72

“This is real.”

Rupert muttered as he looked at the fallen Redcap.

People who had been waiting, surrounding the house where the child had been without leaving any gap, began to appear one by one.

There were twenty of the empire’s supposedly only one hundred senior knights.

Hamel was taken aback by such overwhelming force, but still thought it better than being short-handed.

“As I said, this is not the end. The real one is the White Lady hiding in the forest.”

“We must hurry.”

“First, my party and I will go ahead. Knights, please form a perimeter at the rear so the thing cannot escape.”

Rupert paused for a moment after hearing Hamel’s words.

He seemed to be pondering something, but eventually nodded and said,

“I will. The safety of the estate’s people comes first. In return, may I be allowed to deal with the demon myself?”

“? Of course.”

Hamel, somewhat puzzled, nodded.

It seemed he wanted to take credit.

Considering how he seemed not to be well-regarded by Raikard, it was not hard to understand.

Relieved to receive Hamel’s confirmation, Rupert gestured to the knights.

The knights quickly formed up.

They spread out widely to facilitate search and encirclement.

Of course, Hamel would find the creature before they found the White Lady.

Hamel quietly anointed his eyes with holy water and said,

“Let’s go.”

Daniel, Ono, Rena, and Rupert followed him.

The northern forest was different from the southern woods.

A vast coniferous forest filled with needle-leaved trees as sharp as thorns stretched on seemingly without end.

It was truly a sea of trees.

“It’s dark.”

Rupert said, steadying himself against a tree.

It was nothing like outside, where visibility was at least somewhat maintained even at night.

The needle-thin leaves grew so densely they blocked the moonlight.

‘Good thing they all know how to use aura or mana.’

If not, they would have had to advance holding torches.

If so, the White Lady would have noticed and fled long ago.

Hamel continued forward.

His feet sank deep into the snow.

The interior of the forest was still in deep winter.

How far had they gone like that?

“I’ve found it.”

Hamel detected the lingering trace of demonic energy.

Its intensity suggested it had not been long since it passed.

“It’s close. Everyone, prepare yourselves.”

At Hamel’s words, the group tensed.

Hamel began to follow the continuous trail of magi.

As they advanced,

Crack, crack.

A sound of bones crushing came from ahead.

Could there already be a victim?

Hamel stamped his foot reflexively and ran.

Suddenly, the darkness cast by the conifer forest vanished and a soft light appeared.

He squinted, and to his surprise beings he hadn’t expected greeted him.

“Deer…?”

A herd of deer stood there.

But among them, one stood out and seized Hamel’s attention unmistakably.

A gigantic stag with dazzling silver fur looked down at Hamel.

Its intelligent eyes bore the wisdom of many years.

Its crystal-clear antlers scattered a faint glow, and they were adorned with ornate gold and jewel-laden ornaments.

A powerful demonic energy radiated from it, yet divinity coexisted as well.

‘What on earth is that…’

Hamel stared in perplexity.

Crack.

At that moment, the white stag stamped its hoof.

Its crystal hooves crushed and tore the flesh beneath with a bursting sound.

Only then did Hamel see what lay beneath.

Under its hooves were torn and broken chunks of flesh.

Hamel did not have much trouble recognizing what it was.

“The White Lady.”

The quarry they had been pursuing had already been hunted.

Hamel fell into thought for a moment.

He couldn’t be certain whether the stag before him was an enemy.

Then.

[What is happening here, the priest who serves Ehuurshika?]

The voice ringing in his head made Hamel flinch.

Looking around, he saw his companions reacting the same way.

They, too, trembled at the corners of their eyes as if they’d heard the voice.

Hamel calmed himself and asked evenly,

“Who are you?”

[Do you not know me?]

“….”

[…Well, that’s why I was forgotten, I suppose.]

The stag trembled with a somewhat mournful look in its eyes.

As its antlers quivered and it lowered its head, the shadows of the conifers slowly receded.

Then white moonlight poured down upon the stag from the sky.

Its silvery glow made it seem as if the moonlight itself had become a living being.

[My name is Lunacornus. I am the stag favored by moonlight and the lord of this sea of trees.]

“…!”

Only then did Hamel realize who stood before him.

A bodhisattva, a divine proxy.

It was an entity equal to Tarka, the lord of the Roswell forest in the Sorn domain.

No, considering the size of this forest, it might have been an even greater being.

“Why is the representative here surrounded by demonic energy?”

Cornus remained silent at Hamel’s calm question.

After a moment, it began to speak of something else.

[I have been forgotten by humans. The clan that worshipped me has vanished, and those who remembered me now serve other gods.]

An old forgotten god.

He had heard of this before.

A deity forgotten by all ultimately loses its existence.

So how did Cornus maintain its stature?

Then a hypothesis flashed through his mind.

“…No way.”

Hamel murmured under his breath.

Cornus slowly nodded in response.

[That’s right. I made a contract. That’s how I survived.]

A contract with a demon.

Hamel furrowed his brow and said,

“That’s not right. Weren’t you also a great being who fought demons on the side of the benevolent gods?”

[Good and evil… and yet you yourself are a mixed being, are you not?]

“That is…”

Hamel glanced at Rupert who was with him and trailed off.

Cornus slowly shook its head.

[Calling it a contract is no great thing. It merely promised to take my soul when I died.]

“You mean you could maintain this power on such a meager condition…?”

[Because the being I contracted with had that much power.]

“Who was that?”

Hamel asked urgently.

Cornus hesitated for a moment, then snorted and spoke.

It sounded like an effort to forget a fear.

[An ancient being. Creatures that have lived since the Age of Gods.]

Having said that, Cornus seemed unwilling to speak further and turned away.

[Return. I have not yet forgotten the oath I swore to my god.]

“….”

Hamel looked up at Cornus for a moment.

Then he slowly nodded.

“For now, we will withdraw. But if your words do not match your actions… then I will come myself to end your life.”

[I would ask the same favor of you.]

Cornus nodded as if agreeing.

Then, after hesitating and seeming to struggle with it, it continued,

[I cannot harm humans on nights when the moon is up.]

“…!”

[So if I have changed, come and kill me at any time.]

“I will.”

Hamel nodded and turned his body.

Just as the party agreed and began to withdraw,

“Lord Hamel.”

Rupert grabbed Hamel’s arm as he was stepping back and said.

“We cannot return like this. How can you trust that monster?”

“Sir Rupert. That is not a mere demon. It is a god once worshipped by northerners.”

Despite Hamel’s explanation, Rupert could not easily suppress his displeasure.

“But… isn’t it a demon now? This does not solve the problem.”

Hamel shook his head at that and said,

“Cornus showed us its fidelity. Even a mere demon keeps a promise. I have no intention of breaking that promise.”

“…I understand.”

Rupert answered tersely, still resentful.

But he did not argue further and nodded.

Only then did Hamel feel relieved and turn away.

And it did not take long for him to regret that.

The group returned to the village and dispersed to rest.

But before dawn, Hamel hurriedly woke everyone.

“Sir Daniel. Wake up.”

“…Hamel?”

When Daniel opened his eyes from sleep, Hamel continued while gathering his gear.

“Sir Rupert is not here.”

“…What?”

Daniel, who had been dazed for a moment, suddenly sat bolt upright.

It was the dark dawn before the sun had risen.

Surely he hadn’t already returned to Sturnhelm.

If not, there was only one place he could have gone.

Hamel frowned slightly and answered.

“Yes, it seems he went into the forest.”

“Damn. This is bad.”

Daniel hurriedly got up and donned his armor.

Hamel, who had finished preparing first, went to wake the others.

There was little time to prepare.

Even the entire knightly order had already disappeared.

They had left in a planned manner.

Not knowing when they had departed, they had to pursue quickly.

The party put on whatever lacking equipment they had and began the pursuit.

Fortunately, the chase was not that difficult.

Not only were there clear signs of a large group passing through, but it was a path they’d already traveled once.

“So they headed for Lunacornus after all.”

Hamel gritted his teeth and said.

Rupert had ultimately decided to kill Cornus.

What had driven Rupert to such extremity?

Hamel, feeling he couldn’t understand it, started running.

Rena lagged behind, but there was nothing to be done.

Hamel and Daniel rapidly traversed the forest.

And as they approached the familiar clearing,

Thud!

An ominous roar shook the ground.

“….”

Hamel slowly walked toward the source of the sound.

Faint moonlight poured into the clearing as if signaling the end of night.

But that moonlight was tinged red, dyeing the snow on the ground a bright crimson.

Hiss, hiss.

The fallen giant stag was breathing roughly.

Its once-reverent eyes had turned a dull gray, and its silvery fur had blackened and died.

Deprived of the moon’s grace, the stag murmured as if filled with wrath.

[I, who protected humans, die by human hands… I curse you. You will kill the one you loved most with your own hand, be abandoned by the one you admired, and die in miserable regret.]

Hearing this, Rupert’s face went pale and he staggered back.

A sword stained red was clenched in his hand.

Around them, the herd that Lunacornus had led had been slaughtered.

“What on earth have you done?”

Hamel spoke with a voice as cold as it could be.

Rupert then seemed to regain his senses and composed his terrified expression.

“I only did what I had to do.”

“No. Sir Rupert abandoned his knightly fidelity and harmed an innocent life.”

“….”

Rupert twisted his face and averted his eyes.

Because he, too, could not truly believe his actions were righteous.

“Stand aside. It may not be too late even now…”

“No.”

Rupert cut him off and shook his head resolutely.

He looked at Hamel with hollow, empty eyes and gripped his sword tightly.

His aura-wreathed sword was swung swiftly.

Cornus’s neck, struggling for breath, was severed.

Thunk.

With the sound of the neck dropping, Rupert sneered coldly.

“It’s already too late, Lord Hamel.”