Carine Forest — Outer Camp
The ground shook constantly now.
Not from monsters.
From men.
From armies.
From the sheer weight of one hundred and twenty thousand soldiers advancing toward the forest like an iron tide.
Supply wagons creaked endlessly across the roads. Armor columns moved in disciplined lines between banners snapping beneath the cold wind. Engineers hammered stakes into the earth while artillery crews positioned cannons along the outer ridges overlooking Carine Forest.
The old hunting camp had transformed completely.
What had once been a noble excursion site now resembled the forward command base of a continental war.
And above all of it—
Carine Forest remained silent.
Watching.
Near one of the elevated watch platforms, Darian stared toward the endless military formations moving across the distant hills.
"…Maybe we should have called for our forces too."
Mirelle stood beside him with her arms folded.
"They would have taken way too long."
Darian clicked his tongue.
"You know what I mean."
Further below, rows of Cardinals established defensive lines while Church Auroras erected glowing ward pylons around the perimeter.
Even from this distance, the scale was absurd.
Darian exhaled slowly.
"The kingdom want's to eliminate all possible variables before war."
Mirelle did not disagree.
Because he was right.
This much military power was usually reserved for either monster invasions or succession wars.
Not forests.
Not hunting grounds.
Not creatures hidden in the dark.
Mirelle's gaze shifted toward the Laosian section of camp further down the ridge.
Black banners.
Heavy artillery.
Even now, workers unloaded shells and reinforced steel crates from supply platforms connected to temporary track lines.
Yet, another marvel of the Laos craftsmanship, that achieved another milestone in logistics.
The sheer efficiency of it all felt unnatural compared to traditional armies.
"…They brought more weird stuff," she muttered.
Darian followed her gaze.
"That concerns me more than the monsters."
In the Laosian section of camp,
"You look terrible.", Bal remarked.
"You think, I don't know that!!", Kleber.
"You look terrible."
Bal's voice carried much sympathy for his friend.
Across from him—
Kleber looked like a man whose soul had been dragged behind artillery fire for several days.
Dark circles beneath his eyes.
Sleeves rolled unevenly.
Dried black stains still marked parts of his gloves.
"You think I do not know that?" Kleber snapped.
Bal leaned against a supply crate.
"You smell like death."
"That is because I spent four days assisting a man dissecting things that should not exist."
"Fair."
Nearby soldiers quietly avoided participating in the conversation.
Mostly because none of them wanted Kleber to remember details.
Kleber rubbed his face aggressively.
"He has not slept properly in three days."
Bal frowned.
"…That seems bad."
"He is way too into this, we have to do something about this."
"That bad."
"He also tried drinking concentrated stimulants."
Bal went silent.
"…How concentrated?"
Kleber stared at him.
"He described it as 'potent enough to keep a mauled man awake.'"
Bal slowly lowered his head into one hand.
"I should have brought Lucy."
Behind them—
Several Laos engineers moved around carefully while attaching the armaments to all the twenty thousand armors and checking on artillery.
Further down the camp—
Sous stood beside a command table studying maps with Adrean and several generals.
Sections of Carine Forest had already been marked in layered rings:
Outer rim.
Middle zones.
The deeper regions remained mostly blank.
Unknown.
That alone unsettled the room more than any casualty report.
One general pointed toward the eastern ridge.
"If the corruption spreads through wildlife, then the outer villages must be evacuated immediately."
Another frowned.
"That could cause panic."
"Panic is preferable to infestation."
A Church official spoke next.
"We should burn the deeper sections entirely."
"That forest belongs to House Angelus," one of the nobles objected immediately.
"And?"
The room went quiet.
Because nobody actually had a good counterargument anymore.
Then—
"I would like to meet the Baron first.", Arch-prelate, "I wish to see what exactly are these creatures."
Adrean's expression shifted slightly.
Sous looked toward him.
"…You think that is wise?"
The Arch-Prelate folded his hands into his sleeves.
"No."
A pause.
"But wisdom and necessity rarely share the same road."
That answer settled heavily over the table.
One of the Church advisors stepped forward immediately.
"Your Eminence, with respect, exposure to unknown corruption is unacceptable."
"And ignorance is preferable?"
The advisor fell silent.
The Arch-Prelate's gaze moved toward the dark forest beyond the camp walls.
"These reports speak of living corpses."
"Of parasitic mana adaptation."
"Of preserved cognition after death."
His eyes narrowed faintly.
"If even half of that is true…"
A pause.
"…then this matter exceeds territorial authority."
Sous noticed the shift immediately.
Interesting.
The Church was frightened.
Not publicly.
Not openly.
But frightened enough that the Arch-Prelate himself wanted confirmation.
Adrean folded his arms.
"Then you should prepare yourself."
The old man looked toward him.
"For what?"
Adrean answered flatly.
"Logos Laos."
"Oh, I think you are more in for a surprise then I am.", the old priest smiled.
A short while later—
The Laosian restricted zone had become even more heavily guarded than before.
Black-armored soldiers stood motionless between barricades while warning sigils glowed faintly across reinforced fencing.
The smell reached them before the tents did.
Rot.
Chemicals.
Burned flesh.
The Arch-Prelate's expression did not change.
That alone impressed several nearby knights.
Sous walked slightly ahead beside him.
"He has isolated the infected specimens here."
"He claims further observation is necessary."
"Claims?" the Arch-Prelate asked mildly.
Sous glanced toward the black tents.
"With Logos, it is difficult to tell where observation ends and obsession begins."
The old priest hummed quietly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then—
The central tent flap opened.
Steam rolled outward.
And Logos stepped outside.
Black coat.
Rolled sleeves.
Dark stains across both gloves.
His expression remained perfectly calm.
Behind him—
Something screamed.
Not loudly.
Weakly.
Wet.
Human.
Several nearby Church knights visibly stiffened.
Logos looked toward the gathered group.
Then toward the Arch-Prelate.
"You look healthier."
The silence afterward was immediate.
Sous blinked.
Adrean looked genuinely confused now.
The Arch-Prelate gave a faint chuckle.
"And you still greet people like a mortician."
"I am being sincere."
"That concerns me more."
Behind them, another weak scream echoed from inside the black tent.
Wet.
Painfully human.
Several Church knights quietly tightened his grip on his weapon.
"Still as restless as ever.", Logos.
"Two years," the old priest repeated calmly. "And you somehow look more suspicious than before."
"I have been busy."
"That is precisely why I worry."
Adrien's eyes widened, Auray had told him that church had sent an envoy to meet Logos but the envoy being the Arch-prelate was unexpected.
"I am guessing, you weren't aware either.", Adrien looked at Sous.
"No.", Sous.
The Arch-Prelate gave a faint chuckle.
"The Church tends to notice unusual children."
Logos ignored him.
"You came to inspect the specimens."
"Yes, after all, we still have an agreement in place."
The old priest's gaze shifted toward the tent behind Logos.
"And judging by the sounds…"
A pause.
"…you found something."
Logos tilted his head slightly.
"Yes."
"May I see?" the old priest asked.
Logos stared at him for a moment.
Then stepped aside.
"You may."
The moment they entered—
Everyone except Logos recoiled instinctively.
The interior looked less like a medical station—
And more like a battlefield dragged indoors.
Metal tables.
Chains.
Runic restraints.
Black blood flowing through carved drainage channels.
Glass containers filled with twitching dark growths.
One of the younger priests immediately covered his mouth.
"Here.", Kleber passed him a small container.
"Behfwewahhh.", the younger priest proceeded to vomit in the metal jar.
Along the far side of the tent—
Three creatures remained restrained to reinforced frames.
Or what remained of them.
Their bodies had been brutally torn apart.
Entire sections of their bodies had been cut out.
Exposed organs & muscles still twitched beneath opened flesh.
Black root-like growths pulsed visibly through their veins.
One of them moved its head weakly toward the entering group.
Its ruined mouth opened slowly.
"…h…un…"
The sound collapsed into wet choking.
A Church knight almost raised his weapon immediately.
"Do not damage them, they are useful." Logos said calmly.
That somehow made the room worse.
The Arch-Prelate stepped closer instead.
No fear.
Only scrutiny.
Interesting.
His old eyes studied the nearest corpse carefully.
Then—
One of the black root structures moved.
Recoiling from the priest's light sigils.
Several sun knights stiffened instantly.
The Arch-Prelate's expression finally changed.
Only slightly.
But Sous noticed it.
Concern.
Real concern.
"…Alive," the old priest murmured.
"Partially," Logos corrected.
The Arch-Prelate glanced toward him.
"Explain."
Logos moved beside one of the tables and picked up a metal instrument.
"The parasite network preserves limited biological function after death."
"It also reacts to mana."
He pointed toward one of the exposed growths.
"Heat."
"Light."
"Physical trauma."
"Fear responses."
Another weak twitch rolled through the corpse.
Adrean's expression darkened.
"You are telling me these things remain conscious?"
"Slightly."
One of the Church priests immediately spoke.
"That is impossible."
"Did you forget your eyes?", Logos replied calmly.
That answer killed the room again.
The Arch-Prelate remained focused on the corpse.
"…What are they?"
Logos paused briefly.
Then—
"I do not know yet."
A wet clicking sound emerged from the nearest specimen.
Its jaw trembled violently.
Then—
"…hun…gry…"
One of the younger knights visibly stepped backward.
The Arch-Prelate closed his eyes briefly.
"…Merciful heavens."
Sous looked toward him immediately.
"You know something?"
The old priest opened his eyes slowly.
"No."
A pause.
"But I know enough to understand this should not exist."
Logos looked mildly interested.
"That is an emotionally driven statement."
The Arch-Prelate ignored him.
Instead, he stepped toward another table where several sealed containers rested beneath glowing runes.
Inside them—
Black root-like masses twisted slowly against the glass.
One container had cracked from the inside.
The old priest's gaze sharpened immediately.
"These react to mana independently?"
"Yes."
"And they continue moving after separation from the host?"
"If they are able to get sustanance."
The old priest went silent.
Then—
"How far has your research progressed?"
That question made everyone else in the tent tense immediately.
Because they all knew what it implied.
Logos answered honestly.
"The parasites get's inside the host slowly spreading through the muscles area before taking complete control, then it will just use the body like a puppet."
The silence afterward felt suffocating.
Even Kleber looked exhausted hearing it aloud.
One of the Church knights whispered quietly:
"…That sounds demonic."
Logos immediately shook his head.
"No, it is completely organic."
The Arch-Prelate slowly looked toward the restrained corpses again.
Then toward the distant forest beyond the tent walls.
"…How many are inside Carine?"
Logos answered immediately.
"Unknown."
"That is not acceptable."
"I agree."
The Arch-Prelate's gaze hardened.
"And the larger entity?"
At that—
Even Logos paused.
Just slightly.
That was enough to make the room tense.
The black tent felt smaller all at once.
The restraints.
The twitching corpses.
The sealed containers.
The wet smell of rot and chemicals.
Everything inside it suddenly seemed to lean toward the same question.
Logos looked toward the old priest.
Then, at last—
"…It is intelligent."