Jacob and the rest froze.
The cursed didn't move.
Didn't growl. Didn't lunge.
They just stood there… watching. Their glassy, dead eyes locked onto them like broken dolls.
Then one man standing blinked. Slowly. As if waking from a dream.
"Did you see it too?" he rasped. "The light… before you got here?"
Jacob's throat was dry. He nodded. So did the others.
The man's voice wavered. "And… did 'Sir' mention the mission to you as well?"
No one spoke. They didn't have to.
They all understood now.
Sir had thrown them away…because they had no access to nero.
A cold shiver crawled down Jacob's spine. His chest tightened. He glanced at the others, hoping—praying—for some kind of unity, a plan, a way out.
But he saw it in their eyes.
Panic. Betrayal. Desperation.
And then—
"If one of us distracts them…" another muttered, voice trembling, "maybe the rest can escape."
They all turned.
To Jacob.
As the youngest among them, it was natural for him to be the target
He barely had time to think. 'No. No, please, not—'
Hands. Rough. Panicked. Desperate.
One gripped his throat. Another jammed a knee into his ribs. He thrashed, gagged—but they didn't stop.
His vision blurred. Air vanished.
His body jerked once.
Then went still.
They dropped him.
No words. No apologies.
They grabbed his limbs and hurled him into the forest like garbage.
And then—they bolted.
But the forest was never silent.
Just as they made it a few metres away from Jacob, the cursed stirred.
Eyes lit red. Fingers curled. Mouths stretched wide in hungry snarls.
One monkey leapt, pouncing on the last man in the line. Its teeth sank deep into his throat with a sickening crunch. The scream was short—gargled, wet—before silence claimed it.
The rest of the cursed charged, descending on him like wolves. Flesh ripped. Bones cracked. One clawed into his belly, pulling out coils of intestine like ribbons. Another monkey shoved its face into the man's chest, chewing noisily on the warm, twitching meat.
Similar sounds echoed throughout the black forest.
Squelching. Cracking. Slurping.
And then—stillness.
The cursed returned to their original spot.
Silent again.
And Jacob?
He lay there.
Unconscious
Then—something massive shifted in the shadows of the black forest.
A cursed monkey emerged—twice the size of the others, fur slick with rot, fangs like daggers.
It stared at Jacob.
Then stepped forward.
Its steps were slow. Deliberate. Almost like it was…scared?
It leaned down… and didn't bite.
It grabbed his leg.
Dragged him.
Deeper into the forest.
Jacob's mind stirred.
'Head… pounding. Eyes… heavy. What… who—'
He opened them.
The face of the cursed filled his view.
His body seized.
'Lesser Monster level. At least.'
To effectively combat cursed they were split into 6 ranks: Beasts Monsters Fiends Chimeras Warlords and Elders. And then they were further split into 3 subranks Lesser Medial and Greater.
His breathing quickened. He tried to struggle—but nothing moved.
The cursed hauled him into a clearing.
And that's when Jacob noticed the grass—green.
Too green.
A single tree stood in the center.
Leafy. Alive. Out of place.
Every instinct screamed.
Wrong.
All of this was wrong.
Then the cursed stopped.
Gently—almost reverently—it set Jacob down at the base of the tree.
Then turned… and bowed.
And walked away.
'No… no no no…'
He understood now.
That tree—
That cursed, living thing—
It was the god they worshipped.
The clearing trembled.
The tree creaked.
And then—it opened its "eyes."
Sickly. Pale. Deadly.
They locked onto Jacob. He screamed inside his own head.
The earth cracked. Roots slithered from below, slick and hungry, wrapping around his limbs like snakes.
'Why me?! Why always me?!'
Then a whisper.
That same one from before.
Silky. Distant. Uncaring.
'Still weak, I see. I thought you'd at least escape. Fine… I'll help again.'
Darkness crept into his mind.
And just as it dragged him under—light.
Buzzing.
A crack of blue lightning flew from behind Jacob and slammed into the tree.
The roots recoiled, hissing. Smoke rose. The tree shuddered.
And then—it screamed. A shriek that shook the air like shattering glass.
Jacob blinked, and turned his head to look at who had saved him.
A figure stood at the edge of the clearing.
Clothes ragged. Hair wild. Black eyes locked on the tree.
Lightning danced around his fingers.
Jacob almost laughed.
'If he's fighting a Lesser Fiend… either he's strong… or an idiot.'
The man grinned.
Raised his hand. Fingers curled like claws, and thrust it out.
The tree flinched, drooping its branches to protect its trunk.
Nothing happened.
He chuckled, eyes flashing with madness.
"Got you."
When a cursed reached Lesser Fiend rank they developed a core, and if you didn't destroy the core the cursed would regenerate almost endlessly.
Jacob understood.
'The core is in the trunk.'
The dirty-haired man vanished no—moved… like the wind.
He reappeared behind the tree. Then—boom. A burst of electricity slammed into the tree's trunk.
Smoke exploded outward.
A massive branch whipped out of the smoke much faster than sound —but the man had already leapt back.
He landed hard.
But too slow.
A vine erupted from the ground, wrapping around him. Thorns stabbed into his arms. Blood spilled.
He struggled—then stilled.
Jacob's heart stuttered.
'No. No, no…'
The vine dropped him.
He crumpled.
Roots began rising.
Jacob's body shook. 'Move. MOVE.'
But nothing worked.
'Don't die. Not like this. Not now.'
Jacob had come to terms that the death of this man was equivalent to his own death.
The roots reached for him.
Shadows loomed.
Then—
Flash.
The man reappeared in front of the tree.
He had acted—and acted brilliantly.
Lightning flicked across his eyes.
He slashed his hand.
The tree split down the middle, black blood gushing like a river.
The clearing dimmed.
The false green drained into shadow. Blackness reclaiming what was never meant to be green.
The man staggered toward Jacob.
Blood poured from wounds like open mouths. His breath hitched.
He smiled, just barely.
"Oi…" he rasped.
"Watch for me a bit."
And then—he collapsed.
Jacob stood there. Clearly puzzled.
On one hand he owed this man his life but on the other hand he knew that kindness would spell doom for him.
After deliberating for a while he decided,
'If this man is also trying to escape the black forest. Then he could be a good deterrent to the cursed, and possibly he could teach me how to harness nero.'
He finally resolved.
He looked back at the man to see that most of his wounds had clotted.
Jacob sighed.
'That's another reason, I need to unlock nero.'
Then he picked up the man and carried him on his back.
Just as he was about to leave the once green clearing he remembered, 'How am I going to get past the other cursed.'
He turned around and walked towards the other direction.
Then—Scream
It sounded primal only like it echoed from a monster…a cursed.
Jacob's eyes narrowed,
'It's a cursed.'
He ignored his strained legs and forced himself to keep running. Just as he left the once-green clearing.
He turned to look back and saw a large monkey with red eyes and dusty fur, glaring at him.
'Shit they think I'm the one who killed their god.'