Chapter 54: Who?

“You looked like you were about to throw up just a moment ago, but now you're eating well?”

Chomp, chomp.

“……I have to live, first and foremost.”

I simply laughed off Chloe’s rebuke.

To be honest, it was delicious once I started eating.

Come to think of it, I heard that snake meat was widely eaten in Korea in the old days, and now I felt like I knew why.

My depleted body was also swelling up, little by little.

An ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed, but Chloe, who possessed extraordinary dynamic visual acuity even among 4-Star knights, was looking at Muno with a peculiar expression.

“That’s that, the Drasen……. That thing, right?

The side effect?”

“……Yes.”

“I saw it with Senior Ryan back in the day, but it’s still fascinating.”

It seemed that the knights belonging to Trian knew almost everything about the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony.

But.

‘My father’s time in the knightly order was at least 10 years ago, right?

Weren’t you about twenty then?’

Considering that the standard for a common knight in the Trian Knightly Order was usually 2-Star, it meant that Chloe, who stood before me, had become a 2-Star knight at least around the age of twenty.

Well, considering she was a 4-Star knight now, looking to be in her early thirties, she certainly seemed to be a genius.

Just like that Karina.

‘As expected, Trian has a lot of talented people.’

Just as I was admiring Chloe anew.

“That weapon of yours seems truly incredible too. Is it an artifact?”

Cough.

I almost choked on Chloe’s words as she pointed to the armor on my limbs, but I avoided her gaze and nodded vaguely.

“Yes, well. For now.”

“For now?”

Oops.

I felt a pang of guilt for a moment, but Chloe just chuckled and changed the subject.

“Right. Keep eating and listen up. First, the encouraging thing is that there’s a high chance the two of us can catch that witch.”

“Of course!”

Chomp, chomp.

“The problem is we don’t have horses.

That witch flew away, but we have to run.”

Gasp.

“……I think I’m going to get indigestion while eating.”

“Regardless, we have to chase her down and finish her, don’t we?”

“……That’s true.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“……Weren’t you going to suggest one?”

At those words, Chloe’s face turned terrifying once again.

“Am I the only one who has to use my head? Is your head just for decoration?”

Ahem.

“For now, we should just run blindly.

Her physical condition wasn’t normal, and her ankle was even severed, so that woman couldn’t have gone far.”

“Ankle?”

“When she was escaping, I tried to grab her, but she severed it herself.”

“Oh. That’s good.”

After all, magicians are much weaker to physical damage.

“We must catch and kill……”

As I was mindlessly replying to Chloe’s muttering, something felt strange.

Although the target was a witch, the two of us, both knights, were discussing chasing down a woman to stab her.

It felt like a conversation between terrifying, murderous stalkers.

‘I…….’

Cough.

“……What?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

I realized anew that in this world, unlike my past life, a pliable system like the law does not protect one’s life.

‘This is a world where if you don’t kill, you will be killed.’

I thought my fate was cursed, whether in my past life or this one, but it couldn't be helped.

Moreover, the situation was now such that the woman could threaten my life not only with magic but with her tongue alone.

What would happen if my abilities became known to the Mage Empire through her mouth?

Just like the priests who serve gods, magicians are fanatics who serve demons they call Outer Gods.

To them, the ability of the Demon Devourer is an insult to their god.

In other words, it is blasphemy.

‘……It wouldn’t be strange if an army crossed over.’

It was an assumption of an extreme situation, but if that happened, not only my life but also the lives of my family would be in danger.

If something like that really happened, what should I do then?

For my family’s sake…….

“……Hey. Hey!”

“Yes, yes!?”

“……What are you thinking about so hard?”

“Ah. Ha. It’s nothing. What did you say?”

“I said we should roughly estimate the route, stop by the nearest village or city first, and get some horses.”

“……That’s a good idea.”

“But only after your body has fully recovered. Eat.”

Chloe once again casually held out a meat skewer.

Muno, who had been about to accept it without thinking, flinched and had to back away.

The smell was terrible.

“What is this now?

The gamy smell……”

“Puma meat.”

“……Is this even edible?”

“Senior Ryan ate anything, as long as it was meat.”

“Unlike my father, I’m quite sensitive to smells……”

“Eat.”

“……Yes.”

Right, that wasn’t what was important.

In order to catch that witch, recovering my body was the top priority.

But the moment I took the puma meat skewer with a frown, a strange sight suddenly caught my eye.

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Son of a……!”

Crrrack.

“Grrrr.”

As Muno’s muscles swelled up all over his body again and he bared his fangs, Chloe frowned slightly and readjusted her grip on her dagger.

Making her defensive stance futile, Muno’s gaze was fixed on the clear sky.

“It’s, it’s disappearing!”

“What?”

“The witch’s magical trace, damn it!”

Growl.

Muno, who was about to charge after the fading trace while letting out a beast-like cry, soon let out a ‘grrrrrrowl’ from his stomach and collapsed.

Flop.

Clatter, clatter.

“Keuk?”

The moment Muno’s unsightly fallen body made a cracking sound again and returned to its original physique, no, an even thinner form.

Chloe sighed and held out the meat skewer again.

“……Just recover for now.”

“B-But the trace……”

“Recovery comes first.

The chase won’t be too late after that.”

“We can’t chase her!

It might be different for other magicians, but that woman is different! I can see through that thing called the ‘Veil’, but if that woman decides to hide properly……. It’ll be difficult.”

Why didn’t I think of this first?

That a woman whose demonic energy couldn’t even be felt by the Demon Devourer’s senses would immediately take follow-up measures if she was being tracked like this.

“In that case……”

“The only thing we know is the direction is south.”

“……So we lost her.”

“……”

Muno couldn’t deny Chloe’s declaration.

‘Fuck, what should I do?’

My chest felt tight with the worry that the imagination I had in the morning might come true.

But then, Chloe suggested another way.

“If we can’t chase her right away, we have to find clues from what’s left.”

“……Pardon?”

“Here. Right here.”

Even as Chloe pointed to the wide-open cavern underground, Muno couldn’t fully understand her words.

“I’ll bring people who can track her, so wait here while you recover.”

“Pardon?”

I can’t even track her, so what do you mean?

Who?

I was bewildered, but it seemed Chloe had no intention of explaining further.

“A day and a half to go, half a day to come back…… that should be about right. So wait.”

“No, what if the remnants of those bastards come again……”

“You can handle it. If you think an enemy that’s too strong is coming, you can hide.”

“Pardon?”

“Your chains absorb magic, right?

Can’t they absorb detection magic?”

“Ah……”

I was suddenly reminded of when I met Amos again in Drasen.

At that time, I had definitely absorbed and disrupted Amos’s magic, which he was using to scan the surroundings, and he hadn’t noticed a thing.

“……I can.”

I had forgotten, but there was such a method.

“But why the long face?”

“Ah, no. It’s just that I think I’ve found an unexpected solution to a problem I was worrying about……”

“What?”

Chloe tilted her head, but Muno had no intention of explaining either.

‘Even if magicians come after me, if their means are magic, I can nullify it all.’

It meant that even if his abilities were to be revealed to the Mage Empire, he could just run away.

Especially.

‘I can just intentionally leave a trail and cross the border.’

If worse comes to worst, he could leave this kingdom where his family resides and go to another country, or even inside the Empire…….

‘Then at least a war won’t break out.’

He would have to live as a fugitive from then on, so it wasn’t a method he was fond of, but at least he could avoid the worst-case scenario he had imagined.

Of course, it would be best if such a situation didn’t arise at all.

“……Anyway, just wait for two days.

Focus on recovering if you can.

Honestly, even if I were those evil cult bastards, I don’t think I’d come back here.”

“Yes.”

With a slightly lighter heart, Muno could nod his head vigorously.

* * *

“Ha!”

Whoooosh!

With a shout, he swung his arm, and the dagger-shaped ‘Blade’ shot from his fingertips flew like lightning.

Then it zigzagged between the densely packed trees and dug into the neck of a fleeing giant boar.

Thwip.

“Oink!”

Was the blow too shallow?

The boar, after spewing blood once, leaped and instinctively tried to flee into the forest.

That was, until the ‘Blade’ lodged in its neck seeped into the wound and spread black roots into its blood vessels.

“Oin……”

The moment the black blood vessels dug into the boar’s head and lungs, the boar, which had been about to run, couldn’t even take a few steps before collapsing on the spot.

Thud.

And in the meantime, Muno was looking into the wound he had created.

“……The appearance is a bit much. Tsk……”

The boar’s carcass, with black veins spreading around its neck, looked as if it had been hit by a curse.

But as Muno reached out his hand, the black veins, with a ‘pshuk’ sound, pierced through the skin again and transformed into a dagger that he held in his hand.

At that moment, a pool of blood flowed out from the boar’s body again.

Whirrrr.

With a light gesture from Muno, the dagger-shaped ‘Blade’ in his hand transformed once again into a giant two-handed sword and was slung onto his back.

All of this was another achievement gained from hunting the magicians in the cave.

‘Second Spell, ‘Shape Transformation’. Complete.’

A spell that changes the form of the first spell, ‘Blade’, while maintaining the power and mass of the mana imbued within it.

It might seem simple at a glance, but being able to freely transform the Blade from liquid metal to the form of other weapons would be a huge advantage in battle.

Just imagining a sword being swung suddenly bending like a whip, how many people of the same level could block such an attack?

“Good.”

His Corporeal Arts level hadn’t risen, so there were no changes to the shape or volume of his armor and chains, but his physical abilities had increased significantly, enough to be a clear difference from before entering the cave.

To the point where he could comfortably catch up to a boar running wild in the mountains.

‘In a mountain like this, I think I’m faster than a horse.’

Of course, it would be different on flat ground, and there would be a difference in stamina, but that was just a matter for now.

He’d heard that some high-ranking knights preferred to run themselves rather than ride a horse, and now he felt he could vaguely understand why.

- It’s common to reach 2-Class when you complete your third spell.

That change…… well, you’ll find out for yourself.

According to Rasmia, it wouldn’t be long before he reached 2-Class Spirit Arts.

‘I am definitely growing. And very quickly.’

That thought alleviated the stuffiness in his chest, if only a little.

So for now.

“Let’s just eat. Pork is the best meat, after all.”

Rattle.

Four black chains shot out vigorously and lifted the giant boar into the air.

The weight, which seemed to be at least 300-400kg, didn’t feel heavy at all.

He had been a little nervous at first, but for the past two days, the only things that had approached the collapsed cavern were wild animals from the mountains.

His footsteps were much lighter as he headed back toward the collapsed cave.

But then.

- Th-th-th-th-thud.

A faint vibration of the ground shaking and a small sound could be heard from below the mountain.

“Hmm?”

The moment he focused his senses and looked at the horizon.

He saw dozens of mounted horsemen riding in a straight line from that direction.

‘Don’t tell me…….’

Thud.

Thinking they might be enemies, he flung the boar to the ground.

“Ah……. Sir Chloe.”

Soon, the moment he confirmed the face at the head of the dozens of mounted horsemen, his tension faded.

And what filled its place was a deep curiosity.

“Who are they……?”

Because the group of knights in pure white armor riding alongside Chloe were definitely not from the Trian Knightly Order.

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