The setting sun made it difficult to see, but it was alright since they could judge by smell and energy.
Bang!
He thrust his sword into the ground and channeled his energy. Then he began to dig into the ground with wind magic. At the same time, he used fire and iron magic. The hot molten iron seeped into the ground as if melting.
Screech!
An unpleasant sound like scraping iron leaked from the ground.
Bang! Boom!
The members started capturing the beasts that sprang up using magic and swords.
Felix hardened his expression upon identifying the type of beast. It was a herd-moving beast, so it was going to be more troublesome than expected as he swiftly slashed at the beasts that jumped out.
Sylvia, mounted on the horse, watched them fight from afar.
[Sylvia, it’s okay. I’ll protect you!]
Eryngium, who had been in her robe from the beginning, peeked out its face and shouted. The sight of its purple-blue hair under its eyes made her smile. Her fingers, stiff with tension, felt slightly relaxed.
“Yes, I’m counting on you.”
She tensed her lips and didn’t blink. The darkening forest worried her as the Croban mercenary group was capturing the beasts.
Neigh.
Then, suddenly, the horse neighed and raised its front legs high.
“Whoa?”
Although she didn’t fall backward because she kept holding onto the handle, the condition of the horse, moving as if jumping in place, was not normal.
Sylvia looked around.
She caught the ground wriggling.
“What’s this?”
The ground itself couldn’t move, so it must be magic or a beast…
Given the situation, it was more likely to be a beast.
[Sylvia! I smell a beast!]
“Eryngium!”
She raised her voice in surprise. She knew well that the fairy couldn’t be of much help, but having it by her side felt somewhat comforting.
“Sylvia!”
Because he had been vigilantly watching her direction, Felix agilely noticed and turned to run towards her. Cutting through the beasts that sprang forth and wearing their blood, he flew with wind magic.
“Miss Sylvia!”
At the same time, Dennis, who was nearby, also moved.
Sylvia couldn’t even scream, just holding onto the saddle handle.
Then, what seemed to be the mother beast, protecting its young, crawled out from a deep tunnel.
Gyaaaaak.
The sound it made was terrifying.
Sylvia ended up facing numerous beasts that sprung forth. The bizarrely many-legged beast rushed at her, making a hissing sound.
With a face gone pale, Sylvia screamed as loudly as she could.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Sylviaaa!”
Towards the beasts that jumped as high as the horse, Sylvia instinctively sent her magic into the magic circle. Tears fell without her knowing.
“No, no, no!”
She moved one arm as if to strike. The magic circles hidden all over her body, starting from her slightly exposed wrist, activated. The most familiar magic to her, used just like in cooking, fire, water, wind, and ice magic, activated.
In the middle of the dark forest, a golden light appeared and quickly vanished. The beasts rushing from all directions were burned by fire, torn by wind, boiled by water, and frozen by ice.
“Aaaaaah! I really hate this!”
She closed her eyes and flailed her arms, continuously using magic. A vast amount of magic power kept flowing, breaking the surrounding trees into pieces and blowing them away with the wind. Dennis, who was running towards her, quickly moved his feet to dodge the flying trees.
“Miss Sylvia?”
“Aah! Cockroaches! Aaaaaah! I hate it, I hate it!”
Sylvia was out of her mind at the sight of a beast that looked exactly like the cockroaches she hated most in the world and wished would disappear. Their eyes met when it jumped out. And its long antennae slightly touched her cheek.
That touch completely made Sylvia lose her senses, unaware of what magic she was casting or the vast magic circle she was activating.
Bang! Bang!
Surrounding her in a circle, all the nearby trees and rocks rolled and fell, cut and repeated. The members were astonished, but they had to face the approaching giant mother beast.
Felix was more worried about Sylvia’s condition than her using magic.
There had never been a time when he felt such aversion to something, so irritation welled up inside him. She had been using magic too recklessly.
If this continued, not only would Sylvia be in danger, but the members of the party could end up being more at risk than the demonic beasts. According to his judgement, among those present, excluding Felix, there was no one with a higher magical power than Sylvia.
“Sylvia!”
Felix, who had flown to her using wind magic, climbed onto the back of the horse while wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
“It’s okay.”
Sylvia, who had been shivering with her eyes closed, called out to Felix with a sob in her voice upon hearing his soothing words near her ear.
“Fel, Felix. Sob, I, I really hate, cockroaches!”
There had been a time when a street cockroach had entered her home. Sylvia had jumped in fright at the sight of the cockroach, larger than her thumb, and had run out of the house.
But thumb my foot, since when were there cockroaches as big as hunting dogs!
The sight of her trembling with fear was pitiful yet also somewhat cute, causing Felix to crack a smile. The fact that she looked so adorable while trembling in fear without seeing the mess she had made was enough to irritate him.
‘Why is she so cute? But why am I getting annoyed?’
Felix didn’t know that seeing someone being overly cute could also be annoying. Thus, he was convinced that all his irritation was because of the filthy demonic beasts.
He lifted her with one arm and took off into the air with the wind.
Facing the charging monster from afar, Felix channeled magical power into all the rings he wore, every accessory, and his sword.
All the items he possessed were treasures of the royal family made with the power of the Black Dragon. He had never once unleashed all his magical power at the same time. As he grew up, he realized that the magnitude of his power was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
Thus, he had kept it hidden.
He hadn’t even informed his subordinates.
He thought he would probably never have to show it in his lifetime.
Sylvia suddenly felt as if all strength was leaving her body, feeling as though her magic was flowing into Felix, her fingers twitching slightly. As her eyelids began to droop, Felix whispered in her ear.
“Just sleep for a bit.”
Hearing his reassuring voice, Sylvia let her guard down and passed out. She did not hear the following loud noise.
Having reached their destination on horseback, the Croban mercenaries quickly set up tents, pushing aside any thoughts of the terrifying magic they had just witnessed.
They hurriedly set up the Captain’s tent first for Sylvia, who was unconscious in Felix’s arms. Felix supported her with one arm, letting her lean on him, while he held the area from her back to her neck with his hand.
The atmosphere hadn’t fully calmed down yet, with energies fluctuating. Without smoothing out his menacing expression, he stood tall like a tree with deep roots, staring down the task of setting up the tent.
His mere gaze made the mercenaries sweat profusely as they hurried.
“Captain, it’s all set up. Please, go in and rest.”
As soon as his personal tent was ready, Felix quickly went inside and laid Sylvia on his bed. Her pale face looked so pitiful. He cleaned Sylvia with water and wind magic.
He pressed the gem attached to the inside of his armor. The armor disassembled itself and disappeared into a void. Leaving his sword by the bedside, Felix also cleansed his body with magic.
He moved Sylvia’s body to a more comfortable position. Then, he noticed her sleeve was torn. He gently grasped her wrist. Through the tear in the sleeve, a magic circle was visible.
Softly, as if under a spell, he rolled up her sleeve, revealing various magic circles drawn up her arm to her forearm.
“What is this?”
He darted his eyes around in confusion, checking the magic circles. Carefully rolling up the other sleeve as well, Eryngium flew to his shoulder and sat there.
[Sylvia had the magic circles engraved on her body. There are many more in other places.]
“Other… places?”
[Yes, on her thighs, on her shoulders…]
Felix’s brows quivered slightly. He couldn’t understand why she had the magic circles engraved directly on her body.
He was clueless about how she managed to engrave magic circles on herself. It was so unfamiliar that he could only blink his eyes, inadvertently letting his gaze slide from her shoulder down to her thigh.
“Ah…”
Surprised by his own action, he hurriedly averted his gaze. Covering his eyes with one hand, Clover flew around him, fluttering and asking.
[Why is your face red? Are you hurt?]
[Why do you feel this way?]
The fairies, empathizing with his emotions, became restless because it was strange for them to feel heat rising to their own faces. Felix awkwardly rubbed the nape of his neck, which had grown hot.
“I don’t know either…”
Why he felt this way was beyond him. Seeing her asleep like this, he just wanted to lie down beside her, disregarding everything else. Leaving behind his subordinates, who were pacing outside with worry for Sylvia, Felix took a spot next to her and laid down at length.
He gently cradled Sylvia’s head, which had rolled onto his shoulder, making her lean against him comfortably, and sighed deeply as he closed his eyes.
The sound of his heart beating a little faster was pleasant to hear.
The setting sun made it difficult to see, but it was alright since they could judge by smell and energy.
Bang!
He thrust his sword into the ground and channeled his energy. Then he began to dig into the ground with wind magic. At the same time, he used fire and iron magic. The hot molten iron seeped into the ground as if melting.
Screech!
An unpleasant sound like scraping iron leaked from the ground.
Bang! Boom!
The members started capturing the beasts that sprang up using magic and swords.
Felix hardened his expression upon identifying the type of beast. It was a herd-moving beast, so it was going to be more troublesome than expected as he swiftly slashed at the beasts that jumped out.
Sylvia, mounted on the horse, watched them fight from afar.
[Sylvia, it’s okay. I’ll protect you!]
Eryngium, who had been in her robe from the beginning, peeked out its face and shouted. The sight of its purple-blue hair under its eyes made her smile. Her fingers, stiff with tension, felt slightly relaxed.
“Yes, I’m counting on you.”
She tensed her lips and didn’t blink. The darkening forest worried her as the Croban mercenary group was capturing the beasts.
Neigh.
Then, suddenly, the horse neighed and raised its front legs high.
“Whoa?”
Although she didn’t fall backward because she kept holding onto the handle, the condition of the horse, moving as if jumping in place, was not normal.
Sylvia looked around.
She caught the ground wriggling.
“What’s this?”
The ground itself couldn’t move, so it must be magic or a beast…
Given the situation, it was more likely to be a beast.
[Sylvia! I smell a beast!]
“Eryngium!”
She raised her voice in surprise. She knew well that the fairy couldn’t be of much help, but having it by her side felt somewhat comforting.
“Sylvia!”
Because he had been vigilantly watching her direction, Felix agilely noticed and turned to run towards her. Cutting through the beasts that sprang forth and wearing their blood, he flew with wind magic.
“Miss Sylvia!”
At the same time, Dennis, who was nearby, also moved.
Sylvia couldn’t even scream, just holding onto the saddle handle.
Then, what seemed to be the mother beast, protecting its young, crawled out from a deep tunnel.
Gyaaaaak.
The sound it made was terrifying.
Sylvia ended up facing numerous beasts that sprung forth. The bizarrely many-legged beast rushed at her, making a hissing sound.
With a face gone pale, Sylvia screamed as loudly as she could.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
“Sylviaaa!”
Towards the beasts that jumped as high as the horse, Sylvia instinctively sent her magic into the magic circle. Tears fell without her knowing.
“No, no, no!”
She moved one arm as if to strike. The magic circles hidden all over her body, starting from her slightly exposed wrist, activated. The most familiar magic to her, used just like in cooking, fire, water, wind, and ice magic, activated.
In the middle of the dark forest, a golden light appeared and quickly vanished. The beasts rushing from all directions were burned by fire, torn by wind, boiled by water, and frozen by ice.
“Aaaaaah! I really hate this!”
She closed her eyes and flailed her arms, continuously using magic. A vast amount of magic power kept flowing, breaking the surrounding trees into pieces and blowing them away with the wind. Dennis, who was running towards her, quickly moved his feet to dodge the flying trees.
“Miss Sylvia?”
“Aah! Cockroaches! Aaaaaah! I hate it, I hate it!”
Sylvia was out of her mind at the sight of a beast that looked exactly like the cockroaches she hated most in the world and wished would disappear. Their eyes met when it jumped out. And its long antennae slightly touched her cheek.
That touch completely made Sylvia lose her senses, unaware of what magic she was casting or the vast magic circle she was activating.
Bang! Bang!
Surrounding her in a circle, all the nearby trees and rocks rolled and fell, cut and repeated. The members were astonished, but they had to face the approaching giant mother beast.
Felix was more worried about Sylvia’s condition than her using magic.
There had never been a time when he felt such aversion to something, so irritation welled up inside him. She had been using magic too recklessly.
If this continued, not only would Sylvia be in danger, but the members of the party could end up being more at risk than the demonic beasts. According to his judgement, among those present, excluding Felix, there was no one with a higher magical power than Sylvia.
“Sylvia!”
Felix, who had flown to her using wind magic, climbed onto the back of the horse while wrapping his arms around her shoulders.
“It’s okay.”
Sylvia, who had been shivering with her eyes closed, called out to Felix with a sob in her voice upon hearing his soothing words near her ear.
“Fel, Felix. Sob, I, I really hate, cockroaches!”
There had been a time when a street cockroach had entered her home. Sylvia had jumped in fright at the sight of the cockroach, larger than her thumb, and had run out of the house.
But thumb my foot, since when were there cockroaches as big as hunting dogs!
The sight of her trembling with fear was pitiful yet also somewhat cute, causing Felix to crack a smile. The fact that she looked so adorable while trembling in fear without seeing the mess she had made was enough to irritate him.
‘Why is she so cute? But why am I getting annoyed?’
Felix didn’t know that seeing someone being overly cute could also be annoying. Thus, he was convinced that all his irritation was because of the filthy demonic beasts.
He lifted her with one arm and took off into the air with the wind.
Facing the charging monster from afar, Felix channeled magical power into all the rings he wore, every accessory, and his sword.
All the items he possessed were treasures of the royal family made with the power of the Black Dragon. He had never once unleashed all his magical power at the same time. As he grew up, he realized that the magnitude of his power was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
Thus, he had kept it hidden.
He hadn’t even informed his subordinates.
He thought he would probably never have to show it in his lifetime.
Sylvia suddenly felt as if all strength was leaving her body, feeling as though her magic was flowing into Felix, her fingers twitching slightly. As her eyelids began to droop, Felix whispered in her ear.
“Just sleep for a bit.”
Hearing his reassuring voice, Sylvia let her guard down and passed out. She did not hear the following loud noise.
Having reached their destination on horseback, the Croban mercenaries quickly set up tents, pushing aside any thoughts of the terrifying magic they had just witnessed.
They hurriedly set up the Captain’s tent first for Sylvia, who was unconscious in Felix’s arms. Felix supported her with one arm, letting her lean on him, while he held the area from her back to her neck with his hand.
The atmosphere hadn’t fully calmed down yet, with energies fluctuating. Without smoothing out his menacing expression, he stood tall like a tree with deep roots, staring down the task of setting up the tent.
His mere gaze made the mercenaries sweat profusely as they hurried.
“Captain, it’s all set up. Please, go in and rest.”
As soon as his personal tent was ready, Felix quickly went inside and laid Sylvia on his bed. Her pale face looked so pitiful. He cleaned Sylvia with water and wind magic.
He pressed the gem attached to the inside of his armor. The armor disassembled itself and disappeared into a void. Leaving his sword by the bedside, Felix also cleansed his body with magic.
He moved Sylvia’s body to a more comfortable position. Then, he noticed her sleeve was torn. He gently grasped her wrist. Through the tear in the sleeve, a magic circle was visible.
Softly, as if under a spell, he rolled up her sleeve, revealing various magic circles drawn up her arm to her forearm.
“What is this?”
He darted his eyes around in confusion, checking the magic circles. Carefully rolling up the other sleeve as well, Eryngium flew to his shoulder and sat there.
[Sylvia had the magic circles engraved on her body. There are many more in other places.]
“Other… places?”
[Yes, on her thighs, on her shoulders…]
Felix’s brows quivered slightly. He couldn’t understand why she had the magic circles engraved directly on her body.
He was clueless about how she managed to engrave magic circles on herself. It was so unfamiliar that he could only blink his eyes, inadvertently letting his gaze slide from her shoulder down to her thigh.
“Ah…”
Surprised by his own action, he hurriedly averted his gaze. Covering his eyes with one hand, Clover flew around him, fluttering and asking.
[Why is your face red? Are you hurt?]
[Why do you feel this way?]
The fairies, empathizing with his emotions, became restless because it was strange for them to feel heat rising to their own faces. Felix awkwardly rubbed the nape of his neck, which had grown hot.
“I don’t know either…”
Why he felt this way was beyond him. Seeing her asleep like this, he just wanted to lie down beside her, disregarding everything else. Leaving behind his subordinates, who were pacing outside with worry for Sylvia, Felix took a spot next to her and laid down at length.
He gently cradled Sylvia’s head, which had rolled onto his shoulder, making her lean against him comfortably, and sighed deeply as he closed his eyes.
The sound of his heart beating a little faster was pleasant to hear.
