The Forest Of Screaming Corpses (2)

The night when the two were utterly defeated by Ma Hana.

As they were seething with rage in the hospital, a silver-haired individual approached them and introduced themselves as ‘Pyo Dok-ju’.

Simultaneously, she revealed herself as a figure active in the underworld as a Class Hunter.

Pyo Dok-ju made them an offer.

She would kill the woman named Ma Hana.
In return, they should cooperate in capturing that man.

Normally, they would have refused outright.

After all, they were Hunters.

It was their duty not to align with demons and villains that disturb and threaten world peace.

‘But now, who cares about it?!’

As long as they could get their revenge on Ma Hana, they didn’t care about the circumstances.

Even if one person died and another was kidnapped, it would be wrapped up as a mishap from taking the wrong turn on an Unexplored Route.

In the first place, it was difficult to find evidence in cases of disappearance within dungeons.

Of course, it would fizzle out without any significant results.

‘…So there’s no problem.’

They just needed to get rid of the pesky furball and return to their original lives.

The story ends when they save up money again and take the exam.

“…It’s still hard to believe, even now.”

Pyo Dok-ju, with a puzzled look, reviewed the file handed over by the green-haired person.

“Is that really the same graceful man known as the ?”
“According to the documents sent by the staff, there’s no mistake.”
“Hmm, does God bestow classes based on appearance? That’s quite biased.”
“…Excuse me.”
“What is it?”
“…You haven’t forgotten our deal, right?”

At those words, Pyo Dok-ju’s brow furrowed.

“Persistent, aren’t you? The deal was that you guys would finish off that half-breed cat woman, and I would subdue and take away the Sword Saint, wasn’t it?”

“Y-yes, that’s right. But, you see… isn’t it a waste to let that man go just like this?”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“…Well, you see.”

The vile explanation that followed from the green-haired one.

What she aimed for was to disgrace Yu Seha.

To be specific, she wanted to say, ‘Your man was awesome, right?’ in front of the incapacitated Ma Hana.

Simply killing her was not enough.
It didn’t seem like only that would satisfy her.

“…Hah.”

The sheer vulgarity of her desire left Pyo Dok-ju dumbfounded.

Not even a bitch in heat would harbor such thoughts.

‘Utterly pathetic.’

Frowning, Pyo Dok-ju reluctantly nodded at the continuing words of the green-haired one.

After all, it was thanks to their cooperation that she had made it this far.

She had an obligation to fulfill possible requests of theirs.

“…Good. But it’s a story that begins after everything is over and we step outside the gate. Understood?”
“Hehe, of course.”

Pyo Dok-ju clicked her tongue as she watched the duo she disliked.

Indeed, joining hands with such trash went against her principles.

‘But I don’t have any other choice right now.’

One must know how to endure for the sake of a dream being fulfilled.

With a final sense of confirmation, she lifted the binoculars.

Yu Seha, who did nothing in particular, and Ma Hana, who busily ran around, dealing with the undead in his stead.

What impressed Pyo Dok-ju, of course, was Ma Hana.

‘Surely, these trash that can’t even be recycled to something are bound to fall in front of her.’

Was it called the class?

As expected of a class regarded as noble among tankers, Ma Hana’s tanking ability was above average, even in Pyo Dok-ju’s eyes.

It was hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, this person was deemed a dropout by everyone.

The most astonishing thing was her speed.

Even while carrying a large shield as big as her body, Ma Hana’s movements were almost as fast as those of a speed-specialized dealer.

‘Her field of vision seems wide too.’

Ma Hana’s movements were efficient and without unnecessary actions, blocking the enemy’s attacks.

Seeing this, Pyo Dok-ju felt a bit regretful.

‘…She would sell for a high price too.’

A Myoin race, which was quite popular, and a [Guardian] class at that.
Even her appearance was quite decent.

Compared to Yu Seha next to her, she was lacking, but her market value was sufficient.

However, being greedy for this as well would be overreaching, even for her standards.

Even if these two women next to her were trash, they were hunters who operated openly.

‘…There’s no need to create unnecessary trouble.’

The favor granted earlier was an extension of this.

Anyway…
Was that really doing nothing?

‘I want to see him swing his sword at least once.’

From earlier, he was just standing still like a stone statue.

At first, it seemed like he was using a skill, but at some point, he stopped that too.

Whether he was a man or whatever, a Sword Saint was a Sword Saint.

Surely, his talent and understanding of the sword must be extraordinary.

It was when she was closely observing, hoping that something might happen.

Glaaaaance.

“…?!”

In a moment, she made eye contact with Yu Seha.
Startled inside, Pyo Dok-ju lowered the binoculars.
She raised them again to observe.

However, Yu Seha was running towards the approaching undead as if nothing had happened.

‘…Was it an illusion?’

Yes, it must have been an illusion.

No matter how mediocre she was, she would be considered a C-rank if she were a regular hunter.

She wasn’t inexperienced enough to be detected by an F-rank like that man.

It was right to execute the plan at this time.

“The battle is coming to an end.”

Pyo Dok-ju, who signaled the two, stood up from her seat.

What came out of her pocket were several black beads.

“You two. Smash and scatter these along the main route.”
“What are these?”
“They’re a jamming artifact that disrupts the emergency communication network.”

Unlike ordinary dungeons, the had emergency communication artifacts scattered around just in case.

In this place where electronic devices didn’t work properly, these were among the few devices that could send messages to the Guild, excluding skills.

“I’m a demon, so I can’t go use the main route. The bell will ring the moment they detect demonic energy around it.”

“Understood.”

The duo nodded at each other.

They swiftly disappeared, holding the black beads in their arms.

Pyo Dok-ju watched them leave and then rummaged through her pants to take out a small box.

When she opened it, there was a small leather pouch inside, just the size of her palm. Inside the pouch, there was a powder, as if something had been crushed within.

The powder was actually a [Special Magic Stone] processed with the power of demons.

Commonly called ‘Demon Stone,’ it was an illegal item and strictly prohibited by all groups except demons and villains.

Just possessing it could lead to death penalty, as it could be used in many wicked ways.

Its creation was difficult, and its value was priceless.

Such an item was not something a mediocre like Pyo Dok-ju could easily obtain.

‘…It was sent directly by that person.’

Failure was not an option.

Pyo Dok-ju walked around, scattering an appropriate amount of powder here and there along the path.

After a while, a horde of undead, drawn by the aura emanating from the powder, began to approach.

Most were E-D grade zombies or skeletons, but their numbers were substantial.

A little later, the duo returned and were startled to see the gathered horde of undead.

“Don’t be scared. It’s a powerful spell that even works on the undead.”

“…Ah, so with this?”

“Yes, these guys will drain the prey’s strength.”

The efficacy of the powder wouldn’t last long.
But this much was enough to make them exhausted.

Surely, they would be repeatedly caught off guard by the sudden onslaught of undead, fighting and fleeing.

‘Naturally, their stamina and mana will drop.’

All they had to do was follow the sound of the fighting and join in midway.

“Then let’s begin.”

At Pyo Dok-ju’s words, the duo of thieves nodded with a vile expression.

Blinded by jealousy, the hunters started their activities.

30 minutes.

1 hour.

And then 2 hours.

Pyo Dok-ju and the duo of thieves kept moving.

They ventured deep into the forest, guided by the occasional sounds of undead hordes.

“Heo-eok, heo-eok… Wait a moment!”

The green-haired one raised her hand.
At that sight, Pyo Dok-ju frowned.

“What is it? Are you out of breath just from walking this much? There’s no time for us to rest. We must continue tracking–”
“No, it’s not that! Doesn’t something seem strange to you?”
“What do you mean?”
“We should have reached the Shrine by now.”

At the green-haired one’s words, the orange-haired one also chimed in.

“Y-Yes! Huff, huff… I-It’s not that far. And we should be hearing sounds of fighting… There hasn’t been any noise at all until now.”

Then, the final blow struck Pyo Dokj-u’s ears.

“Isn’t this… the [Unexplored Route]?”
“…!”

At those words, Pyo Dok-ju flinched.
She took out the map from her pants and checked the surrounding terrain.

‘…Damn.’

Only then did she realize they had strayed from the main route.

It was too late to notice, as the forest looked the same on any side.

‘…No way.’

A chilling sensation followed.
The sensation soon turned into the worst warning.
The warning quickly brought them face to face with a life-threatening situation.

“Krrrrr…”
“Kweee.”

At the sound of cries clearly approaching them, Pyo Dok-ju let out a despairing voice.

“Damn it, we’ve been had.”
“…What?”
“We’re about to be hunted by our prey.”
“…What do you mean?!”

The green-haired one couldn’t finish her sentence.
Undead began pouring out from everywhere.

Every single one of them.
The undead horde that was first controlled and sent out.
They had returned.

“Wh-What on earth is happening?!”
“Stop panicking and get ready to fight them!”
“W-Wait a minute! Can’t you just control them again?!”
“Do you think mental sorcery is a cure to everything?! It doesn’t work on the same target twice. And I don’t have enough power left anyway!”

Pyo Dok-ju, who was yelling at the top of her lungs, hastily grabbed her blade at the approaching presence.

Clang!

A clear metallic sound echoed.

“Kuak!”

‘…Damn it.’

Pyo Dok-ju, who had blocked the Skeleton Knight’s strike, thought with a cold sweat.

Wh-what…

‘What the hell is going on here?!’