Novel

The somber forest smelled bloody, yet had a smell that Eugene had missed. Ciel, who had been following Eugene, was nowhere to be seen now. He couldn’t even see the people who had entered the forest before him.

He took a look around. Ten minutes had passed since he had entered the forest after passing the Red Boulder. However, Eugene felt as if he had been inside for longer than that. The forest was so dense that it looked as if he had already reached the center.

In a forest like this, he had to be wary of these kinds of illusions. Eugene felt something different in the air, something that seemed to stick to his airways every time he breathed. It wasn’t mana or a primal spirit.

“…It’s a sweet old memory.”

Three hundred years ago, Helmuth had been a terrible hell, but Hamel had gotten most of his good memories precisely in that terrible hell.

He had lived half of his past life in Helmuth. As a survivor of a monster attack, he had spent his teenage years as a mercenary, blindly trying to get revenge. Thus, he had little to show in terms of good memories; if he really had to pick something, it would be the memory of his first murder, or maybe the first time he had finished a quest on his own.

‘I guess I can’t really call those things memories to reminisce about.’

Eugene smirked as he took a step forward. As if it had been waiting for him, something popped up from underneath his feet. It was an ambush, but the signs were obvious. Whoever failed to avoid this obvious ambush clearly had some sort of problem.

Thump! Using the step forward as momentum, Eugene kicked the attacker. The thing that had tried to drag Eugene into the shadow was a scrawny black hand.

“Wow…” Eugene smiled as he lowered his body.

Seemingly flustered, the black hand crawled toward the darkness. However, Eugene’s hand was much quicker at catching it than the black hand was at escaping.

“This really reminds me of the old days.”

The thing he had just dragged out of the darkness looked nothing like a monster, much less a demonic beast. At the end of the scrawny arm was a bumpy lump of flesh. When he waved it in midair, a slit appeared on the lump of flesh, revealing sharp teeth.

“Yuck,” Mer said as she stuck out her head from the cloak. When she saw the Dizzy Lump, the monster swinging in Eugene’s hand, her face twisted into a frown.

“It looks so gross. How can you just grab that with your bare hand and shake it?”

“It’s like catching cockroaches.”

“Do you think anyone can relate to that?! Why in the world would you catch a cockroach with bare hands?! You can use tools or magic! No, wait, a situation where a cockroach appears in front of your eyes is wrong in the first place!”

Disgusted, Mer shook her head. It seemed quite natural for her to loathe something this disgusting, considering her appearance and mental age. However, Mer’s loathing was rooted in the fact that this thing was a monster; it had little to do with its appearance.

“You aren’t gonna eat it… right?”

“Why would I?”

“The hunt continues for four days.”

“Even if the hunt continued for four months, I wouldn’t eat a monster. Besides, their meat is so poisonous that no one can eat them except high-ranking priests.” Eugene grumbled and infused mana in the Dizzy Lump.

ㅡPzzz! There was no need for him to cast magic or use sword-force. Just letting his lightning-infused mana into the Dizzy Lump was enough to kill it and distort its body.

“Besides, we have plenty of food inside the cloak. There is no need for me to eat this disgusting monster meat.”

“…That’s a relief. I don’t even want to call this a living thing, but I really don’t wanna tolerate this disgusting, detestable, and grotesque trash becoming a part of you after it reaches your stomach through your mouth,” Mer spoke.

Her tightly clenched fists trembled. Was Sienna’s ego influencing Mer’s hatred toward the monsters? Or was it the fact that she was a familiar, fundamentally a mana being created by magic, and she hated monsters—essentially lifeforms thriving on demonic energy—as a consequence of pure nature?

“It’s the latter,” Mer answered, frowning at Eugene’s direct question. “Yes, my personality is based on Lady Sienna’s childhood memories, but that doesn’t mean we share all memories. And of course… Of course, I loathe them not only because of my physical aversion toward them but also for another reason. Monster—no, every being that originates from demonic energy has made Lady Sienna suffer.”

As she talked, Mer slowly crept back inside the cloak. Usually, she tried to scratch and claw her way out of the cloak, but now, she wasn’t coming out of the cloak even though Eugene had let it open.

“I hate this forest.”

“So do I.” Eugene chuckled and closed the cloak for her. “Just because it makes me feel longing and it brings back old memories doesn’t mean I like it.”

The hunt would take four days. They had given him the bracelet as if they were telling him to hunt as many monsters as possible, but his priority was clearly survival. Monster meat was poison, he couldn’t even think about eating it unless he was in a dire situation. Therefore, the people in the forest had to find food resources on their own to hold out in the forest for four days.

If they weren’t greedy, there wasn’t really a need for them to enter deep into the forest. It was a given, but the further they got away from the center, the lower the concentration of demonic energy was. It also lowered the difficulty of acquiring food.

‘Of course, they will be greedy.’

They voluntarily participated in the hunt, so they obviously wanted to yield good results. Catching a bunch of small fries was nothing to be proud of; people were going to definitely reach deeper into the forest, aiming for a more significant result.

‘They must be…’

Rubbing his fingers against each other, Eugene frowned. A large group of Dizzy Lumps wasn’t enough to be a threat to Eugene. Ambush? He only had to be a little cautious to avoid it. The cloak of darkness would shield him against most attacks anyway.

Hunt? No, this was just a stroll. Eugene didn’t chase after the prey, he simply walked. As he did, the monsters hidden in the forest approached him.

And died.

“Excellent Poltergeist Aegis.” Mer snickered inside the cloak.

With a disgusted look on his face, Eugene snapped. “Shut up.”

Mer was correct, though: it was the Poltergeist Aegis. Stirring up only a small amount of mana, so it wouldn’t be visible, he wrapped it around his body. With this, he didn’t even need to target anything; he could just intercept approaching monsters directly.

‘She entered first, but why is she still here?’ Eugene thought.

He didn’t look in her direction, since he didn’t want to be conscious of her. However, no matter how hard he tried to ignore her, she was blatantly staring at him.

Genia Lionheart was stalking him, making sure she was not letting out even the slightest sound.

She had indeed entered the forest before him, but the Dizzy Lumps lurking in the darkness made people lose their way as soon as they went in. Therefore, if people entered the forest one by one, with some time in-between, they would all end up in random places. The combination of a wide forest and Dizzy Lumps' hexes made it hard for people to run into each other. When people had become so exhausted that they were no longer able to defend themselves, they would get eaten…

That was the story for ordinary people, but it didn’t apply to Genia. As soon as she had gotten into the forest, she had found a path and killed dozens of monsters. For Genia, the hunt was boring work, without a single thing to be nervous about, so she was about to go straight into the forest.

‘…Why is Father only staying near him?’ Genia thought bitterly.

To protect them, four captains had also come into the forest after all the youngsters had already entered. Their goal was to protect nine young lions from harm, after judging whether or not they needed to interfere. However, Genos, the Captain of the Second Division, didn’t move around. He continued to stay near Eugene as he maintained a distance—far enough not to interrupt Eugene’s hunt or provoke the monsters, but close enough to interfere right away if an unexpected threat appeared.

His favoritism was so obvious. As his daughter, Genia was not able to let it slide. If there was a person who Genos should favor, it should have been her, his biological daughter. With that complaint in her mind, she chased after Eugene.

While his own daughter was protesting against his actions, Genos still did not leave Eugene’s vicinity. He had his reasons; he was staying on guard for a situation where the Council Head attempted to kill Eugene. Since he was aware of the possibility, he couldn’t leave Eugene and let it come true.

‘That’s…’

Genia’s jealousy was also understandable. Genos was a Black Lion knight, so he stayed in the Black Lion Castle instead of his home. Of course, he returned home several times during his vacations, but Genia hadn’t been home for seven years because she was busy cultivating in Shimuin. In other words, it was her first time meeting her father after five years. Therefore, she believed her father was going to tail her and see her achievements.

Genia took a deep breath. Mana was invisible to the naked eye, but when she concentrated hard, she was able to visualize the invisible flow of mana. Genia could feel the flame wrapping around Eugene’s body. No—it was more like thorns, rather than a flame.

He looked simply off-guard while walking. However, his thorns crept and spread out to the surroundings. When the monsters that thought he was their prey came into contact with the thorns, the ‘poison’ led them to the end of their lives.

‘No, that’s no poison.’ Genia thought as she realized.

It was unbelievable, yet she had no choice but to admit it.

‘That’s… Poltergeist Aegis.’

It was the technique of Hamel, a great hero who deserved respect. His technique had been passed down in the Lionheart clan for three hundred years.

‘Is that…?’

Genia did recognize it, but she couldn’t believe her eyes. She also knew how to use Poltergeist Aegis, but her Poltergeist Aegis wasn’t that transparent.

‘It’s not sword-force… He’s letting mana out just enough for it to stay invisible. But it’s just mana, so how can he kill the monsters with it?’ Genia wondered.

At first, she had thought he was a coward using poison, but after some time, she had become certain that it wasn’t poison. However, she couldn’t understand how mana, not sword-force, was able to kill monsters.

In the end, she decided to see for herself. Standing up, she measured the distance between Eugene and herself. She could shorten that kind of distance in an instant. But what about her father? He was staying far away, but he was certainly monitoring the situation. Would he interfere if she attacked Eugene?

‘That will never happen.’

The purpose of the hunt was to kill monsters, but they had received no warning about fighting each other. Although it was a pretty weird conclusion, Genia believed that was intentional.

That was understandable. It was very natural for the knights of Shimuin, the place where Genia had cultivated for seven years, to fight each other.

After measuring the distance once more, Genia sprang forth. As the distance quickly shortened, the size of Eugene’s back gradually increased.

‘Shall I draw my sword? No, that’s overkill. Just subduing him from behind will be enough Instead of attacking…’

“Ugh…” She suddenly groaned.

‘Why?’

Her lips twitched against her will as she groaned even louder. There was no way this was ordinary mana, or something like this would not have happened. Eugene had simply blocked the attack coming from behind.

The thin layer of mana, invisible to the naked eye, turned into flame.

ㅡPzzz!

The lightning mixed into the flame struck Genia. She gritted her teeth to endure, but her groans only kept getting louder. Her hair bristled up and her body twisted by itself. The only reason why she only suffered a minor shock was that Eugene was limiting the output of lightning, while Genia’s own mana also rose automatically to protect her.

“…Er!” The mana from her core shook off the lightning. After coming to her senses, she instantly retreated, leaping backward.

She had gotten rid of the lightning, but she was still suffering from the effects of the electric shock. She stretched her aching limbs as she panted.

“Wh…at? Just?” Genia couldn’t even move her tongue very well. She didn’t want to speak with a lisp, so she kept the questions short.

“I am the one who asks the questions here. What are you doing so suddenly? Why did you attack me?”

“…Hmm. Uhm. Uhmm…” Dodging Eugene’s questions, Genia cleared her throat. “Ah, ah.”

Only after her tongue unstiffened did she fiercely glare at Eugene, saying, “…I thought you were a monster.”

“What?”

“You may not know, but there is a monster who imitates humans.”

Her excuse didn’t make any sense.

“…I just came by to check. I had no intention to attack you. See, I didn’t even draw out my sword. I simply approached you.”

“Why are you following me around?”

“…Following you around? No, you’re wrong. I never followed you around.”

“You were hiding in plain sight, why bother lying?”

“What do you mean, in plain sight? Nonsense, I perfectly muffled all the sound…”

“See? You did follow me around,” Eugene provokingly said.

Hearing his remark, Genia was shaken. She stared at Eugene for a moment and turned her head away along with her braided hair.

“Haven’t I told you before? I am not going to lose to you.”

“Yeah, so? What does it have to do with following me?”

“Sir Eugene. You are an enemy that I don’t know.” Genia desperately came up with excuses. “To achieve a victory in a fight against you, I have to know about you. Investigating the enemy is a basic tactic in a fight. You must have considered my investigation as shadowing because you are ignorant.”

“…”

“Actually, I would like to ask what you are doing here. It has already been a few hours since the hunt has begun. Why are you still wandering around the entrance? No way… are you going to kill time in a safe spot to avoid danger?”

Genia squinted and scowled at Eugene.

“Sir Eugene! I am aware that you are being favored by my father. I also heard the rumors about you having abilities unprecedented in the history of the main house— no, in the history of the Lionheart family, and being just as talented as the Great Vermouth. But! As an heir of the Hamel Style, I refuse to lose to you, especially if you are a coward who only tries to avoid danger!”

“I am Hamel.”

“What kind of joke is that?”

She seemed to be awfully proud about being an heir to the Hamel Style, so Eugene furtively threw these words. Of course, Genia didn’t believe him. Her eyes were rather filled with disgust as she glared at Eugene.

“I will take care of myself, so don’t mind me. Let’s go separate ways.” Eugene turned away, waving his hand.

Genia asked, “Do you know how to survive in the forest?”

“You said that you heard rumors about me. I’ve been wandering through the Samar Rainforest till quite recently.”

“The rainforest is also a dangerous place, but it wasn’t contaminated by demonic energy. Although the hunt only lasts for four days, you won’t be able to survive just by using common sense while hunting in this forest.”

Listening to Genia, Mer stifled her laughter.

“If you request help, I won’t refuse. It is my chivalry to not abandon my principle even if I have to help someone whom I hate.”

“Then would you do me a favor?”

“Let me hear it first.”

“I am really okay, so don’t bother me. Go away,” Eugene spoke as he bent his knees.

‘…Don’t bother? Why is he saying such a thing when I offered my help out of goodwill?’

As her train of thought reached a station, Genia’s eyebrows met in the middle.

“What did you just…”

Pzzz!

A bolt of white lightning sparked.ViiSiit n𝒐velb𝒊/n(.)c/(𝒐)m for l𝒂test 𝒏𝒐vels

She had already gotten an electric shock when she thoughtlessly attacked him. Therefore, Genia flinched and unconsciously retreated. She only took a few steps backward, but…

ㅡWoosh!

A gust of wind blew Genia’s hair as she watched the scene in front of her with widened eyes.

When the wind pushed Eugene’s back, a bolt of lightning shot forward. At least, that was what it looked like for an instant. Seeing Eugene’s back shrinking as he was moving far away from her in a mere moment, Genia gaped.

“…What was that?”

‘Was it magic? No… Is there a kind of magic that enables someone to move that fast?’ Genia wondered.

The fastest person Genia knew was Ramju the Swift, one of Shimuin’s Twelve Finest.

‘His speed just now… was much faster than Sir Ramju. How could he be this fast without any preparation?’

After absentmindedly standing for a while, Genia belatedly came to her senses and chased after Eugene.

* * *

“What is Hector doing?”

[He is on the move with the burden. I don’t know if I should call him brave or say ‘that’s so like him’… Is he planning to go to the center? It’s not like he craves fame.]

“Haha… Rather than fame, what motivates Hector is interest. Didn’t he also act like that before?” Dominic quietly chuckled and shook his head. “When I met with him to persuade him to join the Black Lion, he rejected the offer because he wasn’t interested. Then, he left for Ruhr as if he was running away.”

[If he had joined then, he would have been made a captain by now.]

“Well, it’s still not too late. I will try to convince him once more after we finish with the hunt.”

[…If he hasn’t betrayed us yet.]

‘Betrayed, huh,’ Domonic thought as he scratched his chin, listening to the Council Head.

“Is anyone else listening right now?”

[No. It’s just me.]

“Grandfather. I don’t think Hector betrayed us.”

[…Just like you said, Hector’s priority is his interest. It’s not that difficult for that kind of person to betray. No, maybe he doesn’t even realize he has betrayed us.]

“…But he is proud of being a Lionheart.”

[Is his pride aimed toward the main family members with authentic blood? Or maybe it is toward the Lionheart family itself… No one can know. Of course, I am not doubting Hector for no reason.]

The Chief stopped speaking for a while. Dominic didn’t rush him and just looked forward.

[Hector cultivated in Ruhr…and Ruhr is too close to Helmuth. Especially since, five years ago, Ruhr’s royal family yielded and opened their doors to the demonfolk.]

“Hmm…”

[I’m not just doubting Hector. I doubt everyone. That is my job. Aside from Cyan and Ciel, the rightful heirs of the main house, I suspect everyone.]

The Chief didn’t bother to mention Eward. He wasn’t even worth mentioning.

[…So Dominic, suspect everyone and keep an eye on everyone, just like I do. Someday…you will have to sit in my seat.]

“I heard that so many times that I can recite it in my sleep,” Dominic spoke, shaking his head. “But… Master Hector… Haha. I don’t know if it’s worth doubting him.”

[…There is a precedent.]

“I am aware of that, but this isn’t his home ground… There are also a bunch of lions around who are able to slit his throat in an instant. I don’t think he will try anything funny.”

[I rather hope he does try to pull a trick.]

The Chief said in a cold voice.

[The Patriarch happens to be away now, so it wouldn’t be an issue to execute Eward on sight if he attempts anything funny.]

He wasn’t joking, he seriously thought so.

“He doesn’t have the guts to pull something like that,” Dominic said, looking ahead. “You may already be aware, grandfather…the young master is avoiding fighting with monsters as much as possible. He is killing the monsters with magic, but he is not doing it smoothly. He is having a tough time.”

[He only killed ten of them until now…]

“I've been watching him, since you asked me to suspect everyone, but…wouldn’t it be better if I watched Hector too?”

[Harris is watching him now.]

“Or… how about Master Eugene?”

[Genos is watching that boy. I understand your boredom, but keep watching Eward. If he does anything suspicious, kill him right away.]

That was why he had ordered his grandson to tail Eward. The Council Head could not forgive someone who disgraced the Lionheart family, so he wanted to make Eward pay with his life.

“Understood,” Dominic answered as he nodded. With that, his communication with the post ended.

Smacking his lips, Dominic watched the moving Eward from far away.

“…It is boring.” He yawned and shook his head. “It’s boring because it’s too easy.”