HPDBC Chapter 94. A Chaos
Chapter 94. A Chaos
Chapter 94. A Chaos
After a four-hour rest, Caron's group immediately moved southward. With their destination clearly marked near the southern Great Forest, finding the exact location wasn't difficult.
"To think my great self would be used as a mere guide dog... You're the first one to treat me like this, owner," Guillotine grumbled.
"Was there anyone else who could claim that role besides me and the first ancestor?" Caron retorted.
"No, which makes you the first," Guillotine replied.
Thanks to Guillotine's sharp guidance, Caron and his group were able to push forward without wasting any time or effort. The closer they got to the southern Great Forest, the taller the trees became, stretching high and dark against the sky.
Pshhhh.
"...Why are the trees like this?" Leo muttered, grimacing as he looked down at a tree root he had just stepped on, which crumbled into dust. The trees here were supposed to be vibrant and green, but their bark was charred and lifeless.
Caron replied with grim certainty, "It's mana disease, a sign of dark mana. It also means that we're getting closer to the source."
It wasn't just the trees, either. The air reeked of rot, like decaying bodies mingling with the stench of death.
"Caron, why don't we rule out the possibility that the elves had no idea at all?" Leon asked, running her fingers over a blackened leaf that crumbled into dust at her touch.
Caron nodded. She was probably right. If the corruption had spread this far, the Southern Great Forest would be in no better shape.
This doesn't match what Neria told us... he thought. Neria hadn't reported anything this extreme. She had no reason to withhold such information, so the corruption had likely advanced recently.
"Yes, you're probably right," he said, revising his initial assessment to fit the new conditions. "The elf patrols must be active by now."
The elves were notoriously unwelcoming to humans, and the Southern Great Forest was off-limits. The forest itself didn't tolerate outsiders. The moment someone unauthorized set foot there, the entire forest would turn deadly. Any intruder left stranded quickly fell prey to the elf patrols and the hunters, who guarded their borders with unwavering vigilance.
"The Southern Great Forest is probably just as corrupted..." Caron muttered as he contemplated the possibility of a three-way conflict, which he had never imagined until now. If the fiercely isolationist Holy Kingdom and the elves were to enter this chaos, things would spiral out of control.
"This was never a mission that should have been assigned to just you and Leo from the start," Caron said, openly criticizing the decision of his family elders. "Those cursed with dark mana are all insane. The only answer is to hunt them down to extinction."
Caron's words reminded them of the signs that had been present for some time. They recalled the demonic monsters that had emerged four years prior in the farmlands of Duke Leston's western territories, the dark mage in Belrus Barony, and the succubus that had appeared in the imperial palace. The warnings had been there all along.
"You only need to deal with those bastards once to know. They're the ones who'll turn your life into a living hell," Caron said.
Leon glanced quietly at Caron's face, noting the hatred in his eyes. All the kin of the Leston family harbored a grudge against dark mana, but with Caron, it ran deeper. Leon and Leo understood his sentiment well enough. The villages those creatures had ravaged were left with nothing but ashes and destruction.
"That's why I'm going to kill them myself," Caron added, a grim smile spreading across his face. "I don't plan to leave that privilege to the elves, the fanatics, or anyone else."
With that, Caron took off ahead, charging forward with determination. Leo and Leon exchanged a look as they watched him go.
"...Should we ask for backup, Leon?" Leo asked.
"Even if we wanted to, communication's out. Plus, we didn't come all this way just to turn back," Leon answered.
"No matter how you look at it, this isn't a problem that the three of us... or rather, the four of us... can handle alone," Leo said.
When Utula heard Leo, he thumped his chest with confidence and said, "We can do it, Leo Leston! Warriors are stronger together!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Leo muttered, though he knew there was no use in complaining. He could never figure out what was going on in Caron's head. Caron was a lunatic, but he somehow got things done. The problem was, he never solved problems quietly or calmly, and this time wouldn't be any different.
Leo let out a chuckle, causing Leon to ask, "Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"
"It just finally feels real that Caron is back," Leo replied.
Causing trouble, charging ahead without a second thought... That was exactly the kind of thing Caron would do. And somehow, just watching Caron's back put Leo at ease.
Without another word, the group resumed their silent run through the forest.
***
Before long, Caron and his group reached the source.
"I would've been able to find this place without you," Caron muttered to Guillotine.
Leo, who had finally calmed down, managed a casual expression as he glanced at Caron. He said, "Honestly, I thought you were going to say we should run headfirst into that wall, Caron. At least you're a madman who can still think."
"Don't hold back your feelings, Leo. I can see your legs still shaking," Caron teased.
"...When it comes to things like that, just pretend you didn't see it," Leo said.
Caron patted Leo on the back a couple of times as a gesture of encouragement.
Then, he looked at Leon and said, "If you have any good ideas, feel free to share them, Leon."
Leon gave him a weary smile and shook her head, then said, "No, I'm with you. There's no reason to push ourselves into a direct assault."
"Alright, sounds good. Let's sit back and rest a bit," Caron suggested; he didn't think they'd be waiting long.
***
Just as Caron had predicted, another faction soon approached the dark mage's fortress.
Whoooooooosh!
Wind roared like a gathering storm.
Rumble rumble!
Something massive rose from the enraged earth.
Whoooosh!
Flames erupted in the sky, scattering embers like sparks of war.
Kraaaaash!
A giant surge of water snaked through the forest, battering the fortress walls without delay.
"Oh, this is unexpected," Caron murmured as he stood up, eyes fixed on the spectacle before him. He'd expected the zealots of the Holy Kingdom to arrive first, but that clearly wasn't the case.
"Caron," Leon said, calling his attention.
"It's spirit magic," Caron said, nodding in response as he watched the raw, natural magic unfold. Elves were the only group in the world who had the power to wield spirit magic on this scale.
"Elves. I didn't think they'd be the first to show up," Caron remarked.
Elves rarely left the Southern Great Forest. So for them to come this far meant that the dark mana emanating from this place had to have disturbed their very core.
Squeeeee!
An arrow shot out from the forest and pierced the head of a monster, and towering spirits began to hammer away at the fortress walls. Soon, elves astride white wolves emerged from between the trees, silent and deadly.
Leo, who'd been watching the assault, muttered, "Maybe we don't need to get involved after all."
There had to be at least five hundred elves. The sheer magnitude of their spirit magic inspired something akin to reverence.
But Caron shot Leo a sharp look and pointed out, "Leo."
"What?" Leo replied, looking back at him.
"Why would you let someone else have the most delicious food?" Caron asked.
"...A dark mage isn't delicious, Caron," Leo answered.
But Caron shook his head, unfazed, before saying, "To me it is. Right, Guillotine?"
"Now you're talking. That's exactly the right attitude," Guillotine replied with a sinister satisfaction.
"Alright then, get ready to feast," Caron muttered with a smirk. An opportunity to devour the mana of a seventh circle dark mage wasn't one he would pass up.@@@@