Chapter 3

  "Hurry up, Darron! You're going too slow!" A woman called out, her golden eyes flashing with impatience.

  Darron huffed, adjusting the large leather bag that was over his broad shoulders. "I'm doing my best; your stuff is too heavy!"

  His brown hair was damp with sweat, and he muttered a curse under his breath as he struggled under the weight. Then, as if the realization had just struck him, he blurted out, "Wait! You only let me come along to carry your bags!"

  Merlin chuckled, the sound light and teasing. "Of course. Have I not told you many times that I prefer to work alone?" She walked ahead with effortless grace, her silver hair swaying behind her, her revealing attire giving her an ethereal aura.

  Darron sighed. "At least you let me come at all."

  Merlin shot him a knowing smile. "Even so, you should be prepared to fight. You'll act as my shield if necessary. You know I'm not the best when it comes to physical combat."

  Darron rolled his shoulders, shaking his head. "Of course, I'll protect you, but don't expect me to be as strong as you or as strong as Elira was." He cast his gaze downward for a moment before adding, "You and Elira were the Platinum-ranked adventurers of our group. The rest of us... well, we weren’t on your level."

  Merlin nodded thoughtfully. "I know that, but you're still strong. Strong enough to be my shield and protect me, at least. That’s all I need."

  Darron grunted, adjusting the bag on his shoulders again. "I appreciate the confidence, but seriously, why are we even here? You didn’t explain much, and honestly, coming to a country ruled by demon lords isn't something I’m thrilled about. Most adventurers avoid this place for a reason."

  Merlin laughed. "Where’s your courage, Darron?"

  He exhaled sharply. "Courage has nothing to do with it. This place just makes me uneasy. The rumors aren’t exactly great."

  "Oh, don’t be so dramatic," Merlin replied, waving a hand dismissively. "This country is mostly the same as any other. In some ways, it's even better. The cities are safe, and from what I’ve heard, the people here live good lives."

  Darron hesitated before responding, "I see. Then why are we here?"

  Merlin’s golden eyes gleamed as she explained. "I got word from one of my sources in the Aphemis Theocracy. They overheard the Cardinals discussing something... a beast operating in this region. Apparently, they were debating whether they should intervene and mentioned something about 'flames that don’t stop burning.'"

  Darron's expression darkened. "Flames that don’t stop burning? Sounds like some high-tier magic."

  Merlin nodded. "Exactly! Magic of the sixth tier or above, it has to be!” Merlin said overly excited. “Naturally, as a mage, I want to investigate."

  Darron sighed, shaking his head. "Do you ever stop to wonder if a beast capable of that kind of magic might be... I don’t know, incredibly strong?"

  Merlin smirked. "Of course, but don’t worry. It’s not like I can’t use magic of that level myself. Besides, if things go south, we’ll just escape using [Teleportation]."

  Darron exhaled through his nose, adjusting the strap of the bag once more. "You make it sound so easy."

  "That’s because it is," Merlin said with a wink, continuing down the path without a care in the world. Darron shook his head and followed, wondering, not for the first time, just what he had gotten himself into. Well, it wasn’t like Merlin was weak… he couldn’t really think she’d lose to some mindless monster. Even then, as she said, they could still escape via teleporting away.

  Darron and Merlin walked on, their boots pressing the earth track as they neared a narrow bridge over a running river. The river glittered in the afternoon sun, mirroring the thick foliage of trees across it. Nearing the end of the bridge, Merlin halted abruptly and pointed in the direction of the thick forest in their left side.

  "We must go this way," she said to him, her eyes shining with excitement.

  Darron looked in the direction she indicated and frowned. "That's not a path, Merlin. That's just trees."

  She chuckled. "Of course. We're hunting the beast, remember? If it were easy, someone else would have already done it."

  Darron sighed. "I really don’t like this…"

  Merlin shot him an exasperated look. "I already told you to stop with that attitude. If I knew you were going to complain this much, I wouldn’t have brought you."

  She pivoted on her heel and strode into the woods, her silver hair shining lightly in the sunlight filtering through the leaves. "Leave my bag on the ground," she said over her shoulder without turning around.

  Darron did so, letting the weighty leather pack fall and leaving it beside a tree as he followed after her. He came upon Merlin on her knees beside a tree, her hands scraping through dirt.

  "See? Dried blood trails," she murmured, holding up a handful of darkened soil. Her gaze traced the faint crimson streaks leading further into the forest. "Looks like more than one person has died here."

  Darron grimaced but nodded. "So, do we follow the trails?"

  Merlin answered by simply continuing forward, her steps quick and deliberate. Darron fell in beside her and asked, "How did you even know where to start searching?"

  "I'm using [Sense Magic] to detect lingering magical energy. I can't gauge the full strength from a distance, but it helps narrow down the search," she explained. "And, of course, there's also the information I got from my informant. The Holy Church of Aphemis was even debating whether to send their Templar Knights here, which means we're dealing with something very interesting!"

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  Darron frowned. "That doesn't sound reassuring."

  Before Merlin could respond, he suddenly stopped, his warrior instincts kicking in. "Wait. I heard something up ahead."

  Merlin narrowed her eyes and whispered, "I can sense magic traces… but they don’t seem very potent."

  They had walked close enough for her to discern the magical signatures properly when a rustling in the underbrush drew their attention. In an instant, three hunched figures burst from behind the trees and bushes, their yellowed fangs exposed, and blood dripping from their mouth.

  "Nekkers!" Darron shouted, raising his fists.

  The first of the creatures lunged straight for Merlin, but the moment it crossed into her proximity, she calmly extended a hand. "[Ashen Purge]."

  A pulse of violet energy crackled outward, and the Nekker disintegrated into a cloud of fine ash before it even reached her.

  The other two barely had time to react before Darron slammed his fist into one, sending it crashing into a tree with a sickening crunch. The second Nekker let out a guttural sound, but before it could retreat, Darron spun and struck it with his other fist, sending it tumbling across the forest ground.

  Merlin snapped her fingers. "[Ignite Flame]."

  Twin streams of fire burst forth, engulfing the two remaining creatures in roaring flames. They screeched and writhed before collapsing into piles of ash.

  Merlin brushed a speck of ash off her sleeve and sighed. "Nekkers are just scavengers. The blood must have drawn them here, but they’re not what we’re looking for."

  Darron exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Yeah. They're nasty, but definitely not the beast."

  Merlin looked around, scanning the forest floor. "We should keep investigating the blood trails. If we find a body, we might learn more about what we’re really dealing with."

  ***

  Arya glanced at Sarah from behind as they walked through the dense underbrush, her curiosity getting the better of her. "So, what about this beast?" she asked, her voice steady but tinged with anticipation.

  Sarah didn’t stop walking but responded with a thoughtful hum. "If we can find some bodies, it’ll help me identify what type of monster it might be by analyzing the wound patterns."

  She paused for a moment, lost in her thoughts. Of course, only if it’s a type of monster I already know of, she mused internally. Ever since becoming Nirvana, she had gained an immense amount of knowledge—knowledge she definitely did not possess back in her world. It was as if a bestiary had been engraved into her mind, thousands of monsters cataloged with their attack patterns, behaviors, wound types, and weaknesses. It was almost terrifying how much she knew, especially considering that she had no experience with hunting or even basic zoology before.

  Yet, it was incredibly useful.

  A smile instinctively tugged at her lips. I really am amazing, aren’t I? The thought filled her with a strange sense of excitement. Having such an expansive knowledge of monsters, their strategies, their strengths and weaknesses—it was exhilarating. She paused for a moment as she had started to praise herself, perhaps this reaction of hers—thinking of herself as amazing—might be from the fact that as Nirvana, she truly sees herself as superior to everyone else. Yes, that’s probably the case, she thought. This belief has caused me to act quite recklessly I’d say… I have gone straight into fight multiple times without even accessing my opponent’s strength, just cause I assumed they were inferior. Well, I guess I can’t help but think this way.

  Arya, noticing the change in Sarah’s expression, raised an eyebrow. "What’s with that look?"

  Sarah blinked and quickly dismissed it, waving a hand nonchalantly. "Oh, it’s nothing."

  Arya wasn’t entirely convinced but let it slide as Sarah continued. "Judging by what we know so far—the attack patterns, the calculated ambushes, the sheer scale of them—we can already rule out necrophages like ghouls or skeleton-type monsters. Other small creatures are also excluded."

  Nami, who was walking just behind Sarah and next to Arya, let out a soft chuckle. "Well, that much is obvious, isn’t it?"

  Sarah chuckled as well, shaking her head. "It pretty much is, yeah. But I’ll know more once we analyze the actual ambush sites."

  She continued moving ahead, leading them through the shadowed forest, her blue eyes scanning the surroundings with sharp precision. Arya watched her for a moment before subtly turning her attention to Nami. She reached out and lightly touched Nami’s shoulder, causing the white-haired demon to glance at her with a questioning look.

  "Find some excuse to leave us alone," Arya whispered.

  Nami tilted her head, amused. "And why would I do that?"

  Arya leaned in slightly. "I want to get closer to Sarah. You being here gets in the way."

  Nami's smirk widened. "Closer, huh?" Her tone was teasing, her grey eyes gleaming with mischief. "Well, I’ll have you know that Sarah and I are already pretty close."

  Arya frowned, suspicious. "What do you mean by that?"

  Nami’s smirk turned into a knowing grin. "I mean... we’re very close."

  Arya’s eyes widened, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. "W-what?!"

  Her exclamation was loud enough that Sarah turned around, looking between the two of them with mild curiosity. "What’s the matter?"

  Nami, still grinning, waved it off. "Oh, nothing."

  She then turned back to Arya and winked, clearly enjoying her reaction. Arya, still flustered, could only scowl in return.

  Sarah eyed them for a moment before shrugging and continuing forward. "Alright, let’s keep moving. We need to find those bodies before we lose any more daylight."

  As she turned back around, Arya shot Nami a glare. "What the hell was that supposed to mean?"

  Nami simply chuckled and walked ahead, leaving Arya grumbling under her breath as she followed behind. The hunt for the beast continued, but Arya now had something else occupying her thoughts entirely.

  They continued forward for a few more meters, the dense foliage giving way to a small clearing in the middle of the forest. The air was thick with the scent of blood and mildly rotting bodies, as if it hadn’t been that much time since they were killed. At least four bodies lay scattered across the grass, their armor battered and torn, with massive holes in the metal. Sarah’s sharp eyes immediately caught the faint drag marks leading deeper into the woods—clear signs that more bodies had been moved, likely by scavenger monsters.

  “Necrophages,” she muttered to herself. It was a reasonable assumption; ghouls, nekkers, or other corpse-feeding creatures had likely dragged off the remains to feast elsewhere. But they weren’t the main threat.

  She knelt beside the nearest corpse, her blue eyes shifting to a red tone as she focused and analyzed the wounds.

  The head wounds were erratic—several punctures and gashes, but none fatal on their own. Some of the injuries looked like the work of nekkers, their jagged teeth leaving messy, imprecise bites. However, beneath the fresher damage, she found deep, clean puncture wounds near the neck and jaw. Precise.

  Moving to the torso, Sarah noted multiple lacerations across the chest and abdomen. Some of them were rough, likely caused by scavengers or frantic clawing from creatures attacking in a frenzy. However, the fatal injuries stood out—deep, curved slashes, almost surgical in their precision. The ribs beneath had been cracked with brute force, and blood loss had been significant. This wasn’t the work of mindless necrophages.

  Lastly, she examined the legs. The tendons of the lower limbs had been severed in calculated strikes, ensuring the victims couldn’t escape.

  Sarah’s fingers brushed lightly over the dried blood on the corpse’s torn armor, her mind piecing the information together. The wounds, the method of attack—it all pointed in one direction.

  “A vampire…” she murmured, standing up. “The patterns match what I’ve read before—Ekimmas or Nekurats. They are classified as Lower Vampires from what I saw in the books in Grand Valka.”

  Nami, arms crossed, smirked. “Well, that makes things simple. These kinds of vampires don’t stray far from their territory. Shouldn’t be too hard to find it.”

  Sarah nodded but remained thoughtful. “If it’s been here for a long time, people should have known about it before now. Something must’ve changed.”

  Nami shrugged. “Maybe it’s young. Or maybe it was living quietly until the soldiers trespassed on its territory and pissed it off.”

  Sarah considered this. “That would make sense… Either way, we’ll have to find its den soon. Otherwise, it’ll just keep hunting.”

  Her eyes turned toward the deeper part of the forest, where the drag marks led.