Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: They Strike When You're at Ease (8)
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"Alright, shall we go again?"
I climbed back onto Blackstar's body. As I felt the sturdy frame of the beast beneath my legs, a strange sense of elation welled up.
"To think I'm riding this guy."
The very Blackstar that the original Abel never managed to obtain.
While Abel was massacring the people at the horse ranch, old man Ben risked his life to set all the horses free.
Despite his efforts, Abel chased down the panicked, fleeing horses and killed them all in the end.
But just one.
"Blackstar."
This one, he couldn't kill.
The beast's speed was simply too much—even with Abel's legs strengthened to the extreme, he couldn't catch up.
In the original story, Blackstar glared at Abel as if mocking him, then bolted away at full speed.
[The pitch-black rear of Blackstar vanished into the sunset...]
That was the last description of the beast.
I burst out laughing and gripped the reins.
"Alright, let's go!"
"Prriiing!"
Blackstar started charging forward with vigor.
And so, together with Blackstar, I sped through the forest path. We ran, and ran, and ran some more.
Whenever Blackstar started panting heavily or my thighs ached unbearably, we'd stop for a brief rest.
But even those breaks weren't long. Having tasted freedom after so long, Blackstar wanted to keep running.
And I could feel our rhythm syncing up more and more the longer we rode together.
The pain in my thighs faded away as we cleaved through the wind in exhilaration.
Before I knew it, the intervals between rests grew longer. We became one with Blackstar, racing like a gale.
A few hours later.
"Ugh, to think I have to eat only this for a while."
I grimaced at the jerky in my backpack. I'd already experienced just how functional—and tasteless—this food was.
But the moment I took a bite,
"......?"
I furrowed my brow.
"What's this? It's different from what you gave me before, Yonas."
Unlike the salty, tough stuff from before.
Each piece of jerky had a different seasoning, offering a variety of flavors. Plus, the meat's texture was alive, chewy and easy to eat.
Did Yonas put this much effort in just because he was giving it to me?
"That bastard Max?"
To hand over something like this now, after not giving it to me back then.
Sparks flew from my eyes.
"I lost weight and got healthier thanks to me. This guy's totally ungrateful."
I glared at the jerky for a moment before finally shoving it into my mouth.
"......The jerky itself is innocent."
In truth, it was because of my orders that they started making it, and they'd figured out ways to improve the taste over time.
"Well, it ended up in my hands anyway, so that's good."
I chewed and swallowed the jerky with gusto, then mounted Blackstar again. After that, it was just a cycle of rest and run.
The stinging autumn sunlight, the cool autumn breeze, the scent of the sparsely populated forest. I took it all in.
One might think nonstop running would get boring. Unfortunately, I didn't have time for that.
"......"
Because while riding Blackstar, I was practicing deploying my Absolute Domain in the spare moments.
Thanks to consistent use ever since I first got Requiem, deploying the Absolute Domain was much easier now than before.
The problem was that I was currently on Blackstar's moving body.
"It's trickier to do it while in motion."
It was different from deploying it in a fixed location. The reference coordinates kept shifting slightly.
But this was another hurdle I had to overcome.
I kept Blackstar going while continuously deploying the Absolute Domain.
'Thinner and longer, farther, longer-lasting.'
I kept that in mind.
Gradually, the duration I could maintain the Absolute Domain lengthened, the range widened, and the detection became more precise.
For example,
"Five of them."
The number of creatures caught in the Absolute Domain.
I could already sense that much before. But now...
"Rabbits or squirrels? This size... probably rabbits."
The faint life signatures. Fragile bodies, feeble breaths. I could now discern exactly what they were from various clues.
Rustle rustle!
The small animals fled in panic as I drew closer. Just like the horses terrified by my presence.
No creatures approached me as I hurtled forward on Blackstar at terrifying speeds.
Hawks soaring high in the sky, birds chirping atop trees, squirrels napping leisurely—all tried to get away from me.
How long had we been running like that?
"Night's starting to fall."
I gazed at the setting sun in the distance.
Darkness gradually settled around us, and the forest, full of midday bustle, began to grow quiet.
"We've been running almost all day."
By now, the distance between Yonas and me was probably impossible to close.
"Starting tomorrow, I can take it a bit easier."
I grinned and slowed down a little. It wasn't ideal to have pursuers on my tail forever, after all.
The Absolute Domain was still active. What I could barely maintain for a few minutes had grown exponentially in just one day.
"......"
Now, there were no small animals inside the Absolute Domain. Instead, other presences were slowly approaching.
"Prriing?"
Blackstar tilted its head, sensing something. Vigilance flickered in its golden eyes.
"Yeah, you feel it too, huh?"
I smirked and slowed even more.
Rustle.
A larger, more ferocious, utterly savage aura approached.
The stench of thick blood wafted from their maws, with shreds of torn flesh from other animals caught between their teeth.
"Grrr."
Low growls that made one's legs go weak, red eyes gleaming with murderous intent.
The monsters bared their sharp fangs at me.
"Oh ho."
Even as their presences closed in, I felt no fear. Far from it—exhilaration surged through me.
I hadn't chosen the southeast path just to evade Yonas's pursuit.
"The southeast mountains are infamous as a habitat for all sorts of monsters."
That's why people don't use this route unless they have a death wish.
"But for me, it's a golden opportunity."
A chance to grow stronger by directly cleaving through monster flesh and bone.
A chance to practice dodging enemy attacks and exploiting openings.
A chance to learn how to seize the high ground in chaotic melees against multiple foes.
I wondered what lessons these monsters—who wouldn't flee even from Requiem's savage aura—could teach me.
"Not quite on Diego's level, but close enough."
He'd grown strong facing monsters at the western border, after all.
I anticipated how much blood Requiem would drink by the end of this journey—and how much I'd grow.
"Alright, alright. Come on, then."
I grinned and pulled the Gauntlet from my pocket. As I slipped it on, Blackstar whipped its head left and right, scanning the surroundings.
"Prrriiing."
"Yeah, they're getting closer, right?"
Blackstar showed no sign of fear.
"Prriing, prriing!"
If anything, it snorted even harder, excited. It looked ready to charge the instant enemies appeared.
I whistled a tune.
"Now that's my boy!"
A well-trained warhorse doesn't flee from monsters. But there's a world of difference between holding ground and actively attacking them.
"Prrriiing!"
Blackstar stomped the ground fiercely with a bold neigh, as if primed to charge right then.
"Yeah, you're pumped too, huh?"
Its eager display got me fired up as well. I wanted to kick off and charge right away.
"Alright."
I flashed a grin and swung one arm out to the side.
Shing!
With a crisp, fluid sound, Requiem materialized at my fingertips.
Whooo, whuuung.
Requiem hummed joyfully.
It seemed to remember that good things happened every time I drew it.
[Groooar!]
The monsters' roars drew nearer. Along with the sound of them kicking off the ground and charging.
The moment of confrontation approached. A fierce presence suddenly entered the edge of my Absolute Domain.
"Three of them for starters."
I lightly gripped Requiem and flicked my wrist. It was my first time facing monsters, but I wasn't worried.
"Stabbing with Requiem kills them anyway, human or monster."
No need to behead or pierce the heart. Just dodge their attacks, find an opening, and thrust.
So monsters were no longer unknown terrors to me. Just bigger, faster prey with forms unlike humans. "Nothing more than hunting targets."
A smile redder than my pink lips formed. It resembled the bloody carnage to come.
Thump, thump.
I couldn't tell if the pounding heartbeat was mine or Requiem's.
But one thing was clear.
At the end of this fight, the victor would be me.
"Groooaaar!"
The first monster—no, victim—appeared.
The smile on my lips deepened. The slaughter fest had begun.
❖ ❖ ❖
The room was dark. A single small lamp on the desk was the only source of light.
The shadow of gaunt, bony fingers fell over it.
"So,"
The fingers slowly moved to grasp the pen on the desk.
"They're all dead?"
The voice of the fingers' owner was elderly. Low and calm, yet laced with a sharpness that pierced like a blade.
"Yes."
The young man standing in the center of the room replied.
His hands were neatly clasped, his head deeply bowed. He seemed to revere—or fear—the old man immensely.
"Moritz too?"
The old man beyond the light spoke again.
"......Yes."
The young man hesitated for a moment, but
"He died the same way."
His reply came quickly. The old man despised tardy responses.
Creak—
Instead of more words, the chair shifted. The old man leaned deeply into it, resting his interlaced hands on the armrest.
"Strange."
The tone was oddly flat, mismatched with the content. The old man rarely showed his emotions.
"For Moritz to die so pointlessly?"
The young man stood silently, saying nothing.
The old man wasn't addressing him now. When he sank into his chair and muttered like that, he was usually sorting his thoughts alone.
"He was trained to report immediately if anything went wrong."
The old man fell silent, lost in thought for a moment.
"There are two conclusions."
He finally spoke in a decisive tone.
"Either the enemy was strong enough to prevent it, or he let his guard down and got stabbed in the back."
The old man's voice dropped lower.
"The former, I could understand... but the latter? All the better."
It was chillingly cold, like a north wind howling from icy peaks.
"Such fools end up dead by my hand anyway."