BSRF 10

Chapter 10

Looking closely, I realized the enormous body was covered in feathers. And from above it stretched a long neck.

Feathers and a long neck… a monster that looked like a bird and a snake…!

The moment I recalled the appearance of the monster we were supposed to subjugate, a faint sound reached my ears.

The scraping-metal-like noise sent chills down my spine, freezing my body stiff.

I hurriedly tried to cover my ears, but it was already too late. My body moved as if it had lost all will.

My feet moved on their own, slipping in among the people already circling around in a ring.

The figures inside the dim light appeared to be villagers. Judging by their state, they had likely been like this for a while already. Their minds were gone, and only their bodies continued to move.

The scraping sound gradually transformed into something like singing. At times it sounded like the humming of an old man, at others like the tune of a young girl. And to that sound, my hands and feet danced along.

‘Damn it! What the hell is wrong with my body?!’

My body moved completely against my will. After years of hunting monsters, this was the first time I had experienced something like this.

Monsters originally came in all kinds of forms, and not all their abilities had been discovered yet, but to think one capable of such high-level mental magic existed.

A monster like this never even appeared in the novel!

No, monsters hardly appeared in the novel at all. Even when they did, they simply showed up with a “bam” and died with another “bam.” There was barely any explanation about them.

Depending on the novel now was ridiculous anyway, but still, facing a monster with abilities like this made me feel unfairly cheated.

The people who had been moving for who knew how long were suffering with vacant expressions.

I wanted to shut my eyes because watching them was unbearable, but even my eyelids no longer obeyed me.

The worst part was these movements. As expected of a mental-type monster, it specialized in attacking the fragile human mind.

Was it trying to inflict psychological damage by forcing us to display such humiliating behavior?

A groan that couldn’t escape lingered in my throat.

If the subordinates worried about me and came rushing over at this rate….

Just imagining the entire knight order facing one another while doing this bizarre dance made bile rise in my throat.

Naturally so—if my subordinates saw me like this, my dignity as commander… no, my dignity as a human being would plummet.

Seriously, what the hell even were these ridiculous movements?

If it had at least been an actual dance, that would’ve been better. These motions were primitive and crude. Mischievous like a monkey, writhing like a snake, and disgusting like an insect.

Even though the villagers had already fainted and no one was watching, my face still burned with embarrassment.

Please let no one come…. Please let no one come.

I desperately prayed the knights wouldn’t arrive.

Eventually this monster would tire out and stop singing.

Monsters with abilities this unusual were usually weak in direct combat. The moment its singing stopped, all I had to do was cut off its head.

As I waited for the right moment, I measured the distance between myself and the monster and calculated exactly where I would strike after drawing my sword and charging forward.

But then, accompanied by approaching footsteps, a long shadow stretched beside me, and I stopped breathing.

I wanted to identify who it was, but my neck had twisted in the opposite direction, leaving me only able to sense the person moving beside me.

Still, from the shape of the shadow I had glimpsed and the familiar scent carried by the wind, I could already guess who it was.

‘Goddammit… of all people, why did it have to be him….’

I almost wished I had fainted instead. I absolutely did not want to make eye contact with him.

But cursed as I was, my neck gradually turned right along with the rhythm. My head moved on its own, and my eyes met the person beside me, swaying to the same rhythm.

Between fluttering golden hair, blue eyes trembled.

In that instant, I realized he felt exactly the same as I did.

That overwhelming urge to kill that damn monster immediately….

The rage that had burned like fire dulled layer by layer as the fight dragged on. The monster was unexpectedly persistent and showed no signs of tiring.

Ten minutes felt like half a day.

After Ricardo appeared, two more knights joined us. At this point, pride no longer mattered—I just wished someone, anyone, would stop these bizarre movements.

But the worst-case scenario would be the entire Third Knight Order rushing in to save us.

We couldn’t let rumors spread that the entire Third Knight Order had failed to defeat a single monster and ended up dancing strangely together.

Without letting my guard down, I continued waiting for the moment the monster would stop singing, but the song showed no sign of ending.

It seemed to be waiting for all of us to completely lose our minds.

I began to think this battle might drag on far longer than expected.

I didn’t know how much time had passed, but the dark night sky was already beginning to brighten.

Sweat rolled down my forehead and dripped from my chin.

Please stop already!

The scream that couldn’t leave my mouth was swallowed inside.

At that moment, something shot quickly through the gaps between the villagers.

An arrow?

The arrow streaked past in an instant, flying toward the snake-like monster’s long neck.

Three arrows in total.

One failed to pierce through and bounced away.

The other two struck perfectly through its eyes.

The monster twisted in agony, flapping its wings wildly.

And then the singing stopped.

I instantly drew my sword and rushed toward the monster. In one motion, I severed its neck. Beside me, Ricardo had already charged forward and slashed deeply into its body.

Black blood erupted from the severed neck.

Kyaaaak! Kyaak!

The staggering monster let out deafening shrieks as it collapsed. The shockwave knocked down the villagers and the two knights.

My own legs nearly gave out too, but I jammed my sword into the ground and forced myself to remain standing. Ricardo also swayed slightly, seemingly drained of strength.

To think it still struggled after losing its head. Its vitality was stronger than expected.

In cases like this, the only option was to target the monster’s core.

Every monster possessed a core hidden somewhere within its body. The moment that core was destroyed, the monster would turn into black ash and disappear.

If cutting off its head wasn’t enough to kill it, then smashing its core was the only answer.

However, with a creature this massive, locating the core was no easy task.

If the core happened to be as small as a fingernail, we’d have to practically carve apart the entire body piece by piece.

It would’ve been easier for everyone if it had just died from decapitation….

“Persistent bastard.”

Tsk.

Clicking my tongue briefly, I pushed off the ground and leapt up. Gripping the sword tightly with both hands, I plunged it directly into the monster’s torso.

A monster’s bones and hide were far thicker and tougher than any beast’s, so I had to stab with all my strength.

I planted my foot against the monster, yanked out the sword, and stabbed again.

Black blood splattered everywhere, covering my body.

Ptui.

Spitting out the blood that had gotten into my mouth, I repeatedly stabbed and withdrew the blade over and over.

The monster’s blood mixed with my sweat, clinging stickily to my skin. By the time I realized it, puddles of black blood had formed around me.

The monster’s body had become nearly mush-like, and when I stabbed once more, I felt something inside shatter.

“…Hoo.”

Instinctively knowing it was over, I collapsed on the spot.

At the same time, the monster’s body scattered into black ash.

I tried to steady my hazy mind, but strength wouldn’t return to my body.

I was especially weak against mental-type magic. The monster’s scream earlier must have left a stronger aftereffect than expected.

Forcing my heavy eyelids open, I shook my head.

Then someone approached from behind and lifted one of my arms over their shoulder.

The hand gripping my waist felt familiar. There was no need to check who it was.

A muttering voice sounded close beside my ear.

“No, seriously, what were you thinking stabbing it so recklessly? You got lucky it ended quickly, but what if you’d gotten hurt?”

I slightly raised my head to look at Kiern’s face.

Both his ears were tightly plugged with something. It seemed he had noticed the monster’s ability.

I immediately realized the arrows from earlier had been his.

That was why I had been able to charge at the monster without hesitation.

“Of course I knew you’d come.”

Ah… he probably can’t hear me.

I glanced at Kiern’s ears, then relaxed completely and leaned against him.

And finally, I closed my exhausted eyes.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in an unfamiliar room.

My head still spun, and I pressed hard against my temples as I sat up.

“Ha… this is exactly why I hate dealing with mental-type monsters.”

The lingering aftereffects even after the battle made me frown automatically.

Stretching out my stiff body, I looked around.

The small room contained only a single bed and some old wooden furniture. It seemed they had temporarily borrowed a villager’s house.

On the table rested a note and a set of clean clothes someone had left behind.

I picked up the note and checked its contents.

[I’ll take care of the cleanup, so Commander, please rest comfortably.]

The handwriting belonged to Kiern.

Having a capable subordinate really did make life convenient.

Massaging my shoulder, I walked toward the mirror to inspect myself.

“Wow… I look like a complete mess.”

My appearance was truly dreadful.

Someone had apparently tried to clean me up a bit, but monster blood still stained patches of my skin.

On top of that, the horrible smell assaulting my nose made my head ache even more. All I could think about was washing up and changing clothes immediately.

Taking the spare clothes with me, I stepped outside.

Only after receiving dozens of grateful thanks from the villagers I encountered along the way did I finally learn where the lake outside the village was located.

I immediately headed toward it.

This was urgent. I couldn’t stand feeling this filthy any longer.

It felt as though the monster’s blood sticking to my skin was seeping into every corner of my body.

Shuddering at the goosebumps rising on my arms, I nearly broke into a run.

As I neared the place they had directed me to, I could smell water nearby.

Without caring about anything else, I ran forward, and beneath a cluster of rocks I spotted a round lake.

I kicked off only my shoes and immediately dove in.

Though the lake wasn’t particularly large, it was much deeper than expected. My body sank straight down into the water.

Fortunately, I was confident in my swimming skills. I also had strong lungs, so I could stay underwater quite a while.

I moved my arms and legs steadily. The water was so clear and transparent that I could even see fish swimming around inside it.

After enjoying myself for some time, I finally turned around to head back up to the surface.

Then suddenly—

Splash!

A huge burst of bubbles formed above my head.

What?

I narrowed my eyes and swam closer to see what it was.

Through the mass of bubbles, pale skin came into view.

And over that skin were firmly defined muscles….

Puhk!

My eyes widened on their own.

And before I knew it, I had exhaled every last bit of air remaining in my lungs.