Lilith (2)
Kim Geon was guarding the entrance of the cave as per Kim Jaehyun's orders, but deep down, he was regretting not following him inside.
'...This feels ominous.'
The sight of the cave swallowed in darkness gave him an endlessly foreboding feeling.
'...Should I go in after him, even now?'
He knew that Kim Jaehyun's abilities were extraordinary, but that didn't necessarily guarantee safety.
Even looking at Kim Dajeong, despite her exceptional healing and blessing powers, she still couldn't protect herself alone and always needed the team to watch over her during every battle.
'But still...
He couldn't disobey Kim Jaehyun's orders.
'I have no choice but to trust Jaehyun and wait.'
As he turned his head, Kim Geon couldn't help but let out a small gasp.
The forest bathed in the twilight of the setting sun looked almost dreamlike.
He admired the forested landscape spreading beneath his feet and tried to gauge the height he was standing at.
Having flown often, he could estimate the height just by looking at the terrain.
'...Maybe around 1 km?'
In other words, the tree he was standing on was about as tall as a small mountain.
And he wasn't even at the top of the tree.
'...If you count the top, it's probably over 2 km?'
Considering that mountains like Jirisan and Hallasan in South Korea don't even reach 2 km above sea level, the sheer size of this tree was ridiculous.
Not only the height but also the thickness of the trunk was enormous-so much so that from a distance, it looked like a mountain was sitting at the
center of the forest.
Seeing that, Kim Geon couldn't shake off a certain suspicion.
'Is this related to that tree?'
That enormous tree near Jagalchi Market.
Why did it suddenly come to mind—that tree that kept growing until it became larger than an apartment complex?
'... Didn't Jaehyun say that his grandfather was raising that tree?'
No matter how he looked at it, that tree felt like it could be the child of the massive tree he was standing on now.
Which meant...
'... When that tree grows up, will it also create a forest full of man-eating trees...?'
Just thinking about it was horrifying.
'...No, no way. There's no way Jaehyun's family would do something like that.'
Trying hard to ignore the creeping thoughts, that's when the twilight vanished and total darkness swallowed the forest.
At that moment-
'...Huh?"
The forest was being reborn.
'... What the hell is going on?'
A sinister energy spread across the entire forest.
Sensing that something was very, very wrong-
Chills!
Goosebumps ran down his back.
When Kim Geon turned toward the cave-
"!!!"
Beasts born of darkness were pouring out of the cave.
"Damn it!"
He instinctively threw himself outside the cave-
BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM—
The cave vomited darkness.
Unfolding his wings and catching himself mid-air, Kim Geon froze for a moment at the scene before him.
'W-What the hell is this...?!'
And then he suddenly remembered who had gone into that cave.
"Jaehyun-nim!!!"
As the sun set and darkness fell upon the forest, monsters burst out from all directions.
The retainers, who had been scouting under Yuhan-gil's lead, had no time to prepare and were forced to jump into battle immediately.
However, the retainers here were all seasoned warriors who had survived
countless battles.
Bang-!
Yuhan-gil stopped using his clairvoyance and immediately pulled out his gun, firing at a monster.
But-
"KYAAAAAA!"
Physical attacks had no effect on the monsters born of darkness.
Even though the bullet pierced one monster clean through the forehead, it charged on unfazed.
Yuhan-gil was stunned-there were very few enemies that bullets didn't work
Then-
WHOOSH!
Flames erupted and incinerated the shadow beast.
"This way! Everyone, gather over here!"
Not all attacks were useless.
Abilities like Nam Jiho's pillar of fire were deadly to the shadow beasts.
And then-
Swoosh!
Ha Dong-geon, Kang Deok-soo, and Oh Eon-joo.
Among the retainers, the three most powerful warriors launched attacks that were effective even against the shadow monsters.
The three people had one thing in common.
They were all wrapped in a brilliant light.
That light was the result of Kim Dajeong's Blessing skill.
Upon seeing this, Kim Dajeong shouted:
"Blessing!"
At that very moment, the power of the blessing enveloped all the gathered retainers.
With firm conviction, Kim Dajeong cried out:
"Everyone, attack! It'll be okay now!"
Just as she had predicted, the physical attacks of the blessed retainers started to work against the shadow monsters.
Bang-!
Guns, being ranged weapons, still had no effect on the monsters, but melee weapons like swords and spears, now imbued with the power of blessing, tore through the shadows with ease.
"Kieeek!"
As the retainers joined forces, the shadow monsters were helplessly overwhelmed.
Aside from their complete immunity to physical attacks, the monsters weren't especially threatening.
Their attack methods were limited to biting and clawing, which, at most, left minor scratches on the high-level retainers.
However, the real problem was-
"Kyaaaaah!"
The monsters were continuously spawning from the darkness that rippled throughout the forest.
Even if a hundred were defeated, new shadow monsters would quickly fill the void.
Just then, Yuhan-gil, who had been using his clairvoyance to assess the situation, spoke up.
"We need to go that way! The farther we get from the giant tree at the center, the slower the shadow monsters spawn!"
With the direction set, the retainers moved in unison.
"Run!"
"Rise!"
At Kang Deok-soo's command, fifty Iron Knights stepped forward to block the shadow legion.
"Blessing!"
Kim Dajeong cast another blessing toward the newly summoned Iron Knights, imbuing their halberds with holy light.
Slash!
The Iron Knights formed a sturdy wall and began eradicating the shadow
monsters.
While Kang Deok-soo's Iron Knights bought time, the retainers ran with all their strength in the direction Yuhan-gil had pointed.
Though the path ahead was not free of shadow monsters-
Flash-!
Kim Ga-young's arrow of light split into dozens of shards, slicing through the monsters in their way.
And then-
"Graaaaah!"
Among the shadow beasts birthed from the darkness, a red-eyed bear rampaged.
Crash!
Each swing of Oh Won-joo's berserk bear paw burst the shadow creatures like balloons.
As Yuhan-gil had said, the farther they got from the giant tree, the more clearly the shadow monsters' numbers diminished.
But that was only for a moment.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-
Darkness fell from the sky, blocking their path.
"...What the hell is that now?"
As the retainers halted, looking up-
"Ha..."
""
Black owls filled the night sky.
At their center was a massive mass of shadow, drawing all the owls toward it.
The shadowy pillar blocking their path was one of the many tendrils extending from that dark orb.
Groooowl-
The tendril writhed.
Slaaash!
Then, it sprouted a massive pair of wings.
The shadow took the form of a colossal owl.
And then-
Whooosh!
With each flap of its wings, a powerful gust blasted out in all directions.
"Ugh!"
Crack!
Parts of the forest were torn apart by the violent wind.
The broken trees toppled in the direction of the monster's wingbeats, meeting their end.
As the black orb nearly completed its transformation-
Swoooosh-
A spear infused with dark energy flew toward the center of the orb.
BOOM!
With a massive explosion-
"Kieeeeeeeek!"
Another storm swept through the area.
Swoooosh!
"Everyone, attack!!"
At Ha Dong-geon's command, a second spear flew through the air, tearing one of the giant shadow creature's wings.
That snapped the retainers back into focus, and they launched a full assault.
Crack-crack-crack-!
The Moon brothers, Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon, struck at the monster's feet.
Boom- Fwoooosh!
A towering pillar of flame shot up between the monster's legs.
"Graaaaah!"
With help from Moon Byung-ho, Oh Won-joo landed atop the monster's head, slashing in all directions with his claws.
Zzzzap-
The shadow was torn apart, its fragments scattering in all directions.
However—
Vroooom-
The darkness that had gathered from all around was absorbed into the monster's body and immediately began healing it.
And still, the sky remained filled with shadow owls.
Every time they joined the shadow monster, the wounds inflicted by the retainers healed in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
As all the retainers struggled in vain-
"Everyone, move aside!"
Kim Ga-young's voice drew everyone's attention.
Vwoooong!
There she stood, aiming a massive arrow of light at the shadow monster.
The arrow, over two meters long and incredibly thick, looked more like the barrel of a cannon than any regular projectile.
And then-
Twang!
The moment she released the bowstring-
Flash-
Light burst forth in all directions, firing a colossal beam of light.
KWAGWAGWAGWAGWA-
Kim Ga-young's light arrow swept away the darkness in the forest in an instant.
It not only obliterated the monster's upper body but also erased every shadow owl in that direction.
Thud.
Having exhausted all her strength, Kim Ga-young collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
However―
Gurgle, gurgle...
It didn't take long for the sky-briefly bathed in light-to be swallowed by darkness once more.
The forest, now filled again with shadows and darkness, casually began spitting out new shadow monsters.
"...Insane."
As Moon Ji-hoon and Moon Sang-hoon stared blankly at the scene, Yoo Han-gil's urgent shout snapped them back to reality.
"Now! We have to get as far away as we can! Hurry!"
The retainers, regaining their senses at Yoo Han-gil's words, began to move
once more.
"We need to help the others!"
Lee Seong-min shouted.
As a dedicated doctor, even in this chaos, he had been caring for unconscious people those who had spilled out from the pouches of the monster during the fight.
Despite the madness around him, he risked his life, radiating healing energy to save them.
Having spent his life as a doctor and faced countless brushes with death, he couldn't ignore those on the brink of dying.
But good intentions don't always lead to good outcomes.
Yoo Han-gil grabbed Lee Seong-min and shouted,
"You have to let them go! Now!"
"I can't just-!"
"Get a hold of yourself! We're all going to die like this!"
Unlike the other retainers who had enjoyed a safe life after being quickly absorbed into Kim Jae-hyun's domain when the monsters first appeared, Yoo Han-gil, who had joined more recently, was someone who could be cold if it meant surviving.
"Move!"
Just then-
"Ah!"
Lee Seong-min shook off Yoo Han-gil's hand and dashed off toward something.
Yoo Han-gil's expression twisted as he realized where he was heading-a half-destroyed monster pouch oozing with sticky digestive fluid.
'Do as you please.'
Warm-hearted people.
Before the world changed, and for those who lived like pampered flowers in the greenhouse under Kim Jae-hyun's protection, that warmth was a virtue.
But on a battlefield like this, such people were more of a hindrance-putting the entire team at risk.
Everyone Lee Seong-min had just tried to save was nothing but dead weight.
'If we try to save them all, we'll all die instead.'
Just as Yoo Han-gil resolved to leave them behind-
Crack.
The forest began to move.
Crrrack-
'What the hell...?'
As Yoo Han-gil froze in confusion-
Thwack!! Shluckk!
Roots burst from the ground, skewering the shadow creatures like spears.
In an instant, the monsters that had filled the area were completely swept
away.
Yoo Han-gil stood, mouth agape, watching the spectacle-when a voice called out from behind.
"You're Jae-hyuk's friends, right? What in the world is going on here?"
The one who had brought Lee Seong-min to his senses at the last moment was Lee Bong-yeol, guardian of the World Tree and maternal grandfather of Kim Jae-hyun.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]