We traveled to the southern border of the country. It was a town that was the polar opposite of Iseul. It wasn’t too small but remote enough that it was pretty rural. The houses were built out of wood and stone. There were no cars around. Instead, horses pulled carriages through the dirt roads. Unlike the loud and enormous metropolis city, this town was how I imagined civilization to look like. It was by no means quiet, the townsfolk were all busy with their own jobs and conversations. In the middle of the town was a market where food and tools were traded. It struck me a bit odd that this place felt like it was stuck in time now knowing just how advance technology had progressed in the capital city.

We met with the Mayor to find more information about my next target. Posted only the day before, the only information given was that it was estimated to be taken by a Third Class Knight. Claire had convinced Earen again to move me up to that rank if I completed it. She explained to me on the way here that she wanted to accurately gauge where my strength and skill were. I was once again being tested, but at the time, I thought she just wanted to see if I was ready for her more advanced training.

The Mayor explained that there was a beast that was nested up somewhere in the mountains that bordered the southern country. It had only appeared in the past couple of days but had already killed everyone who had tried to travel to the neighboring village. The merchant trade has now stopped, cutting off the village from most of its resources. The beast was first encountered deep in the roads but has been slowly approaching the town. The Mayor feared that no one would come in time before the beast attacked the town.

When we left the Mayor’s house, we were surrounded by a crowd of the townsfolks. We weren’t given a second look when we first arrive but now word had gotten out of who we were. They were all talking to each other, excited to see a Knight of The Goddess in person. There were others trying to figure out which Knight had arrived. Out of all the names that were thrown, none of them was Claire’s. They concluded that she was someone new.

It bothered me a bit, thinking that there was no reason why they shouldn’t know who she was. Then again, these jobs were ones she’d normally never take. Claire hunted monsters that could only appear once a decade or even a century. Monsters that could destroy nations. But then, shouldn’t she be known worldwide as a hero?

“Doesn’t anyone know who you are?” I asked as we walked through the splitting crowd. “Don’t they know about all the monsters only you can kill?”

“I always give the credit to someone else. I have no interest in being famous. It’ll only get me more attention.”

“But I thought you were a hero.”

“I don’t know where you got the idea that I was. But I guess some do. There’s still alot of things for you to see.”

“Like what?”

“If I tell you, will that satisfy you? This is your adventure, don’t you think it’s more fun to find out on your own? Do you know why I haven’t told you much about myself, why I keep things hidden from you?”

“Because you don’t want to get attached to me?”

“No. It’s because I don’t want to you to see me how the rest of the world does. Now that you’re going to live in this world, take whatever you hear about me with with a grain of salt.”

“I don’t get it at all. What does that have to do with you keeping secrets?”

“Don’t dwell on it too much.”

“Then can I be in your meeting? What is it about? Who’s all going to be there? Other Knights?”

“That’s enough questions, Rae. It’s time to focus, you have a job to do, remember?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

-

The monster barely resembled an animal. It was too deformed to even call it anything less than a demon. It stood on its hind legs, imitating a human. Its body was decomposing and its rib bones were visible. It’s black fur was made an even darker void thanks to the black liquid. Its arms were dislocated and stretched out to touch the ground. The head had a snout but was covered by so much black liquid that it formed the shape of a grinning human face. But most importantly its body was being held together by wood branches wrapped around the joints.

It noticed us and roared, telling us to die.

It ignored me, running unevenly towards Claire. She calmly kicked it away, towards me. Like the bear, its eyes were also completely white. The demon calmly circled around me, observing me. It set its eyes on my sword before jumping back to take distance. I only glanced at Claire for less than a second and the monster sprinted towards me. It was faster than I anticipated and barely moved out of the way. Its speed reminded me of Snow’s father. This monster was just as fast. The brief reminder of that fear froze me. The demon hurled its arms on top of me and I was barely managed to block it with Claire’s sword. The sword absorbed most of the blow but my arms still began to go numb. I knew if I had any other, I would have died.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Like the Nekodae attack, I felt the same fear.

Small but sharp claws dig through the leather protecting my stomach. The chainmail underneath stopped the claws from going any further and I’m launched away down a rocky hill. Even if I did see the attack coming, I wouldn’t have had the time to react. This thing was too fast and I was too distracted. I didn’t even get a chance to think about what happened before I’m kicked down further down the hill, landing on a dirt road.

This time, I got up before anything else could happen. The demon was waiting for me to get up. I glanced up at Claire who was just letting this all happen. I wanted her to come and save me. I was completely outmatched.

My body was on fire. Everything hurt. All my bones felt like they were on the verge of breaking. I wanted to cry. I was way in over my head.

I could barely hold the sword up, but I took my stance. The demon charged and I managed to move out of the way. Thinking it was my chance to strike, I swung the sword to its back but I was stopped. The demon’s dislocated arm grabbed mine. With ease, it flung me to the sky.

It felt like I forgotten how to breathe as my ascent slowly came to a stop. The demon stood over me, waiting to catch me with its mouth wide open. There wasn’t anything I could do. I was going to die.

Was this where Claire finally stepped in?

No.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the end.

The lingering strange presence of my lifeblood only grew stronger. Unlike when I first learned how to extract it out of my body, Now I could tell if I used magic it would be strong enough to have power. But at the same time, it would take years off my life. I wondered if Claire was lying about that. After all, I only had her word to believe.

Then in an accidental thought, I wondered what would happen if I kept my essence inside and instead use it to strengthen my body. Feeling it flow so steadily and strongly calmed me, it made me feel whole. I didn’t know if using it inside me was even possible or where to even begin. All I could do is try to grab it and pull the flow to my heart. As it traveled, I felt Claire’s sword become lighter. A similar but distinct pressure was now traveling out from and into my heart. Unlike mine, this one was scratching through my blood but I was already in too much pain to feel the full force.

I opened my eyes, gripping the sword as hard as I possibly could. Now calmed, I saw this demon monster left itself wide open thinking it won. I felt a solid surface I could push myself off of even though I was upside down and midair. At first, I thought came from my own power but the odd energy from the sword was now just outside my foot. I accelerated down faster than what gravity or I could ever do.

On the quick descent, I hammered the sword down the demon’s mouth. I cut right through it and got the sword lodged in the ground.

“I thought I told you not to do that.”

“Why didn’t you help me?! I could’ve died!”

“If this is what you want to do, then I’ll make you the best. Eventually, when you’ll do these jobs alone, there won’t be anyone to save you. You should never be a damsel needing to be saved. Don’t think I’ll ever be your hero either.”

Again, I didn’t know why I expected Claire to be anything but brash. I chose not to talk back. I flicked off the pieces of the creature that were stuck on me. “I need a bath.”

“Catch your breath. I need to look at this thing.”

I moved over the side to let Claire examine the monster. She wasn’t gentle with it, ripping it apart in any way she could. Her focus was more to the wooden armor that held the demon together. The smell eventually got to me and I threw up. It was rancid much worse than rotten meat and it burned my nostrils. I crawled away just to get away from the smell.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I think it was a wolf but mutating to a human.”

“A werewolf?”

“If you could even call it one. He was forced to be corrupted, and tortured. Then there are these strange roots around it, artificially made with magic. There’s no doubt that someone is making these beasts. But who could even know of this forbidden magic?”

“Forbidden?”

“What you call magic can’t create life. You can’t use a soul to make a soul, and yet these roots are alive but corrupted. But once they die, they won’t return back to planet.”

Claire stood, lifting her sword off the ground. She looked down at me and I couldn’t clearly see her face as I was looking up at her. The sun was directly over her head, illuminating her to shine just as bright.

“What I’m about to tell you, you speak to no one about it.”

“Okay, I promise!”

“Rae, like how you can use your life to cast spell, you can also use the planet’s just the same. The blood that flows underneath the earth is of the Goddess’. Divine and much more capable of than anything you can do. She is what grants life. She is the only one who is able to do so. There shouldn’t be a soul who should know how to access her power. I wiped all knowledge of that method from existence. It should be impossible now.”

“But someone is. And by using it, it’s killing the planet.”

“Yeah, someone is trying to kill The Goddess.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I don’t know yet.”

By another miracle, I came out of it alive. I was stupid to think I could handle anything Claire threw at me. This was too hard. It was too scary. My body wouldn’t stop shaking. And to think there were others that are much stronger. I wanted to go back to the island. I was too scared to do this ever again.

I rested my head on Claire’s shoulder as she carried me on her back on the walk to town. I was too tired and too wounded to move. I felt that if I tried, it would be too much for my body to handle.

-

Claire set me down when we arrived. The second I put weight on my right leg, I heard a snap and I collapsed to the ground. A sharp pain deep inside my bone took away any other ache I was previously having. My leg was being ripped apart. The pain burned like I was being cooked from the inside.

“It’s broken,” Claire told me once she took a glance. “Stop crying it isn’t too bad.” She picked me up and held me like a baby, patting my back to soothe my wailing harsh crying. “Hold on tight, okay?”

“It HURTS!!!”

Thunder from under her feet roared before I knew what was going on. Claire was leaping off the ground, destroying it with each step she took. She held me tight, protecting me from the harsh air fighting against us. I couldn’t even tell how fast she was running. The world became one big blurry image.