It was probably when Kasha was around four years old.

She had no idea when or how she got there.

Her first memory was looking up at the crimson red sky while being held in her mother’s arms, who was wailing as if the sky was falling.

Whenever she looked up, there was always a blood-red sky, and Kasha often whimpered in fear of the wavering shadows in the forest. Her mother didn’t comfort her when she cried and just held her tightly with a blank expression, occasionally dozing off.

In her memories, they mostly spent their days and nights holed up in a cave. She remembers crunching on dried fruits and uncooked grains that her mother occasionally took out from a meager food pouch.

Sometimes, when young Kasha couldn’t stand the boredom and secretly snuck out of the cave, her mother would frantically chase after her. Then she would shake her violently and get angry with a scary face.

“Do you want to die? Would you like it if they come to kill you, huh?”

“Mom…”

When young Kasha burst into tears from pain and fear, her mother would whisper with crazed eyes.

“As long as we stay here… they will never find us.”

After a few nights passed, the starving mother and Kasha left the cave only to be chased by a monster. It was a critical situation with death right at their heels.

Just before being caught by the terrifying monster, something caught the crying Kasha’s eye as she was held by her mother.

A rectangular piece of stone, as if discarded at the entrance of the forest. She remembers a strange pattern on the handkerchief-sized gray stone shining briefly. As if calling out to her and her mother.

Her mother rushed towards it without hesitation. No, it seemed like her mother had been looking for it from the beginning. The moment her mother finally stepped on that piece of stone, her hands tightly grasping Kasha gained strength. And then,

Woosh!

In an instant, the surrounding scenery changed. The monster that had been chasing them with a frightening momentum also disappeared as if it had sunk into the ground.

Suddenly, they were standing in a quiet forest with moonlight shining down. She remembers being surprised that the sky was no longer red.

And since that day, Kasha and her mother never returned to that red world again.

Kasha sometimes seemed to want to ask about those memories. However, despite being four years old, she still had difficulty speaking. Even when she tried to ask her mother with her limited vocabulary, she always received an indifferent reply.

“That was a dream. Forget about it.”

Moreover, her mother’s condition worsened day by day. As if this world was no better than that red world for her mother, her mind was always racing somewhere else.

So until the day her mother passed away, Kasha never found out. Where her mother so desperately wanted to reach. What exactly her mother had gone through and what had driven her crazy, nothing at all.

“I think my mother entered this place to escape from something. In the end, she realized this place was dangerous too… and ran away.”

Leon, who had been intently listening to Kasha’s story, nodded.

“One thing is clear. That stone they stepped on to enter acts as some kind of entrance and exit.”

“Yes. But once a door has been opened and closed… it doesn’t seem to open easily again. Even the beast that chased me and my mother long ago couldn’t follow us, and even now… no one else is following us in except us.”

That was true. With the commander disappearing during the mission, the knights would be trying their best to find him somehow. However, apart from the occasional cries of monsters, no other signs could be heard.

“But it’s strange. That barrier stone, from that day until I left this place 7 years ago… I never saw it again. But today of all days, that stone was placed right where we passed by. It’s suspicious.”

“Are you saying someone deliberately placed that barrier stone there?”

“That’s a possibility too, isn’t it? If that stone had been there all along, strange things would have continued to happen in the village, and rumors would have… surely spread.”

“What if the villagers are lying?”

“That Yarson fellow earlier, he’s a cowardly and unscrupulous man, but… he doesn’t have the guts to set a trap and scheme against the Order of Holy Knights. Rather… the hypothesis that there is someone who knows about the existence of the barrier stone and is trying to put us in danger using it is… more convincing.”

“Someone trying to put us in danger.”

Leon looked straight at Kasha.

“Could it be Crown Prince Nigel you’re talking about?”

Kasha’s eyes widened. The shock and bewilderment she felt were clearly visible on her face. She barely managed to ask after a moment.

“…Why do you think so?”

“Well, if we narrow down the candidates to someone who would want me and 10-year-old Eve dead or miserable by any means, someone who pushed you and me into this monster expedition, someone who can easily handle destroying an entire village for their goals without feeling any pangs of conscience… the list gets quite short.”

“……”

“Besides, the way he looked at you on the picnic day really bothered me.”

As Kasha looked up at Leon, who continued his explanation without hesitation, her eyes gradually took on a deep color. It didn’t seem to be simply a reflection of the blood-red sky.

“At that moment, a thought suddenly occurred to me. Maybe that’s what my eyes looked like when I was cursed with lust.”

What if the target of the lust curse that lost its sacrifice was Nigel? Once that thought came to mind, his thoughts raced out of control. And eventually, he arrived at that conclusion.

Nigel had both the power and motive to cast the lust curse on Leon.

“Kasha. Can you answer me? Am I thinking something completely absurd right now?”

Upon hearing Leon’s question, Kasha’s face stiffened. She was hesitating. Leon anxiously waited to see what answer would come out of her mouth.

Finally, Kasha, who had been looking down lost in thought, opened her mouth.

“Actually…”

Grrrrr.

At the sound that suddenly came from the front, Leon reflexively shielded Kasha and stood up.

A monster with a terrifying appearance was flashing its red eyes at them.

It looked similar to a wolf but was much larger in size, and its teeth seemed to number in the hundreds. Furthermore, something that looked like sharp thorns protruded from its back, trembling as if alive whenever the beast exhaled.

‘That appearance…?’

Feeling a strange sense of familiarity, Leon tilted his head.

‘Right, the gray bear Kasha caught at the hunting competition. That bear definitely looked like that before being hit by the magical tool. Then, could it be that bear was also a monster?’

With that thought, Leon hardened his face and drew his sword.

The sword, drawn without a sound, emitted a sharp light in his hand.

‘It’s a pity I couldn’t bring the magical tool.’

Leon thought to himself. He had dropped the magical tool outside the barrier in his haste to catch up with Kasha who had jumped into the barrier.

Therefore, the only tool to face that monster now was his sword, just one.

Kwaaaaak.

Finally, the monster charged at him.

Without any panic, Leon swung his sword just once, inflicting a fatal wound on the monster.

Thud.

Black blood gushed from the monster that was thrown to the ground, and it soon stopped moving with a final convulsion.

But at that moment, the situation worsened.

Grrrrr.

Grrr.

Grr.

Monsters began to flock from somewhere. Perhaps they were gathering after smelling the blood of their comrade. There were now seven wolf monsters drooling.

Kwaaaaak.

Shaaaak.

Clang.

Kwaaaaaaa.

Shaaak.

Leon’s blade, which continued to split the charging monsters in half, was stained with black blood and emitted an ominous light.

Amid that, the two, Kasha and Leon, were gradually being pushed back.

“Leon. There’s a cliff behind us. It’s dangerous!”

Kasha suddenly cried out in a low voice.

Leon glanced back and confirmed that Kasha’s words were true.

The forest that swayed like a demon’s hair had come to an end, and just a few dozen steps back was a cliff. If they kept being pushed back like this, they would surely fall off the cliff while trying to avoid the monsters.

“Kasha.”

“Yes?”

Shaaak.

Cutting down another monster, Leon shouted urgently.

“When I count to three, run and hide behind that rock over there. I’ll lure these guys to the cliff.”

“What? Then what about you!”

“It’s a method I used before when facing monsters. These guys are as simple-minded as they are strong, so they easily fall for such a shallow tactic.”

“But if you get hurt…”

“I will definitely survive, Kasha.”

Shaaak. Shing.

He swung his sword swiftly once more, splattering the monster’s black blood on his cheek.

Wiping it off with an annoyed hand, he smiled.

“I still have a lot I want to do with you.”

At that moment, his gaze was so blatant that just meeting it made her lower abdomen clench uncomfortably.

That raw expression, in contrast to his noble silver armor, was clearly unsuitable for a holy knight. However, it suited Leon so well that Kasha could only nod as if enchanted.

“Alright then.”

He smiled with satisfaction and swung his sword with tremendous momentum.

Now there were only three monsters left.

“One.”

Leon. Kasha swallowed the voice that wanted to stop him again with a groan.

Now seemed to be the moment to pray for God’s mercy.

Kasha prayed to God for the first time since her return.

Please keep him alive. You’ve been cruel enough to him so far, so please show a miracle just this once. Please.

“Two.”

Leon signaled to her with his eyes. The violet eyes she always found beautiful shimmered with a deep purple hue, tinged with the bloody energy of this place.

“Three.”

The two ran in opposite directions at the same time.

The wolf monsters were startled, but soon focused their attention on Leon as he shouted loudly and moved threateningly.

The three monsters chased after him relentlessly as he ran towards the cliff.

And finally, three steps before reaching the cliff.

He turned around and swung his sword in a wide horizontal arc. At the sudden attack, the two monsters in the lead were effortlessly cut down by his sword.

Kwaaaaaak.

The beasts howled as they flew through the air.

At the same time, Leon lowered his body as much as possible to avoid the radius created by their thrashing.

But the next moment, the last monster that had been running right behind the two that suddenly disappeared from his sight collided head-on with Leon.

Without panic, Leon thrust his sword precisely into the center of its forehead. Its eyes, burning red with rage, met Leon’s directly.

Kwaaaa.

The beast perished.

However, at the same time, Leon’s body, entangled with the beast, also plummeted off the cliff.