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The second demon was a particularly troublesome opponent, more so than any other demon I had faced.

Unlike the first, this one wasn’t obsessed with showcasing its brute strength. It had a meticulous personality and always preferred to hide its true form. Just tracking it down required an incredible amount of effort.

Moreover, the hassle of its strength and special abilities was so significant that even the third and fourth demons I encountered later felt like a mere spice in comparison. For anyone tasked with hunting it down, it was nothing but an annoying bother.

To capture it, I found myself using more arrows than ever before.

And among its most troublesome weapons…

“That heap of corpses is getting on my nerves.”

An undead creature formed from the enemies it had slain.

That massive collection of flesh was made up of fused bodies. The more powerful the original owner was in life, the stronger this grotesque amalgamation became—a significant headache I recall all too well.

Bang─!!

“Fortunately, Edelin is on our side.”

An undead being created from the corpses of numerous elves.

No matter how much I disliked the little ones, it was undeniable that they possessed natural talents far exceeding those of most other races.

Confronting that mass of cadaverous flesh was something I desperately wished to avoid.

Luckily, Edelin was blasting the monsters away in my stead.

“From now on, my Royal Guards will protect the heroes.”

In the midst of this, Edelin slowly drew her next arrow and spoke.

“I’ll handle that patchwork monster, so please, once you reach the area where the stone is… seek out the gravestone beside the tallest ancient tree. There, Shianella left arrangements for my descendants.”

“Understood!”

The arrangements left by Shianella for her descendants.

At those words, the scowls gracing the faces around me melted, and anticipation began to bloom in their eyes.

After all, I had heard that a commoner had once appeared like a hero in the chaotic advent of demons and earned the title of Count, thus ruling over a territory—this was how Count Shianella’s house had begun.

‘It’s only natural to feel excited.’

If I could claim a gift left by such a remarkable ancestor—not another family, but my own—it would easily keep me awake at night from sheer exhilaration.

“Royal Guards, I’m counting on you.”

“Understood!”

The Royal Guards surrounding us had finished preparing for defense and a swift breakthrough.

“Let’s go, Ray.”

While maintaining her composure, Shione flashed me a faint smile.

“I will follow.”

Matching her steps, we moved alongside her—Edelin taking the lead as she charged ahead.

With the Royal Guards shielding our path, we advanced without hesitation.

Cracking underfoot, the roots of trees thudded as we kicked up dust, embarking on our quest to find what would lead us to victory in battle.

Bang─!!

As the sound of thunder echoed, strange monsters were swept away.

“…!”

With a monstrous speed, Edelin, who had been distracting the enemies from afar, darted through our ranks.

She silently imparted her message to us.

“The piece of soul left by Shianella will spark her trial upon absorption, so our goal here is to secure it, not to use it—”

Her words were for Shione, my master, to heed carefully.

Curiously, I noticed Edelin’s gaze lingering on me.

“The arrangements made by someone with a different soul than these beings are nearby. Among the various gravestones, look for the one adorned with a small flower.”

…Someone with a different soul from these beings.

It aptly described the present me. The thought that someone like me had existed a thousand years ago, and that I might possibly claim their arrangements…

Edelin’s words pierced through that essence, prompting me to fix my gaze on her coolly.

In that seemingly eternal moment, she leaped off the ground with her opposite leg, unceremoniously leaving behind yet another remark.

“May the most powerful arrangement left by him reappear in this world.”

“……”

What on earth could that be? Why did it instill such endless curiosity in me?

Regardless, Edelin moved once more to eliminate more monsters, and we, too, had no choice but to stand idly by.

“Orna, and Elvis, focus solely on supporting our movements. Tania, intercept only the monsters that approach closely.”

I summoned my spirits.

“From now on, let’s concentrate on speed.”

—Myaang!

As Orna’s spirited voice rang out and I confirmed the nods of both spirits, I felt a surge of momentum.

“Ah, my body…”

“Whew…”

“Did you do this?”

“Hehe.”

With Orna’s laughter as our cue, we propelled ourselves even faster.

To the gravestone. To find where that gravestone lay.

Passing through the backdrop splattered with monster blood and gore.

In the vanguard, the injured Airine Ianette held the enemies at bay through her spirits.

The Royal Guards assisted Shione and me, and whenever Aiirine faced danger, we’d swoop in with my spirits and arrows to safeguard her.

Just how long had we been running?

“There it is!”

Like a voice filled with joy, we finally spotted the open plain where the gravestone lay ahead.

An unusual flat expanse in the Great Forest. Had they cleared away the trees and leveled the ground to create this tomb? It was a landscape devoid of trees, quite rare to behold.

Yet, we could not rejoice at the sight of the open terrain.

“The problem is…”

“No idea what on earth is going on here…”

In my dark eyes reflected a chaotic world, for I would not have been amiss to say it looked like total mayhem just moments ago.

“Are they uprooting the gravestone… digging up the ground before it?”

The once-neglected memorial site was now overrun with visitors—no, interlopers disturbing the slumber of the departed.

“This has become troublesome.”

These beings were composed of elves and humans.

Though their decrepit bodies shuffled weakly with their rotting eyes, what chilled me to the bone was not their frailty, but the menacing gleam reflected in the shadows of their crumbling sockets.

It was evident that the second demon was the only possible master of these dead.

Hearing Edelin’s words, it seemed this demon had appeared a thousand years ago to bring ruin to this continent, but it had been thwarted.

Without a doubt, the current generation’s efforts to annihilate this continent were considerably attributed to that same second demon.

It had likely sensed something hidden here.

‘Not good.’

Did it catch a whiff of something valuable concealed in this place? Or had it sent these beings here to secure materials for its dark sorcery, just as per its rotten whims?

Regardless of how distasteful the situation, as I felt my head throb with uncertainty, Shione, who had broadened her vision, suddenly called out.

“There!”

Both the Royal Guards and I trained our attention where Shione pointed.

“Look at the tallest ancient tree!”

As she mentioned, among the sparse trees popping up across the wide plain, one rose higher and more proudly towards the sky than the rest.

Our destination was clear.

“I’ll clear the way.”

Catching her breath, Aiirine Ianette steadied herself at Shione’s voice before once again throwing herself into the fray of monsters, and the Royal Guards, despite their growing fatigue, found their strength anew to breach the way.

Soon enough, we arrived in front of the ancient tree, the location where the first head of the Count’s House had left his arrangements.

The only issue was that we had no idea how to secure those arrangements.

“…Should we dig?”

As Shione’s uncertain voice rang out to the sinking despairing murmurs of those tasked with our protection, she finally placed her hand upon the gravestone.

“Ah—”

At that moment, a transformation unfolded before us.

Words inscribed on the gravestone, glowing softly with the moonlight like her hair color, began to radiate. The mesmerizing light pulsed and grew brighter.

The monsters surrounding us sensed an instinctual terror, or perhaps revulsion, retreating into the shadows.

Before long, a fragment of a long-lost friend’s soul materialized above Shione’s hand, floating gently.

“This is…”

Maybe something stirred within her as Shione’s gaze locked onto the soul fragment in rapt fascination.

As the fragment rose into the air…

“W-What…?”

Sssss─!

As the soul shard resonated, it shattered into powder.

“Ah—”

As the powder dissolved into Shione, she staggered; it seemed the moment of impact had taken hold of her.

What on earth is happening now? Why, of all times, is this happening to her?

I rushed to her side faster than anyone, catching her to provide support.

“…Princess Shione?”

Yet, Shione fought to keep her heavy eyelids open, quietly tuning me in with her gaze.

Her lips moved weakly, but no sound came forth.

As her consciousness began to fade…

I stood silently, watching her.

—The piece of soul left by Shianella would begin her trial upon absorption…

Without thinking, I spat out an expletive in fluent Korean.

“This damn thing.”

What’s this? Why is it absorbing here of all places?

 

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