Siegfried Fors
Its body dwarfed even the thickest of trees, a beast. Flames dripped from its jaws like molten drool, sizzling wherever they touched the earth. The mere weight of its presence made the surrounding foliage smoke and shiver. I stood frozen, staring into the inferno that was its eyes.
"There was… an adult here too…" Granny's voice wavered behind me, quiet, almost stunned. I barely caught the whisper, but it held the weight of realization.
The smaller monsters, once menacing in their own right, cowered, scuttling behind their titanic kin like shadows fleeing light.
It lowered its head. Its blazing eyes scanned the battlefield, lingering briefly on each of its fallen kin. One by one.
And then, it looked at me.
The next roar was deafening. The forest itself seemed to tremble. With a terrifying lurch, it opened its monstrous maw, teeth like blackened blades, and lunged straight at me.
"MOVE!" Granny screamed, her voice sharp and desperate, but I already knew.
It doesn't matter where I jump. Its reach is too vast… its hunger too fast… I can't outrun that firestorm.
So I did the only thing I could. I poured mana into my body, more than ever before. My skin tingled, magic circuits humming with green light as I cloaked myself in it like armor.
But I still knew. It won't be enough.
Damn it.
"What are you doing to my beautiful wife and grandson?!"
A thunderous voice shattered the sky.
Something massive dropped from above like the wrath of the heavens, slamming into the giant salamander's skull with a sound that cracked the air itself.
The force sent me flying backward, like a leaf caught in a gale. I tumbled once, twice, until I slammed into something solid. Hard. My back thudded against it with a painful jolt.
"Ugh… Ouch." I groaned, rubbing my head as I looked up, only to realize…
It was Faux's barrier.
The invisible dome shimmered faintly under my fingers, pulsing with protective mana.
I gasped. "The monster!"
I whipped my head around, eyes locking on the battlefield.
Dust clouded the air… then cleared.
The giant salamander lay there, unmoving. Its mouth hung slack. Its eyes were rolled back into its scorched skull. Steam hissed off its body. Smoke curled in wisps from the crater its head had slammed into.
Above its head, Grandpa yanked his massive axe free from the creature's skull with a sharp twist. The blade gleamed orange in the firelight.
"Sieg! Elara!" he shouted as he jumped down from the corpse, running toward us with worry in his eyes.
Faux shimmered as the barrier gently lowered, fluttering down. Grandpa reached us in an instant, his gaze falling on Granny first.
He knelt beside her immediately. "Elara, what happened? How did you end up like this?"
Granny looked away, her cheeks coloring ever so slightly. "It's… an embarrassing story. Let's just say I was a bit too confident."
He frowned, eyes flicking between her pale face and the burns all over her body, but he didn't press. Instead, he scooped her up in his arms, holding her with the gentleness of someone who'd done this a hundred times before.
Hissing. Sharp, sinister hissing echoed through the clearing. My blood ran cold. Looking around, ten or twenty, no, more. Small monsters. Crawling from the underbrush like they were waiting for this opportunity. Surrounding us in a circle.
All of them opened their mouths, and thick, gray smoke began to pour out.
"Careful! This ash can be ignited!" Granny warned from Grandpa's arms, her voice still raspy.
"Faux!" I looked at the fox spirit hovering beside us, his golden eyes shimmering. Before the ash could envelop us, a new barrier shimmered into existence, surrounding our small group.
The ash clouds consumed our vision, plunging us into a blinding haze.
We readied ourselves, expecting the ash to ignite, but instead, we heard multiple monstrous screams of pain.
Sharp lines carved through the smoke like blades through silk. It began to dissipate, parted cleanly by something fast.
No, someone.
Red hair. A blade humming in one hand.
"Looks like we arrived on time."
Ashar stepped through the fading ash cloud, a calm smile on his lips.
And I finally let out the breath I didn't know I was holding as more figures emerged from the thinning ash.
Knights.
Sweeping through the field with practiced formation, long blades gleaming, spells flaring from fingertips. The remaining monsters didn't stand a chance. They were cut down one by one, hunted without mercy. The air rang with the sound of steel and short, strangled screeches.
I stared, watching it all unfold. Watching lives, beastly or not, snuffed out without hesitation.
A knight approached us. He moved with calm authority, his dark green hair tied behind him. I looked at Faux, and he nodded, the barrier dissolving before he settled back onto my head.
"Lord Fors, are you..." His words trailed off as his eyes fell upon Granny in Grandpa's arms, a grim expression hardened across his face.
I didn't miss the flicker in his eyes, the tightening of his jaw.
Was that guilt?
Silence spoke louder than any words.
"We'll handle the rest here," he said finally. "Please… retreat to the barony."
Grandpa nodded, his voice low. "Yes. That would be for the better."
I glanced back at the dwindling group of monsters. As the tide turned against them, their scales shifted, and they vanished, just as before.
Seriously… what are these chameleon-like creatures?
"Don't let them escape!" Granny's voice, though hoarse and punctuated by a cough, was sharp with urgency. She looked at the Captain. "Tavian, capture a few of them alive, and be careful! They can extend their tongues, and the others can vanish and throw ash that ignites."
The knight, Tavian, bowed deeply. "As you wish, Lady Elara."
His face sharpened as he turned toward Ashar. I caught the faint narrowing of Tavian's eyes, the flicker of judgment. Maybe even frustration.
"Escort them back," Tavian ordered curtly. "And don't let your guard down this time."
Ashar nodded, lips pressed into a firm line. "Right."
With Ashar leading the way, all of us made our way back to the barony. On the way, I learned that after I'd left, Ashar had indeed returned to the manor to inform everyone about what had happened. Grandpa had rushed to us, followed closely by the other knights.
We arrived back to chaos. Soldiers lined up outside the manor. Lord Borg stood at the gates, barking orders, until he saw us.
His voice died. His face paled.
Lady Borg, who stood beside him, let out a sharp gasp when she saw Granny.
They rushed to her side, but she waved them off with a stiff shake of her head. "Later," she murmured. "Let's get inside first."
She was taken for medical treatment at once, with Lady Borg by her side. Grandpa stayed behind with me as I filled him and Lord Borg in on everything we found.
Barely an hour later, Granny strode into the drawing room, bandages wrapped around her arms and neck, and there was a large patch across her right cheek. But she moved with the same determined steps as always. Seeing her walking like this sent Grandpa and me into a fresh wave of panic. When we asked if she was truly okay, she simply waved a dismissive hand. "I am not lying in bed over such minor injuries."
Lady Borg followed in after her, exasperated and still holding a folded piece of parchment. "The doctor said bed rest for at least a day. A single day, Auntie."
Granny shrugged and dropped into the nearest seat with a dramatic sigh. "Eh. Don't care."
I looked at her recline into the chair with that same stubborn fire I'd grown up with.
And suddenly, I couldn't help but smile.
Maybe Mother's rebellious streak didn't start with her after all.
Granny then recounted the entire ordeal, her voice gaining a wry amusement as she described the ambush by the salamanders. She looked at Grandpa, a small, knowing smile playing on her lips. "Embarrassing, right?"
Grandpa gently placed his hand over hers. "I don't think there's anything embarrassing about this. All I see is a brave mage, nothing less."
"Oh." Granny's cheeks flushed a delicate red at his words. "You never change, do you?" she said, her smile softening. I couldn't help but smile, watching them, and I could sense the same warm sentiment from everyone else in the room.
Still... So these creatures were salamanders? But why do they act like chameleons?
"But Auntie," Lady Borg interjected, her brow furrowed, "the things you described, vanishing, those long tongues, I've never heard of salamanders having abilities like that."
Oh, nice one, Lady Borg.
"I wondered about that too while the doctor patched me up," Granny said, folding her arms. "I believe these monsters are Mutants."
"Mutants?" I wondered aloud.
Even James, who'd been standing quietly next to me, raised his head. "Mutants?"
Granny nodded, gesturing faintly in the air. "Mutations happen when an offspring develops improved or altered features, sometimes even traits their parents didn't have. It's the natural path of evolution. Over generations, those traits may become common to the species. That's how adaptation works and how Blood Traits originally came to be."
Blood trait…
My hand instinctively moved toward my eyepatch, but I stopped it. Mother has normal eyes… so this eye does comes from my Father's side? Does everyone in his family have it… or just me?
"So one of these mutant salamanders was responsible for the fire?" Lord Borg asked, leaning forward.
"That's what I believe," Granny said, nodding.
Lord Borg ran a hand across his temple, the exhaustion in his posture visible. "But where did they even come from?" he questioned, his voice heavy. "And how did it even enter the barony?"
"Maybe... a tamer is involved in this," I suggested, keeping my voice measured. "Someone could have slipped in and used summoning magic to call their contracted beast."
"No, it's not possible," Granny replied with certainty. "The way those monsters wailed to call their parent, it's clear they had a natural habitat here."
Her gaze narrowed slightly, voice taking on that analytical edge I'd grown up hearing in the lab. "As for getting inside, if they can make themselves invisible, then they had numerous ways to get in. They could have just crawled over the wall."
Lord Borg sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "To think… creatures like that were nesting right beside us." He looked toward the shuttered window, as if trying to see the blackened fields again through memory. "It could've been far worse. I'm just grateful we responded in time. Had this gone on longer…"
He let the thought hang.
I sat back, still trying to absorb everything. Mutant salamanders. Evolution. Blood traits.
The world felt wider now. And far more dangerous.
I stared down at my hand, flexing my fingers slowly.
That feeling… the moment my fist landed, crushing flesh and scale… it was nothing like I imagined. The sound, the warmth, the trembling pulse of something alive fading beneath my touch. It clawed at my gut like bile.
I never thought the difference between taking a life with your bare hands and doing it from behind a screen could be so stark… and this wasn't even a human life…
I looked in front. Granny sat back in her chair, arms folded tightly, bandages still wrapped across her arms and cheek. The fading bruise along her neck peeked through a gap in her collar.
Something in me twisted. The same dark anger I'd felt in that moment rose again, thick and bitter.
Maybe I didn't make them suffer enough.
I caught myself.
What am I thinking…?
No. I needed strength. Strength not born of rage or revenge, but strength that could protect. So that no one I loved ever had to bleed like that again.
If a moment comes where I have to kill… let it be because I chose to protect, not because I wanted to hurt.
"Perhaps we should take Auntie's suggestion and clear the surrounding forest," Lady Borg's voice cut across the silence. She turned to her husband, her face resolute. "Clearing the forest perimeter might be necessary. We can't risk another ambush."
"I understand that," Lord Borg replied, his voice heavy with practical difficulty. "But we will need extensive preparation, and I don't think we are in a condition for that right now."
He was right.
A sweep like that wasn't a small affair. Equipment, transport, scouts. Payment to workers. Hiring mages. Feeding teams stationed in the wild. That would require serious money.
I folded my arms, chewing the inside of my cheek.
And if we do scare the monsters off… they might just run to other nearby settlements.
Granny sighed and slumped deeper into the couch, arms still crossed like she was carrying the weight of everyone's burden. Her voice, though, came out light, even amused.
"The bodies of the salamanders..."
Everyone in the room looked at her, questions etched on their faces.
"The bodies of the salamanders," she elaborated, a knowing glint in her eye. "They will fetch quite a sum."
"Bodies? You mean we should sell them to, like, the Adventurers' Guild?" Lady Borg asked, her voice laced with surprise.
Wait, what? We're just giving them away?
Salamander corpses weren't just charred meat, they were packed with rare materials. Scales resistant to fire, glands that could store liquid flame, cores, teeth, bone marrow… it was practically a walking treasure trove.
"Well, there's them, of course," Granny said, a huge grin spreading across her face. "But there's another organization that will pay far more."
Everyone leaned in slightly.
"In truth, there are three organizations who'd fight for this: the Ministry of Magic, the Magic Association, and the Royal Alchemic Institute. Mutants like these, so rare, alchemists would kill to study their materials. As for the Ministry and the Association, they'll want to know where in the empire mutants are showing up… and what environmental conditions are triggering such evolutions. If you hold an auction," she let out a chuckle, "they'll be throwing money like madmen."
I looked. Right. The Ministry of Magic, they handled all laws and regulations around magic within the empire, made rulings on dangerous spells, granted legal permits for high-tier magic. The Magic Association, on the other hand, was part of the International Magic Association, with branches across every major country. They cared more about research, classification, magical ethics, global cooperation.
"But Lady Fors," Lord Borg started, hesitant, "it's you, Lord Fors, and the young lord who defeated those monsters. And even now your knights are moving the bodies for us. We can't possibly—"
"Enough." Granny's voice cut like a whip. She stood sharply from her seat.
Even I flinched. James practically jolted out of his chair.
"Elara?" Grandpa blinked at her in surprise.
"I'm helping because I don't want to see my only niece sad," she said, eyes sharp and tone unyielding. "I don't care if it makes you look weak or whatever it is you're worried about. Think about your family and your territory first, before that pride."
She let it out all in one breath.
…
Whoa… even when she lectured Mother she wasn't that harsh.
Beside me, James stared at her like a knight spotting a dragon for the first time. Terrified.
Lord Borg looked down, shame flickering across his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, voice quiet. "I… I'm sorry. I just didn't want people to look down on Borg. Not on everything my father built and left behind…"
Grandpa stepped forward, placing a firm hand on Lord Borg's shoulder.
"I understand," he said, voice softer now. "Filling the shoes of someone who earned their nobility through grit and charisma, it's not easy. Believe me… I understand better than anyone."
Lord Borg looked up, eyes slowly widening, and for the first time since all this began… he looked a little lighter.
"If one person isn't enough," Grandpa continued, "then rely on those who care. On your people, your family, those who offer their help with good hearts."
There was a silence. Then Lord Borg took a deep breath and nodded, meeting Grandpa's gaze with newfound resolve.
"…I understand. Thank you. I'll take you up on the offer."
"Good," Granny said, placing her hand on her hip with her usual no-nonsense flair. "Now go draft letters to the Ministry, the Association, and the Institute. I'll go check on the corpses to see what's worth auctioning."
Lady Borg smiled and placed her hands gently on her husband's shoulder. Their eyes met, grateful, warm, a little tired, but full of shared strength. Beside me, James grinned.
It felt like the room had breathed out all at once. The tension lifted, replaced with something better.
But…
I shuffled closer to Granny and tugged lightly on her sleeve.
She looked down at me, puzzled.
"What is it?"
I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow, giving her the look. Come on, Granny… you know what I want.
It took her a moment, but when it hit, her lips parted in realization.
"Ah…" She turned back to Lord Borg and cleared her throat. "I hope you don't mind if we keep a few salamander corpses for ourselves?"
Lord Borg glanced between us and smiled. "Of course. Take as many as you'd like."
"Yippee!" I whispered under my breath, fist-pumping quietly.
Rare materials secured.