I was dragged into this mission, more or less against my will, and there was no turning back anymore. Even if I had wanted to.
I always hated this moment, the moment when I left my one and only family.
The fear of this moment arriving used to paralyze me, but strangely enough, this time it wasn't the case.
I had accepted without any fear.
Something so rare for me that I spent the rest of the evening in an excellent mood before going to sleep.
The next day, we left at dawn. A few completely inexperienced guards had been mobilized.
Lise, my maid ever since my uncle had taken me in, was there too.
She had always stayed by my side.
Before getting into the carriage, our eyes met. For some reason unknown to me, she wore a radiant smile and seemed on the verge of tears.
I stopped beside her.
"I-Is everything alright, Lise?"
She smiled slightly.
"Yes… Young master. Everything is fine."
I tried my best to study her gaze, but unable to discern her expression, I boarded the carriage.
Lise climbed in after me and sat across from me.
The sharp crack of the reins echoed outside before the carriage slowly began to move.
Through the window, I watched the manor grow distant. The large black gates opened with a metallic creak as the horses left the main courtyard.
Sebastian stood near the estate steps, his arms crossed.
He hadn't said anything at the moment of departure.
Just that silent look he sometimes had whenever something bothered him but he didn't know how to express it.
Beside him, my uncle slightly raised his hand in farewell.
I responded with the same gesture, not knowing whether he could really see it, before the carriage turned and the estate disappeared behind the trees.
Silence settled in.
The wheels creaked softly against the stones of the road.
Lise kept her hands clasped on her knees. Her black-and-white uniform was perfectly ironed as always, but something about her posture seemed unusual.
I looked away toward the window.
Lise slightly raised her head.
"Did you say something, young master?"
"No."
"…Ah."
Silence immediately returned.
I sighed inwardly.
The scenery slowly passed by through the carriage windows. The paved roads near the estate quickly gave way to rougher dirt paths. The farther we traveled, the denser the trees became, their long branches sometimes covering the sky entirely.
The air felt colder far from the manor. Heavier too.
I absentmindedly placed my hand on the pommel of my sword.
[Do you feel something?]
Yes.
I didn't know how to explain it.
Ever since the incident, certain things gave me that unpleasant feeling. As if my skin reacted before my mind did. A sensation close to instinct.
The carriage shook slightly as it rolled over a root, and Lise almost imperceptibly flinched.
My gaze shifted toward her.
"Are you sure you're alright?"
She forced a smile.
"Yes Lu— young master. I'm just… a little nervous."
"Nervous?"
"It's the first time I've left the estate in a long time."
I slowly nodded.
That made sense.
Even if something sounded wrong in her voice.
She lowered her eyes.
The journey continued for several more hours.
The mounted guards surrounded the carriage without really speaking to one another. They were truly young. Some were probably my age, or barely older.
I could sense their nervousness through their movements.
The way they constantly checked the forest.
The way they kept their hands close to their weapons.
They were afraid too.
The sun was slowly beginning to set when the convoy stopped near a small river lined with white stones.
One of the carriage wheels had started creaking dangerously.
The escort captain, a knight named Doran, dismounted before approaching the carriage door.
He knocked on the glass window and Lise opened it.
He addressed me.
"We're going to take a short break, young master."
I nodded and stood up to leave the carriage.
The cool air immediately struck my face.
The sound of the water was soothing. After hours trapped inside the carriage, finally being able to move again felt incredible.
I stretched for a long moment.
Suddenly, something caught my attention.
The forest was silent.
Not a bird sound, not a cricket, not the rustling of leaves. Even the wind seemed absent.
A chill ran down my spine.
[Kael.]
I know.
Doran probably noticed my expression because he began walking toward me with a worried look.
"Is something wrong, young master?"
I swept my gaze across the trees.
"Don't you find the forest… silent?"
The knight frowned and turned toward it.
"Silent?"
As his gaze slowly remained fixed upon the mass of trees, his expression changed slightly as well.
The other guards, who were probably sensing the atmosphere shift too, began looking around themselves.
An invisible tension spread through the group.
I heard a creaking sound to my right. Lise was stepping out of the carriage as well.
"What's happening?"
Nobody answered immediately.
A cracking sound echoed from the forest at that exact moment.
Then another.
As though branches were slowly being crushed beneath something heavy.
The young guards immediately drew their swords in a quick motion, staring toward the forest with panicked eyes.
Doran raised his hand and spoke in a firm, loud voice.
"Formation around the carriage!"
He was young, but had the most experience out of everyone here.
The sound was getting closer.
Slowly.
Steadily.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Crunch.
I felt my muscles tense and my throat tighten.
[It's not human.]
Thanks, I had guessed that already.
Then suddenly, the sound abruptly stopped.
Silence fell over the forest once more.
One of the guards loudly swallowed his saliva.
I turned toward him. His hands were trembling. He seemed to be staring at something between the trees…
"S-Sir Doran…"
Something moved.
A massive silhouette slowly emerged between the trunks.
A slender build and a majestic body.
Four long powerful legs.
My breath caught in my throat.
It was a deer.
Or rather… something that must have once been a deer.
Its body was far too massive for a deer. Its skin looked thicker than the thickest armor. Long reddish cracks spread across its neck and stomach like embers beneath dead flesh. A black viscous mass oozed from its wounds.
And its eyes…
Its eyes shone with an empty white light.
One of the horses let out a terrified neigh.
[Kael… step back.]
The monster slowly turned its head toward us.
Then it opened its mouth.
A horrifying scream tore through the forest.
Not an animal scream.
A human scream.
The guards immediately began panicking.
"What the hell is that thing?!"
"It's coming!"
"Protect the young master!"
The deer suddenly leaped toward us, far too fast for anyone to react.
A black mass crossed the distance in a fraction of a second before crashing directly into one of the guards.
The sound of bones shattering echoed through the air.
The young man's body was thrown against a tree with monstrous force, splattering the trunk with blood.
The world seemed to slow around me.
The screams.
The horses.
The swords.
The fear.
Everything blurred together.
My legs were trembling and I could no longer breathe properly.
The monster turned toward me.
Its white eyes locked directly onto mine. As though it was trying to probe the depths of my being.
I could feel it slipping into my memories, my fears, my desires…
A voice whispered inside my head.
[Burn it.]
I froze.
…What?
[Burn it.]
A violent heat suddenly surged through my right arm.
I lowered my eyes.
Red lines were slowly appearing beneath my skin, pulsing as though alive.
Like glowing cracks.
The monster's gaze seemed to change for a brief instant before it looked away.
Doran shouted something.
The sound didn't reach me immediately.
I could barely hear anything beneath the rush of adrenaline.
Ding!
A glowing window appeared before my eyes.
[Condition fulfilled.]
[Temporary authorization granted.]
[Partial Unlock: MONARCH'S FLAME.]