CHAPTER 36 — The Forest That Watches Back
Zodac had made it a fair distance from the town of Sito, yet with every step forward, his thoughts drifted backward.
The road stretched endlessly ahead, pale and dusty beneath the blazing sun, but his mind was trapped in darker places—coiled memories of fangs, scales, blood, and miracles he still didn't fully understand.
Defeating monsters far beyond his level.
Nagendra.
Sentico.
Creatures that, by every logical calculation, should have killed him.
Was it instinct that carried him through? Or dumb luck? Or something worse—something that bent probability itself around him like an unseen hand?
Zodac clenched his jaw.
He remembered the moment Nagendra's tail had nearly torn his leg apart. He remembered the sensation of his mana burning away faster than it could replenish. He remembered thinking, *This is where I die*—and yet he hadn't.
"I shouldn't have survived that," he muttered.
The road shimmered in the heat. His boots kicked up small clouds of dust as he walked, Kogestu resting against his shoulder like a silent companion. His breathing had grown heavier with each mile, sweat soaking into the padding beneath his armor.
Fatigue crept into his limbs—not the sudden exhaustion of battle, but the slow, grinding wear that came from pushing a wounded body too far for too long.
The sun beat down mercilessly.
Zodac stopped and leaned slightly on Kogestu, exhaling sharply.
"I can't make it to the next town on foot," he admitted aloud. "Not like this."
He opened the system map, the translucent projection hovering faintly before his eyes. The next settlement lay several more hours ahead—too far given his current condition and supplies.
His cross bag was light. Too light.
No proper rations. Limited water. Minimal herbs.
He glanced back down the road, half-expecting—half-hoping—to see a carriage approaching in the distance.
Nothing.
Just empty road and heat waves.
A bitter chuckle escaped him.
"Who am I kidding?" he said. "No one's stopping for the Elemental Devil."
The name still tasted strange in his mouth. He hadn't chosen it—but the world had, and it clung to him like a curse.
Zodac dismissed the map, then paused as a new route caught his attention.
A shortcut.
The forest.
To the left of the road, a dense expanse of towering trees stretched far into the distance, their canopies weaving together into a thick, shadowy ceiling. According to the map, passing through it would cut his travel time nearly in half.
He studied it carefully.
"This could be risky," he said. "Forests like that don't stay quiet without reason."
His gaze hardened as he weighed the options.
"But it offers shade," he continued, thinking aloud. "Shelter from the sun. Water sources. Game. Herbs."
And monsters.
Always monsters.
Yet the alternative—continuing along the open road under this sun—would kill him just as surely.
Zodac turned left.
Without another moment of hesitation, he crossed the road and stepped into the forest.
The moment he passed beneath the trees, the temperature dropped noticeably. The harsh glare of sunlight vanished, replaced by a dim, green-filtered glow that seeped through layers of leaves overhead.
The air was cooler.
Damp.
Alive.
Zodac inhaled deeply, feeling some of the pressure lift from his lungs.
"Better already," he muttered.
But something about this forest felt… wrong.
Not hostile—at least not immediately—but watchful. The trees stood thicker here than in the forests he'd traveled before, their trunks twisted and dark, roots crawling across the ground like coiled serpents. Moss clung to bark and stone alike, and strange, faintly glowing fungi dotted fallen logs.
As he moved deeper, his spatial awareness expanded outward, brushing against the surrounding life.
Shadow Crows perched high above, their silhouettes nearly indistinguishable from the leaves. Giant lizards slithered between roots, scales clicking softly. Saber-toothed rabbits darted through underbrush, their red eyes flashing briefly before disappearing again.
Zodac didn't hesitate.
When a shadow crow swooped too low, Kogestu flashed, and its body hit the forest floor in two clean halves. A giant lizard lunged from behind a tree—Nagendra's shield manifested instinctively, blocking its fangs before a single strike crushed its skull.
By the end of the first day, several saber-toothed rabbits lay skinned and prepared. Zodac cooked what he needed and stored the rest, bundling their thick fur neatly.
"Trade goods," he murmured. "At least something went right."
But as the hours passed, an unease began to settle in his chest.
Something wasn't adding up.
He paused atop a small ridge, eyes scanning the forest floor below.
"There should be more," he said quietly.
More rabbits. More small monsters. More movement.
Saber-toothed rabbits had an absurd reproductive rate. Left unchecked, they swarmed regions within weeks. Yet here, their numbers were… thin.
Too thin.
"And it's not balloons," Zodac continued, recalling another creature known for population control. "I'd sense those."
His gaze sharpened.
"So either this forest is dying… or something else is keeping the balance."
A higher monster.
One strong enough to suppress everything beneath it.
Zodac smiled faintly.
"Well," he said, "as long as I don't sense it, I should be fine."
The forest didn't respond.
Two days passed.
Zodac survived on hunted meat and collected water from a shallow stream. His stamina recovered slightly, enough for him to keep moving at a steady pace. By the morning of the third day, the system map confirmed it—
He was close.
"Almost there," he said, allowing himself a rare note of relief.
The trees ahead thinned slightly, sunlight peeking through in narrow shafts. If he kept his pace, he'd reach the next town by late noon.
"Just a little further," he muttered. "Then—"
He stopped.
His spatial awareness rippled outward involuntarily.
Something had entered its range.
Zodac closed his eyes, focusing.
Heavy.
Large.
Moving.
Not fast—but deliberate.
His eyes snapped open.
"What…?"
Without wasting another second, Zodac turned and ran.
Branches whipped past him as he sprinted, boots pounding against soil and roots. His breathing quickened, pain flaring in his injured leg—but he pushed through it, forcing his body onward.
After several minutes, he stopped, bent forward slightly, and listened.
Nothing.
No movement.
No presence.
"…Did I lose it?" he whispered.
Then his spatial awareness pulsed again.
The presence was back.
Closer.
Zodac swore under his breath and took off once more, weaving through trees, leaping over fallen logs, his heart pounding not from speed—but from the unsettling calm of his pursuer.
It wasn't chasing him.
It was following.
Patiently.
Methodically.
That terrified him more than any berserk monster ever had.
Zodac skidded to a halt near a massive tree, chest heaving.
"How is it tracking me so precisely?" he muttered.
His eyes flicked upward—and then a grin slowly spread across his face.
An idea.
He knelt quickly, scooping up handfuls of dirt and sand, rubbing them across his armor, his clothes, even his hair and face.
*COUGH*
*COUGH*
He coughed as dust filled his lungs, but he didn't stop until his scent was thoroughly masked.
Then, with a single leap, he sprang up into the tree, landing on a thick branch several meters above the ground.
He steadied himself, holding his breath.
In the air, his spatial awareness weakened—its range shrinking significantly.
That meant he couldn't sense how close it was.
He waited.
Seconds stretched into minutes.
The forest grew unnaturally quiet. No birds. No insects. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath.
Then—
A shape emerged from between the trees below.
Black.
Massive.
Its outline rippled as it moved, muscles shifting beneath dark fur or scales—Zodac couldn't tell which. A low growl vibrated through the ground, followed by the sound of deep, deliberate sniffing.
Zodac's eyes widened.
"So that's it," he thought. "Tracking by smell."
The creature moved to the exact spot where he'd stood earlier, lowering its head, nostrils flaring. It circled once… twice… then stopped.
Confusion rippled through its body.
Zodac tightened his grip.
Now.
Kogestu materialized in his hands as he launched himself from the branch.
"Kogestu—!" he shouted, blade raised high.
The creature spun around instantly.
And Zodac's voice caught in his throat.
"What the f—"
His words died as he finally saw it clearly.
Whatever stood below him wasn't just a monster.
It was something far worse.