Chapter 14
The moment we passed through the castle gates built of brown brick, a roar of cheers erupted. A procession stretched endlessly, welcoming the knight order that would solve the North’s persistent troubles.
Pushing through the excited crowd tossing multicolored confetti, a knight clad in silver armor approached us.
“I greet the master of Berenice. I am Torso Persie of the Berenice Knight Order.”
He was a man who exuded a fierce presence—from his burly build to the jagged scar split across his forehead.
As I stared at his prominent cheekbones, our eyes met head-on by accident.
“…!”
Torso’s already harsh expression twisted into a frown, and at the same time the air around us turned sharp.
The crowd’s reaction upon noticing me was no different.
The thunderous cheers quickly dissolved into uneasy murmurs.
That was only natural. I looked dreadful even standing alone—and I was mounted atop a massive black horse.
A black beast seated on a hulking dark steed.
A combination straight out of a nightmare.
“A… a monster?”
“Child, hurry inside!”
“Why is a monster wearing a knight’s armor?”
Ripples of unrest spread through the crowd.
Thanks to my keen hearing, I caught every single word they muttered about me.
Should I just walk instead?
Being on horseback made me stand out like a lamppost.
As I was seriously considering it, Valentin suddenly turned around. Even though he stood lower than I did, his gaze felt arrogantly downcast.
In that instant, the surrounding noise faded, as if I had sunk underwater. Everything but Valentin vanished from my mind.
As though only the two of us existed here.
Unmoved by the whispers, Valentin finally spoke.
“Stand tall.”
His voice—firm yet warm—carried on the wind. As if under a spell, the negative emotions inside me disappeared in an instant.
Why did something so simple matter so much?
I straightened my back and lifted my chin. Watching me, Valentin’s lips curved upward.
“Allow me to introduce him. This is Nathan Rafelipia, a new apprentice knight of the Berenice Order.”
Valentin introduced me to Torso, the knight in charge of Shamandra. An explosive reaction followed at once.
“How can a monster become a knight?!”
“Your Grace, this is unacceptable!”
“It might stab us in the back at any moment! We can’t trust it!”
The backlash was even more intense than expected.
But perhaps this was only natural. If anything, the Berenice knights who had accepted me so easily out of loyalty to Valentin were the unusual ones.
This was how I would have been treated if I hadn’t stood beside him.
Realizing that, the strength drained from my shoulders.
“Enough.”
A voice impossible to defy settled over the marketplace-like clamor.
Though gentle, it carried firm authority. Silence fell in an instant.
“Nathan Rafelipia will prove his own worth. I will accept no objections.”
Standing behind Valentin, I couldn’t see his expression.
But I could easily picture him looking down arrogantly at the crowd.
Something inside my heavy heart swelled with an emotion I couldn’t name.
It fluttered through my chest like a butterfly, as though laughter and tears might burst out at once.
I will prove my own worth.
I repeated his words to myself.
I didn’t want to disappoint Valentin, who believed in me.
“I’ll lead the way.”
There was no telling when Caleb—who had appeared near the forest—might strike the village again.
Without taking a break, we immediately moved to the entrance of Roten Forest, where Caleb had reportedly been sighted.
According to the briefing we received before departure, Caleb was a monster resembling a cross between a wolf and a dog. It possessed flexibility rivaling an invertebrate, venom-coated fangs, and even a third eye set in its forehead.
Its red iris and yellow pupil were said to instill chilling terror in anyone who saw them.
“We’ve brought an antidote, but it’s still experimental, so its effectiveness isn’t certain. Do not get bitten.”
Devon continued the explanation.
“Its weakness is the eyes. However, its hearing and sense of smell are also exceptional, so even if you manage to injure its eyes, don’t let your guard down. This extermination mission is to gather as much information as possible. Preserve the corpses intact if you can.”
Devon met the gaze of each new knight, including George and me.
“His Grace will not step in. Do your best.”
“Yes, sir.”
A stale, damp smell—different from that of an ordinary forest—hung heavy in the air. Though the sun had not yet set, towering trees crowded overhead, casting patches of darkness everywhere.
Maiden removed the leash from Lee, the wrinkled-faced bloodhound. She took a tuft of Caleb’s fur from her pocket and held it to Lee’s nose.
“Lee, find.”
At her command, Lee kicked off the ground and sprinted to the right.
We galloped after him, careful not to lose sight. The deeper we went, the more barren, twisted branches appeared.
“Woof! Grrr…”
Turning left at the sharp howl serving as our marker, we saw Lee standing still in a clearing surrounded by trees.
When a target was found, the rule was to wait without attacking.
Lee obeyed, fixing the prey with a fierce stare without moving recklessly.
“As expected of canines—they really do live in packs.”
The group Lee found numbered at least ten Calebs.
Droplets—whether saliva or venom—fell from their muzzles as they stepped forward, as if mocking us.
Their movements were grotesque, their spines bending so freely it was doubtful they even had bones—like ancient yokai brought to life.
My fur bristled at the instinctive disgust and revulsion rising inside me. I had never felt such sinister energy before.
We have to kill these things?
I didn’t want to touch them. For the first time, I resented these hands that couldn’t wield a sword.
“We’ll herd them together.”
After assessing the situation, Maiden gave the order.
“Drive them!”
At her command, the hounds formed ranks and confronted the Calebs.
How long did that standoff last? The suffocating tension was broken by “Re,” the fastest of the greyhounds.
Like the wind, Re darted between the Calebs, stirring the pack into chaos with long legs.
The scattered Calebs converged to catch Re.
Just as Re judged it sufficient and tried to retreat from the center—
“Yelp!!”
I couldn’t believe my eyes.
One Caleb bent its waist backward and changed direction, biting into Re’s torso.
“It bent its back…?”
Literally.
Its body curved like rubber.
“Re!”
At Maiden’s cry, multiple Calebs lunged in to tear Re apart.
Their legs stretched like springs, covering long distances in an instant—like monsters rising from mud.
Like piranhas descending without hesitation, they tore into Re mercilessly.
At Re’s scream, Le and Ro shot forward like rockets, each snatching a Caleb attacking Re.
Hound and monster rolled violently, biting as though to kill each other.
Tearing, chewing, clawing, striking.
A fight that would end only when one side died. Bodies were pierced, hot blood spurted—but neither yielded an inch.
Ra, who had not joined the melee, used her natural charisma to hold other Calebs at bay, while Lee struggled to pull those off Re.
“Surely we’re not worse than dogs.”
As everyone stared, frozen, Valentin’s cold voice cut through the beasts’ harsh breathing.
The knights snapped out of it and tightened their grips on their swords.
Get it together. If this drags on, it won’t be the hounds who die—it’ll be us.
But cutting down Calebs that twisted like invertebrates was far from easy.
A horizontal slash—they leapt like frogs.
A vertical swing—they straightened and slipped aside in a blink.
Worse still, even as they evaded, they closed in with maddening movements. One step. Two steps. Closer.
Except for seasoned knights like Devon and Neumann, everyone struggled.
George, his face drained white, trembled as though broken.
Is it trauma from what happened to his family?
Of course, I wasn’t at ease either.
Lowering my gaze, I locked eyes with the Caleb drooling before me.
Its bloodshot red eyes and vertically slit yellow pupils were chilling.
Don’t flinch. It’s just a fistful.
I’m stronger than it.
Even chanting it like a spell, my fear didn’t fade.
In training, I had faced rational humans—or inanimate objects.
Then Devon’s words resurfaced.
Don’t let them sense your fear. Don’t rage, either. Monsters are sensitive to negative emotions—fear, terror, anger. They react to them more keenly than anyone.
If I show fear, I’ll be devoured.
I widened my eyes.
The Caleb slowly scraped its hind paw against the dirt—like a bull about to charge a red cloth.
Don’t close your eyes. Even if I get bitten, I’ll smash that face.
I steadied myself under Valentin’s gaze from behind.
At that instant, the Caleb launched into the air like a bullet.
Past me—toward my right.
“AAAH!!”
A scream rang out from the one harboring the greatest fear and rage here—George Teller.
Two Calebs—one he’d been fighting and another that leapt in—lunged at him simultaneously. George swung his sword wildly.
Unfortunately, movements stripped of reason posed no threat to a monster.
Just as a Caleb was about to tear into his face—
BOOM!!!
My fist smashed into the Caleb’s head.
The impact sent not only it but another nearby Caleb flying into a tree trunk.
Crack.
Both collapsed without even managing a scream, twitching pathetically.
Then I—
“…Huh?”
I stared at my hand, vividly feeling something crush beneath it.
It actually worked?
