.jpg)
She was a priest of Eridrahan and had seen many people die inevitably at the Healing Center.
However, those were cases of illness or accidents.
Setting aside magical beasts, the act of a human killing a human. She knew very well that such things happened in reality.
She just had never experienced it firsthand. That was why she lived in such a small monastery.
Thus, it was too overwhelming for Iris to keep up with the events that had suddenly unfolded before her eyes.
“Rahan...”
It was clear that Rahan was trying to protect her. His face, body, and sword, which had fought violently, were all splattered with blood.
It was different from the blood on Auntie Laura's hands when she was busy slaughtering chickens for the autumn Harvest Festival.
Auntie Laura twisting a chicken's neck and Rahan stabbing a man's thigh with a sword.
Iris felt that those two things were fundamentally different. Even so, she didn't find Rahan scary or hateful.
However...
‘From today, it'll be twenty.’
The way Rahan had looked while saying that and piercing the knight's thigh with his sword was too casual.
Why was it? For some reason, that sight made Iris feel sad.
If she had just a little more emotional leeway, she would have realized that her feeling was sadness for how many things must have happened for a person to become like that.
But Iris had no leeway, and all she saw was a man bleeding and wailing for his life, and Rahan, who spoke kindly to her despite being covered in blood.
With his face smeared in blood, the man stood before me, acting as if he were the kindest person in the world.
Iris felt strange and confused.
‘Does that mean the two of them haven't spent their first night together yet?’
‘Iris Achen! As a knight of House Achen, I have a duty to take you back to the estate! Have you no shame, playing along with that bastard's tricks!’
‘And that man secretly offered a sacrifice to a demon while you slept! At dawn, listening to the bleating of goats, he fed blood to a snake!’
Iris was no fool.
She knew she had to silence the knight who was saying such things.
However, the fact that she was becoming a hindrance, and that Rahan had hesitated even slightly because of her plea...
‘Secrets are only kept when no one knows them.’
The fact that he was being considerate of her even in the face of what he had to do confused Iris further.
Thus, Iris ended up unable to say anything, her mouth merely hanging open slightly.
Looking at her, Rahan smiled faintly. He realized that Iris was not in a position to answer.
“Sorry, I can't wait for an answer... ugh!”
The problem was that the wounded knight did not wait for them.
Just as Rahan was about to turn, the knight, who had barely managed to rise to his knees and swing his sword, struck Rahan's left arm before he knew it.
Blood splattered with a sharp sound.
“Rahan!”
Iris screamed belatedly. In the meantime, Rahan calmly stepped back and swung his sword.
Clang!
The knight's sword was knocked away. The knight, who had been collapsed to begin with, had no intention of fighting him. He had only wanted to create a gap to escape.
Of course, with both thighs stabbed, even standing up was an immense struggle. But it was better than dying.
“Y-you thought I’d just die...”
He scrambled to his feet and ran.
Unfortunately, those desperate strides were incredibly slow.
Rahan, checking his injured left arm, looked at him with glinting eyes.
“Sorry, Iris.”
The man gripped his sword again and strode after the knight.
The knight looked back and let out a grotesque scream, trying to flee faster, but it was in vain. He tripped over his own feet and tumbled.
“H-help me. Help...”
It was then.
Screeeech!
A loud noise echoed. A sound so loud and piercing that it startled all three people present.
Rahan instinctively looked up at the sky. And he witnessed an unbelievable sight.
“...A bird?”
Something was descending rapidly from the sky, as if falling.
It was twice the size of an average adult man.
The cry sounded again.
Screeeeeech!
Only after it descended very close did Rahan realize it was a creature like a massive bat.
However, it wasn't a real bat. Only the wings were shaped like those of a bat.
The wings were truly enormous, and it had the head of a wolf. The vivid red eyes embedded in that head were flickering, targeting them.
A magical beast.
As soon as he realized it was a magical beast, Rahan leaped back in horror.
“Iris!”
The woman, frozen in place, was staring blankly at the monstrous creature in shock, just like Rahan.
Rahan grabbed Iris and collapsed to the ground. She let out a gasp, but he ignored it and lay flat, shielding Iris with his body.
However, the magical beast's target did not seem to be the two of them. With a piercing shriek, it lunged toward the frozen knight.
“Aaaagh! Help me!”
Screech!
The magical beast snatched the knight and soared into the air. Then, it bit into the human's head.
Iris, seeing this clearly over Rahan's shoulder, instinctively swallowed a scream.
The magical beast's jaw strength was so immense that it tore the human's head off in one go. The knight died instantly.
The magical beast then tossed the severed head into the air, caught it in its mouth, and tried to chew and swallow it, only to spit it out with a 'ptui.' It seemed the head was harder than expected and couldn't be chewed.
Roll, roll...
The knight's head rolled hollowly across the grass.
“W-what is that...”
“It's a magical beast.”
Contrary to Rahan's calm answer, Iris's body trembled like an aspen leaf.
A magical beast? She had seen one before, but only once. Moreover, it had been barely smaller than a human.
But a magical beast twice the size of a person.
Furthermore, it was excessively cruel.
Screee.
The magical beast cried again and tilted its head, then began to tear the limbs off the headless torso of the knight one by one.
It was clear it wasn't doing this to eat. It repeated the process of chewing a few times and spitting it out.
Consequently, the body that had once been human grew smaller and smaller until its form was no longer recognizable.
It was obvious that the next targets would be the two of them.
Rahan, who was watching it just as Iris was, asked in a low voice.
“Iris. Can you run to the cabin?”
Iris shook her head, her face filled with tears.
It was a long walk to the cabin. How could she run with such a magical beast behind her? Especially one that could fly!
“No choice then. Bear with the pain for a bit.”
With what?
She wanted to ask, but Rahan had already pushed her under a wild raspberry bush.
Because of the thorns covering the stems, Iris's cheeks, arms, and skin were covered in scratches.
But Iris couldn't protest. It was because Rahan had immediately dashed out.
“Rahan!”
Screeeeeech!
The magical beast happily tossed away the last remains of the knight's corpse and lunged at Rahan.
Rahan bared his teeth in a grin and raised his sword.
The magical beast's terrifying claws grazed Rahan but failed as they were cut by the sword. Rahan quickly turned toward the beast as it flew back into the air.
“You bastard! Come here!”
Everything seemed to move in slow motion to Iris. She didn't even notice the blood seeping into her hands gripping the thorn bush.
The magical beast shrieked and lunged at Rahan again. He crouched low and, using the momentum of rising, slashed the beast's leg.
With a thud, the magical beast, having lost one leg, howled.
After that, Iris didn't know for sure.
By the time she regained her senses, the magical beast was rolling on the ground with its wings torn.
Rahan, whose back was completely clawed—no, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was ripped apart—approached the beast while panting and slashed the remaining leg.
Then, he plunged his sword into the neck of the magical beast as it roared while crawling on the ground.
That was it.
The magical beast died instantly. A fountain of blood erupted from its neck. It was black blood.
Rahan, completely drenched in that black blood, sank to his knees and then collapsed, his head falling into a pool of blood.
Iris tore through the bushes and ran out, not even knowing what she was screaming.
.jpg)