kscans

Chapter 112 - Little One and the Seaside Forest

"What was the cause?"

"...The monsters, which were being kept alive with a bare minimum of magic, went on a rampage. This indicates that there was a supply of magic from somewhere. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to move, let alone rampage."

Come to think of it, the guys from the merchant caravan said something like that too. Wondering if they had that much stamina left.

Then, Little One remembered the strange feeling she had during her previous visit to Castrato. At that time, she had sensed countless threads of dark magic stretching thinly along the ground. She had assumed they were leaking from the forest in the subterranean lake, but could it be?

"Was it intentional? Did someone channel magic to give the monsters vitality?"

Her face tightened as she told the Crown Prince what she had sensed back then.

"...Does that mean that Castrato is now overrun with monsters controlled by Dark Spirits?"

"It would seem so. Though I don't know why they're rampaging."

As the two of them were talking, waya waya, Chihaya raised his hand from behind and spoke up.

"This is just speculation, but could it be to drive the humans to despair? They whisper sweet words when people are in distress to gain their trust. It is a method they often use."

Cesare spoke nonchalantly. But his words carried weight. Because he was a victim of those Dark Spirits, and he should know them well. That was why he had instantly seen through their true form in the subterranean forest and launched an attack. They were the root cause that led to the ruin of Haze Reap. Little One was speechless at all the things Joker had told her. However, even as she held that warm pity in her mind, Chihiro’s expression went sun, completely blank.

He went through a lot. But trying to consume Arcadia is a different story. I will never forgive him.

Little One planned on gaining eternity later. Her ‘never’ meant for all time to come. It seemed her dear brother was in a precarious position if he didn't redeem himself somewhere.

"Then we have to stop the monsters. What should we do?"

"I shall go. Frenzied monsters have a habit of ganging up on those stronger than themselves. If I go out, I should be able to draw a large number of them."

True. By that logic, the monsters should swarm Cesare. However, Little One had a bad feeling about something.

The Dark Spirits flitting around the monsters.

"Hmm? For now, let's try to intercept them in front of the palace."

The Frontier knights began to move, nodding at Little One’s words.

"He... help... Gyaaaah!"

A man, apparently fleeing from a monster, fell onto the stone pavement, clutching a child to his chest. At his feet was a wolf-type monster. Its red eyes glaring, it sank its large jaws into the man's leg. Zuburi, its fangs bit deep, and blood dripped from his leg. With its teeth still clamped down, the wolf shook its head, dragging the man away.

"Ugyaaah, someone! This child... my daughter!"

The man cried out, desperately holding the child in his arms. The wolf, seeming to enjoy the michi michi sound of tearing flesh, bit down with glee, its mouth smeared with blood. Drawn by the raw scent of blood, other monsters began to gather from the surroundings. Every one of them had crimson eyes. Surrounded by the frenzied monsters, the man's teeth chattered as he trembled in fear. With a chilling smile, the wolf let its long tongue hang out and licked its own bloodstained mouth. The man's face froze as he watched the monster lick his blood, his eyes wide with terror, and he let out a throat-tearing scream.

Just then, something shot through the air, splitting the wind.

Paun. With a light sound, the wolf was sent flying. It slammed into the wall of a building and slid down, limp. Two arrows embedded in its forehead had stopped the monster’s breath.

"Ah, you killed it. Let's try to capture them alive if possible."

"Don't ask the impossible! It's a miracle I hit it at all!"

Shouting from a fair distance away was Uris. He was Lucas's twin brother and the strongest of the archer-knights. His skill to shoot an arrow this far was extraordinary. Little One had set up a command post in the palace front garden and was rescuing the fleeing nobles. The sharp-eyed archer-knights scouted for monsters, while the Castrato soldiers and knights rescued people. The Frontier knights were fighting off the monsters swarming around their position. Monster subjugation was Frontier's specialty. Besides, most of the rampaging monsters were only medium-sized. They were no match for the Little One Squad, which was composed of the finest young knights from a legion of warriors. Entrusting the rescue of the injured and victims and the extinguishing of fires to the Castrato soldiers and the Mononoke Corps, Little One ran through the city.

"You guys! Stop it!!"

The Dark Spirits were giving magic to the monsters, inciting them. Little One grabbed them and trapped them one by one in the dark magic crystal she had received from Cesare. The spirits, pressed against the crystal, let out thin screams and vanished as if melting away. The Dark Magic Crystal that had sealed Cesare’s memories was highly compatible with dark magic, and its nature allowed it to greedily absorb dark power. Little One was using it to capture the Dark Spirits.

The sea serpents patrolled, steadily extinguishing the flames. The frogs protected the injured until help arrived. Among them, the honeybees carried the seriously wounded and children to the palace. With the splendid coordination of the Mononoke Corps, the chaos was brought under control in the blink of an eye.

Amidst it all, the twins flew around to reduce the number of Dark Spirits. Apparently, these spirits could only be seen by those with high magic power, so even Dorfen could only make out a faint outline. As for the others, you can imagine.

Just as Little One, who had been darting around in all directions, paused to catch her breath, she heard a high-pitched scream from nearby. The scream and sobs of a small child. When Little One turned and rushed over, she found a large group of people. A familiar carriage and people trembling in fear. In the center was a flamboyantly dressed man with black hair.

"Don't flinch! Use the magic stones! You can use them all, protect the children!"

They were escorting more than a dozen children. It seemed their carriage had been destroyed by monsters, and the adults surrounding the children were throwing something into the distance. The monsters, lured by what was thrown, scattered.

What they were throwing were magic stones. The magic-infused gems were a favorite treat for monsters. Glaring at the monsters licking the magic stones with blissful expressions, the black-haired man shouted.

"Now's our chance! Let’s run! The gate is close!!"

The flamboyant man fought off the attacking monsters. His swordplay was rough, but he was quite skilled. Little One looked behind them and her eyes widened. Gagga. A large bull was charging. With horns that shone black as if polished, it was undoubtedly a monster. The next moment, the bull monster went on a rampage, charging straight for the man’s group.

"Get down!!"

In response to the shout, the adults threw themselves over the children and dropped to the ground. Just as the bull was about to crash into them, Little One unleashed her magic at its feet. Instantly, a multitude of plants sprouted. The bull monster, its legs caught in the suddenly appearing thicket, tripped and went flying over the prone humans. Dosun...! With a loud thud, the monster lay still, not even twitching. Coughing from the dust that filled the air, the man cautiously raised his head.

"What…?"

Slipping past the stunned adults, Little One peeled off the Dark Spirit that was clinging to the bull monster.

"You! That's enough out of you!!"

Punsuka. As Little One angrily captured the spirit, the man called out from behind her.

"You’re the one from back then? What's a young lady like you doing here! We have to run! Come on!"

His eyes wide with concern, the black-haired man reached out a hand to Chihiro.

"Are these children? Merchandise?"

"Don't be stupid! I don't deal in slaves! These kids, a church I passed by asked me to take them. Seems the priest died, and the workers came to me crying."

So he was trying to evacuate them?

Blinking her eyes, Little One stared at the man before her. Noticing her gaze, the man seemed to remember something and rushed into the carriage.

Then, he handed a large leather bag to Little One.

"Here's your change. I didn't think you'd just pay without haggling back then. Normally, people negotiate the price, you know? I never thought you'd pay the asking price… For the monster, including the cage, it was fifty gold coins."

Clutching the bag she was given, Little One looked up at the black-haired man. He was looking at Chihiro with an amused grin, his lips pulled up at the corners. His eyes sparkled like a child's.

Right, he had eyes like this back then too, this guy.

"I'm Kazuki Tachibana. Over here, you could say Kazuki Tachibana. And you?"

"Chihiro la Gyorgy. I think the root of the problem will be taken care of soon. You should come to the palace."

"To the palace? And Chihiro, is that written with the characters for ‘one thousand’ and ‘to ask’? Are you from Kilfan? Do you know what’s happening with Kilfan now?"

Kazuki rattled on like a machine gun. Grimacing, Little One answered his questions as they headed to the palace. By the time she brought Kazuki and the others to the palace, the monsters were also on the move.

Leaving Castrato and heading northwest.

For now, no one noticed the horde of monsters crossing the desert.

It was a small oasis village that noticed the countless crossing monsters. They only saw the moving shadows in the distance, but paid them no mind and looked away. Those are monsters. We shouldn't go near them. Did they escape from Castrato? What a mess. But that has nothing to do with us.

For a moment, the people of the small village held the afterimage of the monsters in their eyes, then returned to their farm work. For them, a smaller harvest was a much bigger deal than a great monster migration.

In the days to come, Castrato would be thrown into great confusion when the number of monsters kept by the nobles and the number of those subjugated and captured didn't match up by a large margin.

Incidentally, by that time, Little One had already departed for the seaside forest.

She did not yet know that a future awaited her where she would have to clean up the cause of that great confusion and visit Castrato once again.