Mr. Kadan in the Deep Forest - Chapter 37
A white light erupted from the center of the northern forest. The knights surrounding the stone monument gasped in awe as they looked at Luna.
“What’s happening right now?”
“She’s not a cursed woman! She’s a saint! This is a miracle!”
The miracle occurred the moment Luna’s body touched the stone. Her tattoo glowed a bright red, and the ordinary stone transformed into a ruby-like red.
The beast gate began to glow with white light and gradually started to close. As the gate disappeared, Luna’s tattoo also completely vanished, and the once ruby-red stone returned to its original gray appearance.
“We greet the saint.”
The knights all kneeled before Luna. To seal the beast gate, which had taken countless lives, they called her a saint over and over. The knights, who had previously leered at her, now looked toward the sky and repented.
‘What is happening?’
Luna herself was confused by the situation. After being dragged here like a dog by the commander, the impossible happened the moment she touched the stone.
She felt weak all over, and her vision blurred as if she might faint.
‘No. Stay focused. I have to go to Kadan.’
Luna struggled to hold onto her fading consciousness and glared at the commander approaching her. The commander cut the rope binding her wrists with his sword.
“I didn’t expect the contents of that old book to be true. You must have suffered a lot due to all the misunderstandings, Lady Dheim.”
The commander smiled warmly and extended his hand toward her. Luna stared down at his hand but didn’t take it, shaking the rope marks off her wrists.
“Did it hurt your heart that I sold you into slavery? I hope you can forgive me for my past mistakes.”
“If you wish, I’ll forgive you.”
“Oh.”
“So, please send me back to the cabin.”
Luna made her stance clear. The cabin? No, that wouldn’t do. The commander shook his head.
“After accomplishing such a great feat, you plan to stay in a small village?”
“I don’t need such accomplishments.”
Luna gritted her teeth and turned her body. At this point, she was determined to find the cabin on her own.
But then, a rough hand grabbed the back of Luna’s neck. Eek! Luna was dragged toward the commander, stumbling as she was pulled in front of him.
“I didn’t give you permission to leave. I need to report today’s miracle to the King. For that, you must come with me.”
The commander grabbed Luna by the shoulder and forcefully put her on his horse. Luna tried to resist, but his strong grip kept her from moving.
At that moment, a knight dragged Ruth, who had lost consciousness, and gestured to the commander.
“Commander, what should we do with him?”
“Ah, right. That one.”
Hmm, how should we deal with this? The commander stroked his chin and glanced at Luna. As soon as he noticed the anxious flicker in her eyes, he smirked. His plan was to use this man to threaten Luna, thinking it would make her easier to control.
“Let’s take him with us. He might be useful.”
＊ ＊ ＊
Kadan was waiting for Luna in the cabin. The room was dark since no candles were lit, and only his sharp eyes gleamed like a predator’s.
Kadan kept thinking about the moment when Luna had taken Ruth’s hand and disappeared with him. Each time, his heart tore into a thousand pieces, and he felt as though his whole body was crumbling.
“Luna.”
Kadan gripped the silver ring tightly in his palm. Several days had passed, yet there was still no word from Luna, who had disappeared with Ruth.
His eyes, dark and sunken, stared intensely at the half-broken door. He wanted to go straight to where Ruth was and kill him immediately.
Slowly rising from his seat, Kadan stumbled toward the door. His condition was poor after days without sleep or food.
“Did you really leave?”
Kadan muttered to the air and stepped into the forest. To relieve the frenzy inside him, he needed to hunt a beast. If not, he felt like he might head straight to the village and kill everyone, Ruth included.
Walking through the forest like a starving beast, Kadan exhaled deeply. But something was off—there were no beasts in sight, which was unusual.
‘When was the last time I went hunting?’
Probably three days ago. Suddenly, Kadan’s blurry eyes cleared. A possibility crossed his mind.
Kadan started running toward the beast gate. He was going to check the stone monument that bore the same inscription as Luna’s tattoo.
He ran without stopping. Despite his exhaustion from not eating or sleeping, his natural stamina carried him to his destination with little difficulty.
“Luna!”
Kadan shouted her name as he ran toward the stone. The large, dark gate that should have been beside it was already gone.
“So it was you, Luna, who sealed this.”
Kadan muttered as he touched the stone.
“So you came here with Ruth.”
Damn it. Kadan slammed the stone with his fist and lowered his head. Just then, he sensed someone approaching.
“Luna?”
Kadan walked blankly toward where the presence was coming from. The sword he had been holding slipped from his hand and clattering to the ground as his strength gave out.
