Most holy waters were made in the cathedral, and there was a special room within the temple for making holy water. The water in the large tank located there was clean and clear and imbued with magic but did not meet the two conditions Bellota mentioned.

Then the holy water Bellota had was… As Felton thought this far, he suddenly realized something and his eyes widened.

“Saintess, could it be from Feiren Forest…”

Bellota nodded. Felton covered his mouth in shock. That exhausting night…?

“We’re almost there!”

At that moment, Abel shouted loudly. Indeed, the dirt stairs they had descended when entering were visible. It was just when the three were about to climb up the stairs and open the door above their heads. The entrance, tightly closed without a single leak of light, burst open, and red sunset light poured down through the round hole. As the sudden light made them squint their eyes, Geril burst into the place in a panic.

“Saintess!”

Geril called out to Bellota, groaning, and brushed down his chest. His clean golden armor was splattered with dark red blood.

“Duke…?”

Through the open door crack, chilling screams and sounds of someone fighting fiercely could be heard.

“Damn it, close the door! The door!”

Geril shouted, but no one closed the door for him. Eventually, Geril himself turned around and struggled to forcefully close the heavy door. Then he ran over to Bellota and grabbed her delicate wrist.

“You must not go out now!”

At his words, Bellota’s heart sank.

“Have they come?”

Felton asked urgently instead of Geril, but Geril didn’t even glance at him and tried to pull Bellota inside.

“You must hide inside. Quickly!”

“What do you mean? Didn’t you say you would help with the extermination?”

Felton asked sharply in disbelief, and Geril turned to him with a fierce look.

“You can say such things because you haven’t seen what’s outside! The commander is slashing and slashing but they won’t die, damn it! And on top of that, flesh torn from that thing turns into monsters and they’re all rushing at us!”

At Geril’s words, Bellota’s heart tightened again. Seiden… Seiden was facing the monster.

“Duke, I’ve found a way to defeat that monster. We have to deliver this to Sir Seiden.”

Bellota tried to calmly persuade him, but Geril, panicked after witnessing the immense monster with his own eyes, didn’t listen to her.

“No, absolutely not. I cannot let the Saintess go into that dangerous place.”

“Let go of her hand and speak!”

When Felton tried to pull Geril away, Geril drew his sword and threatened him. Bellota’s breath stopped in shock.

“If you come any closer, I can’t guarantee what will happen. No matter what, I will protect the Saintess.”

“Look here, Duke…!”

“If you want to leave, then you leave.”

“Are you trying to escalate the situation? Release the saintess’s hand immediately.”

It was then. Abel, who had been glaring at Geril with contemptuous eyes, drew his axe and charged at him.

“Ah, this bastard…!”

Startled, Geril clumsily tried to grab Abel’s neck with the hand holding his sword but failed. When Abel’s axe blade grazed his thigh, the frightened Geril jumped back and retreated. Seizing the moment, Abel, who had passed Geril, snatched the bottle of holy water from Bellota’s hand and ran toward the stairs. Then, he pressed hard on a thick branch installed on the wall to open the door and dashed outside.

“Abel!”

Ignoring Bellota’s panicked voice, Abel quickly looked around as soon as he got outside. The setting sun made the red trees look as if they were burning, and he could see a group of knights fiercely confronting monsters.

Numerous knights were fighting, slicing, and stabbing at the monsters, but the monsters they were facing were not the ones that had turned their palms black. The others were merely minions led by that creature.

Abel searched for the vile and fearsome monster that had ravaged the entire village, even devouring his own father, and now aimed to devour him as well. Soon, he caught sight of Seiden fiercely confronting that demonic creature.

As soon as he saw the monster, Abel’s breath caught in his throat. The hard, thorny shell, the sinisterly gleaming red eyes beneath it, and the giant pincers that could sever a body in one catch. Just facing that enormous shadow seemed to freeze all the blood in his body and melt all willpower away.

But Seiden was not afraid. With a face showing no fear, he charged at the creature. The swing of his large sword seemed heavy and slow. As he swung his large sword, one of the monster’s arms, as big as a rock, was completely severed. The red sunset behind Seiden fighting alone against that terrible monster made it seem like divine red light was emanating from his entire body.

Abel watched this dazzling scene and repeated Bellota’s words.

“There is no monster he cannot face. You’ll see if you look.”

The saintess’s words were true. Every time Seiden swung his large sword, chunks of flesh fell off the large and hard monster, causing it to stagger. However, the severed flesh magically healed, and as Geril said, the fallen flesh melted and reformed into monsters that charged at Seiden.

Seiden and his knights did not miss any opportunity to slice and cut them down, but they struggled to finish off the monster that seemed not to know death. If this endless fight continued, it was clear that humans, significantly weaker in stamina than monsters, would be pushed back.

“Damn it, why won’t it die!”

Kabillon cursed as he sliced through a monster born from freshly fallen flesh.

“Haven’t we faced such a creature before!”

“We decapitated that one and it died! But this one has been decapitated twice and still lives! What kind of creature is this?”

Watching this chaos, Abel tightly gripped the bottle of holy water with trembling hands. Then, with a determined face, he charged forward. As Abel approached the creature, he shouted loudly.

“Over here, you monster!”

At his shout, both Seiden, who was preparing to strike at its heart, and the creature, ready to swallow Seiden’s head in one bite, turned their gaze simultaneously. Seiden bit down hard when he spotted Abel waving an axe provocatively.

“That idiot…”

Then Abel shouted at him.

“This is its weakness! We only have one chance!”

What?

Seiden’s brow furrowed fiercely. In Abel’s other hand was a small bottle. But before he could fully identify what it was, Abel swung his axe with all his might at the monster.

Thud, the blunt axe hit the monster’s head with a dull sound. Of course, that alone did not harm the monster that could not be killed by any blade, but it clearly succeeded in angering it as intended.

Even then, the creature, furiously intent on killing the irritating Seiden, suddenly changed direction and started charging towards Abel with a thunderous roar.

“Damn it.”

Seiden also did not miss the monster’s movement and chased after it.

Abel stared directly at the charging monster and opened the bottle of holy water with trembling hands. Finally, as the creature approached, he forcefully sprinkled the water contained in the bottle. The blue and cold water sprayed on the giant monster’s neck area caused its skin to blacken as if burned by fire. Startled by the painful burning sensation, the creature flailed about and finally stretched its sharp hand towards Abel. Abel tightly closed his eyes. The moment when the giant hand was about to grasp his small head was dizzying.

Seiden, who had followed the monster at a petrified speed, swung his large sword towards its wet neck. Following his movement, a large and red trajectory was drawn as the neck of the screaming monster was cleanly severed.

“Gasp…”

For a moment, as if time had stopped, a heavy silence dominated the red forest until Kabillon saw a large and heavy head fly in a long arc.

Thud.

Finally, as the monster’s head crashed onto the cold ground and shattered, everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned towards where its body stood. The headless monster stopped moving just before grasping Abel’s head and froze in place without moving.

Is it dead?

Abel was trembling when he finally managed to open his eyes. Seiden swiftly lifted Abel onto his horse and quickly left the spot. At the same time, the monster’s frozen body collapsed over where Abel had been standing just moments before.

Boom.

It was like an earthquake had struck from the noise and vibration. Simultaneously, minor monsters that had separated from it naturally melted away and returned to their severed flesh form.

Abel saw the collapsed body of the monster lying stiffly. No more flesh grew from its headless body; it remained rigid without moving a finger.

Only then did Abel realize that the creature was truly dead. Really dead. At that moment, a cool voice mixed with heavy breathing reached his ears.

“Are you so eager to die?”

Abel stiffly turned his head to look behind him, and he saw cold red eyes. Even in such a situation, he thought it a pity for such a handsome face to remain a holy knight. His annoyance at Abel’s antics settled on his face.

The saintess was right. There is no monster this man cannot face. As soon as that realization broke through him, tension relaxed and an overwhelming shock and fatigue rushed over him. Abel looked into those displeased eyes and then collapsed unconscious.

Seiden pulled the boy’s small body towards him with beast-like instinct to prevent Abel’s fall and sighed coldly as if he was trouble to the very end.