Chapter 42: The Soot-stained Forest (3)
A pure white clearing appeared before my eyes.
Considering the considerable size of the forest, it could be said that we arrived at our destination relatively quickly.
Of course, it wasn’t that I knew the way. The appearance of the forest had naturally changed beyond comparison to five hundred years ago.
I simply walked, following the increasingly distinct energy of the artifact.
Kamuron’s Bracelet.
A relic known to be named after a dragon that lived long ago.
The energy of the artifact I had hidden long ago was clearly felt ahead.
“……”
The white clearing contrasted with the black forest covered in soot. In a way, it was quite a fitting scene for winter.
The only difference was that the white powder calmly settled over the entire clearing was ash, not snow.
As if to say that something that had ruined the forest had started here, the air in the clearing shimmered with quite a warm heat.
It was as if the season had suddenly changed to a hot summer. I turned my gaze away from the shimmering air of the clearing.
Drip.
A drop of sweat dripping from my forehead fell to the ground, filled with white ash.
“I, Inquisitor-nim.”
Jerit called me in a slightly cracked voice. He looked a little tired and thirsty, but thanks to the holy relic he possessed, Rokellan’s Requiem Rod, he looked relatively fine.
Getting here was relatively simple. Unlike other places, there were no monsters, traps, or demon worshippers.
Of course, it wouldn’t have been an easy journey for adventurers who didn’t know how to handle mana, holy power, or magi, and were exposed to the faint heat spread throughout the forest.
“Huff, huff……”
I turned around and looked at the four adventurers slowly walking towards us, breathing heavily. At least they seemed to have minimal skills, seeing as none of them had dropped out.
If it hadn’t been for me, who arrived here following a straight line, they would have collapsed while wandering through the forest.
Exposed to the strange currents that surrounded the forest for a long time without any particular means of protection, they looked quite exhausted, unlike Jerit and me.
But even as they stumbled with dehydration, I could feel the shock and greed in the eyes of the guys who had finally followed me here.
A circular clearing that looked as if it had been created by slowly spreading heat, burning only a part of the forest.
“Oh……”
“……Good heavens.”
The adventurers’ gazes gathered towards something that was mysteriously shining in the middle of the space filled with white ash, where everything that made up the forest had burned.
A mysterious halo of light located in the center of the ash-filled clearing, in the form of a perfect circle.
It looked as if it was shouting, ‘This is the treasure!’ to anyone who saw it.
Gulp.
One of the adventurers swallowed dryly and looked at me cautiously, tearing his gaze away.
“D, Did you already know?”
The adventurer’s face was already flushed red.
Of course, it was also the heat of anger and greed, but to be precise, it was a symptom of early burns caused by prolonged exposure to the heat in the air.
He might only feel a slight stinging pain now, but if left untreated for longer, his skin would be damaged beyond repair.
“……”
Well, even if I told him, he wouldn’t just leave the forest.
“I won’t shamelessly claim ownership of that. But I’d appreciate it if you could explain the current situation.”
The adventurer, who seemed to have a fair amount of stamina, stood relatively well despite looking somewhat tired, and asked his question.
“Before I explain the situation.”
I looked at him and continued speaking calmly.
“That cursed dagger you’re hiding behind your back. It doesn’t look very honorable.”
“……!”
Shock and horror.
A hurried emotion flashed across his face.
Whoosh!
But regardless of that, the adventurer’s hand moved quickly. In no time, his hand came forward, holding a sharp dagger with a faint shimmer of dark energy.
Swish!
The dagger, which had approached in an instant.
He wasn’t a knight professionally trained to handle mana, but he seemed to be a fairly experienced adventurer, as his dagger was fast.
Seeing as there was not a shred of hesitation in swinging the dagger toward an innocent person, it seemed like he wasn’t a novice.
I confirmed the curse faintly overlaid on the dagger and twisted my lips.
It seemed like he had a lot of experience killing innocent people with surprise attacks, but none of those victims were Inquisitors.
‘Gabras’ Silver Shield.’
Flash!
A white light bloomed brightly from my hand.
“……!”
That was enough.
A protective shield created in the blink of an eye.
Clang!
The curse contained in the dagger he swung was unable to penetrate the protective shield made of holy power and dispersed powerlessly.
“Ugh……!”
While he hesitated for a moment due to the sudden shock to his wrist, my next spell, completed in succession, cut through the air.
A very brief opening. But it was enough time for me.
Bam!
The white spear, which flew through the air sharply, pierced his body.
“Gah─!”
His body, pierced by the dazzling spear made of light, was flung back about ten meters.
A sudden surprise attack and a counterattack executed almost instantly. Only then did the shouts of the remaining figures come from the surroundings.
“Inquisitor-nim!”
I saw Jerit shouting urgently and drawing his sword.
“Damn it!”
“K, Kill him!”
The remaining adventurers drew their weapons. They seemed to have instinctively grasped that the situation had gone beyond the stage of recovery and forgiveness. The fact that this was a remote forest where they didn’t have to worry about the aftermath also played a part.
“How dare you!”
Jerit shouted in a rarely seen angry voice. It was a great sin to attack a member of the church, especially an Inquisitor of Hesterica, blinded by some unknown treasure.
Clang!
The sound of Jerit’s sword clashing with the adventurers’ weapons echoed through the ash-filled clearing. Countless dry, grayish-white snowflakes bloomed due to the urgent movements.
Sparks from the collision of swords erupted amidst the scattering ash.
I quickly scanned the battle. One adventurer had lost his will to fight after seeing the one who was blown away by a single holy magic spell.
Jerit was dealing with the remaining two adventurers, but he didn’t seem to need urgent help.
Even if he lacked a bit of practical experience, he was still an Esquire trained at the Holy See. He wasn’t at a level where he would be defeated by such rabble.
Rather, he was overwhelming the two adventurers with skillful movements.
‘Not bad.’
I turned my gaze away from him and reached out towards the adventurer who had collapsed in a miserable state in the distance.
Swoosh.
The holy spell, Sericria’s Spear, that had pierced his body slowly dispersed. Then, I saw blood gushing out from the wound.
“Damn…… you……”
He barely managed to lift his head and glared at me, curses spilling out of his mouth along with bloody foam. It was rather shameless for someone who had just swung a cursed dagger at me without a moment’s hesitation.
It seemed unlikely he would survive unless the High Priest personally used the highest level of healing spells. He also seemed to realize this, and just glared at me without saying anything.
“Think of it as the price for coveting someone else’s belongings.”
“……?”
A puzzled look appeared in his eyes as he heard my words.
“Someone…… else’s belongings……? What the hell are you talking─”
At that moment.
“G, Get out of the way!”
An urgent cry.
I saw one of the adventurers running towards us, taking advantage of the chaotic gap. To be precise, he was running towards the halo of light located in the center of the clearing, not me.
It was the guy who had initially lost his will to fight, thrown down his weapon, and was watching the situation.
Tap!
Despite looking somewhat tired, the adventurer ran towards the center of the clearing at a considerable speed, a twisted smile on his lips.
He seemed to have decided that if he could get his hands on that object first, which was clearly the cause of the forest’s destruction, he could survive here.
Of course, if he had still been in his right mind, he would have approached cautiously after a thorough investigation, but now, facing imminent death, he seemed to have neither the mental capacity nor the time for that.
“Inquisitor-nim!”
Jerit shouted urgently at me as he saw this. One of the two he was fighting had already collapsed, lifeless.
Grasp.
The man, who had approached the not-so-large halo of light, reached out with an excited expression.
And then, the moment his hand touched the shimmering light.
“Uh……?”
A look of bewilderment flashed across his face. And then.
Sizzle!
The man’s body began to shrivel up in an instant.
Like a bucket with a large hole in it. Like a drop of water falling on a stone heated under the scorching summer sun.
Fizzle!
“Uwaaaah─!”
White smoke billowed up, and at the same time, the man’s body caught fire. It was a blue flame, indicating a considerably high temperature.
It was a sudden, fierce flame that seemed to burn, fueled by the life force within his body.
There was no time to even pull his hand away. It happened in the blink of an eye.
Silence fell over the clearing for a moment, taken aback by the unexpected event.
Sizzle.
White powder fluttered in the spot where the adventurer had been standing. It was the ash left behind after his bones had burned to a crisp in an instant.
A handful of snowflakes quietly joined the clearing, already filled with ashes from grass, trees, and animal carcasses.
“What in the world……”
One of the adventurers, terrified by the event that defied common sense, stumbled back. He realized that even if he won this fight, which was unlikely in the first place, he would gain nothing.
“I told you what the hell it was.”
I looked at the adventurer who had collapsed in shock and opened my mouth.
“I’ll show you.”
After finishing my words, I slowly started walking. Towards the halo of light where the adventurer who had just burned to ashes had reached out.
Step.
All eyes were on me as I walked leisurely.
“I, Inquisitor-nim!”
Jerit’s cry broke the silence. But I had already arrived right in front of the halo of light.
Reach.
I slowly reached out towards the shimmering halo of light.
“No!”
Just like the adventurer had done, my hand touched the mysteriously shining halo of light. And then.
“……?”
Nothing happened.
My body didn’t burst into flames like the adventurer, nor was there any dramatic reaction.
“……”
Tension, fear, expectation.
Faces filled with different emotions watched me, holding their breaths.
Whoosh!
The halo of light, which had been quietly still, began to swirl fiercely as if welcoming someone.
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