Cheon Geon-young took out a knife from his bag and moved forward, cutting down the ferns.

“Pale Shadow.”

Yoon Tae-ha, who was in charge of the rear, also took out her spear. Using the white spear as a staff, she tapped the ground and quickened her pace. Following behind him made her uneasy feelings subside a little.

She occasionally looked back, searching for traces of monsters. How much further had they walked? Suddenly, a strange flute sound caught her ear. The thin, unstable sound, like a child blowing, gradually grew louder.

Yoon Tae-ha immediately tapped Cheon Geon-young’s arm. He instantly took a firing stance. She also gripped her spear tightly, mentally sorting through the list of monsters that might appear.

― A life form is approaching.

Just before Jet could identify the information, they crouched down and hid behind a thick tree. Now, the bizarre flute sound reached Cheon Geon-young’s ears as well. Jet provided them with information about the monster.

― Estimated to be an Amdukias. It has the form of a unicorn and can control surrounding plants with the flute sound it makes from its horn.

― It is a mid-to-high tier monster, corresponding to rank 9 out of thirteen major classifications. It is relatively low in aggression, so it is better not to engage in combat unless preemptively attacked.

― It is highly intelligent, and cases of it using language have been reported.

They held their breath and waited for the monster to appear. Soon, a large horse with a silver horn quietly emerged from the opposite side of the forest. Its eyes bulged out like a frog’s, and blood was smeared around its mouth.

Dark red blood was dried on the silver mane of its neck as well. Saliva and drool dripped onto the ground with every breath it took. It clearly seemed to have suffered serious injuries.

Every time the Amdukias limped, the surrounding plants lost their vitality and turned black. Yoon Tae-ha exchanged glances with Cheon Geon-young. She had a feeling that this was no ordinary Amdukias.

― Additional biosignals detected.

While Cheon Geon-young remained vigilant, Yoon Tae-ha teleported to the top of the tree he was leaning against.

Perched precariously on a thin branch, she surveyed the area behind the Amdukias. A pack of black-scaled hounds, their eyes gleaming menacingly, was charging towards the Amdukias. First, she relayed the information to Choi Bo-mi’s team.

“Lima 1-1, chimera sighted. Looks similar to what the coalition described. Sending coordinates and photos.”

― Lima 2-2, Roger.

She returned to where Cheon Geon-young was. He wasn’t surprised and safely hid Yoon Tae-ha behind the tree. Two pairs of eyes, shining like those of wild beasts, met.

“Hound chimeras are coming. A little over 30 of them.”

Cheon Geon-young whispered softly.

“They’re after that?”

She nodded.

“Eliminate all of them, but let two live and send them back. It’s better not to provoke the Amdukias unnecessarily.”

He agreed. In case Cheon Geon-young had forgotten, Yoon Tae-ha tapped her goggles twice. It was to remind him of the conversation they had that morning. No using flames when Jet was on. Act like a normal guide. Cheon Geon-young gave her a look that said he remembered. She said in a confident voice.

“I’ll go between the Amdukias and the chimeras.”

“Leave the chimeras to me and just watch the monster.”

“Okay.”

Yoon Tae-ha grabbed his arm tightly and used her ability. In an instant, their vision shifted. Hound chimeras with shimmering, fish-like bodies appeared in front of them.

The chimeras, which had been charging fiercely, were startled by the sudden appearance of the enemy and scattered their formation. Cheon Geon-young’s shots pierced the foreheads of the two chimeras leading the pack at the front.

The noise they made as they attacked caused the limping horse to stop. Yoon Tae-ha stood as if protecting Cheon Geon-young’s back, waiting for the Amdukias to turn around.

As the monster turned, its hollow eyes stared at her. At that moment, the flute sound grew louder, and vines sprouted from the ground. Tough vines crawled towards them like snakes, trying to bind their hands and feet. Cheon Geon-young, unperturbed, focused on dealing with the chimeras.

Instead, a blue blade flashed and appeared, cutting the vines that were hindering him. Dozens of vines were cleanly severed by a single entity summoned by Yoon Tae-ha.

She still didn’t take her eyes off the Amdukias.

“Hey?”

She knew how ridiculous it looked to talk seriously to a horse, but blindly charging at a highly intelligent creature wasn’t a good solution either. Yoon Tae-ha continued in a calm tone.

“We have no intention to attack.”

While she stood between the higher-ranking monster and the guide, Cheon Geon-young cleanly dealt with the chimeras. Only two out of the dozens of chimeras survived, the ones he had deliberately spared.

Wounded, they whimpered and turned back the way they had come, leaving traces of dark red blood on the surrounding vegetation.

The Amdukias watched all of this as if observing. Then, it flicked its ears back and stamped the ground with its hooves.

With a feeling of the ground sinking beneath her feet, the ground began to undulate like water. Before she could even reach out to Cheon Geon-young, her vision whirled.

She couldn’t keep her balance as if she were on an amusement park ride. Yoon Tae-ha plunged her spear deeply into the ground to regain her footing. She could feel the surrounding trees changing shape.

When everything calmed down, the scenery of the forest surrounding her had changed. Cheon Geon-young was nowhere to be seen. Feeling a rush of heat to her head, she nervously took off her helmet.

The Amdukias was still standing behind her. Yoon Tae-ha gritted her teeth and said.

“Give me back my partner.”

「Prove it.」

She frowned at the sensation of someone whispering directly into her mind. The bloodied Amdukias’s mouth was tightly shut like a rock.

“Where did you send the man?”

「To the outskirts of another forest. He is safe.」

“Wow. Doesn’t sound very safe.”

It had seemed unusual, and indeed, it was a sentient creature. Its power also seemed considerable. Having barely regained her composure, Yoon Tae-ha pulled the Pale Shadow from the ground. A nervous voice escaped her.

“What do you want me to prove?”

The blood-stained unicorn was silent for a moment before opening its mouth.

「Retrieve my brother’s horn.」

“Then you should have made a formal request from the start, since we can communicate.”

「Enemies are coming.」

The Amdukias warned in a low voice. She too could sense the approaching killing intent from afar. Fast and agile. Estimated to be two of them. She immediately summoned over a hundred entities. Blue blades surrounded her and the unicorn as if to protect them.

The Amdukias snorted roughly, seemingly flustered, but soon realized that the blades were meant to protect it and fell silent. A few seconds later, Jet analyzed the situation and made a judgment.

― The situation appears to be beyond capture, so permission for on-site elimination is granted.

No sooner had the words finished than dozens of arrows flew towards them from the front. Yoon Tae-ha simultaneously rotated the blades, blocking the attack. Swift attacks came from both sides without a moment’s rest.

Clang!

The sound of hard objects colliding tore through the silent forest air. Yoon Tae-ha swung her pure white spear ruthlessly, knocking back two enemies. The enemies flew softly through the air and landed on the opposite side.

Twin boys with human torsos and goat legs smirked. They wore no cloth that could be called clothing on their bodies. One held arrows in his hand, and the other held a curved sword. And a green stone was embedded above their navels.

Yoon Tae-ha recognized the stone at once. Green Feather. It seemed Orca was using it conveniently here and there. Even if it wasn’t Rafael’s request, she felt she should retrieve all of them on this occasion.

The chimeras looked at the Amdukias behind her and their eyes gleamed greedily. The Amdukias snorted nervously in place.

「Necklace.」

Following the horse’s gaze, Yoon Tae-ha also turned her head. A small horn necklace hung around the neck of the boy holding the arrows.

“Is that the horn? It’s a bit small.”

「My brother’s horn.」

“Okay.”

While the chimeras snickered at each other, she used her entity to cut the necklace. Then she snatched it with her psychokinesis.

In an instant, the necklace was in Yoon Tae-ha’s hand. The chimeras’ eyes widened as they watched the necklace fly through the air. Yoon Tae-ha put the necklace in her pants pocket and zipped it up.

The Amdukias stomped its foot impatiently, as if it had expected her to hand it over immediately.

「Hand it over.」

“I need to settle accounts before I give it to you. I’ll give it to you once I confirm my partner is safe and sound.”

While she had a brief argument with the horse, the chimeras charged forward. One came straight at her, and the other flew into the air, drawing his bow.

She first blocked the sword aimed at her waist with her spear. Soon, arrows rained down from above. Yoon Tae-ha calmly gave an order.

“Abyss’s second floor, rotate.”

Two elongated blades rotated at high speed. The falling arrows were cleanly cut. The Amdukias flicked its ears back and swished its tail violently, as if excited.

The chimera that had directly attacked was blocked by the spear and bounced backward. However, it immediately charged again using its strong goat legs.

The enemy’s sword moved as if to cut her abdomen. Yoon Tae-ha quickly summoned an entity floating in the air. The blue blade, flying like a swordfish, pierced the enemy’s wrist. The chimera screamed.

“Kyak!”

As the weapon disappeared, Yoon Tae-ha unhesitatingly stabbed the stone embedded in the chimera’s abdomen with her spear. A hint of shock flashed in its eyes. Soon, the chimera’s body fell to the ground.

The attacked Green Feather turned black. At the same time, the chimera’s body solidified like stone.

“Cough! Kaa-aack!”

Before she could even catch her breath, the other creature shrieked and drew its bow. But the arrow, its tip stained purple, couldn’t leave the bow. Dozens of entities pierced the chimera.

The second chimera petrified even faster. The bodies of the two chimeras soon crumbled into small stones.

Looking at the two stone mounds that didn’t fit in with the forest, Yoon Tae-ha made the blades disappear. Since the Amdukias was there, the Pale Shadow remained in weapon form.

“Jet, did you record it?”

― Jet is still alive, Master. Recording complete.

“Send it to the leader and Guillermo. And ask Guillermo what tier of chimera this is.”

― Understood.

Yoon Tae-ha took out a specimen collection bottle from her bag and put the stones left behind by the dead chimera in it. She poked through the stone mounds with her spear, looking for the Green Feather, but there was no trace of it, as if it had turned to dust and blown away.

「You are skilled in combat.」

The Amdukias had approached her unnoticed.