Chapter 23.1 — The Captain of the Royal Knights is supposed to have a fiancée…16

“A baal... does that mean Maxim and the knights lost!?”

“No. The baal wasn’t even on this year’s list of demons in the first place.”

In this year’s demon hunt, the baal wasn’t included as one of the B-rank demons. The group with the Royal Knights headed to defeat other B-rank demons and it seemed like they haven’t returned yet.

And according to their battle plans, the remaining villagers defeated the first and second groups of demons that were approaching the village. It was only after a while that the baal came down alone from the mountains and headed to the village.

“No way...then, the village right now--”

“They were just in the middle of dealing with the second group of demons so, it wasn’t just the baal that broke in, the D and C-rank demons broke in as well…”

As Daniel told them about the worsening situation, it looked like he came here alone in a haste to notify them.

(It can’t be…)

It would have been better if they only had the baal to deal with, but it wasn’t hard to imagine the chaos if other demons broke into the village as well. Although Rossa and a few skilled villagers stayed in the village this year, they were still terribly lacking in power when compared to the surprise attack force.

“The village…Is there really a baal there!?”

Ruth turned around when he heard a high-pitched yell and found the daughter of the medicinal herbs shop, Paria, standing there. It seemed like Paria overheard Ruth’s and Daniel’s conversation as she had become deathly pale and was trembling. It was a natural reaction as there weren't many people in the village who could stay calm when a baal was brought up.

“Paria, please calm down…”

“I can’t calm down, m-my dad is in the village! I mean it’s a matter of life or death for my dad if the baal broke in!”

“Baal!? There’s seriously a baal!?”

It looked like the villagers inside the shrine also ended up overhearing Paria’s shouts. The villagers who were scared senseless from the overwhelming amount of fear earlier, broke out into chaos from the worry of their family members that remained in the village.

(Shoot…!)

If the demons in the village heard their screams, they might find out that there are humans in this location. As Ruth thought about that, he pushed Daniel and Paria into the shrine and closed the door in a panic.

“Everyone, please stay calm!”

“Dad, Dad!”

“Honey--!”

“Someone, please, save my son!!”

“Settle down, everyone! Recollect yourselves and don’t scream! Or else everyone will end up attracting the demons here!”

However, there wasn’t anyone who reacted to Ruth’s desperate pleas. Everyone was so caught up in their fear that no one paid attention to Ruth.

(I...I can’t calm them down either…)

Ruth knew that he was powerless. No matter how calm he was, he was useless in times like these if he didn’t even have the means to reassure other people.

He thought that was the consequence of having a bad reputation amongst some of the villagers and ignoring them. Now it was hard to make them pay attention to his words as they were already biased against him.

“Ruth! Your father! Is he okay!? He’s okay, right?”

Ruth’s mother, Celine, who was usually brave and rarely panicked, quickly ran up to him.

And when Ruth saw his mother trembling and clinging onto him, he realized that this situation was not just any simple mass panic.

(Ah, is this...because of that…!)

It was the unsettling pressure that reverberated from afar a short while ago. There was no doubt that it was the baal’s ‘Demon’s Howl’. The baal that broke into the village must’ve done that.

Because of the howl, the villager’s fear and uneasiness were exacerbated and thus caused this unlikely level of panic to arise. At this rate, not only will the fear overtake them and they won't stop screaming, but people will faint and self-harm and some will even start fights.

(And the village…!)

If the baal that broke into the village was the one who released the howl, and people inside of the shrine were affected by this much despite the distance, then the ones at the village must be in an even worse state. Although there were a lot of people over there who are strong-spirited, if they heard it up close then they wouldn’t be able to move and there should be some who fainted. If that was the case, the situation there must be far more severe.

(I... have to save the village...but…!)

He couldn’t leave the panicked villagers in front of him alone. However, Ruth had no idea how to calm them down either. Just when Ruth bit his lips at his helplessness--

--KOOOONG

A powerful and deep sound resounded through the shrine. It wasn’t loud by any means, but it ranged deep inside of him and cleared his thoughts in an instant.

(That sound just now…?)

The same sound was heard again. The villagers that fell into a panic also began to quiet down and before long, the inside of the shrine went silent.

“Settle down. Nothing will be solved if everyone is senselessly shouting.”

As the calm and quiet voice echoed throughout the silent shrine, the people split to create a path and from there, an elder with eyebrows covering his expression appeared.

“Jio…”

“As expected, even though you heard that, you’re still calm.”

After Jio said that, he furrowed his eyebrows and stood next to Ruth. He then used the cane he was holding to draw something in midair. Particles of light began to flow out with the movements of his cane and the shrine was enveloped with a warm light. He finally connected the first and last line and Jio let out a gentle breath of air. That moment, the butterfly he drew in midair instantly multiplied by nearly tenfold. As if they were given life, they flapped their wings.

“Beautiful…”

“Wow…”

“A butterfly…”

The villagers who were caught up in the mass panic a moment ago now stared at the flapping butterflies in blank amazement and their expressions gradually morphed into one of peace. Some sat back down and some put down the weapons that they had ready. Some stopped crying and babies even fell asleep. Ruth’s mother, Celine, also calmed down and reached out to the scattering particles of light.

(It’s like the ‘Illuminating Sand’…)

Ruth grasped onto the particles of light that floated to him and Alec’s face popped up in his mind when he found that there were droplets of water. Alec’s special magic that he created was so unique that no one could’ve imitated it. The reason for that was because it was a fusion of light and water magic.

(Wait! Does that mean--)

Ruth looked over at Jio in shock.

“In this world, there aren't a lot of people who can learn more than two different types of magic. Thus, there is surely no one else in the world who can use them at the same time.”

The words Father said replayed in his mind.

There are only a few people in this world who could use two different types of magic, let alone there’s anyone who could use them at the same time. The fact that Jio succeeded in doing that meant that--

(Jio isn’t any ordinary grandpa…?)

MARY: Please support the author by buying the novels here and let me know if you see any mistakes! Oh my, I wonder who Mister Jio really is (୨୧ ❛ᴗ❛)✧