Chapter 67
He could have cast magic right then and there to fight the beast if he wanted to.
But that assumption only held true if everyone around him was in their right mind.
Besides, Carlton had people he needed to protect.
To Carlton, every single member of the party was a burden.
If he made a rash move, there would surely be casualties. Launching a preemptive attack without even forming proper battle lines was far too risky.
Carlton, tense, kept his eyes on the beast.
Even though he had spent quite some time climbing the Tower of Magic, the beast before his eyes was unfamiliar even to him.
Normally, magical beasts attacked humans on sight—that was a given. But this one was different.
It wasn’t rushing at them recklessly. Its glowing red eyes were carefully scanning the group.
Almost as if it possessed reason.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the beast.
The knights, belatedly regaining their senses, tightened their grips on their swords. And then, it was the beast that broke the charged silence.
“Grrrk?”
The beast tilted its head, stopped, and fixed its gaze on a particular spot.
It wasn’t preparing to attack.
Its face looked as if it had just found something it had desperately longed for.
Heh—
From its massive jaws, a drop of saliva fell.
Carlton froze when he saw who the beast was staring at.
It was staring intently at Belia.
Belia felt her entire body stiffen.
Even though she had anticipated this kind of danger when she entered the Forest of Mist, her legs still trembled with fear.
If Carlton’s eyes were blood-red, the beast’s were black-crimson.
Like blood that had been exposed to air for too long—dark, heavy, and thick.
Belia, under its unyielding gaze, began to move slowly.
But behind her was a cliff. If the beast leapt, there was nowhere to run.
If she had no power to resist, then at the very least she had to avoid becoming a burden.
She let go of the reins and hurled herself sideways.
Startled by her sudden movement, her horse neighed shrilly and bolted forward.
“Whinny!”
That cry was the signal.
The frozen silence shattered, and everyone moved at once.
As the beast sprang forward, Carlton also launched into motion.
The creature’s eyes remained fixed solely on Belia.
“Form ranks! Now!”
At Perton’s shout, the knights quickly took position.
Before the beast could reach Belia, Carlton scooped her up into his arms.
Suspended in the air, he raised his hand toward the beast.
“No!!”
Karine screamed at him, face pale as a sheet.
She had sensed the strange energy around the beast from the very beginning.
The moment her cry rang out, the spell at Carlton’s fingertips fizzled out uselessly into the air.
Carlton’s face stiffened.
The others might not have noticed, but both he and Karine saw it clearly:
The thick, sticky mana in the air was binding his own magic.
“Carlton!!!”
Karine shouted and cast her own spell at the beast.
A searing fireball, hot enough to burn flesh, streaked toward it—only for the beast to dodge with frightening speed.
Nearby, a knight thrust his sword, but was slashed by the beast’s claws instead.
“How can a beast manipulate mana…? Impossible.”
That thick, sticky mana entangling Carlton’s power—both he and Karine recognized it well.
“Ah!”
Belia clutched Carlton’s sleeve tightly.
Even while dodging Karine’s attacks, the beast’s gaze never left the two of them.
“Ugh…”
As Carlton’s mana weakened, their bodies slowly began to fall from midair.
Carlton glared at the beast.
The murderous intent burning in its crimson eyes forced him to squeeze out every last drop of his strength.
A burst of magic exploded from his hand.
“Hold on tight!”
He grit his teeth, clutching Belia tightly—
—and the two of them plunged into the fog below the cliff.
“Carlton!!”
Karine screamed and lunged forward.
The beast, having dodged the blast, approached the cliff’s edge.
“Raaaghhh!!!”
Letting out a scream-like roar, it turned and vanished into the mist.
The sudden chaos left the party pale with shock. Karine, knees buckling, dropped down and peered over the cliff.
But the fog was too thick; nothing could be seen.
Her hands shook violently.
Even without seeing, she knew—the forest below was far more dangerous than here.
The thick, oppressive mana already blanketed the woods, forbidding any intruders.
Clutching her head, Karine trembled.
The beast she had summoned was never meant to be such a thing.
No—could that even be called a beast at all?
Something about those eyes felt disturbingly familiar. She covered her mouth.
Her mind, clouded like mist, struggled to recall something.
That sticky mana, those crimson-black eyes—they reminded her of someone.
Just then, the fog above her head swirled faintly.
And Karine let out a piercing scream.
“Ahhh!!!”
“Lady Magician!”
Perton rushed forward.
The mana in the air wrapped around her, and Karine collapsed unconscious.
“Get her to safety—now!”
Perton and the knights scrambled in haste.
Drip. Drip.
Belia stirred as cold drops landed on her face.
She was in a cave—or rather, a small grotto. Dampness clung to the air.
She opened her eyes and cautiously looked around.
Silence.
She carefully pushed herself upright.
“Carlton?”
He wasn’t beside her. Alarmed, she headed toward the cave mouth.
Her clothes were soaked and heavy.
“Ah…”
The fog here felt different from before their fall.
So thick she could hardly see a step ahead.
Trickle, trickle—
Hearing water just beyond, Belia moved toward the sound.
Her hand touched the cool stream.
Remaining wary, she followed it slowly downstream.
“Carlton?”
Her voice came out barely above a whisper, wary of alerting the beast.
She marked her path with branches and stones, afraid of losing her way in the mist.
Then she froze.
Rustle—
Something was moving.
“Carlton?”
“Belia?”
She rushed forward at the sound of his voice and found him treating his wounds.
“It’s nothing serious—just a cut.”
He spoke first, trying to reassure her.
The heavier injuries were already bandaged and hidden beneath his clothes.
“From the fall?”
Belia picked up a wet cloth lying nearby.
Carlton nodded.
“It’d be safer where you woke up. The smell of blood might draw beasts.”
“Then we should leave at once.”
Belia’s hands moved quickly.
Carlton looked at her in surprise—her touch was practiced, steady.
To him the wounds were trivial, but to Belia they were grave.
He had shielded her with his body as they fell; she knew it, and struggled to hide her emotions.
“I practiced. On the way here… I figured I should at least know this much.”
Keeping her eyes fixed on his wounds, she hid her expression.
Carlton silently reached out and brushed her hair with his fingers.
“Your polymorph wore off.”
“Yeah.”
Belia pushed her long black hair back with a bitter smile.
Before they set out, Aschette had given her a necklace for emergencies.
It had two functions: a polymorph to disguise her identity, and a teleportation spell for dire moments.
He had boasted endlessly that it was a royal treasure, not to be used lightly.
Annoying as he was, he hadn’t been wrong.
If the polymorph had failed, perhaps the teleportation function was compromised as well.
Belia swallowed the uneasy thought and focused on bandaging his wound.
“All done.”
She gathered the scattered tools neatly.
Watching her, Carlton noticed her trembling hands.
“Ah…”
“It’ll be fine.”
When their eyes met, her heart, which had been pounding wildly, slowly steadied.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
Even without saying it, both of them knew how dire the situation was.
Normally, Carlton would have healed such wounds with magic. The fact that he hadn’t meant only one thing.
Since the fall, his mana had been unstable.
No—more precisely, it wasn’t the fall that had harmed him, but the beast’s mana.
Mana binding mana—such a thing was impossible.
If reported to the Tower, it would cause an uproar.
Yet Carlton remained calm.
And on his face lingered a faint, inexplicable smile.
