Chapter 205
Unlike Anisha, who was flustered by the appearance of a new lifeform, Jailo immediately recognized the small creature.
He had seen Kamang when Yulia brought her along the last time they played with Duke Persha!
[Buuh.]
Kamang, as if confirming that it was indeed him, enthusiastically waved his tiny arms at the child as if to greet him.
“You… you came here alone?”
[Ppu!]
Kamang vigorously nodded once and showed the tracking magic necklace around his neck, signaling that others would arrive soon.
However, Jailo didn’t understand the meaning and only gave Kamang a puzzled look, wondering why he was suddenly sticking out his belly.
[Buuh…….]
Kamang seemed unconcerned with Jailo not understanding, as if saying, I just have to protect you, and flew up to settle above Jailo’s head.
Thud! Thump!
[-Krr… kwaeng! Kkii…iiing!]
Meanwhile, the monster was fiercely fighting something. Jailo wondered if another monster had appeared…
‘Th-That… shadow?’
Looking closely, the monster was fighting its own shadow. The darkness made it hard to see clearly, but it was definitely a shadow.
[-Kkii…….]
In the end, the monster was bitten to death by its own shadow. Immediately, the trees surrounding them rapidly shrank and vanished.
Kkiiik.
After some time, the previously firmly closed door opened, and the man who had hidden his presence earlier stepped inside.
“……!”
The man paused as he took in the situation inside.
‘Why are the children still alive?’
His eyes, filled with surprise, scanned the area and landed on the dead monster, deepening his bewilderment.
“How…?”
The words slipped out unconsciously. It was truly an unexpected result. Although the magic stone he had thrown earlier created a D-rank Black Forest, these were just children.
He had thought D-rank would be sufficient. They were very young children who didn’t know the first thing about fighting.
‘But…’
The monster died?
He quickly scanned the surroundings. Was there a child with a sword or knife?
No, even if they had weapons, how could children under ten possibly kill a monster? It made no sense.
Furthermore, the monster’s wounds didn’t seem caused by a weapon. There were marks of being bitten by something sharp. Could multiple monsters have appeared and fought each other?
‘That doesn’t make sense either.’
If that were the case, the lone surviving monster should have attacked all the children. Moreover, there was no sign of another monster’s corpse.
‘…Could there have been a flaw in the monster summoning?’
Since the Black Forest was artificially created, he considered the possibility of some errors occurring.
“Tsk.”
Clicking his tongue lightly, the man drew another magic stone from his pocket—this time a C-rank Black Forest stone.
Thwack.
He threw the stone to the very center of the children’s location and immediately closed the door, stepping outside.
It would do him no good to stay there and risk being attacked by monsters. He wouldn’t be able to handle the monsters before the children were killed anyway.
Bang!
The door shut firmly once again. The children, recalling the previous events, began trembling. Was another Black Forest about to occur?
Fwaaah!
Sure enough, after a brief flash of bright light, black trees shot up and spread, covering the surroundings completely.
[-Shiiiii… shii……!]
“Ugh!”
“Wh-what is that now!”
Soon, the monster revealed itself. It was a gigantic snake, so enormous that its full size was hard to comprehend, slithering around cautiously.
Even just its flickering tongue seemed over a meter long. At first, it observed the surroundings warily, but upon realizing that the space was filled only with prey, it relaxed.
[Buuhuuuu-]
However, the moment the monster approached the children, a small lifeform’s cry filled the area—Kamang.
When the man had appeared, Kamang had hidden slightly in Jailo’s shadow, but as soon as the man vanished, he revealed himself again.
[-Kkiaaaaak!]
Sensing something unusual, the monster opened its mouth at Kamang’s cry, attempting to attack.
Gwaaaak!
[-Kkii… aaaaak!]
But the monster couldn’t move. Its own shadow had wrapped around its body, constricting it tightly.
Bwaang! Bang, bwaang!
The monster thrashed violently to escape, but the shadow remained immobile, tightening its grip even more.
“Uaaah!”
“Uh… uh…”
“Hic!”
The children trembled, huddling further into corners to distance themselves from the monster.
[-Kkii….]
Eventually, the monster collapsed. The black trees surrounding the area vanished quickly, just like before.
Kkiiik.
After a brief moment, the man reopened the door and stepped inside once more.
“……! Mi……!”
Madness!
Seeing the giant monster dead, the man gaped. While the D-rank Black Forest might have been a fluke, the second occurrence couldn’t be dismissed as an error!
“How on earth…!”
Who could have dealt with that massive monster?
The man scanned the area quickly. All he saw were children—trembling in fear, no one capable of handling a monster.
Sigh.
He exhaled a long breath, trying to calm his chaotic mind, and drew another magic stone.
This time, he would need to stay and watch the situation personally. There would be monster attacks, but he had to endure as much as possible.
Thwack.
He threw another C-rank Black Forest stone to the ground.
This was the last stone. If it failed again, he wouldn’t escape Master Veilx’s reprimand.
Snap.
“…!”
Just as he tensely waited for the stone to activate, his eyes widened.
A strange lifeform had swallowed the stone whole.
[Buuh…….]
Tastes awful…
“What… what are you!”
[Ppu!]
It was Kamang! He tried to answer, but there was no one around to understand, so Kamang just glared at the man.
Giving me this disgusting thing! I have to bite him a hundred times for him to learn!
“What are you, then!”
“And you… who are you?”
“…!”
The man, wary of Kamang, flinched at a sudden unfamiliar voice from behind. Turning quickly, his eyes widened.
‘That woman…!’
He recognized her. Who in the capital didn’t know her recently?
‘The owner of the Tamer artifact.’
It was Celes.
‘Why is she here?’
The man quickly stepped back and drew his sword, preparing to flee at the first opportunity.
He vaguely remembered hearing that she used a sword, but her skill was unknown. In any case, clashing with the owner of a Tamer artifact would be unwise.
Whoosh!
“Why? Trying to run?”
“…!”
But Celes moved faster. In an instant, she closed in on the man, pressing her sword against his chin.
“Kamang.”
[Ppu!]
At Celes’s call, Kamang fluttered over and landed atop her head.
Kwaaak!
“Ugh…!”
At that moment, the man felt something tightening all over his body, letting out a painful groan.
What… is this suddenly…?
‘…Shadow?!’
He had thought someone else was there, but looking down, he realized what was constricting him.
It was his own shadow. The man couldn’t comprehend the situation.
‘Is this also the power of the Tamer artifact?’
Shivering, he stared at Celes in astonishment.
“Was it you?”
Celes looked at the giant monster lying dead beside them.
“You… made this small Black Forest?”
The man only stared at her in confusion, saying nothing.
Celes clicked her tongue lightly at his silence and forcibly removed the mask he was wearing.
Bound by his shadow, the man could only clench his lips tightly.
Revealed, his face…
‘Hmm?’
…Why does this seem familiar?
Celes tilted her head, feeling she had seen this face somewhere before.
Where was it…?
“…Ah.”
She suddenly recalled where she had seen him.
“You’re…”
Celes gave a dumbfounded expression. She had seen him at the royal palace, standing beside the Emperor himself.
“This is absurd.”
The one who always shadowed the Emperor’s official schedule.
“Why is the Royal Guard Captain here?”
