The Forest King's Aid
……!
“Anak?”
Duran trembled as he stepped in front of Geil. Through their linked consciousness, he seemed to say something, prompting Geil to hastily conjure several summoning circles in the air. Elena also looked at me with a worried expression, yet she refrained from deploying her own circles—likely because she still trusted my earlier words.
Of course, I had been concerned for a moment as well, but I soon felt a familiar presence and was freed from that worry.
“There is no need to worry.”
—But Anak, this presence……!
After a short while, the owner of the sound pushed through the undergrowth and revealed itself to Geil and Duran. It was a massive serpent.
Its dark scales radiated the oppressive aura of a predator, and the powerful mana flowing from it made Duran and the others tense. Yet there was no need for concern. The serpent’s eyes slowly swept over us before settling on me, holding no trace of hostility.
“Will you come yourself, or shall I go to you?”
At my question, the serpent’s eyes glowed blue, and a voice reached us through our consciousness.
—Please wait a moment. I shall come to you directly.
This enormous serpent was one of Granbipra’s avatars. It was larger than the one I had seen before, and the mana it emitted was stronger, but its presence and appearance were unmistakable.
“Anak? This serpent is……?”
While Elena and Geil looked startled, Duran’s eyes shook with disbelief.
—D-Don’t tell me the help you mentioned is……!
As expected of an Incarnation of Greenery. He seemed to understand whose avatar the serpent before us belonged to. Moments later, an aura far greater than the avatar’s made the entire forest tremble. A blue light descended like lightning, and Granbipra appeared before us.
—It is good to see you again, distinguished ally.
Granbipra looked quite different from before. The iridescent scales that once shifted color like jewels had grown heavier in tone, yet his size now dwarfed even his avatar. The pressure radiating from his entire body was incomparable to last time. Branches moved of their own accord to make way for their master, and in the space that should have been blocked by foliage, Granbipra lowered his head to look down at us.
“I am glad to see you as well, Granbipra, true ruler of the Ancient Forest.”
It was both a greeting and an introduction. Duran already knew, but Elena and Geil clearly did not.
—Have you come to collect payment for the previous matter? I am ashamed to admit we have yet to locate Togas and Hilde’s divine soldiers. Moreover, in Togas’s case, it is likely……
“No, I did not come today for that reason.”
At my words, Granbipra slowly lowered his head further, bringing his gaze closer to mine. His eyes held pure curiosity and goodwill, yet his colossal form instinctively inspired fear. It felt as though he might open his jaws and swallow us at any moment.
Geil had frozen completely beneath the weight of Granbipra’s consciousness and power, while Duran struggled desperately to shake off his fear. Even as an Incarnation of Greenery, he seemed to have reverted to nothing more than a simple deer in Granbipra’s presence.
—Then why have you sought me out? And these people are……?
His gaze passed over Duran and Geil before settling on Elena. His eyes sparkled with interest.
—Oh? A half-elf. It has been a very long time since I last saw one—especially in this forest.
“…It is an honor to meet you, Brontes Somor.”
She offered Granbipra a respectful bow. The final words she spoke were in Elvish, so I could not understand their meaning, but the emotions in her voice were a mixture of reverence and a fear so strong it surpassed that reverence.
—The Serpent of Lightning, is it? Yes, that is a title I have not heard in a very long time.
He seemed about to say more as he studied Elena closely, but soon turned his gaze back to me.
—They are all fine allies. Did you perhaps come seeking contracts with other beings of the forest?
Given the circumstances, that was the most reasonable assumption.
“No. We came to borrow your power, Granbipra.”
I first explained the appearance of Ryvern’s clones, the Dark Temple, and the matter concerning Kainaknus. Granbipra listened calmly, nodding once I finished.
—I see. So that explains Hilde’s actions as well……
“If it is Hilde, then surely……”
If my memory was correct, Hilde was one of the three managers alongside Duru Satal. Why was that name surfacing now?
—Not long ago, while tracking Hilde, we discovered a location where the one called Ryvern appears to have created clones.
……!
I had countless questions, but I decided to wait patiently. If there was anything I needed to know, he would tell me everything in due time.
He slowly recounted what I needed to hear: Hilde’s massacre of his own clan, the traces that led to a certain place, the remnants of Togas left behind, an empty room, strange inscriptions, and the red stones embedded in Hilde’s body.
I wanted to go to that location immediately. There might still be valuable information left behind.
“Was there anything particularly noteworthy left behind?”
—Nothing of note. There were mana crystals, half-erased spells, and discarded items, but nothing that could serve as a useful trace.
Of course, if it were me—or rather, Medrup—we might have been able to uncover something. But thinking calmly, if even Granbipra had found no traces, then whatever remained there would not be immediately helpful in a situation where we did not know where the beast army might appear next.
At least, it was not something we needed to rush. I looked at Geil and Elena. What mattered most right now was Kainaknus’s safety and whereabouts. We needed to focus on that.
—So, how exactly would you like me to assist you?
I told him about the information obtained from Cliven and the locations of the contact points. We had confirmed the general areas, and based on the images glimpsed from his consciousness, there were likely traces leading to the main sites. We might even discover where Kainaknus was being held.
“However, we cannot simply charge into a place that may contain someone capable of subduing Kainaknus. That is why we came to ask for your help.”
—Are you asking me to accompany you?
“Yes.”
Granbipra regarded us in silence. The promise he had made with me concerned the three managers, but if Togas was truly already dead, then there was no longer a way for him to fulfill that promise completely. If he valued his word, he would not refuse this request. After a long moment, he finally nodded.
—Understood. I shall accompany you.
* * *
In a dark room covered in various spells and barriers, an old man sat bound to a chair. Strangely, the bindings were wooden vines that glowed with a faint green light.
“Isn’t this a bit excessive, even against an old man like me?”
Despite the situation, the old man’s voice carried a relaxed tone. If anything, the men guarding him looked more tense based on their expressions alone.
“There is no need to be so on edge. The one bound right now is not you, but me, is it not?”
……
Yet even after hearing this, the men watching him offered no reply. No matter how restrained he was, they had heard countless tales of the man before them and his exploits.
Kainaknus, Ally of Dragons. The weight his name carried among summoners was by no means light. Even those who sought to return to being Dark Priests could not discard their reverence for him.
“Come now, why not keep this old man company with some conversation? It is rather harsh to expect me to remain silent while wrapped in these barriers, spells, and vines that constantly drain my mana.”
The men’s eyes wavered. The figure before them had been an object of admiration ever since they discovered their own talent for summoning. If not for this unusual situation, they would have had many questions to ask and much they wished to hear.
A contract with a dragon. The ability to transform into a dragon’s form. All of it belonged to the realm of legends—the ultimate pinnacle for any summoner.
Moreover, his relaxed attitude even while captured gradually eroded the guilt that had taken root in their hearts, allowing the pure admiration they had felt in their youth to resurface. Finally, one man could no longer resist the impulse and opened his mouth.
“Great Ally of the Dragons……”
—That is enough.
At the heavy voice that echoed through the room, the man immediately fell silent. The door opened, and Alsh Unak, with his massive bat-like wings and horns, walked in.
—Did I not tell you to remain vigilant?
At his reprimand, the man quickly lowered his head. Alsh Unak raised a hand and pointed outside the door.
—All of you, leave.
They each offered a bow before fleeing the room. If their feelings toward Kainaknus were pure admiration, then what they felt toward Alsh Unak was a dark reverence mixed with fear.
The dark red flames that reached them through their souls. To the Dark Priests, Alsh Unak was both a guiding beacon and their teacher.
……
……
Once everyone else had left, a brief silence settled between them. The composure and ease that had been on Kainaknus’s face moments ago had vanished, for with Alsh Unak’s arrival, the vines binding him began absorbing mana at an even faster rate.
—As expected of the Ally of Dragons. You are not someone to be underestimated. To think you managed to gather enough mana to attempt a summoning even in this situation.
“Oh dear, you noticed?”
Kainaknus lightly clenched his teeth. Amidst the flawless barriers and spells, and the vines draining his mana, he had barely managed to gather enough to attempt a summoning. There had been no need to fight. If he could secretly summon a few small creatures to damage even one or two barriers or spells, he would have regained the strength to transform into his dragon form and escape.
Yet now, this demon had appeared and stolen even the mana he had painstakingly collected. The absorption rate had increased to the point where attempting it again was impossible.
“But I never imagined there would be a demon like you behind them. Now that the Great War has ended, what could a high-ranking demon possibly want on the surface?”
High-ranking demons originally had little interest in the surface. Even if lower-ranking monsters or mid-ranking demons were different, high-ranking demons would never have participated in an invasion of the surface without the Demon King’s orders. Furthermore, given the nature of demons, they certainly would not seek revenge for the Demon King or their comrades now.
—……The Goddess Nyx and Thanatos were fools. Simply because they were losing the struggle for influence, they tried to return the entire surface realm to the Great Cycle. Lord Urshus would never make such a mistake.
“Urshus……!”
The demon god whose soul had reached the first Dark Priest. Kainaknus was already well acquainted with that name. Unlike Nyx, this was a demon god with a strong desire for domination, who enjoyed being worshipped by mortals and took great interest in the surface.
“Oh, so after Nyx comes Urshus? Are they truly trying to return to being Dark Priests?”
Kainaknus had believed their actions were merely simple deviations born from chaotic times and the shock of the Great War, but he had never imagined Urshus himself was directly involved.
“But why now? Wasn’t faith in Urshus already severed long ago?”
Of course, a mere thousand or two thousand years was not a long time for gods. Even so, attempting to expand their influence again now was difficult to understand—especially at a time when the hero and the gods’ influence had reached their peak after defeating the Demon King and the Goddess Nyx.
—Are you curious?
“Of course I am. I am also curious why you are keeping this old man alive like this.”
At those words, a strange smile appeared on Alsh Unak’s lips.
—We cannot kill you. Lord Urshus does not wish for someone as outstanding as you to die.
Following his gesture, dark red flames manifested. However, these were not the same flames he had shown other summoners. They were far denser and heavier than those in the cave—impossible to compare.
—You, too, are someone who must serve Lord Urshus.