Knight's Return
Knight's Return
I confirmed the monster was dead and left its remains behind.
I didn't know where the Direwolf was hiding, so there was no need to take unnecessary risks.
It was a mystery why that Direwolf bastard let its subordinate die, but now, only the Direwolf remained.
I turned around and exited the forest.
Then, a sound brushed past my ears.
A resonance that had lost the form of words disturbed my ears and shook my eardrums unpleasantly.
As the village came into view, I got the feeling that something was wrong.
The fence was broken.
At the edge of my vision, following the field, something was standing on four legs.
A beast with a build comparable to a building was walking through the middle of the village.
That thing with gray fur was a wolf.
A giant wolf.
The Direwolf, despite its large size, agilely threw its body, swatted away someone who was blocking it, and ate a villager.
Jake had been unable to handle the opponent and was knocked away.
I recognized it at a glance.
'Is it really an Upper-level Monster?'
A monster that is purely strong as a single entity.
An Upper-level Monster can be a Monster King, though not every Monster King is an Upper-level Monster, but Upper-level Monsters are listed as subjugation targets regardless of whether they are a Monster King.
But if it's even a Monster King,
'It might be the real Monster King that the Lord-nim was talking about.'
At the very least, I had to consider it a possibility.
It might seem like making a fuss, but there was no harm in being overly cautious.
I didn't stop thinking even as I rushed over.
'Jake.'
He was being crushed under the Direwolf's forepaw.
'I can't save him?'
I couldn't catch up to the moment it was about to bite off Jake's head.
Even so, I dashed forward at full speed and took out the scrolls I had tucked away.
At the moment I tore them all at once.
Paat!!!!
Along with an explosion that tore through my eardrums, a water splash erupted from the Direwolf's flank.
"Kkaeng!"
The Direwolf was knocked back by the water splash and rolled on the ground, and Jake, who had been pinned under its forepaw, was able to breathe.
However, the Direwolf quickly got up and turned its head, and Anna was standing where its gaze landed.
She stood facing the charging Direwolf, clutching her umbrella with both hands.
The Direwolf's gaze looking at Anna was not the gaze of looking at prey or the weak. It was a gaze that carried intelligence and had met an equal opponent.
Spirit Summoner.
The being who rules this land.
The beast made a judgment.
It considered Anna to be the leader who rules this village and tried to kill her thoroughly.
"Heuk...!"
Anna's legs froze.
Her trembling eyes collided head-on with the Direwolf's red eyes.
Her lips were trembling, and she couldn't make a sound, nor could she say anything to the spirits.
Behind the gaze focused on Anna, I grabbed the back of its head.
I held the dagger in my hand with a reverse grip and stabbed it into the beast's nape.
One of the scrolls I tore had the effect of bestowing the protection of wind on my body to boost my speed, and the dagger had a limited number of uses but unleashed powerful force.
It was my trump card.
"Keureureu!"
The Direwolf was startled and shook its head to try and shake me off.
I held onto its fur tightly and stabbed its nape repeatedly with the dagger. Every time I stabbed, it had a fit and twisted its body.
At that moment, the Direwolf raised its forepaw high and flipped over, trying to crush me along with it.
My whole body felt chilled.
Even just the height alone meant I had to be prepared for injury, but if the Direwolf's weight was added on top of that, I would die without a chance to recover.
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
"Spirit!! Shoot it!!!"
In place of the frozen Anna, the spirit that had been protecting Anna gathered a mass of water.
The moisture of the forest gathered.
The moisture of the village gathered.
The clouds in the sky were pulled in.
The water droplets clumped and clumped and clumped, and a mass of water the size of a human torso was born.
The spirit's power, pushed to its limit, raised a tremendous amount of force in just a few seconds.
Anna looked at the mass of water with wonder and witnessed my crisis beyond it.
Anna's finger pointed at the Direwolf.
It was fired.
The mass of water flew in an instant and touched the Direwolf's abdomen.
Paaaaaat!!!!!!
The Direwolf's upper body and lower body were separated and sent flying.
To tear apart an Upper-level Monster in one blow. My judgment that she had talent at a level that could threaten the territory was absolutely not wrong.
But now what?
My body, which had been holding onto the Direwolf's upper body, was sent flying high into the sky.
I soared to a height where I could see the whole village at a glance, and the distance from the village grew, then it stopped and started to get closer.
'Ah, I'm dead.'
Since there was no hope of living, I squeezed my eyes shut.
Splash!
"Ung?!"
When I opened my eyes, I was underwater.
I sank down following gravity, and then my two feet, which had come out of the water, stepped on the ground.
When I looked for Anna, Anna ran to me holding her umbrella. Her eyes were wet, and she jumped into my arms while trembling her lips.
Anna sobbed in my arms.
"It's okay. It's all over."
I patted Anna's back and calmed her down.
After the situation ended, the villagers recovered the bodies of those who had been attacked by the Direwolf.
I took charge of Jake, and his recovery ability as a knight was peerless compared to the villagers.
Even though it was a serious injury that would have ended a normal person's life long ago, something like mana rose up under his torn skin instead of blood and plugged the wound holes.
Even though his chest was pressed low from how many ribs had been broken, at some point, when I pressed it, the bones had firmly reattached.
Still, because the injury was so great, even though it was regenerating quickly, he was bedridden for several days.
"Ugh, ugh..."
The morning of the third day.
Jake let out a groan and opened his tightly closed eyes.
"......Where is this."
"It's the Chief's house."
I was gathering the patients at the Chief's house and nursing them all together.
Jake, who had risen from the sickbed, lifted his bandaged arm and ripped it off with his hand.
He clenched and unclenched his hand and asked.
"The Direwolf."
"We caught it."
"What? Kugh!"
Jake tried to get up but swallowed a scream filled with pain.
"Did you catch it?"
"Well, sort of. Thanks to you wearing it out, it couldn't dodge my surprise attack."
It wasn't a lie.
But I couldn't say that Anna's spirit magic had split the Direwolf in two.
"Is that so. ...How many were hit."
"Three."
Jake's eyes closed.
He kept his lips shut and didn't say anything for a long time, then clenched the fist he had placed on the blanket tightly.
"I've lost face for the Lord-nim."
"The Direwolf was cunning. Who would have expected a monster to take hostages."
Jake didn't speak anymore.
I handed him a glass of water.
He moistened his parched throat.
"When you go back, the Lord-nim will be happy. Because the one we caught this time was an Upper-level Monster who was about to act as a Monster King."
"I think so too."
Jake nodded and lay back down, then fell asleep quickly.
Even if a knight's recovery power is amazing, the blow he took from an Upper-level Monster must have been heavy.
When I came out of the Chief's house, Anna was squatting next to the door.
She looked up at my face.
"Why? Are you worried?"
"...No."
Anna's eyes were shaking anxiously.
I don't know what she's anxious about.
I covered her head with my palm.
"You did a good job. While I was gone, you magnificently defeated the monster. That Sir Jake is safe, and that others weren't hurt more, it's all thanks to you, Anna, for finding your courage."
"...."
Anna hung her head and kicked a pebble with the tip of her foot.
"Let's go back."
On the way back home.
The villagers were fixing the village that had been ruined by the Direwolf's attack.
Their lives were too harsh and tight to be sad about the death of a relative.
Now that they had finished the funeral simply, they were fixing the village faster than ever, and even the injured people stepped up to find their own work to do.
As I passed between them, their gazes brushed past me and went down to Anna.
"It's Anna."
"Anna's here?"
"You cute thing."
"Want something tasty?"
People who adore Anna.
"Anna, thanks to you, we lived."
"I'm sorry for acting mean until now."
"Thank you."
People who had been saved by Anna and were expressing their gratitude.
People who had ignored Anna until now and only seen her as a fairy were showing interest in her and praising her performance.
By the time we passed them all and headed home.
Anna was shivering.
"It's embarrassing."
"But it was worth it, right?"
"....Yes."
Anna answered shyly.
The next day.
Jake got on his horse.
His injuries weren't completely healed, but he had recovered enough for light fighting.
"Take care of yourself."
"Don't worry. A knight isn't the type to be laid up by this much."
Jake put on his helmet.
"Dane."
"Yes."
"When this matter is conveyed to the Lord-nim, you will surely be given a reward. I will make it so. You did a big job."
"Thank you."
Jake pulled the reins and turned the horse.
The horse started, and the sound of hoofbeats faded away.
Anna poked her head out from behind me.
"Did he go?"
"He went."
Anna's expression brightened.
It seemed she was happy that the annoying guest had finally left.
Jake had risked his life to protect the village, so couldn't she be a little sad?
A guy like Jake would make a pretty decent uncle.
"Haaam."
I sighed and went back home.
It was a quiet morning for the first time in a while.
Since the big problem lurking in the forest was gone, my body felt extremely light.
Jake ran toward the Lord's castle, putting strength into the hand holding the reins.
The inside of his chest was still aching. Every time he took a deep breath, a feeling of something creaking inside his chest rose up.
However, the fact that he had finished the mission brought a smile to his lips.
The castle wall began to come into view.
The sunset was sinking beyond the castle wall, dyeing the stone wall red.
He whipped the reins toward Fontaine Castle.
At that moment, he saw smoke.
Excessively thick and black smoke rose from beyond the castle wall, dirtying the sky.
Jake's eyes turned toward the Lord's castle, and someone on the castle wall waved their hand at Jake.
"Danger!"
A ballista fixed to the castle wall aimed at Jake and stuck deeply into the flank of a monster that was rushing at him.
It was a monster.
Behind the monster stuck with the large arrow, the gazes of monsters glaring at Jake flashed.
He whipped the reins.
The horse started running fast to avoid the monsters.
A fast-footed monster followed alongside his flank.
Jake drew his sword.
He gritted his teeth while manifesting Sword Aura on the blade.