Chapter 56
Before stepping into the corrupted land, Dering looked at Melody.
“Don’t you have a tool we can use right away? Something that could just blow them all away?”
“Are you scared?”
It was Talia who shot back. Her tone sounded teasing, but there was tension in her voice too.
“Ahem, I just asked in case. We need to be prepared.”
“Oh, yes.”
“So? Do you have one?”
Dering’s eyes shone with hope. Melody shook her head awkwardly.
“No, nothing like that.”
Talia lowered her head in disappointment, while Dering let out a sigh.
“Let’s go.”
And so, the three of them stepped onto the blackened land.
“From here, I’ll take the lead. Be careful. Stay close to me—”
Before Dering could finish, Melody walked quickly into the forest without hesitation.
“This way.”
“If you just go ahead like that, it’s dangerous—”
“Above your head. Careful, Sir Dering.”
A monster shaped like a snake hung from a branch above, its mouth wide open. When Dering looked up, black spit dripped onto his shoulder.
“Uwaaah! Damn it! What is this?!”
He swung his sword, cutting the monster down from the tree. His voice shook with panic, but his sword strikes were sharp and precise.
“That’s a Rusal snake. You weren’t bitten, right? If you were, your body would swell up.”
“So that means… you’d die. But why are you so calm? Am I the only one freaking out?”
“No, I think so too.”
Talia muttered softly. Dering narrowed his eyes at her.
“Why are you speaking informally to me again?”
“Because you’re weaker than me.”
“…”
Dering looked like he had a lot to say, but in the end, he said nothing. Talia smirked and swung her greatsword. Several Rusal snakes dropped to the ground in pieces.
“Three Mangus ahead.”
“I’ll take two, you take one. Start!”
Before Melody even finished speaking, Talia rushed forward, swinging her greatsword. Dering, with an angry face, followed a moment later.
“Start my ass! I’ll kill both of them myself!”
“Mangus’s weakness is the ears!”
But they didn’t even need the advice. The monsters fell quickly, their heads smashed and their hearts pierced. The last one was torn apart between a greatsword and a rapier.
“If I’d been a little faster, it would’ve been mine!”
“Too slow.”
“We killed it together!”
“Ha, mine was bigger.”
Ignoring their bickering, Melody crouched by a Mangus corpse. She dug into the split body without flinching, black fluid spilling out. Above her, Dering gagged.
“Ugh! What are you doing?!”
Melody calmly pulled out a cord near the heart and tore off a black sac under its jaw, tying it tightly before putting it in her bag.
“I’m collecting the cores. And this is a poison sac. Just in case.”
“Is this what all magic toolmakers are like?!”
Dering shuddered in disgust and stepped back from her.
“Not sure. I haven’t met others.”
Talia also looked away, unable to watch. After that, a few more monsters appeared, but the two knights killed them easily.
“As expected, no Kelt ants here. Not even one.”
At Talia’s words, Dering looked surprised, then quickly fixed his expression.
“Maybe they moved somewhere else…”
“If so, they would’ve gone back to where their eggs are.”
“…Or maybe they just didn’t want to go back because it’s too dangerous.”
Melody only shrugged.
“They could have moved, yes.”
What should’ve taken a few hours ended up taking half a day. By sunset, Melody finally pointed past a large tree into a clearing.
“We’re almost there.”
“What exactly are you following—oh…!”
The clearing was filled with mangled corpses, bloodstains, and torn clothes. Talia clenched her teeth as she found bodies of their comrades.
“Damn it…! Don’t tell me they were all… killed…!”
“These marks are from a Grizzly Fang. Since it left some prey behind, it must be chasing survivors.”
A Grizzly Fang was a giant bear-shaped monster. It never left its territory. Nor did it ever abandon prey.
“If they escaped, the monster will return here. To finish its meal.”
“You mean… it could come back here? When?”
“Well… let’s just hope not before we finish.”
Talia gathered the bodies and collected the name tags.
“Giving them a proper burial is a luxury, huh?”
She spoke bitterly. Beside her, Dering clasped his hands and began to pray.
“O light, one who shines upon all…”
But before he could finish, the ground shook violently. Leaves rained down from the trees.
“It’s coming.”
Talia gripped her sword. Her hands trembled.
“Are we going to die?”
Melody pulled a tool from her bag.
“Probably.”
She strung thin-line tools between trees, though she couldn’t cover every direction. Then she handed the poison sac to Dering.
“Can you lure the monster this way? So it passes through the trap. It’s fast, so it won’t be easy.”
“Leave it to me.”
“I—I…”
“Throw the poison. Aim for the face. If it touches, purify it right away.”
“Y-yes…!”
Dering tried to smile, though his face was tense.
“…But what if we fail?”
“Stop thinking about that and focus. It’s here!!”
With Talia’s shout, a massive tree exploded as the Grizzly Fang burst through. Its roar shook the air, and it charged straight for Talia.
She gripped her sword tightly, but then the monster suddenly swerved.
Instead of her, it rushed straight at Melody, who was guarding the corpses.
“Graaaaah!!”
In that instant, Melody froze. The monster was faster than she could run. Its pounding footsteps filled her ears, and its jaws opened wide above her head.
“You—!”
Just then, Talia’s greatsword came down at the monster’s skull.
Clang!
But its skull was so hard, the sword bounced off. Melody was thrown to the ground.
“Damn it…! So damn hard!”
Gritting her teeth, Talia swung again. This time she slashed its head lightly, just enough to draw its attention.
The monster turned from Melody and glared at Talia instead.
“Yeah, that’s right! Come at me, you oversized beast!”
With a roar, the monster swung its massive paw. The ground shook, dust flying everywhere. Using the opening, Talia dashed toward the trap.
“I’m almost there…!”
