[change Noshi to Gnosi]
"Block it! Head straight to Shelter 3!"
"We're launching lure fireworks! 3, 2, 1!"
A firework shot up from the defense barrier. Despite the loud noise and the flash of mana, the monster merely glanced at it without changing direction. An SS-class monster, a blue serpent with venom. A monster with potent poison was more threatening to the city than any other. If the venom were to seep into the ground with shelters, it would be difficult to protect even with barriers. The venom that shelters could handle was up to A-class at most.
Eventually, the S-class guards of Sollemnis stood in front of the monster. The serpent widened its green eyes and flicked its tongue. The confrontation on both sides was short-lived. The serpent's body shot out in an instant, breaking the road long. Guards scattered like a flock of sparrows attacked by hawks in the spurting venom. Although skilled attacks were poured out towards the monster, there was no fatal blow. However, it was enough to provoke the monster's nature.
"Dammit!"
The serpent's eyes locked onto the man who had stripped off his scales among the guards. The S-class guard of Solremnis began to run towards the outskirts of the city, gnashing his teeth.
"It's coiling around! Assist!"
Auxiliary skills wrapped around the pursuing guard. Shots continued to delay the serpent's charge, and bombs exploded. Breaking buildings and smashing the road, the monster quickly crawled towards its target.
Without Sigma, hunting an SS-class monster was difficult now. It wasn't impossible, but it would consume manpower and resources severely. It was best to lure it far away from the city.
Thump, rumble, the serpent thrashed fiercely, elusive prey. As it writhed on the ground, it suddenly shrunk its body, then sprang up high like a spring.
"Kirk!"
In the blink of an eye, the serpent streaked through the air, leaping over the guard who was being chased. It stood in front of him, blocking his path. Before the guard could change direction, the serpent's long body coiled around him like a wall.
"Damn it!"
Surrounded by solid scales and facing the venomous head if he jumped up, there was no way to escape. As the S-class guard used a futile defense skill, he awaited his last moment.
"Keek!"
The monster's scream echoed. Then, a sound of tearing flesh and bones spread through the air. The S-class guard raised his head. In his eyes was a red-furred monster firmly gripping the serpent's head.
"...What, what is this?"
With golden horns and golden-tinted mane, the beast snarled while holding the serpent's neck with its front paw. Venom splattered everywhere, but it couldn't touch the monster due to the flames swirling around it.
Before long, the serpent's struggling ceased. In silence, the red monster looked down at the S-class guard. Despite being strong against fire and venom, he was the one who swiftly dealt with an SS-class monster. Naturally, it must have been an SS-class monster of the same level.
Should he run? No, would he be able to run? The guard hesitated as the monster approached him, its size suddenly shrinking.
"...Huh."
The once giant figure shrank to a tiny size in an instant. Its triangular ears pricked up, and its fluffy tail swayed. The monster, now the size of a medium-sized dog, made the S-class guard blink. It seemed inadvertently cute.
"Ki-yang."
No, it's definitely cute. The monster approached the guard, its golden eyes peering up at him. Its raised snout twitched slightly.
"Please dodge!"
The man urgently raised both hands above his head as other guards approached with weapons in hand.
"Stop! There's no hostility! No need to provoke unnecessarily!"
"What? Even the monsters?"
"Does that make sense?"
Monsters represented enemies to humans. Tamed monsters were exceptions, but anything above B-class was practically impossible to tame. Yet, an SS-class monster not attacking humans was unheard of.
"But look, it's quiet."
The monster seemed to be sniffing around without any intention of attacking. Other guards, while maintaining their vigilance, also looked at the monster in wonder.
"Well... that's a relief, thanks to it."
"Yeah. We managed to deal with a monster lured outside in no time."
"If Sigma were here, it would've been over in an instant."
A heavy silence descended for a moment. In the somber atmosphere, one guard spoke up.
"This monster also has golden eyes."
"...Oh, really."
The expression of Sollemnis guards became even more clouded as they looked at the familiar golden-eyed monster. Then, the monster leaped over the lifeless body of the serpent. Its destination was none other than the Sollemnis Defense Headquarters.
"Shouldn't we stop it?"
"But there's no way to stop it..."
In a dilemma, the guards followed the monster's trail without being able to block it. Guards informed of the situation were waiting at the Defense Headquarters. They, too, showed signs of confusion at the sight of the small and cute monster. Regardless, the monster kept moving without stopping. Its light footsteps as it walked into the Defense Headquarters seemed too casual, as if it had lived here for a long time.
"I wonder what that monster is up to."
"Is it okay to just let it be..."
The guards hesitated but followed behind the monster without being able to intervene. The monster, after wandering around for a bit, soon emerged and headed towards the elevator leading to the mana hole. It pressed the button, but manipulation without a key card was impossible.
"Kkaung."
The monster urged the Sollemnis guard with a glance. The elevator door opened as if by magic, and the monster descended to where the mana hole was located. After a quick tour, the monster returned to the top and headed towards the armory. Finally, it arrived at Sigma's office.
"Kheung."
After playfully nudging the items still left on Han Yoojin's desk with its front paw, the monster turned around. There were no guards trying to stop the monster anymore. Although unspoken, they all had similar thoughts.
Shaking its ample tail, the monster headed for the rooftop. The guards, sensing the monster's destination, wore grim faces. Eventually, as the monster reached the rooftop, it hesitated for a moment before walking forward without any hesitation. The guards, realizing that the monster was about to leave, exchanged glances. Then, one of them spoke up.
"Farewell!"
The monster tilted its head curiously as it glanced back at them. At the same time, other guards also began to bid farewell.
"Thank you for everything!"
"Don't worry about the aftermath! We'll do our best with what we have!"
"Please take care of yourself!"
Fluttering, small wings sprouted from the monster's back. Like a crimson crescent, the feathered wings flapped, and it swiftly soared into the sky. The Sollemnis guards watched in a daze as it disappeared in an instant.
Perhaps it was just a peculiar monster after all. Maybe that was the more likely possibility. However, they felt a sense of ease in their hearts.
They exchanged final farewells. That alone was enough.
"Let's go handle the aftermath. We need to neutralize the poison."
"Thanks to it, things will be quiet for a while."
"But we mustn't let our guard down. We need to prepare for the next time."
The guards of Sollemnis left the rooftop with lighter steps.
The Flamehorn Lion, or technically a slightly different species, Peace, swiftly traversed the sky. Peace landed somewhere in the southern region, far from here. It wandered around hunting noticeable monsters in the fire attribute for a while.
Eventually, Peace finally discovered traces of Han Yoojin, but he had already left the place. Using its tracking skill, Peace investigated the situation and immediately followed the trail of the father. The place where the Flamehorn Lion landed after flying for a while was none other than the desolate Akates Defense Headquarters.
"Ahh! It's a monster!"
The administrator, who was inspecting the machinery around the mana hole, screamed in panic upon seeing Peace. Guards who rushed over in an instant scratched their heads at the sight of the small creature.
"...Is it really a monster?"
"Isn't it a fox? I heard they went extinct a long time ago."
"But its snout is short."
It was difficult for guards below S-class to discern the true identity of an SS-class monster that concealed its strength by liquefying. Peace roamed around the vicinity of the mana hole while guards speculated whether it was really a fox or not.
"It's not a fox, that's for sure."
"Sir Gnosi, is it okay for you to be up already?"
Gnosi, an A-class guard, waved his hand dismissively.
"I'm not sure what it is, but it's completely different from the fox I've seen."
"Have you seen a fox, Sir Gnosi?"
"It was when I was young."
Unless one was hiding in the sky or underground, it was difficult to find wild animals nowadays. Gnosi glanced at Vitera as she approached him. He turned his gaze back to the mana hole.
"Alpha left with Han Yoojin, right?"
"Yes. I hoped he would stay, but he seemed determined to accompany Han Yoojin."
Gnosi clenched his right hand into a fist. After a brief silence, he spoke again.
"It didn't seem like brainwashing, did it?"
"It didn't seem convincing at all, from what I saw of Alpha. More than anything, Han Yoojin seemed to treasure Alpha a lot. Just by watching them for a short while, you could easily see how much they cared for each other."
Gnosi fell silent again. He had heard similar words from others multiple times already. He sighed heavily.
Han Yoojin, who possessed a high-level hiding skill, infiltrated the Akates Defense under the guise of being a guard a year ago. He met Alpha, who couldn't be detected by the hiding skill, and inadvertently built a friendship with him. While attempting to extract Alpha without being noticed, he was exposed. The Akates Alpha administrator attempted to use Han Yoojin, and to escape from that, Han Yoojin faked his death and removed himself from the situation.
Afterward, Alpha went on a rampage, and Han Yoojin sought help from Sigma in Sollemnis before returning to Akates and causing the current incident. That was Han Yoojin's excuse and explanation. There were some suspicious points, but it was a plausible story.
"...Regardless, I can't interfere with it."
He had endured for a long time due to lack of strength. But now that even a C-class guard had restored freedom to Alpha, it was just an excuse made from his own weakness. He should have risked his life without taking the long way around.
"Why are you making that expression? If it weren't for us, Han Yoojin wouldn't have found it easy to save Alpha. We can't say that all the efforts we've made over the years were useless. Someday, we'll succeed with our own strength, without a doubt."
Gnosi's expression remained dark, even though they had just become a bit faster. And then, it happened.
- Growl.
A harmless little creature that was wandering around suddenly bared its teeth fiercely. Flames surged over its red fur.
"It's a monster!"
"Be careful!"
Even though it was small, they thought its rank might not be low. Fearlessly, the Flamehorn Lion slammed into the ground. Moving at a speed almost impossible to catch with the eyes, the attacker targeted none other than Gnosi.
"Gnosi!"
"Ugh, watch out!"
It was at least S-class, or even higher. Gnosi was pushed to the ground by the terrifying force emanating from the small creature's body, and Peace's forepaw pressed down on Gnosi's chest. His clothes and skin turned red from the flames.
- Roar!
Peace coldly looked down at the subdued human under it, raising one forepaw. Although Peace vaguely sensed that this human had harmed Han Yooji, he hadn't harmed Han Yoojin, let alone Han Yoojin's family. So, suspecting there might be a reason, Peace lightly swiped its paw.
With a sound, a long scratch mark was left on Gnosi's cheek. Gnosi's eyes widened. The red flames seemed to burn his blood and pierce into his soul.
Peace, as if reprimanding once again, growled before spreading its wings. Gnosi, looking dazed, watched as the small monster engulfed in flames flew away. A potion poured over his head.
"Are you okay?!"
Gnosi raised his hand to tend to the wound on his cheek. Vitera helped him up and applied a potion to his burned skin.
"That monster just now seemed to be around SS-class, but it just left for some reason. Fortunately."
"...Yes."
Amidst the commotion of the people, the two looked at the small monster, now reduced to a mere dot.
"Will it come back someday?"
"Huh? Oh, Alpha? Well, it's his hometown. Although he probably doesn't have many good memories, he might come back at least once. Is there a recovery suppression effect in the skills? I might end up with burn scars. Let's go see a healer."
"No, it's okay."
As it was just a trace of a burn, it wasn't bad. Even though it was a different fire.
"We need to work diligently to rebuild until then. We have to do what we can."
"That's exactly right!"
Luckily, the mana hole didn't quiet down either, Vitera laughed.
Peace flapped its wings without rest. With the added skill of sprinting, it swiftly cut through the air, scattering flames. Strangely, there were no attacking monsters along the way. The monsters that should have been scattered outside the city had almost disappeared. Thanks to this, without stopping, Peace arrived in Lanchea before sunset.
"Look at that!"
A guard of Lanchea, who was on night duty, pointed at Peace.
"Isn't that the monster that appeared in Sollemnis?"
"It seems so."
The guards of Lanchea, who had just received news through intercity communication a while ago, waved their arms overhead.
"Come here, little one!"
"You caught an SS-class monster? Well done! If you're looking for a job, you're welcome anytime!"
"We don't discriminate against monsters. If you're looking for work, you're welcome here!"
Amidst the cheers of the guards of Lanchea, Peace circled slowly in the air. Even here, only a slight trace of Han Yoojin could be felt. Peace looked toward the far north. It didn't want to go to cold or water-rich places, but it had to go.
Flapping its wings, the small monster headed north, leaving the guards of Lanchea disappointed.
"Even that one is going north."
"I wonder if Lambda is doing well."
"If you happen to meet him, please give my regards!"
"Lambda, we couldn't hold down that monster because it didn't come down!"
With waving hands like greetings behind them, Peace flew away again. The air grew colder, and snowflakes brushed against its fur. How much farther would it fly? Finally, the city in the north came into view with golden eyes.
- Roar!
This time, it wouldn't be too late. Peace flapped its wings vigorously and entered the airspace of Drosia City.
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