At the entrance to Banher Village, the knights were urgently assembled.
They were the knights responsible for defending Banher.
Excluding those on guard duty, about twenty knights had been called together as the search party.
Since the order of knights here wasn’t that large, the number they could mobilize was limited.
This order was one of the subordinate knight orders under Kelrutan.
For villages, unlike cities, the subordinate orders based in cities would take turns being dispatched to the villages.
Most matters could be handled by the dispatched knights.
But for anything more, they would have to request support from headquarters.
Of course, doing so would affect the evaluation of the order’s commander.
“That bastard Gilmorten. Just how did he mess things up…”
The female knight with silver hair tied back was biting her lip in anger.
She was Celia, the current commander of the knights stationed in Banher Village.
As a knight, she had handled many monsters and achieved great merit.
Acknowledged for her achievements, she was promoted to knight commander.
This was her first time being dispatched as a commander to Banher Village.
She had been stationed here for about three months.
During that time, everything had flowed peacefully and smoothly.
But trouble always comes unexpectedly.
At some point, strange rumors started circulating about Kavre Forest.
Reports of disappearances began to surface one by one, and mysterious contamination started spreading in the forest.
The problem was that the contamination was spreading throughout the entire forest.
They had requested help from headquarters and the magic guild to find the cause.
But every time, they failed to pinpoint the cause.
It took a long time to dispatch specialists, and things were being handled superficially.
But this time, since there was a group disappearance, they couldn’t just leave it alone anymore.
Once she dealt with the urgent matters, she would go directly to headquarters and grab someone by the collar if she had to.
Kavre Forest was an important trade route for Banher Village.
Giving it up was nearly impossible.
If they abandoned it, a journey that would take a day would now take over a week.
The delivery schedule was already tight, and if the blacksmiths’ livelihoods were threatened, they might leave.
‘That can’t happen.’
While Celia was frowning in frustration, lost in thought—
A handsome blond man was wandering around the area.
He was clad in full armor, but since he wasn’t wearing a helmet, his face was visible.
Judging by the Kerthen Family Crest engraved on his armor, he seemed to be a knight.
But he wasn’t one of her subordinates.
With such a conspicuous appearance, there was no way she wouldn’t remember him.
“Who is that?”
Celia hesitated, then approached him.
“Which order are you with?”
If he belonged to another order, not under her command, she couldn’t treat him carelessly.
At times like this, it was best to confirm identity and ask the purpose before proceeding.
The handsome blond turned his gaze to her.
Then he spoke.
“Nice to meet you. It’s nothing major, just something related to the order, so I stopped by.”
He took out a scroll from his inner pocket and handed it over.
Celia, tilting her head, took the scroll and unfolded it.
Her eyes widened.
“The Command Letter… from the Count…”
It was a Command Letter bearing the personal seal of Clyd, the Supreme Commander of Kerthen County.
Flustered, Celia quickly read through its contents.
Then, she saw a name that made her doubt her eyes.
“Evan Kerthen…?”
As she read the name aloud, the man in front of her—Evan—smiled broadly and nodded.
“I passed the knight exam this time, you see. I thought I’d start taking an interest in the knights’ work.”
Celia’s face twisted, but she forced herself to keep her expression in check.
‘Why was that infamous troublemaker here of all places?’
And as a knight, no less.
It was enough to leave her dumbfounded.
For some reason, she felt a chill run down the back of her neck.
As if she didn’t have enough to worry about already.
“Ah, haha…”
She gave an awkward laugh, wondering how to shake off this troublemaker.
But whether he knew what she was thinking or not, her subordinates approached and reported without reading the mood.
“Commander, everyone’s assembled. The priests, the magic guild, and the adventurers’ guild will be joining us as well.”
After hesitating for a moment, Celia sighed and spoke.
“…Understood. We’ll begin the search immediately. And…”
She started to ponder what to do with Evan, who stood before her.
***
Inside Kavre Forest.
The trees were withered and the ground was blackened, turning into a decaying wasteland.
Everywhere, the corpses of animals, monsters, and all sorts of creatures were scattered and rotting.
A foul stench and a sinister aura hung over everything.
No sign of life could be felt.
“It seems to be getting worse by the day. Still no results from the Magic Tower?”
Celia frowned and asked her subordinate.
“I contacted them yesterday, but they said they’re still analyzing it.”
“How much longer do they expect us to wait? Damn those wizards.”
While she grumbled, Evan turned to her and asked, “How long has it been like this?”
Celia sighed.
“It’s been about a month.”
She tried to get rid of him, but Evan insisted on joining.
In the end, he went with them, having promised not to do anything dangerous.
Of course, even with that promise, she doubted he’d keep it.
‘Just don’t cause any trouble…’
Contrary to her wish, Evan fully intended to resolve this incident.
The Cursed Forest, a Branch Quest.
If he didn’t solve it this time, he might never get another chance.
Before they knew it, they had ventured deep into the forest, and everyone came to a halt.
Celia raised her voice to organize the group.
“This is the area where contact was last lost as they passed through.”
All the knights and other personnel focused on her words.
“From now on, we’ll spread out and search. Each team must have at least one priest. The remaining seven will stay on standby and monitor the situation.”
Besides the twenty knights, about thirty more people from the adventurers’ guild, the church, and the magic guild had gathered.
With everyone mobilized, they should be able to find both the missing knights and the kingdom’s delivery goods.
“We’re only here to search. If anything happens, do not act alone—return here immediately.”
Celia repeated her warning several times before finishing.
Then, everyone dispersed to begin searching in their assigned teams.
Evan, too, was about to move with Alan and Reynold.
“Sir! Where do you think you’re going!”
But Celia suddenly blocked his way, angry.
Evan looked at her, as if to ask why.
“What do you mean? I came all the way here, you don’t expect me to just sit around, do you?”
“No, you promised, didn’t you? That you wouldn’t do anything dangerous…”
“I’m just helping with the search. If that’s considered dangerous, then I guess I shouldn’t be a knight at all.”
At Evan’s words, Celia pressed her fingers to her brow and turned to the elegant woman next to her.
“Millia, would you please accompany us for a bit?”
Long orange hair.
Wearing a white priest’s robe, she smiled softly and nodded.
“I don’t mind.”
Millia was a high-ranking priest Celia had managed to bring from the Venus Order.
Originally, Celia was supposed to remain here as the person in charge, with a high-ranking priest on standby in case of emergency.
But since Evan insisted on joining the search, she couldn’t just let him go alone.
Celia gave orders to her subordinates.
“The standby team here, if anything happens, fire a Signal Flare immediately.”
“Commander? Are you going personally?”
“We have no choice, do we?”
She spoke loudly enough for Evan to hear, glaring at him.
Her other subordinates glanced at Evan, then nodded as if they understood.
“Take care out there.”
“Yeah. You all be careful too.”
As soon as Celia finished, Evan took the lead and started walking.
“Sir! It’s dangerous, so you should stay behind…”
Evan cut her off.
“It’s fine. I don’t like hiding behind others.”
At Evan’s words, Celia glared at Alan and Reynold.
Reynold pretended not to notice and followed behind Evan, while Alan shook his head as if there was nothing he could do.
‘Some bodyguards they are…’
Celia felt exhausted.
He really was a reckless young master.
Acting so impulsively, she could already see a hard road ahead.
She had no choice but to stick close to Evan’s side, as if guarding him.
Evan just smiled faintly and pretended not to notice.
‘Anyway, it’s supposed to be to the north.’
The official goal of this search was to recover the missing knights and the goods.
But Evan’s focus was on the quest.
The quest pointed to the northern center of Kavre Forest.
Something there was contaminating the forest.
Evan retraced his memories of the map and moved toward the northern part of the forest.
“This is pretty serious.”
Even Millia, who usually smiled gently, couldn’t help but look grim.
As they walked, the corpses abandoned in the forest radiated a sinister energy.
The further north they went, the thicker the ominous aura became.
And just as Evan stepped forward—
[Warning! You have entered a Twisted Zone.]
[Twisted Power is being applied.]
[All living beings that die here will be resurrected by Twisted Power.]
A strange warning message appeared before his eyes.
‘Twisted Power?’
He’d never heard of it, even in his previous world.
‘Is this the source of the quest?’
But Evan had to snap out of his thoughts at Millia’s words.
“I’ve never seen such an evil aura before. I think we need to report this to the Order.”
“Could this be the work of cultists?”
Celia asked Millia.
Millia shook her head.
“I’m not sure about that. But I do know this is extremely dangerous.”
Millia drew upon her holy power to purify the area around them.
The Twisted Power couldn’t approach within her radius.
Of course, Evan also had holy power, gained after dealing with Hilton.
He had enough resistance to the Twisted Power.
‘Good thing I boosted my holy power beforehand.’
But soon after, Evan’s group had to stop.
Clank!
With the sound of metal, people blocked their path.
Celia spoke up first.
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
They were her missing subordinate knights.
But with their helmets pulled low, they gave off an indescribable sense of unease.
Their gait was strange.
Their bodies staggered as they slowly approached.
Like corpses moving on their own.
But Celia was so desperate to find them that she didn’t notice, and rushed toward them.
Celia started approaching them without hesitation.
“You idiots! Do you know how worried we were? When we get back…”
“Hey, what are you doing! Come back!”
Evan shouted, chasing after her.
“M-My lord!”
“Huh? Why is everyone suddenly going?”
Alan, too, panicked and ran after Evan, with Reynold following behind.
“E-Everyone…?”
Millia, at the very back, was flustered, but simply stood her ground and watched.
She couldn’t move forward.
No, she simply couldn’t bring herself to step forward.
The staggering knights ahead radiated a dangerous aura.
Millia began to calmly assess the situation.
In any party, the priest is the most important.
If the priest goes down, the party is finished, especially in a place like this.
Millia watched carefully, readying her holy magic.
“You! Are you out of your minds?”
Celia shouted at her missing subordinates as she ran.
But soon she had to stop.
She faltered in shock.
“W-What is this…”
Once she was close enough to see, the staggering knights’ forms became clear.
Their faces were twisted into grotesque shapes, no longer resembling humans.
Their skin was blackened and corrupted.
Guaaargh! Guaagh!
They staggered closer, emitting bizarre cries.
“What are you doing! Get back!”
Only when Evan’s voice came from behind did she come to her senses.
“Damn it!”
Celia cursed and backed away.
“Sir! You must get to safety!”
But it was already too late.
Rustle! Rustle!
The sound of footsteps came from all around.
When Evan looked around, he saw that, just like the missing knights, countless people in mutated states were closing in.
“Damn, we’re too late.”
From the moment they set foot here, they had been surrounded.