encounter (12)
Tom let out a heavy breath with a dead-to-life look on his face.
The two stared blankly at the sudden appearance of Zer-El.
The sword Zer-El was holding was shining brightly with a pure white light filled with mighty energy, illuminating the darkness.
Elika was able to realize that he had fired his sword energy and slashed the tentacles.
“Why are you here?”
Soon, Zer-El, who came closer, looked at Heron and Elika alternately and asked.
The two couldn’t answer and couldn’t help but hesitate.
That’s because he went against the elders’ advice and sneaked into the forest.
Zer-El, who guessed the situation without difficulty, looked at Heron’s wounds first.
“Ugh…”
No bones were broken, but Heron’s limbs were bruised and swollen from the grip of the tentacles.
Zerel examined the wound and reached for it.
A pure white glow, like the sword from before, emanated from his hand, and in an instant healed the wounds without a trace.
Heron and Elika both opened their eyes wide in surprise at the speed of recovery that was incomparable to the healing magic performed by the priests of the monastery.
“Ah, thank you. Sir Zerel…”
After the treatment, Zer-El got up from his seat and looked at the two of them with reproachful eyes.
“There’s no way you got permission, and it looks like you sneaked in from other people. Did you do such a risky thing because you wanted to find a friend?”
Elika nodded. Heron averted his gaze with a restless expression.
Jeriel let out a small sigh.
The two of them would have known very well that entering the forest would be dangerous, but nothing would help.
Even so, I couldn’t just wait still, so I must have come into the forest like this.
Humans are creatures whose emotions take precedence over reason. And these were still children. Even Zer-El could understand how the two entered the forest.
Of course, what I understood was what I understood, and the fact that I shouldn’t be here hasn’t changed.
“As you can see, it’s a forest with something unusual. It’s not a situation for you to wander around like this.”
Zer-El glanced down at the tentacle corpses strewn across the floor.
Elika and Heron also looked down at it with stiff faces.
What this monster really is, and why it exists in the monastery forest, doubts and fears crossed their minds.
The monster that Zer-El had just cut down was something drastically different from the general monsters they usually see in books.
“Sir, what the hell is this monster?”
“······That I don’t know.”
Jeriel shook his head.
He, too, did not know why such a being existed in the forest.
Even he, who had defeated countless monsters until now, had hardly ever faced such a monstrous creature.
Of course, there are monsters that are much stronger than this. But it wasn’t how strong it was, it was how bizarre it was.
It’s like something that could only come out of the Devil’s Realm, or something that could only come out of the realm of demons…
‘······ Demons.’
No way, the thought crossed my mind.
In fact, from the moment Zerel first entered this monastery, he felt an unknown sense of alienation.
That sense of difference grew even more when he faced Dihod, the head of the abbey, and now that he had entered the forest.
At first, he thought it was just an illusion, but now Zerel had no choice but to be convinced.
Something lurking in the forest of this monastery must have something to do with Dihod, the abbot.
So, Zerel decided to explore the forest more.
Of course, sending the two out first was the first step.
“Does your body have any problems moving?”
“Yes, yes… I think I’m completely better.”
“I’ll take you outside. Wait patiently in the monastery building.”
Heron nodded calmly at Zerel’s determined tone.
I didn’t even want to roam the forest anymore because I was in a situation where my life was threatened by such a monster just now.
However, Elika did not obey his words meekly.
“Please let me join you in the search, Sir.”
It was the same that Elika felt fear like Heron.
I saw a monster creature I had never seen in my life, but no matter how fearless she was, there was no way she wouldn’t be scared.
But rather than that fear, my worry about Tom grew bigger.
Now that we knew there were real monsters in the forest, it was almost clear that Tom’s disappearance had something to do with it.
“Can not be done.”
Zerel admired her mental strength, but it was not okay.
When he didn’t seem to listen to me, Zerel spoke a little more firmly.
“I don’t want to use a rough hand to take you outside. If you don’t want to listen, I’ll faint and carry you out.”
“······.”
Having said that, Elika had no choice but to back down. She clenched her fists with a grim expression.
Anyway, that was the moment when Zerel was about to head out of the forest with the two of them.
“······!”
Suddenly, Zerel turned his head to one side and fixed his gaze.
In response, Elika and Heron also looked where he was looking.
There was nothing there, but soon a human figure slowly emerged from beyond the darkness.
“······Director?”
Heron, who checked the person’s face, muttered blankly.
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The identity of the person who came out of nowhere from the forest was Dihod, the head of the abbey.
Why did the director come here all of a sudden? A question crossed Elica and Heron’s faces.
Zerel brought his hand closer to the sword he had retrieved from the scabbard with a stiff face.
“You’re here, Sir Zerel. But what happened to those two?”
The director, who stopped at a distance of about ten steps from the three, smiled and opened his mouth.
Jeriel replied calmly.
“He sneaked into the woods and I found him. I was just about to take him outside…”
He looked down at the monster’s corpse once again and asked.
“Director, do you know what this monster really is?”
At that question, Dihod shook his head.
“How could I know? I was really surprised that a monster like this really existed in the forest.”
Even Elika and Heron couldn’t help but feel a clear sense of difference at those words.
That’s because Dihod’s attitude was so calm and peaceful that it didn’t fit the situation.
Wouldn’t it be strange if you were shocked to see such a monster dead? Why did you come here alone without the paladins in the first place?
“ledger.”
“Yes, Sir Zerel.”
“What is it?”
Zel’s voice was frozen cold.
At that cool voice, Heron and Elika also flinched and looked at Dihod.
Dihod, who was standing with his hands behind his back with an expressionless face, once again put a smile on his lips.
However, it was an eerie, grotesque smile that was completely different from the one before.
“It’s really bothering me. It’s almost time now, but one of my subordinates gets into trouble.”
Dihod waved his hand.
Then, the monster’s corpse turned into black smoke, which was scattered in the air and was absorbed into him.
Zerel immediately drew his sword at the sight.
“As expected, he was a demonic contractor.”
“Ah, this may be a familiar sight. You’ve personally experienced a war with demons in the past.”
Dihod, who had recovered the energy of the monster, shrugged and reached out his hand again toward Zerel.
“Anyway, I saw something that shouldn’t have happened, so I’ll have to die here.”
An ominous black aura gathered in Dihod’s hand. It was a darker energy than the darkness of the night that descended on the forest.
It clumped together like a huge skein of thread and soon spread out into dozens of branches and rushed towards Zerel.
At that, Elika and Heron, who were standing behind Zerel, shrank back with their eyes closed tightly.
It was at the same time that Zer-El, who had been watching the scene with calm eyes, pulled out his sword like a flash battle.
Flash!
A much brighter and stronger pure white aura than before instantly covered the forest.
Dihord’s attack was swallowed up by that white flash and was instantly annihilated.
“······Kwaaaak!”
Dihod, who had a huge sword engraved on his chest, knelt down with blood pouring out.
Writhing in pain, the relaxed attitude he had just before was nowhere to be seen, and he looked unsightly.
I put my sword away and moved in front of Zer-El.
“Where are the missing children?”
Zerel looked down with a cold gaze and asked.
Dihod, who was trembling, barely lifted his head and looked up at him.
Dihod was in a very perplexed state right now because he did not know that the match would be over in a single blow.
The Order’s greatest power, the Knights of Radiance, no matter how much they were Knights of Radiance, it was because they did not expect the power gap to be this large.
“This, goddamn fanatic… ghast!”
Zerel thrust his sword into Dihod’s shoulder as he tried to speak nonsense.
Even that wasn’t enough, so he blew up the pure white sword from earlier like a flame and pierced Dihod’s flesh with the blade stuck. Dihod’s scream rang out.
Heron and Elika, who had been watching the situation blankly, flinched.
It was because it was the complete opposite of his usual mild-mannered appearance and cruel appearance.
Of course, that wasn’t Zerel’s true color.
Because Zer-El only knew from numerous experiences. That it was nothing but a luxury to show mercy and tolerance to demons and contractors who sold their souls to those demons.
“Where are the missing children?”
Zerel asked again.
Dihod, who was writhing in pain, let out a maddening laugh as if he had gone half-conscious.
“Keuk, keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk keuk . . . .
“······.”
“But nothing changes. After all, you will die here…”
Zerel frowned and pulled out the sword stuck in Dihod’s body.
It was because it seemed difficult to get a proper answer right away.
Zerel turned his head and looked back at Elika and Heron.
He did not mistake the priorities of work. The first priority was to get the two of them out of this dangerous place.
Saaa.
The pure white energy from Zerel’s hand formed a chain, and in an instant wrapped around Dihod’s whole body and tightly bound him.
It was the moment when Zerel, who grabbed Dihod by the back, was about to gesture to the two of them to come closer.
“······!”
Zerel hurriedly turned his head to the huge energy that suddenly fluctuated from one side.
At the same time, a crimson wave of blood hit the spot where Zer-El was standing.
Elika screamed at the sight.
“······ Sir Zerel!”
Fortunately, Zerel was unharmed when his energy went away and he reappeared. A white curtain stretched around him.
A level of destructive power that was on a completely different level from what Dihod had done a while ago.
Zerel stared at the barely cracked curtain with a stiff face, then turned his gaze to the direction of the surprise attack.
A grotesque-looking man with gray skin was standing there before he knew it. It was a demon.
