The Forest’s Awakening
As soon as Gwiwolrang finished speaking the words, “You’re next,”
a wolf stepped forward.
It came on with its claws scraping against the ground.
Scritch... scritch...
It was only walking, slowly and deliberately, yet the air around it grew subtly heavier.
The goblins who had been cheering froze.
Then they stepped back without thinking.
As if the wolf from before had been the weakest among them.
This one was bigger.
Its gaze was fiercer, too.
At a glance, it was strong.
Both in size and in presence, it was on a different level from the wolf that had come before.
Dohyun sent a simple command.
A shadow moved beside him.
It was an orc.
With a light club slung over one shoulder, it stepped out.
The orc took its weapon and faced the wolf.
And then, as if refusing to let its guard down, the wolf bristled the moment they met.
Grrrrr.
A low growl rolled from its throat.
At the sound, the orc tightened its grip on the club.
It advanced little by little, as if testing the ground with each step.
The distance between them slowly narrowed.
Just as they entered striking range, the orc shouted, “I offer the glory of battle to my master!”
It was still clumsy, but far clearer than Geoung’s speech.
With that cry, it kicked off the ground and raised its club high.
Dohyun briefly turned his head to look at Geoung.
When their eyes met, the orc gave him a simple, innocent smile, as if pleased.
So that’s it...
Geoung really was poor with words.
The wolf avoided the orc’s full-force swing by twisting its body to the side.
When the wolf bared its teeth and lunged in, the orc dodged as well.
Dodge, then dodge again.
The clash between orc and wolf was fierce.
Grrr-
With a growl, the wolf suddenly retreated a step.
The orc tried to pursue it.
But the wolf surged forward on all fours, aggressively changing the angle of attack, and its body vanished in a burst of speed.
It was too fast to follow with the eye.
Yet the orc, guided by instinct, brought its club down toward the path the wolf would take.
Crack.
The vanished wolf reappeared just in time to bite down on the club.
Its eyes wavered for an instant.
In that moment, the orc gripped the club as though it had expected exactly this, spun with it, and struck the wolf with a kick.
Thud! Thud-!
After taking a kick to the belly and a few more blows, the wolf gave up on trying to snap the club in its jaws and withdrew.
The club was sturdier than it looked.
Grrrr.
Having lost the exchange, the wolf twisted away again and vanished.
It was fast.
But not fast enough to outmatch the orc’s battle instinct.
Once more, the club was thrust into the path of its movement.
The wolf was no fool; it twisted its body and changed the line of attack.
As if expecting that, the orc smoothly evaded the wolf’s strike, swung its club, and the wolf dodged again.
It was almost as if they had agreed to fight this way.
After several exchanges, the two finally drew back to catch their breath.
The result had already tilted in the orc’s favor.
The orc is stronger, sure enough.
Strength and speed.
Both were the ideal of a goblin warrior.
Most important of all was its instinct as a fighter.
Bit by bit, the wolf was losing first in stamina.
As the exchange dragged on a little longer, the wolf’s body gradually grew heavy, like soaked cotton.
Once its movement no longer allowed for high-speed shifts, the fight ended with Gwiwolrang’s voice.
“Enough.”
At that low command, the movements of both wolf and orc came to a stop.
Gwiwolrang looked at the orc for a moment.
“A yokai I’ve never seen before, and yet it has some skill.”
At those words of acknowledgment, the orc dipped its head once.
It wasn’t only strong.
That was movement born of knowing how to fight.
The next match began.
As though claiming first place for itself, a wolf with the largest silver pelt stepped forward to show itself off.
In front of that wolf,
thoom.
The ground trembled.
A massive shadow walked forward.
Each step was heavy.
It was like a boulder moving.
Several goblins swallowed without realizing it, overwhelmed by the presence.
It was Geoung.
Thick muscles rippled like waves beneath its skin.
In its hands was a huge club.
Steam puffed from its mouth with excitement as it came forward.
“Geoung... fights.”
Watching the battle had clearly made it warm to the task.
When the wolf faced Geoung, it gave a low growl.
As Geoung lifted its club, the wolf vanished faster than the ones before it.
Crkkkkrk!
With a nasty screech, the wolf’s claws tore across Geoung’s chest.
But Geoung did not move, and so the wolf dug its claws in even harder.
At the end of that motion, a metallic sound rang out.
Clrrrk-!
Grrrrk-!
The wolf’s body flashed again as it circled around Geoung.
Its claws rained down like lightning.
Dozens of afterimages struck Geoung’s body.
And yet.
Geoung did not move.
The wolf’s claws scraped across its muscles, but the flesh did not split.
Geoung tilted its head.
“Geoung...”
It thought for a moment.
“Geoung... hurt?”
A brief silence.
Geoung tilted its head again.
“Geoung, not hurt.”
The wolf’s eyes turned red.
It was Gwiwolrang’s strongest subordinate.
A predator that hunted in this forest.
And yet the yokai it had never seen before had taken the wolf’s claws and stood there unharmed.
The wolf roared.
Kwaaaang!
Its body blurred.
It was moving at extreme speed.
Dozens of afterimages appeared, and claws fell like a storm.
Clang-! Crack! Scrrrk-!
Dozens of claw strikes landed on Geoung’s body.
But Geoung still stood there, perfectly fine.
Like a boulder.
Geoung blinked.
Then it looked at the wolf for a moment and said, with mild irritation, “Geoung...”
It raised its club.
The wolf lowered its body.
It was trying to dodge.
In that instant,
“...annoying.”
Thoom—
The club smashed into the ground.
At once,
the earth shook.
Bang!
A massive shockwave spread outward in a circle.
Dirt from the forest lifted into the air.
The ground split.
Stone shot upward.
The wolf’s body jolted in midair.
Its balance broke.
In that moment,
Geoung moved.
An enemy with no apparent mobility.
One step.
The huge body drove forward.
The club rose slowly.
Then.
It fell like a thunderbolt.
Bang!
The wolf’s body was driven straight into the ground.
Pop-!
With the sound of hide bursting under pressure,
its body bounced away like a stone skipping water.
It rolled across the ground several times.
The forest fell quiet again.
Geoung rested the club on its shoulder.
And said, “Geoung... over.”
Geoung slowly returned to its place.
The fallen wolf was carried away by its pack.
Gwiwolrang stared at the wolf for a while.
When it got back up, he saw it had only been knocked unconscious for a moment.
It glared at Geoung with bloodshot eyes, but one sharp look from Gwiwolrang made it step back.
After a brief pause, Gwiwolrang turned his gaze back to Geoung and asked, “Oh... a new yokai made by the dragon?”
“Interesting, isn’t it?”
At Heok-o’s remark, Gwiwolrang gave a faint nod.
“Indeed. Those subordinates are worthy of recognition. But...”
He said it as though something still remained.
“Dragon, you are not done yet.”
“Wolf, cheap trick.”
Heok-o muttered something, but the wolf replied as though it didn’t know what he meant.
“Surely we must also confirm what sort of being the master is.”
Kwoooaaah—
Gwiwolrang’s cold aura spread through the forest.
The goblins held their breath.
Within that feeling, Dohyun thought, He’s right.
The chill of that aura ran down his back.
His heart beat faster.
Still, his calculations did not stop.
Reason told him this was a good chance.
At the very least, he had no intention of killing him now.
This would be a fine opponent for experiencing the next stage of a yokai, the Great Yokai.
One day, Dohyun would reach Great Yokai as well.
So.
Dohyun’s eyes slowly began to glow.
As he made up his mind and stepped forward,
thoom—
an invisible pressure spread out.
The goblins all dropped to their knees at once.
The orcs bared their teeth.
Across from them, the wolves’ fur stood on end.
Gwiwolrang felt it.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth around them was tilting toward one being.
“This is...”
Sensing that presence, Gwiwolrang took a step forward.
“Dragon... but this does not explain everything...”
He broke off for a moment.
At that instant, even though there was no wind, the leaves in the forest trembled faintly.
Rustle.
It was a very small sound.
And yet the entire forest fell silent, as though it had held its breath.
Gwiwolrang stopped speaking.
His gaze turned toward the depths of the woods.
Then, in a very low voice, he said again, “...He has come.”
A moment of silence followed.
Regret flickered in Gwiwolrang’s eyes.
“...So you are watching.”
Dohyun’s eyes moved only slightly.
He felt it too.
Somewhere in this forest,
something was watching this place.
Gwiwolrang said nothing for a while.
He seemed to be thinking about something.
Then he slowly turned his head and looked at Dohyun.
“...Dragon.”
His voice was low.
“When spring comes,”
Gwiwolrang said,
“this forest will awaken.”
He paused.
Then he spoke again.
“...At that time,”
his gaze shifted back toward the forest, as though measuring the mood of someone unseen.
“the Forest Council will be held.”
Silence lingered for a moment.
Gwiwolrang looked back at Dohyun.
“...If you wish to come,”
he said, the sentence breaking off short, as if the words themselves displeased him.
“...then come.”
Gwiwolrang’s voice remained cold.
But it was different from before.
Dohyun looked out over the forest for a moment.
And thought, It’s watching.
The true master of this forest was watching this place right now.
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