Aslan followed the trail of blue blood splattered on the forest floor and ventured deeper into the woods.
There was no hesitation in his steps, and his eyes quickly found the next trace as he pursued the blood.
The blue bloodstains varied in size and continued deep into the forest before converging at one spot.
Seeing the concentrated blood, Aslan knelt on one knee.
Harrod spoke to Aslan, who was examining the traces while kneeling:
“I have just one question.”
“Go ahead.”
Aslan swept his hand over the blood while resting a decapitating sword on his shoulder. A faint sense of mana could be felt.
“What’s the situation? How did you know all this beforehand?”
“…That’s something I wondered about too.”
Angie also chimed in at Harrod’s question. Aslan didn’t respond to either of them and quietly rubbed the blood between his fingers.
“It’s obvious. The monster we’re chasing now, Hag, is a creature that once was a wizard and still possesses magic. These monsters use hypnotic magic carried by the wind to put their prey under a spell before devouring them.”
Thus, when Hags hunt, the wind carries a distinctive smell and a trace of mana can be felt. For Aslan, whose senses had been heightened through luck and mana, it was not difficult to perceive a wider area.
“But?”
However, it wasn’t something that could simply be explained by feeling. Aslan stood up as he answered.
“It was the point where the sea breeze blew over our campsite, and the grasshoppers weren’t chirping. At least one should’ve been chirping, but strangely, it was quiet. There was also an unfamiliar smell mixed in.”
This partial truth made Angie tilt her head with a “Hmm,” but Aslan said no more. In fact, he had no way to explain further.
So Aslan continued the pursuit without further explanation, and Angie followed silently behind.
As they delved deeper into the forest, a peculiar woodland emerged, blending the dampness of the tropical forest with the salty tang of the sea. Mixed within were streams of mana.
Aslan walked through this forest, swiftly following the traces with his eyes and gripping the decapitating sword with both hands.
“It’s like this now.”
At those words, Harrod quickly drew his weapon and shield, and Angie, realizing late, pulled out her spear.
A strange wailing sound came from nearly every direction.
With a sigh, Aslan adjusted his grip on the decapitating sword, turning it with a flick of his wrist.
“Why don’t you just come out already if you’ve noticed us and know what we’re going to do?”
Aslan lowered his stance as he spoke, and from the shadows of the tropical forest surrounding him, the monsters slowly revealed themselves.
They were grotesque deformities that could only be described as monsters. Blue skin, tentacles extending from their mouths, gill-like slits from their cheeks to their necks, and mana flowing from those slits.
Some of these oddly shaped monsters pointed at Aslan or flicked their tongues, revealing traces of having once been human.
It made sense. Hags were originally wizards who had become monsters. More precisely, they were monsters who willingly gave up being human in pursuit of power, reaching their current state after bolstering their strength through the ways of the Supreme Divinity.
Aslan had no tears to mourn those who had voluntarily abandoned their humanity. He merely held his sword with cold determination, breathing out a long sigh, calculating how many he would need to kill.
“They use magic. Don’t stay in a straight line when they extend their hands. Move around the trees. There are ten of them in total.”
“What?”
Having finished his abrupt explanation, Aslan charged forward.
Ki i i ik!
The Hag at the front extended its hand toward Aslan. Something formed at the tip of its claw-like nails, and Aslan tilted his head and crouched low as it materialized.
Pang!
Ice barely grazed his neck as it flew past and embedded itself in the ground. Crouching close to the ground, Aslan swung his sword upward.
Thud!
Like chopping with an axe, the thick neck of the Hag was severed and floated in the air. Before it even fell, Aslan retracted his sword and spun his body.
Crack!
The spinning decapitating sword split the temple of the stunned Hag, cleaving its head in two. The Hags screamed and charged at Aslan.
Aslan remained stationary, only moving when the monsters entered range.
Four were killed in an instant. As the front Hag extended its hand, Aslan thrust his sword, using the blunt edge to shatter its cervical vertebrae. Blocking the claws of the charging monster with the hilt, he flipped the sword, disarmed the monster, and swung it to split its head.
As the shattered skull fragments scattered, another Hag gathered flames in its palm. Eyeing Aslan, it immediately attacked. Aslan ducked low to avoid it and swung his sword.
The Hag’s palm caught on the blade, splitting into two, and it let out a scream. Aslan shattered its shinbone.
As the Hag stumbled from the broken shin, Aslan stomped on its neck and struck the head off another monster trying to flee.
With the head split open and falling with a thud, the remaining Hags quickly acted.
Ki i i eek!
Two fled somewhere quickly, while the rest charged toward Angie and Harrod instead of Aslan.
Facing the charging Hag, Angie instinctively hurled her spear. With no finesse, the Hag pierced through screamed and flailed its limbs.
Harold Crow rushed at the thrashing Hag.
“Kraaaaah!”
With a fierce roar, the iron bar Harold wielded came down. With a “Kung!” it gouged into the earth, and the Hag’s head shattered and scattered.
As Angie tried to retrieve her spear from the dead Hag’s body, Harrod blocked her path with his shield.
Clang!
“Stay focused, Angela Tail!”
Magic pounded against the shield with a “Teng, teng.” Holding the shield firmly, Harrod withstood the magic and then charged, ramming the Hag with the shield.
Geeeeeek!
Pushing away the screaming monster’s body, Angie instinctively stabbed it with her spear and killed it.
As the pierced monster screamed, Harrod finished it off with a horizontal swing of the iron bar, scattering its brain.
Watching the monsters die one by one, Angie realized that even though she couldn’t fight like Aslan, she could handle the monsters with help from Harrod.
She wanted to fight more, to take on the next Hag, but just then—
Crack!
Aslan appeared beside the Hag and ended the fight with a downward strike of his decapitating sword. The monster split in half and fell, making a wet sound like a soaked rag being thrown to the ground.
Even though Angie felt a twinge of regret for losing her last prey, Aslan approached and said,
“Good job. Hags are hard to catch, but you did well.”
Whatever lingering dissatisfaction disappeared in the compliment, but Angie suppressed a smirk.
“Yeah, well, you fought incredibly well too.”
“Because I’m a veteran warrior. I wouldn’t be much of one if I couldn’t fight.”
Aslan wiped his sword as he spoke, and a lump of blood dripped from it onto the ground, continuing deeper into the forest.
“We need to chase the ones that escaped, so get ready quickly and follow. Harrod.”
“Uh… Why?”
“You did well.”
That empty praise made Harrod glance awkwardly around. Most of the Hags were killed by Aslan himself, so it seemed odd to commend him for catching just a few.
But Harrod sensed an unavoidable hierarchy in those words.
“Thank you.”
With that, Aslan’s group walked silently. The traces of the Hags became increasingly chaotic as they went deeper into the forest and occasionally mixed with other animal tracks.
Even Harrod, a fairly skilled warrior, found the tracking difficult, but not Aslan.
To Aslan, the footprints and claw marks were clearly visible. He moved without hesitation and soon discovered a cabin and cave that looked like they were once inhabited by humans inside the forest.
“…”
The sight inside the cave and cabin was beyond imagination, leaving Aslan momentarily speechless.
Seeing the Hag trembling pitifully before him, begging for mercy at the entrance of the cave, Aslan silently brought down his decapitating sword.
Inside the cave were countless bodies.
At least dozens, likely more than twenty, lay discarded with holes in their skulls, their brains presumably eaten.
And their bodies weren’t intact either.
Clearly butchered for magical purposes, there were unmistakable signs of dissection. Organs, skins, and meats were spread out as if livestock had been slaughtered.
Aslan closed his eyes tightly at the scene and sighed with discomfort.
Geladridion always reminded him of such places.
While Aslan grimaced at the horrific cave,
“Ah, there you are. We’ve been looking for you.”
Cornil Ashuld and his soldiers arrived at that moment. Among them were some wizards, including a soldier Aslan had personally rescued and given medicine to.
Aslan glanced briefly at them, and Cornil, meeting his gaze, spoke.
“So this is their nest, it seems. Kandlibeur Noble may not be known for his competence, but I didn’t expect him to fail to deal with a monster’s lair like this… Anyway, is the situation resolved?”
“Yes.”
With Aslan’s short answer, Cornil Ashuld forced a laugh.
“That’s fortunate. Shall we depart then? Time is already…”
“The bodies.”
Interrupting Cornil’s hesitant words, Aslan turned his head slightly to look at him.
“I’ll bury them before we go, so please wait. Your soldiers were attacked during their rest and haven’t had enough time to recover.”
Cornil wore a troubled expression, but Aslan’s face remained unwavering.
“Since these bodies have no relatives, shouldn’t we just leave them? Some are already quite decomposed.”
Indeed, some bodies were rotting, as Cornil said. After glancing at them briefly, Aslan replied,
“If I were one of those bodies with no relatives, I would hope anyone would bury me.”
With that response, Aslan picked up a shovel leaning against the cabin.
“If you won’t help, set up camp. Let the soldiers rest, Imperial Investigator. It’s unwise to exhaust them before the investigation is complete.”
While Cornel Ashuld hesitated, Aslan had already started digging with the shovel. His skillful shoveling quickly created a grave large enough for one person, and Aslan manually placed the body inside before covering it with soil.
“…I, I will help too, Veteran.”
One of the soldiers who had received medicine from Aslan approached after watching him bury the bodies quietly. Seeing him, a few more soldiers approached with awkward smiles or curious expressions.
Their words differed, but they all agreed to help, and Aslan allowed them to assist without objection.
Only Cornil Ashuld maintained a displeased expression as he ordered the rest of the soldiers to set up camp.
Angie watched Cornil Ashuld and Aslan, and saw Harold helping move the bodies with the soldiers. The girl stared blankly for a moment, then seemed to think, then approached Aslan.
“Why go this far?”
She asked upon approaching.
Aslan paused mid-dig. Leaning on the shovel like a cane, he looked down at the dirt he’d dug up and answered,
“Because it feels right.”
The girl couldn’t fully understand his words but soon began helping Aslan anyway.
