110. Subjugating the New Demonic Beast Species (3)

"Kyaaak!"

Cecilia and many others covered their faces against the massive gust of wind that swept in with the brilliant light.

The sword energy released from the blade engulfed the chimeras, mercilessly ripping their flesh to shreds. The forest where the chimeras had been densely clustered around Riod turned into a scorched wasteland.

Lush trees were uprooted, and on the cracked earth, the grotesquely torn corpses of chimeras lay scattered. Their number easily surpassed forty.

"This is the great hero..."

An adventurer who had personally experienced Riod's strike muttered in a dazed expression.

The man named Riod Olivion that the adventurer gazed at, realizing the overwhelming gap in power between them, truly deserved the title of the hero who had saved the world. It was a reaffirmation for him.

Not just that adventurer—all the expedition members stood frozen in awe, unable to move. Then, a young man with striking silver-white hair gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight slowly approached and stood beside Riod.

'What the hell? Who's that bastard?'

Those seeing Eunhyeon for the first time all shared that thought.

The man's armament—light armor and a black coat—was pathetically meager. Yet the extraordinary amount of mana emanating from the two swords in his hands and his relaxed demeanor clearly marked him as a veteran.

"The power's weakened a lot."

"What are you talking about? That wasn't even half of half my strength."

"Ah, I see."

The Artia knights, who knew something of Eunhyeon and Riod's relationship, wore perplexed expressions upon seeing the two exchange jokes in this situation.

"Status?"

"Forty taken care of with that. Another 150 heading here after sensing your attack."

The expedition members' faces hardened as they heard Eunhyeon's calm recitation of numbers. They understood the implication all too well. More than the mystery of how Eunhyeon had detected them, the fact that more of those same monstrous beasts were swarming this way was the real issue.

"Time?"

"About five minutes."

"Plenty."

As Riod raised his sword, drawing the expedition members' attention, Eunhyeon signaled Elenoa in that moment.

"As captain of the Artia Knights and commander of this expedition, I command you!"

"Urgh...!"

It was clearly more blessings than she'd shown in the previous Arkys Great Labyrinth expedition, but with the massive sacred relic infused with divine power that Eunhyeon had provided as a medium, Elenoa could now cast several higher spells beyond her limits. Still, she couldn't avoid the throbbing headache invading her mind or the rapid drain on her mental strength, letting out a small groan.

As Elenoa clasped her hands in pious prayer to the goddess, Eunhyeon pulled a gem from his pocket, infused it with mana to activate it, and tossed it into the air. The gem floated up and exploded above Riod's raised sword, releasing the mana within as a turquoise glow.

Turquoise symbolized success, prosperity, victory, and indomitable will. Elenoa's manifested divine blessings merged with Eunhyeon's gem amplification, not only expanding the range but also boosting the efficiency of the enhanced abilities.

The expedition members, bathed in the iridescent turquoise light from Riod's sword, wore shocked expressions at the sudden surge in their physical prowess.

"Wh-what?! This blessing! To cast something this powerful, who...?"

"Whoa... wow..."

In an instant, all eyes turned to Elenoa, kneeling reverently in prayer. Unthinkingly, one adventurer uttered her epithet.

"That's the 'Flower of Fernin'..."

"Ah, for real..."

Elenoa's eyebrow twitched at the loathsome nickname that made her want to cringe every time she heard it, but with her focus on the blessing prayer, she endured it.

Once Riod confirmed all expedition members had received the blessings, he pointed his skyward-raised sword toward the chimeras charging from beyond the scorched field.

"Stand and fight! The grace of the gods is with us! Let no one die—seize victory!"

"""Waaaaah!"""

Riod's sword strike and Elenoa's amplified blessings instantly restored the morale that had plummeted amid the grotesque, visceral horror of the chimeric beasts.

The expedition members gripped their weapons tightly and charged at the oncoming monsters with roars.

"Lia. Protect the professor, Lady Elenoa, and the others. Cecilia takes top priority."

Eunhyeon judged that Elenoa, with two knights assigned to guard her, could handle the front lines to some extent.

"Request accepted."

"Good."

Nodding at Emilia's affirmation, Eunhyeon dashed toward the frontmost line.

"Kwaaak!"

Eunhyeon spotted an adventurer screaming as a chimera's fist—attached to an orc arm swollen like a balloon—slammed into his gut. He rushed over, severing the thick forearm about to crush the fallen adventurer's head.

Dark red blood gushed from the severed stump, and the massive green-skinned arm thudded to the ground. Eunhyeon thrust his sword into the chimera's abdomen and sliced upward, bisecting its body, which collapsed in two pieces.

"Thanks."

The adventurer struggled to his feet, gripping his weapon, and expressed his gratitude.

"Can you still fight?"

"Of course."

"Understood."

Eunhyeon nodded and moved on without further talk.

"Thank you!"

"I won't forget this favor!"

As he successively rescued endangered expedition members and evacuated the wounded to the rear, thanks poured in. Eunhyeon had no time to respond individually, pressing on to slaughter the beasts.

Paired with Illusory Positioning, Eunhyeon's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword dance resembled dozens of paintings of minute motion differences flipping sequentially—fluid and beautiful.

His smooth movements sliced through the tough, resilient monster flesh with sharp, terrifying power, massacring them. Each time flesh parted under his elegant strikes, awed and astonished voices rose from adventurers and knights alike.

"Whoa... damn..."

It was baffling how someone with such prowess had remained unknown until now.

Eunhyeon's existence had become a hot topic alongside Erin's after the recent public trial, but this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the moment it truly imprinted on adventurers and low-ranking knights.

As he methodically cut down the beasts, Eunhyeon frowned, displeased by something.

'No way... I hoped it wasn't, but it really is?'

As the battle dragged on and the tally of slain beasts rose, Verdandi questioned the doubt surfacing in his mind.

'These monsters... they're all corpses.'

'Yes.'

Upon reflection, there had even been a chimera with a female upper body whose eyes were both sunken and a spider-like lower body. His initial impression upon seeing the beasts: pallid skin without circulating blood, limp and powerless bodies.

The first impression from seeing and hearing about the chimeras: "They look like corpses that died recently." The sensation of slicing their flesh felt not like cutting living meat, but decayed hide and flesh—a reminder of unwanted past memories.

'I hoped it wasn't.'

Eunhyeon hadn't immediately considered this possibility because he desperately wanted to deny it.

'I completely annihilated them back then and burned all remnants... why are they back?'

"Hoo..."

Realizing dwelling on it now was pointless, Eunhyeon let out a small sigh and activated his authority.

Instead of mindlessly slashing in combat, he accelerated his thought circuits with his authority, pondering deeply. Visualizing the situation, Eunhyeon quickly devised a solution.

Verdandi, reading his thoughts, grasped the circumstances, her face grim.

'Goddess. Is it okay?'

'But it's made with your divine power, Goddess. Of course I need your permission.'

"Kyaaak! You scared me! Don't just appear out of nowhere!"

Activating Illusory Positioning to move at incomparable speed, Eunhyeon appeared before Elenoa. Her two guarding knights, hearing her scream, went on alert and pointed their swords at him.

"...When did he...?"

Reno, failing to detect Eunhyeon's approach, kept his guard up with a blank expression, shielding Elenoa.

"Sorry, it was urgent. Lady Elenoa, do you have the capacity for a purification spell?"

"Purification...? Right now... the blessing just now used up all my divine power..."

"How long until your divine power recovers?"

"At least an hour..."

"Too late."

"I used two higher spells beyond my ability. Even that was only possible thanks to the sacred relic you gave me."

"Perfect timing then. I'll borrow you for a bit, Lady Elenoa."

"What?"

Reno frowned at Eunhyeon's casual request for permission, trying to block him, but Eunhyeon left an afterimage, slipping past their sight to Elenoa's rear.

"Kyaaak! What are you doing?!"

Without time to resist, Eunhyeon hoisted Elenoa over his right shoulder. She screamed and thrashed atop it. Ignoring her pounding fists and demands to be put down, he bowed apologetically to her two guards.

"You bastard!"

"Truly sorry. Given the circumstances, I'll return her intact."

"Don't treat me like an object!"

"Ha..."

Reno and his fellow knight watched helplessly as Eunhyeon vanished in an instant with the indignant Elenoa via Illusory Positioning.

"Kyaaak!"

The scenery shifted abruptly to the heart of the battlefield, beside Riod. He glanced at Eunhyeon and asked,

"...Why'd you bring the lady?"

"To resolve this shitty situation in one go."

Riod noticed Eunhyeon's mood had soured abruptly from fine moments ago. Realizing he despised this turn of events, Riod shifted his gaze to Elenoa.

"The lady can resolve this?"

"Yeah."

"Hey! Explain what's going on first...!"

"Riod, protect me and this woman from now on. Five minutes—that's all I need."

"No idea what you're planning, but got it."

Trusting Eunhyeon completely, Riod didn't pry for details. Following his lead like this—even after rising to such heights after so long—didn't feel bad. It even evoked nostalgic memories from twenty years ago.

"Thanks."

With Riod's assent, Eunhyeon plunged his sword into the ground. A blue mana barrier enveloped the three, shielding them. External sights and sounds cut off, silence settled inside the ward. The sudden quiet amid fierce combat felt awkward; Elenoa, still tense, asked Eunhyeon,

"Wh-what are you planning...?"

"Haa, I didn't expect to do it this way..."

"So what is it...?"

"Lady Elenoa. Listen carefully from now on. No questions, no arguing, no resisting. I'm new to this too, so I'm not confident."

"...?"

'Resisting? New to it? What the hell...?'

As Eunhyeon stepped closer, Elenoa instinctively backed away, sensing something ominous. But their strides differed greatly. Closing the gap instantly, Eunhyeon grabbed her shoulders to prevent escape.

"L-let go! You jerk! I didn't think you were like this!"

Startled by her own strange imaginings, she looked at him with disappointment, but his expression was deadly serious.

"What are you going to do to me...?"

Puuk.

"Eh...?"

In a flash, Eunhyeon closed in and plunged a dagger into the center of Elenoa's chest. She stared blankly at his hand gripping the hilt.