Slash—
Damian's sword cut through the monster right in front of him.
And the monster, which had its body split in half, collapsed to the ground with a thud.
However, Damian knew.
It would soon revive.
'Haa, where in the world did these things come from…'
It wasn't his first time fighting against monsters.
Damian was often deployed on reconnaissance missions to subjugate monsters at the empire's northern border.
Since they were amidst an era of peace, there were very few monsters left in the empire. Still, those monsters had to be eradicated regularly.
And he had taken on that role for himself.
Purposely, to stay away from home.
Now that he was staying at home more, he handed over that role to the other knights.
In any case, even for him, the monsters that appeared today were strange.
He had dealt with a few regenerative monsters several times before, but as he cut them down time and again, he had never seen any other monster as persistent as these.
Even if he were to cut their heads, their chests, even their hearts.
Those things continued to revive and come back alive.
Of course, he did not know this, but things would have been different if his sword's tip could just stab a little deeper into the monsters' hearts.
In any case.
He had intended to wrap things up here quickly and rush back to the barracks so he could check up on Alicia and Rosetta. However, somehow, he became surrounded by monsters, and it was impossible for him to leave.
He couldn't go back to the barracks if he were to just leave behind these monsters, not entirely sure whether they'd been defeated or not.
He just might serve as bait to the monsters, and eventually lead them back to the barracks.
While he was wracking his brain for a solution, things got worse and worse.
From out of nowhere, those blue, transfigured monsters crept closer.
Shiiing—!
Their skin was so thick and hard that, every time he thrusted his sword into their flesh, his sword would cry out with a high-pitched shriek.
Whenever this happened, he had to grit his teeth and endure the recoil.
Before this, what he had encountered were living beasts. In contrast, these were…
Monsters that would not die.
It felt as if he was dealing with real monsters this time.
"Huu…"
After slashing at yet another monster's neck in front of him, Damian let out a strained breath.
Two fallen monsters.
This also meant that there would soon be two regenerated monsters.
Apart from them, it wouldn't be just these two.
Behind the newly fallen monster, there was another blue monster that looked like a wild dog, growling at him.
"There's no end to this."
Clicking his tongue as though he was sick and tired of this already, Damian laboriously urged his feet to move while flexing his sword hand.
Without noticing that, behind one tree, there was someone watching him.
* * *
Damian then chased after the blue monster, which looked like a wild dog, and disappeared through the bushes.
All that's left now were the two monsters which had collapsed to the ground.
Not even a few minutes after they had been defeated, the previously motionless monsters began to struggle to their feet.
However, it was only a moment.
Crush.
The bodies, which were about to rise, were trampled down towards the muddied ground once again as someone's foot kicked them down.
One man stepped forward and reached slowly towards one struggling body that was crushed to the ground.
A small spark appeared from his long fingers.
It was a small, candle-like flame which burned even amidst the rain, and the monster's chest was burned through.
Screeeech—
The man watched indifferently as the monster writhed as though it was in pain.
Not knowing how long passed, right then, a black heart was revealed beneath the monster's charred chest.
The man tore through the monster's heart and pulled out a black bead.
He scrubbed the bead clean, then put it into his mouth.
Crunch—
The bead was mercilessly crushed by the man's molars.
From the sharp fragments, blood oozed out of his mouth, but the man did not care and continued to chew on the shards.
And as the broken bead disappeared down his throat, a ring with a green gemstone on his hand started to glisten faintly.
As he saw this, a sated smile spread over his face.
With the corners of his lips tugged up, the man faced the other monster, which had risen anew from the ground.
It growled shallowly, then stood still in place, just staring at him.
Looking at such a monster, the man pointed one finger in a particular direction.
That is, the direction in which Damian had chased after the wild dog.
Turning its head, the monster blankly followed the man's pointed finger. Then, as though it was possessed by something, it began to run.
The man looked at the distant monster and recalled Damian.
"This should be enough to keep you preoccupied. And, well, it might not be a bad time for you to die…"
The man's scornful words were drowned out by the rain.
Then, the man hummed quietly as he took a leisurely step forward.
His rain-soaked hair was redder and brighter than ever.
Just as vivid as his strikingly red eyes.
That man, Leo, headed back to the barracks.
* * *
While still carrying Cassion on her back, Rosetta soon arrived near the barracks.
As she approached the barracks, the commotion grew louder in her ears.
'I knew it, the monsters appeared at the barracks.'
She expected it.
If that man was after her, then it would be right to think he'd release the monsters at the barracks.
Gritting her teeth, she set Cassion down from her back before going into the fray.
"Can you walk?"
"Yes, my legs are fine."
There came a smile on Cassion's exceedingly pale face as Rosetta supported her at his side.
The corners of his blue lips were trembling.
'…I'll have to entrust you to a priest at once.'
Rosetta's eyes contained concern as she looked at Cassion, but at the same time, she was looking around in search of Alicia.
However, Alicia could not be seen anywhere amongst the frantic crowd.
Not a single strand of her lovely golden hair could be spotted, and Rosetta couldn't help but bite her lower lip in her worry.
After letting Cassion lie down in the barracks later, it felt like she had to find Alicia in earnest.
Arduously trudging forward while supporting Cassion, Rosetta suddenly stopped in her tracks at the sight that welcomed her.
Right there, blue monsters and a group of people were locked in battle.
To be more precise, there's one particular person at the vanguard of that group, and by the looks of his clothes, he seemed to be a priest.
He stretched his trembling arms forward and conscientiously summoned his divine power.
Seeing how naturally he was moving, Rosetta unconsciously knitted her brows.
'So that's why I saw those transfigured monsters.'
She saw them on her way down from the woods.
And, even here in these chaotic barracks.
She found it strange to see those transfigured monsters from time to time.
When dealing with the monsters with ordinary weapons, it's true that the monsters would not die easily, but they also wouldn't undergo transfiguration.
From the looks of it, it seemed like the unaware priests and paladins had been dealing with the monsters with divine power.
And it seemed, too, like they'd been going at it for a while now.
At first glance, it would look like the monsters' weakness was divine power.
When using divine power against them, they would immediately collapse to the ground, and just seeing this would encourage people to continue purifying the monsters.
Tsk.
While clicking her tongue, Rosetta briefly set Cassion down against a nearby tree.
At the very least, it looked to be the most out of the way spot here.
"Wait here. I'll be right back."
As she gingerly let Cassion lean back, Rosetta whispered to him.
And in response, Cassion smiled and nodded.
"Yes, come back right away."
At his reply, Rosetta also smiled.
Then, she immediately turned around and approached the group of people, who had the priest up front.
The smile on her face disappeared in a blink of an eye.
She strode forward and succinctly reproached the priest, who looked like he's about to emit divine power at any moment.
"Stop."
It was a short, but overbearing proclamation.
To the point that, despite the tense situation, all the people in the group turned to her at that moment.
"Lady Valentine?"
"Rosetta Valentine…?"
Recognizing her at once, the nobles murmured quietly.
Rosetta looked at them and took another step forward, then she turned her gaze towards only the priest.
The priest in question also turned to look at Rosetta.
Flustered, the priest stuttered as he answered her.
"Your Ladyship? What do you mean, stop…?"
However, the priest's words were cut off right there.
Rosetta took out her fan from her waist pocket, then soon flung it.
The fan shot forward at an arc, and at once, it was embedded into the ferociously growling monster's chest.
The monster's heart was precisely stabbed, and with a deathly shriek, it soon disintegrated.
The fan, which did its job properly, returned to her grasp.
People were obviously gobsmacked, but it couldn't be helped.
She couldn't prioritize hiding her abilities if the consequence of that was things getting worse.
"…Just now, what…?"
As the priest stammered, Rosetta shrugged her shoulders and walked closer to him.
Her cold gaze looked around and saw all the blue blood splattered on the floor.
"You shouldn't use divine power against the monsters. They'll only absorb it. To them, divine power is nothing but nourishment."
Her voice was exceedingly cold, just as her eyes were, and at this, the priest's shoulders flinched.
The ducal lady's explanation came out of nowhere, but the priest immediately believed her.
Because the mutants appeared around the same time divine power had been used on the monsters.
Besides that, seeing as how she had gotten rid of that monster just like that, the ducal lady seemed to know more about the monsters…
After coming to this conclusion, the priest soon spoke up with a stunned face.
"Then, the reason the monsters became bigger…"
"It's likely because they absorbed divine power. From a cursory glance, it seems like they've been fed divine power not just once or twice."
Isn't that right?
At the following question, the priest nodded heavily.
"It's exactly as you said. I… I apologize."
The sudden apology made Rosetta shake her head.
"You don't have to apologize to me. But be sure not to do it from now on. Spread the word to the others."
"Y…Yes!"
"But, before that."
"Yes?"
"Leave it up to them to deliver the message."
As she said so, Rosetta pointed towards the people who were listening in on their conversation, their feet seemingly stuck to the ground on which they stood.
When her golden gaze scanned their faces, each one of those people trembled one after another as they averted their eyes.
Rosetta did not care. She addressed them directly.
"This is an emergency, so I'm sure that everyone here is willing to do that, correct?"
It was not a suggestion. It was clearly a threat.
People nodded, then trudged away.
Only then did Rosetta's eyes return to the priest.
And as her golden eyes looked only at him, the priest gulped.
"Don't bother doing useless things, Reverend. I ask that you help me with your power."
"Huh? Help you, Your Ladyship?"
"Yes. Since you're a priest, your specialty is healing, yes?"
The priest nodded at the question that was nothing short of a fact.
"Yes, that's right. My original purpose in coming here is to provide medical assistance for today's hunting festival…"
"Perfect. That power of yours, lend it to me."
Rosetta turned her head somewhere else.
And the priest's gaze followed.
Towards where Rosetta was looking.
And at the end of their gazes was a man who was leaning against a tree, breathing heavily.
A man who was wearing a tattered mask, stumbling dangerously.
It would be obvious to anyone that he was a patient, so the priest quickly caught onto what he needed to do now.
'I need to heal that man.'
Without any further words between them, Rosetta strode straight towards Cassion.
As her retreating figure seemed to urge him to follow, the priest also walked quickly behind her.
Feeling the nearing presence of other people, Cassion struggled to raise his head.
He realized that it was Rosetta who was approaching her, and a smile soon found its way to his pale, sickly face.
And right then, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
"C… Maxwell!"
The surprised Rosetta immediately shot forward as she called out to him.
However, the unconscious man's body had already reached the muddied ground.