Chapter 22

Chapter 22
## Chapter 22: The Forest of No Return (2)

Edan jerked his shield upward with the speed of a fired projectile. Years of rigorous conditioning had etched this defensive movement into his very soul, allowing him to react without a moment’s hesitation.

That ingrained habit was the only reason he managed to intercept the heavy axe.

Kwa-ang!!

“Urk!”

In reality, it hardly felt like a successful block.

A seismic force rippled through his entire frame. His head vibrated like a hammered gong, and the arm holding the shield flared with an agonizing heat that seemed to splinter his very marrow.

The damage was catastrophic; the shield was ruined in a single heartbeat. The sharpened edge of the axe had sliced through the reinforced iron exterior as if it were soft parchment. For a “blessed shield” consecrated by a holy man, such destruction was impossible to fathom.

‘Merciful Elga… this plate held firm against a berserk troll without a mark…’

He reached out to trace the sacred symbol of Elga in the air, but the window of safety had vanished. The barbarian was already pulling a sidearm from his belt and leaping forward.

Edan scrambled to his feet, relying entirely on the strength of his legs to launch himself upward.

Hwoo-uk!

The blade whistled through the atmosphere, searching for the vulnerable joints in his plating. Edan tucked his chin and hoisted the mangled shield once more. Steel met steel with a high-pitched clang that vibrated through the trees. Even in its broken state, the shield functioned as a desperate layer of armor.

That utility was short-lived.

The barbarian seized the handle of his axe with his spare hand and delivered a savage kick that sent the shield flying.

Teng-!

The axe was pried loose from the metal, and the paladin was sent spiraling backward from the sheer kinetic energy.

“Uwaak! Hooer…”

He had barely found his footing before being tasted by the dirt again. The massive weight of the shield now pinned him down like a leaden coffin. He forced his eyes upward just in time to see the barbarian mid-leap, axe held high for a finishing blow.

Edan rolled desperately across the forest floor, moving with the frantic energy of a cornered insect.

Kwa-ang!

A thunderous metal-on-metal scream erupted, nearly bursting his eardrums. The iron surface was shredded like paper once again. Had he remained beneath it, his flesh would have been minced into the soil—the realization sent a wave of icy terror down his spine.

The barbarian turned a cold, indifferent stare toward the trembling paladin. A low, gravelly voice echoed in Edan’s ears.

“A paladin wouldn’t just wander onto this trail by accident. Are you traveling solo?”

“……”

“Quietly putting you down won’t be much of a chore, then.”

Edan felt his pulse freeze. Through the haze of panic, a suffocating dread took hold.

He pushed himself up from the muck like a wounded beast. Regardless of his nature, this demon possessed strength far beyond mortal limits and a weapon of nightmare. A standard confrontation was suicide.

Edan pointed his blade toward the darkening heavens and shrieked with every ounce of his lung capacity.

“Holy guide of light, Elga! Bestow upon me the might to strike down this foul demon…!”

Ppareuraek-!

The barbarian’s axe reached him before Elga’s celestial grace could descend.

Kwajijik!

“Euk!”

The weapon missed his skull by a fraction of an inch, instead vaporizing the trunk of a nearby tree.

The barbarian was intimately familiar with how paladins fought. He had no intention of letting the man commune with the divine. Sword in hand, he pressed the attack without a second of respite. Edan was forced into a melee without the aid of holy empowerment.

The blade accelerated in a wide, lethal arc, swinging toward his neck.

Chae-aeng!

It was a reckless, devastating strike. Edan barely caught the blow on his own sword, nearly dropping his weapon from the sheer vibration. There was no time to recover; a flurry of erratic, relentless strikes followed.

The enemy twisted his blade the moment they touched to aim for Edan’s throat, or knocked his defense aside to stab at his vitals. At one point, he used a horizontal parry to close the distance and smash his heavy pommel into Edan’s visor.

Chae-aeng, chae-aeng! Teng!

He couldn’t find a rhythm. The power was primal, the technique chaotic and impossible to read. It was like dueling a natural disaster draped in a hood.

Edan fought on raw instinct. Fortunately, his lifelong training and thick plate mail kept the injuries from being immediately fatal.

But his luck was running out.

Chae-aeng, chae-aeng!

“Euk, kuhk…”

After ten frantic exchanges, sweat stung Edan’s eyes. Every impact sent a jolt of bone-deep misery through his elbows and wrists.

‘Curse it all, how can a human possess such terrifying strength…’

The barbarian pounced the moment he sensed Edan’s concentration waver. He spun his blade to parry Edan’s sword, lunged forward like a sudden gust of wind, and buried the tip of his steel into a tiny opening at the elbow joint.

Seu-tsuk!

“Kuaak!”

The sound of tearing cartilage preceded a spray of crimson. Edan grabbed his ruined right arm and retreated, stumbling over the roots.

“Kuhk, huuk, huuk…”

“Based on your performance, you’re certainly no Arch Paladin. In fact, you’re less capable than a raw squire.”

The demon spoke softly as he advanced. Edan didn’t have the energy to be insulted. A single thought crystallized in his mind.

Escape. He had to flee. There was no shame in retreating when broken. He had to find that arrogant Arch Paladin…

Edan turned and sprinted into the thicket. His breathing turned ragged inside his sweltering helmet. Fear gave his legs a frantic, unnatural speed.

It wasn’t enough. Dressed in light leather, the barbarian moved far faster than the man encased in heavy metal. In a heartbeat, the distance vanished. Edan glanced back, his eyes wide with the realization of his doom. He had to lose the weight.

“Huuk, huuk…”

“……”

His frantic mind reached a conclusion: drop the armor to gain speed.

He had no other options. His helmet was a furnace, clouding his judgment. Edan moved with desperate haste—first tearing off the helmet, then fumbling with the buckles to discard his chest piece and shoulder guards. The expensive plate fell into the dirt like a hollow husk.

It was a fatal error, realized only as the air hit his skin.

‘…Ah.’

His pursuer didn’t need to be within arm’s reach to kill him.

Ppareuraek, jjeok-!

The axe blade tore through the air like a predator’s claw, carving into his defenseless back.

—

“Kuhk, kuhuhuk, keuk…”

The paladin let out a wet groan, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides.

“Th-this… A warrior of Elga, he found us…”

The merchant let out a shaky breath of despair. Kadim stared down at the fallen man with narrowed eyes.

The paladin’s left shoulder, the primary target of the axe, was a mess of shredded meat. The collarbone was pulverized, and the shoulder blade had been driven inward. Kadim had intentionally pulled the strike to ensure the man stayed conscious.

Why leave him alive? Kadim needed to know if he was a lone scout.

The method of discovery was brutal. He began by thrusting his fingers directly into the open shoulder wound.

Calloused fingers pried into the torn muscle and leather.

Tseuk-

“Listen. One question.”

The color drained from Edan’s face. The agony was so blinding that his voice caught in his throat.

“Are there more of your kind nearby?”

“Aa, ah… Eu, eueu…”

“Speak.”

“Eueu, euk, euk.”

“……”

Silence? Kadim applied more pressure. The paladin’s muffled whimpers turned into a piercing shriek.

“Aaaaaak!! Kuaaaaaak!! Kuaaaaaak!”

“Urk, uuk…”

Duncan turned away, bile rising in his throat. Kadim remained unmoved.

“Keep your mouth shut, and I’ll widen this hole. You want the suffering to cease? Then talk.”

“Kuaaaahuk! I… I won’t betray them. Just end me, you monster!”

“End you? Why would I do that?”

“……”

“Existing will be far more agonizing.”

To emphasize the point, Kadim slowly hoisted his axe.

A primal shiver ran up Edan’s spine. He began to convulse, his bladder failing him. Even the iron resolve of a holy warrior crumbled before this level of visceral terror.

“Kuhk!”

Gathering his last shred of defiance, the paladin bit down on his tongue with all his might.

It wasn’t an attempt at suicide—you don’t die from a bitten tongue. He was trying to mutilate his means of speech before the fear forced him to confess.

It was a useless gesture. A hand like an iron vise clamped onto his jaw.

“Don’t bother, paladin. I can read the truth in a single blink.”

“…Thuh, guh.”

“Look left for yes, right for no. Fail to respond, and the axe meets your shoulder again.”

“…Guh, keuheuk…”

The binary choice finally broke him. Edan surrendered every detail.

The paladin Kadim had slain previously was a relative of the archbishop. They had been tracking the pair alongside the Arch Paladin until she had outpaced him.

With the information extracted, mercy arrived.

Jjeok-!

The axe buried itself in his skull. Edan felt no bitterness. Released from the twin burdens of disgrace and pain, he finally drifted toward the light of Elga.

Kadim kicked the remains into the dense brush. It was better to keep moving than to waste time on a shallow grave. With the presence of an Arch Paladin confirmed, every second was a luxury.

He began hacking through the foliage once more. Duncan followed in a daze, his mind reeling from the brutality he had witnessed.

“S-sir? Why such haste? Are the others close?”

“……”

“St-still, was that level of cruelty necessary? He was just doing his duty, he hadn’t committed a crime against you…”

Kadim didn’t look back. However, the increased violence of his axe swings and the tension in his shoulders betrayed a simmering rage that made Duncan’s blood run cold.

A voice like grinding stone reached the merchant.

“Have you ever felt your tongue being torn from your throat, merchant?”

“……”

“Or had your skin charred and peeled away while your bones were snapped one by one, forced to stay awake for the end?”

Duncan felt a cold sweat break out. The haunting voice seemed to vibrate through the very ground.

“Clearly not. That is the only reason you can speak of mercy.”

“……”

“In the past, we were hunted by a high-ranking paladin. My brothers and I endured that exact nightmare. Now, another of their rank is behind us. Without that information, we would have walked blindly into that same hell.”

“……”

“Mark my words, merchant. I will not shackle myself with useless pity or morality if it leaves me vulnerable to my enemies. Those are comforts for people in safe cities. In this pit of hatred, I will do whatever is required to survive.”

“……”

“I have done so before, and I will do so until the end.”

It was a cold, final declaration.

Duncan’s fear reached a breaking point. He squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

“B-but sir…! Doesn’t that mean you’ll treat me the same way?”

Kadim stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned around, his eyes devoid of any warmth. Duncan’s heart hammered against his ribs, but he stood his ground.

“When I’m no longer useful or the situation turns sour, will you just throw me away or kill me? I… I don’t want to be left for the beasts or die screaming in the dark…”

“……”

“I usually go home every season. My wife and my eight-year-old girl are waiting for me. They have a plate set, wondering why I’m late—to die without seeing them one last time…”

“……”

“…Please, tell me, sir. How do I become more than just a piece of meat to you? How do I earn the loyalty you showed to Baron Molden…?”

“……”

It was a plea for humanity.

The answer was short and sharp.

“You fear death? Then prove your life has value.”

Kadim turned his back, appearing entirely indifferent.

He had said enough. He went back to clearing the path.

Duncan watched the man’s retreating figure with wide, desperate eyes.

He lacked the power to demand anything more. With a heavy heart, he lowered his head and followed.

—

The setting sun began to bleed into the horizon, turning the blue sky a deep violet. They were retracing their steps.

“Hya! Move faster, damn you!”

* Whoooong…

The Radiant Steed’s glowing form flickered with exhaustion. Helia showed no mercy, digging her spurs into its flanks.

Initially, leaving Edan behind had allowed her to move at twice the speed. She had lamented not leaving that clumsy paladin and his slow beast behind hours ago.

That confidence evaporated within two hours.

As she thundered down the main trail, a realization struck her.

‘Wait. There are no tracks here…’

The faint signs of passage had completely vanished.

She checked the map with a scowl. The road ahead led directly toward a border garrison. It was highly unlikely a murderer would walk straight toward an armed outpost of the alliance.

Edan would have spotted this immediately. She knew it, but her pride found a target for her anger.

‘If he knew they would turn back, he should have spoken up. Useless idiot…’

She yanked her mount around. Tracking the demon through the wilderness alone was a daunting task. She needed to regroup with Edan to consult his expertise and look for the deviation point.

But when Helia arrived, she found only a panicked, solitary horse.

* Prurruk, prurrruk…

The horse was gaunt and trembling—it was Edan’s mount. Its reins were tied securely to a trunk. There was no camp, and all his equipment was present, except for his blade and his blessed shield.

The conclusion was obvious.

He had dismounted for a moment of rest, and then disaster had struck.

“……”

Her emerald eyes narrowed, scanning the area with predatory focus as the light failed.

Her gaze swept over the dirt: the footprints of the paladin, his final path, the direction he had moved…

…And the broken branches of a hidden side trail.

Helia stepped down from the Radiant Steed. Her hand moved to her hip, gripping the hilt of her weapon.

Hwaruruk-!

The Arch Paladin’s legendary sword, Flames of Gehenna, erupted in a violent red blaze, casting a hellish glow across the forest.