From a distance, it looked like a small child.
But there was no reason a normal child would be in a place like this at a time like this.
What's more, the child sitting on the branch was illuminated by moonlight filtering through the gaps in the foliage, revealing its grotesque form.
A life-sized doll — that was probably as good a description as any.
But that was only if one went out of their way to call it that. Thinking about it normally, calling it a doll was a stretch.
It was a chaotic assembly of branches, leaves, and vines. From a distance it might resemble a child, but having seen its form clearly, calling it a doll was difficult.
"What is that..."
"What's wrong?"
Whether she'd caught Rei's muttered words as he turned toward them, Vihera — clinging to Set's leg — voiced the question.
"Yeah, over there... huh?"
Rei, brought back to himself by Vihera's words, glanced in her direction for just a moment — though he could barely see her in the dark — before turning his gaze back toward where the doll-like thing had been. He let out a dumbfounded sound and froze.
The reason was simple: the doll that had been there just a moment ago — no, the doll that had existed there — was already gone.
Rei understood that it hadn't been a trick of his eyes.
But the reality remained that the doll was no longer there.
"Hold on, Set!"
Rei hurriedly called out to Set, who had been about to flap its wings and leave the area.
"Gururu?"
Set purred, looking back at Rei on its back as if asking what was wrong. But Rei just pointed toward the ground — toward where the doll had been — and spoke.
"Set, land down there."
"Guru."
Set didn't understand why Rei was suddenly giving such an order, but if it came from Rei, it began descending toward the ground.
At that moment, Rei realized that Set hadn't noticed the doll at all.
(Set's perception abilities are generally higher than mine across the board. For Set not to have noticed it... is that even possible? No — then how was I able to spot it?)
Rei's discovery of the doll had been pure coincidence.
Just as he'd been about to head off and search elsewhere, he'd called out to Vihera while glancing over the forest... and there it was. The doll. No — more accurately, it had been there.
Whether it was coincidence, a message from something trying to reveal itself only to Rei, or something else entirely — he harbored doubts, but agonizing over it like this would get him nowhere.
His honest feeling was that if he could get another look at the doll, the circumstances would become clear.
Of course, he had no definitive reason to think so.
But he was certain that the doll, which had shown itself only to him, was connected to this Treant Forest.
"We're going down? I think we already got a rough look from above, but... did you notice something?"
Vihera, still gripping Set's front leg, raised the question in response to Rei's words.
Rei had seen the doll; Vihera had not. It was only natural she'd be puzzled.
"Yeah. Just now, I saw something doll-like sitting on a tree branch."
"What do you mean, 'doll-like'? ...So where is it?"
Harboring a slight doubt at Rei's words, Vihera turned her gaze toward the trees below.
But there was nothing resembling a doll anywhere in sight.
"Hey, Rei? Don't tell me it was a mistake or something."
"I definitely saw it... I think. But the moment I took my eyes off it, the doll was already gone."
"Hmm... so it's not that you mis saw it, then?"
Vihera naturally knew just how capable Rei was.
Because of that, she didn't think for a moment that he'd simply misperceived something.
If that was the case, then the doll had undoubtedly been there — or so Vihera reasoned, and she looked down at the ground once more with renewed interest.
But even as Set descended to the spot Rei indicated, Vihera continued watching the surroundings and found nothing.
To be precise, there were trees, but nothing remotely like the doll Rei had described.
Timing it as Set lowered its altitude near the ground, Vihera released her grip.
With her physical abilities, she landed on the ground normally, without so much as a stumble.
Feeling Vihera let go of its leg, Set touched down as usual.
It landed on the ground and walked a few steps to bleed off speed.
Rei dismounted from Set's back and, ready for anything, retrieved Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear from his Misty Ring before scanning the surroundings.
There was nothing around. Nothing at all — not even the Treants and other monsters that had been relentlessly attacking them until they took to the sky on Set's back.
That fact alone was abnormal.
Anything could happen.
Sensing that atmosphere, Rei once again swept his gaze across the area.
Set and Vihera were surely feeling the same way.
Even Vihera — who, while they'd been in the sky, hadn't quite doubted Rei's words but hadn't fully believed them either — could vividly feel the difference from before by looking at the current state of the Treant Forest.
As for Set, it had believed Rei completely, so it had no doubts whatsoever.
"...Strange. Earlier, that many monsters came pouring out, but this time, absolutely nothing. Is this connected to the doll you saw, Rei?"
"Who knows. I think it probably is, though."
Rei answered Vihera while surveying the surroundings.
Even so, he remained vigilant, ready for whatever might happen next.
"Gurururu."
Set vocalized as if asking what they should do, and Rei thought for a moment.
There was a possibility that the doll he'd seen earlier was a misperception or something of the sort.
But having landed in the forest like this and having nothing happen — not a single monster appearing, when so many had swarmed them before — made it certain that something was in this vicinity.
"Let's search a bit. There's definitely something here."
"Right."
Whether she had no objections or simply trusted his judgment, Vihera agreed immediately.
Set let out a short purr and began checking the surroundings as well.
Set used its Sense of Smell Enhancement skill to investigate whether anything abnormal was nearby, but all that drifted in was the scent of the forest — nothing out of the ordinary.
Then again, the monsters that appeared in the Treant Forest were exclusively plant types.
Thinking of it that way, the forest being the only thing he could smell wasn't all that strange.
"Gururu."
Unable to pick up any scent with Sense of Smell Enhancement, Set let out an apologetic cry toward Rei.
Rei tapped Set lightly with the back of the hand holding Death Scythe, as if to say not to worry about it.
That alone was enough to revive Set's spirits, and it purred happily.
"Come on, keep searching the area properly. We don't know what's out there."
"Yeah... sorry."
Prompted by Vihera, Rei resumed checking the surroundings.
The moonlight was blocked by the trees, making the area genuinely dark.
But those present were Rei, Vihera, and Set — two people and one creature.
At this level, the darkness wasn't enough to keep them from seeing their surroundings.
Though that didn't necessarily mean they could immediately spot anything suspicious.
"Still, there's nothing. That doll-like thing hasn't shown itself again either."
Rei muttered while staying alert to his surroundings — and as if on cue, a tree branch nearby shook.
No wind was blowing, and none of the other branches were swaying. The cause was clearly unnatural.
"!?"
Rei instinctively turned his gaze toward where the branch had shaken, but there was nothing there.
Vihera and Set had also been watching the branch but couldn't find anything either.
"It shook... right? And quite unnaturally."
"Yes."
"Guru."
Vihera and Set each responded to Rei's words.
Rei was relieved to know that what he'd heard hadn't been some auditory hallucination — but even so, nothing appeared to be lurking in the area.
Rei and Vihera possessed senses sharper than normal, and Set's senses exceeded even theirs.
For all three of them to find nothing was, in itself, abnormal.
Then, the next moment, a branch in a different direction from where they were looking shook unnaturally again.
"...Is it provoking us?"
While it was only the act of shaking branches, it looked like nothing other than provocation.
Vihera likely felt the same. She flowed magic into her Hand Gauntlets to produce claws, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
"Well, who knows. The fact that it lured us all the way here means it definitely has some intent. At the very least, I don't think it's going to welcome us."
Given the damage they had dealt to the Treant Forest, it was easy to predict they'd be resented rather than welcomed.
They remained on high alert, scanning the surroundings for several minutes.
Once again, a branch shook unnaturally.
But this time, it wasn't near where they stood — it was a branch some distance away.
And as if that shaking branch were a signal, branches began rattling one after another.
Each one slightly farther away from them...
"It's luring us? Does it want to take us somewhere?"
"Us, when we're clearly hostile? ...But that's the only way to read this."
Vihera replied to Rei's words with a murmured question, and Set, hearing them, purred as if in agreement.
As if to resolve the party's dilemma — or perhaps to deepen it further — the same distant branch shook once more.
Watching the shaking branch, Rei, Vihera, and Set exchanged glances.
With something this blatant, there was no doubt that something lay ahead.
The question was whether that something was a trap, or something related to what they'd been searching for — something at the heart of this forest.
Even so, Rei hesitated for only a moment.
"Let's go."
"...Are you sure? It might be a trap."
Thinking this was unlike him, Vihera nevertheless voiced a cautious opinion — since Rei was the one proposing aggressive action.
Of course, even as she said that, Vihera couldn't fully hide her own desire to take up the invitation — one that was, if anything, even more eager than Rei's.
Normally, adventurers who were wary of traps and acted cautiously were the more common sort.
But for better or worse, gathered here were Rei, Vihera, and Set — first-rate... no, beyond first-rate combatants.
They had more than enough combined combat power to forcefully smash through whatever ordinary traps might be lying around.
"Yeah, there might be something. But in the end, if we don't move, we won't know whether there's something related to the Treant Forest ahead, or just a simple trap... right?"
"Well, that's..."
Bottom line, nothing would come of standing still.
Vihera had no words to counter Rei's assertion.
It was an undeniable truth.
Though, in the worst case, there was always the option of pulling away and putting distance between themselves and the Treant Forest.
Before entering the forest, Vihera and Set had already been inside it, so that choice hadn't been available.
But now that they'd regrouped, that option was on the table.
Even so, Rei chose to unravel the secrets of this place called the Treant Forest.
Right before them, there was undoubtedly some kind of clue.
That much seemed certain to Rei.
Though she couldn't fully understand all of Rei's reasoning, Vihera looked at his demeanor and nodded.
"Understood. Let's go."
She said it partly because she didn't want to waste Rei's conviction — but more than anything, because of her own desire for a chance to fight a strong enemy.
Set judged that Rei's word was fine. And with everyone in agreement, Rei let out a breath of relief.
"Alright. I'll take point, Set in the middle, Vihera in the rear. Sound good?"
At Rei's formation order, Set and Vihera silently nodded.
Preparations complete, Rei and his party set off toward the direction where the branches were so conspicuously shaking.