Chapter 69: The First Letter (69)
Chapter 69: The First Letter (69)
Divine judgment plummeted to the earth.
The ground shuddered with a heavy thud. My vision blurred, my ears went deaf, and the dirt floor exploded into a chaotic mess. Unable to withstand the aftershock, my body tumbled across the ground several more times.
A high-pitched ringing echoed in my ears—beeeeeep—but the sound that struck my eardrums next was something I had never heard before.
It was a scream. A sound beyond description. It was the shriek of a dying beast; the demonic beast howled with its maw ripped wide open, as if it didn't care if its jaws tore apart.
Its pitch-black eyes were bulging as if they might burst from the sheer agony.
As if unable to believe it, the beast’s gaze shifted toward me. Until just a moment ago, the magic had been completely ineffective. No matter how cunning the creature was, there was no way it could understand why.
So, I let out a raspy chuckle and gave it an answer.
"That... cough... is a conductor, you bastard."
When the 'Judgment of Light' first struck, I saw it—the electric charge crackling and gathering on the hand axe I had dropped on the ground.
No matter how much lightning resistance it had, it couldn't possibly be safe once the electricity penetrated the inside of its body. Furthermore, the sword wedged into the gap between its horn and hide had driven straight into its brain.
The lightning must have surged through that sword into its brain, riding the bloodstream to incinerate every organ as a storm of current passed through.
Lightning resistance?
It was meaningless. That only applied to the hide or the mucous membranes.
If the electricity was driven directly into the core organs, even the strongest lightning resistance wouldn't save it. The incandescent blade was injecting electricity directly into the beast's interior.
The beast's howling continued for a long time. It lasted until the crackling electrical charge finally subsided and its massive frame collapsed with a heavy thud.
It was the end of the monster.
The wolf's eyes had long since rolled back. It let out dying groans—khhh, khhh. A sickeningly long tongue lolled out from its agape maw.
Senior Elsie, who had cast the lightning magic; Seria, who was slumped over coughing up blood; and even Celine, who was just now returning to the clearing with staggering steps.
They all stared at the beast's fading eyes with looks of utter disbelief. It was a death that even the demonic beast itself hadn't expected.
I was also still dazed. All sorts of doubts bubbled up to the surface of my consciousness.
Did we really win? Is this cunning monster just acting to trick me?
Senior Elsie muttered blankly. Her blue sapphire eyes were filled with incredulity.
"……Did we really get it?"
Though the words were spoken from a distance, they were enough to ring through the silent clearing. Seria and Celine were also just watching, unable to believe their eyes.
I was the one closest to it. I tore a piece of my clothing to roughly tie off my bleeding arm and staggered toward the beast.
Just before it died, the beast's pitch-black eyes were fixed on me. I couldn't tell what it was thinking. But one thing was certain.
This demonic beast could no longer move. Though it still drew breath, it was merely waiting for death. I confirmed this as I slowly pulled the sword from its forehead.
The beast's body flinched and trembled as the blade was withdrawn, but that was all.
It was over. I felt the tension drain out of me. I felt like collapsing right there on the spot.
However, as the team leader, there was something I had to declare first.
"……We got it."
That was the signal. Color returned to everyone's faces. With an expression of disbelief yet unable to hide her joy, Celine came trotting toward me.
Despite her likely severe injuries, it seemed she couldn't feel the pain at this moment. She asked in a voice brimming with excitement.
"R-really?! We got it? We actually took down that monster?"
"No way!"
Senior Elsie shouted as if screaming. However, rather than truly wanting to deny my words, it was more like she was blurting out whatever came to mind because she was so happy.
"I-I've been on several demonic beast subjugations, so I know—a beast of that level is rare! It's probably a named-class! And we caught it?!"
"Yes. We'll probably win the whole thing easily."
At the word 'win,' Seria's face brightened noticeably.
No matter how great Senior Delphine's skills were, there was no way another named-class demonic beast would appear even if they searched the entire forest. In fact, the very existence of a beast of this level here was problematic.
But the result was that this beast had fallen by our hands, and since it was inhabiting the forest, it had to be recognized as our prey.
It was a victory. All that remained was figuring out how to drag this massive corpse back; the result of the Hunting Festival was certain.
No one had died. Though Celine and Seria were slightly injured, they were minor wounds compared to the achievement. If anyone was seriously injured, it was me.
My left arm was literally shattered. Even now, tied up with bandages, my nerves were screaming in such agony that it made my head feel hot.
At least I was able to stop the bleeding. I had to tear my clothes and wrap them tightly because the bandages I had weren't enough.
I wouldn't die. However, the Saintess's warning weighed on my mind.
She said there might be permanent aftereffects. I looked down at my mangled arm with a slightly grim gaze.
There is no part of the body that isn't important when swinging a sword, but the arms are especially vital. Now that it looked like there would be aftereffects in that arm, it was as if an obstacle had appeared in my life as a swordsman.
But it couldn't be helped. At that moment, I was desperate for victory, so I had subconsciously sacrificed my arm.
If I hadn't, I would have been the one killed by that beast. In fact, it wasn't just me; the lives of everyone on the team had been at stake.
Thinking of it that way, it was a bitter but acceptable injury. I was able to prevent casualties at the cost of my arm and hunt a named-class demonic beast.
It was a profitable trade.
The corpse of a named-class demonic beast was a precious material that could fetch anywhere from several thousand to tens of thousands of gold. Just dividing the proceeds from its sale would allow us to live luxuriously for a while.
Above all, Seria was happy.
She approached me, her eyes sparkling with anticipation. Hesitantly, her hand gripped the hem of my clothes.
It was a cute sight. I let out a half-hearted chuckle.
"Can't believe it?"
"That... yes, yes. I-I never thought we'd actually win……."
She looked as if she were in a dream. Seria's eyes were filling with emotion, as if she had received an award she hadn't even dared to look at. She had finally proven it.
The fact that even a lowborn like her could beat Senior Delphine—even if it was only for today, it was a memory that would remain in her heart forever.
It was a satisfying conclusion in many ways. As for my arm, well, I could probably beg the Saintess for help.
As I was having such complacent thoughts, a certain realization suddenly flashed through my mind.
Come to think of it, the letter said there would be one more attack even after defeating the demonic beast.
It felt like I'd been hit by an electric shock. My relaxed senses snapped back to life instantly. My sight, hearing, and smell keenly scanned the surroundings.
My hand moved toward my waist. My teammates, who had been busy staring at the dying beast, looked at me with puzzled eyes.
But I knew now. Because I could feel it.
Someone was nearby.
The moment I realized that, I felt the movement of mana that I hadn't noticed until now. Mana was being sucked into one direction as if being inhaled.
There was only one possibility that came to mind. A shout erupted from my mouth once again.
"Get down!"
I immediately pushed Seria, who was nearby, and threw myself aside. Perhaps thanks to the week of hellish training, everyone reacted instantly even while wearing expressions of confusion.
Then, a brilliant blue chill formed in the sky. Ice spikes began to rain down indiscriminately onto the ground.
Rolling across the earth, I managed to dodge the ice spikes somehow. Seria calmly drew her sword and deflected the spikes despite the sudden situation, and Celine was rolling on the ground just like me.
Senior Elsie threw herself down at first, then immediately began chanting a shield magic. Since it was a makeshift spell, its defensive power was poor. Thus, Senior Elsie had to layer the shield magic several more times.
Thud, thud. The sound of the spikes piercing the ground was chilling. With that weight and sharpness, they seemed capable of easily skewering a human body made of flesh and blood.
The problem was that the spikes didn't just stop at piercing the ground.
With the ice spikes as the center, frost began to spread across the ground with a crackling sound. And that ice dyed everything it touched in its own color.
I tried to stand up quickly, but soon one of my feet was caught in the ice. No matter how much strength I applied, my foot wouldn't budge. Seeing this, Celine rushed over in surprise.
"Ian Oppa!"
Then, light exploded from her scabbard once again. With a sound like a hammer striking a rock, the ice shackles binding my foot shattered.
Celine immediately threw herself at me, and we rolled across the dirt floor together. It was the moment we narrowly escaped the range of the ice spikes.
Seria was the same. Her sword, which had been dodging here and there between the ice spikes, only stopped after shattering several of them.
The team members were clearly flustered. Among them, the one who was particularly surprised was Senior Elsie.
"W-what is this!"
A shrill scream escaped her lips. She had been working hard to block with her shields, but while she avoided the catastrophe of being skewered by the spikes, it seemed she couldn't do anything about the frost forming on the ground.
Ice shackles formed around Senior Elsie's feet. At the moment I was about to rush out to save her—
A sharp whistling sound reached my ears. A dagger drawing a straight line—it was a throw.
With a clang, the dagger spun through the air. I managed to deflect it, but the force behind it was considerable. And at that moment, a gaunt man suddenly lunged in front of me.
Who was he? It was a face I had seen somewhere. Right, he was one of Senior Delphine's...
Before my thoughts could continue, sword met sword. Sparks flew as our bodies were pushed back. However, I only had one arm, and the opponent had two hands on his sword.
It was a swift sword. Lines were drawn in the air at a terrifying speed. I tried desperately to block, but there were limits to what I could do with one arm.
My body was already exhausted to the limit. My arm muscles, unable to endure any longer, loosened their grip on the sword. That moment was my downfall.
Thwack. Suddenly, the man lunged into my personal space. While my sword was mid-swing, the man's hand grabbed the arm holding my blade.
Then my body spun once. Next came a heavy pain felt from behind.
Oof. My internal organs were shaken. Blood splattered from my mouth. His swordsmanship was impressive, but his martial arts were equally formidable. It was only a tiny opening, but he had burrowed into it to land a clean hit on me.
"Ian Oppa! Y-you scrawny bastard...!"
The one who blocked Celine as she tried to rush the gaunt man was a large man holding a hand axe.
Now my memory returned. Through my wavering vision, I remembered the names of those two men.
The one who took me down was Fermin, and the one currently facing Celine was Olmar. In that case, the one who fired the magic at the beginning was Aisia.
Then, which senior was in charge of Seria?
My eyes slowly turned toward Seria. Seria, who had been trying to join me and Celine in her panic, was frozen in place.
Her terror-stricken gaze was fixed on a corner of the clearing. Coughing, I forced my blurred vision to focus and looked in that direction.
Brilliant golden hair and blood-red eyes.
"I have no choice but to admit it, Seria. To think you'd actually take down a beast of that caliber……."
It was a haughty voice. And with an attitude so confident it bordered on arrogance, the rightful successor of the Yurdina family revealed herself.
"Del... phine Yurdina……."
I squeezed out the name in a faint voice, even while being suppressed by Senior Fermin.
She had appeared.
And in the worst possible way.