Noxwood

A few weeks have passed since the others and I joined the Black Widow guild. Currently, G-5, which consists of me, Hikari, Alina, Katherine, and our leader Sythe, are on our way to a small town called Pinecrest. There has been an increase in demon activity in the area, with reports of people being killed and goods being stolen. The residents are said to be living in constant fear of the demons, and so G-5 has been assigned the task of dealing with them.

I don't know much about the demon race. I tried questioning Sythe about them, but all he told me is that they are former guardians cursed by the gods. Over the past couple of weeks, I've gotten to know Sythe a little better. This is our seventh quest as a team, and our previous missions mostly involved guarding celestial beasts and fighting mutants.

I've become accustomed to living in this world, though it is nothing compared to my past life. I used to spend my days basking in the sun and taking strolls around my beautiful garden, ensuring that my plants received enough nutrients. My evenings were filled with training, where my instructor taught me various sword techniques. I learned through pain; having your limbs cut off due to a simple misstep makes you less likely to make mistakes. Why go that far, you ask? Simply out of curiosity and a little bit of fear.

I had a gift that I wanted to learn more about. I wanted to understand the voices in my head, the ones urging me to survive and adapt. Being a pampered rich kid also allowed me to see how those considered to be lower class were treated. This perspective instilled a sense of fear in me. My father nurtured that fear and prepared me to take over the empire he inherited from my grandfather. But that all went up in smoke.

We have been traveling by horse-drawn carriage for about three days now, and it is estimated that we'll reach our destination by the end of the day. I lay on the roof of the carriage, basking in the sun like a potted plant. I've always loved the sun, and constantly soaking it in has caused my body to adapt. Now, my body absorbs energy from the sun, which improves my healing rate. Eventually, I made my way back inside the carriage where the others were.

When I entered, I noticed there were two groups. Alina and Katherine were chatting and giggling to themselves. It might have been my imagination, but I thought their laughter got louder the moment I walked in.

Sythe and Hikari were sitting close together, engaged in conversation. Over the past few weeks, those two have developed a teacher-student relationship. They wake up early in the mornings to train together. I've had to endure Sythe's mumblings about me not joining them. To this day, I have yet to participate in one of their training sessions. The less Sythe knows about my abilities, the better, and I can always gather information about him from Hikari.

I sat in a corner by myself and picked up a book I had brought with me. There isn't much literature in this world, which makes it harder to gather information. There is little to no information on celestial beasts and demigods. All I know about the demigods are their names, the gods they serve, and where they are located. According to this book, demigods live in temples situated at the six highest points in God Valley. The highest points are atop mountains, which are referred to as the 'Great Mountains.'

As I reached the end of my book, the carriage came to a stop. I peered out to see that we were right outside the town. Why did we stop? I wondered.

"This is as far as I can go. This place is too dangerous, and I would like to be far away from here before nightfall," the carriage driver said, sounding apologetic.

With that, we packed our things and headed toward the town, which was about a ten-minute walk away. When we arrived, the place seemed deserted. I followed behind Sythe as he led the way through the town. I felt eyes watching us from behind closed windows as we continued to walk. The demons must have done a number on them for them to be acting this way. It was extremely uncomfortable as the entire town stared at us from behind closed doors.

"They must be scared. Let's show them that we're here to help," Hikari encouraged us.

Sythe brought us to what appeared to be an inn. Inside, the atmosphere wasn't much more comfortable, as we were still bombarded by stares. Soon after, a chubby man with blond hair and a hint of a mustache approached us.

"It's good to see you again, Sythe," the man said.

"Likewise," Sythe replied in his flat tone.

"I see you haven't lost your charm. I see you've brought another group with you. I really hope you actually do something about the demons this time."

"The best we can do is deter them with our presence. We'll be staying until they no longer pose a threat to you."

"Don't give me that crap!" the man slammed his fist on the table in anger. "As the town leader, do you know how hard it is to watch your people getting brutally murdered by those savages? It's the same thing over and over again: you come here, have a squabble with the demons, and then leave. I won't stand for it this time! Tell that woman she should come and eradicate all of them."

"The Noxwood makes it impossible for us to eradicate them. If we tried, we'd be the ones who get eradicated."

The Noxwood? I had read about that place before. The Noxwood is a forest shrouded in darkness, said to have been left behind by a god. It nullifies all forms of light that try to enter. Inside the forest, you lose your sense of sight completely.

"The Noxwood forms a large circle around the demons' territory. If it were a normal forest, it would take us two hours to make our way through. Without the ability to see, it could take days or even weeks. Plus, we'd be easy targets for the demons, who have grown accustomed to the Noxwood. That's exactly what the demon lord wants," Sythe explained.

It did sound like a fool's errand. Without their ability to see, the guardians wouldn't be much of a threat to the demons.

"I know that, but... I don't know how much more of this I can take. Those damn abominations! If I had the strength, I would kill all of them—not just the demons, but those mutants too. They are nothing more than pests who have invaded our home!" the man said, seething with rage. His mood suddenly shifted as he gave a wicked smile. "Did I tell you about the last mutant we killed?"

"No, but I'm guessing it's the same as before," Sythe replied.

"No, this one was different. We didn't bother to cut off his head like we did with the one before."

"What did you guys do then?" Sythe asked him.

The man's face lit up as he answered, "Have you ever heard of blood eagle? It's a practice up north where you cut open a person's back and then open up their rib cage to form wings like an eagle, HaHaHa. The person we had do it wasn't very experienced, and he made a mess of things. The poor thing died screaming. HaHaHaHa!"

Hikari and the others wore grim expressions. Katherine, in particular, seemed traumatized by what she had heard and was on the verge of tears. Hikari stealthily took hold of her hand, which seemed to calm her down a bit. Alina watched heartbreakingly as their hands intertwined. I wondered how she felt seeing this. It must suck to be the losing heroine.

"It sounds like quite the event; I wish I could've seen it," I interjected into their conversation. I didn't blame them for being a bit barbaric. If the roles were reversed, I probably would have done the same thing. I was glad the others heard the story; I needed them to understand that this was war.

"It was quite the event, Ha... Ha... Ha," the man responded.

After having a few drinks with the town leader, we returned to our rooms. Tomorrow, we begin our fight against the demons. I wonder if I'll get to meet the demon lord.