The Headhunter's Trail
I was stunned for a while before coming to my senses and asking Bargal Odina, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, well, at least I'm alive."
After pouring potions over his shattered wrist and other injured areas and swallowing what remained, several minutes passed before he finally regained his composure. He bowed his head to Ligret and me.
"I've shown an unsightly sight for a knight. My apologies."
"No, these things happen in battle. Don't worry about it."
"But..."
"Really, it's fine."
After calming the genuinely apologetic knight, we moved into a strategy meeting.
"First, three major things have been revealed about the 'Headhunter.' Physical abilities beyond ordinary wolf standards, an extraordinary regenerative power, and finally, a mimicry ability that disrupts the senses. Sir Bargal, Sir Morel, do either of you know of any monster that takes the form of a wolf while possessing all these abilities?"
Both men shook their heads.
"No. Since the Eastern Army primarily engages monsters and magical beasts in real combat, the Empire prioritizes sending information on newly discovered monsters. At the very least, this creature isn't on that list."
"I've never seen anything like it either."
I shrugged.
"Then the answer is one of two possibilities. Either an undiscovered monster has appeared, or—as the Eastern Army Commander suggested—a magical beast has transcended the limits of mutation. Either way, this is a sufficiently dangerous situation."
If the 'Headhunter' was a monster, monsters didn't occur naturally, which meant someone from outside had intervened to create it. If it was a magical beast, magical beasts normally couldn't obtain abilities that greatly exceeded the limits of their base organism, so either an irregular specimen had appeared or something enabling such transcendence existed.
Neither possibility was pleasant.
I turned to the two Eastern Army knights. "We plan to capture it. If that's impossible, we'll at least secure a limb or two as evidence. What do you think?"
Morel Odina shook his head. "Our mission is reconnaissance. Confirming the existence of such a creature is already sufficient."
Bargal Odina objected. "But without physical evidence, we have nothing. We still have time left. Let's investigate further."
"We can do that after returning and reporting. Your condition isn't good either."
"I'm fine. Besides, if we don't track it now, we might lose its trail forever."
"Stop with the bravado."
"Alright, alright, both of you, that's enough."
I stopped the two who had begun arguing.
"Reporting is necessary, but there's no need to deliver it in person. You have communication magic tools, don't you?"
"Yes, that's right."
Morel Odina looked displeased but didn't stop Bargal from pulling out his communication magic tool. Even though she worried about her younger brother, she wasn't the type to excessively blur the line between personal and official matters.
But we soon hit a snag. The communication magic tool Bargal retrieved didn't respond at all.
"It might have been damaged during the earlier battle. Sister, try yours—"
"No, mine's the same."
Morel Odina checked hers several times and shook her head. I tested mine as well, with identical results.
"Could it be a characteristic of the 'Black Mountain'? I heard some magic tools malfunction in areas with excessively high mana concentration."
"Indeed, we rarely come this deep into the mountains, so that's possible..."
Bargal Odina looked doubtful, but there was no way to confirm.
"So, what are we going to do? If we keep dawdling, we'll really lose the chance to pursue it."
I thought for a moment before making my decision.
"Ligret and I will continue the pursuit. You two return to the unit and deliver the situation report while requesting support."
"That's not possible! How can—"
"We don't have time for lengthy discussions. And I'm not planning to fight recklessly either."
I took out something resembling a small leather pouch from Thoth's Bag. Inside were numerous glowing stones piled high. I grabbed a handful and handed them to the two knights.
"These are broken magic stone fragments. Scatter them on the ground while returning to the unit. When you come back up the mountain, you'll be able to reach this location quickly. We'll leave marks with these while pursuing, so follow right behind us. This is to ensure we don't completely lose the creature—not to finish it off with just the two of us."
After several rounds of persuasion—bordering on threats that the creature's traces would vanish if we continued arguing—we finally sent the two down the mountain. The ambiguous chain of command was inconvenient at times like this.
Ligret spoke, looking surprised. "Honestly, I thought you'd say we've done enough and suggest we head back."
"I'd love to, but my intuition is screaming. If we don't catch that thing quickly and figure out what's behind it, it'll become troublesome later."
If that 'Headhunter' was truly connected to an expansion pack I hadn't played, then the Ivestan Empire was likely involved behind the scenes. After all, that expansion pack dealt directly with demons and their continent—elements that had only appeared as faint traces in Planetarium.
In the version of Planetarium I played, the Ivestan Empire showed almost no movement until the mid-to-late game. But if demons began operating in earnest, the story would change completely. Just as the Barhart Empire's academy plan had set all the vassal states abuzz, if demons beyond the continent started stirring, the satellite state of the Ivestan Empire wouldn't remain idle either.
"If this is connected to the Ivestan Empire, even if it's dangerous, we need to secure solid evidence here to force the Barhart Empire to move."
If I told Dietrich what I'd seen and heard, he would investigate the interior of the Black Mountain in his own way. But without solid evidence worth reporting to his superiors, large-scale activity would be impossible. No matter how reckless Dietrich the Army Commander was, freely moving troops along a border adjacent to a hostile nation was that dangerous.
I felt the urge to retreat once and regroup our forces, but I didn't want to leave an obvious flag unattended and let things spiral out of control. Besides, securing a solid achievement this time would allow me to stay involved in this matter afterward.
I said to Ligret, "It's been a while since we've been a two-person party. Let's hunt that damn monster wolf."
<><><>
Fortunately, tracking the creature wasn't too difficult.
Examining the ground, Ligret said, "Its ability to hide its appearance and scent is tricky, but it seems it doesn't have the skill to conceal things like footprints."
"Even if it's intelligent, maybe not to that extent."
"Considering the initial ambush, it might be deliberately luring us, so stay close."
"It might be better to move while using the Lower Grade Mana Barrier from the start."
I deployed the Lower Grade Mana Barrier around my body and stuck close behind Ligret's back. Since the opponent could shatter all the bones in a knight's body with a single blow, I wasn't sure how much help a lower-grade shield would provide, but it was better than nothing. Following behind a girl might not look great, but it wasn't the first or second time, and I didn't want to die a pointless death from pride.
Victim: Chrome Midas. Cause of death: 'It's fine, I won't die.' 'Hey, how can a man do that?'—dying while showing off pride. On the day such a record was written, I might have to die of shame again in soul form.
After walking like that for about ten minutes, Ligret stopped moving.
"Chrome, paralysis poison. The strongest one. Burst it above our heads."
After saying only that, Ligret put the detoxifying leaf I'd given her for emergencies into her mouth. Without asking why, I took out the same leaf and put it in my mouth.
"Hup!"
Since the command was 'burst' rather than 'throw,' I unhesitatingly tossed a cloth pouch above my head and cast three Lower Grade Wind Arrows, shooting them out. Due to low mana control, two missed, but one hit properly, scattering the contents into the air.
The effect was so intense that even just touching the skin while holding my breath made my body go numb, but thanks to the leaf in my mouth, it didn't greatly hinder my movements.
And it wasn't just us affected.
—Gruk!
If it had been a person, it would have sounded like a surprised gasp. The sound was so small and brief that I couldn't even locate its source, but for Ligret, whose physical abilities far exceeded the ordinary, it was the clearest 'signal' possible.
Flash.
And a blood storm.
—Kroaaaa!
Due to Ligret's slash, from the right shoulder to the abdomen, the 'Headhunter' with a large wound slowly revealed itself in the air. Because she held the detox leaf in her mouth, Ligret didn't speak, but from her back, I could tell exactly what she wanted to say.
—Second round, you damn wolf.