Chapter 14
As if he couldn't believe the sight in front of him, Dante blinked several
times. To not even have its body visible at the height of the inn door, it must
be at least the size of a house. A monster of this size appeared in a
residential area? Without a single sound?
"Did you lead it here?" Elisha asked without turning her gaze. Dante immediately
shook his head vigorously. "Do you think I’m crazy enough to bring it here? In
the first place, a monster wouldn't listen to a human!" "Maybe you summoned it
just to keep me from escaping." "What kind of magic summons monsters!" although
it sounded like something Eric might manage to invent one day.
At Dante's completely indignant shout, Elisha finally turned her gaze slightly
to look at the man holding her sleeve. She’d said it half-jokingly, but she
hadn't expected him to get this angry. He reminded her of Eric as a child. Like
a black cat that bristled its tail... "Get a grip." But this wasn't a time to be
lost in such feelings.
Elisha immediately turned her gaze from Dante and stared straight ahead again.
The sound-muffling magic contained the noise from the inside only; it couldn't
block noise from the outside. But from the outside, not a single scream was
heard, not even a whisper. Even Jonathan seemed unable to see the massive
creature, just staring at them with wide eyes.
"People who don't have exceptional mana-sensing abilities can't find it." Elisha
knew a monster with this characteristic. It was impossible not to know. She had
faced this monster before. "Hyde."
"Hyde, you mean from the Shelan Plains incident......" Dante muttered soon under
his breath, staring out the door. He hadn't participated in the subjugation at
that time, so this was his first time actually seeing one, but he was certainly
familiar with its notoriety.
The Shelan Plains monster attack. The reason they were so helpless until
Elisha's arrival, despite it being a plain with not a single tree. It was
because it was a monster whose very existence couldn't be perceived by those
with mana-sensing abilities below a certain level. They said Elisha was the only
one who could see its true form at that time. Although he was certainly seeing
the monster with his own eyes now. But this monster...
"It’s surprisingly quiet, isn't it?" Dante tilted his head slightly, finding it
strange. If this were indeed the culprit from that incident, it would have
destroyed the inn by now. "This was summoned," Elisha answered after a while,
her brow knitting slightly. The Shelan Plains, where the monster known as Hyde
was first discovered, was very far from the Imperial Capital. It meant the
monster couldn't have come all this way on its own. The same was true even if it
weren't from the Shelan Plains. For a monster the size and ferocity of the Hyde
to reach this place, it would have had to destroy at least one town or leave
some kind of trail. Just being invisible didn't mean it couldn't launch physical
attacks.
"At least, a report of strange phenomena would have reached the Imperial
Palace." For a moment, Elisha's gaze rested briefly on Dante Renard. Dante
Renard's presence here meant, in the end, that no report of a Hyde had reached
the Imperial family. There was no possibility that Eric, who knows the dangers
of the Hyde better than anyone, had received a report and yet sent Dante Renard
to find her. So, in the end, there was only one answer. She didn't know what
method was used, but someone had intentionally summoned that monster here.
"You’re saying it’s possible to summon a monster?" "There’s no law saying there
can only be one person like Eric in the world." although she doubted such a
thing existed.
After a while, Elisha launched a small fire arrow toward the monster's leg. The
monster remained unmoved to attack, staying perfectly still. As if it were
waiting for an order from someone. "Jonathan," Elisha dissipated the
sound-muffling magic and called Jonathan. He flinched and rose awkwardly from
his seat. They seemed to be having a quite serious conversation, and now they
were approaching the door. Were they about to leave?
"Do you need something? Or are you planning to leave......" "Do you have a
cloak?" but Elisha's next words were completely different from what Jonathan
expected. Jonathan blinked blankly a few times before nodding his head slowly.
"There are a few cloaks guests left behind, but I’m not sure if they’d fit the
Miss......" "I’d like to borrow one." At the quite firm request, Jonathan
hesitated for a moment before finding a cloak and handing it to Elisha. All the
while, her gaze remained fixed out the door. Even if she had intentionally
controlled its size, would that ferocious Hyde really remain still after being
struck by a fire arrow? Impossible. There had to be another reason.
As soon as her thoughts ended, Elisha put on the cloak that was handed to her.
To be precise, she only put it on halfway. "I won't run away," Elisha said to
Dante. He was still holding one of her arms. At the same time, Dante let go of
Elisha with a stunned look on his face. He hadn't even realized he was still
holding her, he was so surprised.
"Jonathan doesn't like having his inn destroyed, so you should be careful,"
Elisha said calmly as a magic circle appeared at her feet. Dante then followed
suit, creating his own magic circle and nodding his head slowly. Watching them,
a slight smile crept onto Jonathan's lips. He didn't know what on earth was
going on, but there was one thing for sure. My inn was already half-destroyed
the moment you two started launching magic here......
Meanwhile, Dante, who followed Elisha to land on the inn's roof, let out a small
gasp. "It’s really massive from up here." And Elisha had taken care of that
massive thing on her own. Dozens of them, nonetheless. "It’s only tricky because
others can't see it. Once you can see it, it’s easy."
Having finished her sentence, Elisha quickly scanned the surroundings. About
twenty people passing through the nearby alleys. Including the surrounding
houses, at least a hundred people. If she used magic recklessly to take down the
Hyde, those people might get hurt. I suppose it’s a relief that no one is
passing through this particular alley. So this is why there were no guests in
the inn.
After assessing the situation, Elisha lifted her head again to look at the
monster in front of her. Covered in black scales, with vertically slit pupils,
and an unsettling aura of mana seeping from it. It was definitely a Hyde. "Why
is it still not moving......" she was tilting her head slightly when. "......?"
For a moment, a blurry figure appeared on the monster's shoulder. Elisha
instinctively knit her brow. ......A person? "Dante Renard, do you see that?"
"If you mean that disgusting massive black beast, I see it very clearly. My
abilities must be quite distinguished." Dante answered, shaking his head back
and forth. Elisha ignored his words easily. It seemed Dante Renard couldn't see
it. Was she simply seeing an illusion, or was it...
"What about evacuating the nearby people first?" meanwhile, Dante began to offer
his own opinion. His words failed to penetrate Elisha's ears. It’s not an
illusion. The figure on its shoulder definitely became slightly clearer than
before. Taking the form of a young man with black hair and red eyes.
"If we attack recklessly and it rampages, we’ll be in big trouble—" "That’s it."
The human who summoned and restrained the Hyde here.
The moment she reached her judgment, Elisha immediately deployed dozens of magic
circles. Dante's jaw dropped as he stepped in front of Elisha to block her.
"Didn't you hear me? I said if you act recklessly, innocent civilians might get
hurt!" "Move, Renard. I’m not targeting that thing." "Then what is 'that thing'
you just mentioned!" "That is......" at that moment, the man's figure began to
blur again. Elisha immediately pushed Dante aside and launched a spell toward
where the man was. But her magic only swirled in the man's empty space. Like a
mirage, as if he was never there...
— KRAAAAH! At the same time, the monster that had been perfectly still began to
roar. It was a bone-chilling cry that even an ordinary person could clearly
perceive. "Elisha!" I told you not to attack first, so why is a smart girl like
you making the first move! It was the moment Dante looked at Elisha with a look
of utter frustration.
Crack! In a flash of light, a powerful electric shock swept through the monster.
It was truly a bolt from the blue. For a moment, Dante forgot what he was about
to say and just blinked in daze. One minute telling me to be careful about
destroying the inn. Look at those broken tiles on the roof. The innkeeper would
cry if he saw this.
Dante slowly lifted his gaze to stare at the monster in front of him. It was
hard to tell since it was already black, but seeing its normally slit pupils
rolled back... "Did you kill that in a single strike?" he asked in disbelief.
Elisha, still scowling deeply, opened her mouth stubbornly. "You could say I
killed it."
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