Chapter 43
43
Talia stared with frantic eyes at the black silhouette revealed under the light of the setting sun.
The massive, scale-covered body crouched low like a volcano on the verge of erupting before soaring high into the air. At its peak, a giant reptilian head looked down upon them, its red eyes flashing.
Talia’s legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground. As the monster, huffing hot breaths, unfurled wings encased in black membranes, it felt as though the entire world was being swallowed by a pitch-black darkness.
Barkas drew his sword and shouted in a sharp voice.
“Prepare the subjugation gear immediately!”
No sooner had his command fallen than knights burst through the crowd of people scattering in chaos.
They surrounded the magical beast, driving iron stakes into the ground and connecting thick chains to the ends. Shortly after, dozens of steel harpoons flew like arrows toward the creature’s massive torso.
Talia covered her ears. A thunderous roar erupted from the throat of the monster as it reared its head high.
Every time the heavy body, bound by dozens of chains, twisted violently, the earth shook. Unable to withstand the force, several stakes were ripped from the ground and sent flying into the air.
“Everyone, get back!”
At the same time someone’s shout rang out like thunder, the monster, having broken its restraints, swung one wing fiercely.
Talia let out a scream. Two tents were swept away by the stroke of the wing, and five or six servants who hadn’t managed to prepare were tossed aside like scraps of paper.
The body of one of them rolled toward her, twisted at a grotesque angle. It felt like she was trapped in a nightmare.
“Bring more equipment!”
Barkas’s rough voice barely anchored her fading consciousness. Talia forced strength into her trembling legs and managed to stand up. With a face drained of color, she watched as Barkas dashed like a flash of light toward the rampaging beast.
He was charging straight for the giant maw of the monster, whose body alone looked well over 30 kvet (about 9 meters) long.
“Barkas!”
The moment his name tore from her lips like a scream, the monster’s wing lashed out toward Barkas like a whip.
Talia watched the scene with eyes paralyzed by terror.
The black wing, large enough to cover the sky, enveloped Barkas’s body in an instant. Her world turned entirely black. But in the next moment, the pale blade in Barkas’s hand tore through the thick membrane like paper.
Having sliced through the monster’s wing in an instant, Barkas followed through by severing the thick bundle of muscle connected to its torso.
Losing a wing in the blink of an eye, the magical beast lost its balance and staggered heavily.
Without missing the opening, Barkas pulled a chain sickle from his waist and threw the hooked blade into the hideous maw lined with needle-like teeth. Then, sliding to the side, he connected the chain to a stake fixed in the ground and pulled with brutal strength.
The monster, its lower jaw pierced by the sickle, collapsed helplessly like a fish caught on a hook. Talia gaped in disbelief at the monstrous strength coming from a body as lithe and slender as a dancer’s.
Barkas, gripping the iron chain with both hands, shouted to his subordinates.
“Finish it, now!”
Immediately, dozens of harpoons buried themselves in the monster’s body.
The beast covered in black scales writhed its house-sized torso in a desperate struggle, but it was powerless against the fierce barrage of attacks.
The monster, looking like a hedgehog in an instant, lolled its long tongue out and slumped onto the ground. Only then was Talia able to exhale the breath she had been holding.
“Are you alright?”
An Imperial Guard knight who had come running in a flurry looked down at her with worried eyes. He was also holding a sword in one hand, appearing as though he had rushed to the battlefield while searching for her.
The man quickly shoved the sword back into its scabbard and reached out a hand to help her up.
Talia roughly brushed his hand away and approached Barkas, who was recovering the equipment from the monster’s corpse.
Wrapping the loosened chain around one hand, Barkas flicked his eyes toward her, scanning her from head to toe. Even though it was a dry gaze, as if he were checking the condition of an item he was tasked with guarding, she felt no anger in that moment. Talia asked in an involuntarily anxious voice.
“Are… are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
As she scrutinized him with trembling eyes, she saw dark red bloodstains smearing his neck.
Talia reached out and touched his neck. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be Barkas’s blood. As she let out a sigh of relief, she suddenly felt a prickling sensation on the top of her head.
Lifting her gaze, Talia saw Barkas looking down at her with slightly widened eyes and hurriedly lowered her arm.
A cold sweat broke out from her pores at his silence. Was he appalled that a woman who hit him or threw things at him every single day was now pretending to be worried? Talia, stammering with a flustered face, muttered as if making an excuse.
“If… if something happens to someone I’ve known for nearly ten years right in front of me, it’ll ruin my sleep. I don’t want to have nightmares because of you.”
“…It is fortunate then, as I have no intention of appearing in your dreams, Your Highness.”
For some reason, a sense of relief washed over her at the spiteful reply that was no different from usual.
Talia let her shoulders drop, which were aching from being excessively tense.
Just as Barkas, watching her, was about to say something, another scream echoed from afar. Talia turned her head and gasped sharply. Black monsters were swarming the entire sky.
An Imperial Guard knight muttered with a face full of despair.
“Why a pack of Wyverns at this time of year…?”
“Bring out the subjugation gear instead of wondering about that! Your Highness, come this way.”
Regaining his composure instantly, Barkas gave orders in a sharp voice and grabbed her wrist, striding across the campsite.
Talia stayed close to his back, her legs moving so fast her feet felt like they were on fire. The smell of blood and fire was everywhere.
A mess. The chaos she had waited and waited for had finally arrived.
But she couldn’t feel any joy. Only a freezing terror circulated through her blood.
“Lord Siekan! We’ve set up a defensive wall over there!”
She was watching with distraught eyes as the monsters destroyed carriages and tents at random when someone shouted loudly.
Barkas immediately turned his steps in that direction.
“Do not come out of here under any circumstances.”
Leading her, who was half-dazed, to the center of the camp, Barkas spoke in a firm tone.
Talia turned her head to look around. A group of people had taken refuge in front of dozens of wagons lined up like a rampart.
“Defensive magic tools are installed on the wagons. You will be safe here.”
“Wha—what about you?”
Ignoring her question, Barkas turned around immediately.
Talia grabbed him urgently.
“Are you crazy? Where are you going right now!”
“The defensive magic won’t last long. I have to deal with the magical beasts before then.”
Firmly pulling his hand away from her, Barkas ran toward where the struggle was taking place.
Talia stared at his retreating back with a face of utter loss before she began to chase after him frantically.
“No! Don’t go! Barkas! Barkas!”
