TGDLBF 33

Chapter 33

Children Fighting Demons

“They’re not human?”

‘Then… ghosts? No, this world had monsters.’

Half-asleep, I glanced around, barely able to see.

They hadn’t shown up yet, but a strange sound started to fill the air. A creepy, screeching noise that sent chills down my spine.

“They sound like monsters.”

“Then what do we do?”

“We have to run.”

We had agreed to wait for the eagle to return, if we ran now, we might end up missing the Duke.

If that happened, it would be even harder for him to find us.

“Jake, you know swordsmanship. Can’t you beat them?”

“Not yet… I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. That happens. You’re still young, after all.”

Being weak wasn’t a crime, and he was only seven years old. I knew that when I asked—my bad.

I remembered reading in a book that sometimes monsters appear in the capital too, but they’re usually lower-ranked and even adult ordinary men can fight them off.

But Jake and I were too young to fight monsters. So, running was still our best option.

“Jake, if we’re going to run, we have to go now, right?”

We had to quickly decide whether to go out the front or back door.

“Let’s take the back.”

Jake made up his mind, grabbed my hand, and headed to the rear.

In the dim moonlight, the outline of the back door was barely visible. But that strange sound seemed to be coming from back there too.

“Jake, I think we should go through the front instead.”

No sooner had I spoken than something dark and shadowy burst through the back door.

The monsters had already found us. I could barely make out the shape, but I had a bad feeling about how grotesque it looked.

The idea that something like that could make me feel tense was just depressing. As I lamented, one of the monsters lunged at us.

Jake quickly swung the stick in his hand.

Whack!

When had he even picked that up?

Still, the monster charging at us fell back from his swing. It seemed his sword training hadn’t been entirely useless.

Those small monsters were called Götwal, low-level beasts that resembled otters, with big heads, short limbs, and bodies the size of five-year-old children.

But they loved blood. Once they caught someone, they’d bite and tear at them relentlessly, usually causing death by blood loss—so said the book.

“Ludia, go out the front door. Run.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll follow behind.”

Whack!

Jake had already taken down another Götwal.

‘Telling me to run off alone? No way.’

As someone who used to be a soldier, leaving a comrade behind and fleeing wasn’t in my vocabulary. I adjusted my grip on the dagger I was still holding.

At that moment, one of the Götwals bit onto Jake’s stick, bringing him down. Another one appeared, using its stubby arm to shove him to the ground.

No time to hesitate.

I rushed over and stabbed my dagger with all my strength into the Götwal’s head. It was hard to handle with one hand, so I used both hands to push it in.

Something squishy spilled out from its head.

The sticky sensation was revolting, but I forced myself to pull the dagger out. As I did, the Götwal holding onto Jake slumped to the floor.

Jake got up in a flash and kicked the other Götwal still biting his stick.

I followed up, plunging my dagger into the monster’s head as it slammed into the wall. Something burst again, with a soft, fleshy sound.

An awful stench hit my nose, strong enough to make it tingle.

I thought we were done, but it wasn’t over. More dark figures were pouring in through the door.

People often fell victim to Götwals because of their swarming nature. This meant the longer the fight went on, the worse it would be for us.

Instinctively, I stepped back. If the monster in front had slightly longer arms, I’d already have been caught.

The more I retreated, the closer the Götwal came.

Right as I braced myself, thinking That this was going to hurt, the monster lunged.

“Ludia, watch out!”

Yeah, you watch yourself!

I glared and drove the dagger into its face.

Even without much strength, the killing techniques I’d practiced endlessly kicked in.

Oddly, I felt stronger than usual, maybe it was the kind of superhuman strength people say comes out in danger.

Blood, or something like it, streamed down the creature’s face. Just then, I saw Jake pinned down again by another Götwal.

It lunged at him, trying to bite with those short, jerky limbs. Jake barely held it off.

As I rushed to help him, something suddenly gleamed in the darkness.

It all happened in an instant.

A grown man burst through the shadows, cutting down the Götwals like lightning. Each time his sword glinted in the dim moonlight, something was pierced, and shrill screeches rang out.

I grabbed Jake’s hand and stepped back together.

The man, who had appeared out of nowhere, continued slaying Götwals one after another. His swordsmanship was far from ordinary.

Could it be one of Arcades’s knights? If it was, he wouldn’t be alone, but I didn’t see any others.

Jake and I held our breath and watched him fight. The sounds of slashing and bursting didn’t stop.

After what felt like ten monsters, the noise finally ceased. The remaining monsters had stopped moving.

The man, having confirmed this, turned around and approached us.

Jake stepped in front of me and asked, acting like a little protector even though he was just a kid.

“Who are you?”

“Shouldn’t ‘thank you’ come first?”

“Are you a knight of Arcades?”

“Ar… cades?”

The man tilted his head in confusion. I also thought he was one of Arcades’s knights. But he seemed puzzled when Jake mentioned Arcades.

It was too dark to see his face clearly, but he had a tall build and a deep, steady voice.

“Are you the young master of Arcades, by any chance?”

“Yes. In any case, thank you for saving us. Are you a nobleman?”

“No, just a commoner. But what are you two doing here? This place isn’t safe for kids. And you said you’re from Arcades?”

“Well… we kind of got lost…”

Jake trailed off, not wanting to mention the kidnapping.

I agreed with him and said nothing either.

“Well, either way, young master, young lady, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I was traveling and happened to stop here for the night—it’s lucky I found you both.”

He greeted us politely. But I quickly corrected him.

“I’m not a lady. I’m the eldest young master’s fiancée, but everyone calls me little miss. Thank you so much for helping us.”

“It would’ve been cowardly to just walk away from someone in danger. I simply did what I should. But will you stay here?”

“Yes. We’re waiting for the Duke to come.”

“I see. Then I’ll wait with you. My name is Samit.”

The man, Samit, volunteered to guard us. Now that we had a reliable sword at our side, I finally felt safe.

If someone of his skill was with us, even if the kidnappers returned, we wouldn’t be in danger.

We moved to the front entrance where there were no Götwal corpses and sat down. Then I asked a question.

“Samit, why are you traveling alone? Isn’t it lonely?”

“I don’t really have anyone to travel with. And honestly, I prefer being alone—it’s less of a hassle.”

So he didn’t have a family.

‘Traveling’ sounded nice, but living like that wasn’t easy. He seemed admirable.

“But how did you get all the way out here?”

“Just passing by…”

Passing by? Was that even possible here?

“It got dark, I got lost, and somehow I ended up here.”

I guess even adults can get lost. With poor transportation and roads, getting lost at night wasn’t so strange.

Samit didn’t talk much. Since we were crouched on the ground, he did the same and just waited beside us.

Though night had deepened, I wasn’t scared—because a grown man was with us.

So we waited, trusting the eagle would return with the Duke.