Chapter 21
The beast, releasing dark red steam around its body, was without a doubt a real demonic beast.
Clang!
Kaiden dropped his teacup.
He jumped to his feet and shouted as if he was about to grab Stern by the collar.
“Lord Benheim! What is the meaning of this? You released a real demonic beast into the Hunting Festival? Have you lost your mind?”
“Calm down, Kaiden. I’m not a fool. There are no demonic beasts living in the forest where the festival is held. Our hunters have already inspected it thoroughly.”
“Then what is that thing?”
“It can only mean one thing. Someone released it.”
“Who?”
“Dark mages.”
Stern answered immediately.
Kaiden’s brow furrowed.
“Dark… mages?”
“Yes. Filthy insects hiding in the shadows of the continent.”
Even with Kaiden’s anger, Stern remained calm.
He only stared at the crystal sphere with cold eyes.
“Your daughter is not the only one in danger. My son is there too. We are in the same situation.”
“Is that what you say as a family head? We should send people immediately and rescue them! I will call my mages right now and send them into the forest…”
“Kaiden, wait.”
Stern stopped him as Kaiden tried to leave the viewing chamber.
“Not yet.”
Kaiden had nothing to say.
Inside the crystal sphere, the two heirs were seen running in panic after encountering the real beast.
It was a life and death situation. How much longer were they supposed to wait? Kaiden could not understand Stern at all.
“…Wait.”
Kaiden narrowed his eyes.
Stern’s expression, while watching the crystal, was calm and calculated.
At this moment, Stern Benheim was not just a father, but a mage first. Kaiden, as a high-ranking mage and family head himself, could recognize that fact.
“Lord Benheim, you are not surprised by this situation.”
Stern gave a bitter smile.
“Did you expect a real demonic beast to appear in this festival?”
“If I said yes, what would you do?”
Kaiden ground his teeth.
“The Hunting Festival is not only for your family’s mages. My daughter and Lucen’s heirs are also involved.”
“On the contrary, don’t you think it is precisely because Lucen’s heirs are present that the dark mages have moved?”
“What!”
Kaiden exploded in anger.
But Stern raised a hand to stop him.
“Calm yourself. The hunt has already begun. Now it is time for our prey to reveal themselves.”
Stern’s eyes gleamed as he watched the figures inside the crystal sphere.
Kaiden realized it immediately. The festival itself was just a cover. Stern intended to use it as bait to draw out and eliminate the dark mages.
“…If anything happens to Petra, Stern, you will pay with your life.”
“I hope that will not be necessary.”
“Damn it.”
Kaiden Lucen clicked his tongue and sat back down.
Tracking the traces of dark magic was not difficult.
At least not for Renia.
“Reagan, something’s wrong. It smells awful.”
“That’s the smell of dark magic. Remember it well.”
I bent down and looked at a huge footprint cutting through the bushes.
There were claw marks on the trees, and a sticky brown liquid was dripping from the damaged parts.
That was the source of the smell.
“Ugh.”
Renia frowned.
I dipped a finger into the brown slime and brought it to my mouth as if it was natural.
“What are you doing? Are you crazy? Why are you eating that?”
Renia was shocked, but I focused on the taste.
In my past life, survival meant using every possible method. Even tasting monster fluids was a way to gather information.
“It’s metallic and sharp. The beast appeared recently.”
“A beast? A real one? Not an illusion?”
“Yes. Definitely. Let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Follow the smell. The beast is nearby.”
“Wait, what?”
Renia tilted her head in confusion.
“If a beast appears, we should run. Why are we chasing it?”
“Because it will hurt others.”
“Won’t the family mages handle it? They’re watching us, aren’t they?”
That was a fair question.
But I didn’t think Stern would act immediately.
He was planning to use this festival to expose the rot inside Benheim. That meant he would wait until the dark mages showed themselves fully.
There was a reason the dark mages interfered with this festival.
It was simple.
“Renia, Arno, Petra. It’s because of those three.”
The direct heirs who would become the core of the mage families.
They were living treasures, inheriting the secret magic systems of each family.
“Listen carefully. There is definitely someone behind this beast.”
“Behind it? Who?”
“Dark mages. The same group that attacked you before.”
Renia’s eyes widened.
“Is that true?”
“Your uncle was exposed as a dark mage recently. Your father already knows. They will come for you. And not just you. Your brother and that girl Petra too.”
“What would they do to us?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“Kill you, or kidnap you and extract your magic core.”
Renia covered her mouth in shock.
The value of a mage heir was enormous. Their cores contained the family’s secret magic formulas. To dark mages, they were walking treasures.
In my past life, the Demon King of Magic started wars just to steal those techniques.
This festival was the perfect opportunity for him to take both Benheim and Lucen’s secrets.
And the exposure of the dark mage Marquel was probably another reason. They must have judged this as their last chance before Benheim tightened security.
“Then we should definitely run away.”
“You can’t. There’s a barrier around the forest. That’s why there’s no wind. No birds either.”
Barriers were a common dark mage technique.
I still remembered clearly how I once fought for four days and nights inside one.
Even if Stern acted now, it would take time to break it.
“Then… should we hide somewhere safe?”
“That’s not wrong. But Renia, would you really just run and hide?”
“What do you mean?”
“You were attacked before. You would just turn your back and run from them?”
That was Renia.
Even after returning to the past, that didn’t change.
“…Hmph. Of course I’d kick their asses.”
Renia smirked.
I smiled back.
We moved forward through the forest following the smell.
Our speed was not fast because Renia’s stamina was not very good.
“It sounds like someone is fighting.”
As we moved forward, the smell of the beast grew stronger, and the sound of trees falling echoed.
The closer we got, the more worried Renia looked.
“Wait.”
Renia stopped.
“It’s rune magic. I can feel it. Ahead.”
“Rune magic?”
“Yes. At least 3rd circle. And something else mixed in.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Renia’s mana sensitivity was among the best on the continent.
Among everyone here, only one person besides us could use 3rd circle rune magic.
BOOM!
“Ugh!”
Arno Benheim was thrown out from the bushes and rolled on the ground.
Covered in bruises, he gritted his teeth and looked up, meeting our eyes.
“Re, Renia!”
“Run! It’s dangerous!”
But before he could finish, the trees behind him exploded and a huge shadow appeared.
A two-headed wolf. A real beast surrounded by dark red steam.
“Damn it!”
Before Arno could even cast a defensive spell, I moved first.
Clang!
I blocked its front paw with my sword.
Even with aura covering the blade, the force was heavy.
While the beast paused, several red swords shot in from the side.
Petra Lucen stood there, battered but still fighting.
“You monster!”
She gritted her teeth and summoned two more swords.
So that’s her sword magic.
As expected, the red swords were sharp and deadly.
I recognized it.
The same technique the Demon King of Magic used in my past life.
Even so, Petra’s swords could only scratch the beast’s skin.
That meant it was likely a physically enhanced beast.
“Tch.”
No matter what, the beast was still strong, and the heirs were at their limit.
“Arno, Petra.”
I called them.
Petra looked at me in shock.
“You commoner… how are you here?”
“Answer me. How many swords can you create?”
“Seven…”
“Then use all seven and distract its left head. Just draw its attention. Your magic can’t break its skin anyway.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
I turned to Arno.
“Can you bind its legs?”
“I have something, but the chant takes time…”
“Start chanting now. I’ll send Renia with you. You can finish it in under a minute. Make it work.”
“W-what are you going to do?”
I tilted my sword slightly.
“I’m going to cut it down.”
As always.
Petra Lucen was furious.
A commoner mage from an outer branch was ordering her around. He even said her magic couldn’t pierce the beast’s skin.
But she had no choice.
The beast was too strong.
Right now, every person mattered.
She gritted her teeth and summoned seven swords.
The Lucen Constructed Sword Magic.
As expected, its destructive power was outstanding.
But now, she had to use it only to distract the beast.
“Just distract it? Me?”
Still, she had no other option.
Arno was also following Reagan’s orders.
She clicked her tongue and controlled the mana threads.
The seven swords rained down like a storm.
“Kyek!”
The beast turned toward Petra, seeing her as the biggest threat.
“Damn it!”
Too late.
Just as it moved in—
Slash!
One of its front legs suddenly went limp.
Petra realized what happened.
The tendons of its left leg were cut.
Behind it, Reagan’s sword was stained with blood.
“How…?”
Petra had poured all her mana into attacking it, but could not break its skin.
Yet Reagan had crippled its leg in a single strike.
“Roaaar!”
The beast roared.
At that moment, vines burst from the ground, binding its legs.
Arno and Renia had completed the rune spell.
The beast froze for a moment.
And in that instant, Petra saw something unbelievable.
Reagan was charging straight at the beast’s front.
“Are you crazy?! That’s the most dangerous angle!”
A mage charging a beast head-on was suicide.
But Reagan ignored common sense.
His movement was like a beast itself.
With the rear legs bound and one front leg disabled, the beast’s balance collapsed.
Reagan read everything and moved through the shortest path, slashing the right leg.
“Kyahhh!”
As it roared, the beast fell forward.
Using that momentum, Reagan jumped and raised his sword.
Blue aura covered the blade.
Not magic. Aura.
Slash.
The blade pierced the exact weak point under the neck where the two heads met.
Thud.
The massive beast collapsed.
Silence filled the forest.
Petra stared blankly as Reagan casually wiped the blood from his sword.
“…Impossible.”
It was not flashy.
Not elegant.
But it was more lethal and efficient than any magic.
Something neither Arno nor Petra could achieve.
A commoner had done it in a single motion.
“Is… that really a commoner?
