Chapter 100

Monster
William tried to raise the soldiers’ morale, even if it was a bit forced.
It seemed to work—the formation held, and the spears stayed firm, aiming at the monsters.

—Captain of the Guard, report your situation.

The voice came through telepathy. William shouted back,

“Engaged with three monsters! The Guard alone won’t be enough—we need reinforcements!”

—Understood. Two descendants of Iorga are heading to your location. Hold on a little longer.

A moment later, something with wings descended gracefully from the sky, landing before the monsters.

“Filthy beasts. Your master already went to the afterlife, yet you still cling to life pointlessly.”

“Return to your master’s side.”

The Iorga descendants spoke with scorn, then uncorked their water flasks.
The clear water inside rose with the movement of their fingers, splitting into ten whip-like streams.

Whoosh!

The water whips lashed out, splitting into ten precise strands, wrapping around the monsters.
They moved as if they were the casters’ own limbs—binding the monsters in an instant.

“Captain of the Guard, finish them.”

“Yes!”

William’s sword, wrapped in red sword energy, struck at the vital points of the bound monsters.

“Uraaah! Die!”

Even the spear soldiers, encouraged, could no longer just stand by. They rushed in as well.

There is an old saying: no enemy can withstand a mob beating.
Pinned down, even the monstrous wolves couldn’t endure the storm of spears.

William killed two, while the spearmen finished the last.

Just minutes ago they had been on the brink of collapse—yet now the monsters were slain so easily.

“Th-thank you, mages.”

The Iorga descendants only gave William a brief glance before turning away, flying off without a word.

Dragon spawns, proud as they were, did not mingle lightly with humans of lower standing.

‘To them, I’m not even worth speaking to…’

It stung, but William accepted it. He thought to himself,

‘If I were stronger, with more presence… this would have been easier. Next time, I’ll be stronger.’

He resolved in his heart—
as Captain of the Guard of a town under the Red Dragon’s rule, he would grow strong enough to be worthy of it.

—

“Knight of Valdrova’s principality, now deploying.”

—Understood. Please cover the northern sector.

Two riders came down from Valdrova’s castle.
Though, one wasn’t on a horse, but on… a donkey.

The man riding it wore a foolish expression.

“L-Lord Jed! I don’t think I’ll be any help. W-what should I do?!”

The one behind him, Penelope, answered flatly.

“What else? Just sit there and eat popcorn.”

“R-really?”

“Of course. And make some for me too—ugh!”

“Gods, every time you open your mouth, it’s nonsense.”

“Mercy, mercy! I surrender!”

Jed had Penelope in a chokehold, and she tapped his arm in protest.

“If you want to help, at least act as bait! Draw the wolves’ attention if they show up!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

“I’ll take this side. You head down that path.”

“Understood!”

Jed parted ways with Malcolm on his donkey. Penelope muttered,

“Making him bait? Isn’t that too cruel?”

“If he can’t do that, he’ll just run away anyway.”

“He doesn’t even seem smart enough to do that.”

“He’s still smarter than you.”

“What?! Why you—!”

Just then, their banter stopped. Something huge came into view.

A wolf monster.

They immediately focused.

“Target sighted. Looks just like before.”

“Yeah.”

“Same size, same form. Last time, we barely escaped. Will you be fine this time?”

“More than fine.”

Jed smiled.
This was the moment he had endured so much pain for—
the chance for revenge.

“How sweet it is to finally take revenge.”

He drew his short sword. Blue sword energy flared along its edge.

His horse charged forward, then suddenly stopped.
Using the momentum, Jed vaulted high into the air.

“Pepe! Now!”

“Hea—ste!”

The pink-haired demon girl cast her acceleration spell on him mid-air.

Their teamwork had grown sharper.
Jed landed lightly, his body blurring with speed.

—Grr?!

The wolf monster was startled. Its snake-like heads whipped around, chasing only after his afterimages.

This time, Jed wasn’t running away.

The blue sword aura cut through the air—slicing every snake head, severing tendons, leaving the beast helpless.

And when the monster wasted its strength trying to regenerate—Jed struck, plunging his short sword into its heart.

Unlike the time he’d fought to protect Ferda, this ended easily.

“Whoa! Awesome!”

Penelope hopped up and down excitedly.

“Jed! Where did you learn to fight like that?”

“You think I was slacking, idiot?”

“Ooh… you actually look sexy now. The first truly irresistible man I’ve seen~”

“Hah, cut it out. What, you trying to drain my energy or something?”

“C’mon… I haven’t had a man in a week…”

She stroked her belly, giving him sultry eyes.
To Jed, it was less seductive, more irritating.

Then Isabella’s voice came through telepathy.

—Lord Jed.

“Yes, ma’am.”

—Lord Malcolm is drawing monsters away. Please support him.

“Where is he?”

—Heading your way. Check the alley.

Jed didn’t need to search. The noise was already approaching.

First came the donkey’s head.
Then Malcolm’s shrill scream—

“Uwaaah! I’m dead! I’m dead!”

The donkey brayed as it ran, while Malcolm sobbed and wailed.
Two wolf monsters chased right behind.

Jed’s jaw dropped.

‘How is that fool still alive?’

Malcolm had no great strength, no martial skills—just a donkey.
The wolves were faster, more agile.
He should’ve been eaten long ago.

But each time the wolves lunged, they tripped over each other instead.

Dumb beasts—or dumb luck.
Either way, Jed needed to kill them now.

“Hey! Donkey guy! This way!”

“Uwaaaaah!”

Only screams came back.

Useless idiot.

But then, surprisingly, the donkey turned, heading straight toward Jed.

The wolves, enraged, followed after.
Perfect.

As the donkey passed him, Jed counted down silently.

3… 2… 1…

Zero.
The wolf appeared before him.

Jed dashed forward, plunging his blade into its heart.

Yelp!

One wolf fell. The other turned, realizing it couldn’t afford to chase Malcolm anymore.
Alone, it was easy prey.

Jed reversed his grip and pierced the second monster’s heart.

Two kills—faster than he had thought possible.

‘What a perfect decoy.’

No wonder Ferda kept Malcolm around.

Jed called out to him, trying for camaraderie.

“Hey, old man! You were the perfect bait. Good job—”

“Ugh… I’m dying… I’m dying…”

“….”

It took Malcolm three hours to recover from his ‘near-death’ experience.

—

Before the attack, Valdrova stood in the alley she had been assigned to defend.

‘The monsters are coming.’

At that thought, all her senses sharpened.

She could see every direction, hear every sound—across the whole village, even beyond the forest.
Nothing could escape her perception.

But she narrowed it down, shutting out the noise.

‘What I must do… is simple. Kill the wolves coming to this alley. That’s all.’

She focused only on that.

Soon, she felt their presence.

—Grrr.

A wolf monster bared its teeth.
Not yellow animal fangs—
but green ones.

The wolf monster lunged at Valdrova.
It charged like a cannonball, but to her, it was nothing more than a weak insect.

She caught its jaws with one hand and lifted it into the air. With her other hand, she stabbed into its chest and ripped out its heart.
Crack!

It all happened in less than a blink—just 0.1 seconds. For Valdrova, who had slain countless monsters before, it was no harder than tossing out trash.
The beast dropped lifelessly at her feet.

But Valdrova did not look at it. She couldn’t.

Don’t look.
If she did, something inside her would awaken.

That feeling was familiar—hatred.
As a dragon, she had always used that hatred to fuel her battles. But now, as a knight standing inside a village she had sworn to protect, that hatred twisted into something different—fear.

Before, when she was a dragon, she could unleash her fury freely. Her flames and claws destroyed only her enemies.
But now, the people she had to protect were standing right behind her.

If she lost control, they would burn with the monsters.
Hestia village would fall.

Her chest tightened.
Calm down… hold it back…

But her sharp senses betrayed her. She could smell the monsters’ blood, hear their roars. She couldn’t block them out.

The hatred boiled up into something unstoppable. The old wound in her heart throbbed, pulling back painful memories.
She remembered Godwin—the one who had tried to take everything from her.

Her clenched fists trembled.
They’re going to steal it all again. Everything I love…

Her anger threatened to burst free—until a scream snapped her out of her thoughts.

“Kyahhh!”

Two young girls—ones she knew well—were caught in the path of another wolf monster. They were the orphans she had once saved for three shillings.

The beast’s jaws opened wide, ready to swallow them whole.

No.

She saw Godwin’s mocking face in her mind.
This is what you wanted to protect? Watch it all be destroyed.

Her hesitation shattered.
Her body moved before her mind.

She bent her knees, kicked the ground, and launched forward like a cannonball.
Her fist slammed into the wolf’s jaws.

CRASH!

The monster’s head snapped aside and tore apart, its body tumbling across the street like a broken barrel.

But it wasn’t finished. Growling through shattered teeth, it charged again. Its fangs clamped onto Valdrova’s shoulder plate—but her armor, forged by a Bronze Dragon, didn’t even scratch.

She seized the beast, slammed it into the ground, and drove her fist into its body. Bones cracked, organs burst.
The wolf whimpered too late.

Her blazing red eyes glared down at it.
The one who must disappear is you.

She tore out its spine and crushed its heart. The monster dissolved into black sludge, gone forever.

But her rage didn’t stop. She saw only the monster’s face mocking her, taunting her.

She raised her fist once more.
From this world… vanish forever!

BOOM!

Her blow shook the ground, splattering green blood across her armor and skin.

Only then did she realize it—
She had lost control.

She stood in the crater, her hands dripping with gore, her breath ragged.

Everyone was watching. The villagers. The children. The very ones she wanted to protect.

They weren’t just afraid of the monsters anymore.

They were afraid of her.

Valdrova closed her eyes.
She understood.

The monster wasn’t what lay dead at her feet.

The monster… was her.