Chapter 56
“Huh? A giant rabbit?!”
That… is supposed to be a rabbit?
Evelyn let out a helpless, disbelieving laugh.
Its long, massive ears resembled a rabbit’s, but its round, enormous body was more like a bear.
“Why are even those things coming at us?! Everyone, into attack formation!!”
Deputy Commander Jeffrey shouted in a panicked voice. At his urgent command, Jahal hurriedly tossed a healing potion to Luther like he was throwing it and took off running.
Luther gritted his teeth and ran too, clutching the potion. He knew he needed to drink it, but something told him he shouldn’t stop moving.
Damn it!
Damn it! This was all because of the Grand Duchess who brought all these weird things with her.
Those huge ears—because they looked like rabbits’—probably made their hearing extremely sensitive, and now they were agitated.
“Strong and annoying bastards.”
The knights grumbled but quickly formed up into battle positions.
Meanwhile, Evelyn had finished off the remaining monsters.
Normally, these creatures lived in small groups, but this time there weren’t just five or six—there were at least twenty of them.
“But… why aren’t they moving?”
The ones standing atop the hill were just staring down at the subjugation squad.
“What’s going on?”
“Maybe they’re sizing us up… seeing if they can win.”
Elliot, who had approached Evelyn, answered while staring upwards.
“Should we strike first?” Jeffrey asked.
“Hold position. Going uphill is always a disadvantage,” Elliot shook his head.
‘They look so strange…’
Their teddy bear-like bodies with those fluttering big ears were truly bizarre.
Evelyn studied the Giant Rabbits carefully.
“Their eyes…”
They locked eyes.
A smirk.
Can monsters… smile? The distance was far, but Evelyn couldn’t shake the feeling she’d just locked eyes with the leader standing at the front.
And… it smiled at a human? Of course, it probably saw them as prey, but… could monsters actually express emotions?
Evelyn unconsciously edged closer to Elliot.
“Screeeeech!!”
Just then, a monster screamed behind them, loud enough to tear eardrums.
“Ah!”
The young knights jumped, startled by the monster that had approached without making a sound.
“I didn’t know Giant Rabbits had this much intelligence… They don’t seem interested in coming down, so let’s deal with the ones that approached first,” Elliot ordered, seeing the charging monster. The senior knights moved in formation, following the Grand Duke.
“Lower-ranked knights, stay back and prepare for the Giant Rabbits!” Jeffrey shouted, ordering the rest to remain on guard.
Something’s definitely wrong.
Evelyn clenched her teeth at the persistent gaze she felt following her.
Why? God had said there was no curse… but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something—or someone—was reaching out for her.
Her brother almost got hurt, lower-ranked knights and Anna too. Everything felt… off.
“Grand Duchess?”
Jeffrey called, noticing her pale face.
“What is it?”
“Don’t worry. Our knights are more than capable of handling this.”
Jeffrey’s gentle tone helped Evelyn finally force a smile.
“I know. It’s just… it’s strange that they’re still just sitting up there.”
The Giant Rabbits remained motionless, simply observing the battle.
“Yeah, it’s odd. They’re usually impatient—always the first to charge when they spot prey.”
“Better safe than sorry. Stay alert, everyone.”
With that, Evelyn turned back to check on Elliot’s battle.
Clink.
At the small sound, the lead Giant Rabbit’s ears twitched sharply.
Thud!
Thud! Thud!
“…Huh?”
Jahal let out a dazed noise.
“They’re… starting to run?!”
“Shit!!”
Jeffrey cursed, mixing in with the confused voices of the lower-ranked knights. Evelyn’s eyes widened.
If they run from there…
“Your Grace! They’re trying to trigger an avalanche!!”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Not just one—but dozens of Giant Rabbits were now charging downhill. It was a spectacular yet terrifying sight.
Evelyn stared in shock for a brief moment before coming back to her senses. She remembered that Elliot carried a protective artifact that could shield against physical shocks in case of an avalanche.
He always kept one on him for large-scale emergencies.
Looking around for him, she spotted Elliot scanning his surroundings, searching.
“There! Move under that overhanging rock!” he shouted.
Though they had the artifact, Elliot also sought a secondary refuge spot in case things got worse.
It wasn’t a cave, but a large protruding rock that looked sturdy enough to withstand the snow. Plus, thick trees stood densely on both sides, likely to help block the flow.
“Get the wounded and move!”
Rumble! Rumble!
As Elliot yelled, the snow began collapsing.
Evelyn immediately dashed toward the spot Elliot had pointed out.
Rumble.
A deep, ominous rumble rose from below. One knight lost his balance and fell, but Evelyn grabbed his arm and pulled him along.
“I’ll take him!”
Jahal ran up from behind. The wounded were between the lower-ranked knights and the main force, so Evelyn pushed the injured knights forward.
“If you haven’t taken your potion, drink it now! There’s still time!”
Startled by her command, the lower-ranked knights quickly gulped down their potions and ran.
In the midst of the chaos, Luther fumbled with his potion bottle, dropping it and spilling everything.
“Damn it!”
He cursed, limping but still forcing himself to run.
Meanwhile, the senior knights had already reached the artifact activation point and were preparing the site.
“Potion?”
Evelyn spotted Luther dragging his injured leg.
“…Dropped it.”
BOOM!
The ground shook like dozens of bolts of lightning struck at once. With a deafening roar, the snow piled on the hill began to collapse.
“Your Grace! Hurry! The snow’s coming down!!”
Another knight shouted as he ran past. Evelyn quickly rummaged through her subspace pouch and grabbed another healing potion.
Feeling the cool bottle in her hand, she tossed it to Luther.
“Thank you…”
“Hurry.”
Luther bowed and drank the potion on the spot. Evelyn calculated the speed of the incoming snow.
At this rate, both of them might not make it.
She was a Swordmaster—she could protect herself—but Luther was still just a lower-rank knight.
‘He’s not strong enough to endure with aura reinforcement yet.’
Evelyn drew her sword and sent a blast of aura toward the incoming snow.
CRASH!
The golden streak of energy split the snow left and right.
“Evelyn!!”
From far off, Elliot shouted her name in alarm, but slowing the avalanche was her priority.
“Run!!”
As soon as Luther showed signs of recovery, Evelyn yelled. Luther clenched his teeth and ran for his life.
“Don’t stop until you reach the senior knights’ position!”
“I know!!”
Damn it! Damn it!
Luther cursed his situation over and over in his mind. Damn this! The chill of death crept up his back.
He didn’t want to die, buried under snow, especially after receiving help from the very Grand Duchess he used to resent.
Biting down on his pride and frustration, he shouted,
“Leave me and go ahead!!”
If he could just follow somehow… He saw the subjugation squad growing closer.
“Stop with the nonsense and keep running.”
Her voice came, steady and unwavering—not a single breath out of place.
He knew she could outrun him easily. The fear of being swallowed by the snow kept him from even glancing back. He just ran, focusing on the target ahead.
“Just a little more… please…”
His fellow knights who had already reached safety whispered anxiously.
“There!”
The avalanche was just about to bury him. Luther was about to cheer in relief when—
Cold snow struck his back.
In that terrifying instant, the Grand Duke activated the artifact with a loud shout.
“Shield!!”
“Huh?! Gah!”
At the same moment, Luther was thrown forward, crashing into his fellow knights.
Evelyn, who had been running alongside him, pushed him into the shield zone just in time but was flung outside by the force.
“Evelyn!!!”
The Grand Duke’s horrified voice echoed through the barrier. Several senior knights restrained him immediately.
If the Duke moved, the shield would deactivate.
BOOM!
The raging wall of snow crashed against the magical barrier but couldn’t breach it. As it swept past, the subjugation squad stood in stunned silence.
“…My God.”
Only after a long, tense silence did the world finally grow still. Jeffrey’s heavy sigh fell softly across the snowy field.
