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“It’s been cut off.”

The man, with his eyes covered by a black cloth, said flatly.

His obscured eyes were fixed precisely on the spot where the creature he had created had fallen. Yet, like his blind gaze, he had no idea what had transpired at that location.

What should have been a possible sharing of vision with the monster had inexplicably gone silent today.

All he could do now was give simple commands and keep track of the locations of the creatures he had unleashed. It was impossible to ascertain what had transpired on the battlefield in detail.

He had originally regarded them as mere expendables and had not formed any attachment to them as ‘works’ unlike others. He had known from the beginning that they would end up destroyed like this, yet the man could not turn his head away from that other place.

However, the entity that had just disconnected from him had been specifically created with the rank of a knight in mind, taking into account the ability scores of a typical aura user. He believed that even a regular knight would be easily devoured, a conclusion reached from objective assessment rather than confidence in his own abilities.

It was truly ironic that the specimen he had put considerable effort into had died before the others.

In his mind, there had been a certain expectation for that creature. And now the result before him showed the lowest value among the expectations he had held.

After a comrade nudged the man who was blankly staring at the forest, his previously closed mouth finally opened.

“Walter. Habilis is down.”

“Already? Wasn’t it pretty confident when you sent it out? Did a black dragon come into the forest?”

“No. It hasn’t entered the forest yet. If it had, the trees would be far from this quiet.”

“Well… then it could be the Knights Commander. If that’s the case, dealing with such a monkey wouldn’t be too difficult. Bad luck. The altars we had painstakingly built suddenly stop functioning, and the monkey, thinking it would take some time, destroys them right from the start. Are we going to stick to the original plan?”

“Of course. Aside from the altar issues, the rest remains unchanged. And regardless, we can’t abandon the plan.”

Walter, the one who had questioned the man’s words, nodded quietly.

Once the execution of the plan began, it was inevitable that the Head of Kraus would step into the forest.

Once he set foot in the forest, they could no longer afford to consider their lives. He would have hunted them down even if it meant cutting down every tree in the forest, and Arthur Kraus possessed the skill and resolve to do so.

So ultimately, what remained for them was merely the success of the plan.

Knowing this, the man could answer Walter’s question without hesitation.

“Even if the black dragon moves, we have already widened the distance with the Children of the Sun. He may take our lives, but he won’t be able to prevent the deaths of those two.”

Answering confidently, the man stood up and turned his head back to where his creature had fallen. While he spoke with assurance, the current circumstances were not favorable for their plan, so he needed to minimize the risk of failure as much as possible.

“The inability of the altars has made it difficult to supply monsters in the forest. I will lure them on the front lines; in the meantime, take care of the prince and princess.”

At some point, a strange wave had begun to resonate through the forest, disrupting his connection with the monsters. It was highly likely that the altar’s malfunction was due to this wave.

The monsters he had randomly dispersed had initially been intended just to draw their attention, so he hadn’t thought much of the disruption. However, after witnessing the speedy demise of his expected masterpiece, Habilis, he decided to reassess his thoughts.

First, he needed to restore the severed connection with the monster.

The interference from the wave should be negligible if approached closely, so for now, he had to directly control the monsters himself, becoming bait to focus their attention.

It was merely a tactic to buy time, but it was the only way to reduce the possibility of failure. A half-hearted attempt was worse than nothing.

If he dropped a bomb powerful enough not to be ignored right in front of them, they would have no choice but to focus on him.

“This makes me feel uneasy, being left to handle the easy task alone,” he remarked.

“Don’t let your guard down. The prince is quite a capable magician; if you grant him any leeway, everything will turn to foam.”

“I’ll be cautious.”

Having sufficiently discussed the operation, Walter promptly left. They didn’t exchange pleasantries, as they both harbored no hopes of surviving, irrespective of how the plan unfolded.

“God…”

Left alone, the man looked up at the sun in the sky and called out to divinity.

Even as he gazed at the sun brightening the world, all he could see were the shadows before him.

*

“This is… a creature I’ve never seen before.”

Sir Gwen examined the severed head and body, admitting to me that it was a species he had never encountered. Few would have as much understanding of monsters as the commander of the Black Dragon Knights in the South, where numerous creatures roamed.

If he was this certain, it could almost be considered the emergence of a new species.

Of course, if that were all there was to it, it could easily be dismissed as an unfortunate incident.

“However, it seems more likely that this creature was intentionally created rather than occurring naturally. Despite the care taken to conceal it, there are traces of manipulation on the head.”

“A creature that should be hiding deep within the mountain has charged into a hunting tournament featuring the prince and princess. Coupled with the fact that this creature has been tampered with by someone’s hand, this is a full-blown crisis.”

“Indeed. A major incident.”

I felt dizzy at Sir Gwen’s words.

While extremely rare, there had been instances outside winter when creatures from deep within the mountains descended. Such occurrences were so uncommon that one might consider it improbable, but I had encountered such creatures just two years prior.

‘And it wasn’t a lone stray but almost an army-sized group.’

Creatures breaking away from the pack coming down the mountain was akin to picking stars from the sky, but an army-sized group of monsters? That was a clear example of my unfortunate luck.

So when I initially caught this monkey-like creature, I had thought little of it. Though it’s said it’s rare for monsters to come down the mountain, I figured it wouldn’t be strange if it happened a few more times to a guy like me.

Yet, upon opening the lid, it turned out to be far from the simple issue I had anticipated.

‘Rather, a legion of monsters would have been preferable. This is truly…’

The events that had occurred previously could be dismissed as mere bad luck, but what was happening now had been orchestrated by someone. Finding out who was behind the manipulation and control of these monsters was not difficult at all. The problem was that the individual suspected of being the puppet master was all too obvious.

In the original story, there had only been one instance where monsters moved due to someone’s intervention rather than a mere accident.

‘Heretics.’

Known commonly as the True Night, the shadowy group from “<The Princess is Beloved>.”

Aside from the Seven Towers who pursue truth, they were the only ones capable of commanding monsters. And what a coincidence that they chose to stir trouble precisely here, in the Runfroud Mountain Range, where I was standing.

For a moment, I thought my existence might have hastened the South’s downfall, but I pushed that thought aside. It was evident that the timing of the monster’s appearance was very different from what I originally understood.

In the original story, the invasion of monsters was quiet and cautious. They would begin by devouring nearby villages, cutting off connections one by one; that was their method.

However, the Legion was far too large for them to target it from the get-go.

Though it wasn’t winter, key figures were gathered in one location, and vigilance was at an all-time high. Moreover, the father, who could be considered the greatest military might of the South, was present under the banner of a hunting tournament.

If an invasion occurred here, it was obvious that defense lines would instantly be established under his command and thwart the attack. There was no merit in such an action. Unless they had alternative motives, the narrative would be quite different.

“So it really was a problem that Orcus and Noel were participating in the hunting tournament…”

I had thought the royal family had been vehemently cracking down on the heretics just a short while ago, concentrating on growing their influence. Perhaps I had been too complacent in my assumptions. They were moving far faster than I had anticipated.

I had expected them to act at the Academy at the earliest…

“Gwen, right now… damn it!”

As I was about to engage Sir Gwen in conversation, the severity of the situation finally pushed an expletive from my lips. Surprised by my sudden outburst, Sir Gwen appeared unfazed. Did he sense the same unease I felt? He scowled, eyes blazing, fixed on the same spot I regarded.

Even without a heightened sense, I could distinctly feel the presence of monsters rampaging through the forest. Yet, even more troubling was a malicious aura seeping through.

Having once encountered it in Merohim, that time had left only remnants, but now that presence boldly displayed its fierce existence. Merely confirming that fact felt akin to stumbling upon a pit swarming with insects, inducing a sense of nausea.

“They’re beckoning us.”

“Yes.”

It was blatant how it invited capture.

While I’d like to comply with that provocation, I of course had no intention of granting it my favor, now that I understood its purpose.

“Young master.”

Sir Gwen addressed me in a stiff tone. His voice, laden with suppressed fury, was harsh and burning. Knowing what he was about to say, I passed him a dagger I had secured at my waist.

“This should have alerted the camp by now. Focus on dealing with the monsters while approaching it; it should make saving lives easier.”

“Understood. Then…”

As soon as our conversation wrapped up, Sir Gwen vanished into the forest. Without watching him leave, I turned my gaze to the opposite direction from where he had disappeared.

To be honest, even if lives were lost where he had rushed to, they would ultimately be suppressed. After all, my father was at the camp. However, that was not the case for their intended target.

Unless one possessed prior knowledge like I did, finding the hidden answer in that chaotic situation as events unfolded would be exceedingly difficult.

I began to circulate the aura within me, awakening the dormant senses one by one. Typically, when sharpening my senses like this in the forest, the ambient magical energy made the experience unsettling, akin to watching a noisy screen, but today was simply clear.

I briefly touched the crystal hanging against my chest and muttered softly.

“They said it wasn’t a magical item…”

Having awakened my senses, it didn’t take long to locate Orcus and Noel. There were very few beings radiating a similar presence, but the problematic aspect was that the one I suspected to be behind this event was very close to them.

It seemed that the time allotted to me was running short.

I dashed over to Robin, who was examining the body of the fallen child near the monkey’s corpse, and asked.

“Sir Robin, how is the condition of the fallen child?”

“He seems to have lost consciousness, but there appears to be no issue with his breathing. There are signs of a possible fracture in his chest, but other than that, he doesn’t seem to have any significant injuries.”

Robin replied in a voice filled with relief. While it appeared the knight and his attendant had perished at the hands of the monster, at least one person had survived, which could be called a small mercy in this misfortune.

The boy, lying with his eyes closed, looked to be only a year or two younger than me and objectively appeared quite young. Perhaps because of that, witnessing him fallen like this stirred up memories, leaving me feeling unsettled.

Having become Damian, I too had hunted monsters at a similar age, but could I compare myself to him? Others might call me a genius or whatnot, but deep down, I was just an old man worn down by life.

I understood that the eras and cultures of my previous life and now as Damian were distinct. Yet, knowing this with my mind did not align with my emotional view. The fact remained that whether then or now, a young child had been wounded before my eyes.

Phew…

The boy’s breath, soft and delicate, reached my ears.

His face was stained with the monster’s blood, rendering it red, yet his closed expression appeared remarkably tranquil. The very fact that he was alive, despite his current condition, was anchoring my fraying rationality.

Having resolved my determination multiple times before, I found myself steadying my heart once more at the sight of the boy with his eyes shut.

“I’ll borrow this for a moment.”

I wrapped the sword the boy had carried around his waist, which Robin had set aside when organizing the monkey’s body, in the spot where my dagger had been. After quickly explaining the current situation to Robin, I pointed towards the overturned cart.

“Fortunately, it seems the cart is intact. Sir Robin, please place that child in the cart and head straight for the camp. Along the way, sound the horn to check if the rangers are nearby, and once you arrive at the camp, explain the situation.”

“Understood. Then what about you, Lesser House Lord?”

“I have things to do.”

Realizing I wouldn’t be accompanying him, Robin looked at me worriedly. This was a concern stemming not from a matter of skill but from the fact that he was a knight of the Kraus family worried for his lesser house lord. So, I sensed that if I spoke plainly, he would try to dissuade me, and thus, I deliberately cut him off.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll follow shortly.”

There wasn’t a moment to waste, so I said this and set off on my way.

 

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