Early the next morning, as the sun was beginning to illuminate the darkness, we headed out. We rode into the Darkness of Llinger on horseback. The air was chilly, our breaths white. As I looked around, I noticed that I couldn’t sense the presence of anything around us. I heard nothing but the wind rustling the leaves in the trees.
“Aul, do you feel that too?” I asked.
I wanted to confirm what I was feeling. Aul was following right behind me.
“Yeah, it’s weird. I’m not sensing any monsters here—any living creatures, even.”
Our unit had come here countless times as part of our duties. The forest was dangerous and always rife with monsters. Today, however, not a single one let its cry be heard. They didn’t make a sound. Not even a footstep.
“Maybe the monsters all became friends and, uh, went somewhere for breakfast together?” Aul offered.
This was no time for jokes.
“I asked you a serious question, Aul. Give me something useful.”
“Maybe the reason the monsters aren’t here is because they felt a more threatening presence?”
If they felt a threat, there were two possibilities. One, demons had come to the forest, as per our intelligence. Two, an extremely dangerous monster had appeared. If it were the latter, it would have to be from somewhere nearby, a place with dense magical energy. But there were only a few monsters like that in these parts.
“If it’s not demons, then it’s possibly a Grand Grizzly,” said Aul. “But they’re on the more placid side. They usually wouldn’t drive other monsters away. Which means it’s more likely that we’re looking at a Grand Horn of a Growolf.”
“It’s not a Grand Horn,” I said. “They always move with some intent. More likely it’s a Growolf, if it’s a monster.”
The Growolf was a red wolf, as powerful as Grand Grizzlies and Grand Horns. Grizzlies were known for their pure strength, while Grand Horns were intelligent and cunning. Growolves outdid them both in terms of outright brutal ferocity. If a Growolf or a pack had run rampant through the forest, attacking whatever moved, it could have created this eerie quiet.
I put a hand to my jaw as I thought.
“Captain? What’s up?” asked Aul.
I dropped from my horse.
“Uh, Captain?” Aul asked again, quickly grabbing my horse’s reins.
I looked closely at the environment around us, my eyes on the ground and the base of the trees.
“Isn’t this all just the work of a Growolf?” Aul asked, confused.
“Even if the chances are high, it’s still just one possibility,” I said. “Ah, found it.”
There were four straight marks carved out of a tree and blood stains covering the grass. The knights around me gasped when they saw it.
“Those claw marks are from a Growolf. Usually, they’d do that to mark their turf, but this is different.”
These claw marks weren’t intentional. And judging by the tree . . .
“Somebody fought a Growolf here,” I said. “But it wasn’t just one person. There were lots of them.”
“Captain! We’ve discovered many footprints here!”
A trail, so soon?
“And the blood isn’t dry either,” I said. “Which means the battle may still be going on elsewhere. Be on guard!”
“Understood!” replied my knights, jumping back on their horses.
We followed the footprints. Judging by the number of them, we were looking at a unit of at least thirty demons. But if they were hunting a Growolf, then why were they doing it? I couldn’t understand why they would enter Llinger territory to hunt monsters. Was it all for sport? That alone was odd, perplexing even. But if they had some other reason for it, it could mean very bad things for us humans, so we had to make sure it never came to pass.
“Someone fought this Growolf alone,” I muttered.
There were thirty sets of footprints, but only one where the Growolf’s blood and claw marks were. They were incredibly light, too; you had to really look to notice them. The Growolf was not a monster that just anyone could take down. You needed several well-trained knights. If one person really did take this monster on alone, even if they had support, it meant they were extremely well versed in battle.
I hope just someone reckless and stupid.
“But if they were unwaveringly confident in their ability to take a Growolf alone, then . . .”
That meant he was bound to be a real handful. I felt my hands grip the reins of my horse more tightly. Then I heard the metallic clang of a sword.
“They’re close,” I said.
At my words, the knights behind me all unsheathed their weapons and steeled themselves for battle. I, too, steadied my breath as we rode out into an open area among the trees.
The first thing we saw was the wide open plain. It made one think of a colosseum, all the more so because a group of tanned-skin demons in black armor were carrying bloodied Growolves into a cage.
“So, we’ve been found out.”
The voice came from a demon man, standing a little apart from the other demons. He wore much lighter armor than the others, and the only real defensive equipment he had were the gauntlets on both arms. But I knew from the moment I saw his blood-drenched blade that he was not to be taken lightly.
“You lot,” I said to my unit. “Don’t. Move.”
Everyone stopped, their weapons still at the ready.
“Understood,” said Aul.
I turned my gaze back to the demon with the bloody sword.
“You’re from the Llinger Kingdom,” he said.
“We are. We came to see what you were up to. You’ve been acting very suspicious. So, what are you doing? Are you capturing those Growolves to put on display?”
One of the demons didn’t like my tone of voice and began to walk over, but the demon in charge stopped him.
“I must admit that I’d prefer that,” he said. “I don’t much like doing these kinds of requests, personally, but if it will lead to future benefits, then I’ll follow my orders.”
“What was the request?”
“You don’t really expect me to tell you, do you?”
The demon man let an easy smile grow upon his lips.
Of course he won’t tell us. It would have been weirder if he had.
“My name is Nero Argens. I lead the men you see here. May I ask your name?”
“It’s Rose. I occupy a similar position to your own. Why are you even bothering asking my name anyway?”
“Heh. I am a demon. You, a human. We both know what happens next.”
His lips curled into a grin as he let the slight waver of death drift from it. My knights, his demons—everyone had their weapons in hand. But I did not move. Instead, I went on speaking.
“We can still avoid bloodshed,” I said. “We’re not so stupid that we don’t see what’s going on. Leave now and we’ll overlook all of this. Stay, and I will not hold back.”
“Big words. It looks to me like you have the strength to back them up. Unfortunately, now that you’ve seen us, we cannot let you leave here alive. My apologies, but you must die.”
“Is that so?”
Nero readied his sword at his waist. Everyone on both sides raised their weapons a touch higher. I let out a deep sigh as I got off my horse.
“Aul, I’ll need you in charge of the unit,” I said.
“Huh? But Captain—” she started.
“I won’t have the time to issue orders to you while I’m taking on a demon like that,” I said.
Aul looked taken aback for a moment. It dawned on her just how dangerous Nero was. But she finally nodded. Perhaps because of what we’d talked about the previous night, I noticed a strong determination in her eyes. I did not think she would have any issues with these demons.
“I’m counting on you,” I said.
“Understood!”
I turned back to Nero and glared at him. It would have been enough to wither the spirit of any ordinary knight, but Nero merely flashed a smile and gripped his sword tightly in hand.
“One of us dies here. Let’s see who,” he said.
“Do it,” I said. “If you can!”
“Let’s do this then!”
The two of us took off running. At the same time, our soldiers also charged at each other, but I never took my eyes from Nero. I knew he was easily the strongest here, so the biggest threat.
“Wind, be my feet, protect me!” shouted Nero. “My body shall become the blade that slices through all who stand in our way!”
Wind whipped like a whirlwind around him. Suddenly, the speed of his movements increased dramatically. I clucked my tongue in frustration.
Wind magic.
This was an incredibly rare type of wind magic, one that was not fired by the caster but rather became their source of power. But it wasn’t just passive, it could also be wielded proactively.
I slipped out of the way of Nero’s sword and launched a punch at him. But with the wind powering his movements, he dodged me with ease. All the same, Nero’s eyes widened.