Chapter 145
Bibi set out on the hunt accompanied by soldiers.
The Principality's symbol, a flag bearing a lion, fluttered majestically.
The soldiers maintained a diamond formation around the Duchess, protecting her like an iron wall.
They were taking every precaution to secure the Duchess's travel route.
I, too, was accompanying them within the diamond-shaped protective wall. Being treated as someone to protect, I felt oh so grateful I didn't know how to carry myself.
As we left the forest, large claw marks appeared sporadically on trees, as if they had been hacked with an axe. When they found these, several soldiers collected fur samples from the traces.
Soon after, the scout team returned to the main force after completing their reconnaissance.
"There's a location ahead that appears to be the magic creature’s lair."
Gerald asked, "Was the beast prowling nearby?"
"No. It seems to have hidden deep inside the cave."
"Assume combat positions immediately. We'll move directly to the beast's lair."
After moving for about thirty minutes, messy beast footprints in the dirt and a cave leading underground appeared before us.
This was the suspected lair of the beast.
The open space seemed suitable for deploying troops.
The scout team that briefly explored the cave's interior reported to Nielen.
"The beast's traces continue deep into the cave."
Though the cave ceiling was quite high, its narrow width made it seem risky to enter with soldiers.
Nielen said, "Entering a cave with no visibility is suicide."
The narrow space made it difficult to use magic, and they couldn't utilize their numerical advantage.
There was no choice but to lure the beast outside the cave and launch a coordinated attack.
The soldiers surrounded the cave entrance in a semicircle to block escape routes, while the commanders gathered to hold a strategy meeting.
They discussed methods to draw the beast out of the cave, and quickly decided to deploy a "bait team”.
The bait team literally meant sending in fast and skilled knights to directly lure the beast.
The bait team formation proceeded swiftly like flowing water.
I had to think quickly.
What happened after the beast subjugation was more important to me than the hunt itself. I needed to quickly grasp variables that would affect the future. From the guard's betrayal to the physical secrets the Duchess was hiding. For this, I needed to infiltrate deeper.
Even if it meant using crude methods…
Gerald whispered quietly in Bibi's ear, "Your Grace, the Archmage's disciple requests an audience."
"Hmm, very well. Let him approach."
At Gerald's gesture, two guard knights walked forward with Damian between them.
When Damian bowed his head in respect, Bibi asked, "Well, what is it?"
Without a moment's hesitation, Damian dropped a bombshell statement.
"I wish to join the bait team."
Immediately, Gerald stepped forward to dissuade Damian.
"Step back. The bait team is a life-risking mission. Do you think it's that simple?"
"I know that a Robillion's bite can crush rocks, but being two-headed and slow makes it vulnerable to distraction. I'm well aware of the dangers. I can proudly say my eyes and feet are superior to anyone's. There's no one more suitable for the bait team than me."
"Nonsense..."
Then Bibi, sitting with crossed legs behind Gerald, spoke, "Very well. I'll employ you on the bait team. I'll trust you to show prowess worthy of your master's reputation."
Gerald squeezed his eyes shut.
He knew.
What kind of achievement could the bait team possibly make?
Coldly speaking, it was a mission given to soldiers whose deaths wouldn't matter much. Bibi wasn't looking to see Damian's achievements. She just wanted to witness him fleeing in terror.
And she was probably imagining a beautifully staged scene where he would be rescued by Principality knights.
Damian said, "I won't disappoint you."
***
After entering about fifty paces into the cave, darkness that prevented seeing even a hand's breadth ahead greeted the bait team members.
Like passing through a snake's intestines, the cave's interior was dark with suffocating humid air.
Though composed of veterans, the bait team couldn't help but instinctively shrink from the space's pressure.
"You follow from the very back. That's an order."
Damian was positioned where he could escape fastest when encountering the beast—the safest position. Those were orders from above. Though he was marked unfavorably, Damian was still a key person to protect.
The veteran knight serving as team leader placed luminous stones at thirty-pace intervals.
"When we encounter the beast, use the luminous stones' light as guideposts to escape. Remember this without fail."
The luminous stones weren't bright enough to fully illuminate the area.
Another member twisted a chicken's neck and held it like a wine bottle, dropping blood one drop at a time along their path.
It was bait to stimulate the keen-nosed beast's appetite.
Judging by the scattered bones of eaten prey, this was definitely the beast's den. But the cave was deeper than expected.
And unexpectedly, traces of humans caught their eye.
"What is... this?"
The bait team leader held up a torch to illuminate the wall.
There were ancient murals painted there.
"People lived in a place like this?"
Another knight said, "This area has a deep indigenous history. It's not that strange."
Damian also examined the murals carefully.
It showed dozens of people forming a circle around ten young men and women in the center.
The young men and women in the center wore wreaths on their heads, while the people around them danced.
It felt like a festival or tribal wedding, but the young people in the center were depicted with dark expressions.
"Thought it might mark buried treasure or something. Let's move."
As they advanced, similar murals continued to appear periodically.
A picture of people holding a festival around a coiled snake instead of young couples.
A picture of people raising their arms in worship of something.
Then the torch-bearing leader suddenly raised his hand, signaling the team to stop.
"Wait."
He stretched his torch-bearing left hand forward.
The torch was being pushed back slightly at regular intervals.
"There's a backdraft coming our way. Is there a ground passage on the other side?"
As the leader tried to advance, Damian urgently said, "Don't go forward!"
And Damian suddenly drew his sword.
"...What?"
Soon after, the backdraft grew strong enough to be felt on their bodies.
Sensing something wrong, the leader held the torch's end and thrust it forward again.
And about twenty paces ahead, a two-headed lion appeared, glaring at them.
The beast growled in such a low tone that the armor rattled.
Grrrrrrrr—
That backdraft was the beast's breath.
It had been approaching in a low crawl after discovering its prey.
"Close your eyes!!"
The leader pulled out a flash stone from his back pocket and threw it to the ground.
A blinding light burst forth with a thunderous sound.
And the bait team members all began to flee at once.
A roar loud enough to deafen echoed from the back passage.
The temporarily blinded beast headbutted the walls. The walls shook like an earthquake.
Running in panic, several torches lost their light. Only the leader's remained.
The urgent situation left no time to check their surroundings.
The leader shouted, "Risten! Baron! Targis! Damian! Answer if you're following!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"Following well!"
One answer was missing.
In this critical moment, water dripping from the ceiling extinguished even the leader's torch. They had to rely on the luminous stones they'd placed earlier to find their way. In the darkness, successive sounds of people falling were heard.
"Who is it!"
"I-I'm fine!"
"Even if your knees break, keep running!"
They briefly checked team members' faces at the luminous stone location.
"Risten, Risten is missing!"
"We must save him! I heard someone fall earlier and they might not have gotten up."
The leader shook his head. They couldn't turn back.
"Too late. Focus only on escape!!"
The leader grabbed the collar of a team member trying to go back and dragged him away. Fighting the beast in a pitch-dark cave would be suicide.
Then the leader sensed something strange and said.
"Damian! Where the hell is that cursed Damian?"
"He was running at the very front of our group."
"Damn, damn! I pray you're right."
***
The Principality knights surrounded the cave entrance in a semicircle, focusing their senses on the echoing footsteps from inside.
Soon after, rough breathing was heard from the cave. And not long after, the bait team emerged from the cave, dripping with sweat.
However, while five had entered, only three came out.
Two people—Damian and Risten—still hadn't emerged.
Several knights rushed to support the exhausted bait team members who looked ready to collapse.
No one else emerged even after waiting longer.
Sensing something wrong, Gerald shouted with a pale face, "Why haven't Damian and the other one come out!"
The bait team leader also spoke with a bewildered expression, "Risten fell behind after slipping during our escape, and Damian, who was clearly ahead of us, suddenly disappeared. If he didn't come out before us, he must still be in the cave."
Another beast roar echoed from inside the cave. The long passage carried the sound so clearly that those waiting outside flinched.
Gerald immediately said to Nielen, "We must go rescue them now."
Commander-in-Chief Nielen nodded with a grave expression. They had to risk entering the cave. He drew his sword and stepped forward, but his expression twisted as if sensing it was already too late.
Suddenly, an alien sound emerged from the cave.
Scrape, scrape, scrape
Something stirred in the lightless abyss.
Everyone's attention immediately focused on the cave interior.
Something seemed to be dragging across the hard floor in a regular rhythm. The sound gradually grew closer.
The mages and knights blocking the entrance raised their weapons high, ready to jump into battle at any moment.
Soon, a figure began appearing in the sunlight crossing the cave entrance.
It was a massive, boulder-like lion's head and mane.
As knights tried to charge in preemptively, a stop order was immediately given.
"Everyone halt!"
Scrape, scrape, scrape
Then a blood-covered man emerged, dragging the lion's mane in one hand.
He was drenched in blood from head to toe as if he'd showered in it. No one recognized who he was at first. They even had the absurd thought that perhaps some madman who lived in the cave had emerged due to the commotion. It didn't take long to recognize him. The refined features visible through his drooping hair—it was Damian.
What he dragged out was the beast's severed head.
The soldiers' mouths gaped open watching this scene.
A mere student, just a youngster, had emerged alive from the beast's den. Not just alive, but he had even managed to behead the beast at will.
And behind him followed Risten, the lost bait team member, limping on one foot. Silence enveloped the area.
After emerging from the cave, Damian released the head he'd been dragging.
Then he walked slowly forward with exhausted steps.
The knights blocking the entrance wordlessly parted to make way. At the end of that path sat Bibi with crossed legs. She, too, was frozen with eyes wide in surprise.
Damian approached the Duchess and knelt on one knee.
Gerald carefully spoke, "What happened?"
Then Risten, who had emerged late from the cave, shouted to Gerald, "I fell behind after slipping while being chased by the beast. Then Damian came back alone and carried me on his back. And... because we were slow, the beast finally caught up to us..."
Risten paused briefly. Even he seemed unable to comprehend what had happened.
"He beheaded the beast."
It was testimony that could only shock everyone. Bibi briefly squeezed her eyes shut as if unwilling to accept it. Damian was a frighteningly skilled warrior whose age of seventeen belied his impossible feat.
Acknowledging Damian would benefit Silveryn too. But his achievement was too clear. This feat had to be praised and rewarded.
"Though we sent you as bait, you accomplished far more than your task. More exceptionally and bravely than anyone."
"I only did what needed to be done."
"You stepped forward in a critical moment and saved the life of my loyal knight. Such honorable acts deserve fitting rewards. Tell me what you desire."
Damian slowly raised his head to meet the Duchess's eyes.
"I request to be employed as Your Grace's personal guard."
Though she couldn't understand his pathological obsession with that position, Bibi now had to accept Damian's stubbornness.
"...Very well. Is that all?"
"And please allow me to personally perform Your Grace's foot-washing service."
"...!"
Everyone wore expressions wondering if they'd heard correctly.
Bibi's insides twisted as if being wrung out.
After refusing the offer to prepare shoes, he suddenly changed his mind and wanted to personally wash her feet. And this after achieving merits worthy of far greater rewards.
She couldn't fathom what scheme he harbored. Damian was an unpredictable and uncontrollable figure.
"You request an unusual reward."
Bibi silently ground her teeth.
Though her expression maintained a calm smile thanks to her training in social circles, her complexion had turned red. Only her wide-brimmed hat kept others from noticing.
Her arms trembled from unconsciously clenching her fists.
Everything she had imagined had been overturned incomprehensibly. Anger and bewilderment mixed, making her dizzy.
"...Very well. I'll grant your request. Come to my chambers morning and evening to serve."
Watching this, Gerald fell into deep thought.
Had Bibi ever allowed a man to wash her feet before?
As he recalled, not even once.
Damian slowly raised his head.
"From today, I shall be the sword that protects Your Grace."
Bibi repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists before reluctantly extending her right hand to him.
"...Yes, I accept your resolve."
And Damian, slower than a falling leaf, drew the Duchess' hand to his lips and kissed it.
And on the back of her hand remained a red lip mark from the lion's blood.
The atmosphere created by those two was so overwhelming that no one dared make even a breath of sound.
Only the Principality's symbol, the lion flag soaring high above the standard-bearer's head, fluttered in the wind.