"[Berserk], you say?" Rhett spoke sharply just as his sword cut through another massive branch lunging toward him. —CRAAK!! Splinters of wood exploded into the air, yet only a fraction of a second later, black fibers within the severed branch writhed violently, weaving themselves back together like living flesh being forced to reconnect. Within a few breaths, the branch was whole again. Rhett stepped back half a pace, breathing heavily as his narrowed eyes locked onto the dark aura covering the Treants before them. "...This makes no sense..."
Then suddenly—
everything stopped.
The branches that had been rampaging wildly slowly froze in place. Massive roots protruding from the earth became still. The creaking sounds of wood that had filled the forest moments ago vanished entirely, leaving behind a silence far more suffocating than the battle itself. The Elder Treant before them slowly lowered its enormous head. The cracks resembling eyes along its trunk dimmed... and went still. It did not attack. It did not move. It simply... stared.
"...Why did it stop?" Kael muttered quietly, his body still lowered with knives ready in his hands. No one answered. Even Bram, normally the loudest among them, merely tightened his grip on his axe. Harlan himself felt his throat go dry. His instincts screamed louder now than during the attack. Because a monster that rampaged could still be understood. But a monster that suddenly became calm—after trying to kill you—was something far more terrifying.
The Elder Treant remained motionless.
Its massive body did not move in the slightest, but the eye-like cracks on its trunk slowly shifted—
staring directly at Harlan.
"...?"
Harlan stiffened.
For a moment, it felt as though the entire forest had fallen silent.
Not merely devoid of sound—
but as if everything else had been pushed away from his awareness.
Then—
the voice appeared.
Slow.
Broken.
Heavy, like ancient wood splitting apart with age.
Yet it rang clearly—
directly inside his mind.
[de...scen...dant... of... Veldrin...]
Harlan jolted violently.
His eyes widened.
"What—?!"
He instinctively looked around.
Searching.
But there was no one there.
Rhett and the others remained tense and focused, wary of any sudden attack from the Treants that had fallen silent alongside the Elder Treant.
No one reacted.
No one heard it.
Harlan's heartbeat quickened.
Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
"...Who...?"
But the ancient voice spoke again.
Heavier.
Deeper.
As though it came from the roots beneath the earth itself.
[in... the... distant... past...]
[we... protected... the... village... of... Eldwyn...]
[for... thousands... of... years...]
[holding... back... the... monsters... of... the... forest...]
[so... they... would... never... leave... these... woods...]
Harlan froze.
His breath caught.
"...Protected... the village?"
Harlan knew.
Not just him—
every native resident of Eldwyn knew.
Even outsiders who had lived there long enough had heard the story at least once, though only vaguely, told like an old bedtime tale or a legend too ancient to fully believe.
About why their small village—
had always survived.
For hundreds... even thousands of years.
Despite the forest surrounding them being known as one of the most dangerous regions in the north.
A place inhabited by monsters.
A place where ordinary humans should never have been able to settle.
Yet strangely—
Eldwyn Village had almost never suffered a major monster attack.
Goblins were occasionally seen near the outskirts.
Slimes sometimes appeared near the river.
But monster hordes—
never came.
As if some invisible boundary kept them trapped within the forest.
And the legend said—
there were "guardians of the forest" protecting the village.
Ancient beings dwelling deep within the woods.
Maintaining balance.
Preventing monsters from crossing beyond the forest.
All because of an order.
An order from a woman.
A Sword Saint.
A woman with golden hair—
from thousands of years ago.
According to the tale—
she was the one who founded Eldwyn Village.
She created the protective bracelets passed down through generations among the villagers—small enchanted bracelets that concealed human scent, making monsters less able to detect them when entering the outer forest.
And according to legend—
that woman formed a pact with the forest guardians.
A promise.
That as long as the village lived in peace—
the forest would continue protecting them.
But over time—
the story faded.
Generation after generation passed.
People began treating the bracelet as mere village tradition.
Just a lucky charm.
The legend of the Sword Saint slowly became nothing more than folklore.
And no one truly sought the truth behind it.
Because as long as the village remained safe—
there was no reason to question it.
But now—
Harlan stared at the Elder Treant before him, trembling.
Because this creature—
knew that legend.
Not merely knew it.
But—
was part of it.
[in... the... beginning...]
[we... only... obeyed... the... Sword... Saint's... command...]
[to... protect... the... village...]
[to... protect... humanity...]
The Elder Treant began trembling violently.
Its massive trunk groaned as cracks across its bark opened and closed erratically like a living thing in agony. Around them, the other Treants reacted as well. Their roots dug deeper into the soil, enormous branches twitching without rhythm, as though something inside them was struggling to break free.
Then—
the ancient voice echoed again inside Harlan's mind.
Heavier.
More fragmented than before.
[descendant... of... Veldrin...]
[your... ancestor... the... friend... of... the... Sword... Saint...]
[she... planted... the... Sword... Saint's... crystal... seed... beneath... this... ground...]
Harlan's eyes widened.
His body tensed.
"...What...?"
The voice continued.
Slow.
But increasingly unstable.
[only... descendants... of... Veldrin...]
[or... a... Sword... Saint...]
[can... open... access... to... that... place...]
Harlan's breath caught.
An old memory suddenly surfaced in his mind.
His grandmother's stories.
An ancient tale he heard as a child.
About a "sacred chamber" hidden deep beneath the forest.
The resting place of the first Sword Saint.
A place said to be impossible for ordinary humans to find.
Back then, he believed it was merely a fairy tale.
But now—
the creature before him spoke of it as if it truly existed.
"...I remember my grandmother telling me stories about it when I was little..." Harlan's voice trembled violently.
His eyes remained fixed on the Elder Treant.
"...So that place really exists?!"
Without realizing it, he took half a step forward.
"...But how do we get there?!"
Panic crept into his voice.
Because all of this—
was too much.
Too sudden.
And the terrible feeling in his chest only grew stronger.
The eye-like cracks on the Elder Treant quivered.
The dark aura covering its body began pulsing violently.
[now...]
[that... crystal...]
[has... been... contaminated...]
Every Treant surrounding them stiffened at once.
Black fibers emerged from the gaps in their bark.
Pulsing like living veins.
[someone... infiltrated... that... place...]
[and... corrupted... it...]
[...with... darkness...]
"—!!"
Rhett immediately raised his sword.
Kael stepped back half a pace.
Bram cursed under his breath.
Because the dark aura—
was rising again.
More of it.
Denser.
More savage than before.
The Elder Treant trembled violently.
Its branches smashed into the ground unintentionally.
Its voice now sounded strangled.
[I... can... no... longer...]
[hold... it... back...]
Then—
"GRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!"
The Elder Treant's scream shattered the silence of the night.
The sound shook the entire forest.
Trees trembled.
The ground hissed.
And dark aura exploded from its body like a raging living fog.
And far away on the other side of the forest—
Lilya heard the scream.
Her body tensed slightly.
Her eyes narrowed for a brief moment.
"...What was that?" she thought.
The scream felt strange.
Far more terrifying than the roars of the Hobgoblins.
Not like an ordinary monster.
But—
she had no time to think about it.
In front of her—
the axe-wielding Hobgoblin had already landed back on the ground with a violent impact.
BOOM!!
Dark aura swirled wildly around its massive body.
Its eyes burned with empty rage.
Meanwhile—
the Hobgoblin wearing spiked iron gauntlets slowly rose from where it had been blasted away earlier.
Its body lowered.
Taking an attacking stance.
Muscles tightening.
Ready to pounce at any moment.
[Battle Instinct]
Lilya's world narrowed once again.
Their movements.
Their distance.
Their footing.
Everything became perfectly clear to her eyes.
Her breathing slowly stabilized.
Her gaze remained calm.
Sharp.
Watching the two Hobgoblins before her that had become far more dangerous than before.
"...I finally understand how to stop their insane regeneration..."
The blue light sword in her hand pulsed softly.
Warm.
Synchronized with her body.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"...I can't focus on anything else."
She understood now.
[Veil Resonance].
The golden aura surrounding her body was not merely strengthening or healing her.
Something within that energy—
interfered with the regeneration abilities of corrupted monsters.
Which meant—
she finally had a way to kill them.
But only if her strikes were precise.
Fast.
And fatal.
"GRAAAAAAA—!!"
The axe-wielding Hobgoblin roared violently.
The ground shattered beneath its feet as its massive body leapt high into the air. Its axe drew back, red and black aura intertwining chaotically along the blade.
Then—
it swung.
Downward.
Brutal.
Splitting the air apart.
[Parry Counter]
CLAAANG—!!
A violent impact shook the surrounding area.
Lilya's blue light sword moved at a perfect angle, deflecting the axe's trajectory aside with almost impossible precision. The axe Hobgoblin lost balance slightly midair—
enough.
Because at that same instant—
Lilya's eyes caught another movement.
The gauntlet-wearing Hobgoblin—
was already beside her.
Too fast.
Its massive fist shot straight toward Lilya's head with a heavy whistling sound.
[Quick Step]
Lilya's body vanished for a split second.
WHOOSH!!
The punch missed.
But not empty air.
DUUUKK—!!
The brutal fist instead slammed directly into the axe-wielding Hobgoblin, whose balance had been disrupted by [Parry Counter]. The impact exploded violently, sending the massive creature flying like a stone hurled with monstrous force.
BRRAAAK!!
It crashed through several trees before finally rolling violently across the ground.
And Lilya—
had already moved again.
Now she stood extremely close to the Hobgoblin with the spiked iron gauntlets.
Giving it no time.
No room to breathe.
She dashed low.
Her blue sword flashed.
[Sword Slash]
—SHHHK!!
The slash carved diagonally across the Hobgoblin's back.
Deep.
Incredibly deep.
Flesh and muscle split open brutally, nearly exposing bone.
Black blood sprayed outward.
And this time—
the wound did not close.
Did not move.
Did not regenerate.
Lilya's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Just as I thought."
[Veil Resonance]—
completely destroyed that [Auto Heal] ability.
The strange energy within the monster's body—
had been erased.
The Hobgoblin with the spiked iron gauntlets staggered violently forward, nearly collapsing.
But Lilya did not stop.
[Air Cut]
Her sword swung swiftly.
SHHHKK!!
A sharp blade of compressed air shot forward and struck the monster's shoulder.
Its left arm was nearly severed.
Blood exploded outward.
"GRAAA—?!"
Its scream never finished.
Because Lilya was already directly in front of it.
Her eyes cold.
Calm.
[Sword Slash]
This time—
there was no hesitation.
The blue light sword flashed once.
Then—
the Hobgoblin's body stopped moving.
Silence.
A split second later—
its massive body split apart.
BRUK.
The corpse collapsed heavily onto the damp earth.
Black blood spread across the forest floor.
And for the first time since the battle against the two berserk Hobgoblins had begun—
one of them...
had finally died.