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Chapter 70
Kaiden and I hurried toward the direction the noise was coming from.
The scene we encountered wasn’t much different from what we’d seen just moments ago.
If hell existed, wouldn’t it look exactly like this?
Dozens of gigantic spiders lay fallen. A man stood atop their bodies, swinging his sword relentlessly at the spiders that kept gathering around him.
Green blood from the monsters flowed across the ground like a river.
Kraaaak!
Horrific sounds—whether screams or something else entirely—rang out without end.
Startled, Eunji, who had been coiled around my arm, climbed up to my shoulder and buried its face in my hair.
“Lady Flone! You’re alive!”
A familiar voice called out from not far away. Yuanna, perched on a high tree branch, waved at me.
Yuanna had no combat ability. Unlike me, she didn’t even have weapons like flare guns. Even so, she was skilled enough at handling danger on her own that there was no need to worry about her.
“Lady Flone.”
This time, someone called me from right beside me. When I turned, the first thing that caught my eye was pink hair. It was Asdal.
Yuanna was positioned somewhere she couldn’t cross over from, but Asdal seemed to have been relatively close to us.
He looked utterly haggard. He glanced back and forth between Kaiden and me, then clenched his teeth as emotion welled up in his eyes.
“You were alive.”
“You’re safe, my lord, my lady.”
Diego, who must have been nearby as well, rushed over and greeted Kaiden and me.
“What is that…?”
Asdal asked, pointing at Eunji perched on my shoulder—at which point Diego drew his sword and aimed it at me. Kaiden quickly stepped in front of me.
“It’s not dangerous. Put your sword away.”
“Eunji isn’t dangerous. Really.”
When I added my words to Kaiden’s, Asdal looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Eunji…?”
“That’s its name, but that’s not what matters right now. Why is Enoch in such a berserk state?”
At my question, Diego and Asdal both turned pale. With exhausted faces, they rubbed their dry cheeks before looking back toward the raging Enoch.
“Where is the bishop?”
No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t see Rujef. Ominously so. Asdal let out a sigh and stared toward where Enoch stood.
“The bishop is right in the middle of that chaos.”
“…In the middle? You’re saying the bishop is in there?”
Good heavens… That timid Bishop Rujef, right at the center of that madness?
“He seems unharmed for now. It appears His Highness the Crown Prince is protecting the bishop unconsciously, but there’s no telling how long that will last. His Highness’s condition is extremely unstable.”
This time, Diego answered in a heavy voice.
“The Anti-Emperor isn’t human. How can a man wield power like that…?”
Asdal ground his teeth in revulsion, then crossed his arms and continued while watching Enoch.
“He’s not in a state where conversation is possible. He’s been slaughtering monsters like that for two days straight.”
“It is possible to stop him temporarily—if Prince Asdal assists me.”
At Diego’s words, Asdal ran a hand through his hair, shuddering as if he didn’t even want to think about it.
“Where on earth have you and the lord been?”
Asdal asked us, his face full of questions.
“We were attacked by a tarantula monster. We fell off a cliff and barely made it here.”
Only then did Asdal and Diego properly take in the sorry state Kaiden and I were in.
“Then why did Enoch go berserk?”
At my question, Asdal sighed and looked back toward Enoch again.
“I don’t know the exact reason. I only remember that, right before he went berserk, he was searching for you, my lady.”
“It can’t be because of me. Enoch’s berserk state only activates when he sees human blood.”
“That’s true. Then perhaps he deliberately went berserk to exterminate the monsters. None of us have bled—except for the Anti-Emperor himself.”
He deliberately went berserk to hunt monsters?
Setting aside whether that was even possible, I couldn’t understand how he planned to regain control afterward.
I looked back at Enoch again. In truth, I couldn’t see him clearly—he was constantly moving, swinging his sword at the monsters surrounding him.
“The monsters’ movements were strange. They suddenly started gathering. Luckily, it wasn’t near the cabin… But the Anti-Emperor is doing what needs to be done right now.”
Asdal said, rubbing his temples with a weary face.
He wasn’t wrong. There was no better base camp than the cabin. If we could endure there, staying as long as possible while searching for an escape route was the ideal plan.
So maybe it’s better to exterminate the monsters far away from the cabin and burn their bodies.
Monsters seemed to sense the death of their comrades faster than anything else and gathered around corpses—just like the anaconda monsters had before.
Was it because of the tarantula monster that died on the cliff? Could that be why they’d gathered here? If so, this situation made a certain amount of sense.
The green blood from the monsters Enoch had slain might have had the same effect. More monsters kept appearing, as if drawn by it.
Only then did I realize that Enoch himself was drenched in blood. Shocked, I covered my mouth and couldn’t speak for a moment.
“We can stay out of harm’s way, but that Anti-Emperor might die if this keeps up.”
At Asdal’s words, I hurried toward Enoch. I didn’t get far before Kaiden grabbed me.
“It’s dangerous, Margaret.”
I didn’t know if I could do it, but I knew one thing—Enoch reacted to the words ‘stop’ even while in a seizure-like state.
And right now, I seemed to be the only one who knew that.
“Enoch is in danger too.”
Even at my words, Kaiden didn’t let go of my wrist.
“Eunji.”
At my call, Eunji slid down from my shoulder and bit Kaiden’s hand—just hard enough not to injure him.
It really seemed true that this creature had imprinted on me. No—by now, I was almost certain. Without me saying anything, Eunji had read my intent and acted.
Startled, Kaiden released my hand.
“I’m sorry.”
I apologized to Kaiden, took out a flare gun, loaded it, and walked into the mass of monsters.
“Enoch!”
As expected, there was no response. With unfocused eyes, he turned his back to me and walked toward the spiders gathering ahead.
I followed him, pushing through the mountain of monster corpses.
Kraak!
A massive spider lunged toward me, stretching out its leg. I raised the flare gun, but before I could fire, a sharp blade slashed through, severing the monster’s limb.
When I turned, I saw Diego standing there with his sword.
To my left and right, and behind me, Asdal, Diego, and Kaiden each took up positions, weapons drawn, guarding me.
“We’ll cover you, so do what you need to do. You’re the only one who can control the Crown Prince in that state.”
Kaiden said with a reassuring smile, holding his dagger.
“I’ll assist.”
Diego replied quietly, and Asdal nodded in agreement.
“Go on. Leave the rear to us.”
With that, I moved forward, Eunji draped over my shoulder.
“Enoch!”
I was right in front of him now. Still, he didn’t react.
“Stop it, Enoch!”
I spoke what was essentially a command word that could control him, but it had no effect. It was as if my words didn’t fully reach him. He should have been able to hear me, yet he didn’t stop.
Biting my lower lip, I looked at Enoch in his unfocused state.
“Enoch!”
I called his name with all my strength, but it was useless. My voice didn’t seem to reach him.
What should I do?
The longer I hesitated, the more the thick green blood pooled into a muddy river on the ground.
As Enoch stabbed his sword into the body of a monster right in front of him, our eyes met.
Kueeek!
With the monster’s grotesque scream, green blood splashed across one side of my face. A revolting stench filled the air, but I couldn’t even blink.
Because Enoch was staring at me—with a completely expressionless face.
