Something massive moved within the fog.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the forest.
THOOM.
THOOM.
The ground trembled faintly beneath each step. Ryker's expression tightened instantly.
"…That's no beast."
Randell lowered himself into the bushes ahead, one hand pushing aside damp leaves carefully while the aura around his eyes sharpened further.
The fog shifted.
And the creature emerged.
Huge.
At least twice the height of a grown man.
Green-grey skin stretched across mountains of raw muscle while crude iron plates hung loosely across its shoulders and waist. Thick tusks protruded upward from its lower jaw, stained dark with old blood.
An orc.
A massive one.
Its footsteps alone shook loose leaves from nearby branches.
Ryker's grip slowly tightened around his sword.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
The creature held one of their horses by the neck with a single arm.
The terrified animal kicked wildly while letting out panicked cries.
The second horse burst through nearby bushes and fled deeper into the forest before the monster could grab it.
The orc snarled angrily at the escaping animal—
Then raised the horse in its hand toward its mouth.
Like prey.
Like food.
Randell's eyes narrowed instantly.
"Now."
Both moved at the same time.
Silent.
Fast.
Ryker exploded from the bushes first, sword drawn in a silver arc beneath the moonlight while Randell shot forward from the opposite side like a shadow cutting through fog.
The orc sensed them immediately. Its massive head turned—
Too late.
Ryker's blade struck first.
Steel carved deep across the creature's neck with explosive force.
At the exact same instant
Randell's dagger flashed across the remaining flesh.
A perfect cross strike.
For one brief second
Everything froze.
Then the orc's head separated completely.
Blood erupted into the air like crimson rain.
The massive head crashed against the forest floor hard enough to shake the earth.
THOOOM.
Its body remained standing for half a heartbeat longer before slowly collapsing sideways through the trees, crushing branches beneath its weight.
The horse dropped free just before the corpse fell. It stumbled wildly across the ground but remained alive, trembling violently as it backed away from the dead monster.
Silence returned once more.
Heavy.
Cold.
Blood dripped steadily from Ryker's blade onto the dirt. Randell stood motionless beside the fallen giant, eyes fixed on the corpse.
Ryker exhaled slowly.
"…Okay."
He glanced at the severed head.
"…I officially hate this forest now."
The forest remained silent after the orc's collapse. Only the horse's uneven breathing broke the stillness.
Ryker crouched beside the animal carefully, checking its front leg while wiping blood from his blade against the grass.
"…Great."
The horse snorted nervously.
A deep gash stretched along its lower leg where the orc's grip had nearly crushed the bone. .
Not fatal.
But bad enough.
Ryker sighed heavily while standing back up.
"It can still walk."
He glanced toward the deeper forest.
"Barely."
Randell remained near the dead orc, calmly cleaning his dagger beneath the moonlight as if decapitating monsters in the middle of cursed forests was a normal inconvenience.
Ryker stared at him for a moment. Then finally spoke.
"…You know something's wrong with you, right?"
Randell glanced sideways.
"What now."
Ryker gestured vaguely toward the corpse.
"This."
Then toward the blood-covered trees.
"All of this."
He sheathed his sword with a metallic click before grabbing the horse's reins.
"Kids your age aren't supposed to fight orcs in the middle of the night like it's another Tuesday."
Randell said nothing. Ryker continued walking slowly beside him.
"…And it's not just you."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Cyan and Ryan too."
"Why do all of you insist on hunting in forests like this every single day?"
Randell finally answered.
Simple.
Direct.
"Because it's fun."
Ryker froze mid-step.
"…Fun?"
Randell nodded once.
"Mm."
Ryker's spine crawled instantly.
And against his will, His imagination betrayed him. A horrifying mental image surfaced inside his head. Three boys standing on top of a mountain of monster corpses beneath crimson moonlight. Cyan laughing like a maniac. Ryan casually spinning a knife coated in blood.
Randell standing between them silently with that same emotionless stare. All three wearing terrifying devilish grins. Holding dripping blades. Leaning casually over dismembered monsters like lunatics born from nightmares.
Ryker visibly shuddered.
"…Nope."
He pointed at Randell immediately.
"That answer made everything worse."
Randell looked genuinely confused.
"Why."
"Because normal children don't describe fighting orcs as fun."
Randell thought for a moment.
"…Cyan does."
Ryker's face lost all color.
"Of course he does."
They continued deeper through the forest slowly now, the injured horse limping beside them while the second horse followed nervously behind.
Ryker groaned after several minutes.
"…This is going to slow us down so much."
He glanced upward toward the enormous trees stretching into darkness.
"If the horse wasn't injured we could've ridden together."
Another sigh escaped him.
"Or better yet, traveled through the trees."
Tree-leaping would have been far faster.
Safer too.
Experienced fighters often crossed dangerous forests from above instead of risking ambushes below. But not while escorting wounded animals. Now they had no choice except to walk.
Slowly.
Painfully slowly.
"Damn it!"
The head rolled several feet through the dirt.
Randell watched silently.
Not a single reaction on his face.
Which somehow irritated Ryker even more.
"…You could at least pretend this situation is annoying."
Randell adjusted the bandage around his wounded arm and continued walking.
"…It is annoying."
"You sound dead inside when you say it."
"…Mm."
"See? That! Exactly that!"
Nothing.
The forest slowly began to thin as they continued forward. The towering trees no longer pressed together as tightly, allowing faint moonlight to
spill across the ground in wider streams of silver.
For the first time in hours, The air felt lighter.
Ryker loosened his grip on the horse's reins slightly while letting out another exhausted sigh.
"I swear this forest exists purely to ruin my life."
Behind him, the second horse nudged against his shoulder nervously before lowering its head toward a patch of grass. At least the animals had finally calmed down.
Mostly.
Randell walked several steps ahead in silence, aura fading gradually from his eyes now that the immediate danger had passed. The faint silver glow disappeared completely. Normal darkness returned around him.
Ryker glanced toward the bandages wrapped around Randell's arm.
"…How bad does it hurt?"
"Manageable."
"That means it hurts a lot."
Randell didn't deny it.
Ryker shook his head quietly.
"…You're terrible at sounding human sometimes."
A faint breeze drifted through the trees.
Cool.
Gentle.
Nothing like the suffocating stillness from earlier.
Somewhere in the distance, insects finally chirped again.
The forest was breathing normally now. Ryker noticed it immediately.
"…That's comforting."
Randell glanced sideways.
"What is."
"Noise."
Ryker smirked faintly.
"When forests go quiet, terrible things usually happen."
"…True."
The path ahead sloped downward gradually until they reached a narrow stream cutting through the woods.
Crystal clear water flowed over smooth stones while moonlight shimmered softly across the surface. Ryker immediately guided the horses toward it.
"Finally."
The injured horse drank carefully while Ryker knelt beside the stream and splashed cold water across his face.
"…I needed that."
Randell crouched near the edge as well, rinsing blood from his dagger in silence. The crimson flow disappeared into the current instantly. Ryker looked toward him again after a moment.
"…You really don't talk much unless someone's trying to kill us."
"Talking wastes energy."
"That sounds like something an eighty-year-old martial arts master would say."
Randell slid the dagger back into its sheath calmly.
"…Maybe."
Ryker stared at him suspiciously.
"…You know, the more time I spend around you, the more convinced I become that you were born thirty years old."
No response.
Ryker pointed accusingly.
"See? That silence right there."
A faint crunch echoed nearby as one of the horses shifted awkwardly on its injured leg. Ryker's expression softened slightly.
"…We should stop before dawn."
He looked toward the exhausted animals.
"Pushing them further tonight would just make the injury worse."
Randell studied the area briefly before nodding once.
"There's higher ground east of here."
"You already checked?"
"While you were complaining."
Ryker stared at him for several seconds.
"…One day I'm going to leave you behind out of spite."
Randell started walking again.
"…You'd get lost."
"…I hate that you're probably right."