Dance with the Nightingale-Chapter 93 - 88: The Misty Root Forest

’Now, how should I handle this…’, I wondered as I looked at the almost hysterical woman in front of me.

Though, it was obvious what I should do…It was time lie my way out!

So, with a confident smirk, I leaned forward and said, "Why don’t you ask that, to the vessel friend of yours. Granted he hasn’t left the city already."

The girl remained silent, I would even say she calmed down, as she heard me. Only her stare piercing a hole in me.

Then, with a tone of surety she declared, "You haven’t actually met him.", as if she really knew the truth.

"Oh! And how do you know that?", I asked, still maintaining that annoying smirk on my face.

"You would be dead if you did.", she said, impassively, but calculatingly, provoking me while concealing the real reason.

"Hm? So sure?", I took the provocation with stride and shot back, "Then little lady, would you care to explain how I chanced upon this?", waving the crystal in front of her.

"…"

"...So, you can’t?", I probed, before changing the topic, "Then let’s talk about something you can actually talk about."

"The Church of Light. What do you think about them?", I questioned only to be met with silence.

"…"

"Come on, I know you can talk about this. I’m not even asking you information about your group; I am just asking about the tools that you are done using. Tools which were responsible for your mishap…"

I reminded her, that her group had left the city after completing whatever their mission was...or they should have left if they followed the Demonic Cult’s code of conduct.

Though, I was sure they wouldn’t, not when they had a vessel in their midst. A vessel connected to a demon would surely know the threat the Tree of Light posed to Demonic energy and would report to the higher ups instead of leaving.

But the girl in front of me wouldn’t think that. I mean, how would she know about a vessel’s train of thought?

It was in this small uncertainty that I gambled, and continued in a grim tone, "…or would you rather go through another torture session to protect people who aren’t even your allies?"

"…"

She remained silent but I wasn’t having it anymore.

So, with a snap of my fingers a, light-elemental talisman appeared in my hand. Shocking both, Rifa and the tree girl, as they felt the B-ranked energy leaking out of it. Filling the talisman with my mana such that it could be activated with just another trickle, I slid it towards the girl’s end of table and spoke.

"Look here little lady, I am a mercenary, a hired hound that only does the things he is paid for. And capturing your friend is not the thing I am being paid for. What I want is the Church of Light and only the Church of Light. I am not interested in chasing someone, for who knows how far, when I’m not being paid for it."

"So, what will it be…? Experiencing your spirit body being destroyed again or will you talk?", I said, seeing the girl shiver visibly at my wording. After all, having your spirit body destroyed was an excruciating experience, very different from physical pain…I knew from first-hand experience.

"…I…I will talk.", she said hesitantly.

"That’s a good girl.", I said, and stored back the talisman.

Then with a victorious smirk, I looked at Rifa standing beside the tree girl and said, "Miss Rifa, a lie detector would sure come in handy now."

Her expression wasn’t good, and of course it wouldn’t be. Not with how easily I topped her day’s work in a minute or two.

And boy, she wasn’t polite in expressing it.

"It’s okay Mr. Ray. We handle the rest from here. You can go back now."

’And let you have all the credit?’

"Hmm? Are you sure? ’Cause the Baron specifically said, ’five minutes’", I played innocent before questioning her, "I mean, are you sure you can supersede that?"

"Sure, I can!", she said crossing her arms.

""No! You can’t!"", both Jack and Engliev refuted.

I gave Rifa an awkward smile.

"I’d like a lie detector Ms. Rifa."

***

[Center of the Misty Root Forest]

-Snore

-Snore

The Misty Root Forest. A forest with a 60% mortality rate, that too on the outskirts, was a dangerous place that even top-class adventurers didn’t dare to venture alone.

The forest could be described as unpredictable and mysterious, with adventurers being only able to map half of it over the decades.

One may think that the monsters inhabiting the forest must be the reason of difficulty, but that wasn’t the case.

Yes, there were monsters, a dangerous lot of them. But that wouldn’t have stopped the adventurers.

After all, there were several forests with even stronger monsters inhabiting them being explored, but not this one.

-Snore

-Snore

Why?

Because, it was the forest itself that was fighting against people.

Yes, that was right. The whole forest behaved like a single organism, preventing the humans from approaching its center.

Perennially flooded with mist, the forest changed its shape and layout, deliberately guiding the adventurers to their death.

It was as If the benevolent Atlas didn’t want anyone to enter the forest…

Some say that an elven treasure lay in the forest, some believed that there was a tomb of the last elven princess that the divine tree didn’t want to be tarnished.

But those were just speculations, the real reason was still hidden deep in the forest, where no one had reached, except the Empress maybe.

In fact, some lucky survivors who ventured deep and returned alive said that they clearly remembered sleeping in some different location and waking up in a different one, a more dangerous one. The Atlas itself moving them in their sleep.

As such, sleeping itself was considered a taboo in the forest.

-Snore

-Snore

So, if someone unluckily wandered the place that the duo was right now then, they would wonder.

’Who the hell dares to snore out loud in the Misty Root Forest!’

Of course, those words would die in their throats if they saw the one who was actually sleeping.

Not many people would dare to speak in front of a living, breathing monstrosity after all, much less risk waking it up.

-Crunch

But some people were just unlucky.

In an area as silent as a grave, the snapping of a twig was as loud as a gong. And Agnil, the head of Church of Light, who just stepped on the said twig, thought the same. He froze in place as he eyed the sleeping monstrosity for any sign of movements.

The beast was larger than a house. A set of leathery wings were growing out of its back, hiding a huge frame underneath them. But its head and tail were still visible to Agnil; a pair of horns growing out of the beast’s head, slowly hummed with the power of elements. He felt a cold sweat on his forehead as he saw its carapaced tail folded towards its front, giving him a clear view of the huge stinger that contained enough poison to kill a thousand mundane humans.

Agnil swore to his seven generations as he realized what beast he was facing.

’It’s…it’s…the Manticore that reigns the north…!’

As he was dreading for his dear life, an eerie voice, straight from the depths of the hell, whispered to him.

"The beast won’t wake up that easily."

For the first time in his life, did Agnil find a statement that felt so relieving yet chilling.

"You’ll have to touch the beast atleast, to do that.", Varkain, the demon of stealth, who was possessing the vessel called Lekas, said.

"…That’s good. I don’t want it to wake up.", Agnil said, not understanding what the demon was implying.

"Lucky you.", the demon standing beside him said abruptly.

Then, as he was racking his brain over why he was lucky, the demon smiled.

The same smile he saw yesterday night. An inhuman smile from ear to ear that filled one with fear before the demon explained ’heartily’, "I was about to gut you, thinking that you lured me into the den of powerful monsters."

"But that doesn’t seem to be the case."

Feeling cold gripping his old heart, Agnil squeezed out, "…Of course, I didn’t."

"Wait! You said beasts? There are more!?"

"Yes, a Thunder Dragon Wolf and Death Calix."

"That’s all the kings of the forest…", Agnil muttered under the gaze of the demon that urged him to elaborate.

"There are three kings of monsters in Misty Root Forest. The Manticore in the North, the Thunder Dragon Wolf in the West and the Death Calix in the South."

"Mostly, they keep to themselves in their own territory-"

"So, what are they doing here?", the demon interrupted.

"I don’t know.", Agnil sighed, as the demon squinted it’s eyes at him.

"I see…", Varkain muttered in an inaudible voice, "More variables.", not liking the situation in the slightest.

"Lead the way, Agnil.", The demon finally said, regretting not being there in person.

But, just a few minutes later, Varkain squinted his eyes.

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Then, a moment later the demon suddenly snarled scaring the living daylights out of Agnil.

"W-What happened!?"

"That tree of yours…it’s damn cunning.", the demon spat.

"What do you mean-"

Before, Agnil could complete the question, a spectral scythe appeared out of thin air.

"Fuck…!", Agnil cursed as he got ready to flee.

Yes, he just wanted to get the fuck out of there. The demon be dead for all he cared.

’In fact, that would be much better.’, Agnil thought.

For a moment he even considered using ’that’, but...

’Not yet.’