“Right leg first.”
Cailus spoke curtly.
The next instant—
Thud!
Before Richard’s gaze could follow,
Cailus’s sword struck the Servinok squarely in the joint of its right leg.
The massive beast staggered and lost its balance.
Richard seized the opening and charged.
Slash!
His sword carved deeply across the Servinok’s eye as he spun.
“──Kieeeeeek!!”
Blood sprayed in every direction.
The beast roared and thrashed,
but the two men had already retreated beyond its reach.
“Good.”
Cailus murmured the word tersely.
Richard instinctively charged again.
Then—
he leaped onto the Servinok, ran up its solid back, and drove his blade into a vital point at the base of its spine.
Grrrrr...!
The monster’s eyes trembled and rolled back.
Its head fell backward as it slowly collapsed.
Boom!
The ground shook as the enormous beast crashed down.
The stench of blood spread through the air.
Silence lingered for some time.
Panting, Richard wiped away his sweat.
“...It’s over.”
Cailus did not answer.
He merely flicked the blood from his sword and slowly slid it into its sheath.
“I thought we worked rather well together.”
Richard deliberately adopted a playful tone.
Just then—
Throb.
A strange pain flared inside his head.
“...Urgh.”
His brow contorted.
His head was throbbing.
It felt like an ache pulsing somewhere deep inside.
What is this...?
Something was wrong.
His breathing gradually quickened.
A sudden wave of nausea, an irritating ringing in his ears.
An unpleasant sensation as though his blood were flowing backward.
What is this? Did I eat something bad...?
Richard wiped his face with the back of his hand.
...I was fine until this morning.
Something....
“...Are you all right?”
Cailus asked in a low voice.
“I’m fine.”
Richard answered immediately.
...It’s probably nothing.
He forced himself to shake his head and mounted his horse.
It would be nothing.
The two left the Servinok’s corpse behind and headed deeper into the forest.
The trees grew increasingly dense, and traces of magical power began to mingle in the cold air.
The first creature to appear was a Harden.
A magical beast resembling a bat.
“It targets the eardrums. Cover your ears.”
As soon as Cailus spoke, the Harden beat its wings, unleashing a deafening blast.
Richard swiftly lowered his body.
Cailus seized the moment it faltered and drove his blade straight into it.
Richard tore through its wing to finish it off, but—
when he landed, the ground seemed to undulate beneath him.
...Hm?
The weight beneath each step felt strange.
It was as though the ground were sinking lightly beneath his feet like cotton.
He muttered inwardly,
...I’m imagining it.
The next creature to appear was a Dork, slithering across the forest floor.
Its body was flat like a snake’s, with long, protruding fangs.
Richard charged first.
He twisted at the waist and cut down the magical beast hurtling toward him without making any attempt to evade.
One sharp stroke.
He cleanly ended the creature’s life.
At the same time, however,
a strange buzzing began inside his head.
“......”
His eyes wavered.
Every faint sound and flicker of light seemed to grate painfully against his nerves.
Why is it... so loud?
Beside him, Cailus casually cut down another magical beast.
He was still precise and moved swiftly, but—
Richard could not shake the unpleasant feeling that he alone was gradually falling out of alignment.
The undergrowth scattered as a pack of Kelian wolves emerged.
Long-fanged magical beasts weak to magic.
Without exchanging a word, the two moved simultaneously.
Their blades curved through the air, and their bodies surged forward.
Richard cut down several in succession.
But by the time he faced the fourth and fifth beasts—
the arm swinging his sword responded half a beat too late.
...My reactions are slowing.
A wolf’s fang grazed his arm.
Blood welled from the wound.
“You’re bleeding.”
Cailus remarked in passing.
“I’m aware.”
Richard answered as though unconcerned.
But his fingertips were trembling.
His heart was beating unnaturally fast, and a tingling sensation spread through his extremities.
This isn’t... simple exhaustion.
Richard lightly rotated his wrist.
He could move it.
No—to be precise, it did move.
The problem was that the sensation came afterward.
He appeared to swing his sword normally, but only after the blow landed would the feeling strike him:
Ah. I swung it.
Delayed sensation.
And a fading sense of touch.
This was not his body. It was merely a shell.
But.
Richard gritted his teeth.
I can’t let him notice.
The creatures appearing before him were not his only enemies.
His true enemy was standing right beside him.
...Cailus.
How would Cailus react if he discovered Richard was unwell?
They were deep in the forest.
A secluded place with no witnesses.
Perhaps... he’ll try to kill me.
He was more than capable of it.
The forced engagement had already put him in a foul mood. He might seize this opportunity to “eliminate” Richard.
Had he not driven Lady Beatus to take her own life several times?
...Endure it.
Richard concealed his cold sweat with his arm.
Yes. He only had to endure.
At least... until the Imperial hunting competition ended.
Cailus could not be allowed to discover the truth.
The next creatures to appear were Traghounds.
Fast, bipedal monsters as tall as humans, with horns of equal height.
They traveled in packs and specialized in close combat.
“Five. They move as a pack.”
Cailus spoke briefly.
Richard gave a slight nod.
His heart was still racing, and cold sweat streamed down his back.
But he could still... still move.
“Two on the left, three on the right. I’ll take the left.”
The instant he finished speaking, he charged.
Forcing forward a body he could no longer truly call his own.
He dodged the first Traghound’s horn and slashed its flank,
then barely twisted aside from the second creature’s claws.
Then—
Crash!
A third beast burst forward and rammed him from the side.
Richard was hurled through the air.
“...Urgh!”
He reflexively raised defensive magic, but his reaction came too late.
His body struck the ground with a heavy thud.
Something cracked in his elbow, his ribs—somewhere.
“Urgh...!”
A Traghound growled and charged him.
Richard gritted his teeth and raised his sword.
But
he could not move.
His arm trembled.
No strength entered it.
Is this... as far as I go?
But at that instant—
Slash!
A blade flashing like flame severed the Traghound’s neck.
It was Cailus.
His following movements were as swift as lightning.
Moving behind the enemies, he did not miss a single strike.
One, two, three.
Before any of them could even scream, they fell to the ground in succession.
Silence descended.
Richard lay on the ground, panting as he stared at Cailus with frozen eyes.
Cailus swung his sword through the air to cast off the blood, then looked down at him.
His crimson eyes slowly narrowed.
“You....”
Without another word, he looked at the back of Richard’s hand.
Pallid skin, trembling fingers, blood at the corner of his mouth.
“...Can’t you stand?”
“...I’ll be fine soon.”
Richard spoke as he struggled to rise.
At that moment, a sharp crack came from beneath his foot.
“Urgh...!”
Had he broken his ankle as well?
Richard was frowning when—
Rustle—!
An unnatural sound came from the grass.
“......!”
Cailus abruptly raised his head.
Richard immediately followed his gaze.
Beyond the undergrowth,
someone was moving.
A blurred silhouette.
A black coat.
A camouflage cloak.
Then—
Clunk.
A black smoke bomb dropped from a tree.
Fog billowed outward.
At the same moment came the sharp metallic sound of something cutting through the air.
“An ambush.”
Cailus spoke in a low voice.
“...Attackers.”
Richard whispered as well.
The atmosphere of the forest changed.
Murderous gazes surrounded them.
There were dozens... perhaps more than a hundred.
Now?
Richard laughed in disbelief.
Of all possible moments, it had to be now.
Now, when his body was in this condition.
“...Damn it.”
It seemed he really was going to die this time.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter