Chapter 2
The Once-a-Year Flowers and the Reaper of the Forest
“GRAAAAAAAAH!!”
It appeared all of a sudden—
a massive creature covered in pitch-black fur.
A Night Bear!
I instinctively grabbed Mile’s arm and pulled her behind a fallen log nearby.
Putting a finger to my lips, I signaled her to stay quiet. She nodded silently.
From behind the log, I cautiously peeked out.
The Night Bear was still devouring the rabbit it had caught earlier, too absorbed to notice us yet.
Should we run while we can?
Or should we stay completely still and let it pass?
My mind raced through the possibilities.
The Night Bear’s habits… I remembered reading about them once, in the monster encyclopedia back home.
I strained to recall what I’d learned as a kid, flipping through those pages over and over.
The Night Bear was a dark-attribute beast, right? Which meant it hated sunlight—
it was supposed to be almost inactive during the day.
Then… why is it here now?
Digging deeper into memory, I remembered something written in red ink—
my parents’ notes scribbled in the margins of that encyclopedia:
There exists a small white flower whose scent excites abyssal beasts.
Be cautious if you find any unfamiliar white flowers.
These flowers bloom only once a year, for a single day.
That was it.
No way…
I slowly scanned the area around us.
All over the forest floor—tiny white flowers were blooming.
Oh, come on…
Don’t tell me today is that “once-a-year day”?
The Night Bear finished eating and began sniffing the air, searching for the source of the scent.
(Crap… if it notices us, we’re finished.)
My heartbeat sounded deafening in my own ears.
It felt like the noise might give us away.
(…We just have to stay still and wait it out.)
Holding my breath, I whispered that plan into Mile’s ear. She nodded, face pale with fear.
Heavy footsteps shook the ground.
Branches snapped as the beast drew closer.
Every time I tried to quiet my breathing, my heartbeat only grew louder.
And then—
I could’ve sworn those red eyes turned directly toward us.
(Damn it… Did it notice?)
But the next second—
“GRAAARGH!!”
The Night Bear perked its ears and suddenly turned toward a noise deeper in the forest.
It swung its massive body around and thundered off in that direction.
“…Haaah…”
As soon as it disappeared from sight, both Mile and I exhaled at once.
We’d made it. Somehow, we were alive.
“That was so scary, Sky… I thought we were done for.”
“Yeah… same here. My heart almost stopped…”
We slumped against the log, exhausted.
But there wasn’t time to rest.
“What do we do now? Should we go back to the village and tell the chief?”
“I want to, but… I’m more worried about the others who went ahead.
We need to warn them.”
“You’re right. They might’ve stopped for lunch somewhere along the trail.
If we hurry, we can catch up.”
“Alright—let’s move quietly. No unnecessary noise.”
We stood up, bracing ourselves, and carefully made our way down the forest path again,
heading toward the sanctuary to warn the rest.
After about thirty minutes of climbing, we finally spotted the twins—Rin and Mari—walking side by side up ahead.
They looked unharmed. I let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh! Mile!”
Rin noticed us and waved energetically.
(Hey, don’t yell!)
Mile seemed to have the same thought—she ran toward them, making frantic gestures for them to be quiet!
The twins just giggled at her panic.
Blissfully unaware. Typical.
After reuniting, we told them everything—
the Night Bear encounter, the white flowers, and the danger spreading through the forest.
At first, they didn’t believe us at all.
But as Mile spoke with trembling seriousness, their faces gradually drained of color.
By the end, they were completely silent, pale as ghosts.
Once everyone had calmed down, we set off again to find the remaining two members of our group.
“Wait—look! Isn’t that Ryuk?”
Mari pointed toward a large shield leaning against a tree.
Sure enough, Ryuk was sitting there taking a break.
When he spotted us, he waved casually.
“Didn’t think you guys would catch up already. Guess I took too long for lunch.”
“Actually, listen to this—”
I told him what we’d told the twins.
Ryuk listened carefully, eyes widening a little, then nodded grimly.
“So the Night Bear’s here because of those white flowers, huh…”
“Yeah. That’s why I think it’s safer to spend the night inside the sanctuary, not out here.”
“Agreed. Abyssal beasts can’t enter sacred grounds. That’s our best option.”
He immediately took charge.
“Alright. First we regroup with the last two—Simon and Guy.
I’ll take point. Mile, you stay in the middle with your detection skill.
Mai and Rin behind her, and Sky—you watch our rear. Move out.”
That was Ryuk for you—always reliable in a crisis.
“Still no sign of Simon…”
“Maybe he’s already gone on ahead to the sanctuary?”
As we talked, the narrow mountain path opened up ahead to a rope bridge spanning a deep ravine.
“Hey… what’s that?” Mari pointed to the side of the trail.
“Huh? That big bag—doesn’t it belong to Simon?”
“But why would it be lying here?”
A chill ran down my spine.
And then—the forest went quiet.
A moment later, the ground began to rumble.
From the distance came a dark, massive shape tearing through the trees.
“It’s the Night Bear!!”
Ryuk reacted instantly—raising his shield and stepping forward.
“Kyaaah!!” the twins screamed.
Clang!!
Sparks flew as the Night Bear’s claws slammed against Ryuk’s shield.
“Guh…!”
He gritted his teeth against the impact, shouting back,
“Everyone behind me! Don’t move away from my side!”
“Ryuk, can we make it to the bridge? We’ll be cornered here!”
He glanced around quickly.
“I can move slowly… but it’s still a ways off!”
“We don’t have a choice—run for the sanctuary!”
“Got it. Leave it to me!”
We began retreating step by step toward the bridge,
Ryuk blocking the monster’s attacks and countering with his sword whenever he could.
None of us could deal any real damage—our only job was to stay alert and survive.
“Damn it…”
Hiding behind his back, doing nothing but cowering—it felt unbearable.
But thanks to Ryuk’s strength, we finally reached the clearing with the suspension bridge.
(Same age as me, yet he’s this strong…)
Admiration mixed with frustration.
“Almost there! Hang in there, everyone!”
Just then—something changed.
The Night Bear stopped, twitching its nose again,
and turned its attention away from us.
Why… what did it sense?
Mari gasped and pointed toward the trail entrance.
“Isn’t that… Simon?”
Behind the beast, Simon stood frozen, eyes wide in shock.
His dropped bag flashed through my mind—he must’ve been hiding nearby.
(Why would you show yourself now?!)
The Night Bear slowly turned its gaze toward him.
Simon fell backward, trembling, unable to move.
“GRAAAAAAAH!!”
“Hey! Over here!!” Ryuk shouted, stepping forward to distract it.
But the beast’s focus was fixed.
It had already chosen its prey.
“This is bad…!”
Before I could think, my body moved on its own.
I grabbed the knife at my belt and threw it with all my strength.
The blade flew straight—
and struck the Night Bear square in its left eye.
“GRRRAAAAGH!!”
Its scream split the air, echoing through the mountains.
It staggered, then its single burning eye turned toward me—
full of rage and killing intent.
The moment our eyes met, I turned and ran toward the cliff.
(…Come on. Follow me. I can still use that from here!)
The monster roared and charged after me, shaking the ground with every step.
“SKYYYY!!!”
Mile’s scream echoed behind me, but I couldn’t stop.
The cliff’s edge was just ahead.
A quick glance back—the Night Bear’s claws were raised, saliva flying from its jaws.
(No turning back now!)
And I jumped—straight off the cliff into the ravine below.
For a moment, I was weightless.
Then came the falling sensation—air rushing past my ears.
Something grazed my back—the beast’s claws.
It had leapt after me.
(…Perfect. Just as planned.)
I clutched the starstone pendant on my chest and focused my mind.
In an instant, blue-white particles burst forth, enveloping my body.
My descent slowed—softened—until I was gently drifting downward.
The Night Bear, unable to stop its momentum, plummeted past me—
straight into the depths of the valley.
Crashing sounds echoed below.
I still hit a few branches on the way down—
crack, snap, thud!—
before finally landing roughly on the forest floor.
“…Ow, ow, ow…”
Scratched all over, but alive.
Staggering to my feet, I saw the Night Bear’s body impaled against a massive tree nearby, unmoving.
“…Hah. Guess I made it out alive.”
Relief washed over me, and my knees gave out.
The first thought that came to mind was—
“Mile’s gonna kill me for this…”
For some reason, that was all I could think.
