BTCATL 24

24.

Dozens of small monsters burst out all at once from what we thought were cocoons.

Kallios frowned as he looked down at the swarm of monsters.

“So that’s why such a weak one wasn’t moving in a pack—it came here to lay eggs.”

“Kuweeek!”

“Kuek, kueeek!”

The monsters’ shrill cries pierced the air like they were tearing into our ears.

I instinctively tensed and looked at the two men. Neither of their faces showed a hint of tension.

Even with that many… they still think it’s nothing?

“What are you doing, not going?” Ledin urged.

Kallios grimaced.

“They’re tiny. I don’t want to get blood on me. It’s your request, so why don’t you take care of them?”

“Didn’t you just say you’d take care of it? Are you going to change your story in front of Asilla?”

Both their gazes turned toward me, still frozen and seated.

Kallios’s brow twitched. His burning red eyes locked onto mine.

How long did he look at me like that? With a rough ruffle of his short hair, he jumped down without a word.

Ledin, now looking somewhat relieved, sat beside me.

And just then, between the rising stench below, a clean, fresh scent reached my nose.

Ledin leaned his upper body toward me in a sudden motion.

Our faces were so close, I could hear his breath.

My eyes widened without meaning to.

Shining silver hair and vivid blue eyes filled my vision, and then the distance between us narrowed to the point where my nose nearly touched his chest.

I felt heat rise to my face.

Ledin, who had been looking elsewhere, froze when he realized I was practically in his arms.

“Ah, uh, no, I mean—”

Ledin, uncharacteristically stammering, quickly leaned back and showed me his outer robe.

“Blood… from the monster splashed this far…”

“Oh, right. Yes.”

I looked down toward where Kallios was swiftly cutting through the monsters.

With one fierce movement, blood sprayed high into the air.

So that’s how it reached us.

Thinking that, I gently placed my hand over my chest. There was a tickling sensation, like feathers brushing against me, which faded quickly.

What was that?

I blinked at the fading feeling.

When I turned my head to look at Ledin, he was gripping his ear and staring down, expression tense.

“What are you two doing?”

The voice from behind made my shoulders jolt reflexively.

Kallios stood leaning lazily against a tree trunk, looking completely uninterested.

His robe was gone, and he now wore lighter clothing.

As I stared at him blankly, I noticed something: the monsters’ ferocious cries were gone.

I looked down.

Not a single one remained alive.

The putrid stench that had filled the forest was gone, too.

I must have looked dumbfounded, because Kallios let out a short laugh.

“This much—you can handle it now, too.”

[That’s right, this is easy.]

[They may be unpleasant because they go against the laws of nature, but…]

[You can do it.]

[We can do it better than that man, Asilla.]

[If you need us, leave it to us.]

Even the butterflies, who usually complained or got angry whenever Kallios spoke, fluttered their wings in agreement this time.

I looked down again.

He had defeated that massive spider-like monster in seconds, and now he’d slaughtered dozens more in less than a few minutes.

Not a single one left.

And they say I can do that too?

“Asilla.”

I lifted my head.

Ledin, back to his usual calm expression, was looking at me.

“You’re strong. Forget who you were before you became a spiritist. Even without full control, you possess a power no one else can touch.”

His words—short, added with “I’m saying this because you seem to lack confidence in yourself”—planted a seed deep in my heart.

Lack of confidence in myself…

I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them.

A faint memory of a suppressed childhood passed through my mind.

Maybe it’s because I’ve lived like that all this time. Trapped in an environment where I couldn’t do anything on my own.

I felt the butterflies flutter down onto my shoulders.

Ledin’s words took root.

I am a spiritist.

I had repeated that to myself hundreds of times since I formed my contract with the butterflies—and I murmured it once more.

Let me believe in those who say I’m strong. I’m no longer a powerless woman being dragged around by the situation.

“…Thank you.”

Maybe Ledin didn’t mean much by it, but to me, it felt different.

Everything that’s happened since I met them feels like a ray of light slowly pulling me out of the decaying past that had taken root in my heart.

“…Ledin?”

“Ah, yes.”

When I called to him, staring blankly at me, Ledin snapped back to awareness. Kallios, too, seemed to return to himself.

“Let’s go. The monsters are taken care of, so the request’s complete.”

Kallios, back to normal first, suddenly picked me up without warning.

…Honestly, not surprising anymore.

After landing lightly and stepping down from his arms, I looked over the corpses of the massive monsters.

Nearby, the monsters’ eggs—what we thought were cocoons—were now just empty shells.

…Wait?

Please, please save my wife…

The marquis’s tearful plea before we entered the forest echoed in my mind.

“…Then, the people who went missing?”

“They’re dead,” Ledin said after a brief silence, eyes closed.

“Monsters about to lay eggs become extremely ravenous. We have to assume they’re all dead.” Kallios confirmed with the same conclusion.

Please, please save my wife…

The marquis’s voice crossed my mind again.

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

“…I see.”

Kallios let out a short sigh and slung an arm around my shoulders.

“Get used to it. You’ll see worse if you keep taking requests. At least you didn’t see the bodies.”

I knew this was his way of comforting me, so I nodded slowly without a word.

“Let’s head out of the forest.”

It was Ledin who finally broke the heavy mood with the order to return.

I looked down.

The monsters had eaten the people. Not even bodies remained. But even though it was the monsters who did it, a faint guilt stirred in my heart.

How far had we walked with that heavy feeling?

Something felt off.

Just when I was starting to think it was odd that Kallios and Ledin weren’t saying anything, I looked up—and saw no one.

The dense forest once surrounded by massive trees was gone.

All I could see now was a thick mist blanketing everything around me.

How likely was it for a natural fog so thick to suddenly appear that I couldn’t even tell where my companions had gone?

Practically impossible.

My mouth felt dry.

I called their names just in case, but there was no reply.

[Asilla.]

A butterfly landed on the back of my hand, its wings glowing deep crimson. The light scattering from its wings was stronger than usual.

[Something’s wrong.]

[Be careful.]

I felt the butterflies’ wariness clearly.

[This is a space we can’t fully enter.]

[The space is rejecting us.]

Only a few butterflies fluttered around me as if to shield me.

Rejecting spirits?

No. Nature never rejects spirits. Spirits are the embodiment of nature. It wouldn’t reject its own.

The answer came easily.

It was the fog.

Then… who created this fog?

…A monster.

Monsters ranked A to S are said to have special abilities.

If this is one of them—

There was no stench.

But every part of my mind screamed danger.

When something unnatural approaches, the needle turns red.

I recalled Ledin’s words from earlier and, with trembling hands, pulled the pocket watch from my waist.

Click.

“…”

I took a deep breath.

The needle glowed bright red, swinging wildly in all directions without settling.

No doubt.

It was a monster.

The fog. Splitting me off from Kallios and Ledin. All of it—done by the monster.

The ones in the forest weren’t just the giant spider and its offspring.

At least you didn’t see the bodies.

We hadn’t seen any bodies. Right. Where the monsters had been, there weren’t even signs of people—only those large eggs.

Even when people eat, they leave traces. Could a monster really consume people without leaving a single trace?

That monster wasn’t the one who killed them.

It must’ve been the one who created this fog.

Fine. So I figured that out.

Now what?

I swallowed hard.

Confused, I stopped walking.

No Ledin to give orders. No Kallios to assist.

And there wasn’t even a monster visible.

Only fog.

I stared at the grass below, trying desperately to think.

…Wait? Grass?

[Asilla!!!]

The butterflies’ voices grew faint.

How long had I been collapsed?

I tried desperately to keep my eyes open, but it was useless.

I can’t lose consciousness…

Darkness closed in.

And with a fading sense of distance—

Everything cut off.