Minutes had passed since Leje started the battle.
Chiit…!!
Thanks to her efforts, the damage around her no longer expanded, but Leje wasn’t happy with the situation.
Kkaang!!
“What’s so damn tough!?”
She blinked in disbelief as her sword bounced off a massive monstrosity’s shell.
Its strength was downright cheating.
Despite the fierce battle, the only damage sustained by the beast was a tiny chip off its outer armor.
Having only heard about these beasts before, Leje was slowly learning what true monsters looked like.
“We’re not going to win at this rate!”
“Tsk…”
She muttered under her breath, tightening her grip on the sword as she took her stance.
[Gooooo-!!]
At that moment, the monstrous beast let out a heavy roar and charged straight at her.
Its stampede, trampling everything in its path, was terror incarnate for any ordinary person.
However, Leje stood her ground, refusing to budge a single step.
If she dodged, the Count’s Domain would suffer even more damage.
There was no way she could stand by and watch that.
With resolve in her eyes, she gripped her sword tighter.
And then, as the beast approached her…
Cheojeojeok!!
A massive wall of ice shot up right in front of her as she swung her sword.
“Eh…!?”
Kugugugung!!
The sudden turn of events left her in shock, and she felt the ground shake from the beast’s impact against the wall.
“What… what the hell is this…”
Just then, she heard a familiar voice shout from behind her.
“Leje!”
“Rudell?”
Turning her head, she spotted Rudell.
“Sorry for the delay!”
“You’re late! I thought my neck would stretch waiting for you!”
Amid her outburst, a faint smile appeared on her face.
“So, what do I do?”
“First, we need to lure that thing to the outer lands of the territory. Can you do that?”
“That’s easy-peasy.”
Even if the beast was terrifying, it was just a wild animal driven by instincts.
Leading it away wasn’t a difficult task for her.
“And then?”
“I’ll bury it under an avalanche.”
“An avalanche? Ah…!!”
She raised an eyebrow at his perplexing plan but quickly figured out his intent.
If they caused an avalanche on the Bladehook Mountain Range, which ranked among the largest mountain ranges in the entire continent, the force would be unimaginable.
But…
“Is that really okay? If things go wrong, it could take out an entire village!”
“Of course, we need to evacuate everyone! Let’s hurry! Time’s running out!”
He answered urgently, reaching out to Leje.
She grabbed his hand, and just then…
Kwajik!!
[Oooooooo-!!]
The beast burst through the ice wall, letting out a low roar directed at them.
They may not understand the beast’s exact words, but they could feel the fury in its blazing eyes.
It was pure rage.
“Run!!”
“Run!!”
The two of them shouted in unison as they bolted away…
[Goooooo-!!!]
With a deafening roar, the beast began to chase them.
*
The duo moved toward the outer lands of the Count’s Domain to lure the beast.
“…Kill me.”
“Not a chance! I’s planning to mess with you for life!”
Naturally, it didn’t take long before Rudell found himself carrying Leje across the territory.
Though his magic enhanced his physical capability, he was still only slightly better than an average person.
He couldn’t handle the beast alone just yet.
Plus, conserving magic was crucial for their plan.
Those factors led to their current predicament.
[Gooooo-!!]
Meanwhile, the beast chased after them, roaring in anger.
The way it stomped and uprooted everything in sight could only be described as a natural disaster.
“Um… does it feel like it’s getting closer?”
“Beats me!”
As the distance between them and the beast closed, Rudell’s voice trembled with anxiety, while Leje shrugged it off.
But in that moment, the gap shrank even more…
“It’s getting closer! It’s getting closer?! Hey, Leje?!”
Ahahahaha!!
When Rudell yelped as the beast almost caught up to them, Leje burst out laughing, suddenly pulling away more distance.
“You’re just the best!”
“I’m serious now!”
She replied loudly to Rudell, picking up the pace.
Sigh…
Even in a life-or-death situation, she was still joking around.
Rudell found it thoroughly confusing, but what could he do?
After all, she hadn’t always been this way without some influence from him, so he couldn’t really put the blame on anyone else.
As Rudell was being carried across the Count’s Domain…
“Now where do we go?!”
“Over there! Do you see that village!?”
Leje pointed to a village nestled under the Bladehook Mountain Range in the distance.
There were no signs of life there since the residents had evacuated just in time.
That meant they could shatter things to their hearts’ content without worrying about casualties.
“Uthcha!!”
In a flash, Leje leaped over the village’s barricade and set Rudell down…
“So? How are we going to cause the avalanche?”
“Let’s see… it should be around here somewhere…”
As she observed the beast charging towards them from afar, Rudell dug into his bag at his waist.
What came out were cannonballs.
“Cannonballs? But there’s no cannon here!”
“Of course not, I can’t just haul a cannon all the way here.”
Though using Shadow Magic would have made it easier, it wasn’t time to reveal that yet.
Besides, Rudell had a more reliable method.
“So what’s the plan?”
“What do you think? I have to go up there and blow it up. Can you buy me some time?”
“Huh!? You’re not serious! You expect me to get caught in the avalanche?!”
Leje shouted in shock.
Even with her superhuman abilities, it would be insanity to face an avalanche head-on.
But they had no other option.
“Well, of course, you’ll dodge.”
“Do you remember I’m the Duchess of the Duke’s House?”
“I sometimes forget with how much of a tomboy you are.”
“Just wait and see.”
Staring daggers at Rudell’s nonchalant attitude, Leje heaved a short sigh and drew her sword…
[Gooooo-!!]
Just then, the monstrous beast arrived, crashing through the village’s barricades and letting out a roar at them.
“Go already! I’ll hold it off!”
“Please!”
With Leje’s shout, Rudell’s body began to lift off the ground, soaring into the air toward the mountains.
The moment he became a tiny dot in the sky, Leje turned to face the monstrosity.
“Alright, now that we’re in it, let’s give it everything we’ve got…”
She might lose her life.
A completely reckless plan.
But even so, she didn’t feel fear.
‘Rudell will make it work somehow.’
She was sure he wouldn’t let her get hurt.
Leje held onto that conviction.
“I’ll make sure to make you pay for this later.”
How dare they make the Duchess of the Duke’s House do this!
The price would be more than the entire Count’s Domain.
She would collect that debt, without fail.
Talking to herself, she made up her mind.
“First… I need to deal with this thing!”
With that declaration, she raised her sword at the beast glaring at her.
“Now that it’s come to this! Don’t even think about surviving!”
[Gooooo-!!]
And at that moment, responding to her shout, the beast howled and charged straight at her.
