Episode 250 – Black Butterfly (1)
“Is it this way?”
Fenry focused her senses and sprinted forward, heading north across the open plains beyond Beneta without rest.
It had been half a day since she began tracking Kamel at Arthur’s request, but she still hadn’t found him.
The carriage he rode made rapid movement possible, so the distance between them hadn’t easily narrowed.
Still, the trail he left behind was clear, so tracking hadn’t been difficult.
Deep wheel marks.
Kamel was traveling by carriage at high speed.
She had discovered tracks near the outer wall—almost certainly from Kamel’s vehicle—and had been following them ever since.
“Hm?”
The trail, which had continued without deviation, suddenly changed.
Halting, she exhaled shortly and scanned the surrounding ground.
“Others joined him here.”
The carriage had stopped, and a mounted group had approached this area.
There were no signs of a struggle, so the newcomers were likely Kamel’s allies.
Who the hell joined up with him?
Her curiosity was short-lived.
She resumed pursuit of the carriage’s trail, heading up a gentle hill.
Upon reaching the top, she stopped abruptly and let out a groan as she looked down.
“…This is—”
Countless footprints stretched across the vast plain below.
Thousands? Tens of thousands?
Quickly scanning the scattered debris and leftover traces, she realized: Kamel had met up with his main army.
Beneta was only a day’s distance away.
She stared toward the direction the main force had gone, falling into thought.
“Are they aiming for Beneta?”
And what about Kamel himself?
His carriage hadn’t joined the main army.
While the main force headed toward Beneta, Kamel’s trail broke off to the north, separate from the others.
“What do I do…”
She wavered.
Should she prioritize warning Beneta about the army?
Or should she keep chasing Kamel?
After only a brief moment of hesitation, Fenry made her decision—she turned north.
She would continue tracking Kamel.
The main army’s already there.
Judging by the time and distance, they would have reached Beneta by now.
Even if she rushed back, it was unlikely she could change anything.
The outcome had likely already been decided.
“I’ll have to trust him.”
She believed Arthur would find a way to stop them.
Fenry slowed her pace briefly and gently closed her eyes.
The massive movement of troops had muddled the trails, and Kamel’s traces had vanished in the overlap.
After a short pause, she opened her eyes and began running again, gaze fixed in a particular direction.
“Still north.”
She could sense Kamel’s direction thanks to the World Tree Necklace he wore.
Granted by the elves upon reaching the rank of Master, the necklace sent out subtle signals of its presence to its chosen owner—regardless of distance.
A warm, comforting pulse.
Though faint, Fenry could feel it and use it to determine the right direction.
While the signal wasn’t strong enough to pinpoint Kamel’s exact location, as long as he left a trail, she was confident she could catch him.
Didn’t think I’d end up using the necklace for tracking again.
She had once given it to Arthur when he was swallowed by a chimera, using it to locate him.
This situation wasn’t much different.
I passed it off to bait Kamel, hoping to recover the artifact he’d stolen…
And somehow, he ended up wearing it.
In the past, handing off artifacts related to the World Tree without authorization would’ve warranted a racial trial.
But times had changed.
Since the World Tree itself disappeared, the artifacts connected to it had lost their value.
Hoo—
Fenry let out a long breath and summoned her long pipe, taking a deep drag.
The pure mana infused in the elf stone filled her body, reinvigorating her.
When she removed the pipe from her lips, her eyes glowed golden.
“North. And north again…”
It seemed she needed to pick up the pace.
Following the trail, she saw it led toward a place she particularly disliked.
The Forest of Spirits.
To elves, it was a cursed land.
If Kamel entered it, things would become far more complicated.
She had to catch him before he crossed into that place.
Sssss—
Her figure flickered and vanished.
How long have I been running?
She had already covered a considerable distance north.
Kamel’s carriage trail still continued ahead.
But now—
“They’re gathering… little by little.”
Along the trail, more individuals had started joining. Sometimes two, sometimes ten.
The number of people converging was increasing. It felt like a force was consolidating around Kamel.
It didn’t seem like more than a hundred, but they weren’t ordinary rabble.
They looked elite—and that changed everything.
If she got too close now, there wouldn’t be much she could do.
Is that why Arthur told me to only track him?
If she engaged recklessly, she’d just get herself beaten.
As she moved forward, deep in thought—
“…!?”
Fenry flinched and abruptly stopped running.
She turned her head, trying to locate something. Closing her eyes again, she focused.
The energy of the World Tree.
Kamel’s trace remained consistent—2 o’clock north.
The necklace signal matched.
Kamel was still heading northeast.
But then—
“…What is this signal?”
Suddenly, a new signal emerged.
With a stiffened expression, Fenry turned toward 11 o’clock north.
The Forest of Spirits, which separated Hell Grime from Tobaron.
Just as she neared the forest, a similar but different energy was detected from another direction—not Kamel’s.
Warm. Familiar.
Very similar to the necklace’s signal—yet much stronger.
And—
“Is it calling to me?”
Judging by its direction, it came from the witches’ village.
Ordor Forest.
Why was she suddenly sensing World Tree energy from there?
After a brief moment of consideration, Fenry cursed under her breath and resumed chasing Kamel’s trail.
She’d been momentarily distracted by the other signal.
That place has nothing to do with me.
The witches’ village had no connection to her.
It was a place where both mana and spirits were restricted.
It made her feel bound and powerless—so she had always avoided it.
Soon, she arrived at the dark, sprawling woods.
Examining the traces closely, her expression hardened as she bit her lip and sighed.
“Damn bastard… he really went in.”
Kamel had entered the Forest of Spirits.
A faded, lifeless world.
A place devoid of vitality, where only ghosts wandered—a world without color.
It was the place she least wanted to enter.
But—
“No way I’m letting that thieving bastard go.”
Even if Arthur’s request had to wait, she couldn’t let Kamel get away before reclaiming the stolen gold.
She would chase him to hell if she had to—and take back tenfold, no, a hundredfold in payment.
Ttck—
With a flick of her finger, a small creature popped up from above her crown with a squishy motion.
A miniature version of herself—Banri, a mid-rank shadow fairy.
“Tell Arthur. Kamel went into the Forest of Spirits.”
Banri began waving its hands and gesturing, but Fenry shook her head.
“I know we’re supposed to find his hideout first. But once I enter that forest, there’s no telling what’ll happen.”
Within the forest, mana and spirit power couldn’t be used properly.
She might not even be able to contact Arthur. That’s why she had to send word first.
“I’m in danger?”
Banri nodded emphatically.
With her power sealed, she wouldn’t even be able to use half her strength.
“You think I’d get caught by that bastard?”
She snorted, pressing Banri’s chest with her finger.
Banri sighed and nodded again.
Just as Fenry frowned and was about to respond—
“Wait, what’s that?”
Banri pointed toward something.
A location far from Kamel’s trail.
A clearing hidden behind reeds.
Several fire pits lay scattered across it.
Though the fires had burned out, the remnants were less than a day old.
And the trail from there led straight into the Forest of Spirits—
The same direction as Kamel.
Fenry’s expression stiffened as she examined the traces.
“…Who the hell are these people?”
They had appeared in a place unrelated to Kamel’s path.
They didn’t seem to be moving with him.
Banri pointed at one of the charred fire pits. It had sensed something.
Fenry knelt to examine the blackened ashes.
And then—
“Mana…?”
The residual flame energy came from mana.
Her expression tensed with suspicion as she checked all the fire pits.
Eight in total.
Judging by the space and number, about 50–60 people had camped here.
And—
“They used mana?”
She could detect mana signatures from all eight fire pits.
Were there any units in Tobaron that could use magic?
“No.”
Impossible.
Only a handful of individuals with magical artifacts could wield mana.
Even she used elfstone to draw it out.
Could this be a group that used magical tools?
But would anyone waste precious artifacts just to light campfires?
There was only one kind of existence she knew that could so casually apply magic in daily life: Mages.
Fenry shook her head.
There was no way mages could’ve come to Tobaron.
They would’ve had to cross the Forest of Spirits—a place mages despised even more than she did.
Moreover, the forest was guarded by witches.
If a large number of mages had crossed it, they would’ve been stopped.
“Damn it, I don’t get any of this.”
The sudden appearance of a new force, completely beyond her expectations.
And they were following Kamel’s trail.
Were they allies? Enemies?
She began to understand Banri’s worry. Whoever they were, they spelled trouble.
Then—
Rustle—
Both Banri and Fenry snapped their heads toward the sound.
Someone who had been here?
A chance to identify them.
Fenry launched herself like a thunderbolt, cutting through the reeds while summoning her weapon—the Clawvine Talon.
Kkaang—!
Sparks flew as her weapon collided with something—A sword.
At the same time—
Ffwoosh—!
The blade erupted into flames and slashed toward her.
Fenry quickly leapt back to dodge.
As the flaming reeds burned and blackened, a figure began to emerge.
Fenry narrowed her eyes, peering through the smoke.
“That’s… not mana.”
The flames from the sword carried no magical energy.
It wasn’t mana—It was something purer.
Divine power?
And then—
“F-Fenry!? Is that you!?”
A man’s desperate voice rang out from beyond the reeds—he knew her name.
“Who are you?”
“It’s me!”
The man parted the smoke and stepped forward.
Through the haze, a familiar figure appeared—Flameblade Elton.
He wore the same uniform as Hunt’s Ghost Unit and carried a flaming sword.
“You’re… a ghost?”
His uniform was identical to the elite Ghosts under Hunt.
Lowering her claws, Fenry looked at him with disbelief.
“No way…?”
“It’s me, Fenry! Elton!”
Elton, who had crossed into Demtor alongside Samuel Barber—was now standing before her.
“What are you doing here?”
“I-I followed the trail here…”
The trail.
Fenry glanced at the fire pit remnants again.
She had thought the traces were unrelated to Kamel—but now she had a hunch.
Without a word, she stepped back. Elton frantically examined the site.
Then he grabbed his head and groaned.
“They went back into the Forest of Spirits? Why!?”
He had tracked them from Demtor, across the forest, to this place.
They were mages—but not mages.
A unit of magic-users specialized in close combat.
The irregulars—The Black Butterflies.