"Wait, not yet..."
Since no body has been found, I can't make such a conclusion. Even if it was eaten as a snack by the monsters nearby, at least there would still be bones left.
I composed myself, put Leah's bow and arrows in the back of my backpack, and continued walking forward.
Not long after, a pungent smell of blood filled the air, and the snowfield was a mess, with scattered drops of blood on the ground.
I couldn't see the scene in front of me clearly; it seemed that the fog had become even thicker, and I could only see about two people's widths away.
"Is this the actual scene of the accident?"
Be careful!
Facing a monster capable of defeating Pro and his group, I cannot be careless, but deep down I still refuse to believe that such a creature exists.
"Gale"
I used wind magic to dispel the surrounding mist.
At first, I could use the fog to cover myself; at least I couldn't see the monsters, and the monsters couldn't see me either.
However, once you arrive at the battlefield, that idea is wrong. Even if you hide your form, you can't hide the scent of being human. If it's a monster with a keen sense of smell, it will only put you at a disadvantage.
The fog that lingers in the wetland forest year-round seems difficult to dispel, but as long as you can see clearly what's in front of you, that's enough.
The field of vision widened considerably, and I could see the entire battleground clearly.
A jumbled snowfield, broken tree trunks, and Pro's severed arm...
"...?"
I did not find Leah and Martha's bodies!
That means the two weren't dead! Perhaps they were just seriously injured? Did that mislead Pro's judgment?
There were no footprints around! Even if he wasn't dead, he should have been nearby!
Were they captured by monsters?
Or did he return to the guild after regaining consciousness?
That would be ideal, but I don't think it's that simple.
creak...
Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out from the surroundings, like the sound of a tree trunk being broken by someone stepping on it.
"Who is it?"
I don't believe that adventurers would come to such a ghostly place so late at night.
Is it Leah? Or Martha?
I ran quickly toward the source of the sound.
"Um……?"
There was only a withered tree drooping helplessly on the snow, and no other signs of living people were found.
"Did I hear that right?"
It seems that excessive emotional stress made auditory hallucinations unavoidable.
"Where exactly is it...?"
Even the bodies of Leah and Martha can't be found? How are we going to explain this to Pro when we get back?
Should I tell Pro that I have confirmed the deaths of the two men and ask him to accept the situation?
That's impossible, of course. Even if all that's left are bones, at least there's some explanation. To whom? To oneself!
As I turned around, lost in thought, I was just then...
creak...
Another crisp sound reached my ears, very close! Right there...
Above my head!
I quickly looked up...
"Heh...this is..."
The dead tree seemed to have a life of its own; its branches, which looked like they would break at the slightest touch, suddenly slammed down on me.
"A Rashomon-like situation"
I gathered my magic power, and a stone wall immediately rose from the ground, blocking my way.
Bang……
The branches struck the stone wall with a heavy thud, and then...
Click...
I stared in disbelief at the Rashomon gate before me, which was gradually cracking open after being struck.
"How is that possible!"
I quickly backed away until I was several body lengths away before stopping.
Boom...
Rashomon exploded the instant I retreated, sending debris flying in all directions and scattering across the snow.
Only then did I focus my attention on the dead tree and discover that its body had strangely stood up, even though it had just been limp and powerless on the snow.
"This is……"
"Man-eating wood"
This was the first time I had ever seen a plant-based monster like this. I hadn't put much effort into studying these kinds of monsters before because I found them troublesome.
Unexpectedly, they reaped the consequences so quickly.
The man-eating tree is just a common C-rank monster. It hides itself with the appearance of a withered tree and takes the life of an adventurer the moment they let their guard down.
It's absolutely impossible for the man-eating wood alone to defeat Pro and the others.
The thing that easily shattered my "Rashomon" must be something more than just man-eating wood.
creak...
"Um……?"
I watched the branches, which kept baring their claws and fangs, trying to attack me, but they seemed to be beyond my attack range, so I could only vent my anger in place.
"Hmm...? Is it just ordinary man-eating wood?"
A chill ran down my spine; it seemed I had been overthinking things. But to shatter "Rashomon" with just one strike—such a physical attack was comparable to that of the Sword King.
"Giant Fireball"
I conjured a fireball and hurled it at the dead tree. The flames spread across the entire tree, and soon only the dark trunk remained.
Standing before the withered tree again, I was horrified to discover that its interior was hollow, filled with many skeletons, seemingly the remains of other low-level demons, but among them…
There were even human remains!
"Could it be that I...?"
Suddenly, I wondered if Leah and Martha were among them. I wondered if the attack had affected them.
I forced myself to suppress the nausea in my heart and searched through the bones for a while, but I didn't find anything belonging to either of them, or rather, judging from the charred clothes, they weren't women's clothes.
I was relieved. If the two of them were just seriously injured and affected by my magic attack, what difference would it make from killing them?
"That is..."
Whether it was an arrangement by heaven or a guidance from the gods, I inadvertently glimpsed some fragments of clothing on a dead tree branch not far away.
Upon closer inspection, it was indeed the same outfit Leah wore that morning!
"So it really was captured by that damned man-eating tree?"
"Wind Blade"
Considering that a large-scale fire spell would affect Leah, I first used wind magic to cut off the branches of the dead tree from a distance. Only after confirming that it had no means of launching a physical attack did I approach the dead tree.
After jumping onto the dead tree, I could feel it trembling violently, but without branches, it was just groaning in vain.
"It's Leah!"
Inside, a petite figure lay slumped, and judging from her clothes, it was undoubtedly Leah.
After roughly estimating the location, I jumped down from the dead tree.
"Hurricane Blade"
Using a King-level wind magic, I cut the dead tree in half from a position slightly higher than the one I just estimated.
Then they carried Leah out of there.
"She's still breathing..."
Man-eating trees usually kill their prey directly and consume them as nutrients. Although there are also types that slowly torture their prey, it is truly fortunate that Leah encountered one.
I tried to continue searching downwards, but I didn't find Marta.
It looks like it was captured by other man-eating trees. Hopefully, it will have the same good luck as Leah.
"Azure Crown"
Leah was covered in injuries, her whole body was limp, it could be said that she had broken bones all over her body, and you could feel her chest rising and falling slightly, it was really unbelievable.
“Leah…Leah…”
"Um……"
Hearing my call, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Um... Captain..."
He seemed somewhat delirious, mistaking me for Pro.
"I am Leon!"
"Leon...?"
"Yes! I've come to save you."
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