Chapter 244 : Jaw-Dropper

Grrr...

Look at that thing, peeking its head out from the cave entrance so cutely.

It was so unbearably cute that I felt the urge to split it in half and kill it.

Even the Heavenly Demon agreed.

[What a cute fellow.]

It was a creature with a particularly developed jaw.

Its teeth, the size of an adult man's, were growing in a haphazard, disorderly, and dense manner, without any rules.

As if it wanted to show off its teeth so much, even above and below its jaw, its assertive teeth had pierced through the flesh and were growing thickly.

The sight of each one piercing through the thick hide was brutal.

It was disgusting.

It looked like it could chew through not only people but also rocks.

Thick saliva dripped from between its disorderly teeth.

It was an A-rank magical beast.

"Damn it."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.

I sighed as I saw the magical beast that had arrived as soon as I mentioned it.

Normally, I would have to avoid a confrontation as much as possible, but the creature was completely blocking the entrance to the cave.

The only good thing was that it couldn't come inside.

Because its body was bigger than the cave.

But I couldn't just wait for it to leave.

The moment it called its other companions, the situation would become the worst.

The moment our eyes met with its greedy ones.

The option of running away was erased.

Now, I have to deal with it.

As quickly as possible.

The moment I made my decision, I immediately put it into action.

I placed my hand on the hilt of the half-sword dedicated to magical beasts at my waist and stood up.

I was considerate of Sir Monde, who was resting, tired from the rough mountain trek.

"Sir Monde. If you're having a hard time, just stay back. Don't overdo it."

Sir Monde stood up, chewing on his beef jerky like a back-alley thug.

"Nonsense. You're the one who should stay back. I'll go and warm up."

Oh?

A sense of competitiveness welled up in me.

"I was just about to go for a walk. I'll go for a walk, so you rest comfortably and conserve your strength."

Sir Monde didn't back down either.

"Conserve my strength? I've never been tired."

"Then what was it that I saw? Hazy white breath kept coming out of your mouth and scattering into the air."

"It was a battle cry."

"A battle cry? I heard a panting sound."

"Actually, it was hyperventilation."

"...Isn't that worse?"

The magical beast, which had been quietly watching our argument from the cave entrance, pulled its head out of the cave.

Seeing that, Sir Monde said.

"What a smart fellow."

I nodded in agreement.

"A clever one. It's not an A-rank for nothing."

If it were any other ordinary magical beast, it would have tried to eat us by forcefully sticking its head inside.

But this one seemed to be aware that it was blocking the only entrance and exit, and was waiting quietly outside.

As expected of an A-rank.

Quite smart, isn't it?

If it had forced its head in, its head would have gotten stuck, and we could have dealt with it easily.

What a shame.

Sir Monde walked toward the cave entrance with a swagger and said.

"What should we name it?"

Come to think of it, from A-rank and above, they are classified as special individuals and are given separate names.

Since we were the first to discover it, the name we gave it would be saved in the records when we reported it to the duke.

When it comes to naming, it's Ashuban, and when it comes to Ashuban, it's naming.

Ashuban the Naming King offered his opinion.

"How about Jaw-Dropper?"

I could hear the Heavenly Demon sigh.

Sir Monde flinched and looked at me.

"Are you serious?"

"I'm always serious. What do you think, Jaw-Dropper?"

"It's tacky."

"Do you have a better idea?"

"..."

"It seems you don't. From today, that thing is Jaw-Dropper. I'm going to report it to the duke as Jaw-Dropper, so keep that in mind."

Sir Monde grumbled.

"He'll be so thrilled to hear that we caught Jaw-Dropper."

"What's the big deal? It's cute, Jaw-Dropper. It suits it."

"That's true."

We walked to the cave entrance side by side, chatting.

"What should we do? If we want to deal with it quickly, we'll have to divide the roles."

"I'll aim for an opening and cut its head, so you draw its attention."

"That's not difficult... Sir Monde. Can you do it?"

Sir Monde let out a sneer.

"Just don't hold me back."

Sir Monde said that and strode ahead.

Screech—

He drew his sword.

A light yellow aura, like a fluttering breeze, was imbued in his sword, which swayed with his steps.

The thought that it resembled its swaggering owner in many ways crossed my mind.

The Heavenly Demon added.

[It's a natural thing. It's an expression of the ideal that resides in the mind's eye.]

Come to think of it, that was right.

The things in my mind's eye had also shown themselves on my sword.

The black Night Sky. The sparkling Star. The silently pouring Moonlight.

And recently, even the Blue Flame and the White Branch.

'Wait.'

The first sword qi I had produced before learning any martial arts, wasn't it blood-red?

The Heavenly Demon had called it incredibly ominous.

Was that the ideal that resided in my mind's eye before any martial arts had taken root?

The Heavenly Demon simply affirmed.

[That's right. It was as fierce as a wolf.]

"..."

[Even now, that foundation hasn't changed much, you beast-like fellow. You still produce a red sword qi, don't you?]

"Still, to call me a beast."

[Shut up. Just follow that thug.]

I shrugged and, after casting the Star Sword on my half-sword, followed him.

* * *

I raised the Fleeting Shadow Steps to its peak and then, riding the wind, attacked from all sides to draw its attention.

I tried my best to stay in front, not to go out of its line of sight.

Because while I was drawing its attention and creating an opening, Sir Monde had to deliver a fatal blow.

While fighting Jaw-Dropper, I tried to utilize the Black Immortal Steps in combat.

I would kick off the air to change my direction.

And at unexpected moments, I would jump into the air and throw a Night Sky Spear at its eye.

In the meantime, Sir Monde aimed at it from the side and the rear.

This Jaw-Dropper was no pushover either; it chased me while not losing sight of Sir Monde.

It seemed to be vaguely aware that it was a pincer attack.

Our Jaw-Dropper.

It's smart too.

And so, the tense war of nerves between Jaw-Dropper and the two swordsmen continued for a while.

When I stealthily hid a small ball of light, a combination of white and blue, inside the black Night Sky and presented it as a gift.

Jaw-Dropper was startled by my cute prank.

Sir Monde, who did not miss that moment, jumped up and cleanly cut off Jaw-Dropper's head, ending the battle.

But whether it was because we had dragged on the time for too long, or because the sound of the fight was quite loud, or because the sound of the Heaven-Reversing Light I had gifted was louder than I had thought.

Magical beasts, so cute I wanted to bite them to death, began to appear one by one.

Grrr?

Gawk. Gawk.

Snort.

At some point, we were naturally surrounded.

This was why I had tried to avoid a fight as much as possible.

After barely managing to retrieve Jaw-Dropper's magic stone, I ran away with Sir Monde, breaking through the encirclement. I can't resist a magic stone.

And so... after being chased by the magical beasts all day, we finally managed to shake them off and return to the barrier.

"That's all. Any questions?"

"..."

The Sherwood members who had returned from the mission stared at me blankly, then their gazes shifted to Sir Monde next to me.

The exhausted Sir Monde was slumped over the chair like a liquid.

He seemed too tired to even speak, just breathing.

Princess Lilia, who was sitting next to him, patted Sir Monde's shoulder.

"You worked hard, Sir Monde."

Monde looked at the princess with a wistful gaze.

"Princess..."

"Yes."

"I worked hard. I didn't hold him back."

"Yes. Sir Monde. You did well. You were very brave."

It seemed he was quite upset by the princess's words before the mission, telling him not to hold me back.

"Here, drink this. I got it from the mages. They said it will give you strength."

"Yes..."

Leaving the poignant reunion of the princess and her guardian knight aside.

I looked around the table.

Everyone had been out in the blizzard all day, wandering beyond the barrier, so no one was in good shape.

"If there are no questions, then that's that. Now, next."

I started, and then I heard the reports from the other two teams.

First, the thief and demonic swordsman team.

In summary.

They had found a total of twenty B-rank magical beasts in one day.

Eliminated.

They had found one special individual, presumed to be A-rank.

Eliminated.

"..."

I stared blankly at the thief and the demonic swordsman.

Had I mistakenly told them that the mission was to annihilate the magical beasts?

"I thought I said it was a reconnaissance mission?"

The blue-eyed Sorrow replied in a cold tone.

"You said it was up to our individual judgment."

"That's true, but."

I scratched my forehead.

I didn't think they would just go around killing everything they saw.

Come to think of it, even before I came here, he was a guy who went out beyond the barrier every day to hunt magical beasts.

For Hartz and Sorrow, today's work was probably not much different from their usual routine.

It was just that their motivation was a little higher after hearing the reward.

"Killing them is one thing. But didn't they chase you? We ran away all day."

Sorrow raised one corner of his mouth and gave a cold sneer.

"You lack the knack. You have to hit and run quickly."

"..."

It seemed this guy had his own know-how, accumulated from going out beyond the barrier and killing magical beasts all this time.

"Share some of that knack with me."

"I don't want to."

This bastard?

Dofang intervened.

"It's nothing special, little brother. We just lured them to one side if they were in a group, and ambushed them if a few were alone. It was literally just a quick hit and run. In this guy's case, he would thoroughly calculate and plan a strategy before going in."

When I looked at Sorrow, he nodded.

"I'm the head, and Hartz is the body. I go in when he says to go in. I pull out when he says to pull out."

"Hmm."

It was a skill that couldn't be easily imitated.

A cold brain and a hot body.

Usually, if you're smart, your body is comfortable, and if your body is good, your head is comfortable.

But these guys were in a ridiculous situation where both their heads and bodies were good, so both were comfortable.

So it was a strategy that only the Two-Faced Demonic Swordsman could pull off.

The demonic swordsman's eyes turned yellow, and Hartz shrugged.

"We were a little lucky this time. Usually, there are often cases where we just pass by because the angle isn't right."

"Hmm."

In any case, as long as the result was good, that was all that mattered.

Not just discovering them, but also killing them was an even better result.

Because if we left them alone, they would have advanced to the barrier anyway.

"Captain."

"Hmm?"

Sorrow looked at me with his blue eyes shining.

"My contribution was outstanding, wasn't it?"

"So far?"

"Keep that in mind. There's a corresponding share in the reward."

"..."

His eyes were tinged with madness.

Did he like it that much?

It didn't even taste that good.

'You madman.'

But this was Ashuban's personal opinion.

Ashuban as the captain was different.

The captain of Sherwood had to manage these madmen well.

Sometimes with a whip. Sometimes with a carrot.

Ashuban the captain, after pretending to be in agony for a moment, opened his mouth solemnly.

"If it remains outstanding until the end."

"If it remains outstanding?"

Sorrow's eyes sparkled.

"I will give you my share as well."

Sorrow's eyes flashed with a blue light.

It was a frightening gaze, so much so that Princess Lilia let out a "Hic!" and pulled back.

"Are you serious about that?"

"Of course. I've never been not serious for a single moment."

"Good."

"But you know that if you overdo it and die, you get nothing, right? I won't even sprinkle it on your grave. Do it in moderation."

Sorrow smiled crookedly.

"Don't worry. I have no intention of dying without drinking 'that'."

I could feel his sincerity.

"Haaa..."

A sigh escaped me.

A madman crazy about poison. A madman crazy about thievery. And on top of that, a madman crazy about alcohol.

Being surrounded by all sorts of madmen, my head was throbbing.

'Captain. What in the world...'

What kind of life had you lived?

I felt like I could finally understand why the captain had disbanded the mercenary corps and declared his retirement, and then settled in a peaceful mountain village.

Had I perhaps done something irreversible?

The Heavenly Demon chuckled.

[Endure it. Isn't this the path you chose?]

"I have to. I have to endure."

I pressed my temples and then looked at the last group.

Here, there was Schmidt, who was on the more normal side in Sherwood, so I wasn't too worried.

Even if Linda had done something strange, Schmidt would have taken care of it on his own.

"Alright, then, last. The speedster and poisoner group. Report."

Schmidt, whose turn it was, moved his hands diligently and gave his report in sign language.

"..."

"..."

The expressions of the Sherwood members, including me, who were watching him, gradually turned strange.

Princess Lilia, who didn't know sign language, said with a face that was dying of curiosity.

"Why? What is he saying that's making your expressions like that?"

Dofang answered with a reluctant face.

"Princess."

"Yes?"

"He says those madmen captured a magical beast and tortured it with poison."

"...What?"

"And an A-rank magical beast at that."

"..."

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