was she smelling something that wasn’t there?
Was she unable to see someone so close?
As she struggled to trust her senses, Leni’s chest tightened.
Somehow, I’ve grown accustomed to his scent.
“Knight!”
A surge of warmth rose from deep within her chest.
“Knight—!”
Intense, desperate emotions resonated through her entire body, making her call out Blayden’s name at the top of her lungs.
There was no answer.
“Sir Leharto!”
Only the echo of her shouts, carried by the wind, returned.
***
The bridge spanning the Shamut River was narrow and long.
It was just wide enough for two adults to walk side-by-side if they pressed close, and it stretched on like an eternity.
Blayden moved cautiously, thinking that the terrain would be difficult for a large army to enter.
His mind grew hazy as he counted his steps.
It felt like his head was in a fog, making it hard to gauge the passage of time.
Blayden decided to focus on the solid feel of the stone beneath his feet.
His resolve was in vain as his senses blurred.
Each step seemed to extinguish all memories, and a new world opened from nothingness.
Like one intoxicated, or perhaps enchanted, he crossed the bridge and reached the entrance of the Saint-Noire Forest.
The desolate land had sparse, ash-grey trees.
Without leaves or flowers, the gaunt trees, like the bones of the dead, looked as if they would crumble and scatter in the wind at any moment.
To check if it wasn’t just a shadow, Blayden reached out his hand.
As his fingertips touched the rough tree bark, a familiar scent washed over him.
The fresh, sweet scent of wild strawberries.
The clean, crisp smell of sun-dried fabric.
“Solenia,” Blayden murmured, almost unconsciously.
It was the dark magic of the Shadows.
He tried to steady his mind, but Leni’s scent grew increasingly vivid.
“Solenia!”
Blayden shouted at the top of his lungs.
There was no answer.
He yelled out in all directions, but only the wind was eerie.
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