"Enzo━!"

"Enzo! Where are you?"

We all decided to split up and search for him. Of course, I warned them never to venture too deep into the dangerous forest at night.

So, I also started searching the forest with a torch to find him.

"What could have happened?"

Emily naturally stayed close to me.

"It's so dark... I don't think we'll find him."

The forest at night was incredibly dark and gloomy, so Emily held onto one of my arms, looking around with a scared expression.

Of course, I didn't particularly care what happened to Enzo.

Nonetheless, I couldn't just ignore the fact that he was missing and let him die.

At the very least, conducting a basic search was the right thing to do.

The problem was...

"Emily, you're holding onto me a bit too tightly."

"But if I let go, it's really too dark..."

Due to Emily holding onto my arm, I could distinctly feel her swimsuit-clad chest against me.

'In this situation... I'm such a pervert...'

Even though someone was missing, I still found myself aware of Emily.

Emily must also be filled with fear and concern for the missing person.

"....."

When I glanced at Emily, she too had a flushed face and leaned her head slightly on my shoulder.

...Was Emily having thoughts similar to mine?

Realizing I wasn't the only one feeling this way somehow made me feel relieved.

Well, Emily didn't seem particularly fond of Enzo anyway.

"We've come pretty far in."

"We don't know what kind of monster might be deeper in the forest, so be careful. Emily, don't let go of me."

"O-okay."

With that, Emily tightened her grip on my arm even more.

Of course, I wasn't doing it on purpose.

I sincerely warned her because the inner parts of the forest were dangerous.

‘Well, this island has boss-level monsters.’

A giant bear-shaped monster.

[Raourushi]

Naturally, with my physical abilities enhanced by special traits, it wouldn't be impossible for me to defeat it.

However, Emily was beside me.

Without the use of magic and being a support type, her physical abilities were average.

If we were attacked at this time of night, I might not be able to protect her.

To avoid such a disaster, I warned her not to stray from me.

With that, we walked further into the depths of the forest.

And then.

Thud.

"...Hold on, Emily. ...Something's caught on my foot."

While walking, my foot hit something distinctly softer than wood, soil, or stone.

We anxiously lowered the torch in our hands to see.

What came into view was a human leg.

“...Ugh.”

Startled by the sight, Emily covered her mouth with her hand and trembled.

It was obviously a corpse.

A dead person's body.

That was because the upper body was missing.

And the men's swimming trunks worn by the corpse were familiar.

The corpse was none other than the missing Enzo.

He had been torn in half and killed by something here.

“Emily, we need to head back to the beach right away...”

Recognizing the imminent danger, I wrapped my arm around Emily’s shoulder, ready to retreat immediately.

Emily, though in shock, followed my lead and began to move.

However.

[ Growl... ]

The sound of a beast's growl forced us to stop in our tracks.

Casting a dim shadow in the torchlight was a gigantic figure.

Its reflective eyes gleamed ominously in the light.

The beast’s sharp gaze was unmistakably fixed on us, as if preparing to pounce at any moment.

“Emily, it’s dangerous. Stay back.”

“…Be careful, Ken.”

Having been saved by me once from the Albino Cyclops, Emily was well aware of my strength.

So, though concerned, she heeded my words and stepped back, trusting me.

‘Rapid Crafting, Bone Sword.’

I used the familiar skill to summon a sword made of bone in my hand.

The moment I prepared my stance for battle.

[ Roaaar━!! ]

The massive beast rushed at me with unbelievable speed for its size.

Boom!

I barely managed to deflect its swinging arm with my sword.

‘It's so dark!’

The forest at night was too dark to see with just the torchlight.

Even though its size is large, it's difficult to pinpoint its position or attack direction.

'…I'll finish it in a single strike.'

At this rate, if it targeted Emily, I might not be able to respond in time.

Therefore, I took a stance of readiness.

The technique I was about to use was a Siegfried-style Swordsmanship that hadn't yet been named.

Among them was the One Sword (In-geom).

It's one of Siegfried's techniques that takes down an enemy with a swift, drawn sword strike.

[ Roooaaaar─! ]

The excited beast let out a tremendous roar.

It sounded like a warning that it would attack imminently.

In response to that roar, I moved to prevent it from having any chance to attack.

━Swoosh!

I swiftly drew and swung the sword I had readied just moments ago.

Swish...

The torch flickered, and with it, my body dashed forward.

The Siegfried-exclusive sword strike gently grazed the enemy's neck.

Despite the sharpness of the technique, it almost gave the illusion of not touching as it passed effortlessly over the monster's neck.

Thunk.

The head, which had been making those loud roars, quietly fell to the ground.

Boom!

And at the same time, its massive headless body collapsed to the ground.

“Whew... It's over now, Emily.”

As the tension ebbed away, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead, picked up the fallen torch, and approached Emily.

Emily looked at me with a relieved smile.

Then suddenly, her face hardened.

"Ken━! Behind you━!"

Hearing her urgent shout, I swiftly turned my head.

There stood the gigantic bear, its head severed but raising itself again.

It lifted a massive paw towards me.

'Damn!!'

Startled by the sight, I couldn't even think of countering with my sword.

"Emily━!"

I immediately leaped towards her.

Whoosh!

I heard the heavy swoosh of the paw slicing through the air.

Desperately, I flew towards Emily, pulling her into my arms as we rolled on the ground.

In this position, Emily was still within the range of the creature's attack.

To escape the threat, Emily and I rolled on the ground, only to find ourselves at the edge of a cliff.

"Aaah━!"

"Ugh!"

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Fortunately, it wasn't a sheer drop but felt more like a steep slope covered with grass.

Holding Emily, we slid along the grass downwards.

Thud!

"Ouch..."

"Ken! Are you okay?!"

Luckily, when we hit the ground, I landed on my back, so Emily wasn’t hurt.

Emily, who seemed to have landed on top of me, regained her senses and looked at me with a worried expression.

"Emily... what about it?"

"Oh, it doesn't seem to be chasing us... It looked like a last struggle..."

At my words, Emily lifted her head to look up at the top of the cliff from where we had fallen.

It seemed that the lifeforce of the bear-shaped monster that attacked us had completely faded, as everything was quiet atop the cliff.

"Ken, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not seriously hurt... just."

I wasn’t completely unscathed.

Was this some sort of trick by the Monkey Stele?

As I rolled down the slope and fell off the cliff, I ended up twisting one of my ankles.

Moreover, we had left the torch up there on the cliff.

Walking through the forest at night in this condition is extremely dangerous.

'We're in trouble...'

We found ourselves stuck here until sunrise.

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