Chapter 23: The Forest of No Return (3)

There was no end in sight to the green.

At some point, the vegetation had gone from dense to downright suffocating. Undergrowth, weeds, vines, nameless flowers, and insects that thrived in the shadows all tangled and twisted together, creating a damp, shaded mess of greenery that seemed to have been painted with reckless abandon. It felt like they'd stepped into a landscape painting done by some obsessive artist who couldn't stop slathering on the paint.

Hacking through the vines with axe and sword was getting harder by the minute, and finding solid ground to step on was damn near impossible. With every step forward, thorny bushes and thistles scratched at their skin. Clumps of burrs and seeds stuck to their clothes like glue. Both their outfits had been stained green with plant juices ages ago.

Last night, they'd barely managed to find a small clearing to camp in. Even then, Kadim hadn't said much about it. After all, they'd come too far to turn back now, and he'd trusted that the guide knew what he was doing.

But by the time the sun started setting the next day, there was still no sign of the forest's edge.

At this point, he couldn't not ask.

"Hey, merchant."

"Y-yes... my lord."

"Are you sure we're on the right path? Something is strange if we are still in a forest.”

"Yes, uh, well... about that..."

Duncan was already slumped over, and now he seemed to shrink in on himself. His eyes darted aimlessly through the endless vegetation around them.

The truth was, Duncan had been agonizing about this all day. He was pretty sure they were lost, but he had no clue how to bring it up.

Not after what happened yesterday. That made it ten times harder to say anything…

‘Ugh, I should've just kept my mouth shut... I should be thanking my lucky stars my head's still on my shoulders instead of questioning him like that...’

It was too late for regrets, and even later to speak up. But he couldn't drag this out any longer, so Duncan hesitantly opened his mouth.

"...I'm sorry, sir. I was sure we were on the right path, but I guess I was wrong. By now, we should've reached the plains that stretch across the border..."

"..."

The borders in this world aren't solid lines; they're more like a series of dots. You have guard posts set up every so often, and the huge gaps in between are pretty much unguarded.

Obviously, the less important the area, the bigger the gaps. The two of them had originally planned to pass through a short stretch of woodland and cross into the plains where the gaps between posts were widest.

But instead, they'd somehow ended up in this bizarrely massive forest, and the whole plan had gone to hell. Kadim narrowed his eyes and gestured with his chin.

"Spread out the map, merchant. Is there a forest this big anywhere near the route we took?"

"...N-no. There isn't, sir."

"..."

"The closest forest is Dusaetbaram Forest up north, but you can walk through that in a day... The only place that would take more than two days to get through is the Great Forest down south where the elves are supposed to live..."

The distance from their starting point to the Great Forest was nearly a hand's span on the map. Given the scale, that meant at least several hundred kilometers. Even if a giant got lost and wandered for days, he doubted they could screw up this badly.

That left only a few possibilities.

Either they'd lost their sense of direction and were walking in circles.

"We can't be going in circles. You've left traces cutting through the brush everywhere we've been..."

Or the merchant's map was wrong.

“Hey, this wasn't some cheap piece of paper! I paid two thousand Luden for it in the city! The big trading companies use this exact map for their Empire routes, sir!”

Or maybe a new forest had sprung up in the meantime.

"This map was made just three years ago. There's no way a forest this size could've grown in that time."

And if it wasn't any of those, then maybe...

"..."

...Whatever the case, the fact remained that they needed to get out of this forest as soon as possible.

They had to survey the area before it grew darker. Kadim ordered the merchant to climb a tree and see if there was anything visible from up there. Feeling a pang of guilt, Duncan obediently grabbed onto the trunk and branches and squirmed his way up.

"Oh? I see smoke, my lord! Someone's got a fire going over there!"

"Is that so? Then let's head in that directi—"

Hiss!

Something suddenly shot up from the ground with an angry hiss.

Kadim reflexively snatched it out of the air. Then, without hesitation, he tore it apart.

Riiip!

Scales scattered, skin and meat torn. The arm-sized snake had been ripped in half as easily as a piece of string cheese. Worried it might thrash around and bite him, Kadim tossed the front half away.

That's when something strange happened.

"...!"

A new tail started sprouting right out of the bloody stump. The snake that should've been dead had shrunk in size, making it even more agile. It flicked its new, forked tail and disappeared into the bushes in a flash.

"..."

Duncan, who'd climbed down belatedly, looked at him with confusion.

"What's wrong, my lord? What happened... Eeek, what is that?"

Kadim stared at the severed piece in his hand.

Even after a while, the remaining tail section didn't regenerate a head. Only after confirming this did he toss it to the ground.

“We’re heading for that smoke. If you see any snakes on the way, give me a heads-up, merchant.”

“What? Y-You mean that thing was a snake?”

"..."

Kadim shut his mouth and started walking toward the smoke. Terrified of getting left behind and stepping on a snake part, Duncan practically glued himself to the barbarian’s back.

***

They'd been lighting campfires every night, but actually starting a fire in the forest at night was an incredibly dangerous thing to do.

And it wasn't just because of the risk of wildfires. In the pitch-black darkness of a forest with not even a single star visible, firelight was far too bright. Light that's too bright attracts many things a traveler doesn't want, from bugs drawn to the flame to starving monsters and bandits.

Of course, Kadim hadn't lit fires without thinking. The warmth of the fire helped in many ways, and monsters and bandits weren't much of a threat to him.

But whether they posed little threat to this man was questionable. Kadim frowned as he looked at the man sitting in front of the campfire.

A severely hunched and protruding back, emaciated limbs, and distorted features. He wore tattered rags like a cloak and had frayed cloth wrapped tightly around his hands and feet. His only weapon was a pile of iron rods that could've been fire pokers or walking sticks.

His eyes, reflecting the firelight, were cloudy and dull like a dead fish's. When he looked over, he gave them a smile that showed off teeth with more gaps than a row of rotten corn.

"Nazran."

"...What?"

"My name. Nazran. Who are you?”

It was a weird way to introduce yourself, like he’d just jumped into the middle of a conversation. When Kadim just stared blankly, Duncan stepped forward.

"Th-this gentleman's name is Kadim, and I'm Duncan. He's a mercenary, and I'm a merchant. Mr. Nazran... what are you doing here?"

Nazran burst into raspy laughter. He lifted his bandaged hands and feet and started to talk.

"Can't you tell by looking? Where in the world would a hunchbacked leper with no fingers or toes have to go? I've been wandering from one deserted place to another without a set destination, and ended up here."

"..."

“It’s a nice forest. Nobody throws rocks at me here. Nobody spits. Nobody curses me… Pity no one throws salt, though. That stuff’s a pain to get your hands on if you don’t scoop it up when they throw it, kekeke..."

The word ‘leper’ made Duncan flinch and back away. But Kadim didn’t move an inch, his expression still completely flat.

Nazran looked at Kadim with interest.

"You're not scared of lepers? Ah, is it because you're a barbarian? I heard the Shrine Maiden of the wasteland knows many sacred rituals for diseases."

“They did once. No idea if they still do.”

"Kekeke, right, right. It has been a long, long time since your people left the wastes and settled here..."

Duncan tilted his head in confusion. He'd thought this barbarian had come from the wasteland beyond the mountains and didn't know much about the world. But now he didn't even know about the Shrine Maiden of the wasteland? How did that make sense?

Ignoring the merchant's confusion, Kadim spoke to Nazran.

"If you know anything about this forest, I'd like to hear it. It's not on the map."

"Ah, you're lost then. But why would you come here of all places? It's a backwater with nothing but monsters and people who live in the shadows..."

"..."

“Oh, I get it! You two are in some kind of trouble, aren’t you? On the run from the law? Or from someone else? Keke, instead of running around like frightened rabbits, why not just settle in this forest like me?"

A speck of irritation flickered in Kadim's eyes. Nazran flinched for a moment but soon burst into laughter again as if nothing had happened.

"Kekeke, just joking... it was a joke… Staring at a poor leper with eyes like that, my, what a fearsome friend you are. Alright, alright. Before you give me a heart attack, let me give you what you want. Now then, about the forest..."

"..."

“Mmm, but wait… you’re not expecting to get it for free, are you?”

Duncan was sure this leper was about to get himself ripped apart. He jumped between them again.

"W-what do you want? If it's money or food, we can share a bit. We don't have much, so we can't give you a lot..."

"Ah, I've got plenty to eat, and what would I do with money? Pay the bugs' wages to fetch me honey water? Kekeke..."

"..."

"Kehe, I just... want to hear a story. Yes, a story in exchange for a story seems fair. And I happened to have something I wanted to ask a barbarian anyway..."

His unfocused eyes stared directly at Kadim, and the barbarian met his gaze without flinching. Duncan looked between the two nervously.

What came out of Nazran's mouth next was something neither of them had expected.

"They say barbarian women are really good in bed... is that actually true?"

"..."

“See, because my body’s so messed up, I’ve never been with a woman. Not once. But if I got the chance, I always thought I’d like to try a nice, healthy barbarian girl. They seem like the type who’d spread their legs for a leper, so long as the money’s good, you know? Kehehe..."

A thick vein bulged on Kadim's forehead.

He'd originally been a modern person, so his sense of kinship with the Atalans was weak. But after all the racism he’d put up with in his first life here, he had a zero-tolerance policy for that kind of trash talk. Plus, it was an insult to his old friend, the Shrine Maiden of Atala…

The only reason he didn't immediately split the man's head with his axe wasn't because Nazran was sick. Kadim would happily cave in the skull of anyone who said shit like that, whether they were missing limbs or on their deathbed.

He was keeping him alive only because there was something else about this guy that was bugging him right now.

“…If all your fingers and toes fell off, why are your bandages so bulky?”

Nazran didn't even flinch. He just grinned.

“Filled 'em with straw. It just felt too empty otherwise, you know?"

"..."

Kadim didn't buy it for a second. He walked right up, grabbed the man’s flaky wrist, and held on tight.

When Kadim started to unwrap the bandage, Nazran’s mouth twisted into a grotesque grin.

"Kekeke... Going to check for yourself?"

"..."

"...You'll regret it."

Kadim ignored him and ripped the bandage off.

What was revealed was a flower made of flesh.

Dozens of fingers had taken root in the palm and grown densely like mushrooms in the shade.

"Hngk!"

SHIIING!

Duncan’s horrified inhale was perfectly timed with the sound of Kadim drawing and swinging his axe. The blade flashed in the firelight as it carved a deadly arc through the air.

Shhhk!

Thud

The severed forearm fell. The deformed, finger-clustered hand landed beside it.

But Nazran didn't even look surprised. In fact, he looked pleased, a nasty smirk plastered on his face.

Squelch, squelch—

Then slowly, from the bloody stump, two new forearms started to sprout.

"Didn't I tell you you'd regret it?"

A thick malice settled in his previously hazy eyes.

Nazran threw off the rags he'd been wearing. What was underneath wasn’t a hunchback. It was two extra sets of arms and a third leg.

And none of them looked normal. The third leg was attached to his tailbone, thick as a tree trunk, solidly supporting his body, and the arms had an extra joint each, making them much longer than normal arms.

It looked like some mad scientist had haphazardly attached limbs to a test subject.

Despite looking like a freak show, Nazran was fast. All six of his hands grabbed those iron rods at once and swung them at Kadim in a vicious blur.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Kadim quickly retreated. The cheek that was grazed by a rod was bleeding.

As he raised his axe and sword to attack again, Nazran sneered in a foul voice.

“Are you a slow learner, barbarian? A pathetic little knife isn’t going to work on me, kekeke..."

"..."

“You got too curious for your own good, and now you have to pay for it. Don’t even think about running. I’m a very good hunter. And you two… you’re just the pr—”

Nazran could not help but stop mid-sentence.

The barbarian was sticking the axe’s blade and the sword’s blade into the campfire, heating them until they glowed red-hot.

The smirk that had been constantly on his lips slowly lowered. Kadim cracked his neck with a pop and murmured dryly.

“You’ve been left to grow wild for too long. Looks like you need a good pruning.”

"..."

“If I sear the wounds with fire, there will be no need to worry about them growing back.”

The barbarian raised his heated weapons and sent a chilling gaze forward.

It was time to prune that twisted lump of flesh with fire and steel.

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