The three walked in silence after leaving the cave.
Dust softened under their feet as they moved forward. With every step, the violent stench of blood, web, and death faded into the distance, yet sothing far heavier remained. The air itself felt calr, but an unspoken pressure lingered between them–thick, unresolved.
Kiaria walked slightly ahead.
Princess followed a few steps behind, arms folded behind her head, eyes narrowed at his back.
Diala walked closer than usual, close enough to feel the steady rhythm of Kiaria’s breathing through the faint movent of air. She watched him quietly, worry hidden behind her calm steps.
For a long ti–no one spoke.
Then Diala finally broke the silence.
"Kia... are you really alright?"
Kiaria didn’t slow his pace. "I’m walking smoothly, aren’t I?"
"That’s not what I asked..." she murmured. "When you ca out... your aura felt unstable for a mont. It felt... suffocating."
He paused for half a breath, then continued walking. "Residual pressure from the Evil Spider’s domain. You saw how much it killed... so..." He exhaled quietly. "It’s gone now."
Diala bit her lip.
She wanted to believe him.But she knew those words weren’t fully true.
Still, she didn’t press further.
Princess crossed her arms behind her head and released an exaggerated sigh. "Residual pressure, he says. You make it sound like you tripped over a pebble, not walked out of a massacre."
Kiaria didn’t turn.
Princess’s lips curved lazily. "Let guess–Ru Chief suddenly fell in love with your Patron identity and dazzling personality, apologized with sincerity, and invited us as guests out of pure admiration?"
Diala flinched slightly.
"...That apology did feel strange," she said gently. "They attacked us... the Spider eliminated their warriors with terror. They lost their comrades... yet he bowed like that. I didn’t feel fear in his eyes. Only... gratitude."
Princess glanced at Kiaria sideways.
"So?" she said lightly. "What did you really do to that chief inside?"
Kiaria kept walking. Wind brushed across the dry land. "I reminded him what kind of ruler he wanted to be."
Princess stopped walking.
Diala stopped too.
Princess stared at his back. "That’s it?"
Kiaria finally turned halfway. "What else do you want it to be?"
Princess stared at him for a long mont. Then she laughed, low and amused. "Impossible. People don’t change their convictions in a cave full of corpses just because of a reminder."
She stepped closer. "You erased sothing from him, didn’t you?"
Kiaria looked at her–not defensively, not coldly–but quietly. "I removed what didn’t belong there."
Princess narrowed her eyes. "And Ru Jin?"
Silence fell like a stone.
Diala instinctively stepped closer to Kiaria.
Princess spoke again, slower this ti. "You didn’t remove his darkness... did you?"
Kiaria looked forward again. "So stains go deeper than darkness. Light may oppose shadow, but what will you do when the rot reaches the bone itself?"
Diala’s fingers tightened gently around his sleeve.
"Kia..." her voice trembled faintly, "...did you have to do it with your own hands?"
He didn’t answer imdiately.
Instead, he said softly, "If I hesitated... it would have beco your burden instead."
That single sentence tightened her chest painfully.
Princess looked at him for a long mont. "Patron responsibility," she muttered. "Little girl, you can’t question the thod he chose. What we received at the end was gratitude. So whatever he did... it was right for them too."
Then, as if catching another scent entirely, her lips curved again.
"By the way," she said casually, "earlier... in the plant field..."
Kiaria’s shoulders stiffened by the slightest fraction.
Diala’s ears turned faintly pink. By his earlier reactions alone, she had already guessed what kind of topic this was.
Princess watched them like a predator amused by trapped prey.
"That little plant whispered sothing to you alone, didn’t it? You still haven’t said what it was."
Kiaria answered imdiately. "Haha... I forgot."
Princess smiled wider. "Lie. If it was anyone else, I might believe it. But you–"
Diala blinked. "Big Sister... what are you implying?"
Princess leaned closer to Kiaria. "You beca strangely silent after that. And then suddenly... your ears turned red. Don’t tell it’s related to Cupid."
Diala froze.
Slowly... very slowly... she turned to look at Kiaria. "Kia...?"
He sighed quietly. "She only asked where we were going."
Princess burst into laughter. "LIAR."
Diala looked at him seriously now. "...What did she really tell you?"
Kiaria looked away.
Princess clicked her tongue. "See? The more you hide, the deeper we dig. Tell us–what’s the deal with that Cupid Plant?"
Diala hesitated. Then she spoke softly, "If it embarrasses you... you don’t have to tell..."
Princess snapped instantly. "That’s exactly why he should tell."
Diala whispered, "Kia... is it sothing about ?"
Kiaria stopped walking.
That single question struck him harder than the Ru Tribe ever had.
He turned and t her eyes.
"...No," he said imdiately. "It’s not sothing you should burden yourself with."
Princess folded her arms. "So it’s embarrassing."
Kiaria didn’t deny it.
Silence stretched once more.
Then Princess smirked. "Good. Then I win."
Kiaria glanced at her.
Princess walked ahead. "When a secret stays hidden long enough, it becos more valuable than gold. I’ll find it myself."
Diala looked between them, confused. "But what secret...?"
Princess laughed. "That’s the problem–you’re both terrible at hiding."
Kiaria exhaled quietly.
They continued walking.
After so ti, the soil beneath their feet began to change. Dust turned into fine brown earth. The dry wind cooled. The scent of barren land faded into clean forest moisture.
Diala noticed it first. "The land... changed."
Princess nodded. "We’re near the forest border."
Kiaria’s gaze sharpened. "We’ll reach Rulii Chop Land soon."
Princess glanced at him sideways. "So this is the land with calm beasts... and too many unseen eyes watching from the trees?"
Kiaria didn’t answer.
Only the faint rhythmic tap of sothing far ahead echoed once from the edge of the forest.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Princess smiled faintly. "...Sothing’s already asuring us."
Kiaria walked forward. The path narrowed gently. "Look ahead... a stone tablet. That should be the entrance."
"I know this language..." Diala said anxiously. "It’s Zili Yiri–an ancient spirit-rooted tongue used for beast-human communication. My father taught so basics for survival in forest lands."
"Oh?" Princess smiled. "The Phantom Beast, huh? Figures. Let’s see how much that little monster inherited from the great one."
Diala began reading slowly. Diala stepped closer to the ancient stone tablet. Moss clung to its edges, and countless years of wind and rain had softened its surface. Yet the carved symbols remained sharp, as if the words themselves refused to fade.
She raised her fingers slightly, tracing the grooves without touching them. Her eyes slowly adapted to the structure of the language.
Then, in a soft, steady voice, she began to read:
"Ti–Yi–Ru–Ga–Zu–Ka–Lil
Ar–Ar–Bi–Li–Ha–Nu–Yin
Re–Ya–Ca–Ti–Yi–Su–Kun
An–Aq–El–Mi–Xu–Su–Bin
Sh–Vu–No–Ja–La–Na–Ili
Su–Ja–Yi–Ku–Ni–Na–Lak
Je–Nu–An–Qi–Os–Ir–Ana
Lo–Sa–Ki–Xi–Pa–Wu–Cin
Xi–En–Li–Ge–Pi–Jo–Enc
Va–De–So–Ru–Be–Ri–Fac
An–An–Nu–Un–Si–Sa–NoLak"
Her voice echoed faintly against the forest edge. With every line, the surrounding trees seed to grow quieter, as if even the wind was listening.
Kiaria tilted his head slightly."Looks too old..., but... what is it ant of?"
Diala lowered her hand from the stone. For a mont, her eyes looked distant, as if she were standing in soone else’s mories.
"Simple," she said slowly. "It’s the back story of the Wood pecker tar lived in this place. It says like this land was once Tars village."
Princess crossed her arms and leaned against the stone beside her."A last ssage carved in stone... already sounds unlucky."
Diala continued, her voice growing quieter as the aning deepened.
"If briefly translate those words,I’m Lu Qiwin last descendant of tar. This is my last words. I’m a Wood pecker tar. This land was once fully a dense forest. Many people in my era tried to convert this land into land for a new civilization due to the fertility and abundance of ore and water resources. But, everyone disappointed by the speciality of the trees in this land. Even a small plantlet cannot be uprooted or chopped."
As she translated, the image ford vividly before them–dense ancient forest, axes shattering, roots refusing to yield.
"In that ti, tars were the most valueless people. Because, beast cores are valuable than a taking care of beast. Except , all beast tars slowly deprived from their positions and suicide. But, I ran from mainland to here and lived in here. I tried to chop wood with axe. But axe broken, wood unhard."
Princess let out a slow breath."So even then... people only believed in cores and brute power."
"One day he saw a woodpecker beak easily piercing into the tree bark like a butter. No resistance. Easy penetration. I tad 25 Wood Peckers. Chopped a huge area of woods, sold woods, made civilization here. The lost pride of tars, I rewrote in every heart. Slowly tars took this village and settled down in here."
Diala’s fingers curled slightly as she spoke."For a ti... he revived them."
"But these heartless people made those nas dissipate once more. Took away all resources and pride stolen. When need ended, pride too end without any spark. Tars left, I sustained. Now, I remains."
Silence fell between the three.
Even Princess didn’t interrupt.
"I’m writing this on stone because tomorrow these people will kill by hanging. This carvings are the last Woodpecker tar words. Before I die, I will destroy every invaded non tars. Whoever co here other than a tar, will be killed by my Wood Peckers. This land is my last gift to tars and beasts. No one else is welcod."
She finished, the forest itself felt heavier.
"This ans..." Princess said quietly at last. "Anyone who enters here without being a tar is considered prey."
Diala swallowed.
Princess exhaled lightly. "Since we’re here to temper ourselves, I suppose we’ll see just how sharp a woodpecker’s beak really is."
Diala laughed faintly.
Kiaria hid his smile. "Big Sister, who said we have no one here that can ta? Did you forget the companions beside us?"
Princess tilted her head. "Oh? I thought you just bought them like decorations. Looks like another secret is burning here."
"Kia can..." Diala said with quiet pride.
Princess snorted. "Monster will always be a monster. Little monster, you should restrain yourself in front of your peers–or they might grow jealous."
She suddenly squinted at him. "Wait a mont..."
Her smile turned wicked. "I thought that sword was the first gift you ever gave her. But you’ve secretly given more from behind our backs, haven’t you? You’re progressing far too fast. Take a breath before you sprint into marriage."
Kiaria deliberately yawned as if he heard nothing. "Let’s enter this land. We already have what we need."
The forest ahead waited.
And so did whatever watched from within.
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