Chapter 103
Without a word, the fanatics from the Holy Kingdom turned and left Caron and his group behind. Though each wore an expression of barely contained fury, they unleashed that anger on the remaining beasts instead.
Crack!
Those demonic monsters who were left standing bore the brunt of the fanatics' wrath. Finally, with the tension easing, Caron and his group could focus on regrouping.
Swoosh!
A stream of water, summoned by Orion's spirits, washed the blood from their bodies. The water carried a gentle healing aura, its magic calming wounds as it flowed.
Caron let out a grunt as he felt spirits of earth extract the bloodied spear embedded in his shoulder. They then packed the wound with soil to stem the bleeding. While the process worked, it came with a searing pain that left him grimacing.
"Drink this," Orion said, handing Caron a small flask from his cloak. "It's water infused with Mother's Dew. Far better than the potions humans use. There's enough for each of you to have one bottle."
"Well, you elves sure have a way of looking out for friends. Thank you," Caron said, then popped the cork and chugged it down. The cool, revitalizing sensation spread through him, dulling the edge of his pain.
Orion passed a flask to each of them before settling down beside Caron.
"You're not drinking any yourself?" Caron asked, noticing Orion's pale face.
He didn't know a lot about spirit magic, but he was well aware that forcibly unsummoning spirits could harm the summoner. On top of that, Orion's sweat-dampened face hinted at internal injuries from the unsummoning.
"I'll be fine once I return to the forest," Orion replied.
"Ah, of course, elves are the people of the forest," Caron remarked.
"Alright then, rest for now. The field is still in disarray," Orion said.
Scattered across the ground lay the bodies of fallen elves. It seemed that Orion intended to gather and honor his comrades. Caron offered a slight nod, and Orion, with his spirits at his side, moved quickly among the dead.
With an unspoken truce now solidified between them and the fanatics, further conflict seemed unlikely. Once Orion had gone, Caron sat beside his group, allowing the quiet moment to sink in.
"Well done, everyone," Caron said.
"Caron Leston! What a battle! Another tale to share with the warriors of my tribe. Joining you was the best choice I could have made... Ah—!" Utula thumped his chest with pride, then winced as pain lanced through his wounds. He pressed a hand to his bitten chest, looking slightly dejected as he muttered, "Ouch..."
"Pfft—" Leo and Leon burst into laughter they couldn't contain.
"Is this the sense of humor of the giant tribe?" Leon joked, chuckling.
Utula scratched his head sheepishly, then said, "Thank you, Leon Leston. You are a fine warrior yourself."
No one could have guessed that a mission to investigate demonic monsters in the southern kingdom would end up involving a fragment of the Demon King. Despite the countless complications, however, they'd managed to succeed in the end.
"Hah... When we get back, I'm taking a month off," Leon sighed.
"Same here, Leon," Leo chimed in. "How about we stop by Thebe on the way back and have some fun?"
"That sounds like a good idea. As for money... Caron, think you could lend me a little?" Leon added.
Their conversation, filled with dreams of rest, showed just how much they longed to unwind after the mission.
Caron chuckled awkwardly at Leon's request and nodded. "Of course, I can lend you as much as you need."
"Having a wealthy younger cousin is so convenient. In that case, we'll borrow some money for Thebe—" Leon began.
"But we can't head back just yet," Caron said, interrupting their hopeful plans.
Sadly, their mission wasn't over yet. There was still another task at hand, one assigned directly by Halo—the pursuit of Kerra Acht.
"...Why not?" Leon asked.
"We have one more mission to complete. Only then can we head home," Caron answered.
At the mention of an additional mission, Leon's eyes widened and she said, "But I haven't heard about it..."
"That's because it's a confidential mission," Caron replied.
However, Leo shot him a suspicious look and asked, "You're not making this up, are you?"
"Oh, come on. Have a little faith in me," Caron said.
"It's just that you, of all people, would totally use a confidential mission as an excuse to wander off somewhere," Leo pointed out.
It was just the kind of deduction only someone like Leo, who knew Caron too well, would make. Caron gave Leo a playful glare.
"I don't lie about missions," Caron said with a sigh of exasperation. He figured that Leo's distrust must have been inherited from his mother..
Turning to Caron, Leon asked, "Can you tell us the mission details?"
Leon rarely showed signs of weariness, but this mission seemed to have left her more drained than usual. Caron felt a pang of guilt, though he couldn't waver now. This mission also mattered to him.
"This confidential mission is simple. We just have to search for Kerra Acht," Caron said.
Leon frowned, her expression growing more serious as she asked in a low voice, "...Kerra Acht, the Imperial Guard from fifty years ago? You mean that Kerra Acht?"
"Yes, that's right," Caron confirmed.
"But it's known that he died in the final battle... Ah." Leon's sharp mind quickly connected the dots and she continued, "So that's why it's a confidential mission."
"Exactly. Grandfather restricted the team to direct blood relatives only," Caron said.
"Yes, I understand," Leon said with a nod, grasping the situation almost instantly.
Leo, on the other hand, blinked and turned to Caron, looking utterly lost. "Kerra Acht? Who is that?"
Caron sighed heavily and shook his head in disbelief, replying, "How many times have I told you to study? How can someone with the name Leston not know his own family's achievements?"
"...I feel like I might've heard it once?" Leo said hesitantly.
At that moment, even Utula spoke up in a quiet voice. "Kerra Acht... I know of him too. He was a warrior of the Malevolent Emperor. I cannot believe he is still alive. Has he surpassed his limits?"
"Wow, Leo... You're even more stupid than a giant— Wait a second. This is supposed to be a confidential mission..." Caron trailed off, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation. He looked at Utula and clicked his tongue, then said, "It would've been better if you didn't know. Sorry, Utula..."
Utula visibly shivered and shook his head with determination, then declared, "I heard nothing. I swear by Tuhoran, I will never speak of it!"
"...Relax. It was just a joke. Why did you get so scared?" Caron laughed.
"If it's you... I thought you would kill me," Utula replied, looking utterly serious.
"I'm not going to kill you," Caron assured him.
"You can trust a giant's word. We do not speak carelessly," Utula said solemnly.
Caron had intended to bring Utula along anyway; he'd proven himself more than worthy in this battle, so there was no reason to leave him behind.
"Going back to the topic, our next mission is to search for Kerra Acht. Everyone, keep that in mind," Caron finished.
Unlike the demonic monster hunts, where they had at least concrete evidence, the mission to find Kerra Acht would likely be like searching for a needle in a desert.
Caligo's intelligence, Caron thought. The information Foina had provided was the only thing they could rely on.
"Oh right," Caron said as he stretched out on the ground and reached into his pocket, looking for the communication crystal orb.
"Hmm..." he murmured as he inspected its condition. The top half of the crystal had crumbled into dust the moment he pulled it out, and cracks ran deep through the rest of it.
"Eh.. better than expected," he muttered dryly. Given the intensity of the recent battle, he supposed it was a small miracle it hadn't shattered completely.
Not that it'll work properly, but still, he thought as he channeled mana into the remains of the crystal just in case.
However, just as he expected, the crystal orb disintegrated into a fine powder the moment it came into contact with his mana.
"Ha... Of course," Caron sighed.
Their priority now was finding a way to contact Foina. Searching the entire vast region aimlessly would be too time-consuming.
"Leon, do you still have the communication crystal orb on you—?" Caron asked.
"That broke about two weeks ago," Leon interrupted with a shrug.
"Tsk," Caron muttered again; another flicker of hope was gone.
Without any reliable intel from the crystal, heading toward a nearby major city seemed like the most sensible plan. But then, he caught sight of Orion weaving through the battlefield, attending to the aftermath.
...Wait a minute, Caron thought.
He thought back to why he'd reached out to Foina in the first place. Kerra Acht had reportedly been hiding out in the Southern Great Forest area, so Caron had sought to tap into the elves' knowledge of the region. Although his method of getting in touch with Foina had disappeared, there was something else.
They're right here, Caron thought. The elves of the Southern Great Forest were standing right in front of him, providing him a rare chance to gain information directly without relying on Foina.
"Perfect," he said to himself, grinning as he watched Orion work. As expected, even in the direst of situations, there was always a way.
***
"For nearly a year now, any humans who have ventured into the Great Forest were either refugees or slave hunters. A knight beyond the 8-Star level... I don't recall anyone like that," Orion said, sharing his information willingly.
Caron clicked his tongue and nodded in resignation, then said, "That's too bad."
"My apologies for not being much help," Orion said, sounding genuinely sorry.
"No need to apologize. It's understandable," Caron replied with a sigh.
If Kerra had managed to evade the surveillance of the Oceanwolf Knight Order, it seemed likely that he was hiding within the Great Forest. And yet, the Great Forest was the territory of the elves. If Kerra had indeed taken refuge there, there was no way the elves wouldn't know.
Hmm... The situation feels a bit hopeless, Caron thought. If this was the case, he would have to start from scratch.
Just as Caron was about to give up, however, Orion said in a low voice, "There are rare occasions, Caron, on which an intruder might evade our detection. Such cases only occur when Mother herself has given permission."
To elves, "Mother" naturally meant the World Tree.
"That wouldn't be a common occurrence," Caron remarked.
"If Mother did permit it... The regent might know something," Orion hinted, glancing at Caron before continuing, "If you wish, I can take you to the regent."
"...Are you saying you'll take me into the Great Forest?" Caron asked.
"Yes. Since the moment you shed blood alongside us, you've been considered friends. You have the right to visit Galad," Orion said.
Caron remembered Foina mentioning Galad once; it was the elves' city. Caron weighed the offer for a moment, comparing the odds of finding Kerra outside the forest versus inside it. He thought about which option had a higher chance.
No need to think too long about it, Caron decided. Clearly, the latter had better odds. And with the elves' help, he would at least uncover some traces.
"Now that I think about it, it's been thirty years," Orion remarked suddenly.
"Huh? Thirty years since what?" Caron asked.
"Since we last had a human guest," Orion replied.
"So someone went there thirty years ago," Caron said.
"Yes." Orion looked at Caron and smiled gently. "It was your grandfather, Halo Leston. He was our guest then. It seems this is destiny."
"My grandfather...? Why was he there?" Caron asked.
"That, we don't know. Only the regent would know the reason," Orion replied.
The forest seemed to be a place with many connections to the Ducal Family of Leston.
Caron shrugged and glanced at the others, then said, "Looks like we've decided on our next destination... Anyone disagree?"
"Of course I agree," Leo replied eagerly.
"I have to go, even if it kills me," Leon added, her tone resolute.
"As always, I will follow you, Caron!" Utula declared enthusiastically.
Galad was a mysterious realm, one that even Caron had never entered in his previous life. It was rare for humans to set foot in that place. So naturally, no one raised any objections.
"Thank you," Caron said.
Orion nodded slowly and replied, "We'll set out in thirty minutes once we finish gathering the bodies. Oh, and it would be a good idea to prepare yourself in advance."
"...All of a sudden?" Caron asked, surprised.
"The Great Forest isn't all as beautiful as you might think," Orion replied with a knowing look.
None of them could have anticipated what awaited them within that forest. And with that, Caron and his group set their next destination.