As I grabbed a handful of hair and lifted it, the kids recoiled, their faces a mix of shock and fear.

“I told you earlier, right? This is the Wailing Girl. It’s my first time seeing her in person too.”

“Oh, brother!”

“Hmm?”

“That… ugh…”

Yoo Jung grimaced at the sight of the Wailing Girl, letting out a groan. It wasn’t just her; most of the clan members wore expressions that said they’d seen something they wished they hadn’t. Only Go Yeon-ju maintained her initial calm, glancing at the girl before striding over to the corpse.

“Is she really that scary?”

I tilted my head in confusion. Releasing the hair from my grip, I brought my sword closer. The Wailing Girl had her usual grotesque appearance, but it didn’t bother me much.

Looking ahead, I saw faces still painted with fear. Fear. It’s a universal human emotion, a latent anxiety about the unknown. I’m no exception. As a human, I too experience fear and dread.

The difference between me and the others is the threshold at which I feel fear.

“When I fell to the lowest level of hell… that was truly terrifying.”

In the lowest level of the Eight Hells, the most malevolent beings gather in the Avici Hell. There, I had to endure every conceivable sensory terror. Surviving that place was the greatest stroke of luck during my first run through the Hall Plain. Compared to the hellish reapers who constantly threatened my life, the Wailing Girl was like a pet rabbit.

With a twist of my sword, the Wailing Girl fell to the ground. Her upper body began to decay rapidly, turning gray. A light kick sent her crumbling into dust, scattering into the air. For all her grand entrance, her exit was rather pitiful.

“Is she dead, brother?”

“Who knows.”

“What?”

“Go Yeon-ju, did you find anything?”

Go Yeon-ju, crouched by the corpse, stood up with a sigh.

“Nothing unusual. Judging by the bite marks, it seems the Wailing Girl got him.”

“Anything salvageable?”

“Not a thing. The body’s too damaged.”

“Tsk.”

As I clicked my tongue in frustration, Go Yeon-ju approached me.

“So, what now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I didn’t expect you to handle the Wailing Girl so… efficiently. The immediate danger’s gone, but it seems unlikely he was alone.”

“Hmm…”

Go Yeon-ju was right. No sane person would venture out alone at night.

After a moment’s thought, I spoke in a low voice.

“Then we should be able to track the Wailing Girl’s path.”

“Of course.”

“Well, it seems like sleep’s out of the question tonight…”

The kids, whether they had been awake or woken from sleep, looked wide awake now. Going back to sleep wasn’t a bad idea, but something felt off. It seemed better to follow the trail and stop if it got too long.

“If worst comes to worst, we can just march through the night.”

With a thought that would make the kids scream if they heard it, I nodded toward the campsite.

“Let’s pack up.”

After breaking camp, we followed Go Yeon-ju as she retraced the Wailing Girl’s path. Her tracking skills were impressive, allowing us to march without stopping even in the dead of night.

Fortunately, the tracking didn’t take as long as feared. Just as I was considering giving up, Go Yeon-ju reported finding a campsite.

She sniffed the air, examined the ground, and pointed in one direction.

“See there? The grass is pressed down more than elsewhere. I think that’s it.”

“Alright, let’s go.”

As we approached, a scene of devastation unfolded, stark against the tranquil plains. The closer we got, the more the scattered bodies and shattered camping stones came into view.

“Wow.”

“Ugh!”

As we neared the campsite, the stench of blood hit us. The gruesome sight left some speechless, while others let out weak cries. Even Baek Han-gyeol, who had held it together until now, finally succumbed and vomited.

Three users lay dead at the campsite: two men and a woman. Including the man from earlier, it seemed a group of four had been in the plains.

One man’s neck was savagely torn, while the other’s abdomen was ripped open, organs spilling out. Yet, compared to the woman’s body, they were in better shape. The woman, dressed in white priestly robes, was missing her head entirely. Her exposed chest was brutally bitten. The scattered eyes and flesh fragments hinted at their gruesome end.

“This is strange. They don’t look particularly skilled.”

“The Wailing Plains are well-known. They should’ve known not to provoke the Wailing Girl.”

“Isn’t it hard to provoke her? I heard she rarely shows herself.”

“There have been incidents. Old records in Barbara’s library mention a few cases. That’s why there’s a warning not to provoke her.”

Go Yeon-ju nodded at my words. Despite my rebuttal, I was just as puzzled. Something felt off. It didn’t seem like they had intentionally provoked the Wailing Girl.

Kim Han-byeol, who had been comforting Baek Han-gyeol, spoke cautiously.

“Could these users be victims too?”

“Victims?”

“Yes. I don’t know the details, but it seems to fit…”

“Victims…”

If that’s the case, someone might have deliberately redirected the Wailing Girl’s attention to them. It made sense. Could a user capable of such a thing be behind this?

A myriad of thoughts swirled in my mind. We lacked information, and there were too many possibilities. I decided to be content with what we had. Staying longer wouldn’t yield more information. It was time to get back on track after the Wailing Girl disrupted our plans.

Still, it felt wasteful to leave empty-handed, so I looked around for anything useful, but there was nothing. The equipment was too damaged to be of any use.

With a sigh of disappointment, I turned away.

The dim light of dawn began to chase away the darkness over the plains. Though the morning mist slightly obscured our view, it wasn’t enough to hinder our march.

After leaving the campsite, I decided on a night march. Given the circumstances, it seemed best to leave the Wailing Plains as quickly as possible.

The clan members were weary, and the mood was heavy. Having seen the gruesome scene just hours ago, they followed me in silence, focused on the march.

“Let’s take a break here.”

The night march had been tiring and monotonous, so as soon as I spoke, An Sol plopped down on the ground. In the past, she would’ve complained about being too tired to keep up, but this time she followed without a word, which was commendable.

“Uh, Clan Lord, have some water.”

“Oh, Han-gyeol? Are you feeling better?”

“Yes, I’m trying to get used to it. Don’t worry about me. Hehe.”

“Good. Thanks for the water.”

Baek Han-gyeol was aware of his current standing. Even with his powerful secret class, the Shield of God, he knew he was the weakest. Perhaps that’s why he was trying to help in other ways, since he couldn’t contribute much in battle.

“Phew, I’m exhausted.”

An Hyun, who had received a water bottle from Baek Han-gyeol, sat down beside me with a groan. As I took a sip, I recalled our conversation by the campfire.

“An Hyun.”

“Yes?”

“You mentioned you had something to ask me earlier, by the campfire.”

“Oh, that. It wasn’t much. I was just curious if there really are ruins in the Hall of Illusions.”

Ahn Hyun chuckled lightly, as if to say it was no big deal. Looking around, I noticed the clan members were scattered about, sitting in silence. Their faces were all shadowed with a somber gloom. To break the monotony and pass the time, I decided to share a story.

“Speaking of which, I’ve got an interesting tale about the Canyon of Illusions. Want to hear it?”

“Of course, if it’s from you, we have to listen. It’s bound to be enlightening. What’s it about?”

“Ancient records of the Whole Plain.”

“Ancient records? Are you talking about myths or legends?”

I glanced around and saw eyes turning towards me, ears perked up in anticipation. With a faint smile, I began my story.

The beginning was nothing special. Like any common fairy tale or novel, the ancient continent of the Whole Plain faced a crisis, and heroes gathered to resolve it. A human swordsman, a human priest, a human mage, an elven archer, a dragon mage—many skilled heroes came together.

They overcame countless trials and finally faced the forces of evil at the last gate, emerging victorious. Peace returned to the Whole Plain.

Ahn Hyun listened intently at first, but when I mentioned that the human swordsman, who led the heroes, and the elven queen archer got engaged after peace was restored, he let out a deflated sigh.

“Come on, that’s such a cliché story.”

“Up to that point, yes. But the interesting part is, the story doesn’t end there. Remember the human mage I mentioned earlier?”

“Yeah, he was one of the few who survived the final battle, right?”

“Exactly. Four survived: the hero, the elven queen, the archmage, and the saint. The records mention several times that the archmage secretly admired the elven queen.”

Ahn Hyun hadn’t even taken a sip of water yet. He was about to open the bottle when my next words stopped him.

“Wait, wasn’t the archmage really old? Oh, are elves old too? Still, there must have been a big age difference… Anyway, what happens next?”

“After their engagement, the hero and the elven queen were invited by the archmage to his home, supposedly in the city within the Canyon of Illusions.”

“Oh, really? And then?”

“That’s the end.”

“What?”

“Excuse me?”

The response didn’t come from just one person. Despite everything, they were all engrossed in my story, and the anticlimactic ending left them deflated.

“The hero and the elven queen gladly accepted the archmage’s invitation and entered the Canyon of Illusions. That’s it. There’s no more to the story. Now you see why it’s not considered a myth or legend? The records stop there because no one knows what happened next.”

“So, did those three just disappear?”

“No way! Couldn’t others have gone to find the missing heroes at his home…?”

“Well…”

I was about to respond to An Sol’s whining when I suddenly stopped and turned my head forward. At the edge of my senses, I detected a subtle presence, and for the first time since our expedition began, I frowned.

‘Is that… the sound of four footsteps?’

---------------------------= Author’s Note ---------------------------=

Hello, this is Ryu Jin.

Honestly, I wanted to start today’s note by unzipping and saying, “Would you believe me if I took off my pants?” Some of you might have guessed or felt an “Ah” moment. But a friend of mine said, “What if the readers actually say, ‘Sure, take them off, then we’ll believe you’?”

…

So, I’ve decided to hold off. I’ll just stay quiet until things settle down. ㅜ.ㅠ