Chapter 13
A gust of wind blows, and the monster flies away. The young girl, Freesia, thought the sudden turn of events was just that. But no. The presence of the woman holding a sword emitting a dense light in front of Freesia immediately overwhelmed the air.
Red liquid spurting out and white hair fluttering. Clenching them tightly, her eyes gleam with anticipation.
“Madam Gondyu…?”
Priscia’s sister, the woman who recently captivated her heart, carried a large sword and swiftly beheaded the monster with a single stroke, possessing a beauty fit for a fairy tale.
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Priscia.”
Alicia, who rescued Priscia from danger, repeated her apologies. The grim surroundings were vivid in Alicia’s eyes. Corpses scattered like fallen leaves. One was Edel, who had just lost his life, and the other two were their parents.
“Sorry for being late… Sorry for not saving you.”
Alicia’s apology was not just for Priscia. She was speaking to the countless villagers who had become corpses.
Alicia did not shed tears. She believed that crying while witnessing their deaths would be mocking. Instead, her eyes were filled with determination. Oil poured into her eyes, burning like flames.
Crunch, crunch. The sound of dried grass being trampled could be heard all around. In the vast open space where their comrades’ deaths were witnessed, crimson monsters swiftly gathered.
Alicia, holding the sword, raised her momentum. Her movements were resolute without hesitation. This might be her last stand. She might actually die. Though such thoughts crossed her mind, she moved her body even faster to shake them off.
Zing!
Alicia systematically cut down the monsters crossing her path. One by one, heads fell to the ground with a thud. The vibrations emanating from Alicia’s sword rang out.
One, then another. The necks of the monsters invading their territory fell to the ground.
At first glance, it seemed like Alicia was holding her own, but upon closer inspection, her consecutive movements were rough. Rather than her usual flexibility and gentleness, each movement was filled with excessive force, draining her body.
Even now.
“Ugh…!”
After defeating one monster, Alicia failed to transition smoothly and was pierced in the side by the tentacle of another monster standing beside her.
Alicia endured the pain. Slashing the tentacle, she then lunged forward and beheaded her enemy.
[Kruk.][Clang!][Krrrk.][Creak?][Krrr⎯]
The unsettling sounds of killing them grew louder in her ears. What initially seemed like a dozen monsters now surrounded her by the dozens.
Alicia did not stop moving. She faced every enemy converging around Priscia. She did not make more than two moves against one foe. The speed at which they swarmed her, like insects, was too fast. If she spent more movements than necessary, Priscia and her bloodline would be exposed to danger.
Thunk. This time, Alicia’s rib was broken. She was struck by a monster’s blow. Nonetheless, she continued her movements without pause, trampling over the fallen monster’s body and leaping forward.
Thud. Once again, a tentacle from each side of Alicia pierced a leg. She swiftly cut them off and charged, but with diminishing speed and force. As time passed, Alicia’s defended radius shrank, and the monsters closed in.
“Gah, ugh…!”
The monster eventually reached Priscia, who was struggling to escape with her mouth covered by her hands.
Alicia understood the meaning of that action. She, too, had experienced a similar moment in her younger days. She recalled the moment she watched her sister’s final moments, gasping for air in a narrow warehouse.
Thwack! Gathering magic at her feet, Alicia leaped through the air towards Priscia. It was an instinctive movement, driven by her senses rather than judgment or consciousness.
…!
Yet Alicia’s desperation did not reach Priscia.
Crunch. The monster accurately caught Alicia in mid-air. Its large teeth began to devour Alicia.
Thud. Bones shattered. An indescribable pain spread throughout her body. She wanted to scream in agony.
Alicia bit down harder, pushing her sword into the monster’s eye. Despite lacking precision or strength, she easily pierced through. It was the only vulnerable spot that could be reached even with an unsteady sword. It was only natural for the sword to penetrate when the eye was targeted.
The monster spat out Alicia, who was being chewed, screaming in pain. Clang. Covered in saliva and blood, she fell lifelessly.
Her legs… no longer moved. Only her hands could move. Struggling to crawl towards Priscia, she soon ceased even that effort.
The monster voraciously devoured something grotesquely, as if eating a delicious meal. Blood smeared around its mouth.
Squelch. The sound of fragile bones being chewed.
Alicia could no longer lift her head and bowed down.
Trembling muscles and an unknown sensation flooded her body, as if the brain’s constraints had been lifted in that moment.
Alicia once again faced death.
***
“Oh my… Thank you, my lovely lady. Thanks to you, things went smoothly. Huh? What’s wrong?”
Alicia grabbed the village chief’s shoulder, preventing him from taking action. Through repeated learning, she knew that actions spoke louder than a few words.
A stronger force than all the shocks that had come before now permeates through her entire body. Originating from her brain, it torments her whole body through the nerves. However, Alicia considered herself fortunate to feel this pain now. The last time wasn’t the end. Another opportunity had arisen.
Carefully surveying the situation, she feels something. The unique mana energy that had been circulating in her body has completely vanished. This time, it is distinctly different from the other deaths.
She regulates her mana like taking a deep breath, calming her body. Then, she moves her feet towards the entrance to the room. And there, finally, that eerie creature reveals itself.
【Krrk─?!】
She swiftly cuts it down.
“My, my, my goodness…! What on earth is happening! Oh, miss… right now…!”
Alicia calmly responds to the flustered village chief. She strictly warned him not to step outside.
Though the village chief couldn’t comprehend the current situation, he had certainly witnessed the sudden appearance of the monster and her displayed prowess. Nodding, he decided to follow her instructions.
Alicia exits with the monster’s corpse in hand. While monsters are rushing from afar like a swarm of clouds, they do not invade the village. Fortunately, it seems this one that barged into the warehouse was at the forefront.
She mutilates the dead body with the surrounded sword. Blood vessels spread in all directions, and unidentifiable organs and flesh are fragmented and scattered.
Knowing that the creatures react upon witnessing their comrade’s death, she lures other creatures with one body. And by turning the lured ones into corpses, she leads more influx.
After finishing the mutilation, Alicia doesn’t just stand still. Some creatures are rushing towards her, but some are not paying attention. In that case, showing something more intense is the way to go.
She shifts her weight forward. And in a flash, she leaps forward.
Whoosh!
Advancing as if gliding, Alicia fiercely clashes with the creatures. Her muscles clenched in hand are not excessive. While her body burns hotter than ever, her mind remains cool.
Swoosh. Her footsteps are different from before. Light as if dancing at a ball, yet penetrating fiercely. Utilizing her central and peripheral vision to the fullest, she gathers all information possible. Her hearing assists in delicate tasks, aiding Alicia.
Swoosh─!
The expanding shockwave. Twenty piercing sounds and twenty necks. Alicia’s speed in slaying the monsters is increasing. It gains considerable attention after killing over twenty creatures in a blink. A considerable number of monsters rushing towards the village gather around Alicia.
There was no order among the monsters. They didn’t value their lives. They recklessly charge at their opponents and attack. That was their thought pattern.
Alicia massacres the creatures rushing from all directions like a swarm of ants. If there’s a risk of attack, she widens the range of her sword strikes to cut down two creatures simultaneously, dodging incoming tentacles, she slices another creature’s neck with the energy from avoiding the movement.
Sometimes, she finds herself completely surrounded by the corpses on the ground and the creatures rushing towards her, unable to move. At that moment, she releases the mana within her body explosively, like when she entered a hornet’s nest. The creatures are pushed back or momentarily stop moving. She takes advantage of this to continue killing and relocate.
The mana consumption is severe, but unavoidable. And the situation is different from training. Currently, Alicia continuously draws mana from the air.
【Kreeek───!】
The monsters scream.
Suppressing the fear of them with anger, she realizes that each creature is not much. If she can utilize what she has learned so far, she can easily handle them.
However, the issue is their numbers. It seems endless where they are pouring in from.
Despite gathering as much attention as possible, the incoming monsters show no sign of stopping. The ones already inside the village are also plentiful.
Crack! Eventually, a sense of danger is felt. A sharp tentacle grazes her arm. Although she swiftly cuts down the attacking creature, others rush in.
Wham─!
Having just released mana, she uses it up again. As the situation grows more urgent, she cannot wait for her mana to fully recover.
She slaughters the monsters as if she’s become a machine. Gradually, moving more on instinct than consciousness, minor wounds accumulate. Alicia tries to awaken her consciousness each time but her physical and mental strength is not infinite.
The weight of the sword she holds becomes heavier.
Monsters rush towards her without a moment’s pause. Four at once. With her current stance, it’s a challenge to swing and hit them all at once. She must release mana…!
Once again, a blue light spreads from Alicia’s body. Three monsters in her sight are pushed back, limiting their movements.
Wait, three…?
Where is the fourth one?
Kwoong. Alicia nearly loses consciousness. She forcefully counters the creature charging at her from behind. Jumping high into the air at the last moment, Alicia grabs the thread of consciousness trying to escape her body and twists her body to swing the sword.
【Keeek!】
The creature’s neck makes a sound as it’s sliced halfway, sounding like tearing eardrums. Due to the awkward posture, she couldn’t finish it off. The creature, not dead, flails its tail like a whip before flying away.
This strikes Alicia.
“Ugh…!”
Alicia’s mouth opens as her abdomen is struck, and her light body quickly flies above the monsters. The monsters’ pumpkin-colored eyes gather. Some of them stand with mouths agape to devour her, while others leap high.
They leap greatly.
⎯And die.
Alicia’s body begins to be engulfed by it once again. It was a very brief moment, but it moves slowly. Even the monsters leaping towards her were moving slowly.
She has died several times, but this phenomenon is new. Perhaps it’s a moment that can only be felt when facing death. No, no, let go of such weak thoughts.
“Ugh….”
Alicia moves her body. Time passes so slowly that her flying body seems to be suspended in mid-air without falling, hardly moving her body but tensing as if about to burst.
Little by little, subtly.
The sword moves. Towards the approaching monster’s face. Slowly. But the monster’s approach was much faster.
If her sword advances by a finger’s width, the monster’s cheek will be close. In this moment of uncertainty whether the monster is breathing, she fights with all her might to survive.
Something suddenly enters her sight.
White and round. A snowflake that feels cold and melts lightly upon contact.
It’s not just a light snowfall. More snowflakes than there are monsters fall from the sky. She realizes that everything around is covered in snow. The place she has been fighting, the distant stone walls. The village is enveloped.
She doesn’t know when it started snowing like this. She probably didn’t notice when she was darting around. Was it because she was too preoccupied?
Tock. A small snowflake enters Alicia’s eye. It clouds her vision and prevents her from seeing clearly.
The monster is approaching. She needs to stop it. If she dies here, the people in the village will all… all…!
Then, due to the foreign substance in her eyes, something black appears in Alicia’s sight. Something that suddenly emerges from the empty space as if she saw a mirage is staring at Alicia.
Sister… Is it my sister…?
In the repeated deaths, she sees her sister, Charlotte. She sometimes disappears like a mirage, so it’s hard to tell if it’s her.
There’s no one else but her.
“You’re making a foolish face again. However, I’ll acknowledge your efforts this time. Congratulations, Alicia.”
She almost stopped breathing.
The flow, which she thought had stopped, seeps into her lungs along with a faint breath.
The black thing reflected in her eyes becomes even more distorted. It distorts to the point where its form is unrecognizable. But the more distorted it becomes, the more certain Alicia is.
“You’ve done well. You’ve done more than expected.”
A voice that seems to look down on others. A man’s voice full of arrogance.
Alicia hears that voice and forcibly opens her trembling mouth to call him. The word that comes out is a mix of many emotions.
“Baragan… Young Lord….”