Chapter 24.2 — The Captain of the Royal Knights is supposed to have a fiancée…17
At some distance away from Ruth and Daniel, the village chief was facing a large one-eyed demon in front of a hillside house. However, the village chief’s shoulder was bleeding and he was sitting on the ground. At that rate, he would die.
“Damnit, are they advancing? Can we make it!”
“Daniel, keep running straight ahead! I’ll use my bow!”
Ruth swiftly buffed up his arrows and as he placed his knee onto Daniel’s back for balance, he pulled back the arrow on his bow.
(Guh…)
The moment he prepared for battle, a power he'd never felt before coursed through his entire body, and before he knew it, it seeped into his bow. The arrow was glowing and power was obviously overflowing out from it.
Although he was surprised at this new magical power, when he saw the demon ready to swing its arm down on the village chief, Ruth immediately fired the arrow.
“Haah!”
The arrow that was loaded with an explosive amount of power released a bright light as it sped through, cutting through the wind, and hit straight at the demon’s arm.
The moment the arrow struck the demon, a loud explosive boom rang out and instantly blew off the demon’s upper half of its body. The demon was inevitably dead and fell to the ground.
“Y-You, Ruth!? H-Huuh!? W-What was that power!”
“...Whoa.”
Daniel seemed to be shocked, but Ruth also couldn’t hide his surprise.
If it was any ordinary animal then he would’ve been able to destroy its head and blow off a small part of a demon at most. It wouldn’t have been possible to obliterate other parts of its body with a hit like that. It looks like the power he received from Jio raised Ruth’s abilities by a considerable amount.
(That reminds me, for a split second just now...the bracelet was also glowing…)
Ruth looked at the silver bracelet Alec entrusted to him. However, it seemed it was an illusion as it shined as just the usual silver bracelet with a blue gem.
(Alec...the place you call home...I’ll protect this village...!)
Ruth made a vow to the silver bracelet.
Daniel and Ruth immediately dashed up to the top of the hill on horseback and both of them ran to the dumbfounded village chief.
“Chief, how are you doing!”
“Are you okay!?”
“Daniel and Ruth...somehow I’m alright.”
Even though the village chief’s shoulder was wounded, he didn’t have any other serious injuries and he was speaking clearly.
Relieved with Ruth and Daniel’s timely arrival, he let out a deep sigh. While he wiped the blood and dust off his glasses, he regained his usual complexion.
“What happened to the shrine?”
“The shrine is fine. We came to help out the village.”
“You left the villagers in the shrine all alone then!?”
“Chief, calm down. They’ll be safe, the demons there won’t notice them. And there’s an amazing magician, by the name of Jio there. He even has the power to cast strengthening magic on us. The villagers inside the shrine have already calmed down, so as long as that old man is in there we don’t have to worry about them for the time being.
“Jio...that old man who stayed over for a night, huh.”
For some reason, the village chief immediately understood when he heard Jio’s name. Come to think of it, the village chief was always on edge around this time and would most definitely complain about letting a guest unrelated to the inn stay for the night. However, this time, he didn’t kick out Jio neither did he call the Brau household about it. Ruth wondered if something happened during that one-night stay.
“Chief, more importantly, where is the baal?”
“Rossa led it to the riverside on the other side of the village. We were dealing with the other demons that infiltrated, but…”
“Chief.”
The village chief tried to stand up as he said that, but he just sat back down again. It seemed like he had reached the peak of his exhaustion.
Despite that, the village chief was by no means weak. Even though he heard the baal’s Demon’s Howl from that place, he still never fainted. He was far more courageous than the villagers who collapsed outside. Although he normally has the presence of a small old man, he might just be far more powerful than he shows.
“Daniel, Ruth, my apologies but would you go check the situation between the villagers and the baal for me? While I have already sent out a messenger to the surprise attack force, it will still take time for them to return. When I think of Rossa and the others… I do not believe they can defeat it.”
“Is it impossible to just drive it away?”
“The eyes were bright red. It was already on a rampage. It won’t stop until it has eaten its fill.”
When a demon’s eyes are glowing red, they are in a state of frenzy. Because of that, even the smallest sense of reason was lost and their strength jumped to a whole different league. Normally one could drive out a baal, but as the village chief mentioned, in the current state, they must defeat it or else, the worst-case scenario was bound to happen.
“....I’m going to help Dad and the others!”
“R-Ruth!?”
“Daniel, I’ll leave the village chief to you. Sorry, but lemme borrow your horse.”
“Wh-- wait!”
Leaving the stunned Daniel behind, Ruth jumped onto the horse and grasped the reins. As Ruth was about to run off, Daniel let out a loud voice and dashed in front to block him.
“Wait wait wait wait, did you listen to what he said! The baal is on a rampage! It’s dangerous to even get close to it! Help? Just what are you thinking!?”
“But if I don’t go, they might be in trouble. And if we just leave it alone, the village is going to be destroyed either way!”
“It’s a baal though! We’ll get eaten once we even get anywhere close to it!”
“I know that already!”
Ruth also understood he was being reckless. Maybe he wouldn’t be any use in front of a rampaging baal.
“I want to protect this village! How can I just do nothing and watch it be destroyed!?”
However, he also thought that someday Alec’s journey as a hero will end and he’ll return to the village. Ruth wanted to protect that place. The day Alec returns all worn out, he wanted to say “Welcome back.” Therefore, he has no other choice but to deal with the rampaging baal.
“AAAAAAAAH, DAMNIT! Move it, Ruth, make space for me in the front!”
Daniel let out a yell and jumped onto the horse. His face was pale as he grabbed the reins, but, unlike earlier, he was no longer confused.
“I know your horse-riding skills are average at best. And if you’re done for if you get attacked while you’re holding onto the reins, so I’ll take you there! Chief, sorry but I’ll leave the rest to you!”
“I’ll be fine. More importantly, you two must escape if your lives are in danger.”
“Of course!”
“Chief, Daniel...thank you. Let’s go.”
“Agh, whatever, we’ve already come this far!”
As the horse broke into a run, the village chief watched as their figures grew more distant.
“....Oh, Divine Aristotlesia. Is your prophesied hero truly the one that God has sent down…?”
The village chief’s words were never heard by either of the fading silhouettes.
MARY: Please support the author by buying the novels here and let me know if you see any mistakes! 〳 •́ ﹏ •̀ 〵 ((suspenseful music plays)) Also 3 more chapters until Alec makes his return!!