The border area where the lands where humans can live meet those where they cannot.

Amidst the chaos caused by the howls of the monstrosities and the thunderous explosions of magic unleashed to stop them, a small thud echoed.

It was the sound of a headless monstrosity’s body collapsing onto the ground.

The rhythmic sound that echoed every time the boy’s sword swung amidst the horde of monstrosities finally ceased only after there was not a single creature left with something hanging from its neck.

“Wow, you’ve got some ghostly skills there! Well done, rookie!”

“This is embarrassing. It feels like the rookie has captured twice as many as me!”

“Ha ha ha, true that! If we want the rookie to treat us like seniors, we’d better step up our game.”

The boy blushed shyly at the praise from his teammates. Though the team erupted in laughter at his innocent demeanor despite his incredible skills, Martina, the captain of Squad 4, couldn’t laugh so easily while watching from atop the barricade.

“Captain, doesn’t it feel like the frequency of the monstrosities attacking has increased lately?”

Just like Kanna, the vice-captain standing next to her, she too had sensed it.

Martina carefully counted the number of monstrosities they had just taken down.

Around 200 to 300.

Not an insignificant number, but under normal circumstances, one would think this was just a group of monstrosities that happened to charge in from the area.

However, in recent times, events of this scale had occurred easily over ten times from what she had personally witnessed.

The reason for this occurrence was simple.

Martina turned her gaze beyond the barricade, toward the distant north, and muttered.

“Those raging monstrosities, I can’t figure out why they’re acting up so much lately…”

The northern forest, once known as the Forest of Eternity, was the ancient territory of elves.

But now, that place, filled only with charred and blackened trees, also served as a home for the furious monstrosities made entirely of flames.

For a long time, the raging monstrosities were evaluated as relatively docile compared to others of their kind, a paradox considering their name.

They rarely revealed themselves outside the forest or engaged in territorial disputes with other monstrosities, but recently, smoke had been frequently spotted rising from various parts of the forest, indicating their rampages.

As a result, lower-tier monstrosities that used to inhabit the northern forest had been pushed all the way to where the city was, leading to situations like this occurring frequently.

However, nobody could fathom why the raging monstrosities suddenly exhibited such bizarre behavior.

Even after sifting through the duty logs maintained by the heroes who had guarded the north for so long, there was no precedent for such an event.

“Damn, I can’t even go check what’s happening myself…”

As Martina muttered out of frustration, Yoon Si-woo, who had just climbed up to the barricade, spoke.

“If you’re curious, should I go take a look and see what’s going on? I doubt I’d get contaminated by the miasma even if I explored deep into the forest.”

She knew it as well.

That he possessed a sword with special abilities that made him almost immune to miasma.

Of course, the dense miasma that blanketed the land beyond was the main reason people couldn’t roam freely outside…

Martina shook her head vigorously and muttered.

“Forget it. You think I’m not going out because of the miasma? I can last outside for a few days as long as I wrap myself in magic. But there’s a reason I avoid going into the forest. Do you know the difference between low-level monstrosities and intermediate-level ones?”

“Yes, I understand that low-level monstrosities lack special abilities, while those with unique powers are classified as intermediate-level monstrosities.”

“Exactly. Those monstrosities that mimic abilities that witches supposedly once possessed are referred to as intermediate-level. That’s why we give special names to intermediate-level monstrosities. If attacks are ineffective, they’re called lazy monstrosities. If they can manipulate flames, they’re called furious monstrosities. Now, do you know the difference between intermediate-level and upper-level monstrosities?”

Yoon Si-woo hesitated before answering Martina’s question.

“…I learned that if they’re strong, then they’re called upper-level monstrosities, right?”

At Yoon Si-woo’s reply, Martina chuckled and said.

“Right, those who can use abilities and are strong are categorized as upper-level monstrosities. You probably wondered back at the academy what kind of classification that was. But actually, it’s a hell of an accurate classification. When you see an upper-level monstrosity, you immediately think, ‘Ah, that creature is upper-level.’”

Martina gently patted Yoon Si-woo’s head as if to encourage him.

Then, fixing her gaze intently on the far-off northern forest, she murmured in a low voice.

“Our main job is to guard this place, but you do know we aren’t just standing guard, right? As the population in the city grows, we need more resources and food, so we also venture out to explore the lands beyond. About 15 years ago, an order came down from above. They thought it’d be safe to cultivate lands near that forest since the raging monstrosities are relatively docile. So we all went out to clear the outskirts of the forest. What do you think happened that day?”

At that question, Yoon Si-woo’s expression hardened.

Because the barricade marking the recently cleared lands was still quite a distance from the forest.

Seeing that expression—the one that seemed to anticipate the outcome—Martina murmured with a bitter smile.

“It’s classified information, so this is probably the first time you’re hearing it. We failed. Disastrously, I might add. Those raging beasts were only docile when you didn’t disturb them. Even though they look calm, they’re still beasts. A clearly upper-level one popped out and caused our former squad leader and vice-captain, along with seven other members, to perish. Kanna here was crying rivers and even wet herself.”

“…Captain, do you really want to die? Why are you bringing this up in front of the rookie!”

“It’s the truth, after all. Regardless, even if I’ve grown stronger than the previous captain, these are not creatures you want to provoke. Especially that damned fire-monster that killed our squad mates—no matter how strong I am, it’ll give me some trouble. The conclusion is that you should generally assume that area is off-limits unless absolutely necessary. Got it?”

Slowly nodding at Martina’s words, Yoon Si-woo fell deep into thought, trying to recall something that seemed to trouble him.

Fifteen years ago, fifteen years ago…

Muttering this to himself, Yoon Si-woo took a slight breath.

Then, after hesitating, he asked Martina.

“…Um, exactly when did that happen?”

“It was around this time. June 23rd. Why?”

Upon hearing June 23rd, Yoon Si-woo paused and muttered softly.

“…I see.”

“Why the sudden change? Is something wrong?”

Martina asked, tilting her head in curiosity at Yoon Si-woo’s abrupt murmuring.

Yoon Si-woo bit his lip for a moment before shaking his head and replying.

“It’s nothing serious. I was just wondering if I could look up any records from that time.”

“Though it might not be very detailed… if you check the logs in the archive, there might be some records left.”

“Really? Thank you for letting me know.”

“There’s no need to thank me. You were called in because we requested support, right? You’ve worked hard, so go rest. Tomorrow, we’re supposed to head out together for your day off.”

As she mentioned, tomorrow was the day he would accompany her while she served as a special instructor at the academy.

Yoon Si-woo slowly smiled and nodded.

—

The sound of pages turning reverberated in the archive.

The pages that were being flipped paused at a certain section.

The record from June 23rd, fifteen years ago.

An outline of the operation was written down, and below that, it stated it had failed. At the bottom of the document were the names of the members who had died during that operation.

Among them were two names he missed dearly.

Gazing at that page, Yoon Si-woo murmured softly.

“…So that’s how you left, now I understand.”

June 23rd was the anniversary of his parents’ death.

Until now, he had only known that they perished in battle against the beasts.

He hadn’t known where or against which monstrosities they had met their end.

But now he knows.

Yoon Si-woo looked out the window, towards the north.

Somewhere out there, was the beast that killed his parents.

As that thought crossed his mind, a two-syllable word naturally came to him.

Along with that, the faces of his parents came to mind, and Yoon Si-woo murmured with a bitter smile.

“…If you were alive, you’d probably tell me not to even think about it.”

But now that he knows, it’s inevitable that at least a small thought about it arises.

Of course, he didn’t intend to dwell on it too much.

Neither would his parents want that, and he himself had far too many burdens to bear.

“…Don’t worry. I won’t act recklessly.”

Whispering softly, he gently brushed over his parents’ names with his fingers before closing the record book.

Beyond the window, he could see smoke rising from the distant forest.

Without realizing it, he clenched his fist and murmured lowly.

“…Still, if the opportunity arises, I will definitely.”