3. Dragon’s Eye, Human Mind (40)
The 5th princess of the empire, Shien, was completely unconscious.
Anyone had to do that. Suddenly, explosions erupted in succession, and the surroundings quickly turned into a mess.
The sound of howling as he fell to the floor tore through the excited air. Waves of negative emotions swept over the princess as the injured continued to appear.
Horror that takes your breath away.
It was such an intense feeling that the princess stopped breathing for a moment. To be honest, she wasn’t used to such a sudden change of mood.
It was because Xian’s ‘eyes’ could read all kinds of emotions.
It wasn’t just human emotions. The princess could vaguely feel and understand the inner thoughts of anything with life.
Hostility and murder were no exception.
Therefore, no matter how unexpected the attack was, the princess should have noticed it in advance.
Even a little bit early, but she didn’t feel even a hint of hostility or intent to kill until the moment the cat exploded.
It was impossible.
No normal creature could have been so calm in the face of death. It was as if the cat masters had their bodies and emotions separated.
The princess’s body trembled naturally at the situation she was experiencing for the first time in her life.
Each time the explosions erupted, escort knights took their own shields one by one. If the escort hadn’t been reinforced, the princess wouldn’t have been able to guarantee her safety either.
The princess, recalling the future that might have approached, collapsed on the spot. In her trembling mind, someone’s back suddenly flashed.
A man with black hair and golden eyes.
He once advised the princess to increase her escort. The only emotion I could feel from the man who said that was genuine concern.
Could it be that the man foresaw this attack?
I was thinking, just in case. However, when the hypothesis was put into reality, the facts that had been questioned so far came into line one by one.
There was no clear reason. I just thought of the possibility that it might be.
That alone was enough to make the princess’ eyes go blank. As much as that, the idea had considerable persuasive power.
However, that question soon led to another question.
If so, what should I do?
The princess’s mouth shut tight as she recalled such a question.
So it didn’t work. No, it couldn’t have been. Even the imperial family was unaware of the raid, and there was no possibility that the second son of a rural viscount would have noticed it in advance.
How much more did he try to save the princess by sacrificing his reputation and sacrificing his surroundings?
It was strange.
The princess did not trust humans. All she believed in was desire.
I’ve never seen anyone get away with it. So Ian must have been the same.
Will you sacrifice yourself out of pure goodwill, without any desire, and save others?
It was a dream. The princess had to deny Ian’s good intentions so hard.
Then, it was Irene’s voice that awakened her spirit.
“Wow, Her Highness the Princess… You must flee.”
The shaking voice was representing Irene’s feelings. Her eyelids quivered.
It wasn’t the self-confident and dependable look of the past. However, Irene was trying to ensure the safety of the princess as much as possible, and the conclusion was to run away.
Since she was so distracted, the princess silently nodded.
Although some students were immediately responding, it took repeated training and numerous practical experiences to form a square against an unexpected raid.
I don’t know if someone knew the attack in advance and prepared for it, otherwise the likelihood of being sacrificed in the melee was too great.
You have to run away.
There was no mistake in Irene’s judgment, but there was only one point that bothered the princess.
When she leaves, the escort knights also leave.
Of course, there was no choice but to create a huge gap in power. Concerned that the damage to the academy students would increase, the princess’ steps hesitated.
However, to the escort knights, only the princess was important.
As they were dragged by their hands, the princess started to run away. Irene’s breathing was rough as she ran while holding the princess in her arms.
“Your Highness, there is an evacuation route in the basement of Berrata Palace. I will get out of there.”
It was primarily a message to the princess, but it was no different from an order given to the rest of the escort knights and maid.
Their heads nodded immediately. Until then, the princess hadn’t said anything.
Another loud noise rang out from behind. The screams full of resentment and the sharp noise of metal colliding pierced the princess’s eardrums like an awl.
The princess closed her eyes tightly, feeling that their feelings would be visible again if she opened her eyes.
This place was hell.
**
There were a few things I realized while leaving the battlefield and heading towards the academy.
First, the monsters attacking the procession were the main force, but the number of monsters targeting the academy was not to be overlooked.
It was the same even if you just looked at the beings running towards the academy right away.
Countless cat beasts were running at full speed, stretching out their limbs. Among them, there was an individual that suddenly emerged from an alleyway and attacked passers-by.
Of course, those guys had to face death as soon as I saw them.
Second, the Witchbeasts didn’t just stay around the procession. He disguised himself as a stray cat and hid all over the city.
No matter how fast they escaped, it was a structure in which they had no choice but to run into a few monsters along the way.
Because of that, some students had to gather in small numbers and face the cat beasts.
However, the number of cat demons was large, so the more the battle was delayed, the more demons who joined. The chances of losing one’s life were too great.
I don’t know, but I didn’t know that there might have been deaths already.
In particular, I was more worried because most of the students who ran away were in the lower grades or non-combatants. I had to spur the ground with all my might in my nervousness.
It seemed that the effort was not in vain.
After killing several monsters, I saw a group of presumed academy students as I ran towards the academy.
They were dealing with cat witches.
Quite a bit of time had passed since the battle had already begun, and their expressions showed signs of exhaustion. Even so, the cat masters were constantly being recruited.
It was an outcall.
The time for new cat beasts to join the battle was faster than the time it took to defeat the cat beasts. Their faces were dark as they pictured a bleak future.
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Just then, a cat beast kicked off the ground and jumped up.
A nimble leap unsuitable for that gigantic body, the man the Witchbeast was aiming for already had no energy to deal with another Witchbeast.
If I left it like this, I would surely die.
Even before that decision was made, my arms were already flying in the air like a spinal cord reflex.
A beam of light was fired with the sound of a bang and the anti-elastic force hitting the air.
It was a terrifying breakthrough.
A silver straight line penetrating the stopped time hit the forehead of the cat master who had reached its apex. The sound of breaking bones resounded.
Brains splattered with blood. As the cat beasts floated in the air and jumped backwards, the eyes of the party facing the beasts blankly turned to me.
Regardless, I had already pulled out my sword.
It seems that the beasts’ instincts pointed me directly to me as a person of interest.
The eyes of the cat beasts who were stealthily aiming for an opening in the party all turned to me. And immediately, a witch baring its teeth and charging at me.
After that, there were two monsters rushing at me. It was then that the hatchet returned, lodged in the forehead of the first victim.
With a snap, the hatchet hit the back of the head of the cat witch who was running in front.
The Witchbeast immediately let out a desperate cry and fell face down. The cat witches who followed him were embarrassed and had no choice but to jump over the body.
The cost of acrobatics during battle was devastating.
My aura-covered sword cut the head of one of the demon beasts. Blood gushed out from the head split on both sides, and an untimely bloody rain fell.
The slammed skull spilled out its contents. Only then did one of the cat beasts, which had just landed, lash out at me with evil.
However, it was after I dug into the arms of the cat master.
As I leaned back, the cat’s arm naturally rested on my shoulder. I used that power to defeat the cat’s beast.
With a thump, the cat demon twisted its entire body and screamed.
The spine is crushed. I decided to put an end to the pain of the cat biting the crab foam.
The blade was lodged in the neck of the beast.
Right after that, the pure white bubbles that had bubbling from the Witchbeast’s mouth were stained with blood.
A dying spasm testified that a spark of life was dying out.
When the blade was pulled out, there was a push, and blood spurted out, and the corpse trembled one last time. It’s been a long time since my body was warmed with the blood of the demon.
The eyes of the party who were facing the beasts were directed at me as if they were nailed to them. It seemed that I even felt fear at my inaction, which had subdued three demon beasts at once.
But that didn’t work. Because the battle wasn’t over yet.
As they stared blankly at me, two little cats jumped up behind them. And his body began to grow in an instant.
“Get down!”
Despite shouting like that, they only made a confused sound. I cursed inwardly and threw down the sword in my hand.
The spinning blade snapped and lodged in the skull of one of the cat beasts. However, there was still one left, so I had to push one of the students with the same momentum as I was running.
The exposed teeth were brutal. I had no choice but to give up a room.
So I decided to lift my biceps.
The sound of bones rubbing against each other ran down my spine. My teeth gritted from the intense pain.
As if throwing it away, I threw away the cat’s clutches that had bitten my arm. Even though I heard a shocking sound, the cat witch didn’t let go of my arm until the end.
So I jumped right on top of the lying cat. My fist struck the face of the cat beast several times.
The magic-enhanced swordsman’s punches were more like hammer strikes.
Pak, blood and flesh flew through the air whenever a harsh blow sounded. It didn’t take even a minute for the face of the cat’s witch to completely collapse.
The eyes of the cat witch who could not overcome the pressure were protruding. The cat’s jaw muscles, which had been trembling, finally spat out my arm.
It was a mess.
It wasn’t to the extent that I couldn’t use my arms, but if I applied strength, it would convulse. I poured a bottle of healing potion I had prepared just in case on my arm.
The flesh itself quickly filled up.
It’s still a problem because the muscles aren’t getting enough strength, so I grumbled and retrieved the sword and hand ax that had been stuck in the beast’s corpse.
There were already two injuries that hinder movement today.
It was doubtful whether he would be able to deal with the true power of the Dark Church that was aiming for the princess. I stored the sword in the scabbard, and my arm holding the hatchet was shaking.
So I had a gloomy look for a while. Then, it was at that time that he suddenly remembered the existence of the party facing the demons.
My gaze naturally turned to the party. And a courteous greeting followed.
“Hey, you guys are fine… … .”
“… … Why did you save it?”
The reaction of a person wearing a life preserver was quite novel.
It was like he was glaring at me with an expression of resentment, with his fists clenched.
My expression went blank in an instant.
Even more surprising was that it wasn’t just one person doing it. The party was biting their lips or avoiding my gaze, but the curious heat in their eyes was the same.
The true nature of that feeling was soon revealed.
“Ooh, we… We bullied you and your friends! But why did you save us?! Giving up one of your arms!”
It was animosity created by a mix of shame, regret, and guilt.
As the feeling of sorry reached its peak, it was rather discharged into anger.
The reality that their lives were saved by the person they had been harassing all this time was haunting them. After staring blankly at them for a moment, I smiled bitterly.
As I looked back at my memory, I remembered.
The guys who threw Leto in the trash and giggled through the back alleys, it was a funny relationship.
I have only one word to give them back.
“That, you could just leave it alone… Are you thinking of making us miserable?! Ooh, we already did you a big mistake… … !”
Knock, the sound of a blunt object being lodged in the nape of the neck.
As if the back side of a hatchet was wrapped around it, it struck the man near the back of the neck. The man’s eyes shook violently, and soon his body fell to the ground.
Now it was his party’s turn to look stupid.
Receiving that questioning gaze, I smiled slightly.
“… … It went well, hey.”
He could not have confessed his sins voluntarily, and this was not enough to be regarded as an exemplary prisoner.
It didn’t take long for the party’s eyes to be stained with fear.
Somehow the princess feelings progression are forced.