~Chapter 91~
Luckily, Camarin’s control worked.
“Grrroar—!!”
The bear monster moved more slowly than before. Thanks to Camarin desperately holding back the monster’s mind and body, it was easier to dodge its attacks.
Taking that chance, Amel drank a muscle-strengthening potion. Normally, this potion was more useful against people than monsters, but she needed it to make up for her lack of strength and speed.
With her body feeling lighter, Amel ran with all her might. She gained speed and put more distance between herself and the bear. She needed to either team up with Leon or defeat the monster somehow.
“Lady!”
“……!”
But Leon wasn’t alone. Amel saw a strange man with him and immediately stopped, watching the man carefully.
The man took off his hat and spoke.
“This is an urgent situation, so I’ll explain later. Lady Winterfall, you must come down the mountain now.”
“Who are you and how do you know me?”
“I am Jose, an informant under Duke Bellerophon. I can prove it, but please, you have to hurry down the mountain…”
“Did you say the Duke?”
Hearing the name Christan made Amel’s suspicion fade a bit, but she still looked at Jose warily.
‘Last time the Pegasus Knights came… Why do people related to the Duke keep showing up for me?’
She thought that, if this happened often, someone could pretend to use Christan’s name. She needed to be careful and filter such people out.
Seeing Amel’s hesitation, Jose spoke nervously.
“We really don’t have time for this! The monster could show up at any second! You must leave this mountain as soon as possible—”
“Ah, well…”
At the word “monster,” Amel turned around. At that moment, she heard a beast roar. The bear monster jumped down from a rocky cliff. Camarin, floating in the air, said,
『If you’re talking about a monster, it’s already here. Oh, not me, though.』
Jose’s face went pale, but he quickly drew a dagger. White aura covered the short blade. As Christan’s informant, Jose seemed to be a Sword Master too.
“I’ll hold it off here. Lady Winterfall, you and the young man must go fetch His Grace the Duke. He’s staying at a nearby inn.”
“Leon, go and bring His Grace.”
Amel and Jose fought the bear monster, attacking with sword energy and potions. Leon was supposed to fetch Christan, but he couldn’t leave during his first battle against such a monster.
‘So that’s aura…’
The bear swung its front paw at Jose, but he used his charged aura to block it. Since the bear always attacked with its front paws, he thought he could handle it.
But then—
“……?!”
Suddenly, the bear opened its mouth and a huge swarm of bees poured out. Just hitting the bees could have been deadly.
But Jose had just used his aura to defend himself, so he couldn’t block or dodge the bee attack. Amel threw him a defensive potion, but—
“Urgh!”
Jose managed to avoid a fatal wound but was knocked back.
“Are you all right?!”
Leon rushed over. Jose nodded, but it seemed his right arm bone was cracked. He couldn’t fight anymore.
Seeing this, Leon hesitated for a moment, then drew his own sword and said,
“Please, fetch His Grace the Duke. I’ll handle the monster.”
“What?”
Amel was shocked. How could Leon, who wasn’t even a knight yet, take on the bear?
“Don’t worry. I have something I can trust.”
With that, Leon charged at the bear. Amel wanted to throw him her extra muscle-strengthening potion, but she was afraid it might hit the bear instead. But—
The bear focused only on Leon after he joined the fight.
Because Amel was just throwing potions from a distance, and Leon seemed like an easier opponent to face up close, the bear ignored Amel for now.
But Leon didn’t give in easily. He blocked with his left leg, blocked with his right, and dodged the bee attacks quickly. Without relying on aura, his movements were more flexible. The confused bear let out a wild roar.
“Grooaaar—!!”
Angry, the bear raised its paw to attack Leon, but Leon didn’t dodge. He remembered what he felt while watching Jose fight just before.
A familiar but unfamiliar feeling, resonance with a unique opponent. In that moment of realization, Leon held his sword flat in front of him.
“……!”
Energy that had been swirling in his chest rushed up. He gathered all the flow of power into his sword.
Whoosh—
Finally, a brown aura covered his sword. The surging aura made the sword heavy, but it was enough to block the bear’s paw. The bear, surprised, pushed harder, but even that contest of strength was equal.
“Leon…! Did you really become a Master…?”
Amel watched in shock and asked. Leon gave a shy smile and backed away a little.
“Somehow, I did it. Now I can finish off that bear…”
Just then, as Leon stepped back, he felt something under his foot. It looked like an ordinary rock, but it was a magic stone engraved with spells.
“Huh?”
Bad feelings are rarely wrong. Under Leon’s foot, a huge magic circle began to shine. It glowed a scary red, just like the one Amel saw earlier.
“What?!”
Even Jose, who had checked the mountain before, was surprised. This magic circle was different because it only appeared when certain magic stones were triggered, so he hadn’t noticed it.
In any case, there was no way this could be a helpful magic circle. Leon turned around, feeling something eerie. He saw the air twisting unnaturally.
“Don’t just stand there—move!”
Finally, Leon jumped out of the way. At the same time, a deep crack split the air with a loud sound. It looked like a broken mirror.
“A broken rift…”
Jose murmured in shock. Amel hesitated for a moment, then threw a poison potion at the bear and shouted to Leon,
“Leon! I’ll fight the bear, so before more monsters come out, break the rift! Only aura can destroy a broken rift—you’re the only one who can do it!”
“Y-yes, I understand!”
In the end, they each had to fight their own battle. Camarin put his control on the other side of the rift to keep monsters from coming through, so his hold on the bear grew weaker. The bear moved much faster, and Amel broke out in a sweat.
As a top-tier monster, the bear couldn’t be beaten with just a few hits. But knowing its end was near, the bear grew more desperate.
At last, Amel took a real hit from the bear.
“Aah!”
It was the most pain she’d ever felt, but it was too soon to collapse. Luckily, only her left arm was hurt, but she could still throw potions with her other hand.
Meanwhile, Leon still hadn’t destroyed the rift.
Even though it was called a rift, slashing at empty air felt awkward. So, on his first try, he wasted his aura. He needed to recharge to gather enough aura to break the rift.
While that happened, Amel threw a fire potion at the bear. The potion instantly set the bear on fire.
The burning bear went wild. Amel stared at the sight, frozen.
A primal fear took over her body. Even though she was close enough to get caught in the fire, she couldn’t move.
“…….”
Just then, Leon finished recharging his aura and covered his sword with it. At the same time, the bear opened its jaws wide, ready to spit out a burning swarm of bees one last time. Leon, swinging his sword at the rift, noticed Amel’s situation and flinched.
‘Lady!’
It was a critical moment, but for some reason, Amel just stood there, unable to move, staring at the flames.
If he changed direction now and covered her with his aura, he could save her.
But while he hesitated, his sword had already reached the point of no return.
Boom—!!
The sword and the rift collided, the flames and something else clashed with a thunderous sound. Thick smoke and sparks filled the air, and through it, the shadows of two people appeared.
