Yoon Tae-ha took a handkerchief from her pocket and roughly wiped the blood around the horse’s mouth. The horse flicked its tail from side to side, perhaps startled by the sudden touch.

“If you go around bleeding like this, you’ll get tracked.”

「My shell is not injured.」

“You have internal troubles too, huh? Me too.”

The Amdukias blinked slowly.

“Now, take me to my partner. That man will be waiting.”

The Amdukias extended its long neck.

「Hold on.」

Yoon Tae-ha gently grasped the Amdukias’s mane. The horse lightly tapped the ground with its hooves in place.

Just like before, her vision rapidly shifted. Feeling dizzy, she squeezed her eyes shut and then opened them again.

As soon as she opened them, the familiar sound of gunfire struck her eardrums. Cheon Geon-young was cutting off the windpipe of a wolf-like chimera.

Cheon Geon-young, who had been looking around with impassive eyes, discovered the returned Yoon Tae-ha and the Amdukias. She quickly released the silver mane she had been holding.

Cheon Geon-young approached at his usual speed and unhesitatingly pointed the gun barrel at the Amdukias’s head. Behind him lay the corpses of over twenty chimeras.

Taken aback by his clear intent to attack, Yoon Tae-ha took a step forward.

“Wait, just a minute. Geon-young-ah, I’m against killing it right away.”

Yoon Tae-ha craned her neck as if desperately wanting to make eye contact with him. But Cheon Geon-young didn’t lower his head. His eyes were fixed straight ahead. His solid, unyielding body also seemed to be pushing her away.

“I didn’t leave you behind to harm it. This unicorn was being chased by two teams of chimeras, right?”

「That is so.」

Cheon Geon-young, hearing the Amdukias’s voice for the first time, furrowed his brow.

Taking the opportunity, Yoon Tae-ha moved behind him and embraced him in a hug. She then slowly lowered the arm holding the gun.

“Let’s just hear it out. We can deal with it anytime. You know how difficult it is to secure a witness who can communicate in this forest.”

He yielded to her wishes, but a cold anger that hadn’t melted away lingered in his voice.

“Yoon Tae-ha.”

“Think about the size of the forest. Even if we wander for a week, there’s no guarantee we’ll find the lab.”

Only then did Cheon Geon-young look down at her. For a moment, Yoon Tae-ha was overwhelmed by the emotion filling his eyes and couldn’t speak.

Grief was clearly etched on his shadowed face. Suddenly, she was seized by the urge to cup his cheeks. If the monster hadn’t been there, she might have.

“We encountered a half-human, half-beast chimera with a green feather embedded in its abdomen. That thing attacked us...”

As soon as the word “attacked” came out, his gaze became even harsher and more menacing. Cheon Geon-young took a step back and thoroughly scanned her field uniform, which had no cuts or tears. Yoon Tae-ha felt a tight tension in her back.

“It wasn’t a difficult opponent.”

“Of course not.”

His sarcastic tone didn’t hurt her. Why was she being like this? Rather, she felt a stronger urge to examine his twisted emotions more intently.

It didn’t take long to explain what had happened after they were separated. Cheon Geon-young listened with a cold expression. When the explanation was over, he turned to the Amdukias.

“Is the entire forest your territory?”

「Half.」

“What about the other half?”

「The territory of a two-headed viper.」

Yoon Tae-ha subtly interjected in their conversation.

“In whose territory do the chimeras that attacked us just now appear more frequently?”

「The viper is ferocious. It does not spare those who trespass on its territory.」

“So they’re gnawing away at your territory. These strange creatures.”

The Amdukias didn’t answer. It could have been wounded pride or a wounded heart. Yoon Tae-ha instinctively felt that this creature would be unexpectedly helpful.

“We don’t want to get involved in the monster territory disputes. There’s only one thing we’re interested in in this forest. Chimeras. You probably can’t live a peaceful life because of those creatures either, right?”

Click. Cheon Geon-young cocked his gun beside her. It was a sound and appearance more suited to intimidation than negotiation.

He put his back to Yoon Tae-ha’s and began to watch beyond the already dead chimera carcasses. She couldn’t see his expression, but she clearly knew he was on guard for her sake.

“If you help us move around, we’ll get rid of the chimeras.”

「My brother’s horn?」

“I’ll give it to you right away.”

The master of the forest who had suffered because of creatures created by humans. Not keeping her trust with such a being was a shortsighted choice.

Yoon Tae-ha took the small horn out of her pocket. She placed the horn on her palm and held it out to the Amdukias. The horse seemed half in doubt.

「You will keep your promise?」

“Have you only ever been deceived?”

The Amdukias slowly approached. Its horn touched the palm of her hand, which she held at a suitable height. Soon, the horn that had been taken by the chimera turned into a white light and seeped into the Amdukias. The horse closed its eyes.

Yoon Tae-ha, who had been watching the fluttering white light like a butterfly, lowered her now empty hand. The Amdukias, having opened its eyes, briefly rubbed its nose against her hand.

•

They arrived at the mountainside as the sun was setting. The surroundings were filled with trees as tall as people. Yoon Tae-ha quickly scanned the area. Then, buildings situated below the opposite ridge caught her eye.

Cheon Geon-young and she spotted the buildings almost simultaneously and crouched down. The dense trees easily concealed them. The Amdukias also hid among the surrounding trees and said.

「Other humans cannot find this place.」

Cheon Geon-young stared at the buildings through his optical equipment and asked.

“Is it because of the terrain? Or the power of an outsider?”

「Both apply. To come here through the plains, one must pass through the viper’s territory. To come here without going through the viper’s territory, one must climb the cliffs.」

Yoon Tae-ha sighed briefly. So that’s why they couldn’t find it. To come by an easy route, they would have to fight the viper that ruled half the forest, and otherwise, they would have to overcome the rough terrain.

For her, she could just teleport up, but it wasn’t the same for others. Curious, Yoon Tae-ha asked.

“How do the chimeras get into your forest? Surely they don’t pass through the viper’s territory?”

「They do.」

“Wasn’t that viper supposed to attack anyone?”

「From some point on, the viper showed leniency towards the groups that came from that building.」

“Just leaves them alone? Chimeras are quite ferocious, they must have provoked the viper.”

「I do not know the reason.」

As the wind blew over the mountain, the scent of greenery grew stronger. Yoon Tae-ha, having retied her disheveled hair, awkwardly approached Cheon Geon-young, who was observing the buildings.

“Do you see anything?”

“It looks like they’ve put up anti-detection measures. I can’t see clearly.”

He took his eyes off his equipment, turned his head, and removed a small leaf stuck to Yoon Tae-ha’s goggles. After that, an awkward silence hung between them.

Cheon Geon-young turned back towards the buildings. Leaving him, Yoon Tae-ha approached where the Amdukias was and sat down at the horse’s feet.

“You sit too. If you stand, the scouting chimeras will spot you.”

The Amdukias slowly lowered its body and sat down. The rare combination of two humans and a horse held their breath until the sun completely set.

Occasionally, gray owls flew over their heads. Yoon Tae-ha confirmed that the owls had large eyeballs embedded in their bellies. They seemed to be chimeras out on reconnaissance.

Only after the mountainside was covered in navy blue darkness did she open her mouth.

“Are there many creatures similar to the half-human, half-beast we just encountered?”

「Countless.」

“There must be stronger ones too, right?”

「That is so.」

Conscious of Cheon Geon-young, she whispered as quietly as possible. The Amdukias also lowered its long neck and focused.

“If I go in surrounded by blue blades like before, can I take care of all of them?”

The horse snorted at her, clearly in denial. Yoon Tae-ha narrowed her eyes at the obvious rejection.

「Impossible.」

“Because of the numbers?”

「There is a strong individual. An individual who might be similar to your combat power. It was forged by selecting only the rarest things from the bodies of the dead.」

“The power from before wasn’t even one-hundredth of my full strength.”

「Do not judge strength by what you see. If you wish for their downfall, you must prepare thoroughly.」

The Amdukias read Yoon Tae-ha’s expression as if probing. She waited for his next words with the feeling of a student who hadn’t prepared enough for an exam.

「The forest will be stained with blood.」

There was a warning in the Amdukias’s voice. It was a warning from someone who had fled the lab. They shouldn’t take it lightly.

Yoon Tae-ha stared at Cheon Geon-young’s back for a moment. The Amdukias followed the end of her gaze.

「I will give you a contact.」

No sooner had the words finished than a small creature sprouted from the ground like a seedling. Yoon Tae-ha knew the name of this fluffy creature.

“Kua-kua?”

A sunflower-yellow hamster jumped onto her lap. She lightly scratched the hamster’s back with her finger.

Kua-kua’s horn glowed blue. As if synchronized, a faint light also emanated from the Amdukias’s horn. After a moment, a small brown whistle-like object appeared in the air. The small whistle landed on Yoon Tae-ha’s palm.

「Blow this when you need help. This creature will hear it and convey your voices to me.」

Touched by the more proactive help than she had expected, Yoon Tae-ha looked at the Amdukias with a slightly moved expression.

「Promise me. That you will do your utmost to restore the forest.」

Yoon Tae-ha stared at the lit-up building for a long time.

A place where monsters created by Orca were entrenched. It was that lab that had even made the powerful master of the forest flee in blood. She didn’t even want to imagine the unforgivable things they were doing.

She felt an even deeper sense of despair because her own situation wasn’t much different from that of the chimera brothers she had just dealt with. The deep despair that had flashed in the chimera’s eyes when the Green Feather shattered would probably linger in her mind for a long time.

She knew what it was like to have her mind filled with only destructive thoughts. Being born an esper was a shackle she would have to carry for the rest of her life. But it was also her duty to deal with them.

Rather than making a mistake that would hurt those around her with clumsy sympathy, it was better for her to feel the guilt alone. Yoon Tae-ha, having cut off her soft side, answered firmly.

“I promise.”

Having heard the answer it wanted, the Amdukias returned them to their hideout. Seeing the neatly parked car, Yoon Tae-ha let out a light sigh.

It was so comfortable. If they had walked back, they probably wouldn’t have reached the hideout even after walking for a whole day. A day? It could have been three days.

No matter how much her stamina exceeded that of an average person, walking for a long time was a burden.