Chapter 50
The Dreamgreen let out a single high cry, then kicked off the ground with its long, thick legs and charged toward the knights. As a side effect of its body being covered in hard, heavy scales, the Dreamgreen could no longer fly. That was its one saving grace.
However, the knights’ sight, hearing, and sense of smell had been thrown off, making it difficult to pinpoint its real body.
What does Commander Zachary plan to do?
I wondered as I watched the knights.
Does Commander Zachary understand the Dreamgreen’s characteristics?
There’s a world of difference between fighting a monster while knowing its traits and fighting one without that knowledge.
A Dreambird is just a monster that shows people illusions, but a Dreamgreen has a huge body, hard scales, and sharp fangs and claws. It’s terrifying to unleash such a ferocious monster inside an illusory space...
Since Zabiria appeared in this forest as the Black Dragon, the monsters’ ranges have gone haywire, and a Dreambird showed up near the entrance. But like the Flowerhorn Deer, it normally lives in the Abyss. We wouldn’t encounter one unless we ventured deep into the forest.
I wonder if there are fewer monsters than there were three hundred years ago.
I’ve only fought the Flowerhorn Deer, so it might be too soon to judge... But since the Demon King is sealed away, it makes sense that the number of monsters would decline.
If that’s the case, the knights have less combat experience than the knights in my previous life.
And if Commander Zachary allowed it to evolve so easily, could this be his first time encountering this monster?
If he’d ever fought one before, he’d do whatever it took to stop it from evolving.
Commander Cyril of the First Knight Order would probably say, “You’ve read this forest’s ‘Monster Habitat List,’ so you should know how to fight it.” But it can’t be that simple...
As I watched, the mages began laying trap spells under Commander Zachary’s orders, forming a line from west to east.
They were basic spells that exploded when a monster stepped on them. Apparently, they were meant to help determine the Dreamgreen’s position.
The knights stood at regular intervals about five meters behind the line of trap spells, swords at the ready.
The sight of the knights lined up with their swords drawn was impressive, but the Dreamgreen charged toward them at tremendous speed, unconcerned by the knights waiting to meet it... Or at least, that was how it looked.
Seeing the fearless monster, several knights tensed up, their bodies stiffening with needless strain.
The vibrations they felt each time the Dreamgreen took a step. The smell of dust kicked into the air. Its gleaming claws and fangs.
Even standing their ground to meet its charge must have been terrifying.
―――Then the Dreamgreen stepped onto the line of trap spells. At that moment, the knights directly ahead tensed their arms around their swords!
―――But there was no explosion!
“Huh?!” The knights froze for a moment, stunned.
If there was no explosion, then the Dreamgreen rushing toward the knights was an illusion, and its real body was somewhere else.
But the knights seemed to trust their own sight, and began swinging their swords wildly at the Dreamgreen’s phantom. The fear of not knowing where it really was had them on edge.
A moment after fear took hold of the area, a trap spell about ten meters east of the Dreamgreen’s phantom exploded.
“What?!”
The knights near the explosion hurriedly raised their swords again. But...
“Whoa!” “Aagh!!”
The knights another ten meters or so east of the explosion were sent flying.
It seemed the Dreamgreen had leaped diagonally.
Since they couldn’t form an accurate image of it or tell where it was, fighting as a group put them at a disadvantage...
If they weren’t careful, they might injure an ally with their swinging swords.
Even as I thought that, the knights were being sent flying one after another.
Commander Zachary tightened his grip on his sword, but stood frozen, unable to act. He clenched his teeth.
...I remembered being told to “stay put,” but I couldn’t hold back any longer, so I looked toward the other knights’ familiars waiting nearby.
Five Monster Knight Order knights had been assigned to my squad, each with a familiar. Three of the five had wings.
My eyes met those of the three monsters: two C-rank eagle-like monsters and a D-rank owl-like monster.
“Monsters have strong survival instincts, you know. They’d want Fia’s power, which healed their wounds in an instant, at any cost. So even without a contract, they’d probably accept Fia as their temporary master, hoping that by being useful, they could earn a reward—in other words, benefit from her healing ability. And since they already have contractors, they shouldn’t have any resistance to obeying humans.”
That was why Zabiria murmured at my shoulder that they were watching me, waiting for instructions.
...Yeah, I think Zabiria’s guess is right.
After all, the familiars hadn’t taken their eyes off me once.
But even if I gave them instructions, without a contract I couldn’t communicate with them just by thinking, the way I could with Zabiria. They say monsters’ instincts are many times sharper than humans’, but...
I raised one hand, pointed at the Dreamgreen, then swept it toward the sky above it.
―――Did they understand?
Sure enough, the three monsters understood exactly what I meant and took flight toward the space above the Dreamgreen the instant I swept my hand.
The illusion only worked inside the circle the Dreambird had formed while flying. It extended up to the height at which the Dreambird had flown when it drew that circle. Beyond that, its real body could be seen.
So if I had them fly directly above the Dreamgreen, I should be able to show Commander Zachary and the others its actual position: the Dreamgreen was right beneath the familiars.
The problem was that the Dreamgreen could freely transform back into a Dreambird.
Transforming into a Dreamgreen took time, but transforming back into a Dreambird was instantaneous.
If it realized what we were up to, wouldn’t it turn back into a Dreambird, take flight, and scatter the familiars, all of which were C-rank or lower?
I raised one hand and quietly chanted a spell.
“Be bound, and no crime will be held against you. ―――‘Simple Prison!’”
It was normally used to restrain enemies, but I would use it as a cage to protect the familiars from outside attacks.
Against a B-rank Dreambird, a simple version should be enough, so I lowered its level.
“Cover what must remain secret with malice and benevolence. ―――‘Second-Rank Concealment!’”
Since the cages created by magic were visible, I layered a concealment spell over them.
“Hehe. Now something like a Dreambird can’t lay a hand on the familiars.”
I smiled as I murmured, and Zabiria gave me an unhappy look.
“Isn’t that overdoing it? If you prepare such a comfortable space for them, the familiars will get used to it. Familiars have no qualms about obeying humans, so they’re utterly devoted to anyone who protects them. Don’t come crying to me if they become infatuated with you and cling to you all the time.”
“Whaaat?”
“That’d be a problem, Zabiria!” I said, just as the familiars reached the space directly above the Dreamgreen.
The Dreamgreen was an A-rank monster, so it was intelligent. It realized what the familiars were up to in an instant, transformed into a Dreambird, and reached them with a single flap of its wings.
Then it tried to tear the familiars apart with its sharp talons, but was knocked back in midair with a sharp clang.
Seeing that, I spoke to Zabiria with a smug look.
“What do you think? An invisible cage looks just like an illusion, doesn’t it? It’s like ‘Illusion Reversal!’—pretty clever poetic justice, don’t you think?”
“Yeah. Too bad I can’t show it to the knights and hear what they think.”
Ugh, then Zabiria could’ve just told me it was lovely or something!
Still feeling frustrated, I raised my voice.
“Commander Zachary!”
Startled by my shout, Commander Zachary turned only his eyes toward me, and I continued shouting to him.
“The Dreambird is outside the range of its illusions, so the place you see it now is its real position! Have the archers and mages pin it down! The familiars in the air will protect themselves and block arrows and spells, so you don’t need to worry about them! While it’s pinned down, get away from your positions! The illusion will disappear once you leave the circle the Dreambird first drew!”
Commander Zachary looked at me in surprise, but there was no reason for him to doubt me, so he followed my instructions.
The knights divided up their roles well and escaped the illusionary space without suffering any further losses.
...All that remained were the familiars protected by an invisible, safe cage, the enraged Dreambird, and the knights freed from the illusion.
―――And just like that, we’re back to the scene from five minutes ago.
I looked at Commander Zachary and the knights again, then smiled.
“Let’s start over from the beginning, shall we?”
Now, Commander Zachary, you can’t use “I’ve never fought one before” as an excuse anymore.
Please take care of defeating the Dreambird...