บท 49: Isn't This Forest Too Strange? (2)

"...Empty."

That was the only word he could use to describe the current state of the cave. He had ambushed a beast and injured it then followed it back to its lair. After killing the beast just as it entered the cave, Sebastian saw an empty cave with no other entities.

No plants, no beasts, nothing.

Other than the barren inside, he could only see the dark and moody jagged walls and ceiling.

He tried to inspect it a bit more to see if he could find a hole or something that the rat or bats could fit in but there really wasn't anything. He even tried hitting the walls with his spear for a bit but other than putting some large scratches, nothing happened.

Sebastian left the cave unwillingly.

"What the heck is happening around here?"

Because he couldn't find any more clues in the cave, he began searching for more beasts. However, each time he followed them to a cave, a tree, a hole, no matter where they went, it was always an empty spot with no signs of other life.

An ominous feeling slowly crept up on Sebastian and he subconsciously turned around and thrust his spear forward.

All Sebastian saw was some black smoke that faded away as soon as it appeared but it sent chills down his spine.

His instinct yelled at him to run away as fast as possible but his mind was asking him where to run away. He felt as if no matter where he went, that black smoke would just follow him.

Still, he had no time to think. A gust of wind brushed past his head with what felt like a blade about to sweep past his head.

Sebastian crouched as fast as he could and mere moments after, several trees around him were cut in half.

"There really is something here!" Sebastian ran away as fast as he could and even used the trees as cover sometimes but no matter what, he couldn't shake off the black smoke following him close behind.

He tried using arrows but they just passed through the black smoke that became more and more visible as the chase went on.

"Fireball!"

Sebastian yelled and fired off a small fireball towards the smoke but like the arrows, it simply just passed through. He could've used a larger flame but he wasn't sure if it would hit and used a small one to save energy.

"What is that thing?!"

He couldn't help but yell out in frustration. It could chop trees like paper, pass through objects and flames without getting hit. Of course, he also tried using wind but like the many things he threw before it, they all just passed through.

The chase where one mistake would cost him his life continued for a few minutes but then, the smoke suddenly disappeared and the ominous feeling he felt accompanied it.

"I'm back where I started."

Sebastian looked back and noticed his path. Did the dark smoke lead him out of that place on purpose? Or could it be that it just couldn't get past that range and returned to its home?

Either way, it was good news for Sebastian. He could finally escape from that nightmare of an opponent.

He wanted to investigate but he couldn't do anything in the face of that dark smoke.

"...I'll just leave it for later. If I inform the house then they can seal the forest."

It was far too dangerous to just leave it alone. The only reason Sebastian could was that he could use the Walt House's ability, body enhancement. If a regular person were to encounter that dark smoke, then only death would await them.

"Still, what the heck is that thing? It's intangible to anything I throw at it whether it's made of energy or physical weapons... it's practically invulnerable. Let's just hope it doesn't leave this forest."

...

"...An entity wrapped in dark smoke that can cut apart dozens of trees in an instant but is intangible to everything that hits it. A ghost?"

"That's basically it, yes."

"Have you been eating mushrooms?"

"Wisteria, I'm not joking!"

Sebastian slammed down his fist onto the table and the third seat of Blue Rose, Wisteria looked at him with a raised brow.

"Look, I'm incredibly busy. If you want someone to help you, then ask 31 or someone else. Why don't you just ask your house for help?"

"I've already tried. They reacted the same way you did, looking at me like I'm crazy..."

"..."

"I'm not!"

Wisteria rolled her eyes and continued doing the papers in front of her. Even as an assassin organization, they still had to handle a lot of paperwork. They weren't any run-of-the-mill assassins. After all, they were assassins that controlled part of the kingdom.

With such great influence, they can't just rely on verbal promises. There's also the front side of the organization to deal with.

Seeing as how Sebastian wouldn't relent and continued staring at her and impeding her work, Wisteria sighed and called for someone.

"Bring Fox over here to the archives and inform Fourth that he wants to know about ghosts."

"...Fourth, madam?"

"Yes, Fourth."

"Right this way, sir..."

Inwardly feeling sorry for Sebastian, the man led him into the basement and into the archives filled with dust and webs.

"With the exception of that one bookshelf, you can read anything in here. Fourth will be on his way down here soon. If you want to read about... uh... ghosts, I suppose that bookshelf over there is a good place to start."

"Thank you." Sebastian walked over to the shelf and chose a random book. Most of the books were covered in dust and some were even so tattered that he couldn't read the names of the books.

'This feels familiar.'

Other than the dimly lit lamps, it was similar to the old library.

Sebastian took a nearby seat after dusting it off and began reading in earnest. Although he occasionally sneezed because of the dust floating around, it was still doable.

"Creatures of Legend..."

The book was old. As far as he could tell, it seemed at least over a century old.

"Cerberus, Dryads, Centaurs..."

He had heard of these names before but there were never any detailed descriptions but in this book, it seemed like the author was someone who had been alongside those beasts.

"One-eyed giant creatures, Cyclops. They like to feed on smaller creatures and often herd sheep for staple food. Dryads, creatures of the forest that reside in trees. Of them, Hamadryads are special, with only eight in existence, all of which are women, Karya, Aigeiros, Balanos—"

The information in the book sounded exaggerated and too suspicious but for some reason, he felt like they were the truth. After all, he had personally met Balanos. It felt like when he had first read the book containing information about the stigma.

Sebastian skimmed through everything else after reading about Dryads until he arrived near the middle of the book.

"Shades, spirits of dead beings that have lingering attachments whether they be regrets or forced servitude. Has an innate anger against those who live, most likely due to jealousy. There are many variations of Shades but the most common is made of dark smoke..."

"Ah, so you've found it."

"Woah?!"

Sebastian jolted and fell down on his chair.

CRASH

"Ouch..."

"Sorry about that, do you need some help?"

The mystery figure reached his hand out and Sebastian grabbed it with little hesitation.

"Fourth?"

"Yes, I was a bit delayed because of some matters and I was worried that you'd be irate but looks like I don't have to worry about that," Fourth glanced at the book and back at Sebastian, "are you a bookworm, perchance?"

Sebastian scratched the back of his head in embarrassment and nodded. It was rare to find someone who enjoyed reading, or at the very least, he had only met a few.

"Splendid! I haven't met anyone in Blue Rose who even wants to go near a book, let alone a true reader! Well then, what do you want to know about spirits?"

"Ah, right." Sebastian took the book and showed it to Fourth, "is there any way to deal with these?"

"I can understand your curiosity but why do you want to know about them so much? Are you fascinated by the idea of souls or are you just scared of encountering them?"

"It's just that I think I've encountered one."

Fourth's eyes widened and he grabbed Sebastian by the shoulders and began shaking him.

"Where?! How?! What did it look like? Did it attack you? Did—!"

"Wait, stop! I can't understand a word you're saying anymore! One question at a time!"

Unfortunately, Fourth couldn't be restrained. It took all that Sebastian had to keep up with his pace. When Fourth finally finished, Sebastian was exhausted.

"C-can you tell me about the method to deal with them now...?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"What?!"

Who knew how much willpower Sebastian had to use to stop himself from hitting Fourth at that moment?