Chapter 63

# Chapter 063

The forest was unnaturally dark and still.

The trackers pursued the movement of the carriage while constantly keeping watch around them.

Their eyes were sharply alert.

Charlotte was no exception.

Though she enjoyed the current tension more than the others, she clearly sensed that something had changed.

That premonition materialized not long after.

Rumble—

A massive pillar of fire shot up not far from them.

To be precise, it was a wall of fire.

Neigh—!

Startled by the blinding light, the horses instinctively stopped.

Some even rolled on the ground.

But no one paid attention to them.

“What is that…?”

“Fire? They set fire?!”

Everyone was lost in the surging wall of flames.

“It’s that spellcaster girl’s doing! She’s trying to shake us off this way.”

“Even so, to set fire. Does she not intend to get out of the forest again…?”

The wall of fire was burning the surrounding trees.

Bare branches jutted out from the trees, and the grass was dry and brittle.

Only then did some realize that the forest was in perfect condition for the fire to spread.

“It will take time, but we can go around. Everyone, stay focused—”

Oleg was continuing when—

Rumble—

The flames shot up again.

This time, it was from a diagonal side of the first wall.

The flames from the first wall were dying down, but the fire on the trees continued to burn, emitting thick smoke.

“…This isn’t the time to worry about curses. I have a bad feeling. Let’s give up the chase and go back.”

“Cowards! Those who want to leave, go ahead! We will continue!”

The trackers split into two groups.

Charlotte was still staring at the wall of fire with trembling eyes.

‘It’s him…!’

She alone instinctively knew that Ian was the one who created the flames.

Though there was little evidence, she trusted her intuition.

‘A swordsman…!’

A being that seemed to come straight out of a fairy tale.

If he could cast such a spell, it wasn’t strange that Kyle and Kenneth had met their end.

At that moment, Charlotte decided that she would chase them even if it meant dying in this forest.

Rumble—

Another pillar of fire shot up.

This time, it was in the distant rear.

“No…? What… crazy…?”

“That’s the way we came…?”

The faces of those preparing to retreat were filled with shock.

The fire spread faster than expected in the forest.

With such a wall of fire, it would quickly spread and burn the surrounding trees.

“……!”

Charlotte’s eyes widened as if she had realized something.

Her tail stiffened.

“Damn it. Whatever it is, he’s trying to trap us and burn us to death. Follow me! We’ll get out of here while there’s still a way!”

Oleg, who had grasped the situation first, turned his horse.

As if to prove his words, flames shot up from the side at that moment.

Rumble—

“Damn it…! Everyone, follow me!”

Oleg whipped the reins.

The guards of the caravan hurriedly followed him.

Only Charlotte remained still.

Her eyes were filled with excitement.

‘He’s still here…!’

Finding the girl was no longer her concern.

The only thing that mattered was that Ian was somewhere in this forest.

“Follow the Imperials! If you don’t want to burn to death here…!”

“Everyone, stop daydreaming and move!”

Others, finally realizing the situation, also tried to follow Oleg.

Whoosh—

Numerous fireballs rose into the air.

The fireballs, as soon as they were created, fell into their midst.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

“Aaaah—!”

“Crazy! Everyone, retreat!”

“What the hell is going on—”

Horses and riders caught in the explosion ran with their bodies on fire, and the trackers, who had split into two groups, were thrown into chaos.

A smile spread across Charlotte’s face as she watched.

‘He’s hunting us instead.’

Feeling a shiver run down her spine, she leaped off her horse.

The fight for survival had already begun.

***

High up in a tall tree.

‘As expected, the fire wall consumes a lot of mana even without a magic wand.’

Ian, who had already thrown away the empty mana stone, stretched out his hand toward the ground.

Swoosh—

The resentment of the haunted swamp reached out to the cavalry below.

While he was implanting the curse—

Thud—

Ian, who had drawn his dagger in reverse, leaped.

He ran along the branches and silently jumped down.

Behind a mercenary who had strayed from the group.

Ian landed on the horse’s rump and plunged the dagger down.

“Gag…!”

The mercenary trembled, unable to even scream as the dagger pierced deep into his neck.

“What are you staring at? Follow me, you bastard! …Hey? Hey?”

By the time his companion noticed his death, Ian was already running on the branches.

Thanks to the wind blades amplified by a drop of chaos power, his movements were so fast that gravity seemed almost non-existent.

He could barely keep from falling.

Ian’s gaze swept over the battlefield.

‘As expected, nothing beats fire for causing chaos and fear.’

The cursed forest’s owner would certainly be enraged.

‘…But I can’t afford to be picky right now.’

Crack—!

Ian, who had plunged his dagger into another head, looked up.

Right next to him, a knight with wide eyes was watching him.

“Nice to see you, Sir Jamie.”

“You, you are…?”

“I have a gift for you.”

Ian, confirming that the swamp’s resentment had returned to his fingers, extended his hand toward him.

A foreboding sensation swept across Jamie’s face.

“What is this…?”

The resentment, returning to its original form, sank its teeth into Jamie’s neck as he widened his eyes.

Ian rose as if there was nothing more to see.

Without realizing he was cursed, Jamie shouted.

“Above! Above! That crazy sword demon is here—!”

With that cry, his vision began to blur and mix.

Rising flames and rampaging demons.

While Jamie fell into a state of delirium—

“Crossbows! Fire the crossbows!”

“There!”

The trackers, hearing his cry, finally looked up.

Amid the thick smoke and flames, a pale figure was running.

Whoosh—

Those with crossbows fired bolts in unison.

But not a single one grazed Ian.

By the time they fumbled to reload, Ian was already out of their sight.

‘Where are you trying to go?’

He headed toward Oleg and the black cavalry, who were trying to bypass the flames.

Ian’s eyes glowed red.

A drop of chaos power mixed with his mana.

Whoosh—

The spell was completed in just a few seconds.

Numerous dancing flames rose.

Ian, sending them all in the direction Oleg was heading, leaped down to a low branch.

Boom—!

“Get out of the way! The tree is falling!”

“Damn it—!”

Explosions and screams. Rampaging horses.

The black cavalry, who had avoided the explosion, scattered and turned around.

Ian, watching, sent the swamp’s resentment to a passing one and finally turned around.

The flames were spreading diligently.

Ian, moving non-stop, looked down at the smoke-filled battlefield.

‘There’s no better spectacle.’

He felt like a fallen one or a demon.

That said, he wasn’t intoxicated by power or complacent.

On the contrary.

He was already exhausted, and there were still many enemies.

He hadn’t even killed any named enemies.

Most importantly, this was a situation he had never seen in the game or in any guide.

Given the level of the trackers, it was undoubtedly a quest in the game that only considered escape.

Not a complete annihilation like this.

So now, he had to focus on maximizing his abilities.

‘Maybe even that won’t be enough.’

A bitter smile spread across Ian’s lips.

He never thought he would be thinking like this against humans, not as a demon or a fallen one.

Of course, it was the result of various complex factors.

But the irony remained.

“Ugh, ugh…!”

“This, this damn! Daniel is crazy!”

Confusion continued among the trackers.

Those in a state of delirium and those who weren’t were facing each other with swords and spears.

The swamp’s resentment, while useless against monsters or demons, was incredibly useful against humans.

Especially in a chaotic battle like this.

Ian, weaving through the chaos, sent the swamp’s resentment whenever the cooldown was up and dealt with the delirious ones one by one.

The Thien Cung caravan group was no exception, and Oleg had stopped advancing to face those in a state of delirium.

Of course, this situation couldn’t be repeated forever.

Swoosh—!

“I’ve been waiting for you, Ian.”

The knight who blocked Ian’s ambush said.

Agel Lan’s knight, Jonathan.

“Nice to see you again too.”

Ian, leaping back, replied.

Jonathan, who had dismounted, adjusted his grip on his sword.

“You’re shameless, traitor. Do you think the goddess will forgive you for this?”

“There’s no forgiveness. I haven’t betrayed anyone.”

Ian, who had drawn the Sword of Judgment, said.

“And honestly, I don’t care what Lu Solar thinks.”

“I knew it…! You dirty fallen one!”

Jonathan, roaring, charged.

Why is the conclusion a fallen one?

While thinking, Ian adjusted his stance.

Crack—!

The battle was decided in one strike.

Jonathan, blocked by the swirling barrier, couldn’t even bring his sword down.

“Gah… Huh…!”

The Sword of Judgment pierced through his chest armor.

Jonathan dropped his sword.

Blood gushed from his mouth.

“I… trusted you.”

“You should have just asked me. Instead of doing something this stupid.”

“……”

There was no response.

As Ian pulled out his sword, Jonathan fell.

Taking the life of someone he once knew left a bad taste.

After casting the swirling barrier again while looking down at the corpse, he suddenly turned his head.

Beyond the flickering flames.

Oleg’s back, leading a few subordinates, was faintly visible.

He seemed to have dealt with the delirious ones.

Ian needed to chase him, but he was momentarily captivated by the scene beyond.

The smoke, rising with the flames, began to slowly swirl sideways.

Like a typhoon was starting.

Between the smoke, polluted mana was spreading like paint.

“But now….”

It was daytime. Ian’s brows furrowed as he looked up at the sky.

The smoke-filled sky was as dark as night.

His breathing became urgent.

If this continued, Oleg would escape the area before being swept up by the polluted mana.

But he couldn’t immediately take off.

“…?!”

A chilling cold.

Ian, turning his head, saw Charlotte’s orange eyes, which had already closed in on him.

She said.

“Finally caught you.”

The moment her hands, which had been pulled back, drew a chilling curve—

Whoosh—!

The swirling barrier momentarily stopped her charge.

Ian moved reflexively.

Throwing a dagger at Charlotte’s forehead, he simultaneously cast dancing flames and leaped back, creating an ice prison in quick succession.

The entire process flowed smoothly.

Ian, moving non-stop to use the battlefield widely, did so to keep his position hidden from the crazy water spirit as long as possible.

He had no intention of fighting her until he had killed all the other trackers.

Since she wouldn’t give up on him anyway, he planned to confront her after dealing with the others.

Of course, he had also prepared for the possibility of encountering her beforehand, and that was the series of counterattacks he had just demonstrated.

Boom—! Crack—!

While running in the opposite direction, Ian confirmed that the ice prison covered the explosion of dancing flames.

He then cast wind blades and fiery steps, mixing in chaos power.

With each step, flames rose, and the wind that followed made them rise even more fiercely.

The spell combination that turned the first chapter’s numerous monster dens into a sea of fire.

After confirming that the flames rose high enough to block his view, Ian finally looked ahead.

“…Damn it.”

What caught his eye was not Oleg’s back but a massive lump of flesh that seemed to be rising.

A terrifying form made of mangled corpses and entrails, both human and horse, mixed together.

It was even growing by reproducing itself.

“What the hell is this…!?”

“Monster…! It’s a monster…!”

The terrified neighs of horses and the screams of those who had fallen off echoed.

Lumps of flesh were rising in various places.

Ian looked up at the approaching lump of flesh.

Over two meters tall, it resembled an amoeba made of flesh.

From a hole that seemed to be its body, a sound like boiling phlegm continued.

“Accept… your… fate….”

It can even talk?

In the next moment, something shot out from the lump like a whip.

While turning his body, Ian caught sight of it passing by.

A tentacle covered with pieces of corpses.

“A—Aaaah—!”

A scream erupted from a distance.

A knight, wrapped in the tentacle, was being sucked into the lump.

His body, reaching out with a scream, was absorbed into the lump like sinking into a swamp.

His convulsing fingertips disappeared.

Whoosh—

A few seconds later, several tentacles shot out from the lump in front of Ian.

“Chosen… one….”

“Is it really you…?”

While Ian was giving a hollow laugh—

Crack—!

Shattering the ice prison, Charlotte leaped up.

Her armor’s mana stone flashed.

She spun in the air and momentarily hovered.

Her blazing orange eyes instantly found Ian.

“Ian—!”

Gripping her twin swords and roaring, she launched herself at him.