episode_0131

A young girl was running through the forest, her body covered in wounds.

Even as she ran, she kept glancing back as if being chased by someone.

“Haa… haa… I’m done for…”

In front of the girl was a massive forest. However, this forest did not look ordinary like any other forest.

The colors of the trees and grass were all drained of color, appearing pitch black.

Just looking at it made one shudder, and trying to approach it felt like entering a sinister forest that sent chills down one’s spine.

“The Forest of Death…”

As the girl said, this place was known as the Forest of Death. It was a cursed forest where no one who entered ever came out alive, earning its ominous reputation.

The neighboring country had sent an army to investigate this forest next to their borders, but the entire army disappeared without a trace.

Since then, no one dared to set foot in the Forest of Death. Yet, the girl stood at the entrance of this forest.

“Hoo…”

Her trembling body clearly showed her fear.

“There! She’s over there! Quickly, catch that girl!”

The shouts of men behind her. With the relentless sound of their pursuit, the girl closed her eyes tightly and dashed into the Forest of Death.

The soldiers chasing after her stopped at the entrance of the forest.

“Is that crazy girl trying to commit suicide?”

“What should we do?”

“Let’s go back.”

“Aren’t we supposed to catch her?”

“Are you going in to catch her?”

“Uh… well…”

“If she entered there, there’s no hope. Just report that she entered the Forest of Death.”

“Understood.”

==

The power struggle within the family.

The sudden death of the head of the family sparked a war for the next successor, plunging the girl into hell.

Smiling and greeting in front, but scheming to kill behind her back, she grew weary of such a fight.

Each time, her mother would comfort her, reassuring her that everything would be okay and recounting the tales of the warrior Emily and the saint Isabelle.

And she always ended with these words.

“Lisa, if you ever feel truly in danger or abandoned in this world, run to the Forest of Death.”

When she first heard those words, Lisa thought she must have misheard.

The Forest of Death was infamous as the most dangerous place in the world. It was so notorious that parents used to scare disobedient children by saying they would be taken by the Forest of Death.

But to run there. Lisa momentarily thought her mother had misspoken, but her mother’s face was deadly serious.

Despite vowing never to go to the Forest of Death no matter how difficult things got.

On a usual day, while having lunch with her mother, her mother was assassinated.

Her mother’s head exploded right in front of her.

Just moments ago, they were laughing and chatting, but her mother’s head vanished, leaving her dead.

Her mother’s remains showered Lisa’s body, and she screamed.

With her mother dead, the situation quickly deteriorated. Most of the servants fled to avoid being caught up in the political turmoil, and those who remained loyal to the family perished.

Alone in the room, trembling and awaiting death, Lisa remembered her mother’s words.

“Lisa, if you ever feel truly in danger or abandoned in this world, run to the Forest of Death.”

Soon enough, she would be killed by her relatives who would take over the family. Instead of dying at the hands of her mother’s enemies, Lisa chose to die in the Forest of Death and fled from the family.

And so, she entered the Forest of Death.

As she passed through the dense forest with grass brushing against her body, she couldn’t help but shiver.

“Why is the Forest of Death called the Forest of Death?”

Everyone who entered disappeared. No one knew how they disappeared. There was never a single person who came out after entering.

“I wish I could die without suffering…”

Even though they came prepared for death, what was frightening was truly terrifying.

As Lisa continued to walk, she stopped her feet. No, she had to stop.

Because of the monster in front of her.

A huge figure that easily exceeded 5 meters tall, with giant hands that seemed like they could kill a person in less than a second, and horrifying tentacles wriggling behind it.

“Hik… Hik…!”

Even making a slight noise felt like the monster would kill her, but faced with such a terrifying creature, Lisa couldn’t stop trembling.

As the sharp-eyed monster approached her, Lisa couldn’t even breathe.

The blinking eyes of the monster stared intently at Lisa. And then, the monster’s tongue licked her face.

“Ugh…!”

[Sizzle. Sizzle.]

-Swish.

And then the monster disappeared.

-Thud.

“Ugh…! Ugh…! Ugh…! Haa… Haa…”

-Squelch.

As the monster vanished from Lisa’s sight, she collapsed in place, her tension releasing as she involuntarily wet herself.

“A, a national-level monster just now…?”

No matter how you looked at it, with that size and intimidation, it was a national-level monster.

Commonly known as a national-level monster. They are called that because the nation gathers its military and adventurers to subdue them.

A monster with the power and determination of a nation. They are also known as disasters.

It was the moment Lisa realized why everyone who entered the Forest of Death died.

But why did such a national-level monster just look at Lisa and disappear?

As she thought about it, the surroundings darkened.

Trembling, Lisa raised her head.

“Hik…!”

There was another national-level monster looking down at Lisa.

If the monster she saw earlier was humanoid, this time it was an animal-shaped monster.

Yet even that monster left Lisa alone and disappeared.

“In the Forest of Death, could it be that national-level monsters were living here? Wait, why are there two national-level monsters…? And how did people not know about this?”

Monsters above a certain level each have their own territory. That’s why usually monsters are alone.

There were just two national-level monsters. Yet there was no fighting happening in the Forest of Death right now, which was strange.

“This forest. It’s too strange…”

Lisa’s head spun with the events happening in the Forest of Death that contradicted all the knowledge she had learned.

“No, monsters don’t attack… people?”

Shaking off her dizzy head, Lisa, with the heart of a researcher, resolved to uncover the secrets of the Forest of Death before dying.

Gathering her wits and standing up, Lisa almost sat back down.

Countless giant monster eyes in front of her were all staring at her.

It wasn’t just one or two. It was as if the eyes of the monsters, like decorations in the forest, were all blinking at her.

“Ten…? No, at least over thirty…”

Even when she slightly turned her head, they were all monsters.

“So that’s why the entire nation’s military was wiped out…”

Even with just one national-level monster, with the power and determination of the entire nation, over thirty national-level monsters in the Forest of Death would surely lead to total annihilation without being able to use any power.

If all the monsters here were to leave this forest… the world would be doomed… But. Why.

Why aren’t they attacking?

The accessories visible on some monsters. Those accessories were nothing but human bones.

In other words, they were monsters.

But why are those monsters, or rather those monsters that could be on a national level, just watching?

As I couldn’t move due to my legs being weak, a monster slowly approached.

Unlike the other monsters, this one was just the size of a person and had a human-like form.

As the monster approached, the other monsters around it made way for it.

“Is that monster the leader of these national-level monsters…?”

As the leader monster got closer, its form became clearer. Curved body. Assertive chest.

“Is it a female monster…?”

As the female leader monster approached, it started examining me closely.

It raised its arm, buried its head in my neck to smell me. Even though I wanted to resist, I just stood still out of fear. Somehow, I felt like I would be killed if I resisted.

For some reason, right now, the monsters seemed to have no intention of killing me.

“Oh.”

At that moment, my deceased mother’s words came to mind again.

“Lisa. If you ever feel like you’re in real danger or left alone in this world, run to the forest of death.”

Run to the forest of death.

In other words, going to the forest of death is safe…?

Does my mother know the true identity of the forest of death? Before I could finish my thoughts, the monster suddenly grabbed my hand and helped me up.

And holding my hand, it started walking.

“Huh? Wha… What? Are you taking me to die…?”

As I continued to be led by the female monster, the scenery of the forest of death began to change.

It was definitely a pitch-black forest. But now, a beautiful, almost sacred forest was unfolding before me.

“I heard those birds were extinct…!? Wait, is that a unicorn…!?”

Moreover, the birds rumored to be extinct and the unicorns only heard in legends were casually roaming around.

It looked like a forest of life rather than a forest of death.

After walking through that forest of life for a while, a valley came into view. Someone was dipping their feet in the crystal-clear water of the valley.

“Goddess…?”

Long golden hair swaying in the valley water, a body covered by a lingerie outfit that slightly revealed the skin. A glimpse of a large chest visible from afar.

The gloves and stockings wrapping her hands and feet perfectly matched the woman.

And finally, her face.

Even though half of her face was covered with a blindfold, she was so beautiful that one could tell she was the most beautiful woman in the world.

The monster that had been leading me suddenly disappeared. Or so I thought.

A black rabbit was hopping towards the woman.

“Oh my? Kuroya Lily, where did you leave her and why did you come alone? Oh? A guest?”

The woman’s voice was also incredibly beautiful.