“So why have you brought me here?”

“As I said earlier, I need to see for myself.”

“You don’t mean…”

She hoped that the ominous thought that suddenly popped into her head was wrong, but eventually, Shuher’s lips uttered the answer she had feared.

“In the same way as in the arena just now.”

“You want me to face a monster again?”

She had barely survived the ordeal with the monster, and it was absurd that they were going to bring in another monster here. It was almost as if they wanted to kill her.

“I saw a monster for the first time today. I don’t know anything about how to fight them.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m here.”

Evenel was momentarily speechless at the overly confident remark. She had heard many stories about the Emperor of Caries, but she couldn’t readily believe that he was strong enough to be so selfassured.

She had seen and felt how threatening the existence of a monster was.

“And you don’t need to know the method. Just aim for the core.”

“It’s not as easy as it sounds.”

Seeing the monster’s core didn’t mean that it could necessarily be killed. Avoiding the monster’s attack and seizing that fleeting moment of opportunity was never an easy task.

It was literally a matter of life and death.

“If I’m right, I won’t leave you to die.”

“So if you’re wrong, you’ll leave me to die?”

“Yes. Because I have no reason to keep you alive.”

At Shuher’s cold reply, a sort of defiance sprang up within Evenel. She didn’t know how this novel would unfold, but she didn’t want to die by his tricks.

“At least I won’t die here.”

Suddenly, Demil, who had disappeared, approached.

“Your Majesty, we are ready.”

“Then seal the entrance, and release the monster.”

He left, and soon the sound of the door through which the two had entered being closed was heard.

Shuher pulled out a sword from the sheath at his waist. The blade boasted a sharpness that was threatening just to look at.

A black jewel was embedded in the hilt, and a purple snake pattern wrapped around it. It seemed familiar, and she realized it matched the insignia decorating Demil’s uniform.

Somehow, even the weapon he wielded seemed to resemble him.

Then Shuher took something from his opposite hip and threw it towards Evenel.

Catching the object in surprise, Evenel looked at him, then shifted her gaze to the gun in her hands. The extraordinary black gun had the same snake pattern, looking like a pair with the sword.

Why did he give this to her?

“If you don’t want to die, use it,” Shuher said with an indifferent face.
“Isn’t this something His Majesty uses?”

“Yes.”

“May I use it?”

“It doesn’t matter. I prefer a sword anyway.”

Somehow, just lightly holding it in his hand, it felt distinctly different because it belonged to the Emperor. He examined it carefully, just in case, and the bullets inside the revolving magazine caught his eye.

He hadn’t noticed earlier while focusing on defeating the monster, but the blueish glow was different from ordinary bullets.

As Evenel was taking out a bullet to inspect it closely, Shuher said, recognizing her curiosity.

“That’s a special bullet used to combat monsters. It’s made using the monster’s core, so it can pierce even the toughest monster body.”

That single small bullet was the result of countless efforts and trial and error. Ordinary bullets bounced off the monster’s body, so they had to devise a different method.

The answer was surprisingly close. It was the monster’s core.

The core was the source of the monster’s life, possessing a lot of energy, and exerted a tremendous force even with a very small amount. In other words, they were using a monster to defeat a monster.

“The monster will be here soon.”

Tension slowly rose in Evenel at those words.

If she had never encountered a monster before, she wouldn’t have been so concerned. But having faced one once, she couldn’t let her guard down.

If she was careless, she really could die right here.

‘Did I really gain some ability? Why, why me of all people?’

She was awakened from her thoughts by Shuher’s voice.

“Now’s not the time to be leisurely lost in thought.”

“Huh?”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the bars on the opposite entrance opened, and a monster that resembled an eagle, only much larger, sprang out at a rapid pace.

‘What’s that?’

It looked similar to an eagle, though much larger, but the previous one had been wolflike.

Its beak was longer and sharper, and the claws on its two legs were particularly threatening. The monster circled above their heads, letting out a cry of warning.

“That’s a Lapiru, a monster. It’s not easy to deal with as it flies in the sky. Its feathers are even harder than most steel, so even piercing it isn’t easy. Its speed is fast, so we are at a disadvantage in aerial combat.”

Listening to that explanation, Evenel stared at the monster in the sky, checking if the core was visible.

But without a moment to spare, the Lapiru opened its threatening beak and began to descend on her.

It was too fast for Evenel to aim her gun.

‘It’s too late.’

At that moment, she felt a hand quickly grab her waist, barely avoiding the monster’s attack.

When she belatedly opened her eyes, she found herself in Shuher’s arms. She stared blankly at him before hastily pushing away and freeing herself.

In the meantime, Lapiru was circling in the sky again.

“Shouldn’t thanks come first?”

“I’d like to make this clear as well. It’s His Majesty who brought me here and put me in this situation.”

“That’s not what we should be arguing about now. So do you see anything?”

Certainly, now was not the time to argue with Shuher. Evenel focused on the Lapiru flying in the air again.

‘I see it.’

From the dark red body, a vivid white light was flashing.

“It’s inside the beak.”

“That confirms it. My words were right.”

“It seems a bit early to be congratulating yourself.”

She continued to watch the monster, looking for an opportunity to attack, so she didn’t have time to think about that.

Luckily, Shuher had a reason to help her.

‘But the opponent is flying in the sky.’

No matter what, attacking a moving object in the air was difficult. Her accuracy dropped sharply when shooting at a fastmoving target in the sky.

In the meantime, it was clear that the monster was waiting for another chance to attack.

Her only experience had been in the stadium, but that had helped her a lot in dealing with the monster.

‘Is there only one way left?’
Evenel Istella quickly finished her thoughts and skillfully loaded the gun, then spoke to Shuher.

“It seems we will need to cooperate.”

Shuher felt a sudden change in Evenel’s demeanor. As expected, she had a gun in her hand this time too.

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