The tree was so big that it could hide a massive beast. In the midst of it, the sun had set, and darkness had already enveloped the surroundings, making it hard to see anything. Amid the silence, only the cries of unidentified insects echoed through the mountains. Uriel climbed, searching for the faint traces left by Caelion and his escorts. There were almost-erased footprints, broken branches, and trampled grass-like stuff. Uriel stopped and looked around. The rocky mountain terrain made finding traces difficult, and now they were barely visible. Nevertheless, what caught his attention was the shattered rock fragments and crushed pieces of stones scattered around, along with a fallen tree lying beside them. It seemed as if something massive had swept through the area.
“Is it the Queen?” He picked up a stone fragment and sharply threw it into the air, catching it again. It was evident that it had been shattered by a powerful force rather than just naturally breaking apart and had happened fairly recently. As Uriel tossed and caught the stone several times, his movement suddenly stopped. The air surrounding him felt different as the sound of the insect’s cries ceased.
“Oh no.” The moment he uttered those words, a heavy beast’s roar resonated from behind him. “It’s come out.”
Uriel turned around and unsheathed his sword. The sword gleamed with a silver color, reflecting the moonlight. The creature standing before him boasted a size about three times that of a fully grown elk. Its dark gray body seemed to be covered in leather that looked as hard as armor, and its tail, adorned with numerous pointed horns, appeared sturdy enough to send someone flying for ten meters with a single strike. Hundreds of sharp teeth glimmered through its long, torn mouth. The creature’s golden eyes flickered with a sense of life.
“Are you the princess?”
The creature’s size resembled what Evangeline had described as the Queen. Uriel tightened his grip on the sword. The poison he applied to the blade beforehand shimmered transparently at the tip. The creature growled once again. It didn’t seem tense, but rather excited, as if anticipating a joyful feast. After a few stomps with its powerful and agile legs, it charged toward Uriel. The corners of Uriel’s mouth twitched.
*CRACK*
In that instant when the monster was about to approach him, something suddenly pulled it from behind. The creature’s massive body lifted into the air the next moment, its tail swaying weakly. Uriel, who had been preparing to attack, furrowed his eyebrows. What lifted the creature was a massive set of hundreds of white fangs, much larger and stronger than any other beast.
Kiiii-
A chilling scream pierced the air, revealing a gray body being split in half between the terrifying teeth. The creature died instantly. Behind its corpse, a newly emerged ‘crodean’ licked its blood-stained fangs and slowly stretched its motionless body. Uriel’s blue eyes widened. Its size was more than triple that of the initial creature. It was far larger than what Evangeline had described. Clad in a darker, almost black leather-like armor, the ‘crodean’ revealed its sharp teeth as it extended its thick neck, seeming pleased to have spotted Uriel.
“I am not your meal,” Uriel uttered a warning. However, the ‘crodean’ merely flicked its repulsive tongue and showed its appetite. It was a dangerous moment, but Uriel recalled Caelion’s strategy of finding the queen. It was indeed a clever judgment. When encountering dangerous prey, the queen would retreat and observe until the prey was ready. Then, she would step forward, considering a few humans who dared to enter her territory for a quick meal and swiftly approaching them. As evidence, this creature sensed Uriel’s movement and immediately found him. Then, it ruthlessly took care of the audacious subordinate who had approached the ‘prey’ before itself. As the tail, which was as long as an adult male, swayed left and right, the surrounding rocks cracked with a thumping sound. Appearing out of nowhere without any warning, it seemed as if it had climbed up the sheer cliffs as they were.
“So, you’re the queen.”
Uriel observed the creature, holding his sword. The queen slowly turned her head towards him. Her massive body resembled a moving boulder rather than an ordinary beast.
“What?”
Raising his head to meet the demon’s face, Uriel furrowed his eyebrows. The left eye of the creature, which was about the size of a human fist, shone yellow, while the right eye was blood-red, pierced by about five broken arrows.
“Caelion.”
Uriel murmured. He was an archer, and those arrows undoubtedly belonged to him. He had followed Evangeline’s advice precisely and shot a poison arrow into the queen’s pupil, focusing on one eye for a guaranteed success. Realizing this fact, Uriel’s entire body tensed, a sensation he hadn’t felt in a long time.
“But why?” According to Evangeline’s words, the queen should have been dead. After all, five arrows were lodged in her eye. Naturally, the poison should have taken effect immediately. However, the queen was still alive. Except for the lack of focus in her right eye, she was perfectly fine. The demon and the human stared each other down for a while. The first to move was Uriel, the human.
“Alright.”
Uriel launched his body towards the blind spot under the creature’s left shoulder, evading its gaze.
Krrrk!
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