Chapter 2.8

Far off in the sky, black dots began to appear.  

The Lorus were fast fliers. They would catch up before the group could reach safety.  

Upon reaching a clearing in the middle of the forest, Ragaen stopped Devin. The massive black horse neighed in frustration, clearly annoyed at being prevented from running further.  

“I’ll lure the Lorus away. The three of you must keep riding to safety.”  

“Sniff… Duke! Because of my stupid mistake… sniff….”  

“Your Highness, this is no time for crying. If we don’t want to hinder the Duke, we must leave immediately.”  

Ragaen dismounted Devin with a swift leap, pulled out a signal flare from his pouch, and handed Devin’s reins to Greta.  

“Please take Devin with you. Lorus are extremely dangerous for horses.”  

“But, Your Grace….”  

“Go now!”  

Ragaen fired the signal flare into the sky and ran back in the direction they had come from. A bright red light soared into the sky.  

The four horses galloped away from Ragaen, heading deeper into the forest.  

The swarm of Lorus, now much closer, began circling hungrily above the humans’ heads.  

***

The highlight of the Lorus Hunting Festival was the food. Only skilled chefs who passed a preliminary test were allowed to set up stalls at the festival, making it a gathering of the nation’s finest culinary talent.  

Richard, anticipating the lack of good food during the upcoming expedition training, had eagerly awaited this day. He planned to eat so much that just thinking about food afterward would make him sick.  

As planned, he ate to his heart’s content, occasionally teasing his colleagues by waving food in front of them while they worked.  

“Rescue signal!”  

A red flare shot up from the distant forest.

“What the heck, how long has it been since it started that there’s already a rescue signal? What idiots are they?”  

Richard, oblivious to the fact that his admired Commander and his annoying younger sister were among those idiots, headed toward the quail skewer stand, leaving his busy colleagues behind.  

“Since it’s the Lorus hunting festival, I should eat quail.”  

He had completely forgotten his previous insistence that Lorus were not quails.  

***

Greta, riding ahead, pulled Zara’s reins to a halt.  

“Zara, you can go on, right?”  

Greta dismounted and gave a firm slap to the rumps of Devin and Zara. Being smart horses, they would know where to go. By the time Asiel and Roben noticed Greta’s absence, it was already too late.  

With a determined expression, Greta bit her lip and turned back. She saw Ragaen, sword drawn, glaring at the swarm of Lorus in the sky. It seemed neither he nor the Lorus had realized Greta was returning.  

Standing alone in the clearing, surrounded by countless predatory birds, Ragaen looked both like a hero of the Empire and a solitary mercenary. But what Greta thought upon seeing him was simply that she wanted to be by his side.  

‘The Duke might get angry, but…’  

Everyone knows that facing flying monsters without a ranged weapon is madness. And Greta was unmatched in archery, the quintessential ranged weapon.  

‘What he needs is me!’  

Greta sprinted toward Ragaen. He sensed her presence and shouted with a terrifying expression she had never seen before.  

“Lady Lievo, why on earth!”  

Why indeed. To show off and make him fall for her.  

Greta did not answer but stood beside Ragaen and drew her bowstring toward the sky.  

At that moment, Greta admitted to herself that she was terrified.  

There seemed to be over thirty Lorus, each one enormous. They circled above Greta and Ragaen like eagles, emitting eerie cries. Even just brushing against their shadows sent chills down Greta’s spine, as if Death’s scythe had grazed her neck.  

Without taking his eyes off the circling Lorus, Ragaen spoke.  

“You’ve made a dangerous choice, Lady Lievo.”  

His voice was lower than usual, tinged with tension. Alone, he might have avoided injury and survived. But protecting someone else was difficult. Amidst these many flying monsters, Ragaen could not protect Greta. He only had one arm left to wield his sword, so Greta had to protect herself.  

“But shoot them down by hitting their wings. Before they approach, you must shoot down every single one. You must do it, Lady Lievo.”  

Ragaen could not shoot a bow, nor did he have a spear to throw. For both of them to remain safe, Greta had to shoot. Based on her previous feat of accurately hitting the center of the wings of six Lorus, Ragaen, calculating with the mind of a knight commander evaluating his subordinates, believed Greta Lievo could do it.  

“You can do it, Lady Lievo.”  

To Greta, Ragaen’s voice sounded as calm and serious as ever.  

“Yes, I can do it. That’s why I’m here.”  

Greta took a deep breath. The trembling in her body seemed to subside a little. She nocked an arrow and aimed at the ring of Lorus in the sky.  

Her fingers trembled.  

She held her breath.  

The trembling stopped.  

Greta’s arrow flew through the air with a scream-like sound.  

“Cawww!”  

One Lorus shrieked and fell. That cry signaled the others to dive simultaneously. Greta flinched at the sight, and Ragaen commanded.  

“Don’t stop, shoot!”  

Greta drew another arrow.  

She shot at the diving Lorus. When she had brought down one, two, three, and then four, one Lorus, closest to the ground, spread its massive talons and cast a huge shadow, trying to seize Greta’s head. As Greta inhaled sharply and shrank back, the creature’s leg was severed. Blood sprayed, drenching Greta.  

“Ah!”  

“Cawww!”  

As the legless creature screamed and took off again, Greta widened her eyes. Like a trained soldier, she quickly drew another arrow, hitting the creature’s wing. The arrow pierced through, embedding itself in the wing tip of another Lorus behind it. As the two fell simultaneously before Greta, Ragaen swiftly beheaded them and began dealing with the fallen Lorus crawling toward them.  

Greta shot at the Lorus that had lost some of their numbers and ascended again. Her arrows, fired amidst the chaos, hit with such perfect accuracy that it was hard to believe. When only three or four Lorus remained in the sky, Greta finally tore her eyes away from the sky and panted heavily.  

Her arms trembled from exerting more force than necessary due to tension. Her head buzzed. Greta took deep breaths and looked around. She was speechless.  

The area was a sea of blood. The Lorus she had shot down were all decapitated, bleeding profusely. Yet, the remaining Lorus, with intact wings, legs, and sharp beaks, charged at Ragaen. Covered in blood, Ragaen moved swiftly among them as if he had wings.  

While Greta watched the scene in a daze, it happened.  

“Lady Lievo! Watch out!”  

Their eyes met, or so she thought.  

A massive shadow fell over Greta’s back. Her body broke out in goosebumps. Turning around, she saw a Lorus had stealthily approached, targeting her.  

“Lady Lievo…!”  

Ragaen urgently changed direction, running toward Greta. But no matter how fast he was, he couldn’t be faster than the Lorus, whose jaws were about to close on Greta’s back. Ragaen shouted desperately.  

“No!”  

The horrific interior of the Lorus’s mouth flashed through Greta’s mind like a revolving lantern. Contrary to common belief, Greta’s life flashed before her eyes, starting from the moment she first met Ragaen and fell in love. How cool he looked standing before the bear, how beautiful he was the day they first met, how excited she was to give him a gift, the conversations they had while eating together, the joy when she received his first letter in return….  

‘They say life flashes before your eyes from the moment you’re born….’  

Even if she replayed her life three times over, there weren’t many memories or reflections about Ragaen. But one clear and vivid memory surfaced.  

Today, I’ll show him my impressive side and make him fall for me!  

‘But if I die here, I won’t show him anything impressive!’  

‘Roll forward!’

She thought she heard Richard’s voice from somewhere.  

Greta quickly ducked and rolled under the Lorus’s legs. She was slightly late, and its beak grazed her forearm, tearing her skin, but Greta didn’t even feel the pain. Driven by the thought of showing off, Greta swiftly got behind the creature and shot two arrows, pinning its wings. Then, its head flew off. Beyond the fountain of blood, Ragaen’s face appeared.  

“Lady Lievo! Are you alright?”  

Blood gushed like a fountain from where its head had been, and beyond it stood a massive man drenched in red. Despite the bizarre situation, to Greta, he looked as beautiful and impressive as the moment she saw him standing before the bear last spring. Her heart pounded as if it would burst from her chest.

If someone had read Greta’s thoughts, they might have said this wasn’t love but madness.  

“Yes, yes, I’m fine!”  

“Your injury…”  

Ragaen looked at Greta’s wounded right forearm. The gash on her arm seemed quite severe. Her face also bore small scratches from her hurried roll. Only after hearing his words did Greta realize she had been injured, and suddenly the pain became overwhelming. Still, she forced a smile.  

If you want to look cool, you have to stay cool to the end.  

“It’s not serious. I’m fine.”  

“It looks like a deep cut. If the monster’s blood gets into the wound, it could become infected, so it needs to be disinfected immediately.”  

At that moment, as if on cue, the sound of multiple hoofbeats echoed. It was the knights who had rushed over after seeing the rescue signal.  

“It’s the rescue team. You’re safe now. You held on well.”  

“It’s all thanks to you, Your Grace.”