Without the chirping of birds, the night in Silent Forest was unnaturally quiet. Bats flitted through moon-dappled trees, leaving fleeting shadows, while field mice scurried through dead leaves, sniffing for food.
Rustle—
Branches and withered leaves crunched under relentless footsteps. A pitch-black figure emerged in the woods, sending nocturnal creatures scattering.
Dorothy descended from the sky above Silent Forest. After sensing the magical energy, she chose a spot dense with power to land.
She scanned the area. Just as she’d suspected—a brutal battle had raged here.
The earth was pockmarked from magical blasts. Countless trees lay snapped in half, their thick trunks scarred with terrifying claw marks.
Several incomplete human corpses littered the ground, guts and limbs scattered everywhere. The thick stench of blood drew swarms of insects, their incessant buzzing grating on the nerves.
A rookie Hero or knight would’ve vomited at the sight. But Dorothy had long since grown accustomed to it.
She stepped closer, examining the shredded cloth and armor fragments. Their identities were clear—knights of Vedona.
Like Heroes, knights wielded magic, but they lacked freedom. Most served nobles or the Church Empire as guards.
Tightening her black robe, Dorothy turned to leave—when a rustle erupted from behind a nearby tree. A knight lunged out, sword raised.
He moved fast. In the blink of an eye, only two arm-lengths separated them. The sword’s sharp tip seemed poised to pierce her heart the next second!
Triumph flashed in his eyes—until the robed woman turned and casually deflected his blade with the back of her hand.
His strike went wide. After a split-second of shock, he spun and unleashed every sword technique he knew.
The blade became a blur under the dappled moonlight, visible only through the howling wind and sharp *whoosh* of its passage.
Yet Dorothy blocked every move with just one hand.
Realizing the unbridgeable gap between them, the knight gritted his teeth. He leaped back, putting distance between them.
“Who are you?! Are you allied with that Demon?!”
He leveled his sword at Dorothy, clutching his abdomen with the other hand, face twisted in pain.
His armor hung in tatters. Blood-soaked bandages wrapped his waist. His pallor screamed of pre-existing wounds, worsened by his desperate attack. Fresh crimson seeped through the linen.
Dorothy lowered her hand, her ears catching his words.
“Demon?”
The knight froze, stunned she knew nothing of it.
He lowered his sword. Pain gave way to desperate hope. “You don’t know? Are you… reinforcements sent by Lord Roy?”
Before Dorothy could answer, he staggered to the battlefield’s edge and pointed at a fallen tree.
Fresh blood stained its trunk. Deeper in, a staggering path cut through the undergrowth, marked by intermittent crimson trails on leaves and branches.
“The Demon’s wounded! It can’t have gone far! Its blood trail is still fresh!”
“If we follow it, we can hunt it down and kill it! We’ll avenge the fallen knights… and save Vedona!”
His excitement surged. He almost grabbed her shoulders, urging her to follow the trail.
In his eyes, she was Roy’s salvation.
Dorothy remained unmoved. She studied the Demon’s blood trail. “What exactly happened here?”
“The Demon! We encountered the Demon! We must go now—before it escapes!”
Seeing her hesitation, the young knight grew hysterical. Bloodshot eyes burned with frenzy.
His madness scared off the scavenging beasts. Dorothy simply watched, silent, until his rage burned out.
The fire vanished. He stumbled back two steps and collapsed against a tree, breath ragged.
“Calm now?” Dorothy asked.
He gave a bitter laugh. “I knew… there’d be no reinforcements. That bastard Roy lied. He abandoned us here to die…”
“Sorry. I lost my composure. Not very knightly of me.”
“It’s fine.”
“Loss… betrayal… You’ve seen much of it, haven’t you? I can see it in your eyes. You’re used to it.”
*Used to it?*
Perhaps.
Even now, Dorothy remembered the comrades she’d lost after becoming a Hero.
A permanent ache in her heart.
“You’re young. Cherish those still beside you.”
“Hah. Easy for you to say.”
Her words brought no comfort. He knew he’d never leave this forest alive.
Silent Forest’s outskirts were no longer safe. Second-tier and third-tier monsters now roamed freely. Even fourth-tier beasts were common.
Once, they’d even sensed a fifth-tier presence.
Wounded, his third-tier magic now barely second-tier strength. How could he possibly escape?
Seeing her comfort was futile, Dorothy cut to her real concern. “What happened to your squad?”
The broken knight held nothing back.
“We recruited a Hero familiar with Silent Forest’s outskirts for this investigation. But he was a Demon in disguise.”
“He ambushed and killed our captain. The others fell fighting. Only I… survived by luck.”
*Did he truly survive?*
He smiled bitterly. From the moment they entered this forest, their squad was doomed. Even alive now, the night would soon claim him.
Suddenly remembering, he tore off his chest armor. From within his tunic, he pulled a coin purse.
“Can I ask you something?”
He looked up at the robed woman, voice pleading.
“What is it?”
“This purse… it holds a dozen gold coins. If you make it out of the forest… give it to my wife?”
Thoughts of his beloved wife brought a flicker of happiness to his bloodstained face.
But it quickly faded into sorrow.
“We have a six-year-old daughter. Raising her alone… it’ll be hard. This isn’t much, but it’ll help with expenses.”
