Chapter 88

Part 13: Search (2)

The day before.

The group led by Katrin, who had been transferred to Bonginji, quickly adapted to the unfamiliar environment.

"Vria and Leonel will take the lead, Rhyd and Jesus will support from behind. Mirisa, use your ability on Leonel if a monster appears."

"Yes!"

Like the other groups, she placed two students from the Knight Department at the front and two students from the Inherited Ability Department and the Administrative Department, Mirisa, at the back.

She had Mirisa use her ability on Leonel, who had weaker abilities in the Knight Department.

Vria was one of the top three students in the Knight Department, and Rhyd from the Inherited Ability Department was a student from a prestigious family and had exceptional skills.

Moreover, with Katrin guarding the students from behind, Katrin's group could fight the monsters without much difficulty.

Roar!

A blue-furred monster resembling a bear stood on its hind legs and roared.

Its distorted face, blue flames burning in its mouth.

Vria and Leonel stood in front to block the monster, which then shot out blue flames.

Boom!

The flames shot out not towards the two students who were blocking but in a different direction.

"Good job!"

"I can't hold on for long; the resistance is too strong!"

Rhyd, who had been reaching out his hand towards the monster, was panting.

The two students from the Knight Department took the opportunity to attack the monster.

The monster shook its head, confused.

As a result, it couldn't withstand the attacks from the other students and soon fell, without Katrin even needing to intervene.

"Good job, Rhyd. Your ability is well-suited for dealing with monsters."

Katrin's words made Rhyd smile wryly, even as he panted.

"Even so, my family doesn't recognize my ability much."

Katrin looked apologetic at his words.

Rhyd's ability was not from his family but from his mother's side, his maternal family.

In any case, Katrin's group, steadily defeating the monsters, soon came to a halt.

An old, armor-clad skeleton stopped their progress.

"Perhaps a knight. It's quite an old skeleton..."

"Could it be a knight from the Academy?"

"Or an Imperial Knight?"

The students who approached the skeleton murmured at Katrin's words.

"Hmm. There's still a crest on the armor. It's the Cheifrey family... seems to be a knight."

All the students looked at Rhyd.

He approached the skeleton and touched the old armor.

"It's our knight's armor. It's likely one of the knights who came to Bonginji and didn't return."

Bonginji, the site of the final battle between the Demon King and the heroes, and the bloodshed between humans and monsters, became a forbidden zone due to the remaining monsters.

However, even after it was designated as forbidden, many families, nations, and individuals sent knights, mercenaries, and ability users to Bonginji.

It was a dangerous place, but also a land of opportunity.

In Bonginji, relics and items of fallen heroes, knights, soldiers, and priests, as well as dungeons and valuable monsters, were continuously discovered.

Rhyd calmly picked up the old sword lying next to the skeleton.

It seemed he intended to take it as a relic of the knight.

'This doesn't seem to be as old as I thought, maybe about 50 years.'

Upon closer inspection, the skeleton was not as old as it appeared, but being over 50 years old, it was likely something Rhyd didn't know. His calm demeanor wasn't surprising.

After a moment of silence for the skeleton, they continued on their way. Rhyd, who had remained by the skeleton, took a ring from his bag.

He put the ring on his finger and infused it with mana.

The ring turned red.

Rhyd, having confirmed the ring, moved with a determined expression.

Not long after, the group, having defeated another monster, checked the light at the rendezvous point at Rhyd's request.

Vria, who had climbed to the treetop, came down and said something unexpected.

"We're going in the wrong direction. We seem to have taken a wrong turn."

"Really?"

Katrin frowned at Vria's words.

Taking a wrong turn, she had never made such a mistake before...

But Vria had confirmed it herself.

The group changed their course in the direction Vria had indicated.

They continued walking.

Monsters kept appearing, and they seemed to be entering deeper into the forest.

Katrin frequently checked their direction.

Not only Vria but Katrin herself also climbed trees to check their direction.

'The destination is too far. It feels like we're heading towards the center of Bonginji.'

There wasn't much time left before sunset.

The destination indicated by the light was close, but the distance was much farther than expected.

Still, she couldn't instill fear in the students.

"Just a little further. Everyone, keep going!"

She also actively joined the fight to hurry them along.

The group finally reached the destination indicated by the light as the sunset began.

But it wasn't an open space, and there was no glowing box.

Moreover, there were no other students or the headmaster. Instead, monsters were waiting for them.

Red-tailed, six-legged lizard monsters.

"What is this!"

"Everyone, fall back! Form a formation!"

Katrin shouted, and the students regained their composure and formed a formation, but the number of monsters was overwhelming.

'Could this be a monster nest?'

A wide basin with a thick floor made of branches and vines, and a monster several times larger than the others sitting in the center.

Roar!

The large monster roared, and all the monsters in the nest charged at the group.

The group couldn't handle the number of monsters.

Katrin stepped forward and said to everyone,

"I'll guard the rear. Everyone, run!"

The group moved, not breaking formation.

Slash!

Katrin cut through the bodies of the approaching lizard monsters, protecting the group from behind.

She tried her best to cut down the monsters, but she couldn't block them all by herself.

Rhyd had been missing from the start, and his absence made it easier for the other students to be attacked by the monsters.

The light ability user, Jesus, was the first to be overwhelmed by the monsters.

Jesus, who had the ability to attack with blinding light, was unfortunately attacked by a monster before the sunset had completely disappeared.

With a flash of light, Jesus's head was torn off by a charging lizard monster. The rest of his body was buried by the incoming monsters, left behind the group.

After Jesus's death, Mirisa, shocked, was the next to die.

Mirisa, who had the ability to amplify others' abilities, was just a somewhat tough ability user who couldn't fight.

With Mirisa's death, the amplified ability returned to its original state, and Leonel couldn't hold on any longer.

As the students died one by one, Katrin desperately fought the monsters.

She repelled the monsters with her shield and killed those out of reach with her glowing sword.

It was a great performance, but she couldn't protect the students with her strength alone.

In the end, after losing most of the students and sustaining severe injuries, she barely managed to shake off the monsters' pursuit.

When the monsters returned to their nest, Katrin and the remaining Bria collapsed on the ground.

"Good job."

Bria looked at Katrin with a sad expression at her words.

Katrin looked too exhausted to walk.

Her body was covered in wounds, torn and ripped, especially her side, which was almost exposed to her intestines.

She was a powerful awakened ability user, which is why she was still conscious with such severe injuries. If she were an ordinary person, she might have already died from shock.

"Everyone must be dead, right?"

Bria's words left Katrin speechless.

"Moreover, it's night. We were supposed to arrive before sunset, right?"

Katrin nodded.

"It's too late."

"A search party will have been sent out."

"But the others must have returned. We have to spend the night until the search party arrives."

Unfortunately, Katrin's words didn't reassure Bria.

Moreover, Bria seemed to have studied Bonginji and the field trip to some extent.

Unfortunately, Katrin couldn't comfort Bria due to her pain.

Bria had fought well to get this far. If Katrin were to give a score, it would be close to 100.

"Ugh, let's wait for the search party here. It's better not to move at night."

As she said, the night in Bonginji was much more dangerous than the day. Moving around carelessly could be fatal.

Katrin forced her arm to move, sprayed a potion on her chest, and wrapped it with a bandage.

The pain intensified several times over due to the potion. The potion healed wounds much faster but also caused intense pain.

Bria, who had been hugging her knees against a tree, nodded at her words. It seemed more like she nodded absentmindedly due to fatigue and shock rather than understanding Katrin's words.

At that moment.

Thud, thud.

Footsteps were heard nearby.

"Ugh!"

Katrin groaned and raised her sword.

Bria, who had been in a near-depressed state, also regained her composure and stood up.

"Huff, huff, it's me. Rhyd."

The person who appeared from the forest was none other than Rhyd, who had been missing from the start.

"You're alive!"

Bria welcomed Rhyd with a bright face.

In contrast, Katrin looked at the returned Rhyd with a complicated expression.

"I'm sorry. I fell behind because I was startled. Where are the others?"

Rhyd could tell from the darkening expressions of Bria and Katrin what had happened to the missing people.

"The professor says we should wait here. A search party will come."

Bria's words made Rhyd nod with a dark expression.

"How did you survive?"

Bria kept talking to Rhyd.

To avoid thinking about the dead and to dispel her fear.

"After falling behind, I carefully followed the trail of the destroyed forest. Fortunately, I wasn't caught and made it here."

It was the trail left by the group as they fled. Still, Bria was grateful that Rhyd had survived and returned.

As they talked, Bria, with a red face, stood up.

Even in pain and exhaustion, physiological needs couldn't be ignored.

After Bria disappeared into the bushes, Rhyd approached Katrin.

He checked her side wound and then tried to return to his spot.

As he turned, Katrin's voice came from behind.

"Huff, huff, why did you change the path with your ability?"

He turned to look at Katrin.

"Huff, huff, why did you deliberately fall behind?"

He glared at the half-dead Katrin with a serious expression.

"What are you talking about? Changing the path? I already explained why I fell behind."

"Huff, huff, Rhyd, your ability is to confuse senses. It can confuse a monster's sight, hearing, and smell, and it can do the same to humans. Huff, didn't you confuse our vision each time we climbed the trees, changing the position of the light?"

Katrin's words made Rhyd's eyes waver.

"What were you trying to find by falling behind? Could it be the bag you're carrying on your side?"

Rhyd sighed.

He approached Katrin again and whispered in her ear.

"I'm sorry. If you hadn't noticed the bag, you could have left peacefully."

He reached out and strangled Katrin's neck.

Katrin's eyes widened.

She looked at Rhyd with pity or regret, and finally closed her eyes.

A moment later, Bria, who had returned from her business, covered her mouth at the sight of Katrin lying as if she were sleeping peacefully.

"She couldn't hold on and passed away."

Rhyd held the dead Katrin's hand with a regretful expression.

And time passed.

The search party arrived.