The forest slowly fell silent.
The smell of blood still lingered in the air.
The gigantic beast’s corpse lay in the middle of the clearing, almost completely butchered.
The ground was covered with:
deep slash marks, bloodstains, and scattered pieces of flesh.
And in the center of that horrifying scene— the strange girl slowly turned to look at the group.
Her hair was messy.
Her dark clothes were stained with blood.
The large knife in her hand still dripped red onto the ground.
But the most terrifying thing…
was her eyes.
There was no panic.
No ordinary caution.
Her gaze resembled that of a wild beast that had spent its entire life hunting and killing.
Trụ unconsciously swallowed.
— …Why does she look so terrifying…
The moment those words left her mouth— the girl’s eyes immediately shifted toward Trụ.
The temperature in the forest seemed to drop instantly.
Trụ felt her entire back tense up.
She didn’t know why…
but every instinct in her body was screaming danger.
Beside her, Bướm narrowed her eyes slightly.
From the very beginning, she had already sensed something strange about this person.
Not strength.
Something else.
Her very existence felt wrong.
As if they were standing before something…
that should not exist.
Bướm slowly placed one hand on the handle of her katana.
That tiny movement alone— made the atmosphere instantly become tense.
Ki immediately pulled Em Bé Công Nhân behind him.
Trụ quickly raised her bow as well.
The strange girl still said nothing.
She only stared silently at the group.
Then—
BOOM!
The ground beneath her feet suddenly cracked apart.
An overwhelming killing intent exploded outward.
Trụ’s eyes widened.
— Watch out!
WHOOSH!
In a single instant, the girl vanished from her position.
She moved so fast that Trụ couldn’t even see the motion itself.
She only felt:
something extremely dangerous rushing toward them.
The air was torn apart.
Leaves exploded into the air.
But—
CLANG!!!
A flash of purple light burst across the forest.
A shockwave exploded outward.
Bướm had already appeared in front of Trụ before anyone noticed.
Her purple katana blocked the girl’s bloody blade just centimeters away from Trụ’s neck.
The distance was terrifyingly close.
Trụ felt cold sweat run down her back.
If Bướm had reacted even a second slower…
her head might already have been cut off.
The violent wind blew both of their hair wildly.
Bướm’s eyes became ice cold.
— Who are you?
The strange girl did not answer.
She only tilted her head slightly while staring at Bướm.
Her eyes looked exactly like a predator sizing up another predator.
Then—
WHOOSH!
She instantly jumped backward.
she turned around and fled.
Her speed was so fast she almost became an afterimage.
— Stop!
Bướm immediately chased after her.
BOOM!
The ground exploded beneath her feet.
Within seconds, both figures disappeared deep into the forest.
Trụ stood frozen in shock.
This was the first time she had ever seen Bướm become this serious.
Ki stared toward the direction they vanished.
— That speed… is she even human?
Even Em Bé Công Nhân tightly grabbed Trụ’s arm in fear.
A few minutes later— a strong gust of wind swept through the trees.
Bướm returned.
But her expression looked extremely irritated.
Trụ immediately ran toward her.
— What happened?!
Bướm frowned deeply.
— I lost her.
— She knows this forest too well.
Ki looked shocked.
— Even you couldn’t catch her?
Bướm remained silent for a moment.
Then she looked toward the darkness deeper within the forest.
— Her speed is almost equal to mine.
The group instantly fell silent.
A stranger strong enough to rival Bướm…
that alone was already abnormal.
Em Bé Công Nhân spoke quietly.
— I feel like… she isn’t a good person…
Bướm shook her head slightly.
— It’s more than that.
— There’s something deeply wrong with her.
Trụ tilted her head.
— Wrong how?
Bướm’s voice lowered.
— I don’t know.
— But her existence feels strange.
She paused slightly.
— Like…
— several things were stitched together into one.
Hearing that made everyone feel goosebumps.
In the end, the group decided to leave the area immediately.
The forest now felt deeply unsettling.
On the way back toward the island server, the atmosphere became far quieter.
Everyone was thinking about the strange girl.
Especially Trụ.
She had never met someone that terrifying before.
Even when Bướm once held a sword to her neck, it hadn’t felt this frightening.
After walking for a while—
Ki suddenly stopped.
— …Wait.
Everyone immediately looked toward where he was staring.
Ahead on the forest path— a boy was slowly walking toward them.
Resting on his shoulder was the corpse of the giant beast from earlier.
But that wasn’t what shocked the group.
It was— his face.
It was identical to the girl from before.
The only differences were:
shorter hair, black clothing, and a much calmer aura.
Trụ nearly screamed.
— HUH?!
Even Ki’s eyes widened.
— Twins?!
The boy seemed to notice their reactions.
But he only glanced at the group for a few seconds.
No killing intent.
No hostility.
Then he simply continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Bướm remained standing silently, observing him.
She didn’t draw her sword.
Didn’t stop him.
But her expression had become extremely serious.
Trụ whispered quietly.
— Aren’t we going to ask anything?
Bướm answered calmly.
— I don’t sense hostility.
— But…
She stared at the boy’s disappearing back.
— Something is very wrong.
The group continued walking.
But before long— they encountered another person.
This time, it was a girl in a white dress sitting on a tree branch.
And— her face…
was identical to the previous two.
Trụ completely froze.
— …Again?!
The girl tilted her head while staring at them.
Then casually jumped off the branch and disappeared into the forest.
Not long after that— they encountered even more people.
A person in red clothes hunting beasts.
A hunter sitting beside a river.
A masked figure standing atop a cliff.
Every single one of them…
had the exact same face.
The only differences were:
their hairstyles, clothing, gender, and personalities.
Some looked cold.
Some looked calm.
Some looked violent.
One of them even smiled at the group.
But they all looked identical in a deeply disturbing way.
Em Bé Công Nhân began trembling.
— Sister Trụ…
— I’m scared…
At this point, Trụ honestly wasn’t doing much better herself.
Inside her mind, only one thought remained:
…Don’t tell me this entire forest is filled with identical people…
Ki forced out an awkward laugh.
— M-Maybe… it’s just a really big family?
Nobody answered.
Because even that explanation sounded ridiculous.
Ahead of them—
Bướm continued walking silently.
But inside her mind, endless possibilities were flashing through her thoughts:
Twins?Clone abilities?Illusions?Shape-shifting monsters?Mental manipulation?
But the more she thought about it— the less any explanation made sense.
Because every single “person” they met possessed:
different emotions, different movements, different thoughts, and even different energy signatures.
As if they were truly separate individuals.
Finally— even Bướm frowned deeply.
This was the very first time since forming the group…
that she completely failed to understand what was happening.
After a very long silence, she slowly muttered:
— …I seriously don’t understand this.
And none of them knew— that what they encountered today…
was neither illusion nor cloning.
It was a cruel reality.
~End~