Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 30
“Stay here for a moment. I’ll come in ten seconds.”
At those words, Kadan quickly darted forward. The beast, with its mouth grotesquely stretched open beneath its jaw, swung its arm at Kadan.
10, 9, 8, 6, 5… It was when she reached that count. With two swords in his hands, Kadan split the beast’s body in half with just three strikes. Its innards spilled out onto the white snow as a grotesque sight.
Kadan’s body was covered in blood, yet not a single drop of his own blood was spilled.
‘I knew he was strong, but I didn’t expect him to be this ridiculously strong.’
Beyond awe, Luna was beginning to feel fear. She couldn’t close her eyes as she watched Kadan, but eventually, she shut them and waited for the scene to settle.
Kadan kicked the half-split corpse aside carelessly and, after shaking the blood off his jacket, calmly approached Luna, who still had her eyes tightly closed.
“Let’s go, Luna.”
Kadan reached out a bloodstained hand, then wiped it off on his pants before offering her his clean hand. Luna, opening her eyes just slightly, saw his large hand come into view.
‘It doesn’t matter if there’s a bit of blood on it; after all, I’m wearing gloves.’
Luna felt grateful for his small consideration, and despite wearing her gloves, she took his large hand. His hands, which had mercilessly cut down beasts, were now soft and warm.
“I’ve been thinking about something since earlier.”
Luna, nibbling on her lip, slowly spoke, and Kadan looked down at her with a gentle gaze. The hunter’s fierce gaze from when he tore through the beasts was nowhere to be seen now.
“You really do seem like the master of this forest.”
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“No matter what beast appears, I feel like you’d defeat it.”
“Yes. I’m strong.”
Kadan patted his chest with his fist, as if to assure her to trust him. Covered in beast’s blood, his appearance might have seemed ferocious, but there was a soft smile on his face as he gazed at Luna.
‘You really are always the same.’
Luna lowered her head, and her fingers wiggled inside her thick gloves. She thought that if he was really the master of this forest, perhaps she could proudly take her place by his side.
After all, she had been offered as a sacrifice to be the bride of the forest’s master. Maybe she should take her rightful place beside him.
Whether he knew Luna’s thoughts or not, Kadan held her gloved hand tightly and walked forward confidently.
The deeper they ventured into the forest, the harder the frozen ground became, and Luna walked with unease. Kadan’s firm arm supported her back, and her vision swayed dramatically.
By the time Luna regained her senses, she found herself being carried on Kadan’s broad back. Before she could say anything in surprise, Kadan spoke first.
“Don’t worry. This way, we can move faster.”
Carrying Luna, who felt as light as feathers, was no challenge for Kadan. Wrapped up in thick layers, Luna felt like a soft bundle of fur, and the sensation was comforting.
After crossing the bumpy forest path, they reached a vast open field. In the center of the field was a large hole, with unmeasurable death.
The eerie energy emanating from it revealed that it was a gate for summoning beasts. Right next to it stood a massive stone monument. The runic symbols carved into the monument were strikingly similar to the ones on Luna’s body.
“Just like you said, Kadan!”
Luna, having jumped down from Kadan’s back, hopped excitedly toward the monument. Her movements were so squirrel-like that Kadan couldn’t help but smile. He called out a light warning as she bounced forward.
“Be careful, Luna. The hole in front of the monument is where the beasts crawl out from.”
It wasn’t a lie. Kadan knew that the reason the beasts appeared in the northern forest was because of that hole. At night, the beasts slithered out from it.
“R-Really?”
Terrified, Luna spun around and dashed back toward Kadan. When her small body nestled against his, he smiled with satisfaction and lifted her, holding the furry bundle in his arms.
Kadan walked toward the monument. Staring intently at the runic symbols, he muttered, “It’s still strange.”
“What’s strange?”
“It’s the same.”
“Huh?”
“It’s the same as the one on your body.”
“Really? I knew the shapes of the letters were similar, but…”
“The meaning is exactly the same. Completely.”
“The meaning? Kadan, can you read runes?”
At Luna’s question, Kadan nodded casually, as if it was nothing. He didn’t know why he could read the symbols, but the meaning had come to him naturally as soon as he saw them.
When he first saw the tattoos on Luna’s body, he hadn’t thought much of them. The runes, which read “To protect the noble lives of this land, to seal impure evil and purify the surroundings,” seemed holy in their meaning.
Kadan stumbled through the common language of the continent, trying to interpret the runes. Though he had learned the common language from Luna bit by bit, translating difficult words like ‘noble’ and ‘impure’ was hard for him, but Luna grasped the general meaning.
After Kadan set Luna down from his arms, she walked closer to the monument, repeating his interpretation as she confirmed the runic symbols.
‘To seal evil and purify the surroundings. Then it’s not a curse?’
Her legs suddenly gave out, and she staggered before finally collapsing onto the snow with a thud.
“It wasn’t a curse, it has such a good meaning…”
But why had she been called a cursed child? Why had the people around her died?
