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The priests, who had explained the situation to the children belatedly, mobilized the knights and searched the forest.

However, nothing was found, and there was no trace of the two people who did not return.

“Another person…”

Sister Ganesha looked at the knights gathered in the courtyard with a bewildered expression.

The disappearance of people in the forest had happened a long time ago.

There were rumors that monsters lurking in the forest were responsible, but she was someone who did not believe in such things.

She had thought it was simply an unfortunate coincidence and that it would never happen again.

But once again, someone had disappeared. And this time, it was two children.

She turned her gaze to the two people standing on the opposite side. They were Erica and Heron.

They were especially shocked, because, together with Tom, they were the three closest friends among the monastery’s children.

“I’m sorry, Erica.”

Heron sobbed with tears in his eyes.

“I should have stopped Tom. I shouldn’t have let him go into the forest alone… I thought nothing would happen and left him alone without thinking…”

Erica didn’t respond to his guilt-ridden voice. Although she thought inwardly that she should comfort him, she couldn’t bring herself to speak because she didn’t have the emotional capacity to do it.

Her friend, Tom, had disappeared. According to the conversations she heard among the knights, nothing had been found yet.

It was just like those who had gone missing before. They too couldn’t find even the smallest clue and eventually were never found.

She never imagined that it would become her own reality like this.

Erica stared into the forest with a boiling sensation in her chest.

The knights seemed to be in a mood to disband, without any intention of continuing the search.

She hurriedly walked closer to them.

She spoke to Muten, a knight who had been somewhat friendly to her.

“Muten, why aren’t you continuing the search?”

Muten looked at her with a sad expression and replied.

“The abbot ordered us to stop until daylight. We don’t know what might happen if we search too hard.”

Among those who had gone missing in the forest, there were also knights.

Even for skilled warriors like them, the forest was not safe. Especially not at this late hour.

“I’m sorry we couldn’t find anything. I pray that your friend will return safely. If that happens, then surely it will be god’s protection.”

Muten said that and dispersed with the other knights.

Only a few knights remained, guarding the entrance to the forest.

In her heart, Erica wanted to go into the forest herself right away and search for Tom, but of course, the adults would never allow it.

Erica just stood there, clenching her fists.

“…”

There was someone watching that scene from afar.

It was Jerel, who had come out late after hearing the commotion.

Jerel watched her back quietly before shifting his gaze to the person walking towards him. It was the abbot, Dehod.

Approaching Jerel with a lamp in hand, he spoke with a dark expression.

“Once before, people from the monastery disappeared in the forest like this.”

“I see. Were they eventually found?”

“No, we couldn’t find a single trace. There were rumors of monsters in the forest, so I never expected something like this to happen again.”

Dehod’s expression twisted with sadness.

Jerel looked at his expression and asked, “Have you requested help from other denominations?”

“Yes, but there were no clues and nothing like this has happened since.”

Jerel nodded his head and said, “I will search the forest myself.”

“What? But you shouldn’t have to go through all that trouble…”

“Two children are missing. The longer we waste time, the harder it will be to find them. There’s no need to worry about appearances at a time like this, Abbot.”

At the bone-chilling words, the abbot’s eyes flickered for a moment. But soon, he became moved and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you so much, Sir Jerel. Then, please do so. Please help the two children return safely.”

***

The priests and nuns sent the children away and did not allow them to leave the monastery building.

Erica looked outside through the window and peeked around the courtyard. In her hand, she held a lamp wrapped in a rag to hide the light.

Heron, who was standing at the back, spoke with a trembling voice filled with anxiety.

“Erica, going into the forest now would only be dangerous. You won’t be able to see anything properly with just the light from the lamp.”

“…”

“Even Sir Jerel himself went out to search. So just wait quietly…”

“Heron, be quiet. You’ve said enough. Go back to your room.”

Currently, Erica was thinking of going into the forest herself to find Tom. The knights had said they would resume the search once it was daylight, but by the time the night had passed, Tom could have already met with some unknown fate.

Although Jerel had gone into the forest himself as Heron had said, Erica was not the type to wait helplessly no matter what the outcome may be. Heron looked at Erica with frustration as he swallowed his words.

The knights who had gone out found no traces of Tom. Even if she were to secretly venture into the forest alone, there was no way she could find anything. However, Heron knew that she was not the type to be deterred even if he tried to stop her.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Erica also had a sense of guilt for Tom’s disappearance. Heron, too, was frustrated with the situation and also wanted to go into the forest himself to find his friend.

“You’ve said enough. I’ll go alone.”

“Do as you please. If you keep insisting like that, I’ll go tell the other priests.”

Erica scowled at Heron.

In the end, the two of them decided to go into the forest together.

The two who sneaked out of the building through the window hid themselves in the building and looked towards the direction of the forest.

There were several holy knights standing at the entrance to the forest, but if they went in a different direction, it would be fine. It’s not like they couldn’t enter the forest just because there was no path.

So the two of them secretly turned around and entered the forest.

After they had gone a little further into the forest, Erica untied the cloth wrapped around the lamp.

Inside the forest, it was so dark that they wouldn’t be able to see anything if it weren’t for the lamp.

Moonlight was of little help. Even with the lamp, they could only barely see a few steps ahead.

“It’s much darker than I thought….”

Of course, neither Heron nor Erica had ever entered the forest on such a pitch-black night.

Feeling like they were walking into the mouth of a monster, they relied on their dim vision to find their way forward.

Heron gulped and asked.

“Now what are we going to do?”

He was asking where they should start looking for Tom’s trail.

Erica replied.

“We have to follow the path in the forest to find it.”

There was no other way, so it was probably the best option.

Without hesitation, she continued to move deeper into the forest.

Heron followed behind, hoping to run into Jerel somewhere in the forest.

A considerable amount of time passed.

Erica kept her eyes wide open and roamed the forest, searching for any traces of Tom, whether it be footprints or anything else.

But, as expected, they found nothing.

Even the group of knights from the monastery could not find anything from the beginning, so how could they?

“Ha…”

Eventually, the exhausted Erica sat down on where she was standing and let out a frustrated sigh.

Heron also let out a sigh and said, “Let’s just go back. We can’t wander around the forest until it gets bright. People may already be worried about us.”

Erica just stared at the other side of the forest without any response.

Heron thought she was angry and did not say anything more.

However, that was not the case.

“Hey, Heron.”

Heron noticed that her voice was trembling.

Then he looked where she was looking and could vaguely see something beyond the darkness.

It was something like a tentacle.

Like a snake, the bundle of tentacles wiggled towards them, with a small sharp end at the end.

Erica and Heron turned pale. They both thought it was a nightmare.

“Uh, uh…”

Erica regained her composure and stood up.

She had brought a sword with her, but she had no intention of fighting such a monster.

Just as she was about to turn and run away, a tentacle stretched out like a beam of light and wrapped around Heron’s leg.

“Aaah!”

Heron fell to the ground, screaming and struggling.

“Heron!”

Erica frantically swung her sword at the tentacle that was gripping Heron, but it was as hard as steel and wouldn’t budge.

Another tentacle stretched out and wrapped around Erica’s sword, wrenching it from her grasp and shattering it.

The tentacles seemed to have no interest in Erica, only in holding onto Heron and not letting him go.

“I’m done for, run away, Erica…!” Heron yelled in terror.

Ignoring him, Erica picked up the broken sword and struck the tentacle wildly, like a madman.

This time, there was some damage done as the tentacle’s surface erupted with black blood.

The tentacle roared in anger and pushed Erica away with force. Erica, who had been hit by the tentacle directly, was thrown into the air and tumbled to the ground.

The tentacles continued to thrash about, wrapping themselves around Heron’s arms and legs.

Erica, barely able to watch, turned pale at the sight.

The tentacles seemed to be tearing Heron apart.

“Just… stop! No!”

It was about to become a gruesome spectacle.

Flash!

Suddenly, a bright white flash illuminated the forest for a moment.

When her vision returned, the tentacles were thrashing around on the ground, completely defeated, and Heron was unharmed.

“That was a close call. Are you okay?”

Erica was staring blankly at the scene before turning her gaze in the direction of the approaching man with a sword.

It was Jerel.