In the region of Loren, there existed a place untouched by human foot. The forest, known as the Witch’s Forest or the Forest of Inverted Crosses, changed its appearance between day and night.
By day, it looked like any dense and tranquil forest one might encounter anywhere in the kingdom. But by night, it revealed its sinister true nature and transformed into the realm of a witch.
“Ahem….”
Right in front of that very forest, a middle-aged man dressed in silk garments was adjusting his attire with a distinctly tense expression on his face.
He was Baron Ephil, a nobleman from the east, serving as the vassal to the ‘Old Fox’ Arsene, the governor who defended the eastern border. His duties, which often entailed overseeing various matters beyond the border in lieu of the governor, granted him a high degree of authority disproportionate to his title.
The reason for his arrival at one of the three forbidden zones of the Argon Kingdom, the Witch’s Forest, was none other than.
‘Damn it all… What on earth is His Grace thinking by sending me to fetch this witch again….’
It was by the order of his lord, Arsene, the governor.
The order was absurd – to bring out the witch who had holed herself up and refused to leave the forest.
“Baron. We’re ready to proceed whenever you are.”
“Understood.”
Baron Ephil tried his best to calm his mind. After him, the old knight provided by the governor entered the Witch’s Forest, with Ephil following suit.
“…….”
Silence ensued.
The governor’s old knight was naturally taciturn, and Baron Ephil was too preoccupied with the eerie pressure of the Witch’s Forest to speak. Above all, the excessive quietness of the forest seemed to forcibly keep them from speaking. Normally, one would expect the rustling of foliage in the wind or the sounds of various creatures in a forest, but the Witch’s Forest was eerily quiet.
‘What in the world is going on here….’
Baron Ephil could firsthand understand the truth in his servants’ exaggerations that “The Witch’s Forest is a place where no living creature can survive!”
Is such a thing really possible? Logically, one might question this, but if it involved that witch, the only conceivable answer was that it indeed was possible.
“Baron. If we go a bit further, we will reach her residence.”
“…It’s not as deep as I expected.”
“That’s because it’s morning. At night, one has to venture deeper.”
“At night, the forest extends its territory on its own.”
Baron Ephil scowled at the old knight’s nonchalant remark. The more he heard, the more he knew, the more urgently he wanted to leave this unpleasant forest.
“Just be careful not to upset her. If you do, the forest will immediately change its appearance.”
“I’ll keep that in mind….”
“Then, let’s continue.”
The witch’s residence revealed itself merely seconds after their conversation.
“Oh.”
Baron Ephil couldn’t help but let out a sigh of admiration. The witch’s abode was situated in a clearing within the dense forest, surrounded by a variegated array of flowers, too numerous to count.
Rustle.
It was a garden that seemed as if all the colors of the world had been gathered and scattered throughout. It was hard to imagine it as a place where the owner of the Three Great Forbidden Zones would reside. What surprised him even more was that each time Baron Ephil approached, the flowers themselves moved to create a path for him.
“It’s a completely different world…!”
Who could curse this beautiful garden? So mesmerized was he, that he had forgotten he was on a quest to find the witch’s dwelling, slowly strolling through the garden.
As he followed the path made by the flowers out of the garden, a small mansion covered in giant vines came into view.
“This is the place. Please do not forget what I asked of you.”
“Ah, understood.”
Baron Ephil was jolted back to reality by the old knight’s admonition.
“I feel as if I’m under a spell…”
Even though snapping back to reality seemed hardly enough for this place, baron Ephil was surprised at himself for being so lost in thought.
Thud- Thud-
Knock. Knock.
The knight knocked on the door of the mansion. Baron Ephil flinched at his unhesitant demeanor and hurried after him, and as if it had been waiting, the door swung open.
“The door opened by itself… Wait a minute!”
Following the old knight inside, baron Ephil stepped into the mansion and became as stiff as a person cursed to petrification upon surveying the interior. His breath was taken away as his gaze was swallowed by the amethyst eyes of a woman sitting in a chair, looking at him.
“I didn’t hear that you’d be bringing something like that.”
“It’s a greeting sent by the Marquis of the Borderlands.”
“Hmm, I see. Ah, now that I look at your face, I remember.”
Screeeech.
The woman in purple stood up, pushing her chair back, and smiled brightly. Just that alone made Baron Ephil feel as if his breath was taken away.
“You’re that one, right? The one who tried to mess with him and got severely punished…”
It was a comment that couldn’t simply be brushed off, but Baron Ephil found himself without the wit to respond. She was truly a witch. The first thought that came to Baron Ephil upon seeing the Witch of Loren was just that.
Her amethyst hair flowed straight down to her waist, a beauty that even Baron Ephil, who had indulged in all manner of luxuries, had never seen before, and her sparkling amethyst eyes seemed to hold stars within them. When her slender fingers pointed towards him, baron Ephil barely managed to collect his senses.
‘How could this be…!’
Baron Ephil suspected that the witch in front of him had bewitched him with some magic. After listening to the conversation between the old knight of Marquis of the Borderland, who had brought him here, and the witch, his suspicions were almost confirmed.
“Ha… Surely, he didn’t send me this foolish man to get teared to pieces just to vent my anger, did he?”
“Absolutely not, my lady.”
“Really? It seems to me that you are right─.”
The witch with amethyst eyes let out a peculiar laugh, pushing the chair she had been sitting on back to the desk.
“How about it?”
“What, what do you mean how about it…?”
Startled by the witch’s sudden question, baron Ephil stuttered in response. The sight must have been amusing to the witch as she lifted the corners of her mouth even higher.
“What do you think? It doesn’t seem like there’s any particular reason for that person to send you to me.”
“I, I am a vassal of His Excellency, the Marquis of the Borderland! Moreover, I was ordered by him to bring you to the fortress where the Marquis of the Borderland resides…!”
“See, Keilon?”
“What are you saying, Miss Ludmilla?”
“Even you, who has served him for more than half a century, can’t convince me. Sending such a foolish human as a messenger, the esteemed Fox of the East isn’t someone to make such a silly mistake, is he?”
Silence.
The old knight, Keilon, remained silent at the witch’s mocking words. The witch found even this reaction amusing and laughed out loud.
‘What in the world are they talking about!’
Caught in the middle and fearing for his life without understanding why, baron Ephil was beside himself with frustration. He had come to persuade the witch upon the command of the Marquis of the Borderland, yet here were the witch and Keilon, discussing his life as if it were a mere matter of debate!
“Listening to you! Why would you speak of killing me…! Above all, I am a vassal of the Marquis of the Borderland…!”
“Poor thing.”
“What, what?!”
“You really know nothing, do you?”
Click. Clack.
Baron Ephil staggered back as the witch approached him. Then, with a thump, his back hit the wall, and he shouted as if in convulsion.
“What grievance do you have to do this…!”
“There is one. You tormented him, didn’t you?”
“So! At least tell me who it is before you…ugh!”
Baron Ephil was startled as something thick entered his mouth, trying to thrash about. However, his limbs felt as though they were pinned to the wall, immobile.
‘The, the wall…?!’
The wall his back was against seemed to engulf his body as if to mount it. Vines that had crept along the mansion’s outer wall now bound him and gagged him like a muzzle.
Being a vassal of the Marquis of the Borderland, baron Ephil had considerable expertise regarding magic. Yet, what he was witnessing didn’t seem like any spell but rather something closer to the magic claimed to be practiced by the shamans of the Great Forest.
“Gordi Khan. You know the name, don’t you?”
“Ugh…!”
Baron Ephil’s eyes widened to their limits. How could he not know that name! He was the very person who spread word of the barbaric monster in an effort to eliminate him.
Indeed. He was the one who tipped off Eliya, the disciple of Darkin Perayas, that Khan had left the east in a carriage.
‘Damn!’
Only then did Baron Ephil realize he had willingly walked into the jaws of a beast. He had been sent as a sacrificial offering to fetch the Marquis of the Borderland’s estranged daughter!
“Could it be true that the witch and that barbarian are working together…!”
Thunk! Crash!
In a flash, baron Ephil, channeling his aura, broke through the wall and shred the vines, grabbed onto the doorknob of the mansion.
Click-clack, click-clack!
However, no matter what he tried, the door wouldn’t budge. Then, with a shoulder charge, he smashed the door to break free and tumbled forward, immediately pushing off the ground.
It was a desperate escape, pouring out all his aura. After his defeat to Khan, his body, now retrained, continuously exuded vitality, pushing the surrounding scenery away.
‘I must run!’
But where? Abandoned by the Marquis of the Borderland, or—no, dying here might be the way for His Grace…!
Baron Ephil’s steps halted. His frenzied attempt to escape felt suddenly like a lie, as if an invisible force restrained him.
Shiver—
“Argh…!”
With considerable effort, his neck veins bulged, and his eyes bloodshot, as if they would burst at any moment. Baron Ephil struggled to move his body but was unable to take even a single step.
All knights make a ‘Pledge of Loyalty,’ which demands absolute obedience to the subject of their pledge. Since Baron Ephil believes that his death would serve his master, he is compelled to die even if he wishes to live.
Thud.
The strain was so great that tears of blood streamed from his eyes. Even so, his eyes desperately searched for a way to survive, belatedly noticing the changed appearance of the forest.
Whish.
Suddenly, as if night had fallen, darkness descended on the forest. The leaves hanging from the branches surged upwards against gravity, forming shapes akin to inverted crosses.
‘The Forest of Inverted Cross…!’
Seeing the once-peaceful forest transform into a hellish domain where demons reside, baron Ephil deeply understood why she, the young lady of Marquis of the Borderland, was called a witch.
Then, a familiar and loathsome voice reached his ears. The voice of the very cause of his current plight, an enemy he would not be satisfied with merely tearing apart—
“The forest started acting all crazy outta nowhere…”
Alone in the darkness that had fallen over the forest, a white-haired barbarian with a fearsome presence smiled brightly like a hunter who had found prey caught in a trap.
“Seems like an unexpected gift was waiting for me.”
TL’s Corner:
Okay, Khan didn’t really disappear for a whole chapter. That’s nice.