Chapter 107: Toward the Marauders’ Territory...
The swamp village ended where the forest once again swallowed every trace of civilization.
The wooden platforms gradually disappeared among the giant trees, and the last hanging bridges gave way once more to mud, roots, and darkness.
Nox stood beside the three Little Ones who had accompanied him from the abandoned church.
In front of him stood Rollo, Yuri, the gray-bearded elder, and the man with the axe.
The air smelled of damp earth.
Yuri smiled with the same carefree confidence that seemed to define her.
"I trust you’ll wipe out the Marauders."
Nox let out a small chuckle.
"That was never my plan."
The woman tilted her head slightly.
"Then..."
The demon raised a finger.
"But don’t worry."
He smiled.
"I’ll come back. That much I can promise."
Yuri seemed satisfied with that answer.
"I hope so."
Nox finally crouched down in front of the three Little Ones.
The tiny creatures immediately raised their arms toward him.
They wanted to accompany him again.
"No."
Nox gently shook his head.
"This time, it’s too dangerous."
The three of them immediately began making small protesting sounds.
One even tugged lightly on his sleeve.
Nox sighed.
"That trick doesn’t work on me."
The Little Ones kept insisting.
The demon finally looked up at Rollo.
"Can you take care of them?"
The massive man burst into laughter.
"Of course."
He looked at the tiny creatures.
"It’s obvious they really care about you."
Nox smiled.
"I guess you could say I’ve grown attached to them too, since they’re the ones who brought me here."
The Little Ones finally agreed to stay after Rollo spoke to them in their own language.
The tiny creatures reluctantly stepped back, though they continued watching the Demon Lord with obvious concern.
Rollo then pointed deeper into the forest.
"Just keep going straight."
Nox followed the direction with his eyes.
"After a few hours, you’ll notice the forest starts to change."
"How?"
"It gets darker."
The leader crossed his arms.
"Much darker."
He pointed once again.
"That’s where the Marauders’ territory begins."
Nox nodded.
"Perfect."
Rollo extended his hand.
"Good luck."
Nox shook it.
"I won’t need it."
Without another word...
The Mask of the Marauder slowly formed over his face.
Shadows spread across his body as he began walking.
Alone.
Toward the darkest part of Mireveil.
◇◆◇
At first, there didn’t seem to be many differences.
The same trees, the same roots, and the same mud.
But the farther he walked...
The more everything began to change.
The tree canopies grew larger and larger.
The leaves darkened into a deep orange, clustering more tightly together.
Less and less light filtered through until they almost completely covered the sky.
The entire forest sank into permanent twilight.
Nox looked up.
’This is something else.’
Even the mud had changed.
Now it was much thicker.
Every step made an unpleasant sound.
SCHLOP.
SCHLOP.
SCHLOP.
The demon kept walking.
After several minutes...
He decided to summon a small golden flame above the palm of his hand.
The Phoenix’s flames.
"At least this way..."
The light barely illuminated a few meters ahead.
"...I’ll be able to see where I’m stepping."
But something strange happened.
The flame began shrinking.
Smaller and smaller, as though the very atmosphere was extinguishing it.
Nox frowned.
"What the hell?"
He tried channeling his power again.
The flame regained its size...
Only to diminish once more a few seconds later.
The demon let out an annoyed breath.
"Looks like this forest doesn’t want to cooperate."
Even so...
The tiny light was still better than walking in complete darkness.
He continued forward.
Until...
CLACK.
His foot struck something hard.
Nox immediately looked down.
"A rock?"
He lowered the flame closer.
The answer revealed itself before him.
It wasn’t a rock.
It was a human skull.
It still had scraps of skin and hair clinging to it.
The mud had buried nearly the entire lower half.
The demon stared at it for a few seconds.
Then he smiled.
"Well..."
He gently nudged the skull with the tip of his boot.
"...that means I’m heading in the right direction."
He kept walking.
Only a few steps later...
He found another.
And another.
And another.
Every few meters, more remains appeared.
Some intact.
Others shattered.
Jawbones.
Ribs.
Long bones half-buried beneath the mud.
Nox whistled.
"Definitely..."
He looked down the trail of bones.
"...no one around here worries about cleaning up."
He continued walking.
The tiny flame still burned in his hand.
And the darkness seemed to grow even thicker.
◇◆◇
Nearly an hour passed.
The silence had become unsettling.
No birds.
No insects.
No animals.
Nothing at all.
Only mud, trees, and darkness.
Then...
His Danger Sense activated.
A faint tingling.
As quickly as it appeared...
It vanished.
Nox stopped immediately.
"...Hm?"
He waited.
Nothing.
He resumed walking.
The tingling returned...
Only to disappear once again.
"Now that’s strange."
He slowly reached for one of his daggers.
But ultimately let go.
’No.’
’Not yet.’
He kept moving.
Then he heard it.
A soft crack.
Like a branch bending.
Then another from the opposite side.
Nox extinguished the flame at once.
Everything was swallowed by darkness.
Only the faint crimson glow of his demonic eyes remained beneath the mask.
He waited, breathing slowly.
The forest itself seemed to hold its breath.
Then...
Something moved.
A shadow darted between two trees.
Then another.
And another.
Nox smiled.
"About time."
No answer came.
But now he was certain.
He wasn’t alone.
The feeling of danger returned.
Vanished.
Returned again.
As if whoever was watching him still hadn’t decided what to do.
’Interesting.’
The demon rested one hand against the trunk of a tree.
"If you’re going to attack me..."
His voice shattered the absolute silence.
"...do me the favor of coming out already."
Nothing.
Only darkness.
Nox waited a few more seconds.
Then he started walking again.
"I’m not standing here all night."
He had barely taken three steps...
When a leaf drifted slowly down from above.
The demon looked up.
For just an instant...
He thought he saw two glowing eyes shining between the branches.
Then they disappeared.
A smile spread beneath the mask.
’So they really are watching me.’
Far from making him uneasy...
It only made him even more curious.
Because he was certain...
He had finally reached the Marauders’ territory.