[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 38

Just as he was about to shout at her to shut up, she grinned and asked a question as if she had read his mind. 

"Isn't it nice when things are peaceful?" 

She couldn’t possibly be unaware of how strange this was, so that comment had to be purely to annoy him. Jade glared at her. 

"Don’t say something so stupid." 

"Fine. How about something smart then? Ungrateful kidnapper, isn’t this peace thanks to the basilisk we encountered? When a giant monster awakens, the smaller ones don’t come out." 

"You're right. Now keep your mouth shut. I’m already aware of that." 

"Good news should be shared." 

"If you had any sense, you wouldn’t call that good news. When a large monster awakens, it can twist time and space. Especially in a place like this where magic is strong, we could get sucked into a bizarre space or warped to some strange time. Do you want to get stuck in a place like that with me?" 

"Not at all. Let’s hurry up. How much further to the edge of the forest?" 

"We’re almost there. Two more hours of walking. So shut up and pray to Theresia for some luck. Otherwise, we might both disappear from this world for good." 

"Theresia? It’s ‘Lady Theresia’ to you. Do you have no faith?" 

"To hell with faith. What do you expect from an Eastern mercenary? What has that goddess ever done for me?" 

Suppressing the growing sense of dread in his chest, Jade quickened his pace. He had already given up trying to figure out who this girl really was. But it seemed she hadn’t given up on him. 

"Why don’t you have faith? You’re an Eclipse, after all." 

"......" 

"You're an Eclipse, right? A son of the Count Eclipse family." 

It seemed she had finally reached a conclusion about his identity. Given that she had spent a year in the East, particularly among the mercenary guilds, it wasn’t a difficult guess. If she really was from a great noble family as he suspected, memorising noble names would be second nature. 

Jade didn’t want to hear the usual titles that followed his family name, "Eclipse." But before he could cover his ears, the girl started talking. 

"The descendant of Yuri Eclipse, the Knight of Flames." 

"......" 

"The most beloved knight in Mihadas, out of the seven knights mentioned in the Theresia Scriptures. The knight of love, the knight of devotion, the knight of flames…" 

"Shut up." 

That much was bearable. It was true that the Eclipse family were descendants of Yuri Eclipse, the "Knight of Flames," and the accompanying titles were always associated with him. 

"The Knight of Passion." 

"......" 

"The Knight of Madness." 

But when the girl spat out the last title in a mocking tone, Jade Eclipse exploded. He decided to threaten her with his sword again to finally shut her up. But he couldn’t carry out his decision. The girl he had been leading suddenly screamed as if she had hit an invisible wall. 

At first, he thought she was playing some trick again and ignored her. But it became clear something was wrong when she collapsed, clutching her head as if she had just slammed into a rock. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Hey! There’s something in front of us. Check it out." 

"There’s nothing here…" 

Jade frowned and took a few steps forward, extending his hand. It looked like empty air, but his fingertips brushed against a solid wall. He quickly scanned the area. Rubbing his hand against the invisible wall, he started walking, then sped up, and eventually ran alongside it. 

It didn’t take long for Jade to realise the cruel truth: this enormous wall had completely trapped them in the forest, and there was no opening. 

This damn forest again. I knew something was wrong with how quiet it was. 

He cursed under his breath. He pounded the invisible wall with his fists, then drew his sword and struck it. But all that echoed through the forest were the loud clangs of his blade, the wall unyielding. Realising that continuing would only dull his blade, he slumped to the ground. 

The girl, still bound in place, calmly observed his despair before asking. 

"What’s going on?" 

"Can’t you see? We’re trapped." 

"What?" 

"The basilisk woke up and twisted the space. Or maybe it set up a giant spatial trap to catch us so we can’t escape the forest." 

"Which one do you think it is?" 

"I’d rather it be the former, but we can’t rule out the latter." 

High-level monsters like the basilisk were intelligent and, in a place like Nabimi Forest where magic was strong, could wield magic comparable to that of human wizards. Just as humans set traps to catch prey, it could have twisted the space to create a trap they couldn’t escape.