Chapter 29 - EPISODE 29 – WITCH’S FOREST (2) (2/2)

Asmodeus was the monarch of lust and one of the five great demons in hell.

As one of the enemies in the entire Legend of Heroes series, he was one of the greatest demons that could only be dealt with in Legend of Heroes 3.

In any case, the summary was as follows.

The witch’s soul is sealed, and Asmodeus’ subordinate, a white-eyed demonic monster, is guarding the seal.

‘With the guidance of the witch’s soul, the seal is released. The liberated witch’s soul defeats the monster, and Cordelia gets the witch’s power from the witch’s soul afterwards.’

Although she wasn’t as good as Jude in remembering all the story’s lines, Cordelia still had an accurate understanding of the game’s story.

‘But I still have to be careful.’

Well, the battle with monsters was inevitable, and as this was not a game but reality, so it was possible that other variables could appear.

Cordelia raised her head as she listened to Jude’s story. She clenched her fist when she saw Lucas.

‘Noona will protect you.’

Like Jude, Cordelia also felt responsible for Lucas.

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

Lucas smiled naively, and Jude and Cordelia looked at each other. The two exchanged glances of guilt and responsibility.

***

The journey to Trefalgar Forest was smooth, and not much changed after entering the witch’s forest.

“Uh, it’s a little different from what I imagined.”

When Lucas spoke quietly, Jude and Cordelia exchanged bitter smiles.

The current situation was different from the thrilling adventure that Lucas imagined.

‘There are eleven knights.’

If you include the squires, it becomes 14.

Whether it was a wild beast or monster, they at least possessed basic intelligence.

Fourteen armed personnel were moving forward with a threatening atmosphere, so only a few ones were dumb and reckless enough to attack first.

Very often, unlucky and stupid ones like the forest goblin appeared, but they were cut down instantly.

‘It’s peaceful.’

In the original Cordelia’s story, the forest was like hell.

Everything was hard for Cordelia, who was injured and exhausted from running away.

Even a single goblin could threaten her life, so she was extremely nervous that a small sound or a glimpse of a shadow could make her heart jump.

But now.

“Uh…uh…”

Jude was surprised at the appearance of Cordelia who was clenching and opening her fists. So he whispered to her ear.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you feeling sick?”

Cordelia frowned at Jude’s question and whispered back.

“Something, something is missing.”

It was a vague explanation, but Jude understood it.

‘You’re frustrated.’

It must be painful for a hunting king to come to the hunting ground and watch other people hunt.

‘Well, this is unexpected, but she’s not normal either.’

“What, what were you thinking? Did you think I’m weird?”

“No, not really. Stay still like that.”

“Huh?”

“Stay still.”

When Cordelia tilted her head in confusion and stopped walking, Jude loosened the cord from his waist, wound it around her waist, and held the end firmly.

“What are you doing?”

“If you suddenly run and leave, I can catch you. You’re not allowed to bite anyone.”

“Shall I bite you first?”

It was when Cordelia growled like a dog.

“Mr. Jude Bayer? What’s going on? Why is Lady Cordelia’s waist…”

“The fog is getting thicker. When the view is blocked, there is a risk of us being scattered, so we used this to connect each other. If it’s fine with Lord Lucas, will you like to join us as well?”

“Oh…I see. Yes, I’ll tie it up too.”

Lucas nodded and approached Jude, who quickly tied the cord to his waist and handed the remaining cord to Lucas.

Cordelia thought while looking at them.

‘It had an authentic reason?’

I thought of the reason for tying the cord.

I think I’ve head stories that when people climb places like snowy mountains, they use cords to tie themselves and stay connected with each other.

Cordelia was alone in the original, but not now.

‘The fog is thick.’

The fog that had been up to my ankles at first had now suddenly rose to my waist.

When the fog finally came at the top of my head…

“Wait.”

When Jude, who was in the middle, suddenly stopped, and not only Lucas, who was in the lead, but also Cordelia, had no choice but to stop.

Cordelia, whose mind was wandering while walking behind them, hit her forehead on Jude’s back. She then asked while touching her forehead.

“Why?”

“The soil has changed.”

“What?”

Instead of answering, Jude turned the soil and showed it to them. He sat down, rubbed the soil, and explained to Lucas and Cordelia, who came close to him.

“The soil had changed. The smell, particle size, and the composition are different from the soil of Trefalgar Forest.”

At Jude’s sudden words, Lucas blinked, and Cordelia sat down too and touched the soil, but she couldn’t tell the difference.

She didn’t even know what the soil of the Trefalgar Forest was like in the first place.

“Dahlia! Jun!”

Jude suddenly shouted loudly, but no one answered back.

Lucas flinched and also called the names of Seornn and Thilion, but it was the same too.

Cordelia realized at that moment.

‘I was too relaxed.’

I didn’t even think of the escorts until Jude cried out.

They had just walked without thinking, even though they lost sight of their escorts.

‘Barrier.’

It was an independent space like the Dungeon Book.

The story fell into place.

The knights that suddenly disappeared.

A completely different soil composition.

If they hadn’t tied each other with a cord, not only Lucas, but Jude and Cordelia would also have been scattered.

Cordelia quickly turned to Jude, and he nodded.

‘This is certainly a barrier.’

It was the same as the original, but also different.

In the original, Cordelia wandered through the forest alone, so she didn’t even notice the existence of a barrier.

But it wasn’t for the party. Several people were heading straight towards the target without wandering through the forest.

That was what made the difference.

And perhaps, it was a change due to the butterfly effect that occurred as a result of stopping the Devil’s Hand’s attack.

“Mr. Bayer? Lady Cordelia?”

When Lucas asked with a tense face, Jude took a deep breath and stood up.

He told Lucas and everyone to untie the cords that were tied to their waists, as they had already entered the barrier.

“Lord Lucas.”

“Yes, Mr. Bayer.”

“It seems like…a real adventure has started.”

A real adventure where they had no idea of the outcome and process.

Tension, anxiety, indescribable joy and anticipation spread simultaneously on Lucas’ face, and Jude and Cordelia looked back at each other.

Amidst their concerns and responsibilities, they were prepared to fight.