The Sleeping Witch of the Forest (1)
Following the direction Omen pointed out, I made it back to the cabin without a hitch.
My vision brightened in an instant.
It was so cozy it was hard to believe a brutal fight had just gone down moments ago.
I staggered into the cabin like that.
"Master, you're ba…."
Opening the cabin door, I came face-to-face with Elpinire, who'd been waiting.
The moment she spotted me and Gini, every trace of expression drained from her face.
"Master. Was there a fight?"
"Huh? Yeah. How'd you know?"
"It'd be weirder if I didn't notice, looking at you."
Only then did I clock my own condition.
Clothes melted away, covered in blood.
Not even polite words could call this "fine."
Forgot about it.
Smacking my lips lightly, I opened Gini's door and laid her on the bed.
Even after being carried all the way back, she was still out cold.
I tucked her in with the blanket and stepped out, glancing at Elpinire waiting by the door.
"Master. What the hell happened?"
"It's a long story…."
Scratching my cheek, I filled Elpinire in on everything, one bit at a time.
Once she'd heard it all, she ground her teeth and muttered.
"Gini was actually a slave, and her owner wielded Ma Gi…."
She chewed the words like they were bitter, muttering about Ma Gi again.
Leaving her to it, I flopped into a chair.
I'd need to change out of these rags first, but that could wait.
Right now, I had one burning question.
"Elpinire. So, any conclusion on that doubt you had?"
Before we left the cabin, Elpinire had said she wanted to run some kind of experiment.
Then she'd waited here for us.
Which meant she'd figured it out.
She nodded slowly at my question.
"My question was simple. This place is always shrouded in darkness, right?"
I nodded without a word.
"So I wondered how the hell plants could grow here."
Her doubt made my eyes widen.
Come to think of it, yeah.
No light gets in here at all.
Not sunlight, not even the glow from a campfire—nothing.
But Darkness is a forest.
Step outside the cabin, and it's trees and flowers everywhere.
"Plants need photosynthesis to live…."
"Exactly, Master. That's what bugged me."
Plants need light to survive.
But these ones thrive without it.
And that's not all.
"When we walked through the forest, we could see clearly for a short distance, right?"
If it was total darkness.
You shouldn't be able to see a damn thing ahead.
But it wasn't like that.
Anything within about two meters was visible to the naked eye.
That was what nagged at Elpinire.
And then she realized.
"The darkness here isn't darkness."
"If not darkness, then what?"
"It's all made of spirits."
I tilted my head at her words.
I'd kinda figured that much already.
Swing a Black Dragon-powered fist, and the darkness splits for a bit but doesn't scatter.
Obviously not normal darkness.
So yeah, spirits made sense.
But Elpinire shook her head firmly, like no.
"Master. That's not it."
"Not it? Then what?"
"The darkness here is made of one single spirit."
"…?!"
My eyes bulged at Elpinire's words.
Darkness is huge.
Just the walk today with Gini took over an hour.
And the forest didn't end.
It just kept going.
One spirit controlling all that?
Elpinire glanced at my stunned face, then looked out the window.
"Master. Do you think spirits have egos? Or not?"
"They do."
I nodded, thinking of Omen.
The upper-class darkness spirit understood everything I said and helped on his own judgment.
Calling a guy like that ego-less would be the real insult.
"Then, could a bunch of darkness spirits with egos all produce the exact same result?"
"…No way."
Even same kin, same nature.
With egos, identical outcomes are impossible.
Yeah.
To always get the same result.
That's why this forest.
This darkness blanketing it.
All of it.
"It's the work of one massive darkness spirit."
"…."
"And that spirit… is probably the Spirit King of Darkness."
Hard to believe.
One spirit big enough to blanket this whole forest in darkness.
I've gotta stay as quiet as possible.
Get on a Spirit King's bad side, and I'd be dead without a trace.
Shivering, I checked the system.
'Need recognition from someone.'
Made me think of the Evergreen Tower.
Back then, it was recognition from Elspier and Elpinire.
Elspier hadn't spelled out the conditions either.
They unlocked the moment we met.
Same with the 4th floor—triggered on encountering the intruder.
So yeah, I'd know when I meet the quest target.
For now.
"I'm gonna wash up. Keep an eye on Gini?"
"Leave it to me, Master."
Me first.
Grabbing a change of clothes and towel, I headed to the well.
The sticky blood had long since crusted over.
* * *
A day passed.
Like always, I got up in the morning, made breakfast, and stood in front of Gini's door with a bowl.
Normally, I'd knock.
Tell her to come eat.
Not today.
I turned the knob and slipped quietly into her room.
"…."
Cold sweat beading, I looked down at deeply sleeping Gini.
From the moment we brought her back yesterday.
Until now.
She hadn't woken once.
And.
"Gini. Wake up."
"…."
No matter how much I shook her, she wouldn't stir.
Deep sleep.
I shook her lightly.
But Gini didn't twitch.
Just gripped the blanket tight, sweating coldly.
"…Master."
"Elpinire."
Elpinire appeared behind me, towel in hand, and approached Gini.
She gently wiped the cold sweat from Gini's body.
Even then, Gini stayed lost in deep slumber.
"…This ain't normal, no matter how you slice it."
Elpinire nodded silently.
Gini's state was far from normal.
She'd already gotten Elpinire's treatment.
Elpinire said she was perfectly fine physically.
Yet here she was, not waking, sweating, deep asleep.
I knew the term for this.
"Coma…."
Gini had lost consciousness for some unknown reason.
A faint groan slipped through her clenched teeth.
Elpinire clicked her tongue at Gini's sweat-soaked clothes.
"Master, step out. Gotta change her clothes."
I nodded and closed the door behind me.
Leaning against it, I whipped around at the sound of something crashing inside.
"Elpinire! What hap—"
"…."
An overturned chair.
Elpinire clutching her mouth with both hands.
No need to ask what happened.
I couldn't speak either, seeing what she'd seen.
Obviously.
Gini's back, revealed by Elpinire's hands.
Gaunt enough to show bone.
Covered.
"…."
In horrific scars.
The scars riddling Gini's back looked ancient.
Yeah.
At least ten years old.
My stomach churned.
Gini was nineteen, so ten years ago… nine years old.
What the hell did a nine-year-old do to deserve that beating?
What sin did a kid not even ten commit to get whipped till scars like that?
Couldn't comprehend it.
Didn't want to.
Just rage boiling up.
Fist clenched white-knuckled against the nausea, I turned and left the room.
"…Elpinire. I'm counting on you."
"Yeah."
The moment the door shut, I heard Elpinire wiping Gini down from the other side.
Stepping away, I slumped at the table and stared at my pale, over-gripped fist.
"Kkung…."
Cheori crawled out of my pocket, up onto the table, and licked my clenched fist.
The tickle made me chuckle despite myself. I relaxed my grip and scratched Cheori's head gently.
"Trying to cheer me up?"
"Kkung."
"Thanks."
Cheori kept rubbing his head against my hand for a good while after.
It lifted my mood. Propping my chin, I stroked him.
Cheori closed his eyes in bliss, flicking his tongue at steady intervals whenever I petted him.
After a long while petting him, I looked up at the opening door.
Elpinire emerged, face dark, grinding her teeth.
"Gini?"
"…Still asleep."
No need to ask more.
Her expression said it all.
"…Master. You said Gini was a slave?"
"Yeah, that's what she said."
"That's why she was so shocked and curious about you and me."
I nodded wordlessly.
At our first meeting, Gini had asked Elpinire if she was a slave.
I said no right away, Elpinire joked about it, but Gini stared at our dynamic like it was alien.
Now it all clicked.
To Gini, a "master" wasn't someone you joked with.
Of course our relationship baffled her.
Bitter taste in my mouth.
Shouldn't have killed that bastard so quick.
"Couldn't be helped, Master."
"…Yeah."
Revil blew up at the end.
No choice there.
Still regretted it.
Should've kept him alive longer, made him suffer.
Smacking my lips, I eyed the cold stew bowl.
"Just eat today?"
"Don't care."
I scooped a spoonful of the cold stew and shoved it in.
Yeah, cold food tasted like shit.
* * *
After eating, I left Gini to Elpinire and returned to my room, staring ahead.
"Hey, Omen. Why you keep following me around?"
There was the hazy shadow that'd been tailing me since last night.
All I could see was a faint trace of Omen, so no clue what he wanted.
At my voice, Omen flapped something, but to me it was just a blurry motion.
Frustrating.
How the hell do I even see Omen properly?
Racking my brain, I noticed Cheori—belly bloated full—lifting his head from sprawled on the shelf.
"Kkung."
"Yeah?"
Slowly.
Dragging his stuffed gut, Cheori crawled over.
Staring up at me, tongue flicking.
Reading the "pick me up" in his eyes, I absentmindedly lifted him.
Cheori settled on my palm, turned, and stared dead-on at the hazy shadow….
"Wait. You can see Omen?"
"Kkung."
Thud.
Lowering my jaw, I stared at Cheori on my palm.
He looked back like, 'What, you can't?'
"No way…."
Smack.
His tail lightly whipped my mouth as I tried to speak.
Then he turned back, staring intently at Omen doing… whatever gestures.
"Kkung. Kkung-kkung. Kkung-kkung-kkung-kkung."
Cheori chatting with Omen.
Soon, he rubbed his tail on his chin like pondering, eyes widening as he turned to me.
"Kkung!"
"Huh? Come closer?"
Cheori nodded.
I brought my face near him.
Then Cheori gaped his mouth wide.
"…!?"
And exhaled some unknown smoke right at me.
I jerked back, coughing hard.
What the—
Throat scratchy as hell.
Starving him of magic stones these past days, now assassination?
Eyes squeezed shut, coughing nonstop, I finally calmed and opened my mouth.
"Cheori, what the hell are you—"
Opening my eyes, I froze mid-sentence, staring ahead.
Couldn't help it.
Now that my eyes were open.
3.6%
3.7%
3.8%
Right in front of me.
"…You Omen?"
"…!"
Stood a massive purple bat.