Chapter 115: Chapter 115: The Tower in the Forest
The second day in Kelin Town.
At the forest's edge, the dappled light and shadows cast everything in a half-lit glow.
Ino looked helplessly at the eager Grimm brothers.
Just yesterday, after they saved the little girl from the mud monster, the town mayor had hired them for 15 gold coins to solve the town's mysterious occurrences.
They had only conducted a preliminary investigation and didn't even know where the tower was. Yet, this morning, the Grimm brothers were already set on venturing into the forest.
The forest ahead was filled with bizarre trees, their branches twisted as if they had endured countless agonizing struggles. The bark was covered in mottled cracks, as if mercilessly torn by time, exposing the grotesque wood beneath.
There were no bird calls, no insect chirps, not even the wind, leaving an eerie, deathly silence all around.
Ino gripped his wand, cautiously watching the strange forest.
"Wilhelm, Jacob, are you sure you want to go in now? We don't even know which direction to go!"
Hearing this, Wilhelm also took out a sharp dagger from his boot, responding with a helpless tone:
"I know what you're saying, but we have no choice. This happened 100 years ago. Emily doesn't know, and no one else knows either. We can't find anyone to ask."
Jacob nodded in agreement beside him, indicating that the two brothers were not new to such situations.
Seeing the two about to enter the forest, Ino took a deep breath and said, "You two wait here, I'll go up to figure out the direction."
With that, he leapt into the air, transforming instantly into a graceful and mysterious black swan.
The swan's wings were broad and shiny black, reflecting a sapphire hue under the sunlight.
With two powerful flaps of his wings, by the time the Grimm brothers realized it, the black swan had already broken free of gravity's pull, soaring a dozen meters high.
...
From the sky, Ino overlooked the entire forest.
It was larger than he had imagined. With no clues, he ascended higher, as the principle of seeing farther from a higher vantage point held true everywhere.
As he spiraled upward, everything below became smaller and smaller.
Finally, something different appeared in his sight.
To the southwest, a large barren area emerged in the strange forest, like a leaf gnawed into a hole by an insect.
Having found something different, he had to check it out.
After pinpointing the direction, he flapped his wings, and after about fifteen minutes of full-speed flight, he arrived above the barren clearing.
It was a truly desolate area, with gray-brown soil devoid of any vegetation.
In the center of the clearing stood a dilapidated tower. The spire had collapsed, but the main tower still stood. Using the three-to-four-meter high strange willows in the distance as a reference, this slender tower was clearly a hundred meters tall.
Ino slowly descended, flying low enough to take in the full view of the tower.
The decaying tower looked as if it had been eroded by acid, its surface pitted and scarred.
The surface was also covered in withered vines, resembling a decayed arm with dried-up blood vessels.
Everything around exuded an ominous, graveyard-like aura.
Surrounding the tower were twelve massive coffins, arranged in a circle.
These coffins were made of an unknown black material, etched with eerie patterns.
The layout of the coffins remarkably resembled the twelve-hour markers of a clock, seemingly indicating the passage of time.
A dilapidated tower and twelve stone coffins.
Viewed from above, it resembled a giant, abandoned clock face. The difference was, this clock had only the center and the markers, lacking the hour and minute hands.
Ino didn't linger. After getting a clear view of the tower, he swiftly ascended and headed back the way he came.
The atmosphere here was overwhelmingly oppressive.
Even while flying low, he had felt as though an invisible eye was watching him.
...
At the forest's edge.
Wilhelm and Jacob sat on the ground, with Wilhelm engrossed in writing in a thick notebook.
Jacob, bored, was whittling a branch with his silver short sword.
After a while, seemingly tired of his game, he tossed the branch aside.
"Don't you think he's very mysterious?"
"Haven't we encountered enough mysteries?" Wilhelm retorted without looking up, still writing in his notebook.
"Jacob, do you think he's an evil person?"
"Absolutely not!" Jacob sprang to his feet. "Ino is a good person, and he means no harm. I'm certain of that. No one can deceive me."
After a moment, Wilhelm closed his notebook, then chuckled:
"Well then! Why worry about his mysteries? Everyone has their own secrets. As friends, we should respect his privacy, not pry into it."
Jacob was about to say something more, but Wilhelm cut him off:
"Alright! Our friend is back."
...
At the same time.
A black swan descended from the sky. At three feet above the ground, it instantly transformed back into a young man.
"I found the tower, southwest. But it's very peculiar there..."
Ending his Animagus transformation, Ino immediately recounted what he had seen, including his estimation of the distance.
"The missing girls from the town are likely in the coffins. We must reach the tower before dark."
As he spoke, Wilhelm took out a small compass from his pocket. After setting the direction, he led the way into the forest.
...
The trio navigated through the labyrinthine forest.
Wilhelm held the compass and led the way, with Ino and Jacob following behind.
Whether it was the compass or something else, the journey was surprisingly smooth.
Two hours later.
The towering structure was now visible in the distance.
"Stop!" Wilhelm suddenly shouted, putting away the compass and adopting a defensive stance.
The sky suddenly darkened. Unbeknownst to them, hundreds of crows had gathered above.
They circled in the air, emitting harsh, piercing cries.
"Someone is trying to stop us from approaching the tower." Jacob raised his silver short sword high.
The gleaming sword emitted a dazzling light.
The crows, as if encountering a natural enemy, though no longer diving to attack, didn't leave either. They continued to circle above.
Seizing the brief respite, the trio arrived at the base of the tower.
Seeing the towering structure over a hundred meters tall but without any stairs, Wilhelm turned and asked:
"Ino, can you get us up there? We found the source of the curse! Now all Jacob needs to do is plunge his sword into the witch's heart to break it completely!"
"As long as you don't mind the cold, I have a way!" Ino replied after surveying the surroundings.
While answering Wilhelm, Ino couldn't shake a feeling of unease, sensing this trip had been unusually smooth.
It felt like a boxing match where the opponent lay down as soon as the bell rang.
Even though the Grimm brothers were the story's protagonists... this felt like a rigged match.
And the arrival of these crows was equally suspicious.
They didn't seem to be blocking them, but rather signaling, silently saying, "Look! You've found the right place!"
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