Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Hellhound.

A creature known as the hound from hell.

They were one of the stronger monsters in this world.

‘By adult standards, an average knight wouldn’t stand a chance, and the burns from the fire they exhale supposedly can’t be healed by normal means.’

Their raw strength alone was considerable.

But the reason they were classified as a high-level monster wasn’t just that.

‘They possess all sorts of rare abilities too.’

Their senses—smell, sight, and hearing—were all incredibly sharp.

And if one were to pick the most representative ability of a Hellhound, it would, of course, be…

“Hey, you can move wherever you want through shadows. That’s one of the greatest abilities your species has.”

“Woof?”

I couldn’t understand her words exactly, but it sounded roughly like, ‘You think that’s possible?’

“Don’t pretend you don’t know. Shadow movement is an ability you’re born with.”

“……”

Siri looked at me in silence.

If earlier her expression had been one of disbelief, now it was genuine confusion.

Seeing that, I paused for a moment.

‘Right, this little one probably hasn’t ever moved through shadows before.’

Apparently, she truly didn’t know how.

She only knew how to enter shadows, not move through them.

‘Then what should I do…? Should I just go out, bite the bullet, and buy a teleport scroll?’

I thought about it for a moment, but soon shook my head.

No matter how I looked at it, a teleport scroll was too expensive.

And going out to buy one would take a lot of time.

Right now, the only thing I could trust was this little Hellhound.

“…Hey, Siri.”

After gathering my thoughts, I spoke again.

“Smell this.”

I brought the edge of my shirt to Siri’s nose.

It was the part that had been stained with poison earlier.

It had dried by now, but there were still traces of it left.

“Woof? Kiieek—ugh.”

Even though the poison had dried, its smell must have still been foul, because Siri gagged immediately.

But that was actually a good thing.

It meant the smell would be seared into her memory.

“Don’t forget this smell. You’ll sense a place outside the city where it’s especially strong. Try to locate that spot by scent.”

“Grrr… woof! Woof!”

“Judging by your reaction, you got the gist of it.”

In the game, moving through shadows was simple.

You’d just talk to your pet Hellhound and click the desired spot on the map.

But this wasn’t a game, so I recalled every detail I could about Hellhounds’ abilities.

“Go into the shadow and follow the smell. Since you’ll be inside the shadows, you should be able to move quickly. Then, come out where the scent is strongest. Got it?”

“…Woof!”

That sounded like understanding.

Well, she had to understand.

If she messed up the shadow movement, we could actually die.

“Good. Then… can you take me with you into the shadow?”

“Woof?”

“Uh… never mind, this isn’t something I can explain with words. Then…”

I grabbed the sword beside my bed.

Then, I held onto the small Hellhound tightly with both hands.

“Go into the shadow and move to where that smell is coming from. Then, jump out from a shadow nearby. Got it?”

“Woof?”

“Just try it. Just do it.”

Siri looked at me with uncertainty but then turned toward the shadow beside the bed.

I tightened my grip around her body.

Then, Siri melted into the shadow.

“Phew…”

As I expected, I too was slowly pulled into the darkness.

Just like falling into water, I entered a space filled entirely with darkness.

‘…So this is the world of shadows, huh.’

I glanced around.

It was a world filled with nothing but darkness.

The only visible things were the faint shapes hovering above—

Those must have been the shadows of everything that existed in the real world.

Passing between those shapes was the key to exiting this shadow realm.

‘The problem is, I can’t do that on my own.’

Only a handful of beings in this world could freely traverse through shadows.

And one of those few was the Hellhound—

Siri, the little one I was clinging to as if my life depended on it.

‘If I lose her, I’m dead.’

I looked at the small Hellhound in front of me.

Siri turned her head, scanning the surroundings, and began moving forward.

I was pulled along behind her, like being dragged underwater by something unseen.

The only difference from being underwater was that I could still breathe freely.

That was the only distinction.

“Woof woof! Woof!”

About a minute after we’d entered the shadow realm, Siri started barking.

Then she suddenly began to run.

As she ran, the faint shapes above us began to race past at incredible speed.

It was like watching scenery fly by through the window of a speeding car.

‘Exactly like the description I read in the lore.’

I remembered reading a detailed passage about shadow movement before, and this was just as described.

The scenery flashing past overhead—

It meant we were covering an immense distance in mere moments.

After countless shapes passed above us, Siri finally came to a stop.

“…Is this it?”

“Woof.”

Siri looked up above her head.

Above them was the shape of something resembling a tree, and Siri leaped toward it.

I held tightly onto Siri’s body and was dragged along with her.

And as soon as we passed through that shape—

“…Did we make it?”

I felt the clear, fresh air.

Letting go of Siri, I looked around.

Just a moment ago, we had been inside the dormitory, but now we were somewhere completely different.

A dense forest, filled with towering trees.

And in the distance, I could see a city.

It was quite far away, but I immediately recognized it as Skedum.

“…We made it safely.”

When I turned around, a massive cliff loomed behind me—

tall, sharp, and jagged.

‘Gryph Cliff.’

It was a place quite a distance from Skedum, yet thanks to Siri, we had arrived in an instant.

Now then, where was Siri…

“Whiiine… woof…”

“You did well.”

I walked toward Siri, who was lying sprawled on the ground.

Then I took out a small piece of jerky and a water bottle from my pocket and handed them to her.

“Thanks to you, things just got a lot easier.”

“Woof… woof!”

After eating the jerky and drinking the water, Siri looked a little livelier.

Seeing that, I couldn’t help but smile faintly as I stroked her head.

“Go rest in my shadow. And really, thank you. You did great.”

“Woof!”

Siri barked cheerfully once and disappeared into my shadow.

I turned my gaze back toward Gryph Cliff.

Perhaps because of Tantalr’s influence, moving around felt easier than before.

“There should be a cave somewhere… if I remember correctly, the cave’s location was…”

KWAANG—!

“…Over there.”

I started running toward the direction of the explosion.

“Haa… haa… haah…”

Lisa was gasping for breath.

It had been quite a while since the battle inside the cave began.

And now, Lisa was starting to feel the limits of her stamina.

‘What is that power?’

The small fry of Rhaineus were no problem at all.

More than ten of them had fallen from a single strike of hers.

Seeing that, Lisa thought that even though she wasn’t in perfect condition, she still had a chance to win.

But when she faced the The Lord of Rhaineus, her thoughts changed completely.

‘He’s borrowing the power of a monster… but it’s not an ordinary one. It’s from something ancient—something very old.’

Lisa looked at the cult leader before her.

Behind him, faint but visible, was the shape of a massive bird.

Each time he gestured with his hand, the bird flapped its wings.

And with each flap, a small yet fierce storm was whipped up inside the cave and hurled toward Lisa.

“Urgh?”

A small storm in size—but incredibly strong.

Thunder crashed within the cave, and fierce wind and rain struck Lisa head-on.

“Ugh…”

An ordinary person would have been blown backward instantly, but Lisa endured the gusts.

Her naturally superior physical ability was part of it, but the main reason was the red aura—her Blood Energy—that enveloped her body.

Thanks to that Blood Energy, she had managed to protect herself and continue fighting so far. But now, she was reaching the limit of maintaining it.

‘I’m thirsty. Dizzy. I want to drink Gideon’s blood.’

The unending thirst made it harder and harder for Lisa to concentrate on the battle.

The fallen members of Rhaineus lay on the ground bleeding, but she didn’t even glance at their blood.

Right now, the only blood she wanted was Gideon’s.

“You’ve lasted quite a while, Lady of Balmuth. But from the look of you… you won’t last much longer.”

“……”

Lisa silently glared at The Lord.

Behind him was still that faint but gigantic avian figure.

Lisa’s eyes shifted to the enormous rock behind him—

no, it looked more like a massive egg.

The faint bird and that egg seemed to be connected somehow.

‘Is that egg where his power is coming from? If that’s the case, then I just need to destroy it…’

Lisa raised her greatsword and took her stance.

She had already figured out where to strike; she planned to end this in one burst of Blood Energy.

But then—

“Uh?”

A sudden wave of vertigo crashed over her.

And not just dizziness—

the terrible thirst she had been feeling grew even stronger.

‘Of all times… now…?’

Lisa felt her Blood Energy—the power enveloping her body—begin to fade.

She tried to summon it again, but the overwhelming thirst only worsened, tormenting her body.

“So this is your limit.”

The Lord spoke as he swung his arm again.

Another storm rose, and with a peal of thunder, the fierce wind and rain surged toward Lisa.

She tried to endure it, but without her Blood Energy, she soon collapsed.

“This should be enough.”

Confirming that Lisa had fallen, The Lord turned toward the massive egg.

He muttered something under his breath, and the faint avian shape behind him flew toward the egg and merged into it.

“It’s heavily tainted from forcibly drawing upon the power of the Great Falcon, but this level is acceptable. The ritual can proceed without issue.”

After confirming the egg’s state, The Lord gave an order to his subordinates.

“Do whatever you want with that Lady—kill her or capture her. I don’t care how, just make sure she’s dealt with.”

“Yes, understood.”

The Team 2 Leader, who was barely standing, responded with a battered voice.

“Don’t get close to that woman. Everyone—shoot her with your bows.”

“Are we killing her?”

When one of the members asked in confusion, the Team 2 Leader shook his head.

“She’s too dangerous to keep alive. Once the Great Falcon is revived, ransom or not, it won’t matter anymore—just kill her.”

At the Team 2 Leader’s command, all of the members raised their bows and aimed at Lisa.

Lisa tried to cling to consciousness and summon her Blood Energy again, but the thirst only grew worse.

‘…I have to… save Gideon…’

She recalled Gideon, who had risked his life to protect her.

And then she rose to her feet again.

“I’ll kill them all. Every last one of them.”

Lisa raised her greatsword.

Her reason had long since vanished.

Now, only instinct remained—

the will to fight to the death.

“…Fire!”

As Lisa charged forward with her greatsword, Rhaineus’s members loosed their arrows.

Just as she was about to take the barrage head-on—

“Huh?”

Someone suddenly appeared in front of her.

With a single sword, he deflected every arrow that came flying toward her.

CHACHACHACHACHANG—!

“…Gideon…?”

“Yes, Lady Lisa.”

The white-haired boy gave a faint smile as he looked back at her.

“My apologies for being late.”