GDWY 06

Chapter 06

The ominous aura of the forest made every creature that had lived here for a long time tremble with fear.

A being had taken over this place, one above even the animals that had long dominated the forest’s food chain.

Once, the forest would be dappled with morning sunlight, dew clinging to green leaves, and people would often come to gather herbs or hunt. Now, not a single human presence could be felt.

The rare sound of life that did echo through the forest came when that very being—whose presence terrified even the animals—was drawing blood from a wolf’s veins with the tendrils it summoned from its tongue.

A girl with pale pink hair tied up high in a single bundle appeared, dressed in a style that suited her tastes. She wore a blouse with a ribbon, a black dress, glossy black knee-high socks, and loafers. She pressed her staff, stamped with the seal of the Golden Dawn Society, against the damp ground as she moved forward.

The monster, Sasabon-sam, who had been enjoying its meal, finally sensed the human presence and turned its head.

“Ugh… disgusting.”

It was a demon—hairless, with thin, pale skin that made its veins stand out, bipedal, and bearing the wings of a bat.

‘According to the legends of some tribe, that’s called Sasabon-sam,’

Rosha recalled what she had learned during her training. Seeing the gaunt demon whose cheeks were sunken, she extended her hand.

Suppressing her magic as much as possible, she said in a gentle voice:

“Come here.”

“You want to eat this, don’t you?”

Demons that could feed on beasts weren’t very dangerous. A few humans could overpower them, and some were weak enough that hunting humans alone could backfire. They evolved to fill their stomachs with animals instead. But what they truly craved was human flesh. At night, they would secretly attack lone humans, which meant that from Rosha’s perspective, they still had to be eliminated.

The bigger problem was that Sasabon-sam, being a weak individual, did not live alone. They formed packs, and when a pregnant demon left the pack and established a new territory, it would give birth and create another pack.

Rosha’s gaze shifted to the demon’s abdomen.

As she suspected, it was carrying several offspring.

That meant it needed even more nutrition.

“Not obedient at all, huh?”

Without hesitation, Rosha bit down hard on her own arm. Dark red blood streamed down.

Sasabon-sam’s eyes flashed as it still had tendrils embedded in the wolf’s neck.

Creak, creak, creak, creak, creak!

The monster, excited, let out a chilling cry as it crawled toward Rosha. Its wings were there, but carrying offspring and starved from a lack of human blood, it seemed weak.

The long-starved Sasabon-sam desperately stuck out its tongue. From a hole at the tip, a sharp, long tendril shot out.

The tendril arched like an arrow and flew toward Rosha.

Even as it came right to her face, she calmly rested her hand on her staff. Just as the tendril was about to pierce her neck—

Whish—

Rosha raised her staff and struck down the tendril, wrapping it around the staff in one swift motion.

Crack, crack! Crack, crack, crack!

Sasabon-sam writhed, letting out an eerie cry. It struggled to resist, but even with all its magic flowing through her body, Rosha didn’t lose to its physical strength this time.

As they struggled, Rosha gradually twisted the staff, further wrapping the demon’s tongue. The closer she brought it, the nearer they were to each other. Finally, closing the distance to a single step away, she crushed the one-eyed demon writhing on the ground with her foot.

Crack! Crack, crack! Creak! Creak!

The demon’s pained cries grew louder. The more it suffered, the more Rosha felt a mix of annoyance and a low, perverse thrill.

“Die, you monstrous brat. Even the air you breathe is wasted. You filthy insect.”

The weak demon, already carrying offspring, was even more feeble. Rosha wanted to torment it further, to make it witness its own young being drawn from its body while it bled tears of blood.

Truly… she wanted to.

“If you follow the darkness in your heart, you too will become a servant of darkness.”

But Rosha couldn’t. Not if she wanted to meet Lily in the future without becoming a monster herself.

She gathered the precious blood she had drawn onto her palm.

Magical tools made by the Golden Dawn Society—such as her staff or pocket watch—could control power, but spells were what conserved energy and made magic easier to wield.

A spell could take form according to the will of the mage in any situation.

“The flames of the gods shall consume you.”

Conversely, a mage or their own blood could act as a medium to amplify magic.

Rosha exhaled onto the blood on her gloved palm. The blood absorbed her breath and transformed into flames, which then leapt onto Sasabon-sam’s body.

Crack, crack! Crack! Crack!

The demon’s body ignited, and the tendrils connected to the staff were severed. Rosha flicked the remaining tendrils from the staff and, savoring Sasabon-sam’s screams, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her staff clean.

While she slowly wiped the staff, Sasabon-sam’s body turned to ash in an instant, leaving no trace. Only a small ember remained in the ground, faintly glowing. Rosha casually stomped it out.

Noticing her black shoe ribbon had come undone, she bent slightly to tie it.

“Thank you, God, for helping me not become a monster today as well.”

Habitually, she offered a prayer, then gathered her staff and prepared to leave the forest.

Squeak.

A sound of an animal reached her ears, and reflexively, she raised her hand to attack.

But it was not another demon—just a baby animal.

It wasn’t the monstrous, lowly beast she had insulted before, but a literal young animal.

It seemed to have only recently opened its eyes, a tiny white furball crying weakly. Other siblings were nearby, but the demon’s bloodlust had already killed them.

It seemed likely that even the mother’s blood had been drained. By chance, only this white cub survived.

“Your mother is dead. You’ll have to fend for yourself.”

Rosha almost ignored it. She felt pity for the orphan, but she couldn’t take responsibility for the animals harmed by the demon.

She was about three steps away from the cub when—

Squeak, squeak, squeak…

The cub’s cries doggedly followed her.

“Hah… really…”

Perhaps because dogs are naturally wolves.

She remembered Polly, a dog she had raised long ago. Detecting dark energy, it had fled, only to return to protect its owner—and ultimately die. A childhood friend and part of her family.

Rosha huffed and returned to the white cub.

“You should consider yourself lucky.”

She sighed and picked up the cub, which continued whining in her arms.

Wrapped inside her cape, she finally left the forest without hesitation.

Once outside, the black eagle, Ray, who had been waiting nearby, perched on her shoulder.

With her unique hair and eye color, and traveling with two beasts, she naturally drew attention. But accustomed to it, she paid no mind.

Having received the promised payment from the village chief, she borrowed the only phone in the area to report the mission.

After a brief sound, the call connected.

― My girl, Rosha. Did you finish the job?

Noah immediately recognized her voice. Rosha suppressed the urge to fib about failing the mission and reported calmly.

“It was a demon from the vampire side, just as you expected. Its name was probably Sasabon-sam. Luckily, it hadn’t formed a new pack yet—only one pregnant individual—and I burned it cleanly, leaving no trace.”

― I trust you to handle your tasks. Were you injured?

“I’m not weak enough to be hurt by such a tiny thing.”

― Good. No further comments?

Noah’s gentle tone eased the tension still lingering in Rosha’s muscles from the demon encounter.

Comments…

She looked down at the cub still whining in her arms.

“I also picked up a wolf.”

― A wolf?

“Can I raise it?”

― If you want.

“Ah, and I’m so tired… I’ll stay here today and leave tomorrow.”

― Oh… what should I do about that?

“Why?”

― You need to report to headquarters immediately.

Usually indulgent because she was young, Noah was unusually firm. There must be an urgent reason.

“So if I’m going to see you today anyway, why prolong the call?”

― I just wanted to hear our cute youngest member’s voice more.

Though they shared the same family name, Rostellier, as a symbol of being one household, there were over a thousand mages in the Golden Dawn Society.

Few were born with magical power, and awakening conditions were strict. That’s why, despite only five years in the society, Rosha was still the youngest. Both in age and seniority.

Noah knew the names, faces, ages, and personalities of all members—and diligently cared for them. The one he cared for most was the youngest: Rosha.

“Does having me report to headquarters mean it’s something important?”

― Of course.

“What is it?”

― …Rosha.

Noah’s voice dropped. Rosha felt her own breath deepen.

Soon, he continued in a low tone:

― Tomorrow is your…

She swallowed hard.

― Fifteenth birthday.

“…Huh?”

― We’ll have a party, but arriving right at the start would be difficult.

“….”

― So come up today, rest well, and enjoy the party tomorrow.

Urgently calling her up wasn’t for some big task—just for her birthday.

Absurd, but knowing Noah cared, Rosha couldn’t be upset.

“Understood. I’ll depart immediately.”

After hanging up, she held the cub closer inside her coat, retrieved the belongings entrusted to a villager, and prepared to depart.

Setting off at dawn, she had killed a demon and barely rested before traveling straight to the capital—an eight-hour round trip.

“This will be tough… let’s hang in there a bit longer, okay?”

With Ray in the cage, the cub in her arms, and staff and pocket watch in hand, Rosha exhaled deeply and headed to the train station.