Ch.127Chapter 127. First Meeting (1)

“I am opposed to this. A hasty announcement will only bring chaos to the continent.”

“But this is a critical matter! Don’t you all know what will happen if our response is delayed even slightly!”

“That’s exactly why we might not need to respond at all.”

“After we confirm the situation first…”

Inside the tent, a meeting was in full swing with no sign of narrowing differences in opinion.

I thought they would have reached some kind of conclusion after more than an hour since the meeting started, but that wasn’t the case at all.

‘Whatever the decision is, it’s going to take a long time.’

I stopped eavesdropping on the meeting from beside the tent and quietly moved my body.

A few days after successfully repelling the monster invasion, meetings were still ongoing within the alliance.

There were two main opposing opinions.

One was to warn the entire continent about the “demon revival” as the monsters’ movements were suspicious.

The other was to postpone making hasty judgments that could cause continental chaos when nothing was certain yet.

Both had valid points, which made it difficult to reach a consensus.

After hearing my account, Yuria seemed more than 90% convinced that what I had witnessed was a revived demon.

Honestly, I thought so too.

The being I encountered that day was definitely extraordinary.

That sharp energy that could be felt even from such a distance that its form wasn’t clearly visible.

It was certainly not an aura that an ordinary monster could emit.

“Sigh. This is why having too many people is problematic.”

The alliance’s opinion was difficult to unify because there were many people with the right to speak who could be considered the leadership.

Moreover, it was a temporary organization, which made it worse.

If it were me, I would have just done what I wanted.

‘But I can’t just sit here doing nothing.’

The monsters had been completely quiet since that day when they all came down together.

Usually, at least once every three days, even a small group would come down, but several days had passed since then without a single monster in sight.

This was also an anomaly in a way, but Yuria and other important figures in the Peace Alliance seemed too busy with endless meetings to even think about it.

‘I finally got away today.’

The reason I was able to eavesdrop on the meetings that had been going on for days was because of Kassis Sinclair.

Kassis was the only one in our six-member team who knew nothing about my identity.

Because of this, Kassis never left the students alone except during sleeping hours, insisting the current situation was very dangerous.

If Kassis himself had to go somewhere, he would ask other alliance members to watch us.

Perhaps thinking it was finally safe after several days since the attack, today I got my chance.

‘I need to find out for myself.’

Thud- Thud-

I carefully moved toward the forest near the tent, keeping an eye on my surroundings.

The Peace Alliance’s decision was still far off, and I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing in the meantime.

I should at least move on my own to find even a small clue about the nameless demon’s revival.

If I wander around inside the mountain range, I might find something.

Just when I thought I had safely entered the empty forest…

“Ryu.”

Flinch-

I involuntarily flinched at someone’s low, quiet voice calling my name.

The owner of the voice that clearly called my name was…

“Elaine?”

It was Elaine.

She was staring at me with an expression that seemed to say she knew this would happen.

Elaine was in full armor with a helmet—completely armed to the teeth.

“I knew you would sneak out.”

“Uh…”

Elaine was fiddling with her helmet, speaking in a somewhat proud tone.

She must have been checking out this forest frequently lately, looking for places where there weren’t people and where someone could sneak out, since she’s been with the others all the time.

I can’t believe Elaine saw through me.

“I want to go with you.”

“It could be dangerous.”

“I know.”

“And you still want to come?”

“I-if something happens, you’ll protect me. I want to confirm the rumors with my own eyes. And I’ve become stronger than before.”

Elaine’s voice trembled slightly as she spoke, but her attitude was more confident than anyone else’s.

Above all, it was clear that Elaine really wanted to go.

To the point where I wondered if she needed to show such determination.

“Haaa.”

A sigh with various meanings escaped my lips.

Elaine, who knew I was the Black Shadow Corps leader, showed no signs of backing down.

Taking Elaine along would be dangerous and very different from my plan.

“…If you don’t take me, I’ll run inside right now and shout that the Black Shadow Corps leader has appeared.”

“…”

I guess I have to take her with me.

**

“You understand? If anything happens, stay right by my side.”

“…Yes.”

In the end, I entered the inner part of the mountain range with Elaine.

When we started, the sun was just beginning to set, but night came quickly in the northern forest.

The forest became pitch dark in just a few dozen minutes.

‘From here, we have to walk.’

I teleported to the deepest point I could remember.

Of course, it wasn’t that deep.

When I was active here a few years ago, I was part of the military, so I had no reason to go deep into the mountain range.

Because of that, from now on we had to walk and assess the situation ourselves.

“What do you think, Ryu?”

“About what?”

“Is it true that the nameless demon has been revived?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure.”

I answered Elaine’s question casually while calmly surveying the darkened surroundings.

Honestly, I don’t know either.

Certainly, what I saw then was unusual, but there was too little evidence to definitively call it a demon.

“That’s why we’re here to find out.”

“Ah, I see.”

Elaine nodded as if she understood my words.

Crunch- Crunch-

Every time Elaine and I took a step, the sound of leaves and twigs being crushed echoed through the forest.

The dark forest was very quiet.

‘But this is too quiet?’

Excessively so.

“By the way, Ryu.”

“Yes?”

“May I ask how you ended up joining the Black Shadow Corps? I’ve been curious for a while. How did a Phrysis family member end up in an organization like the Black Shadow Corps?”

“Uh… Yuria? How did I meet Yuria…”

I recalled my first meeting with Yuria at Elaine’s question.

Where was it? I think we met in the Crescen Empire.

“I don’t remember the exact place, but we fought when we first met. And then…”

Keeeeee-

We stopped in our tracks at the sudden bizarre sound from ahead.

Finally, something appeared.

Keeaak-

The sound coming from a distance was definitely not a natural sound.

It was the sound of a living creature.

Shing-

Elaine carefully drew her sword and moved close to me as I had instructed.

I slightly moved my hand back so I could grab Elaine’s hand at any moment, and slowly walked forward.

Step by step toward where the bizarre sound was coming from.

“What is that?”

Keeeee-

The source of the bizarre sound was a monster’s cry.

Not just any cry, but one filled with pain and desperation.

What appeared before Elaine and me was a wolf cub writhing in pain on the ground.

The wolf cub recognized us and howled even more desperately.

As if begging to be saved.

“Why is it like that?”

“It seems like something happened to it.”

Looking carefully around the wolf cub, I could faintly sense traces of black magic.

‘It’s a trace of black magic, but something’s different.’

However, it felt different from the black magic I had sensed when fighting the Nameless elder.

A much thicker and heavier feeling.

“What happened here?”

I approached the wolf cub that seemed to have no strength to resist.

The wolf actually seemed to welcome us as Elaine and I approached with our swords.

It was definitely a strange reaction.

Keeeee-

The wolf cub whimpered with pitiful cries as we got closer.

I checked the surroundings just in case, but there were no traces of other wolves nearby.

“This doesn’t look like it was injured in a fight between monsters.”

“Yeah. I think so too.”

Swish-

As I carefully reached out toward the wolf cub, I could feel it more clearly.

The energy surrounding the wolf was shallow but definitely had traces of black magic.

Traces of black magic found deep inside the Northern Mountains.

A sense of unease crept over me.

Keeeeee-!

“Elaine, be careful.”

“Y-yes!”

When Elaine tried to touch the wolf, it thrashed on the ground as if making a final struggle.

And that was the end.

After its final thrashing, the wolf cub collapsed motionless, as if its flame of life had been extinguished.

“It’s… dead…”

“Hmm.”

It was obvious just from looking.

The wolf cub that had been whimpering as if begging for help had stopped breathing.

“I think we should take it to show Yuria. She might be able to figure something out.”

Nod-nod-

Elaine nodded while still unable to take her eyes off the dead wolf cub.

Just as I was about to touch the wolf cub’s body…

“That won’t be necessary.”

Flinch-

A low voice sounded as if it were whispered directly into my ear.

I had definitely checked earlier and there was no one around, yet suddenly a voice appeared.

“That one is just dying because it’s useless.”

“…!”

Even in this situation, Elaine moved exactly as I had instructed.

Sensing something was wrong, she immediately moved behind me.

“Who are you?”

After confirming that Elaine was standing behind me, I asked whoever had suddenly appeared.

With some expectation of what the answer might be.