Rei made his way through the night forest, and as a matter of course, a massive number of monsters launched attacks against him.
Tree branches, vines, thorns, grass, spikes, fruit, pollen—a variety of attacks came assailing Rei, but he pressed forward, ignoring the majority of them.
He could have struck down the attacking monsters, but since they possessed no magic stones, there was little reward in defeating them.
...Though, since their materials could still be used the same way as ordinary monsters, it wasn't as if there was no reward at all.
Regardless, unless he did something about whatever was likely at the center of the Treant Forest, this assault would not end.
Like that researcher said, if something is at the edge of the forest rather than the center, it'll be a bit difficult to find. Anyway, reuniting with Set is the top priority.
Riding Set and heading directly toward the center of the forest from the sky would be overwhelmingly faster than running through the trees.
There would also be no need to worry about the growing trees obstructing his path.
"Out of the way!"
He swung Death Scythe, slicing through only the Treants that had positioned themselves in his path.
From Rei's usual behavior, this would have been unthinkable. Normally, it would not be strange for him to strike down every monster in sight.
But right now, there was no time.
In any case, he had no time to deal with every monster appearing in this Treant Forest.
"Take this!"
Using the twist of his body, he hurled the Twilight Spear, charged with magic.
The Twilight Spear flying straight ahead pierced, shattered, and destroyed the bodies of various monsters, starting with the Treants that tried to block it.
Treant trunks were smashed, writhing vines were torn away like serpents, and the stem of a Venus Flytrap was pierced.
In this way, it killed several monsters—dozens of them all at once. ...No, in this case, the expression "destroyed" might have been more accurate.
Eventually, after annihilating countless monsters, its flight speed slowed, and in the next moment, the Twilight Spear returned to Rei's hand.
Confirming that the path ahead had been cleared, he dashed straight through the open passage.
(These monsters are definitely strange, as expected.)
Running through the path forcefully carved out by the Twilight Spear, Rei muttered to himself.
Normally, if their companions were slaughtered this effortlessly, they should have been able to imagine what kind of existence their enemy was.
At the very least, individuals that would hesitate to attack should have inevitably appeared.
But... the monsters of the Treant Forest attacked Rei one after another as if to say such things were completely irrelevant.
Having fought a fair number of monsters up to this point, Rei felt a sense of incongruity when looking at these creatures.
"Anyway, it's true that they're in my way as I move, but...!"
A Treant blocked the path created by the Twilight Spear, as if refusing to let Rei pass.
Among the monsters of the Treant Forest that Rei had fought so far, Treants were the heaviest and the most numerous.
In terms of size, the giant flower that still occasionally rained down seeds was larger, but it could not match the Treant in sheer numbers.
(Ah, and whether they can move or not is also a factor.)
Unlike Treants, which used their roots like feet to move about freely, the giant flower showed no signs of movement as far as Rei had seen.
Though, given its sunflower-like shape and the fact that the flower part was enormous, it was likely true that even if it tried to move, it would be difficult to do so.
Lightly leaping to avoid the vines that reached for his feet, he plunged relentlessly through the forest.
Then, gradually, the number of monsters attacking Rei began to increase.
Rei had no idea who was commanding the monsters, but to whatever existence was likely directing them, Rei's actions must have been nothing but a nuisance.
(No, the one giving the commands is probably the existence at the center of the forest, after all?)
The fact that he had the composure to think about such things even while moving and swinging his weapon was precisely because Rei had experienced countless battlefields.
Absolute confidence that no matter what happened next, he could handle it with his own abilities, and trust in the weapon in his hands.
And above all...
"Grrrrrrrrl!"
As that roar spread through the surroundings, ice arrows came flying and pierced into the monsters.
"Set!"
"Grrrrrrl!"
At Rei's call, Set purred happily.
...Though, even while purring, it swung its front legs and shattered a Treant's trunk.
"Oh my, am I not even in your field of vision?"
Riding on Set's back as it ran alongside Rei, Vihera asked him with a smile.
"No way that's true. ...More importantly, how did you figure out where I was?"
"Thanks to Set. We were moving toward that flower when he suddenly changed direction. Though, right after that, I heard an incredible sound of destruction, so I could roughly guess."
Rei had some thoughts about being associated with a sound of destruction, but considering where he was currently running, he couldn't complain.
"Set, there are monsters all around... can I count on King's Intimidation?"
As if changing the subject, Rei called out to Set beside him.
But that wasn't solely to change the subject.
In truth, if Set used King's Intimidation, it would stop low-rank monsters in their tracks.
In a situation where they were being assailed by countless monsters, it was undeniably a highly effective measure.
"Grrl, Grrrrrrrrrl!"
Set gave a short acknowledgment to Rei's words, and in the next moment, let out a loud cry as if to make its voice resound throughout the entire area.
But... the next moment, as if they hadn't heard Set's roar at all, a Treant in their path swung its branch down toward Rei.
"Tch, what's going on!?"
Of course, Rei didn't believe King's Intimidation would work on every monster.
He knew it would have no effect on powerful monsters—not to the extent of the Silver Lion, but against reasonably high-rank monsters.
Even so, for it to be ineffective against monsters like Treants made Rei, who was watching, widen his eyes in shock.
If only some of the monsters, including the Treants, had been able to move, he could have accepted that those were particularly powerful among the Treants.
However, the monsters that could still move even under Set's King's Intimidation were every single monster within his field of vision.
This was by no means something that could be attributed to coincidence or ability.
He was forced to conclude that there was some other... clear and distinct reason behind this result.
(No way all these monsters are on par with the Silver Lion... no, that's not it.)
That they did not possess such strength was something only Rei, who had been fighting them, could judge immediately.
But if so, the question arose: why was King's Intimidation ineffective?
Not quite at the level of Goblins... but when evaluated by Gilm's standards, they were undeniably low-rank... or perhaps slightly above that at best.
Based on his past experience, King's Intimidation had undoubtedly worked on such monsters.
There had been monsters that could still move even under King's Intimidation, but even then, their speed was noticeably reduced.
So why?
Though he thought this, it was now clear that King's Intimidation was ineffective.
Given that, he couldn't afford to dwell on a useless skill now.
(I should keep in mind that there might be other skills besides King's Intimidation that are ineffective too.)
Was it only King's Intimidation that had no effect, or were there others?
For Rei, who primarily used Death Scythe's skills in combat, this was a point of concern.
Given that Ice Arrow had been effective, it was likely that not all of Set's skills were ineffective.
(Even among the same skills, Vihera's Magic Impact Palm was being used normally in combat. Thinking about it... tch, we're going in blind around here.)
At the edge of Rei's gaze as he thought this, a giant Venus Flytrap suddenly sprouted.
It had not moved there like a Treant; it literally grew from the ground.
In less than a few seconds, the Venus Flytrap grew taller than Rei's height, opened its fanged mouth to intercept Rei and his party...
"Flying Slash!"
Rei's swing of Death Scythe cleanly severed its stem, sending it toppling to the ground.
(Flying Slash works. Then for now...)
Having confirmed the effect of even one skill, Rei called out to Set running beside him... and to Vihera riding on Set's back.
"A researcher said that there might be something at the center of this forest that makes the Treant Forest what it is. Though, there's apparently also a possibility it's in the opposite direction from where we entered."
"...That's pretty unreliable!"
With claws extending from her Hand Gauntlets, she swiftly slashed through thorns that had reached out from a nearby tree.
"Anyway, because of that, I want to ride Set and search for the center of this forest from the sky. What about you, Vihera? You can come along, or you can stay here."
"Obviously, I'm going too."
Vihera declared she was going without the slightest hesitation.
Rei showed an understanding expression at her demeanor.
What lay at the center of this forest... or at its edge, was unknown.
But even so, it was certain that they would end up in combat, and given that, there was no possibility that Vihera, who loved battle, would choose not to accompany Rei.
"Then hold onto his leg for the ride."
"Okay."
While exchanging brief words, Vihera leapt down from Set's back.
Even as she jumped from Set's back, her movements showed no signs of stumbling or lagging.
This kind of body control could be said to be typical of Vihera, who loved combat.
Even so, the fact that she was slashing monsters targeting her with her Hand Gauntlet claws even while dismounting from Set was also very much like Vihera.
"Don't mind the surrounding enemies! Right now, getting on Set and viewing the forest from above comes first!"
"Right, I know that!"
To Rei, who shouted while climbing onto Set's back after Vihera had dismounted, Vihera returned a voice as if it were obvious.
In the first place, a battle with what was likely a powerful enemy awaited them after this, so needlessly exhausting stamina here was foolish.
She understood that, but she still couldn't suppress the exhilaration and excitement that welled up from within her body.
Normally, Vihera wouldn't get this worked up.
But this time, the anticipation of facing opponents in the Treant Forest like nothing she had ever seen or heard of before inevitably stirred her up.
"...Even so, it's impressive you can distinguish your surroundings in this."
Wielding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear atop Set's back while striking down the monsters that appeared one after another, Rei murmured with genuine feeling.
Moonlight was mostly blocked by the tree branches, making the inside of the forest nearly impossible to make out.
Even so, the fact that it wasn't completely impossible to see was probably because a fair number of trees... or more precisely, Treants had been eradicated by the Twilight Spear strike Rei had just unleashed.
But even so, it was a mystery to Rei how Vihera could discern all this with her eyes, unless she had special eyes like Rei did.
In response to the question that left Rei's mouth, Vihera spoke while her cheeks were flushed red from the excitement of battle.
"Ever since the Anbris incident, I've had Night Vision!"
"...Now that you mention it, that's right."
Rei recalled that through the fusion with Anbris... no, through absorbing it, Vihera could no longer be called an ordinary human.
Of course, the person herself, who was no longer human, did not regret this in the slightest... rather, she rejoiced at the fact that she could spend a long life together with Rei.
(She was already running around the night forest with Set, so night vision goes without saying at this point.)
Looking at Set, who was using Wind Arrow to attack a monster that seemed to be a Treant rare species or high-ranking species firing walnut-like nuts, Rei opened his mouth.
"Anyway, let's head into the sky. ...Set!"
"Grrrrrrl!"
At Rei's words, Set flapped its wings, and the moment its body lifted into the air, timing it perfectly, Vihera grabbed onto its leg.
And so, the two people and one creature—Set, Rei, and Vihera—soared up into the sky.