Epilogue

Epilogue

 

WE MADE OUR WAY to the Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters without incident, all of us more comfortable avoiding the main roads and towns. Eve and Lis had traveled together in the past and had to stay similarly under the radar, and Seras had spent months on the run. Even I had journeyed incognito for a while at this point, so we were all accustomed to this kind of trip. Eve had sharp ears and could see in the dark, and she proved herself more useful by the day as we traveled through the forest.

She returned from the top of a hill to report her findings to us.

“It’s been a real journey, but we’ve arrived at the border.”

Once we crest this hill, we’ll be entering the Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters.

We’d taken a detour to avoid the fortresses stationed on the border, there to prevent monsters from escaping. While it was rare, monsters did sometimes get out, and there were areas where border security was weak. We’d encountered several monsters so far, but none had been any match for us.

At Eve’s suggestion, we’d decided to release our horses and proceed on foot, packing as lightly as possible for the trip.

“It looks like the Sea of Trees…” I said, standing next to Eve atop the hill and looking over the dark forest stretching out before us. It was shrouded in deep fog—we couldn’t even see the other side.

It all looks so quiet from up here…

“What’s that?” I asked. There was a large tree in the middle of the forest, towering over its neighbors.

“That’s the Corrupted Tree. Used to be sacred, apparently, in ages past. It’s become a sort of symbol of this whole area.”

Isn’t this place also called the Great Ruins? So there was a civilization here before. Not to mention the ruins in Mils… Was there a whole other world on this continent before the present one?

“Hm?”

I heard a cry from the forest, far off in the distance. A scream? The noise made my skin crawl—it reminded me of the Soul Eater’s voice.

I get it.

“They’re welcoming us in.”

 

We decided to rest for the night before venturing any further, wanting to be in peak condition for the fight ahead. I breathed a sigh of relief once our camp was set up.

“So Eve, do you remember where the witch lives?”

“No,” she replied.

“Huh? Oh, right, you must have a map.”

“No, no map.”

Wait a second… No, it’s fine. Eve knows where the Forbidden Witch lives, Seras’s lie detector has already confirmed that for sure.

“Don’t worry about it, Too-ka.” Eve stood up, looked down at me and reached out her hand.

“Stand up. I need you to put it in me.”

I stood and looked at her, puzzled. “Wait, what?”

“Your mana. Pour it into me.”

“Oh. Where should I—?”

“My right arm.”

“…All right.”

Eve’s voice was confident, as if she knew exactly what she was doing. I gripped her hand. Aside from the claws, it felt rough but otherwise human.

“I should just pour it straight into your hand?”

“Hmph. We leopardmen, like elves, aren’t suited to channeling our own mana. It takes too long. With a talented human like you, though, this should only take a moment.”

I don’t know about talented…but I think I’ve got the hang of pouring mana into stuff.

“Here goes.”

My hand began to glow a pale white, and the light slowly made its way to the palm of Eve’s hand.

“Nh… It’s a strange feeling, having mana poured into you.”

A small symbol appeared on her palm and floated up into the air, expanding before my eyes like a hologram.

It looks like my stat screen, almost…

Seras and Lis were just staring at it, their eyes wide and mouths open. Piggymaru let out a squee, apparently also impressed.

The symbol began to change shape.

“Is this…a map?”

“Mm-hm. The green point is where we are right now.”

I spotted a flashing red dot off on the far side.

“So this dot to the north must be…?”

“Where the Forbidden Witch is. That’s how my father explained it to me.”

“I see.”

“There’s no way of mapping this forest, but with this to guide us, we can navigate toward the red dot.”

“Did the witch herself make that map?”

“So it is said.”

“Wait, you mean you’ve never actually met her?”

“I haven’t.”

Eve explained that the map was passed down through generations, from one clan chief to the next.

That meant Eve was the daughter of the chief of her clan, right? I put that thought aside—no need to press her now. We had a way to find the witch, and that was plenty.

Progress was slow, but I was finally on my way to obtaining that forbidden magic.

“Let’s get some rest.”

I turned on my heel, the sea of trees at my back.

“Tomorrow we’re finally going in…to the Land of the Golden-Eyed Monsters.”