Miyuki stood alone at the base of the mountain wall.
There was nowhere left to run. The tall cliff behind her blocked any path forward, and the bandit leader stood between her and the forest.
Slowly, the leader began to walk toward her.
Each step was calm and confident, as if he already knew she had no way to escape. A cruel smile spread across his face as he closed the distance between them.
Miyuki instinctively stepped back.
One step… then another.
Her back soon touched the cold surface of the rock wall. The rough stone pressed against her shoulders, leaving her with nowhere else to go.
The leader noticed and chuckled softly.
"That's it," he said with a grin. "Nowhere left to run."
He moved closer and reached out his hand toward her.
But just as his fingers were about to touch her—
Miyuki suddenly vanished.
For a moment, the bandit leader froze.
His hand hung in the air where she had been standing just a second ago.
"What…?"
Shock flashed across his face.
He quickly turned his head, scanning the area around him. His eyes searched the ground, the trees, the cliff wall—every possible place she could have gone.
But she was gone.
The leader frowned and stepped closer to the mountain wall. He placed his hand against the rock, pressing it firmly as if checking whether there was some hidden passage.
The stone was solid.
Just a normal, unbreakable wall of rock.
He looked around again, his eyes narrowing with confusion and irritation.
There was no sign of her anywhere.
The demi-human girl had completely disappeared.
Meanwhile, the other bandits were still searching for Haruto deep inside the forest.
They had lost track of him earlier, but none of them dared to stop. The leader's warning echoed in their minds—if they returned without killing the boy, they would be the ones who died.
So they continued moving forward.
However, they were no longer together. While chasing Haruto, the group had slowly spread out through the forest. Some were ahead, others behind, and each of them walked with a noticeable gap between them.
One of the bandits suddenly slowed down and glanced over his shoulder.
He thought he heard something.
But before he could say anything—
He froze.
The man who had been walking behind him just seconds ago… was gone.
The bandit frowned and turned his head, looking around.
"Hey?" he muttered.
He was about to call out again when suddenly—
Haruto appeared in front of him.
Face to face.
The bandit's eyes widened in shock.
Before he could even scream, Haruto moved.
A quick, silent strike.
The bandit collapsed to the ground without making a sound.
Farther ahead, another bandit briefly glanced back.
Two people were missing now.
But he didn't think much of it.
"They probably went somewhere else to search," he muttered to himself. "If they come back empty-handed, the boss will kill them anyway."
So he kept walking.
But one by one, the bandits kept disappearing.
First two.
Then three.
Soon, five of them were gone.
Only four bandits remained together now.
After walking for a while, one of them finally noticed something was wrong.
"Wait… where are the others?" he asked, looking behind them.
Another shrugged.
"They probably went in a different direction to find the boy."
The third bandit nodded.
"That might be better anyway," he said. "If we split up, we can search faster. If anyone finds him, just shout. Then we'll all come."
The others thought about it for a moment.
"Fine," one of them said. "Let's meet here again after half an hour."
They all agreed.
Then they separated, each walking in a different direction.
Time passed.
After a few hours, one of the bandits returned to the meeting spot.
But the others were not there.
He frowned and looked around.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Where are you idiots?"
No one answered.
The forest remained silent.
A strange feeling crept into his chest.
Fear.
Suddenly, every step he took felt heavy. The sounds of the forest—rustling leaves, distant birds, and the wind moving through the trees—felt louder and more threatening than before.
Now he could clearly hear only one thing.
His own footsteps.
He stopped walking.
Slowly, he looked around.
"Is someone there?" he called nervously.
No answer.
Then suddenly—
A faint sound came from nearby bushes.
The bandit quickly turned toward it.
"Who's there?" he shouted. "Come out! Or I'll kill you!"
His voice shook slightly.
"Guys… is that you?" he added nervously. "Stop messing around. This isn't funny… It's scary enough being alone in this forest."
He carefully stepped toward the bushes and pushed the tall grass aside.
Nothing.
No one was there.
The bandit slowly stepped back into the open space between the tall trees.
Then—
A drop of something warm fell onto his head.
He frowned and touched it with his hand.
When he looked at his fingers—
They were covered in blood.
His body froze.
Slowly… very slowly… he raised his head and looked up.
His eyes widened in horror.
He saw something above him.
Something that made his body completely stop moving.
A second later, he collapsed to the ground.
His head rolled to the side.
The forest returned to silence once again.