Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It’s the fourth day after leaving the Capital.

Elysia became so nervous that she couldn’t hear what Cassian was saying. She was even more sensitive because she wasn’t sleeping or eating at all.

Knowing her condition, she chose to be silent.

The fog thickened, and the surroundings became dark like early evening.

“From here.”

“What?”

“If the party ran away from the attacked location, they would have walked through here. Now, let’s move on foot.”

She decided that from now on it would be faster to walk and find the traces.

Elysia, who first jumped off her horse, was staggered by the strength on her legs that were released in that moment.

Cassian grabbed Elysia and opened his mouth.

“Are you okay?”

“I guess it’s because I’ve been riding the horse for too long. It’s all right.”

Cassian looked around, tying his horse to a tree. Elysia took her steps first, impatiently.

Cassian, who went after her, grabbed Elysia’s arm and turned her around, and pointed his finger another way.

“Don’t go alone, and we have to go that way.”

He held Elysia’s hand so she would not act alone. Cassian looked back in surprise for a moment, but soon took the lead while holding her hand.

He kept focusing on the pulse of her hand against his.

A few trees and leaves that fell on the ground showed bloodstains that had already been dried up for quite a while.

Elysia’s face, seeing the traces, became even more pale.

“There are about two places in this direction to avoid the attack.”

Cassian hoped that the knights who were escorting Duke Lowell were fine. He hopes they have enough heads to judge that the two places will be safe.

Cassian, who was speeding along the trail, stopped.

In Elysia’s view, a two-pronged road and a cut-off trail entered.

Cassian raised his hand and pointed to one side.

The surroundings began to get darker and darker, but it wasn’t a big deal for Elysia and Cassian.

Seeing Elysia following him well, Cassian wondered that their physical abilities might be almost the same. It was rather worrisome because he could not accurately estimate how close they were.

‘The resilience is not the level people can follow.’

The combination of her magic and physical abilities is at a destructive level? Cassian wanted no one but himself to know about her.

Elysia bit her lower lip. At the expected place, a cave was seen.

She was ahead of Cassian. Elysia paused at the entrance towards the cave, looking at him.

“I can’t feel anything…”

It looked like he couldn’t feel anything either. Both monsters and humans.

“There may be traces, so let me check.”

Cassian entered the cave only after she nodded her head.

‘Isn’t it crazy to find out like this alone?’

She gradually lost her confidence.

Elysia was waiting for Cassian to check inside the cave and came out. She didn’t know what the situation was inside, and she wasn’t sure how to check it.

She can’t feel anything alive, but she doesn’t know if she can keep her mind intact if even ominous traces remain.

“No.”

Elysia sighs of her relief.

There must have been a reason why they settled here and then moved, and the reason was less likely good.

It was better that there was no trace.

***

The two didn’t say anything and continued to move on. Only the sound of leaves swaying in the wind occasionally rang around.

She was choked by the tranquility that she could not feel even a small sign.

Elysia walked behind Cassian without saying anything.

The second place was a cave on a cliff. It seemed a little tight for an ordinary person to climb up.

Again, no sign was felt.

“I’ll check and come back. Call me if anything happens.”

“Thank you.”

Cassian jumped lightly and entered the cave.

She hoped that there was no sign of the party staying. She hopes they are searching for another place and staying there.

The cold wind fluttered Elysia’s silver hair.

Elysia opened her eyes wide.

“The smell of blood…”

She turned her head towards the direction of the wind. Apparently, the smell of blood was mixed with the wind.

She had smelled what was believed to be the blood of something on the eastern border, so she was not confused.

It was definitely the smell of human blood.

All things seem to have stopped even time itself. Elysia’s red eyes, blankly looking in the direction, darkened.

The magic was spilling out of her body.

‘…Not far away.’

With confidence, Elysia moved. She started running like crazy towards the source of the smell.

Because of her speed, she was scratching the branches, but she didn’t feel that she was hurt. The more she ran, the whiter her head was by the scent of the blood that became clearer.

Whose blood is it?

Selfishly, she hoped it wasn’t the blood of her family.

Elysia’s eyes saw an open vacant space. And ten black monsters like wolves.

Elysia, who was trying to rush to the monsters, suddenly stopped.

“… Do monsters eat people?”

Elysia began to laugh bluntly.

She thought they were simply killing, but then she guessed they’re eating it.

Elysia said as she looked at the biggest monster with an expression that was neither smiling nor crying.

A blue cloak with an Imperial pattern was hung in the mouth of a large monster that looked quite high. That cloak was the conquest of the gatekeepers.

The monsters who felt Elysia’s presence turned their heads at once.

She stepped out slowly, not thinking that she should use magic.

Even though it was the first monster she encountered, she wasn’t afraid. Even though it was a monster that could not be imagined in the world before her rebirth.

All the monsters that blocked Elysia’s front were scattered on the floor in a tattered appearance.

The small monsters fell out of Elysia’s grip.

There are now monsters that are ten times larger than her. Elysia jumped up to face it.

The more she dealt with the monster, the more she felt the scars on her hands and her body getting numb.

She remembered Ryan’s words, saying that the blood of a monster is poisonous.

When she finally reached her target, Elysia tried to break the leg of the monster, but she wasn’t good enough.

No matter how strong she was as a vampire, it was useless against intermediate monsters.

“Ha—”

Elysia stopped while trying to cast her attack magic.

If the… What if there is something in that monster’s belly?

Elysia poured magic on the leg and face of the monster. Though her attack power was not that strong.

By the time she spent more than half of her magic, the leader fell to the floor with a thumping sound.

At the same time she lumped up her magic and walked toward the belly of the monster, Elysia was covered in blood.

It was the spilled blood from the monster that ran towards her, that was cut down by Cassian.

It was different from her target, so she couldn’t even feel the spirit of the monster running towards her or Cassian.

Elysia turned without looking at Cassian and approached the belly of the dead monster.

Red magic sharply united. She had to check what was in its stomach.

Cassian grabbed Elysia’s wrist and pulled her away from the monster’s body.

He frowned and said with a difficult expression.

“Stop. Check it later. Not now.”

Elysia gave strength to her arm that was caught and tried to shake off his hand, but she couldn’t. She stared at Cassian and said.

“Let go.”

The monsters of the same species as the monsters that Elysia killed, smelling the blood of their own kind, were gathering around them.

Perhaps the monster she killed was their leader. The monsters arrived at the vacant space and ran towards her, revealing their sharp teeth.

“Damn it.”

Cassian released Elysia’s hand and drew his sword.

Elysia tried to gather her magic to see if she could use any magic.

As more than twenty monsters rushed at once, Cassian forced Elysia onto his shoulder.

“If you’re not gonna help, just stay still.”

While Elysia was struggling to get down, he swung his sword at the monsters.

When more than half of them died, the rest fled. Elysia tried to escape from Cassian with all her might.

Cassian took her arm and said in a low voice.

“Stop it. It’s too dangerous if they flock more.”

Elysia’s head was filled with only the appearance of the monster wearing a cloak.

Elysia was displeased with Cassian, who only interfered with her. She needed to stop here to check the belly of the monster.

She rushed to defeat him as if in a fight, but Cassian was only avoiding her attacks.

Elysia eventually climbed on top of Cassian, she grabbed his wrists and squeezed them.

“Do not disturb me.”

“Not now.”

She already seemed to have a lot of small wounds, so he couldn’t easily subdue Elysia, fearing that she would get more hurt, but if it goes on like this, the situation could be more dangerous.

If he wants to subdue her, he has no choice but to use his strength as well.

Cassian eventually used his strength to shift positions with Elysia.

Elysia, having her both wrists caught, struggled to escape.

“There is a cloak in the mouth of that monster…”

She bit Cassian’s neck hard, while he was pulling Elysia’s arm and trapped her in his arms.

Elysia’s struggling gesture stopped.

“If the monsters keep coming because of the smell of blood, even those who have only escaped will be in danger. We have to quickly find them.”

“Ah…”

His soothing voice filled her feelings.

“I’m sorry, the clothes… in that monster’s mouth…”

Elysia’s eyes turned red.

She bit hard enough to make her lower lip bleed. Her tears did not flow.

“I’m not blaming you. Anyone would. Let’s look around first.”

Elysia nodded softly.

Elysia was hugged by Cassian, who decided that they had no time to delay.

“Is your body okay?”

“I think it’s fine.”

While dealing with the monsters with a barehand, there weren’t a lot of wounds. In addition, it was natural that he was worried because the blood of the monster was covered over her wound.

It wasn’t easy to find traces due to the deaths of a large number of monsters, but Cassian looked around the vacant space and simply stepped into his senses.

He was coming up with places they would go if they were running away.

Cassian chose to get out of the woods.

“I didn’t want to do this, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I know you’re strong enough.”

As Elysia moved, Cassian immediately followed her.

She was surprised to see his running speed and was even more surprised to see the appearance of the monsters he had killed.

He didn’t seem to use attack magic, but is that kind of power possible?

By this time, she was suspicious of whether he was really human.