NOVEL NEXT Chapter 27
27.
The tolling of the cathedral bells spread through the drizzle.
The ominous dark clouds covering the capital’s sky fiercely poured their gray droplets as if competing against each other.
‘Recently, it seems like it rains every time we do anything.’
With my eyes closed, I enjoyed the unique stillness of a rainy day before slowly turning my head.
Silver hair that seemed to shine even more in the dim light.
Calm and tranquil purple eyes.
At the meeting of our gazes, Iris’s small lips parted slowly.
“…Please be careful.”
With her veil removed, Iris quietly looked at me, her expression as unreadable as ever.
However, from the subtle change in her tone, I could feel a hint of her emotions.
With a small smile in response to Iris’s worried words, I knelt on one knee.
The senior knights followed my example and bowed respectfully to Iris.
With a slight nod of her head, she bid us farewell as we made our way to the northern section of the outer wall.
The armor’s metallic clatter rose above the sound of the rain as we headed towards the northern gate of the inner defenses.
In formation, the capital’s guard stood awaiting us.
“Order to the Empire. Aria, Commander of the 3rd Guard Unit, reporting. No unusual activity has been observed in the northern first zone yet.”
My gaze met Aria’s steely blue eyes concealed beneath her hood.
“The control of the northern area is complete. You may proceed.”
After acknowledging Aria with a light response, I turned my head.
“From this point, the senior knights will start armed reconnaissance under the lead of their knight captain. The First Sword Brigade will move east, the Third Sword Brigade north, and the Fourth Sword Brigade west.”
“Understood.”
Among the knights dispersing to all sides,
I shouted while keeping my gaze on the pink-haired knight captain heading north.
“Knights! Keep your minds focused and stay in motion!”
“Yes, sir!”
***
The royal knights quickly scattered to their designated areas.
Of them, Cruel’s Fourth Sword Brigade, accompanied by a part of the guard’s forces, moved towards the western lower sector.
After moving tirelessly through the rain for some time,
Senior Knight Logic harshly shook the rainwater from his soaked bangs.
‘It’s coming down in buckets.’
The abnormal extermination mission initiated by Knight Captain Cain’s declaration had started smoothly,
but inside Logic, an uneasiness threatened to bubble over.
The words Cain had said during yesterday’s knight council.
“Now, there’s no sacred relic of the cathedral in the northern quadrant. Hence, the appearance of monsters in the lower sectors has a high probability—almost guaranteed. Our mission is to clean them up.”
Recalling Cain’s brimming with confidence,
Logic clenched the hilt of his sword tightly.
“Monsters…”
Logic had witnessed one of these ‘monsters’ only once, while he was still young.
Although he had only seen it from a distance while monster hunters were hunting it, he had never forgotten the sensation he felt then.
‘Am I supposed to capture that? Me?’
When Logic was face-to-face with the monster,
goosebumps broke out on his entire body, and his racing thoughts screeched to a halt.
His body, which had always followed his commands, trembled uncontrollably as though drenched in ice-cold water.
For some time, the memory was so terrifying that he saw nightmares about the monster.
“Hmm…calm down. That was the old me. Now, there are my comrades with me, and I’ve gone through the training.”
Logic steadied his racing heart, repeating the words Cain had said as a nagging reminder, to control his emotions.
The heavy rain continued to fall endlessly, forming murky puddles throughout the lower sectors.
The atmosphere was suffocatingly quiet.
Logic, with a serious expression, placed his hand on the sword, following his comrades who had done the same, all ready to draw their blade at a moment’s notice.
‘Remember, if you stop moving, you die.’
Cain’s words at the end of the meeting echoed in his mind.
Cain had said the monsters could be dealt with by knight-level forces.
Though the three-week training period had been short, according to Cain, it had been enough to ensure continuous mobility. Logic felt ready.
“…I am a knight now.”
Swallowing hard,
Logic kept moving forward, following Cruel’s lead.
And then…
“Hold.”
The knights immediately focused their attention forward at Cruel’s unusually grave tone.
In front of the Fourth Sword Brigade, something obstructed the path, sluggishly shifting.
This mass, which had initially been about the size of a human head, suddenly swelled into a house-sized monstrosity.
Slurp…
Its grotesque form resembled black mud that had unwillingly coagulated and now began to seep away.
A bizarre, human-like or animallike shape revealed itself as the ‘monster’ of the other type.
Cruel swiftly issued instructions.
“Other-type monster detected. Judging by the size, estimated danger level 3. Prepare for combat.”
The senior knights, led by Cruel, immediately drew their swords and braced themselves against the approaching monster.
‘This is the other-type monster…’
Logic managed to suppress his astonishment at its larger-than-expected size compared to what he had seen in his childhood as he quickly drew his sword.
Logic and the Fourth Sword Brigade members cautiously approached the monster.
Then, the mouth-like part of the monster suddenly opened wide, unleashing a deafening roar that reverberated in their ears.
—
A horrifying scream that sent shivers down one’s spine.
“Mu, my body…!”
Their trembling bodies.
Their minds went blank as if their heads were filled with nothing but white noise.
It was the same fear he felt when he had faced a pack of wolves in the forest during his youth.
Overcome by the paralyzing fear, the swords in their hands gradually slipped to point towards the floor.
The sound of a sword clanging against the ground shook Logic back to his senses, and he attempted to lift his sword again.
But his arm wouldn’t obey.
“Ugh…!”
“Ah, Aaaah…!”
Their comrades remained frozen in place, merely staring.
The guards who came along were trembling, having dropped their spears.
Only the knight captain, Cruel, managed to steady his stance though his hands were shaking.
And then, the monster disappeared right before their eyes.
“!”
That was the result of rigorous training.
Though Logic’s body faltered under fear,
his unconscious reaction kicked in when a movement headed for his head,
resulting in an action that prevented him from turning into a lifeless corpse.
Bang!
The forceful impact transferred onto Logic’s arm sent him flying.
His body slid along the ground, stirring up a splash of muddy water as a clamorous metallic sound reverberated.
The sudden explosion of sound brought the senior knights back to reality, and Cruel shouted.
“Attack!”
Led by Cruel, the Fourth Sword Brigade charged towards the monster.
The clash of weapons resonated through the rain, accompanied by the monster’s terrifying roar and the knights’ defiant war cry.
Gasping for breath, Logic pulled himself up from the ground.
“Did I block it?”
A dull ache spread through his entire arm, and the sword’s edge had been slightly chipped.
Considering the distance he had been pushed back after stopping the attack, Logic calmed his rapidly beating heart.
Still scared, his body was still trembling. Yet…
he could move.
And…
“…It’s too slow.”
In comparison to the swift attacks wielded by Knight Captain Cain, the movements of this monster were laughably sluggish.
Comforted by this thought, Logic tightly gripped his sword and charged forward.
***
—
A chilling roar, like nails scraping against the ear, pierced through the sound of rain.
It seemed members on patrol elsewhere had encountered a monster.
“Good luck.”
All you need to do is overcome the fear,
and then you can face it in battle.
Leaving behind the rigid-faced bureaucrats of the guard headquarters,
I continued towards the depths of the lower sectors.
I had to move quickly towards the deeper reaches of the lower levels.
After all, the members would be moving slowly as they caught the others while fighting,
and likely one of the few who would arrive first would be Fannray, assigned to an individual mission with the pretext of independent extermination experience.
By heading swiftly down to the lower sectors,
there’d be only Fannray and I for a brief moment.
‘A perfect opportunity to work.’
To inform the members that the guy was Silvester’s spy,
I needed to bring out his true abilities first.
I planned to confront Silvester’s information against him in a one-on-one situation.
If he wants to live, knowing there’s no one watching, he’ll use mana to counterattack.
If he doesn’t counterattack,
then I’d just kill him and cover it up by saying he fell in battle while fighting one of the other creatures. No witnesses.
While moving swiftly towards the lower sectors,
the water that had pooled deeply began to churn and then erupted violently.
“Grand Duke! It’s the other-type monster!”
Slurp…
A monster gradually forming, its mass resembling a shifting black swamp.
In no time at all, it grew to an immense size, towering above a two-story building.
Horrified by the sight, an official from the guard headquarters yelled,
“The size and the ferocity are level 3… no, level 2! This one is…”
“We can’t take it on with just three of us without a priest! Hurry, request reinforcements!”
In the simple classification of danger levels from level 1 to 3,
this was at level 2, which means it would need three knight-level forces to deal with comfortably.
‘Of course, that assumes there’s clerical support…’
I had seen a few different types while protecting Ruben, but this one was completely new as well.
The boggy-like mass perched atop its body suddenly parted into an upper and lower half.
—
The roar and the wave unleashed by the monster caused the guard officials to kneel to the ground.
It seemed as if they lost all resolve, as the monster charged forward, moving its massive body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“AAAAHHHH!”
“Please, save us!”
Leaving the pale-faced officials who were screaming in despair,
I stepped forward.
For some reason, the wave emanating from the monster didn’t affect me.
According to Master, it was due to the imbalance between the soul and the body. I must be a natural predator to these creatures.
“The size is bigger than expected… maybe I should test it first.”
Based on the size of the monster currently charging,
this longsword I brought might be insufficient.
“Calion.”
Swish! Bang!
Summoned instantly from the imperial palace, Calion materialized beside me, emanating a soft glow.
Using this unwieldy greatsword in a real fight is new, but that’s irrelevant now.
Calion’s great size and weight suited me perfectly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sight of the earth-shaking approach of the charging monster.
I grabbed Calion that had been embedded in the ground, adjusted its position, and lifted it overhead with a single heave, driving it powerfully downward.
My coat flapped dramatically as I swung it.
Calion cleanly bisected the monster’s hardened surface without any resistance.
Flop!
A clean strike, leaving no trace.
The bisected monster slowly collapsed as if being swept away by the rain.
‘Not bad.’
Under the sky full of dark clouds,
I shifted the enormous greatsword onto my shoulder and turned my head towards the bureaucrats.
“From here on, the knight order will handle the extermination of the other-type creatures. Withdraw from the scene now.”