Chapter 25 “Terrible Battle”

As I saw the scene in front of me, I felt my whole body became cold. Combined that with the fact that my previous spell has wear off, my whole body has become even colder than usual. But despite the cold feeling that covered my whole body, I could feel sweat coming out of my forehead. My heartbeats has quickened to the point that it feel quite uncomfortable for me. The reason for my current condition is because I failed to really comprehend the unbelievable scene in front of me.

The beast stood there without any sign of being hurt. Blood curdling wrath could be seen from its ever moving and ever twitching eyeballs. Even while the flame from the previous spell was still burning furiously, the beast kept glaring toward us. A low growl kept coming out its mouth. Although I don’t really know the full power of the spell that was thrown moments ago, the kind of spell that required multiple caster usually contained more than enough power to destroy a large beast. But apparently, this beast is far from just a regular large beast.

“S-Shield up!” The shout came from the shield wielding knights on the front. Although I could see some of them were still shocked by the scene in front of them, the majority of them were able to do just as they were ordered. They kept their shield up and kept reciting the same spell.

“Prepare spell!!” Seeing that they were cover by their comrade, the mage knights prepare yet another spell to destroy the opponent standing tall in front of them. Magic circle started to appear under their feet and the sound of them chanting mixed with the sound of chanting that came from the shield bearing knights.

Looking at them, I couldn’t help but feel that even though they are wielding such a strong magic and strong defense, they wouldn’t be able to defeat the beast. I don’t know why. But my hunter instinct kept telling me that the current opponent is not a mere mortal should mess with.

Thanks to that, I kept feeling more and more worried with each passing second. I can’t just run away from here since that will mean that it will bring the danger into our town. Honestly, I could care less about the royal family. I’m really sorry, but that is the truth. However wonderful their achievement is, I care more about the wellbeing of the townspeople and their town. After all, that is the real reason I take this job. I want to defend the town and its entire inhabitant.

Then suddenly my own pondering stopped. The reason for that is the loud and deafening roar that came from the beast’s mouth. It was so deafening, I immediately cover my ear with both hand. I was even forced to crouch down due to the pain I received. While gritting my teeth as I endure the ear-splitting roar, I tried my best to look at the other’s condition. They were not in good condition.

Although the chanting continued, the expression on their face was enough to tell me that they were trying their best to endure it. I even saw some of them started to let out some blood from the edge of their mouth. Thankfully, the shield bearer knights were able to stand on their position with their shield still stand proudly.

But then disaster happened. Shattering sound resounded in the whole place. At first I was unable to believe that I could hear another sound in the midst of that loud roar. But no matter what, I did really hear that shattering sound.

“W-What h-happened!?”

I looked toward the one that said that. I couldn’t keep my mouth closed due to what I just saw. The magic circle that was under their feet was gone completely. They all have shattered and disappeared into thin air. That was the source of the shattering sound from before. It was the shattering of their magic energy and their magic formation from before. I couldn’t really believe it. Was that due to the roar? The roar has magic disruption ability? I’ve never heard anything about a beast able to do that!?

“Calm down! Stand your ground!” I glanced toward Sir Lange that shouted beside me. Thankfully, the roar has stopped, making me able to concentrate again. “Don’t lose your focus!”

W-Wait! Stand your ground? O-Oh no! I quickly shifted my view toward the shield barricade on the front of the battlefield and fear the worst. Unfortunately, my fear came true. When the shattering sound reached my ear, it was not only the magic circle of the mage knights that disappeared. The magic that bind the beast and the magic the shield bearer knight used has also disappeared. With that, their barricade is far from their best condition and the beast in front of them has been freed. They were in the worst condition.

“G-GGUUUAARRGHH!!!”

“AAARRGGHHH!!!”

Scream of pain and agony came from the front line as the beast attacked the shield barricade. More than a half of the knight has been thrown back quite far. Some of them have even collided with the mage knights, breaking their formation while taking some of them down with them.

“G-Get your weapon!!” The commander of the shield bearing knights shouted the instruction. Although some of them have been injured by the beast, they were still able to react quite fast. As expected of the knight corps.

They then charged toward the beast. But before I could warn them of its thick fur, they were already a step away from it. They slashed and stabbed their weapon as best as they could. Sadly, just as I expected, none of their attack were able to make any damage to the beast. In fact, I think the beast looked somewhat healthier than before. Wait! D-Don’t tell me. It was not magic disruption, but magic absorption? That is crazy!!

“GUUUHHH!!!”

The beast swiped the attacking knight away as if they are just mere weak ants. They were blown away so easily. As I looked at them, I noticed that they were injured. Their armors were dirtied by the soil and I could even see some of them has crack on them due to the beast’s strong attack.

“GET BACK!!!” A silhouette passed by me after a shout reached my ear. I followed the figure and found it has already reached the feet of the beast. “HYAAAH!!!”

A clanking sound was made and the beast back away slightly after defending itself from the attack. The beast glared at the new attacker and it let out a menacing growl.

“C-Captain?” Yes, it was Sir Lange. He jumped onto the beast before it could attack the other knight.

“Use magic! Coat your weapon with magic! Hold it to make time for the mage to launch another spell!” His voice, filled with strength and pride, made the other knight’s expression changed. Before, they were looking so desperate and panic. But after hearing Sir Lange’s word, they nodded and stood up with vigor in their eyes.

“Yes, sir!”

As they stood up, chanting of body strengthening magic filled the air while the mage chant a multitude of attack spell. Sir Lange kept attacking the beast, diverting its attention from the others.

Soon after that, the knight that has finished their spell started to join him in attacking the beast. They encircle the beast and attacked from various directions while maintaining a safe distance from it when it attacks. The beast, face with a lot of opponent from all over the direction, seemed to be overwhelmed.

Or at least, that was what supposed to be like. But I could see the real situation. The beast, with its tremendous power, could easily overcome all of them. The only reason that it seemed to be overwhelmed is because they all attack from different position. They might look like to be confusing their opponent, but in reality, it was just stalling for time. The beast itself managed to attack multiple of them for each strike it gave. Sir Lange is the only one that is able to dodge in time each time the beast attack. The other knight, on the other hand, had received more than they could handle.

I felt my hand trembled as I saw them fighting. For all these times, I was still stuck onto my place, not moving even an inch. I tried and tried to find the best move that will help everyone, but I couldn’t find it. Usually I was the first one to jump into the action without thinking much, relying only on my instinct and skill. But this time, I…just couldn’t do that. My mind stopped. My heart and stomach felt heavy. I know. I know very well that this is an enemy that I couldn’t defeat. I am…scared. Pathetic, aren’t I?

“UWAAAHHH!!!” Suddenly a shout came near me. Together with that, I saw a figure flying onto my direction. Fortunately, I managed to dodge just in time. Unfortunately, that means the figure, whoever that was, kept flying toward whatever behind me. And, once again, unfortunately for him, the thing behind me is a big tree. The moment the sound of impact and the shaking of leaves reached my ear, I winched as I realized how hard the figure hit the tree.

“A-Are you okay?” I ran toward the figure. When I could see clearly, I cover my mouth as I realized who that was. It was the shield bearer knights’ commander. His armor, which is a bit thicker than the others, was terribly damaged. A big and deep gash ran along from his shoulder onto his waist. The attack from the beast had managed to penetrate deep into his armor and wounded him severely. Blood started to leak from his wound and also from his mouth. “How…terrible…”

“Ugh…”

“S-Stay down! You’re injured!” I crouched down and tried to keep him down or he might risk killing himself with that kind of injury.

“N…No…I…have to keep figh…fighting…” I was taken aback by his words. What was I doing? Just standing and looking for the best move? That isn’t like me at all. I gritted my teeth as I realized how dumb I have been. I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up. After that, I stood up and looked onto the sky. I put my finger onto my mouth and let out a whistle.

“Get the injured away from here!” I shouted my instruction. “Don’t get near the beast! Focus on evacuating everyone!”

Shortly after that, the leaves all around me shook and many figures appeared. They all landed around me and started to evacuate the injured knights. They are all the ranger under my command. If I can’t fight the beast, I can support them. That’s the only thing I can do right now.

“There is another thing you can do.”

“W-What!?” I looked around as I heard a whisper came onto me. But I found no one talking. All I could find were the rangers that were busy carrying the fallen knights all around me. None of them look at me or even near me. Was that just my imagination?

“Throw the knife into the eye. Lure the beast into the deep forest. We’ll take care of it.”

“Knife? What kni-Woah!!” All of a sudden, a knife landed on the ground near me. Although it was far from injuring me, the sudden appearance really surprised me. I looked at the knife and noticed that it was not the usual knife any of the militia soldiers used. In fact, it looked very nicely crafted. The handle is simple, but the there is a single large gem embedded in the middle of it. The blade looks very sharp and deadly. At first, I don’t want to touch it since the whole things sounded suspicious for me.

“WUAAAHH!!!”

“H-H-HOT!!!”

A sudden scream forced me to move my attention from the suspicious knife into the source of the scream. At first, I thought it was from the front line knights. But apparently it came from the mage knights. The reason for that scream was the fact that the beast has spitted onto them. And, just as we feared, it indeed contained something that can melt anything. Some of the unlucky victim has its whole face melted and died instantly while leaving a twitching corpse. While the other has part of their armor melted or some of their limb. It was so gruesome that I instinctively cringed when my eyes saw them.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

W-Wait! If the mage knights have been attacked, did that mean the remaining knights that fought in the front has been defeated? And true, it was indeed just as I feared. They have been decimated. I could see some corpses lying around the beast. Some was still moving while bleeding profusely. Some has lost a limb or two.

I could see that among the fallen ones, stood a single person. Sir Lange. He stood there with irregular breathing, a sign of fatigue. His sword has been chipped here and there. His armor was also not in the best shape judging from the visible damages. It seemed that it will be a matter of time before everyone is killed.

“You will decide their fate.”

Ugh! The whisper came back. But it’s right, whoever or whatever that was. It seemed there is only one way of minimizing the casualty. Sadly, I don’t know whether I will be included in the living one or the dead one. But if I want to protect the town, this is the only thing I can do!

I then pulled out the embedded knife and ran toward the beast. With the beast has its whole attention toward Sir Lange, I could do this.

“Enforce my bone! Strengthen my muscle! Deliver me to my victory!” I chanted my spell as fast as I could and felt my whole body lightened. I kicked the ground harder and pushed myself to the limit. With each step, I became faster and faster. And at a certain point, I jumped forward. My target will be the beast’s eyes. “EAT THIS!!!”

Thanks to Sir Lange diversion, I was able to get onto its head quite easily. The blade embedded deeply in on its right eyes socket. Green blood oozed out of the wound as a few of its eye balls popped open thanks to the blade. The beast then growl in pain and then tried to swat me away. But even before it reacted, I jumped away from its head, leaving the blade on its eye socket. It moved violently as it tries to pull out the blade. But I have planted the whole blade into its eyes. It will be a difficult task if it wants to pull it out.

“Hey! I’m over here!!” I shouted at it as I landed not far from it. It growled and then looked at me. That is my cue to run deeper into the forest, away from everyone. And that is exactly what I do.

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“Ugh…” I stopped near a tree after running with all my might. I leaned onto the tree as I tried to catch my breath.

After the effect of my spell wear off, I finally feel my whole body being assaulted by a stream of fatigue. But I kept pushing my feet to carry me as far as I can without even looking back. I don’t know whether the beast is following me or not. But my instinct told me that it will be since I’ve deal the most damage to it.

Then suddenly, the tree behind me started to fall down one after another. I guess that answered my question. I could also hear the beast’s roar among the sound of tree hitting the ground.

I then took another breath and readied myself to run again. But…how long should I run? I was running for quite some time but nothing happened. No…there is something. I looked around and realized that the forest is eerily quiet. The air is still and I didn’t found a single living thing as I run. Of course, I might miss them since I put my whole mind into running away. But even so, it is strange to not encounter a single living thing around me.

“W-What?!” I felt a strong killing intent coming from in front of me as the sound of tree falling down stopped. I pulled out my sword to ready myself since it seems I will be unable to outrun the beast any longer due to me using my precious time to ponder about something useless. “Above!!!”

I jumped away from my previous location as I felt a strong presence from above me. As soon as I did that, a big shadow came from above me and the sound of crashing came from in front of me. Cloud of dust filled my vision, blinding me.

“UGH!!!” Then just as I tried to get a better view, a big shadow came from inside of the dust cloud. I put my sword in front of me to shield myself. But whatever that is, it was truly too powerful for me to handle as it pushed me backward with such force that I was literally flying. “GUARHHH!!!” I let out a shout as my back hit the tree behind me and pushed the air out of my chest. I didn’t expect myself to share the same fate as the other knight.

“Ugh…d-damn…” While letting my body crumbled onto the ground, I cursed and I tried to see what’s in front of me. Then it showed itself. The beast showed itself. With knife still embedded on its right eye socket and green blood still dripping from the wound, it glared at me with its other eyes. And unlike before, the eyes all focused their sight on me. It made me feel a chill ran from my back as I saw that. It has fully accepted me as its enemy.

I tried to stand up, but the pain in my back prevented me from doing just that. Although I felt no wound or bleeding, but I’m sure my back is broken. In fact, it is quite a miracle for me to even be able to stay conscious since the pain is quite unbearable.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!!!” A shout came from behind the beast. I looked at it and found a flashing came toward the beast. The figure landed on the beast’s back and it roared. It shook its body violently and then someone landed near me. “Ms. Reystone! Are you okay?”

“Hehe…not…exactly…” Ugh, even talking is a painful task for me at the moment. “Y-You…should get away…Sir Lange…” I forced myself to speak. I know real well that I can’t really move at this rate. If I die here, it will be due to my own foolishness. To trust a strange voice just like that. I should know better.

“Never!” He shouted. Although he tried to remain calm, I know really well that he is far from his best condition. He was wounded all over and his equipment is far from enough to fight the beast. “I will stall time till reinforcement come!”

Before I could even say ‘what reinforcement’, he already propelled himself toward the beast. With his broken sword, he rushed and tried to attack the beast head on. I tried to shout to warn him, but my mouth opened up without letting out any voice.

“ARGHH!!!” The beast then hit him with its large limb, making him lost his balance since the hit landed square on him. But Sir Lange managed to land. “Guh!!!” Unfortunately, the force seems to be strong enough to hurt him even though he was able to block the hit using his sword.

The beast, not allowing him to rest even for a second, attacked him again. Unable to react in time, Sir Lange was thrown sideway.

“D-Damn you!!! GUARGHH!!!” I averted my eyes as I saw the beast landed near him. No…That was wrong. The beast landed on him. His hand to be exact. It then bit Sir Lange’s body and threw it the tree near me.

“S-Sir Lange!!” I screamed with my remaining strength as I saw the once proud knight landed battered and terribly injured near me. All I could hear from him was his moan of pain as he tried to get up. But I think that he will be unable to do any of that.

His condition really is terrible. His already injured body has been injured more due to the bite of the beast. His armor showed cracks and damages here and there. Of course, blood leaked out of the armor’s crevices. But that was not the worst damage. The worst is his hand. His right hand has been destroyed entirely, leaving only a stump on the shoulder. Blood kept flowing out of it, risking him bleed to death.

While I was worrying over Sir Lange’s condition, I heard a roar came near me. I shifted my attention and finally saw the beast towered over me. The ground sizzled each time the dripping spit hit the soil. It let out a nauseating stench each time the smoke came near me. I also saw that the beast looked at me, clearly willing to kill me.

I guess…this is my end, huh? Oh, how stupid I am to believe that voice. But then again…if I didn’t, this damned creature will kill everyone. At least I was able to buy them some more needed time. Still…I really regretted the fact that I was too weak to defeat this monstrosity and let it attack the town. I don’t really think the town will be able to defeat it too. All I hope is that my sister will be able to evacuate the whole town in time.

Well…I guess I will leave this world early. As huntress, to be killed by the beast of the forest is…rather shameful. If only…if only…if only Nerva is here…

“Quite a sorry sight you are in, milady.”

“H-Huh?” I looked to the sudden voice that entered my ear. But before I can even move my head, the sound of impact reached my ear. I looked in front of me and saw an incredible scene. The beast had its whole body thrown sideway and it collapsed to the ground with its side hitting the ground first. I looked at the beast’s head and noticed that a part of its cheek has sunk.

“Ouch! That is one hard skin!” A clear and feminine voice rang in the area. I looked toward the source of the voice and found a woman with a long amber colored hair. On her long hair, I noticed a few strands of silver hair. “I almost ruined my shoe with that one.” I then realized who that was.

“You…”

“Ah, I thought milady has fainted.” A small smile stretched on her face. “It seems that milady is stronger than it looks.” W-What!? The first thing she said was something like that? But I put that thought away since I have at least one question at the moment.

“D-Did you just–“

“Kick it.” She looked at me with a grin. “Yes, I did, milady. And it seems not strong enough since it is still breathing,” said the woman while looking at the fallen beast.

“Cyrielle, did you try to kill it?” Huh? “Even though I already said not to?”

“N-No, no, no.” Her haughty attitude was gone the moment a new voice entered the conversation. “Of course not!” She tried to deny it without moving her sight.

“Hmm, very well. Since it is still alive, I think it’s all right.” That voice! “After all, it is quite a strong one.”

“I-It is, right?” She nodded with a visible expression of worry. “So I’m not wrong there.”

“Don’t push it, Cyrielle.” Then a figure came from behind her. I couldn’t help but feel my heart beat a bit faster than before. “But I think you deserve some thanks for saving her. Isn’t that right, my dear Eryell?”

“Y-Yes.” I nodded as I felt tears spilled from my eyes. I couldn’t feel happier seeing the one in front of me. “You’re right, Nerva.”

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Author Note:

The Watchers will now deal with the corrupted beast.

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