Longing for the Stars - Chapter 4

A message was sent to all the squads in the forest, and some time passed as we decided to push deeper toward the area near the border. Thanks to the wide, complex branches of the trees, almost no sunlight reached the ground. Even though it shouldn’t have been noon yet, it was so dark that it felt like night had already fallen. We hadn’t encountered any monsters since we started moving, but the forest was eerily silent, which felt ominous.

Normally, monsters appear as single, random individuals. The only exception is the night of the new moon, when different types appear at the same time; even then, monsters never form groups unless they are the same species. Why they appear or why they would form a pack is still a mystery, but that was the extent of our knowledge about them.

So, to be honest, the phenomenon we were facing now was beyond our understanding.

A pack forming regardless of species or size—if you just saw those words, maybe it wouldn’t seem like much of a threat. But what I and the squad leaders feared wasn’t the simple fact that they were in a group.

We were tense with a raw, unknown fear: the possibility that these creatures had learned that forming a pack was more efficient.

Without a word, we pushed through the pathless woods, relying on the faint outlines created by the tiny slivers of light, when it suddenly appeared.

Or rather, we stumbled upon it.

“What is… this…?”

One of the seniors whispered. My eyes widened at the unexpected sight, and I desperately tried to process the information. What stood there was undoubtedly a monster. However, it looked exactly like a giant tree; at first glance, nothing seemed wrong. But the overflowing mana made it clear that this thing was a creature of darkness.

“…Have any of you ever heard of a plant-type monster?”

The squad leader asked in a tight voice.

None of us could find the words to answer. We just stared up at the towering giant tree in a daze.

My intuition screamed that this was an “alien” thing, as it poured out mana far more powerful than the small monsters we had defeated earlier. I’m sure everyone here felt the same, yet none of us could truly grasp the situation.

Except for one person.

“Isn’t this just infested with bugs?”

At that carefree voice—so out of place in this tense situation—everyone snapped back to their senses.

“…What makes you think that?”

“Thick mana is coming out of that hollow in the trunk. Plus, there are bugs that look like the cause inside the fruit that fell from this tree. Look, right there.”

Sirius pointed to a crack at the base of the giant tree. Now that he mentioned it, I could see thick, sinister mana leaking from it. Following his lead, I carefully split open a piece of fruit on the ground with my sword, and several small, dull-colored insects crawled out from inside.

“Gah…!”

One of the seniors let out a pathetic, disgusted sound. I understood how he felt.

This was truly repulsive.

“……—!”

After silently burning the fruit, I froze as I remembered that dull color.

I had seen that same color like oil floating on water with my own eyes just a moment ago.

“Sirius.”

“Yeah. The monsters from before were probably possessed by these bugs, too.”

Their eye colors were the same.

A chill ran down my spine at his words, spoken in a voice so calm it was almost scary.

Along with the disgust, I felt my mind start racing through the possibilities. The squad leader seemed to be doing the same; with a grim expression, he spoke.

“—First, contact all squads. We will report this to the Lord as well. Take some of the fruit back to be sent to the Royal Capital. We burn this tree here and now. We don’t know what might happen, so stay on high alert.”

Everyone nodded at the leader’s orders.

Instinctively, we all knew this was the only way.

Even though we could feel mana from the plant monster, we naturally didn’t feel any “intent” to attack. That quiet malice was purely skin-crawling. While everyone was visibly shaken by this unexpected turn of events, a bright voice rang out, untouched by the heavy atmosphere.

“Can I be the one to burn it?”

Sirius wasn’t shaken by this situation in the slightest.

I could easily see from his face that he was actually finding some fun in it, and once again, I thought about what an incredible person he was.

“…Fine, but be very careful with your firepower.”

“It’s okay! I’m not doing it while fighting, so my aim will be better than usual!”

As Sirius smiled cheerfully, the tension left the leader’s face slightly, and the corners of his mouth turned up.

“All right then. But only after the surrounding area is secure. If they really were possessed by eating the fruit, the number of monsters is unknown. At worst, even normal animals might have turned into monsters. …Ugh, just saying it out loud gives me a headache. Why is something so disgusting right in front of us?”

His heavy voice sounded like he was spitting out a curse. The slightly lightened mood was immediately overwritten because the phenomenon caused by this tree was just that repulsive.

“No use complaining. Those good at water magic, put up a water curtain around the tree. With Louvre’s firepower, the fire might spread. Keep the damage to a minimum, understood?”

“Understood.”

Normally, it might have been better to leave the giant tree as it was and wait for a research team from the capital. But this was the border forest. We didn’t know when monsters might appear, and the new moon was close. Furthermore, we might be attacked by wild animals. It was impossible to keep a twenty-four-hour watch here. Therefore, burning it out of existence was our best move.

“I’ll handle the lookout and explain the situation when we meet the other squads. I’ll leave the fruit collection to you.”

“Got it. Be careful, Stark.”

“I will. …Sirius.”

“I know. I’ll do it right.”

“Good. …Then, I’ll see you later.”

As I moved away from the tree, I noticed the forest was eerily quiet.

Perhaps it was the “calm before the storm.” Even though it was a forest where sunlight didn’t reach, I usually felt the presence of living things whenever I entered. Yet now, the only sound was the wind shaking the trees. The branches were tangled in complex ways, and the sound of them swaying sounded like a creepy laugh, making me feel uneasy.

That silence only made the giant tree seem more disgusting.

I hope nothing happens, I thought. As I stood there, I felt something moving behind me. I instinctively readied my sword, but I recognized the approaching mana and lowered my weapon.

“Stark.”

“Yard. How were the monsters on your end?”

“The ones we hit on the way were one small and one medium. We ran into them at the same time, so there’s no doubt they were together. Also, their eye color was weird. It was like… oil…”

As my classmate Yard spoke, I frowned, my suspicions confirmed.

“There were five in total, but I only saw the eye color on that one. So, where is this tree?”

“Yeah, it’s just back this way—”

Shiver.

A chill ran through my entire body, like being dragged into a bottomless swamp. I whipped around toward the giant tree at the same moment the silence of the forest was shattered. The screaming voices of all kinds of animals echoed around us, and I knew something was wrong.

“We’re going back to the tree right now! Follow me!”

There was no time to hesitate.

We weren’t that far from the tree. It was a distance we should have reached in dozens of seconds, but for some reason, it felt incredibly far. As we got closer, I felt the mana of the giant tree clashing with a mana I knew very well.

I knew exactly who that mana belonged to.

“Sirius!”

A pillar of fire stood so high I thought it might reach the heavens. I could feel the monster’s presence being shaved away by pure, high-pressure mana without a single flaw or distortion.

The man standing between the near-white pillar of flame and the water defense wall turned his head slightly when he heard my voice. Even though he should have been a silhouette against the fire, his eyes sparkled as he smiled like it was nothing.

“What is it, Al?”

How many times had I been shown this overwhelming power? I had already given up counting; such sights were becoming part of my daily life. Yes, even though it should have been a familiar scene, my attention was always pulled toward Sirius.

Ah, he’s so bright.

He was like a first-magnitude star, and I felt as if my body were being scorched by his light.

“Al, look, I did a good job.”

I heard a loud crack and a pop.

“Louvre, get your guard up!”

The captain’s roar echoed.

“Something” exploded inside the pillar of fire. The mana swelled for an instant before vanishing so completely it couldn’t be sensed. And then, right before my eyes, Sirius collapsed to the ground.

“Eh…?”

There lay Sirius, bleeding from his stomach.