‘How…?’

Not even a blade surrounded by an aura could cleave through a monster’s shell with a single blow. And yet—

Crack—!

The Prongest’s carapace shattered like glass.

Although it looked too heavy to wield quickly from a distance, Lesta moved the black sword like a dagger, swiftly, precisely and effortlessly. Her blade found its mark again, slicing down a second time.

KWAANG—!
Shraack—!

Fragments of the creature’s shell scattered through the air amidst her gleaming, crimson hair, like spilled blood.

Stripped of its armor, the Prongest thrashed around wildly, flailing its claws and tail as venom poured from its stinger in furious clouds.

But Lesta didn’t back away. She pressed forward, her black blade falling with bone-crushing force again and again, meeting flesh and shell alike.

Then—

Clang!

She blocked a massive claw that came from behind with one arm.

‘She’ll lose it!’

Eldrian was standing on the cliff, ready to jump, when Nestor suddenly appeared below him.

Despite his imposing size, he moved with incredible speed and precision. Twin swords flashed in his hands, their edges glowing blue with condensed energy. With two swift arcs, he cleanly severed the monster’s pincers from its body.

“Hey, you bastards!”

Lesta’s voice rang through the chaos.

“You planning to just stand there? Get that antidote on your skin and move!”

Eldrian flinched. For a moment, it felt as though she was shouting at him.

But it was her mercenaries who responded. Without hesitation, they grabbed vials of antidote, splashed the liquid over their bodies, and vaulted over the barricade, weapons drawn.

‘Twelve of them.’

Eldrian counted. Including Lesta and Nestor, only twelve were facing five Prongests.

‘Impossible.’

A dry laugh escaped him.

Depending on the monster’s strength, it would normally take at least three elite knights to subdue one of those creatures — and that was the minimum.

Three knights plus a squad of soldiers to hold the line… That was usually what it took to win without casualties.

The rule when hunting monsters was simple: even if they appeared in groups, they had to be lured out one by one. Unless it was a full-scale subjugation, that was the only way to minimize casualties.

But now—

Only twelve mercenaries from the Ides were facing five Prongests head-on…and they were winning.

‘They can use sword aura?’

Eldrian thought, astonished.

‘Are they all elites?’

They were perfectly coordinated, as if they could read each other’s thoughts. It was the kind of synchronization that could only exist between people who trusted each other completely.

Of course, their strength was not limitless.

“Captain, I’m spent, I’m pulling out!”

A hoarse voice shouted through the thick mist.

Whenever someone left the line, Lesta filled the gap herself. Moving like a dancer, she wielded her massive black blade with effortless grace, cutting through the air and the venom as if it were an extension of her body.

Despite not having bothered with an antidote, she charged straight into the heart of the toxic fog.

By the time the battle was over, her crimson hair was soaked and heavy with poisonous droplets.

Dawn had broken.

As the sun rose over the horizon, its golden light shone on her blood-red hair. Despite being poisoned, she stood tall and brushed her wet hair back as she gazed at the sea.

Eldrian was so deeply struck by the sight that he knew he would remember it until the day he died.

Meanwhile, the other mercenaries crossed back over the barricade behind her and began to clear the battlefield. They gathered anything that could be used — monster shells, cores, and scales — and burned the rest, sending dark, acrid smoke curling into the pale morning sky.

Even as the smoke rose, Lesta didn’t move. She stood there, staring out at the endless blue, as if something precious lay hidden beyond it.

For some reason, her silhouette looked lonely to Eldrian.

Despite having just led her people to victory, there was no triumph or relief in her posture. Only stillness.

Then, as the sun rose fully above the water, she finally turned her head.

Their eyes met.

And she smiled.

That smile—

It was teasing, as if to say, “See? You want me now, don’t you?” Yet at the same time, pure, almost childlike, as though she were simply saying, “Isn’t the sea beautiful today?”

‘I’m tired.’

He felt a little lonely.

Whatever her smile had meant, Eldrian only felt one thing when he looked at it.

‘Danger.’

He tightened his grip on Luna’s fur and muttered something under his breath.

“…What do I do, Luna? I think I’m falling for a pretty face.”

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

Lesta wiped the poison from her skin with the towel Nestor handed her. Every inch of her body burned as if it were on fire, and her skin was indeed melting where the poison had seeped in.

“Captain, here is the antidote.”

Without hesitating, she took the vial from one of the mercenaries and tipped its entire contents over herself.

The pain was dulled, but not by much.

Then, from above the cliff, a white wolf appeared, its paws digging into the rock as it descended gracefully to the shore.

Lesta frowned.

“The poison mist hasn’t cleared yet.”

Ignoring her warning, Eldrian dismounted and landed beside her.

“Are you all right?”

“As you can see.”

“No, I mean—your body. You’re covered in venom. Doesn’t it hurt?”

Lesta tilted her head up, meeting his eyes. Then she smiled—a quiet, almost teasing curve of her lips.

For some reason, Eldrian flinched and took a half-step back.

“It hurts, but… thank you for worrying, Lord Eldrian.”

“Here.”

He reached into the satchel hanging around Luna’s neck and took out a small crystal vial. Inside, a faint, sky-blue liquid shimmered.

Lesta blinked in surprise.

“That’s made from Helros. It’s expensive.”

“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”

Eldrian pointed to her forearm where the Prongest’s tail had pierced her flesh. The wound was still bubbling faintly, and the surrounding flesh had been eaten away.

“It’s fine.”

She said, trying to rub it clean with her towel.

But Eldrian caught her wrist before she could touch it.

“What are you doing?”

“Wiping it off.”

“That’ll take your skin with it.”

“It’ll heal once I put on the medicine, won’t it?”

Eldrian’s gaze wavered, and for some reason, that look hurt Lesta a little.

It was the same expression her grandparents used to wear whenever she came home covered in blood and bruises: a mixture of worry, helplessness and quiet sorrow.

“Lesta.”

“Yes?”

“Take better care of yourself.”

“I do.”

“This is what you call taking care?”

“Very much so. I fight hard because I don’t want to die.”

She slipped her wrist free from his grasp and rubbed the wound with her towel. Just as Eldrian had warned, the poisoned skin came off in strips.

He grimaced, eyes narrowing, and hurriedly uncorked the vial. Without hesitation, he poured the medicine generously over her arm.

“That’s wasteful. You don’t have to use that much.”

“Just—”

Eldrian clicked his tongue, clearly irritated.

“Stay still.”

He ended up using four bottles, each of which was worth ten gold pieces. The shimmering blue potion ran over her body, making her glisten as though she had been bathed in liquid gemstones.

The Helros remedy was worth its price. The raw, burning pain dulled almost instantly, and the mangled flesh cooled under its touch.

Eldrian watched the luminous medicine soak into her skin and asked quietly.

“How is it? Still hurts?”

“No,” she said, flexing her fingers lightly. “It feels much better.”

“Then we’ll use two more—”

“That’s enough. The medicine keeps working even after it’s applied. It’ll heal soon.”

“Even so, not even Helros is a miracle cure. Your arm might take at least a week—”

Eldrian stopped mid-sentence. He was still holding her arm, and what he saw made his breath catch.

The wound which only moments ago had been eaten to the bone was already closing.

The ruined flesh had knitted together, leaving behind nothing but a faint red mark.

Startled, Eldrian looked up at her.

And Lesta, as if it were nothing at all, smiled faintly.

“See? Healed already.”

“What in the world… is this?”

“What do you mean?”

“How can you heal this fast?”

“My body just heals a bit faster than most. Still, if it weren’t for your Helros remedy, it would’ve taken about a week—just like you said. Thanks.”

Eldrian didn’t respond. He couldn’t. He had never seen anyone heal like this before.

Knights who wielded sword aura and mages who could control mana sometimes circulated their energy to hasten recovery, but even then, it was only marginal—never instantaneous.

Watching her flesh knit itself back together before his eyes had left him utterly speechless.

“So that’s how you managed to clear dungeons so quickly.”

“That’s part of it, but Nestor helped, too. He’s immune to poison.”

Now that she mentioned it, Eldrian remembered. Nestor had fought beside her through the thick of the toxic mist, and yet he hadn’t shown a single sign of being affected.

“Nestor’s practically invincible against monsters that use venom.”

She added with a faint smile.

“Then why not send him in first? If you’d taken a supporting role, you wouldn’t have been injured this badly.”

“Because I’m stronger than Nestor. He can’t break through a Prongest’s shell in one strike like I can.”

“…Right.”

Eldrian said softly, recalling the sound of her blade splitting armor that even sword aura couldn’t pierce.

“You really are incredible, Lesta.”

At this, Lesta’s face lit up, her smile as bright as the lingering dawn over the sea. Eldrian found himself unable to look her in the eye. He averted his gaze and met Nestor’s eyes instead.

The man gave a familiar shrug.

Eldrian had no idea what it meant.

‘Was that “You’ve fallen for her too”?
Or “Even a duke’s son isn’t immune”?
Or maybe, “Give it up—she’s mine”?’

…Or perhaps, all of the above.