Chapter 19

The Best Dancer of Grayrim!

“No.”

The captain of the guard muttered.

Zain frowned.

He clearly thought, What a strange person.

“That monster corpse over there.”
“Yes, it looks like a split-tongue deer.”
“That’s right. Its tongue is split in two.”

The captain of the guard was a seasoned figure who had spent his entire life in the Grayrim territory, and Zain was the squire knight of the hero Gunter.

Both had deep knowledge of monsters.

Even from atop this high cliff, they recognized it at a glance.

“It looks like its throat was torn out, but strangely, the rest of the body is intact.”
“Why would it bother hunting it and then not eat it?”
“Sometimes there are creatures that attack aggressively just for invading their territory. Not necessarily for food.”
“Hmm… do you think it’s very dangerous?”

Zain’s tone was slightly awkward.

It seemed he was trying not to appear frightened as a knight.

The captain noticed.

“It doesn’t seem like something we need to worry about. I’ll go down first. You can come down last, Sir Knight.”
“…No, I’ll go first.”

Zain said that.

The young knight’s pride had been pricked by the captain’s consideration.

Although knights were considered minor nobility, Zain had no land of his own—just one of many accompanying knights.

Meanwhile, the captain of the guard was the deputy commander of Grayrim, trusted by the lord.

With their hierarchy being ambiguous, there was a subtle tension between them.

“Then I’d be grateful. I’ll secure the rear.”
“Understood.”
“It might be dangerous, so go down in pairs. Hanson, you go with the knight.”

A thick-armed soldier acknowledged the order.

Zain and the soldier grabbed the rope and began descending the cliff.

It was a steep slope, nearly vertical.

They had to carefully place each step.

The rocks underfoot crumbled and fell away.

Zain felt a chill inside, but he didn’t show it.

He descended faster than the soldier.

Something like this—descending a cliff—was nothing compared to his training.

Then suddenly, Zain slowed down.

Rumble…

A vibration came from somewhere.

At first, he thought it was his imagination.

The soldier descending with him didn’t seem to notice.

Rumble—rumble—

No.

The vibration grew clearer.

Instinctively, Zain looked down toward the ground where the vibration came from.

The monster corpse—one they had assumed was left behind as a display after being killed.

Something was approaching it.

“Stop!”

Of course, he wasn’t shouting at whatever was approaching.

The soldier, Hanson, looked at him blankly as if wondering what the hell he was doing.

Zain felt the urge to punch that face but held back.

Instead, he raised a finger and pointed downward.

The soldier’s eyes widened.

The ground around the deer corpse bulged upward—

Boom!

Several legs burst out of the ground.

What appeared was a monster.

It swallowed the entire deer monster in one gulp and left.

The entire sequence took barely a minute.

During that time, no one—including Zain—said a word.

They stood frozen.

The first to move was the brave knight.

“Let’s go down.”
“Down there?”
“Or do you plan to keep hanging here?”

Zain glared sharply.

The thick-armed soldier only made a face that said, We could climb back up, you know.

When he looked up, the captain signaled for them to descend.

Zain and Hanson stepped onto the ground, where only bloodstains remained.

The soldiers above followed them down.

As Zain examined the traces on the ground, the captain approached.

“Can you identify it?”

Zain shook his head.

“What do you think, Captain? I’ve never seen a monster like that.”
“I don’t know every monster in the great forest, of course, but…

Yes, it’s my first time seeing something like that too.”
“Same here.”
“The fact that we don’t know at all… that’s what bothers me.”
“That’s what concerns me most as well.”

The soldiers exchanged glances at their conversation.

If they didn’t know, then they didn’t know—what was so concerning?

It felt like the two were speaking in a language only they understood.

“I counted eight legs.”
“I saw that as well.”
“A spider?”
“I’ve been to the sea before. From the shell-like structure, it might be closer to a crab—like a red mud crab.”
“I’ve only lived by the great forest my whole life, so I wouldn’t know. This is a forest, after all.”
“…I see. Then it’s more likely a spider than a crab.”
“There is a monster called a gray tarantula.”
“Does it burrow underground?”
“No. There are mole-type monsters for that—like thorn moles or blood moles.”

They listed monsters that could be related to what they had just seen.

Their gazes met.

“…It might be a chimera.”
“I was thinking the same.”

Zain’s eyes widened.

Not many people could recognize a chimera.

Zain had broadened his knowledge by following Gunter.

He had even seen those dreadful creatures several times.

But even so—wasn’t the captain far too calm?

“You know about chimeras?”
“To some extent.”
“Chimera-type monsters like cockatrices and true chimeras are completely different.”

The captain glanced at Zain.

“Yes, I know. Artificially created monsters—products of a grave sin that invites divine punishment.”

He really did know.

“We should track this chimera.”
“…What? That’s not our mission.”

Zain was dumbfounded.

Hunting a chimera was a knight’s duty—not a captain of the guard’s.

Moreover, hadn’t they been tasked by the lord to investigate the pillar of light?

The priorities were different.

“I believe this should come first.”
“Finding the source of the light should be the priority.”
“Capturing the chimera is important too.”

Zain finally snapped.

There had been things bothering him from the start.

“Captain. Are you treating me like a fool?”
“……”

“You’re hiding something. Speak.”

The atmosphere turned cold.

The soldiers swallowed nervously.

Gulp.

I swallowed too.

Man, I wish I had some popcorn.

Nothing beats watching a fight.

I watched them from atop a tree where I was hiding.

Surely, they had no idea that a single Serpent was clinging to a branch, observing them.

“I’m not hiding anything in particular.”

The captain of the guard—my sworn enemy.

The one who destroyed my family and home.

He stood there, expressionless, confronting the knight.

“It’s strange enough that you know so much about chimeras. Is that pillar of light related to one?”
“Yes.”

“Good job, Captain of the Guard. Don’t get intimidated by that young brat.”

Even though he’s my sworn enemy, for some reason I found myself rooting for the captain.

Maybe it’s because I like that dignified mustache of his. Mm, yes.

“It’s not something worth hiding, so I’ll tell you. Chimeras have occasionally been discovered in the Great Forest.”
“Occasionally?”
“About once every few decades, I would say.”
“Is there a living warlock?”
“No. Ruins. Dungeons, to be precise. There are dungeons of Pellelian scattered throughout the Great Forest.”

Pellelian.

The knight muttered the name several times before shouting in shock.

“You mean Defier of Heaven?! That insane elven mage’s dungeon?!”

Whoa.

My whole body got goosebumps—no, my scales stood on end.

Defier of Heaven, he says.

Isn’t that insane?

That racist old elf has quite the ridiculous nickname.

A mage who defies the heavens? It makes my tail curl just hearing it.

I think he made those dungeons over three hundred years ago, yet he’s still famous.

Could he still be alive? He looked ancient even for an elf.

“I heard Defier of Heaven was already dead…”
“These are dungeons he created in the past. Occasionally, light has been seen erupting from them. And there are records of chimeras being discovered.”
“The lord never mentioned anything like that.”
“It wouldn’t be good for such stories to spread.”
“…That makes sense. If rumors spread that Defier of Heaven’s legacy still remains…”
“I would appreciate it if you kept this matter confidential, Sir Zain.”

The knight nodded.

That dungeon must be something extraordinary.

From what I saw, he just seemed like a senile old man.

They agreed to track the chimera.

First, they would observe it and determine whether it could be dealt with.

“Do you happen to have an appraisal scroll?”
“Yes, I always carry one.”
“That’s a relief. Then let’s find it first.”

An appraisal scroll?

What exactly does it appraise?

More than anything, I was curious how they planned to track the chimera.

The way the captain and the knight deduced its identity was impressive.

Gray tarantula, blood mole—they roughly figured out the chimera just from a single sighting.

There was a lot to learn just by watching them.

“Dig.”

The soldiers immediately pulled out entrenching tools and began digging.

Weren’t they afraid the chimera might come back?

Meanwhile, the captain pressed his ear to the ground.

The soldiers dug deeper.

Honestly, I had already tried the same thing earlier. I even flipped the ground with earth magic where the chimera appeared, but found nothing.

As expected, nothing came out.

The soldiers looked puzzled.

“Dig deeper.”

With a stern expression, the captain ordered them to continue.

Then, after a short while, one of the soldiers suddenly slipped—right into the ground.

“Uwaah!”
“W-what the—are you okay?!”
“Y-yeah, I’m fine! Ugh… the smell…”

The soldier who fell underground seemed unharmed.

The captain lit a torch and climbed down.

“As expected, there was a tunnel far below.”
“You predicted that?”
“Yes. Something that large couldn’t possibly be digging in real time as it moves. It blocked its exit with soil when it emerged, but inside, there was a pre-dug passage.”

So that’s how it worked!

The captain clearly knew monster ecology inside out.

“Hm, there’s something like spider silk stretched here. It seems to detect vibrations through this.”

And it can probably smell blood too.

It only comes when there’s blood.

I almost wanted to give them that advice.

With the soldiers’ help, the captain climbed back out of the tunnel.

Brushing off the webbing stuck to his body, he said:

“Subjugating it should be simpler than expected.”

What did you just say, you bastard?

Now I’m getting annoyed.

Talking so lightly—he’s underestimating the chimera.

“I think we can handle it ourselves.”
“Shall we come up with a plan?”

I strained my ears to listen in on their strategy.

And I couldn’t help but be impressed.

These guys… are vicious.

The terrifying thing about humans… they’re more wicked than Serpents.

I snapped up a beetle crawling along the tree.

Crunch, crunch.

Guess I’ll eat this instead of popcorn and watch.

Even if you manage to kill the chimera, the spoils will be mine.

Humans really put on quite a spectacle.

They made thorough preparations to hunt the chimera.

Once they were ready, the thick-armed soldier Hanson remained in place.

The other soldiers moved a distance away and suddenly started singing.

“One beat rest, two beats rest, three beats rest—one, two, three!”

Well, not exactly those lyrics, but something along those lines.

Because Hanson started dancing.

To the rhythm of their clapping, he stomped the ground and jumped around.

“Wow, as expected—the best dancer in Grayrim!”

The captain really was terrifying.

Even while saying that, his expression didn’t change at all.

Knight Zain stood beside him, holding the scroll.

When the chimera appeared, they would trap it, then tear the scroll to assess its strength—

and decide whether to fight or flee.

Hanson danced until he was out of breath.

And clearly, it paid off.

Rumble—rumble—

The vibrations began again.

Hanson flinched and stopped dancing.

“Keep dancing!”

That crazy captain.

Hanson’s movements slowed.

It looked like someone being dragged onto a stage at a retreat and forced to dance against their will.

Hahaha.

That brought back painful memories.

I almost gained resistance to mental attacks.

Rumble—rumble—rumble—

The vibrations intensified.

Even the captain stopped his strange antics.

“Pull him up!”

Hanson’s body lifted into the air.

Not because he could fly—

but because a rope tied around his waist was hooked over a rock above the cliff, and the other soldiers pulled it all at once.

Either way, Hanson was now safely above the ground.

And then—

The earth bulged where he had been dancing.

BOOOOM!

Eight legs snapped at empty air.

Rip—

Zain tore the scroll.

“Appraisal,” huh?

Despite that plain name…

something I never could have imagined began to unfold.