Can an Enemy Become Salvation? - Chapter 21

The only sound Ibnel could hear, left alone in the dark forest, was the chilling noise of the beast roughly tearing and eating the horse.

She tried her best to observe the beast’s form in detail while holding her breath.

A large body reminiscent of a bear, black fur covering its entire body, four large feet, and two sharp fangs occasionally visible.

‘It’s definitely a Chelp.’

This was a path frequently used by people, so monster appearances were rare, but if unlucky, there was a chance of encountering one.

Unfortunately, she had fallen into that possibility.

‘Stay calm, what were the characteristics of a Chelp again?’

Ibnel quickly recalled what she had studied before coming here.

One of the monsters often found near Perti territory, its biggest feature was that its eyesight had degenerated, and its hearing was relatively keen.

That’s why it was only active at night, like now when the sun had set.

‘Fortunately, it’s not the worst situation.’

If done right, she could escape this crisis without any problems. The Chelp was completely distracted eating its prey in front of it, so she just needed to quietly leave this place.

There was no need to risk fighting the monster. She just needed to return to where her companions were, explain the current situation, and safely depart.

As Ibnel was watching the Chelp in front of her and slowly increasing the distance, an unexpected voice was heard.

“My lady?”

Startled, she turned her head to see Shan standing there. The problem was that from his position, the monster was perfectly hidden behind a tree.

‘This is bad.’

Before Ibnel could signal him to be quiet, Shan raised his voice even louder than before.

“What are you doing there?”

‘After pretending not to see until now.’

She felt her blood boiling, wondering why he had to speak up at this crucial moment. But there was no time to dwell on that now.

Whether it heard Shan’s voice, the Chelp made a threatening growling sound and looked in his direction.

“My lady?”

After calling several times with no response from Ibnel, Shan seemed to sense something was wrong and tried to approach her.

‘What should I do.’

In those few seconds, countless thoughts raced through her mind. She couldn’t just stand by and watch the monster attack Shan, nor could she recklessly tell him to avoid it.

The moment she told him to avoid it, he would instinctively turn back the way he came. And there were still companions there who weren’t prepared for battle.

As the Chelp took a stance like it was about to pounce, Ibnel moved her hand without time to think.

She drew the gun from her waist and pulled the trigger aiming at the air. A single loud bang shook the forest.

Shan stopped in his tracks at her sudden action. At the same time, the monster’s frenzied gaze turned directly to her.

As Ibnel had intended, it changed its target to her.

The moment she met those eyes full of murderous intent, Ibnel started running aimlessly in the opposite direction from where her companions were. The Chelp quickly followed behind.

Meanwhile, Shan froze in place, not knowing what was happening, as he saw the Chelp passing right in front of his eyes. Soon after, he came to his senses and started going back the way he came.

Knowing she would die if she stopped now, Ibnel didn’t halt her steps even as her breath reached her throat. Cuts formed on her face as she passed through branches and leaves.

But being chased by a monster, she felt no sensation of pain.

‘The location is not good for counterattacking.’

It was already challenging enough to run while avoiding the trees standing here and there in the forest. Meanwhile, the footsteps following her grew closer as the distance narrowed.

“Please…”

Just as she was reaching her limit, she emerged from the narrow forest path. The sky was already beginning to brighten faintly.

As soon as she had space to move freely, Ibnel thought this was her chance and turned her body to immediately pull the trigger. The rapidly flying bullet hit the left leg.

While the Chelp stopped, Ibnel caught her breath and widened the distance.

‘Where is the core?’

The beast let out a loud roar as if frustrated, and bright red blood dripped from its two protruding fangs.

At that moment, Ibnel saw the glowing core below its right shoulder.

“There’s a chance.”

It couldn’t fly, and its skin wasn’t hard, so if she aimed accurately, she could take it down alone.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as it sounded, but she had no other choice if she wanted to survive.

Ibnel calmly avoided the attacking monster’s strikes while waiting for the timing for the final blow.

As it seemed like she would be caught, but wasn’t, the Chelp became more excited as if impatient. And in that moment, an opening appeared.

‘Now.’

Ibnel quickly took her stance, aligned the sight on the target point, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. The bullet that left her hand hit the core precisely.

The monster writhed in agony and collapsed weakly to the side.

“Haa, haa…”

She finally lowered the gun in her hand while exhaling rough breaths she had been holding.

Resisting the urge to collapse as the tension dissipated, she approached the monster. And she picked up the core visible amid the damp blood.

‘I survived. This time too.’

Ibnel, who had been blankly staring at the limp monster, slowly turned her head to gaze at the sun just rising in the sky.

Though her body was truly exhausted and tired, strangely her mood felt refreshing. Soon, what she showed was a smile filled with emptiness.

“What have I been worrying about all this time?”

The moment she suddenly realized what she had come here for, it felt like the fog covering her mind had completely cleared.

‘Ah, this is not the time to be doing this.’

As Ibnel was about to return to where her companions were, Shuher was standing there looking at her, though it was unclear when he had arrived.

[This is the timeline separator]

Shuher looked at Ibnel silently before noticing the Chelp lying on the ground. He approached her with a rather hardened expression.

“How did you get here.”

“Shan told me.”

In fact, he knew that Ibnel had taken a horse and entered the forest. But since it had happened often over the past few days, he didn’t stop her.

He sensed something was amiss when a single gunshot pierced through the silence. Just as the knights who had just woken up were unsure what was happening, Shan suddenly appeared from the forest.

With a pale face, he began to speak about what he had witnessed.

[“I happened to meet the young lady in the forest, but suddenly she fired her gun into the air and started running in the opposite direction. But then a Chelp followed after her…”]

Shuher left only the words to stay on guard and immediately ran to the scene in question. But all that remained there was the brutally damaged carcass of a horse.

After that, following the footprints left on the ground and the gunshots heard in the distance, he had arrived at where Ibnel was.

Upon closer inspection, she had no major injuries, but there were scratches on her face and dirt on her clothes here and there.

It was clear at a glance that she had struggled alone to take down that monster.

“I went to drink water and happened to encounter a monster. Fortunately…”

“Still reckless.”

At the cold voice coming from Shuher, Ibnel also stopped speaking and looked at him.

“Did you want to show everyone like this? How great you are.”

She showed a bitter laugh and brushed back her disheveled hair. Why on earth did she have to listen to such words?

“This is just childish…”

In the end, what she had been holding back until now completely exploded. Unable to listen silently any longer, she threw the core she was holding strongly at him.

It wouldn’t hurt that much, but it was enough to interrupt his words.

“What did I do so wrong? Why do I have to hear such words from Your Majesty?”

She didn’t do it hoping for praise, but hearing words that put her down even in this situation pushed her patience to the limit.

She no longer wanted to bow her head pathetically in front of this person for no reason.

“I’m human too, so when I encountered the monster, I had thoughts like this. Should I just pretend not to know and run away no matter what happens to me? After all, it’s just humans who don’t like me, curse at me, and are busy treating me like I’m invisible.”

Among the many thoughts she had at the moment of being faced with a choice, there was such a petty mind. After all, this was an unexpected accident, so she couldn’t be blamed entirely.

But her hand moved first, and in the end, she ended up drawing her gun.

“What do you want me to do? Sir Shan doesn’t know anything, the monster looks like it’s about to pounce at any moment. If Sir Shan runs away towards our companions, the damage is obvious. I just made the best choice I could.”

From Ibnel’s perspective, drawing the monster’s attention to herself was the way to minimize damage. But in Shuher’s eyes, it was reckless behavior itself.

“I’m already used to being ambushed by monsters. Yet do you really think your choice was wise?”

“I wanted to save them!”

Her cry silenced him.

“Can Your Majesty be certain? That no one would have died because of that monster?”

There was no answer from Shuher. Even he couldn’t know what variables might arise in the process of defeating a monster.

“I hoped that no one would be saddened because of it. Because before, I couldn’t… save them.”

Ibnel hoped that others would not experience such sorrow like her. Because she knew how painful and frightening it was.

‘Why is she making such an expression?’

To Shuher, it seemed like she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Like someone who had experienced losing someone close.

“I thought a lot about Your Majesty’s words. Should I just do as Your Majesty orders, after all, that would be easier for me too.”

But after bursting out all the thoughts inside, rather than wavering, her mind gained certainty.

That there was no need for that, that it was okay to move according to her current feelings.

So this time, Ibnel could look straight into his eyes. It was Shuher who flinched at that confidence.

“I made a choice. To be here, to survive, and to protect. This feeling will never change. So Your Majesty, do as you have been doing. I will do as I want.”

After declaring so clearly in front of him, Ibnel felt foolish for having been so timid until now. No matter how she thought about it, that wasn’t like her.

‘I won’t bow my head easily anymore.’

The dawn was gradually brightening behind her back.