The First Trial (1)
“Poison! It must be poison! What do we do? What do we do?!”
Edwin cried out, his voice trembling on the verge of tears as panic overtook him.
“Shut up, will you?”
Leo clamped his uninjured hand firmly over Edwin’s mouth.
“That isn’t what matters right now. Look over there.”
Following Leo’s urgent gaze, Edwin turned his head.
Standing before the two boys was a colossal wolf, drooling as it glared at them. No—it had merely taken the shape of a wolf; it was a demonic creature. Instead of fur, its body was armored in a sleek, obsidian carapace, and four bulbous, unblinking eyes stared back from its grotesque skull. The terrifying sight made Edwin’s knees tremble violently, and he swallowed hard against a parched throat.
“It’s a variant monster,” Leo whispered, his voice turning far graver than before. “As you can see, it looks nothing like an ordinary beast.”
“Damn it... I never thought another one would show up.”
“Another? You’ve seen something like this before?”
“A few months ago. It isn’t the exact same one, though.”
Naturally not. The variant monster that had terrorized them months ago had been burned to ash after Sage and the villagers banded together to slaughter it.
“B-but this is a quarantined zone! Ordinary people can’t even set foot in here—how could a monster possibly get through?!”
“It must have crawled over the iron barricade along the mountain ridge. Curse it all, that fence is three stories high... How on earth did it breach it?”
A monster capable of scaling a barricade three stories tall? Did such nightmares truly walk the earth? Edwin whispered in a voice thick with terror.
“Then... what do we do?”
Leo offered no answer. Even so, the young prince knew instinctively that the older boy had no plan either.
What do I do? What on earth can I do?
Torn shreds of Leo’s sleeve hung between the claws of the beast as it smacked its lips. Edwin looked down at Leo’s arm once more. When Leo had shoved him aside earlier, the monster’s talons had carved deep, tearing away a sickening chunk of flesh. A sharp shudder crept down Edwin’s spine.
If Leo hadn’t shielded me...
It wouldn’t have been fabric caught in those claws; it would have been Edwin’s own skull or back shredded to ribbons.
Am I going to die here? Reduced to nothing more than a monster’s meal?
Edwin bit his lower lip until it bled.
No. Now isn’t the time to drown in despair. What should I do?
What would you do, Rachel?
Curiously, in this moment of life and death, Rachel was the very first person who flashed through his mind. The one who had brought him to this remote place; the guardian who always reached out her hand whenever he was in need. But tragically, she was nowhere to be found.
“Ugh...”
Beside him, Leo’s breathing grew increasingly labored and ragged. The hand resting against Edwin’s arm felt as if it were steadily losing its warmth, and the icy chill of dread settled deep into Edwin’s chest.
It’s always like this with me.
Whenever disaster struck, someone was forced to sacrifice themselves in his place. And every single time, he could do nothing but watch, entirely powerless.
Edwin squeezed his eyes shut.
...I have to do something.
Think. Think! The only person who can help me right now is myself. So find a way out of this, Edwin. Find a way to escape this damn monster!
Right, the books. What did the books say about demonic creatures?
Edwin wracked his memory, desperately chasing the fragments of knowledge he had once read.
‘Cursed abominations, born from defying the will of the gods.’
That was how one tome had described them.
What else? What else was there?
He strained to recall anything that could help them survive the predicament before them. Scowling in intense concentration, the young prince suddenly snapped his eyes wide open.
That’s right! Monsters are drawn to magic stones! The texts said the likelihood of encountering demonic beasts skyrockets wherever magic stones are concentrated!
Edwin observed the creature’s posture. It crouched deeper within the cavern, baring razor-sharp fangs at them, poised to pounce and tear them apart at any moment.
This place is a magic stone mine. Could it be that the beast considers this cavern its territory?
If so, its hostility made absolute sense. To the monster, this mine was a hoard to be defended, and Edwin and Leo were nothing more than intruders trespassing on its grounds.
Edwin clenched his small fists, his resolve hardening.
“...Edwin? What are you doing?”
Leo watched in confusion as Edwin pushed him away and stood up.
“Listen to me,” Edwin said, his voice laced with grim determination. “I’ll draw its attention. Run while you can. Your legs are still fine, aren’t they?”
“What? What kind of insane nonsense is that?!”
“If we stay together, both of us are going to die! While I distract it, run down to the village and bring Rachel!”
Rachel? Did he mean that suspicious woman? Leo stared blankly at Edwin before frantically grabbing the boy’s trouser hem.
“Then you go! I’m the one who should draw its—!”
“No. You’ve been poisoned. If you collapse while being hunted down, it’s over for good.”
“How is that any different from collapsing on the mountain trail?! It makes far more sense for the one who’s already poisoned to act as bait—!”
“No, Leo.”
Keeping his back turned, Edwin murmured softly,
“The people in this village need you. You have to live.”
“What? What does that even mean?!” Leo screamed, his face contorting in frustration. “Hey, you idiot! I don’t know what kind of heroic fantasy you’ve got in your head, but stop it! You can’t go out there!”
“...Don’t worry,” Edwin muttered with a bitter smile. “Running away is the one thing I’m actually good at.”
Without another word, the young prince snatched a large magic stone from the ground and brandished it directly in front of the creature’s four gleaming eyes.
“Hey! You ugly beast! I’m taking this with me! Look over here!”
The instant the creature caught sight of the glowing magic stone in the boy’s hands, a primal fury flared in its eyes. As the beast unleashed a wave of murderous bloodlust, Edwin spun on his heel and sprinted with all his might.
“Edwin—!”
Leo’s desperate, frantic scream echoed against the cavern walls.
A foul, metallic tang rose in the back of his throat. Sweat poured down his brow, stinging his eyes until he could barely see. Edwin drew ragged, agonized gasps, his heart hammering against his ribs like a war drum.
“*Pant, pant—!*”
He clamped his jaw shut, but desperate heaves of air kept tearing from his lips. Edwin risked a frantic glance over his shoulder. The monster was gliding through the trees soundlessly, stalking him like a living shadow. Its four unblinking eyes burned with pure malice, utterly infuriated that this tiny, fragile prey was managing to keep just beyond the reach of its jaws.
“Eek—!”
The deeper he plunged into the thick forest, the more jagged branches and razor-edged brush lashed across his body, carving stinging red lines into his skin. His limbs burned with agony, but the prince could not stop. If his legs gave out now, someone would inevitably die—whether it was himself, Leo, or the innocent people in the village below.
Edwin squeezed his eyes shut for a fraction of a second, and a long-buried memory rushed to the surface of his mind.
“Please, help her! Emma is... Emma is terribly sick!”
“We are deeply sorry, Your Highness. The imperial physician has been called away to the 2nd Prince’s Palace.”
His chest had burned just like this on that fateful day.
When Emma collapsed after drinking poisoned tea, Edwin had sprinted desperately to the medical pavilion, only to find it deserted. Spurred by the cold words of the court attendants, he ran again. He had never realized just how agonizingly distant the road between the medical pavilion and the 2nd Prince’s Palace truly was. Yet, despite running until his lungs tore and his legs gave out, the heavy gates of the 2nd Prince’s Palace never opened.
“Her Highness the Second Imperial Consort has also taken ill. We cannot assist you.”
And so, helpless and discarded, the young prince had lost the most precious person in his life without ever being granted a chance.
Not this time.
Tears blurred his vision, but he blinked them away fiercely. Gritting his teeth against the burning pain, Edwin poured every ounce of strength into his legs.
It will be different this time!
At the very least, he would not stand by and let someone die for him again. Clinging desperately to that singular conviction, the young prince ran on. Every time a lethal chill prickled against the nape of his neck, he ducked instinctively, feeling the beast’s razor talons graze the empty air above him. His chest felt ready to burst, yet he refused to slow.
Yet there was one fundamental truth Edwin had overlooked in his desperation: a demonic creature’s physical prowess was leagues beyond that of an ordinary child.
SKRRRAAAAGH—!
Furious at being led on, the beast let out an ear-splitting howl and leaped high over Edwin’s head. In the blink of an eye, it cut off his path, landing heavily ahead of him before slowly wheeling around.
Trying frantically to halt, Edwin lost his footing and tumbled backward onto the forest floor.
“*Gasp!*”
The magic stone he had been clutching slammed against the rocky dirt and shattered into fragments. Sharp crystal shards sliced deep into his palms, but the pain didn’t register. Death had already opened its jaws directly before his eyes.
Edwin stared at the creature’s gleaming fangs, his lips trembling uncontrollably.
Am I going to die?
Is this really where it ends? In an abandoned corner of the world where no one will ever know, leaving behind not a single trace... just like all those who perished in this village?
“So go ahead and prove it, little prince. Prove that you aren’t just ‘anybody.’”
Perhaps that eccentric old Sage had known the answer all along.
I’m not a prince. I’m nothing. A wretch like me...
He couldn’t protect anyone. Not his mother, not Emma, not Emilia, not himself, and not Leo.
Edwin gripped the dirt with bleeding hands, a sob catching in his throat. He desperately wanted to avoid crying like a pathetic coward, but the tears spilled endlessly down his bruised cheeks.
“Your Highness, remember this well.”
Suddenly, Rachel’s cool, resolute voice echoed vividly in his ears.
“So long as you remain weak, you cannot protect yourself, protect others, or protect anything at all without being cowardly.”
Edwin scrambled backward on his elbows and knees, desperately edging away from the advancing monster.
Rachel was right.
The weak could only survive by being cowardly. To pretend otherwise without having the power to back it up meant certain death.
Just like this very moment.
Grrrrrr...
The beast emitted a low, satisfied growl as it savored the sight of its terrified prey cowering in the dirt. Drool dripped from its bared fangs as it coiled its hind legs, preparing to lunge and tear the helpless boy to pieces.
And at that final, desperate instant—
“RACHEL—!”
Edwin squeezed his eyes shut and screamed the name of his nanny with all the breath left in his lungs.
He didn’t know why he cried out for her. He only knew, deep within his trembling heart, that if he called her name, she would appear.
Was that why? Even as he opened his eyes and saw the slender figure that had descended from the sky like a swooping bird, standing between him and the monster, Edwin could scarcely believe what lay before him.