Heretical Encounter in the Blossoming Forest
Pia stared at the scene unfolding before her eyes and simply could not believe what she was seeing.
Two rookie adventurers brought along as fillers were trying to take on a Plague Tree head-on.
Especially as she watched Aslan fight, her mouth fell open on its own.
He was clashing directly with the Plague Tree in a straight frontal confrontation.
Adventurer parties never fought large monsters head-on. The size difference was simply too vast; one wrong stomp and a fragile human being would be crushed into oblivion.
Humans had intelligence as their greatest weapon—strike the vulnerable spots, or work together to bring down the strong. That was the natural way.
Yet Aslan was neither dodging the tree’s attacks nor retreating. He was meeting them head-on, trading blows in the open.
The Plague Tree itself was once the gentle tree spirit Astara, who nurtured growth with kindness. When it went corrupt and fell to evil mana, it became this monstrous thing—the Plague Tree. Its appearance was warped into a charred, skeletal remnant of the tree, arms stretching endlessly like whips.
“Damn… what an idiot.”
The words slipped from Pia’s lips as she muttered.
Lydia and Drex, standing beside her, nodded in agreement.
It wasn’t quite a compliment, but there was awe buried beneath it.
Endless branches whipped through the air like living weapons, yet Aslan pushed forward without flinching, undeterred.
He wielded a broken sword with only one hand and no shield at all, chopping at the branches that came at him. He took a few hits here and there, but when his head snapped sideways from the impact, he laughed like a madman and kept charging.
Each time his greatsword, swung with the force of an axe, buried itself deep into the tree, the Plague Tree let out a horrifying shriek and swung its whip-like limbs even more wildly.
“Tch. Too short.”
The sword was too short; it wouldn’t sink deep enough. Aslan twisted the blade and began swinging the flat of the sword against the tree’s trunk.
The impact was like being struck by a hammer. Chunks of flesh and bark exploded outward.
What kind of ridiculous strength was this?
“Woah… if I got hit by that, my butt would be shredded.”
Lydia’s casual remark made Pia unconsciously clench her own rear.
Lydia shot Pia a glance, then turned her attention to Zeroa behind Aslan.
The impact from Aslan’s attacks was so massive, Zeroa’s support was truly impressive.
To back up Aslan’s powerful charges, Zeroa darted constantly, blocking more than half the strikes aimed at him and clearing the sludge that kept piling up on the ground so Aslan would have room to move.
It wasn’t strong poison, but the toxic mud still clung to the blade whenever he swept it across the forest floor, flinging dirt and filth far away with each strike.
Aslan ignored everything and kept pushing forward. Zeroa, right on his heels and never in his way, moved in perfect sync—anticipating every step, ready to shield or clear space the moment Aslan needed it.
It was almost unbelievable how seamlessly they worked together.
Drex, who had seen many parties in his time, couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement at the flawless teamwork.
*Wait… he said “master” earlier…*
Thinking back to the earlier conversation, Lydia realized they were Academy students.
Seeing two promising young men with bright futures ahead, the corners of her mouth lifted in a satisfied smirk.
“Grrrrraaaahhh!”
The Plague Tree, unable to withstand Aslan’s merciless assault, let out a scream that sounded more like a death rattle and collapsed.
Aslan shook the mud off his sword and shield with zero emotion, as if victory had been guaranteed.
Lydia rushed over to him with a squeal.
“Kyah! You’re so strong!”
“L-Lydia?”
Zeroa buried his face in the soft warmth of Lydia’s chest as she hugged him tightly, stammering in embarrassment.
Lydia released him and watched with a mischievous smile as his face turned red and he refused to meet her eyes.
“Maybe you’re that strong? I was about to fall for you.”
“A-Ah, no… I’m not that strong…”
Lydia had switched to casual speech without noticing. Zeroa was still dazed from the hug, so he didn’t catch it.
Lydia laughed brightly and wiped the mud off Zeroa’s armor with her sleeve.
“Hey, you’ll get your clothes dirty. Let me do it.”
“Stay still. I’ve shown you my cool side—now it’s my turn to help.”
“R-Right…”
Zeroa had spent his entire life as an ordinary, unpopular guy. He had never experienced a woman’s enthusiastic advances, so the whole situation left him utterly flustered.
He couldn’t understand why she kept calling him “nuna” or why she was pressing herself so close.
Pia clicked her tongue at Lydia, then walked over to Aslan, who was still swinging at the fallen tree.
“Hey, stop. Did you kill your rival or something?”
“Huh? Big monsters have thick hides. You can’t let your guard down even for a second.”
Pia was stunned by how reasonable the answer was.
She had expected the warrior to be either flushed with battle lust or simply venting anger after taking hits. Instead, he was thinking perfectly normally.
Even cautious adventurers didn’t perform such thorough post-battle confirmation.
Pia frowned, feeling a bit wronged that she couldn’t get a word in.
“How can you even tell what’s a monster and what isn’t? What kind of crazy strength is that? Did your ancestors have orcs?”
“Strong developed muscle can’t be distinguished from magic.”
“…What?”
Aslan, who had only been joking around while following Rai’s lead, fell silent when the response fell flat.
He kicked the corpse of the Plague Tree once, then asked Pia how much it was worth.
“Guild valuation will tell you exactly, but the hide alone fetches a decent price. It’s used for alchemy and a lot of gear.”
“Ooh—nice.”
“But we came for an ecological survey, so we didn’t bring a porter.”
“Still, we should grab everything we can carry. Zeroa! How do you harvest this?”
Aslan called out to him, and Zeroa, startled by Lydia’s sudden shift in mood, stumbled over at a run.
Lydia and Pia met his gaze. Their eyes locked, then they both raised their middle fingers and turned away.
Drex, smiling bitterly at the synchronized childish gesture, helped Zeroa gather the materials.
“Was the Plague Tree responsible for wiping out the Dew Forget-Me-Nots?”
“No, the cause is something else.”
Zeroa shook his head at Drex’s question.
“It seems the Plague Tree was caused by a scam, which in turn wiped out the Dew Forget-Me-Nots.”
“Can you still follow the trail?”
“Yes, as soon as we finish harvesting, we can head out immediately.”
Drex watched Zeroa’s calm, composed reply while he concentrated on the work, then turned his gaze toward the younger man.
He looked a bit clumsy and had no immunity to women’s advances, yet he remained remarkably steady and level-headed. He was the reason they had brought him along as a party member, yet no one could tell who the current leader was.
He was far younger than the rest, but his mindset was far beyond his years.
Drex didn’t know his master, but he had to be talented and of strong character.
Grinning as he praised the unknown mentor, Drex finished the harvest and followed Zeroa deeper into the forest.
While the group pushed through the woods, Lydia spotted signs of recent human activity.
The tracks were far too numerous to be from simple hunters or herb collectors.
Drex, after listening to her, told everyone to move cautiously and entered the dense undergrowth, keeping watch.
As they cleared through the thick forest, they discovered a village on the map that didn’t exist.
“A bandit settlement?”
Aslan tilted his head.
The wooden palisade was sturdy and the buildings didn’t carry the feel of a normal village.
Old structures formed the core, surrounded by hastily built shacks. Everyone they saw wore the same rough clothing.
Drex, who had been crouched in the grass watching the village, asked Zeroa quietly.
“That aura is definitely coming from there?”
“Yes. The central building.”
Zeroa’s answer drew all their eyes to the oldest structure.
It had been built solidly with stone, yet time had worn it down. Planks patched over holes showed the crude construction. Human-bone decorations hung from the walls like talismans.
“Heresy.”
Drex’s quiet observation made everyone turn to him in surprise.
“Look at the necklaces people are wearing. Those are symbols of the Cult of Kertasine.”
Every country allowed religious freedom, but there were still forbidden faiths—mostly those that worshipped dark gods. Kertasine was the deity of greed and envy among them.
The inverted-triangle emblem hanging from every neck made the party tense.
The doctrine itself was hard to accept socially, and the worship included frequent human sacrifices. Believers of Kertasine were branded heretics in every nation.
“We should report this to the guard unit.”
“We need solid proof first.”
Drex answered with a serious expression.
Issues of faith were national matters everywhere. Heresy reports were especially sensitive and came in constantly.
Of course, most of them were false—ninety-nine percent. Adventurers loved reporting suspicious people, and sometimes even innocent folks were falsely accused out of spite.
Even the Empire’s own soldiers were told to head straight to the temple for confirmation before acting on a single heretic report.
A lone adventurer’s accusation wasn’t enough to move imperial forces.
“Why the serious face? Evidence is all we need, right? Those bone necklaces are proof enough.”
Lydia stood up as if nothing was wrong.
She told Zeroa to trust her and handed Drex her cumbersome bow. Then she crept toward the palisade, slipping through gaps in the crowd.
Lydia moved like a shadow, using the palisade for cover, leaping over it with surprising agility, and slipped inside without a sound.
Unlike the sentries outside, the villagers inside showed no signs of guarding. They were simply going about their daily lives. Lydia recalled the layout from memory and slipped through the alleys.
From outside, the group watched her skillfully dodge everyone’s eyes, making her way toward the central building.
She was almost there when she heard a voice behind her.
“Did you used to be a ranger?”
“Pfft, a ranger? More like a thief.”
Pia laughed at Zeroa’s question.
Drex didn’t bother denying it, so it was clearly true.
“You’ve been out of practice a while, and there’s no bounty on you, so try not to misunderstand anything weird.”
Aslan stared at him sharply. Drex shrugged in embarrassment and offered an excuse.
“I didn’t realize… I just can’t shake the habit…”
“Pia.”
Drex called her name in a warning tone. Pia shut up.
In the meantime, Lydia reached the central building without issue.
She figured Zeroa was staring at her so hard he was going blind, so she waved casually in his direction as if signaling their position. Then she scaled the wall.
Thinking about the pink future that awaited a promising Academy student, Lydia’s heart raced. If things went well, she would escape the filthy life of an adventurer and finally say goodbye to the sleazy guild members she saw every day.
Especially that Zeroa kid… he looked so innocent. A little push and he might just fall right into her arms.
She didn’t know she was an Academy student, but she thought he was surprisingly cute.
Lydia was lost in her daydreams and reached for the window frame to climb inside. Their eyes met.
“… …”
Lydia was shocked. The man inside was shocked too. He froze.
Lydia quickly drew the dagger from her waist and hurled it, but the man’s shout came faster.
“Intruder! Aaaah!”
The dagger lodged in his neck, but he still managed to yell loud enough to alert everyone.
The man’s voice echoed powerfully, and people burst out of the buildings. Arrows flew toward the one clinging to the wall.
“Damn it!”
Lydia tried to duck back inside, but the sounds of running feet echoed from the corridor. She leaped out the window again.
The inside of the building was now filled with enemies. Arrows rained down from below.
“Ah…”
Lydia panicked and tried to dodge, but her foot slipped on the wall and she fell.
Everything seemed to slow down. In the distance, her party was visible.
Pia, who always clashed with her, shot up and charged forward, but Aslan caught her.
Drex, who had been the steady backbone of the party despite not knowing the leader’s qualities, grabbed Zeroa by the waist.
Pia and Drex tried to run after her, but the other two blocked them.
*Yeah… that’s right…*
There were so many heretics. Why risk their lives?
Still, Lydia felt a little bitter and smiled bitterly.
She had briefly dreamed of a pink future with them, but she realized she could only trust the people who had been with her in the party. With that thought, she blacked out as she fell to the ground.
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**END OF CHAPTER**