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IBP 86
Chloe stepped into the depths of the forest, a place where most would not dare enter due to the dense clusters of magical beasts.
In the past, she might have harbored a sliver of fear toward the unknown darkness, but today, she felt more than fine—she felt a surge of courage.
Perhaps it was because of the little child who had dyed her darkness with a pure white light.
‘I wonder if he's still watching through the image sphere.’
With that thought, her steps into the Dark Forest did not feel heavy.
By the time Chloe dyed the magical beasts hiding in the Dark Forest with a deep darkness, many of them had vanished, crumbling away one by one as they touched the dark magic.
But it didn't end there. Chloe's pitch-black darkness transformed into a sharp spear, slicing through the air.
Boom! Crash!
Sounds like thunderclaps echoed through the void.
It was the sound of Chloe's darkness becoming a spear and piercing the hearts of the magical beasts attempting to ambush her from behind.
“Ah, this is easy.”
She felt a thrilling sensation for the first time in a long while.
She slowly withdrew her hand.
As a one-eyed magical beast faded away into the ground, the number '12' was engraved on her bracelet.
Those following behind her gasped in admiration.
“Ch-Chloe's dark magic... the scale is insane...”
“I heard she overcame her berserk state, but I didn't expect it to be this much...”
The first morning of the hunting competition.
Chloe was practically monopolizing the magical beasts.
Compared to most participants who hadn't even caught a glimpse of one, her pace was overwhelmingly fast.
* * *
Like the other spectators, I watched the situation with sweaty palms.
“Wow! My big sister is so cool!”
Naturally, all the children there were also staring at Big Sister Chloe.
Their eyes were wide as they watched her excel within the image sphere.
“Come to think of it, I heard she's a dark mage?”
“Darkness is... sc-scary.”
Although the magical beasts vanished instantly without any bloodshed, a few startled children began to hiccup.
However, there was also a boy looking on with admiration.
“Did you know? They say Chloe is overwhelmingly in first place today.”
“How do you know?”
The boy pointed to the ranking board right next to the image sphere.
“Look at that ranking board.”
Since it was a magical ranking board, the positions shifted every moment.
I looked at the board with a racing heart and broke into a wide grin.
My big sister's name really was at the very top!
“As expected of my big sister! Hehe!”
Just as I was stamping my feet in excitement, I heard Caligo grumbling softly beside me.
“I could do well too.”
“Huh?”
“...I could get first place, I could do well, but it's a shame children can't enter the Dark Forest.”
I tilted my head, reading a strangely aggressive vibe in Caligo's eyes.
‘Caligo is weird. Does he like magical beasts? Is that why he wants to go to the Dark Forest?’
Thinking about it that way, it made sense.
I'd heard that cats love playing with things using their paws.
Though I doubt that includes magical beasts...
While I was tilting my head in confusion, many people were slaying magical beasts inside the image sphere.
‘My big sister isn't appearing anymore...’
For some reason, no matter how much I checked from one end of the image sphere to the other, my sister was gone.
My interest vanished instantly.
But I couldn't afford to doze off.
Even if the situation was peaceful enough for children to watch, my sister could still be in danger.
I refocused my scattered attention and glared at the image sphere.
And then...
“Eh! Wh-what is that?”
“Huh?”
I definitely saw it.
Following right behind my sister—Marquis Gillen Amadeus. That bad human's face!
* * *
After the daytime hunt ended.
Chloe was regrouping at the edge of the Dark Forest, where the Eastern Detached Palace was visible.
She checked the number on her bracelet and muttered to herself.
[50]
Had last year's winner caught 30?
‘Winning will be easy.’
However, winning wasn't what she was truly after.
Today's goal was to catch the subtle atmosphere of the spirit creature hunters moving beneath the surface during the competition.
‘The problem is, I haven't seen any particularly suspicious circumstances yet.’
But there was one person who stood out.
Gillen Amadeus, who wasn't showing off his abilities.
Her former fiancé was deeply irritating.
He was wandering around the lakeside, near the palace, and the Dark Forest, doing nothing but joking around with people.
‘That rat... I don't know what he's plotting, but...’
Chloe knew.
If she revealed her strength like this, he would eventually approach her.
A man like Gillen, who valued her abilities, would definitely show himself before her.
After resting for a few more minutes.
As the saying goes, speak of the devil; a man with a sly face appeared through the dark forest.
“Hello, Chloe.”
Chloe spoke in an indifferent and cynical tone.
“What? I thought you were a magical beast.”
She thought this was the best possible thing to say to a cheating fiancé she hadn't seen in a long time.
Gillen's gentle face turned puzzled.
“What are you talking about, Chloe. Are you still sulking?”
Sulking? That was absolute nonsense.
It was not something a man who abandoned his fiancée on the verge of a berserk state to switch to another woman should say.
But the opponent was Gillen.
“Forget it. What is there for me to talk about with you?”
Chloe stood up indifferently to pass him. She knew that this behavior would make him anxious.
“Chloe, wait a moment.”
As expected, Gillen looked at her with an anxious expression.
“I'm curious how you stopped the berserk state... You really are a special woman.”
His affectionate gaze bound her stickily.
Chloe stared blankly at him.
Then, she drew a magic circle of dark magic with her hand and struck directly behind his back.
Boom!
Crash!
With a thunderous noise, a magical beast that had been passing behind him was smashed to pieces.
“It's a shame I can't kill one more magical beast due to the competition rules.”
Did he understand her intention—that 'one magical beast' was him?
Seeing his brow furrow deeply, Chloe indifferently left the spot.
“Chloe, you. Do you really need to keep that dog?”
“Why? This is my private life.”
“...Hmm, I see. I'll apologize for that.”
Recalling his past where he dared to speak ill of Coco, she found it disgusting just to be with him any longer, and above all...
‘If I have a long conversation now, it will arouse suspicion.’
Gillen was not stupid like Dahlia.
She had to make him approach her on his own.
To do that, she had to push him away for now.
After all, he liked prey that wasn't easily captured.
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