The Forest Race Clonne

Chapter 40

‘What on earth is that? Where did it suddenly come from?’

I had been saved by it, but I had no idea what was going on. Cautiously, I reached out to the glowing mass at my feet. It looked transparent, but when I touched it, I could feel it. Moreover, it seemed to have no effect on me. When I picked it up, it took on a familiar shape.

“A feather…?”

Cooing, a clear, melodious sound echoed near my ears. Turning around instinctively, my body froze. A pure white bird sat on my shoulder. It was an incredibly ornate bird, possibly a parrot or a peacock.

“You…”

Why is there a bird in this place? Wait, is it really even a bird?

As I stared blankly, the bird tilted its head, blinking its bright blue eyes a few times. Then, as if its job was done, it spread its wings and began to soar slowly.

Shriiiiek—

The same gentle wind sound I’d heard earlier resonated. The white bird ascended, and before it could reach the ceiling, it dissolved into light particles and scattered.

For a while, I stood dazed in the shower of descending light particles, then looked around. The glowing mass that had been all over the place was nowhere to be seen. Everything felt overly surreal. If it weren’t for Taron still writhing in pain, I might have thought it was all just a dream.

“Grooo…”

Freed from the glowing mass, he appeared slightly calmer. Holding his face, Taron staggered to his feet. Through his fingers, his eyes—stained with hatred—glared at me. But he didn’t attack again. Instead, he slowly moved away, putting more distance between us.

“Ah, right. You Clonne have something called a guardian.”

Guardian.

Ah, I see. The lingering question was instantly answered. It was the guardian that Serige had attached to me. He had said it would activate in moments of danger, and it seemed to have responded when my life was in peril.

“I wonder why you didn’t use it sooner. Still too young, perhaps? Not very adept at handling your guardian?”

I remained silent at his probing tone. Saying anything now would only worsen my situation. Just then, urgent footsteps echoed from the passageway. The guards were approaching.

“There was a loud noise here.”

“What on earth happened?”

It seemed the barrier had been broken. Taron flinched, as if taken by surprise as well. Quickly donning his hood, he swiftly reduced his size. However, his skin and claws remained unchanged; he wasn’t in a good enough state to fully disguise himself as a human.

“…Is everything alright?”

The guards alternated their gazes between Taron and me. I was pressed against the wall while Taron hurriedly wrapped himself in his cloak. It was a suspicious scene at a glance. The dimly lit interior likely obscured the sight of my injuries or any evidence of the attack. Taron quickly responded.

“Nothing significant. It’s late; I should be leaving now.”

“Ah, is that so? Let me open the door for you.”

The guards, puzzled, nevertheless obediently opened the cell door.

I briefly considered revealing his true identity. But I could barely handle what might follow. Even if injured, he could easily kill the guards and escape. I didn’t want to cause unnecessary deaths. Plus, it was crucial that he didn’t realize the guardian was no longer protecting me.

Taron glanced at me briefly before departing quickly. The guards who escorted him out returned, sniffing the air and muttering among themselves.

“Don’t you smell something strange?”

“Yeah. It smells like burning leather or something.”

“Could it be an issue with the lamp? Check if something’s burning somewhere. A fire would be a big problem.”

Taking advantage of their conversation, I moved to a corner to inspect my shoulder wound. The bleeding, which had been severe, had surprisingly stopped. Though it felt sore with movement, the pain wasn’t as intense as before. The rapid recovery seemed to confirm the claims about the Clonnes’ robust self-healing abilities.

—Are you alright? That was really close.

—I was so scared you were going to die.

Reassuring voices echoed near my ears. To show I was okay, I gently patted the moss and leaned against the wall.

I nearly died and survived.

I let out a long sigh of relief now that the danger had passed. As I ran a trembling hand through my hair, the reality sank in.

‘He’ll come back.’

Though he retreated for now, this wouldn’t be the end. Taron couldn’t have been the only one from the Demonic Beast lurking in the imperial palace. Knowing I was a Clonne, they would try to kill me at all costs.

Facing such a situation again in this cramped dungeon was out of the question. I watched the outside of the cell quietly. There wasn’t enough time to wait for the Crown Prince to come and interrogate me.

‘I have to escape from here first.’

I let out a short sigh.

Things were escalating quickly.

* * *

At some point, everything fell silent. Even the occasional groans and noises from other prisoners had completely ceased. I opened my eyes slowly, feigning sleep, and got up carefully.

The palace dungeon guards change shifts three times a day—morning, afternoon, and night. Since I had arrived, one shift change had occurred, so it seemed to be around dawn.

The guard in the corridor was nodding off in his chair. I cautiously approached the bars to check on him. A bunch of keys hung from his belt.

—Do you need those keys?

The moss’s voice echoed. It seemed to understand my intentions, so I nodded.

“Can you help me?”

—I’ll give it a try. Leave it to me.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand on the wall, focusing my consciousness. Soon, the energy drained out of me, and tendrils of moss began to extend forward.

Being more delicate, the tendrils seemed to consume less energy than when I grew tree roots. Conversely, they moved faster. At first, they grew slowly, but once they slipped through the bars, they quickly reached the guard and retrieved the target. Within minutes, the bunch of keys was in my hand.

—Mission accomplished.

“Thank you.”

I carefully unlocked the cell door with the keys I received. Luckily, the guard was still deeply asleep and showed no signs of waking. I slipped past him and successfully moved into the corridor.

‘The real challenge starts now.’

The underground prison was a single tunnel with only one pathway. While it meant I wouldn’t get lost, it also meant encountering guards stationed at regular intervals. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before I saw two guards patrolling the hallway. After hiding behind a pillar, I took a deep breath.

‘I don’t know if this will work, but…’

This was my only option, so I had to give it a shot.

—What are you planning to do?

The perceptive moss whispered eagerly. I shared my plan, and they responded with delighted laughter.

—That sounds like a great idea!

“But I’m not sure I can do it properly since I haven’t fully awakened.”

—Don’t worry about that! We’ll help you!

—Just send us your strength like before!

Following their instructions, I placed my hand on the ground and focused my mind. For a while, it was so quiet that I wondered if anything was happening at all. But then, there was a reaction.

“Yawn, I’m so sleepy today… Ahh!”

One of the guards, who had been yawning sleepily, let out a frightened scream. The other guard snapped his eyes open wide in shock.

“What’s the matter? Why are you screaming?”

“Behind you! There’s a bug! A bug!”

“What do you mean, just a bug… Ahhh! What is this?”

The second guard, who had turned around dismissively, started to panic as well. It was understandable. It wasn’t just one or two bugs; it was a swarm.

“Ahhh! What the hell is this!”

“Get away! Ahhh! Ahhh!”

They were wild cockroaches, each thicker than a finger. With them falling down the walls, the guards lost all sense of reason and started to flee in sheer terror.

“If you put your mind to it, you can even summon insects.”

This was something Serige had mentioned before. Back then, he’d used examples like bees or butterflies—cute kinds of insects.

…A cockroach is an insect too.

With the moss’s help, they came in even greater numbers than I expected. The effect was undeniable. It seemed like my escape would go relatively smoothly.

In fact, the swarm of cockroaches continued to clear my path. Guards who encountered them were too terrified to do anything but run. All I had to do was wait at a safe distance and move through the cleared path. However, luck wasn’t entirely on my side. A guard who wasn’t afraid of the swarm appeared.

“Abandoning your post while on duty? Are you out of your minds? Get back to your positions immediately!”

“But it’s a swarm of cockroaches!”

“The Imperial Guard, scared of a bunch of bugs? Just kill them!”

“There are too many!”

“Pathetic! You fools, get back to your posts! Do you want to end up in the brig for disobeying orders?”

This method won’t work anymore.

I clicked my tongue softly and hid behind a wall as the guards returned to their posts. Although I had covered a fair amount of ground, the exit still felt distant.

‘Can’t I make the insects act more aggressively? That would be harder to ignore.’

Just as I was contemplating this, watching the scattered insects with regret, I overheard a conversation.

“Sigh, what a nuisance. I’m already tired.”

“These guys have lost their minds. But why did a swarm of insects suddenly appear? What’s there to eat here?”

“We should spray some insecticide later. Even though this place holds major criminals, we still need to maintain proper hygiene…”

Their murmuring ceased, but strangely, their breathing grew deeper. Feeling uneasy, I carefully peeked out and saw an unexpected scene. The two guards who had been talking were now dozing off.

‘…So suddenly?’