Chapter 23

Talli’s night vision was very poor, and she didn’t dare to light a fire to guide her path, so she could only stumble along in the direction Theresa had pointed. After bumping into countless tree trunks, she finally heard the familiar roar and the vicious sound of biting and tearing.

“Roar—”

The giant beast exposed its blood-soaked maw, its fur exploding in chunks, its sharp claws digging deep into the ground, muscles taut, crouching low, waiting for an opportunity to leap forward and tear apart the strange creature enveloped in black mist.

Unfortunately, its strength was still too weak.

No matter how sharp its massive fangs were, when they hit the exoskeleton beneath the black mist, they only made a grating “crack-crack” sound, and the terrifying creature seemed impervious to knives and guns, making even a monster of Mustafa’s level unable to gain an advantage under its attack!

The two massive creatures were fighting in a moonlit clearing, and as Mustafa’s wounds grew, its advantage steadily decreased. The struggle was beginning to turn into a one-sided slaughter!

“Boom—”

The strange creature’s sharp teeth sank into Mustafa’s neck, and it violently threw him into the air, then tossed him again!

Talli quickly rolled on the ground, and the several rows of trees crushed by Mustafa collapsed behind her with a loud crash.

“Whoo… whoo…”

Heart racing, she crawled on the ground. After waiting for the dust to settle, she saw that the creature seemed uninterested in the beast and slowly walked away. She quickly ran to Mustafa’s side.

The beast was sprawled on the ground, covered in blood, its skin and fur torn apart in places, its massive body barely rising and falling weakly.

Talli knew that the monster’s vitality was incredibly strong and would not die easily. Their injuries healed at an astonishing speed.

Sure enough, just as she cautiously extended her hand to check for signs of life, Mustafa suddenly opened his bloodshot, scarlet eyes and glared at her!

Talli couldn’t help but take a step back in shock.

The current state of the beast was too frightening. The overpowering stench of blood invaded her nostrils, making her stomach churn uncontrollably.

“…I know you can understand me. Listen to me,” Talli fought the urge to run, pointing in the direction they came from, “Theresa is now…”

However, before she could finish her sentence.

The giant beast, seemingly losing all reason, swiped its massive paw at her!

“!!”

Talli quickly dodged to the side.

Because Mustafa was severely injured, his movements had slowed considerably, and she barely avoided the attack.

Looking back, the spot where she had just stood was now a deep crater left by the beast’s paw!

Before she could process what had happened, Mustafa shakily stood up, his body swaying, and he threw his head back to let out a hoarse howl at the moonlight. Then, he charged toward Talli!

Talli had no time to think. She could only rely on her instincts to dodge the terrifying creature behind her. Even though he was wounded, Mustafa’s power was still far beyond that of ordinary beasts. His speed had slowed significantly, but his fury burned like madness, his eyes filled with a bloodthirsty killing intent, which made him even more threatening.

These male protagonists, one after another, are all crazy, right!?

Talli’s small figure moved swiftly under the moonlight, like an agile black cat. The giant beast hunting the black cat only had to swipe its paw, and one tree after another fell to the ground in a cloud of dust!

She quickly realized that she couldn’t keep going like this.

Talli chose a spot with a better view, nimbly climbed up a tree, tightened the slide axle on her wrist, squinted one eye, and aimed at Mustafa’s brow!

“Swish—”

The beast let out a deafening, painful screech!

It seemed that the enchantment had indeed enhanced the arrow’s attack power.

Feeling a little more confident, Talli seized the opportunity, swung on the branch, and with a few light movements, landed on Mustafa’s head. She drew out a short blade, grabbed his mane with one hand, and skillfully flicked the sharp blade with the other, plunging it down—

It stopped half an inch from Mustafa’s eyeball.

“Listen carefully, Moss!”

Talli lowered her voice, trying to make her tone sound as threatening as possible.

“Don’t move, unless you want to become blind!”

The aggressive beast slowly began to calm down under the threat of the sharp blade.

“Your master, Theresa, is in danger and waiting for you to save her. Think carefully with that dull brain of yours—now is not the time to go berserk. Am I really your enemy here, Moss?!”

Talli panted as she tightened her grip on his mane. “…Although I don’t know how you got in here, I know that the monster is somehow connected to you. You’ve caused this huge disaster and still can’t distinguish what’s important from what’s not. Losing your mind and forgetting your master—Moss, if you were my beast, you would have been dead a thousand times over! I didn’t bring you back last time—it was my luck, and yours too.”

She watched the beast’s eyes slowly regain their clarity.

“…”

It let out a roar, shaking its head forcefully. Talli withdrew the short blade and flipped backward, falling off its body.

“…Don’t…”

The beast slowly lifted its head and surprisingly spoke.

“Don’t talk to me in that condescending tone. You’re not my master.”

Talli: “…”

It can talk!?

Although she knew that beasts of a certain power level could speak, Mustafa had never spoken to her before.

She didn’t expect it to speak now.

“Shameful. The first person I speak to in my beast form is you, of all people.”

The hoarse, deep voice came from the beast’s body.

Mustafa lowered his body, making a dissatisfied, frustrated growl from his throat, suppressing his anger as he slowly stepped back.

“Talli, you wait.”

“…Although not today, the humiliation you gave me, I will never forget.”

After speaking, it let out a long howl, quickly turned, and disappeared into the shadowy forest.

Three seconds later.

Talli’s legs suddenly went weak. She staggered back a couple of steps and collapsed to the ground.

Her back was soaked with cold sweat, her chest heaving, and her hands had no strength, trembling slightly.

…Just now, she almost thought she was going to fail.

Due to her instincts and her body’s subconscious reactions, she acted without thinking, only realizing the possible consequences after completing the action.

What if she missed her shot? What if she didn’t land properly? What if Mustafa became even more frenzied and threw her off his back…?

She hadn’t thought of any of these things before doing it.

Fortunately, her intuition was very accurate, and her body reacted quickly.

She succeeded.

The evening breeze gently blew through, clearing the mist that shrouded the full moon, revealing its soft, clear, water-like glow.

The cool wind brushed gently across her face, smoothing her sweat and nervousness.

It was because Talli’s intuition was so accurate that she could feel the surrounding sounds slowly fading away. The chirping of cicadas, the calls of birds, the stillness of the wind, the rustling of leaves… everything seemed to be drifting away.

Because they were all suppressed by an even more powerful force.

It was precisely this terrifyingly accurate intuition that made Talli’s heart feel like a solid block of iron, sinking straight into the cold, endless, dark water.

She hadn’t regained her strength yet, unable to even lift her blade.

She had no chance of escaping.

—After the dark clouds cleared and the moonlight shone, she finally saw it. On the opposite side of the open field, lying low, was the creature surrounded by an unshakable black mist. Its blood-red pupils were glaring at her as if it were targeting her with intense hatred.

And Talli, because of her poor night vision, hadn’t seen it before.

When she saw it step by step, dangerously and bloodthirstily, walking towards her under the moonlight, Talli knew that she was done for.

The enormous creature, with its long exposure to blood and the powerful deterrence it held over weak humans, rendered her completely immobile. The mystery, the unknown, and the inability to communicate made it impossible for Talli to come up with a way to escape the tiger’s den.

Moreover, she had already exhausted all her energy.

She had nearly used all of it while avoiding the monster and dealing with Mustafa.

She couldn’t even stand up anymore.

Talli’s face was pale, her body trembling without her even realizing it, her pupils constricting.

…She hasn’t gone home yet.

At the last moment, she closed her eyes in despair, clenched her palms, and let out a choked sob from her throat.

The smell of blood was almost suffocating her, yet the tearing pain she had imagined never came.

The hot, scarlet liquid splashed onto her face, burning her skin.

…What happened?

Talli heard the sound of bones breaking, and her eyelashes involuntarily fluttered. She opened her eyes.

What she saw was something she might never forget for the rest of her life.

A huge blue fox leaped out of the dark forest like an arrow shot from a bow, revealing its sharp teeth under the night sky. It opened its mouth and bit into the strange monster, with the massive full moon looming behind it. The fox shifted its jaw slightly, and before the creature could even make a sound, the black mist dispersed. Its pale exoskeleton cracked into pieces under the fox’s teeth!

“…Dusk.”

Talli murmured.

Its ruby-like eyes glowed like a red moon descending in the deep blue sky.

Whether it was due to hearing her faint call or not, the fox’s pupils shifted slightly, as if it glanced at Talli.

The massive beast landed, kicking up a whirlwind of dust. Leaves flew in the air, and tree trunks bent as if they were being pulled down. Talli couldn’t withstand the hurricane-force winds and was blown backward.

“Ugh!!”

The fox crushed the creature with its sharp teeth, and the eerie being turned into a wisp of smoke, vanishing into thin air. In the blink of an eye, the fox quickly reached Talli.

Talli was gently placed on its back, surrounded by its soft, fluffy fur.

She struggled to turn over and grabbed the collar around its neck, which had grown larger with its size, to steady herself and prevent falling off.

The fox leapt into the air.

“…Talli.”

The clear voice sounded as if it came from deep within its heart.

Talli, pressed against its back, felt her own heartbeat pounding in her chest. Yet, she felt miraculously calm. After Mustafa’s earlier actions, it seemed not so surprising for Dusk to speak now.

The voice was low yet still carried a crystal-clear resonance, like the gentle moonlight.

“Can you still lift your hand?”

“…I can manage.”

“Then do as I say next.”

Dusk carried her, speeding through the dark forest like the wind!

“Use your arrow to shoot at the left eye of the ancient creature. The left eye connects to its core, making it its greatest weakness. Although it won’t kill it with one shot, it will destroy its will to fight. It will no longer be able to continue fighting and will be at the mercy of other creatures.”

Talli squeezed her fingers, raised her arm, and squinted her eyes.

A more pure deep blue wound around her wrist, spiraling up the arrow, and the tip of the arrow ignited with blue flames.

Dusk spoke, and his whole body was engulfed in blue flames, setting the dark forest on fire, illuminating the pitch-black night sky and lighting up Talli’s vision.

The warm blue flames were almost enough to melt everything.

There were four more.

This time, Talli could see clearly.

It was going to be difficult. She had rarely shot at moving dual targets before, but she was willing and determined to give it a try.

“Whoosh—”

Amid the firelight, the arrow flew out like lightning!

As Dusk ran, the flames burned, and with the cries of the young boys and girls, the monster after monster fell with a loud crash.

“Ah! What’s going on? What happened!!”

“Look, that fox!”

“It’s blue, and there’s someone on top… Is it Talli? It’s Talli!”

“Talli saved us!!”

The boys, saved from despair, cried as they embraced each other, relieved to have survived, cheering for the monster’s downfall and for Talli.

“Talli saved us, it’s her who saved us!”

“If it weren’t for her, we would have all died here!!”

“Her archery is incredible, she’s not useless… she’s the hero who saved us!!”

—

Talli didn’t hear these words. It was too noisy around her, and her attention was fully focused. After shooting the last monster, her strength gave out, and she could no longer even grip the collar properly. She tilted backward.

—And fell into an embrace that was slightly cool, with the scent of flames.

“…Dusk,”

Talli gripped the young man’s collar tightly, not opening her eyes. She was just too tired.

“Take me to a safe place.”

She felt the strong wind whistling past her ears, and the scorching flames and noise gradually faded away.

It was strange. Dusk could use such powerful fire magic, yet his body was still as cold as a rainy night.

But this chill made her feel at ease.

Perhaps because she was too exhausted, the young girl fell into a deep sleep before He could even stop, in the midst of a late-coming light rain.

She had probably experienced too much today.

Deritz lowered his gaze.

He sat down under the shade of a tree by the stream, using magic to create a sheltered spot from the rain and lighting a warm campfire.

Deritz leaned back against the tree trunk.

The blue-haired youth sat beside the fire, his tall and slender figure illuminated by the flickering flames. The firelight cast a dancing shadow on his pale cheek, and his face was handsome with clear, defined features. He lowered his long lashes, his red eyes watching her while the other eye was hidden beneath his hair. Supporting his chin with his hand, he tilted his head, gazing at her, who was curled up in his arms.

Talli was resting in front of him, sitting on one of his lowered legs, her legs bent, hugging her knees, and leaning against his chest. Half of her fair face was hidden under his coat, and there were many small, fresh wounds on her arms and calves.

New injuries over old ones.

His dark, deep eyes stared at the young girl in front of him, recalling what he had seen in her dream, about her past.

It was his breath that had broken the temple’s seal, and the seal’s purpose was to allow the two visitors to enter each other’s dreams. These two points, she probably hadn’t realized yet.

…Which means, she has also seen his past in her dream.

Which part was it?

Was it the part he hated, the part he couldn’t bear to look back on, the shameful past? Or was it the past that made everyone tremble in fear, the one that terrified and made them cautious?

His eyes grew darker, but also colder and more composed.

Deritz slowly lowered his eyelids.

Not only that, but from her dream, he knew clearly that this human girl was an outsider who had crossed from the other side of the vortex.

Deritz reached out and grasped the hand she instinctively wrapped around his waist while sleeping. Her wrist was thin, wrapped in bandages, making her hand appear even smaller in contrast to his palm.

In that fragile hand, as weak as a reed, she still gripped the last arrow tightly.

While she held onto his waist, the arrow, almost imperceptibly, was pressed against his waist through several layers of clothing.

She didn’t completely trust herself, or rather, the human version of herself. Behind her powerful strength was a powerful threat.

—What a distant, suspicious outsider.

Deritz quietly took her right hand, gently pinching her wrist bone.

The arrow fell to the ground with a soft “clink.”