Chapter 20: A swan that carries people… quite unique 

Transparent feathers floated gently above the calm river, gradually piling up. 

The amassed feathers took shape, forming a bird.  

It was a magnificent mount, large enough to carry the twenty-person group without issue.  

Ganesha clapped in satisfaction at the intricate creation.  

Torgo, who had been ready to criticize any flaw, expressed his displeasure with an unnecessary cough.  

Meanwhile, Rita, who had summoned the creature, was focused elsewhere.  

Sighing, she watched Talos frantically inspecting the swan with an urgent gaze.  

To think I was once the disciple of such a person—it’s almost shameful now.  

“A swan that carries people… quite unique.”  

Eilin, a supreme-rank mage like Rita and a member of the Children of the Forest from the Nashapur Great Forest, boarded with a faint smile.  

The Children of the Forest, a race ruling southern Lagos’s great forest, lived for over five hundred years and surpassed humans in mana and physical prowess.  

However, as a harmony-seeking race, they avoided conflict and adhered to a principle of non-interference in human affairs.  

Their aversion to killing also made them generally dislike humans.  

Yet, Eilin was smiling at Rita.  

Is it because a supreme-rank mage isn’t considered an ordinary human?  

Rita knew it was because of her supreme-rank status.  

This proud race acknowledged those close to transcendence, just as they had with Talos in her past life. 

Eilin struck up a conversation, asking Rita various questions.  

Eilin, of the Children of the Forest.  

A middle-aged figure with deep green hair and golden eyes, he was the only supreme-rank mage in Nashapur and held leader-level authority among his people.  

“To reach such a level at your age—truly remarkable.”  

“You’re too kind. It was just luck.”  

“On a personal note, I hope Floria can learn much from you.”  

“…Pardon?”  

Rita, who had been responding humbly, was startled by the comment.  

Following Eilin’s glance, she saw Floria, one of the accompanying Children of the Forest.  

Floria, with long lime-green hair and dry, aloof eyes, was a striking beauty.  

Praised as the most promising among her kind, she left Rita flustered.  

By Nashapur standards, Floria was young, but in human terms, she was well into her mid-thirties—an elder.  

More than the age gap, Floria embodied the quintessential traits of the Children of the Forest: a stern expression, cold gaze, and sparse words.  

She seemed utterly unapproachable.  

Seeing Rita’s discomfort, Eilin smiled gently.  

“She’s still immature, so I hope the Grand Mage will guide her with understanding.”  

Guide her in what, exactly? 

Rita grew even more confused by Eilin’s intentions.  

“We’re entering the forest.”  

After crossing the Senetz River and passing several fields, the group reached an unnamed forest.  

This was Kuyan territory, but with the tribe wiped out, there was no need to hesitate.  

The only concern was the unpredictable emergence of beasts.  

“The stench of blood is overwhelming.”  

For efficiency, the priests and holy knights in the group covered their noses.  

As they said, the forest was filled with unwashed bloodstains.  

“I burned as many bodies as I could, but please be aware there may be remains I couldn’t recover.”  

Though no gruesome sights were immediately visible, Rita warned them, unsure.  

The vivid bloodstains painted a clear picture of the horrific events for everyone.  

Even Eilin and Floria, closely tied to the forest, were pale, their faces drained of color.  

Even the typically stoic elders fell silent in the face of such devastation.  

The same silence hung as they entered the Kuyan village.  

Unfading bloodstains and the lingering smell kept everyone quiet for a long time until Rita spoke to explain.  

“I originally planned to go to Aide Hill first. But blood was flowing from the Harun River, so we changed course. When we arrived, the village was razed. That’s when I encountered the man-eating monster deeper in.”  

Rita gestured toward a large, half-destroyed hut.  

Though damaged from the previous battle, the pile of corpses stacked in front of it—like stored prey—left red stains on the ground, a grim reminder.  

“The tree at Aide Hill. I need to see it with my own eyes.”  

Eilin spoke with a stern expression.  

The plan was to rendezvous with Mikael’s group at the Harun Plains. 

They could have gone there first, but no one pointed that out in the heavy atmosphere.  

Ultimately, Rita’s group turned toward Aide Hill.  

***

The journey to the hill was eerily quiet, with no attacks.  

Unsettlingly so.  

“Rita, could that monster you missed be the last one? It doesn’t make sense for such creatures to multiply so quickly. If this is all just you making a fuss over nothing…”  

As the path grew rougher, Elder Obern’s attitude sharpened.  

It started after his summoned creature tripped on a rock while he was distracted, especially after Rita caught him and gave him a cold look.  

Muttering complaints under his breath so others wouldn’t hear, Obern drew a twitch from Rita’s lips.  

“Obern, the Saint Mikael and the priests have confirmed this. Isn’t that why we’re all here to investigate and handle it? I know it’s tough, but please cooperate until the north is deemed safe.”  

“Tch, always so stubborn. Now that you’re supreme-rank, you’re even bossing around your old mentors.”  

But Obern kept clucking his tongue and grumbling.  

Having felt his gaze during her talk with Eilin, Rita let out a cold laugh.  

Obern clearly resented that Rita, so much younger, had surpassed him and stood above them as a supreme-rank mage.  

“When young people gain great power, they should be more humble. Listen well, Rita. I’ve taught many at the Tower for years…”  

Rita barely restrained the urge to slap him.  

They had just arrived at Aide Hill.  

Relieved to finally reach the hill after being preoccupied with the Kuyan village incident, Rita’s face brightened.  

But the state of the tree, upon closer inspection, was shocking.  

“It’s grown into a full-fledged tree now.”  

Elder Ganesha, who had visited the hill with the investigation team during the Gradius villa incident, frowned.  

As she said, the red plant, once just a sapling, had grown lush with leaves atop a large seed in just a few weeks.  

Even Talos, who had last seen it, couldn’t hide his shock.  

“Didn’t the Mage Tower discover it first? Why weren’t we, the Children of the Forest, informed?”  

Eilin glared at Talos with a deadly look. 

Obern subtly glanced away.  

“Well, your noble race from Nashapur isn’t usually interested in such matters, is it? At the time, it didn’t seem threatening, so we didn’t report it.”  

At the typical deflection, Eilin’s expression hardened.  

“Mages who can read mana… overlooked such ominous mana?”  

It was exactly what Rita had warned about from the start, causing Obern and Talos’s eyes to dart nervously.  

For the Children of the Forest, who revered trees, and for Nashapur’s leader to say this, it was a grave matter.  

Yet Obern, still oblivious, kept grumbling.  

“Honestly, how can we, blessed by nature like you, be expected to discern such energies?”  

Eilin’s face grew even grimmer. 

Feeling as if he were spitting in her face, Rita reluctantly stepped in.  

“Now isn’t the time to assign blame. I want to destroy that tree now.”  

“Is that possible?”  

“When I first found it, its mana resistance prevented any damage. But now I’m supreme-rank, and with Eilin here… it’s worth a try.”  

No more words were needed. 

Eilin, quickly understanding, stepped forward to the red tree.  

Rita stood beside him, taking a deep breath. 

Carefully, she extended her hand.  

The moment her palm touched the rough surface, the same pulsing sensation from before coursed through her.  

A steady throb, like a heartbeat, resonated clearly.  

Eilin, also touching the tree, grimaced at the unpleasant sensation.  

“I’ll try injecting mana.”  

Eilin nodded at the suggestion to destroy it from within.  

Unlike last time, when the tree’s mana resistance thwarted her as a first-class mage, Rita was now a supreme-rank mage overflowing with mana.  

With Eilin and the Mage Tower mages by her side, there was no need to hold back.  

Closing her eyes, Rita focused her mana into her right hand.  

As her anger-fueled mana condensed, it began to emit heat.  

“Wait.”  

Eilin, who had been touching the tree beside her, grabbed Rita’s wrist.  

Confused by the interruption, Rita soon understood why.  

“Something strange is approaching.”  

Before Eilin finished, Floria raised her bow, pulling the string taut.  

Her gaze was fixed on the forest below Aide Hill, near the northeastern Levies Mountain Range.  

“They might be the creatures you and Saint Mikael mentioned.”  

At Eilin’s hushed words, the elders gathered in alarm.  

Coming from the forest-savvy Children of the Forest, it was certain.  

Something was approaching.  

Minutes later, Rita sensed it too.  

“Black mana.”  

The suffocating pressure made the forest tremble, as if a dark wave were pushing through. 

Some elders struggled to breathe.  

Soon, the bushes rustled, and forms emerged.  

As eerie footsteps drew closer, a shadow rose behind the tree.  

A red-eyed, insect-like beast peeked out—the same kind that devoured the priests at the Bielina Sanctuary.  

Baal’s offspring.  

Rita’s eyes sharpened as she confirmed it.  

The approaching footsteps numbered in the dozens. 

Realizing their breeding rate had accelerated, Rita felt dismayed.  

“W-what are those…!”  

Countless red eyes gleamed in the dark bushes.  

They weren’t ordinary beasts.  

The insect-like monsters sent chills even through the seasoned elders.  

But the real threat was yet to come.  

It’s coming…!  

A heavy, murky air pressed on their lungs.  

Unlike the earlier light footsteps, heavier ones now echoed with a steady thud, thud.  

Trees began to fall, and a praying mantis-like creature appeared.  

[Origin: Iskis]  

[Name: Baal]  

[Rank: Adult – First-Class]  

[Attribute: Wind]  

“Good heavens.”  

Those seeing Baal for the first time gasped in horror.  

Having faced it before, Rita narrowed her eyes, exhaling in frustration.  

It’s evolved from quadrupedal to bipedal. What did it eat in just a day…  

The grown Baal was larger, with hardened, reinforced parts.  

Its gleaming shell suggested enhanced defense.  

Recognizing Baal’s changes, Rita could only feel dismay.