Several months after Milena's arrival, trade finally became a regular part of village life.
The problem was secrecy.
The village existed because nobody knew where it was.
The moment kingdoms discovered an organized settlement hidden inside the Null Forest, everything would change.
Merchants would come.
Nobles would come.
Soldiers would come.
And eventually,
someone would disrupt the peace they are building.
Which was why Jemina refused to allow anyone near the village itself.
Her solution was simple.
And slightly insane.
As usual.
"The mudwolves can dig."
Raisa blinked.
"...Yes."
"They dig really well."
"...Yes."
"So we make a tunnel."
Silence.
Lucas slowly lowered his cup.
"A tunnel."
"A tunnel."
"Through the Null Forest."
"Exactly."
Everyone stared at her.
Jemina pointed triumphantly.
"See? You understand perfectly."
Several weeks later,
the tunnel existed.
Nobody was entirely certain how.
The mudwolves simply accepted the assignment with frightening enthusiasm.
The result was a hidden underground route stretching for miles beneath the forest until it reached a secluded location near the outer trade roads.
Only trusted villagers knew its existence.
Merchants never entered.
Visitors never entered.
The village remained invisible.
Lucas became responsible for transportation.
Every few weeks he loaded goods into reinforced carts.
Royal Velvet Apples.
Medicinal herbs.
Rare insect shells.
Dried fish.
Forest spices.
Then he traveled through the tunnel with several trusted companions.
Outside the forest, two former mercenaries from his old company handled distribution and sales.
Business flourished.
The system worked perfectly.
For a while.
Unfortunately,
someone had begun watching.
A man screamed.
Ysilvern calmly continued eating lunch.
The screaming persisted.
Eventually it stopped.
The heir of the underworld glanced toward one of his subordinates.
"Finished?"
"Yes, Boss."
"Did he talk?"
"He talked immediately."
The subordinate looked uncomfortable.
"The information appears reliable."
Now that interested him.
Ysilvern leaned back.
"What did he say?"
"The merchant purchased Royal Velvet Apples."
A pause.
"And?"
"Several shipments."
Ysilvern's expression changed slightly.
Royal Velvet Apples were uncommon.
Not impossible to obtain.
But unusual.
Large quantities were another matter entirely.
"Where did they come from?"
"We don't know."
Ysilvern lit a cigarette.
"Find out."
Months later,
he still hadn't found the answer.
That alone irritated him.
The trail always vanished.
Every merchant pointed toward another merchant.
Every trader pointed toward another caravan.
Eventually,
all roads led to one man.
Lucas disappeared into the hillside.
There was no hidden entrance. It was like he just disappeared into thin air.
Ysilvern watched the area for several long moments before slowly lowering his cigarette.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
One of his men approached.
"Boss?"
"He vanished."
"Yes."
Ysilvern gestured toward the hillside.
"Any ideas?"
"No."
The answer irritated him.
Months of investigation.
Months of tracking.
And now the trail ended at a pile of rocks.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then footsteps approached from behind.
Measured.
Unhurried.
Confident.
Noctellis Ellengarde arrived without ceremony.
The Hero of the Empire looked exactly as unpleasant as Ysilvern remembered.
Tall.
Cold.
Expressionless.
His dark coat moved slightly beneath the breeze as his eyes swept across the area.
"Was that him?" Noctellis asked.
Ysilvern nodded.
"He entered the hillside."
The duke studied the terrain.
Then quietly walked forward.
Ysilvern folded his arms.
"What are you doing?"
No response.
Noctellis crouched.
One gloved hand pressed against the earth.
The forest became silent.
Minutes passed.
Nothing happened.
Ysilvern eventually raised an eyebrow.
Then,
Noctellis spoke.
"Moving northeast."
Ysilvern stared, but Noctellis already moved forward.
The criminal lord exchanged looks with his men. They followed the extraordinary man in front of them.
Ysilvern suddenly understood why entire armies followed this man into war.
And why monsters feared him.
As though following a visible road nobody else could see.
The first hour felt ridiculous.
The second felt impossible.
By the third,
Ysilvern stopped questioning it.
Every few minutes, Noctellis adjusted direction.
Sometimes only slightly.
Sometimes by several degrees.
Each correction followed the tunnel hidden far below.
No maps.
No markers.
No evidence.
Only sound.
At one point Ysilvern deliberately tested him.
He ordered one of his men to circle behind them through the forest.
Noctellis immediately looked over his shoulder.
"Tell him to stop."
Ysilvern smiled.
"He's making too much noise."
The man was nearly two hundred meters away.
Ysilvern decided he no longer wished to know the limits of the duke's hearing.
The Null Forest grew darker as they traveled.
Ancient trees blocked the sunlight.
Twisted roots emerged from the ground like skeletal fingers.
The air itself felt wrong.
Heavy.
Watching.
Ysilvern had entered many dangerous places during his life.
Few unsettled him.
This forest did.
Then suddenly,
Noctellis stopped.
"Something's above us."
Ysilvern instinctively reached beneath his coat.
The creature dropped without warning.
A mass of claws and pale limbs exploded from the canopy.
Too many eyes.
Too many teeth.
The monster screamed.
Ysilvern's revolver appeared instantly.
It released a soundless shot.
The bullet struck one of the creature's eyes.
A second shot shattered another.
The monster shrieked.
Ysilvern fired again.
And again.
Each shot precise.
Controlled.
Merciless.
The creature staggered.
Then,
silver flashed.
For a brief moment Ysilvern thought moonlight had somehow appeared.
The next moment,
the monster separated into pieces.
Cleanly.
Perfectly.
The body collapsed around Noctellis.
Several pieces hit the ground simultaneously.
Silence followed.
Ysilvern slowly lowered his revolver.
"...What the hell."
Noctellis sheathed his sword.
The blade had moved so quickly Ysilvern barely saw it.
"Keep moving."
Irritating.
Ysilvern had spent years becoming the most dangerous man in several kingdoms.
Then he met a duke who treated monsters like overgrown weeds.
The second attack came after sunset.
This time there were five.
Massive hyena-like creatures with exposed ribs and glowing eyes.
The monsters emerged from the darkness without sound.
Encircling them.
Ysilvern smiled faintly.
Finally.
Something entertaining.
His revolver spun once around his finger.
The first shot fired.
A monster's skull shattered.
The second shot followed immediately.
Another creature collapsed.
His men joined the fight.
Soundless gunfire erupted through the forest.
Flashes illuminated the darkness.
One beast lunged.
Ysilvern calmly stepped aside.
Pressed the revolver against its jaw.
Pulled the trigger.
The creature's head exploded.
The underworld heir looked almost bored.
Violence came naturally to him.
It always had.
Then the remaining monsters charged.
And Noctellis moved.
Ysilvern finally understood why the empire called him a hero.
The duke wasn't fighting.
He was erasing things.
One moment monsters existed.
The next,
they didn't.
Silver arcs crossed the darkness.
Limbs fell.
Heads rolled.
Bodies collapsed.
No wasted movement.
No effort.
No hesitation.
Just absolute efficiency.
Terrifying efficiency.
The battle ended less than thirty seconds later.
One final corpse hit the ground.
Silence returned.
Ysilvern slowly reloaded his revolver.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Then looked toward the duke.
"You have been moving the most out of us, yet you don't look a little bit tired."
Noctellis glanced at him but just ignored his words and continued moving forward.
Hours later,
Noctellis stopped again.
This time his expression changed slightly.
Not much.
Just enough.
"The tunnel ends."
Ysilvern immediately straightened.
After months.
Months.
Finally.
The two men climbed a rocky ridge overlooking the forest beyond.
Then both became still.
A village.
An actual village.
Hidden deep within the Null Forest.
Smoke rose from chimneys.
Fields stretched between houses.
Monsters carried lumber through the streets.
Half-snake women worked.
Laughter drifted faintly across the clearing.
Alive.
Peaceful.
Impossible.
Ysilvern's gaze shifted elsewhere.
Toward a woman carrying a basket of gem-like apples.
Soft brown hair.
Familiar curves.
Familiar face.
Milena.
For a brief moment,
the entire world became silent.
Months of searching.
Months of frustration.
Months of anger.
And there she was.
Alive.
Smiling.
Happy.
Ysilvern's expression became unreadable.
Far below,
Milena continued walking.
Completely unaware that her husband had finally found her.