95 – Forest (6)
“Ugh…!”
El turned pale upon seeing the corpses and quickly turned away.
Unlike the previous instances where she was merely surprised by monster corpses, and even became somewhat accustomed to them, this was a very different, intense reaction.
But such a reaction could be easily understood.
Seeing a human corpse, like those of monsters, is incomparable.
Moreover, considering her upbringing, the likelihood of her directly seeing corpses was low, let alone such gruesome ones.
So, it was natural for her to react this way.
Even if she were someone accustomed to corpses, the reaction might not have been much different.
Even for such a person, the sight was so grim and cruel that one couldn’t help but turn away.
“…I need to examine this a bit.”
Charlie said with a grave expression.
As a seasoned mercenary, even he couldn’t easily overlook such a sight.
After finishing speaking, Charlie stepped forward to inspect the bodies scattered around.
El had been looking elsewhere, catching her breath, while Dorothy stood by her side, watching over her.
As for me, I didn’t approach closely but observed the corpses from a distance.
From this distance, enhancing my vision with magic was sufficient to gather information.
So, as Charlie conducted a thorough examination, and I discreetly observed the scene, time passed.
After scrutinizing the scene while on his knees, Charlie finally stood up.
“It seems like an attack by monsters.”
That was Charlie’s conclusion.
“There are no traces of human weapons. So, we must consider that monsters caused this carnage.”
As he said, the marks left on the bodies were not made by weapons or magic created by humans.
Most of the wounds looked like they were carved by long, alien claws or fangs, and some even seemed to show signs of being gnawed.
Humans couldn’t leave such marks.
The traces of claws, well, one could imitate them with a similar weapon, but the signs of biting are difficult to replicate in that manner.
Therefore, naturally, the conclusion that it was a monster was drawn.
I, too, reached the same conclusion as Charlie.
“Have you figured out the identity of the monster?” Dorothy asked Charlie.
To this, Charlie shook his head from side to side.
“No. I can guess the general characteristics of the monster that fit, but… the size and shape of the traces are different. I have never seen such traces before. It’s either a species I haven’t seen before, or…”
Pausing there, Charlie, with a solemn expression, spoke again.
“There is a possibility of mutation.”
Whether a seasoned mercenary like Charlie had never seen the species before, or a sudden mutation appeared.
Either way, it wasn’t a positive outcome.
This was the ‘forest,’ and unfamiliar life forms were truly a bunch of variables.
“What should we do…?”
El, who managed to calm the confusion somehow, approached with a complexion that couldn’t be called good and asked.
“Well, there’s no need to worry too much. While the existence of the monster is concerning, if it’s a creature that appears around here, it shouldn’t be that dangerous.”
“Is that so…?”
At Charlie’s words, El, seeming somewhat relieved but still with a hint of worry in her eyes, nodded.
And her gaze turned towards the gruesome bodies.
“Those… people, what should we do for them? At least to inform of their deaths…”
“Yes. That’s necessary. I’ll look for a suitable mark.”
Charlie bent down again and began to search through the bodies.
When encountering the deceased in the forest, it was common to take some sort of mark that could identify the person back to Derville. Since everyone who entered the forest had to go through Derville, and most of them were mercenaries, confirming the identity of the client was straightforward if the identity of the mercenary was confirmed in that way.
It wasn’t always necessary, but it was a kind of implicit rule that spread among mercenaries and adventurers.
“…”
I silently watched that scene, pondering in my mind.
There was nothing strange about Charlie’s judgment.
There was a possibility of undiscovered species or mutations, but there was no guarantee that they definitely existed, and even if they did, the probability of monsters coming out from the current area not being that powerful was high.
However.
There was still something that bothered me.
Now a cold corpse, the energy and magic had scattered away, but it was possible to roughly estimate their past through the remnants of that magic.
It wasn’t as easy as it sounded, but for me, it wasn’t that difficult of a task.
After examining the people who had become corpses, I noticed.
Their abilities weren’t ordinary.
Not on par with me, Dorothy, or Charlie, but at a level significantly higher, at least they didn’t possess the skill to die like this here.
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Several of those individuals, not just one or two, but five, had been massacred.
It meant one thing.
The one who created this gruesome scene was no ordinary being.
***
The mood of the group passing by the scene had clearly sunk compared to before.
It was not a strange thing.
Considering the scenes of carnage they had witnessed.
Charlie, having experienced mercenary life quite extensively, might not be shaken by such spectacles, even if they were unfamiliar to him. However, the other two were different.
El’s face distinctly bore tension and fear, while Dorothy also showed a noticeable increase in tension compared to before.
Witnessing the carnage made it all too real.
How dangerous the forest truly was.
They must have known it in theory before.
Even before coming to Darville, and even after arriving, they must have heard about the dangers of the forest to the point of being fed up.
But there was a vast difference between knowing something and seeing it with your own eyes.
Of course, they must have felt something to a degree when facing the monsters.
However, those vicious monsters had been easily defeated so far.
Hence, the threat probably did not reach their hearts.
The corpses of the monsters were gruesome and dreadful, but their contemplation likely stopped at that level.
However, this carnage was different.
Not the corpses of monsters, but of humans.
And they had become a sight so horrific that it was hard to look at.
It was only now that the two truly realized.
The danger of the forest.
Perhaps, that they themselves could end up in such a state.
That’s why they were on edge.
If the state of tension persisted for a long time, fatigue would accumulate.
Thinking about having to stay in the forest for quite a long time ahead, accumulating fatigue was not a favorable factor.
However, it was not all bad.
There was clearly an advantage to becoming more cautious in their actions.
Regardless, the increased level of danger was a definite situation, and in such circumstances, the advantage of the party, especially El, being more careful in their actions was that it could prevent unforeseen events.
However, to their disappointment, nothing happened immediately to justify such tension.
No, in fact, nothing happened at all.
Even the monsters they had occasionally encountered before seemed to have avoided them for some reason.
“…Strange.”
Charlie, as if troubled by this fact, stopped walking and spoke.
“Hmm? What is it?”
El immediately picked up on his words.
“I don’t see any monsters.”
“Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Simply put, it is a good thing, but… it’s not necessarily all good.”
Charlie’s expression darkened.
“We are beyond the early parts of the forest. Even though we haven’t ventured deep yet… at this point, the number of monsters increases significantly. We should encounter them at least once a day. So, the fact that monsters are not appearing to this extent is definitely strange. I have never seen a situation like this.”
“…Could something be happening in the forest?”
“Perhaps. And most likely, it’s not something ordinary.”
“I see…”
A heavy atmosphere hung among the group.
“Well, we don’t have much left until we reach our destination, so let’s continue on. It would be too wasteful to turn back now.”
As Charlie had said, they were now very close to their destination.
The likelihood of something happening in the forest was high, which could pose a danger to the group. However, it was too precious of a situation to just consider the possibility and turn back.
The thought of all the effort going to waste, not to mention having to come back to this place again, was enough to dampen one’s spirits.
Judging by their expressions, it seemed that El and Dorothy’s thoughts were not much different from mine.
And so, the group continued to move forward through the strangely quiet forest.
Even after that, there were no monsters appearing in front of us.
Of course, we didn’t encounter any people either.
In such a strangely peaceful and quiet time, we continued through the forest for a while.
“At last…!”
We finally arrived at our destination.