Chapter 46
My whole body was drenched in sweat as if I’d been caught in pouring rain.
What on earth is that?
Its height was short and squat, its ears were abnormally wide, and its head and feet were threateningly large. Anyone could see it wasn’t human but some kind of variant creature. In its hand was a sharply honed stone.
The real problem was that these creatures were appearing in groups and threatening people.
Kiik! Kiik!
Kiiiik!
They shattered the windows of the slums, stormed into old buildings, and attacked people with violence. They screamed something, but their voices had no pattern—more like animal cries.
My mind was chaotic. All the information within the slums poured into my head at once. An overturned bowl of soup, the sound of children who had been laughing moments ago now crying, and the screams of people exposed to merciless violence all tangled together.
What are these things?
As the flood of information overwhelmed me and panic seized me, someone grabbed my shoulders and shook me hard.
“…Ana… Fiana!”
“Lord Russell….”
I was breathing hard as if I had just escaped a nightmare. When I turned my head, Russell—his face still blank and featureless—spoke in as calm a voice as he could manage.
“We need to get out of here now. Fiana, can you guess how many of them there are?”
“T-Too many… There must be a hundred. No, maybe enough to cover the entire slum…!”
“That’s enough.”
“…What?”
Russell said it as if it were nothing.
Enough? What are you even thinking?
Kiik! Keeek!
The sound came from close by. Three of the creatures appeared around the corner of a building.
The moment they spotted us, they pulled stones out of the baskets slung across their backs.
I realized what they were about to do and quickly moved in front of Russell.
“Watch out!”
Kiik!
Too late!
A stone the size of a child’s fist was hurled straight at us.
I squeezed my eyes shut—but then I heard a sharp snap! ring out beside my ear.
“Kieeeek!”
“Hiiiek!”
“Graaagh!”
The creatures screamed in agony. When I opened my eyes, they were thrashing wildly as flames engulfed them.
It was pointless to struggle. Because blooming through their skin were flower buds.
Blaze…!
A flower that burned everything to ashes and bound its target the moment it touched them. It could be nothing else.
“These buildings are old. An explosion might be dangerous. We’ll need to stall until the guards arrive.”
I looked up. Russell stood shielding me with one arm while holding the stone—the one just thrown at us—in his other hand.
He had caught it mid-air. Just how quick was he?
I pushed aside my awe for later and tried to keep my voice steady.
“Lord Russell… what are those things?”
“Northern savages.”
“Savages? They didn’t look anything like humans.”
Russell slowly turned toward me.
“Northern savages aren’t human. It’s another word for goblins.”
“Goblins…? Aren’t those just monsters from myths?”
“Yes. And they have been around since those times.”
Russell tossed the stone aside and continued.
“They were beggars driven to the far North after they grew jealous of Rigor and Flamma. Their intelligence is about that of an infant, but they’re dangerous in groups.”
So when they said Russell had subjugated savages, they meant goblins.
But then why are creatures that belong in the North appearing in the capital?
I was definitely missing something.
While my mind raced with questions, Russell suddenly lifted me up.
“Lord Russell!”
“Hold on tight.”
He held me in his arms and sprinted through the slums. His speed was so great I felt like I would fall if I didn’t cling to his neck.
As we moved, more goblins hiding throughout the slums came into view.
“Lord Russell! Two at one o’clock, two more at nine!”
His eyes sharpened in the directions I pointed.
Snap!
A scream echoed. Judging from the struggling noises that followed, he wasn’t burning them—he was binding them this time.
I had no idea how far we’d run when—
“This should be safe.”
We reached an abandoned building, and Russell gently set me down. Just as he said, there was no sign of anyone inside.
And at some point, the time limit of the stick must have passed—my world had turned dark again.
“Fiana. Stay here and wait for rescue. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“W-Wait! Wait!”
I grabbed his collar and pulled him back.
Maybe it really was safe here. Before everything went dark, I hadn’t seen a single silhouette nearby.
He called my name, puzzled.
“Fiana?”
“What about you? It’s dangerous!”
Russell didn’t answer.
What expression was he making? What was he thinking?
He might be the strongest mage in the Empire, but I couldn’t picture him fighting those things without taking any injuries.
So you’re leaving me here because I’m a burden with no abilities…?
A wave of helplessness rolled over me so intense it made me tremble.
Then—Russell gently lowered the hand clutching his clothes and instead held my hand firmly.
“It’s all right. Trust me.”
“But…”
“I want to help people. Just like you did.”
I helped someone?
What is he talking about?
The question didn’t last long.
“You helped me. So now I want to help others.”
“Wait! Russell!”
Our hands separated. His footsteps faded away.
An indescribable sense of loss washed over me.
If only I could still see—maybe I wouldn’t be thrown aside like baggage. Or maybe I could have helped by listening to the voices of the trees.
No. I couldn’t do either. Because… my soul is still bound to the slums.
The slums as I remembered them no longer existed.
That narrow world that once oppressed the weak—was gone.
Then where did I belong now?
As confusion clouded my thoughts, a threatening roar shook my eardrums.
“Grrroooaaar!”
A goblin.
I immediately struck the ground three times with my stick. A clear bell chime echoed through my mind.
The moment I stepped outside, I saw a massive silhouette—so large it blocked out the sunlight.
I froze on the spot.
Unlike the others, this one was obviously the leader.
It was far larger than a normal person and held a huge club in its hand.
Russell had gone to subdue the chaos.
There was no one to call for help. If I ran, countless people in the slums would be injured or killed.
Just like what happened to me in my previous life…
It had to be me.
Only I could do something.
The moment that thought settled in, my overheated mind cooled into clarity. I understood what I needed to do.
Shrring—
I drew the blade concealed within my stick.
“Haa… haa…!”
Tensing my muscles to their limit made my breath shake violently.
I’d never held a sword in my life.
But I could stab. Even if I couldn’t see color, I could still see silhouettes.
So I could do this.
I could protect him too.
“Kihihihihi…”
The leader must have noticed me—its laugh was mocking.
It probably thought I was just another rat from the slums. Easy prey.
Even without strength, courage lets you take one step forward.
I didn’t know whose voice echoed that thought in my mind.
My heart ignited like a flame—filled with fighting spirit.
I pulled my right foot far back, raising my blade high.
“Come on!”
Maybe because I wasn’t completely free of fear—tears welled at the corners of my eyes.
The moment the leader swung its club sideways like it was swatting a bug—
I dropped my body low and lunged, thrusting the swordstick forward with everything I had.
SPLASH!
Hot blood sprayed instantly, soaking my clothes.
