The goshawk stumbled on the path. Since he had lost his mount, the only thing he could do was to move forward on his own legs.
He was initially worried that the light from the illuminating crystal would attract wild beasts, but it seemed like nothing was getting close to him.
But even so, the scene before him baffled and terrified the experienced scout.
Even though the path before him was still the same, everything around him seemed to have changed.
Just moments ago, the goshawk had just passed through the Resolute Wind Canyon's entrance. He initially remembered that there was a campsite with a stream and a grassland next to it, where he planned to rest for a while.
However, when the goshawk arrived at the campsite in his memory, he was appalled to find that the stream was flowing with blood instead.
The grassland was covered by piles of bones, and even the big trees on the side had lost their luster. They looked like ghostly monsters that kept swaying their bodies. The goshawk even saw human heads at the top of the branches!
'Damn it, what's going on?!'
The goshawk could not help but shudder when he recalled what he saw earlier, and he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him.
After all, it was pitch-black here, and he had been walking for a long time, so it was possible that he was hallucinating due to exhaustion …
The goshawk shook its head hard and forced itself to stop thinking about what happened earlier.
'Everything was an illusion. Yes, everything was an illusion …'
"Woosh …"
After walking for an unknown period of time, the goshawk stopped again. He estimated that he was not far away from the next village.
However, it was dark everywhere at the moment, so he could not estimate the time at all.
For some reason, the old man's pocket watch was completely broken. Goshawk remembered seeing the hands spinning crazily when he took it out, and it could not be stopped at all.
Therefore, he could not estimate the time, and he had no idea what time it was.
In actuality, the goshawk felt like he had been walking for a few days, but sometimes he felt like he had only been walking for a few hours. Although he could rationally calculate the time needed to reach the next destination, the feeling in his body was weakening the rational calculation, and the experienced scout was at a loss.
The illuminating crystal's light began to weaken, but it was within the range that the goshawk expected.
The illuminating crystal that he had was of the lowest grade, where the magic stored inside could only last for a short period of time. It could not be used without limit like the nobles.
Therefore, the goshawk quickly extinguished the crystal in its hand and took out a torch to light it up like it was familiar with the process.
"Ahh …!"
As soon as the torch was lit, a weak cry was heard, causing the goshawk to be startled.
He quickly lifted the torch to look around, but he did not see anything.
The goshawk furrowed his eyebrows and wondered if he was hallucinating again. He glanced at the torch in his hand and was dumbfounded.
He was the one who bought the torch, so he knew its structure very well.
It was a piece of Red Fire Wood that could burn for a long time, and it was wrapped in a layer of oilcloth paper that was soaked in oil.
It was also the standard equipment for adventurers, but the goshawk's torch was not normal at all. The top of the torch was not wrapped in oilcloth paper, but a tiny, naked baby. The baby's body was enveloped by the flame, and its tender skin was slowly turning black and dry like a piece of burnt meat.
On the baby's bald head, its white eyes bulged out of its eye sockets, and it stared at the goshawk without moving.
'What the hell is this?!'
Upon seeing this, the goshawk was taken aback. He quickly moved away with the torch and rubbed his eyes with his other hand, but when he looked again, he realized that he was still holding the torch, which was the same as how he remembered it to be.
The goshawk was puzzled. He frowned and narrowed his eyes to observe the torch in his hand, but he could not figure out anything.
'Perhaps for a split second, the burning flame looks like a baby, which is why I had an illusion.'
The goshawk nodded and calmed himself down before he walked forward again.
Once he reached the slope at the foot of the hill, he finally saw a light in the darkness.
'I'm finally here!'
The goshawk was relieved when he saw the light nearby. In the boundless darkness, one would instinctively yearn for the light.
The goshawk was thrilled when it finally saw a ray of light after walking in the dark for so long.
Therefore, he strode toward the village at the foot of the hill.
The village in front of him did not seem to be different from what he remembered. When he looked up ahead, he noticed that the buildings were the same as before, and even the sentry tower at the village entrance remained the same.
The goshawk was much more relieved. He raised his torch and waved it in the air, then he walked to the village entrance.
"Ahhhhh!"
It was then when a shriek was heard coming from the village.
The goshawk was startled, and he hurriedly held his longsword and walked forward carefully.
At the next moment, a black shadow flashed out from behind the village's entrance.
It looked like a human, but it was very different from how the goshawk remembered humans to be.
It wore coarse linen clothes, and it was not as muscular as what the goshawk remembered. Instead, it had a layer of brown skin. On top of that, its lower body was supported by its legs!
On both sides of its body, it did not have the tentacles that humans should have. Instead, it had two strange arm-like things.
'What kind of monster is this?!'
The goshawk was taken aback when he saw the thing that came out of nowhere, and the other party seemed to be shocked by the goshawk's sudden appearance.
The monster was startled, then it raised its cleaver.
"Monster!
Monster!
Another monster!
Go to hell, all of you go to hell, ahhhh! "
'Don't even think about it!'
Seeing as the 'monster' in front of him attacked him, the goshawk's face darkened. He reached out and swung his arm forward. Shortly after, the goshawk's longsword struck the other party's cleaver away, then he turned his blade and nailed the monster to the wooden door.
Even so, the monster did not intend to give up. Instead, it twisted its body as though it was trying to break free from the goshawk's longsword.
Along with its movement, blood gushed out of its wounds, and it carried an intense smell of blood.
The goshawk's stomach began to growl when it smelled the scent.
'Right, I haven't eaten for a long time …'
It was then when the goshawk blinked as though he recalled something.
He walked forward and extended his tentacles to bind the monster in front of him. Following that, he widened his mouth, and soon, the tentacles with razor-sharp teeth emerged from his mouth. As the monster shrieked, the tentacles tore its flesh to their heart's content.
It's been a long time since I've eaten such delicious food.
Immersed in the rich smell of blood, the goshawk closed his eyes in satisfaction, lowered his head, and began to enjoy the scrumptious meal in front of him.
Sure enough, humans have to eat these monsters raw to find them delicious.
"… What's going on?"
Standing on the city wall and looking into the distance, Elise and Sophina couldn't help but be dumbfounded.
Even though it was pitch-black here, it wasn't as dense as the darkness below the Lost City, after all.
Elise, who was a half-vampire, and Sophina, who was a dragon, possessed abilities similar to night vision, so they could clearly see everything that was happening in the distance without the need for any light.
When the darkness spread, Zayen had already led them to the top of the city wall to enjoy the scenery outside.
In the beginning, they witnessed the humans' confusion and commotion when the mist in Golden City dissipated. Shortly after, as the darkness descended, the humans became chaotic.
Some of them turned around and left, while many adventurers gathered spontaneously, intending to head to Golden City to find out what was going on.
Upon witnessing this scene, Elise and Sophina were a little worried. But shortly after, they discovered that things began to change. Before the adventurers stepped into the city gate of Golden City, they began to kill one another.
The two of them were baffled and didn't know what exactly happened.
Because they clearly witnessed that there weren't any quarrels among the adventurers at all. Instead, an adventurer suddenly yelled as though he had gone mad and slashed his sword at his companions.
After a short while, hundreds of adventurers got into a brawl. In an instant, it was a complete mess.
But shortly after, changes occurred.
The bodies of the adventurers who had killed their companions gradually began to change. Their bodies began to swell, their heads began to change shape, and their thick and powerful arms and legs turned into octopus-like tentacles. A strange power raged in their bodies, bursting through their skin, and white bones turned into bone spikes, drilling out of them.
In the blink of an eye, the adventurers turned into strange monsters.
Then, as if they were summoned by something, they walked toward the direction of the city wall where the three of them were. Then, the monsters crawled under the city wall and raised their tentacles at the three of them, like devout believers calling for their God.
"Nyine — Ksuler — Sotos!"
Strange, obscure, and dark incantations sounded from the mouths of the monsters, echoing in the silent night.
"Sir Jenn, this is …?"
Elise turned around in astonishment and gazed at the young man beside her. All she saw was Jenn's calm and confident smile.
"This is our army, Elise. We don't need an army because our enemy — is our army."
And at that moment, as though in response to Jenn's words, the strange, evil prayers sounded from all directions.
"Nyine — Ksuler — Sotos!"