In the dense and dark forest, the silence shattered. The sounds of monster growls and the rustling of broken branches were clear. Heavy, rapid footsteps headed straight toward Elvar, Carmilla, and Grakthos.
The environment around them felt increasingly oppressive. Giant black trees loomed like angry guards, and the thin mist hanging in the air limited their visibility.
Carmilla reacted instantly, stepping forward to stand by Elvar's side. She prepared to cast a protection spell on Elvar and herself. In front of them, Grakthos was on alert, his large body a living shield. His sword remained on his back, but he was ready to attack.
From Grakthos's direction, a two-headed wolf, up to two meters tall, leaped out from the shadows and roared. The eyes on both its heads glowed with a savage red.
It was followed by a pack of other two-headed wolves with smaller bodies, but they looked extremely fast and agile.
The howl from the larger wolf signaled that it was the leader, and it ordered its subordinates to attack. At the same time, Grakthos was not at all surprised by the presence of the monsters.
It seemed Grakthos already knew this territory; this was his domain.
More of the wolf pack were seen arriving one by one, emerging from behind the roots of large trees. In total, they reached at least one hundred two-headed wolf monsters.
Grakthos stood in front to block them. One wolf leaped at Grakthos, then two wolves, three wolves, and dozens of wolves lunged at Grakthos simultaneously.
"Should I lend a hand as well?" I said, as if underestimating the monsters and not seeing Grakthos as the strongest pillar at all.
It looks like I'm going to die here... Look!!... There are so many of those dozens of two-headed wolves... ...can Grakthos handle those wolves?... I muttered in panic.
"There's no need, Lord," Carmilla replied calmly, her eyes watching the fight. "Let Grakthos finish it. I'm worried that if you were to intervene, Lord, you would kill them all."
Hee?? With my real body, I'd probably lose against just one of them... ...And if we don't kill them, then what? If we don't kill them, surely they'll just keep attacking... I muttered.
"Very well," I replied calmly, without asking anything further.
"Those wolves are indeed strong if their opponent is an ordinary human. But if their opponent is Grakthos, it's just a small matter, Lord." Carmilla looked in another direction, monitoring the surroundings. "And their strength isn't just in individual power; they are pack monsters. That's what makes them difficult for ordinary people to subdue," she explained.
"Ohh," I replied with a deep, dignified voice, pretending to understand her explanation.
"We, as demonkind, should take care of them as much as possible even if they resist us, Lord. That is my opinion," Carmilla added. "Because they are quite useful for holding off attackers or human hunters in this region. So we must not kill them."
Hey, there are so many of them! How can we survive? I get what she means, but this situation is terrifying, I'm not used to it, I swear! I muttered as if answering her. Can Grakthos even subdue them without killing them? Wasn't he sent flying and left sprawling from just one punch from me in the throne room yesterday?
From Grakthos's direction, his sword was seen still sheathed on his back. He was only using his shield and his bare arm to block the wolves' attacks.
At the same time, three wolves leaped at Grakthos with their mouths open. Their sharp fangs were visible, ready to bite Grakthos.
Grakthos blocked with his shield, then pushed the wolves, sending them tumbling in another direction. Another wolf from a different direction leaped right at Grakthos's back.
Grakthos spun his body and punched it hard with his other fist. The wolf was instantly thrown and knocked down.
Dozens of monsters attacked Grakthos at once. He ducked, holding his shield over his head. In an instant, Grakthos looked like a pile of wolves chasing their prey. The wolves piled on, fighting to bite Grakthos.
Feeling the perfect moment had come, Grakthos stomped his foot and shouted. He threw them all off with all his strength, sending the mound of wolves that had swarmed him flying in all directions.
Not wanting to waste time, Grakthos leaped quickly toward the pack leader and punched his fist into one of the leader wolf's heads.
The pack leader was sent flying. It looked similar to how he himself had been solidly struck by Elvar before.
"Wow, cool," I muttered, not expecting him to be that strong.
When I hit him, it didn't mean he was weak, right? Which means my punch was just really strong? I'm starting to feel proud of myself through this mask.
The pack leader that was sent flying let out a long howl. Its entire pack stopped attacking, then ran off whimpering toward their leader. It signaled that they gave up and chose to flee.
"Lord, I have dealt with the wolves without killing them," Grakthos reported to Elvar, his voice slightly awkward.
He really deserves to be the strongest pillar for now. I saw his strength; if it were me as an ordinary human, just one flick from him would kill me instantly.
I have to praise him, so he becomes more confident again. It's dangerous if he stays gloomy and awkward like this after I hit him hard yesterday.
"Good work, Grakthos. The title of Demon Pillar truly suits you," I praised Grakthos. "You must train more, and when you are more confident, you may call on me to test your strength."
I'm curious to see when he becomes stronger. I want to see his ability against something stronger. I'll be a witness to see his strength when he's ready. Maybe against other strong monsters.
Grakthos's scale-covered cheeks looked a little red. And his tail was also seen wagging erratically.
"Yes, Lord!... I will train again to become stronger, and I will duel with you again, Lord, when I am strong!" Grakthos felt extremely happy being praised by Elvar.
Hehhhhh???.... That's not what I meant!!!... Fight monsters, not me, oi!!... Ah, whatever, we'll see what happens.
After confirming the area was safe, Carmilla released her protection magic and they continued their journey. Elvar, Carmilla, and Grakthos resumed their exploration deeper into the forest.
Elvar passed tree after tree. Many of the trees were enormous, with thin yet strong-looking roots hanging down. Seeing those roots, Elvar remembered something.
"Do you know what the ropes for the bridge in front of the palace are made of?" I asked Carmilla.
"I'm not sure, Lord. But according to my parents, the bridge ropes are made from a combination of tree roots." Carmilla turned her head, looking at the surroundings, and pointed to a large tree with hanging roots. "It seems to be those tree roots, Lord."
"How can they become so strong? In my world, roots used for a bridge like the one in front of the palace couldn't support heavy loads," I asked her, without losing my dignity.
"My apologies, Lord, I don't know either," replied Carmilla.
"Those roots are reinforced with magic, Lord. My grandmother once said so," Grakthos chimed in from in front of Elvar.
I almost forgot that this is a fantasy world, always comparing it to the real world. That here, there is magic that makes the impossible possible.
"Do you know what the magic is like, Carmilla?" I asked Carmilla.
"I don't know, Lord. I specialize in Fire, Light, and Wind magic." Carmilla then held out her hand. She released a soft wind magic, added fire magic, and water magic. Trying to combine the magic.
"Like this, Lord." After combining the magic, a soft but sparse mist was created.
"You were able to do that without having to combine those three magics, Lord. It was extraordinary, and at that time I couldn't stop being amazed by you," Carmilla added, referring to the incident at the ritual altar.
Hey, hey, hey... That was a natural disaster... Not my power.
I've confirmed it. It was raining at that time, the water hit the lava river, creating hot steam, which was then carried by the wind into the altar. Therefore... That wasn't my power!! I muttered.
"Yes, just like that. But I can only do it when I want to, to scare people," I deflected haughtily, confirming her statement.
"It's true, Lord. I don't know what would happen if you were truly angry... I'm sure that altar would be destroyed... That's why I killed those dissenters," said Carmilla.
"Yes. Destroying that altar would only take a wave of my arm," I replied.
What kind of power is that?... Waving an arm can destroy an altar... I just want to look dignified so they don't look down on me and don't dare to oppose me. Honestly, I don't know how long my luck will last surviving here.
"Oh yes, I want to differentiate the use of magic in this world and my world. In my world, using magic usually requires energy called Mana or Qi. What about here?" I asked with my chest puffed out proudly, without diminishing my dignity.
"It's the same, Lord," explained Carmilla.
"I use Qi, Lord, to increase my strength through meditation," Grakthos chimed in from ahead of me.
Oh, so it's the same. Okay, without me asking, Grakthos told me about increasing Qi energy with meditation. Then what about magic?
"Then what is your training method in this world to increase your mana, Carmilla?" I asked Carmilla. "And Grakthos, what meditation do you use to increase your Qi energy?" I asked towards Grakthos, who was still leading the way.
"Meditation as well, Lord. But more focused on the flow of mana in the body. Controlling it so the flow is balanced. And the amount of mana depends on each individual, as it's innate from birth," explained Carmilla.
"I usually do breath training, Lord. The longer we can hold our breath, the more our Qi energy will increase significantly, depending on how long we can hold our breath," replied Grakthos.
Currently, they had entered the Green Forest, signaling they were near the border of the Human Continent. The atmosphere changed drastically. Green leaves, larger and more lush trees were visible, and the sound of small birds chirping began to be heard. The air felt fresher; the scent of sulfur had been replaced by the smell of damp earth and vegetation.
Not long after that, in a slightly open area, Elvar saw a wrecked cart and several human corpses lying on the ground.
"Lord, we found food!" said Carmilla.
Food??...
Elvar looked in horror at the corpses, but he saw that one of the corpses was wearing a mask...